First you must assemble of course, but once you’ve jacked in the included motors and electronics you’re ready to rumble. Not only can you control your dino’s movements via remote, he (or she) roars and reacts to sound.

There are three play modes to choose from – demo, free and R/C mode. You will require a mix of AA and AAA batteries for the whole thingamajic to work with each other, where you can choose from the T-rex or stegosaurus models for $39.99 a pop.

Some people have this astounding ability to take a bowling ball and actually knock down all of the pins.  For those of us that don’t have that ability, there’s finally the RC900.  It’ll make sure those pesky bowling pins finally get knocked down where they belong.  This bowling ball is controlled by a remote and is easily able to dodge all kings of obstacles, like the gutter for example.

Alright, so it’s actually marketed towards kids and those with physical limitations.  Lack of hand-eye coordination is a physical limitation, right?  The bowling ball is able to steer by adjusting the position of the weight screwed onto a threaded shaft within the ball.  The sad news is, it’s a pretty obvious remote control, so there’s no way to fake out your friends on this one.  Plus it’ll cost you $1500 from 900 Global.

Source: Neatorama

This groundbreaking R/C mash up combines the thrill of helicopter flight with the excitement of driving a SWAT truck. Wow! It might look like a stealthy brute of a vehicle – and it is – but this macho truck features a cavernous cargo bay that opens up, upon your command, to reveal a fully-functioning micro helicopter sitting on an auto-elevating launchpad. Incredible! It’s like Thunderbirds meets Airwolf with a highly Hasselhoffian touch of 80s folly thrown in for good measure. Both precision-engineered machines are controlled via a single transmitter with smart shoulder buttons that allow you to switch seamlessly between truck and chopper.

It will take some fair bit of hand-eye co-ordination to keep on alternating between the two as you plan an imaginary assault on the enemy base. One thing though – what happens when the helicopter is in mid-air and you switch over to the truck? Will it just hover there until the subsequent instruction? Guess you’ll need to fork out £59.95 to find out!

Source: Hobby Media

The G Bound Amphibian R/C car can go just about anywhere, even over water.

Some radio controlled toys are too cool for words. This can be true with the G-Bound, which not only does crazy stunts on land, but thanks to it’s balloon type tires, can drive on water as well.

Made by Toy giant Bandai, the GBound has a waterproof body and huge inflatable tires which not only travels on any surface, but can flip over and drive along upside down.

The GBound's independently controlled wheels make for crazy maneuverability.

It’s rechargeable battery pack and multi wheel remote control allows for complete individual control of each wheel for spinning around, backwards and forwards travel, flips, and even driving on water in a very messiah like fashion.

Unveiled at the Tokyo Toy Show, the GBound R/C card is scheduled to be released anytime now for about $140.

Being Bandai, one has to wonder if this toy will make it into a new incarnation of Power Rangers or even Ben 10 soon. It sure looks like it could fit right in.

Hat Tip – Geek Alerts
http://www.geekalerts.com/g-bound-amphibian-rc-car/

Yes, that is what this is, not some new version of BlackBerry or some prototype version of the Palm Pre. This is a wireless keyboard that works via wireless dongle, and that “screen” that you see is a touchpad.

According to the official sales site, it can be used for many applications in presentation including: changing slides, selecting screen options, writing on a projected image, as well as emphasize words and objects with dynamically inserted lines.

In addition to its ability to help presentations, it can be used on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo Wii. It is also good for those for those who love to watch internet TV on their PC.

In addition to being a HTPC remote control, it is an IPTV remote control, or CarPC remote control. I suppose this makes it a double 3-in-1, as it is a keyboard, mouse, and touchpad.

If you want to get this one, feel free to go to this particular website and get it for $40 in black and white.

Source

CRISTAL, or Control of Remotely Interfaced Systems using Touch-based Actions in Living spaces, is a concept device that allows the user to control all the devices in their living room from one place. As you can see in the picture, the CRISTAL can connect with an overhead camera, giving you a bird’s eye view of your living room.

From there, the user just touches the image of the device to take control of it. For example, lights can be dimmed or brightened with a sliding gesture. Roomba vacuum cleaners can be controlled by simply drawing a path on the floor. See more of what it can do with this video after the jump.

What really makes it cool is that it gives the opportunity for a user to pick a movie from a digital storage space, and then drag it to the TV to watch. This also works with photos, and they can be dragged and dropped to digital picture frames.

The CRISTAL is intended to replace TV remote controls, but the designers say it will probably take five to ten years before this technology will be in the home of the typical consumer. And when I say typical, I mean rich, as it would probably cost ten to fifteen thousand dollars.

Source

The Logitech Harmony 900 remote’s redesigned RF system turns you into a mini living room deity, capable of controlling an entire cabinet’s worth of devices and appliances as long as they remains within a 100 foot radius. This remote also allows you to wield such powers without getting bogged down by hassles and problems that are normally associated with RF setups. All you need to do is place the IR blaster that comes with each purchase alongside one or two of the mini blasters on the cabinet shelves near the devices that you want to gain control and you’re good to go. The color touchscreen devices allows you to choose your device of choice with but a gentle touch of the finger, and when the setup process is complete, you’re able to control everything programmed inside even with the cabinet doors closed.

