LG’s Advanced Intelligent Consumer and Industrial Robots Chat, Clean and Mow the Lawn

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LAS VEGAS, Jan. 4, 2017 — This week at CES® 2017 in Las Vegas, LG Electronics (LG) will showcase a groundbreaking new lineup of intelligent robots, as part of the company’s innovations in artificial intelligence and developments in the IoT ecosystem. The lineup includes a home robot that doubles as a smart home gateway and intelligent home notification center, enhancing convenience in users’ day-to-day lives. LG is also taking the power of IoT and smart technology outside of the home with advanced robots designed for use in airports and other public spaces.

Hub Robot: Creating a Smarter Home

LG’s eye-catching Hub Robot takes the concept of the smart home to the next level. By connecting to other smart appliances in the home, the Hub Robot uses Amazon Alexa’s voice recognition technology to complete household tasks such as turning on the air conditioner or changing a dryer cycle with simple verbal commands. The Hub Robot is equipped with an interactive display that can showcase a wide variety of information such as images of contents inside of the refrigerator and recipes, complete with step-by-step audio instructions. Additionally, the Hub Robot offers everyday consumer conveniences such as the ability to play music, set alarms, create reminder memos and provide weather and traffic updates.

With its friendly, anthropomorphic design, LG’s Hub Robot can interact with the entire family in a variety of different ways. It can move and swivel in place, as well as express a wide range of emotions by displaying a face on its display. The Hub Robot is designed to respond to consumers using body language, such as nodding its head when answering simple questions, and is always aware of activities inside the home, such as when family members leave, come home and go to bed. And because the Hub Robot is able to distinguish different family members’ faces with its camera, it can be programmed with a different greeting for each family member.

The Hub Robot works best when placed in common areas of the house where family members tend to gather, such as the kitchen or the living room. To complement the Hub Robot, LG will also introduce mini robots that can be placed in other rooms in the house. Also equipped with a sleek visual display, these mini robots are extensions of the Hub Robot and can perform many of the same functions.

Airport Guide Robot: A Traveler’s Best Friend

LG’s expansion of its intelligent services ecosystem reaches far beyond just the home. The Airport Guide Robot – soon to be seen in Seoul’s Incheon International Airport – is an intelligent information assistant for travelers, answering questions in four languages: English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. With a simple scan of a passenger’s ticket, the robot can provide detailed information about a flight’s boarding time and gate location, and even the weather of a traveler’s destination city. The airport robot offers directions to destinations inside the airport, along with estimated distances and walking times, and can even escort lost or late travelers to their gates, or any other airport location.

Airport Cleaning Robot: Offering an Industrial-Size Clean

As one of the industry’s early innovators of robotic vacuum cleaners, LG’s lineup would not be complete without an industrial-sized robot vacuum. LG’s Airport Cleaning Robot is a super-sized robot vacuum equipped with a large-capacity dust canister as well as multiple brushes and motors. Capable of cleaning everything from tiles to carpet floors, this robot is equipped with the latest in smart sensors and multiple cameras to ensure a safe, effective and powerful performance in even the most crowded airports. Multiple sensors using light detection and ranging (LIDAR) as well as sensitive bumpers which detect obstacles are employed throughout. Thanks to the use of simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technology, the robot is always aware of its location.

Lawn Mowing Robot: For an Impeccably-Cut Yard

LG’s Lawn Mowing Robot rounds out the company’s lineup of advanced robots at CES 2017. Ideal for many types of yards, this robot benefits from years of development of the HOM-BOT vacuum cleaner to trim grass accurately, reliably and most of all, safely. Equipped with many of the advanced sensors and bumpers found in the airport robot, the Lawn Mowing Robot recognizes its own location at every moment, as well as the location of every obstacle in sight, such as trees or hedges. Designed to maximize cutting performance, this robot employs a fast-moving blade that leaves lawns looking impeccable. In addition to its features, the side wire simplifies the ordinarily-complicated installation process without the need to calculate offsets, making it easily accessible and user-friendly.

