Archive for August, 2009
Liquid-OLED Offers More Light-Emitting Possibilities
“The researchers hope that, by taking advantage of the new device’s unique liquid properties, they can make further improvements in OLED technology. For instance, liquid semiconductors could easily fill the space between two electrodes in curved structures without cracking or shortage problems. The researchers also suggest that the liquid semiconductors could be circulated or refilled into the active emitting layer. This constant, fresh supply of semiconductors could improve device reliability and reduce degradation.”
PhysOrg.com
Flavortunes Lets Your Guests Build Your Party Playlist
“Nobody wants to throw a party with stale music. Flavortunes invites your guests and has them RSVP with playlist suggestions at the same time. After signing up for an account at Flavortunes, you can send invitations with pictures and themes to email contacts. Flavortunes makes it easy to manage your RSVP list, with prominent icons indicating who can come, who can’t make it, and who hasn’t responded yet.”
Lifehacker
CRISTAL: Control Your Living Room By Dragging, Dropping, Swiping a Surface Table
“The awkwardly-acronymed CRISTAL, which stands for “”Control of Remotely Interfaced Systems using Touch-based Actions in Living spaces,” uses a camera to take an overhead shot of your living room setup, and you designate the compatible parts: TV, speakers, digital photo frame, HTPC, Roomba. Then you simply touch, swipe, drag and drop to control the room. Your digital media collection shows up as almost a Cover Flow-type design, and can be dragged either to the speakers or TV, or just examined more closely on the Surface-type screen itself.”
Gizmodo
KAIST korean electric vehicle project
“the electric vehicle picks up power from underground power supplier lines through the non-contact magnetic charging method, while either running or standing. […] in february 2009, KAIST researchers first proved that up to 80 percent power conveyance is possible through a gap of 1 centimeter from the power line, and in july they successfully supplied power to a bus – up to 60 percent across a 12 cm gap from the power line x embedded in the ground – using power supply and pick-up devices they developed.”
Design Boom
Geographic jewellery
“Earth Brooch Silver is a piece of jewellery made from a custom-selected piece of topography, 3D printed in wax and then cast in silver.”
Make
FatSecret Looks To Become A Central Hub For Nutrition Data With New API
“FatSecret
, a social network focused on nutrition and weight loss that we covered back in 2007, is launching a new API tonight that allows third party sites and services to tap into its database of nutritional data, excercise information, and other health stats.”
TechCrunch
Kids Who Text Frequently Work Faster, Sloppier
“The Mobile Radiofrequency Phone Exposed Users Study (MoRPhEUS) analyzed the cognitive capabilities and mobile phone use of 317 children ages 11-14. The young people who used their phones more often- with the setting that completed words automatically (predictive texting), completed tests quicker, but with a larger number of mistakes. Epidemiologist Michael Abramson, who performed the tests for Monash University in Australia, told ABC Science that the results showed predictive texting may be teaching children to act fast, while placing less emphasis on specificity and accuracy.”
PSFK
Tasting the Light: Device Lets Blind “See” with Their Tongues
“visual data are collected through a small digital video camera about 1.5 centimeters in diameter that sits in the center of a pair of sunglasses worn by the user. Bypassing the eyes, the data are transmitted to a handheld base unit, which is a little larger than a cell phone. This unit houses such features as zoom control, light settings and shock intensity levels as well as a central processing unit (CPU), which converts the digital signal into electrical pulses—replacing the function of the retina. From the CPU, the signals are sent to the tongue via a “lollipop,” an electrode array about nine square centimeters that sits directly on the tongue. Each electrode corresponds to a set of pixels. White pixels yield a strong electrical pulse, whereas black pixels translate into no signal. Densely packed nerves at the tongue surface receive the incoming electrical signals, which feel a little like Pop Rocks or champagne bubbles to the user.”
Scientific American
Study Links Screen Time and High Blood Pressure
“The researchers found that children who spent the least amount of time watching television, using the computer, and playing video games had much lower blood pressure levels than those who spent the most time in front of a screen. Other forms of sedentary activity, however, were not significantly related to elevated blood pressure.”
