Applied DNA Sciences (ADNAS) has developed a new
approach to solve crimes using DNA tagging. The difference is that
instead of tagging the objects being stolen, the company's system tags
the perpetrator with DNA. While this has been tried before by applying
the DNA to a fleeing criminal with a gun, ADNAS has adopted a more subtle approach. Read More
Self-driving cars
seem like they’ll be on our roads any day now, but what about
self-testing cars that can drive themselves around insanely destructive
tracks? Engineers at Ford’s Michigan Proving Grounds in Romeo, Michigan,
say that they've come up with the industry’s first robotic test system
designed to drive trucks and vans over roads that are intended to put a
decade of wear on a van in around three months. Read More
Porsche has traditionally targeted
professional males between the ages of 21 and 60, but the all important
demographic between the ages of 5 and 8 has not been completely ignored.
Porsche’s Go-Kart is the latest effort to appeal to this budding
market. Read More 
While it’s important for cyclists to run a set of
lights when they’re riding after dark, using lights in the daytime also
helps make them more visible to drivers. That said, the chances are
pretty high that daytime cyclists could forget and leave their lights on
when they finish their ride ... plus, they’d go through batteries a lot
quicker. Estonian inventor Indrek Rebane has already got those things
covered, with his Velodroom “smart” tail light. Read More
Typically, E3 is all about new game announcements. Though we still had a few of those
this year, 2013 was more about hardware: the Xbox One and PS4. Both
push the technical boundaries of gaming consoles, offer their own mixes
of strengths and weaknesses, and release at around the same time. So how
do you choose? Allow Gizmag to lend a hand, as we compare the specs
(and other features) of the Microsoft Xbox One and Sony PlayStation 4. Read More
Halo combines canister stove and fuel cell charger
By C.C. Weiss
June 14, 2013
Are you fed up with your camera – or any camera –
not being able to take decent low-light photos? Just be patient. Swiss
researchers have developed a molybdenite light sensor, that they say is
five times more light-sensitive than current technology. Read More
LED light bulbs may be more energy-efficient and
longer-lived than their incandescent equivalents, but they’re also
considerably more expensive to purchase. This is largely because rare
earth elements (REEs) are used in their phosphors. There are hazards
involved in the mining and processing of REEs, plus China is responsible
for almost the entire world’s supply, so they’re becoming increasingly
pricey. Now, however, scientists have come up with a plentiful
alternative material that they say is much more environmentally
friendly, and that should drive down the price of LEDs. Read More
After tempting us with some candid studio shots last December,
followed by some attention-grabbing showcasing at CES 2013 and NAMM,
Artiphon has revealed that its Instrument 1 will shortly be available to
buy. The professional-grade instrument leverages the processing power
of a docked iPhone or iPod touch running digital music creation and
recording apps, such as GarageBand or Animoog. It allows existing
guitarists or piano players to use familiar playing styles in a new way,
while ushering in a whole new wave of digital music noodlers. Read More
The world usually sees cars like the Pininfarina
Sergio at a few select international auto shows during the debut year.
Then the outlandishly-styled cars retire to their designers'
headquarters and museums, peeping out every so often for special events
and shows. Sometimes they fetch millions at auctions. But the wildly
impractical, often beautiful design exercises don't usually enter
production. It's looking like the Sergio will be an exception to the
rules. Read More
London could be the venue for a
"garden bridge" in the mode of New York's High Line, if designer Thomas
Heatherwick (he of 2012 Olympic cauldron fame) has his way. If £60
million (US$94 million) in private funding can be secured, it's thought
the bridge could open as early as 2016. Read More
The international flavoring of the
supercar melting pot is set to get more diverse next month with the
addition of the VŪHL 05 from Mexico-based VŪHL (Vehicles of Ultra
High-performance and Lightweight). The car will be unveiled at the
Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK, which will celebrate its 20th
anniversary this year. Read More
It’s a bit ironic that a device
whose primary purpose is communication is responsible for so much
unsociable behavior. The Offline Glass offers one way of combating
unsocial smartphone use by preventing smartphone addicts from choosing
their gadget du jour over their friends and significant others. Read More
While electric scooters are
considerably cheaper and easier to park than electric cars, many people
are still put off by the idea of having to balance on two wheels.
Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering is addressing
that problem, with its leaning three-wheeled Electromobile City Scooter.
Read More
Last year around this time, London-based product designer PoChih Lai unveiled his 8-wheeled Stair-Rover
skateboard. Using four independently-pivoting sets of two wheels, the
prototype longboard was actually able to descend stairs – hence its
name. Consumers may soon be able to buy one of their own, as Lai and his
team have just started a Kickstarter campaign to finance commercial
production of the skateboard. Read More
Eurocopter has announced a new pair of speed
records set by its hybrid helicopter demonstrator, the X3. Piloted by
Hervé Jammayrac, the X3 reached a level flight speed of 255 knots over
the south of France on June 7, eclipsing the 250 knots (463 km/h) set by Sikorsky's X2
demonstrator back in 2010. The X3 reached 263 knots several days
beforehand, achieved during a dive rather than level flight, also
besting the X2's record in descent – by a single knot. Read More
London could be the venue for a
"garden bridge" in the mode of New York's High Line, if designer Thomas
Heatherwick (he of 2012 Olympic cauldron fame) has his way. If £60
million (US$94 million) in private funding can be secured, it's thought
the bridge could open as early as 2016. Read More
E3 is always an exciting time for gamers, but
this year's show proved particularly enticing with two new video game
consoles mere months from release. The Xbox One and Playstation 4
have handed game developers a much more advanced piece of kit to
deliver some truly groundbreaking experiences. Each company's
presentation revealed titles both familiar and brand new, but these are
the ones that have us most anxious for the upcoming generation of
console gaming. Read More
Seven years after plans for the Airbus A350 XWB
were first revealed at the Farnborough Air Show in 2006, the aircraft
took to the air for the first time on June 14. The maiden flight saw the
aircraft in the skies of southwestern France for four hours and five
minutes before returning to Toulouse-Blagnac Airport. Read More
Have you got a case of dog breath? How about
smelly feet? Friends and family may not tell you, but a couple of new
robots will. Built by the Kitakyushu National College of Technology and a
group of inventive pranksters calling itself CrazyLabo, the pair of
odor-detecting robots are giving people a lesson in hygiene and a few
chuckles. Read More
The international flavoring of the
supercar melting pot is set to get more diverse next month with the
addition of the VŪHL 05 from Mexico-based VŪHL (Vehicles of Ultra
High-performance and Lightweight). The car will be unveiled at the
Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK, which will celebrate its 20th
anniversary this year. Read More
Many archers in adventure stories and comic books
use arrows with unusual heads. These include the standard explosive and
grappling hook arrows, and the not-so-standard
boxing glove arrow, Greek fire arrow, handcuffs arrow, and the ever
popular atomic warhead arrow. While real archers generally have to make
do with target and field heads, Louisiana-based archery company
Rac-Em-Bac is now providing some spirited alternates. Read More
It’s a bit ironic that a device
whose primary purpose is communication is responsible for so much
unsociable behavior. The Offline Glass offers one way of combating
unsocial smartphone use by preventing smartphone addicts from choosing
their gadget du jour over their friends and significant others. Read More
Flying into Hong Kong was once an aerial
adventure as gigantic passenger planes made alarmingly steep descents
over the harbor and then low over crowded high rises to runway 13. Those
adrenalin-filled landings ended when the new Hong Kong International
Airport to the west opened in 1998, however, the site of those dramatic
flights has now been repurposed as the new Kai Tak Cruise Terminal. It
was formally opened on June 12 as the Commissioner for Tourism, Mr
Philip Yung, welcomed the inaugural berthing of the cruise ship Mariner
of the Seas. Read More
The Hasselblad Lunar has gone on sale, which
could be good news if you think the mirrorless camera market has been
sadly lacking in wood, carbon fiber, and jeweled buttons. Billed as an
"ultimate luxury mirrorless interchangeable lens camera," the Lunar will
sell for US$7,000, despite being based on, and having almost identical
