All the stories categorized with: General
Robot chromosomes?
12/16/2004, Kim Jong-Hwan, a professor from the Robot Intelligence Technology Lab (Korea) has created a set of 14 “artificial chromosomes” that defines robots personality. In fact, by “genes” he really means “software”. It doesn’t sound that exciting all the sudden, isn’t [...]
Affordable Touch Panel Phone
12/16/2004, This stylish phone would look pretty good on my desk, and yeah, I can already hear my friends arguing that it’s not wireless (therefore low-tech). I don’t care, I think that a wired phone with an LCD panel *is* high-tech [...]
´Nano-needle´ operates on cell
12/15/2004, “Scientists have performed a delicate surgical operation on a single living cell, using a needle that is just a few billionths of a metre wide.” (BBC) The nano-needle was used to penetrate the membrane of a cell. This could boost [...]
Virtual white cane for the blind
12/15/2004, “UCSC researchers are developing new assistive technologies for the blind based on advances in computer vision that have emerged from research in robotics. A “virtual white cane” is one of several prototype tools for the visually impaired developed by Roberto [...]
Honda Reveals Technologies for Next-Generation ASIMO
12/15/2004, Honda is announcing the development of new technologies that will bring Asimo, the humanoid robot, to the next level. The objective is to enable a new level of mobility and better interaction with humans. Key Specs• Running speed: 3km/hour (airborne [...]
FM teletext in the bath
12/14/2004, Tokyo Gas, in association with Tokyo FM have unveiled the FM broadcast and FM teletext. It’s a broadcast service which sends text & sound information simultaneously (this usually requires a separate receiver). The device is water-resistant and can be installed [...]
Automatic Quarterback
12/14/2004, “A powerful football passer that throws a perfect spiral every time, our automatic quarterback sends a soft polyurethane foam football up to 30 yards, and adjusts between lateral passes and long, high bombs.” (manufacturer) It can be triggered manually or [...]
"Indium" touch sensitive torches
12/13/2004, “the ‘indium’ is one of the smallest and most powerful rechargeable LED torches. it is controlled by a touch sensitive switch that uses the natural conductivity of the skin to switch the light on to full power, half power, and [...]
Oxyride Battery to Be Sold in the U.S.
12/13/2004, Matsushita Electric Industrial promises to deliver 1.5 times the power of a regular alkaline battery. It works better because the material that produce electricity (here, Oxyride) is more concentrated than in previous generation batteries. Power consumption is one of the [...]
Power Player: 100 games in 1 device
12/13/2004, The “Power Player” is a game controller that has 100 games embedded in it. It just needs to be plugged into the TV and you can start to play. It looks fairly cheap, runs 8 bits games (old, old stuff) [...]
Teletext for the 21st Century
12/13/2004, This little gizmo is using sounds and light sequences to notify users of news and information. The incoming data given as examples are emails and weather reports. The user can ask for detailed information by waving their hands in front [...]
Hitachi Electronic Paper in 2006?
12/13/2004, Hitachi is believed to be preparing the launch of their electronic paper product for 2006. Their product has a thickness of 3mm and delivers full color images, unlike other competing products. It remains to be seen if users will adopt [...]
Paypal and Apple iTunes link up
12/13/2004, Paypal users can now purchase music on Apple’s iTunes. It’s a good deal for Paypal, as they get a cut on each financial transaction. Today, 70% of Paypal transactions are related to eBay. However, the service is becoming increasingly popular. [...]
