New and Emerging Technology News part 251 ~ NEW GEN TECH LIFE : new generation technology news

Sunday 30 March 2014

New and Emerging Technology News part 251

The so-called 'resolutiongate' surrounding the early cross-format games is raising concern...
With the launches of Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One now a matter of mere days away, excitement and hype levels have entered the stratosphere. On paper, the PlayStation 4 has arguably looked the more capable games console, with Xbox One tailored more as an all-in media hub. But with the first cross-format games emerging, some are concerned that the performance gap may be bigger than foretold. Why? And can the gap be closed?  Read More
Australia Post's Video Stamp lets gift-givers include a video message with their present Email may have decimated snail mail, but luckily for postal services and couriers, packages aren't as easy to send as bits and bytes. This Christmas is likely to be another bumper year for presents being sent in the mail and Australia Post is providing gift-givers with the ability to attach a video message to their parcels.  Read More
Researchers have regrown hair, cartilage, bone and soft tissues in a mouse model (Photo: R...
Anyone who has left youth behind them knows that bumps and scrapes don't heal as fast as they used to. But that could change with researchers at the Stem Cell Program at Boston Children's Hospital finding a way to regrow hair, cartilage, bone, skin and other soft tissues in a mouse by reactivating a dormant gene called Lin28a. The discovery could lead to new treatments that provide adults with the regenerative powers they possessed when very young.  Read More
The Zayak provides a look at fish, plants and other sea life
Looking like a cross between a raft and a massage table, the Zayak Sea Sled is a new snorkeling alternative. It opens up the same type of underwater views, only without the need to submerge your face and breathe through a tube. You can explore the sea without getting a single strand of hair wet.  Read More
A front-wheel drive prototype Soul EV test car based on the 2014 Soul
Details were thin on the ground when Kia revealed plans for a Soul EV last month. The Korean carmaker has now shed a little more light on the first all-electric Kia that will be sold outside its home country.  Read More
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe riding in an autonomous drive Nissan Leaf  (Image: Nissan)
Autonomous cars took to the roads of Tokyo for the first time on Saturday with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as a passenger. The Prime Minister rode on the public roads in the National Diet Front Garden in a Nissan Leaf and autonomous cars built by Honda and Toyota. According to Nissan, Saturday’s drive was meant to show the Japanese government’s support for the development of autonomous cars, as was symbolized by the venue located between Japan's parliament and the Imperial Palace.  Read More
The Coxa Carry compared to traditional pack straps
Backpacks have seen plenty of changes and innovations of late, as evidenced by the Pelican S100 and TYLT Energi+ device-charging backpack, but most of those changes relate to the pack itself. The folks behind the Coxa Carry system leave the pack alone and focus on the straps and belt, creating a solution that they believe is more comfortable and functional than the typical set of shoulder straps.  Read More
The Asus EB50N NFC-enabled, Bluetooth 4.0 (with EDR) earphones
Asus has announced what is claimed to be the world's first Bluetooth 4.0 headset to feature NFC technology. The ergonomically-designed EB50N earphones support one-touch pairing with smartphones and tablets, feature full-range stereo drivers, and boast a long battery life.  Read More
GOCE entered the Earth's atmosphere after its orbit naturally decayed (Image: ESA)
This morning, at about 1:00 am CET, ESA’s Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite reentered the atmosphere and burned up somewhere along its orbital path extending from Siberia, across the western Pacific Ocean, the eastern Indian Ocean, and to Antarctica. According to the space agency, it disintegrated in the upper atmosphere and though some debris may have reached the surface, no damage was reported.  Read More
It appears that Nippon Moon remains a concept for now (Image: UNStudio)
With Nippon Moon, UNStudio is bringing more than sheer scale to the concept of the enormous observation wheel. Though the height of the wheel has not been fixed, Nippon Moon is clearly intended to put Japan on the map (the map of gigantic ferris wheels, that is), and compete with, if not surpass, the likes of the 165-m Singapore Flyer and the 135-m London Eye. However, UNStudio hints that smartphone apps or even augmented reality could be used to enhance the ride, and make it an observation wheel fit for the 21st century.  Read More

