New and Emerging Technology News part 210 ~ NEW GEN TECH LIFE : new generation technology news

Tuesday 18 March 2014

New and Emerging Technology News part 210


The AWE-3DG 3D-printed guitar from AweSome Musical Instruments
Multi-tone performance pickup specialist AweSome Musical Instruments has unveiled what's claimed to be the first commercially available 3D-printed guitar made in the US. Touted as virtually impossible to break (though the same can't be said for the supplied light gauge strings), the Les Paul-style AWE-3DG also sports a bank of rather interesting pickup selectors that open the door to otherwise hidden coil combinations for up to 76 different analog tones.  Read More
U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress from Edwards Air Force Base prepares to release the Bo...
It was fourth time lucky for Boeing’s X-51A Waverider, as it blasted into the history books on Monday. The fourth test of the hypersonic drone achieved the longest scramjet-powered hypersonic flight yet, hitting a top speed of Mach 5.1. Dropped from a B-52H bomber out of Edwards Air Force Base in California, the unmanned craft flew at top speed for three and a half minutes before it made a controlled dive into the Pacific Ocean after six minutes of flight.  Read More
The MUVe three-wheeled, stand-and-ride electric scooter
If you need to cut across town, sliding behind the wheel of your car is not always the most practical or quickest way to get from train station to office, office to gym, or gym to juice bar. While public transport serves most inner cities well, the thought of zipping quietly and effortlessly through the thronging masses is one that has great appeal. If you can just collapse your vehicle down to a fraction of its size at the end of your journey, all the better. Such is the case with a soon-to-be-released three-wheeled, stand-and-ride electric scooter named MUVe, which transforms into a suitcase-sized trolley between rides.  Read More
Wealthy cinephiles can now have their own IMAX Private Theater built in their home
If you really wanted to impress people with your home theater, what would you do? Perhaps model it after the Bat Cave, or show movies that were still in the cinemas? Well, now there’s another choice. If you’ve got the cash, you could build your own IMAX Private Theater.  Read More
The Solar Impulse airplane, on an earlier test flight over San Francisco This morning at 6:12 am PST, the Solar Impulse solar-powered airplane took off from San Francisco’s Moffett Airfield, beginning the first leg of its planned flight across the U.S.  Read More
The SmartMow development platform
RobotLabs has launched a KickStarter campaign to develop a robot lawnmower. Though that may not sound particularly new, the company claims other automated lawnmowers aren't true robots because they don't adhere to Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. In other words, they're not safe enough, RobotLabs claims. RobotLabs claims its SmartMow is different, shutting down almost instantaneously when people or animals get close.  Read More
Researchers have successfully combined biology and electronics, in the form of this bionic...
A Princeton University team has successfully merged electronics and biology to create a functional ear that can “hear” radio frequencies. The tissue and antenna were merged via the use of an “off-the -shelf” 3D printer, and the results have the potential to not only restore but actually enhance human hearing in the future.  Read More
The competition-winning Imperial Tower (Image © Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture) Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture has unveiled plans for Imperial Tower, which would become Mumbai's tallest building and surely one of the world's most slender skyscrapers, should it come to be built.  Read More
IBM MessageSight: a mega-platform for the internet of things (Image: NASA Goddard Space Fl...
Three years ago, Google's Eric Schmidt announced that every two days, more information is created than was the case from the dawn of humanity up to 2003. According to IMS Research, by 2020 web-connected devices will create 2.5 quintillion bytes of information every day, with 22 billion internet of things devices up-belching information to the web. To marshal all that data, IBM has come up with a platform it calls MessageSight, which will allow any one organization to pool information from up to a million sensors and devices, at a rate of 13 million messages per second.  Read More
L5 is likely to receive a V8 as its powerplant
A sub-brand of China’s First Auto Works (FAW), the Hongqi has been China’s answer to the Rolls Royce since 1958 when it was first manufactured under the direction of Chairman Mao Zedong. The Hongqi (which means Red Flag) is enjoying a newfound resurgence as we discovered recently at the Shanghai Auto Show.  Read More

AZPA's proposal for a new gas power station in Wedel, Germany asks, why do power stations ...
