Hasta La Gadget!

If you’ve played any of the Mass Effect games, then you’re familiar with the series’ Medi-gel. It’s a potent salve that instantly cures wounds and restores health, regardless of the source of the damage. It can even be administered remotely! It does have one crucial flaw: it’s not real. But two college students from NYU-Poly have invented something similar to this miraculous substance.

The product is called Veti-gel, a plant-based gel that can stop bleeding and hasten blood clotting, supposedly regardless of the size of the wound. It was invented by Joe Landolina and Kenny Mai, two junior college students at New York University. In fact, in 2011 Landolina and Mai were still calling their invention Medi-gel. I don’t know why they changed it though.

Tech News Daily spoke with Landolina and reports that the gel “jump-starts the clotting and healing process so quickly that even wounds to internal organs or major arteries are able to close up instantaneously.” Landolina was even quoted as saying, “One of my other colleagues … he went to a bonfire. One of his friends fell into the fire and got second-degree burns. He put the gel on, and the next day is [sic] was healed[.]“

Apparently the gel’s plant-based polymers turn themselves into a replica of an animal tissue component known as the Extracellular Matrix or ECM. The ECM has many functions, one of which is related to healing wounds. Once applied, Veti-gel forms a tight seal around the wound and helps with clotting and healing. In the short video below, Veti-gel is applied on a 3″ incision is made on a piece of raw pork loin that’s been pumped full of blood. Aside from being very gross, the video also shows how fast the gel does its job.

Because we live in an amazing world, it doesn’t surprise me that there are already substances similar to Veti-gel. One is called QuikClot and the other is called Floseal. But according to Tech News Daily QuikClot requires that you apply pressure over the wound for several minutes, whereas Veti-gel can fly solo. Floseal on the other hand is partly made from bovine gelatin. Veti-gel is made from plants, which are not as adorable as cows and oxen and thus can be harvested without remorse. Just kidding. Kind of.

But don’t be reckless when you’re assaulting the Reapers just yet because Veti-gel is still in development. Also because there are no Reapers. Landolina and Mai have started a company called Suneris to further work on and market their invention. Maybe these geniuses can make the Omni-tool real as well.

[via Tech News Daily, NYU-Poly (1), (2) & Suneris via Kotaku]

The Microsoft Kinect has been hacked to do all sorts of things, and while some of the hacks are for the good of humankind, most are pretty superfluous. But the Microsoft Research Cambridge team has recently put together a Kinect demo which could provide neurosurgeons with interactive 3D visuals which could help them save lives in the operating room.

The prototype system shows how a Kinect could help provide augmented reality visuals which overlay the patient’s MRI or CAT scan data with the real world. This would allow doctors to move around the patients head and visualize problem areas non-invasively, and to help them map out a better action plan before starting surgery.

The system uses a touchscreen tablet with a Kinect duct taped to the back of it, tied to a custom application through the Kinect Fusion API. In the video below shot by IEEE Spectrum, Microsoft Research’s Ben Glocker demonstrates how the system works:

While this particular system isn’t exactly the most portable, it’s still quite impressive, and you could see how combining Kinect tech with some sort of head-mounted display could really change the way surgery is performed. Now if only they could work out a way that you don’t have to lie in that noisy and claustrophobic MRI machine.

While Leap Motion and Google Glass are real products, the BAT Levitating Mouse is unfortunately just a concept. That doesn’t mean it can’t be real in the future, but unlike the previous concepts mentioned which have a range of uses, what would people get from having a levitating mouse aside from the coolness factor?

Could it perhaps offer better usability that will reduced the likelihood of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? I’m skeptical, but that’s basically the premise that KIBARDINDESIGN Studio worked with when they came up with this concept.

As you can see, the BAT levitating mouse is made up of two parts: the base (which is basically its fancy mouse pad), and the actual mouse which is fitted with a magnetic ring.

As is often the case with prototypes and concept designs, there’s no word on an actual production run of the BAT mouse. However, its designer does have a history of actually bringing his design concepts to market, like the cool White & White Clock, so there may be hope for floating mice in our futures.

We usually hear about new tablets and smartphones at the Mobile World Congress, but this year Fujitsu also showed off a different mobile device. The Japanese company had a working prototype of a cane that downloads routes wirelessly and then guides its user using large arrows on its LED screen.

The next generation cane is obviously intended for the elderly. I’m just guessing here, but I think the prototype is based on the grand prize winner of a design contest that Fujitsu held in 2011. The idea is for someone – hopefully not a prankster – to make a route on a computer using the cane’s companion program. The cane will then download the route via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or 3G. With this information at hand, the cane will now tell the user which way to go using large green arrows. Should the user stray from the route, the cane will vibrate and reprimand the user with a red exclamation point. Then it shows the green arrows again.

What do you think this is grandpa, a leisurely stroll?! Make your way around the park in a predetermined, optimized and orderly manner!

I don’t see much point in just having a heart rate monitor. What’s an old person supposed to do with the data if he’s already having a heart attack or trying to run away from a thief? The cane does send its location back to the companion app so other people can track the user, but it would be more awesome if the cane could automatically call for help based on the user’s heart rate. It would be even more awesome if the cane could transform into a laser cannon. Yeah Fujitsu, screw the heart monitor. Just go with the laser cannon.

[via The Verge & Pocket-lint]

We’ve seen plenty of robots based on animal designs. Nature knows what it is doing after all. Researchers, much like leopards, don’t change their spots. They are still working on robot designs that will run us down and devour us. Like the Pneupard, a robotic leopard from Osaka University.


This robot is driven by compressed air. It is still a prototype, which is why this thing doesn’t seem very fast or certain on it’s feet. Plus, its front legs and spine are incomplete right now. Regardless, the artificial muscles that it sports are impressive and when this robot gets further along, it will be more nimble, I’m sure.

It’s movements were based on the movements of a cat walking on a treadmill. I’m guessing they’re not talking about these cats.

They are hoping that capturing movements this way instead of programming the system by hand will lead to a more authentic movements.

[via IEEE Spectrum via Geekosystem]