Vamoose's jacket and poncho are designed to quickly fold into a 3-liter backpack
Designers seem to love convertible, multifunctional backpacks, as evidenced by designs like the Glyde Gear Fly and WalkBag. They don't mind the occasional convertible jacket, either - just look at the weird-but-real JakPak. The Vamoose jacket is both. Similar to the Xip3, the jacket transforms into a backpack when not needed for rain and cold.  Read More
Artist's impression of the GRAIL spacecraft, which has helped provide a better understandi...
Sometimes great mysteries hang right over our heads. We’re so used to looking up and seeing the “Man in the Moon” that we often don’t realize that those familiar dark areas on the face of our nearest neighbor are part of a centuries old question that has yet to be answered. Many hypotheses have been put forward and now data from NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) lunar orbiters has provided new insights into how the surface of the Moon formed and how its distinctive “seas” came to be.  Read More
Pensa Labs has revealed a consumer version of its DIWire Bender, a small machine that bend...
Over a year ago, Pensa Labs caught our attention with its impressive DIWire Bender, a small machine that bends thick wires into elaborate 3D shapes by following simple vector drawings. Since then, the company has been refining the wooden prototype we saw before into a sleek fabrication device that's fit for consumers. The result is a more compact, easier-to-use DIWire that can turn pieces of wire into creative 3D sculptures while sitting comfortably on a desktop.  Read More
Scientists have created a collagen-based patch that uses synthetic DNA to stimulate bone g...
Help could be on the way for people who don't have enough bone to support dental implants, who are missing bone due to a birth defect, or who have suffered bone-damaging injuries. Scientists at the University of Iowa have created an implantable collagen patch seeded with particles containing synthetic DNA, that instructs the patient's own cells to produce the protein that leads to bone growth.  Read More
The Ziesel takes to the snow
How many times have you heard people say that we should all get out of our comfy chairs, and go experience the great outdoors? OK, maybe never, but it's certainly a common sentiment. In the case of the Ziesel, however, you can do both. It's essentially a chair with electric motors, suspension, and caterpillar-type tracks.  Read More
Honda FCEV teaser
Honda plans to hit the Tokyo Motor Show hard with concepts. Creating a multi-theater concept attack, the automaker will save at least one reveal for the LA Auto Show, which runs at the same time. The fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) Concept previews the styling direction of its next fuel cell vehicle, which will launch in 2015.  Read More
The fireball of the Chelyabinsk meteor (Image: NASA/M. Ahmetvaleev)
On February 15 of this year, the Earth dodged a bullet of cosmic proportions as a meteoroid exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia with the force of a nuclear weapon. Last Friday, NASA announced a new report published in Science that used videos and eyewitness accounts to provide new insights into the incident and the nature of the object that caused it.  Read More
The Farmer's Mill Electric Mud Grinder from Crushsound
Inspired by the kind of brown or muddy tones produced by ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons on tracks like Loaded from the 1996 album Rhythmeen, Jedrzej Lewandowski of Poland's Le 2 Workshop architects created the Farmer's Mill, which was unleashed, appropriately enough perhaps, on April 1 2012. The second generation has now been released. It's a little bigger than its predecessor, a lot better, and is now available in orange as well as white. Gizmag has spent the last few weeks making guitars wheeze, cough and splutter like they've been smoking 40-a-day since birth, and walks way mighty impressed with the destructive capabilities of the Mark II Electric Mud Grinder.  Read More
FlyKly's Smart Wheel makes pedaling a bicycle easier Electric bicycle wheels are coming to the masses, and they are coming from multiple sources. A few years ago we saw the Copenhagen Wheel, and now a similar product is making its way to market – the FlyKly Smart Wheel.  Read More
A display shows sign language interpreted into written words
Two Portuguese designers based in Sydney have come up with a practical idea for facilitating communication between people when sign language is involved. Catarina Araujo and Sofia Santos’ project, still at the development stage and looking for financial backers, taps Leap Motion technology to create a wearable sign language translator to be worn as a necklace.  Read More
 

