Giz-Tech: 2012

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

NASA's AR headset lets pilots see through fog

NASA Langley researcher Kevin Shelton wearing an early prototype

NASA has developed a pair of augmented reality glasses designed especially for commercial airline pilots to see during the worst visual conditions. The glasses include a heads-up display showing a virtual overlay of the runway and airport, head tracking technology, and voice controls - features that may help pilots keep their eyes where they're most needed.

Scientists have developed a method of duplicating an individual person's unique immune system, within a mouse

Because everyone’s immune system is different, it’s impossible to predict with absolute certainty how any given person will react to a specific medication. In the not-too-distant future, however, at-risk patients may get their own custom-altered mouse, with an immune system that’s a copy of their own. Medications could be tried out on the mouse first, and if it showed no adverse reactions, then the person could receive them. If the person had an autoimmune disease, the mouse could also provide valuable insight into its treatment. A team led by Columbia University Medical Center’s Dr. Megan Sykes has recently developed a method of creating just such a “personalized immune mouse.”

One full payload from the AF2011-A1 can deliver in three seconds what would take a regular 9mm pistol almost ten times as long to fire, including reloading

It's been a popular design for shotguns for over a century, so why not handguns? With a design that looks like two guns were melted together, the new handgun from Arsenal Firearms is definitely a handful. Thanks to the gun's dual barrels though, the AF2011-A1 Double Barrel Pistol is capable of firing 16 rounds in a span of three seconds by shooting two bullets at the same time.

Originally manufactured in the 1960's, the world's smallest ever production car, the Peel P50 (right) and it's stablemate, the Trident (left) are getting a limited production run with updated power plants

The quest for more fuel-efficient vehicles has seen a shift from the gas-guzzling behemoths of yesteryear to smaller and smaller cars, such as the Volkswagen up! and Toyota iQ. The smallest currently in production is the Tata Nano that measures just 122 inches (309.9 cm) long and 58.9 inches (223 cm) wide. But for the world’s smallest ever production car you’d have to look back to the early 1960’s and the Peel P50, which measured just 54 inches (137 cm) long and 41 inches (104.1 cm) wide, and weighed 130 lb (59 kg). Now replicas of the P50 -and its bigger brother, the Peel Trident - are getting a limited production run and will be offered with a choice of gasoline or electric powerplants.

Belkin's LiveAction Camera Grip provides iPhones with an ergonomic handle, and a shutter release button

Although it’s been suggested that point-and-shoot digital cameras could be made obsolete by smartphones, there’s at least one thing that’s still better about stand-alone cameras – they have an ergonomic grip (or at least, some of them do), and a good ol’ fuss-free shutter release button. Belkin’s LiveAction Camera Grip device, however, is designed to add these features to the iPhone. The company has also released the LiveAction Camera Remote, which brings the same push-button functionality to a remote-control device.

The trial crew (from left): NASA Crew Survival Engineering Team Lead Dustin Gohmert, NASA Astronaut Tony Antonelli, NASA Astronaut Lee Archambault, SpaceX Mission Operations Engineer Laura Crabtree, SpaceX Thermal Engineer Brenda Hernandez, NASA Astronaut Rex Walheim, and NASA Astronaut Tim Kopra

With the space shuttle program now officially over, the United States needs a new reusable vehicle for getting supplies to and from the International Space Station. NASA is considering the Dragon spacecraft, designed by California-based SpaceX Exploration Technologies, to take over that role. The Dragon’s scheduled late March/early April test flight to the ISS will be unmanned, utilizing a cargo configuration of the spacecraft. Last Friday, however, SpaceX released photographs of an engineering model of of its planned seven-passenger crew cabin, complete with a crew that included real live astronauts.

The Nokia 808 PureView is a new smartphone with an astounding 41-megapixel image sensor

At this week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Nokia announced the 808 PureView, a smartphone with an astounding 41-megapixel image sensor. The Nokia 808 will be the first smartphone by Nokia to include its new PureView imaging technology, which combines a high-resolution sensor with Carl Zeiss optics and Nokia-developed algorithms.

