New and Emerging Technology News part 46 ~ NEW GEN TECH LIFE : new generation technology news

Saturday 25 January 2014

New and Emerging Technology News part 46

Rocket powered Dragonfly DF1 helicopter cleared for take-off
The Dragonfly DF1 is a helicopter that uses rockets attached to the tips of its blades to power it instead of a conventional fixed motor attached to the body. The rockets produce no pollution and are fueled by 70 percent hydrogen peroxide (H202) supplied by a pair if fuel tanks surrounding the pilot’s seat. They are capable of propelling the DF1 to a top speed of 185 km/h (115 mph) and can send the craft climbing to a ceiling of 4,000m (2.485 miles) at a rate of 700 m (2,300 ft) a minute.  Read More
Smartbook concept offers a cell phone handset that folds into a keyboard and syncs wireles...
We humans are such demanding creatures - we want the world and then some. Luckily, there are concept designers out there who are willing to cater to our whims. For those of you wishing tablet PC's had a usable keyboard and the smartphone had a bigger screen feast your eyes on the Smartbook concept. It’s a phone handset that folds out into a QWERTY keyboard that can sync with its personalized PC tablet.  Read More
MIT researchers coaxed tiny, chainlike molecules to arrange themselves into complex patter...
The photolithography process used to create the features on computer chips has remained largely unchanged in the last 50 years. But as chip manufacturers continue to cram more and more circuits onto a chip the limitation of this process is rapidly being reached. Potential solutions to keep apace with Moore’s Law include using DNA molecules as scaffolding, replacing copper interconnects with graphene and using plasma beams. Now researchers at MIT are developing a process that could see tiny circuits being created using molecules that automatically arrange themselves into useful patterns.  Read More
The Spiral Eye makes easy work of threading a sewing needle
Considering that sewing is supposedly a relaxing pastime, isn’t it odd that the very first step in the process – threading the sewing needle – can be so difficult? That’s exactly what Minnesota inventor, Pam Turner thought and that’s why she designed the Spiral Eye needle. It’s a sewing needle that allows the user to simply slide a looped thread towards the needle eye where it is caught and then pulled into the eye. Easy, stress-free and so simple - you wonder why it's taken this long to create.  Read More
Bourne Energy's Backpack Power Plant is ultra-portable at under 3 feet long and weighing l...
Hydroelectric power specialist Bourne Energy has developed a human-portable hydroelectric generator which can create clean, quiet power from any stream deeper than four feet. The "Backpack Power Plant", which joins the company's Riverstar, Oceanstar and Tidalstar designs, is aimed at bringing cheap, practical energy technology to remote areas.  Read More
MSI's Intel Core i5-powered GE700 gaming and entertainment laptop
First announced at CES 2010, MSI's GE700 has now been officially let out of the bag. Billed as an entertainment gaming machine, its Intel Core i5 processor combined with a DirectX 11 supporting ATI Radeon HD GPU and cinema class audio are promised to give the "ultimate experience in multimedia entertainment".  Read More
The Epson Toyocom AH-6100LR is a six-axis quartz MEMS motion sensor
Epson Toyocom Corporation has produced what it claims is the world’s smallest 6-axis motion sensor. The use of motion sensors is growing dramatically, with the components found in all sorts of devices including cell phones, digital cameras, and of course game controllers such as the Nintendo Wii Remote or the Sony PlayStation Move. Epson Toyocom's AH-6100LR combines two different sensors in a single small package, incorporating both a 3-axis accelerometer and a 3-axis gyro-sensor.  Read More
The Chinavasion robotic vacuum cleaner not only cleans your floors, it allows you to surve...
Some things are just made for each other…bread and butter, coffee and cream, maple syrup and waffles, robot vacuum cleaner and wireless camera…wait a minute, that last one doesn’t sound like a match made in heaven. But this robot vacuum cleaner with an IP WiFi enabled camera could prove me wrong. This little dynamo not only keeps your floors clean, you can direct it to vacuum from your holiday destination and even use it to communicate - or keep an eye on - your family back home.  Read More
Transistor architecture developed by Tyndall researchers uses a control gate around a sili...
A team of scientists at the Tyndall National Institute in Cork, Ireland has created what they claim is the world's first junctionless transistor. The invention represents a breakthrough in transistors and nanoelectronics, and has the potential to revolutionize microchip manufacturing.  Read More
An example of BCI control - each person controls their racket with motor imagery. The rack...
The award-winning French movie The Diving Bell and the Butterfly brought to life the memoirs of Elle magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby - the victim of a major stroke at the young age of 42, resulting in him suffering “locked in syndrome”, where the brain is active but the body is not. Bauby can only communicate by blinking one eye and, with the help of a patient speech theraprist, writes his memoirs. For other stroke victims or sufferers of brain injuries who have lost the ability to speak and write, communicating with the outside world can be frustrating. Guger Technologies, makers of intendiX, has created a home-based system where wearers of a special EEG cap can communicate via a computer with the special software installed.  Read More

