| The year is 2010. We are IN the future. There are no | | | | through your web browser. QBs weigh 35 pounds and |
| flying cars or Jetsons-style rocket packs. What | | | | run $15k currently. You can order them on Anybot's |
| developers in the tech industry are making includes | | | | website. |
| technology that is more practical than fanciful. Our | | | | Battle. |
| nation has made the jump to Hi Def TV broadcasts. | | | | Robotics maker Robotex has a different kind of robot. |
| Home phones are now smartphones that go | | | | This one doesn't do video conferencing and has no |
| wherever we do. Video game launches are just about | | | | place on the jobsite. That is, unless your job site is a |
| as important as elections. However you look at it, we | | | | combat zone like the Iraqi desert. |
| are more advanced than ever and still we cast our | | | | At first glance, these devices appear to be |
| eyes on new horizons. | | | | gun-mounted, remote controlled cars. And they are, but |
| Citizens of the future, while we aren't all vacationing on | | | | they are more than that. Robotex teamed up with |
| the moon, many of the technological marvels we have | | | | Military Police Systems founder Jerry Baber to create |
| seen created for the big screen are being developed, | | | | these war machines. They are designed to take |
| as you read this, in labs and factories all over the | | | | humans out of combat situations in military conflicts. |
| world. Some of these come in revolutionary ways to | | | | Baber's AA-12 shotgun feels like a natural fit for these |
| entertain. Some will change business. Some are | | | | gun-wielding bots. |
| medical breakthroughs. Others will change the way | | | | Aside from having dual mounted AA-12's, amazing turn |
| wars are waged. Starting to sound more like the | | | | response, and jamming enemy cellphones and radio |
| future now? It should. | | | | signals as it moves in for the kill(s), Robotex's combat |
| Watch. | | | | robots cost only $30-50 thousand. That may seem like |
| Does it drive you crazy how in the movies they | | | | a lot, until you compare it to Foster-Miller's Talon, the |
| always have those clear monitors that display a | | | | next closest thing, at roughly six times the cost. To top |
| semi-transparent image across them, but we can't buy | | | | it all off, they received a nod from the world's most |
| them at our favorite electronics retailer yet? If it does, | | | | notorious contract killers, Blackwater, who will display |
| then this is for you. | | | | Robotex models on their showroom floor. |
| AMOLED. If you've never heard of it, it is technology | | | | Heal. |
| behind Samsung's next big offering. AMOLED stands | | | | BeBionic is offering a better solution for hand |
| for Active-Matrix OLED. OLED is already used in the | | | | replacement candidates. The BeBionic hand is |
| displays of many of the new smartphones. OLED | | | | myo-electric. This means that the hand is controlled by |
| display screens are thinner and require no backlight. In | | | | muscle movement in the user's arm. This will be the |
| an Active-Matrix LED, pixels are deposited on a thin | | | | first artificial hand to offer full rotation, as well as the |
| film transistor and react as electricity, guided by a | | | | capacity to flex or extend. BeBionic's hand also has |
| series of switches, reaches each pixel. Translation: | | | | the option for wireless control from a computer, |
| Ultra flat, low-energy TV screens that you can see | | | | instead of needing a USB cable to link to the computer. |
| through. | | | | This bionic hand will be made available on June 19th, |
| Work. | | | | complete lifelike "skin" in different skintones and all. |
| It's not something from the movie Wall-E. The QB is a | | | | Yes, this is the future. Technology has taken us this far |
| telepresence robot, produced by Anybot, that can act | | | | already, but it is constantly improving. So sit back, make |
| as a proxy for you if you can't make it to that | | | | sure your safety-belt is fastened, and enjoy the ride. |
| important meeting. It has two cameras and three | | | | We hope you have enjoyed our future expose'. |
| microphones for video conferencing and is controlled | | | | |