Why do power stations always look like power stations? That's the tacit question behind AZPA's proposal for a new gas power station in Wedel, Germany, which it envisages as a "green mountain" of topiary. The idea is not so much to disguise the plant as it is to turn it into a local attraction.  Read More
The nano-network that releases insulin in response to changes in blood sugar
Aside from the inconvenience of injecting insulin multiple times a day, type 1 diabetics also face health risks if the dosage level isn’t accurate. A new approach developed by US researchers has the potential to overcome both of these problems. The method relies on a network of nanoscale particles that once injected into the body, can maintain normal blood sugar levels for more than a week by releasing insulin when blood-sugar levels rise.  Read More
Estúdio 41 has won the bid to design the new Brazilian base in Antarctica which will repla...
The winning proposal for the new Ferraz Antarctic station has been announced by the Brazilian navy at an event in Rio de Janeiro. The design by Curitiba-based Estúdio 41 takes into account the challenge of extreme weather conditions and aims to minimize environmental impact while adapting to the topography of the building site on the Keller Peninsula.  Read More
The Arzum Firrin uses a sliding tray instead of a pop-up arrangement If you find the toast popping up in the morning too much to handle, then the Arzum Firrin toaster may be more your speed. Winner of the 2012 Design Turkey award, the Firrin forgoes alarming pop-out mechanisms for a more sedate sliding tray that is not only easier on the nerves, but also allows the toaster to handle a wide variety of rolls, bagels and other doughy products.  Read More
The Wool & Prince shirt needs only an airing and occasional dry clean
A good wool shirt is awesome, but would you wear one for 100 days straight without washing it? Kickstarter startup Wool & Prince claims that you can do exactly that with its buttondown shirts, which it handed out to 15 “wear testers” who wore them while engaging in such activities as backpacking in the Andes and dancing in "Tropical" NYC clubs. According to the makers, the shirts not only proved durable, but still looked – and smelled – fresh after over three months of straight wear.  Read More
Porsche reports a lap time around the Nurburgring in the new Turbo S of just under 7 minut...
As Porsche celebrates 50 years of its iconic 911, it’s only fitting that the fastest and most advanced models of the line-up should get a makeover. The next-gen 911 Turbo and Turbo S have received several technical revisions to enhance handling and make the fast even faster, with the S model leaping from 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds. This hi-tech generation is similar to its ancestors in name only.  Read More
Image was taken by the PhoneSat-2 (Graham) nanosatellite (Image: NASA Ames)
When most people send images from their smartphones, they tend to be of what the photographer is having for dinner or someone doing something very silly in the pub [or cats – Ed]. NASA has raised the bar for phone snaps out of the atmosphere by using smartphones installed in "nanosatellites" in low Earth orbit to send back images of the Earth. The three satellites, called Alexander, Graham and Bell, flew in space between April 21 and 27 as part of a mission to show how satellites could be built cheaper using off-the-shelf components.  Read More
Sunflower seed husks seem to be a viable aggregate for certain uses (Photo: Phil Hawkswort... Ordinarily seen as a waste product, the husks of sunflower seeds could be used to make concrete, according to research out of Turkey. Not only are the husks a sustainable source of aggregate, it's claimed that the resulting concrete is more resistant to cracking during post-freeze thaws.  Read More
The Boosted Boards skateboard
Last year we reported on San Francisco-based startup Boosted Boards' eponymous debut product, an electric skateboard that can lay credible claim to being the world’s lightest electric vehicle. The skateboard was the subject of a successful Kickstarter campaign, and having survived the perils of moving from pitch to product, is now available for wider pre-order.  Read More
The NDÅ«R Survival Straw filters out nasties from dirty water as you drink
Most of us take water for granted. If we want a drink, we turn a tap or twist a cap and there it is. But if you find yourself off the beaten track in triple-digit heat without it, locating some can mean the difference between life and death. Finding a pool of water in the shade of a rock may seem like a godsend, but then the question of waterborne diseases raises its head. That’s where the NDÅ«R Survival Straw comes in.  Read More
 
The Acer Aspire R7's screen is able to move close to the keyboard for easy touchscreen acc...
Acer has announced a new laptop at a press event in New York which features a new hinge system called "Ezel" that brings the display closer to the user for easier Windows 8 touch control. The new Aspire R7 also features a keyboard/trackpad layout redesign, and a speaker setup that automatically swaps left and right output when the screen is flipped over for displaying content to the person opposite.  Read More
The Breitling Emergency 2 watch has a built-in rescue beacon
Emergency beacons are great insurance for aviators and sailors, but they aren't worth much if a disaster leaves you in one place and the beacon in another. Just to be safe, you might as well strap the beacon to your wrist, which is what the Breitling Emergency II does. The Swiss-made wrist chronograph watch provides those who travel in remote, risky places with a dual-channel emergency satellite transmitter that activates with a twist and a yank.  Read More
Terrafugia has announced its plans to develop a vertical-take-off-and-landing flying car, ...
