Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts

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A GADGET ALLOW A BLIND MAN SEE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 20 YEARS

eSight glasses combine camera technology, a visual display and advanced computing that not only enable sight for those with low-vision, but allow blind people to control the image they see.

Mark Cornell has been blind for the past 20 years, all after 18 years of service in the US Air Force. Thanks to eSight, last October he was able to see his friends and family for the first time in two decades.



“So that’s what Yvonne looks like!”

The real-time video delivered into the glasses’ LED display can be adjusted to accommodate the specific needs of different visual impairments. Zoom, colour and contrast settings can be changed for tasks at any distance or for any time of day.

Since the glasses are more of an accessory than a permanent surgical solution, eSight aims to give users an increased sense of freedom and autonomy. And while they hope vision enhancement will feel like a miracle to those with low-vision, eSight also carries a $US15,000 price tag.

No matter how much it may cost, watching the gift of sight bring a tear to the eye of this veteran after two decades of blindness is a reminder not to take anything for granted.

Hoping to make the technology more accessible, eSight orchestrates fundraising campaigns for individuals who may not have the means to pay for the glasses. Every dollar donated to any campaign directly funds a device for that person, and every donation above the initial $15,000 cost begins a new campaign for another visually impaired individual.




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Russia's Super-High Frequency Weapon Capable of Taking Down All Kinds of Drones with 10km-range

Russia’s Rostec Corporation is to unveil a super-high frequency weapon capable of taking down all kinds of drones, missiles and other high precision weapons. The presentation will be made at the Army-2015 military expo.

The Mosow Radio Engineering Institute has developed a super-high frequency (SHF) ‘cannon’. It’s designed to knock out aircraft, drones, guided missiles and any airborne high precision weapons using electronics.

The cannon creates an air-exclusion zone within a reported radius of over 10 kilometers around the defended object or installation, though the system’s exact characteristics are classified.


“This mobile microwave irradiation complex performs off-frequency rejection of electronics aboard low-altitude aerial targets and warheads of high precision weapons,” a source in Rostec Corporation told TASS, adding this system puts close range air defenses on a whole new level.

“In terms of performance capabilities, the complex has no competitors in the world,” the source said. All the equipment is mounted on a tracked Buk missile air defense transportation platform.

“When installed on a special platform, an SHF ‘cannon’ provides all-around defense,” the source said, adding the complex is also planned to be used to test domestic-made military radio-electronic systems for resistance against high-power microwave radiation.


The SHF ‘cannon’ will be unveiled in the classified area of Army-2015 expo, an international military forum that will take place at the ‘Patriot’ military amusement park outside Moscow between June 16 and 19.

In April this year, the US Navy released a video detailing its LOCUST  ( LOw-Cost Unmannded aerial vehicle Swarming Technology) technology – a new tool allowing multiple drones to coordinate and swarm the enemy. Reportedly, it’s designed to protect large US vessels. However, when armed with warheads they turn into offensive weapons.


An attack of a squadron of drones on a defended installation makes the task of taking them out really troublesome and resource-consuming for existing air defense systems.

The out-of-band 360-degree radiation suppression by an SHF ‘cannon’ looks like a universal solution for maintaining secure air defense against swarming drone attacks.




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This Transmitter Will Charge Your Gadgets Through The Air

Usually, when tech companies speak rhapsodically about “wireless power,” what they mean is, “you can recharge your phone by setting it down on a mat.”

Well, OK. It’s slightly easier to put your phone down on a mat than to plug in its power cord.
Samsung built charging-mat receiver technology into its Galaxy S4 , S5  and S6 phones.
Example is Samsung Galaxy 6 Edge

But that’s not really wireless charging. It’s not charging through the air, like a WiFi signal. You can’t keep using the phone while it’s charging.
 
No wonder the wireless-mat thing hasn’t really caught on.....
The next wave, though, will probably get your attention.

Meet RF charging

At labs all over the world, engineers are getting true, distance charging technologies ready. That’s just what it sounds like: Thanks to a special transmitter, your phone, tablet, smartwatch, hearing aid, and fitness band will be charging all the time, as you go about your day. You won’t take them off. You won’t plug them in. And you’ll never worry about making it through the day on a charge.

 The transmitter: a shiny black plastic box that looked something like an oversized WiFi router.

A product’s battery life, in fact, will become irrelevant.

So how close are we to this fantasy? Very, according to Steve Rizzone. He’s the CEO of a 50-person company called Energous, whose distance-charging technology (with the unfortunate name WattUp) is, he says, by far the closest to being ready for market. He came by Yahoo’s New York office to give me a demonstration.


Using a tablet as a remote control, he could turn on the transmitter; at that point, the phone’s “charging” indicator came on, right there in my hand—not plugged into anything. The phone was, in fact, getting an electric charge through the air.


Rizzone also had an electric votive candle on hand; its low power requirements were meant to represent a smartwatch or fitness band. Once again, he could tap a software switch on his tablet to make the candle light up, indicating that it was getting power.

Charging Through The Air.

The Frequently Asked Questions


Q: Is this going to fry my guts?

