Episode 360 – Bark < Byte | Games At Work dot Biz

cute & wistful dog — Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash

mini @PetoiCamp robot dogs & cats, @Microsoft @Meta #metaverse, @TinyCircuits’s mini GameBoy Thumby & a #wordle GameBoy clone and @getcana drinks by the drink

Andy, Michael and Michael start off this week’s episode with a metaverse discussion on Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. With the hardware and software components already in the Microsoft family, it becomes clear that all the pieces are in place to make a major splash in the metaverse. An article from VentureBeat opens up a conversation about the use of AI in the metaverse and the difference it will make to create a customized user experience.

Then things turn to robotics, with a story about mini robot dogs and cats that are very similar to the Boston Dynamics Spot robot. Available for the relatively low price of $299, these robots can be assembled and programmed with Scratch, C++ and Python, and upgraded with Raspberry Pi and Arduino chips. These robots are a very interesting way to get started with developing practical experience with robotics, programming languages and extending into AI via additional chips.

Next, the co-hosts talk about porting a clone of the popular New York Times Wordle app called Fiver to a GameBoy. A kickstarter by TinyCircuits called Thumby is a keychain sized tiny GameBoy. So, the cohosts muse whether Fiver could be ported to the Thumby.

Wrapping up this episode, the team considers drinks by the drink from a startup called Cana. This works by purchasing cartridges that install in the beverage machine and you dial up whatever drink you want. Replacement cartridges are shipped directly to you when the ones in the machine are empty, and you pay for the drinks you consume, by the drink.

What drinks would you pay by the drink to have at home? Let us know over at @gamesatwork_biz !

Thanks for listening!