While modern artificial hips are made of a number
of high-tech materials, metal is still often the material of choice for
younger, more active patients. This is due mainly to the fact that
it’s so robust. Unfortunately, however, difficulties can arise in the
metal ball-and-socket interface – where the artificial head of the femur
meets the artificial socket of the pelvis – if things aren't perfectly
aligned. In particular, the metal surfaces can wear against one another,
decreasing the longevity of the implant and potentially causing health
problems in the patient. Now, researchers from Germany’s Fraunhofer
Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation are developing a
new type of heavy-duty artificial hip, that contains no metal at all.
Read More
Last April, Logitech partnered with ZAGG to release a rather smart iPad case
with built-in physical keyboard. The company has now announced a new
book-style case for Apple's tablet where the power for the included
Bluetooth keyboard comes from batteries juiced up by built-in
photovoltaic panels. The Solar Keyboard Folio won't help an iPad last
any longer, though. Fortunately, Wireless NRG has developed a tough
extended battery case for the iPad that also packs light-soaking cells
on its flap that can keep the protected tablet going for up to ten days.
The panels on both cases don't just rely on direct sunlight for power,
as they can also take advantage of indoor light too. Read More
It seems that more and more often, we’re hearing
about people adding computer functionality to existing products –
turning so-called “dumb” devices into “smart” ones. While that’s
understandable with electronic appliances such as fridges and washing machines, a lot of people might scoff at the idea of a smart ski pole
... wouldn’t that be sort of like a smart pencil sharpener or doorstop?
It turns out, however, that software engineer Anthony Griesel’s Neva
microprocessor-equipped ski poles could actually be kind of useful. Read More
There's no shortage of baby monitors out there,
even high-tech ones. Previously we've seen devices which let parents
check on their little ones using an iPhone or iPad, and others which swivel to track them,
wherever they are. But designer Denny Tsai thinks he's come up with
something unique – a baby monitor which is fitted into a cot mobile.
Read More
It costs a lot of money to assess
rocket engine parts using professional-grade testing equipment ... and,
like most of us, aerospace company XCOR doesn’t have money to burn. So,
when it came time to test the bearing components of their new rocket
propellant piston pump, the XCOR engineers got creative – they put them
in the engine of a motorcycle, and sent it on a road trip. Read More 
Auckland based firm Pacific Environment
Architects is the creator of this impressive treehouse located near
Warkworth in New Zealand. The Redwoods Treehouse is a striking
pod-shaped structure built ten meters (33 feet) high in the tree tops.
Originally commissioned as part of a marketing campaign for the Yellow
Pages phone directory, the treehouse is now a permanent attraction for
treetop diners. Read More
Lockheed Martin's new Shadow Hawk weapon is
deceptively small considering the influence it will likely have on
warfare from this point forward. The era of unmanned warfare is about to
go to a whole new level. The Shadow Hawk is an 11-pound class,
2.75-inch (7 cm) diameter, 27-inch (68 cm) long drop-glide munition
released a mile or more above the target by the equally diminutive
unmanned RQ-7B. It may not seem like a major leap forward in weapons
technology but it most certainly is, because the Shadow Hawk munition
now arms an entire fleet of RQ-7s for the US Marines and Army that could
previously only be used for reconnaissance, and it does so with a much
smaller and cheaper weapon. Read More
The hashtag or "#" symbol has taken on a lot more
use in recent years, especially with the rise of social media tools
like Twitter, where it's used to highlight popular topics. So in a way,
it's a fitting model for an apartment building designed to act as a
self-contained neighborhood, which is exactly the idea behind the Cross #
Towers planned for South Korea. Danish architectural firm, Bjarke
Ingels Group (BIG), is modeling the look of the proposed building after
the familiar symbol, by placing two interlocking bridges between two
skyscrapers, which will also support outdoor park areas to mimic the
sort of spaces you'd normally find on the ground. Read More
When it comes to online music, we really are
spoilt for choice. So spoilt it can make uncovering new music to match
our tastes or finding a track when we don’t know the artist or song
title, a hit and miss affair. Engineers at the University of California,
San Diego (UCSD), have developed a new approach called “game-powered
machine learning” that they claim is just as accurate as other methods,
but is cheaper and has the potential to let users search every song on
the web using a text search. Read More
BASELWORLD, held in Basel Switzerland, is an
annual watchmakers and jewelers exhibition where over 100,000 buyers
from all over the world descend to check out the coming year's new
product. Literally hundreds of new watches are launched at the fair from
dozens of manufacturers including big-hitters Rolex, Hublot, Breitling,
Patek Phillipe, Tissot and Glashutte. We've assembled a gallery
of the most notable releases in 2012, which includes the most
innovative, most beautiful, most expensive and most ugly ... and the
last two categories are embodied by the same watch! Read More
Details have now surfaced for the golf-specific, and fourth, Hanebrink electric bike we briefly mentioned
a few days ago. The Links BRINK features many of the same specs as the
bikes that have come before it, including those wonderful chunky 20-inch
(50cm) diameter, 8-inch (20cm) wide tubeless tires, but has an easy
mount and dismount frame and comes supplied with its own custom
two-wheeled golf trolley. Read More
Cars that run on compressed air
sound like a fantastic idea on paper, but bringing this technology to
the masses has proven, well, a difficult road to travel. There's some
positive news on the air-car front though - auto giant Tata Motors,
which holds the license to develop Motor Development International's
(MDI) air engine technology in India, has announced that it has
completed the proof of the technical concept and demonstration phase of
its air-car program and is now moving toward a market ready product.