Expect the Logitech Harmony 900 remote to arrive in the US and Europe later next month for $399.99 a pop, where it will be accompanied by a recharging cradle, rechargeable battery, power supply, IR blaster and two mini blasters. Logitech has plans to roll out more blasters and mini blasters online in selected regions.

Press Release

This concept remote control device, known as the “Remotion” is designed by Ryan Sorrell, and has some Motion Control like the Wiimote or the Loop.

As you can see, buttons are absent from this device as the user moves it to his or her liking. Adjusting the volume is as simple as shaking it up or down. In order to change stations, you move it left or right with a flick of the wrist.

Well, this looks like a good way for couch potatoes to lose from extra fat from their wrist, but I can’t help but want more commands for my remote.

For example, could I use it to operate my DVR? Maybe if I held it up a certain way and turned it left, that could be rewind, and turning it to the right could be fast-forward.

The possibilities are…well, quite limited. Especially when most houses have all sorts of devices hooked to their television, and the universal remote market is growing.

Source

This is the remote control dune buggy that can detect buried metallic objects when driven over suitable terrain, including backyards, dirt lots, low grass, or flat sand. The buggy can detect buried iron-based metals down to 4″ and when it does, it flashes a red LED and begins beeping to alert you of potential treasure. The remote controls forward, backward, left, and right movement from up to 25′ away. Metal detecting sensitivity can be modified to suit the terrain with a simple dial on the buggy. Includes three faux gold doubloons (metal) to bury and two plastic digging tools. Four AA batteries (not included) for the remote provide up to four hours of operation; buggy requires one 9-volt battery (not included).

The product description reads “Ages 8 and up”, and chances are the adults might be spending more time on this than their little one since times are pretty hard, so who knows, you might actually discover some hidden treasure right smack in the middle of your backyard, eh? The Metal Detecting Dune Buggy is going for $49.95, so you might need to discover a fair number of lost coins before recouping your initial investment costs.

When you picture someone out and about with a metal detector, I imagine you’re probably picturing someone older and retired.  Well for those that are still pretty young, but would like to search for treasures of their own, there’s this car.  This is the way you search for metal.  None of carrying around a heavy metal detector, no, with this you can have fun and let it scout out ahead of you.

When this little car detects metal it will start flashing a red light and begin beeping.  The car itself can move forward, backward, left and right.  It has a range of 25′ so you could let it scout out a fairly large area without having to move around.  It also has adjustable sensitivity for different types of terrain.  Included with the car are two plastic digging tools along with 3 faux gold doubloons that are made out of metal.  You can bury those doubloons to practice searching for metal.  The car runs on 4 AA batteries and a 9V battery.  It will run for up to 4 hours before it dies.  You can purchase it for $49.95 from Hammacher and Schlemmer.

Source: GreenHead

I believe that the Power Glove was one of the first attempts at motion control for video games, but motion control has made some leaps and bounds quite recently. A company known as AthroTronix has recently made some interesting motion control advancements with the Acceleglove.

The Acceleglove isn’t designed for video game entertainment, but it is more for robotics. You can watch the YouTube video after the jump if you want to see a “hands-on” demonstration.

As you might have seen, that freaky looking robot arm moved as the user flexed his fingers. It didn’t take a lot of flexing to make it move in its preprogrammed direction either.

The Acceleglove works out-of-the-box, and comes with open source SDK so the user will be able to connect it to anything that he or she wants. Perhaps Nintendo needs to adopt the Acceleglove to make Power Glove 2.0. Maybe they should use it as a control for R.O.B., the Robot Operating Buddy from the NES Deluxe Set.

Source

Not only is this SWAT truck feature bells and whistles of sirens, but the roof opens up to reveal a helicopter inside. There is a launch platform that rises, and the chopper takes to the air!

One can only assume that the helicopter is as remote controlled as the truck itself. However, if you notice the YouTube clip after the jump, there doesn’t appear to be any footage of the helicopter landing back in the SWAT truck. You should definitely watch the clip anyway, for the music alone. You got to love those 80s action flick music.

Yeah, I wouldn’t mind having this, back when I was in grade school. Have you ever noticed all the cool toys that they have out now that you are an adult? Ah, you’re only young once, and when you’re there, you better appreciate all the toys you have then, because they just get cooler when you grow up.

According to my source, the truck/helicopter combo will cost about $100, and should be available in the Fall.

Source

My wife constantly complains that whenever we have a BBQ party, she never gets to see me because I’m always chained to the grill. But how else am I going to make sure the meat is grilled to perfection? Even with a meat thermometer, you leave a BBQ grill for too long you end up with charred beef … as in, to a cinder. The Grill Art Talking Remote Thermometer may mean freedom for those of us struggling with flames, wind, and smoke.

