New and Emerging Technology News part 41 ~ NEW GEN TECH LIFE : new generation technology news

Saturday 25 January 2014

New and Emerging Technology News part 41

The Emporia Elegance (left) and Solid handsets have been designed for seniors and mobility...
Austrian mobile phone-manufacturer Emporia has released two new models - the Elegant and the Solid - at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The new handsets add to the company’s range aimed at seniors, mobility impaired users and other groups who primarily just wan to make and receive calls. Both feature a high contrast OLED 1.8-inch screen, a magnifying function that lets you enlarge the characters on screen, large buttons, and an extra loud speaker that is compatible with hearing aids.  Read More
The energy-recycling foot enhances the power of ankle push-off (Image: Steve Collins)
Most of us take it for granted, but walking isn't as simple as it looks. With the natural human gait the ankle exerts force to push off the ground. A typical prosthesis doesn’t reproduce the force exerted by a living ankle, resulting in amputees spending much more energy in comparison to walking naturally. A new prototype artificial foot recycles energy that is otherwise wasted in between steps to significantly cut the energy spent per step, making it easier for amputees to walk.  Read More
The FlexibleLove chair can be stretched and manipulated into a multitude of shapes and len...
The FlexibleLove chair is a fabulously functional chair that is made almost entirely of recycled cardboard and recycled wood waste. What's even more unique, is the fact that it can be expanded to fit from one to up to 16 people because of its accordion and honeycomb structure. This structure allows it to be stretched and folded into a multitude of shapes and lengths - creating surprisingly strong seating, suitable for various spaces and requirements.  Read More
The Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Center has a six acre 'living roof', the largest i...
When Vancouver won the competition to host the 2010 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games thoughts immediately turned to construction, and one of the most awe-inspiring initiatives has to be the redesign of the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Center (VCAEC). Currently hosting the international broadcasting and media hub for the Winter Olympics, this waterfront building is not only beautiful and functional but is environmentally sustainable, boasting a green electricity program, a seawater heating and cooling system and the largest "living roof" in Canada populated with 40,000 plants and grasses.  Read More
Kegless - almost a dozen single-serve bottles in an easy-to-dispense box
The upside of a party at your place is that you don’t have to worry about getting a ride home after a few beers. The downside is having to clean up the next morning and finding a way to dispose of all those empty beer bottles. But had you supplied the party with (or encouraged others to bring) a Kegless, this wouldn’t be a problem. Kegless is a 4L (roughly 8.5 pints) bag-in-a-box packaging concept that provides a more sustainable alternative to conventional single-serve bottle or can. It allows beer (and other carbonated beverages) to be stored and dispensed from a single container while maintaining the carbonation and freshness of the product.  Read More
The Eee PC T101MT multi-touch swivel tablet/notebook from ASUS
The new Eee PC T101MT 10.1 inch LED backlit resistive touchscreen notebook computer was first shown at this year's CES in Las Vegas and now ASUS has made things official with a product website. The notebook-tablet combo will ship with an Intel Atom N450 processor, up to 2Gb RAM and a choice of 160Gb or 320Gb hard drive. It will also come with a year's worth of online storage thrown in.  Read More
The Kolelinia concept puts a bike lane above the hustle and bustle of city traffic
Riding a bicycle through city traffic is often dangerous enough to be considered an extreme sport, but a concept by architect, Martin Angelov, takes the thrill of city cycling to a whole new level – literally. His design proposes a new type of bike lane, based on steel wires and suspended up to 4.5 meters (14.5 feet) above the hustle and bustle found at street level.  Read More
Samsung shows first LTE (4G) Netbook
Samsung began demonstrating the world’s first Long Term Evolution (LTE) netbook PC at Mobile World Congress 2010 here today. Samsung’s own in-house designed LTE modem chipset, Kalmia, enabled the development of a small form factor netbook with LTE capability. Samsung demonstrated live video streaming via the company’s own LTE network equipment on the Samsung netbook N150.The Samsung netbook N150 is currently available in market with HSPA 3G communications and WiFi access and will become commercially available with LTE in appropriate markets.  Read More
First Littoral Combat Ship deployed
The first Littoral Combat Ship departed from Florida today for its maiden deployment, approximately two years ahead of schedule. The agile 378-foot USS Freedom (LCS 1), designed and built by a team of companies led by Lockheed Martin, is the first of 55 the U.S. Navy plans for a new class of ships designed to operate in coastal waters.  Read More
The spokeless bicycle was the brainchild of nine Yale seniors from an engineering class
Usually, when you put nine university seniors together from a mechanical engineering class in a room for a whole semester with no strict agenda, the last thing you expect to get is a useful product. But this team broke the mold and created a “human-powered spokeless bicycle”. Admittedly, only the back wheel is spokeless, but the Yale students had two very good reasons for that – time and money.  Read More

