Burf aka Simon Burfield is an iOS programmer and Lego experimenter who tries to take building blocks to the next level. Interestingly, if this wild rideable Lego wheelchair is any indication, he’s left the next level and is now firmly in the distant future.

Made with 12 Lego NXT motors and 12 multi-directional wheels, this carefully designed prototype can carry around a 198 pound person and is controlled via a small joystick. It can move in multiple directions and even roll side to side to “strafe” through a room.

Obviously this is a one-off DIY project, but it’s amazing how far a little ingenuity, a whole lot of Lego, and an underdeveloped sense of the dangers associated with sitting on a bunch of little plastic blocks can get you.

via Burf.org

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

It’s been a few months since Orbotix’s pearlescent smart ball finally started making its way out into the real world, and the team behind it has just announced that another major retailer will be carrying their slightly-pointless gadget.

Move over, Brookstone — the Sphero is now available in Apple’s online store and in a handful of their carefully-crafted altars of consumerism.

The Sphero, if you’ve managed to miss our previous coverage, is a small robotic ball that you can control from your smartphone or tablet. In addition to being able to take the thing for aimless drives around the house, users can fire up (or even develop) apps for the Sphero that turn it into a mobile gaming accessory rather than just a $129 toy.

And really, I imagine that’s where most of the fun will come from down the line. Orbotix is currently criss-crossing the country to drum up developer support for the Sphero, so with any luck the smartphone-controlled-robotic-ball-that-could will only get better with time.

Still, its usefulness is downright questionable, but the pint-sized robo-sphere has managed to please both preschoolers and presidents alike. That’s got to count for something, right?

Article courtesy of TechCrunch