Engineer Fumiyuki Sato displays his spherical observation drone in Tokyo.
Advanced Defense Technology Centre Engineer Fumiyuki Sato, a Japanese defense researcher, has invented a spherical observation drone that can fly down narrow alleys, hover on the spot, take off vertically and bounce along the ground.
Continue reading… “Japanese inventor develops world’s first flying sphere drone”
Dokkiri (Kid’s) Hand Case for iPhone 4
Products from Japan can get pretty weird and when you thought they couldn’t get any weirder they go and create the Dokkiri (Kid’s) Hand Case for iPhone 4. Even the product page, Strapya World, thinks this thing is crazy. (That’s like Bill Gates calling someone a nerd.)
Continue reading… “Creepy severed kid’s hand iPhone case”
This diagram shows a simulation of four stages of a collision between the Moon and a companion moon.
There may have been a tiny second moon that had once orbited Earth before catastrophically slamming into the other one. The clash of the two moons could explain why the two sides of the surviving lunar satellite are so different from each other, according to a new study.
Continue reading… “Earth had two moons that collided to form one: study”
Cybercrime costs rise
The cost of dealing with cybercrime went up 56 percent this year. Organizations have paid anywhere from $1.5 million to $36.5 million a year for protection and recovery, according to a study.
Continue reading… “Cost of dealing with cybercrime jumps 56%”
A chemical found in bear bile could help heart attack sufferers.
There may be a ray of hope for millions of heart patients worldwide. Scientists have claimed that a chemical, also found in bear bile, may help the recovery of people who have had a heart attack.
Continue reading… “Bear bile could aid heart attack patients”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OC2TTslf_YM&hd=1[/youtube]
At the Tokyo Institute of Technology researchers with the Hasegawa Group have created a robot that is capable of applying learned concepts to perform new tasks. The Self-Organizing Incremental Neural Network (SOINN) uses a type of self-replicating neural technology. The research team has released a video demonstrating the robot’s ability to understand it’s environment and to carry out instructions that it previously didn’t know how to do.
Continue reading… “Researchers create robot that can learn, think and act by itself”
Professor Manos Tentzeris displays an inkjet-printed rectifying antenna used to convert microwave energy to DC power.
Researchers have found a way to capture and harness energy transmitted by such sources as radio and television transmitters, cell phone networks and satellite communications systems. By getting this ambient energy from the air around us, the technique could provide a new way to power networks of wireless sensors, microprocessors and communications chips.
ISP speeds throughout a day
The FCC has collected data for the first time showing real-world speeds that Americans receive from their Internet providers. And the news is pretty good! Or, perhaps the news is pretty bad!
Continue reading… “FCC measures actual internet speed and finds FiOS comes out on top”
The ‘electronic tongue’ may have a commercial use and could eventually replace the teams of experts needed in each bodega.
Spanish scientists have developed an “electronic tongue” that promises to rival the work of the traditional sommelier and identify different grades of the Spanish sparkling wine, cava. The electronic device has been developed by the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) and uses electronic sensory systems with “advanced mathematical procedures” to analyse different varieties of the Catalan alternative to champagne according to taste.
A lack of nutrition when dieters are trying to lose weight forces their brain cells to eat themselves, making the feeling of hunger even stronger, scientists claim. Brain cells begin to eat themselves like other parts of the body do as a last-ditch source of energy to ward off starvation, a study found.
An experimental driving simulation setup demonstrates braking a car with mind control.
Many high-end cars today help a driver use the brakes correctly depending on particular conditions in an emergency with their brake assist systems. But what if the car could apply the brakes before the driver even moved?
Continue reading… “Stopping your car with brain waves”
Evatran’s Plugless Power electric vehicle charging system.
When it comes to technology, the old adage of “bigger is better” died a long time ago. “Smaller is smarter” thinking is being applied to products and prototypes across the board. Today’s “smaller is smarter” wonder is Evatran’s Plugless Power electric vehicle charging system: now smaller, more efficient, and primed for its first trial phase.
Continue reading… “Evatran wireless charging system for cars”