20 most recent innovations in animals

Clip-On Horseshoes

Mon, 17 Oct 2016 00:00:00 Z

The clip-on horseshoes aim to bring horseshoes out of the iron age.

The clippable runners were designed based on a research that a horse’s hoof can move vertically, not just horizontally. Whereas typical iron horseshoes keep the hoof rigid and unable to move naturally, the soft elements allow full range of movement. The shoe is also removable, and can be taken off when not needed to let the horse properly exercise its hooves and ligaments.

Shark-Detecting Buoy

Wed, 25 Mar 2015 00:00:00 Z

Clever Buoy, a wirelessly-connected shark-detecting buoy, is planning to keep the oceans safer.

The Clever Buoy is a self-contained system. Inside is a sonar system that generates images of the ocean using sound and echo. Armed with shark-specific information such as how the shark swims, its size and unique shape, the sonar system is able to identify the predators.

Once a shark is seen, Clever Buoy sends an alert through Australia’s Optus network and uses Google + as the platform to spread the warning in the immediate area.

The project was developed by Shark Attack Mitigation Systems, a company that also develops shark-deterrent print patterns for wetsuits and which is funded by Australia’s Optus Network, a mobile telecommunications company.

The Clever Buoy’s heart is at its software. The device uses algorithms to verify objects much like face recognition but with swimming technique and shape instead. Dolphins and other sea mammals have different ways of swimming and won’t be flagged by the buoy.

In its advanced R&D and prototype phase, the Clever Buoy is programmed to detect sharks two meters in length or more. There will be an on-board computer that will process the information and a custom-built battery inside. The makers of Clever Buoy are intent on using solar power or even wave power to allow the device to make its own electricity, keeping it maintenance free.

Clever Buoy is an upgrade in methods used against attacks. Australia often uses nets that trap both sharks and other animals such as dolphins and whales to keep their beaches safe. Unfortunately, government-backed shark hunting is also a common practice.

If implemented, Clever Buoy will provide peace of mind and safer seas without harm to marine life.

Lens Changes Focus Like a Human Eye

Tue, 24 Sep 2013 00:00:00 Z

Ohio State University engineers took a crack at giving a camera lens some of the versatility of a human. They made a fluid-filled lens that can change its shape and focus, as well as alter the direction it focuses in. The technology could improve the capabilities of digital phone cameras and make cameras overall more reliable by eliminating the need for certain moving parts.

The lens is made from a flexible polymer. The design is like an insect’s compound eye, with a single large lens made up of several small dome-shaped pockets, each filled with fluid. Tiny channels supply the fluid to each of the pockets.

By pumping fluid in and out of the pockets, the engineers were able to alter the lens’ shape and focus. The point where the image is focused can also be moved off-center. In a lens made of glass or plastic the only way to change where the image is centered is to point the lens in a different direction.

This method of focusing is a lot like what human eyes do. In humans, the muscles in the eye squeeze the lens or stretch it a bit to change the focal point of the image. When you look at something far off, for instance, the lens in your eye becomes slightly flatter.

Another advantage of the design is a wide angle of view. This is where the designers took a cue from insects’ compound eyes. The reason flies can see behind them is that their eyes are made of thousands of tiny facets, each pointed in a different direction. The down side (for the fly) is that each of those tiny facets can’t focus very well. The artificial lens solves that problem by adjusting the fluid-filled lenses.

View related patent

Kite Patch

Tue, 23 Jul 2013 00:00:00 Z

The Kite Patch is a sticker you can attach to your shirt that contains a chemical to repel mosquitoes for up to 48 hours. A venture group called ieCrowd is working to bring the patch to the market, and it hopes to get enough funding to provide the patch to developing countries where it might aid in the fight against malaria and other mosquito-borne illnesses.

Mosquitoes are not only a nuisance but can present a serious health risk; the World Heath Organization reports that in 2010 there have been 219 million cases of malaria, with 660,000 deaths mostly in Africa. Some of the most dangerous diseases in the world are still largely mosquito-borne.

The sticker prevents mosquitoes from sensing Co2 which makes a person invisible to the insects. The effect lasts for 48 hours, according to the company and is a practical replacement for commonly used sprays and lotions.

TV channel for dogs

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 Z

We know you pet owners may find it difficult to leave your furry little friend at home while you’re at work all day, making it nearly impossible to keep them from being bored while you’re gone. But DirecTV will soon offer relief to you dog owners as they’ll soon be broadcasting television programming specifically for dogs.

DirecTV offers DogTV which will broadcast content specifically aimed at canines and includes scenes that may or may not include animals, animation sequences and a variety of moving objects. Keeping your dog relaxed is also important, which is why relaxation segments will also air which show sleeping dogs as well as nature scenes with soothing music playing in the background.