“LG has been involved in smart technology and robotics for many years with the HOM-BOT robot vacuum cleaner being our most visible consumer effort,” said Song Dae-hyun, president of LG Electronics and Home Appliance & Air Solutions Company. “Here at CES, we’re demonstrating how we’re taking the knowledge gleaned from years of research and applying that to various situations inside and outside the home.”

LG’s new robot collection will be on display at LG’s CES booth (Central Hall #11100) in the Las Vegas Convention Center from Jan. 5-8.

PIX3L PLOTT3R

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PIX3L PLOTT3R is a series of printing robots made with LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3s by Sanjay and Arvind Seshan. Different versions provide different features. Some feature a paper feeder, some feature LEGO markers and some feature multiple EV3s working together (Holiday Card Plott3r). Some are programmed in Python and others in EV3-G. Each version also features a different print mechanism.

The original PIX3L PLOTT3Rs from 2016 used parts not available in either MINDSTORMS sets (313131 and 45544), making it hard for others to complete the same project. SCRIB3 is the newest member of the PIX3L PLOTT3R family of robots. It is built with parts available in a single 31313 set. An image processing step is completed in Python to create an image compatible with the EV3. However, the robot uses standard EV3-G code to print.

You can access the project files at www.beyondtheinstructions.com/projects.

Amazon Alexa kann jetzt auf Deutsch mit den Roboter-Staubsaugern Neato Botvac™ Connected interagieren

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Newark, CA / München, 4. Januar 2017 – Auf der Hightech-Messe CES in Las Vegas hat Neato Robotics, einer der weltweit innovativsten Hersteller von smarten Haushaltsrobotern, bekanntgegeben, dass der mehrfach ausgezeichnete Neato Botvac™ Connected als erster Roboterstaubsauger von Neato jetzt auch mit der digitalen Sprachassistentin Alexa von Amazon gesteuert werden kann – und zwar ab sofort auch auf Deutsch. Die Anweisungen werden über die Lautsprecher Echo und Echo Dot ausgegeben.
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Das Smart Home wird für Konsumenten ein immer relevanteres Thema, denn sie erkennen die Vorzüge intelligent vernetzter Geräte, mit denen sie ihr Zuhause verwalten können. Alexa zum Beispiel hilft dabei, auf Zuruf das Licht auszuschalten oder eine Pizza zu bestellen. Jetzt kann Alexa auch den Neato Botvac Connected per Sprachsteuerung dirigieren. Dafür braucht es nur einen Sprachbefehl wie „Alexa, sag Neato bitte, dass er mit dem Staubsaugen beginnen soll“ – und schon erledigt.
Die Anwendungsmöglichkeiten sind unerschöpflich. Wenn der Neato Botvac Connected bereits am Saugen ist und das Telefon klingelt, reicht die Ansage „Alexa, bitte sag Neato, dass er eine Pause machen soll“ – nach dem Telefonat einfach wieder den Befehl zum Weitermachen geben. Das Zusammenspiel von Neato und Alexa macht es möglich, andere Dinge zu tun und gleichzeitig den Botvac Connected via Sprache zu steuern.

Der Neato Botvac Connected

Die Unterstützung von Amazon Alexa auf Deutsch ist sofort bei Neato verfügbar. Der via Alexa Sprachsteuerung kontrollierbare Botvac Connected ist der aktuell leistungsfähigste Roboterstaubsauger von Neato. Um die Vorteile der neuen Alexa Skill nutzen zu können, muss nur die Alexa App auf dem Smartphone gestartet werden. „Smart Home“ im Navigationsmenü auf der linken Seite auswählen, dann „Get More Smart Home Skills“ und anschließend „Neato“ suchen. Neben dem Neato Botvac Connected ist ein Alexa-fähiges Gerät wie Amazon Echo oder Echo Dot erforderlich.

