A new video showcases the impressive flight maneuvers, with a group of the miniature robots flying in a swarm, exhibiting patterns that resemble that of jet fighters and possibly those found in nature, such as bird flocks, bee colonies and other fliers. Check the video embedded below for the visual demonstration and prepare to be impressed!

From the video:

Towards a Swarm of Nano Quadrotors
“We developed a nano quadrotor capable of agile flight.”

Formation Flight
“Multiple vehicles can fly as a formation.”

Trajectory Planning
“We developed a method to transition between formations in 3D”

“The team can also navigate in environments with obstacles”

Finishing off the video with a smiley face formation was a nice touch. Now the question is, how can I get my hands on one of these things to play with? I’m sure they won’t be cheap on their initial release to the public, if they even materialize as a consumer product at some point in the future.

The site is nothing like ebay, as participants at DealFun are bidding on products sold by the auction site itself, not some mysterious, questionable 3rd party seller. All items are brand new and they offer up auctions on a variety of products such as the Apple iPad, iPhone, Amazon Kindle, Laptops, LED TVs, PS3′s, Watches, Jewelry, Toys and many other items.

DealFun touts their customer service as one of their main focuses, claiming that it is “Absolutely fantastic, prompt and courteous customer service.”

So how do these auctions work exactly? Here’s the video explanation of the service:

To participate, essentially you must register an account, buy a bid pack (at 60 cents per bid) in order to be able to bid, choose products that are up for auction and then place bids to attempt to win. Once you win an auction, which they claim can be up to 95% off retail price, you then purchase the item.

DealFun also wants to let everyone know about a few other site features. There is no weekly or monthly win cap. A buy it now feature allows you to purchase an item even if you don’t win the auction, with a discount off retail price equal to the value of the bids you’ve spent on that auction. A Beginners auction area allows newbies to polish their skills and test out the new service. The site also features a win guarantee: If you don’t win in the first 24 hours, all of your bids are restored for future use.

Disclosure: This article was a sponsored, paid post.

I’ve been to the track a few times, baring witness to the spectacle that is horse racing and partaking in the occasional gambling.

So what is a visit to the horse track like? It’s normally a take-it-easy type of experience. Most visitors typically attend with some friends or family, find a table or a spot in the stands to post up and kick-back to enjoy some horse racing betting. Whether you’re indoors in the lounge or outside on the sunny grand-stand, it’s customary to grab some grub, drinks and analyze the race booklet of the day, which gives you information and stats on the horses and jockeys that’ll be participating in the upcoming races.

After devising some sort of horse betting strategy or just willy-nilly choosing some horses based on the coolness factor of their names, you can run up to the cashier/betting booths to place your bets.

I’ve had a somewhat enjoyable time on each occasion that I’ve visited Turf Paradise, but I wonder if the experience could be improved with some technology enhancements?

Smartphone apps

A suite of smartphone apps would drastically improve the horse track experience. With iPhone, Android and other mobile OS apps, participants might be able to quickly view and sort horse stats, place their bets from the comfort of their seats, discuss the upcoming races with fellow gamblers and enjoy a much richer and more interactive experience.

Now I’m not saying that this type of interactive horse track app would be easy to develop or integrate into existing systems, but I can certainly foresee a future where most of the bet placing occurs on phones rather than at a cramped cashier’s booth, with a messy line of folks waiting their turn to vocally proclaim their bets to an attendant.

Touchscreen betting terminals

If smartphone apps aren’t feasible or the track just isn’t up to the task, the next best thing would be touchscreen terminals located at the lounge booths and in other areas where the spectators gather. It’s all about automation right? Why force the customers to high tail it up to a betting booth in between races when all transactions could be easily accomplished on an iPad-like touchscreen device in a self-service fashion?

Maybe the tracks don’t want to invest in this type of tech at their facilities right now, but I’m betting we’ll see it at some point in the future. Until then, I suppose we’ll continue to be forced into ambling up to the cashier’s booth to place our bets manually, per regular horse track etiquette.

