BMW is outfitting its luxury i8 plug-in hybrid coupe with lasers, though unfortunately that won’t mean blasting slower traffic out of the lane ahead. The car will be the first … Continue reading
From the DIY Laser Guy: "I present my most terrifying laser creation as of yet… the remote controlled death ray drone bot! This beast packs a potent 2W blue laser that fries anything in it’s path. It can walk around and shoot it’s death ray at the touch of a button."
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If you’re a health buff or if you have food allergies, you probably have a mental list of edibles to avoid. But how can you be sure that the food that’s in front of you is up to your standards? That’s the idea behind TellSpec. It’s a small scanner that can supposedly tell you what’s in your food.
TellSpec has two primary parts: a low-power laser and a spectrometer. Simply put, substances in food reflect light from the laser in distinct ways. The spectrometer analyzes and records the reflections, then TellSpec sends this data online using your mobile device. The results are displayed on your device as well via an app. TellSpec can identify the amount of calories and sugar on the scanned item, as well as the presence of preservatives and allergens such as nuts and gluten. It can scan through plastic and glass so you can use it while buying or browsing food.
TellSpec’s app can do more than just identify ingredients. It can also keep track of your calorie intake and even help you self-diagnose if you’re allergic to a particular substance. Here’s a demo of a very early prototype of the TellSpec:
Looks like they’ve got a long to go to get the device down to size. But if you’re willing to take the gamble, you can pre-order TellSpec online for $320 (USD). There are also pre-order bundles for family use and for developers. Because it uses a cloud service, TellSpec will also require a subscription. When you buy the device, you get one year of free service but after that you need to pay either $7 a month or $70 a year for it to keep working. Check out TellSpec’s website or their Indiegogo campaign page for more info.
[via The Red Ferret Journal]
If you regularly play FPSes on your big screen TV, then there’s a handy little gizmo out there that you might want to add to your arsenal. It’s called the HipShotDot, and it’s designed to improve your aim when playing FPSes that have a targeting reticle on screen.
Basically, the HipShotDot is a bright red LED attached to a small transparent suction cup. To use it, simply plug one end into an open USB port, then stick the LED directly over the center of the targeting reticle, then drape the remaining skinny cable down the screen and suction cup it in place. When plugged in, the LED provides a bright new point for you to focus on during FPS battles.
In my experience with the gadget, it definitely made it easier to focus on the dead-center point when aiming weapons. It works with any console or PC, and any FPS that has a consistent targeting point on screen. I suppose it would also work with air and space combat games as well. It also works with any display with a smooth surface. It definitely works with LCD, Plasma and CRT screens, though I’m not sure how well it would stick to a projection screen.
There are only a couple of minor drawbacks to the HipShotDot – first, it remains lit as long as you have it plugged into a USB port. This means that it stays on even during cutscenes and times when you’re not aiming. It’s small enough that it’s not too distracting, and its cable is quite slim too. Though I wish that it had a switch on the cord so you could at least turn it off when you shut down your console – since most consoles continue to provide power via USB when in standby mode. Still, the benefits far outweigh the cons if you’re really into FPS gaming like I am. Plus, the LED effect is kind of cool. It almost looks like a laser sight.
You can grab the HipShotDot online direct from Airdrop Gaming or from Amazon now for $29.99(USD).
NASA has successfully tested its Morpheus lander prototype. It launched today over a flame trench at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility, climbed 50 feet into the air, hovered for 15 seconds, flew 23 feet and landed on the designated pad. Once put into service, the Morpheus model will be used to deliver cargo […]
Wicked Lasers recently added two new members to its dangerously powerful Spyder III series. The Lunar and Inferno lasers produce malevolent purple and red beams respectively, countering the green Krypton and the blue Arctic.
The Spyder III Lunar is a 400mW laser that emits a 405nm beam that’s still bright enough to be seen from more than 37,500ft. away. The Spyder III Inferno on the other hand is a 750mW laser that emits a 635nm beam visible from at least 26,000ft. away.
If you check out the specs of the Krypton and the Arctic, you’ll see that these light side lasers are more powerful than these newcomers, but that the Lunar and the Inferno still need to be used with care.
You can order the Lunar and the Inferno from Wicked Lasers. The Lunar costs $300 (USD) while the Inferno costs $400. Both lasers have a variety of operating modes, aluminum bodies and use a rechargeable Li-ion battery. They’re compatible with the company’s controversial LaserSaber attachment and come with a pair of safety goggles, a holster and a charger for their battery.
If you thought low-light photography was coming on in leaps and bounds, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. This new camera, developed by researchers at MIT, can capture ultra-sharp images of objects even when they’re illuminated by just a handful of photons.
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Just in time for the soon-to-be-over month of Movember, Philips has launched the world’s first facial hair trimmer with an integrated laser guide to help keep lines straight and even. Called the Beard Trimmer 9000, this small device has a variety of adjustable settings, and uses the laser to provide an instant, accurate, hands-off approach […]
I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who did this, but the first thing I did when I got my first laser pointer was go outside and point it at the moon. I’d stare and wonder if someone was up there, would they be able to see the little red light shining from the Earth?
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There’s nothing like a good Star Wars scene you’ve never seen before to start your week off right. What we’re seeing here is the purchase of a massively expensive LaserDisc-format Return of the Jedi complete with a collection of behind-the-scenes video clips so rare that @THX found them amazing to behold. This is the collection […]
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