Architectural Association School of Architecture
student John Naylor has envisioned a new and sustainable future for
suburbs of Haiti's capital Port au Prince, following the earthquake
which devastated the country three years ago. Dubbed "Bamboo Lakou,"
Naylor's proposal calls for sustainably-sourced bamboo to be used to
jump-start the creation of a new infrastructure which is wholly Haitian
in character. Read More
There are several methods for creating 3D images
with an iPhone, and most of those involve just altering an existing
image using an app. With the Poppy, you'll be able to shoot your own 3D
images and video instantly with just your iPhone. According to the
developers, the stereoscopic images produced with a Poppy and an
iPhone's HD camera lend a true sense of immersion to your typical
snapshots. Read More
To highlight the potential of its Recon Jet
for cycling, Recon Instruments is marking the Tour de France by
launching the Pilot Edition of its high tech sunglasses. While the
glasses won’t ship until sometime “before the end of the year,” early
birds can shave US$100 off the regular pre-sale price by pre-ordering
before the end of the Tour de France. Read More 
Although smartwatches have been around since the
1980s with devices such as Seiko’s Data 2000 watch that could store
2,000 characters in its user-programmable memory, there has recently
been an explosion in the number of devices vying for wrist real estate.
One that caught our eye at CE week in New York is the WearIT smartwatch
targeted at outdoorsy and sporty types. Read More
Walk into any electronics store and you'll see a wide variety of headphones. From tiny earbuds to high-end cans,
they come in all shapes and sizes. They all have one thing in common
though: they deliver sound directly to your ears. "Duh," right? But bone conduction
goes in another direction: it skips the outer ear and takes the scenic
route into your inner ear. Let's take a look at an accessory that plays
your skull like an instrument, Max Virtual's Cynaps bone conduction hat.
Read More
On Monday, NASA announced that its advanced ion propulsion
engine operated for 48,000 hours, or five and a half years – and that’s
without stops for fuel or coffee. Developed under NASA's Evolutionary
Xenon Thruster (NEXT) project, the engine now holds the record for the
longest test duration of any type of space propulsion system. Read More
It's no surprise to learn that
prolonged use of a laptop is bad for your posture. The solution has long
been to use a laptop stand, but many of stands don't provide adequate
height, and when it comes time to hit the road, they tend to stay on the
desk at home. The Roost is a new take on the laptop stand that aims to
address these issues. Read More 
Smartphones are replacing digital cameras as the
go-to device for snapshots these days, but holding them sideways and
using the touch screen isn't an ideal method for taking photos. The Grip
& Shoot system offers a less awkward alternative. Currently on show
at CE Week in New York, the system attaches an ergonomic pistol grip
to an iPhone and connects via Bluetooth, providing greater control when
taking photos and shooting video. Read More
It's always the way. Just when you have to make
that important phone call, your smartphone tells you it's time to
recharge your battery and then promptly dies. Little wonder then that
the backup charger market has become such a crowded space. Arguably the
most appealing battery blocks available are those that can also offer
off-grid emergency power from sources like PV panels or kinetic energy.
The Voltmaker takes the latter approach, providing your smartphone with
enough juice to make a quick phone call with a flick (or more
accurately, several flicks) of the wrist. Read More
In what may not be the most historic event in
space exploration, but may be the cutest, Toyota has announced that the
Kibo Robot Project’s “robot astronaut” Kirobo
will be sent to the International Space Station on August 4. Unlike its
human counterparts, the 13.4-in (34 cm) tall humanoid robot will travel
aboard an unmanned Kounotori 4 cargo spacecraft launched from the Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tanegashima Space Center atop a H-IIB
rocket. Once at the ISS, Kirobo is scheduled to conduct the first-ever
robot-human conversation experiments in December. Read More
Recharging a smartphone has become a
part of everyday life for most people. But while the device’s display
will usually tell you it is charging, it won’t tell you how long you’ll
be twiddling your thumbs before the charge ticks over to 100 percent.