Read More
Matrix Audio is showing a new
addition to its line of pocket-friendly portable speakers. We spied the
new iPro unit at CTIA Wireless 2012 alongside the company's existing
nrg, aura, duet and one models. Read More
Pretty much everyone has that one
wide-eyed person in their lives who is constantly forwarding them emails
about things like airplanes that disperse mind-control drugs, maniacs
who hide under parked cars, and major corporations that are run by
Satanists. While you may think about setting these people straight – and
thereby helping to quell the online flood of malarkey – it can be a
hassle finding the proper information to send them. That’s where the
LazyTruth inbox widget comes in. Read More
HTC is looking to NASA to improve
the durability on its latest slimline smartphone. The aluminum housing
on the HTC One S is treated with a process called microarc oxidation -
an electrochemical surface treatment process used on many NASA
satellites that results in a housing three times stronger than stainless
steel. Read More
When designers from across the world get together
to create a crowdsourced nightclub concept, one thing is a certain - a
damn good party. That's what went down last month when a
futuristic-styled club sponsored by Heineken popped up at Milan's
week-long design fair. Designers from Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Milan and New
York teamed up with clubbers from over 100 cities to collaborate on the
design, and we've just gotten our hands on some more video and images
from inside. Read More
Details have now surfaced for the golf-specific, and fourth, Hanebrink electric bike we briefly mentioned
a few days ago. The Links BRINK features many of the same specs as the
bikes that have come before it, including those wonderful chunky 20-inch
(50cm) diameter, 8-inch (20cm) wide tubeless tires, but has an easy
mount and dismount frame and comes supplied with its own custom
two-wheeled golf trolley. Read More
OriginOil and Algasol, two companies working to
develop algae into renewable fuel, have announced a collaboration on
growth and harvest technology. The companies hope the partnership will
help them reduce cost and improve performance, therefore increasing
commercial prospects for algae as fuel source. Harvesting algae is one
of the main cost drivers associated with this type of raw material.
Algae are microscopic and live in suspension on liquid. When the time
comes to harvesting it, the water/algae ratio can be as high as 1,000/1.
In order to make it suitable for commercial applications, that ratio
needs to be reduced to around 10/1. Read More
Floating swimming pools seem to be becoming a thing. Last year we looked at the +Pool
concept to install just this sort of thing on one of New York's rivers -
a concept that engineering consultancy Arup has since greenlit from a
feasibility point of view, at least. And then there's realities:united's
scheme for the world's longest swimming pool, called Flussbad,
in the River Spree in Berlin. But now the 120-meter (394-feet) long
Badboot Lido has seemingly leapfrogged the competition, opening for
business this August in Antwerp, Belgium. Because the Badboot is adapted
from a 1960s ferry, it can be moved around the city as needed. Read More
It's been about two years since Tesla and Toyota
announced a partnership, and we're about to see the fruit of their
labor. The RAV4 Electric, the modern market's first all-electric SUV,
will hit the market in the coming months. Toyota used the 26th annual
Electric Vehicle Symposium in Los Angeles to launch the model. Read More
The world of personal mobility transporters
doesn't bring a whole lot of glamor. The Segway was never exactly an
enviable ride, and newer concepts like the GM EN-V aren't any better. But a Volkswagen that hovers a few feet over the ground? That channels a mix of Back to the Future and The Jetsons that adds some excitement to the personal mobility segment. Read More
I doubt there are many Star wars fans out there
who haven't, at one time or another, fantasized about owning a
lightsaber. These are the weapons favored by Jedi and Sith, resembling a
sword but with a blade formed of colored light. To have one at your
disposal is the dream of geeks everywhere; a dream that has edged closer
to becoming reality with the LaserSaber. Read More
Cars that run on compressed air
sound like a fantastic idea on paper, but bringing this technology to
the masses has proven, well, a difficult road to travel. There's some
positive news on the air-car front though - auto giant Tata Motors,
which holds the license to develop Motor Development International's
(MDI) air engine technology in India, has announced that it has
completed the proof of the technical concept and demonstration phase of
its air-car program and is now moving toward a market ready product.
