i escape

Harbin Smart Special Aerocraft, a Chinese company, has built a prototype flying saucer. It took the company over 12 years and $4 million to make the thing, and that's not a picture of it. That's some art exhibit by Japanese artist Mariko Mori. It just happens to be the picture that came with the story since the flying saucer is still top secret or something. 4 feet in diameter, the propeller-powered flying dish can fly to over 1,000 meters, take off and land vertically, and go about 50MPH. The unmanned object can be programmed to fly a predetermined path or remotely controlled from allegedly great distances and was designed "for aerial photography, geological surveys, and emergency lighting." Alternatively, it could be used to play pranks on this poor dork.

Chinese Firm Builds Identified Flying Object [geekologie]

Shenyang in China has created history by being the first city to hire a robotic receptionist in order to provide investors with help to obtain their business-related documents. This unique robot is smart enough to nod its head, wave its hand and even say "Hi" while communicating with others in the complex Chinese language. Most of the robot consists of sonar equipment, a single microphone, a couple of LED lights, two driving wheels, and a directional wheel. He will be able to work for up to 10 non-stop hours before requiring a 3 hour charge. Best of all is, he won't be involved in office politics and you sure as heck won't catch him sleeping on the job.

Robots here I come...

Robot Receptionist Gets Job [ubergizmo]