Robotics research has come a long way, but we still don’t have the kinds of sleek, sophisticated humanoid robots and mech suits we see in movies. But researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) are getting one step closer to achieving their science fiction dreams of an aerial humanoid robot.

The researchers want to build a triple-threat robot that can fly through the air, walk on the ground on two legs, and manipulate objects like doors and valves. They say such a robot could help inspect in and around buildings during natural disasters.

Plans to get a robot off the ground have been in the works at IIT for several years, and the researchers have recently started doing experiments with an augmented version of their iCub robot. The uncanny iCub is “the size of a five-year-old child,” says the IIT website. “It can crawl on all fours, walk and sit up to manipulate objects.” Strap some propulsion engines on that thing and it becomes the iRonCub.

The iRonCub, as its name suggests, has engines on its hands and feet that will hopefully enable it to fly like Iron Man. There’s a lot of math involved in making Iron Man-esque flight happen, so iRonCub isn’t exactly soaring through the air yet, but it has to take things one step at a time like the rest of us.

For other mildly terrifying robotics projects, check out this uncomfortably lifelike robot and Elon Musk’s plans for a Tesla Bot.

Kait Sanchez is a freelance writer for IGN. Find them on Twitter @crisp_red.

January was already looking to be a solid month for Xbox Game Pass, with Mass Effect Legendary Edition coming to the service, but now subscribers can look forward to a brand new title as well. Microsoft and Ubisoft have announced that Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Extraction is coming to Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass on day one.

The Rainbow Six PvE spinoff is coming to Game Pass on January 20, the same day it releases on Xbox Series X|S, PS5/PS4, and PC. Ubisoft is pricing Rainbow Six Extraction at a budget price point of $39.99 for players who plan to buy the game.

Extraction is also introducing a cross-play Buddy Pass, where every copy of the game comes with two passes to invite friends to play for free for 14 days.

Rainbow Six Extraction is a co-op PvE first-person shooter, where you can work with up to two other players to take down an alien enemy called the Archeans. The game was originally titled Rainbow Six Quarantine when it was announced at E3 2019. Ubisoft temporarily changed the name to Rainbow Six Parasite, before finally settling on Extraction with the game's re-reveal last summer. In addition to the new title, Game Pass subscribers can also access Rainbow Six Siege, Extraction's PvP counterpart, beginning January 20.

Along with today's news, Ubisoft also committed to bring Ubisoft+ to Xbox consoles sometime in the future. The service is out on PC now, and grants access to over 100 Ubisoft titles for a monthly subscription cost, similar to Xbox Game Pass and EA Play.

However, this is not the same as EA and Microsoft's partnership that bundles EA Play along with Game Pass, it just means Xbox console owners will eventually be able to separately subscribe to Ubisoft's service, whether they pay for Game Pass or not. For more, check out the rest of the big games coming this month.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Meta has scrapped a software OS that the company has been working on for years, which would have powered Oculus VR and AR headsets, The Information reports.

Speaking with two people familiar with the situation, The Information reports that development on a new VR/AR OS had been in the works for several years and involved hundreds of employees.

Meta currently uses a modified version of Google's Android OS to operate its Oculus line of VR headsets. Meta reportedly wanted to create its own OS, internally dubbed "XROS," in order to avoid the technological and logistical hurdles that come with using a third-party OS. That would include having to update your own modified OS any time Google updated Android to address security issues or make other changes. Changes to a modified Android OS could also cause technical issues to come to light, since the OS was originally designed for smartphones but adopted for other hardware, like VR headsets.

It's unclear why Meta changed its approach to a VR/AR OS after seemingly so much time and investment. Meta reportedly still intends to develop its own OS, and could revive XROS or parts of it in the future.

Meta informed employees of the decision to halt development in November. This came shortly after project leader Mark Lucovsky, a former Microsoft engineer, announced he was leaving Meta. Lucovsky later joined Google in December to work on their OS for augmented reality.

