As a kid, I would have preferred this to the dinky Transformers toys:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAvG0buqa2Q&w=500&rel=0]
Slate explains:
The Transformer, Take 1
Back in June we got a look at an earlier version of this shape-shifter, developed by Brave Robotics in Japan. This compact device is remote-controlled and goes from four wheels to two legs at the touch of a button. It’s a lot speedier this time around—the transformation from car mode to humanoid once took about 14 seconds but is now complete in five. In humanoid mode, the bot can shoot plastic darts from its hands and do a little victory dance. In both states, it can use a Wi-Fi enabled camera to transmit images to an iPad in real time. It’s an impressive engineering feat, and it comes at no small cost: The bot is listed on the Brave Robotics website for 1,980,000 Japanese yen, or about $24,000 USD. That might be a little steep, but for something this cool, it’s still worth asking Santa to pull a few strings.