Über Neato Robotics:
Neato Robotics mit Sitz im Silicon Valley, Kalifornien, wurde 2009 mit dem Ziel gegründet, Roboter zu entwickeln, die Hausarbeit so intelligent wie Menschen erledigen. Neato arbeitet an der Verbesserung der Zeitersparnis der Verbraucher, sodass weniger Zeit für Reinigung und dafür mehr Zeit mit Familie und Freunden zur Verfügung steht. Mit seinen Roboterstaubsaugern bietet Neato innovative Produkte, die intelligenter, leistungsfähiger und effektiver sind als andere auf dem Markt erhältliche Staubsaugroboter.
Weitere Informationen zu den neuen Modellen sowie zu weiteren Geräten der Neato-Familie erhalten Sie hier: www.neatorobotics.com/de

LEGO® BOOST Building and Coding Set Unveiled at CES Empowers Children to Bring Their LEGO Creations to Life

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– Building on the company’s history of merging digital programming and physical building, LEGO BOOST will inspire a younger generation to build and code their way to limitless play –

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LAS VEGAS, Jan. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW – Today the LEGO Group announced LEGO® BOOST, a supercharged building and coding set that lets children bring their LEGO creations to life by adding movement, sound and personality. Unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, LEGO BOOST will be previewed to members of the global media at Digital Experience! on January 4 and will be demonstrated to CES attendees as part of the Kids@Play Kids & Technology Marketplace from January 5-8, 2017 at the Sands Expo. With a suggested retail price of $159.99 (USD), LEGO BOOST will be available in the second half of 2017.

Build the Toy You Want
LEGO BOOST combines the endless play opportunities of a traditional LEGO set with an endless variety of movement and sound capabilities made possible through an easy-to-use, app-based coding environment. LEGO BOOST was developed for children ages 7 and older by an international team of LEGO designers. Using familiar LEGO elements and simple coding language, LEGO BOOST delivers an intuitive approach and opportunities for quick success.

Powered by a Move Hub, a LEGO stud-covered brick with built-in tilt sensor upon which children can add LEGO elements, motors and a sensor that combines color and distance detection, LEGO BOOST brings movement to any LEGO creation. The set includes building instructions for five diverse models; Vernie the Robot, Frankie the Cat, the Guitar 4000, the Multi-Tool Rover 4 (M.T.R.4), and the Autobuilder, each designed to give children the basic building and coding skills needed to express their creativity by personalizing whatever they build.

„We know that children dream of bringing their LEGO creations to life, and our chief ambition for LEGO BOOST is to fulfill that wish. Once children build a LEGO creation, we give them simple coding tools to ‚boost‘ their models by adding personality,“ said Simon Kent, design lead for LEGO Group. „We want children to first and foremost have a fun and limitless play experience, adding the coding opportunity is the means to get there.“

Coding Brings Your Toy to Life
LEGO BOOST introduces children to coding through a free downloadable app that contains the guidance, building instructions and simple coding commands to bring to life five LEGO creations, one at a time. Much like building with LEGO bricks, children build behaviors and actions by linking digital coding blocks in an easy-to-understand horizontal layout. To further personify the experience, LEGO BOOST lets children add voice recordings to their creations, adding personality without requiring spelling and typing. The app also includes more than 60 activities designed to inspire additional building, coding and play.

Creative Canvas Lets You Boost Any LEGO Creation
To further inspire creative building and coding, the LEGO BOOST app includes a „creative canvas“ that includes basic building instructions for three simple base models that children can use to customize their own LEGO creations. The three bases available at launch include: a walking base for making animals like a dragon or a pony, a driving base for building vehicles like a dune buggy or rover, and an entrance base so that children can make their own castle, fort, or even a futuristic space station. Once children are comfortable with building and coding the various LEGO BOOST models, they can use the kit to „boost“ any LEGO creation – from LEGO CITY and LEGO  Friends to LEGO NINJAGO and The LEGO BATMAN Movie.

LEGO® BOOST Includes:

Hardware

  • 3 BOOST Bricks:
    • Move Hub with built-in tilt sensor
    • Combination color & distance sensor
    • Interactive motor
  • 843 LEGO elements
  • Playmat, calibrated to the app, designed to facilitate mini challenges to practice simple coding trials

LEGO BOOST App

  • Free, downloadable app is iOS and Android tablet compatible

LEGO BOOST uses 6 AAA batteries. Alkaline batteries are recommended, but rechargeable batteries can be used, though may result in weaker power output.