The matching trailer was built from two E-Type rear ends
UK-based Jaguar restorer Classic Motor Cars of Bridgnorth unveiled a rather unique project this week. It calls it the world's first stretched Jaguar E-Type. While the few inches of stretch don't necessarily do anything for the 1968 E-Type Series 1 4.2 roadster's timeless beauty, they purportedly improve its ride for passengers and driver alike. A matching E-Type trailer finishes off a strange but interesting package.  Read More
Upgrading from Widows 7 to Windows 8.1? Here's how to make the experience as seamless as p...
If you're currently running Windows 7 and want to upgrade to Windows 8.1, the process is relatively easy using Microsoft's Upgrade Assistant utility. However, there are a few things you need to know before going ahead with the upgrade. The main thing to know is that, unlike upgrading Windows 8 to 8.1, your files and data will transfer, but you'll need to re-install all of your software applications. Here's a look at what you need to know, and the steps to take to make the process as easy and seamless as possible.  Read More
Motorola just announced the Moto G, a solid phone with a rock-bottom price
Before Motorola announced the Moto X, many of us thought the phone would be sold for an affordable, off-contract price. That wasn't to be, but Moto does have a new handset on its way that blends respectable specs with a rock-bottom, budget price tag. Meet the Moto X's baby brother, the Moto G.  Read More
CTBUH declared the One World Trade Center the tallest in the USA (Photo: Wikipedia) The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has declared that New York's still-unfinished One World Trade Center is the tallest building in the USA, and for that matter, the western hemisphere.  Read More
Panono’s ball camera, armed with 36 tiny lenses, is capable of capturing a 72 megapixel pa...
Panoramic and 360 degree imaging capabilities have been available to photographers for years through DSLR manual mode captures and smartphone apps. The Panono offers something a little different. It's a throwable ball camera, armed with 36 tiny lenses, that's capable of capturing a 72 megapixel spherical scene from an elevated position. The developers are now pinning production hopes on a successful Indiegogo funding campaign.  Read More
While one would hope to make an invisibility cloak that performs like the central image, i...
It's often a case of swings and roundabouts. If you save money by buying a house out of town, you spend more time and money commuting. If you really measure the momentum of an electron, you have no idea where the little guy is located. And now, according to a new analysis by a pair of University of Texas electrical engineers, the better an object is hidden by an invisibility cloak at a given wavelength of light, the easier it is to see at other wavelengths. Swings and roundabouts.  Read More
Le Tronc Creux, which means 'The Hollow Trunk,' is a low impact shelter which sleeps nine ...
French design studio Bruit du Frigo has drawn inspiration from fallen down tree trunks, which often provide shelter for small animals, to create an eco-shelter for humans in the forests of Bordeaux. Dubbed Le Tronc Creux, which means "The Hollow Trunk," the low impact shelter is roughly the same size as a shipping container and can easily be transported by truck to different locations when required.  Read More
QU-BD's One Up 3D printer can print with a minimu layer height of 50 microns
The home 3D printing revolution has picked up pace in recent times with printers such as the MakiBox and Buccaneer making 3D printing increasingly more affordable. Although not as cheap as the homemade LEGObot, the QU-BD One Up has taken the title as the world's cheapest production-ready 3D printer with a price tag of under US$200.  Read More
P/2013 P5 is an asteroid with six comet-like tails (Image: NASA, ESA, and D. Jewitt)
In the old days, astronomy was simple – comets had tails and asteroids didn’t. Now, as if to not only disprove such established views, but drive the point home, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope took images in September of an asteroid called P/2013 P5 that has not one, but six comet-like tails.  Read More
The Nexus 5 fills in a lot of the gaps left by its predecessor
The thing with spending just a few weeks with a loaner Nexus 5, Google and LG's Android 4.4 KitKat reference device, is that I'm not able to enjoy what's easily this phone's most attractive feature – the fact that it only costs $349 unlocked from the Google Play store in the US. That's not to say that there isn't plenty more to love about the Nexus 5. It comes with a great screen, quality software upgrades and plenty of hefty components that allow it to compete with any other flagship phone out there today.  Read More

