The era of the electric vehicle is drawing nearer
(albeit excruciatingly slowly) and with Volkswagen set to get its first
EV into showrooms in 2013, its latest EV concept indicates how the
world's third largest auto maker is reading the market. Dubbed the
Milano Taxi, the concept is a long overdue shot at getting a
purpose-built electric cab into major cities. The 115 PS vehicle can
reach 74 mph, travel 186 miles between charges and be recharged to 80
percent of capacity in just over an hour. Read More
Although we do know some things about the Sun -
it's big and hot for example - in many ways it remains a great mystery
to scientists. In a bid to shed some more light on our closest star,
NASA launched its most advanced spacecraft ever designed to study the
Sun in February this year. The goal of the the Solar Dynamics
Observatory (SDO) is to help us understand where the Sun's energy comes
from, explore its inner workings, and learn more about how energy is
stored and released in the Sun's atmosphere. A nice side benefit will
also be the capture of stunning images – the first of which have just
been released. Read More
Making use of novel lensless imaging technology, a
UCLA engineer has invented the world’s smallest, lightest telemedicine
microscope. The self-contained device could radically transform global
health care – particularly in Third World countries – with its ability
to image blood samples or other fluids. It can even be used to test
water quality in the field following a disaster like a hurricane or
earthquake. Read More
This beautiful architectural proposal from
Italian firm StudioDosi is as green as it looks. Submitted in a
competition to design a new headquarters for the Province of Parma in
Italy's north, the public office space features a double glazed inner
skin wrapped in an exoskeleton of "climbing vegetable stripes" which
allows natural light to enter the building and boosts ventilation. Read More
In an ideal world we would all access the
Internet over fiber optic cables that reach right up to the front door
to deliver blisteringly fast transmission speeds. Unfortunately, we
don’t live in an ideal world and many of us are forced to rely on aging
copper network infrastructure. Now, Alcatel-Lucent’s Bell Labs has
demonstrated technology that boosts the transmission speeds over two
copper pairs to 100Mbps over a distance of 1km. This could see such
infrastructure given a new lease of life, satisfying consumer’s need for
speed for some time to come. Read More
Fraunhofer developing electric vehicle test platform
By Darren Quick
April 22, 2010
With the internal combustion engine dictating
vehicle design for over a century the move towards electric vehicles
offers manufacturers the chance to completely rethink vehicle design.
However, it also presents manufacturers with a whole new set of problems
to be overcome. To facilitate the transition to electric cars,
researchers at Franhofer-Gesellschaft are constructing an electrically
operated demonstration vehicle, the “Frecc0,” which will serve as a
scientific integration platform for automobile manufacturers and
suppliers to test new electric vehicle components. Read More
It wasn't too long ago that choosing an Android phone came down to whether you wanted a physical keyboard (HTC G1/Dream) or not (HTC Magic).
With increasing Android adoption from carriers and handset
manufacturers, making the same decision in 2010 is a lot harder. We've
put two of the latest Android phones, the HTC Desire and the Sony
Ericsson Xperia X10, head to head in our latest versus review - read on
for the details. Read More
At the Printable Electronics Exhibition in Tokyo, 3R Systems was showing off their newest model of pocket microscope, the A200. Unlike the previous Vitiny
model, which shot at 300,000 pixels, the A200 has a 2 megapixel
(2,000,000) CMOS sensor and kicks out images of about 1600 x 1200
pixels. Read More
With gas prices climbing and environmental
concerns mounting, electric bicycles are becoming more popular than
ever. Cycling purists might see them as a bit of an abomination, but
look at it this way: they’re really just less-expensive electric
scooters, that give you the option of pedaling. Given that there are
already a number of brands to choose from, what can a company do to
separate their product from the pack? In the case of California-based
Pedego, they make retro-funky beach cruisers in a rainbow of colors.
Read More
Barnacles might seem to be a traditional, almost
quaint accoutrement of sea-going vessels, but they’re actually a serious
problem. The buildup of marine organisms on a ship’s hull, known as
biofouling, can reduce its speed by up to 10 percent. To compensate for
the drag, the ship may have to use as much as 40 percent more fuel.
Ships have to be lifted into drydock for the removal of barnacles, and
sometimes toxic hull coatings are used to prevent them from colonizing.
