We’ve all seen footage of flight crews on the
decks of aircraft carriers, directing taxiing planes using arm signals.
That’s all very well and good when they’re communicating with human
pilots, but what happens as more and more human-piloted military
aircraft are replaced with autonomous drones? Well, if researchers at
MIT are successful in one of their latest projects, not much should
change. They’re currently devising a system that would allow robotic
aircraft to understand human arm gestures. Read More
If you’re concerned about deforestation, you
likely blue-bin the no-longer-needed sheets of paper that have been run
through your printer. You should keep in mind, however, that even though
the recycling of that paper saves trees, the process still requires
considerable energy, and most recycled paper still contains some virgin
wood pulp. What would be better is if there were an “un-printer” that
took the toner off of the used paper, so you would be left with
a blank sheet that you could reuse. Well, thanks to research being
conducted at the University of Cambridge, there soon may be. Read More
The Airhead is a simple helmet accessory designed
to fit inside the helmet and increase air circulation, keeping you
cooler. By limiting your head heat and perspiration, Airhead also
promises to combat "helmet hair." Conceived during a road trip on long,
lonely stretches of barren Australian asphalt, Airhead tackles the
problem head on (pun intended). It is designed to help you maintain the
carefully groomed hair that you spent minutes or hours parting and
spraying before clamping your dirty helmet on top of it. Read More
There’s no arguing that the Japanese
love their cameras, particularly classic cameras. There’s no arguing
that the Japanese love their iPhones (who doesn’t?). What could be
cooler than combining the two and creating an iPhone case that looks
like a classic Leica? That’s exactly what Japanese classic camera
importer Adplus has done with its Gizmon iCA. Now its introducing an
all-black “military” version - available for order worldwide in a few
days. These covers don’t just look good either. Read More 
Of all the childhood allergies, an allergic
reaction to eggs is one of the most common. Typically, reactions can
include wheezing, nausea, headache, stomach ache, and hives. In extreme
cases, however, anaphylactic shock can result, which can itself
sometimes lead to death. Eggs are difficult to avoid, too - they find
their way into many foods that might not seem particularly "eggy," and
are even used in flu vaccines. Needless to say, for some time now,
scientists have been working on making eggs safe for everyone. A team
from Australia's Deakin University is now claiming that they're well on
the way to producing not just hypoallergenic eggs, but the chickens that
lay them. Read More
Moby1 is offering a new take on the traditional
teardrop trailer, with a range of compact models that are specifically
designed for off-road touring. These teardrop trailers are not only
lightweight, but also offer campers extra cargo space, a flexible
load-carrying platform, a meal preparation area and cooking station, and
a standard mattress. Teardrops were most popular during the 30s through
to the 50s, but slowly faded out of fashion as campers grew larger and
RVs became super-sized. With current fuel prices, however, the teardrop
trailer is starting to make more sense for the environmentally-conscious
camper. Read More
With its ICD-TX50, Sony has introduced what it's
calling its slimmest ever voice recorder. The quarter-inch (6.4mm)
device weighs 1.8 ounces (50 g) - combined with its 4 GB memory (plus
microSD) the ICD-TX50 should double as a rather nifty lightweight MP3
player. But the device reserves its most impressive specs for the
all-important dictaphone functionality. Read More
It's a meme that's been doing the rounds on the
internet in recent years: multi-word pass-phrases are as secure as long
strings of gibberish but with the added benefit of being easy to
remember. But research from Cambridge University suggests that this may
not be the case. Pass-phrases comprised of dictionary words may not be as vulnerable as individual passwords, but they may still succumb to dictionary attacks, the research finds. Read More
For the past couple of years, a street cleaning
vehicle has been washing, brushing and vacuuming the streets of Basel in
northwest Switzerland. While there’s nothing unusual about that, what
is noteworthy is that the vehicle, known as the CityCat H2, is powered
completely by hydrogen. The street sweeper is part of a project to
practically test the feasibility of hydrogen-powered vehicles under
real-world conditions and the results from the trial indicate that,
although hydrogen-powered vehicles can save energy, are environmentally
friendly, and technically feasible, the prices of fuel cells,
pressurized storage tanks and electric drives must all drop
significantly before such vehicles are cost-effective. Read More
DARPA, the United States' defense technology
research agency that's created such notable projects as the Internet