Robugtix's T8X octopod robot will ship June 2014
Robugtix has been hard at work fulfilling orders for its T8 tarantula robot that debuted earlier this year, as well as showing off its lifelike motion engine in a new video. Now the company has also announced a much cheaper version of the robot called the T8X which can be pre-ordered for a fraction of the cost of the original.  Read More
The Toshiba FlashAir II wireless SD card lets users upload photos directly from their digi... Toshiba has updated its FlashAir wireless SD card with the FlashAir II, which, like the Eye-Fi and Transcend Wi-Fi SD cards, functions as its own wireless LAN access point to let users upload photos directly from their digital camera to a tablet, smartphone or PC.  Read More
Gizmag goes hands-on with the new iPad mini with Retina Display
When Apple announced that the iPad mini with Retina Display was coming "later in November," most of us assumed that meant the end of the month. Well, who said Apple couldn't surprise us anymore? Yesterday the company quietly launched the highly anticipated tablet, and, despite limited supplies, we got our hands on the Retina iPad mini. Read on for our first impressions.  Read More
Passengers on European airlines will be able to use mobile electronic devices 'gate-to-gat... The European Aviation Safety Agency is following in the footsteps of the US Federal Aviation Administration by easing restrictions on the use of Personal Electronic Devices (PEDs) by passengers during flights.  Read More
The Zepp system offers the type of analysis that simply wasn't available anywhere a decade...
Zepp Labs' training systems for Baseball, Golf and Tennis go on sale this week, offering sophisticated scientific analysis in three of the most commonly played and universally loved sports. A small bat/racket/glove-mounted unit containing a powerful ARM processor and multiple sensors, captures data at 1,000 data points per second on the athlete's swing, then transfers that data via Bluetooth to a smartphone or tablet for immediate analysis and feedback.  Read More
The Roomba 800 Series has no bristles
According to iRobot, the global market for vacuum cleaners costing over US$200 is worth $6 billion a year. The company is looking to grab a greater share of this pie with its new Roomba 800 Series robot vacuum that was rolled out this week. The 800 Series boasts a number of innovations, the biggest of which is its new AeroForce Extractors, which see conventional bristles replaced with textured rollers to provide what the company claims is a 50 percent improvement in performance.  Read More
The UNiMO Grace is a stylish Apple-esque armchair-on-wheels, while the Adventure model is ...
The tracked UNiMO 400 W EV drive-train debuted at IREX last week, promising new levels of personal mobility for wheelchair users. Both models of the Unimo wheelchair will be in production by the end of this month: the US$18,000 Unimo Grace and the US$10,000 Unimo Adventure, one a stylish armchair on wheels, the other a sport model for going places you cannot normally go in a wheelchair.  Read More
The Combat UE-1 vehicle is one design being explored through ArmyCoCreate.com
The US Army Rapid Equipping Force (REF) is experimenting with internet-based collaboration. With the help of the crowdsourcing gurus at Local Motors, it has launched ArmyCoCreate.com, a website designed to let soldiers, designers and engineers collaborate on identifying soldier requirements and designing prototypes to address them.  Read More
Gizmag takes a turn behind the joysticks of DJI's new Phantom 2 Vision quadcopter
It was less than two weeks ago that DJI Innovations released its Phantom 2 Vision quadcopter, the camera-equipped successor to its popular Phantom model. Since then, I've received a review unit from the company, which I've had a few chances to try out – between snowfalls and high winds, that is. My verdict? It's awesome, despite a couple of surprising shortcomings.  Read More
A couple of social trash box robots, on display in Tokyo at IREX 2013
Wouldn't it be great if we had robotic garbage cans that could move around on their own and pick up litter? Well, engineers from the Interaction and Communications Design Lab at Japan's Toyohashi University of Technology are part-way there. Their bots, however, ask people to pick up the trash for them.  Read More

