Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory have developed a means of converting mechanical energy into
electrical energy using a harmless, specially engineered virus. By
simply tapping a finger on a virus-coated electrode the size of a
postage stamp, the scientists were able to produce enough current to
drive a liquid crystal display, albeit a very small one. The scientists
claim that this is the first time that the piezoelectrical properties of
a biological material have been harnessed. Read More
It's hard not to get carried away with the
superlatives when writing of the art deco wheeled sculptures of
Paris-based automotive couturier Giuseppe Figoni. This exquisite 1938
Talbot-Lago T23 'Goutte d'Eau' Coupe is not just a pretty face either -
an almost identical car finished third in the 1938 Le Mans 24 hour race
... and it's for sale. From the studios of French coachbuilder Figoni et
Falaschi, Figoni's Talbot-Lago T23 is one of just four Jeancart-style
machines still in existence. Read More
Honda has released details of a new personal mobility device dubbed the UNI-CUB. An evolution of the U3-X
unicycle EV that has been shown globally since the 2009 Tokyo Motor
Show, the UNI-CUB employs the same impressive balance control technology
and omni-directional wheel as its predecessor, with the biggest
differences appearing to be the addition of an extra wheel, a comfier
perch and optional user control via a mobile phone or tablet. Read More
After becoming the first probe to enter orbit
around an object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter in
July 2011, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft
has spent the last 10 months orbiting said object - the giant asteroid
Vesta. During that period it has captured more than 20,000 images of
Vesta and a multitude of data from different wavelengths of radiation.
What it reveals is an asteroid that in many ways shares more in common
with a small planet or Earth’s moon than it does with another asteroid.
Read More
The battle for your hand-held gaming dollar is heating up big time with the recent release of the Sony PlayStation Vita. This latest entrant in the portable gaming hardware market has a clear-cut competitor in the form of the Nintendo 3DS,
and while we've had a close look at both of these offerings
individually, we've decided it's time for a showdown. So which machine
should you buy? Read More
For most of us fighting the battle of the bulge,
fat is an enemy that must be reigned in to a healthier – and less
noticeable – level. But there are actually two types of fat – or adipose
tissue – found in mammals, white and brown. While white fat stores
calories and is the culprit behind love handles, brown fat’s primary
function is to generate heat to keep the body warm through the burning
of fats in a process known as thermogenesis. Therefore, the ability to
activate brown fat in the body could provide a means to fight obesity
and keep the weight off. Now scientists have discovered a protein that
could allow them to do just that. Read More
Chevrolet will introduce a new
compact sport utility vehicle known as the Trax at the 2012 Paris motor
show. If the name rings a bell, that's because Trax was also the label
given to a diminutive SUV concept that Chevrolet floated back in 2007
and while there is next to no detail on the production model at this
stage, we do know that it won't be heading to the U.S. market. Read More 
Last month we told you about a team of Brigham Young University engineering students, who created a clever Batman-inspired wall-climbing system.
They were competing in the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s 2012
Service Academy and University Engineering Challenge, in which teams had
to design gadgets that would allow soldiers to safely and quickly
ascend vertical surfaces. Given that the Brigham Young entry didn’t take
first place, however, we thought it only made sense to take a look at
the entry that did ... and that would be a little something
known as the Personal Vacuum Assisted Climber (PVAC), designed by a team
from Utah State University. Read More
As machines get more and more sophisticated, the
mental capacity of their human overlords stays at a static (albeit
seemingly impressive) level, and therefore slowly starts to pale in
comparison. The bandwidth of the human brain is not limitless, and if an
overloaded brain happens to be overseeing machines carrying out
potentially dangerous tasks, you can expect trouble. But why had we
built the machines in the first place, if not to save us from trouble?
Brainput, a brain-computer interface built by researchers from MIT and
Tufts University, is going to let your computer know if you’re mentally
fit for the job at hand. If it decides your brain is overloaded with
tasks, it will help you out by handling some of them for you. Read More
Lately we’re hearing more and more about tiny
medical and environmental diagnostic devices, that can perform a variety
of tests using very small fluid samples. Working with such small
samples does present a challenge, however – how do you thoroughly mix
tiny amounts of different fluids, or wrangle individual drops for
analysis? According to a team of scientists from the University of
Washington, the answer lies in the lotus leaf. Read More
Nobody likes having to carry around a
keychain full of keys, or – worse yet – arriving somewhere only to
discover that they haven’t brought the key they need. The BOLT system
offers an alternative. It allows you to open multiple padlocks, all
using your vehicle’s ignition key. Read More
Keeping porous building materials
free from stains and water damage has gotten a little easier in the past
few years. Thanks to advances in technology, we’ve seen the advent of
things such as spray-on glass and anti-graffiti coatings.