Quick Overview

  • Includes over 840 LEGO® pieces, plus a LEGO Move Hub, Interactive Motor and a Color & Distance Sensor.
  • Move Hub features Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connectivity, two encoded motors, activation button, internal tilt sensor and a light.
  • Interactive Motor is an encoded motor.
  • Color & Distance Sensor detects distance, motion and color, and can also function as a light.
  • Check out the cool white, orange and blue color scheme.
  • Rotate Vernie’s head to activate its shoulder-mounted spring-loaded shooter.
  • Build the M.T.R.4 (Multi-Tooled Rover 4) and try out the different tool and customization attachments to prepare the vehicle for an array of exciting activities.
  • Learn how to play a song and rock out with the Guitar4000.
  • Look after your own pet with Frankie the Cat. Be sure to feed it the right food—or it might get upset!
  • Construct, code and operate the AutoBuilder to produce real miniature LEGO® models.
  • Build and code robots and models, and complete exciting activities with the playmat and intuitive LEGO® BOOST app, available for iOS and Android tablet devices.
  • Easy-to-use intuitive software with icon-based drag-and-drop coding interface.
  • Building instructions for all 5 models are included with the free LEGO® BOOST app.
  • This product requires batteries (not included). Please refer to the product packaging for type and quantity.
  • Vernie the robot stands over 10” (27cm) tall.
  • M.T.R.4 (Multi-Tooled Rover 4) measures over 4” (12cm) high, 9” (23cm) long and 5” (14cm) wide.
  • Guitar4000 measures over 1” (5cm) high, 16” (42cm) long and 5” (15cm) wide.
  • Frankie the Cat stands over 6” (17cm) tall.
  • The AutoBuilder measures over 10” (27cm) high, 7” (19cm) long and 6” (16cm) wide.

LEGO BOOST will be available at most stores and online shopping sites where toys are sold, through select consumer electronics retailers, and at LEGO Stores and shop.LEGO.com in the second half of 2017 and will have a suggested retail price of $159.99 USD, €159.99 (EUR) and $199.99 (CAD). For more information, visit www.LEGO.com/BOOST.

About the LEGO Group
The LEGO Group is a privately held, family-owned company with headquarters in Billund, Denmark, and main offices in Enfield, USA, London, UK., Shanghai, China, and Singapore. Founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, and based on the iconic LEGO® brick, it is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of play materials. Guided by the company spirit: „Only the best is good enough“, the company is committed to the development of children and aims to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow through creative play and learning. LEGO products are sold worldwide and can be virtually explored at www.LEGO.com.

Bobbie 1S Robot

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DEN HAAG, Netherlands, Dec. 23, 2016 — Anyone searching for a cool personal robot might be interested in Dawody Robotics, Bobbie 1S robot. This cute humanoid robot is voice controlled and can be used as a home guard, personal assistant, educational robot and family member in one.

The robot can be described as a Smartbot. A telephone and robot in one, Bobbie is equipped with a touch screen monitor and a camera that enables it to monitor the house, make calls, surf the web, receive messages and much more.

Bobbie has a simple program, making it easy for young and old to develop new applications for it. The robot has its own, sometimes annoying character that makes him special. Sometimes Bobbie will give surprising answers while having a chat with him. While shooting a promotion video, the founder of Dawody Robotics asked Bobbie who the President is. Bobbie’s answer was that he is officially running for president himself, promising to make Dawody Robotics great again.

Dawody Robotics‘ aim is to introduce Bobbie’s little brother in 2017 in collaboration with a partner company that will truly change the way we look at robots. „Our aim is to have robots in every household in a time span of 5 years from now, just like people have mobile phones nowadays,“ said Safa Dawody, the founder of Dawody Robotics. The price for Bobbie 1S is from $300 USD for the Super Early Birds and will be shipped estimated in March 2017 to its new owners. Who knows, maybe Bobbie 1S will make it to the White House one day.

