Archive for the ‘News’ Category
Oct14
MegaBots giant robot debuts at NYCC
2014 at 03:59 pm by admin | Comments Off
Last week’s New York Comic-Con, which took place from October 9th to October 12th, debuted a number of exclusive and upcoming toys and merchandise from a variety of independent manufacturers and large-scale companies alike. However, nothing was quite as large as the debut of the MegaBots giant robot! Created by Andrew Stroup, Matt Oehrlein, and Gui Cavalcanti, the giant 15-foot tall robot is known as the MegaBot Mark I, and stands as a prototype for an upcoming series of paintball-shooting giant robots. The mech, which currently only featured a working cockpit and moving arm, weighs a total of 15000 pounds, and came equipped with a cannon arm that fired paint-filled foam shells at designated targets.
Meant as an entertainment tool and big toy rather than a fully-automotive giant robot, the MegaBots series are planned to face off in large-scale paintball matches, and will feature working legs, central torso, and two-man cockpits upon completion. With previous mechanical constructs including the 18-foot wide walking Stompy robot in 2012, keep an eye out for more MegaBots news when the project’s Kickstarter page goes live later this month!
Oct14
Mishka’s Bad News Dunny at TOMODACHI
2014 at 02:44 pm by admin | Comments Off
As the Halloween season draws closer and closer, apparel company Mishka and Kidrobot have announced their newest creepy collaboration in the form of the Bad News Dunny! These figures, which debuted as exclusive pre-orders at the Mishka booth at last week’s New York Comic-Con, will now be available at TOMODACHI later this month! An entirely original sculpt, this new line of vinyl collectibles comes in a variety of colors and sizes. The larger 8″ Bad News Dunny will be available in the brown-colored Kodiak Edition, while the smaller 3″ Dunny collectibles will feature both the Kodiak Edition and a white-and-pink Polar Edition! While the 8″ Polar Edition of the figure is a Kidrobot-exclusive release, the 8″ Kodiak Edition and both of the 3″ Dunny figures will all be available at our TOMODACHI locations in the Rosedale Shopping Center and the Mall of America on October 24th, making this the perfect seasonal gift for fans and enthusiasts alike!
Oct13
First 3D-printed rocket set to liftoff
2014 at 12:46 pm by admin | Comments Off
Researchers and designers at the Special Projects Bureau of The Register, a British technology magazine, have announced their plans to launch a 3D-printed rocket into outer space later this year! The rocket, which was recently completed by the team of 30 designers after four years of testing, cost over $9500 to construct, and will feature an outer frame made entirely of 3D-printed material, similar to the metal parts that NASA is using in its own 3D-printed rocket parts. The rocket was even modified to use a standard hobby rocket motor at extremely high altitudes. The team will launch the freshly completed rocket later this year from Spaceport America in New Mexico, where the rocket will be lifted to 65,600 feet by a helium balloon. There, the rocket will ignite and launch into space, where it will then use on-board cameras and autopilot to return safely to the surface.
Oct13
Star Wars arcade game shown at New York Comic-Con
2014 at 12:07 pm by admin | Comments Off
As the New York Comic-Con astounded and entertained audiences with a variety of panels, cosplay contests, merchandise, and more this past weekend, entertainment company Bandai Namco Games has announced a brand new arcade game based on the hit Star Wars franchise, titled “Star Wars: Battle Pod”! This first-person piloting game will take users through a number of iconic battles from the Star Wars franchise, and immerse users into the gameplay experience using an innovative spherical display, titled the Panoramic Optical Display. This display, which was originally used in a Gundam-themed arcade cabinet in 2006, creates a 3D view of the battlefield around the user in its hemisphere display, and will feature controls and sensors identical to the ones that appeared throughout the Star Wars franchise. “Star Wars: Battle Pod” will release in arcades across North America on January 2015, so keep an eye out for this cool new immersive experience!
Oct08
Satellites create first map of ocean floor
2014 at 12:48 pm by admin | Comments Off
Researchers at the Scripps Insitituion of Oceanography, located in San Diego, California, have taken advantage of innovative technology in order to create the world’s first complete map of the ocean floor! Older seafloor maps only mapped about 10% of the depths, leaving 90% of the ocean uncharted and unknown. Thanks to never-before-used technology aboard the CryoSat-2 and Jason-1 satellites, a full map has finally been created. These satellites gathered the data by measuring the density of gravity across the ocean floor and turning it into usable altimeter data.
The satellites, which sent out thousands of radar pulses a second, were able to calculate the topography of the ocean floor with gravity due to the nature of large objects. Matter with extra mass warps the gravitational field around it, which is what the satellites used to create the maps. The maps show off the valleys and mountain ranges of the ocean floor, and even denote the locations of large earthquakes with red dots, showing off the massive fault lines of the Earth’s crust. Researchers hope that these maps will be used to help survey ships, underwater exploration vessels, and even one day create a high-resolution map of the entire ocean floor.
