New and Emerging Technology News part 194 ~ NEW GEN TECH LIFE : new generation technology news

Tuesday 11 February 2014

New and Emerging Technology News part 194

The aquarium's purpose is to study the effects of space on marine life
The International Space Station is a little homier now thanks to its new aquarium. This addition isn't just intended to brighten up the lunch room - it’s a serious piece of experimental hardware built by the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) and delivered the the ISS on Friday, July 27, 2012 by the unmanned Japanese cargo ship, Kounotori3 (HTV3). The special aqueous habitat will be used to study the effects of the space environment on marine life.  Read More
PGP creator Phil Zimmermann has teamed up with fellow Silicon Valley pioneer Jon Callas an...
Being able to communicate without fear of prying eyes and ears intercepting could literally mean the difference between life and death for journalists uncovering corruption in high places, campaigners and activists trying to make the world a better place, or undercover agents engaged in covert operations. The creative force behind well-known email encryption software PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) had just such folks in mind when developing his latest digital security product. Phil Zimmermann has created a new suite of high-end encrypted communication products that combine with a custom-made secure network to ensure that the sender and recipient(s) are the only people able to access email, voice, video and text comms routed through the Silent Circle system.  Read More
Ads by Media PlayerAd Options
New tech developed at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris enables people to write i...
Retaining the ability to communicate effectively can be one of the key challenges facing those who suffer a severe restriction in mobility. Conditions such as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) can reduce a persons capacity for voluntary movement to the eyes only, though even this is not always possible. When eye movement is possible however, it offers an opportunity for communication and expression, as previously highlighted by the Eyewriter project. New research conducted at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris may offer a further breakthrough in this area by enabling writing in cursive using only eye movements.  Read More
British computer programmer Will Powell has created a prototype real-time translation syst...
Inspired by the Google's Project Glass, computer programmer Will Powell has built a prototype real-time translation system that listens to speech, translates it into one of 37 languages, and then displays the resulting text as subtitles directly onto the user's glasses.  Read More
CorPath 200 allows surgeons to carry out PCI procedures without exposure to x-rays
When we think about a heart operation, it’s only natural to be concerned about the risks faced by the patient. What is overlooked is that the surgeon often faces risks in the operating theater as well. All the modern surgical paraphernalia may make cardiac medicine tremendously more advanced than it was a generation ago, but some of that equipment uses radiation that can be very dangerous to be around ... and surgeons are around it a lot. To help alleviate this, Corindus Vascular Robotics of Natick, Massachusetts, developed the CorPath 200 System. It’s a robot-assisted catheter system for unblocking arteries that allows cardiac surgeons to operate from a protective lead-lined cockpit while carrying out cardiac stent and balloon procedures.  Read More
Ads by Media PlayerAd Options
Backers of the RRE Kickstarter will be tasked with helping get the Asimov RA3 ready for a ...
If you’ve ever yearned to take part in a space program but haven’t been given the chance, then perhaps you should take a look at the Remote Rover Experiment (RRE) Kickstarter campaign. Created by a team named Part-Time Scientists (PTS), the project aims to involve the general public in testing technology which will eventually be sent to the moon. Available pledge points include the option to remote-pilot an Asimov R3A moon rover in an Earth-based location modeled after the Apollo 17 landing site, and the purchase of an Asimov R0 moon rover self-assembly kit.  Read More
If successful, FITSAT-1's Morse code messages will be visible to the naked eye
We like to think of space as the one place where all tech is high and all gadgets are bleeding edge. That may be the case most of the time, but Japan’s Fukuoka Institute of Technology is taking one small step backward for man by sending a satellite into orbit that uses Morse code and bursts of light to send messages back to base. FITSAT-1, which will be launched from the International Space Station in September 2012, will use LEDs to flash Morse code messages like an outer space Aldis lamp that may be bright enough to see by the public with the naked eye.  Read More
A cuben fiber shell and carbon fiber poles make the Sierra Designs Mojo UFO one of the lig...