Read More
Ever want to get some of the exhilaration of
whitewater kayaking without actually learning how to Eskimo roll or self
rescue? Essentially a cross between a kayak and a river board, the
Bellyak is hand-paddled craft designed to deliver a new way of enjoying
the water by letting you jump in head first ... literally. Read More
Microsoft has announced plans to scrap native DVD
playback from Windows 8, instead focusing on improving video streaming
abilities by making it easier to access services like Netflix, Hulu, and
YouTube. Citing a decline globally in physical media sales, Microsoft
is investing in a future without discs, and is hoping to keep costs down
by removing DVD licensing fees. However, those interested in having
access to their collection of DVDs do have options, as Microsoft claims
that third party DVD software will be readily available to fill the void
where Windows Media Player once was. Read More
Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler and BMW are
typically seen facing off against each other to win the hearts, minds
and wallets of luxury car buyers. However, the challenges of developing a
mass-produced electric car have inspired the two pillars of German
luxury to put aside their rivalry and team up on a city car project.
Read More
It is possible to get addicted to almost
anything. The most obvious candidates are things like cigarettes, drugs,
alcohol, and food. But anything which causes some kind of obsessive
behavior in even one individual has the potential to be addictive. That
includes the Web and, in particular, social networking sites such as
Facebook. New research from the University of Bergen (UiB) suggests
Facebook addiction is not only real but measurable using the Bergen
Facebook Addiction Scale. Read More
If you see what appears at first glance to be a short version of Robocop
stumbling through the streets of Tokyo, worry not folks it will likely
be Eric Siu or one of his friends using Touchy. The wearer of the
head-mounted camera is effectively in darkness until someone touches
him, at which point the automated shutters blinding the wearer open
briefly and he can once again view the world around him. If the person
maintains touch for ten seconds or more, the built-in camera snaps an
image and then displays it on a small screen to the rear of the helmet.
Read More
A professor who has previously created chocolate and coffee
aerosols has teamed up with designer Philippe Starck, and turned his
micro-particle spraying science to booze. The WAHH Quantum Sensations
spray delivers approximately 0.075 ml of alcohol liquid in the form of
micro-particles and reportedly simulates the sensorial pleasure of
alcohol, giving the user a brief moment of light-headedness and
distraction. Read More
When a dentist drills out the decayed section of a
tooth that has a cavity, it’s important that they also remove the
bacteria that caused the decay in the first place – or at least, that
they remove as much of it as possible. If they don’t, the bacteria can
get reestablished, causing the filling to fail. Now, scientists from the
University of Maryland’s School of Dentistry have developed a new
cavity-filling system that they say will not only kill virtually all
residual bacteria, but also help the tooth to regrow some of the tissue
that was lost to decay. Read More
Australian architect Andrew Maynard has come up
with an unorthodox approach to capturing the sun in winter and excluding
it in the summer. One of his latest creations, Hill House, is an urban
family home in Melbourne that appears as if it is riding a wave of
grass. The family home extension has been built upon the footprint of
what once had been the back yard, without obstructing or losing the
original building. Seemingly perched above a rolling hill, the new
building faces the sun and the box-shaped structure above acts as a
passive solar eave, cutting out summer sun, while letting the winter sun
flood in. Read More
It’s no secret that cyclists are at a
disadvantage when sharing the roads with motorized vehicles – not only
do bikes offer less in the way of protection and speed than cars, but
drivers often don’t even notice that they’re there. The Hornster, a
bicycle featuring what is claimed to be the world’s loudest bicycle
horn, was designed to bring attention to that fact. Read More
GE Lighting has announced that it is getting in
on the 100 W-equivalent LED replacement act. The 27 W Energy Smart LED
bulb joins its range of incandescent bulb replacements that already
includes 40 W and 60 W equivalents. And like an incandescent bulb, GE
claims its LED bulb emits light evenly in all directions. But how does
the 100 W equivalent stack up performance-wise? Read More
This tiny cabin is a free-floating catamaran
suite designed by Dutch architect, Marijn Beije. The design was
conceived with the hope of luring a younger and more city-focused group
of people back into nature, and offers a unique new way to sleep under
the stars. Guests can enhance their experience of nature by relaxing in
this fully furnished floating eco-lodge, complete with bedroom, bathroom
and rooftop deck. Read More
If you've ever dabbled in the creation of crazy
sound effects for home movies, other-worldly audio to complement the
battle sequences in a new alien gaming app or strange new loops for
