Home » Archive

Articles archive for Year 2010

Architecture| Tech»

Green architecture – The Allison Inn and Spa

By Damir Beciri
7 September 2010
the-allison-inn-and-spa-1Located 40 kilometers (25 miles) from downtown Portland, the site of The Allison Inn & Spa is a representative of the surrounding Willamette Valley wine country, Oregon. The resort whose architecture, landscape architecture and interior design for The Allison Inn were done by Seattle’s GGLO, received LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council…. »

Bionics| Tech»

Fish biomimicry used for bridge stability sensors during floods

By Damir Beciri
5 September 2010
salmonFloods cut down more bridges than fire, wind, earthquakes, deterioration, overloads and collisions combined, costing lives and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. The speed and turbulence of an overflowing stream scours away the river bottom that provides the support for a bridge foundation. In order to counter that, researchers at the Case Western… »

Bionics| Robotics| Tech»

PARITy drivetrain govern the flight of minuscule aerial robots

By Damir Beciri
2 September 2010
harvard-university-parity-drivetrain-1Engineers at Harvard University have created a millionth-scale automobile differential to govern the flight of minuscule aerial robots. Their new approach is the first to passively balance the aerodynamic forces encountered by these miniature flying devices, letting their wings flap asymmetrically in response to gusts of wind, wing damage, and other real-world impediments. “The drivetrain… »

Bionics| Robotics| Tech»

Stickybot gecko-like robot climbs vertical surfaces

By Damir Beciri
One Comment1 September 2010
stickybot-geckorobot-climbing-a-windowGecko’s foot ability to stick to many surfaces, including glass, has been inspiring scientists to mimic that ability in other to make dry adhesive materials and robots able to walk up various materials. A group of scientists from Stanford University are developing such a robot which is fittingly named Stickybot. They are already working on… »

Bionics| Tech»

Frog skin germ-fighting substances for new antibiotics

By Damir Beciri
31 August 2010
frog-skin-substances-for-antibioticsEven witchdoctors in the past knew that some frog skins contain germ-fighting substances since they manage to live in swampy and hostile environments. A group of scientists, led by Michael Conlon, Ph.D., noted that modified frog skin substances could be used against the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria, which have the ability to shrug off conventional… »

Architecture| Tech»

Green architecture – Paul Smith Children’s Village

By Damir Beciri
3 Comments29 August 2010
paul-smith-childrens-village-1Here is a nice example of green architecture, first of its kind children’s garden, which through play and adventure provides children the experience to understand practical methods of sustainable living. The Cheyenne Botanic Gardens announced that the Paul Smith Children’s Village and the Lowes Discovery Lab have been awarded with LEED Platinum certification. Visitors to… »

Tech»

Interface from AIST enables you to touch virtual 3D images

By Damir Beciri
27 August 2010
aist-tangible-virtual-system-1Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) announced the i3Space – a system that provides a feeling of touch when users interact with a 3D image. Unlike the Airborne Ultrasound Tactile Display we described in one of our previous articles, the i3Space recognizes the movement of fingers and coordinates the Virtual Reality… »

Tech»

Harvard researchers use nanoFETs to delicately probe cells

By Damir Beciri
26 August 2010
harvard-university-lieber-bionanoprobes-1Chemists and engineers at Harvard University have used nanowires in order to make a new type of V-shaped transistor small enough to be used for sensitive probing of the interior of cells. The new device is smaller than many viruses and about one-hundredth the width of the probes which are currently used to take cellular… »