PSFK
Robot negotiates with mentally ill man who threatened White House
“That particular piece of equipment is a Remotec (a subsidiary of Northrop-Grumman) model F-6A by the looks of it. It has 3 cameras, a microphone and a speaker. It can be operated remotely by a fiber optic tether or by radio waves. It is used by Law enforcement and the Military typically in bomb disposal operations. The use in hostage situations is not unprecedented however.”
Boing Boing
Samsung DualView cameras put the photographer in the picture
“The extra displays found on the TL225 and TL220 are designed to make turning the camera on yourself a bit more reliable than the “hold at arm’s length and hope” method usually employed when taking self-portraits and profile picture shots.”
Gizmag
Video games finally pay off: Air Force needs more virtual flyers than real pilots
“The US Air Force has just revealed that, this year, it will train more ‘pilots’ to remotely operate unmanned aircraft than pilots to fly fighters and bombers.”
Gizmag
Tiny MEMS devices to filter, amplify electronic signals
“Researchers are developing a new class of tiny mechanical devices, made up of vibrating structures the thickness of a human hair, that could be used to filter electronic signals in cell phones and other applications. Only the size of a grain of sand, these microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) will, nonetheless, improve performance and reduce power usage. The devices, or resonators, vibrate in specific patterns, and can be used as ‘band-pass’ filters. That is, they are able to cancel out some signals with certain frequencies while allowing others to pass.”
Gizmag
Nano Air Vehicle takes flight
“The Nano Air Vehicle (NAV) is a small bird-sized aircraft that uses flapping wings to fly and hover. It was developed by UAV-pioneers Aeronvironment with funding from (you guessed it) the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA). Aeronvionment is now working to improve the robot so it can fly in outside winds.”
Boing Boing
High-tech hearing aid is the ultimate iPod accessory
“But the newer processors, costing about $6000 each, shut out background noise, giving users up to 25 per cent better hearing, and can be attached directly to MP3 music players or wireless headsets for talking on the phone, Cochlear’s territory manager, Katrina Martin, said.”
SMH
Indian farmers control water pumps by mobile phone
“The need for the technology stems from India’s erratic power supply; farmers routinely walk several kilometres to water their crops, only to find that there’s no electricity available to power their irrigation pumps. Through Nano Ganesh, farmers can dial a code from any phone to a mobile modem attached to the pump’s starter. This informs them whether electricity is available, and allows them to remotely switch the pump on or off.”
Springwise
This website will self-destruct…
“Unlike other security solutions (many of which rely on passwords or data encryption) Vanish will make the document permanently unreadable to hackers and even law enforcement officers. It works by creating a secret key which is split into small pieces and shared across many users on a peer-to-peer network. Over time, as users join and leave the network, the pieces of the key will disappear, rendering the data unreadable.”
BBC NEWS
World’s First Wireless, Internet-Connected Pacemaker Installed
“A New York woman has got the world’s first wireless pacemaker, which allows constant remote monitoring via web: If there is anything abnormal, and we have a very intricate system set up, it will literally call the physician responsible at two in the morning if need be. It is a tremendous convenience for the patient from even interacting with a telephone to call the doctor. On a larger scale it enhances our ability to pick up and evaluate any problems with their pacemaker and certain other rhythm disorders that could be potentially dangerous or life threatening in ways we really could not do before.”
Gizmod
For Families Today, Technology Is Morning’s First Priority
“Karl and Dorsey Gude of East Lansing, Mich., can remember simpler mornings, not too long ago. They sat together and chatted as they ate breakfast. They read the newspaper and competed only with the television for the attention of their two teenage sons. That was so last century. Today, Mr. Gude wakes at around 6 a.m. to check his work e-mail and his Facebook and Twitter accounts. The two boys, Cole and Erik, start each morning with text messages, video games and Facebook. The new routine quickly became a source of conflict in the family, with Ms. Gude complaining that technology was eating into family time. But ultimately even she partially succumbed, cracking open her laptop after breakfast.”
