NASA and GM developed strong and dexterous Robonaut 2

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Engineers and scientists from NASA and GM worked together through a Space Act Agreement at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to build a new humanoid robot capable of working side by side with people. Using leading edge control, sensor and vision technologies, future robots could assist astronauts during hazardous space missions and help… »

Green architecture – Kroon Hall, Yale University

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The new home of the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies on Science Hill, Yale, was awarded with LEED Platinum certification. Designed by Hopkins Architects and Planners, in collaboration with Centerbrook Architects and Atelier Ten Environmental Designers, Kroon Hall incorporates a wide range of sustainable strategies and design features reflected in its maximum LEED rating.
Kroon… »

Planon PrintStik is a small portable printer which prints without ink

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Although we encourage the reduced usage of paper in our articles, we couldn’t skip this example of gadgetry. Planon PrintStik with Mobile Enhanced application is the smallest full-page portable printer with self contained paper on the current market. With the trend of laptops getting smaller and cell phones turning into computers, it is natural to… »

Transform surfaces into interactive screens with DISPLAX SKIN

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DISPLAX Multitouch Technology named SKIN, believed to be the first of its kind, is a transparent thinner-than-paper polymer film enables creation of large interactive screens suitable for outdoors and indoors usage. When applied to glass, plastic or wood, the surface becomes interactive. Significantly, this new multitouch technology can be applied to standard LCD screens as… »

Fuji Soft PALRO – a hobby robot with useful features

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Fuji Soft Inc.’s new humanoid robot platform for hobbyists and researchers has been given the name PALRO. According to its makers, the name PALRO (JP) is a combination of the words PAL (friend) and RObot. The robot combines Fuji Soft’s software with an open architecture, giving the developers a plenty of room to experiment. The… »

Apple iPad entered the market of tablets. Will it survive?

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Besides writing about potential technologies for upcoming tablets and e-readers, we knew Apple was planning to reveal their most rumored gadget in past few months. iPad is a tablet from Apple which can be used for browsing the web (more or less), reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games,… »

Midori-chan – vegetation planting system minimizes water usage

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After writing about green roofs and green walls implemented in various architectures, we are going to write an article of a system that eases the maintenance of green roof foliage. Midori-chan is a system designed to maximize vegetation growth and recycle waste, while dramatically minimizing water usage. The engineers at the Kawada Group in Japan… »

Biomimicry of iron-plated snail could lead to better armor

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Tiny snails sitting on the ocean floor might seem defenseless against a large, determined predator such as a crab. But evolution has provided one species of sea snail with a unique iron-plated armored shell that resists such attacks. The snail has evolved a tri-layered shell structure consisting of an outer layer embedded with iron sulfide… »

Taming nuclear fusion – Levitated Dipole Experiment (LDX)

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Fusion has been a cherished goal of physicists and energy researchers for more than 50 years, since it offers the possibility of nearly endless supplies of energy with no carbon emissions and far less radioactive waste than that produced by today’s nuclear plants. A new experiment that reproduces the magnetic fields of the Earth and… »

VESA introduces DisplayPort v1.2 – double performance

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The Video Electronics Standard Association (VESA) has unveiled the long awaited DisplayPort Version1.2 digital display interface that brings with it a host of enhanced features. Aside from a doubled data rate of 21.6Gbps and bi-directional USB data transfer of an impressive 720Mbps, the upgrade also offers multi-monitor support from a single plug, improved audio synchronization… »