The Momentum Reel Mower makes tough patches less of a chore
"Green" mowers like the human-powered Mow Cycle are great for keeping that well manicured lawn along with a clear conscience. But there’s always the chance of running into a patch of particularly thick grass that makes push mowers that little bit less attractive. The Momentum Reel Mower tackles this shortcoming in an ingenious way - its InertiaDrive Technology (patent pending) stores energy like a flywheel to unleash a burst of extra cutting power when required.  Read More
A Boeing A160T Hummingbird UAV, like the one shown here during a previous sling-load test ...
Boeing’s A160T Hummingbird UAV has successfully completed a simulated mission test proving the unmanned rotorcraft’s ability to resupply frontline troops in rough terrain. The demonstration saw the A160T carry 1,250-pound sling loads over two 150-nautical-mile round trips operating autonomously on a pre-programmed mission. The demonstration proved the craft is capable of delivering at least 2,500 pounds of cargo from one simulated forward-operating base to another 75 nautical miles away in well under the required six hours.  Read More
1930 Duesenberg Model J Sport Berline by Murphy
The excellence embodied by Duesenberg automobiles gave us the expression "It's a doozy"... and this one certainly is. The 1930 Duesenberg Model J Sport Berline sold for a touch over US$1.7 million at the 12th annual RM Auctions Automobiles of Amelia Island auction in Florida last weekend. A second 1932 Convertible Coupe Model J fetched $825,000 in an auction that saw four cars break the million dollar barrier.  Read More
Four flash photographs of a volunteer were taken from different angles and special softwar...
As identity theft continues to rise, authorities are on the lookout for ways to use a person's physical characteristics to distinguish between an imposter and the genuine article. Whereas eyes change shape according to facial expression and ears can be hidden away, researchers from the University of Bath have discovered that the shape of a person's nose is rarely affected by such things and have developed a technique which shows distinct promise for biometric identify verification.  Read More
ARRI Alexa platform is a new generation of high-end digital movie cameras
Motion picture equipment manufacturer ARRI is set to release its new high-end digital movie camera, known as the Alexa, and some people in the industry are calling it the final nail in film cinematography’s coffin. Sure, we’ve heard that prediction before but early hands-on reports of the Alexa seem to back it up. Final details have not been officially released, but so far we know the Alexa platform will have a 35mm-size 3.5k pixel sensor with 800ASA sensitivity, onboard HD recording, and shooting speeds up to 60fps.  Read More
Safety first - the BoostApak quickly changes from a child's backpack with a storage compar...
In many countries, the law requires young children to be fitted in age- and size-appropriate seating within a vehicle. In the UK, all children under 12 years old or 135cm in height must use a booster seat, so it’s important to have one on hand at all times. But sometimes these cumbersome devices get left at home or in the “other car”. BoostApak is, as the name suggests, a booster seat in a backpack, light enough for children to carry when traveling on a bus, taxi, plane or while carpooling.  Read More
Three new LifeCam's from Microsoft, left the HD-5000, center the HD-5001 and right the HD-...
With many online video resources now encouraging HD uploads, what vloggers and podcasters need in order to finally ditch the grainy low quality affairs that have plagued our online experience for far too long is a high definition webcam. Microsoft has responded to the call with three new 720p HD webcams which TrueColor Technology which, the company claims, automatically adjusts picture quality to give optimum brightness and color whatever light is available.  Read More
The Ergoroller computer wrist support massages your wrist as you use it
Over the years, we’ve profiled a lot of ergonomic computer mice here on Gizmag. They’ve all taken the approach of redesigning the mouse itself to alleviate computer-related repetitive strain injuries (RSI’s). The Ergoroller, however, looks to a redesign of the wrist support to achieve the same ends. Like a conventional wrist support, it provides a place to rest your mousing arm, so you’re not constantly straining to hold it in position. Unlike one, however, it contains two rows of steel bearings, that massage your tendons and ligaments as you move your hand.  Read More
The Pogoplug now offers media streaming to Xbox 360 and PS3 games consoles as well as offs...
Pogoplug, the multimedia sharing device we first saw at CES 2009, has added to its list of features. Now, as well as allowing users to access their media on any PC via the web, users can also stream content to Xbox 360 and PS3 game consoles from any local or remotely located Pogoplug. Additionally, the Pogoplug is now capable of offsite backup thanks to the enhanced Active Copy feature that automatically copies files to a Pogoplug in another location.  Read More
Some iPhone screen grabs which show how PayPal Send Money 2.0 app keeps you solvent
If you have a PayPal account and an iPhone, chances are you’ll never again be caught short of money when you’re out and about. PayPal has released version 2.0 of its Send Money application for iPhone, which means account-holders now have even fewer reasons to carry cold, hard cash around with them. Three nifty features in the free app are Bump, where iPhone users physically bump phones to “magically” transfer money from one account to the next, a Split Check calculator and the Collect Money function, which politely prompts debtors to pay up.  Read More