Lucovsky told The Information that he decided to leave Meta following the 60 Minutes interview with Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen in early October, "subsequent readings of the material supplied to the SEC, and the company’s new metaverse-centric focus.”

Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/meh-taverse for IGN.

Drinkbox Studios' new game Nobody Saves the World is a unique action-RPG that lets players take on the role of, well, Nobody, and transform into a host of different, wacky forms. And it's only a couple of weeks away from being released.

The Guacamelee! developers announced that Nobody Saves the World will arrive on Jan. 18 for Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, Windows, and Steam for $24.99. It will also be available via Xbox Game Pass on both Xbox and PC, so subscribers can hop in on day one to the action, which can be played either solo or in online co-op.

Additionally, Nobody Saves the World's soundtrack by Sword and Sworcery composer Jim Guthrie will be available on Steam and streaming platforms the same day as Nobody launches.

IGN went hands-on with Nobody Saves the World early last year and found it retained Drinkbox's penchant for charming, hilarious writing and world-building while delivering a unique approach to RPG progression in its varied world.

Since then, we've learned a bit more about how players will combine and use the powers of Nobody's many forms, Drinkbox's approach to choosing and building out these forms, and more.

Nobody will also be Drinkbox's first online co-op game, though past games from the studio did have local multiplayer. Co-op will be playable with other players in the same platform ecosystem.

A video game based on Joe and Anthony Russo's Extraction film franchise may become reality after a $400 million deal between the Russo's AGBO and Japanese game studio Nexon.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that the directors of Avengers: Endgame sold a 38% stake in AGBO, their independent film banner (Mosul, Cherry, Everything Everywhere All At Once), to Nexon. The deal values the company at $1.1 billion, with Nexon taking a $400 million minority investment.

AGBO and the Russo brothers are already in talks with Netflix to adapt Chris Hemsworth's Extraction into a video game, but will similarly work with Nexon to produce cross-platform collaborations based on its library of IP.

With an Extraction video game almost certainly still in the idea phase, don't expect to hear details about gameplay or story for some time. Considering Extraction is a stunt-heavy action film, with a focus on gritty mercenaries performing clandestine missions, it's probably a safe bet that a game will similarly focus on action tropes and gunplay.

If AGBO makes a formal request, Nexon has stated it's ready to invest an additional $100 million in the first half of 2022.

Nexon is a Japan-listed video game publisher responsible for publishing Asian versions of games like Counter-Strike: Online, MapleStory, FIFA Mobile, and the Korean version of Final Fantasy 14. It is currently the third-largest video game publisher in Asia, behind Tencent and NetEase.

Extraction released on Netflix in April 2020, executive produced by the Russo brothers and directed by longtime stunt collaborator Sam Hargrave. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Extraction follows Tyler Rake, a mercenary tasked with rescuing the son of an imprisoned crime boss. Extraction 2 again follows Hemsworth's character, but plot details are scarce for now. A teaser trailer released during Netflix's Tudum event showed the story seemingly picking up from the end of the first film, as Rake climbs out of the river he fell in.

The Russo brothers also said they hope to expand Extraction into its own cinematic universe, following other characters like David Harbour's Gaspar.

In our review of Extraction, we said that it "works because its simple, yet sufficient, story allows the film's action to take center stage. If the stunt work were mediocre, the entire thing would be an utter waste of time. Thankfully though, Extraction boasts an exhaustingly awesome showcase of expertly choreographed fists, knives, guns, and explosions."

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/cutthroat mercenary for IGN.

Disney has filed a patent for a Virtual World Simulator that will allow it to simulate augmented digital worlds without the need for users to wear headsets or glasses.

As reported by SiliconValley.com, the Walt Disney Company was granted a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark company on December 28 that will allow the company to create real-world theme park rides where multiple users will be able to simultaneously experience a 3D virtual world without the need for wearable peripherals.

