We’re wrapping up this week of 404 episodes with special guest Jason Fischell, Vice President of Product for CNET.com. We’re taking questions from the chatroom about Jason’s history with CNET, his opinions on the current state of consumer technology, and the possibility The 404 replacing Charlie Sheen on Two and a Half Men.
Robots are currently being developed to take over one of the most labor intensive jobs out there: farming.
Scientists in Israel and Europe are developing just such machines, which could identify, spray, and harvest crops. This selective spraying could potentially reduce the use of pesticides by 80 percent.
“The technology is ready, and now we can start seeing this penetrating into the market,” researcher Yael Edan told Discovery News. “I would say there will definitely be robots out there in five years — maybe not be on every farm, and maybe not for every farmer. I think now the time is there.”
The biggest hurdle is developing computers and robots that can identify vegetables and fruits accurately. So far researchers have been able to achieve this with about 80 percent accuracy, but that’s still far less than with an actual person.
A recently published paper in Science debunks commonly-believed myths about bicycle stability. This experimental bike is proof. Photo: Sam Rentmeester/FMAX
Get a running start and try pushing your bike without riding it — it’ll stay balanced on its own, at least as long as it maintains a certain amount of speed. This has always been true, but a recently published research paper may debunk long-standing beliefs on why your bike can ride itself. And it may make for better bicycle designs in the future.
A group of researchers from the United States and the Netherlands have collaborated to produce the two-mass-skate (TMS) bike, a riderless bicycle prototype that lacks two components commonly believed to contribute to the self-stability of bicycles.
Before their results were published in Science magazine on Thursday, popular belief held that the gyroscopic and caster effects were keeping bicycles upright.
“Ask any enthusiast you know — bicycle mechanics, professional cyclists, manufacturers — how a bike self-stabilizes,” Jim Papadopoulos, engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stout and co-author of the paper, told Wired.com in an interview. “They’ll tell you the same thing. The front forks and the spin of the front wheel.”
The theory of gyroscopic precession holds that when a bike leans to the right or to the left, the spinning front wheel forces the bike to turn into the lean, effectively keeping it upright. Further, the caster effect likens the wheels of bicycles to those on shopping carts.
Next time you go to the grocery store, notice how the point of contact for the cart’s wheels are just behind the steering axis, which is the same imaginary line that extends downward from the forks of the bike. That makes wheels on casters self-righting: As soon as they start to tip, they turn into the direction of the fall, straightening themselves out again.
To debunk the theory, Papadopoulous and colleagues built a bike that eliminates both effects. The steering axis of their model lies behind the front wheel, canceling out the caster effect. And the addition of wheels situated above the front and back wheels, spinning in the opposite direction of each, counters the effect of gyroscopic precession.
They gave it a push and, you guessed it, the bike stayed balanced on its own.
The researchers found it has to do with the bike’s higher distribution of mass in the rear versus lower in the front. As the front of the bike will try to fall faster than the rear, the front is forced to steer into the fall and pull the bike out of tipping over.
So what does this mean for future bikes?
“A lot of nerds like to try building different experimental bikes — recumbent bikes, folding models and the like,” Andy Ruina, professor of mechanical engineering at Cornell University, told Wired.com in an interview. “We don’t know if we can build a better bicycle, but using our calculations can give these nerds new ideas in bike design for the future — potentially creating models that are easier to ride, or easier to feel balanced upon while riding straight.”
Does this signal the end of training wheels?
Probably not. “Hopefully it will lead to work that is more testable and tested,” Papadopoulous said. “Is there a big product to come because of our findings? Maybe. Understanding can do this, but it’s a preamble — we’re understanding it now.”
We’re not gonna lie: this week, we’re all over the place. PlayBook banter? We got it. Dual-screened Android analysis? Check. Cool Kinect chaos? It’s in the bag. And so on and so forth, with the smoothest segways between topics on this side of the Andromeda galaxy. It’s The Engadget Podcast, again, for the first time — know it, own it, cherish it.
Hosts: Tim Stevens, Darren Murph Guests: Myriam Joire, Vlad Savov Producer:Trent Wolbe Music: Light My Fire
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Not content with just improving the carbon footprint of its bottles, Coca-Cola has launched a new program that will see it reuse and recycle displays for its products as well.
Called, aptly, the “Give It Back” rack, are display stands made from recyclable cardboard. But, as the name implies, Coke is actually encouraging retailers to return the racks once they are empty so that they can be reused or, in some instances, recycled.
“Coca-Cola recovered 400 million pounds of cans and bottles in the U.S. in 2010, yet we want to do more,” VP of business development Gary Wygant said. “By creating a 100 percent recyclable merchandise display rack, Coca-Cola is asking grocery and convenience stores to join our sustainability efforts by returning or recycling our racks, just like we ask consumers to return or recycle our product packaging.”
The cardboard racks are currently being tested in select locations, but, provided everything goes well, will become more widely available towards the end of the year. In addition to cardboard, Coke is also experimenting with other materials, such as recycled PET plastic.
Cool your jets, buster — Cisco’s still no closer to rejoining the consumer realm. If you’ll recall, this here Android tablet was actually introduced at the front-end of the year, but it remains one for the business sect. Rivaling the PlayBook as the working man’s tablet, the Cius is now orderable through your Cisco field representative and / or authorized Cisco channel reseller. Of course, tracking him / her down on a Friday is another thing entirely, but you can expect the first shipments to go out “this month.” Excited? Jazzed? Bubbling over? You betcha.
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