RFID tags printed through a new roll-to-roll process could replace bar codes and make chec...
Newly developed radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology could usher in the era of checkout line-free shopping. The inexpensive, printable transmitter can be invisibly embedded in packaging offering the possibility of customers walking a cartload of groceries or other goods past a scanner that would read all the items at once, total them up and charge the customer’s account while adjusting the store’s inventory. More advanced versions could even collect all the information about the contents of a store in an instant, letting a retailer know where every package is at any time.  Read More
Schematic of FLUXXlab's Revolution Door, a power-generating revolving door
Here’s how the natural energy cycle works: the sun creates energy when it causes the plants to grow, the plants create energy when they’re eaten by animals, the animals and the plants create energy when they’re consumed by people, and then the people create energy when they do things like open doors. That’s sort of the idea, anyway, and it’s one that New York architectural designers Carmen Trudell and Jenny Broutin have tried to express through their design firm, FLUXXlab. They have created several clever devices designed to convert human energy into electricity, and to educate people on their place within the energy cycle.  Read More
The Lockheed Martin F-35B begins descending to its first vertical landing March 18, 2010. ...
The F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter has completed its first vertical landing. The Short Take-Off Vertical Landing (STOVL) demonstration saw Lead Pilot Graham Tomlinson perform an 80-knot (93 miles per hour) short takeoff, a one minute hover and a vertical descent onto a 95-foot square pad riding more than 41,000 pounds of thrust provided by the Rolls-Royce LiftFan system.  Read More
Unfortunately Canon's firmware update 2.0.3 didn't only bring welcome enhancements to the ...
No sooner had Canon released the latest 2.0.3 firmware update for its venerable EOS 5D Mark II earlier this week than problems were discovered resulting in the company pulling the update. The long-awaited update brought a range of video shooting enhancements and audio tweaks along with fixes to the camera’s manual sensor cleaning function. However, users quickly discovered a malfunction that saw the camera unable to record audio in certain circumstances... but a fix is on the way.  Read More
The XpanD X103 active shutter 3D glasses are claimed to have 'the fastest shutter speed in...
XpanD is offering a solution to the frustration of having to potentially purchase numerous sets of brand-specific glasses in order to enjoy 3D content on different televisions and 3D-enabled devices. It's X103 active shutter glasses are said to work on almost all new 3D-ready TVs, no matter the brand.  Read More
The Universal Gadget Wrist Charger provides extra power on the go
The Universal Gadget Wrist Charger looks like it would be even more useful than the magical bullet-deflecting bracelets worn by Wonder Woman – for charging gadgets anyway. This device provides a convenient way to carry around some extra energy reserves to power the growing number of portable gadgets residing on your person these days.  Read More
Pet Umbrella is a dog's best friend
This is pure genius. Lieben, a company based in Japan, has created an umbrella that will keep your dog nice and dry when you walk him on a rainy day. The concept is surprisingly simple. It looks like a regular umbrella, but the canopy is inverted so that when you point it downwards it's actually right-side up. The umbrella is transparent as well so as to not impede the dog's vision.  Read More
The artificial photosynthetic material design was inspired by the foam nests of the semi-t...
Natural photosynthesis isn't as efficient as we would like it to be, and incorporating solar energy into useful products is the subject for much collective research. Engineering researchers from University of Cincinnati have found a way to artificially create a photosynthetic material from foam which uses plant, bacterial, frog and fungal enzymes to produce sugars from sunlight and carbon dioxide.  Read More
A Mitsubishi electric vehicle being fast-charged
One of the criticisms often levied at the drive to get electrically-powered vehicles from the fringe into the mainstream is the current lack of a network of charging stations. Four car manufacturing giants have teamed up with a utility service provider to tackle this problem head on. The newly formed CHAdeMO Association is not only calling for a standard method for charging electric vehicles to be adopted but is also hoping to add some much-needed momentum to the global installation of fast charging solutions.  Read More
The Folding Plug is designed to to collapse flat for packing in a laptop bag (Credit: Min-...
When the British plug was introduced in 1946 it did not have great ambitions. It did not expect to travel the world, buried in laptop bags, forming awkward acquaintances with travel adapters. When burdened with a jet-setter lifestyle it fought back; peevishly shredding important documents, scarring laptops, and generally making itself a bulky, disagreeable yet indispensable travel companion. But after 50 years of dogged service, finally the old-fashioned plug could be heading for a revamp. The astonishingly simple "Folding Plug" design from British student Min-Kyu Choi, just won product design category of the prestigious Brit Insurance Designs Awards.  Read More