specs to, the Sony NEX-7. Read More
London could be the venue for a
"garden bridge" in the mode of New York's High Line, if designer Thomas
Heatherwick (he of 2012 Olympic cauldron fame) has his way. If £60
million (US$94 million) in private funding can be secured, it's thought
the bridge could open as early as 2016. Read More
The international flavoring of the
supercar melting pot is set to get more diverse next month with the
addition of the VŪHL 05 from Mexico-based VŪHL (Vehicles of Ultra
High-performance and Lightweight). The car will be unveiled at the
Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK, which will celebrate its 20th
anniversary this year. Read More
It’s a bit ironic that a device
whose primary purpose is communication is responsible for so much
unsociable behavior. The Offline Glass offers one way of combating
unsocial smartphone use by preventing smartphone addicts from choosing
their gadget du jour over their friends and significant others. Read More
Eurocopter has announced a new pair of speed
records set by its hybrid helicopter demonstrator, the X3. Piloted by
Hervé Jammayrac, the X3 reached a level flight speed of 255 knots over
the south of France on June 7, eclipsing the 250 knots (463 km/h) set by Sikorsky's X2
demonstrator back in 2010. The X3 reached 263 knots several days
beforehand, achieved during a dive rather than level flight, also
besting the X2's record in descent – by a single knot. Read More
London could be the venue for a
"garden bridge" in the mode of New York's High Line, if designer Thomas
Heatherwick (he of 2012 Olympic cauldron fame) has his way. If £60
million (US$94 million) in private funding can be secured, it's thought
the bridge could open as early as 2016. Read More
E3 is always an exciting time for gamers, but
this year's show proved particularly enticing with two new video game
consoles mere months from release. The Xbox One and Playstation 4
have handed game developers a much more advanced piece of kit to
deliver some truly groundbreaking experiences. Each company's
presentation revealed titles both familiar and brand new, but these are
the ones that have us most anxious for the upcoming generation of
console gaming. Read More
Seven years after plans for the Airbus A350 XWB
were first revealed at the Farnborough Air Show in 2006, the aircraft
took to the air for the first time on June 14. The maiden flight saw the
aircraft in the skies of southwestern France for four hours and five
minutes before returning to Toulouse-Blagnac Airport. Read More
Have you got a case of dog breath? How about
smelly feet? Friends and family may not tell you, but a couple of new
robots will. Built by the Kitakyushu National College of Technology and a
group of inventive pranksters calling itself CrazyLabo, the pair of
odor-detecting robots are giving people a lesson in hygiene and a few
chuckles. Read More
The international flavoring of the
supercar melting pot is set to get more diverse next month with the
addition of the VŪHL 05 from Mexico-based VŪHL (Vehicles of Ultra
High-performance and Lightweight). The car will be unveiled at the
Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK, which will celebrate its 20th
anniversary this year. Read More
Many archers in adventure stories and comic books
use arrows with unusual heads. These include the standard explosive and
grappling hook arrows, and the not-so-standard
boxing glove arrow, Greek fire arrow, handcuffs arrow, and the ever
popular atomic warhead arrow. While real archers generally have to make
do with target and field heads, Louisiana-based archery company
Rac-Em-Bac is now providing some spirited alternates. Read More
It’s a bit ironic that a device
whose primary purpose is communication is responsible for so much
unsociable behavior. The Offline Glass offers one way of combating
unsocial smartphone use by preventing smartphone addicts from choosing
their gadget du jour over their friends and significant others. Read More
Flying into Hong Kong was once an aerial
adventure as gigantic passenger planes made alarmingly steep descents
over the harbor and then low over crowded high rises to runway 13. Those
adrenalin-filled landings ended when the new Hong Kong International
Airport to the west opened in 1998, however, the site of those dramatic
flights has now been repurposed as the new Kai Tak Cruise Terminal. It