Hopefully, a new innovation may make both of those approaches
unnecessary - it’s an autonomous hull-cleaning robot. Read More
The TIPA Awards have been run and won for 2010,
meaning potential purchasers can make informed purchasing decisions
backed by the collective opinions of 28 international photographic
magazine editors. The big winners in the DSLR categories were the Nikon D3s (Professional) Canon EOS 7D (Expert), Canon EOS 550D (Advanced) and Pentax K-x (Entry). The Fuji FinePix HS10
took out best Superzoom, while Compact category winners included the
Casio Exilim EX-G1 (Rugged Compact), Canon PowerShot G11 (Expert
Compact) and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V (Best Compact). Significantly, the
Best Expert Camcorder was… Read More
When it comes to red-blooded boys toys,
Husqvarna's latest demolition robot takes the cake. Husqvarna is in the
process of releasing a series of new remote-control demolition robots,
beginning with the introduction of the 22 kW DXR310 weighing 1900 kg in
late 2009, followed by the smaller 1620 kg DXR 250 in January. The 250
comes standard with 18.5 kilowatts, but there is also a 22 kW option.
Now comes the diminutive 960 kg DXR 140 which can be optioned up to 15
kW, yet is only 77 cm wide, meaning it can pass through most doorways,
fits in a lift or on a standard trailer or on the back of a utility… and
the easy-to-use Bluetooth remote control makes it an absolute breeze to
smash just about anything you can think of. Read More
Electric transport is on the way, of that there
is little doubt. While some of the big players in the automotive pond
tentatively test the waters, smaller fish are looking to step in and
clean up. One such company in the U.S. has announced plans to kick start
the mass adoption of electric vehicles and get its sedan electric car
into the eagerly waiting hands of Californian drivers by the end of this
year. The CODA car benefits from a purpose-built automotive battery
system, a range of between 90 and 120 miles between charges and a top
speed of 80mph. Read More
Carbon nanotube research could lead to bionic sense of touch
By Gizmag Team
April 26, 2010
The human body is an amazingly complex bit of kit. Replicating it with bionic technology presents challenges on many fronts, including the formidable task of mimicking our sense of touch.
This goal could now be a little closer thanks to a breakthrough in
carbon nanotube processing by scientists at Oak Ridge National
Laboratory. Borrowing from conventional methods of making glass fiber,
the researchers managed to cram 19,600 individual carbon
nanotube-containing channels into fibers just four times thicker than a
human hair, putting the artificial structure on a scale similar to the
tiny neural bundles that make up our nerve pathways. Read More
Mazda's innovative i-stop engine-idling-stop system
has won yet another award, this time at the lchimura Industrial Awards.
While idling stop systems are now becoming commonplace due to the
approximate 10% fuel savings they offer, conventional engine stop
systems rely on a motor to restart the engine, whereas Mazda's i-stop
restarts the engine through combustion: fuel is directly injected into a
cylinder while the engine is stopped and ignited to generate downward
piston force. Mazda's use of principles unique to the direct injection
spark ignition (DISI) engine restarts the engine in just 0.35 seconds,
about half the time of most other competing systems, while minimizing
noise and vibration and drain on the batteries. Read More
Here's another USB gem from Japanese gadget giant Thanko. Its full-size USB keyboard
is broken into four connected quarter segments, allowing it to be
folded over into a pocket-size rectangular shape. With the growing
popularity of portable notebooks and tablets with smaller, cramped
keyboards, having a full-size keyboard like this to tote around in your
pocket might be a nice complement. Read More
Even the most passionate of eco-warriors must
find it hard to get by without a cell phone. Thankfully, with more
eco-friendly models appearing on the market there are options
for those who shop with a conscience. Building on the success of last
year’s Reclaim model Samsung has managed to form its forthcoming Restore
cell phone out of 84 percent recyclable materials. Launching in the
summer this device will be available only from Sprint (priced from
US$49.99). Read More
Bottled water might seem like a very innocuous, ecologically-friendly beverage, but it does have its dark side
– it has been estimated that 1.5 million barrels of oil are used
annually for the production of one-use water bottles. About 38 million
of those get tossed out each year. True, many of them go to recycling
facilities, but those facilities aren’t exactly carbon footprint-free
themselves. Then of course, there’s also the whole matter of wondering
if you’re a sucker for paying to drink what is likely just filtered tap
water. That’s where the bobble water bottle comes in. You just fill it
from the faucet, and it filters the water as you drink. Read More
We have developed a fondness for delightfully eccentric companies here at Gizmag, and the Confederate Motor Company
is about as avant-garde as it's possible to be. The company is just
about to release its fourth motorcycle, and indications suggest a
landmark vibration-canceling technology is on the cards for its new big
V-twin. No images have been released of the complete bike, but it is
expected to be as visually challenging as its predecessors (pictured).