Football fans will be able to enjoy games in 3D in pubs and clubs around the UK and Irelan...
Last year UK broadcaster Sky announced it would launch Europe’s first 3D TV channel. It has now revealed that Saturday April 3rd will be the kick off date, with the broadcast of a Premier League clash between Manchester United and Chelsea. Football fans will be able to don 3D glasses in over a thousand pubs and clubs across the UK and Ireland that have already signed up for the 3D service as will residential subscribers with the necessary 3D capable equipment.  Read More
Ferrari GT Rollercoaster - two tracks operate simultaneously
When Ferrari World opens its doors in Abu Dhabi later this year, fans of the prancing horse will be treated to a monster roller coaster with a difference. Riding in a Ferrari (of course), the ride will take thrill-seekers on a two kilometer journey at up to 95 kmh and because there are two cars running side-by-side, the roller coaster becomes a racetrack with a different "winner" each time.  Read More
AT&T's ZERO charger automatically detects when it is no longer needed and switches itself ...
AT&T has announced that its hoping to step into Buffy's shoes and rid the world of vampires. Just as the undead feast on the life-force of unsuspecting victims, mobile phone chargers can continue to suck power from the mains even when disconnected from the device and left in the wall socket. With the forthcoming release of the ZERO charger, AT&T is aiming to change that.  Read More
Counter Surveillance Camera detects binoculars, cameras and rifle scopes pointing at you a...
The sniper is without doubt the most fearsome of opponents – capable of taking your life from great distance. Current anti-sniper counter measures depend on the sight or sound of the initial shot, and by that time, it may be too late. Now a new device which uses the same "red-eye" effect of flash cameras and projects it hundreds of meters, can identify binoculars, sniper scopes, cameras and even human eyeballs that are staring at you. It is hence the first machine that can offer 24/7 warning that you are being watched or targeted, BEFORE a shot is fired.  Read More
People see ethics as getting away with whatever they can while still staying within the ru...
Researchers at the University of Utah have been looking at the psychology of individual decision making in an effort to help organizations better understand thinking patterns in the workplace. The depressing, if a little unsurprising, conclusion is that what we know we should do and what we want to do can be two very different things, in other words, we are not as ethical as we think we are.  Read More
Numerous sensors on the outside of the vehicle would feed data into the system so that imp...
Wouldn't it be great if driving in thick fog, pounding rain or blizzard snow wasn't a visibility nightmare and road markings or important signage remained clear whatever the conditions. General Motors may be on the verge of striking automotive safety gold if the augmented vision display system its R&D team recently demonstrated finds its way to commercial development.  Read More
Fujitsu's new additions to its proGREEN range include a laptop which gives 18 hours of bat...
Fujitsu has announced the immediate availability of six new additions to its proGREEN range of energy-efficient computers and laptops. All of the new models are Energy Star certified and are powered by Intel Core i3/i5 or i7 processors, with the LIFEBOOK E780 being claimed to have a huge 18-hour battery life.  Read More
Diagram of the regenerative shock absorber and the cross section of the magnet assembly
Only 10-16 percent of the fuel energy is used to drive the car during everyday usage – that is, to overcome the resistance from road friction and air drag and actually transport the vehicle forward. That amounts to a lot of energy being wasted. Hybrid cars recapture some of the energy usually lost in braking but the dissipation of vibration energy by shock absorbers in the vehicle suspension remains an untapped source of potential energy. To harvest this lost energy, researchers have designed and tested a shock absorber that can be retrofitted to cars to convert the kinetic energy of suspension vibration between the wheel and sprung mass into useful electrical power.  Read More
The Eyewriter project is an ongoing collaborative research effort to empower people who ar...
Members of Free Art and Technology (FAT), OpenFrameworks, the Graffiti Research Lab, and The Ebeling Group communities have teamed-up with legendary LA graffiti writer, publisher and activist Tony Quan aka Tempt One to develop a low-cost, open source eye-tracking system that will allow graffiti writers and artists with paralysis to draw using only their eyes. Their product, the Eyewriter, recently won the Interactive Award at the celebrated Brit Insurance Design Awards.  Read More
The Kodak Playsport video camera
Kodak has just announced that it’s bungee-jumping into the “actioncam” market, with this month’s introduction of its new compact, shockproof, waterproof HD Playsport video camera. Members of the public will have their first chance to try it out on Saturday, March 20th, at the 2010 Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships in Vermont. On the off chance that you won’t be attending that event, here’s a bit about the camera...  Read More
 