The compact hydrogen cartridges make it easy to expand the Alter's range
While e-bike designers like Concept Cycle have been consumed with finding new ways to hide the battery, a group of French partners has developed a way of augmenting it. The Alter Bike is an electric motor-driven pedelec bike that's powered by a combination of lithium-ion battery and hydrogen fuel cell. The e-bike is soon to join the other vehicles and electronics available on the growing fuel cell market.  Read More
The small-scale prototype of the system
Among the concepts put forth for decreasing the range anxiety associated with electric cars, one is to embed electrical coils within the asphalt. This would allow vehicles to wirelessly draw power from the road as they traveled, although it would also involve having to tear up existing roads to install those coils. An alternative could be on its way, however. Scientists at North Carolina State University are developing a system in which power could be transmitted from stationary roadside stations to mobile receiver coils in cars passing by.  Read More
After years of work, the Bailey Blade XTR debuts
As promised earlier this year, BXR Motors has revealed the Bailey Blade XTR, a garage build turned visceral supercar. After working well into the 11th hour to ready the 750-hp sports car, BXR debuted it at last week's SEMA Show.  Read More
IBM executives explore Watson apps, with a shopping portal powered by Watson in the backgr...
You probably first heard of IBM’s cognitive supercomputer Watson when it bested human competitors on Jeopardy, but soon it may interact with you through the cloud. With the announcement today that Watson will be available to application developers, software can make use of Watson to add meaning to massive amounts of unstructured data, while interacting with humans in a way we understand.  Read More
Coin stores and provides access to electronic versions of your cards
Although things like NFC-enabled smartphones are making this less of an issue, the fact is that most of us still carry around a wallet full of credit, debit, loyalty or other cards that we routinely have to rifle through. That's why the Coin was invented. It's a single card-shaped device, on which all your other cards can be stored and accessed electronically.  Read More
Vancouver's cigarette butts are being used to manufacture shipping pallets, among other th...
What can you say about cigarette butts? They instantly make wherever they are look seedy, they don't biodegrade, plus they're highly toxic to aquatic organisms. It turns out, however, that they are good for something. The City of Vancouver and TerraCycle Canada launched a first-of-its-kind pilot program this Tuesday, in which the butts will be collected for recycling.  Read More
The Nomadic Chair from Jorge Penadés is built for portability rather than comfort
Spanish designer Jorge Penadés believes that our idea of what makes a piece of furniture a luxury item has now changed. In a press release, he explains how luxury is "not anymore a matter of comfort." Instead it's being able to "decide where you want to have a moment of peace, a chance to escape from hectic activity of contemporary lifestyles." This philosophy is in plain view with his Nomadic Chair, which sees comfort reduced to a minimum to increase its portability.  Read More
Manuel Dominguez' Very Large Structure (Image CC BY-SA Manuel Dominguez)
Of all the questions one might like to ask Manuel Domínguez about his architecture thesis project, why he called it Very Large Structure is probably low on the list. Domínguez' concept depicts compactly planned cities atop vast mobile structures, capable of crawling to new locations as the needs or desires of the populace dictate. The idea clearly recalls Ron Herron's Walking City essay for Archigram in 1964, and though Domínguez cites that as an inspiration, he says it's just one among many. Real-world technology seems to have been the main influence.  Read More
The iLoud portable speaker for musicians and audiophiles
Thanks to mobile audio processing and recording apps, composing on the road has never been easier. Showing off your latest killer riff to the rest of the band through tablet or laptop speakers is less than satisfying, however. There are a good many battery-powered micro amps out there which might help a little, but the output is often, to put it delicately, sub-par. Italy's IK Multimedia demonstrated a wired/wireless audio thrower at the Winter NAMM show back in January that promised studio monitor sound quality in a portable, chunky tablet-sized package. Developed specifically for musicians and audiophiles, the 40 W iLoud has now been released.  Read More
The UNI-CUB β and the UNI-CUB. The family was first seen four years ago at the Tokyo Motor...
Honda has announced that yet another version of the UNI-CUB personal mobility device will be shown at next week's Tokyo Motor Show. The UNI-CUB β is smaller, lighter, lower and can be used as a seat, making it a potential alternative to the office chair.  Read More
 
 

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