UCF Professor Sergey Stolbov who has created cheaper, more efficient hydrogen fuel cells using a sandwich-like structure

For the predicted hydrogen economy to become a reality, fuel cells must become more efficient and cost effective. Researchers from the University of Central Florida (UCF) claim to have addressed both these problems by creating a sandwich-like structure that allows more abundant materials to be used as catalysts in hydrogen fuel cells.

iBaby is an iPhone-controlled baby monitor, which can be remotely panned and tilted

People like their smartphones and, well, they also tend to like their babies – so, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that we’re seeing an increasing number of baby monitors that transmit live video to parents’ phones. Recent examples have included the Smart Baby Monitor and BabyPing. The Apple device-based iBaby is the latest such system, although it’s notable in that instead of just offering a locked-off shot, the camera can be remotely panned and tilted.

Subaru and Toyota celebrated the beginning of production last Friday

More than six years ago, Subaru and Toyota entered into a cooperative agreement. In 2009, that relationship bore its first concept - the Toyota FT-86. Both automakers showed the production versions of their respective sports cars last year, and Subaru has officially kicked off production on the models. In about two more months, car buyers will be able to get their hands on them.

DeskCAT is a miniature visible-light CT scanner, designed for use in medical school classrooms

When you're learning how to use a complex device, there’s nothing like getting some hands on play time. When it comes to CT (Computed Tomography) scanners, however, it’s often difficult to find a time when they’re not being used on patients. That’s why two biophysics professors at Canada’s Western University invented the DeskCAT. It’s a miniature CT scanner that’s small enough to sit on a desk, so it can be used in medical school classrooms.

A study suggest mobile phone use by pregnant mothers can affect fetuses

While there have been – and continue to be – numerous studies examining the effects of radiation from mobile phones on users, Yale School of Medicine researchers have looked at the possible effects on fetuses of mobile phone use by pregnant mothers. According to the study, mobile phone radiation exposure in the womb can affect the brain development of offspring and potentially lead to behavioral disorders such as hyperactivity.

Felix Baumgartner stares down the barrel of the first test jump in the Red Bull Stratos project

Daring Austrian base-jumper and skydiver Felix Baumgartner is aiming to break a record that has stood for almost 52 years. In fact he is aiming to break four long established records, starting with world's highest manned balloon flight (120,000 feet or 36,576 meters) highest skydive (currently 102,000 feet ) and the longest freefall, which may well see him break the sound barrier as he plummets for nearly 23 miles (37 km) towards Earth. Last week Baumgartner jumped from 71,581 feet in the first manned flight test by the Red Bull Stratos project, but to reach its ultimate goal the team must beat Joe Kittinger's record for the highest freefall set in August, 1960.

Seagate has achieved a milestone 1 terabit per square inch storage density using heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) technology

Despite solid state drives increasing in capacity in recent years, the humble platter-based 3.5-inch hard drive still reigns supreme as the data storage device to beat in terms of bits for your buck. But if traditional drives are going to meet user’s ever-increasing data storage demands they will need to improve on the maximum 620 gigabits per square inch storage densities currently possible in platter based 3.5-inch drives. That’s just what Seagate has demonstrated with new technology that has achieved a milestone storage density of 1 terabit per square inch.

The JuiceTank iPhone case's integrated, collapsible electrical plug eliminates the need for a charging cable

When you think of wireless charging, the JuiceTank iPhone case probably isn't what springs to mind. The new smartphone case from phone accessory maker, Dedicated, features a collapsible electrical plug on the back that fits into any North American wall socket. Connecting the JuiceTank case to a phone not only gives it solid protection without much bulk, but also ensures you'll always have a "cordless" charger with you.

Solar3D will examine the potential for its 3D solar cells to be used in solar roof tiles

Home owners looking to embrace solar but concerned about the effect slabs of solar panels will have on the look of their house may soon have an option that blends the old with the new. California-based company Solar3D has announced it is conducting a study to explore the potential for integrating its solar cells directly into roof tiles. While conventional solar cells aren’t really suitable for roof tiles due to their fixed orientation, Solar3D believes its 3D solar cell technology could make such a product feasible.