NYTimes.com
Sony’s new camera dock takes automation to a whole ‘nother level
“The Party-shot camera accessory uses the camera’s BIONZ image processor with its Face Detection and Smile Shutterâ„¢ features to take photos without the user needing to snap the shutter button. This device makes it easy to capture more natural expressions and fun, candid moments of you, your family and friends without having to hire a photographer. You might wonder “Doesn’t it need to be pointed in the right direction?” Answer: Nope–the motorized, battery-powered dock rotates 360 degrees and tilts up or down 24 degrees.”
Core77
On DentBetty, Body Shops Compete to Fix Your Car
“On DentBetty, which went live in July, people upload digital photographs of their ding, dent, scrape or scratch. Then repair shops that have signed up with the Web site receive e-mail messages. They send estimates of how much it will cost to repair and say how confident they are in the bid so car owners have an idea how accurate the estimate will be. After a consumer gets a car repaired, he or she fills out a survey about the shop on DentBetty. If a body shop regularly charges more than it estimates, that will show up in its reputation score. DentBetty will investigate any disputes about the price that was charged for the service.”
NYTimes.com
Robo-Perforations
“Students from ETH Zurich have been working with Architects Gramazio & Kohler to create architectural screens based on different grids, variations and forms only realistically possible with some robotic assistance.”
Interactive Architecture dot Org
Plasmodium Computing
“Here’s how it works. You “program” this biocomputer by creating a kind of obstacle course for the plasmodium from a pattern of lights and oak flakes. You “run” the program by allowing the creature to tackle this obstacle course and you read out the result by examining the shape of the network that the plasmodium forms. Adamatzky has not yet reported the results of any computations, only the techniques that could be used to carry one out.”
Technology Review
nissan: wireless charging for electronic cars
“nissan has developed a wireless charging system for electronic cars based on the concept of inductive charging, the same electromagnetic field technology used to charge an electric toothbrush.
the system allows charging an electric vehicle possible simply by parking it in a designated spot.”
DesignBoom
SIGGRAPH’09: Citymurmur New Orleans
“The web application perdiodically scans the text of online news items for place or street names in the city of interest, and extracts keywords and categories. The resulting combination of conceptual and geographical information can be explored in map overlays – for instance highlighting all streets with news about “Jazz” – and network diagrams (click the “switch” button), which relates the extracted terms to each other based on the geographic information. As the news sources range from international and national media to local and neighborhood sources, it is quite interesting to see which parts of the city are in fact covered by which types of media, and to what amount.”
information aesthetics
Scaling Up a Quantum Computer
“Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, CO, have demonstrated multiple computing operations on quantum bits–a crucial step toward building a practical quantum computer. […] The work involved putting an ion into a desired state, storing qubit data in it, performing logical operations on one or two of the qubits, transferring that information among different locations, and finally reading out the qubit result individually. Importantly, the researchers show that they can perform one operation after another in a single experiment.”
Technology Review
The Parasync – when syncing 19 iPods just isn’t good enough
“Although a lot of people and families now own more than one iPod or iPhone, and being able to sync multiple devices could come in handy, it isn’t home consumers Parat Solutions is targeting with the Parasync. Rather it is designed to make life easier for museums and schools that use iPods for guided tours and class content. For such users it will definitely save a lot of time spent plugging and unplugging.”
Gizmag
New cavity design boosts light output for OLED devices
“Scientists at SRI International have found an innovative design for organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) that makes use of cavities to enhance their luminosity and energy efficiency. The device, called a COLED (where the ‘c’ stands for ‘cavity’) was designed by Dr. Yijian Shi and employs a regular pattern of cavities, implementing a structure that generates as much as five times the light output of a standard OLED per watt consumed depending on the color being displayed.”
Giazmag
Self-Assembling DNA Makes Super 3-D Nano Machines
“William Shih has a bridge to sell, but you’ll need a powerful microscope to see it: It’s built entirely from DNA strands, handrails and all. The bridge is just one of a whole range of intricate three-dimensional shapes Shih has crafted using DNA’s unique capacity for precise self-assembly. In a study Thursday in Science, his team has shown they can even control the precise curvature of these tiny structures, which is key to making wheels, hooks and gears. Unlike building nano portraits of Obama, This isn’t just an artistic exercise. Scientists in the burgeoning field of structural DNA nanotechnology are exploring DNA’s potential as raw material for next-generation circuits, sensors and biomedical devices. Advocates say it could become the new go-to material for engineers, scientists and clinicians.”