That’s where the Practical Meter comes in. Read More
Imagine if you were having a
real-time conversation with someone at another location, and wanted them
to see what you were seeing, from the perspective you were seeing it.
Well, you soon may be able to do just that, once the PairASight project
is up and running. Read More
Cyanobacteria, more commonly known
as blue-green algae, can potentially be quite nasty. Some types of the
bacteria produce toxins, which can poison humans or other animals that
ingest water in which they’re present. Now, however, scientists are
developing a portable sensor that will instantly alert users to the
presence of the microbes in water samples. Read More
Athletes are always looking for equipment that
can give them an edge, and for runners, that means shoes that can launch
them ahead with minimal energy. In the past, most shoe companies have
produced shoes with flexible mid-soles that help the wearer push off of
the ground more easily, but some recent footwear from Adidas might take
that concept to a new level. The aptly-named Adidas Springblade uses
angled elastic blades on the soles to quickly propel the wearer forward
as if they had springs on their feet. Read More
Recharging a smartphone has become a
part of everyday life for most people. But while the device’s display
will usually tell you it is charging, it won’t tell you how long you’ll
be twiddling your thumbs before the charge ticks over to 100 percent.
That’s where the Practical Meter comes in. Read More
Introduced early last year, the Waka Waka lamp
is a solar-powered LED light designed for use both in first-world
campsites and third-world homes. Towards the end of the year, the Waka
Waka Foundation followed up on the lamp’s success with a similar
product, known as Waka Waka Power.
It not only provides light, but can also be used to charge up your
electronic gadgets. We recently had a chance to try one out ... during
sunny breaks in an otherwise very wet and cloudy June. Read More
The city of Gothenburg in Sweden is getting ready
to ride into the future with a cutting-edge bus service system whose
proponents hope will blaze a new trail in urban mobility. Part of a
project called ElectricCity, which is slated for a 2015 launch, the
electric bus will be fueled by electricity generated from renewable
sources. The buses themselves will be energy-efficient, near silent and
will not emit any greenhouse gases. Plans for the system also include an
indoor bus stop. Read More
Fujifilm has announced the forthcoming release of
the X-M1, the third member of the company's X-Series interchangeable
lens camera systems. The lightweight compact sports the same 16.3
megapixel sensor found in the X-Pro1 and X-E1,
as well as up to ISO25600 sensitivity, built-in Wi-Fi technology and an
LCD display that tilts vertically. The company has also placed all of
the camera's key buttons and dials on the right side for one-handed
operation. Read More
Imagine if you were having a
real-time conversation with someone at another location, and wanted them
to see what you were seeing, from the perspective you were seeing it.
Well, you soon may be able to do just that, once the PairASight project
is up and running. Read More
Password manager programs allow users to store
all their personal login information behind one master password. Now, a
product called myIDkey is looking to make that process portable. It's a
fingerprint-encrypted, voice-searchable thumb drive that stores all of a
user's passwords and private data. Read More
Sony rocked the compact camera world last year
when it launched the RX100, a pocketable zoom camera with a larger than
usual sensor. Now it's revealed the Cyber-shot RX100 II. The new device
adds Wi-Fi connectivity with NFC, a tilting screen, and a more sensitive
sensor. Sony also showed off the RX1R, which will be sold alongside the
RX1 and removes the optical low-pass filter for sharper pictures. Read More
Although the GoPro Hero actioncam is designed to
be mounted on things like helmets or handlebars, it can also of course
be used for regular ol’ hand-held shooting. As with any other camcorder,
however, its hand-held footage can be on the shaky side. That’s why
Tiffen recently unveiled its Steadicam Curve for GoPro Hero. Read More
Name a toy car that follows lines while
navigating. A hundred years ago you would've answered slot cars, which
use a physical line. Twenty years ago saw the mass production of toys
that use optical sensors to navigate a printed line. This generation's
new racing wonder toy, Anki Drive, still uses optical sensors to
navigate an invisible line, but can adopt numerous racing strategies,
detect other cars and conditions on the track, and react instantly.