was formally opened on June 12 as the Commissioner for Tourism, Mr
Philip Yung, welcomed the inaugural berthing of the cruise ship Mariner
of the Seas. Read More
The Hasselblad Lunar has gone on sale, which
could be good news if you think the mirrorless camera market has been
sadly lacking in wood, carbon fiber, and jeweled buttons. Billed as an
"ultimate luxury mirrorless interchangeable lens camera," the Lunar will
sell for US$7,000, despite being based on, and having almost identical
specs to, the Sony NEX-7. Read More
Almost two-thirds of the world still does not
have access to high-speed internet, but Google is determined to change
that. Unfortunately, setting up an affordable infrastructure in remote
areas is beyond even a huge multinational corporation's capabilities,
which is why the company had to devise a completely out-of-the-box
solution called Project Loon. As part of the project, Google recently
launched a series of internet-enabled balloons into the stratosphere
over New Zealand to provide broadband connectivity to rural areas. Read More
One of the most frustrating parts of DIY projects
is when a screw is at just the wrong angle for the screwdriver to
reach. It’s even worse when an electric screwdriver with all its bulk is
involved. To make things a bit easier, former University of Washington
robotics student Joel Townsan of Bellingham, Washington came up with the
Flipout Tantrum, an articulated electric screwdriver designed to work
in very tight spaces. Read More
Mobile devices have turned the traditional PC market upside down.
While Apple's "post PC" strategy is all about the iPad, the Mac still
gives it a horse in the traditional PC race. Microsoft's strategy is
more convergent: it wants hybrid devices like the Surface Pro to become
our primary computers. How do the two measure up? Let's find out, as we
compare the specs (and other features) of the 2013 MacBook Air to the Microsoft Surface Pro. Read More
Namco Bandai subsidiary CCP toys has launched its
Nano-Falcon remote-controlled helicopter toy, which it claims is the
world's smallest. The Nano-Falcon, which is designed for indoor flight,
has a body size of just 6.5 cm (2.5 in) long and weighs a scant 11 g
(0.38 oz). The infrared controller, which takes four AA alkaline
batteries, has a range of just 5 m (16 ft), which may be a good thing,
lest you lose sight of it! Read More
Looking for smoother hand-held video, but wanting something a little more high-tech than the SteadiCam Smoothee?
Well, you might be interested in the STABiLGO. Designed for use with
the GoPro HERO2 or HERO3, the gimbal-mounted stabilizing rig utilizes a
gyroscopic sensor, a 32-bit high-speed microcontroller, and two electric
motors to keep the camera horizontally and vertically level at all
times. Read More
The Paris Air Show this week hosted the first
foreign demonstration of the Russian supermaneuverable multirole fighter
the Sukhoi Su-35. The specific aircraft on show is the latest iteration
of the aircraft, designated Su-35S, 48 of which have been allocated to
the Russian Air Force as they roll off the production line between 2011
and 2015. Visitors to the air show were treated to a display of the
Su-35's impressive aerobatics, including a demonstration of the
breathtaking Pugachev's Cobra maneuver. Read More
On most aircraft ice-detection systems, the
sensors can’t be located right on the aerofoil surfaces that most need
to be kept ice-free – the addition of a protruding sensor would ruin
their aerodynamics. Now, however, UK-based GKN Aerospace has announced
the new ON-WINGS system. It mounts completely flush with the skin of the
aircraft, allowing it to be integrated directly onto wings, rotor
blades, or anyplace else that needs to be kept sleek and free of ice.
Read More
The popular image of modern warfare is the
digital battlefield where cyber soldiers have Terminator-like video
displays and can call in an airstrike with the shine of a laser beam.
While information technologies are revolutionizing the military, when it
comes to calling in Close Air Support (CAS), it’s still World War One –
where a misread or misheard grid reference can end up with soldiers
being hit by their own artillery. DARPA’s Persistent Close Air Support
(PCAS) program hopes to improve this. Read More
While electric scooters are
considerably cheaper and easier to park than electric cars, many people
are still put off by the idea of having to balance on two wheels.
Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering is addressing
that problem, with its leaning three-wheeled Electromobile City Scooter.
Read More
Eye-Fi has released its latest wireless SD card
which has been designed to make it easier to get images wirelessly from a
camera to iOS or Android smartphones and tablets. Designed for those
moments when you want to quickly share or edit a photo you've taken on a
non-smart camera, the Eye-Fi Mobi easily pairs with connected devices
and creates its own Wi-Fi spot. Read More
While electric scooters are
considerably cheaper and easier to park than electric cars, many people
are still put off by the idea of having to balance on two wheels.
Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering is addressing
that problem, with its leaning three-wheeled Electromobile City Scooter.
Read More
Almost two-thirds of the world still does not
have access to high-speed internet, but Google is determined to change
that. Unfortunately, setting up an affordable infrastructure in remote
areas is beyond even a huge multinational corporation's capabilities,
which is why the company had to devise a completely out-of-the-box
solution called Project Loon. As part of the project, Google recently
launched a series of internet-enabled balloons into the stratosphere
over New Zealand to provide broadband connectivity to rural areas. Read More
One of the most frustrating parts of DIY projects
is when a screw is at just the wrong angle for the screwdriver to
reach. It’s even worse when an electric screwdriver with all its bulk is
involved. To make things a bit easier, former University of Washington
robotics student Joel Townsan of Bellingham, Washington came up with the
Flipout Tantrum, an articulated electric screwdriver designed to work
in very tight spaces. Read More
Mobile devices have turned the traditional PC market upside down.
While Apple's "post PC" strategy is all about the iPad, the Mac still
gives it a horse in the traditional PC race. Microsoft's strategy is
more convergent: it wants hybrid devices like the Surface Pro to become
our primary computers. How do the two measure up? Let's find out, as we
compare the specs (and other features) of the 2013 MacBook Air to the Microsoft Surface Pro. Read More
Namco Bandai subsidiary CCP toys has launched its
Nano-Falcon remote-controlled helicopter toy, which it claims is the
world's smallest. The Nano-Falcon, which is designed for indoor flight,
has a body size of just 6.5 cm (2.5 in) long and weighs a scant 11 g
(0.38 oz). The infrared controller, which takes four AA alkaline
batteries, has a range of just 5 m (16 ft), which may be a good thing,
lest you lose sight of it! Read More
Looking for smoother hand-held video, but wanting something a little more high-tech than the SteadiCam Smoothee?
Well, you might be interested in the STABiLGO. Designed for use with
the GoPro HERO2 or HERO3, the gimbal-mounted stabilizing rig utilizes a
gyroscopic sensor, a 32-bit high-speed microcontroller, and two electric
motors to keep the camera horizontally and vertically level at all
times. Read More
The Paris Air Show this week hosted the first
foreign demonstration of the Russian supermaneuverable multirole fighter
the Sukhoi Su-35. The specific aircraft on show is the latest iteration
of the aircraft, designated Su-35S, 48 of which have been allocated to
the Russian Air Force as they roll off the production line between 2011
and 2015. Visitors to the air show were treated to a display of the
Su-35's impressive aerobatics, including a demonstration of the
breathtaking Pugachev's Cobra maneuver. Read More
On most aircraft ice-detection systems, the
sensors can’t be located right on the aerofoil surfaces that most need
to be kept ice-free – the addition of a protruding sensor would ruin
their aerodynamics. Now, however, UK-based GKN Aerospace has announced
the new ON-WINGS system. It mounts completely flush with the skin of the
aircraft, allowing it to be integrated directly onto wings, rotor
blades, or anyplace else that needs to be kept sleek and free of ice.
Read More
The popular image of modern warfare is the
digital battlefield where cyber soldiers have Terminator-like video
displays and can call in an airstrike with the shine of a laser beam.
While information technologies are revolutionizing the military, when it
comes to calling in Close Air Support (CAS), it’s still World War One –
where a misread or misheard grid reference can end up with soldiers
being hit by their own artillery. DARPA’s Persistent Close Air Support
(PCAS) program hopes to improve this. Read More
While electric scooters are
considerably cheaper and easier to park than electric cars, many people
are still put off by the idea of having to balance on two wheels.
Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering is addressing
that problem, with its leaning three-wheeled Electromobile City Scooter.
Read More
Eye-Fi has released its latest wireless SD card
which has been designed to make it easier to get images wirelessly from a
camera to iOS or Android smartphones and tablets. Designed for those
moments when you want to quickly share or edit a photo you've taken on a
non-smart camera, the Eye-Fi Mobi easily pairs with connected devices
and creates its own Wi-Fi spot. Read More
While electric scooters are
considerably cheaper and easier to park than electric cars, many people
are still put off by the idea of having to balance on two wheels.
Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering is addressing
that problem, with its leaning three-wheeled Electromobile City Scooter.
Read More
Almost two-thirds of the world still does not
have access to high-speed internet, but Google is determined to change
that. Unfortunately, setting up an affordable infrastructure in remote
areas is beyond even a huge multinational corporation's capabilities,
which is why the company had to devise a completely out-of-the-box
solution called Project Loon. As part of the project, Google recently
launched a series of internet-enabled balloons into the stratosphere
over New Zealand to provide broadband connectivity to rural areas. Read More
One of the most frustrating parts of DIY projects
is when a screw is at just the wrong angle for the screwdriver to
reach. It’s even worse when an electric screwdriver with all its bulk is
involved. To make things a bit easier, former University of Washington
robotics student Joel Townsan of Bellingham, Washington came up with the
Flipout Tantrum, an articulated electric screwdriver designed to work
in very tight spaces. Read More
Mobile devices have turned the traditional PC market upside down.
While Apple's "post PC" strategy is all about the iPad, the Mac still
gives it a horse in the traditional PC race. Microsoft's strategy is
more convergent: it wants hybrid devices like the Surface Pro to become
our primary computers. How do the two measure up? Let's find out, as we
compare the specs (and other features) of the 2013 MacBook Air to the Microsoft Surface Pro. Read More
Namco Bandai subsidiary CCP toys has launched its
Nano-Falcon remote-controlled helicopter toy, which it claims is the
world's smallest. The Nano-Falcon, which is designed for indoor flight,
has a body size of just 6.5 cm (2.5 in) long and weighs a scant 11 g
(0.38 oz). The infrared controller, which takes four AA alkaline
batteries, has a range of just 5 m (16 ft), which may be a good thing,
lest you lose sight of it! Read More
Looking for smoother hand-held video, but wanting something a little more high-tech than the SteadiCam Smoothee?
Well, you might be interested in the STABiLGO. Designed for use with
the GoPro HERO2 or HERO3, the gimbal-mounted stabilizing rig utilizes a
gyroscopic sensor, a 32-bit high-speed microcontroller, and two electric
motors to keep the camera horizontally and vertically level at all
times. Read More
The Paris Air Show this week hosted the first
foreign demonstration of the Russian supermaneuverable multirole fighter
the Sukhoi Su-35. The specific aircraft on show is the latest iteration
of the aircraft, designated Su-35S, 48 of which have been allocated to
the Russian Air Force as they roll off the production line between 2011
and 2015. Visitors to the air show were treated to a display of the
Su-35's impressive aerobatics, including a demonstration of the
breathtaking Pugachev's Cobra maneuver. Read More
On most aircraft ice-detection systems, the
sensors can’t be located right on the aerofoil surfaces that most need
to be kept ice-free – the addition of a protruding sensor would ruin
their aerodynamics. Now, however, UK-based GKN Aerospace has announced
the new ON-WINGS system. It mounts completely flush with the skin of the
aircraft, allowing it to be integrated directly onto wings, rotor
blades, or anyplace else that needs to be kept sleek and free of ice.
Read More
The popular image of modern warfare is the
digital battlefield where cyber soldiers have Terminator-like video
displays and can call in an airstrike with the shine of a laser beam.