The world’s first tribrid – human-sail-electric watercraft range
Two landmark water transportation announcements from Hobie this week could seriously supercharge the adventure and recreational marketplaces. Its announcements effectively means the company will be selling the first tribrid – a watercraft powered by a combination of three energy sources – when its new electric option becomes available in March at the same time as the much-awaited Mirage Tandem Island hits showrooms.  Read More
Food packaging is just one of the potential applications of the compostable sugar-based po...
Traditional environmental enemies food packaging and other disposable plastic items could soon be composted at home along with organic waste and not collected for landfill thanks to a new sugar-based polymer being developed at Imperial College London. The degradable polymer is made from sugars known as lignocellulosic biomass, which come from non-food crops like fast-growing trees and grasses, or renewable biomass from agricultural or food waste.  Read More
The Study Nook helps students with learning disabilities remain part of the classroom envi...
For certain school children with learning disabilities, focusing on the task at hand is a major challenge, especially with so many distractions to be found in the classroom. To address the problem university student Aaron Kowald has designed the Study Nook – a miniature desktop office that functions as a learning aid for children with Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD), like autism and Down's Syndrome.  Read More
Unveiling the Ford Transit Connect Electric van
The Ford Motor Company chose the recent Chicago Auto Show to unveil its long awaited Transit Connect Electric van. The all-electric light duty commercial vehicle is the first in Ford’s accelerated electrified vehicle plan that also includes the Focus Electric in 2011, as well as a plug-in hybrid vehicle and next generation hybrid technology due in 2012.  Read More
Huawei's E398 Modem Image courtesy:
Chinese telecommunications manufacturer Huawei has been showing its E398 modem at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and garnering a lot of interest. The E398 is the world’s first triple-mode LTE modem compatible with all three major network standards: LTE, UMTS, and GSM.
The triple-mode modem will enable high speed LTE access while seamlessly switching to other standards (UMTS or GSM) when LTE is not available.  Read More
The heat from the human body could be harvested to run low power electronic devices
Efforts to capture energy from the human body usually focus on harnessing the kinetic energy of the body’s movement. However the human body is also generating energy in the form of heat that could also be used to run low power electronic devices. New energy-scavenging systems under development at MIT could generate electricity just from differences in temperature between the body (or other warm object) and the surrounding air.  Read More
Coming soon to the Geneva Motor Show, the new Audi A1 compact hatchback with a choice of f...
Audi has finally “cut to the chase” and delivered us enough information to bring you an insight into how its new A1 will look and perform when it’s released at the Geneva Motor Show next month. This new Audi three-door hatchback follows on from the 2007 Quattro design study in a smaller shape that the company says will still provide space for four adults and their luggage. It comes a choice of two petrol and one diesel engine option and plenty of built-in features shoe-horned into a compact space.  Read More
Noel's loving his job today: trauma testing d3o's advanced motorcycle armour with a very n...
d3o's body armour claims to be soft and flexible throughout the day, but to harden up instantly under impact. As such it's been a big hit in the snowboarding market, where it can make clothing protective and impact-resistant without it looking like you're wearing armour. But now d3o are branching out into the motorcycle armour market - so how does this thin, bright orange wonder armour compare against the traditional thick foam CE armour pads you find in bike leathers? Editor Noel McKeegan attacks Loz Blain with a heavy frying pan to find out.  Read More
A schematic diagram of the light-trapping elements used to optimize absorption within a po...
Using arrays of long, thin silicon wires embedded in a polymer substrate, a team of researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have created a new type of flexible solar cell. Promising enhanced sunlight absorption and efficient conversion of photons into electrons, the new solar cell uses only a fraction of the expensive semiconductor materials required by conventional solar cells, and because they are flexible, they will be cheaper to manufacture.  Read More
The Speedo Aquabeat comes in lime green, hot pink, black and gray
Speedo's offering in the waterproof MP3 player arena - the Aquabeat - is submersible to three meters, weighs in at only 35g and is easily attached to your sports gear so you can have beats as you zig-zag at high-speed down the mountain or cut laps at the pool.  Read More

