The End of Driving

From Driving to Riding
Research revealed that self-driving cars, once a fantasy requiring an entirely new infrastructure, are now technologically possible, even inevitable. Savvy robotics are here and real. Advances in GPS, sophisticated sensors, and navigation databases will allow driverless vehicles to operate on the same roads we have today.

Jed

Google removes Pirate Bay from index

gooooooooglebay.jpgThe irony being that searching for "Pirate Bay" now brings up the infinitely shiftier piratebay.com. From the Google results:

In response to a complaint we received under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we have removed 4 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read the DMCA complaint that caused the removal(s) at ChillingEffects.org.

The DMCA complaint isn't yet available at Chilling Effects. But plenty of real piratebay.org pages still show up; presumably the DMCA claim wasn't well-formed enough to actually accomplish its objective.

New electronic shift system for road bikes

coming in 2009

Wired's Eric Hagerman reports on Shimano's planned launch of an electronic gear-shifting system for expensive bicycles:

By replacing the conventional levers that pull wound-steel cables through protective housings with solid-state switches and rubber-coated wires, there's no chance for road gunk to clog things up and interfere with shifting, or, for that matter, your post-ride beer.

The principle of an electronically controlled drive train is to execute perfect shifts every time, thus "reducing mental overhead," in the words of Shimano marketing manager Devin Watson. This is a resource cyclists find in short supply during epic rides.

The system, called Di2, will be available in January, marking the end of a years-long development process. Says one anonymous source: "The shifting is mind-blowing: I mean, you just touch the button, and it shifts."

Photo: Wired

Shimano Shuns Cables for Full Electronic Shifting [Wired]

Soon, even our bicycles will need to hooked up to a computer in order to fix.:(

posted by Helen Ice

Teddy Bear Cracker

Gizmodo: Step away from the limousine, or I’ll shoot you with this … teddy bear? The Teddy Bear Gun capitalizes on a cutesy trend in Japan where wedding guests throw teddy bears at wedding receptions instead of rice or bouquets.

If teddy bear throwing sounds like a lot of work to you, here it’s made easy with a simple touch of a button. Pull the trigger and the tiny plush bear is catapulted into the air, and once airborne, it’ll float safely back to earth thanks to its tiny parachute. Made by paintball gun manufacturer Sunamiya, the party crackers will go on sale this month.

posted by Helen Ice

Emoticon T-ShirtEmoticon T-Shirt

Let your feelings shine out.

This cool light-up t-shirt features four different emoticons that you can choose to illuminate depending on your mood or the message you wish to convey. Emoticons are the way that you can convey emotion over the internet or in text messages and now you can select a light-up emoticon to display on the front of your t-shirt. You can show a happy face, a sad face, a winking face or a surprised face, depending on how you feel. A glow in the dark/UV reactive screen print completes the effect.

posted by Helen Ice

TheFunTheory.com

I've never embeded a vid before...I don't know how to save a file from youtube.
Click the link above to go to youtube.

Or, here it is again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw&feature=related

posted by Helen Ice

the ErockIT – 50 mph pedal electric hybrid motorcycle

The idea of an electric-assist bicycle has been around for some time, with Aprilia’s Enjoy the first really convincing argument that the genre had a future – now there’s another variation on the electric pedal-assist theme, but the ErockIT is much more a motorcycle than a bike, and indeed, it might be one of the quickest forms of inner city transport on the planet. The whole thing weighs just 110 kilograms and with over 45lb/ft of torque and 13bhp, it can top 50mph.

The torque characteristics of an electric motor are very different to a roadgoing motorcycle powerplant – the aforementioned 45lb/ft of torque is available from standstill, and the linear nature of the power delivery makes it very easy to control. As a rule of thumb, on circuit racing, we have observed that an electric bike with Xbhp will run about even with an internal combustion engined motorcycle with 3X bhp – this would put it in commuter 250 roadbike territory for acceleration, and the 50 mph top speed is suitable for just about anywhere other than an autobahn or freeway.

Around town, it will be a rocketship and light and manoeuvrable enough to make breeze of weaving through stopped traffic – a better town motorcycle than currently exists.

Unlike the Aprilia Enjoy, where the electric motor assisted the rider to pedal when more torque was required, the ErockIT drives the rear wheel from an electric motor , and pedalling assists the motor. This very exciting development in the inevitable move to electric two-wheelers will cost around EUR 25,000 (US$39,000) and will be available in limited quantities in 2009

Eric Layton 20OCT2009

The Finger Hinge prevents fingers being caught in the door

By Jude Garvey

11:20 October 8, 2009 PDT
The Finger Hinge is a unique door-hinge that stops fingers being caught in the side of the...

The Finger Hinge is a unique door-hinge that stops fingers being caught in the side of the door


Children and adults can suffer painful injuries, or even risk amputation, from getting their fingers caught between a door and the door jamb. A unique door-hinge design from an Australian inventor could prevent these injuries from occurring. The Finger Hinge is a full-length door hinge that completely eliminates the gap between the door and the wall and therefore removes any possibility of getting crushed fingers when the door is closing.