you're using right this moment, is now looking for help in creating a
swarm of "disposable" eyes in the sky. It is seeking technical
assistance from a wide range of fields - from auto racing to optics - to
create the means to provide on-demand satellite imagery for troops on
the front lines. Read More
On November 17th
of last year, a group of four wave-powered autonomous aquatic robots
set out from San Francisco, embarking on a planned 37,000-mile
(60,000-km) trip across the Pacific ocean. Recently, the fleet of Wave
Gliders completed the first leg of their journey, arriving at Hawaii’s
Big Island after traveling over 3,200 nautical miles (5,926 km). By
doing so, they have set a new distance record for unmanned wave-powered
vehicles – that record previously sat at 2,500 nautical miles (4,630
km). Read More
The NIST-F1 atomic clock that
currently serves as primary time and frequency standard for the U.S. is
expected to neither gain nor lose a second in more than 100 million
years. That might sound pretty accurate, but a proposed nuclear clock
could make it look like a cheap digital wristwatch. It is claimed that
the proposed clock would neither gain nor lose 1/20th of a second in 14
billion years. To put that in context, that’s the estimated age of the
universe. Read More
When anthrax spores go dormant, they
develop a tough outer coating that can withstand heat, radiation and
antibiotics, in one case even allowing them to come back to life after
250 million years. It seems that such spores could be no match, however,
for a special pair of silk curtains. Read More
Let's be clear. The idea of
recycling shipping containers as bespoke pieces of micro-architecture is
by no means unique to Tsai Design Studio, but its container classroom -
real, built, and in use - is no less admirable as a result. Read More
The announcement of a Diesel Ducati
might catch you by surprise, but only until you realize that the bike
has spark plugs and the word Diesel refers to the Italian fashion brand
which has been sponsoring the Ducati Team in MotoGP. The collaboration
is bearing fruit straight up with an "urban military chic" version of
the Ducati Monster 1100EVO. Read More
A prototype of the new Lockheed Martin Space
Fence radar system is currently tracking orbiting space objects smaller
than was ever possible - down to about a centimeter in size. In doing
so, it met a key contract requirement during a series of demonstration
events by proving it could detect and track such small objects. Read More
On November 17th
of last year, a group of four wave-powered autonomous aquatic robots
set out from San Francisco, embarking on a planned 37,000-mile
(60,000-km) trip across the Pacific ocean. Recently, the fleet of Wave
Gliders completed the first leg of their journey, arriving at Hawaii’s
Big Island after traveling over 3,200 nautical miles (5,926 km). By
doing so, they have set a new distance record for unmanned wave-powered
vehicles – that record previously sat at 2,500 nautical miles (4,630
km). Read More
Sandberg's BatteryCase is the latest in a long
line of iPhone battery cases that claim to double the life of an iPhone -
in this case the iPhone 4, though as you'd expect the case is also
compatible with the iPhone 4S. In case you're not familiar with how
these things work, there's no mystery: it's simply an iPhone case with
an integrated battery. But how does it stack up against two of the
market leaders, Mophie's juice pack and juice pack plus? Read More
Ghost Pedal lets guitarists wander the stage and wah
By Paul Ridden
March 15, 2012
No matter the size of the stage, most gigging
guitar players are likely to have to return to the same spot from time
to time to change the tone, increase the volume, check tuning or to
operate the wah effect. Thanks to a team of students from Purdue
University's School of Mechanical Engineering, the last of those has now
been liberated from the pedal board and strapped to the player's ankle.
But this doesn't involve attaching a large brick-shaped wah pedal to
one leg, as one's imagination might suggest, but wearing a small
wireless transmitter and a couple of sensors instead. Players operate
the Ghost Pedal in much the same fashion as a physical pedal, the
sensors registering the rocking motion of the foot and feeding data to a
base station connected to the amplifier. Read More
Audi's newly revealed R18 e-tron quattro race car
is designed to win the 2012 Le Mans 24 Hour Race. Whatsmore, the
turbodiesel, electric flywheel hybrid, all-wheel drive prototype will
ensure the 2012 race will be a battle of the hybrids (against Toyota's
new TS030 ultracapacitor hybrid race car), and a fascinating study of
new technologies under race conditions. The car uses electric motors to
add 75 kW (102 bhp) of power to each front wheel, and a 375 kW (510 bhp)
V6 TDI engine powers the rear wheels. The Williams Hybrid Power
electric flywheel hybrid captures energy similarly to the unit Porsche
used to such great effect in its GT3 R Hybrid last year with the rear
axle powered conventionally, and the front wheels by electric motors.