Teaser shot from Citroen's Facebook page

Teaser shots have appeared on Citroen's Facebook page for a new as-yet-unnamed vehicle. The French giant has successfully reprised its successful DS name into a whole series - so far we have the DS3, DS4 and DS5.

Researcher spins spider silk into violin strings

By twisting thousands of strands together, a Japanese researcher has managed to form working violin strings from spider silk

Spider silk is turning out to be a remarkably versatile material. Aside from having a higher heat conductivity than any other organic matter and proteins for inserting genes into cells, strings from a spider have also been found to have a very high tensile strength. One researcher in Japan has studied this property of spider silk for decades, and recently unveiled a new application for it by weaving together thousands of strands of spider filaments and using them as violin strings.

Unavailability is an achingly simple piece of design, functioning as a folding fishing hut with walls of ice

Simply called Unavailability, this achingly simple piece of design is a one-man wooden-framed fold-up fishing hut with chicken wire-mesh walls that can be packed with ice by the user to keep out the wind while letting in light.

The Allochroous is the 'Dream Boat' winner of the 9th Millennium Yacht Design Award

The Allochroous is the Dream Boat category winner of the 9th Millennium Yacht Design Award (MYDA), an international competition for yacht designers around the world. Conceptualized by beginner entrants Ezgi Aksan and Ambra Ceronetti, Allochroous is a futuristic representation of what their dream yacht would be. Drawing upon innovative technologies, the key feature behind the concept is that the yacht is able to transform its functionality. The vision was to create a sustainable yacht that is ideal for enjoying a summer concert at sea.

Using a photolithography process, scientists have created flat polymer sheets that bend themselves into three-dimensional shapes when exposed to water

When the petal of a flower is being formed, its shape is achieved by cells in one area expanding more than cells in an adjacent area. This uneven expansion causes the material to buckle, creating the desired curves and creases. Scientists from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst have taken that same principle, and applied it to flat polymer gel sheets that fold themselves into three-dimensional shapes when exposed to water. Some day, such sheets could serve a number of useful purposes.

New software developed by Microsoft is able to reproduce the user's speech in another language, using their own voice

For some time now, speech-recognition programs have existed that attempt to reproduce the user's spoken words in another language. Such "speech-to-speech" apps, however, provide their translations using a very flat, synthetic voice. Now, experimental new software developed by Microsoft is able not only to translate between 26 different languages, but it plays the translated speech back in the user's own voice - complete with the inflections they used when speaking in their own language. It looks like a real-life version of Star Trek's universal translator could soon be here.

Nurburgring is as ominous as the clouds in the background

Germany's Nurburgring is possibly the most famous racetrack in the entire world. Not only does it host racing competitions, but it also provides the ultimate testing grounds for new cars and prototypes - manufacturers from around the world travel to Germany to test their cars. Speedway Motorsports wants to make some of those journeys a little shorter, by building an exact replica of Nurburgring just outside of Las Vegas.

U Grok It is a smartphone-based system that allows you to find missing items, that have been tagged with radio-frequency labels

Last year, we told you about a smartphone-based system that can be used to find your missing stuff, known as BiKN. It consists of an electronic case that the phone slides into, which tracks the whereabouts of paired radio frequency tags that the user attaches to their car keys, purse, children - you name it. The phone displays the location of the sought items, or can sound an alarm if one of them gets too far away. Now, it looks like BiKN might have some competition, in the form of the similar-but-different U Grok It.

NASA and GM engineers have created Robo-Glove, a power-assisted glove designed to keep astronauts and autoworkers from getting repetitive stress injuries

Having trouble getting the lid off that pickle jar? Well, perhaps the Human Grasp Assist device can help. Designed through a collaboration between GM and NASA - and also known as Robo-Glove or K-Glove - the device is based on grasping technology initially developed for the hands of the space-going Robonaut 2. Essentially a power-assisted work glove, Robo-Glove is designed to minimize repetitive stress injuries in both astronauts and autoworkers.