LINK to Kickstarter

“Robots love Ice Cream the Card Game” to debut on Kickstarter

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Robots Love Ice Cream the Card Game, a semi-cooperative family friendly card game for ages 8+, launches on Kickstarter November 13th, from tabletop publishing studio 25th Century Games.

The card game is based on the hit video game Robots Love Ice Cream™ by mobile experience studio Dragon Army, also located in Atlanta, GA. The video game was released in 2014 and named one of the best games of the year on both iOS and Android. This tabletop version features all of the same characters and art style found in the video game plus new illustrations only available in the card game version.

“In the card game version, we capture all of the fun, fast-paced dynamics from the much beloved mobile game. The vibrant art, quirky characters, and semi-cooperative gameplay make it a must have addition to your family’s game collection,” said Chad Elkins, creator of Robots Love Ice Cream the Card Game. “It’s hard not to like both robots and ice cream, so layering that theme on an easy to learn set collection card game proved to be a big hit in play testing.”

One to four players travel in their ice cream trucks to five different planets across the galaxy. They must work together to collect matching sets of weaponized ice cream cards and use them to destroy waves of attacking robots. If all of the robots are defeated, Spinston’s plans are foiled, collectively saving that planet’s supply of ice cream treats.

The crowd-sourced Kickstarter campaign for Robots Love Ice Cream the Card Game will help raise funds for the manufacturing costs to produce the game. The campaign will begin on November 13th and conclude on December 14th.

To learn more about Robots Love Ice Cream the Card Game, visit the Kickstarter page.

About 25th Century Games

25th Century Games is an Atlanta startup dedicated to publishing entertaining tabletop games and puzzles that bring people together. The company recently published their first project, a 1000 piece puzzle featuring a historic map of Atlanta from 1892. Their focus is designing games and puzzles which are family friendly and are suited for a variety of age levels.

About Dragon Army

Dragon Army, based in Atlanta, GA, is a mobile experience agency built to deliver the best entertainment to mobile devices everywhere. Consisting of a blended group of marketers, game designers, developers and artists, the team applies their diverse skills to create rewarding mobile experiences for the world’s top brands. The company currently partners with The Coca-Cola Company, The Home Depot, Red Bull and InterContinental Hotels Group.

Flugdrohnen: Ein Renner zu Weihnachten

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ARAG Experten sagen, was Besitzer einer Flugdrohne wissen müssen

(lifepr) (Düsseldorf, 08.12.2016) Ferngesteuerte Flugdrohnen sind im diesjährigen Weihnachtsgeschäft ein echter Renner. Rund 400.000 Drohnen sind in Deutschland in der Vergangenheit bislang verkauft worden – zu Weihnachten kommen zigtausende hinzu. Egal ob Einsteigermodelle für wenige hundert Euro oder kameratragendes Schwergewicht für einige tausend Euro – wie   alle Modellfluggeräte unterliegen sie gesetzlichen Bestimmungen, die sich nach Plänen des Bundesverkehrsministeriums bald sogar verschärfen könnten. Was Sie als Freizeitpilot beachten müssen, verraten Ihnen ARAG Experten.

Drohnenflug: Wer braucht eine behördliche Genehmigung?

Die Nutzung von Fluggeräten ist im Luftverkehrsgesetz (LuftVG) und in der Luftverkehrsordnung (LuftVO) geregelt. Danach handelt es sich bei Drohnen um unbemannte Luftfahrtsysteme, sofern sie „nicht ausschließlich zur Sport- oder Freizeitgestaltung betrieben werden, sondern zu einem gewerblichen Zwecke genutzt werden“. Bei reiner Freizeitnutzung gelten sie dagegen als Flugmodelle, deren Nutzung weniger streng reglementiert ist. Genehmigungspflichtig sind Drohnenflüge im rein privaten Einsatz bislang nur für den Fall, dass das Gerät über fünf Kilo wiegt. Bei leichteren Modellen braucht man für die Nutzung keine behördliche Erlaubnis. Bei kommerziellen Einsätzen wie der Erstellung von Luftbildern durch professionelle Fotografen ist eine Aufstiegsgenehmigung durch die jeweils zuständigen Landesbehörden notwendig.