A: No. The transmitter is sending out an RF (radio-frequency) signal—the same kind of signal transmitted by WiFi or cellphones. Not only is the signal even weaker than your phone’s, but it’s reflective; it bounces off skin instead of going through it.

(To underscore the inability of these waves to penetrate the skin, Rizzone told me a story about a pacemaker manufacturer who contacted him. The manufacturer was all excited about WattUp. Imagine if we could recharge people’s pacemakers without requiring surgery to change the battery!
But there ya go. That won’t happen, because RF waves bounce off the body.)

Q: How does it work?

A: The transmitter contains an array of small RF antennas. They send out “23 dBm across a 120-degree directional span, creating a 3D pocket of energy using the 5.8GHz unlicensed ISM RF spectrum.”

Translated from Engineerspeak, that means a focused pocket of power will be collected by any receiver-equipped gadget that happens to be within a 120-degree arc from the transmitter.

The hard part is not wireless charging, Rizonne says; it’s focusing the array of antennas on each gadget. In WattUp’s implementation, your gadget’s Bluetooth circuitry provides a focusing target for the RF beams that converge from floor, ceiling, wall, and furniture reflections.

Q: Can it charge more than one thing at once?

A: Yes—up to 12 devices simultaneously.

Q: What’s the range?

A: The strength of the charging drops off rapidly with distance; at the moment, 15 feet is the maximum range of the transmitter.

At 5 feet, your gadget (actually, four of them at once) can receive a maximum of 4 watts. At 10 feet, it gets 2 watts; at 15 feet, 1 watt.

Q: Is the transmitter sucking power all the time?

A: No. When there aren’t any WattUp receivers in range, Rizzone says that the transmitter goes to sleep.

Q: What’s the deal with the tablet he’s using?

A: The WattUp system is designed to be configurable. You can specify which gadgets get priority when they’re in range, using either the phone/tablet app or a Web portal. You can also set up a schedule, so that cellphones get priority when you’re home, but your remote controls and wireless mouse get charged while you’re away.

Q: How much?

A: The transmitter will probably cost around $300; the necessary phone case to receive the signal will be in the $75 to $125 range, Rizzone says.

Q: When?

A: Steve told me that they expect these products to be available at the end of 2016 or early 2017. That’s only a year and a half from now!

Now the problem is will Mobile manufacturer  built RF Charging ..
Samsung built charging-mat receiver technology into its Galaxy S4 , S5  and S6 phones.
Example is Samsung Galaxy 6 Edge
 
 



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NASA unveiled their “Warp Drive” ship – Faster than Light Spaceship

Ever since the sound barrier was broken, people have turned their attention to how we can break the light speed barrier.  But “Warp Drive” or any other term for faster-than-light travel still remains at the level of speculation.

The bulk of scientific knowledge concludes that it’s impossible, especially when considering Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. There are certainly some credible concepts in scientific literature, however it’s too soon to know if they are viable.


Science fiction writers have given us many images of interstellar travel, but traveling at the speed of light is simply imaginary at present.

In the meantime, science moves forward.  And while NASA is not pursuing interstellar flight, scientists here continue to advance ion propulsion for missions to deep space and beyond using solar electric power. This form of propulsion is the fastest and most efficient to date.

There are many “absurd” theories that have become reality over the years of scientific research.  But for the near future, warp drive remains a dream.

If you would like to know more about the theories of interstellar flight, you should visit the Tau Zero Foundation.  Marc Millis, a former NASA Glenn physicist, founded the organization to consider revolutionary advancements in propulsion. 

NASA explains the idea of Alcubierre’s Warp drive through a simple example moving sidewalks at airports. The concept is made analogous to walking on a moving sidewalk, provided that the sidewalk moves faster than one’s walk. This can be executed by contracting spacetime in front of the ship and expanding spacetime behind the ship.


The requirement of negative energy is the major issue. The problem arising would be controlling an environment of negative energy and its effect which is separate to the ship’s working. The situation in which ship would move is completely unknown i.e. warp bubble exceeding speed of light. Warp drive also recalls the time travel issues as in case of Worm Hole transportation.


Mark Rademaker, artist, who worked with White in designing Warp drive ship explains that craft consists of the main ship settled between two massive rings of negative energy which would develop the warp bubble. This new version of the ship is more compact and chunkier. According to Harold White, the design accounts for the predictions made according to mathematics of an Alcubierre warp drive currently.

NASA considers the warp drive and faster-than-light travelling spaceships projects at an ‘speculation’ stage. The development cycles of NASA describe this to be an early stage for warp drive. It has only passed the initial ‘conjecture’ stage of development.


The whole concept of warp drive seems impossible to many, however, works of White have grabbed the attention of scientists across the globe. Criticism and research may lead to a positive results. Comment and debate on possibilities of this project.

Source: NASA


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DOST To Develop Micro-Hydro Power Generation Technology

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has started to embark on the development of micro-hydropower generation technology, an official said yesterday.

The department has reached an agreement in principle with state-owned Philippine National Oil Corp.-Renewables Corp. The PNOC-RC would provide models on hydropower generation machinery, such as turbines, to be studied by DOST scientists and engineers.
“They will show us models, but only small ones. It will be a joint development project. DOST will try to develop the technology,” Science Secretary Mario Montejo told The STAR in a phone interview.

