It looks like the Philips AmbientLED has won the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lighting Prize (modeled on the original X-Prize). The goal was to help “transform lighting technology” by making it more efficient. To win, the Philips LED had to go through some pretty sophisticated tests (see the video below) to make sure the light quality was good and that it was durable… (video after jump)
Continue reading… “Philips LED light wins U.S. Department of Energy’s $10m ‘Lighting Prize’”
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.)
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%”
If Angry Birds keeps its momentum Rovio could become a billion-dollar company.
VCs are pouring money into the next crop of startups after watching startups like Facebook, Zynga, and Groupon explode in valuation.
Brainwashing soldiers
Blu, an Italian street artist, is no stranger to controversy. You may remember his mural at the MOCA that was taken down. It was in an area of downtown that neighbors a Veterans Affairs hospital and a war memorial to Japanese American soldiers, the provocative anti-war piece showed coffins draped with dollar bills instead of flags. (Pics)
Continue reading… “‘Brainwashing Soldiers’ mural by Italian street artist Blu”
Micro projectors for maximum viewing pleasure.
Sharing pictures of your kids used to be easy—whip out the wallet-sized photos and pass. Now, you pull out your phone and squint. With these new millimeter-cubed projector lenses, squinting, like wallet photos, may become a thing of the past…
Continue reading… “Projector lenses the size of pencil lead are big news for smartphones”
Powerful but oh so small!
Your watch battery isn’t small. This battery is small. At six times thinner than a bacterium, Rice University’s new battery is 60,000 times smaller than a AAA battery…
Continue reading… “The world’s smallest battery is six times thinner than a bacterium”
Messages from the fridge…
Photographer Mark Menjivar traveled the states for 3 years for his “You Are What You Eat” project, meeting people and documenting their lives from a surprisingly interesting viewpoint -their refrigerators. Could you tell the picture above belonged to a bartender who goes to sleep at 8 AM and wakes up a 4 PM every day?
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.
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.