Audi calls it "the electrification of the drive" and it will be a story
worth following as battle begins on the racetrack. Read More
The first OPC
from Orange Amps was made available in August 2010 and we've been
closely following its development ever since. The bundled
musician-related software has remained pretty much the same since launch
but the musician's computer was given a serious hardware upgrade
towards the close of 2011, and it's the new Core i7 system which I've
been getting to know over the past few weeks. I've also managed to
discuss some of the finer details with the driving force behind the OPC,
and its lead developer, Charlie Cooper. Read More
It wasn’t so long ago that the mobile gaming
space was dominated by Nintendo and Sony. While both companies continue
to stake a claim for the mobile gaming pie with the release of their
latest handhelds – the 3DS and PlayStation Vita
– dedicated mobile gaming consoles have been under serious fire from
smartphones in recent years. But that hasn’t stopped a UK-based company
entering the arena with the GameGadget – an open source console designed
to let fans get their hands on classic games titles. Read More
If our gushing review of the Vita
has you ready to drop some cash, but you're not sure what games to get,
read on for our selection of the five best launch titles for the
PlayStation Vita (in no particular order). Read More
Attempting to read your watch or bike computer
through sweat-fogged glasses while simultaneously keeping half a pupil
on the road ahead can be difficult and dangerous. And those expensive
electronics don't do you much good if you can't read them. That's why
Dual Eyewear has created sunglasses equipped with magnifying lenses that
make reading those small, grainy LCD screens a little easier. Read More
The NIST-F1 atomic clock that
currently serves as primary time and frequency standard for the U.S. is
expected to neither gain nor lose a second in more than 100 million
years. That might sound pretty accurate, but a proposed nuclear clock
could make it look like a cheap digital wristwatch. It is claimed that
the proposed clock would neither gain nor lose 1/20th of a second in 14
billion years. To put that in context, that’s the estimated age of the
universe. Read More
Earlier this year we reported that researchers had implanted a cockroach
with an enzyme-based biofuel cell that could potentially be used to
power various sensors, recording devices, or electronics used to control
an insect cyborg. While it may not be the most dynamic of creatures, a
team from Clarkson University has now performed a similar feat with a
living snail. Read More
For some, architecture is considered "the will of
an epoch translated into space" (Mies van der Rohe), for others, it's
"frozen music" (Goethe), but for most of us, the topic remains quite
subjective. Now, top online architecture review site ArchDaily has
finally sifted through over 65,000 votes to come up with the winners of
their 2011 Building of the Year awards - a fascinating selection of
innovation and creativity that will wow some and challenge others.
Numerous images for each structure are available in the gallery. Read More
Imagine a pair of rubber gloves whose surface
texture could be altered on demand to provide more grip for climbing. Or
maybe gloves with "fingerprints" that can be changed in the blink of an
eye. They are just a couple of the many potential applications
envisioned by researchers at Duke University for a process they have
developed that allows the texture of plastics to be changed at will.
Read More
Part Swiss Army knife, part splitboard and part
old school powder surfer, the Signal Snowboard Survivor Split snowboard
is a one-of-a-kind, experimental board that equips you with all kinds of
tools for the backcountry - it can cut wood, start a fire and shovel
snow. Read More
Heart disease drug found to reduce racist attitudes
By Eric Mack
March 15, 2012
Although racism is widely believed to be a
learned behavior, findings from an Oxford University team suggest that
taking a heart disease medication may also help mute subconscious racist
attitudes in individuals. Researchers gave the drug propranolol to 18
subjects, and placebos to a control group of the same size. Those that
received the drug scored markedly lower on a standard test that measures
subconscious racial bias. Does this mean we could one day see a pill to
counter racist tendencies? Read More
Boosting solar cell efficiency is seen as a key
factor in making them more practical, but there is another way of
looking at the matter ... if the price of those cells were
lowered, we could generate more power simply by using more of them.