“We will start very small. It will be a mini- or micro-hydropower,” Montejo said, noting that the Philippines has great potential for hydropower generation because it has numerous rivers within its territory.




If local scientists and engineers are able to develop micro-hydropower capacities, Montejo said even small rivers that could not be tapped for large-scale power generation may be used to append the limited power supply in small towns.

Last week, the DOST signed a memorandum of agreement with the PNOC-RC for the installation of solar panels as an alternative source of electricity in offices within the DOST compound in Taguig City.

This would reduce the electricity bill by 20 percent, the DOST said.
The DOST added that it would not spend a single centavo for the partnership and would merely provide the rooftop space of its buildings for the solar project.

The length of cooperation between both agencies will run for 15 years, after which ownership of the installed solar panels would be fully transferred to the DOST, Montejo said.

Aside from the DOST buildings, Montejo said the Philippine Science High School, which now has 14 campuses all over the country, would join the project and adopt solar power technology.


{Source}



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DISNEY IS ENTERING THE GAMING INDUSTRY WITH A STRANGE NEW PRODUCT PLAYMATION

Disney just announced what could be the hottest toy to hit shelves this Christmas. Playmation--Disney's attempt to get into the 'active play' play market that focuses heavily on wearable devices.

According to Tom Staggs, Chief Operating Officer of the Walt Disney Company, the product is, “play for the 21st century… physical play for a digital generation.”

Disney has used their partnership with Hasbro to help bring this product to life which, according to Staggs, "is a unique system of connected toys and wearables that combine the latest technology and Disney storytelling to inspire kids to run around and play using their imaginations.”



If you are still confused about what this product is, we all are, but to put it simply a kid will be able to put on Iron Man's repulser and be instantly linked with Jarvis, who will send them on missions.

These missions will require the kids to run around the house, jump behind furniture and dodge attacks. The repulser will be able to connect with other toys in the system too and will even be able to access power activators. It looks like Playmation will not be connected to a TV, and will force kids to use their imagination.

“Playmation takes the best the digital world has to offer and uses it to create supercharged, real world play." Said Leslie Ferraro, President of Disney Consumer Products.

"This is play updated for today’s kids," Ferraro continued, "bringing their imaginations to life as they go on active adventures alongside their favorite characters.”

Playmation will launch around October 2015, in the range of $120 dollars. Check out the trailer and demo below to get a little more info about what the Playmation is all about.

Are you ready to talk to JARVIS? Share this with your friends and start assembling your heroic team!

The Offical Trailer For Playmation



A Demo On How To Use Playmation

I think it needs costume here :v Ironman Armor


To learn more about Playmation visit the official site at http://www.playmation.com

For news and updates follow Playmation here:
Facebook: http://facebook.com/Playmation
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Playmation or @Playmation




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NASA IS TESTING A FLYING SAUCER TO SEND HUMANS TO MARS

Right now NASA is working on its low-density supersonic decelerator (LDSD) project. This project even includes a genuine flying saucer, which would transport astronauts from our blue planet to the surface of the red planet.

With interest in outer space starting to pick up again, NASA is doubling down its efforts to send humans to Mars by focusing on a BIG plan: have humans on the moon by 2035.

That might seem like a long way off, but considering NASA is going to have to build a ship larger than anything they have ever made, they still have a lot of work to do.

Many of you are probably thinking, why not use the same style of ship that landed the Curiosity on Mars? The truth is that this mission is much harder.

Transporting and landing humans on the red planet is a lot different than landing a robot. First off, the size of the spacecraft is vastly different. Second, the craft would have to land differently, basically...a lot slower.

Because of this, NASA is trying new technologies with their LDSD project to ensure the safest and best way of slowly landing a spacecraft after it has entered the red planet’s atmosphere.

This new technology is essentially is a flying saucer, or at least a body that is shaped like one that even includes a giant blow-up tube that surrounds the craft. This bizzarre looking contraption is called the Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (SIAD), and loks like something out of a Ray Bradbury novel.

With this new technology, it will only be a matter of time before we start seeing giant saucers flying through the sky. Only this time they won't be Unidentified Flying Objects, we'd know that it was us, the aliens that hope to live on Mars.

THE ACTUAL LDSD


The Team Behind The LDSD Project

Landing Projections For The LDSD

LDSD Preparing For A Test Flight

Updating decades-old technology

Last year, when the LDSD was tested for the first time -- also launched from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range facility in Kauai, Hawaii -- the deployment of the parachute was the only problem, when it didn't inflate as expected.

This time around, a new design is being tested: the Supersonic Ringsail parachute, which NASA says is the largest supersonic parachute ever tested for landing on Mars.

Current technology for the task -- decelerating from high speeds during re-entry into the atmosphere, to the final stages of landing on Mars -- dates back to NASA's Viking Program, which put two landers on the Martian surface in 1976.

The basic Viking parachute design has been used ever since. It was successfully used again in 2012 to deliver the rover Curiosity to Mars.

NASA will need new and improved landing technologies to handle the larger spaceships of tomorrow and land them on rocky surfaces, as well as at higher elevations.


