We have seen lots of creepy robots but I think the Telenoid might be at the top of the heap. Not sure about the abdomen though, I think if it had some legs and a pair of pants the creepy factor would be much lower. This is meant to be a new form of tele communication but I think when Apple gets the bugs worked out of FaceTime I would rather use that…

Video after the jump.

Via: Zedomax

“The new Telenoid R1 was designed to appear and to behave as a minimalistic human; at the very first glance, one can easily recognize the Telenoid as a human while the Telenoid appear as both male and female, as both old and young. By this minimal design, the Telenoid allows people to feel as if an acquaintance in the distance is next to you.”

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Mike Szczys from Jumptuck created this cool circuit a to open his garage door using a small door bell. Many of us know Mike from his work at Hack a Day. I am honored that this design was inspired by my Button Code project! His project is based around an ATtiny13 microcontroller just because that is what he had laying around.

Thanks Mike.

“Here’s how it works:

• The uC waits for a button press, then flashes the LED to let you know it’s ready for the first number
• You press the doorbell multiple times until the first number has been reached, then wait for the next LED flash… repeat
• Once all the digits are entered the uC checks for the proper code and opens the door (or flashes if you didn’t get it right)
• The code can be changed by pressing a button on the circuit board (button will flash continuously). The new code is then entered the same way as above, stored in EEPROM, and read back to you in a series of blinks.”

Gerry O’Brien has made a 5 video compilation of his experience of Custom Programming a Nintendo Gameboy Cartridge. I am so jealous of the quality of the very high quality close-up video capabilities Gerry has! This isn’t a hack for the faint of heart.

“TOOLS REQUIRED:

- Soldering Iron with Fine tip for SMT soldering
– Magnifying Lamp (Recommended)
– Fine Flux Core Solder
– Solder Wick
– Rosin Flux Solution with Brush Applicator (125ML Bottle)
– Isopropyl alcohol (16 Oz Bottle)
– Cotton Swab Applicators (Q-tips)
– Standard Electric White Glue Gun
– Dremel Tool Cutter for Precise cutting of Cartridge Enclosure
– PC Computer with USB or Printer Port for Running Willem Software”

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Barnaby Jack of IOActive demonstrated how to hack into an ATM machine without needing physical access to the machine. Turns out the manufacturer used their own home made encryption scheme that obviously wasn’t very secure. Once the system was comprised a new customized version of the firmware was uploaded to give the machine a jackpot mode. You might remember about 4 years ago when these same ATM manufacturers were caught with their pants down when it was discovered that the ATM master passwords were clearly on display in their easy to obtain manuals.

Mental note, if you own a business and are thinking of putting in an ATM machine stay away from anything by Triton and Tranax!