Mar 20
Last year Michael Mosley swallowed a camera to broadcast the inside of his stomach, live on BBC, and now a much more advanced "camera" has been developed that promises to send 3D images of the inside of your arteries.
Mar 19
For the last half century, space junk has been circling the earth in very destructive patterns. Now an Australian team of scientists addresses the problem head on armed with high- tech, infra-red lasers that will zap the debris out into space. Read on for more information.
Mar 19
GateKeeper Locks Your PC Automatically, Perfect for the Lazy and Security Conscious
Posted in: Today's ChiliAn interesting new product is on Kickstarter that those who often lose things and are too lazy to lock their computer each time they walk away from it will appreciate. The product is called GateKeeper and it is a combination of a Bluetooth locating device and a proximity lock.
The proximity feature will automatically lock and unlock your PC or Mac when you walk away from it. That will keep your machine from sitting unprotected until your screen saver password protection kicks in.
The Bluetooth locator feature is just what it sounds like. It is a feature that will set off an alarm on your smartphone if you walk away from something you have tagged like a smartphone or bag. A pledge of $35(USD) or more will get you one GateKeeper this July. Fundraising ends at 11am CDT tomorrow, so you’ll want to move quickly if you want one.
Mar 19
Dust off your PS Move controllers. At the 2014 Game Developers Conference (GDC), Sony unveiled Project Morpheus, a virtual reality headset accessory for the PlayStation 4. The headset will work in conjunction with the PlayStation Camera, the DualShock 4 and the PS Move to bring VR to PlayStation users.
The current prototype uses its built-in accelerometer and gyroscope as well as the PlayStation Camera to achieve 360º head tracking. It has a 5″ 1920 x 1080 LCD display with a 90º field of view. Sony also said that the headset will have stereoscopic audio to help with the immersion. Sadly, Gamasutra says the headset has to be connected to a PlayStation 4 by a cable, and Sony “currently has no plans to build a wireless version.”
Sony hasn’t given a release date or price for the headset. According to Gamasutra, Sony is still struggling with the challenges presented by virtual reality, saying that the company is “…still actively working to figure out how to “solve” the problems of VR, and that many of those problems remain unsolved.” That said, the company claims it’s working with game engine makers like Unity, Epic Games and Crytek to help with the headset’s software.
Sony set up a demo booth at GDC where attendees could test prototype units, so we should hear more about how it performs very soon.
Mar 19
Apple has the most expensive brand not just in the whole world but especially in its hometown of Silicon Valley. While that fact is probably already well-known, it is always … Continue reading
Mar 18
Rumors have been flying this week that Apple was going to roll out a smaller capacity version of the iPhone 5C in hopes of spurring sales of the smartphone. Those rumors have proven true with Apple launching the 8GB iPhone 5C.
As of now, the iPhone 5C 8GB smartphone is available in Europe and goes into the line along with the 16GB and 32GB versions of the device. Other than the amount of storage all features of the new smartphone are the same as the existing versions.
At the Apple Store in Europe, the 8GB version of the smartphone is £429 unlocked. That makes it £40 cheaper than the 16GB version of the device, but that’s still over $700 US Dollars. Some carriers in Europe are offering the smartphone at no cost with certain plans. It’s unknown if the iPhone 4S will be discontinued now that a cheaper version of the iPhone 5C is available. The 8GB iPhone 5C hasn’t turned up in the US just yet.
[via 9to5Mac]
Mar 17
Late last year we found out about Looking Glass, a volumetric printing service. Each 3D object consists of printed slices stacked and stuck together in a case. This month the company relaunched with a better and more affordable service.
I talked with Looking Glass founder Shawn Frayne shortly before their relaunch. Shawn said they’ve “made dramatic improvements in the resolution and color-fidelity” of their product since we first heard about them. They can also now make prints out of CT scan data, in addition to .obj, .ply and .skp files. With the help of these improvements, Shawn said that they’re barely keeping up with orders. Doctors in particular have been asking Shawn for prints of CT scans.
The two images above show a Looking Glass print of an injured foot based on CT scan data. Shawn says it’s the first volumetric printed object with varying opacity. Speaking of which, Shawn said that Looking Glass isn’t looking to compete with 3D printing services. The company is focused on making prints that are great to look at instead of ones that are meant to be touched or used.
In my first article about Looking Glass, I mused that the prints would be much better if the slices were removable. Shawn said he’s gotten requests about that option as well and that it is possible, though his company isn’t going to offer that option anytime soon. I wonder if making the slices removable is a lot more complicated than it sounds.
Shawn did offer an alternative to my suggestion. Instead of one Looking Glass print with removable slices, the company can take a 3D model and split it into multiple prints: “We do however offer cross-sectional prints, where several Looking Glasses can be combined like building blocks to reconstruct, say, a heart or enlarged cell volumetric image. When these blocks are pulled apart, the internals of the volumetric image can then be examined.”
Looking Glass accepts orders online if your source file is .obj or .ply. Their standard size is 9 cm x 5 cm x 4 cm (approx. 3.5″ x 2″ x 1.6″), and costs $65 (USD) plus $10 shipping anywhere in the world. Email Shawn at smf[at]lookingglassfactory.com for other print requests, such as printing from CT scan data or printing large objects. Shawn says they can make prints as large as a person if they want to. You can also check out and buy customer-submitted prints on the Looking Glass site.
Mar 16
London Underground Radio
Posted in: Today's ChiliI’ll be perfectly honest – I haven’t listened to broadcast radio in a number of years. Between iTunes, Pandora, and SiriusXM, I have enough choices already. That said, I would actually listen to the radio again if I could have one that looked like this.
Created by sound artist/designer Yuri Suzuki, the Tube Map Radio is a printed circuit board designed in the image of London’s underground subway map. But instead of just telling you how to get from the Tower Bridge to King’s Cross, it actually works as a radio.
Certain locations on the map form a radio circuit, and assuming you place all the resistors, capacitors, and other electronics in the right places, it will form a functional radio.
Unfortunately, I don’t think you can buy the radio at this point, but I think Yuri should consider making a series of these for different cities and selling them in kit form.
[via MoCo LoCo]
Mar 16
Robots wielding dangerous weapons never seems like a good idea, but that doesn’t stop engineers from continuing to create them. Case in point, this ”Pruning Robot With a Power-Saving Chainsaw Drive.”
It was developed by roboticists Yasuhiko Ishigure, Katsuyuki Hirai, and Haruhisa Kawasaki, and is capable of not only climbing up trees, but dismembering them without human intervention. The robot can spiral its way up tree trunks ranging from 2.3 to 9.8 inches in diameter, and easily lops of limbs up to about two inches in diameter.
It doesn’t matter how much smooth jazz you play as it tears up the tree, slicing off branches. It’s still a deadly machine. While the machine could definitely reduce the need for human labor, the fact that it can climb and slice limbs seems like a horror movie waiting to happen. Imagine what this thing could do if it latched onto your leg. Eesh.
[via IEEE Spectrum]
Mar 16
Doctors in the United Kingdom are advancing medical 3-D printing at a rapid pace, and have just announced the first facial reconstruction using all 3-D printed parts.
Who's in charge here?
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.