You cannot see the photograph you are about to take with this Nadia concept camera, simply because it has no display. Rather than allow you to play Ansel Adams, the Nadia passes the judgment of aesthetic quality over to ACQUINE — the first publicly available aesthetics inference engine. What that means is that ACQUINE runs a series of algorithms and judges the image’s aesthetic value as a rating, which in turn tells you when and what to photograph. Kind of takes the fun out of photography, no? The Nadia’s designer, Andrew Kupresanin, posits: “Within pop culture and society artificial intelligence has been a topic that is approached with hope, fear, cynicism, curiousity and caution. However many intelligent devices have already been effortlessly absorbed into our culture and everyday lives. Currently under development, we will soon see devices and systems that have the ability to think creatively and infer beauty. As this novel technology improves and works its way into consumer devices, what effect will it have on individual preference and our creative process?” That may be an incisive question, worthy of pondering. I personally, however, don’t look forward to the day that a CPU will determine what qualifies as good art…but when that day comes I will be your loyal minion, Giant Robot Overlords…

One more image of the rear view in action after the Jump, or watch the video below…

Nadia from Andrew Kupresanin on Vimeo.

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Normally the idea of a solar-powered robot with deadly blades would be enough to launch James Cameron to the laptop for a re-write, but Husqvarna‘s Automower Solar Hybrid is a robot of good, not evil. This no emission, self-propelled, low energy consumption, weather-proof, nearly silent lawn mower can only handle lawns of half-acre or smaller, but when it needs a recharge it finds its own way back to the charging station. Because any robot worth his weight shouldn’t bother you every time he needs to feed. Of course the solar power isn’t sufficient to keep the Automower running all the time, but it does enough to shorten cutting times, lower power consumption and extend its battery life. $3,000 is a lot to pay to feel good about yourself, but considering you’ll be chilling on a hammock drinking lemonade while your slave robot does all the yardwork, that’s money well spent.

[View with PicLens]

Another in our series of great commercials that elevate the artform. Created by French director Edouard Salier, he of the latest and much-blogged-about Massive Attack video “Splitting the Atom”, this Argentinian commercial Coke Quest tells a story in the framework of a football-obsessed South American lad fighting robots.

Coke Quest directed by Edouard Salier from edouard salier on Vimeo.

I used to think that the coolest thing about storage facilities is that some of them had air conditioning. That’s nothing compared to what the Robo Vault is packing. It’s completely automated. And this 465 unit building in Fort Lauderdale can hold its own in Category 5 hurricanes with up to 200-mph winds. I haven’t  been able to find any proof that the building has actually been through such a storm, but if you’re going to spend over $22 million on a building that is probably storing items worth close to that amount — and you’re building it in hurricane country — then you’d better do your research.

Spike Jonze premiered his new film I’m Here at Sundance last Thursday, and the trailer of it is below. The 35-minute film follows the life of 2 robots in “a futuristic fable rooted in the universal emotions of first love, ruminating on youth, identity, autonomy and loss.” It’s no secret we love our robots here at LIAS, so we’d love to see them given life through the lens of Mr. Jonze…

In our brave quest to cover all things robot and Japanese, may I present you with Japanese Breakdancing Robot. How can we be shocked? Let’s see, we’ve seen the Japanese invent robot bears to carry the incontinently wasted, they erect giant robots to defend themselves from really slow aliens, and then they enslave the clumsy bastards to play soccer games to the death and cook ramen — the simplest food to prepare known to mankind. So I guess it was only a matter of time until we saw them breakdance. (PS: I love how the remote control guy steps in like Deus Ex Machina to lift homeboy every time he faceplants. Seems like cheating.)

Btw, Honda is premiering their Living with Robots documentary film at Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 22, followed by a live 10-minute demonstration of their ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) robot — the world’s most advanced humanoid robot. Really curious as to what they’re gonna divulge there…

…to check out an utterly more creepy — and borderline pedophilic — version of the Dancing Japanese Robot, cringe in fear and hit play below…

PresidiaCreative did a really nice job compiling 55 Epic, Weird and Totally Awesome Images. As they put it:

“There are some incredibly talented and creative minds in the field of graphic design.  Combining 3D, photomanipulation, and digital painting can result in some pretty incredible effects.  However, designers don’t always create serious images for clients, sometimes, they just like to goof off.”

We couldn’t agree more, so we plucked our favorites and put them below, but if you like what you see visit their site…

[View with PicLens]

[View with PicLens]

I love how personal Segway-like machines are heralded as “green” cos they don’t use much power to cart your lazy ass around. You know what’s more green than lithium ion batteries and solar panels? Walking, u lazy fuck! Take that retarded bike helmet off your head, get off the self-powered walker/scooter/unicycle and take part in the most ecological transportation around — your feet!

But because offices are getting too vast to walk across, and boardwalks and promenades just too long to traverse with your legs, Honda unveiled its new U3-X at the Tokyo Motor Show. A self-balancing portable unicycle based on Honda’s biped ASIMO robot technology, the U3-X can race you to the other side of the corporate park at a blazing top speed of 3.7 mph. That’s almost the speed of a casual amble! The U3-X can essentially move in any direction, based on how the user shifts their weight. Lean forward to move forward, lean back to go back. So much simpler than leaning forward to walk forward, or leaning right to move right.

My favorite line comes from Honda President Takanobu Ito at the unicycle’s release: “And if my legs get a little weak, I would like to have one of these around the house.” Yes, who wouldn’t like a machine that moves you about when your legs get a little weak.

Tell you what, if you ever really feel the need to get a unicycle, I think this thing is easily the way to go…Wheeeee!!!

Some detail shots and a more elaborate 10-minute video (plus a really wacky Japanese one) if you really need to know more about the U3-X, after the Jump…