The common slot cars are controlled by a single button that can variablly control the speed of the car dependend on how hard you press it. The aim is to get around the track repeatidly as fast as you can without being thrown off on a corner.

A new version of the classic slot cars have been made and it’s called The Realistic Digital Slot Car Raceway. The difference here is that you have to do more than just drive around the track repeatidly. In this version you have to drive around the track and be concious of your fuel consumption, braking responsiveness as well as pit rules. When your car is full of fuel (shown on the large digital display), your car will drive slower because of the extra weight. Drive through the pits too fast then you might get a time penalty. [Read more…]

Google [GOOG] have created Google Building Maker which is a program that allows you to create 3D buildings for Google Earth.

By using this software you become part of a world wide team that is creating a virtual planet a single building at a time (although you don’t get paid, it’s all done with a passion for wanting to create something cool).

To get the software you need to load up the Google Building Maker page (link above) and click to download a 3D plugin the loads right up in your browser. After that you are presented with a map (see image above) where you can zoom right in to where you want to start designing. The problem here is that not all places have good enough imagery, so the other options you have is to find a place that does, or use one of the suggested locations that Google lists. [Read more…]

Car Cam Voyager is a system that sits under the visor of your car and records whats happening while your on the road. If you are unfortunate enough to have a bump or scrape you’ll now have evidence to present to the insurers to prove you weren’t at fault.

The device is powered by the lighter socket on your car and includes a screen with a 720 x 480 resolution so you can see what is being recorded. Up to 48 hours of driving footage is stored on the 32GB SD card. Footage is stored in 15 minute increments to help you quickly reach the section of video you are wanting to find. [Read more…]

When going anywhere where you’ll find a staircase next to escalators you will find that most people use the easy way where they don’t have to do much work. For this reason the Piano Stairs were trialled to see if adding a bit of fun in to a staircase could tempt more people in to using the steps.

The creators made each step play a different note on a piano so that when people walk up or down they go from the high end of the keyboard to the lower octaves or vice versa. The camera capturing people showed a 66% increase in people using the stairs once they were made a bit more fun. Check out the video below to see it in action. [Read more…]

ODROID is an Android OS based gaming device that has a 3.5 inch capacitive touchscreen. The Android OS running is version 1.5.

Powering the ODROID is an 833MHz CPU and 512MB of RAM is available. The developer version is available for pre-order that comes supplied with cables needed as well as a debugging board and batteries. It costs about $320 and will ship about a month before the standard models which will be priced at $250. [Read more…]

IREX are introducing the DR800SG e-reader to North America. The e-reader is similar to a Kindle and uses black and white e-Ink to display text on the screen. The screen is also touchscreen measuring 8.1 inches.

Controls for the IREX include a stylus and touchscreen combination as well as a bar on the right side that acts as a joystick so to speak. When reading news papers the paper is zoomed out to fill the screen in proportion and then the e-reader lets you zoom in to the parts you want to read. [Read more…]

Neolux have created a new name badge for conferences that uses eInk technology that makes it possible to change the badge, or make the text blink on it. It’s the same technology that is found in eBook readers and only requires power when the image is changed on the device.

The idea isn’t hugely beneficial from what I can see, but as it uses eInk crammed on to a small surface that also includes the chip to control it and a power source then it makes it quite a cool device. I’m not 100% sure if it’s practical and if the price is cheap enough to make it worth it. [Read more…]

The Battery Wizard is a gadget that can keep charge in your regular disposable batteries. It’s not all what it sounds like, but is quite an interesting gadget that will prolong the life of your batteries by up to 10 times.

The charger accepts alkaline batteries in AAA, AAA, C, D and 9 volt sizes and basically keeps batteries topped up so that you can use them a lot longer. 1 to 4 batteries can be charged allowing you to charge individual batteries if needed. [Read more…]

The Spacebook T-Shirt makes you understand the risks of being too open on facebook about your job. It is set in the Star-Wars universe, hence the Spacebook name, and shows a storm trooper saying he is going to bunk off work for the day and that Darth Vader is a tool.

Quite a cool t-shirt if you ask me although for some reason, they aren’t printing it. [Read more…]

It has been 10 years since the Sega Dreamcast first launched and to coincide with the anniversary, Sega have announced the launch of a new Sonic the Hedgehog named “Project Needlemouse” that is going back to it’s 2D roots. The new Sonic game, to be launched in 2010, will get spruced up with nice HD graphics.

The game is being built from the ground up and will contain a completely new storyline. A teaser site has also just been launched showing what looks to be similar graphics to the Green Hill Zone (the first level on the original Sonic) and can be found over at needlehouse. [Read more…]

Roads generally aren’t interesting. They are just tarmac, asphalt or some similar material tough enough to take the constant hammering of cars driving over them for several years. A company based in Idaho named Solar Roadways intend to let roads be more useful than before by creating them as sections of solar panels that are strong enough to take a car driving on them, yet useful enough to power about 500 homes per mile of roadway (4 lanes). The company have been given a $100,000 grant to come up with a successful prototype.

The road system is built of 12′ x 12′ panels costing $7000 each and they are designed to replace the normal covering on roads and car parks. As well as covering the road and providing 7.6KWh for each panel the roads could have LED’s embedded in to create warning signs and mark the roads rather than using paint. [Read more…]

This remote controlled car is capable of transforming in to a robot. By hitting a button on the remote control the hood and front wheels elevate about 10″ in the air and expose a canon that fires suction cup darts.

Five darts can be stored inside and they can be fired in rapid succession. When you have finished causing destruction you then hit another button and the robot colapses back in to a car that you can drive around like a normal RC car. [Read more…]