The glass tile on the end of the syringe contains live vaccine suspended in dried sugar. P...
Vaccination has pretty much rid the entire western world of some of its worst child-killing diseases - but a lot of these nasties are still causing death and debilitation in developing countries. There's one simple reason: because the vaccines contain living strains of the viruses they attack, they need to be kept continuously refrigerated all the way from production to the point of use - and that's an expensive and sometimes insurmountable logistical nightmare. Which is why this invention could save literally millions of lives...  Read More
The Superplexus Vortex is an incredible puzzle that could give you hours of pleasure...or ...
Remember that old wooden labyrinth puzzle you used as a kid? You had to manipulate a small steel ball through a series of mazes by altering the orientation of the plane using two knobs. Prepare to meet its big brother – the Superplexus Vortex. It’s a humongous, three-dimensional, spherical labyrinth that promises to both challenge and frustrate you.  Read More
Eyeball-tracking earbuds let you control your MP3 player with a glance
How the heck does it do that? Japanese telecom giant NTT DoCoMo has used the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to demo a very cool new handsfree interface you can use to control an MP3 player using gestures you make with your eyeballs. Sensors in the earbuds themselves measure changes in electrical potential to convert your eye movements to iPod commands. Fascinating stuff... and while using it on an MP3 player might seem a bit naff, there's probably a range of other situations where handsfree, voice-free control options like this could be really useful.  Read More
MU researcher Jae Kwon is developing a tiny sensor that could pave the way for home cancer...
Just as home tests revolutionized the detection of pregnancy, a tiny sensor being developed at the University of Missouri (MU) could bring the benefits of home testing to the diagnosis a variety of diseases, including breast and prostate cancers. The sensor, known as an acoustic resonant sensor, is smaller than a human hair and could one day be used in home testing kits for the easy, rapid and accurate diagnosis of a range of diseases.  Read More
LS3 is conceived as an autonomous support pack-robot for ground troops (Image: Boston Dyna...
Walking quadrupeds are being cast to play a major role in the rapidly unfolding age of robotics. The platform promises versatility far beyond that of wheeled-vehicles and will undoubtedly find applications in a wide variety of fields. Not surprisingly, the development of quadrupeds is being driven by the military and DARPA has recently boosted its efforts by awarding Boston Dynamics $32 million for the prototype phase of its Legged Squad Support System (LS3) program.  Read More
The GPS-enabled X-Plore.XGX gloves from Zanier
For powder hounds looking for a convenient way to keep track of the best runs down the mountain winter sports accessories manufacturer Zanier has announced the X-Plore.XGX – the first glove with full GPS functionality. Aside from making sure skiers won’t lose that gnarly stash of powder or get lost, the GPS enabled gloves also record altitude, speed, distance, duration and other route data for upload to the web once back at the ski lodge.  Read More
Dr. Henry Daniell has developed a cheap way to produce ethanol from waste materials (Image...
While it may not quite be the Mr. Fusion energy reactor Doc Brown uses to convert household scraps into power for his time-traveling DeLorean, scientists have found a way to turn discarded fruit peels, newspapers and other waste products into cheap fuel to power the world’s vehicles. Its developer says the new approach is greener and less expensive than the current methods available to run vehicles on cleaner fuel and is part of his goal to relegate gasoline to a secondary fuel.  Read More
Gorillapod goes magnetic
Gorillapod's camera tripods have become a common sight since they were released a few years back and there's a good reason for that - it's a great idea. Now Gorillapod designer Joby has announced a new addition to the range - the Gorillapod Magnetic - which incorporates magnets into the feet of the flexible tripod allowing it to be anchored to any magnetic surface.  Read More
The Firescuba is a cardboard cup-shaped device that, when fitted, allows users to breathe ...
It might look like a McDonald’s fries packet, but the Firescuba concept is nothing to be laughed at if it keeps you alive until help arrives. Smoke inhalation is the major cause of most fire-related injuries and deaths so if this device with its carbon filter lets you breathe through smoke, it’s probably worth carrying one around with you or keeping one within reach at home.  Read More
Hiperwall software video wall uses normal PCs and monitors
Video walls – a wall of monitors displaying large quantities of information at a single glance - have traditionally been the domain of air-traffic control, NASA, television stations, and big budget marketers, but no longer. Hiperwall’s high-performance, low-cost video wall system uses a software solution that is hardware agnostic (meaning it can work with any size, resolution or type of display, whether it’s LCD, plasma, CRT even rear-projection) and allows non-technical users to manage the display of video and data feeds using just a mouse. This is a killer app in that it enables complex information display at a fraction of the cost of previously!!  Read More
 
