Blue Origin test fires its new BE-3 hydrogen/oxygen rocket engine
By David Szondy
December 4, 2013
NASA announced on Tuesday that Blue Origin had
successfully test fired its new BE-3 hydrogen/oxygen rocket engine at
the company’s West Texas facility in Van Horn. The test, which took
place on November 20, was a series of static firings to simulate the
engine sequence of an actual suborbital flight from lift off to landing
and is part of the development of Blue Origin’s manned Orbital Launch
Vehicle for carrying passengers and cargo into low Earth orbit. Read More
umidi aims to let DJs create their own custom MIDI controllers
By Paul Ridden
December 4, 2013
If you're the kind of DJ who is dissatisfied with
having to use faders or knobs placed in a certain position on a
ready-made, bog standard MIDI controller, the folks over at umidi have
something that's sure to both delight and amaze. Each umidi DJ
controller starts life as a blank template and, using an online creation
tool, artists can select interface components and place them anywhere,
in any order, and in whatever configuration that suits. The company will
then build your dream umidi controller and ship it out. If this sounds a
little too good to be true, then you'd be right ... for the moment. The
designers behind umidi have just launched on Kickstarter to bring
working concept to reality. Read More
2014 Mitsubishi i-MiEV will cost $6,000 less than 2012 model
By Ben Coxworth
December 4, 2013
Here's an interesting fact about the
pomelo fruit: even though a mature fruit can weigh up to 2 kg (4.4 lb),
they remain intact after falling from heights of over 10 meters (33
ft). The secret lies in the structure of their peel. Scientists have
copied that structure, to produce a new type of aluminum composite
that's stronger than straight aluminum. Read More 
A new claimant for the title of "most powerful
electric motorcycle in the world" was presented to admirers at the Paris
Motor Show on Monday. The Voxan Wattman electric motorcycle, with 150
kW (200 hp) of power at full tilt, can pull the 350 kg (770 lb) bike
from 0 to 160 km/h (0-100 mph) in 5.9 seconds, and has a top speed of
170 km/h (106 mph). With styling based on a scorpion's exoskeleton, this
dramatic new entry is searching for its place in the sun. Read More
Spotify has made a move to get music
artists onside by making its formula for calculating royalty payments
and analytics openly accessible through the new Spotify Artists website.
Read More World's largest ship floated for the first time
By Darren Quick
December 4, 2013
A hull longer than the Empire State Building is
tall has been floated out of dry dock in Geoje, South Korea. Measuring
488 m (1,601 ft) long and 74 m (243 ft) wide, the hull belongs to
Shell's Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility, which
upon completion will be the largest floating facility ever built. Read More
The team of NASA, L’Guarde, and Space Services Inc. are preparing for the Sunjammer space mission
that in 2015 will see the first deep space deployment of a solar sail.
On September 30, the Sunjammer team completed a milestone when they
successfully deployed a quarter panel of the spacecraft’s solar sail.
Read More 
Three’s a charm, they say. On Monday, Space
Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) met success with its third attempt at
launching the SES-8 satellite into geosynchronous orbit. At 5:41 PM EST,
the Orbital Sciences GEOStar-2 commercial telecommunications satellite
lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, Florida atop an upgraded Falcon 9 launch vehicle. This marks
SpaceX’s first geostationary transfer mission. Read More
IRCRAFT
Like most other fabrics, silk is
colored with dye. Unfortunately, the dyeing process results in
wastewater laden with toxins. Now, however, scientists from the National
Chemical Laboratory in India are developing an alternative. They're
feeding dye to silkworms, which in turn are producing pre-colored silk
fibers. Read More
Tired of trying to plug in a USB
cable, only to discover that you have to flip it over? Well, it looks
like that design could be going the way of the 5.25-inch floppy disk.
Earlier this week, the USB 3.0 Promoter Group announced the development
of the new USB Type-C connector, which will work in any plug orientation
or cable direction. Read More
The Hangbag is a paper shopping bag
that transforms, via a simple set of folds, into a clothes hanger. Thus
one product fulfills two distinct but interconnected uses. Read More
The Beijing Aerospace Control Center
reports that China's Chang'e-3 lunar probe successfully entered lunar
orbit Friday at 5:53 pm Beijing time. Read More
IRCRAFT
Algorithm lets quadcopters keep flying on three or less propellers
By Ben Coxworth
December 5, 2013
Whether it's for Amazon-purchased goods, text books or defibrillators,
unmanned multicopters are increasingly being considered for use as
delivery vehicles. Given that this would involve their flying over
heavily-populated areas, however, many people are rightly concerned
about the aircraft malfunctioning and crashing down onto someone below.