The new Mercedes-Benz A-Class in 'AMG Sport' exterior spec.

The original A-Class was a strange thing. An attempt to bring the Mercedes magic to the masses its tall boxy styling, though practical, was not a thing of beauty. Unfortunately the high center of gravity meant that it infamously failed the Swedish "moose test" and had to have its suspension modified. This caused the ride to be unacceptably hard for its target market of middle-class mums and the poor quality of the interior finish did nothing for MB's reputation. My parents had one and it was not the auto maker's finest hour. The new A-Class launched at the Geneva show could not be more different.

The Delta Shelter provides secure living with low impact and a small footprint

What do you do when you want to build a worry-free home on land that also happens to be a 100-year flood plain? If you're smart, you'll do what the owner of Delta Shelter did and have Olson Kundig Architects build you a metal fortress to withstand the elements in style. The compact 1,000 sq ft (93 sq m) steel-walled hideaway with a footprint of only 200 sq ft (18.6 sq m) looks ready to handle whatever the Washington wilderness can throw at it - even, perhaps, a 1,000-year flood.

The 2012 Atalanta Sports Tourer

On March 5, 1937, a new automotive marque was born in the form of the Atalanta Sports Tourer. The Atalanta was well received but when Britain went to war just two years later, all production capacity was turned toward the war effort and the marque ceased to be.

SeeMe would provide eyes in the sky quickly to troops on the ground

DARPA, the United States' defense technology research agency that's created such notable projects as the Internet you're using right this moment, is now looking for help in creating a swarm of "disposable" eyes in the sky. It is seeking technical assistance from a wide range of fields - from auto racing to optics - to create the means to provide on-demand satellite imagery for troops on the front lines.

The hydrogen-powered CityCat H2 that is being trialed on the streets of Basel, Switzerland

For the past couple of years, a street cleaning vehicle has been washing, brushing and vacuuming the streets of Basel in northwest Switzerland. While there's nothing unusual about that, what is noteworthy is that the vehicle, known as the CityCat H2, is powered completely by hydrogen. The street sweeper is part of a project to practically test the feasibility of hydrogen-powered vehicles under real-world conditions and the results from the trial indicate that, although hydrogen-powered vehicles can save energy, are environmentally friendly, and technically feasible, the prices of fuel cells, pressurized storage tanks and electric drives must all drop significantly before such vehicles are cost-effective.

New research from Cambridge University suggests pass-phrases may be vulnerable to dictionary-style attacks

It's a meme that's been doing the rounds on the internet in recent years: multi-word pass-phrases are as secure as long strings of gibberish but with the added benefit of being easy to remember. But research from Cambridge University suggests that this may not be the case. Pass-phrases comprised of dictionary words may not be as vulnerable as individual passwords, but they may still succumb to dictionary attacks, the research finds.

With its ICD-TX50, Sony has introduced what it's calling its slimmest ever voice recorder

With its ICD-TX50, Sony has introduced what it's calling its slimmest ever voice recorder. The quarter-inch (6.4mm) device weighs 1.8 ounces (50 g) - combined with its 4 GB memory (plus microSD) the ICD-TX50 should double as a rather nifty lightweight MP3 player. But the device reserves its most impressive specs for the all-important dictaphone functionality.

Moby1 is offering a new take on the traditional teardrop trailer, offering a range of compact models that are specifically designed for off-road touring

Moby1 is offering a new take on the traditional teardrop trailer, with a range of compact models that are specifically designed for off-road touring. These teardrop trailers are not only lightweight, but also offer campers extra cargo space, a flexible load-carrying platform, a meal preparation area and cooking station, and a standard mattress. Teardrops were most popular during the 30s through to the 50s, but slowly faded out of fashion as campers grew larger and RVs became super-sized. With current fuel prices, however, the teardrop trailer is starting to make more sense for the environmentally-conscious camper.