That’s where Mississippi-based Twin Creeks Technologies comes into the
picture. The company has developed a method of making crystalline
silicon wafers which it says could reduce the cost of solar cell
production by half. Read More
Western Digital (WD) has begun shipping its first
Thunderbolt equipped storage device in the form of the My Book
Thunderbolt Duo. The device is a dual-drive unit available in 4 TB (2 x 2
TB) and 6 TB (2 x 3 TB) capacities and features dual Thunderbolt ports
(and only dual Thunderbolt ports – there’s no USB to fall back on here)
on the rear for daisy-chaining of up to six My Book Thunderbolt Duo
drives or other Thunderbolt peripherals. Read More
Despite what TV shows like CSI would
have us believe, a lot of lab work tends to be highly monotonous. It’s
the type of work that could be assigned to robots, were it not for the
fact that many facilities can’t afford the things, or can’t rationalize
bringing one in for a single project. When scientists at Cambridge
University were recently faced with a very mindless, repetitive task
that was part of their research into creating artificial bone, one of
them got creative, and built a couple of robots out of LEGO. Read More
Sony's translucent mirror technology - which
directs incoming light to the image sensor and the AF sensor
simultaneously - continues to advance with the introduction of the
company's new SLT-A57 digital camera. The new camera trumps the α55
it replaces in a number ways, most notable of which is the 12 images
per second continuous shooting with full-time continuous autofocus in
Tele-zoom Continuous Advanced Priority AE mode. The new, faster, more
powerful image processor that makes such an impressive performance boost
possible also ramps up the sensitivity to a very low-light-friendly
ISO16000, and the camera is fit to bursting with creative photography
options. Read More
Jompy: a hot water tap for your hydration bladder
By C.C. Weiss
March 15, 2012
A funny name but an innovative design, Jompy
allows campers, backpackers, hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts to get
hot water from their hydration packs. The simple device works in
conjunction with a hydration bladder and camping stove to deliver
boiling water for use in food, beverages and cleaning. Read More
The creators of the SNAP Skateboard bill it as
the world's first folding skateboard. The aluminum board folds into
three segments so that you can easily transport it when not in use. The
hinged, aluminum board is designed for both tricks and cruising. Given
that the skateboard has wheels and rolls you where you need to go, we're
not sure that it needed to get more portable. But, we suppose that the
standard wheeled board can't take you everywhere you need to go, and
sometimes you need to slide it in a bag or under your arm, so the
smaller, the better. Read More
Because everyone’s immune system is different,
it’s impossible to predict with absolute certainty how any given person
will react to a specific medication. In the not-too-distant future,
however, at-risk patients may get their own custom-altered mouse, with
an immune system that’s a copy of their own. Medications could be tried
out on the mouse first, and if it showed no adverse reactions, then the
person could receive them. If the person had an autoimmune disease, the
mouse could also provide valuable insight into its treatment. A team led
by Columbia University Medical Center’s Dr. Megan Sykes has recently
developed a method of creating just such a “personalized immune mouse.”
Read More
When anthrax spores go dormant, they
develop a tough outer coating that can withstand heat, radiation and
antibiotics, in one case even allowing them to come back to life after
250 million years. It seems that such spores could be no match, however,
for a special pair of silk curtains. Read More
Pin Lights are an innovative camping concept from
a group of designers. The lights are essentially large pins that take
the place of tent stakes. Not only do they keep your tent stable in the
wind, but they light up your campsite ... so that wee-hour pee doesn't
have to be a life-risking affair. Read More
Children are sometimes referred to as “sponges,”
not because they live off our earnings, but because of their remarkable
ability to learn things quickly. Psychologists believe this is because
their brains are still wired for learning and exploration – essential
qualities for building neural connections – whereas adult minds tend to
focus on specific goals, at the expense of imagination and curiosity.
Now, scientists from the University of California, Berkeley are studying
the cognitive functions of babies, toddlers and preschoolers, in hopes
of using their findings to make computers think more like humans. Read More
We’ve probably all seen scuba divers on
television, hitching rides on the backs of manta rays or sea turtles.
For those of us who love the ocean, it looks like a near-magical
experience, but ... you shouldn’t do it. Marine biologists will tell you
that it’s simply a form of harassment, which the animals themselves
don’t particularly enjoy. So, how can you replicate that “flying
underwater” experience? Well, Norwegian inventor Simon Sivertsen would
suggest you buy his boat-towed Subwing. Read More
Let's be clear. The idea of
recycling shipping containers as bespoke pieces of micro-architecture is
by no means unique to Tsai Design Studio, but its container classroom -
real, built, and in use - is no less admirable as a result. Read More 
NASA's AR headset lets pilots see through fog
March 16, 2012
NASA has developed a pair of augmented reality
glasses designed especially for commercial airline pilots to see during
the worst visual conditions. The glasses include a heads-up display
showing a virtual overlay of the runway and airport, head tracking