Wer von seinem Flugkörper Gegenstände (z.B. Flugblätter) abwerfen will, die nicht als Ballast dienen, benötigt dafür ebenfalls eine Aufstiegserlaubnis und eine entsprechende Genehmigung. Aus naheliegenden Gründen ist ein Mindestabstand von 1,5 Kilometern zu Flugplätzen einzuhalten. Daneben gibt es einige speziell festgelegte Flugverbotszonen wie etwa das Regierungsviertel in Berlin. Auch in vielen größeren Städten ist das Überfliegen teilweise nicht erlaubt. Einige Bundesländer verbieten darüber hinaus Flüge über Gebiete wie Atomkraftwerke, Unfallstellen oder Menschenansammlungen.

Gemäß den Plänen des Bundesverkehrsministeriums werden diese Flugverbotszonen in Zukunft ausgeweitet und ihre Anzahl steigen – etwa bei Veranstaltungen mit vielen Menschen, über Gefängnissen oder über Wohngrundstücken. Darüber hinaus plant das zuständige Ministerium in der „Verordnung zur Regelung des Betriebs von unbemannten Fluggeräten“ eine Führerscheinpflicht für Drohnen mit einem Gewicht über fünf Kilo – egal, ob diese privat oder gewerblich genutzt werden. Zudem sollen alle Flugmodelle und unbemannten Luftfahrtsysteme mit einem Gewicht von mehr als 0,25 kg künftig gekennzeichnet sein, um im Schadensfall schnell den Halter feststellen zu können.

Drohnen als Kinderspielzeug

Grundsätzlich gibt es für den rein privaten Bereich bisher jedoch keine gesetzlichen Anforderungen an den Führer einer Drohne. Auch eine spezielle Schulung ist nicht erforderlich. Es dürfen also derzeit theoretisch auch Kinder derartige Flugkörper kontrollieren. Angesichts der Risiken – allein in diesem Jahr kamen sie in rund 40 Fällen anderen Fliegern bedrohlich nahe – empfehlen ARAG Experten, dass Kinder und Jugendliche nur unter Aufsicht Flugdrohnen steuern.

Wie hoch, wie weit?

Anders als beim militärischen Drohneneinsatz vom Computer aus gilt bei der privaten Nutzung die Einschränkung, dass der Flug stets innerhalb der Sichtweite der steuernden Person zu erfolgen hat. Dies entspricht auf freier Fläche einer Maximalentfernung von 200 bis 300 Metern. Hinsichtlich der Flughöhe sehen einige Bundesländer ein Maximum von 30 bis 100 Metern vor. Auch die Pläne des Bundesverkehrsministeriums sehen für Drohnenflüge zu Freizeitzwecken eine maximale Höhe von 100 Metern vor.

Den Nachbar im Garten fotografieren?

Der Nachbar hat grundsätzlich einen Anspruch darauf, die Unterlassung von Beeinträchtigungen seines Grundstücks zu fordern. Dies gilt laut ARAG Experten auch für den Luftraum darüber. Insbesondere in den Fällen, in denen die Drohne eine Kamera an Bord hat, dürfte davon auszugehen sein, dass darin eine Beeinträchtigung der Privatsphäre zu sehen ist. Die ersten Urteile zu dieser Problematik legen nahe, dass man bei Drohnenflügen unbedingt Rücksicht auf die Anwohner und Nachbarn nehmen sollte. Darüber hinaus gilt, dass man das Recht am eigenen Bild der abgebildeten Personen beachten muss. Sollen die Bilder veröffentlicht werden, benötigen Sie dafür die Einwilligung des Abgebildeten. Das Gesetz macht keine Vorgaben hinsichtlich der konkreten Ausgestaltung der Einwilligung. So kann die Einwilligung auch durch ein bestimmtes Verhalten, wie bewusstes Posieren vor der Kamera erklärt werden. Bekommt der Abgebildete aber überhaupt nicht mit, dass die Drohne über ihm gerade Bilder aufnimmt, ist die Einwilligung nicht wirksam erteilt. Besonders gravierend ist in diesem Zusammenhang ein Foto von der sonnenbadenden Nachbarin. Ist die Intimsphäre durch die Bilder betroffen, kann auch schon die Aufnahme an sich strafbar sein, warnen ARAG Experten.

