New Tech for Today | Exciting Tech That Matters

iShoe promises to detect balance problems before it's too late

noreply@blogger.com (shadowspydre) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:37:00 +0000

from Engadget

There's plenty of devices out there designed to keep folks from falling over, but this so-called iShoe developed by some MIT researchers takes a slightly different tact, with it promising to detect balance problems long before a person actually falls. That's apparently possible thanks to some sensor-laden insoles that measure the pressure distribution across as person's feet, which can be offloaded onto a computer and analyzed with the aid of a special algorithm the researchers have created. Eventually, they say the system could let doctors catch balance problems in their early stages and take the appropriate action, or even notify family members if a person falls, although that latter bit doesn't exactly seem very optimistic of them. No word on a commercial release just yet, but the team is apparently moving steadily towards one, with it currently conducting trials and recently having snapped up a $50,000 grant to help cover start-up costs.

more at TGDaily

Iogear's Powerline Audio System

noreply@blogger.com (shadowspydre) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 01:11:00 +0000

from Gearlog

I met with Iogear today; the company was showcasing a handful of new and upcoming additions to their product line. The one that caught my attention the most out of the spread was the Powerline Audio System. The audio accessory utilizes the titular technology to transmit audio signals over a home network.

Powerline technology has been available in consumer products for some time now but has never really caught on, due initially to limited transfer speeds. The technology has since been eclipsed in homes by far more popular wireless technologies such as Bluetooth and the various 802.11 incarnations, though Iogear assured me that Powerline transfer speeds have since improved greatly.

Essentially, Powerline transmits information over your existing electric lines. The Powerline Audio Station Receiver incorporates an iPod dock and audio input. Plug the receiver into an outlet in one room and the speakers into another, anywhere in your house or apartment, up to 990 feet away (it should be on the same circuit breaker). The Audio Station transmits audio signals to up to four receivers.

more of Iogear's upcoming gear

Shape-shifting, organ-probing chembots coming soon

noreply@blogger.com (shadowspydre) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:31:00 +0000

from Engadget

The current generation of robots, whether they're the gun-carrying or child-coddling variety, come in all sorts of shapes and sizes to suit their intended purpose. But if research going on at Tufts University comes to fruition, future robots might feature designs that are rather more flexible. Scientists at the school are working on so-called "chemical robots" with no solid parts. Chembots could squeeze under doors, slither through cracks in walls, and even squirm into your orifices, performing internal diagnoses before slowly dissolving away, leaving nothing more than a feeling of creepy violation behind. What about assuming the shape and voice of John Connor's adopted mother? We're hoping that's still a few years off.

Read more at PhysOrg or LiveScience

Ubuntu MID Edition released for portables

noreply@blogger.com (shadowspydre) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:18:00 +0000

from Engadget

Earlier this month we saw open-source Ubuntu remixed for netbook-class ultra-portable laptops. Today, MIDs are feeling the hot, sweaty breath of Hardy Heron breathing down the back of their Intel chipsets. The UME-8.04 release features a Gecko-based browser with screen zooming optimized for smaller displays, Pidgin for instant messaging, GNOME's Cheese webcam app, Claws Mail eMail, and Moblin Media for music and video -- all optimized for current and last generation MID / UMPC chipsets from Intel. Available to download now for McCaslin (e.g., Samsung Q1 Ultra) and Menlow-based (Lenovo's Ideapad U8) MIDs.

New Fuel Cell System 'Generates Electricity with Only Water, Air'

noreply@blogger.com (shadowspydre) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:53:00 +0000

from TechOn!

Jun 13, 2008 19:30
Kouji Kariatsumari, Nikkei Electronics

Genepax Co Ltd explained the technologies used in its new fuel cell system "Water Energy System (WES)," which uses water as a fuel and does not emit CO₂.

The system can generate power just by supplying water and air to the fuel and air electrodes, respectively, the company said at the press conference, which took place June 12, 2008, at the Osaka Assembly Hall.

The basic power generation mechanism of the new system is similar to that of a normal fuel cell, which uses hydrogen as a fuel. According to Genepax, the main feature of the new system is that it uses the company's membrane electrode assembly (MEA), which contains a material capable of breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen through a chemical reaction.