That's why researchers at ETH Zurich have created a control algorithm
that allows any quadcopter to keep flying, even if it loses multiple
motors or propellers. Read More
Like most other fabrics, silk is
colored with dye. Unfortunately, the dyeing process results in
wastewater laden with toxins. Now, however, scientists from the National
Chemical Laboratory in India are developing an alternative. They're
feeding dye to silkworms, which in turn are producing pre-colored silk
fibers. Read More
Combining the French press and pouring-over
methods, while improving both, is the goal of a new coffee-maker being
promoted by an outfit called Immerset. The device is a project by
inventor Chic Kelty, and is designed both for commercial and consumer
purposes. Read More
In search of weird and unique hotels in Europe,
Gizmag’s Loz Blain visits a beautifully hand-carved treehouse village on
the German-Polish border. The treetop hotel itself is remarkable, but
as it turns out, the rest of "Culture Island" is just as amazing. Read More
Knightscope reveals robotic security guard
December 5, 2013
Silicon Valley startup Knightscope Inc. is
developing an "Autonomous Data Machine" with the potential to perform
the oftentimes monotonous task of keeping watch over property more cost
effectively and comprehensively than a human security guard. The company
today revealed it has already started securing beta customers for its
first two models, the Knightscope K5 and K10. Read More
Since 2011, the UK's Agility Motors has been
promising to deliver on its highly anticipated electric motorbike.
Promoted as the firm's "next generation electric urban sport motorcycle"
the new 96.5 hp Saietta R, with its 3.9 second 0-60 mph (96 km/h) time
and unique visual statement, is now set to hit US shores in 2014. Read More
Over the past couple of months, our attention has
been caught by a couple of monstrous, land/water rescue machines in the
form of the Ghe-O Rescue and the ARGO XTI 8x8. The CAMI Amphibious Responder makes three, and it is the largest, most powerful amphibious rescue machine of the bunch. Read More
Hivehaus flat-packed honeycomb home could be the bee's knees
By Nick Lavars
December 4, 2013
Similar to other micro-homes
we have looked at, the Hivehaus comes flat-packed, is self-contained
and appears relatively easy to build. Taking its name from the honeycomb
structures built by bees, Hivehaus is a modular housing system
constructed from individual hexagonal cells that can be customized and
connected, offering plenty of design flexibility. Read More
Australian real life video game company IRLShooter is back in 2014 with a total upgrade and redesign of its Patient Zero live action zombie shooter
game, which puts small teams of players through a survival quest in a
purpose-built game facility seething with infected undead. Gizmag’s Loz
Blain and his brother Chris dropped in to check out the upgraded weapons
system and try out a whole new addition to the game – the “pain belt” –
which delivers a nasty electric shock any time you take damage in-game.
Naturally, we filmed the pain belt test for your viewing pleasure. (Warning: contains strong language) Read More
Although electrocardiograms (ECGs) can help
predict cardiac emergencies as much as several months before a
potentially life-threatening episode, this usually requires being hooked
up to an ECG machine for a period of time at a doctor's office or
hospital. A new sensor belt prototype allows an ECG to be recorded
around the clock for up to six months, increasing the chances a problem
will be discovered and treated before an emergency strikes. Read More
As the volume of data carried around the world
via optical fibers continues to increase, researchers at the Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) have found a way to
increase data throughput capacity by ten times. Because it is based on
changing the shape of light pulses to reduce the space between, the
breakthrough would work on existing optical fiber infrastructure. Read More
Loop gaming platform rewards physical effort with virtual progress
By Nick Lavars
December 5, 2013
As technology has gained a reputation for drawing
children indoors and keeping them there captivated by the latest Angry Birds update or building their Minecraft
kingdom, we have seen a conscious effort from within the industry to
counter the perception of technology as a facilitator of unhealthy
childhood habits. Loop, from Pushstart Creative, is the latest effort in
this growing trend, relying on movement tracking technology as a
vehicle to promote physical activity. Read More
One big problem when sending things into space
is, well, space. Rockets have limited payload capacity and given the
costs involved, every inch counts. That's why Brigham Young University
researchers have turned to origami as their inspiration. Their folding
solar array is designed to be compact at launch and expand to around 10
times its size once it's deployed in outer space. Read More
Neptune Pine straps a smartwatch to wrists from next month
By C.C. Weiss
December 5, 2013
When we covered the Neptune Pine watch
earlier this year, our first thought was that it looked like the
smartwatch that tech lovers have been waiting for. That was immediately
followed by a second thought – is this set of rough renderings ever going to lead to an actual watch we can buy?