ALL SOURCE  :NASA




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ODiN is the World’s First Laser Projection Mouse

Users who buy the product will receive a small projector that can sit on top of a table, and connects to a PC via its USB port. It works by displaying a virtual trackpad on a hard surface like a table. For users, this means they’ll essentially see a small box, made out of red light, with the right and left click buttons projected at the top of the trackpad.

ODiN is the world’s first laser projection mouse, claims its creator, Taiwanese company Serafim Technologies. The device was shown off on Monday, a day before the Computex trade show in Taipei.

To read the gestures, the projector has built-in sensors that can track a user’s finger movements over the trackpad. The company created the product as a way to meld together mouse and touchscreen functions together, said Serafim’s CEO GZ Chen.

For instance, the product’s virtual trackpad can read multi-finger gestures. When a user taps the trackpad with two fingers, and swipes left, the PC’s Internet browser will move back a webpage. By swiping right, the PC’s browser will move forward a webpage.


Users can also pinch the trackpad with two fingers to zoom in or zoom out.



ODiN is the World’s First Laser Projection Mouse
Posted by Blogmytuts.blogspot.com on Tuesday, 2 June 2015




Serafim’s CEO said it also developed the product, as a way for certain industries to do away with computer mouses that collect germs and dirt over repeated use. The company plans to continually offer software updates to the ODiN, as a way to optimize its functions.

The ODiN launches this month and will be priced at $69. It was also featured on Kickstarter.



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Google will turn your devices into your passwords - Project Vault microSD

Project Vault, designed by Google's ATAP (Advanced Technology and Projects) group, is a secure computer entirely packed onto a microSD card that can be plugged into any system whether it’s a desktop or a mobile phone.

That’s a really catching name announced on the second day of the annual Google I/O developers conference on Friday

The vault is technically a computer though it is not for regular computing. Rather it is a new and secure way to communicate and authenticate without entering passwords.

Today we often choose passwords that we find clever or easy to remember, but Google wants to make the password more personal than we think.

The tiny little chip can authenticate you even before an app or a website asks for your password. In short, Vault will make your primary authentication (which we currently do use passwords) a secondary one, without you having to do anything.



With Project Vault, Google will turn your devices into your passwords. It is capable to encrypt, or scramble, your app is chat messages and provide extra levels of authentication, so your device makes very sure that you are you.

While giving a demo, ATAP team showed how two users can securely chat with each other using Vault-equipped smartphones. Once the chip is installed, the chat application just opens the virtualized two-file system with the read/write I/O.

Vault encrypts the chat messages and then sends it as ciphertext through its encrypted channel, and never sends through the phone so that no one can snoop on you. The phone automatically decrypts the messages, but will never actually be able to see any keys or algorithms on either end.

The company says you will also be able to encrypt video with Vault.

Project Vault has:

  • An ARM-based processor
  • An antenna
  • A near-field communication (NFC) for communicating with nearby devices
  • 4 gigabytes of "isolated, sealed" internal storage
  • Its ultra-secure operating system focused on privacy and data security
  • A suite of cryptographic services


Vault runs a custom-built Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) with a suite of cryptographic services, including hashing, batch encryption, signing and a hardware random number generator, in order to keep your data and messages with friends secure.

Vault works with any operating system -- including Google's Android, Windows, Linux and Apple's OS X -- since essentially it is just a generic storage device to the host computer or phone.

I called the move smarter because here all the work is done by the host without the users having to deal with the configuration of the device, making it as user-friendly as possible.

Project Vault is still "very much in the experimental stage" and in process of being ready for users, but the source code for the system is available on GitHub under an open-source license so that developers can start delving into it.

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SanDisk's new 128GB flash drive is the size of a penny

This ultra-small, low profile drive stays put for extra storage, or moves media super-fast between devices. Enjoy performance speeds up to ten times faster than standard USB 2.0 drives**, transfer a full-length move in less than 40 seconds**

The drives support SanDisk’s SecureAccess software for creating password-protected folders with 128-bit AES encryption. They also include a year’s subscription to RescuePro, which can help recover corrupted or accidentally deleted files.

Neither drive comes cheap, however, with suggested prices of $120 for the 128GB Ultra Fit, and $200 for the 256GB Ultra. They should both be available soon through SanDisk’s website and through online retailers, where they’ll hopefully get some discounts before too long.

Why this matters: Higher capacities from major storage makers are always good news, even if you can’t fathom packing so much data onto a thumb drive. The new options are sure to drive prices down through the rest of the line, as we’re already seeing SanDisk’s 64GB Ultra Fit sell for just $27.50 on Amazon. (pababa ng pababa ang price habang may bagong labas)

  • High Performance USB 3.0 speeds - up to 130MB/s read
  • Capacities up to 128GB**
  • Ideal for notebooks, game consoles, TVs, in-car audio systems and more
  • Warranty: United States: 5-year limited; All other regions: 5-year




Stays-put Storage for All Your Devices
Extend your storage capacity by up to 128GB with this tiny, unobtrusive USB 3.0 flash drive. Connect it to hard-to-access TV USB ports for video playback or let it ride along in your notebook or car audio system wherever you go.