Oct06
Artist creates illusionary floating building in London
2014 at 01:49 pm by admin | Comments Off
Experimental designer and artist Alex Chinneck has created many unique architectural pieces using illusions and clever solutions, including sliding building fronts and even upside down apartments. True to his past work, Chinneck recently opened up his newest exhibit at the Covent Garden in London, England, where his work has wowed crowds by creating a seemingly floating building! Titled “Take my Lightning, But Don’t Steal my Thunder”, the installation recreates a section of the 184-year-old Covent Garden Market Building, and seemingly splits it violently in half, leaving a large chunk of the building floating 10 feet above the foundations on the ground below.
The building, of course, is not simply floating on its own, but is a clever installation piece that takes advantage of the use of lightweight polystyrene shaped around a system of 15.5 tons of steel beams. The piece is attached to a small nondescript stall next to the piece, which contains 4.4 tons of counterweights that keep the piece afloat. The polystyrene shell of the building was meticulously crafted and hand-painted over the course of 500 hours by Chinneck and his team of 100 contributors to create a lifelike representation of the building, using over one ton of paint to complete the installation. The finished piece, which has dazzled and confused visitors to the Covent Garden, will be on display until October 24, 2014.
Oct05
The Little Prince 70th anniversary at TOMODACHI
2014 at 02:15 pm by admin | Comments Off
Originally written in 1943 by French poet and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince, also known as Le Petit Prince, quickly became one of the most popular illustrated novels in the world. The novel, which has since been translated into over 250 languages across the world, recently celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2013, and designer figure company Muttpop helped celebrate the occasion with a miniature vinyl figure of the titular prince! Standing at 4″ tall, this figure is now available at TOMODACHI’s Rosedale Shopping Center location, and retails for $21.95. Make sure to stop by and grab this adorable representation of one of the most beloved classic characters in 20th century literature!
The Little Prince was written by poet Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who based the story off of his own experiences as a pilot during troubled times in the early 1940s. The story follows a stranded pilot in the middle of a desert, who encounters a mysterious boy prince who fell to Earth from outer space. The story that follows, while it reads like a children’s book and features charming watercolor drawings, discusses mature themes about the nature of humanity and one’s role in life, and has been named the best French novel of the 20th century. The book has since reached worldwide appeal, and has been adapted into film, stage plays, and comic books, along with receiving several museum galleries and art pieces dedicated to the characters of the book.
Oct03
Pharrell Williams collabs with Murakami in new video
2014 at 04:22 pm by admin | Comments Off
Musician and pop art enthusiast Pharrel Williams has been known to collaborate with internationally renowned artist Takashi Murakami in a number of mediums, from museum exhibits to starring together in a recent Hatsune Miku music video. Now, Pharrell Williams has released the latest music video for his recently released song, “It Girl”, and has produced it alongside Murakami to create an entirely animated piece! Designed around Murakami’s iconic graphic style and motifs, the video features a variety of retro references, including subtle nods to classic 90s computer gaming, anime, and other forms of media. “It Girl”, which comes from Pharrell William’s March 2014 album, titled “Girl”, is one of Pharrell Williams’ first studio album songs since his 2006 debut, and shows off his adoration for pop art and classic entertainment in this newest video. Take a look below to check out the new video!
Oct03
Disney wedding cakes feature custom animation
2014 at 04:05 pm by admin | Comments Off
In a fitting move for the classic animation company, Disney has presented their all-new wedding cakes, which take advantage of projection mapping to create magical custom animations! The new cakes were announced at the Fairy Tail Weddings Expo earlier this week, and are available as part of Disney’s new Wishes Collection at the DisneyWorld location in Florida. The cakes, which at first glance look like minimalist white rectangles, become animated light shows as different backgrounds, characters, and animations are displayed onto the sides of the cake. The cake itself is topped off with a recreation of the iconic Disney castle, and features light-up interior! The following video shows only a few examples of what the projection mapping technology is capable of with the newly announced wedding cakes, and shows off the cake under several different themes and lighting conditions.
Sep30
Pilot FriXion Ball pens at TOMODACHI
2014 at 11:17 am by admin | Comments Off
TOMODACHI often carries a wide variety of stationery and pens, and one of our newest products is the Pilot FriXion Ball retractable gel pen! A variation on the popular Pilot FriXion line of pens, the FriXion Ball pen takes advantage of thermo-sensitive inks to create an easy-to-use gel pen that can be erased with the specialized rubber tip at the end of the pen. Not only that, unlike other FriXion pens, the FriXion Ball is retractable, simply by pushing on the clip! A special trick is that since the pen uses thermo-sensitive gel ink, you can make any erased text reappear by chilling the writing to under 14 degrees Fahrenheit; just put the paper in your freezer, and watch the writing reappear! These cool erasable pens are available at TOMODACHI, at both our Rosedale Shopping Center location as well as our Mall of America store, and are available in a wide variety of colors.
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