Now, Spanish nanotech company TECNAN is offering a nanoparticle-based
coating that repels liquid, yet still allows the underlying material to
breathe. Read More
Apple is expected to unveil the next
iPhone at its annual mobile keynote this year and as is the case with
any high profile product launch, rumors about the device are beginning
to materialize months before the event is scheduled to take place. Most
recently, Wall Street Journal sources suggest that Apple intends to upsize the iPhone’s display from 3.5 to 4 inches. Read More
Known as the Sea Lion, this
remarkable brushed aluminum and stainless steel amphibious vehicle was
designed by a Mr. M. Witt in order to break the rather slapdash and
anarchic-sounding Amphibious World Speed Record. Read More
Laptop computers have come a long
since the heady days of the early 80’s when carting around a “portable
computer” could significantly increase your risk of developing a hernia.
Thankfully, laptops these days are much thinner and lighter, making
portable computing a much less physically strenuous activity. A perfect
case in point is Lenovo’s upcoming ThinkPad X1 Carbon, a 14-inch
Ultrabook that tips the scales at less than three pounds (1.3 kg). Read More
While there’s little doubt that dolphins are saying something to one another with all their clicks, squeals and whistles, we’re still not entirely sure
just what it is that they’re communicating. We may be getting closer to
figuring it out, however, as Japanese scientists have created an
underwater speaker that’s capable of playing back the creatures’ entire
acoustic range. The next step - see how they respond. Read More
Designed to overcome the frustration
of listening to phone calls in noisy environments, Kyocera's new URBANO
PROGRESSO smartphone provides an alternative to the traditional speaker
by transmitting sound through vibrations in the handset’s display
screen. Read More
If you find standing up in the
shower just too strenuous then the Horizontal Shower from German company
Dornbracht could be just the thing for your bathroom. It features an
array of six “Water Bar” showerheads built into a horizontal platform
that is attached to the wall, with another platform below on which to
recline. Read More
We regularly feature the latest superyachts
on Gizmag because they offer a mixture of breathtaking design and
cutting edge technology in a rarefied arena where price is seemingly no
object. The resulting floating marvels often seem more like works of art
than mere ocean-going transportation. An incredible 262 superyachts
worth US$3.5 billion sold last year (including one that went for $300
million!) so it's no wonder that some of the world's wealthiest
glitterati flocked to Istanbul earlier this month to take part in what
is essentially the Oscars of the luxury boating scene - the World
Superyacht Awards. Read More
Created by a group of young designers from
London, WikiHouse is an open source construction solution that aims to
make it possible for almost anyone, regardless of skill level, to freely
download and build affordable housing. The WikiHouse construction
system was on display during last month's Milan Design Week,
where the creators themselves demonstrated how the technology can be
applied. “We believe this could herald in a new industrial revolution,”
co-founder Nick Ierodiaconou told Gizmag. “The factory of the future
will be everywhere and the designer will be everyone.” Read More
Nobody likes having to carry around a
keychain full of keys, or – worse yet – arriving somewhere only to
discover that they haven’t brought the key they need. The BOLT system
offers an alternative. It allows you to open multiple padlocks, all
using your vehicle’s ignition key. Read More
Age-related macular degeneration is the leading
cause of blindness in North America, while retinitis pigmentosa causes
approximately 1.5 million people worldwide to lose their sight every
year. Individuals afflicted with retinal degenerative diseases such as
these might someday be able to see again, however, thanks to a
device being developed at California’s Stanford University. Scientists
there are working on a retinal prosthesis, that uses what could almost