Wired.com
Virtual Reality You Can Feel
“Researchers from The University of Tokyo have combined motion tracking, holograms and ultrasonic waves to create virtual animations you can see, interact with – and feel. The ultrasonic waves are able to simulate a variety of textures and can focus in on very specific locations, making for a very realistic tactile experience.”
PSFK
South Korea’s Instead-Men
“Companies hire an army of men and women who are available around the country for almost any odd job and charge based on the complexity or difficulty of each task. These “instead-men” as they are called, get jobs ranging from hanging out with grandparents and killing bugs to simple food delivery or dropping off forgotten school supplies.”
PSFK
High speed robots move faster than the eye can see
“You may have already seen this quite astonishing video of high speed robotics in action. If you haven’t, you’re in for a treat that is both remarkable and a little disturbing (if, like me, you often have nightmares about hordes of ninja robots sent to destroy the world. I realise there is a chance you may well not have such worries, however). These things are fast: as BotJunkie suggests, “it’s clearly way beyond what we’re capable of in both speed and precision”.”
guardian
Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D camera shoots stills and movies – no glasses required
“The FinePix Real 3D W1 camera looks pretty much like any other compact digital camera, except that it has two lenses on the front. The unit is essentially two cameras in a single body. Each 3x lens is equivalent to a 35 – 105mm lens on a 35mm camera, and has its own 10MP CCD sensor. These are coupled together with a new image processor that Fujifilm calls the “RP” (for “Real Photo”). The RP processor merges the left and right images into a single 3D image. This image is displayed live on the W1’s 2.8in. (7.1cm) 3D LCD screen, achieving the 3D effect without the need for special glasses. You can also upload and view your pictures and movies on the Real 3D V1 digital picture frame.”
Gizmag
Headed To College? Design Your Dorm Lets You Build Your Pad In 3D
“The site has built 3D virtual models of common dorm room layouts, allowing new students to figure out what they’ll have room for long before they ever set foot in their dorms. To help figure out the exact room configuration, DesignYourDorm currently has a few hundred 3D models of various common dorm room items, including electronics like TV sets, furniture like beds and desks, and storage containers that you can freely drag and drop into the room. There’s also a selection of bedding, posters, and plenty of things that you might find at Bed Bath & Beyond. And because most people wind up rooming with someone, the site has a collaboration feature that lets two roommates edit their room at the same time.”
TechCrunch
Massive 2TB MemoryStick XC Is Just Insane
“Toshiba’s SDXC and Sony’s MSXC both have claimed maximum transfer speeds of up to 60 megabytes per second, but the latter’s 2TB capacity—developed with the help of SanDisk—is just crazy. The biggest Memory Stick PRO is 32GB. And while the PRO series uses the FAT12/16/32 file system, we now know the XC range will use the more efficient exFAT.”
Gizmodo
Digital Urban: 3D New York City: First 3D City on the iPhone
“UpNext 3D NYC is the first 3D city app we have seen on the iPhone. The application allows the user to explore Manhattan via a 3D map with the normal subway/search functions. In days gone by this would of been called ‘mobile 3D GIS’, nowadays mapping apps are ubiquitous with the inclusion of 3D fast becoming the selling point. Is the 3D map anything more than a gimmick?”
Digital Urban
Augmented Reality Modelling Tool
“Maybe you already saw the work I done in linking my Arduino to 3D Studio Max. As soon as I got multi tracker AR working, I thought “damn, I have to try to build a tool to do some modelling the same way you model clay”
melka
Listia Is An Awesome Way To Give And Get Free Stuff
“Users don’t bid cash for items, rather they bid points that they get for free for signing up, listing items and referring friends. That means the winner is the person who wanted the item the most and was willing to bid the most points. The lister doesn’t have to deal with a lot of emails, and the no-show risk is minimized. And if a user really wants an item but doesn’t have enough points, they can buy more. That’s where the business model comes in, and the value to charities. Points can be purchased at a rate of $5 for 50 points. And if a lister decides to donate the proceeds to charity, the charity gets 60% of any paid for points used by the winner.”