While information technologies are revolutionizing the military, when it
comes to calling in Close Air Support (CAS), it’s still World War One –
where a misread or misheard grid reference can end up with soldiers
being hit by their own artillery. DARPA’s Persistent Close Air Support
(PCAS) program hopes to improve this. Read More
While electric scooters are
considerably cheaper and easier to park than electric cars, many people
are still put off by the idea of having to balance on two wheels.
Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering is addressing
that problem, with its leaning three-wheeled Electromobile City Scooter.
Read More
Eye-Fi has released its latest wireless SD card
which has been designed to make it easier to get images wirelessly from a
camera to iOS or Android smartphones and tablets. Designed for those
moments when you want to quickly share or edit a photo you've taken on a
non-smart camera, the Eye-Fi Mobi easily pairs with connected devices
and creates its own Wi-Fi spot. Read More
On Monday at 12:25 GMT, the European Space Agency
(ESA) executed final shutdown on the Herschel space telescope after
shooting it into solar orbit. This shutdown marks the end of Herschel’s
successful four-year mission of deep space observation, which was terminated
when it ran out of liquid helium in April. Without liquid helium to
cool its super-sensitive infrared instrument, Herschel was unable to
continue its mission, but it was otherwise fully functional, so ESA took
the opportunity to use the probe to carry out technical tests that
couldn't be done earlier. Read More
What could be nicer than a picnic in a pleasant
country field, a rotisserie chicken, a loaf of oven-hot bread and a nice
bottle of wine? That is, provided you don't forget the corkscrew. This
week, Amorim, the world’s largest manufacturer of cork stoppers, and
O-I, the world's largest glass container manufacturer, made this
nightmare scenario a little less likely by unveiling their Helix cork
and bottle that are designed so that the cork can be removed with a
simple twist of the wrist. Read More
Anyone with a propensity to misplace keys knows
how irritating it is to look for them when you are running late. But
help is at hand for those people with a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone
that can connect to tracking devices such as Button TrackR, a
coin-shaped little number currently fundraising on Indiegogo. One of the
innovations that Button TrackR introduces to this growing market niche
is crowd sourced tracking that helps extend the search party. Read More
Although everyone knows of the dangers of brain
injuries, it’s often difficult to tell if such an injury has taken
place. There are certainly cases in which athletes receive concussions,
yet say that they feel fine when asked. That’s why Reebok and flexible
electronics developer MC10 have created the CheckLight skull cap. It
lets athletes and coaches know when a potentially brain-damaging impact
has been delivered to its wearer’s head. Read More
The octopus is a natural escape artist. It can
squeeze its soft body into impossibly tight spaces and often baffles
aquarium workers with its ability to break out of tanks. These abilities
could be very useful in an underwater robot, which is why the OCTOPUS
Project, a consortium of European robotics labs, is attempting to
reverse engineer it in all its tentacled glory. Now researchers from the
Foundation for Research and Technology (FORTH), in Hellas, Greece are
learning how the robot might use its tentacles to swim. Read More
It must be hard for university professors ...
they tell their students to shout out if they don’t understand what’s
being said in a lecture, yet few students are likely to feel comfortable
raising their hand in front of the class and saying “I don’t get it.”
Scientists at Spain’s la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid are hoping to
address that situation, with a set of augmented reality glasses that let
profs see who’s “not getting it,” without those students having to say
so verbally. Read More
Whether it’s a job interview or a hot date, there
are certain interpersonal situations where we really want to be at our
best. In some cases, we may even run through possible conversational
scenarios in our heads beforehand, in order to “train” for the big
event. The problem is, those imaginary interactions can’t provide us
with unbiased feedback on what we could stand to improve. MIT’s new MACH
(My Automated Conversation coacH) software, however, does exactly that.
Read More
We've already seen the Solar Kettle,
which uses heat from the sun to boil water. Now we have a product
called SolSource that also harnesses the sun's heat, but instead of
boiling water, it can cook anything you would put on a regular grill.
