Project Natal – body motion control and much more

By Rob Aid
7 June 2009

project-natal.jpgIn a couple of our previous articles we wrote about a few new ways for information interaction, and this article will describe a new motion sensing equipment devised for  gaming platforms. Since Nintendo launched their Wii controller it was obvious that the gamers are ready for changes. At this year E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), Microsoft… »

Femtosecond laser creates metal that can defy gravity

By Damir Beciri
5 June 2009

university-rochester-metal-slab-pumps-water-uphill.jpgIn nature, trees pull vast amounts of water from their roots up to their leaves through capillary action, but now scientists at the University of Rochester have created a simple slab of metal that lifts liquid using the same principle – but does so at a speed that would make nature envious. The technology could be… »

Bacteriophage which produce nanoscale electronics

By Damir Beciri
One Comment4 June 2009

sidebar-virus-battery-3-lg.jpgFor the first time, MIT researchers have shown they can genetically engineer viruses to build both the positively and negatively charged ends of a lithium-ion battery. Angela Belcher, the MIT materials scientist who led the research team said “The new virus-produced batteries have the same energy capacity and power performance as state-of-the-art rechargeable batteries being… »

A toy robotic arm or a teaching aid? Both.

By Rob Aid
5 Comments3 June 2009

owi535l-robotic-arm.jpgHere is another article about an affordable toy which can be used as a teaching aid in basic robotics. The award winning Robotic Arm Trainer made by OWI is a robotic arm technology which can be bought assembled or in parts, leaving the joy of robot buildup to you. It has a lifting capacity of… »

Photosynth integrated into Microsoft Earth

By Damir Beciri
2 June 2009

photosynth.jpgMicrosoft integrated Photosynth, technology that enables you to automatically stitch groups of photos together into one big interactive 3D viewing experience, with their mapping service Virtual Earth. Microsoft claims ‘hundreds of thousands’ of users have already used Photosynth – which was released to the public back in August 2008 – and uploaded more than 12… »

Biomimicry of heliotropic plants – more efficient solar panels

By Damir Beciri
6 Comments30 May 2009

sunflowerslg005.jpgMany plants are heliotropic, gradually tilting towards the sun to optimize solar energy capture. Current sun-tracking solar panels involve the use of motors and electronic control systems, but we believe a biomimetic heliotropic solar panel can be created with the use of alternative materials and designs. Practically, the heliotropic solar panel could be useful in… »

Fish robots search for pollution in the waters

By Damir Beciri
2 Comments29 May 2009

robot-fish.jpgA number of robotic fish are going to be used in an experiment in the port of Gijon in Spain in order to evaluate how effectively and cost-efficiently they can detect water pollution. The carp-shaped robots are part of a three-year research project of Huosheng Hu and his robotics team at the School of Computer… »

iVisit Rx – cellphones help visually impaired people

By Damir Beciri
28 May 2009

ivisit-seescan.jpgiVisit is a Santa Monica based technology company focused on delivering high fidelity unified communication and collaboration solutions for the consumer, enterprise, and healthcare markets. Their product iVisit Rx telemedicine platform won first place in the Fourth Annual CTIA Emerging Technologies (E-Tech) Awards in the Healthcare category. They presented several projects which help in telemedicine… »