Versicherungen für Drohnen

Der Führer der Drohne haftet grundsätzlich für alle Schäden, die bei einem Flug verursacht werden können. Das kann schnell teuer werden, wenn bei einem Absturz z.B. ein Unfall verursacht wird.   Private Haftpflichtversicherungen schließen derartige Schäden meist vertraglich aus. Es empfiehlt sich daher dringend, eine spezielle Versicherung abzuschließen, wie sie zum Beispiel die Modellflugverbände anbieten.

Recently funded, London-based startup, SAM Labs, releases new kit, Curious, entering a new, immersive territory of smart playthings.

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After raising $4.5m, led by Imperial Innovations in May 2016, SAM Labs announces the release of a new kit, Curious: an immersive out-of-the-box inventing experience, allowing users to build and program their own cars and games.

Empowering youngsters worldwide to get hands on with smart tech, SAM Labs makes smart construction kits of clever little blocks and a fun app that gives everyone the power of technology to build awesome inventions. With the Curious building blocks and the SAM Space app, you’ll be stretching your imagination to create projects, games, inventions and hacks in no time.

Equipped with five paper-fold car bodies, a car base, and remote control, kids can build and program their own vehicles with SAM, whilst gaining 21st century skills. A step-by-step tutorial booklet, and the informative SAM app, both filled with detailed instructions, will guide you through an array of other smart projects and hacks. The kit even encases an additional booklet with even more offers a diverse range of wireless blocks, that when paired with the app, SAM Space, provides for a fun, experiential, and open-ended learning session.

The kit also comes with its own unique new app: SAM’s Curious Cars. Available across iOS and Google Play, the app, made with Unity, encompasses the ‘connect the dots’ feel of SAM Space, with an added gaming element. Explore challenges and tasks to connect SAM blocks together by playing in both the game and in real life.

The kit will launch for $199 (£149), debuting both in stores, at John Lewis in the United Kingdom and Barnes and Nobles in the United States throughout the month of October, and online on Amazon and on the company’s own site, samlabs.com on the 1st October. CURIOUS buyers will also receive a complimentary 20% off code for their next purchases at samlabs.com.

“Curious is the future of SAM, where creativity can be unleashed through an epic immersive experience. When you think about inventing, you think Curious.” – Joachim Horn, Founder and CEO

bionicTOYS Launches Flexible Building Bricks on Kickstarter

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bionicTOYS Launches Flexible Building Bricks on Kickstarter An Award-Winning Design That Turns Child’s Play Into STEM Learning

BERLIN, November 29, 2016 — Inspired by nature’s own flexibility, bionicTOYS has launched its first collection exclusively on Kickstarter. These highly-elastic building bricks let children and adults explore the art and science of motion through play.

 

bionicTOYS was created by German product designer Marcel Pasternak as a way to introduce important STEM-based skills to children. Through creative building, they are able to replicate organic actions found in nature and learn about bionics, mechanics, potential energy and other important principles of physics. The patent-pending flex-brick design allows for inventive, multi-functional play that can also interact with existing building bricks, such as LEGO® Technic or TinkerBots®.

With its Kickstarter launch, bionicTOYS is reimagining construction-based play. “It’s quite handy because you can just bend it in all directions,” says 13-year-old Felix. Its colorful design and easy-to-construct sets allow school-age children, parents, teachers, LEGO® fans, and design enthusiasts to explore a great range of creative possibilities.

About bionicTOYS bionicTOYS was created by 29-year-old Marcel Pasternak as part of his master’s thesis in product design. It has quickly developed into an educational toy company that has won the Green Product Award (Kids category), the Marianne Brandt Award – Material Effects (Product category) and is one of the winners of DMY ́s New Talent Award.

Link to Kickstarter