Read More
The appropriately-named Allies Farm in Essex UK
was formerly the airbase and shelter at RAF Ridgewell, from where the US
Air Force's 381st Bombardment Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses on 296
bombing runs during World War II. Following a conversion masterminded by
Cameron Scott of Timber Design, the shelter is now a timber-clad
farmhouse, home to the Grays and their three children. Read More
Certainly one of the more intriguing things on
display at this year's Paris Air Show, the Sherpa by Belgian startup
Sagita aims to make the helicopter simpler, more efficient, more
reliable and more affordable. The helicopter's rotors are directly
driven by turbines which are themselves powered by hot air and fumes
from the helicopter's power plant. Sagita claims that this makes the the
aircraft approximately 85 percent efficient while doing away with the
need for a tail rotor. Read More
Italian architect Renzo Piano has gone from
building Europe’s tallest building (the Shard in London) to one of its
smallest. Finally completing his career-long dream of building a micro
house that only measures 7.5 sq m (81 sq ft), Piano’s single-occupancy
unit has been added to the gardens of the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein,
Germany. Dubbed “Diogene,” the small structure is named in honor of the
Greek philosopher Diogenes of Sinope, who was said to have abandoned
all worldly luxuries and conventions for the simplicity of living in a
large ceramic jar. Read More
Creating a 3D map of a room could someday be as
simple as randomly placing four microphones within the space, then
snapping your fingers. Researchers from Switzerland’s EPFL (École
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne/Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology) have recently done so on a limited scale, and are now
excited about the technology’s possible applications. Read More
Yamaha US has started shipping the NU1 piano, an
acoustic upright with the digital heart of a grand. The latest addition
to its hybrid product category, which includes 2009's AvantGrand,
the new family member is being pitched to serious musicians who are
short on space, but still want to experience the feel and sound of a
high-end – and therefore much more expensive – concert grand. It
features the same piano action used in acoustic pianos, while the sonic
mimicry comes courtesy of digital samples of the company's hand-built
CFX Concert Grand. Read More
EADS has once again taken to the Paris Air Show
to present a vision of commercial aviation in 2050. Developed in
partnership with Rolls-Royce to increase the efficiency of future
airliners, its E-Thrust concept is a hybrid electric propulsion system
that EADS says could cut fuel consumption, emissions and noise. EADS and
Airbus have baked the E-Thrust into an aircraft design, which EADS
calls the eConcept. Read More
Last year around this time, London-based product designer PoChih Lai unveiled his 8-wheeled Stair-Rover
skateboard. Using four independently-pivoting sets of two wheels, the
prototype longboard was actually able to descend stairs – hence its
name. Consumers may soon be able to buy one of their own, as Lai and his
team have just started a Kickstarter campaign to finance commercial
production of the skateboard. Read More
Slip House, by UK-based Carl Turner Architects,
fits neatly into a four-plot lot between a row of terraced houses in
Brixton, London. However, it's not quite your typical two-up-two down,
as the prototype family home combines sustainable technologies with an
unusual design based on three "slipped" orthogonal boxes. Read More
We all have our weaknesses, whether it's sweets,
cigarettes, or just our own cell phones. The trick is to not indulge too
much, but sometimes sheer willpower just isn't enough. That's why a
team of inventors built the Kitchen Safe, a plastic container with a
tamper-proof lock rigged to a timer. Read More
A new bomb disposal robot developed at the Johns
Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is blurring the line
between advanced prosthetics and robotics. Rather than building arms
and hands from scratch specifically for the robot, the Bimanual
Dexterous Robotics Platform (BDRP) is equipped with artificial limbs
designed for amputees. The combination is relatively unique, and
provided the team with a secondary use for the Modular Prosthetic Limb
(MPL) it developed for the DARPA Revolutionizing Prosthetics program. Read More
With all the different makes and models of
smartphones available, manufacturers are always looking for something to
make their handsets stand out. China’s Huawei chose size as its
differentiating factor at CES in 2012 when it unveiled the Ascend P1 S,
touting it as the world’s slimmest smartphone. The company is at it
again with its new Ascend P6, which it is calling, you guessed it, “the
world’s slimmest smartphone.” Read More
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