The hypoallergenic egg team: Tim Doran (left), Cenk Suphioglu and Pathum Dhanapala

Of all the childhood allergies, an allergic reaction to eggs is one of the most common. Typically, reactions can include wheezing, nausea, headache, stomach ache, and hives. In extreme cases, however, anaphylactic shock can result, which can itself sometimes lead to death. Eggs are difficult to avoid, too - they find their way into many foods that might not seem particularly "eggy," and are even used in flu vaccines. Needless to say, for some time now, scientists have been working on making eggs safe for everyone. A team from Australia's Deakin University is now claiming that they're well on the way to producing not just hypoallergenic eggs, but the chickens that lay them.

The Gizmon iCA Military Edition iPhone case

There's no arguing that the Japanese love their cameras, particularly classic cameras. There's also no arguing that the Japanese love their iPhones. What could be cooler than combining the two, and creating an iPhone case that looks like a classic Leica? That's exactly what Japanese classic camera importer Adplus has done with its Gizmon iCA. Now, it's introducing an all-black "military" version - available for order worldwide in a few days. These covers don't just look good, either.

The Airhead fits neatly inside the helmet

The Airhead is a simple accessory designed to fit inside a helmet and increase air circulation, keeping you cooler. By limiting your head heat and perspiration, Airhead also promises to combat "helmet hair."

Laser 'un-printers' would allow paper to be re-used, reducing the need for virgin wood pulp

If you're concerned about deforestation, you likely blue-bin the no-longer-needed sheets of paper that have been run through your printer. You should keep in mind, however, that even though the recycling of that paper saves trees, the process still requires considerable energy, and most recycled paper still contains some virgin wood pulp. What would be better is if there were an "un-printer" that took the toner off of the used paper, so you would be left with a blank sheet that you could reuse. Well, thanks to research being conducted at the University of Cambridge, there soon may be.

Aircraft carrier deck crews may one day be able to direct autonomous drones, using standard arm signals

We’ve all seen footage of flight crews on the decks of aircraft carriers, directing taxiing planes using arm signals. That’s all very well and good when they’re communicating with human pilots, but what happens as more and more human-piloted military aircraft are replaced with autonomous drones? Well, if researchers at MIT are successful in one of their latest projects, not much should change. They’re currently devising a system that would allow robotic aircraft to understand human arm gestures.

The Weltzeituhr (World Clock) at Alexanderplatz, Berlin, Germany isn't anywhere near as accurate as the nuclear clock proposed by researchers

The NIST-F1 atomic clock that currently serves as primary time and frequency standard for the U.S. is expected to neither gain nor lose a second in more than 100 million years. That might sound pretty accurate, but a proposed nuclear clock could make it look like a cheap digital wristwatch. It is claimed that the proposed clock would neither gain nor lose 1/20th of a second in 14 billion years. To put that in context, that’s the estimated age of the universe.

The Dual V6 with smoke lenses

Electronics have become a ubiquitous part of fitness and recreation. You use a GPS to navigate and track your speed, distance and vertical. You use a heart rate monitor to measure your calories burned and heart rate. You load your iPhone with all kinds of music and apps to power you through. Heck, you may even load your sneakers with electronics.

Super Stardust Delta makes our top 5 PlayStation Vita games list

If our gushing review of the Vita has you ready to drop some cash, but you're not sure what games to get, read on for our selection of the five best launch titles for the PlayStation Vita.

The GameGadget is a mobile gaming console designed for classic games titles

It wasn’t so long ago that the mobile gaming space was dominated by Nintendo and Sony. While both companies continue to stake a claim for the mobile gaming pie with the release of their latest handhelds – the 3DS and PlayStation Vita – dedicated mobile gaming consoles have been under serious fire from smartphones in recent years. But that hasn’t stopped a UK-based company entering the arena with the GameGadget – an open source console designed to let fans get their hands on classic games titles.