While nominally the successor in the toy race car market, Anki Drive
arguably has more in common with a Google driverless car than it does
with its scaled toy counterparts, and Anki has grander ambitions in the
field of autonomous robotics. Read More
Cyanobacteria, more commonly known
as blue-green algae, can potentially be quite nasty. Some types of the
bacteria produce toxins, which can poison humans or other animals that
ingest water in which they’re present. Now, however, scientists are
developing a portable sensor that will instantly alert users to the
presence of the microbes in water samples. Read More
Ensuring the dulcet tones of your keynote speaker
reach every nook and cranny of a crowded conference room can be
something of a challenge. Even perfectly-positioned box speakers and a
powerful sound system might leave some guests wondering what exactly was
said. Italian audio specialist K-array has come up with a distinctly
bendy answer to the problem of placing speakers in those awkward, out of
reach places. The Anakonda KAN200 is so flexible it can be wrapped
around lamp stands or table legs, mounted to curved surfaces, or quite
literally be tied in knots. It promises crisp, intelligible audio, and
can be combined with other units to form one seamless sound line over
200 ft in length. Read More
It wasn’t all that long ago that the product
category of “consumer aerial drone” was created, thanks to the
introduction of smart-but-relatively-cheap quadcopters such as the AR Drone.
These remote-control aircraft can be a lot of fun, but ... what about
those of us who prefer the water to the skies? That’s where the Ziphius
comes in. It’s a smartphone or tablet-controlled camera-equipped aquatic
drone, that’s capable of autonomous behavior. Read More
Google is moving full speed ahead into the world
of hardware with plans to develop an Android-powered gaming console and
wristwatch, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Read More
Jason Learmonth is a paramedic with a difference.
Instead of an ambulance, he gets around town on a motorcycle that's
kitted out with almost every piece of clinical equipment an ambulance
carries. It's part of a trial that's putting two of these machines on
the road in Melbourne, Australia, for three years to discover whether
the bike's ability to get into hard-to-reach places and move through
congested traffic is useful enough to make it a permanent part of the
Ambulance service. I followed Jason around for an afternoon to capture
some of his extraordinary working day in pictures. Read More
Though Samsung and LG
both showed off curved OLED TVs at CES in January, the latter was first
to market. Samsung has now caught up, and given its 55-inch immersive
goggle-box a luxury "Timeless Arena" frame before releasing it to South
Korean consumers. Read More
UTOMOTIVE
While hammocks can certainly be
comfortable option for campers, many will quickly miss the flat,
supportive surface of their beds at home and may even opt to forgo the
hammock for a night on the ground. The new Hammock Bliss Sky Bed uses a
unique design intended to make suspended sleeping more comfortable. Read More
Buttercup the duck was born with a
strange birth defect. One of the little duckling's legs faced the wrong
direction. To remedy the situation, 3D printing technology has been used
to create a prosthetic leg that should allow Buttercup to live a
somewhat normal, albeit much more famous, life. Read MoreUTOMOTIVE
While hammocks can certainly be
comfortable option for campers, many will quickly miss the flat,
supportive surface of their beds at home and may even opt to forgo the
hammock for a night on the ground. The new Hammock Bliss Sky Bed uses a
unique design intended to make suspended sleeping more comfortable. Read More
Buttercup the duck was born with a
strange birth defect. One of the little duckling's legs faced the wrong
direction. To remedy the situation, 3D printing technology has been used
to create a prosthetic leg that should allow Buttercup to live a
somewhat normal, albeit much more famous, life. Read MoreUTOMOTIVE
While hammocks can certainly be
comfortable option for campers, many will quickly miss the flat,
supportive surface of their beds at home and may even opt to forgo the
hammock for a night on the ground. The new Hammock Bliss Sky Bed uses a
