garage

Robot! Fetch me a beer!

Yes, robots can actually carry out that order. Now, they can even anticipate where to pour your beverage of choice.

Cornell University's Personal Robotics Lab has trained a PR2 robot from Willow Garage to figure out where and when to pour beer, as well as perform other actions that require anticipation.

Armed with a Kinect 3D camera and a database of 3D videos, PR2 can analyze what it sees by breaking down activities into several steps. Then it anticipates what might happen next with objects it picks out in the scene. It can choose the most likely next step for activities like eating, drinking, cleaning, and putting things away. … Read more

Those who often use eBay to purchase items may not like the Web site's interface. For those users and others who want to follow eBay items easily from their desktop, GarageBuy for Mac may be a useful program.

The program took a bit longer than expected to download, but started up immediately after it completed without any actual setup. It also asked us whether we wanted the companion iPhone app, but this was easily dismissed. There appeared to be support for updates. No instructions were available, but this was not a detriment since the interface was easy to figure … Read more

GarageBand already had a long history on the Mac, letting people use intuitive controls and a huge library of instruments and prerecorded loops to create songs. But with the iOS version, Apple needed to come up with creative ways to record music using only a touch-screen interface, and we think the company did an amazing job. In the latest version, GarageBand now supports Audiobus, letting you use sounds and effects from other music apps and then recording them to GarageBand tracks.

As a general overview, the GarageBand app offers several Touch Instruments, guitar amps and effects, eight-track recording and mixing, … Read more

Things are changing over at robotics startup Willow Garage, the open-source powerhouse known for its very adaptable domestic bot PR2.

Following an IEEE Spectrum report earlier today saying Willow Garage would shut down in the next few months, the company announced on its blog that it "has decided to enter the world of commercial opportunities with an eye to becoming a self-sustaining company."

"This is an important change to our funding model," it added.

Founded in 2006 by Google search engine co-designer Scott Hassan, Willow Garage has been committed to developing open-source robots such as PR2 … Read more

Despite owning an iPhone 5 for several months, I find myself using Siri only when someone else wants to see how it works.

A video created by a Raspberry Pi enthusiast motivates me to learn about Siri's unadvertised side -- as a place where hackers can use special software to teach Apple's voice assistant new commands. One such person found a compelling use for the $35 Linux-based Pi and Siri: the ability to open a garage door with a push of a button and a simple spoken sentence. … Read more

GarageBand '11 is the latest iteration of Apple's recording studio application. With it you can record instrument and vocal feeds (with the right interfaces) or audio tracks, then mix your magnum opus. There's a built-in "learn to play" feature for both guitar and piano. GarageBand '11 installs easily but is a large download, and costs $14.99.

The GarageBand '11 interface is split into panes. The main area shows you tracks layered one on top of the other. Beneath that is an output track representation. To the right are images of devices and effects you can … Read more

If you're getting sick and tired of flying to another city for a few unproductive meetings, you don't have to dream of a day when telepresence robots will make that totally unnecessary.

Beam from Suitable Technologies, a spinoff of Willow Garage, is a new addition to the growing field of remote-operated robots that project your presence into a distant location. Like other telepresence bots, it's basically a Webcam on wheels, letting you roam around offices or factories to chat with colleagues.

Officially called the Beam Remote Presence System, the bot is roughly 5 feet tall, weighs 95 pounds, can roll along at walking speed (about 5 feet per second), and has a 17-inch screen. It's got two HD cameras, six microphones, speakers, Wi-Fi, and LED lamps. … Read more

In this week's Always On (Episode 7), host Molly Wood visits robotics research lab Willow Garage in Menlo Park, Calif., to see how its crafty $400,000 PR2 robot fares as a sushi waiter.

PR2 looks like a juiced-up version of Rosie the robotic maid from "The Jetsons." But even with its buff arms, this humanoid robot can set a table with surprising grace. It shows poise on camera too -- impressive considering that the footage below represents robot sushi waiter's first video appearance.

For those unfamiliar with the open-source robot, the PR2's array of … Read more

Apple's GarageBand gives wanna-be and real-world musicians alike the instruments they need to make music on an iPad. But when it comes to drums and guitar, there's something lost in translation; your fingertips just don't measure up to the feel of drumsticks and a guitar pick.

Of course, the real deal won't work on an iPad's screen; wood and plastic aren't conductive materials, so their taps and strums will go unrecognized.

Enter Pix & Stix, which give you a rubberized, conductive guitar pick and pair of drumsticks. (Slogan idea: "For those about to … Read more