The Finger Hinge is made from a combination of butt and pivot hinges. It fits on the door jamb and door edge just like a conventional hinge. However, unlike other door hinges, it is made of rotating, meshed segments so it does not leave a gap when the door begins to close. The hinge barrel is the same width as the door edge and can rotate 90 degrees in either direction of the door egress. It can be fitted to new and existing doors and is suitable for home, office and industrial doors.

The hinge allows the door to swing through 180 degrees, giving it a two-way operation. This allows people in wheelchairs and the elderly, who may have difficulty opening doors towards them, to simply open the door away from them and not have to close it behind them. The door can also be locked to prevent it slamming shut, and fitting an internal door closing device inside the Finger Hinge allows it to be used as a door closer or automatic door opener.

The inventor, David Ashard, has been working on door inventions for some years. His original design for a door-hinge was intended to make it stronger but he realized the potential for a hinge that would prevent door jamb injuries.

The Finger Hinge is currently in production, but you can see how it works here.
Posted BY: Gabriel Collins

ChemBot: the shape-shifting robot that is the stuff of nightmares

By Darren Quick


We’ve looked at robots that use a variety of ways to get around, from caterpillar treads, to wheels, legs, wings and even combustion-driven pistons. But the title of weirdest (not to mention unsettling) method of robot propulsion we’ve come across has to go to the shape-shifting ChemBot from iRobot. The ChemBot, which looks more like the Blob than most people’s preconceived ideas of what a robot should be, moves around by changing its shape in a process its creators call, “jamming skin enabled locomotion.”

Jamming is a physical process whereby a material is made to transition from a liquid-like to a solid-like state by increasing its density. The ChemBot achieves this process thanks to its hyper-elastic skin composed of multiple cellular compartments. These compartments are filled with air and loosely-packed particles. When the air is removed, the decrease in pressure constricts the skin and the particles shift slightly to fill the void left by the air, resulting in the solidification of the compartment.

Beneath the ChemBot's jammable skin is an incompressible fluid and an actuator that can vary its volume. Unjamming various compartments of the ChemBot’s skin and inflating the interior actuator causes the Chembot's skin to stretch, changing the shape of the robot. It is this method of controlled inflation that allows the ChemBot to roll around.

It should come as no surprise that the ChemBot is the result of US$3.3 million award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the U.S. Army Research Office given to iRobot to “develop a soft, flexible, mobile robot that can identify and maneuver through openings smaller than its actual structural dimensions to perform Department of Defense (DoD) tasks within complex and highly cluttered environments.”

The disturbing video below of the ChemBot in action is as it appeared about a year ago, so it’s anyone’s guess how much more creepy the ChemBot is now. Apparently, it has a slightly different design and its creators are working towards including sensors on its body and even connecting multiple ChemBots. Yes, the Blob lives.
Posted By: Gabriel Collins

New camera promises to capture your whole life

A camera you can wear as a pendant to record every moment of your life will soon be launched by a UK-based firm.

Originally invented to help jog the memories of people with Alzheimer's disease, it might one day be used by consumers to create "lifelogs" that archive their entire lives.

Worn on a cord around the neck, the camera takes pictures automatically as often as once every 30 seconds. It also uses an accelerometer and light sensors to snap an image when a person enters a new environment, and an infrared sensor to take one when it detects the body heat of a person in front of the wearer. It can fit 30,000 images onto its 1-gigabyte memory.

The ViconRevue was originally developed as the SenseCam by Microsoft Research Cambridge, UK, for researchers studying Alzheimer's and other dementias. Studies showed that reviewing the events of the day using SenseCam photos could help some people improve long-term recall.

Jed

The Fat Powered Boat

Eco-boat powered by human fat attempts round the world speed record

Last updated at 17:55 19 December 2007

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The fastest eco boat on the planet will attempt to break the round the world speed record using fuel made from human fat.

Pete Bethune, the New Zealand skipper of Earthrace, said the attempt to circumnavigate the globe would begin from Valencia in Spain on March 1 next year.

Bethune and his wife mortgaged their house and sold everything they own to help make the project happen, while continuing to seek support from sponsors.

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Eco Boat

Record breaking attempt: Earthrace will attempt to circumnavigate the globe running 100 per cent biodiesel, and with a net zero carbon-footprint
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Eco Boat

Earthrace is a 78 foot alternative fuel powered wave-piercing trimaran, it can carry 3,000 gallons of fuel, and weighs 23 tonnes when fully fuelled

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-503419/Eco-boat-powered-human-fat-attempts-round-world-speed-record.html#ixzz0UFDxdtHz


http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=boat+powered+by+fat&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=1GbaSq_hGIuj8AaZ59W3BQ&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CB0QqwQwAw#


I couldn't find if it broke the record or not...

Jed

The First Submarine With Panoramic Views Ever

The Alicia Submarine Has An Acrylic Pressure Hull Wich Alows For 360 Degree Underwater Views. It Can Dive To A Depth Of Over 300 Meters.
Posted by Nathan Tommer

Awesome Electric Motorcycle with interesting lithium-salt battery

Posted By Nathan Tommer

Quicksilver

Found this while researching new materials, an interesting blog on Mercury


Posted: Jeremy kerbs