As per the patent, Disney's virtual spaces would be created using an array of high-speed projectors and a method known as SLAM, short for "Simultaneous Localization and Mapping." This will allow them to continuously track and determine a user's moving perspective as they move throughout a ride or attraction within one of the company's parks.

A similar theme park experience was introduced at Super Nintendo World with the addition of its Mario Kart: Koopa's Challenge ride. The ride, which allows its visitors to race through a course loosely based upon stages from the Mario Kart series, includes its very own augmented reality feature as guests hop into their very own Mario Kart track.

During the experience, an augmented reality headband displays animated characters and directional arrows in front of your eyes, which players can then 'drive' toward using the rides in-built steering wheel to collect items from boxes.

Disney's move to create similar experiences without the need and use of additional wearable tech will look to mark a step forward for the sector, and is likely to turn the heads of theme park enthusiasts when its plans to introduce the technology come to fruition.

In addition to creating immersive theme park experiences, Disney's patent also appears to note that the technology could be adapted for home use. The patent states that the virtual world simulator could be used to enable the transformation of a real-world venue, in the form of a personal residence or photography studio, into a movie set without requiring the user to leave their home. While this still feels like it could be some way off, the notion that the company is working on such technologies is still a very exciting prospect.

For more news from Disney, make sure to check out this article detailing the ten best rides from across Disneyland and Disneyland California. And, if you've read that then take a look at our complete rundown of the best activities to get involved with at Super Nintendo World.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Disney has filed a patent for a Virtual World Simulator that will allow it to simulate augmented digital worlds without the need for users to wear headsets or glasses.

As reported by SiliconValley.com, the Walt Disney Company was granted a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark company on December 28 that will allow the company to create real-world theme park rides where multiple users will be able to simultaneously experience a 3D virtual world without the need for wearable peripherals.

As per the patent, Disney's virtual spaces would be created using an array of high-speed projectors and a method known as SLAM, short for "Simultaneous Localization and Mapping." This will allow them to continuously track and determine a user's moving perspective as they move throughout a ride or attraction within one of the company's parks.

A similar theme park experience was introduced at Super Nintendo World with the addition of its Mario Kart: Koopa's Challenge ride. The ride, which allows its visitors to race through a course loosely based upon stages from the Mario Kart series, includes its very own augmented reality feature as guests hop into their very own Mario Kart track.

During the experience, an augmented reality headband displays animated characters and directional arrows in front of your eyes, which players can then 'drive' toward using the rides in-built steering wheel to collect items from boxes.

Disney's move to create similar experiences without the need and use of additional wearable tech will look to mark a step forward for the sector, and is likely to turn the heads of theme park enthusiasts when its plans to introduce the technology come to fruition.

In addition to creating immersive theme park experiences, Disney's patent also appears to note that the technology could be adapted for home use. The patent states that the virtual world simulator could be used to enable the transformation of a real-world venue, in the form of a personal residence or photography studio, into a movie set without requiring the user to leave their home. While this still feels like it could be some way off, the notion that the company is working on such technologies is still a very exciting prospect.

For more news from Disney, make sure to check out this article detailing the ten best rides from across Disneyland and Disneyland California. And, if you've read that then take a look at our complete rundown of the best activities to get involved with at Super Nintendo World.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Flexible laptops aren’t exactly novel after the Intel Horseshoe Bend concept and the Lenovo X1 Fold introduced at CES 2020. However, Asus really surprised me with the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED as a seemingly normal-looking laptop but then it lifted the keyboard away to reveal a foldable laptop.

The Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED introduced at CES 2022 is essentially a 17.3-inch OLED tablet that folds up into a 12.5-inch booklet. It’s quite a bit bigger than the 13.3-inch Lenovo X1 Fold I saw last year, and obviously, the bigger screen makes it that much more usable for multiple applications at the same time.

