National Geographic has always been know to take stunning photographs of wildlife. Now a pair of new robotic assistants, currently at work for National Geographic, are taking the lion’s share of the risk away from photographers.
Continue reading… “National Geographic uses robots to photograph lions”
Spiri is a programmable quadcopter that’s been designed as a platform for airborne app creation. It’s also autonomous, meaning you don’t have to have mad piloting skills yourself just to test whether your neighbor spy app works. And even if your neighbor gets annoyed and throws a rock at it, Spiri can take a few knocks (thanks to reinforced carbon fiber ribbon protecting its body/blades).
Continue reading… “Spiri: A programmable quadcopter lets developers focus on building airborne apps”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GALHb-b5060[/youtube]
Soon, plants may have robotic counterparts. Barbara Mazzolai from the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa and colleagues tips that grow by unwinding material and a mechanism to reduce friction when penetrating the soil. The artificial system will be equipped to detect gravity, water, temperature, touch, pH, nitrate and phosphate.
Continue reading… “Robot plants can learn how to grow just like the real thing”
Do you need to go off the grid for a little while? You can turn your phone off or you can just slip it inside the OFF Pocket. It’s a portable privacy pocket of sorts that makes your phone untrackable and unhackable. It can successfully shield 100dB of signal in the 800MHz to 2.4GHz frequency range. That includes cellular signals, GPS, and WiFi.
Continue reading… “Off Pocket takes your phone off the grid temporarily”
Wireless online electric bus
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has developed an Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV) bus that receives power wirelessly from electrical cables laid underneath the surface of the street using Shaped Magnetic Field in Resonance (SMFIR) technology. Two of the new buses have just hit the streets in the city of Gumi, South Korea. (Video)
Continue reading… “OLEV bus charged wirelessly by the road”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdmcJFZSIP0[/youtube]
Cannabis is known to most of us as either a drug, a plant, or simply a flower. But now it’s being regarded as a vegetable, particularly because of the double whammy of health benefits not only from consuming the plant but also juicing it.
Continue reading… “Is juicing cannabis better for you than smoking it?”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om3Z1a2VPA0[/youtube]
The Terrafugia Transition just fulfilled the dream of everyone who’s ever had a fantasy about the future. At the EAA AirVenture airshow in Wisconsin, the flying car completed two laps around the airfield — one on the pavement, and one in the air. The whole thing went off without a hitch, and even the namesake transition between laps worked smoothly. And, believe it or not, that just might mark the beginning of the era of the flying car. (video)
Continue reading… “Terrafugia Transition: Flying car completes first public demo flight”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s30FPobi9iA[/youtube]
Veebot, a California start-up, is combining robotics with image-analysis software to find a vein in your arm and place a needle at least as well as a human can.
Continue reading… “Veebot is a robot that can draw your blood”
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/70493319[/vimeo]
Everyone hates mosquitoes, and the market is flooded with products aimed at getting you rid of the nuisance. A new product, the Kite patch claims to contain natural ingredients that, when worn, make you undetectable to the insects for 48 hours. Better yet, it doesn’t have to be worn on the skin, but will work just fine on clothing. We’re not sure what’s in it, but if it works as advertised, it should become an instant hit. Currently doing the crowdfunding dance on IndieGogo, the plan is for the makers to test the first batch in Uganda, where malaria is common. Once that’s done, and once they’ve received US EPA approval, Kite will become available stateside.
Continue reading… “The Kite patch makes you invisible to mosquitoes”
The twin wheeled skateboard works like a Segway. Electric skateboards exist already with powered rear wheels, but the plan here was to build something like a Segway but in the form of a skateboard. It knows which way is “up” via a combination of gyroscope and and accelerometer sensors. (Videos)
Continue reading… “A self-balancing skateboard/Segway project”
Slingatron
A Kickstarter project, Slingatron, that combines a slingshot capable of hurling objects into orbit and a space-bound railroad just might actually send you to space one day. (Images and video)
Continue reading… “The Slingatron: Building a railroad to space”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB85O3yy0zM[/youtube]
Today, they are just cute, animated eyes. But tomorrow, curved displays could change the way we interact with everything. According to Frog’s chief creative officer, Mark Rolston, in the next five years a doll will come out with a face made from a curved display, and that will change the way toys are made forever.
Continue reading… “The future of toys – Disney 3D prints animated eyes for interactive characters”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.