be described as miniature solar panels to turn light signals into nerve
impulses. Read More
Look quickly at the Fahrradi Farfalla FFX and you
might mistake it for a limited edition Ferrari. Scan a little more
closely, though, and you'll notice the thin, hollow wheels and barren
interior. Something is certainly amiss, and it's because the FFX isn't
one of the world's most exotic supercars. It's one of the world's most
exotic bicycles. Read More
As I discovered when reviewing the Minty Geek
Electronics Lab a while back, experimenting with circuit building can
be a great deal of fun. There was one particular project in this kit
that made use of the human body to complete a circuit, with a simple lie
detector test being the end result. With their Makey Makey open source
hardware project, Jay Silver and Eric Rosenbaum have taken such touch
interaction to a much more entertaining and inventive degree. Everyday
objects like bananas, coins, and even Play-Doh can be transformed into a
computer keyboard key or mouse click to control onscreen gaming action,
play software-based instruments or type out short messages. Read More
It's hard to think of a better travel garment
than a big, oversized hooded sweatshirt. It's super-comfortable, warm,
and easy to take off when you're frying in the stale, recycled air of a
plane. Burton takes the hooded sweatshirt to a new level of
travel-friendliness, by adding some key elements that include an
integrated pillow. Read More
Canadian high-end loudspeaker manufacturer PSB
Speakers has announced its first dip into the headphone market with the
release of its Music for You (M4U) 2 Active Noise Canceling,
over-the-ear headphones. Built for comfort as well as true-to-nature,
hi-fidelity sound quality, the closed back, circumaural cans feature
40mm dynamic drivers, audio-enhancing amplifier technology, and an
ergonomic four-point gyroscopic ear pad mount that's said to
automatically adjust to the precise contours of the wearer's head. Read More
Keeping porous building materials
free from stains and water damage has gotten a little easier in the past
few years. Thanks to advances in technology, we’ve seen the advent of
things such as spray-on glass and anti-graffiti coatings.
Now, Spanish nanotech company TECNAN is offering a nanoparticle-based
coating that repels liquid, yet still allows the underlying material to
breathe. Read More
We've seen the wacky homebrew projects of
computer hardware hacker Mike Schropp before. Mindful Gizmag readers may
recall his triple quad-core i7 LEGO PC
housing that we looked at last July. But his latest project, the "Bio
Computer," is rather more oddball, taking a turn distinctly towards the
horticultural with a PC case adapted to ... grow wheatgrass. Read More
If you listen to your elders, electricity is a
dangerous, often fatal, medium that shouldn't be toyed with. If, like
Rob Flickenger, you decide to completely ignore such sage counsel, then
electricity is awesome and a whole bunch of fun – especially if you
build yourself a working battery-powered Tesla Gun that handles some
20,000-volts and 2,000 amps of current and shoots out bolts of
lightning! Read More
Apple is expected to unveil the next
iPhone at its annual mobile keynote this year and as is the case with
any high profile product launch, rumors about the device are beginning
to materialize months before the event is scheduled to take place. Most
recently, Wall Street Journal sources suggest that Apple intends to upsize the iPhone’s display from 3.5 to 4 inches. Read More
If you use a MacBook Pro as your regular desktop
computer, but also frequently take it out and about, you may find
yourself getting annoyed at having to repeatedly disconnect and then
reconnect all of its peripheral devices. Additionally, because the
laptop’s input/output ports are located along its side, all those
sideways-protruding cables can end up adding to the clutter on your
desk. That’s why Wisconsin-based tech company Veritas Forge is
developing W1PPS (pronounced “whips”) – it contains all of your plugs
and cords in one MacBook Pro-matched device. Read More
Medium format camera manufacturer Mamiya-Leaf has
announced three new high resolution camera backs named the Leaf Credo.