How do you think new tech could improve the experience at the horse track?

Disclosure: This article was a sponsored, paid post.

I saw this video today and thought it was hilarious. I almost told everyone in the office we should start carrying the new Sony SFPOS, but then realized we’ve been selling it for years.

Warning: This video contains more profanity than a ship full of drunken sailors trying to program a VCR.

Sony releases new stupid piece of $h1t that doesn’t f###ing work.

Yeah, the economy sucks. We all know this. I’m sure we all know someone who lost their job this past year, or maybe facing a job cut later this year. I’m sure you’ve started buying more groceries and eating out less too.

So… What are you going to do about the economy?

So many companies are struggling to pay the bills they’re getting desperate for work. So many real properties are selling for a fraction of what they used to go for. It’s a buyer’s market.

Recently I discovered a high-end custom installation AV job I worked on just made it on the cover of one of the ultra-rich ego-stroking magazines this year. It’s an amazing house that cost over $55-million. But I’ll tell you what, this guy who owns the property made his billions investing in times just like this. Property values are so low, and interest rates are as well. Three years ago my brother-in-law bought a two bedroom house here in California for $200,000. Two weeks ago his neighbor’s house, a four bedroom, sold at auction for $50,000. A small investment made now can pay off in time.



But you don’t come here to read investment advice… what about movies? Well, right now is a great time to invest in your home theater as well. You’ve got that tax return coming, so what the hell – blow it.

Every other week I get an email from a vendor with price cuts for their high-def LCD displays. The retailers are offering even further cuts. We’re also right in the middle of the model crossover to 2009 models so 2008 models are selling for a song (check out how cheap Pioneer Kuros are selling for now!).

You might not make your millions buying a bigger plasma TV, but you’ll enjoy life that much more while you wait for things to turn around.

The Monday after Thanksgiving is Cyber Monday. Today is the day you can find all kinds of great deals online. For example, a pair of Polk floorstanding loudspeakers at Newegg.com are $99 today. You can also get an Onkyo TXSR706B receiver for only $479, normally $799.

Most online retails are also offering free shipping today, so you can take advantage of these savings as well. Buying online is certainly an attractive affair because the selection is larger, the prices are better, and often times they’re out of state so you don’t pay sales tax. Of course it’s a bear to get service most of the time, and returns are a pain, but for the smaller items I’m a fan.



I would suggest visiting Pricegrabber to find the best Cyber Monday deals online.

Today I want to talk briefly about the infamous day seven years ago when the whole world changed. September 11, 2001.

Even seven years later, this is a very emotional day. I still see the signs and stickers that say, “Never forget.” I doubt anyone will ever forget, they don’t need reminding. This has changed the way people live, the way they think and act.

This morning I turned on the television and one channel was playing the news footage from that morning in its entirety. I couldn’t handle it. Yes, it’s a terrible day, but I don’t want to relive it every year.

Many politicians and pundits have politicized the day, they’ve profited from one of the worst events in US history. But so many more have truly shown their character through the hard times, and have found common ground with one another. Some people talk about the unity that followed as if the tragedy was cause of positive change in our nation. I wouldn’t say it was good, it was different. This country has always valued unity, charity and community.

Though we should never romanticize this day, we should also never let it hold us back.

Something is bugging me, so I thought I’d let you all in on it: People are idiots!

It seems like we’ve accomplished a lot in the last few years bringing a new high-definition format to the market that is well-supported and robust. Blu-ray Disc is finally offering a true cinema like experience in the home. But it seems like the lowest common denominator is the big news item lately.

Toshiba is attempting to promote DVD again with their Super Upconversion process to make near-HD quality images from normal DVDs. Apple TV, Xbox Live, Vudu, Netflix and other online digital delivery services are looking to be the future of home video. But it’s all a step back in quality.