Like any other meat thermometer, you stick a probe in the meat, and set the thermometer to the required cooking temperature. Then when it goes off, the food is done. This is especially nice when you’re factoring in “carryover cooking” to get your meat to the proper temperature. But the advantage to Grill Alert Remote Thermometer is that it’s completely wireless – which lets cooks get up to 100 yards away from the grill (that’s some backyard). So, you can essentially set it and forget it. Then, when the meat reaches the temperature threshold, the Grill Alert alerts you by saying “almost done,” or “Done!” Then, you can excuse yourself from game and get your meat. There’s even a warning indicator should the temperature spike, indicating a flame up.

Available from Brookstone for about $70.

Hat Tip – Oh Gizmo!

There have already been several different Mario Kart toys that you can play with when away from the game.  Finally Halo is getting a little love now too.  Thanks to the Big Bad Toy Store, you can now own a remote control Halo themed toy.  Giving you even less time during the day that you’re not playing with something that is related to your Halo addiction.

If you need a few minutes outside, there’s no reason to neglect your love of Halo.  Just grab one of these and you can continue while you’re outside.  There are three different toys up for sale right now.  There is the R/C Mongoose with Master Chief, the Warthog with 2 figures and finally the IR Control Flying Hornet.  That last one does actually fly and all of the preorders of that one are already sold out.  The Hornet would have cost you $38.99, the Warthog $23.99 and the Mongoose for $23.99 at Big Bad Toy Store.  The other two still can be preordered if you hurry.  They will be officially out as of August of this year.

Source: OhGizmo

Tiny R/C vehicles… once the stuff of science fiction, are now trumping the slot car as the mini racing vehicle of choice. Problem is, with no well defined track and fuzz and cookie crumbs all over your carpet, serious racing is pretty much impossible. Now the InfiniTrax Micro R/C Racetrack gives you a smooth re-configurable racing surface perfect for small wheeled vehicles of all varieties. With 19 track sections and a checkered finish line, you can make dozens of different racing challenges.

Unfortunately, the $44.99 InfiniTrax Micro R/C Racetrack will not be equipped with any vehicles as you’ll need to come up with your very own, so expect to drop a fair amount of dollars if you want an exciting time.

Press Release

When I was a kid, TV remotes essentially had a handful of buttons for on, off, volume control, and the channel selector. That was it. But as TVs became more sophisticated and programming choices expanded beyond 3 networks and a gaggle of local channels, the remote control became larger and more complicated. Eventually, it became not only programmable, but some are quite expensive (on the order of up to $1,000 or more). The problem is that programmable all in one remotes that can handle your TV, Cable box, even Internet access have buttons that just never get used. Now researchers are seeking to change with GestureTek, a camera mounted on the TV which translates your hand movements into TV remote control functions.

Today’s TVs are more like computers than what our fathers would call “the boob tube,” and as such, having an interface that works like a mouse is more practical. GestureTek turns your hand into a mouse interface and interprets hand movements like mouse controls. It’s like a scene out of Minority Report. Users will simply maneuver the on screen cursor to the menu item, click it with a flick and select it. Or move the channel up or down with the channel overlay. And built in programming language prevents the TV from reading conflicting hand gestures and thereby eliminates the possibility of siblings fighting over the TV.

Cool video here.

No word on when gesture based remotes will be incorporated into HDTV designs, but Hitachi is quite interested in the gesture based remote-less TV option and approached the company that makes GestureTek with the idea of a TV camera that reads depth and hand gestures to control it. If they can keep the price down (depth cameras, which are the heart of the system cost about 3 times more than webcams) on incorporating GestureTek, it could be sooner, rather than later.

Hat Tip – Crave

Now this is how you get your kids to go outside and play.  Buy them a toy that’s highly similar to their favorite video game.  Granted this method isn’t advised for kids that play the more violent games.  Somehow I see telling them to go outside and pretend they’re playing Grand Theft Auto in the outdoors causing some issues.  However, for those that enjoy Mario Kart, you can pick up these R/C toys that would be fun to race around the house or outside on some pavement.

These come in several different forms and would be great to store in your desk for races while on your lunch break at work.  Not only does the set include a tiny remote control and a car, but it also has tiny 2” accessories to go with them.  Such as the classic banana peel and it appears that it comes with a spare set of wheels.  Despite that I love the idea of having a full set of these around, I’m not exactly thrilled at how much they cost individually.  They are being sold for $34.99 a piece through Amazon.

Source: GadgetGrid

In other words, you never know what two devices the electronic world is going to blend together. Bless Automatica has done it with the Remote Control car with iPod speakers.

So what can you do with this? Well, start by putting the speakers in the back, and take your pimped-out remote control car for a ride with some serious ghetto-blasting speaker action. Apparently, it can somehow hold these speakers on the back of the car, and the car will not tip over.

Yeah, don’t ask me how that is possible. By the way, the remote control car can be used as a CD holder or a tray.

If you are interested in this item, it can be purchased at Chip Chick for €275.00. If you haven’t heard of Chip Chick, it has “Tech and Gadgets from a Girl’s Perspective”, but I can’t help but think that remote control cars are more of a “boy’s toy”. Clearly, I need to join the mores of the new millennium.

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