The X132 Hellcat will use a new motor (also pictured) developed in
collaboration with S&S Cycle
and you can see quite clearly that there's some considerable space been
devoted to the "revolutionary" engine mounting system. Read More
It’s no secret that paper production and
deforestation go hand-in-hand. Long before we ever knew of the evils of
styrofoam cups, drift-net fishing, or any of a thousand other ecological
no-no’s, we knew that using paper meant killing trees. Recycled paper
is a step in the right direction, but it still involves the harvesting
of trees early in the process. Now, however, TreeZero paper products is
offering up TreeFrog copier paper - it’s made with absolutely no wood
fiber, just sugar cane and bamboo. Read More
A few years ago, while searching for a suitable
product to help his severely autistic son Callum adequately express
himself, speaks4me creator Steven Lodge came up with the idea for a
computer-based interactive communication tool based on a successful and
popular autistic learning system, but the technology to support the idea
was not readily available. That's now changed. Read More
Bulletproof vests are built for safety, not for
comfort, but breakthrough research from the University of South Carolina
suggests soldiers and law enforcement officers of the future might be
more casually dressed. The scientists have taken an everyday T-shirt and
reinforced it with the boron carbide – an extremely hard ceramic used
in bullet proof vests and tanks – to produce a UV protective,
lightweight and flexible body armor solution. Read More
Leica V-Lux 20 superzoom compact with GPS tagging
By Paul Ridden
April 27, 2010
German camera specialist Leica has announced its
first compact superzoom in the form of the 12.1 megapixel V-Lux 20. The
new addition to the Leica family not only benefits from 12x optical zoom
and 720p HD video capabilities but also features built-in GPS tagging
for recording the exact geographical location of each snap taken. Read More
On-track testing underway for Automotive X-Prize
April 27, 2010
The pick of the world's most fuel efficient
vehicles are lining-up at the Michigan International Speedway this week
for stage one of the $10 million Automotive X PRIZE.
Thirty-six entrants are are taking part in the initial "Shakedown
Stage" (April 26-May 7), where they will undergo official safety checks
before hitting the track for final testing and an opportunity to
iron-out any last minute bugs. Read More
The rare appearance of an 1894 Hildebrand &
Wolfmüller on the auction block on April 25 caused considerable
excitement across the world in the preceding months. Gizmag covered the history and heritage of the machine
in great detail prior to the auction and we're not surprised that a
far-from-pristine example of the world's first production motorcycle
should fetch an above-estimate GBP86,200. Read More
Android Market is the online software store for
Android devices – it's Google's answer to Apple's Appstore on iTunes and
for much of its short life (born 22 October 2008), it has been but a
pale imitation of the all-conquering iPhone's biggest strength. Just 12
months ago Android Market held less than 3000 apps compared to the
AppStore's 35,000 but the marketplace is now beginning to roll, and
developers are responding, and with 8,000 + apps added in each of the
last two months, the Android Market now holds 50,000 apps and should
pass 100,000 by the end of the year. Read More
Korea's LG Display has developed an LCD panel
that can display clear images even when its surface temperature exceeds
100° Celsius. Normally when the surface temperature of an LCD panel
exceeds 75° Celsius, part of the display turns black, requiring a
separate UV-blocking film, cooling system and protective glass and
entailing additional costs and electricity consumption for safe
operation. The panel will be cheaper than existing panels, much brighter
and can be expected to accelerate the pace of growth of the overall
public information display market. Read More
We first covered the Reevu helmet, with its built-in rear view mirror for motorcyclists,
back in 2005. It's an excellent idea - a rider's vision and situational
awareness are huge components of road safety. The more you know about
what's happening around and behind you, the more options you've got in
an emergency or a simple lane change situation. Well, it's been a long
road to the market, but Reevu has finally announced that its RV MSX1
helmet has passed European standards testing, and is now available for
distribution. It should be homologated for use worldwide in the near
future, and if the final price is right, we're sure these guys are onto a
real winner. Read More
Obesity rates are on the rise in most western
countries where sitting at a computer all day (and sometimes into the
night) is commonplace. Low activity levels, in many cases, combined with
poor diets, have been blamed for almost two-thirds of Americans being
overweight or obese. To help address the problem, health researchers
have developed an iPhone app designed to monitor your physical activity
and motivate you to do that little bit more. Read More
Hopefully before too, too long, the majority of
vehicles on the road will be electric. There could be one potential
problem with all those EV’s in use however - the huge load that would be
put on municipal power supplies when all those vehicles are
simultaneously plugged in after their owners get home from work.
