Printing new homes for Hermit Crabs

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Custom printed crab homes.

Hermit crab homelessness is reaching critical levels, leaving many of these fine clawed fellows without a shell of their own.

Now, thanks to 3d printers and our tireless search for new things to print out, there’s a solution: custom printed hermit crab shells! The printed shells will last longer, look cooler and are sure to stir up feelings of jealousy among other hermit crabs. If only we could print houses for homeless humans!

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DARPA wants vampire satellites to harvest parts from dead sats prior to decommissioning

A new DARPA solicition seeks “swarming robot space vampires” (in JWZ’s evocative phrasing) to disassemble and harvest valuable components from decommissioned satellites before they’re decommissioned, to use as spare parts for the stuff that’s still functional…

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Proof of global domination by a few corporations

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A Few Companies Have Power Over Most of the Real Economy

The idea that the few dominate the many will not come as news to those gathered either to occupy wall street or to occupy everywhere. But up until now it has been just an intuition that a few corporations control the world.

Not any more. A team of Swiss mathematicians just proved that out of over 43,000 transnational corporations (TNCs), relatively few control almost 80% of the global economy. Find out who has the power below…

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TapSense: New touchscreen technology recognizes different parts of the finger

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TapSense is an experimental touchscreen system, that is able to tell the difference between different parts of the user’s finger.

Devices with small touchscreens, such as smartphones, certainly have their attractions, but they also have one drawback – there isn’t much room on their little screens for touch-sensitive features. Users will sometimes have to go into sub-menus, or make do with jabbing their fingers at tiny controls. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute, however, are working on an alternative. Their prototype TapSense system can differentiate between screen taps from different parts of the finger, and will perform different tasks accordingly. (Pics and video)

 

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A solar charger that rewards you for staying off the grid

changers_solar_chargerA solar charger with benefits.

Besides a reduced monthly power bill, there’s a certain smug satisfaction to recharging your gear with solar energy. It’s almost like you want everyone to know how eco conscious you’re being, and with the Changer solar charging system, you’ll actually be rewarded for bragging about it…

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