 
 
Vincent's C-60 CD player gives the user a choice of vacuum tube or solid-state output, eac...
German high-end audio specialist Vincent Audio has announced immediate availability of its new CD player. Benefiting from noise-reducing component isolation and offering the user the choice of rich vacuum or precise digital reproduction, the C-60 also offers premium XLR balanced output and a highly accurate Philips transport. But serious audio enjoyment does come at a price.  Read More
Jiang Gonglue's Infinite USB concept design
For anyone who has ever lamented those clunky USB hubs, there might be a far more elegant solution around the corner. Thanks to clever design student Jiang Gonglue, we might not be too far off from seeing something like this 'Infinite USB' connector, which allows an unlimited number of devices to plug into one USB port.  Read More
The cardboard record player
A cardboard record player created as a mail promotion has become a chart-topping success for Vancouver-based sound design company GGRP. The six inch record in a corrugated cardboard mailer sleeve folds into a make-shift, human-powered player which, when turned using a pencil, transmits vibrations through the needle and amplifies via cardboard corrugations.  Read More
The KX-NT400 IP business phone from Panasonic features a 5.7in touchscreen interface with ...
Panasonic has launched a new business phone which features a color touchscreen interface, the ability to view live video feeds and even control cameras from the phone itself, an SD card slot for data and programming backup and USB, ethernet and Bluetooth connectivity.  Read More
Nokia is asking the community to vote on their idea of the perfect smartphone
Not happy with the design of your mobile phone? Nokia is looking for feedback from phone savvy consumers with its "Design by Community" smartphone project. Over seven weeks visitors to the company’s official blog, Nokia Conversations, will be asked to make a series of choices on the specs of their ideal smartphone. Once the results have been tallied Nokia’s design team will then come up with a series of concept sketches which will go to a public vote.  Read More
The regular-thickness SLiME self-sealing Smart Tube
If you’re a mountain biker, then you are no doubt aware of the increasing popularity of tubeless tires. For the uninitiated, these are tires that have no inner tubes, but that are instead partially filled with any one of various brands of slimy polymer goo. When the tire is punctured, some of the goo seeps out through the hole, and firms up upon contact with the air. They’re self-sealing tires, essentially. Because they don’t incorporate tubes, they also weigh somewhat less than a traditional tire/tube combo. On the downside, though, some brands are notoriously messy to install, and to keep airtight. They also don’t work with all types of rims. Well, if you like the self-sealing idea, but not the possible hassle of tubeless tires, there’s a product you might want to try: SLiME Smart Tubes - slime-filled inner tubes.  Read More
Casio's new Pathfinder PAG110C-3 watch is green in both color and intent
Casio has gone for a double dose of green with the latest addition to its Pathfinder collection. The new PRG110C-3 comes in an out-there shade of green and sports eco-friendly credentials, including solar technology that generates enough power for a day's operation in just 5 minutes.  Read More
The new Mongoose MMi3 cricket bat has been designed with T20 games in mind (Photo: Mat Hal...
For many traditional sports fans, cricket is more a religion than a pastime. In India, the game has never been more popular – well, to be more precise, a new form of the game called Twenty20 (20 overs per side, lots of scoring and a lot of entertainment crammed into a few short hours) has appealed to millions of fans. To match the game’s evolution, a new form of cricket bat has appeared - the Mongoose MMi3. The new bat lit up the world scene a couple of nights ago in the hands of one of world cricket’s hardest hitting batsmen - Australia’s Matthew Hayden. He clubbed 93 runs from 43 balls.  Read More
Don't bolt your doors in fear of cyborgs and hybrid human-robots yet (Original image - Fli...
Scientists have begun integrating electronics into biology, but don't bolt your doors in fear of cyborgs and hybrid human-robots yet! Researchers from the Instituto de Microelectrónica de Barcelona IMB-CNM (CSIC), have found a way to implant minute silicon chips into living cells and use them as intracellular sensors. This bio-nanotechnological advancement could tell us a lot about how our cells are working at a nano level, and have widespread implications for early detection of diseases, and new cellular repair mechanisms.  Read More

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