Part of the new line of ExoFusion fast-and-light tents, the Mojo UFO is truly not of this world. The two-person backpacking tent weighs less than 2 lbs. (0.9 kg), pitches in minutes and costs as much as a vacation for two.  Read More
Ads by Media PlayerAd Options
The robot was designed to be nearly indestructible
In a little over a decade WiFi has flourished to become something that we take for granted every time we go to a coffee shop. The only problem is that in situations where WiFi would be most useful, such as on the battlefield or in a disaster areas, it’s least likely to be available. That’s the problem being tackled by a team of seven undergraduate students at Northeastern University in Boston, MA. As part of their senior project for the Northeastern’s Capstone design program, the team designed and built a robot that can enter rugged territory and create a theoretically infinite WiFi networks as it goes.  Read More
The Makayama Movie Mount is designed to augment the iPad's video-shooting capabilities
One of the neat things about the iPad is that not only can it shoot high-definition video, but it can also be used to edit and then upload that footage. The tablet computer doesn’t exactly lend itself to use as a video camera, though, which is why Makayama has come out with the Movie Mount.  Read More

The compact cassette mix tape of old has been given a modern update by MakerBot Industries...
In the days before CD, MP3 or iTunes, when Sony's Walkman was just about the only mobile music player worth having, hip young music lovers engaged in the painstakingly intricate process of recording a 45-minute-per-side compilation of favorite tunes onto an audio cassette tape. A kind of forefather to today's MP3 playlist, the mix tape was about creating a unique musical identity, an expression of personality that could be shared with those near and dear. Technology marches relentlessly on and tapes are now all-but extinct, replaced by digital files on smartphones and media players. The essence of the compact cassette mix tape has now been given a modern update by the folks from the MakerBot Industries Applications team in Brooklyn, New York, with the launch of the 3D-printed Mixtape do-it-yourself music player kit.  Read More
The Tetris Light, inspired by the classic game, illuminates colored blocks as they are sta... It's safe to say that almost anyone who has played a video game has felt the pull of Tetris at some point. There's just something about the simple, yet addictive puzzle game that draws people in for hours and has even prompted MIT students to recreate it with a whole building. Now, inspired by the classic game, the Tetris Light lets you create your own pixelated lamp out of colored blocks that light up when stacked on top of each other.  Read More
Ads by Media PlayerAd Options
The Yellow Jacket combines an iPhone case and a 650 kV stun gun
When former military police officer Seth Froom became the victim of an armed robbery it prompted him to create one of the most interesting iPhone cases to hit the market to date. This case, known as the Yellow Jacket, not only offers protection for your phone, it also has the potential to protect your personal safety and well-being thanks to the 650K volt stun gun it has built in.  Read More
Partial interior assembly of Degradation Free Spectrometers sounding rocket (Photo: Univer...