unique design intended to make suspended sleeping more comfortable. Read More
Buttercup the duck was born with a
strange birth defect. One of the little duckling's legs faced the wrong
direction. To remedy the situation, 3D printing technology has been used
to create a prosthetic leg that should allow Buttercup to live a
somewhat normal, albeit much more famous, life. Read More
Getting locked out of the house is
especially frustrating when you’ve forgotten the “safe” place where you
hid the spare key. As an alternative to sleeping in the garden shed or
emergency locksmith fees, KeyMe allows you to store a digital version of
your house key in the cloud from which a duplicate key can be cut on
demand. Read More
A fridge full of free beer sounds
like a great thing to find sitting on a street corner, but what if you
needed a Canadian to open it? That was the puzzle posed by the Rethink
advertising agency on behalf of Canada’s Molson brewery. This northern
spring, Rethink set up red fridges at various locations around Europe
that would only open if a Canadian passport was inserted. Read More
Unless Apple is sending us all on a
wild goose chase, it looks like there might be something to those smartwatch rumors. Apple's alleged wrist-based computing device, which has been leaked several times
during 2013, is looking even more likely now, as the company recently
filed paperwork in Japan for a device called "iWatch." Read More
UTOMOTIVE
Is it a Jeep? Is it a speedboat? No, it's WaterCar's Panther amphibious vehicle
By Brian Dodson
June 30, 2013
Recreational amphibious vehicles are nothing new, but most are one-offs, and most tend to be boats that can creep on land, or cars that slosh slowly through water. There are exceptions, notably entries from Gibbs,
but arguably, amphibious vehicles have not made the grade as true
all-round vehicles that can be driven to work during the week, and on
the lake on weekends. WaterCar's new Panther straddles the divide. Read More
At the tender age of 15, Canadian high school
student Ann Makosinski has designed and built a flashlight powered by
body heat. Her Hollow Flashlight secured her a finalist slot in the
15-16 age group of the Google Science Fair ahead of thousands of entries
from more than 100 countries. My science project in tenth grade was a
volcano that only worked about half the time, so I think she has me
beat. Read More
In April of this year, a BAE Systems Jetstream
research aircraft flew from Preston in Lancashire, England, to
Inverness, Scotland and back. This 500-mile (805 km) journey wouldn't be
worth noting if it weren't for the small detail that its pilot was not
on board, but sitting on the ground in Warton, Lancashire and that the
plane did most of the flying itself. Even this alteration of a standard
commercial prop plane into an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) seems a back
page item until you realize that this may herald the biggest revolution
in civil aviation since Wilbur Wright won the coin toss at Kitty Hawk
in 1903. Read More
The LeapPad Ultra follows on from the LeapPad 2,
but at first glance it's obvious that this is more than a token update.
Thanks to a seven-inch screen with a 1024 x 600 resolution, it
instantly looks more like a standard tablet than the LeapPad 2 (with its
five-inch 480 x 272 offering). The new light-touch screen has also been
designed to work with fingers or a stylus, so little users can practice
their writing skills. Read More
While hammocks can certainly be
comfortable option for campers, many will quickly miss the flat,
supportive surface of their beds at home and may even opt to forgo the
hammock for a night on the ground. The new Hammock Bliss Sky Bed uses a
unique design intended to make suspended sleeping more comfortable. Read More
Bike sharing schemes have become a familiar
feature in many major cities around the world. They are designed to help
free up increasingly clogged urban roads and ease congestion on public
transport networks. The only problem is that bicycle helmets aren't
offered as standard. So unless you want to bring your own, you're left
with with little choice but to go without. The Paper Pulp Helmet offers
an ingenious alternative. Read More
The relationship between Apple and Samsung is, well, complicated.