Dog action cam mount

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 Z

Thanks to Sony, YouTube is soon to be flooded with countless first-person videos of dog butts and fire hydrants as the company is releasing a dog-mount for its Action Cam, starting in Japan. Specifically designed for dogs larger than 15 kilograms, the €42 mount is designed to be worn like a traditional harness providing exciting footage of your dog during its daily hour of playtime, and its other 23 hours of sleeping.

RuffBowl, the all in one dog walking wonder

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 00:00:00 Z

It's nearly universal: if you own a dog, odds are you walk it using some sort of retractable leash, and need to scoop up its droppings after it's done doing its business. Ruff Bowl is designed for exactly these situations. It clips easily onto most large retractable leashes, holds used poop bags away from your hand, and can hold up to 4.5 oz. of water when it's time for Fido to take a drink.

Bird bricks

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 Z

The city is for some birds their most important living area.

These city birds are depending on human buildings, and look for holes to build their nests in. Now only well isolated buildings are build, to perfect without small holes and openings. The city birds are now unable to find nesting spaces. And they are now added to the endangered species list for birds. These city birds will disappear if humans remain building their homes without space for the birds.

These Bird Bricks are specially designed for 3 different endangered city birds. The Bird Bricks can be build into any brick building. Starting at 2m high up to any height wanted.

Self-Washing Fish Tanks

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:00:00 Z

Anyone who has owned fish knows just how tedious it is to clean a fish tank, but with NoClean Aquariums, this will be a task you will never have to do again. Created by Craig Wenger and David Turover, NoClean Aquariums frees you from the fuss of having to clean your fish’s aquarium and, not only does the aquarium benefit you, but it also benefits the fish as well.

The NoClean Aquariums feature a built-in reservoir at the base of the tank that collects the aquarium’s dirt, debris and waste, says DesignBuzz. This waste is flushed out on its own—all you have to do is pour in a glass of water and wait. Plus, the dirty water that has been pumped out can be further used as fertilizer for your house plants!

Urban Bee Hive

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:00:00 Z

One of my goals in life is to have a bee colony, so I can produce honey, pollinate the neighborhood and help out this country’s amazing but threatened honeybees. Obviously this is a much greater logistical challenge than keeping other creatures, which is why I have no bees at present. But this new concept from Philips could make it a lot easier, by simply glomming a bee colony onto an apartment window.

The Urban Beehive was developed as part of Philips’ new

Microbial Home project

, a self-sufficient closed-loop home concept that also features items like a methane digester and a plant-based effluent (read: toilet) filtration system.

The Urban Beehive has two parts that attach to your apartment window: A white frontispiece with a flower pot and a small hole for bee entry, and an orange-hued glass inverted teardrop mounted inside your house. This way you can see the bees at work, and access their honey via a small spigot. The glass teardrop has an array of honeycomb frames for bees to build their wax cells, like existing honeybee colony kits do. The shell is orange to help the bees navigate, and there’s a small hole for the urban beekeeper to release smoke inside, should the hive ever need to be opened (smoke chills out the bees). The city benefits from the bees’ pollination work, and your apartment benefits from fresh honey and the pleasing effect of watching bees, Philips says.

It would be great if some of the beautiful green-design concepts in these pages would ever make it to market. If the beehive ever goes on sale, I’ll be among the first to sign on the dotted line.

Artificial Bone Made From Fish Scales

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 Z

Until now, collagen from pig skin was utilized. But there are viruses that are common to people and animals, which means that viruses in pigs can migrate to people and cause illnesses. With fish, it’s known that this doesn’t happen. So one feature of this new material is that it’s very safe. Also, artificial bone made from fish can have a much higher density, so another feature is that this artificial bone can be very strong. Also, when such a material is implanted in the body, the type made using fish collagen converts to bone faster. With artificial bone made from pig collagen, it takes about six months for the material to convert to bone after it’s implanted in a bone. Artificial bone made using fish collagen reaches the same state in about three months, so it converts to bone very quickly.

Collar with ultrasonic dog training whistle

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 Z

Famed dog trainer Cesar Milan would probably say: “Keep that dog in check, foo!” Or maybe he wouldn’t. What Cesar says doesn’t matter, really. All I’m getting to is you should train your dog to obey you, be sociable around other pets and not pee in your cereal. And not tug on your leash. I read somewhere that clicker training is a good way to teach Fido who’s who and what’s what. But that looks like it requires effort on your part. Better to purchase this $40 gadget instead. It wedges itself between the leash and the collar and has an ultrasonic whistle and a sensor. If it starts to detect tugging, it whistles unpleasantly in proportion to the tugging effort. The sounds are “aimed” at your dog so no other canine is inconvenienced and the volume level is adjustable. Only your dog will be miserable. And maybe he’ll learn.

Natural screws

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:00:00 Z

When researchers peered at the knees of the Papuan weevil recently, they had a surprise coming to them. Their massive electron micrographs of the joint showed tiny, perfectly formed screws and nuts, with a thread far more delicate than those made by humans. The weevil, it appeared, used them to lock its knees for stability when it landed.