On July 24, 2012, NASA successfully launched a pair of newly developed spectrometers aboard a sounding rocket from the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico to an altitude of 323.8 km (201.2 mi). This may not seem to have much to do with extending the life of a satellite floating between the Sun and Earth about 1.5 million kilometers (932,000 mi) away, but it does. That’s because the tests purpose was both to test new instruments for a potential future replacement of the SOHO solar observatory satellite and to recalibrate SOHO’s existing instruments.  Read More
The Sushi Bazooka extrudes tubes of rice and neta ready for wrapping With sushi now practically a staple at food courts around the world, it’s not hard to find this Japanese form of fast food when out and about. But if you’re looking to do it yourself at home and don’t trust your rolling skills or are a novice with a bamboo rolling mat then the Sushi Bazooka could be a welcome addition to your kitchen arsenal.  Read More
Ads by Media PlayerAd Options
At last, a real Heads Up Display for the little guy
The HUD, or "Heads Up Display" is now a common feature in military and commercial aircraft, projecting critical data such as airspeed, altitude and navigation information onto a transparent screen in front of the pilot while allowing him/her to maintain an outside vigil. Very handy when landing or maneuvering close to the ground. Not surprisingly, this technology has now filtered down to the recreational flying arena with Italian outfit PAT Avionics showing its G-HULP system at the Experimental Aviation Association’s annual gathering at Oshkosh in the USA.  Read More
BeesVita is claimed to arrest Colony Collapse Disorder
Around the world, honey bees have been vanishing at an alarming rate. Since bees not only provide honey, but are also vital for pollinating crops, this is not only distressing, it also puts agriculture at risk. The reasons for this decline are still unknown, but a Florida-based company claims to have found a solution in the form of a concentrated organic feed supplement. BeesVita is purported to not only protect bee colonies in danger of collapsing, but actually causes them to grow and thrive.  Read More
Researchers have stimulated specific neurons using light impulses  (Image: Shutterstock)
We've all been there. Your monkey is throwing a fit, jumping on the furniture, screeching like a furry banshee and hurling unmentionable things all over the place. At times like this, wouldn't it be great if you could just shine a light and control the monkey’s brain? Sorry, that isn’t possible (yet), but researchers have succeeded in stimulating a monkey’s brain with a remarkable level of precision using impulses of light aimed at specific kinds of neural cells. It may not be much help to desperate monkey owners, but it does provide hope of new treatments for sufferers of many neurological disorders.  Read More
Ads by Media PlayerAd Options
A low center of gravity and the instant high-torque nature of the electric motor promises ...
BMW Motorrad has been busying itself perfecting an electric scooter design for some time now and, following the early prototype E Scooter we first reported on last year, and the more fully formed Concept e model which popped up a few months later, the company has now unveiled a new “near-production” electric scooter named the BMW C evolution which boasts a reported 100 kilometers (62 miles) range from one full charge and some impressive styling to match.  Read More
A newly developed microbot inspired by the water strider (pictured) jump across the water ... One year after the creation of a ten-legged robot that could walk on water, a team led by Prof. Qinmin Pan has come up with a new and updated concept that, also inspired by the water strider, can accomplish the much more difficult task of jumping across the water surface without sinking.  Read More
The Stabil-i Case is designed to steady up the user's hand-held iPhone video footage
As someone who shoots web videos with a pocket camcorder, I can attest to how to infuriatingly difficult it is to keep the little things from shaking like a leaf when hand-holding them. Fortunately, various products aimed at minimizing that problem are now appearing in the market – the iPhone 4/4S-dedicated Stabil-i Case is one of the latest, and cheapest.  Read More
A prototype bathroom scale not only measures the user's weight, but also performs an elect... People being monitored for heart conditions currently have to go into a hospital or clinic on a regular basis, to have an electrocardiogram performed on them. That may be about to change, however, as researchers from Spain’s Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya have developed a bathroom scale that performs the procedure right in the user’s home.  Read More
The Piggyback Rider XL Backpack carries child and gear
The Piggyback Rider Backpack is the latest way to carry your child on your back. The newest models add more storage capabilities to the Piggyback Rider system, which lets your child essentially stand on your back.  Read More
Workers install a solar array in Tokelau, an island nation that will be powered with renew...