They're like two bitter exes who work together, or maybe live in the
same building. If circumstances permitted, they'd never see each other
again. But, try as they may, they just can't get each other out of their
lives. Can you say awkward? Well, that relationship is about
to take one step closer to complete severance, as Apple is reportedly
partially switching to TSMC for the coming year's iOS processors. Read More
Is your best friend looking a little pudgy and
out of shape? Are they a little sluggish and out of it when you hang
out, preferring a nap over a run or walk? Don't make things awkward by
telling them, just slide on a collar while they're sleeping and
encourage them to get more exercise. We're talking about your dog, of
course, and the new FitBark collar. Read More
There has been no shortage of uses floated for Microsoft's Xbox Kinect that go beyond the realm of gaming, from 3D modeling to docking satellites and even garbage catching. Now we can add controlling cyborg cockroaches to the list. As part of ongoing research into piloting biobots, researchers at North Carolina State University have used the video game technology to put roaches on autopilot. Read More
Buttercup the duck was born with a
strange birth defect. One of the little duckling's legs faced the wrong
direction. To remedy the situation, 3D printing technology has been used
to create a prosthetic leg that should allow Buttercup to live a
somewhat normal, albeit much more famous, life. Read MoreUTOMOTIVE
Is it a Jeep? Is it a speedboat? No, it's WaterCar's Panther amphibious vehicle
By Brian Dodson
June 30, 2013
Recreational amphibious vehicles are nothing new, but most are one-offs, and most tend to be boats that can creep on land, or cars that slosh slowly through water. There are exceptions, notably entries from Gibbs,
but arguably, amphibious vehicles have not made the grade as true
all-round vehicles that can be driven to work during the week, and on
the lake on weekends. WaterCar's new Panther straddles the divide. Read More
At the tender age of 15, Canadian high school
student Ann Makosinski has designed and built a flashlight powered by
body heat. Her Hollow Flashlight secured her a finalist slot in the
15-16 age group of the Google Science Fair ahead of thousands of entries
from more than 100 countries. My science project in tenth grade was a
volcano that only worked about half the time, so I think she has me
beat. Read More
In April of this year, a BAE Systems Jetstream
research aircraft flew from Preston in Lancashire, England, to
Inverness, Scotland and back. This 500-mile (805 km) journey wouldn't be
worth noting if it weren't for the small detail that its pilot was not
on board, but sitting on the ground in Warton, Lancashire and that the
plane did most of the flying itself. Even this alteration of a standard
commercial prop plane into an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) seems a back
page item until you realize that this may herald the biggest revolution
in civil aviation since Wilbur Wright won the coin toss at Kitty Hawk
in 1903. Read More
The LeapPad Ultra follows on from the LeapPad 2,
but at first glance it's obvious that this is more than a token update.
Thanks to a seven-inch screen with a 1024 x 600 resolution, it
instantly looks more like a standard tablet than the LeapPad 2 (with its
five-inch 480 x 272 offering). The new light-touch screen has also been
designed to work with fingers or a stylus, so little users can practice
their writing skills. Read More
While hammocks can certainly be
comfortable option for campers, many will quickly miss the flat,
supportive surface of their beds at home and may even opt to forgo the
hammock for a night on the ground. The new Hammock Bliss Sky Bed uses a
unique design intended to make suspended sleeping more comfortable. Read More
Bike sharing schemes have become a familiar
feature in many major cities around the world. They are designed to help
free up increasingly clogged urban roads and ease congestion on public
transport networks. The only problem is that bicycle helmets aren't
offered as standard. So unless you want to bring your own, you're left
with with little choice but to go without. The Paper Pulp Helmet offers
an ingenious alternative. Read More
The relationship between Apple and Samsung is, well, complicated.
