Awesome Tech

Industrial robot maker Yaskawa shows off the incredible precision of its MOTOMAN-MH24 by having it learn blade skills from a samurai sword master. The part where it slices the pea pod in half is nuts. Fortunately, it can’t chase us – yet.

SoundHound’s Hound is a voice-operated virtual assistant. It aims to edge Siri and other similar products by answering very specific questions very quickly. SoundHound’s demo is an impressive and hilarious battle of wits.

Keep snacks and drinks cool inside a frozen Han Solo. It’s about 19″x 11″x 11″ and can carry up to 18 cans of soda. It has two removable shelves, a handle on top and red LEDs in front. It cools down to 32°F and can also heat up to 149°F.

Designed for isolation and crisp sound reproduction, AudioFly’s earphones are perfect for musicians who want to hear their own mix while on stage. They come with numerous tip for an optimal fit. Full review on Technabob.

This iPad Air/Air 2 cover offers protection for your tablet’s screen, then converts into a flat Bluetooth speaker with impressively loud and crisp sound. Measures just 14mm thick. Comes in silver, gold or black. Full review on Technabob.

Mike Szczys of HackADay shows off a neat trick using a grid of SmartMatrix RGB LEDs, a Teensy 3.1 circuit board, and a classic Atari joystick. The end result – a fully playable version of the arcade classic Pac-Man. Full build instructions here.

A Bluetooth keyboard with infrared sensors that turn the entire area above the keys into an invisible touchpad when you hold down one of its mouse keys. The touchpad function works with PCs and Android devices.

Save 39% off the MSRP on this streamlined and easy to use smartwatch, which tracks your movements, sleep habits and offers text alerts from your iOS or Android smartphone. Includes three different band colors in the package.

Exclusive to Massdrop, the AKG K7XX is based on the K702 65th Anniversary Edition. They’re open-backed reference headphones with slightly emphasized bass, memory foam earpads and an affordable price. US only.

Included in the upcoming version of Android OS, Google Now on Tap lets you use Google Now without leaving the app you’re currently in. It will guess what information you need, or you can get a specific answer via voice command.

Designed for capturing moving 360-degree videos, this specialized GoPro rig uses 16 cameras to send HD videos to Google’s new Jump software, which will let you view its videos on VR headsets. Example video here.

SensorWake is an alarm clock that can wake you up within two minutes by diffusing scents. Each scent cartridge can be used 60 times and is 100% recyclable. Scents include espresso, mint and the almighty dollar.

Researchers already figured out how to make a robot that could run like a cheetah. Now scientists at MIT have made their own version that can run untethered and jump over obstacles up to 18-inches-tall. Yes, folks, we’re doomed.

Not to be confused with the portable gaming device, the new NVIDIA Shield is a media streaming device for HDTVs. It runs Android TV and is capable of 4K streaming. It can also stream games from a PC with a compatible NVIDIA GPU.

The Xperia Z3+ is just as waterproof as its predecessors but now has a capless USB port. It has a 5.2″ 1080p IPS display,  64-bit Snapdragon 810 CPU, 3GB RAM, 20.7 MP rear camera and 5MP wide angle front camera.

To promote its 4K Action Cam, Sony created this OK Go-worthy video, in which they drove the cameras on a robotic platform surrounded by thousands of moving sticky notes which created a colorful landscape to travel through.

Lenovo’s Smart Cast is a proof-of-concept smartphone that has a built-in laser projector. When used with the phone’s infrared sensor, the projection becomes interactive, similar to a laser keyboard.

Each of Yeair’s four rotors is powered by a 600W motor and a 1kW two-stroke engine. Yep, gas engines. This hybrid configuration allows it to fly at up to 62mph, carry loads up to 11lb. and fly for up to 1 hour. Not sure the FAA will like this.

Class up your keyboard with these awesome aluminum keycaps from HolyOOPS. They fit any Cherry MX keyboard, and come in a variety of cool designs. Our personal fave is the tiny Nintendo controller on a single key. More here.

Gizmodo writer Attila Nagy takes us behind the scenes of a 3.7 mile-long conveyor system that shuttles books to reading rooms around the National Széchényi Library in Budapest, Hungary. Here’s a video of a similar system in action.

From the makers of the B car quadcopter comes a flying all-terrain toy. The B-Unstoppable has separate coreless DC motors for its rotors and its caterpillar tracks. It comes with a 2.4Ghz transmitter and lasts around 9-18min per charge.

Create a complete arcade with any HDTV with one of MaxCade’s custom-built pedestals. They play thousands of classic arcade and home console games, have two-player arcade controls, and built in sound system with subwoofer.

A screen protector that adds a hidden back button to the iPhone 6/6 Plus. The lower left corner of the Halo Back is touch-sensitive and is connected to the upper left portion of the screen, where the iOS back button is typically placed.