Adopting renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power is a great way to reduce emissions and produce energy locally. In places like remote Pacific islands, however, those benefits are potentially a key to independence. For that reason Tokelau, a 10 sq. km. (3.86 sq. mi) island nation that lies around 500 km (311 mi) north of Samoa and which is a territory of New Zealand, is about to ditch diesel as a source of electricity and switch to solar power.  Read More
The BlueComm system on the ocean floor (Photo: Sonardyne International)
It would definitely be an understatement to say that underwater research has its technical challenges. Remote-operated vehicles (ROVs) must be tethered to surface support vessels with unwieldy communications cables, deep-sea water samples have to be hauled to the surface for analysis ... or do they? Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution recently announced that it has partnered with two private companies, to market a couple of technologies that address both of those situations.  Read More
The ComeHackWithUs tropical island hackathon should appeal to those who enjoy sun, sand an... Do you have sharp programming skills, a passport and a love of adventure? If so, be aware that an ambitious new startup named ComeHackWithUs is currently seeking a dozen candidates to travel to a tropical island retreat and spend two months coding. You'll bring the ideas and the company will be tasked with providing the environment to help develop those ideas into a finished project.  Read More
Kuratas in the high-slung position
Hold fire on those Christmas lists. Japanese artist Kogoro Kurata has unveiled a 13.1 ft (4 meter) tall, 9900 lb (4500 kg) prototype mecha robot called Kuratas, which comes complete with "weapon systems" and is apparently cable of being driven by an onboard human pilot.  Read More
The Wedge Mobile Keyboard, featuring a dual-purpose cover/folding stand Microsoft has announced a set of new peripherals for its upcoming tablet-friendly Windows 8 OS. The Wedge Mobile Keyboard features a minimalist design, slim form factor and full-sized keyset, while the Wedge Touch Mouse is the smallest and lightest pointer that the company has ever produced.  Read More
Inside the home-assembled iPhone 5 We've been hearing quite a few rumors about what the anticipated iPhone 5 will look like, which is no surprise. But if a set of photos from Japanese repair shop iLab making its way around the web is to be believed, someone has gone a step further and attempted to assemble what the new iPhone could look like based on the leaked parts we've heard about so far.  Read More
The U.S. Army is deploying personal blasts sensors for soldiers to record data from IED at...
Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) have been a major hazard for Coalition and NATO forces in Afghanistan for over the past decade. The toll that they’ve taken in lives and equipment has been terrible, but the U.S. Army hopes to alleviate some of this with new vehicle and body blast sensors shipping to Afghanistan in August 2012. These sensors, built jointly with Georgia Tech Research Institute and the Army’s Rapid Equipping Force are part of wireless information network designed to aid doctors and engineers by collecting blast and pressure data from the vehicles and soldiers themselves.  Read More
Using NASA Landsat imagery, Google Earth Engine now allows users to view fully interactive...
A combined effort between researchers at the Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Google provides users with easy access to 13 years of NASA Landsat imagery of the Earth’s surface. The new capability within Google Earth Engine lets users zoom in and out on any spot on the globe, moving back and forth in time between 1999 and 2011.  Read More
The Spotify Android app banner on Google Play uses the radio feature as a key selling poin... The Spotify app for mobile devices is free, but to get any usability from it beyond the trial period it requires the paying of a monthly subscription fee. While those using the desktop app can make do with adverts and playback limitations, there is no other option for mobile users besides paying the aforementioned fee. However, one feature of the Spotify app has been made available to U.S. users completely free, with the radio function now available to both iOS and Android users.  Read More
The CXL 160 will come with a McLaren MP4-12C, which has its own designated storage compart...
The McLaren MP4-12C is one of the more interesting supercars on the road, and it conveys a certain sense of wealth and connoisseurship about its driver. Of course, the MP4-12C's prestige pales in comparison to any massive, multi-million-dollar yacht ... unless, of course, it happens to be on board such a vessel. The Ultraluxum CXL 160 is a huge, high-tech sailing yacht with a show garage designed specifically for the MP4-12C.  Read More
Robert Worobey designed the Tribey to appeal to surfers and snowboarders
The wonderfully named Black Sparrow Industries has cooked up an electric vehicle with a difference: a tricycle that's ridden standing up. Robert Worobey designed the Tribey to appeal to surfers and snowboarders among others, and the designer claims that the vehicle is built to withstand serious abuse, including traversing 3-inch deep potholes. With the addition of a bolt-on kit, The Tribey can also be ridden from a recumbent position, making the Tribey a curious hybrid of recumbent trike and a motorized skateboard.  Read More
Researchers at the UK's Newcastle University have discovered an enzyme from a microbe on t...