Although countless small companies have tried to commercially develop flying cars over the past several decades, we’re still not seeing Blade Runner-esque vehicles cruising over our rooftops ... yet. Terrafugia is one of the groups currently trying to change that situation – a fully-functioning prototype of its Transition fixed-wing “roadable airplane” is currently undergoing flight tests, and was recently cleared for civilian use by the US Federal Aviation Authority. It still requires a runway for take-off and landing, though, which kind of clashes with many peoples’ flying car fantasies. Well, today Terrafugia announced its plans for a hybrid-drive vertical-take-off-and-landing (VTOL) vehicle, known as the TF-X.  Read More
The Hovertrax from Inventist
Inventist, the creative mind behind such contraptions as the Solowheel and Hydroglider, is back with something it calls the Hovertrax. Unfortunately not the Marty McFly-like personal hover vessel the name implies, Hovertrax is more akin to a smaller, lighter Segway-like personal transporter. The small, hands-free device is designed to be both easy to carry and easy to use.  Read More
The boat-like Apelle family home, located in Karjaa, Finland
The Apelle wooden home located in Karjaa, Finland stands out out from your average eco-home, as it was constructed as if it were a boat. The building is nestled amidst its natural surroundings of rock beds and trees, where the utmost care was taken not to disturb the natural habitat. Designed by architect Marco Casagrande, the unique home took one year to design and another year to complete construction. It was built with the help of two local carpenters who usually build wooden boats – they maintain that the home is actually a boat.  Read More
Seahorse tails are prehensile, like a monkey's (Photo: shellac)
The meaning of the word biomimicry is being devalued and inflated, to the point that any technology or design with the vaguest resemblance to something in the natural world tends to have the word unthinkingly applied to it. PR people in the automotive and architectural fields are now particularly fond of the word. So it's refreshing to be able to report on some research that has taken a detailed look at a natural phenomenon, the armor of a seahorse, and thought about how it might be applied in the field of robotics. The researchers think a similar structure of sliding plates could be used to improve robot arms used for underwater exploration and bomb disposal.  Read More
The Soleto zeroEnergy One home
Romanian non-profit green-tech firm Justin Capra Foundation for Sustainable Technologies and Inventions (or FITS), has unveiled the Soleta zeroEnergy range of sustainable off-grid homes. The flexible dwellings are available in several shapes and sizes, and combine rustic modular design with the proverbial kitchen sink of energy saving and producing technologies.  Read More
A flying drone will be delivering beer at this year's Oppikoppi music festival in South Af... Until now, a beer dropping out of the sky into the middle of a party has been a feat that only existed in TV commercials. Thanks to Darkwing Aerials though, attendees at the Oppikoppi music festival in South Africa can fulfill the dream of beer lovers everywhere and have a fresh brew delivered to them from above with the help of a flying drone.  Read More
Gizmag reviews one of the top smartphones of 2013, the HTC One
When you’re facing adversity, what do you do? Do you act out of fear and desperation? Throw everything against the wall and hope something will stick? Or do you use it as an opportunity to refocus, and soar to new heights? HTC chose the latter. The result is the One, probably the boldest Android phone ever made. But is it also the best Android phone ever made? Or even – gasp – the best smartphone ever made? Read on, as we review the HTC One.  Read More
The small almond-sized portion of the brain known as the hypothalamus could be the body's ...
Instead of traipsing through Florida in search of the Fountain of Youth, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León might have been better off turning his search inwards. More specifically, he should have turned his attention to a region of the brain called the hypothalamus. At least that’s what research carried out on mice by scientists at New York’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University suggests. They found that the hypothalamus controls many aspects of aging, opening up the potential to slow down the aging process by altering signal pathways within that part of the brain.  Read More
The Acer Aspire R7's screen is able to move close to the keyboard for easy touchscreen acc...
Acer has announced a new laptop at a press event in New York which features a new hinge system called "Ezel" that brings the display closer to the user for easier Windows 8 touch control. The new Aspire R7 also features a keyboard/trackpad layout redesign, and a speaker setup that automatically swaps left and right output when the screen is flipped over for displaying content to the person opposite.  Read More
The Breitling Emergency 2 watch has a built-in rescue beacon
Emergency beacons are great insurance for aviators and sailors, but they aren't worth much if a disaster leaves you in one place and the beacon in another. Just to be safe, you might as well strap the beacon to your wrist, which is what the Breitling Emergency II does. The Swiss-made wrist chronograph watch provides those who travel in remote, risky places with a dual-channel emergency satellite transmitter that activates with a twist and a yank.  Read More
Terrafugia has announced its plans to develop a vertical-take-off-and-landing flying car, ...
