Mercury seafaring robot braves through Hurricane Sandy’s wrath

Amidst the wrath of Hurricane Sandy earlier this week, a seafaring robot bravely scoured the waters 100 miles east of New Jersey to monitor and transmit hurricane data. The robot, called Mercury, is actually built by Liquid Robotics, an ocean data service provider and developer of the Wave Glider. Liquid Robotics says that Mercury battled through Hurricane Sandy and successfully piloted through winds up to 70 knots while transmitting weather data in real time. Mercury’s sensors was able to gather a “dramatic” data from the surface of the ocean as Sandy neared landfall, with the barometric pressure of over 54.3 mbars to a low of 946 mbars.

“Mercury now joins the fleet of other Wave Gliders that have come through Category I hurricanes to successfully fulfill their missions,” said Dr. Edward Lu, chief of innovative applications for Liquid Robotics. “This is a testament to our robust and reliable technology and proof of its readiness for severe weather data collection.” The Wave Glider is an unmanned autonomous marine robot that features state-of-the-art with communication systems and computers. You can learn more about it here.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Solar-powered Wave Glider robot tracks down sharks, Wave Glider to network world’s oceans,

NASA on Mercury’s Craters: "Anyone Else Think This Looks Like the Cookie Monster?" [Astronomy]

The Messenger spacecraft has photographed some neat craters on Mercury’s surface and NASA thinks they look like the cookie monster. What kind of magic cookies are you eating, NASA? Hmmm, wait. I think they are right. More »

iPhone 5 chemical study shows a green Apple, leaves room for improvement

iPhone 5 chemical study shows a green Apple, leaves room for more improvement

Eventually, that shiny new iPhone 5 will have to meet its untimely end, whether it’s in a landfill or (preferably) a recycling company’s machinery. When it does, you’ll at least be glad to know that Apple has kept the toxin levels down. HealthyStuff and iFixit have dissected the extra skinny smartphone and put it in the same “low concern” category for potential harm that’s normally occupied by phones wearing their green credentials on their sleeves. Lest anyone rush to tell Greenpeace about the feat, just remember that there’s a difference between proficiency at excising dangerous chemicals and getting rid of them completely: HealthyStuff still found small traces of bromine, chlorine, lead and mercury in the iPhone 5’s construction, which could pose risks if the handset is ever broken apart or melted for scrap. Some concern also exists that the x-ray fluorescence spectrometer doesn’t reveal the full extent of any toxic materials. Whether or not these remain sore points for you, the new iPhone is at least easier on the eco-friendly conscience than most of its peers.

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iPhone 5 chemical study shows a green Apple, leaves room for improvement originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 17:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mobile Miscellany: week of August 27th, 2012

Mobile Miscellany week of August 27th, 2012

Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you’re like us and really want to know what’s going on, then you’ve come to the right place. This past week, MetroPCS welcomed the Coolpad Quattro 4G into its stable and we also caught wind of a redesigned Huawei Mercury for Cricket. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the “best of the rest” for this week of August 27th, 2012.

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Mobile Miscellany: week of August 27th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Sep 2012 21:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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