While Super Upconversion may offer better picture quality, the audio is still the same Dolby Digital or DTS soundtrack we’ve known for over a decade. These just don’t compare to the new lossless compression technologies like Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio. Why settle for less than the best?

Digital delivery is really just a huge step backwards. It’s like a repeat of SACD all over again. A new high-quality format comes out that blows you away, and the market decides they would rather listen to the lowest quality audio possible on their iPods (through terrible ear buds on top of that). If the movies are actually in the right aspect ratio (most aren’t), they’re poor quality with stereo audio or highly compressed Dolby Digital. It’s not acceptable in a respectable home theater environment.

But what else is new? Convenience trumps quality every day. This is why McDonald’s is busy over the lunch hour while the French bistro sits empty. Or even worse, when time isn’t a factor people chose the Olive Garden over the local Cucina with far better food and service at comparable prices.

And it’s not for lack of trying, the industries spend millions putting out new technologies just for Joe Status Quo to watch movies on his iPod. This is why I’ve said the Blu-ray Disc Association needs to get Blu-ray in front of the consumer so they can experience the quality for themselves.

Maybe I sound like an elitist prick. Let me know what you think about my belief that you are a dolt.

One strength I saw in the Blu-ray Disc Association over the course of the so-called “format war” was that they refused to actually engage in the war. While HD DVD would attack Blu-ray, the BDA would stay their course as if they were already the victor. Obviously this was all an act.

When Warner went exclusive to Blu-ray in January the BDA was cheering and declaring (once again) that their format was the victor. When Toshiba finally threw in the towel they once again made sure everyone knew they had won.

But now that we’re months past “mission accomplished,” I don’t see the same marketing push as in the midst of the throes of war. There were those who said the war was actually good for the high-def market – maybe these same people agree with Howard Dean and think the drawn-out primary battle is good for the Democratic party. I disagree with them and think the war caused a large amount of ennui and consumers were put off to high-def opting instead for upconverting DVD players. But I would have to agree with these same people if the BDA companies do not continue with at least the same effort as when they were engaged in combat.

While Blu-ray sales are increasing by about 20% a week, and consumer awareness is at about 70%, I see a strikingly low amount of effort to really push the format as a new standard in video and audio reproduction. For a while there I saw TV adverts for movies as “Blu-ray High-Def and DVD” with the Blu-ray box in the forefront. Now it is the opposite with “DVD and Blu-ray” featuring the blue case behind the DVD one. I’ve even seen fewer Blu-ray ads on HD Theater and other HD channels who frequently aired specifically Blu-ray ads for months.

The good news is we do see growth in the market, and custom integrators have been moving clients to Blu-ray Disc throughout their homes instead of just the media room. Panasonic has also introduced a single integrated chip for Blu-ray reproduction that replaces up to four chips which should bring the price of players down significantly.

It is simply my contention that in the midst of the summer movie season we should be seeing a much larger push for the savior of home video. Put it on screen before the summer blockbusters – or if you’re Mark Cuban actually sell the Blu-ray version of the film they just saw to them as they’re leaving the theater. Their message should be, “Bring the theater experience home!” It’s just not the time to rest in their sound victory and let the market soften.

I swear, this is not another post about Pioneer’s new line. This is actually a post about me tooting my own horn. I’m allowed to do this because I am great.

They should just send me truckloads of cash. Back in February I wrote about how companies should make their TVs plug directly into Crestron networks. While they’re not using the same technology I wrote about, Pioneer has added exactly this functionality into their new Signature Series plasma line.

This line was aimed at the high-end custom integrator. While part of it seems gimmicky – like the fact that these panels are “hand picked” – but they are the top tier in quality. 1080p Kuro plasmas at 2.5″ deep, plus they have advanced calibration controls to get them just right.

But the reason I’m writing today is because you now plug ethernet directly into these plasmas and they come with a Crestron module for IP control in your automation system. No slow RS-232, no more IR emitters glued to the front bezel.

Better bring me that money now.