Although countless small companies have tried to commercially develop flying cars over the past several decades, we’re still not seeing Blade Runner-esque vehicles cruising over our rooftops ... yet. Terrafugia is one of the groups currently trying to change that situation – a fully-functioning prototype of its Transition fixed-wing “roadable airplane” is currently undergoing flight tests, and was recently cleared for civilian use by the US Federal Aviation Authority. It still requires a runway for take-off and landing, though, which kind of clashes with many peoples’ flying car fantasies. Well, today Terrafugia announced its plans for a hybrid-drive vertical-take-off-and-landing (VTOL) vehicle, known as the TF-X.  Read More
The Hovertrax from Inventist
Inventist, the creative mind behind such contraptions as the Solowheel and Hydroglider, is back with something it calls the Hovertrax. Unfortunately not the Marty McFly-like personal hover vessel the name implies, Hovertrax is more akin to a smaller, lighter Segway-like personal transporter. The small, hands-free device is designed to be both easy to carry and easy to use.  Read More
The boat-like Apelle family home, located in Karjaa, Finland
The Apelle wooden home located in Karjaa, Finland stands out out from your average eco-home, as it was constructed as if it were a boat. The building is nestled amidst its natural surroundings of rock beds and trees, where the utmost care was taken not to disturb the natural habitat. Designed by architect Marco Casagrande, the unique home took one year to design and another year to complete construction. It was built with the help of two local carpenters who usually build wooden boats – they maintain that the home is actually a boat.  Read More
Seahorse tails are prehensile, like a monkey's (Photo: shellac)
The meaning of the word biomimicry is being devalued and inflated, to the point that any technology or design with the vaguest resemblance to something in the natural world tends to have the word unthinkingly applied to it. PR people in the automotive and architectural fields are now particularly fond of the word. So it's refreshing to be able to report on some research that has taken a detailed look at a natural phenomenon, the armor of a seahorse, and thought about how it might be applied in the field of robotics. The researchers think a similar structure of sliding plates could be used to improve robot arms used for underwater exploration and bomb disposal.  Read More
The Soleto zeroEnergy One home
Romanian non-profit green-tech firm Justin Capra Foundation for Sustainable Technologies and Inventions (or FITS), has unveiled the Soleta zeroEnergy range of sustainable off-grid homes. The flexible dwellings are available in several shapes and sizes, and combine rustic modular design with the proverbial kitchen sink of energy saving and producing technologies.  Read More
A flying drone will be delivering beer at this year's Oppikoppi music festival in South Af... Until now, a beer dropping out of the sky into the middle of a party has been a feat that only existed in TV commercials. Thanks to Darkwing Aerials though, attendees at the Oppikoppi music festival in South Africa can fulfill the dream of beer lovers everywhere and have a fresh brew delivered to them from above with the help of a flying drone.  Read More
Gizmag reviews one of the top smartphones of 2013, the HTC One
When you’re facing adversity, what do you do? Do you act out of fear and desperation? Throw everything against the wall and hope something will stick? Or do you use it as an opportunity to refocus, and soar to new heights? HTC chose the latter. The result is the One, probably the boldest Android phone ever made. But is it also the best Android phone ever made? Or even – gasp – the best smartphone ever made? Read on, as we review the HTC One.  Read More
The small almond-sized portion of the brain known as the hypothalamus could be the body's ...
Instead of traipsing through Florida in search of the Fountain of Youth, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León might have been better off turning his search inwards. More specifically, he should have turned his attention to a region of the brain called the hypothalamus. At least that’s what research carried out on mice by scientists at New York’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University suggests. They found that the hypothalamus controls many aspects of aging, opening up the potential to slow down the aging process by altering signal pathways within that part of the brain.  Read More

The EV P002 at the 2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
With his surname already linked with the overall Pikes Peak International Hill Climb record thanks to son Rhys, Rod Millen is focusing his attention on piloting an electric vehicle up the mountain. During his debut in the electric division, he'll look to break the EV record in an updated version of the vehicle that set it: the EV P002 from Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG).  Read More
Apple reportedly has the next two iPad minis set for release in the next year Apple’s image has taken a few hits in recent months ... at least if you listen to Wall Street types. But that hasn’t stopped the trusty old rumor mill from spinning story after story of juicy Apple-flavored tidbits. One of its favorite subjects is the inevitable iPad mini with Retina Display. According to a prominent analyst, Apple already has two refreshes of the small tablet in the pipeline.  Read More
Office supply chain, Staples, will become the first major US retailer to offer 3D printers...