Move Media Super-fast Wherever You Go
The wait is over with high speed USB 3.0 performance. Now it’s easier than ever to share your videos, photos and music collection among devices. Transfer a full-length movie up to 10 times faster than standard USB 2.0 drives**.

Keep Your Private Files Private
The SanDisk Ultra Fit USB 3.0 flash drive comes with SanDisk SecureAccess, which creates a password-protected private folder on your flash drive. With your private files protected with 128-bit AES encryption, you'll be able to share your USB drive without compromising your privacy.

Recover Lost or Corrupted Files
With a year’s free subscription to RescuePRO® software, you’ll be able to get back that file you didn’t mean to delete or the one that went missing when your computer crashed. The SanDisk Ultra Fit™ USB 3.0 is extra safe and secure.



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Virtual Mouse using OpenCV's Mean shift Algorithm

Hand tracking and mouse control. Implemented using OpenCV's Mean shift Algorithm. Features supported : Left click and Drag/Drop .

Samsung is using this in their Smart TV now, at least it looks real similar.

This Virtual Mouse project by r5rejeet shows us how OpenCV can be used to interface the camera image and process it into a HMI device. You can move the mouse pointer around the screen by moving your open hand around, you can click by simply closing your hand. This allow for a surprisingly good looking gesture interface.


OpenCV  ( http://opencv.org/ )is released under a BSD license and hence it’s free for both academic and commercial use. It has C++, C, Python and Java interfaces and supports Windows, Linux, Mac OS, iOS and Android. OpenCV was designed for computational efficiency and with a strong focus on real-time applications. Written in optimized C/C++, the library can take advantage of multi-core processing. Enabled with OpenCL, it can take advantage of the hardware acceleration of the underlying heterogeneous compute platform. Adopted all around the world, OpenCV has more than 47 thousand people of user community and estimated number of downloads exceeding 9 million. Usage ranges from interactive art, to mines inspection, stitching maps on the web or through advanced robotics.



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CD R- King California Berkely Smart Balance Wheel ECO-BIKE

CD R- King another featured variant  of  California Eco-Bike is Berkely Smart Balance Wheel, with an Anti-slip rubber pedal  with LED Lights and a 360 degree turning capacity. This variant is also equipped with a smart balancing system.

It has a maximum speed of 10 kmph with a riding distance up to 15-20km on full charge. Anybody within 100kg can be accommodated in this e-bike. It has four variant color Gold, Black, White and Blue.



MTR-035-M(DLC-011)
Berkely Smart Balance Wheel
1 Year Warranty
₱ 18,000.00

SPECS


Rated Power: 300W
Rated Voltage: 36v (36v 4.4ah Li-on)
Battery Type: Lithium-ion
Charging Tine: 901-120 Minutes
Max Climbing: 15 degree
Load Capacity: 100 kg
Speed: Up to 10Km/h
Riding Distance up to 15-20Km
Tire: Tubeless Tire
Motor Type: Brush DC Motor
Gross Weight: 10Kg


For more info and to view California E-bike variants, please visit their branches or log on to www.ebike.cdrking.com ; you may also call their hotlines: (02) 245.0558 to 59 and (0925) 512.2238 for stock inquiries and orders.

Read Also : http://www.gadget-technolog.blogspot.com/2015/04/cd-r-king-california-malibu-eco-bike.html



Was on mah way home when i saw this called "drifting scooter" thing..So i gave it a try..#girlwhorides#balance
Posted by Rhianne Fernandez on Thursday, 21 May 2015
Video Credit to Ms. Rhianne Fernandez she's working at Saudi


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Brain-Controlled SymBionic Legs

Today, an Icelandic prosthetic-maker announced that two amputees have been testing brain-controlled bionic legs for over a year. The devices respond to impulses in the subjects' residual limbs, via sensors that were implanted in simple, 15-minute-long procedures. "When the electrical impulse from his brain reaches the base of his leg, a pair of sensors embedded in his muscle tissue connect the neural dots, and wirelessly transmit that signal to the Proprio Foot. Since the command reaches the foot before the wearer's residual muscles actually contract, there's no unnatural lag between intention and action.



Ossur implanted tiny sensors in the residual muscle tissue of two amputees that they say trigger movement in the prosthesis via a receiver. Ossur President & CEO Jon Sigurdsson was due to announce in Copenhagen on Wednesday (May 20) that the two amputees are the first world-wide to be able to control their lower-limb prostheses subconsciously.

One of the patients trialing the new implants, Gummi Olafsson, lost his right foot and lower leg years after a childhood traffic accident. He said the implants allowed him to control his bionic leg and foot almost instantly.

"As soon as I put my foot on, it took me about 10 minutes to get control of it. I could stand up and just walk away. Come back, sit down, use my muscles to move my foot in the position I wanted to use it. It was, like you couldn't believe the feeling when you were moving your ankle. It was really strange. I couldn't explain it. It was like, I was moving it with my muscles, there was nobody else doing it, the foot was not doing it, I was doing it, so it was really strange and overwhelming," Olafsson remembered.

The signals sent from the brain to nerve-endings in muscles that prompt movement continued even when Olafsson used a different prosthesis that did not have the receiver. He said it was frustrating to be unable to control the foot once more.