TechCrunch
Soft stroke sensor
“Hannah Perner-Wilson made this soft stroke sensor from some conductive thread and fabric. When the sensor is stroked, the fibers touch each other in a different way than when still, transmitting the signal to a computer or microcontroller.”
Make
Nanoscale lasers are about to get even smaller
“One way that the researchers found to effectively reduce the size of optical lasers is to employ a combination of semiconductors and metals like gold and silver. Once hit by a beam of light, in fact, the electrons that have reached an ‘excited state’ in metals can help confine light in a laser, further reducing the refraction limit. The structure used by the researchers was described as a ‘metal-semiconductor-metal sandwich’ in which the semiconductor is as thin as 80 nanometers and lays between 20-nanometer dielectric layers. This layer, the researchers demonstrated, can emit a laser beam with the smallest thickness ever produced. The structure, however, has worked only at cryogenic temperatures. Part of the system, though, is already fully functional at room temperatures and the next step for the team will be to achieve the same kind of light emission under normal operating temperatures.”
Gizmag
Sticky Light
“A laser spot bounces on a figure being drawn on paper, trying to escape the labyrinth of lines. There is no camera nor projector; this is an experience where the audience can touch and interact with a beam of pure light – and even play a pong game with bare hands. The quality of the laser light, and the fluidity of the motion makes for a very unique experience. The piece is based upon a 3d tracking technology developped in our lab in 2003, using a laser diode, a pair of steering mirrors, and a single non-imaging photodetector called the “smart laser scanner”"
Sticky Light
RFID-Enabled “Smart Cane” to Assist the Visually-Impaired
“The “smart cane” is equipped with a reader that senses proximity to objects equipped with tags. As users approach obstacles, a sensor located inside the cane sends a signal to a small navigational system housed inside a shoulder bag, which in turn emits an audio alert that directs walkers accordingly. For individuals who are also hearing-impaired, the team has created a glove that issues warnings through subtle vibrations”
PSFK
Tim Tate’s Digital Reliquaries
“Artist Tim Tate has created miniature reliquaries to digital video that memorializes this modern technology. Tate grew up enjoying the powerful influence of video and wanted to create a glass capsule to preserve these artifacts. After experimenting with DVD players encased within glass, Tate realized a custom video player without moving parts would have to be developed. He partnered with a electronic optics company and over the course of year developed a little video system that could loop video without the need of repair. The result of the project is a series of memorials to modern video that bridge the gap between old world reliquaries and new world technologies.”
PSFK
Virtual co-drivers will make trucks of the future safer
“A survey by the European Truck Accident Causation Study shows that 47 percent of all truck accidents take place in monotonous situations such as traffic queues, with vehicles traveling in the same direction. To reduce these accidents, tomorrow’s vehicles will have external sensors that evaluate traffic situations, scan lane markings, road signs, and current road conditions. These would be combined with an internal system that monitors the driver and interprets his or her needs. The truck will also be enhanced so that it can be controlled electronically and help the vehicle travel more economically.”
Gizmag
PaperBack – paper based backups
“PaperBack is a free application that allows you to back up your precious files on the ordinary paper in the form of the oversized bitmaps. If you have a good laser printer with the 600 dpi resolution, you can save up to 500,000 bytes of uncompressed data on the single A4/Letter sheet.”
Make
Paravision
“Designed for public spaces, Paravision tracks RFID devices carried by individuals and associates their personal information, stored on a computer or in a network, with their current spatial positions and projects this information onto the transparent screen. Possible applications include interactive exhibitions, automated concierge services, advertising, gaming, and surveillance”
Transmaterial
Deaf-blind communication goes portable
“With the Braille note-taker – a device also made by HumanWare called the BrailleNote – the deaf-blind person types a message into the device which comes with either a standard Braille or QWERTY keyboard. This is then delivered to the screen of the mobile handset – which has special software installed on it – and the person responding then types a message back using the handset’s QWERTY keyboard. When the mobile phone is first handed to a new speaker, it uses a voice message to inform them that the person using the equipment is blind and unable to hear.”
