Archive Page 3
iRobot Makes It Easier To Show Up To Work While At Home In Your PJs
"Remote users either select where they want the robot to go via an interactive map on the iPad’s display, or tell it to head to a specific room, or even a specific employee’s name. The Ava 500 does the rest, allowing the telepresent employee to ride along in a ‘public’ mode where they’re able to chat with people enroute, or a ‘private’ mode where the camera and display are turned off until they arrive at their destination. When the meeting or conversation is over, the robot is then released and automatically returns to its charging station." via Gizmodo
Hidden Raspberry Pi Books Create Citywide Narrative Treasure Hunt
"The story is about two cities that overlap, existing in the same time and space, and two people who no longer remember each other and try to hold on to their fading memories. Participants of the project are each given a copy of a wooden notebook and are required to bring a smartphone or tablet as they follow the story around Bristol. The digital part of the story can be obtained by going to the places where fifteen Raspberry Pis have been hidden. Some parts of the story are left blank for the participants to fill in or find as they go around the city with their wooden notebooks. Eventually, they become part of the narrative as they explore the story and the city." via PSFK
Piccolo Automatically Prints Your Facebook And Instagram Photos Every Month
"With Piccolo, the idea is that we’re already doing the work of curating our photos by choosing which ones to annotate, add a filter to, crop, edit or otherwise share to our social networks. Those are the ones we’ve already determined have some meaning to us. So Piccolo will then automatically print a copy and ship those photos to your house on a monthly basis, as well as to any additional addresses you may specify. (Like your mom’s house, for example.)" via TechCrunch
This Trash-Sorting Robot Could Revolutionize Recycling
"ZenRobotics, which is based in Helsinki and raised $16 million in funding last year, has developed a robotic arm called the Recycler, which uses a process called sensor fusion to determine between materials like stone, wood, and metal. Sensor fusion is exactly what it sounds like: a carefully calibrated recipe of sensors, including scales, visible spectrum cameras, near-infrared spectrometers and haptic sensors, that determine whether a chunk of material belongs where. It seems like a simple task, but at massive demolition or construction sites, it could change everything." via Gizmodo
Collar Fitness Tracker Monitors Dog Health
"The monitor has a 3-axis accelerometer and is waterproof, shockproof and ruggedized, with a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery that lasts up to ten days between charges. Whistle uses information including weight, age, breed, and location to provide insights about each dog, highlighting the details that matter. A timeline provides a summary of the dog’s day, divided into easy-to-understand insights and events. Owners can set daily goals, track progress, and create healthy habits along the way. They can also share photos and special moments with family and friends in the app and across social networks." via PSFK
Music Note Identifier May Lead To Earlier Parkinson’s Diagnosis
"Pablo Rodriguez Zivic from the University of Buenos Aires and Favio Shifres from the University of La Plata have invented Peachnote, a machine that can identify a musical era and composer after listening to only three notes by discovering patterns across songs. The inventors believe that this technology could also identify other patterns in speech through recorded phone interviews and may lead to an earlier diagnosis for those with Parkinson’s as the disease affects vocal chords early on. The technology can be used to identify the combination of sounds to make early diagnosis." via PSFK
Yes! A Real Play-Doh 3D Printer Sounds Like the Best Fun Factory Ever
"Hyrel 3D, maker of 3D printers in the $2,000 to $3,000 range, has come out with a special extruder that forgoes all that specialized plastic for simpler materials like plasticine, air-drying modeling clay, and Play-Doh. You know, for when you just want to have some fun. 3D printers still cost a bit much for toys whether they’re printing with Play-Doh or not, but skipping hot plastic for something reusable and non-toxic could be fantastic for schools where bright little rapscallions are just starting to cut their 3d-printing teeth. " via Gizmodo
A Blu-ray Disc That Lasts 1,000 Years Guarantees Caddyshack Lives On
"They last a lot longer than the tape-based storage of yesteryear, but optical discs, particularly the type you burn at home, aren’t guaranteed to survive even a decade. So if you want to pass on that wedding video/vacation photos/copy of Caddyshack to your great-great grand kids, you’ll want to opt for Millenniata’s new 25GB Blu-ray compatible M-DISCs which are guaranteed to last at least 1,000 years. The M-DISCs—which burn data onto a more permanent layer made of metals and metalloids instead of organic light-sensitive dyes—have existed as standard DVDs for a few years now. But that provides just a paltry 4.7GB of storage capacity. The new Blu-ray version of course boosts that to 25GB" via Gizmodo
3D-Printed Replacement Cover Makes Your Mouse Infinitely Adjustable
"The Statial is specifically designed to replace the stock housing on the M100, and when unlocked from a central switch it features five adjustable sections that can be repositioned until the mouse feels absolutely perfect in hand." via Gizmodo
A Time Cloak Made from Lasers Can Erase Data from History
"Lukens’ team created its Talbot carpet in time by passing laser light through a ‘phase modulator’, a waveguide that also had an oscillating electrical voltage applied to it. As the voltage varied, the speed at which the light traveled through the waveguide was altered, splitting the light into its constituent frequencies and knocking these out of step. As predicted, at regular time intervals, the separate frequencies recombined destructively to generate time holes." via Gizmodo