It hasn't happened quite yet, but things are moving in the right
direction. Neptune has developed a working prototype and launched a
Kickstarter campaign that has attracted a half-million dollars in
pledges in just over two weeks. Read More
Given its accessibility to anyone with two feet,
jogging is one of the most popular forms of fitness activity around the
world, with around 10 million people in Germany alone donning their
running shoes and hitting the pavement on a regular basis, according to
the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (IPMS). However, this
popularity also translates into a large number of jogging-related
injuries. In an effort to reduce the number of injuries, a research team
from IPMS is developing a high-tech running shoe with the ability to
evaluate a jogger's running form and technique in real-time. Read More
MIT researchers have developed a new
time-of-flight (TOF) 3D "nano-camera" with the ability to work with
translucent objects, motion, fog, rain, and other factors in the
environment that totally confuse previous TOF cameras, such as
Microsoft's second-gen Kinect.
The MIT Media Lab team has added these new capabilities by introducing
additional information into the illuminating light beam. The resulting
camera costs less than US$500 in parts. Read More
Most of us have gotten used to smartphones
replacing long-established devices such as cameras and music players.
Soon, however, they might be taking over the duties of something that is
itself an emerging technology – the 3D scanner. Researchers at ETH
Zurich have created an app that allows an ordinary smartphone to capture
and display three-dimensional models of real-world objects, for
subsequent finessing or even 3D printing. Read More
Today, the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)
announced that it had successfully launched a drone from a submerged
submarine. The all-electric eXperimental Fuel Cell Unmanned Aerial
System (XFC) was launched in the Bahamas from the Los Angeles-class
nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Providence (SSN 719) using a system
that allowed the drone to be deployed without modifications to the
boat, or requiring it to surface. Read More
Acer launches the Aspire Z3-600 portable All-in-One PC
By Paul Ridden
December 5, 2013
Acer is set to join the mobile All-in-One
computer party later this month with the release of the Aspire Z3-600.
Able to lie flat on a coffee table or stand proud on a desk, the new
portable Windows 8 PC packs a Pentium quad-core processor, Harman Kardon
speakers, gesture control, and a 6-cell Li-ion battery that allows for
over 2.5 hours of use away from a power outlet. It offers the same Full
HD display real estate as Sony's recently-released Vaio Tap 21, but has a
significantly lower price tag. Read More
As the volume of data carried around the world
via optical fibers continues to increase, researchers at the Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) have found a way to
increase data throughput capacity by ten times. Because it is based on
changing the shape of light pulses to reduce the space between, the
breakthrough would work on existing optical fiber infrastructure. Read More
Loop gaming platform rewards physical effort with virtual progress
By Nick Lavars
December 5, 2013
As technology has gained a reputation for drawing
children indoors and keeping them there captivated by the latest Angry Birds update or building their Minecraft
kingdom, we have seen a conscious effort from within the industry to
counter the perception of technology as a facilitator of unhealthy
childhood habits. Loop, from Pushstart Creative, is the latest effort in
this growing trend, relying on movement tracking technology as a
vehicle to promote physical activity. Read More
One big problem when sending things into space
is, well, space. Rockets have limited payload capacity and given the
costs involved, every inch counts. That's why Brigham Young University
researchers have turned to origami as their inspiration. Their folding
solar array is designed to be compact at launch and expand to around 10
times its size once it's deployed in outer space. Read More
Neptune Pine straps a smartwatch to wrists from next month
By C.C. Weiss
December 5, 2013
When we covered the Neptune Pine watch
earlier this year, our first thought was that it looked like the
smartwatch that tech lovers have been waiting for. That was immediately
followed by a second thought – is this set of rough renderings ever going to lead to an actual watch we can buy?
It hasn't happened quite yet, but things are moving in the right
direction. Neptune has developed a working prototype and launched a
Kickstarter campaign that has attracted a half-million dollars in
pledges in just over two weeks. Read More
Given its accessibility to anyone with two feet,
jogging is one of the most popular forms of fitness activity around the
world, with around 10 million people in Germany alone donning their
running shoes and hitting the pavement on a regular basis, according to
the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (IPMS). However, this
popularity also translates into a large number of jogging-related
injuries. In an effort to reduce the number of injuries, a research team
from IPMS is developing a high-tech running shoe with the ability to
evaluate a jogger's running form and technique in real-time. Read More
MIT researchers have developed a new
time-of-flight (TOF) 3D "nano-camera" with the ability to work with
translucent objects, motion, fog, rain, and other factors in the
environment that totally confuse previous TOF cameras, such as
Microsoft's second-gen Kinect.