From an early age, parents and dentists alike will continually stress the importance of effective dental hygiene into the consciousness of a child but for me, the message didn't really hit home until I met Pogues front-man Shane MacGowan backstage at Leeds University in the mid-1980s. I've been a dedicated twice daily brusher ever since and have noted all manner of decay-fighting ingredients finding their way into my choice of toothpastes, including extracts from cocoa, the neem tree, aloe vera and eucalyptus. New research from the UK suggests using microbes to fight microbes, or more precisely an enzyme from bacteria found on the surface of seaweed. Lab tests have shown that the enzyme is effective in fighting plaque and the researchers believe that the discovery could lead to more effective oral hygiene products.  Read More
Stride Walking Assist is designed to help those with difficulty walking
We've been following Honda’s Stride Management Assist since its first unveiling in 2008, to the introduction of its sturdier cousin into the workplace and then its U.S. tour in 2009. Now the ASMIO spin off is scheduled to undergo field tests by Japan's National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology (NCGG). The NCGG will test 40 units of the device on people with limited walking ability at the Elder Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Center at Resora Obu Shopping Terrace in Obu, Japan.  Read More
Szymon Klimek fabricates some of the most amazing miniature electromechanical artwork you ...
A hobby is what you do with the rest of your time. It tends to feed a deep-seated need of which you may not even be aware - to be your best self. Some people golf, some swim, some quilt, some travel, some climb mountains ... there's no end to the list. Then there's Szymon Klimek, who makes some of the most incredible miniature electromechanical sculptures imaginable.  Read More
Concept image of the Lockheed Martin Sea Ghost Lockheed Martin has hinted at plans for a new UAV carrier combat aircraft, known as the UCLASS Sea Ghost. This makes the American defense contractor the fourth contender for the U.S. Navy’s unmanned carrier combat aircraft contract, joining Northrop’s X-47B, Boeing’s Phantom Ray and General Atomic’s Sea Avenger.  Read More
The X-47B launches rom Pax River for a 35-minute flight over the Chesapeake Bay on July 29... Following the completion of airworthiness flight tests at Edwards Air Force Base in California on May 15, the second Northrop Grumman-built X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator was transported cross-country to Naval Air Station Patuxent (Pax) River in Maryland where it has just conducted the first flight at its new home.  Read More
British Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy turns up the heat on his 'hot pants'
Before competing, professional cyclists jump on a trainer and ride to warm-up, but muscles can lose this heat if there's a time delay between the warm-up and the start of the race. In an effort to plug this gap and gain the tiny advantage that's so critical in top-level sport, adidas has created ADIPOWER muscle warming garments - a pair of track pants with a battery-powered heater, helps keep muscles at the right temperature.  Read More
NASA researchers are trying a 'scotch tape' design to build larger, more affordable X-ray ...