All of the new backs sport a specially designed DALSA CCD sensor, a
touchscreen LCD display with Live View functionality for both tethered
and untethered photography, and a dual-core microprocessor that's said
to offer the fastest available image viewing, focusing and editing. Read More
Known as the Sea Lion, this
remarkable brushed aluminum and stainless steel amphibious vehicle was
designed by a Mr. M. Witt in order to break the rather slapdash and
anarchic-sounding Amphibious World Speed Record. Read More
One of the biggest problems in fighting the
spread of AIDS has always been convincing people to have themselves
tested regularly. Unfortunately, getting someone to take a trip to a
clinic isn't always easy, particularly in areas where there aren't many
options for discreet testing. In a development that could leap right
over this privacy hurdle, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has just
unanimously approved an over-the-counter HIV test that enables people
to test themselves in their own home and receive results in just 20
minutes. Read More
Aside from arable land, most farm crops require
significant amounts of water, fertilizer, nutrients and pesticides to
grow. While specialized breeding is often used to help produce plants
that require less of these inputs, Purdue University researcher Burkhard
Schulz has found a way to create tiny versions of plants that suffer no
reduction in yield through the addition of a cheap and widely available
chemical. Read More
It's not that long ago that GPS capabilities in a
mobile phone were considered a standout feature. Today, GPS navigation
is standard for smartphones, and as a result, many of us have come to
rely on them when it comes to getting from A to B. However, GPS
technology isn't without its faults, and if A to B is located under a
roof, out of sight of the orbiting GPS satellites, then you can end up
falling back on the not always reliable sense of direction. To fix the
problem, Fraunhofer Research is developing Smartsense, a smartphone
sensor capable of providing accurate navigation indoors, without the aid
of GPS. Read More
While sailing can be an activity that is easy to
learn, it is difficult to master. Sailing boats need to be constantly
tended to quickly respond to changing conditions and for both the novice
and the expert, this continual need for adjustments makes sailing a
demanding task. That's why the ASV Roboat
is an impressive piece of engineering. Packing an array of sensors,
communications hardware and solar panels, the ASV Roboat is a fully
autonomous, unmanned sailing boat that has its sights set on the current
robotic world sailing record. Read More
This summer, Wendy will be tidying up the
neighborhood in Queens, New York. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) will
be attempting to clean the air in style at its PS1 satellite location
with an outdoor architectural project that's designed to provide shade,
shelter and water while also plucking pollutants out of the sky. Read More
Founded upon open source plans for optical touch
tables, the designers of the Playsurface hope to develop a versatile
touchscreen table-top suitable for a variety of "blazingly fast"
applications (yes, including gaming) supporting multpiple users. Though
purely an input and display device, the table can be had with an
integrated PC as an extra. If the project goes ahead (funding is
currently sought through Kickstarter), its designers claim it would be
as easy to assemble as Ikea furniture. It's not a bad comparison: the
flat-packed, affordable Playsurface is a product that its makers at
Templeman Automation hope will close the disconnect between the
popularity and availability of table-top touchscreens. Read More
Laptop computers have come a long
since the heady days of the early 80’s when carting around a “portable
computer” could significantly increase your risk of developing a hernia.
Thankfully, laptops these days are much thinner and lighter, making
portable computing a much less physically strenuous activity. A perfect
case in point is Lenovo’s upcoming ThinkPad X1 Carbon, a 14-inch
Ultrabook that tips the scales at less than three pounds (1.3 kg). Read More
The Quadrofoil is new form of watersport
recreation - a two-person electric hydrofoil which offers a thrilling
and dynamic 40 km/h (25 mph/22 knot) ride along with completely silent
running. Due to the remarkable efficiency of hydrofoils, it achieves all
this with just one 3.7 kW electric motor, and thanks to its lightweight
(150 kg/330 lb) carbon fiber and Kevlar body and in-built 4.5 kWh
lithium batteries, it has a range of 100km (62 miles). Read More
Potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs) are a
subset of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) that have the potential to come
within five million miles (eight million kilometers) of Earth, and are
of a size large enough to make it through Earth’s atmosphere to cause
significant damage on a regional, or greater, scale. NASA’s
asteroid-hunting NEOWISE mission has now provided the best estimate yet
of the number of PHAs in our solar system, along with their origins and
the potential dangers they might pose. Read More
While there’s little doubt that dolphins are saying something to one another with all their clicks, squeals and whistles, we’re still not entirely sure
just what it is that they’re communicating. We may be getting closer to
figuring it out, however, as Japanese scientists have created an
underwater speaker that’s capable of playing back the creatures’ entire
acoustic range. The next step - see how they respond. Read More
Smartphone cameras are undoubtedly handy for
snapping a picture of a receipt, memo or other note to quickly record or
remind you of some task that needs taking care of. It's faster than
using a dedicated scanner, but the results are often below par. Scanbox
aims to improve the quality of these phone camera "scans" by providing a
portable stage that puts the camera and the subject in just the right
position. Read More
Porsche's hybrid 918 Spyder
is a 770 bhp supercar that can top 320 km/h, accelerate from 0-100 km/h
in under three seconds and lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit in
seven minutes 22 seconds. The carbon fiber 918 Spyder will hit showrooms
before the end of 2013, with pricing beginning at US$850,000. It's all
standard fare for a supercar except for one small thing - its fuel
consumption of 3.0 l/100 km (94 mpg). Read More
Once upon a time, tasters were employed by the
well-to-do, in order to check that their food or drink wasn't poisonous.