digital dance music, you quickly start to appreciate just what a
complicated process sound design can be. What with noise generation,
pulse and velocity modulation, parallel and series filters, and various
other filters, oscillators and envelopes to contend with, the process
can hardly be described as fun. A new sample-based synthesizer suite
from iZotope seeks to change all that. Both a powerful tool for design
pros and an enjoyable and easy way for newbies to dive in and
experiment, Iris allows users to manipulate, tweak and layer sounds
using the kind of visual editing tools you might find in graphic design
packages and discover otherwise hidden sonic treasures. Read More
The newest entry in ARM's Cortex line, the
Cortex-M0+ is claimed to be the world's most energy-efficient processor,
delivering 32-bit performance on around one third of the typical energy
requirements of an 8- or 16-bit processor. Targeting low-cost sensors
and microcontrollers, the M0+ will come with a very modest price tag and
could act as a crucuial stepping stone to a world in which everyday
objects communicate with each other, sharing data to make smart,
coordinated decisions that will improve our quality of life. Read More
The advent of digital video and the ever-more
capacious storage capabilities of video capturing mobile devices has
made it much less likely that we’ll miss that killer shot when the
opportunity arises. But it also means that digging up that great shot
amongst the hours and hours of captured footage can be a real chore.
Highlight Hunter helps save some time in the editing chair by letting
users bookmark highlights as they are recorded, so the application can
automatically hunt them down when the time comes to import them to a
computer. Read More
Microsoft’s Kinect
peripheral senses motion inputs using a combination of a depth sensor,
RGB camera and a multi-array microphone. Now Microsoft’s research
division, Microsoft Research, has developed a gesture recognition system
called SoundWave that relies on sound instead of video to bring gesture
recognition capabilities to a standard laptop or desktop computer
without the need for any additional hardware. Read More
Comic book artists and animators often use
posable mannequins or motion capture to help get tricky action postures
just right, but transferring the figures to paper or computer screens
still involves drawing or learning complicated animation and mo-cap
software, not to mention all the cameras, hardware and people in funny
suits running around. Last year, we reported on the efforts of a
Japanese consortium to create what is essentially an action figure
equipped with sensors at several joints that would allow real-time pose
generation of on-screen CG characters. Still in development then, it's
now called Qumarion and when it hits the market in a few months, it'll
no doubt prove to be a major time saver for artists and animators alike.
Read More
In the days of yore, families would gather round the table of an evening and play board games like Monopoly and Risk.
With such games moving into the virtual world and now available online,
even those playing the same game under the same roof can be tucked away
in their own corner of the house. An innovative game robot concept out
of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) called
MoleBot attempts to reverse the trend by providing a physical
environment that allows users to physically interact with a virtual game
world. Read More
Matrix Audio is showing a new
addition to its line of pocket-friendly portable speakers. We spied the
new iPro unit at CTIA Wireless 2012 alongside the company's existing
nrg, aura, duet and one models. Read More
He's launched over the Grand Canyon. He's flown alongside traditional aircraft. He's even attempted to leap across continents.
Now "Jetman" and all-around airborne lunatic Yves Rossy is giving us a
tour of the beautiful Rio de Janeiro shoreline by way of his carbon
fiber jet wing. Read More
The iPad has been the top selling tablet in the
world since its launch, and on the heels of Apple's success, thousands
of accessory makers snapped into action, releasing an endless flow of
extras for the iPad. Among the most popular accessories are cases and
keyboards, and we've seen several companies combine these two needs,
such as the Logitech iPad keyboard, or the Brydge keyboard case.
In such a crowded market, standing out is important, and the recently
launched Touchtype case does so by making use of a full size physical
keyboard. Read More
Shown this week at CTIA in New Orleans, the Moshi
iGlaze with VersaCover is a new origami-style iPad case that combines
the simplicity of an open and closed magnetic cover with an artful
folding function that lets you prop up the tablet to view what’s on
screen. Read More
Pretty much everyone has that one
wide-eyed person in their lives who is constantly forwarding them emails
about things like airplanes that disperse mind-control drugs, maniacs
who hide under parked cars, and major corporations that are run by
Satanists. While you may think about setting these people straight – and
thereby helping to quell the online flood of malarkey – it can be a
hassle finding the proper information to send them. That’s where the
LazyTruth inbox widget comes in. Read More
You can buy various forms of sheltered hammocks.
