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Delta Literally Launched Under Water
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Misc. Tech, Science, Transportation,
QU Inc.‘s new marine robot DELTA-100R can go to a depth of over 150 meters while being controlled with a joystick by someone on the surface. Unveiled at the International Robot Exhibition (IREX) 2007 in Tokyo, it features a color CCD cam inside. While we suspect that its main usage will be for seeking out a new species or in lost body searches, it might be an efficient means of looking for lost change at the bottom of your local pool.
Read More 
| Aving
Gallery: Delta Literally Launched Under Water
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If you are looking for a non-traditional tree for the holidays, ETree may be the answer. The interactive electroluminescent lamp comes in a 15 x 15 x 8 cm size with 5 branches and a height of 50 cm, and a 30 x 30 x 15 cm floor model with 10 branches and a 150 cm height. Only for indoor use, we think that our neighbors would really be impressed by Kinetica Museum‘s creation which is available for £324.00 (~$666.00,) and £575.00 (~$1,200.00) respectively. It may be pricey, but think of how much you will save on ornaments and tinsel.
Read More | Kinetica Museum
Gallery: ETree is Interactive
Another robot has entered the building to assist humanity. NEXCO’s Lady Bird is a 39-inch tall prototype designed to clean highway rest stops and hotel bathrooms. The ladybug-shaped bot comes equipped with brushes, water tanks, and cleaning supplies for that nastiest of jobs. Sensors allow her to perform without bothering people while they are in the room. She also can engage in simple conversation, thanks to her voice recognition capability and mics in her antennae, and can give the latest traffic update. Expected to become a reality by March 2009, this is one 3.5 million yen (~$30,000.00) robotic helper that is definitely worth the expense.
Read More | Pink Tentacle
Gallery: Lady Bird Does Bathrooms
We cringe when thinking about dentists, but now they will get their just desserts with Simroid, a 5 foot, 3-inch bot developed at Nippon Medical School which will teach them how to better communicate with their patients. If the dentist hits a nerve with his/her drill, she will say “ouch” and will react to pain by moving her eyes and hands. If she is touched in an inappropriate place on her chest, she will record that to later incriminate the offender. Simroid was unveiled at this week’s 2007 International Robot Exhibition. Don’t push play if you are as squeamish as we are. (Just kidding.)
Read More | Pink Tentacle
Gallery: Simroid Feels Dental Pain
Scientists are now experimenting with what our clothing will look like and, more importantly, do for us in the years to come. For example, some day we will be able to charge our iPods with body energy converted to electricity. Other futuristic products include clothing made of self-cleaning material that doesn’t require much washing, outfits made with carbon nanofibers that act as armor, soft helmets that turn hard in case of a crash, and wool that doesn’t itch or shrink. Finally, there is experimentation with byproducts such as chicken feathers or rice straw being turned into material to cut down on petroleum-based synthetic fabrics. We guess that means that you can double your clothing as pillows or sleeping bags, should the need arise.
Read More | Live Science
Gallery: Future Clothing To Be Functional
Twenty-One, this century’s improvement on a bot named Wendy, has been designed to help the disabled and elderly. She has fingers that grip, strength to support patients, and movements that respond to human touch. Shigeki Sugano, head of the Waseda University team that created her, says, “It’s the first robot in the world with this much system integration. It’s difficult to balance strength with flexibility.”
Twenty-One can speak and features 241 pressure-sensors in each hand to make her flexible. During a demonstration this week, she successfully put toast on a plate, went to get ketchup, and said good morning to the recipient of both. With only 15 minutes of battery life, the bot may be around by 2015 with a price of ~$200,000. At a size of about 5 feet and a weight of 245 lbs., we are thinking that Twenty-One might want to back off a bit from the carbs.
Read More | I4U News
Gallery: Twenty-One Cares
This ingenious device not only allows you to write last minute notes, but to destroy them as well. Use the Pen for messages that will only show up under ultra-violet light. If you are the worried that the baddies will see it, you can shred it instead of eating it. The pen comes with a message pad and batteries for £4.99 (~$10.00.) We can see this being used with other applications, such as destroying ATM slips or that extra receipt when your partner/spouse didn’t know you took that side trip to McDonalds on the way home from work.
Read More | Spycatcher
Gallery: Write, Read, Destroy
If you’re looking for a cool educational gift for a kid (or adult) this holiday season, we suggest the Illuminated Rotating Universe Tabletop Globe. That’s quite a mouthful, but it’s quite self-explanatory: the globe has a built-in motor allowing it to rotate constantly (this feature can be shut off). And it automatically lights up in the dark—displaying an accurate view of the astronomical night sky, including 88 constellations! Cool! The multi-tasking globe measures 12.5"L x 12.5"W x 17"H, and earns rave customer reviews on the Discover Channel Store’s website. Who wouldn’t love this? Available for $90 USD.
Read More | Discovery Channel Store
Gallery: A Globe that Sheds Light on the Subject
Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree to rock LEDs
Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Misc. Tech, Science,
Let it be known that we New Yorkers take our “going green” seriously. The newly arrived Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree—like its holiday arch-rival the New Year’s Eve Ball—is replacing its incandescent bulbs with energy-friendly LED lights, 30,000 of them to be exact. This means the 84-foot tall Norway Spruce’s electricity consumption will be reduced from 3,510 to 1,297 kilowatt hours per day (the savings equals the monthly consumption of a 2000-square-foot home). Plus, when the tree is taken down in January, it will become lumber for houses built by Habitat for Humanity (take that New Years Ball!). If you’re in New York this holiday season, pay this tree the props it deserves by visiting between 5:30 am and 11:30 pm.
Read More | CNN
Gallery: Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree to rock LEDs
If you have already had your post-Thanksgiving nap, you might be interested to know that the molecule tryptophan may have another use besides making you nod off. Researchers from Oxford University say that the chemical precursor to serotonin may also induce trust. Volunteers were given a drink that depleted their tryptophan. Although the final results are not in from the experiments, they found that when they reduced it, the chemical also lowered “the reward value of cooperating.” We just wonder why every family Thanksgiving feast we have ever attended has ended in a tussle.
(Happy Turkey Day!)
Read More | Technology Review