Fortunately, our oft-featured friends over at Germany’s Fraunhofer group
have come up with a solution. They’ve designed a station that charges
your vehicle when there’s power to spare. Read More
The smartphone market was given a massive boost
today as the news broke that HP will acquire smartphone pioneer Palm and
perhaps most significantly, the Palm webOS mobile operating system.
HP's international infrastructure, fiscal strength and influence will
ensure Palm now has not only a future, but will now become an even more
serious competitor to Apple, Google's Android, RIM, Microsoft et al in
US$100 billion smartphone and connected mobile device marketplace. Read More
The world’s largest optical telescope is about to
get a lot better, thanks to LUCIFER. No, no one’s made a deal with the
Devil - LUCIFER is a new near-infrared camera/spectrograph system being
added to the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) on Mt. Graham in
south-eastern Arizona. The tool has been in development for over a
decade, and is now ready to offer astronomers “spectacular insights into
the universe, from the Milky Way up to extremely distant galaxies.” Its
large field of view and high resolution will allow for unprecedented
observation of star-forming regions, which were previously difficult to
view due to dust clouds. Read More
The portable convenience of Flash memory has its
security down side. Whether the information contained on a drive
consists of military or State secrets or is personal or commercial data,
if the drive is lost or stolen varying degrees of panic ensue. Rather
than risking potential memory stick security breach from reliance on
unsafe software-based methods, the LOK-IT flash drive from Systematic
Development employs a hardware-based PIN system that needs to be
unlocked before any data can be accessed. Read More
Scientists at Spain’s University of Granada have
created artificial skin with the resistance, firmness and elasticity of
real skin. It is the first time artificial skin has been created from
fibrin-agarose biomaterial. Fibrin is a protein involved in the clotting
of the blood, while agarose is a sugar obtained from seaweed, commonly
used to create gels in laboratories. The new material could be used in
the treatment of skin problems, and could also replace test animals in
dermatological labs. Read More
Acclaimed designer Karim Rashid has provided two
new designs for audiophile-grade digital music manufacturer Olive to
screen onto new limited edition versions of its number 4 music streamer
and number 2 zone player. The pairing is capable of delivering lossless
audio to up to ten rooms around the home, storing thousands of CDs and
offering access to numerous internet radio stations. Read More
Williams F1 has increased its existing 40%
shareholding in Williams Hybrid Power (WHP) to 78% on the back of some
very favorable results on the racetrack in conjunction with Porsche and
ever growing confidence that the company's magnetically loaded composite
flywheel (MLC) technology will find wide application in hybrid
passenger vehicles, hybrid buses, electric trains, diesel-electric ships
and wind power generation. Read More
An international team of scientists has
discovered that the human brain, the nervous system of a worm and a
computer chip are strikingly similar. The research may help to explain
the relationship between the processing elements (or gray matter) and
the wiring (the white matter) in the brains of a wide range of mammals.
