Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Transportation
Not to get too nano-technical on you this Saturday afternoon, but you’re probably going to want to be briefed on these newfangled macroscopic aggregates commonly referred to as buckypapers. The devices, which are reportedly involved in a long-term undercover relationship with those buckyballs you discussed in 10th grade chemistry class, are ridiculously tough (albeit lightweight) sheets of matter made from intertwined carbon nanotubes. Put simply, these composites could see uses in making more efficient heat sinks, lighter background illumination material for displays and (at least in theory) transportation of the future. For now, buckypapers are being made exclusively in university laboratories, but Florida State is already in the process of spinning out a firm to make them commercially. Do we see the makings of a new and improved Project Grizzly suit? Our signs are pointing to yes.
[Via Yahoo!]
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Filed under: Robots
Earlier this week, Elbot made a fairly impressive showing (comparatively speaking, at least) when fooling three judges into thinking it was human; had it fooled one more on the dozen deep panel, it would have successful passed the famed Turing test. Auntie Beeb now has a report on what exactly Elbot said when asked a litany of questions away from the competition, and there’s also a video with the related experts dissecting its performance. To be totally honest, its responses weren’t too far from being completely passable as ones from a tired, potentially inebriated Earthling (in our humble opinion), but we’ll leave the final determination to you. Touch the read link for a one-on-one with ones and zeros.
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Filed under: Wearables
We’ve accomplished many an hour of restful, mugger-prone napping on the subway, but there’s always the danger of missing your stop — a problem we’re usually too drowsy to consider at 2am in the morning. Not clever hacker Pyocotan, however. This resourceful fellow has built the Noriko-san sleeping mask for fashion-forward commuters, which broadcasts your destination to fellow passengers on a garish LED display, while you’re busy getting some shut-eye underneath the mask — in the hope that they’ll be kind enough to wake you up at the right stop after they’ve rid you of your iPod and wallet. With a cost of $200 in parts, and considerable impracticality to boot, this device isn’t quite ready for the commercial sphere, but that’s of little concern to Pyocotan — he’s just busy being awesome. Video is after the break.
[Via Make]
Continue reading Noriko-san subway sleeping mask lets other passengers know to where to wake you, looks really cool
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Filed under: Cellphones
Just because you’re the elephant in the group, that doesn’t mean you’ll get away without suffering through the same humiliation that comes with being a hot new BlackBerry: dissection on camera. RIM’s first flip phone has recently been disassembled by the curious minds over at SycotecSolutions, giving us all an up close and personal look at what makes the Pearl Flip 8220 tick. Eager for more? Give the read link some of your undivided attention.
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Filed under: Transportation
The world of personal transportation, with few exceptions, has littered the earth with embarrassing paraphernalia. In-line skates, pogo sticks, the recumbent bike — all disasters to personal style. Mix in electricity and you get the Segway, or alternatively, Focus Design’s SBU electric self-balancing unicycle. The SBU can be steered by leaning left to right (like a regular unicycle) and uses Segway-style gyroscopes to power your lazy ass forwards and backwards. Not a new idea by any stretch, but Focus Design is actually crazy enough to be working on bringing this thing to market. Focus hopes to do a limited run of ten SBUs next month, at $1,500 a month. Peep the video after break to see if you can handle the shame.
[Via Hack a Day]
Continue reading Focus Design’s SBU self-balancing unicycle: because you didn’t look dumb enough on a Segway
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