They're like two bitter exes who work together, or maybe live in the
same building. If circumstances permitted, they'd never see each other
again. But, try as they may, they just can't get each other out of their
lives. Can you say awkward? Well, that relationship is about
to take one step closer to complete severance, as Apple is reportedly
partially switching to TSMC for the coming year's iOS processors. Read More
Is your best friend looking a little pudgy and
out of shape? Are they a little sluggish and out of it when you hang
out, preferring a nap over a run or walk? Don't make things awkward by
telling them, just slide on a collar while they're sleeping and
encourage them to get more exercise. We're talking about your dog, of
course, and the new FitBark collar. Read More
There has been no shortage of uses floated for Microsoft's Xbox Kinect that go beyond the realm of gaming, from 3D modeling to docking satellites and even garbage catching. Now we can add controlling cyborg cockroaches to the list. As part of ongoing research into piloting biobots, researchers at North Carolina State University have used the video game technology to put roaches on autopilot. Read More
Buttercup the duck was born with a
strange birth defect. One of the little duckling's legs faced the wrong
direction. To remedy the situation, 3D printing technology has been used
to create a prosthetic leg that should allow Buttercup to live a
somewhat normal, albeit much more famous, life. Read MoreUTOMOTIVE
Is it a Jeep? Is it a speedboat? No, it's WaterCar's Panther amphibious vehicle
By Brian Dodson
June 30, 2013
Recreational amphibious vehicles are nothing new, but most are one-offs, and most tend to be boats that can creep on land, or cars that slosh slowly through water. There are exceptions, notably entries from Gibbs,
but arguably, amphibious vehicles have not made the grade as true
all-round vehicles that can be driven to work during the week, and on
the lake on weekends. WaterCar's new Panther straddles the divide. Read More
At the tender age of 15, Canadian high school
student Ann Makosinski has designed and built a flashlight powered by
body heat. Her Hollow Flashlight secured her a finalist slot in the
15-16 age group of the Google Science Fair ahead of thousands of entries
from more than 100 countries. My science project in tenth grade was a
volcano that only worked about half the time, so I think she has me
beat. Read More
In April of this year, a BAE Systems Jetstream
research aircraft flew from Preston in Lancashire, England, to
Inverness, Scotland and back. This 500-mile (805 km) journey wouldn't be
worth noting if it weren't for the small detail that its pilot was not
on board, but sitting on the ground in Warton, Lancashire and that the
plane did most of the flying itself. Even this alteration of a standard
commercial prop plane into an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) seems a back
page item until you realize that this may herald the biggest revolution
in civil aviation since Wilbur Wright won the coin toss at Kitty Hawk
in 1903. Read More
The LeapPad Ultra follows on from the LeapPad 2,
but at first glance it's obvious that this is more than a token update.
Thanks to a seven-inch screen with a 1024 x 600 resolution, it
instantly looks more like a standard tablet than the LeapPad 2 (with its
five-inch 480 x 272 offering). The new light-touch screen has also been
designed to work with fingers or a stylus, so little users can practice
their writing skills. Read More
While hammocks can certainly be
comfortable option for campers, many will quickly miss the flat,
supportive surface of their beds at home and may even opt to forgo the
hammock for a night on the ground. The new Hammock Bliss Sky Bed uses a
unique design intended to make suspended sleeping more comfortable. Read More
Bike sharing schemes have become a familiar
feature in many major cities around the world. They are designed to help
free up increasingly clogged urban roads and ease congestion on public
transport networks. The only problem is that bicycle helmets aren't
offered as standard. So unless you want to bring your own, you're left
with with little choice but to go without. The Paper Pulp Helmet offers
an ingenious alternative. Read More
The relationship between Apple and Samsung is, well, complicated.