Contents of the box: the OPC, wired keyboard and mouse, power cables, Quick start guide and USB extension cable

The first OPC from Orange Amps was made available in August 2010 and we've been closely following its development ever since. The bundled musician-related software has remained pretty much the same since launch but the musician's computer was given a serious hardware upgrade towards the close of 2011, and it's the new Core i7 system which I've been getting to know over the past few weeks. I've also managed to discuss some of the finer details with the driving force behind the OPC, and its lead developer, Charlie Cooper.

Audi's turbodiesel, electric flywheel hybrid, all-wheel drive prototype race car

Audi's new R18 e-tron quattro demonstrates the extraordinary boldness of the Audi company in actually risking something substantial (damaging it's Quattro heritage) to demonstrate new capabilities - harnessing the combination of electric and traditional horsepower to gain a demonstrable competitive advantage

Audi has disclosed some of the details of its forthcoming R18 e-tron quattro, revealing a turbodiesel, electric flywheel hybrid, all-wheel drive prototype, and ensuring that the 2012 Le Mans 24 Hour Race will be a battle of the hybrids.

A team of Purdue University students has developed a device that uses sensors at a guitarist's ankle to wirelessly control a virtual wah distortion effect

No matter the size of the stage, most gigging guitar players are likely to have to return to the same spot from time to time to change the tone, increase the volume, check tuning or to operate the wah effect. Thanks to a team of students from Purdue University's School of Mechanical Engineering, the last of those has now been liberated from the pedal board and strapped to the player's ankle. This doesn't involve attaching a large brick-shaped wah pedal to one leg, as one's imagination might suggest, but wearing a small wireless transmitter and a couple of sensors instead. Players operate the Ghost Pedal in much the same fashion as a physical pedal, the sensors registering the rocking motion of the foot and feeding data to a base station connected to the amplifier.

Sandberg's BatteryCase is a case for iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S packs impressive specs into a slim package

Sandberg's BatteryCase is the latest in a long line of iPhone battery cases that claim to double the life of an iPhone - in this case the iPhone 4, though as you'd expect the case is also compatible with the iPhone 4S. In case you're not familiar with how these things work, there's no mystery: it's simply an iPhone case with an integrated battery. But how does it stack up against two of the market leaders, Mophie's juice pack and juice pack plus?

A prototype of the new Lockheed Martin Space Fence radar system is currently tracking orbiting space objects smaller than was ever possible - down to about a centimeter in size

A prototype of the new Lockheed Martin Space Fence radar system is currently tracking orbiting space objects smaller than was ever possible - down to about a centimeter in size. In doing so, it met a key contract requirement during a series of demonstration events by proving it could detect and track such small objects.

A group of four autonomous underwater vehicles have just set a world distance record, by traveling from San Francisco to Hawaii

On November 17th of last year, a group of four wave-powered autonomous aquatic robots set out from San Francisco, embarking on a planned 37,000-mile (60,000-km) trip across the Pacific ocean. Recently, the fleet of Wave Gliders completed the first leg of their journey, arriving at Hawaii’s Big Island after traveling over 3,200 nautical miles (5,926 km). By doing so, they have set a new distance record for unmanned wave-powered vehicles – that record previously sat at 2,500 nautical miles (4,630 km).

The large Jompy offers the fastest boiling time - one liter in about 45 seconds

A funny name but an innovative design, Jompy allows campers, backpackers, hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts to get hot water from their hydration packs. The simple device works in conjunction with a hydration bladder and camping stove to deliver boiling water for use in food, beverages and cleaning.

The SLT-A57 is somewhat taller than its predecessor, a move that's said to offer users a more comfortable grip

Sony's translucent mirror technology - which directs incoming light to the image sensor and the AF sensor simultaneously - continues to advance with the introduction of the company's new SLT-A57 digital camera. The new camera trumps the α55 it replaces in a number ways, most notable of which is the 12 images per second continuous shooting with full-time continuous autofocus in Tele-zoom Continuous Advanced Priority AE mode. The new, faster, more powerful image processor that makes such an impressive performance boost possible also ramps up the sensitivity to a very low-light-friendly ISO16000, and the camera is fit to bursting with creative photography options.

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