More info & pictures at TechOn!

E Ink exec sees e-newspapers going commercial in 2009

noreply@blogger.com (shadowspydre) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:47:00 +0000

from Engadget

Yeah, quite a few rags out there have already diverted at least some of their efforts to the electronic press, but according to E Ink's Ryosuke Kuwata, the trend is set to explode in late 2009. Said VP, who is currently in charge of market development, admitted that some newspapers in Japan, America and Europe are all looking to make the move to e-paper in the not-too-distant future. He also stated that "verification tests" (trials, we presume) would be starting up "using several thousands of terminals by the end of 2008," and that the company would "gradually shift to a specific business in the second half of 2009." Reading the local headlines on e-paper, scooting to the market in a flying vessel and showing up to work by flipping on a hologram transmitter. Meatloaf always said two out of three wasn't bad.

Read more at TechOn!

Offshore wind power park to energize Delaware homes

noreply@blogger.com (shadowspydre) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:40:00 +0000

from Engadget

Unlike Rock Port, Missouri, the entire state of Delaware won't be 100-percent wind-powered after Bluewater Wind constructs a $1.6 billion wind park just off its shore, but the state will be able to "light about 50,000 homes a year" for the duration of the 25-year contract. Said agreement was just nailed down between the aforesaid firm and Delmarva Power, and it hopes to start powering homes via wind by 2012. The offshore site will sit around 12 miles off Rehoboth Beach, with a number of turbines to be planted 90-feet into the sea floor and sport three blades apiece measuring 150-feet long. It's noted that vacationers and locals alike won't be able to notice the park from the beach except on a few remarkably clear days, but if their energy bills sink because of it, we don't really think they'll mind, anyway.

Read more at CNN

The transforming diaper bag

noreply@blogger.com (shadowspydre) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:08:00 +0000

from Unclutterer

I’ve been looking around for baby items that can multitask, and I may have come across the most unique and useful one yet. It is the Hoppop. The Hoppop is a diaper bag that transforms into a baby seat.

This is a fantastic idea for parents on the go. The Hoppop would have been used quite extensively if my wife and I had owned one. It serves two very important purposes and comes in a fairly compact size. The step-by-step instructions look simple and straight forward. If you want something extra when it comes to your diaper bag, you may want to look into this innovative design.

(via ohdeedoh)

Buy at Amazon

Skin-tenna technology promises to keep medical implants connected

noreply@blogger.com (shadowspydre) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 23:34:00 +0000

from Engadget

We've already some efforts to tailor Bluetooth for use with medical devices, but it looks like a team of researchers from Queen's University Belfast have now come up with another method of keeping devices connected, which they say is more efficient and better suited for implants. Their solution is effectively a "skin-tenna," which makes use of a puck-like device worn on the outside of the body that allows wireless signals to "creep" along an individual's skin. That, the researchers say, not only minimizes the "off-body signals," but requires far less power than Bluetooth or other wireless technologies, which is obviously a plus when a battery change consists of a trip to the operating room.

HP slips into thin with TouchSmart 2 all-in-ones

noreply@blogger.com (shadowspydre) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 23:30:00 +0000

from Engadet

A year and a half ago, Bill Gates himself announced the TouchSmart PC chunk. This time, a simple press release will have to do the job as HP announces the $1,299 TouchSmart IQ504 (PC) and $1,499 TouchSmart IQ506 (PC with TV tuner). Arguably, the thinner, touchier, bigger, 22-inch all-in-ones deserve better. Inside the 2.6-inch thick chassis you'll find a 500GB disk, 256MB of NVIDIA GeForce 9300 M HS HD graphics, 802.11n WiFi, and 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo T5850 processor thumping through the cycles. Launching in 17 countries next month including the UK, Japan, and the US.