A team led by NASA's Maxim Markevitch is investigating the possibility of building bigger X-ray telescope mirrors – up to thirty times as large as today's – using a plastic tape coated with a reflective material and then, just like a roll of Scotch tape, tightly rolled on itself. By studying cosmic rays and distant galaxy clusters, such large and significantly cheaper mirrors would allow us to learn more about the birth and evolution of the universe.  Read More
Google has decided to delay the launch of its Nexus Q media streamer while it retools the ... When Google unveiled its Nexus Q streaming media player at this year’s Google I/O conference, it claims the device’s spherical form factor was met with positive reviews but that many felt the functionality of the device was lacking. Based on this feedback, Google has decided to postpone the Nexus Q’s launch indefinitely while it works to add to the device's functionality. But it’s not all bad news for the early adopters who pre-ordered the device, as they’ll be getting one of the original models for free.  Read More
Ads by Media PlayerAd Options
Research has shown the popular music has become louder and more homogeneous over time (Pho... If you suspect that songs today tend to sound the same, it turns out you're right. A group of Spanish scientists looked at a huge database of songs and analyzed their trends, publishing their results in the scientific journal Nature. What they found was proof positive that, over the last few decades, songs have progressively gotten louder, decreased their pitch transitions, and generally become more homogeneous.  Read More
When using the Up Mouse, the clicking is generated using the extensors
Daniel Benamy suffers from repetitive strain injury (RSI). His condition was brought on by using a traditional mouse over an extended period of time. After trying a slew of mice, he could not find one that relieved his pain, and thus, the idea for the Up Mouse was born. Instead of pushing down on the buttons, the Up Mouse has users lift their fingers to press the buttons.  Read More
The TAG-Heuer Mikrogirder
We have commented before at Gizmag at how the luxury watch business can seem to the uninitiated to be an ever-spiraling vortex of pointlessness. Take the latest creation from TAG Heuer. A mechanical watch/chronograph that can time events to 1/2000th of a second. But why? Human reaction time makes it useless and crystal/electronic timers can provide even greater accuracy. For the “haute horologist” the achievement is its own reward, but there are practical spin-offs; TAG-Heuer has essentially re-invented the mechanism that’s been at the very core of mechanical watches for over 300 years.  Read More
Ads by Media PlayerAd Options
Buzz Aldrin at Tranquility Base (Photo: NASA)
On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin planted the US flag on the Moon. The image of Aldrin standing with the flag is one of the indelible images of that great day. But over the years, one question has vexed space buffs – what happened to the flag? In his book Return to Earth, Aldrin says that when the Lunar Module’s Ascent stage lifted off from Tranquility Base, he saw the flag topple over. Since no one could confirm what happened, it remained a mystery ... at least, until now. On July 27, NASA announced that its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) had solved the puzzle of the fate of the Apollo lunar flags.  Read More
The Intra Uterine Ball, or IUB, is said to offer advantages over traditional intrauterine ...
If a woman wishes to avoid pregnancy for the time being, but thinks she might want to get pregnant at some point in the future, then using an intrauterine device (IUD) is often a good course of action – the simple devices are now the world’s most common form of birth control, as used by women. However, while IUDs are generally fairly safe and reliable, complications can occur. Now, Israel’s OCON Medical has announced the forthcoming availability of something that it claims is considerably safer and more effective – the Intra Uterine Ball, or IUB.  Read More
The University of Tennessee's regenerative amplifier, used to amplify femtosecond laser pu...
University of Tennessee researchers have developed a super fast laser procedure that could serve as a non-invasive treatment of cancer, particularly when the disease is located in the brain. The new technology was developed at the University’s Center for Laser Applications, and it works by seeking and destroying cancerous tumors.  Read More
Ads by Media PlayerAd Options
The F-1 engine sent the Apollo Moon missions into space (Photo: NASA)
A legendary Space Age rocket engine that sent mankind to the Moon in 1969 may be brought back to power humanity’s return to that celestial body. Under a NASA request, Dynetics Inc of Huntsville, Alabama has submitted a proposal apparently studying the feasibility of reviving the F-1 rocket engine technology. Previously used to power the first stage of the Saturn V rocket that launched the Apollo missions to the Moon, it could now find use in NASA’s planned Space Launch System (SLS) due to enter service in 2017.  Read More
A computer model (left) and a physical model of it, created using the new software
Take a look at all the Portal toys that are currently available, and you’ll realize just how much gamers like to own physical models of the digital characters that they know so well. When it comes to characters that are really physically “weird,” though, there can be a problem – goofy anatomy that works in a computer-generated world may not work in the real world. In other words, a physical model of a monster from a video game may be too top-heavy to stand up on its own, its arms may positioned in such a way that they can’t bend properly, or it may otherwise just be plain ol’ gimped. However, new software has been designed to solve those problems – it takes any three-dimensional computer character, and then uses a 3D printer to create a fully-assembled articulated figure based on it.  Read More

0 comments:

Post a Comment