Click & Grow pots make growing houseplants a set & forget exercise
As someone who has been responsible for the death of every single pot plant that has been placed in my charge, I was interested to discover a new computerized system that is designed to take the guesswork out of growing houseplants. It's manufacturers say the Click & Grow system takes care of all a plant’s needs such as watering and fertilizing by way of sensors, a processor and special software contained in the pot.  Read More
Flyfire is a cloud of LED-carrying helicopters controlled in synchrony (Courtesy of  'MIT ...
The basis of most 3D systems is to "trick" our eyes into believing that an image shown on a flat screen has three dimensions, but what if you could throw away the screen entirely! It sounds simply too far-fetched and impossible to choreograph, but that's exactly what researchers MIT's SENSEable City Lab and Aerospace Robotics and Embedded Systems Laboratory (ARES Lab) have created with Flyfire - a cloud of LED-carrying micro-helicopters controlled in synchrony to show unique animated light displays in three-dimensional space.  Read More
Example of a project being developed on BikeCAD Pro
Anyone who likes bicycles has at some point probably fantasized about it - getting their own one-of-a-kind custom-made bike. There are oodles of independent frame-builders out there who will gladly accommodate such fantasies, but their services generally don’t come cheap. Building a high-end bicycle from scratch definitely requires a lot of skill, and even designing one isn’t something that just anyone can do… or is it? BikeCAD, a free online applet, guides users through designing their own road, mountain, tandem or recumbent bike. They can then take their finished design to a builder, or even attempt to build the thing themselves.  Read More
Nintendo's DS2 to counter Apple with accelerometer, rumble pack?
Nintendo was doing touchscreen gaming long before Apple ever decided to get in the game. But as the iPod touch, the iPhone, and now the iPad have challenged the gaming giant, Nintendo is expected to respond aggressively with a new console in 2010. Reports are already starting to roll in that some developers in Japan have received early versions of the new Nintendo hardware.  Read More
The IT system automatically regulates anesthetic (Photo: Albino Méndez et al.)
Anesthetists cannot take their responsibilities lightly. Too little anesthetic and a patient may feel the whole procedure, too much and a patient might shuffle off this mortal coil. Researchers in the Canary Islands have taken the guesswork out of this thorny dilemma and developed a computer-controlled system that measures a patient's hypnotic state and applies the appropriate dose of anesthetic.  Read More
Vauxhall to show shape-shifting 175mpg 125 mph Flextreme GT/E hybrid
Vauxhall will unveil a dramatic concept car at this year’s Geneva Show. The Flextreme GT/E uses what Vauxhall calls extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV) technology – the wheels at all times are driven by electricity, but a small petrol engine/generator provides enough electricity to extend the driving range to more than 300 miles. The Flextreme GT/E also employs active shape shifting. Above 30mph, a vertical panel extends along the body from the air extraction slot behind each rear wheel-arch, guiding high-speed airflow around the rear of the car, reducing the drag co-efficient to just 0.22.  Read More
The Wide Open (with optional top), Sportboat and Sailfin versions of the Zingy
So, you’re thinking about buying your first boat... What kind do you want - a boat for ripping around the lake, one for a tranquil morning of fishing on the pond, or something for catching the wind and bouncing across the waves? Whaddaya mean, all of those? Actually, inventor Clayton Turney would tell you he’s got just the watercraft for you. His Zingy boats were designed with first-timers/generalists in mind, as they can apparently be used as motorboats, rowboats or sailboats, they’re small enough to carry on the back of a motorhome, and are supposedly quite easy to handle. Oh yeah, and they’re also claimed to be unsinkable.  Read More
Citroen to unleash 200 bhp DS3 Racing at the Geneva Motor Show
Citroen will take the wraps of the hot version of its new premium model, the DS3 when it reveals the 147 kW Citroen DS3 Racing at the Geneva International Motor Show on March 2. Developed by Citroën Racing - the dominant team behind five World Rally Championship manufacturer’s titles and six driver’s titles for over the past six years - leaves little doubt that the French car maker has the ability to take its already critically lauded DS3 and turn it into a real performance machine. Planned for the second half of 2010, the exclusive DS3 Racing will be limited to just 1000 production units.  Read More
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP intend to install a geothermal heat exchange system in a ...
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP (SOM) has just unveiled details of the first phase for the expansion and redevelopment of three business districts in China's capital city, Beijing. Key to the success of the project is the installation of a Central Park area which will help to heat and cool energy efficient buildings in the Dawangjing District by geothermal exchange instead of relying on energy-intensive cooling towers.  Read More
The Eclipse touchmouse features four-way touch scrolling and a sloping ergonomic design
Like the Apple Magic Mouse that came before it, the Eclipse touchmouse drops the scroll wheel in favor of an integrated track pad. While the default for the touchscroll offers four-way screen scrolling by a user moving their index finger, a host of instantly accessible commands like flicking backward and forwards through webpages can be accessed through the mouse button and finger gesture combination.  Read More