Today, there are electronic biosensors that can do more or less the
same thing. Unfortunately, as was no doubt sometimes the case with the
tasters, the biosensors can’t always give us immediate results.
Additionally, they’re usually only able to test for specific substances,
and not simply for “anything that’s toxic.” An experimental new device
known as the Dip Chip, however, is said to address both of those
problems. Read More
When most of us realize that we’re overdressed
for the weather, we can simply take off that extra jacket or whatnot
that’s causing us to overheat. Police officers, however, don’t have the
option of taking off their bulletproof vests ... and those vests aren’t
exactly known for being lightweight and breathable. Fortunately, a team
from Swiss research institution Empa has developed just the thing for
those hot cops – an air-conditioned ballistic vest. Read More
In a bid to mitigate the risks associated with
fuel transportation and to make soldiers’ work less technically complex,
U.S. military scientists have started to test microgrids that would
provide clean energy to soldiers in the field. Since 2009, scientists
from the Communications-Electronics Research, Development and
Engineering Center (CERDEC) have been developing two systems – RENEWS
and REDUCE – which are being tested at the Fort Irwin National Training
Center in California, and by U.S. Africa Command. Read More
Ever wondered if a certain species of animal can
be found where you live? The Map of Life website aims to answer this
question. A Yale University-led project built on a Google Maps platform,
it lists virtually all of the vertebrate animals that can be found at
any one point in the world. Read More
Designed to overcome the frustration
of listening to phone calls in noisy environments, Kyocera's new URBANO
PROGRESSO smartphone provides an alternative to the traditional speaker
by transmitting sound through vibrations in the handset’s display
screen. Read More
If you find standing up in the
shower just too strenuous then the Horizontal Shower from German company
Dornbracht could be just the thing for your bathroom. It features an
array of six “Water Bar” showerheads built into a horizontal platform
that is attached to the wall, with another platform below on which to
recline. Read More
Imagine you're hundreds of miles from the sea -
you climb over a grassy hill and come upon a lake with perfect surf just
waiting for you and your board. Spanish engineering firm Instant Sport
is setting about making this scenario a reality with its custom-built
Wavegarden. While artificial waves are far from new, engineer Josema
Odriozola and sports economist Karin Frisch claim that their brainchild
can bring an ocean-like break to land-locked surfers, body boarders and
kayakers alike using less energy than any other existing wave generator
to date. Read More
Any experienced chicken farmer will tell you, the
relative contentment of the birds can be gauged by the sounds they’re
making. While this has generally been accepted as anecdotal folk wisdom,
a team of scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the
University of Georgia are now trying to scientifically verify it.
They’re hoping that their research could lead to better living
conditions for the animals, lower costs to farmers, and higher
productivity. Read More
Last April, for the first time since she became
paralyzed 15 years ago, a 58 year-old woman was able to get herself a
drink of coffee – she did so via a robotic arm, which was controlled by
her thoughts. Although that rather astounding feat took place over a
year ago, it was just made public today, in a report published in the
journal Nature. The woman was a volunteer test subject, in a clinical trial of the experimental BrainGate
neural interface system. Although still very much in development, the
system could someday restore mobility to people who have suffered
paralysis or limb loss. Read More
Top motorcycle drag racer Larry "Spiderman"
McBride has entered the record books once again by piloting the Lawless
Electric Rocket to a National Electric Drag Racing Association record
run of 6.94 seconds at 201.37 mph (324 km/h) over a quarter mile (402
meters) from a standing start. While the electric drag bike looks
monstrous when posing for the cameras, it's simply jaw-dropping when on
the move – as you can see from the video after the jump. Read More
Sony has unveiled the successor to last year's SLT-A35
digital camera featuring the company's proprietary Translucent Mirror
Technology that does away with the need to keep moving the mirror out of
the way when taking a photograph. The new α37 is a somewhat modest
refresh to the entry-level camera that sees some improvements and some
reductions in specs and capabilities, but is being released at a lower
price point than entry-level models before it. Read More
Designer Robin Falck has created his very own
micro home that is small enough to be built without a permit in Finland.
According to Finnish regulations, you can bypass the permit process if
the structure is smaller than 96 or 128 square feet (depending on where
you build). With the help of a couple of local architects, Falck was
able to make his original designs a reality and the result is this
simple and stylish rural retreat. Read More
0 comments:
Post a Comment