NEC PaPeRo robot used to provide activities information to elderly

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PaPeRo (Partner-type-Personal-Robot) – a personal robot from NEC Corporation – has been developed since 1997. It is being developed to interact with people and provide them with more information or entertain them. Due to increasing number of elderly people living alone, the folks from NEC conducted a research where they programmed PaPeRo to provide them ... »

Green architecture – Vicino House

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Vicino House is another example of architecture practice where sustainable and luxurious intertwines, and it has earned LEED for Homes Platinum certification. Perched on the steep bank of Pacific Palisades, California, the house features spectacular 180-degree views of the Pacific Ocean and Santa Monica Bay. Materials used in the build and the building envelope are ... »

Skin cell gun sprays stem cells for fast recovery from serious burns

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Spray-on skin that could help you heal your skin within several days after a serious burn seems as something we used to see in science fiction, but that technology has been developed worldwide for over 5 years. Compared to other currently available skin regeneration or replacement methods, this method shortens the time needed for generation ... »

Plasmonics with coated nanodomes for thin and affordable solar cells

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A multidisciplinary team of Stanford engineers led by Mike McGehee, Yi Cui and Mark Brongersma, and joined by Michael Graetzel at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), is developing a new type of thin solar cell that could offer a new direction for the field. They succeeded in harnessing plasmonics – trapping light within ... »

Gesture recognition could be used by surgeons to control a robotic nurse

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During surgery, surgeons routinely need to review medical images and records. However, stepping away from the operating table and touching a keyboard and mouse can delay the surgery and increase the risk of spreading infection-causing bacteria. The new approach which solves that problem is a system that uses a camera and specialized algorithms to recognize ... »

Green architecture – Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa, Australia

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Emirates’ Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa is located on Australia’s Great Dividing Range and borders the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, a region renowned for its unique landscape and natural diversity. Aside the beauty of nature surrounding Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa, the luxury accommodations designed by are carbon neutral and feature various features of ... »

Plankton inspired stealth armor for slow release microscopic drug vehicles

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Some forms of plankton and bacteria have the ability to build an extra natural layer of nanoparticle-like armor. That ability has inspired chemists at the University of Warwick to create a remarkably simple way to give drug bearing polymer vesicles (microscopic polymer based sacs of liquid) their own armored protection. The technology could be used ... »