technology, and voice controls - features that may help pilots keep
their eyes where they're most needed. Read More
Neutrinos have been in the news recently, and
although it appears that they probably do not travel faster than light,
they still hold court as three of the strangest of the known subatomic
particles. Undeterred by these arcane particles, Fermilab scientists
have succeeded in communicating with neutrino pulses through 240 meters
(262 yards) of rock at a rate of 0.1 bits per second. Read More
Although it’s been suggested that point-and-shoot
digital cameras could be made obsolete by smartphones, there’s at least
one thing that’s still better about stand-alone cameras – they have an
ergonomic grip (or at least, some of them do), and a good ol’ fuss-free
shutter release button. Belkin’s LiveAction Camera Grip device, however,
is designed to add these features to the iPhone. The company has also
released the LiveAction Camera Remote, which brings the same push-button
functionality to a remote-control device. Read More
Futuristic biplane design eliminates sonic boom
March 19, 2012
A throwback to early 20th Century aviation may
hold the key to eliminating the sonic boom - at least according to
researchers at MIT and Stanford University. Strongly reminiscent of
biplanes still in use today, the researcher's concept supersonic
aircraft introduces a second wing which it is claimed cancels the
shockwaves generated by objects near or beyond the sound barrier. Read More
Adafruit's "Internet of Things Camera" is a neat
mashup of existing Arduino components into a versatile remote monitoring
camera. The key here is in the word remote - a capability that's
granted by the inclusion of a first-generation Eye-Fi card, which is an
SD card with built in Wi-Fi, that can upload images to your computer or
other device, or better yet to a variety of photo-sharing websites such
as Flickr. Read More
The quest for more fuel-efficient vehicles has
seen a shift from the gas-guzzling behemoths of yesteryear to smaller
and smaller cars, such as the Volkswagen up!, Toyota iQ, and Tata Nano. The smallest currently in production is the smart fortwo that measures just 106.1 inches (269.5 cm) long and 61.4 inches (155.9 cm) wide. But for the world’s smallest ever
production car you’d have to look back to the early 1960’s and the Peel
P50, which measured just 54 inches (137 cm) long and 41 inches (104.1
cm) wide, and weighed 130 lb (59 kg). Now replicas of the P50 -and its
bigger brother, the Peel Trident - are getting a limited production run
and will be offered with a choice of gasoline or electric powerplants.
Read More
The announcement of a Diesel Ducati
might catch you by surprise, but only until you realize that the bike
has spark plugs and the word Diesel refers to the Italian fashion brand
which has been sponsoring the Ducati Team in MotoGP. The collaboration
is bearing fruit straight up with an "urban military chic" version of
the Ducati Monster 1100EVO. Read More Inside the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell supercar
By Brian Dodson
March 18, 2012
Can an electric version of one of the world's
supercars be a supercar? Mercedes-AMG has answered this question with a
resounding yes by announcing the SLS AMG E-Cell that was confirmed for
production in Detroit in January
will be available in 2013. Its electric powertrain gives the E-Cell a
0-60 mph (96.5 km/h) time of 4.0 seconds, compared to the SLS AMG's 0-60
mph time of 3.8 seconds. When it comes to top speed, both cars are
electronically limited. The E-Cell can hit 155 mph (249.4 km/h), while
the SLS AMG tops out at 197 mph (317 km/h). While not quite the equal of
the gas-powered SLS AMG, the E-Cell is clearly in supercar territory!
Read More
PayPal launches "Here" smartphone card reader
March 18, 2012
The profusion of apps for smartphones certainly seems to know no bounds, and while NFC
based payment seems set to become the dominant form of cashless
transaction, smartphone peripherals that allow users to swipe credit and
debit cards still have a role to play. The most notable of these
devices is Jack Dorsey's Square
system and now, online payment giant Paypal has flexed its appreciable
muscle and entered the fray with its new, triangular "Here" card reader,
due initially for a limited release. Read More
Among the primary causes of adult-onset blindness
are degenerative diseases of the retina, such as macular degeneration
and retinitis pigmentosa. While some treatments have been developed that
slow down the rate of degeneration, the clinical situation is still
generally unsatisfactory. But if you could grow a new retina, transplant
might be a possible cure. Now new hope is springing up from a research
project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in which scientists have
succeeded in growing human retinal tissue from stem cells. Read More
It's been a popular design for shotguns for over a
century, so why not handguns? With a design that looks like two guns
were melted together, the new handgun from Arsenal Firearms is
definitely a handful. Thanks to the gun's dual barrels though, the
AF2011-A1 Double Barrel Pistol is capable of firing 16 rounds in a span
of three seconds by shooting two bullets at the same time. Read More
With the world's most watched event, Formula One,
returning to lounge rooms across the globe today, Mercedes is
celebrating the 75th anniversary of its dominant 1937 W125 Grand Prix
car - the Silver Arrow had a 595 bhp turbocharged, desmodromic 5.7 liter
straight eight which comprised one third of the car's 750 kg dry
weight. Launched at the Grand Prix of Tripoli (yes, in Libya), the car
was a technological marvel for its day, and averaged 132 mph at its
first outing - amazing images and actual video of the 1937 Tripoli Grand
Prix. Read More
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