The Implanted Myoelectric Sensors (IMES) measure 5 millimeters (mm) long and 3mm wide and were provided by the United States-based Alfred Mann Foundation, which develops medical technology for use in patients.




Olafsson said his body continues to adapt to his prosthetic limb more each day, allowing him increased control of it.

"Your muscles are always getting bigger, so you get more control over it. So everyday if you are using it, you're always getting more and more control over what you're doing with your foot, so in a way, everyday you're learning more about how to walk properly with the foot, how to use it to go downhill, uphill, downstairs, upstairs, even sitting down and standing up from a chair," he said.

He has been living with the IMES and an Ossur bionic limb for over a year. Ossur plans to continue assessing the technology with clinical trials.

Orthopedic surgeon, and Ossur's director of research and development, Thorvaldur Ingvarsson implanted the sensors in the two patients involved in the trial himself while they were under local anesthetic in what he said was a straightforward procedure. Ingvarsson said the new technology allows the patient's brain to control both subconscious and intentional movements.

"So, the brain power, when it takes over, it actually gives impulses through the brain into the muscles, then the muscles contract. We put sensors into the muscles, and the muscles would pick up the signals, and the signals move their way into the prosthetics, and then the prosthetics react as your brain wants," he explained.

The mobility technology company has designed the system to be compatible with its current bionic devices, which already automatically adapt to their user's gait, speed and the ground terrain, but still require intentional thought.

Ossur says it will be more of a technology "upgrade" for its current patients and anticipates that the system will be on the market within three to five years.



Ingvarsson said Ossur was on the way to creating prosthetics that are more integrated with their user.

"Our ultimate goal is to replace the function of the lost limb, and we've been doing so step-by-step and doing very well. However, as our technology move on - you have sensors for muscles, you're able to replace function by the new mind-controlled prosthetics - the next step might be to get sensing from the environment so you have a feedback loop," he said.

The company says the device is the first to use an implanted sensor inside the patient's body, whereas other mind-controlled prosthetic technologies involve transplanting muscle tissue from another part of the body and repurposing it, requiring neuroplasticity (brain retraining) to operate.

Source: http://www.ossur.com/corporate/about-ossur/ossur-news/1246-ossur-introduces-first-mind-controlled-bionic-prosthetic-lower-limbs-for-amputees




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Robotic Prosthetic Arm's Will Return Amputees' Sense of Touch

For all the functionality and freedom that modern prosthetics provide, they still cannot give their users a sense of what they're touching. That may soon change thanks to an innovative electrode capable of connecting a prosthetic arm's robotic sense of touch to the human nervous system that it's attached to. The device is part of a three year, $1.9 billion DARPA project and is being developed by Daniel Moran and his team at Washington University in St. Louis.


The electrode, technically called a macro-sieve peripheral nerve interface, is comprised of a thin contact lens-like material less than 20 percent the diameter of a dime. It reportedly allows its users to feel heat, cold and pressure by stimulating the ulnar and median nerves of the upper arm.


However, Moran's team must first determine how much sensory information is actually encoded in natural systems before they can begin incorporating them into people. They'll do so by implanting prototypes into the forearms of "nonhuman primates" and monitoring the stimulation of peripheral nerves using a technique known as current steering. "We want to see what they can perceive," Moran said in a statement. "If we stimulate this sector of the nerve, that tells them to reach to one side in a standard reaching task. We want to figure out how small we can make the stimulation so they can still sense it." With that data in hand, the team expect they'll be able to develop more accurate sensor suites in future prosthetics, like the Luke Hand that DARPA is already building.







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Homemade 3-D Printed Robot Cracks Any Master Lock Combination in Seconds

A 3D printed robot has arrived that can crack a combination lock in as little as 30 seconds.
A well-known California hacker Samy Kamkar who is expert in cracking locks has built a 3D-printed machine, calling his gadget the "C-C-C-Combo Breaker," that can crack Master Lock combination padlocks – used on hundreds of thousands of school lockers – in less than 30 seconds.

In April, Samy Kamkar, a hacker and engineer and the inventor of the handmade device disclosed the technique of cracking Master locks by taking care of the hitches in the dial’s spin, which indicate at the actual combination and restrict it to eight options. The things that your hands can do, a machine can often do it more quicker. Hence, Kamkar made a lock-cracking machine from off-the-shelf parts that converts the whole process into an automatic operation.


One part tightly grasps the dial and spins to the numbers as it goes through the procedure of examining the resistance capacity that shows the combo. In the meantime, a little lever pulls on the shackle at the right moments to check and see if the lock opens after each try. You can see an comprehensive and thorough explanation of the device in Kamkar’s video below, but if you do not know the dissimilarity between DC and AC, or what a stepper motor is, it may be a bit too technical to enjoy.

So to make it simple for everyone – On Thursday, the hacker showed a wonderful DIY on how anyone can build an electronic device, Combo Breaker, which applies the technique automatically and can achieve the same result in about 30 seconds.
"The machine pretty much brute forces the lock for you," says Kamkar. "You attach it, leave it, and it does its thing."

