Tech Innovations
Solar Powered Satellite
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has successfully launched a space probe – Akatsuki – which is carrying a solar-powered kite called IKAROS. Akatsuki is headed to Venus, while Ikaros will disconnect and travel to the other side of the Sun on a three year scientific journey . Read more on MSNBC.
Weta Legs
Walking like an Egyptian might have been in vogue last century; today it’s all about walking like a goat… or a dragon… or a satyr. Weta Legs are a kind of hinged stilt that allow humans to walk (dance, and go up and down hills and stairs) like animals, most often used in fantasy movies [...]
Budget House
Engadget reports that the series finale of House was shot entirely on the Canon 5D Mark II camera – “a stills camera that shoots amazing HD,” according to the show’s director Greg Yaitanes. Read a Q&A with PetaPixel that was conducted via Twitter.
Wild Robots
The New York Times has rounded up several sightings of robots in the ‘wild’ - from the supermarket robot that will carry your shopping basket for you to Hanako a robot with bleeding, saliva-excreting mouth designed to help dentists train. Seem more robots at work and play in The New York Times.
Virtual Autopsy
Just as the furore over the all-seeing scanners at British airports starts to take hold, along comes another piece of technology to creep you out. The Virtual Autopsy Table constructs a 3D image of a living – or dead – body using x-ray imaging. Doctors can then make a diagnosis without resorting to surgery. It [...]
Celebrity Body Scans
Yahoo News India reports that, far from being freaked out by the new all-seeing body scanners at airport security, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan seized it as a PR opportunity. On his way through London’s Heathrow airport on the way to an appearance on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross he signed copies of his x-rays [...]
Biometric Monitor
The WIN Human Recorder is a Japanese biometric device that is designed to be worn on the skin on a day to day basis as it measures heart rate, brainwaves, skin temperature, velocity and respiration. It wirelessly transmits data to a mobile phone or computer where the data can be managed.
Read the full article in [...]
Missing in Haiti
Haiti Earthquake Support Center was set up the day after the disaster by The Extraordinaries, a group that “allows people to complete micro-tasks for organizations, causes or people they’re passionate about, using a mobile phone or web browser, in a few minutes of spare time”. When they sat down to think about what they could [...]
Interactive Wedding ‘Ring’
GeekPhysical specialize in inventing interactive technological events, experiences and installations. Their latest invention is called Cold Feet and tracks the emotions of the bride and groom throughout the big day via a bouquet that contains blue and white fibre optic lights. The bride slips a bio-feedback ring on her finger which monitors whether she’s feeling [...]
Roxxxy – Techno Sex Doll
The Telegraph reports that Douglas Hines, an artificial intelligence engineer, has invented a life size robotic doll that can perform a range of ahem, ‘activities’, including talking about Manchester United and snoring. Unfortunately, she’s not mastered the art of vacuuming. Punters can specify race and body type and choose from five personalities: Foxy Roxxy, Wild, [...]