Despite the growing popularity of 3D printers, being limited to purchase through specialist stores and online shops means they still occupy a niche market of hobbyists and professional designers. You can't just waltz into your local office supply store and pick one up along with a pack of manila folders and paperclips. But soon, you'll be able to do just that. Office supply chain Staples will become the first major US retailer to offer 3D printers on its shelves, starting with the Cube from 3D Systems.  Read More
Intels' new Silvermont architecture promises three times the peak performance of current-g...
ARM is currently king of the hill when it comes to mobile devices, with ARM architecture the basis of processors and systems on a chip (SoC) including Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, NVIDIA’s Tegra, Texas Instruments’ OMAP, the CORTEX series and Apple System on Chips found in iPhones and iPads. It’s obviously not a situation Intel is happy with and the company has high hopes that its new Atom chip design called Silvermont will help change the mobile silicon landscape.  Read More
The 3D printed single-shot Liberator pistol in test fire mount (Photo: Defense Distributed...
The potential for 3D-printed guns has (unsurprisingly) generated a great deal of controversy, and the Liberator is no exception. Named after the WWII single shot pistol, this 3D-printed .380 caliber pistol is made of almost entirely of plastic and looks more like a nozzle for a water hose than a gun. The weapon has survived multiple firings with very little damage, inspiring enough confidence that designer Cody Wilson has now tested the gun by hand.  Read More
The X-47B catching the arrester cable
The robot takeover came a step closer as Northrop Grumman and the US Navy carried out a successful carrier-style landing of the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator. The test, which was carried out on Saturday at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland, used a land-based version of an aircraft carrier cable-arrested landing system as the beginning of the final phase of testing prior to carrier-based trials planned for later this month.  Read More
With one large joystick-style control, the iStick Playtime is easy to operate ... even wit...
While the world waits for fully capable smart watches like the rumored iWatch and Neptune Pine, it'll have to be content with watches that provide a bridge to the smartphone. The Pebble Watch is the most well-known, but it does have some competition. One example is the new Dew Motion iStick Playtime, a sport-specific armband that controls key smartphone functions.  Read More
Adobe is done with retail: it announced that it's going all in on its subscription offerin...
The pro versions of Photoshop (and the rest of Adobe’s Creative Suite) have always had a steep admission fee. In some cases, we’re talking thousands of dollars. Makes sense for big companies, but those costs put a bigger strain on self-employed pros and smaller indie operations. So it makes sense that Adobe’s Creative Cloud – which lets you rent these apps for a monthly fee – has been such a big hit. In fact, it’s done well enough that Adobe is closing the door on its retail Creative Suite apps, putting its full weight behind subscriptions.  Read More
The Samsung NX2000 mirrorless camera
About this time last year, Samsung announced three new Wi-Fi-packing additions to its NX mirrorless camera range. Since then, smartphone cameras have come on in leaps and bounds – increasing the megapixel count to within spitting distance of dedicated cameras, while also bumping up overall image quality. Rather than square up to the ubiquitous smartphone, like Samsung's Galaxy Camera for instance, the new NX2000 reaches out and taps mobile devices on the shoulder to offer a friendly greeting. Thanks to the inclusion of near field communication (NFC), that quick tap is all that's needed to set up direct wireless communication for instant photo sharing and file backup.  Read More
Dead seaweed on a beach in the Spanish city of Alicante
When it’s alive and in the ocean, seaweed serves as a habitat, spawning ground and food source for marine life. Once it gets washed ashore, however, it pretty much just rots. Typically, along beaches in tourist areas, that dead seaweed is simply gathered and taken to a landfill. Now, however, researchers from Spain’s University of Alicante have conceived of a new seaweed-removal system that has less environmental impact, and that allows the seaweed to be used as an energy source.  Read More

Mars One has received over 78,000 applications from people wanting to be the first to sett...
Despite the one-way nature of the trip, it seems there’s no shortage of people willing to pack their bags and experience life on Mars. Just two weeks after putting out the call for potential Mars settlers, Mars One had received over 78,000 applications from people in over 120 countries. With the application period set to last 19 weeks, the Mars One selection committees face a daunting task in whittling the numbers down to the four individuals that will ultimately make the journey that is planned for September 2022.  Read More
Research at UNSW increases the conversion efficiency of solar cells made using lower-cost,...