Moreover, it appears that in the case of the brain and a computer chip -
evolution and technological innovation have developed the same
solutions to optimal mapping patterns. Read More
TomTom today previewed a new generation of
navigation devices designed to offer real-time services to drivers. The
first example of the new generation is the GO LIVE 1000, which uses an
ARM 11 500 Mhz processor and comes with several new features, including
the ability to run downloadable third party apps, IQ Routes™ which
applies historical travel time data to calculate the fastest route and
HD Traffic™ which gives accurate real time traffic information for all
major and secondary roads. The unit's software and service delivery
platform have been optimised for rapid integration of third party
applications and easy localisation to match the needs of specific
markets or applications. The TomTom GO LIVE 1000 will be available mid
year. Read More
It smashed Box Office records worldwide to become the highest grossing film in history, now James Cameron's Avatar
is setting new benchmarks in the Blu-ray market. Around 1.5 million
Blu-ray discs were snapped-up on the first day of release in the U.S. -
more than previous record holder The Dark Knight - and that's
just the 2D version, without special features. The Blu-ray release also
triggered an avalanche of illegal downloads, with the sci-fi epic now
well on its way to becoming the most pirated Blu-ray film ever. Read More
Cambridge Consultants has unveiled the next phase
in the development of its Suma sensor technology, which transforms user
touch on its surface into an individual action on a computer or gaming
device. The wireless Suma mouse prototype opens up a multitude of three
dimensional navigation possibilities by taking every squeeze, stroke or
swipe of a user's touch and translating it into an onscreen reaction
such as a pan, tilt or zoom. Read More
Lexus has announced details of the innovative Hybrid Bicycle Concept
we first spied tucked away at last year's Tokyo Motor Show. Headed for a
UK debut at the Great British Bike Ride this weekend, the full-carbon
fiber frame hybrid (electric+human) concept includes a 240W electric
motor at the front hub, eight-speed transmission, a 25.9V Lithium-ion
battery and regenerative braking. Head on through for more images plus
our video overview. Read More
Verbatim showed off a new family of secure
storage products at the London Infosecurity Show this week which will
bring an indelible smile to the face of every Corporate IT manager. The
‘Secure ‘n’ Go’ range includes premium AES 256bit (Advanced Encryption
Standard) hardware-encrypted USB drives, SSD ExpressCards, Solid State
Drives and DVDs. In addition to the hardware security encryption and
integrated password protection on an SSD ExpressCard or USB drive, the
user can control the device via the internet and lock, unlock or erase
all data if the drive is lost or stolen. The new Verbatim Control System
(VCS) also offers the ability to lock, unlock or erase the drives of
any user remotely from corporate headquarters, and can also audit, trace
and view logs of any corporate Flash drive usage. The ‘Secure ‘n’ Go’
family hits stores next month. Read More
In one of the more bizarre media announcements of
recent times, News International's LCD (Lowest Common Denominator)
British Tabloid The Sun
is to publish a 3D edition on June 5 complete with 3D glasses, 3D
editorial images, 3D adverts and a 3D Soccer World Cup schedule Wall
Chart. It's yet another newspaper first for the Murdoch empire (along
with recalibrating public morals by widely distributing images of
bare-breasted women), though we suspect the motivation is more related
to Murdoch's Sky Sports broadcasting the World Cup in 3D than by any
forlorn hope of innovating a reversal of the Sun's circulation which has
been in decline for 15 years. Read More
Bayer's Didget makes childsplay of blood glucose monitoring
By Jude Garvey
April 29, 2010
Dealing with juvenile diabetes can’t be easy, so
anything that adds a little fun to the tedious process of monitoring
blood glucose levels might help put a smile on a child’s face. Bayer
Diabetes Care has just introduced Didget - a unique blood glucose
monitoring system that is designed to encourage regular testing with
reward points to use online or through Nintendo gaming systems. Read More
Ford designers set their sights on creating an
endearingly simple vehicle for their latest project, and we'd have to
say they've succeeded. Unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show, there's
definitely a certain stripped-back elegance about the Start Concept,
which along with its sculpted lines and some clever interior
customization options, features a new 1.0-liter, three-cylinder addition
to the company's EcoBoost petrol engine family that promises a CO2 rating of under 100 g/km. Read More
Industries that rely on fair use exceptions to
copyright law grew faster than the rest of the U.S. economy from 2002 to
2007, expanded 5 percent and accounted for 23 percent of real economic
growth, according to a new CCIA economic study. The study entitled “Fair
Use in the U.S. Economy” was released the day after Intellectual
Property Day, and drew a distinctly different conclusion to another
study released the day prior by the GIPC which advocates the tightening of fair use exceptions. Read More
Mobile devices such as smartphones are truly
amazing in what they can do, but are often frustrating to use - many
people don’t particularly enjoy poking at tiny buttons, or obscuring the
onscreen display with their own fingers. Newly-developed technology,
however, is addressing these annoyances. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon
University's Human-Computer Interaction Institute have found a way of
turning mobile devices into their own mice. Read More
Packard Bell launches three new EasyNote M laptops
By Paul Ridden
April 28, 2010
Keeping up to date with our ever increasing
digital presence in the networked sociosphere can be the very definition
of multi-tasking. Three new EasyNote laptops from Packard Bell have
been designed to help, having a dedicated social networking feature
which brings together all the various sites into one useful interface.
Other features include the latest Intel Core processors, up to 640GB of
storage and either NVIDIA or ATI discreet graphics processors. Read More
For anyone who has ever needed to give
presentations on the go, playing audio from your built-in computer
speakers can sometimes be a problem. Battery-powered portable speakers
that plug into your audio jack are one possible solution. But I'm
inclined to favor this new adjustable speaker from Sanwa, which draws all its power from your computer's USB port. Read More
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