Some are completely open, leaving you to sleep under the stars. Some
have mosquito netting to protect you from pests. Some have waterproof
protection for use in foul weather. Some have added insulation on the
underside to keep you warm in winter or cooler spring weather. The Exped
Ergo Combi has it all. It packs every type of protection that you could
possibly want in the outdoors - save maybe for carnivore repellant -
into a package in which you'll never have to worry about hard, cold dirt
or poking sticks and rocks. Read More
HTC is looking to NASA to improve
the durability on its latest slimline smartphone. The aluminum housing
on the HTC One S is treated with a process called microarc oxidation -
an electrochemical surface treatment process used on many NASA
satellites that results in a housing three times stronger than stainless
steel. Read More
Microsoft has announced the world's first game
console with subscription-based pricing, making the Xbox 360 more
accessible to those interested in gaming on a budget. The new package
will cost US$99 up front, with a two-year contract of $15 a month, much
like your average cell phone contract. This is an entirely untested
price model for videogame consoles, and may prove to be a stroke of
genius for Microsoft, whose Xbox 360 is closing in on its seventh
anniversary. A new price model could breathe life into the system for
years to come. Read More
Butterfly wing material is somewhat like spider silk,
in that they’re both animal-produced substances which scientists are
very interested in copying. In the case of butterfly wings, it’s their
ability to brilliantly reflect light in a variety of iridescent colors
that could prove particularly useful to humans. Researchers from the
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) are reporting
success in replicating the reflective properties of the insects’ wings,
using tiny glass beads. Read More
People who saw the 1984 film 2010: The Year We Make Contact
might remember a scene in which Roy Scheider, while describing the
orientation of the spaceship that he’s aboard, picks up a pen and places
it in mid-air in front of himself. While that effect was actually
accomplished using a sticky-sided pen and a very clear plate of glass,
the same sort of thing is now actually possible – if you’re in the right
place, and positioning the right object. The place is MIT’s Media Lab,
and the object is a small plastic-coated spherical magnet called ZeroN.
Users can physically place it anywhere within a specified
three-dimensional block of “anti-gravity space,” then watch as it stays
in place when they let it go. It can also move through the air on its
own, and even function as a virtual movie camera. Read More
As great of a home improvement as an indoor
climbing wall might seem to a climbing fanatic, it's not exactly the
type of addition that will increase the value of your home. Chances are,
potential buyers will prefer all walls unmarred by rubber scuffs and
multi-colored arrays of grips and tape. If the wall looks anything like
the Lunar Nova, however, they might just pay extra. Read More
Our recent rundown of the coming "Transportation Appliance" marketplace
has unearthed yet another another compact fold-up electric vehicle that
appears set to become the smallest of the last-mile transport options.
Well-known Israeli Industrial Designer Nimrod Sapir has devoted much of
his life to figuring out better ways of "getting there." Nimrod designed
the ingenious Tagabike
we featured four years ago, but his Myway Compact EV is more compact
than anything we've seen and might play a major role in transportation
in the future. Read More
For an idea that has yet to make it to
Kickstarter, a remarkable amount of work has gone into Tetran - a
modular system possibly best described as LEGO for furniture. Tetran
consists of a variety of standardized modules, blocks and cushions that
can be fitted together to create just about any item of furniture you
can think of, or even room-filling amalgamations custom designed to suit
the user's personal needs. Read More
Since the 1980s keeping fit has become an ever
more popular pursuit and these days, the diversity of fitness programs
is truly breath-taking and increasingly high tech. With a prototype
created by an avant-garde Seattle design lab, exercise looks set to
become positively futuristic. Along similar lines to the MotivePro vibrating suit
we looked at last week, Move, designed by Electric Foxy, a company that
develops wearable technology, is a kind of sensorial tank top that
monitors movements during exercise to help people improve their
performance, with particular emphasis on movement precision. Read More
From Earth's perspective, on June 5 and 6, Venus
will pass across the face of the Sun. By observing the tiny fraction of
sunlight that passes through Venus's atmosphere using the Hubble Space
Telescope, it is hoped that the planet's atmospheric makeup can be
determined. Though we already know the nature of Venus's atmosphere, it
is hoped the event will help astronomers hone techniques, already in
use, that may one day help to identify Earth-like planets in far-away
solar systems. The catch? Hubble cannot observe the Sun directly.
Instead it will look at the Moon to observe reflected light. Read More
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