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I'm assuming there are a few furries here with motorized tails, but this is just miles ahead of anything else out there:


"Design student Wei-Chieh Tseng has created a large, fluffy attachable tail, which people can wear and use to signal their emotions. In a demonstration video of his new 'Mood Tail', he shows how it can be controlled through either a manual nunchuck-style joystick, or using a set of pre-set emotional states triggered by RFID-embedded flashcards with smiley faces on them. So, if you’re happy, it will wag; if you're miseable, it can droop forlornly."

How awesome is THAT? This is gonna be the next big thing at furcons, I just know it. 

Full article, videos here:

http://theridiculant.metro.co.uk/2009/10/finally-mechanical-tails-for-humans.html

Now, who else here is dying to get their paws on one of these things?   

 
Haha lol! that's brilliant! X3

Haha lol! that's brilliant! X3

True. If the person that made this takes out a booth at anthrocon, He'll be a millionaire. 

True. If the person that made this takes out a booth at anthrocon, He'll be a millionaire. 

I doubt that, unless he can figure out a way to make them easily affordable.  I mean, something kinda like this from wolftronics was like $700; not would I would call easily affordable for what basically amounts to a clothing accessory. (granted, it's a really cool clothing accessory)

I read the article and it said somehthing about wolftronics doing something simular so i checked them out too. From the pics of the two in comparison it seems more moting can be achieved out of wolftronics tail. though the other guys looks more compact (smaller) with that big belt probally heaveier too. Either way yeah there cool. but for the parts I few wires and plastic parts isnt much i think its the whole motor and microchips that will run the bills up on ya. O.o

True. If the person that made this takes out a booth at anthrocon, He'll be a millionaire. 

I doubt that, unless he can figure out a way to make them easily affordable.  I mean, something kinda like this from wolftronics was like $700; not would I would call easily affordable for what basically amounts to a clothing accessory. (granted, it's a really cool clothing accessory)

Even at those prices, I think he could make a killing. Even if we assume $700 per tail, all he needs to do is sell four tails over a four-day period, and he will have already more than recouped his expenses (including the cost of a flight from Beijing to Pittsburgh). If he sells only five or six, he's going to be walking out with a whole wad of cash. Now keep in mind that he would be setting up shop in the largest gathering of his target market in the world, amid a bunch of suit-mad furries who are buying art like crazy, and I think he'd do very well indeed.

It's the same sort of economics that keeps private art galleries profitable. Who actually goes to an art gallery with the intent of buying art? Only people far richer than me, I can tell you that. Yet if the artist can successfully work her connections to sell only a small number of thousand-dollar-plus paintings per month, she'll be in good shape.

[I have earned Three Carrots of Awesomeness]

Its actually not that easy to come to the States to sell merchandise. You must apply for a Merchant's Visa first, pay the huge fee for it and wait for approval. Then you can come with your goods after Customs does their things and somewhere along those lines you need to get all the appropriate state and federal tax forms filled out.

If i lived in China and wanted to sell something at a Furry Con, best thing I'd suggest is just to take out a page add in the Con book that lists to your home country web page or e-bay store and sell your products online from there. No travel expenses for that and as long as you sell enough mood tails to pay for the page add, you're golden.

[NOT]

Doesn't seem that difficult to make. Well, if you understood the mechanics involved and how to program the tails commands. But I just woke up, haven't read the article, nor seen what wolftronics did.

........... .... .... ...   .... .. ..  . ..  .    ..... 

I'S NEEDS ONE!!!! 

OMG that is awesome! If he knew human biological pyschology he could tottaly configure the movements off of human stimuly! That is so freak'n awesome! I wonder if he can make a larger Wolfs tail?!

Oh My God, If he made attachable patchs to sence the muscular movements of certain moods, he could tottal ditch the knoone chucks. And I'd tottaly buy one. 

I am stoked!!! HIMS DA COOLIST!!!!

I WOULD LOVE ONE! do they come in cat sizes?

but seriously, thats freakin amazing. ive seen animatronic tails & such, but one that reads emotion cards just blows my mind. thats one step further to real tails on our butts! XD


"Clearly, this is the future: you will end your days being chased through the streets by robot furries with sinisterly enthusiastic wagging tails. Thankyou, science."

yes. i will die being chased by robot furries. my dream come true! *shot*

The funny thing is is that the japanese have designed a machine-nerve interface allowing people to control a robotic hand with 80% accuracy (and that was about a year or two ago... I wonder how accurate it is now?)

Now combining that... O_o lol X3

Even at those prices, I think he could make a killing. Even if we assume $700 per tail, all he needs to do is sell four tails over a four-day period, and he will have already more than recouped his expenses (including the cost of a flight from Beijing to Pittsburgh). If he sells only five or six, he's going to be walking out with a whole wad of cash. Now keep in mind that he would be setting up shop in the largest gathering of his target market in the world, amid a bunch of suit-mad furries who are buying art like crazy, and I think he'd do very well indeed.

I have no doubt that he could do well selling them. But there is a big difference between "doing well" and "a millionaire", even adjusting for exaggeration.

The funny thing is is that the japanese have designed a machine-nerve interface allowing people to control a robotic hand with 80% accuracy (and that was about a year or two ago... I wonder how accurate it is now?)

Now combining that... O_o lol X3

I was thinking about the same thing. If the tail can be controlled by the brain like other limbs, that'd be totally awesome. 

Example of research into brain controlled prosthetics: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/science/29brain.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Monkeys+Artificial&st=nyt

Even at those prices, I think he could make a killing. Even if we assume $700 per tail, all he needs to do is sell four tails over a four-day period, and he will have already more than recouped his expenses (including the cost of a flight from Beijing to Pittsburgh). If he sells only five or six, he's going to be walking out with a whole wad of cash. Now keep in mind that he would be setting up shop in the largest gathering of his target market in the world, amid a bunch of suit-mad furries who are buying art like crazy, and I think he'd do very well indeed.

I have no doubt that he could do well selling them. But there is a big difference between "doing well" and "a millionaire", even adjusting for exaggeration.

Very true... 
You can make epic profit margins or even just proportionally large amounts of money per hour, yet you don't become a millionaire.

[NOT]

A million isn't even that much these days. If he were smart he'd start a business and hold onto it, that's how you bring in the monies.

Haha, that thing is really cool! It seems to move a little unnaturally though, but I'm sure that'll work itself out x3

not to much difrent from what i got going on, just added a pralaxx rfid board and  a few new lines of code

Haha, that thing is really cool! It seems to move a little unnaturally though, but I'm sure that'll work itself out x3

Imitating nature never works out quite right.  But we can get close.

Meh, i prefer my design, this one seems to jumps and mechanical to its movements, like there isnt any way to adjust speed, plus that cant be the strongest tail around either. oh well, thats just me :3


*shamelessly self promoting : P*

wow... and i thought the ones that i saw that the tip could flick back and forth were impressive!

Yeah, I have to say that's pretty cool!