The folks at the Technical University of Delft have already done their part for the robot cause by building a dragonfly-type bot, dubbed the DelFly Micro, with a wingspan of just four inches, but they've now gone one step further and strapped a tiny camera onto it. What's more, they've also developed some image recognition software that promises to let the bot recognize objects, which could potentially let it locate individuals in a disaster area, or sneak up behind you when you least suspect it. Of course, the researchers aren't satisifed with things just yet, and they're promising to make an even smaller DelFly Nano bot that'd have a two-inch wingspan and weigh just a single gram. Until then, you can check out the current model in action in the video after the break.

[Via Protein Feed]

We've been keeping an eye on Aldebaran's NAO robot since before it even took its first steps, and it now looks like the little guy is finally set to try to make it on its own in the wild world of the commercial market. That word comes courtesy of an exhaustive white paper posted by Aldebaran on the arXiv website, which also includes the helpful little detail that the bot will cost interested laboratories about €10,000 (or roughly $15,600). Unfortunately, there's no indication as to exactly when the bot will be available, but those in the market for one can at least tide themselves a bit over by pouring over the details available in the PDF at the link below.

[Via Slashdot]

Atom-based desktops still aren't nearly as plentiful as Atom-based netbooks, but that equation looks to be slowly changing, with Korea's Ripple only the latest to join the fray with its new "Mini Chocolate" desktop. This one packs the usual 1.6GHz Atom processor into its Mini-ITX form factor, along with support for up to 2GB of RAM, four USB ports, two SATA sockets, and a single IDE socket, plus room for a slot-loading optical drive, which you'll have to supply yourself (along with most of the other components). As you can see above, you can also get it in your choice of three colors, with each setting you back 209,000 Korean won, or just about $200.

Aigo hasn't been keeping many secrets about its Atom-based MID, but it has been slightly less than forthcoming with any official word of a price or release date. The company now looks to have finally gotten its act together, however, with it announcing that the handheld, now officially dubbed the MID P8860, will be going on sale in Hong Kong on August 8th for $5,228 HKD (or about $670 -- a full $100 less than the last price we heard). That'll get you an 800MHz Atom Z500 processor, along with 512MB of RAM, a 4GB SSD, built-in WiFi, Bluetooth and, perhaps most notably, GPS. We even hear you can run XP on it.

[Thanks, Joe]

They may not conduct sound through your bones, but JVC's new HP-FXC50 earphones at least promise to pump sound deeper into your ears than your usual earbuds. That's apparently done simply by using a longer and thinner sound driver than usual (measuring 5.8mm in diameter), which can be "installed in the sound channel" of your ear. According to JVC, that not only cuts down on sound leakage, but makes the earphones more comfortable to wear as well (assuming you can get them back out). If that's got you sold on 'em, or at least hasn't scared you off, you can look forward to them being available in Japan in early August for just ¥4,000 (or about $38).

It looks like attempts to sneak across the border into Britain could soon become a battle of humans versus the machines, as the country's border guards have now recruited some robots normally used in warzones to help root out folks trying to smuggle themselves into the country. Developed by BAE Systems, the so-called "Hero" bots are equipped with searchlights and high-resolution video cameras that let it search the inside and undersides of vehicles, and they could potentially be outfitted with heartbeat detectors as well, or even sensors to detect chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear materials being smuggled into the country. While it's apparently only been tested in one location so far, the Border Agency seems to be all but sold on the bot, and it's now looking at rolling 'em out to other locations in the country. No word if they have any plans to employ BAE's spider bots, though.

[Via Danger Room, image courtesy of BAE Systems]

There may not have been any word of a new PSP out of E3 as some had suspected, but it looks Sony may have a bit of a late surprise for us, at least if these tantalizing pics from PSPChina are to be believed. Apparently, this new PSP-3000 model remains mostly unchanged from the current PSP-2000, with the notable addition of a built-in microphone and a somewhat less notable PlayStation button in place of the usual Home button. As you can see in the picture after the break, the signature steel ring on the back of the PSP also appears to have been trimmed a bit (there's a pic of the inside of the case as well, for the curious). Not exactly the DS Lite sort of upgrade that'd make everyone ditch their old PSPs to be sure but, as we've seen with the PSP-2000, it would be about par for the course for Sony.

[Via Joystiq, Khattab]

As if a keyboard split down the middle wasn't enough, Kinesis has now rolled out a pair of new accessories that promise to make its Freestyle keyboards, including the Solo (pictured above), even more ergonomic -- or, if you desire, even less so. Those include the Freestyle V3 accessory, which clips onto the base of the keyboard and gives you three different slope settings, and the Freestyle Ascent Multi-tent, which'll let you independently set each keying module in ten degree increments all the way up to 90 degrees, and lock 'em in at the desired distance apart from one another. If that sounds like the solution your wrists have been looking for, you can apparently grab both of 'em now, with the V3 running $25 and the Ascent setting you back a hefty $200 -- the Solo keyboard itself demands an even $100.

[Via BIOS]

While some may say that netbooks have already jumped the shark, others in the industry are now expressing some real concern about the low-cost, low-power laptops and, as the New York Times reports, they're warning that they could cut into PC makers' already thin profit margins. What's more, that word doesn't only come from the expected doomsayer analysts, but from some top tier PC makers as well. That includes Fujitsu, who's senior director of mobile product management, Paul Moore, says, "We're sitting on the sidelines not because we're lazy. We're sitting on the sidelines because even if this category takes off, and we get our piece of the pie, it doesn't add up." That's a sentiment echoed by Sony, who's Stan Glasgow says simply that, "we are not looking at competing with Asus," although he adds that Sony is "investigating" what consumers want in a second PC. Even Dell, which is set to dip its toes into the netbook waters, seems a bit hesitant, with vice president of marketing Michael Tatelman saying he thinks the devices have "limited consumer appeal," and that they're good for a "30- to 90-minute experience," but not for more intensive tasks. Of course, that's all before any of them heard of the new world's cheapest laptop, so there's no telling how things may shake out now.

[Thanks, Penny]

Your HD Radio options are hardly as limited as they once were, but if you're still shopping around for one, you may want to take a gander at Coby's latest offerings, which promise the usual better-than-FM sound for a decent enough price. On the lower end, $100 will get you the HDR-650 component radio, which includes some standard RCA connectors to let you hook it up to your existing home audio system, as well as a headphone jack if you want to use it on its own. The $150 HDR-700, on the other hand, is a fully standalone unit, and includes an integrated rechargeable battery to let you take it outdoors, an SD card slot, and a line-in jack to accommodate the portable audio device of your choice. Look for the pair of 'em to hit stores sometime in August.