The MIT Media Lab team has added these new capabilities by introducing
additional information into the illuminating light beam. The resulting
camera costs less than US$500 in parts. Read More
Most of us have gotten used to smartphones
replacing long-established devices such as cameras and music players.
Soon, however, they might be taking over the duties of something that is
itself an emerging technology – the 3D scanner. Researchers at ETH
Zurich have created an app that allows an ordinary smartphone to capture
and display three-dimensional models of real-world objects, for
subsequent finessing or even 3D printing. Read More
Today, the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)
announced that it had successfully launched a drone from a submerged
submarine. The all-electric eXperimental Fuel Cell Unmanned Aerial
System (XFC) was launched in the Bahamas from the Los Angeles-class
nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Providence (SSN 719) using a system
that allowed the drone to be deployed without modifications to the
boat, or requiring it to surface. Read More
Acer launches the Aspire Z3-600 portable All-in-One PC
By Paul Ridden
December 5, 2013
Acer is set to join the mobile All-in-One
computer party later this month with the release of the Aspire Z3-600.
Able to lie flat on a coffee table or stand proud on a desk, the new
portable Windows 8 PC packs a Pentium quad-core processor, Harman Kardon
speakers, gesture control, and a 6-cell Li-ion battery that allows for
over 2.5 hours of use away from a power outlet. It offers the same Full
HD display real estate as Sony's recently-released Vaio Tap 21, but has a
significantly lower price tag. Read More
Testing Honda's "mind-controlled" UNI-CUB β
By Mike Hanlon
December 7, 2013
“It has a top speed of 6 km/h, it balances
itself, and you couldn’t crash it if you tried. How can you possibly see
that as one of the biggest thrills of your life?” That was the response
from an automotive journalist colleague at the Tokyo Motor Show after I
eulogized riding Honda’s UNI-CUB β personal mobility device. After a
lifetime of journalism covering every form of technology, cars,
motorcycles and "boys toys,” from driving and riding exotica worth a
decade's wages, this was one the greatest thrills I had experienced –
being one of the first to ride a landmark personal transportation device
as important as Henry Ford’s Model T. Read More
Remember when everyone asked if the first iPad
was a "Kindle killer?" Well, although tablets have certainly put the
brakes on e-readers' momentum, the Kindle is still alive and kicking. Is
it your best e-reader option this holiday season? Join Gizmag, as we
break down several of the top e-readers you can buy today. Read More
ProJet 4500 3D printer creates multi-colored plastic items
By Ben Coxworth
December 6, 2013
Although the things that can be done with 3D
printers are certainly amazing, many 3D-printed plastic items still have
a certain "look" to them. This is largely due to the fact that each
item is all one uniform color. That apparently no longer has to be the
case, however, as 3D Systems has unveiled its ProJet 4500. The company
describes it as "the industry’s only continuous tone full-color plastic
3D printer." Read More
Tired of trying to plug in a USB
cable, only to discover that you have to flip it over? Well, it looks
like that design could be going the way of the 5.25-inch floppy disk.
Earlier this week, the USB 3.0 Promoter Group announced the development
of the new USB Type-C connector, which will work in any plug orientation
or cable direction. Read More
Early this year we first heard about PowerUp 3.0,
a kit that converts an ordinary paper airplane into a powered,
smartphone-controlled flying aircraft. Inventor Shai Goitein has made
some improvements to the product since then, and recently launched a
Kickstarter campaign to finance its large-scale production. At the time
of this posting, he's exceeded his funding goal by over 960 percent.
Read More
Methods for controlling mosquitoes usually take
two tacks: luring the mosquitoes into a trap away from humans, or
discouraging them from biting at the source. Both methods can be
expensive, unhealthy, cumbersome, or disgusting (the smell of rancid
butter, anyone?) and generally aren’t scalable for the countries that
suffer the most from mosquito-borne disease. New research explores how a
mosquito’s neurons actually detect humans, and presents a promising
class of chemicals, screened for safety, cost, and an appealing scent,
some of which attract mosquitoes and others of which mask the smell of
tasty human skin. Read More
Scientists convert human stem cells into functional lung cells
December 6, 2013
Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center
(CUMC) have transformed human stem cells into functional lung cells,
paving the way for ultimately creating bioengineered lungs using the
patient's own cells. Besides being able to generate lung tissue for
transplants, these cells could also be used to study lung development
and potentially find more advanced treatments for lung diseases. Read More
The Hangbag is a paper shopping bag
that transforms, via a simple set of folds, into a clothes hanger. Thus
one product fulfills two distinct but interconnected uses. Read More
After making a quick show and tell at Computex
back in June, MSI has now released what's claimed to be the world's
first 3K gaming laptop. The 15.6-inch GT60 features a 4th generation
Core i7 processor, GeForce graphics, combined SSD/HDD storage and
customizable color backlighting for the keyboard for after hours gaming.
