Tag Archives: Caterpillar

Caterpillar CAT B15 smartphone offers a taste of rugged Jelly Bean

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Caterpillar CAT B15 smartphone offers a taste of rugged Jelly Bean

We've seen our fair share of rugged smartphones, but there's a certain amount of attention due when a heavy equipment builder like Caterpillar gets involved. Its newest smartphone, the CAT B15, undoubtedly has the survivability you'd expect from a company that makes bulldozers: the aluminum-and-rubber shell can survive 5.9-foot drops on to hard concrete, stay immersed in 3.3 feet of water for half an hour and keep working in temperatures between -4F to 122F. Just don't expect top-flight performance elsewhere. While we're big fans of the CAT B15 shipping with Jelly Bean, its 4-inch WVGA screen, dual-core 1GHz Cortex-A9 chip, 512MB of RAM and 5-megapixel camera won't have many of us giving up our faster, more fragile devices. The phone's £299 and €329 European prices (about $437) could still lead to the more accident-prone among us picking up a CAT B15 when it ships in March.

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Source: T3

The Ethiopian Caterpillar – Robot Bug of the 19th Century

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I’m always mesmerized by the intricate craftsmanship found in antique automatons. I think it’s something about the fact that people could build robotics without any electrical or electronic components that is truly amazing. One of the more incredible automatons to pop onto my radar screen of late is this mechanical caterpillar that dates back to 1820.

ethiopian caterpillar

The Vers de Sois caterpillar was apparently created by Swiss clockmaker Henri Maillardet nearly 200 years ago. This detailed, jewel-encrusted caterpillar can actually crawl across a flat surface when wound up. Check it out in action:

Sure, it’s a bit noisy, but still impressive, no? Well, all of this incredible miniature automation doesn’t come cheap though. The Vers de Sois caterpillar recently sold at auction for over $415,000(USD). I think I’ll stick with my HexBugs for now.

[via Worldtempus via Neatorama via Richard Kadrey via Gizmodo]

Insert Coin: Troller 1D, the transforming robot that won’t ruin your garden

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In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

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A crawling robot that, at the touch of a button, curls up into a wheel and rolls away sounds a bit Robots in Disguise, doesn't it? Still, that's what roboticist Toby Baumgartner needs your cold, hard cash to build. Troller 1D is the first prototype of the modular automaton that uses a series of servos to take it anywhere it needs to go -- but it's not ready yet. The project needs $2,600 to get better servos and add some WiFi and Accelerometer features that'll get the 'bot rolling without any assistance. Once perfected, you'll be able to buy a kit with everything you need to build your own and terrify the local wildlife / your children.

Continue reading Insert Coin: Troller 1D, the transforming robot that won't ruin your garden

Insert Coin: Troller 1D, the transforming robot that won't ruin your garden originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 May 2012 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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