While we wait for affordable multi-junction solar cells that are pushing past the 40 percent conversion efficiency mark to make it out of the lab and onto our roofs, we have to make do with standard commercial silicon cells that currently max out at around 19 percent. A team from the University of New South Wales in Australia has found a way to improve the quality of low-grade silicon, enabling higher efficiency solar cells to be produced from cheaper, low-grade silicon.  Read More
Gizmag compares the HTC One and LG/Google Nexus 4
As the Android world focuses on the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4, it’s almost easy to forget about the Nexus 4. But the latest “pure Google” phone is still ringing up for a nice off-contract price from Google Play. Is it still a good buy? Or are you better off getting one of the newer flagships? Let’s see if we can answer that, as we compare the Nexus 4 and the HTC One.  Read More
UCSF researchers have been able to cure epilepsy in adult mice by transplanting a specific...
Earlier this week we reported on a neurological implant that has been found to accurately predict the onset of epileptic seizures. But a discovery by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) could one day render such a device obsolete. By transplanting a specific type of cell into the brain, the researchers have been able to cure epilepsy in adult mice, with hopes a similar treatment could work in humans.  Read More
The harness provides impact protection and helps keep the airways clear
All of the common avalanche safety gear – beacon, shovel, probe, airbags and breathing devices – are aimed at preventing burial and/or suffocation. But burial isn't the only way avalanches cause death. The Canadian Avalanche Centre estimates that somewhere between a quarter and a third of avalanche deaths are caused by trauma, not burial. The Mountain Airbag Harness from French manufacturer UBAK protects against both burial and blunt trauma.  Read More
The Casetop from Livi Design
Packing powerful processors supported by a healthy amount of system memory and storage, modern smartphones are just like mini computers that can be carried around in your pocket. As a mobile office, however, such devices do have some practical limitations. Even with the relatively large display offered by Samsung's new Galaxy S4, for example, having to use a finger to input text can be a real productivity killer. What's needed is a comfortable physical keyboard and more spacious display real estate. That's precisely what's on offer with the Casetop from Livi Design, a netbook-like LCD panel, keyboard and battery pack combination that uses a smartphone for its computing power.  Read More
An example of one of the invisible patterns, viewed without and with a polarizing filter Wondering whether the $50 Armani suit you bought in that alley in Hong Kong is the genuine article? Soon, there may be a definitive way of knowing. A new system has been developed, in which designer-specific invisible patterns can be woven into fabric.  Read More
The OTIS glider and an Atlantic sturgeon, which is about to be tagged and released (Activi...
The Atlantic sturgeon, which is one of the world’s oldest species of fish, can live up to 60 years, reaching a length of of 15 feet (4.6 meters) and a weight of over 800 pounds (360 kg). It’s also endangered, due to past overfishing for its caviar. In order to protect the sturgeon that are left, it’s important to keep fishermen from catching them accidentally. That’s why researchers at the University of Delaware and Delaware State University are calling upon satellites, and an underwater robot known as OTIS.  Read More
Doubtless they'll be trading in their 360 controllers for DualShocks before long (Photo: N...
Scientists from Nottingham have announced that they've drafted in some expert help with I-BiT, a research project seeking to treat lazy eye with video games and specially designed 3D glasses. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is to adapt some popular PlayStation 3 titles as part of the ongoing project.  Read More
The Klik building system is designed for residential projects of all sizes (Image: Elenber...
With Klik, Australian companies Elenberg Fraser and Unitised Building have come up with a prefabricated modular building system they claim is equally suited to knocking up a quick skyscraper as it is a modern, designer house. It makes sense, then, that the product is pitched at developers, architects and would-be homeowners, and that the multiple choice procurement procedure is identical for each. If you can tick a box, you can design a Klik building, more or less.  Read More
Packing powerful processors supported by a healthy amount of system memory and storage, modern smartphones are just like mini computers that can be carried around in your pocket. As a mobile office, however, such devices do have some practical limitations. Even with the relatively large display offered by Samsung's new Galaxy S4, for example, having to use a finger to input text can be a real productivity killer. What's needed is a comfortable physical keyboard and more spacious display real estate. That's precisely what's on offer with the Casetop from Livi Design, a netbook-like LCD panel, keyboard and battery pack combination that uses a smartphone for its computing power.  Read More

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