Read More
In pictures: The 30th Thailand International Motor Expo
By Mike Hanlon
December 5, 2013
Thailand has two major auto shows on its calender
– the Bangkok Auto Show in March and the Thailand International Auto
Expo in early December – and as Thailand continues its rise as a
consumer and producer of automobiles, these shows grow in importance.
The 30th Thailand International Motor Expo opened this week and Gizmag
was on the show floor to capture the highlights. Read More
SkyJack: The drone that hijacks other drones in mid-air
December 8, 2013
Amazon's Prime Air
announcement last week brought concerns about the use of commercial
drones to the fore, but one programmer may have just muddied the waters
even more. Notable hacker Samy Kamkar recently modified a Parrot AR.Drone 2
with his custom software, called SkyJack, allowing it to seek out the
wireless signals of other UAVs and take control of them, even while in
flight. Read More
DARPA developing giant folding space telescope
By David Szondy
December 8, 2013
DARPA has announced planes to use a foldable
plastic lens to “break the glass ceiling” of space telescopes. It’s part
of the agency’s Membrane Optical Imager for Real-Time Exploitation
(MOIRE) program, which aims at replacing conventional glass optics with
lightweight polymer membranes that may one day make possible a foldable
plastic orbital telescope 20 m (65 ft) wide that will be capable of
seeing a medium-sized dog on Earth from 36,000 km (22,000 mi) away. Read More
Industrial robots have proven useful in reducing
production costs in large factories, with major enterprises enlisting
their services to execute repetitive tasks. The Factory-in-a-Day
project, which kicked off in October, aims to also make robotic
technology beneficial to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), by
developing adaptable robots that can be integrated with workplace
systems within 24 hours. Read More
ESA to launch mission to study elusive gravitational waves
By David Szondy
December 8, 2013
Mark your calendars for 2034, because that is
when science is set to get a whole new spectrum to play with when the
European Space Agency (ESA) launches its eLISA mission. Consisting of a
constellation of three spacecraft flying in precise formation, eLISA
will study gravitational waves in a manner that may one day
revolutionize our understanding of the Universe. Read More
The Wokart is a featherweight asymmetric
catamaran with a centrally-located 70 hp outboard motor that's designed
to have the driving characteristics and power-to-weight of a go-kart.
The automotive seating and controls make it just like driving a car ...
and in four years of development and testing, no-one has flipped one
over. Production begins next month and at €20,000 it offers all the fun
of a PWC with a fraction of the environmental footprint. Unlike most
toys, a horsepower upgrade is as simple as bolting in an 85hp motor,
which makes it "unsuitable for the general public," a nice way of
saying, "you can't handle this." Read More
Moon Express reveals design for its MX-1 lunar lander
By Brian Dodson
December 8, 2013
Moon Express, a privately held company driven by a short-term goal of winning the Google Lunar X PRIZE
competition, and a longer-term strategy of mining the Moon, last week
revealed its MX-1 lunar lander at the closing session of Autodesk
University in Las Vegas. Not a one-trick pony, the MX-1 is being
designed as the first of a series of robotic spacecraft that can carry
out a multitude of tasks in Earth orbit as well as in deep space. Read More
Ford revealed the all-new, sixth-generation
Mustang last week in a four-content event encompassing major cities like
Barcelona, New York and Shanghai. The global event supported the new
pony car's more worldly focus. The latest Mustang drops the heavily
retro influence of generation five in favor of a more modern look and
feel. It also gets the latest technologies, including an EcoBoost
four-cylinder turbo. Read More
The Beijing Aerospace Control Center
reports that China's Chang'e-3 lunar probe successfully entered lunar
orbit Friday at 5:53 pm Beijing time. Read More
You don't need to be spending big on a high-end full frame camera
to get a DSLR with amazing image and video quality. There are plenty of
options out there which cater to more modest budgets, without scrimping
on features. In this guide Gizmag compares the specs of our selection
of the best mid-range DSLRs on the market. Read More
Building a ship to carry fish as passengers may
seem like a phenomenal case of missing the point, but Rolls-Royce has
signed a £5.8 million (US$9.5 million) contact to design and equip one
that does just that. The live fish carrier will be built by Turkey's
Tersan shipyard for the Faroese salmon farming company Bakkafrost as a
way to carry fish from their pens to the processing plant. Read More
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