They're like two bitter exes who work together, or maybe live in the
same building. If circumstances permitted, they'd never see each other
again. But, try as they may, they just can't get each other out of their
lives. Can you say awkward? Well, that relationship is about
to take one step closer to complete severance, as Apple is reportedly
partially switching to TSMC for the coming year's iOS processors. Read More
Is your best friend looking a little pudgy and
out of shape? Are they a little sluggish and out of it when you hang
out, preferring a nap over a run or walk? Don't make things awkward by
telling them, just slide on a collar while they're sleeping and
encourage them to get more exercise. We're talking about your dog, of
course, and the new FitBark collar. Read More
There has been no shortage of uses floated for Microsoft's Xbox Kinect that go beyond the realm of gaming, from 3D modeling to docking satellites and even garbage catching. Now we can add controlling cyborg cockroaches to the list. As part of ongoing research into piloting biobots, researchers at North Carolina State University have used the video game technology to put roaches on autopilot. Read More
Buttercup the duck was born with a
strange birth defect. One of the little duckling's legs faced the wrong
direction. To remedy the situation, 3D printing technology has been used
to create a prosthetic leg that should allow Buttercup to live a
somewhat normal, albeit much more famous, life. Read More
Researchers at MIT's Computer Science and
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory have developed what could become
low-cost, X-ray vision. The system, known as "Wi-Vi," is based on a
concept similar to radar and sonar imaging, but rather than using
high-power signals, this tech uses reflected Wi-Fi signals to track the
movement of people behind walls and closed doors. Read More
Don't want to ask your creepy neighbor to check
on your plants while you're on vacation? Take care of them from the
cloud, instead. One of the latest products in the burgeoning Internet of
Things, the Bitponics system is a "personal gardening assistant"
designed to make hydroponics gardening easier. The system connects the
garden to the cloud, letting gardeners keep an eye on their plants and
exercise their green thumb even when they're away. Read More
Getting locked out of the house is
especially frustrating when you’ve forgotten the “safe” place where you
hid the spare key. As an alternative to sleeping in the garden shed or
emergency locksmith fees, KeyMe allows you to store a digital version of
your house key in the cloud from which a duplicate key can be cut on
demand. Read More
Engineers at the German Aerospace Center (DLR)
have proven once again that they know how to make a snazzy looking
robot. Quietly announced to little fanfare, DLR's Robotics and
Mechatronics Center recently put the finishing touches on its DLR-Biped,
a pair of shiny blue legs that first stepped onto the scene in 2009.
Those legs have now been upgraded to the status of a full-fledged
humanoid robot, sporting an all-new upper body and a new name: the
Torque Controlled Humanoid Robot, or TORO for short. Read More
Remember that 21st century living room
revolution? You know, the one that was supposed to have arrived about
two years ago, and have been spearheaded by Apple? Well, it's showing some signs of life after all, and one platform
just solidified its standing as the most likely to lead the way.
Microsoft has announced a big deal with Time Warner Cable (TWC), that
will let the company's US cable subscribers stream live TV using the
Xbox 360. Read More
In May of this year, Spanish architect Miguel de
Guzmán completed a residential property located in rural Spain. Dubbed
"Espinar House," the property echoes the classic theme of a lone cabin
in the woods, but features a touch of modernity in the form of a
translucent polycarbonate exterior, a rooftop garden, and an inexpensive
chipboard interior. Read More
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the
leading cause of blindness among older adults in the western world.
Unfortunately, conventional optical aids provide little help for a
retina which has lost the acuity of its central area. Now a team of
multinational researchers led by University of California, San Diego
(UCSD) Professor Joseph Ford has created a telescopic contact lens that
can switch between normal and magnified vision to offer AMD patients a
relatively unobtrusive way to enhance their vision. Read More
A fridge full of free beer sounds
like a great thing to find sitting on a street corner, but what if you
needed a Canadian to open it? That was the puzzle posed by the Rethink
advertising agency on behalf of Canada’s Molson brewery. This northern
spring, Rethink set up red fridges at various locations around Europe
that would only open if a Canadian passport was inserted. Read More
Unless Apple is sending us all on a
wild goose chase, it looks like there might be something to those smartwatch rumors. Apple's alleged wrist-based computing device, which has been leaked several times
during 2013, is looking even more likely now, as the company recently
filed paperwork in Japan for a device called "iWatch." Read More
A tragedy of modern times is the millions of
refugees displaced by poverty, oppression, war and natural disaster.
