Hasta La Gadget!

So, let’s paint the picture, shall we? There’s a rat, a bundle of electrodes, more wiring than an electrician would know what to do with and some sort of wheeled apparatus. In the background stands a team of crazed Japanese scientists, intent on never sleeping again until said rat controls said vehicle entirely with his mind. Nah, it’s not a re-run of a WB classic — it’s real life, and it’s happening now in a dark, shadowy corner at the University of Tokyo. The RatCar is a newly developed rat-vehicle experiment that researchers hope will open new doors for those with mobility issues; we’ve seen brain-machine interfaces change the lives of the disabled before, but giving them the ability to control their wheelchair with their mind (for instance) would be taking things to an entirely new level. As of now, the team still has to figure out how to accurately determine how much movement is coming from the rat’s feet and how much is coming from its mind, but there’s no question that the research shows promise — just don’t let the humanoids learn of our findings, okay folks?

Rat controls vehicle with its brain, Pinky and The Brain apply for ‘one last run’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 21:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Everyone’s suffered from a little foot odor at some point in their lives, but if yours is particularly bad or you suffer from it particularly often, you’ve probably spent a good amount of money on ointments, sprays, and other products designed to be miracle cures. According to the folks behind the Steri-Shoe, a new product that promises to eliminate foot odor and infections permanently, a lot of people treat the problem and then put their feet back in the same old shoes, re-infecting them with whatever ailment that’s causing the problem.

The Steri-Shoe is a foot-shaped ultraviolet light that fits into your shoes and bathes the inside with germ-killing UV light, the same way a number of other sterilizing products do with toothbrushes, for example. The Steri-Shoe has to be stuffed into a shoe to work, and comes with cloth covers so you can use it with sandals. You can buy one of four different sizes for $129.95 direct from Steri-Shoe, and replacement UV lamps are available for $11.95 each.

[via GadgetLab]

The prevalence of high fructose corn syrup, the birth of McDonald’s Supersize meal, the debut of the 7-11 Big Gulp, the unveiling of the Sony PlayStation–what do all of these milestones have in common? All are factors in the rise of childhood obesity, according to the winner of the White House/Let’s Move’s infographic design contest.

The winning chart, designed by Jenn Cash, charts a number of factors in the childhood obesity epidemic, beginning in 1950, when “a bottle of Coca-Cola was 6.5 oz” and ending in 2010, when “one in three children are overweight or obese.”

As SlashDot points out, Sony’s PlayStation makes two appearances on the list, first its 1995 debut and then a decade later, when it hits the 100 million unit sold mark.

Sony–like Microsoft–has taken a cue from the runaway success of the Nintendo Wii, developing the PlayStation Move, it’s own take on the Wiimote, which gets players up out of their seats, directing gameplay with their own movements.

Baby monitors have become quite commonplace over the past 20 years or so, and come in many variations. Exmovere (a company that previously produced the wearable Chariot) has debuted a new type of monitor, however, which are actually part of the baby’s pajamas, and which are said to help monitor heart rate, emotional state and behavior. The outfit — called Exmobaby — uses the Zigbee wireless standard, effectively connecting the baby to the home wireless network, enabling the parents (or you know, whoever’s around) to track the babies various states via icons on their mobile phones. Sound great? Well, it’s heading to limited retail in 2011, though no pricing has been announced yet. Full press release is below.

Continue reading Exmovere shows off Exmobaby biosensor pajamas for babies, coming to retail in 2011

Exmovere shows off Exmobaby biosensor pajamas for babies, coming to retail in 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As it turns out, there are quite a few uses for a $100 off-the-shelf computerized scale, above and beyond getting fit — Nintendo’s Wii Balance Board is now providing a mechanism by which college football teams at Ohio State University and the University of Maryland can cheaply determine whether players are suffering from concussions. Taking the place of force plate machines that can cost tens of thousands of dollars, the white plastic boards measure students’ balance (using yoga poses) and coordination (in Table Tilt) before a game, to provide a frame of reference against which trainers can measure whether athletes are fit to keep playing. Though some scholars found Wii Fit didn’t stack up favorably against the expensive force plates, the universities trialing the system called it “pretty decent,” so the question is whether Nintendo’s peripheral offers a reasonable enough benchmark for the price. We suppose the American Heart Association liked it well enough.

Two universities adopt Wii Fit to monitor football concussions originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 03:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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