Kamkar posted a step-by-step video on how to assemble the $100 worth of parts to create your own Combo Breaker.


The necessary hardware includes a 3D printer to create the frame, the stepper driver and motor, Arduino Nano microprocessor, a 500mAh 3S battery, voltage regulators, an analog feedback servo and a breadboard and wires. All components are readily available online.

The hacker has also released the plans, 3D models, and code of Combo Breaker online for free as open source.



Kamkar is no novice to such devices, in January, Kamkar had developed a $10 USB wall charger which could read data from any wireless keyboard manufactured by Microsoft. He has named the device as KeySweeper  and had also released a do it yourself tutorial on GitHub.
Visit his website: http://samy.pl/combobreaker/




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Biostamp Flexible, Miniature Sensors That Monitor Body Vital Signs

This is the premise of Professor John Rogers' Biostamp. By attaching flexible, miniature sensors to the user's temple, he has been able to track brain waves in real time and transmit them as messages.

"Our prototypes can provide a variety of monitoring and stimulation functions," says materials scientist Rogers of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. "We can pick up coordinated firing of neurons, and run that activity through a computer spelling interface, so that brainwaves pick letters out of a virtual keyboard display and type messages."

Previously, such signals could only be detected by using a full helmet of heavy electrodes, which required the patient's skin to be scrubbed, and could only be worn safely for a short time.



Rogers' patch is light enough to be almost imperceptible, allowing for lengthy use even outside of the lab, so that the equipment is trained to pick up signals more accurately.

The no-strings approach also eliminates background noise that obscures signals and creates positional uncertainty. For even greater accuracy, the Illinois team are using increasingly high-density electrodes that generate thousands of times more brain activity information.



The immediate targets are two ground-breaking medical applications. One is to measure the brain waves associated with seizures in epileptic patients, medical projects such as identifying brain damage in premature babies, flagging up issues before the point of crisis as well as entertainment possibilities. The other is to monitor sleep patterns for disorders and other insights, which had been impossible with the traditional heavy hardware.

The brain is just the latest and most ambitious target. Since Rogers invented the Biostamp to great fanfare in 2011, it has been used all over the body to measure heartbeat, temperature and other vital signs. They have been adapted by Reebok to monitor the force of impacts in sport, by L'Oreal to track skin hydration, and the US military to monitor the condition of soldiers.



PRODUCT FEATURES REEBOK CHECKLIGHT™

  • In sports, impacts are a part of the game.  alerts athletes, coaches, athletic trainers and parents to the severity of impacts.
  • Sensors that are directly coupled to the head to help reflect direct accelerations that the head, not a helmet or chin strap, experiences
  • Can be worn with and without a helmet in multiple activities
  • Easy to use and comfortable to wear
  • Logs the total number of impacts recorded
*CHECKLIGHT™ is not a concussion diagnostic tool – it provides an objective measurement of impact force and is designed to lead athletes on a pathway to assessment


 source:http://www.reebok.com/us/checklight/Z85846.html




'Biocompatible' devices are even being tested inside the body. The emerging field of electroceuticals offers the possibility of treatment as well as diagnosis, using targeted electronic stimulation as an alternative to drugs, a potentially revolutionary approach that can be applied to many organ problems.

The Illinois researchers have inserted electronics into the pelvic nerve to address bladder dysfunction, and on the surface of the heart to play the role of advanced pacemaker. They have also engineered stamps to dissolve safely inside the body after a set period of time.

Trials are limited to rodents currently, while researchers work through the safety hurdles that would allow the technology to be used on humans. Rogers acknowledges some risk in introducing foreign elements to the body, but is convinced this represents the path forward.

"The history of electronics is about getting closer to the individual. At first it was a computer down the hall, followed by a desktop, then a laptop, a phone in your pocket and a watch on your wrist. Now it could be electronics integrated the skin, bioelectronics, and fully implantable devices. To go fully into the realm of integrated electronics makes sense to me."

Key to this progress is a paradigm shift in electronics from rigid boards to soft and flexible devices that the human body can accommodate, and the Biostamp represents several adaptability breakthroughs.

Rogers' team removed the boards from circuits, which allowed them to miniaturize the components to nanoscale for a comfortable wearing experience. They succeeded in creating a device that could retain form and function even when stretched out of shape, and is completely waterproof so it can work on or under the skin.

One feature that has been difficult to shrink and stretch is the power source. Batteries have not progressed as rapidly as electrodes, leaving Rogers with either a limited lifespan for the stamp, an innovation for wireless harnessing of energy, or even using the body as the fuel source.

"It comes down to how much power your device needs. We have used body motion. For implant devices on the heart there is a constant source of mechanical power that can generate microwatts. But for outside the body you have to think how continuous the mechanical energy would be. The motion of legs and arms is an option...it is continued research not a slam dunk answer."