The new Bentley Supersports Convertible ... claimed to be the world's fastest four-seater ...
Bentley is fast moving from its luxury car tag to that of a supercar brand with the latest release of its Continental Supersports Convertible – the fastest four-seater convertible on the road. The new Supersports has the same 630PS (621bhp/463kW) twin-turbocharged W12 engine as the Continental Supersports Coupé introduced in 2009. Bentley says this is the fastest, most potent drop-top the company has ever built - 0-60mph in 3.9 seconds (0-100kmh in 4.2 seconds) and a top speed of 202mph (325kmh).  Read More
PeeWee Kit turns any computer into a child-friendly PC (Image: Dan Cramer via Flickr)
Ensuring the home computer is 100 percent safe for the youngest members of the family is a priority for most parents. But security software can be expensive and unfortunately is not always completely effective. A clever new product – the PeeWee Kit – not only makes any computer kid-safe, it won’t break your piggy bank either...  Read More
Clockwise from top left: the 2009 MotoGP Desmosedici GP9, two patent application drawings ...
Last year when we did an extensive feature on Ducati’s motogp carbon fibre semi-monocoque frame, we lauded its groundbreaking technology. Now it seems the Italian powerhouse is so pleased with its handiwork that the semi-monocoque design looks set to replace Ducati’s trademark trellis frame on its road bikes in the future too.  Read More
Dr Philip Rasch is Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's first Chief Scientist for Clima...
Scientists in the US have been cloud-spotting over shipping lanes and have noticed something more interesting than teddy-bear shapes and faces. They have detected that rising steam from passing ships has caused brightening in the clouds which they theorize alters the reflectivity of the cloud and prevents the energy from reaching the Earth. They propose that if this could be achieved artificially via geoengineering it could be an effective defense against global warming.  Read More
Users of the TamTam flash concept would be offered either a turn by turn navigation or a f...
The TamTam Flash concept GPS torch is both a familiar looking and new technology in a number of ways. It resembles an ordinary flashlight and its name sounds an awful lot like TomTom, which neatly links to the fact that the concept torch is actually a GPS mapping device that gives its user the option of either a street map view or a turn by turn guided navigation projected onto a surface.  Read More
Sony's new prosumer-level HDRAX2000 video camera
New release prosumer level cameras of today boast features even more impressive than those found on professional cameras of just a few years ago – and at a fraction of the cost. Sony’s new HDRAX2000 prosumer video camera is a case in point, and it's one of the first professional video cameras that records using the AVCHD format.  Read More
The wrist-mounted Outer Ear detects sound-waves via a wrist-strap and converts it into low...
The Outer Ear is a non-surgical concept system for the hearing impaired that detects sound-waves and converts them into physical vibration. A watch-like wrist-strap acts as the receiver and transmits a signal via Bluetooth to a device mounted on the arm which in turn converts the sound into low, medium or high vibrations depending on the frequency.  Read More
The Riiflex dumbbells add some weight to the Wii-mote and Nunchuk controller
Wii Fit-ness fanatics looking for a way to add a bit of weight training to their Wii cardio workout that doesn’t involve dipping a Wii-mote in gold need look no further than these Riiflex Dumbbells. The dumbbells slide over the Wii-mote and Nunchuk controller to put an extra 2-pounds (1kg) in each hand and provide some extra calorie-burning resistance while playing.  Read More
The Home Core all-in-one toilet - toilet bowl, basin, mirror and a vanity table
Integrating the toilet bowl, basin, mirror and a vanity table into one, the Home Core concept has a storage tank that can be used to flush the toilet with water saved from the hand-washing basin. The water pressure on the unit can also be controlled to four different levels to help conserve potable water. Some might see it as taking the idea of all-in-one a step too far, but we think this unit would be great aboard high-end campervans, yachts, even aircraft, where space is at a premium and fresh water can be scarce.  Read More
5 by Peugeot Concept Car
Peugeot says it's responding to "radical changes in the market for large, luxury saloons" with the diesel-electric hybrid "5 by Peugeot" concept which will hit the show floor in Geneva next month. Sitting at the opposite end of the scale to the diminutive BB1 which caught our eye in Frankfurt, the 16-foot long HYbrid4technology concept combines a front mounted, 120 kW, 2.0-liter HDi diesel engine with a 27 kW electric motor at the rear and uses an electric-only mode at low speeds.  Read More

 

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