Gearing up for a new academic year can be stressful, and that’s where our Back to School 2014 guide comes in handy. Whether you’re crossing items off your shopping list or simply perusing your options, you’d be silly not to enter our sweepstakes as…
There are already smartwatches and other wearables with cellular data built-in, but the bulky hardware they need for that wireless access makes them less than elegant. Intel clearly isn’t happy with this state of affairs, as it just unveiled an…
Does this mean that Deep Silver won’t be releasing a Saint’s Row 5 this week? Maybe. What we do know is that “Escape Dead Island” looks extremely unique. And certainly strange. EDIT: Additional screenshots added – maybe from Xbox 360, maybe from PlayStation 3, maybe even from PC. This game will be released to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, released … Continue reading
The standalone Kinect sensor for Xbox One will hit stores on October 7th, Microsoft has confirmed, giving those gamers who initially opted for the console without the motion sensor bar to subsequently upgrade. Microsoft began offering Xbox One in a Kinect-free bundle earlier this year, a desire for sales seemingly overtaking its previous adamance that the sensor was an integral … Continue reading
In the war for most round smartwatch on the market, Motorola had – until now – held the monopoly with the Moto 360. Or they would have, had they actually had the resources – or the foresight – to release the device before the rest of the world had the chance to release one first. LG is taking the open … Continue reading
UTZ Certified must be pleased as punch to hear that their Energy from Coffee Wastewater project happens to be a success, as it is capable of generating energy at the same time go up against the issue of climate change and protect water resources as it treats discharges from coffee mills. The Energy from Coffee Wastewater project kicked off four years ago, where the main goal was to address the environmental and health problems that were the result of wastewater produced in the coffee industry.
Tailor-made coffee wastewater treatment systems and solid-waste treatment mechanisms happened to be installed across eight coffee farms in Nicaragua, while there were ten in Honduras and a solitary installation in Guatemala. Over the years, there were positive environmental and economic impacts that affected more than 5,000 people in the region, which has led to a replication of the Energy from Coffee Wastewater initiative elsewhere.
Latin America happens to be the producer of approximately 70% of the world’s coffee, and this continent has 31% of the world’s freshwater resources. However, coffee production results in a great amount of wastewater which is normally released without any treatment into rivers, negatively affecting aquatic fauna and flora. There is also the matter of organic waste and high toxicity that will adversely impact the soil while generating considerable amounts of greenhouse-gas emissions, such as methane, that adds to the shifts in climate. This project managed to see the prevention of local deforestation of native trees, the use of 50% less water during coffee processing, using biogas to power households and coffee mills, as well as preventing the release of greenhouse-gas emissions into the atmosphere. Something to think about during my next cuppa! [Press Release]
Energy From Coffee Wastewater Project A Success
, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
NASA is not all about rovers running around on the moon as well as on the Red Planet, you know, as the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has begun to work on a new kind of robot – or rather, robots, that could actually make their way across distant planets one fine day in the future as part of a space exploration expedition. Given the nickname “swarmies”, these will be remote controlled robots that are far smaller than the likes of rover Curiosity.
The swarmies will be equipped with a webcam, carry a Wi-Fi antenna and has a GPS system for navigation purposes, where they will all work in the same manner as that of an ant colony. Basically, whenever one of the robots discover something that is worth checking out, it will make use of radio communication in order to call out to the rest of its robotic brethren so that samples can be collected.
A new kind of software that was developed by NASA engineers over at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida is capable of sending the swarmies away in various directions to look for a specific, predetermined material – and upon discovery, it will call the rest of the gang over to help it carry back the sample.
NASA Working On “Swarmies” Robots
, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Robots do seem to gain a higher level of acceptance in humanity, where they now serve in a restaurant in China, while another research pinpoints that humans are far more likely to obey commands from a robot than a direct human superior when working on a similar project. Well, in the case of shepherding, robots too, could very well get the job done in the future thanks to researchers from Swansea University have come up with a mathematical shepherding model that is touted to open up new doors for a robot to actually gather and herd livestock. This particular algorithm can also be applied when it comes to crowd control measures, not to mention cleaning up the environment.
This particular model was developed after an entire flock of sheep were outfitted with a backpack that carried very accurate GPS devices, and the same GPS tracking device was also worn by a sheepdog. After taking into consideration all movements and using a computer simulation to analyze the results, an algorithm was born, which could be implemented into a robot shepherd so that it informs actual sheep on where to go, just like a real sheepdog – albeit that this robotic model does not wee or poop.
Apart from that, it could be used in other situations as explained by Dr. Andrew King, “This could be used in a variety of situations. For example in a smoky room where people can’t see the exit, a robot could direct people towards the exit. The robot could be stationed in the corner of a room and be activated by a fire alarm.”
Could Robots Play The Role Of A Shepherd One Day?
, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Ozobot is known as the “world’s smallest intelligent robot”, and it has just been announced that product pre-orders can now be made online over at Ozobot.com all the way through to October 3rd. The Ozobot can also be purchased at the MOMA museum store in New York City in case you happen to reside in that part of the U.S. As for the Ozobot’s first free apps, they happen to be OzoDraw and OzoLuck, and can be downloaded onto Android-powered devices, with plans in the pipeline to deliver the same apps on the iOS platform.
The thing is, what kind of educational value does the Ozobot carry? For starters, it offers both kids and techies an expressive way to learn and play with robotics in a range of social and interactive settings. Standing a wee bit more than just 1” in height, the Ozobot is the most compact intelligent toy in the world as it goes around making its way through a path of mazes, tracks and playgrounds that the user creates on a tablet, smartphone and heck, even on paper if you like to take the old school route.
Basically, all you need to do is to draw your own moves on paper, or opt to drag and drop them on tablets and smartphones, and the Ozobot will obediently carry out your instructions. Alternatively, it is also capable of moving autonomously, and where more complex gaming is concerned, the Ozobot is able to memorize and play back up to 500 moves.
Ozobot Pre-Orders Now Available
, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
The whole idea of pico projectors never really took off, simply because there really wasn’t any real market niche for it to fill up. Apart from that, battery life proved to be an issue, and so were brightness levels which were not up to par for a boardroom sized presentation. Having said that, there are still pico projectors in the marketplace, with new models being released from time to time, although those happen to be rather rare and few in between. Heck, even a company like Samsung has come up with a smartphone that has a built-in projector before, and so did India’s Spice with their Popcorn Projector M-9000 Phone. Having said that, how about a projection clock instead? This is where the Kickstarter project known as Clockety comes in, where it touts being the first smartphone projection clock in the whole world.
This patent pending timepiece is portable, smart, easy to use and comes with a complimentary iPhone app that you are able to wield so that it can control Clockety in the same way that you want. It beats out all of the other projection clocks that are in the market, as those happen to be relatively bulky and are not too portable, not to mention requiring a constant power source, while others do not have the smarts apart from the bare basics of a built-in alarm. Clockety ensures that it has none of the mentioned.
All that you need to do is to make sure it has enough battery power left (which is said to last for up to a year before a battery change is required, now how about that for convenience?) , where the Clockety is then paired up using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Once done, fire up the Clockety app, set your alarm and it is time to hit the pillow and catch up on your beauty sleep.
Kickstarter Page
[ Clockety is the first smartphone projection clock in the world copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