From the original Biostamp in 2011, Rogers' lab have filed over 100 related patents, leading to the establishment of multiple new companies, the most prolific of which -- MC10 -- has received over $60 million in private funding.
Research into electronic skin has become a global phenomenon from the University of Tokyo producing "unbreakable" circuits, to the Liebniz Institute producing sensors that detect magnetic fields, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln creating specialized equipment to detect Breast Cancer. Google is also getting in on the act.


source: http://rogers.matse.illinois.edu/


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Flying over Dubai with Jetpacks

Dubai already seems pretty futuristic on the ground, but what's it like in the air? As you'll soon see, it's almost like another planet. Yves Rossy (aka Jetman) and "protégé" Vince Reffet recently flew over the extravagant city in jetpacks, and their view was every bit as strange as you'd expect. The Burj Khalifa tower (above) resembles a sci-fi super weapon, while the artificial Palm Jumeirah archipelago sticks out from the coastline like a sore thumb. Will this airborne sightseeing trip get you booking a flight to the United Arab Emirates? Probably not, but it's worth a look if you're wondering what a ton of oil money will do to a desert landscape.


Jetman Yves Rossy has been taking his delta-winged jetpack out for brief jaunts at exotic locations around the globe for years. Each time, he learns a little more, and makes his flying machine a little more powerful. If you haven’t been paying attention, take a look at his most recent performance in this 4K video. Teaming up with his friend Vince Reffet, the pair carve the skies over the dramatic landscape of Dubai, and show the world just how far the jetmen have come:

This video should remove any doubt that the jetpack is here, and here to stay. The future of personal flight is not piston-popping two-strokes driving whirling ducted fans like the Martin jetpack, nor the peroxide powered steam puffs of the Bell’s 20-second rocket belt. The future is as we always knew it would be: turbine-powered, and prone like Superman, with wings to work the air.



Flying with a partner shows just how agile these machines really are. Yes, they still need help to get up in the air, and no, they still don’t land on their own without a parachute — but Rossy should get to all of that. For now, he is pushing the performance envelope just to see what they can do. That has actually meant making the wings a bit smaller in each new iteration of the jetpack so that they are more aerodynamic, and faster.

To actually take-off and land like a bird, bigger and more variable wings will probably be needed. To use your own legs as the landing gear (and therefore use slower approach speeds), the wings would probably need be to a little lighter, and even bigger still. For anyone that might be looking into the finer points of these issues, we offer one observation: the reason that Rossy has been the sole practitioner of his sport, is simply that until now, no one else has been technically, physically, and mentally capable of doing what he does.

The tiny turbines that make this flight possible have seen drastic performance improvements in recent times. When prices come down, it is likely that the next jetpack story may come from a dedicated DIY daredevil that got tired of his or her wingsuit. New technology to 3D metal print nearly every component used in these turbines has been developed both at Australia’s Monash University and at General Electric (although it is unlikely that high speed bearings can be manufactured this way, at least without extensive post-machining).


We should mention that machining turbine blades the old-fashioned way is about the hardest thing anyone would want to do in the fabricating business, at least starting from scratch. When someone comes up with a way to 3D print carbon fiber, or some similar material on larger scales, we might even print the wings too.

We may sound a little optimistic here with these jetpack dreams, but dreams seem be dying fast. We had previously warned that although the Aeromobile flying car looked like a great design, in flight it appeared unstable. Unfortunately we learned the other day that the Aeromobile has met disaster before meeting success. Hopefully the jetman and others like him can avoid that fate.




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MediaTek reveals 10 core tri-cluster mobile processor

MediaTek on Tuesday announced its latest mobile processor, the Helio X20, which packs 10 cores of processing power. The company said it’s the first CPU that uses tri-cluster architecture to pack all 10 of those cores into a chip.

A mobile processor like the octa-core Snapdragon 810 typically employs two clusters. With the Snapdragon 810, for example, Qualcomm splits four A53 cores and the Cortex A57 cores. MediaTek’s new chip, however, has one cluster of two ARM Cotex A72 cores clocked at 2.5GHz, and two clusters of four Cortex A53 cores. One of those A53 clusters is clocked at 2GHz while the other is clocked at 1.4GHz, MediaTek explained, and the processor will automatically activate the required cluster for the needed performance.



MediaTek claims this configuration can help save 30 percent on battery life over traditional chips, while keeping the phone’s software running smoothly.

The Helio X20 supports up to 32-megapixel cameras, Quad HD displays, a Cortex M4 sensor processor and Cat. 6 LTE.

MediaTek said it will begin sampling the Helio X20 during the third quarter of this year, and that we can expect consumer products by the end of the year.


The Helios X20 will launch in December, and is designed for top-of-the-range smartphones. The Taiwanese chip vendor has been primarily selling to handset makers in China, but it is aiming to attract bigger-name clients as it competes with Qualcomm in the mobile processor market.

Source:http://heliox20.com/







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Human-Powered Hydrofoil

A human-powered hydrofoil is a small hydrofoil watercraft propelled entirely by the muscle power of its operator(s). Hydrofoils are the fastest water-based vehicles propelled solely by human power. They can reach speeds of up to 34 km/h (21 mph; 18 kn), easily exceeding the world records set by competitive rowing which stand at about 20 km/h (12 mph; 11 kn). This speed advantage is achieved since hydrofoils lack a submerged body to provide buoyancy, greatly reducing the drag force.




Two Types of Human Powered Hydrofoil:

Water-bike



Water-bird (Trampofoil)

Trampofoil do the same course even faster













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