BBC NEWS
Cemetery 2.0 | Burial, Vital Records, and The Mormon Church Genealogical Database
“Although GEDCOM files are skeletal strings of colorless facts, standard graves provide minimal information above the surface of the ground. Cemetery 2.0 addresses these limitations by delivering a deceased person’s most recent vital information directly to his or her gravestone. In this way, it is a step towards the next-generation cemetery, a networked memorial to the electronic record of man.”
Dziga.com
studio lama: ceramic radio
“israel-based studio-lama is comprised of eitan gig and ofer dahan. they are interested in re-interpreting existing products by employing new material applications and techniques to their production. they have designed this ceramic kitchen FM radio which not only functions as a radio, but can also be considered a ceramic artwork. it is available in multiple styles and can be matched to individual preference through the use of graphic decals”
DesignBoom
Call for debate on killer robots
“The US air force published its “Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan 2009-2047″ in July, predicting the deployment of fully autonomous attack planes. The document suggests that humans will play more of a role “monitoring the execution of decisions” than actually making the decisions. “Advances in AI will enable systems to make combat decisions and act within legal and policy constraints without necessarily requiring human input,” says the report. However, it concedes that “authorising a machine to make lethal combat decisions is contingent upon political and military leaders resolving legal and ethical questions. ”
BBC NEWS
Life Amplifier Digital Photograph Display by Wei Chung Lee
“The main function is to magnify the old analogue photographs in your albums and then digitalize them. You can capture certain portions of the pics and view a blown-up version on the hand-held display. This ones for the older generation, so young-guns keep your acid comment to the minimal.”
Yanko Design
Sky to launch 3D TV channel in UK next year
“Initially slated for a 2011 release, an unexpected doubling in the number of subscribers to the Sky+HD service in the last 12 months has seen the company push for an earlier roll out of the 3D programming. The 1.3 million Sky+HD subscribers will be able to use those set top boxes to access the 3D content, however customers will also require special glasses and a “3D ready” television set that is able to decode the two signals that make up the 3D image. Several of the big name electronics manufacturers are working on releasing 3D sets next year, with Sky hoping that pricing will mirror that of current standard HD sets.”
Gizmag
Colossus: OCZ’s 1TB solid state drive expected in stores this month
“With a name like Colossus and weighing a monstrous 400g you’ll no doubt be thinking that the drive might be a bit on the chunky size but it’s form factor is compact enough to fit into a standard 3.5in drive bay. Too big for laptops but perfect for your gaming PC. Its claimed read speeds of up to 250MB/s and write speeds of 220MB/s over a SATA2 interface will help make sure all that precious data is available in a flash.”
Gizmag
TubeSat – Personal satellite kit?
“The new IOS TubeSat PS Kit is the low-cost alternative to the CubeSat. It has three-quarters of the mass (0.75-kg) and volume of a CubeSat, but still offers plenty of room for most experiments or functions. And, best of all, the price of the TubeSat kit actually includes the price of a launch into Low-Earth-Orbit on an IOS NEPTUNE 30 launch vehicle.”
Make
Toyota Humanoid Robot Gives Asimo a Run For Its Money
“Shown here is Toyota’s running robot. At 7 km/h it’s not going to win any wind sprints in the Olympics, but nevertheless this thing is airborne for 100ms between strides as it skirts across the floor (i.e. genuine running).”
Gizmodo
Cybraphon: The Emo Robot Musician
“Cybraphon is a robot that performs music according to its mood. Its mood changes according to what people say about it online: When lots of people talk about him, he’s happy, and when all he hears is silence, he gets melodramatic.”
Geeksaresexy
CitySounds.fm Geo-Diversifies Your At-Work Playlist
“CitySounds.fm provides quick streams of electronica-leaning tunes from around the globe. CitySounds is simply a page with a number of city tags spread across it. Each city pick streams locally chosen, uploaded, or produced music using the SoundCloud platform, and pictures of each place are grabbed from Flickr. From a little exploration, the sounds tend to fall on the ambient side of electronica, which, like Gina’s pick of the Groove Salad channel, feels well-suited to stream in the background during a productive work day.”
Lifehacker