This was the first time scientists had seen such structures in nature. But simple machines - defined by Renaissance natural philosophers as the lever, the wheel and axle, the wedge, the screw, the inclined plane, and the pulley - are hidden beneath the skins and exoskeletons of many a creature. Some of them, like the wheel, are so curiously rare as to have become examples of natural limits on biology. Others, like the lever, are so common that myriad examples exist in the human body alone.

iPad Games for Cats

Tue, 31 May 2011 00:00:00 Z

Friskies® is excited to feed your cats' senses with three new games made just for cats. The colors, movement, and game-play have been researched and tested for maximum feline fun.

Vending machine sells live crabs

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 00:00:00 Z

Yes, it's true: You really can buy live hairy crabs out of a vending machine in Nanjing, China. The machine keeps the local delicacies at 41 degrees Fahrenheit - cool enough to make the crabs sleepy without killing them. If you do purchase a dead crab, though, don't worry: The company behind the vending machine will compensate you with three live ones. The crabs cost between $1.50 and $7.50 depending on size and gender.

Bird-Protection Glass

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:00:00 Z

Someone has apparently crunched the numbers and estimated that more than 100 million birds are killed every year due to collisions with glass surfaces - not to mention the untold numbers of beverages split by surprised people as a bird slams into a nearby window. Birds see the tree or sky reflected in a window or the environment behind the glazing, but not the glass itself. German company Glaswerke Arnold (or Arnold Glass) has come up with a simple way to prevent these collisions by producing a glass that appears normal to humans but is visible to birds.

Working on the principle that birds possess the ability to see light in the ultraviolet spectrum, the company's Ornilux Bird-Protection Glass borrows a trick from orb-web spiders that protect their laboriously woven webs from birds flying through them with a special UV-reflecting silk. Recognizing this, the company developed the glass with a patterned UV reflective coating that makes it visible to birds while maintaining transparency to the human eye.

Dew Bank Bottle

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:00:00 Z

Kitae Pak designed the Dew Bank Bottle lately after being inspired by onymacris unguicularis, a beetle found in the Namibian desert. The beetle procures water in a unique way: it goes to the peak of the sand dune every morning, and uses its body to help in dew formation, making the dew enriched fog to provide enough water for drinking. The Dew Bank Bottle works in almost the same way as that beetle. Its steel body assimilates the morning dew, purifies the water and then stores it in the bottle. The ribbed surface creates a larger surface area for more droplets.

Bees helping to monitor air quality

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 Z

Using bees for biomonitoring of environmental health around airports is a recent development, but insects have been used successfully for some time to monitor water quality at a number of sites.

The honey produced at the airports is tested in the laboratory twice a year for heavy metals and certain hydrocarbons, and has so far been found to be comparable to honey produced in non-industrial areas. Volker Liebig, a chemist with Orga Lab, which tests the samples, said more data is needed over a longer period for the results to be conclusive, but he said preliminary results looked promising.

Eco floor

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 Z

The Eco floor from Van Der Velden concrete was developed in 2009 to reduce the ammonia emmisions from cattle sheds.The floor is not only low emission, but also animal friendly by combining rubber and concrete.

The design has the characteristics of an 'ordinary' grid floor. The design is such that rubber elements (cartridges; replaceable) are placed in spaces in the concrete grid area. The rubber elements, which fit perfectly, are provided with rubber 'flaps' that automatically open and close, driven by the weight of manure and urine. If manure and urine fall on to the flap, they open so the manure and urine fall into the basement area under the grid floor. The flaps close again after the manure and urine have fallen. Thus, the air exchange between basement and shed are limited and therefore the ammonia emissions from the dung cellar are virtually prevented.

Big Dog

Mon, 17 May 2010 00:00:00 Z

BigDog is the alpha male of the Boston Dynamics robots. It is a rough-terrain robot that walks, runs, climbs and carries heavy loads. BigDog is powered by an engine that drives a hydraulic actuation system. BigDog has four legs that are articulated like an animal's, with compliant elements to absorb shock and recycle energy from one step to the next. BigDog is the size of a large dog or small mule; about 3 feet long, 2.5 feet tall and weighs 240 lbs.

BigDog's on-board computer controls locomotion, servos the legs and handles a variety of sensors. BigDog's control system keeps it balanced, navigates, and regulates its energetics as conditions vary. Sensors for locomotion include joint position, joint force, ground contact, ground load, a gyroscope, LIDAR and a stereo vision system. Other sensors focus on the internal state of BigDog, monitoring the hydraulic pressure, oil temperature, engine functions, battery charge and others.

In separate tests BigDog runs at 4 mph, climbs slopes up to 35 degrees, walks across rubble, climbs a muddy hiking trail, walks in snow and water, and carries a 340 lb load. BigDog set a world's record for legged vehicles by traveling 12.8 miles without stopping or refueling.