Continue reading at Engadget

WhiteKnightTwo scheduled to rollout in July, fly in September

noreply@blogger.com (shadowspydre) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 23:02:00 +0000

from Engadget by Joshua Fruhlinger

While much of the attention surrounding Virgin Galactic's race to space tourism has surrounded its SpaceShipTwo, word has come that carrier ship WhiteKnightTwo will rollout in late July, and after some ground tests, take to the skies by September. With this rollout come some new details about the composite, twin-boom mothership, which Virgin Galactic is selling as an "open architecture" that they are clearly open to pimping for other applications. Says Prez Will Whitehorn, "WhiteKnightTwo is the world's most advanced payload carrier. It has the best fuel efficiency of any aircraft ever built in history. It is the world's first 100% carbon composite aircraft." They are even looking into using WhiteKnightTwo as a forest fire water bomber with its payload capacity. Nonetheless, we care because the giant ship that will carry rich people to space at $200,000 a pop is going to be flying by September. Press passes please?

Read more at USA Today

Official Virgin Galactic web site

click image to view larger

Researchers show off flexible, band-aid-sized tactile display

noreply@blogger.com (shadowspydre) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:56:00 +0000

via Engadget

We've seen tactile displays of all shapes and sizes, but none quite like this latest creation from a group of researchers at Korea's Sungkyunkwan University and the University of Nevada, which promises to be at your disposal whenever you need it. That's possible thanks to the electroactive polymer material the display is based on, which consists of eight layers of tiny actuator films that have been sprayed with electrodes in a specific pattern, allowing the skin to be stimulated without any additional electromechanical transmission. In addition to making it possible to wrap the display around your finger like a band-aid, that also makes the system extremely power efficient and, apparently, cost effective and easy to manufacture. As with other tactile displays, the researchers say this one could be especially useful as a braille display for the blind, although they don't see any shortage of other potential applications, with them foreseeing it being used in everything from virtual keyboards to tele-surgical gloves.

read more at PsyOrg

Say Goodbye to Wimpy Paper

noreply@blogger.com (shadowspydre) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 01:49:00 +0000

This new paper is made out of the same cellulose your regulation legal pad, but scientists at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden were able to get the fiber so small and defect-free in this version -- about 1,000 times smaller -- that it's more than seven times as strong. By breaking down wood pulp with enzymes and beating it mechanically and then treating the tiny fibers with carboxymethanol, they were able to get the new paper to a tensile strength of 214 megapascals (MPa) compared with the normal 30 MPa. So, why should you care? It's entirely possible that this stuff could replace plastic bags at stores without all the petroleum waste.

read at ScienceMag

Virtally waterless washing machine heralds cleaning revolution | Xeros

noreply@blogger.com (shadowspydre) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 01:32:00 +0000

Researchers at the University of Leeds have developed a new way of cleaning clothes using less than 2% of the water and energy of a conventional washing machine. The revolutionary technology will provide alternatives to both domestic washing and dry cleaning, heralding the world’s first “virtually waterless” washing system.

The process is based on the use of plastic granules (or chips) which are tumbled with the clothes to remove stains. A range of tests, carried out according to worldwide industry protocols to prove the technology performs to the high standards expected in the cleaning industry, show the process can remove virtually all types of everyday stains as effectively as existing processes whilst leaving clothes as fresh as normal washing. In addition, the clothes emerge from the process almost dry, reducing the need for tumble-dryers.

read full post or check out Xeros Ltd

OLED Digital TV by Sony

noreply@blogger.com (shadowspydre) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 23:30:00 +0000

Get your hands on the industry's first OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) television, featuring a 3mm thin panel and breathtaking image contrast, brightness and color.

Sony's OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) TV, the XEL-1, is truly the next big thing in television technology. It boasts a 3 millimeter thin panel and offers unparalleled picture quality with amazing contrast, outstanding brightness, exceptional color reproduction, and a rapid response time. It delivers astounding performance in all the key picture quality categories. OLED technology can completely turn off pixels when reproducing black, resulting in more outstanding dark scene detail and a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1. OLED also creates unmatched color expression and detail and enables rapid response times for smooth and natural reproduction of fast moving images like those found in sports and action movies. The XEL-1 features the latest connectivity options including two HDMI™ inputs, a digital tuner, and a Memory Stick® media slot for viewing high-resolution photos.

see more at sonystyle.com