The larger size also allows Asus to introduce a full-sized magnetic keyboard that seamlessly snaps onto one-half of the device. From there, you can tilt up the display on the other half of the device and use it like any other laptop. Alternatively, you could have the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED propped up and use the keyboard detached from the device since it connects over Bluetooth and have full access to the 17.3-inch display.

That 17.3-inch display isn’t impressive just because it’s flexible, either. It features a 2560 x 1920 resolution, a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, 0.2 ms response time, 90Hz refresh frame, Vesa DisplayHDR 500 certified, and Pantone validated for color accuracy.

Internally, the Asus ZenBook 17 Fold OLED is equipped with the latest 12th Gen Intel CPU paired with up to 16 GB LPDDR5 memory and 1TB PCIe 4.0x4 NVMe M.2 SSD.

There’s no pricing or availability information for the Asus ZenBook 17 Fold OLED yet.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Kevin Lee is IGN's SEO Updates Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam.

Flexible laptops aren’t exactly novel after the Intel Horseshoe Bend concept and the Lenovo X1 Fold introduced at CES 2020. However, Asus really surprised me with the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED as a seemingly normal-looking laptop but then it lifted the keyboard away to reveal a foldable laptop.

The Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED introduced at CES 2022 is essentially a 17.3-inch OLED tablet that folds up into a 12.5-inch booklet. It’s quite a bit bigger than the 13.3-inch Lenovo X1 Fold I saw last year, and obviously, the bigger screen makes it that much more usable for multiple applications at the same time.

The larger size also allows Asus to introduce a full-sized magnetic keyboard that seamlessly snaps onto one-half of the device. From there, you can tilt up the display on the other half of the device and use it like any other laptop. Alternatively, you could have the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED propped up and use the keyboard detached from the device since it connects over Bluetooth and have full access to the 17.3-inch display.

That 17.3-inch display isn’t impressive just because it’s flexible, either. It features a 2560 x 1920 resolution, a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, 0.2 ms response time, 90Hz refresh frame, Vesa DisplayHDR 500 certified, and Pantone validated for color accuracy.

Internally, the Asus ZenBook 17 Fold OLED is equipped with the latest 12th Gen Intel CPU paired with up to 16 GB LPDDR5 memory and 1TB PCIe 4.0x4 NVMe M.2 SSD.

There’s no pricing or availability information for the Asus ZenBook 17 Fold OLED yet.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Kevin Lee is IGN's SEO Updates Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam.

During Sony's CES 2022 press conference, the company announced new information from its PlayStation division. This includes new information on the PSVR 2 as well as a new Horizon VR game being developed exclusively for the next-gen headset.

Horizon Call of the Mountain is a new game co-developed by Guerrilla and Firesprite, a UK game developer primarily focused on VR games and recently acquired by Sony.

This will be an original game built specifically for the PSVR 2 and according to the PS Blog post will allow players "to go deeper in the world of Horizon."

While no release date was shared, the YouTube description did share some additional insight on the game, noting that Horizon Call of the Mountain will "embrace a new level of immersion in a unique experience, designed to push hardware technology, innovation, and gameplay."

While details are sparse, Horizon Call of the Mountain will likely utilize the many new features announced for the PSVR 2 headset. This includes new, 4K HDR visuals and 110-degree field of view with a brand new OLED display, inside-out tracking using integrated cameras in the VR headset, and a new Sense Technology that combines eye tracking, headset feedback, and 3D Audio. The PSVR 2 also includes a built-in motor within the headset that gives the wearer physical feedback.

Firesprite hit the ground running as a PlayStation Studios brand, putting up job listings for new employees to work on an ambitious AAA Narrative Adventure. And while Firesprite could be planning multiple projects, at least one of those is a VR game set in Guerrilla's Horizon universe.

The announcement coincides with the upcoming release of Horizon: Forbidden West coming to PS4 and PS5 in a little over a month.

Matt Kim is IGN's News Editor. Taylor Lyles is IGN's Associate Tech Editor.