Most end up living in canvas tents of a basic design that are hot in
summer, cold in winter, and only last about six months in constant use
despite some refugees living in such tents for up to 12 years. On World
Refugee Day in June, the Ikea Foundation unveiled a new flat-pack
refugee shelter with a modular design and solar panel designed to help
improve living conditions for refugees. Read More
In addition to being a talented player and having a guitar named after him, Les Paul
was a dedicated tinkerer. It's rather fitting, then, that one of those
famous guitars has been modified to include touch-controlled synths and
effects, and an onboard drum machine. The system is built around an
Arduino brain externally mounted near the bridge, which routes signals
from sensors and buttons through custom code to a preamp/effects
processor or a digital audio workstation suite. As you can see and hear
from the video after the jump, the aptly-named Guitarduino is quite
simply extraordinary. Read More
This week Factor Bikes unveiled what could be a
new gold standard for technophile road cycling fanatics obsessed with
self-quantifying and monitoring. The company claims that its Vis Vires
is the "world's most technologically advanced road bike," loaded with
wireless sensors, an onboard computer and power crank. Read More
The five traditional senses of perception –
sound, sight, smell, touch, and taste – are all capable of triggering
memories. However, we haven't yet figured out how to capture copies of
all of these inputs. We can capture images on cameras and sounds on
audio equipment, we can recreate tastes to a certain degree, and we can
simulate touch with physical copies of other things. But what about
smells? The ability to capture everyday odors in an immutable state has
eluded us. Until now. Read More
A new building at Tel Aviv University features a
standalone EcoWall that aims to provide vertical garden space and
research facilities for its faculty. The university's Porter School of
Environmental Studies (PSES) hopes that its new green building design
will not only join the small number of LEED certified buildings in the
country, but will also highlight sustainable methodologies for future
buildings in Israel. Read More
In Japan, clockwork automata (karakuri ningyō)
emerged in the 17th century, and were mainly sold to wealthy or
important people who used them to impress guests. These little
mechanical dolls have an illustrious history, but like their Western
counterparts they largely went out of fashion by the 20th century. Now, a
modern version of these automata that mixes popular anime-style vinyl
dolls and hobby robotics is on its way thanks to Danny Choo of Culture
Japan. Read More
Skyscrapers dominate the skylines of our major
cities, offering more urban density and greater flexibility than smaller
buildings. However, concrete- and steel-based tall structures require
huge amounts of energy for their construction, which comes at a
significant environmental cost. This can be mitigated by incorporating
technologies such as solar power, passive cooling systems and efficient
lighting into the design, but what if we could go even further and build
skyscrapers using sustainable materials? Herein lies the impetus behind
recent research into the efficacy of wooden skyscrapers. Read More
PayPal has teamed with the SETI Institute and the
Space Tourism Society to start preparations for the coming upheavals of
Solar System commerce. Having whetted their teeth on global commerce,
PayPal is looking forward to the challenge of figuring out how to let
John or Jill check their balance when they are living on Mars or
visiting the Orbital Technologies commercial space station. It's answer is PayPal Galactic. Read More
While the pursuit to develop flying cars and Star
Warsian land-speeders rages on, the dilemma around developing a
functioning underwater vehicle was solved decades ago … by the British
Secret Service's Q Branch. In the film The Spy Who Loved Me,
James Bond escapes from the obligatory horde of bad guys by driving one
very versatile white Lotus Esprit into the ocean. That fully submersible
vehicle, is now set to go to auction this September. Read More
Thanks to the miniaturization of electronics and
wireless technology, detailed cardiovascular monitoring no longer
requires a visit to the doctor's clinic or a hospital. A new wave of
cardiovascular monitoring devices can be carried or worn by patients as
they go about their daily routine, with the collected data able to be
transmitted wirelessly to healthcare professionals and family members.
Healthcare company Qardio has unveiled two such devices that allow
patients suffering, or at risk of developing cardiovascular conditions,
to better monitor their health. Read More
Planetary Resources, Inc., the asteroid mining company based in Bellevue, Washington, completed its Kickstarter
campaign on Sunday after a 33-day run that raised US$1,505,366 from
17,600 backers. The purpose of the campaign was to raise public interest
in the company and asteroid mining in general by crowdfunding an Arkyd
100 space telescope that will be made available to the public. Read More
0 comments:
Post a Comment