Hasta La Gadget!

So you’re doing your groceries or are out for a run, when you suddenly get a call – and then your phone dies because it’s out of power. What’s a desperate person supposed to do at that point, especially when the call is an important one?

Consider yourself lucky if you’re in New York, though, since you could probably just set off for the nearest Street Charging station to give your phone some much-needed power.

These solar-powered charging stations are thanks to the collaboration between AT&T, portable solar power systems developer Goal Zero, and Brooklyn design studio Pensa. The Street Charge stations were rolled out in various areas of New York.

Each station has PV panels installed on top and an internal battery that stores power gathered from the sun. Just plug your phone in and wait a few minutes to give your phone enough power to make that call or to charge it up because you have nothing better to do but stand and enjoy a sunny day. And also because you want to knock a couple of bucks off of your electric bill.

The concept for the Street Charge charging stations were done in early 2012 by Pensa. Marco Perry, one of the members of the studio’s team, described it as “an elegant all-in-one community solution for solar charging of mobile devices.”

From the looks of it, we agree.

[via Gizmag]

A team at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has recently completed a new test on robots. In what could be dubbed the ultimate in remote contol a team on the  International Space Station has  been able to control a robot on earth in real time. This test will help with future bot visits to other planets. 

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One of the most dangerous times for a helicopter pilot is when they’re trying to land in dusty or foggy environments. The lack of visibility can cause peril to both the pilot and crew on the ground. In fact, the Navy says that 3 of 4 helicopter accidents in Iraq and Afganistan missions have been caused by such “brownout” conditions. A system from BAE Systems helps helicopter and other rotorcraft pilots see through the particulate, reducing risk, and bringing in choppers for safe landings.

The system is called BLAST – Brownout Landing Aid System Technology. It uses a set of low-cost, high-resolution sensors along with terrain data to provide pilots with a detailed image of their landing zone, even though they can’t see it with their own eyes. It’s capable of “seeing” through dust, fog, rain, snow, and smoke. It uses a combination of radar and long-wave infrared sensors to provide spatial information to the pilot through a dashboard monitor, a heads-up or helmet-mounted display.

This technology is already available for use, and if installed in more helicopters could prevent numerous unnecessary casualties.

One thing that I’ve personally experienced from living the always-connected 21st century lifestyle – your gadgets can stress you out. Whether it’s the pressure that you constantly need to check email, or that your boss might text you at three in the morning, it’s become almost impossible to distance yourself from the stressors of work and life if you’re carrying a smartphone. Now, a group of technologists at Stanford are working on a program to help decrease the stress caused by technology – and by life in general.

The Stanford Calming Tech Center is focused on research and development of technologies which can help us better manage our stress, while decreasing the likelihood that gadgets become an added source of stress. I was recently introduced to this budding program while attending Further with Ford, an annual event which shares not only the auto manufacturer’s vision for the future, but provides access to technology and design thought-leaders to share their insights.

The Calming Tech program was founded by Neema Moraveji, who says that the stresses caused by our gadgets can affect your breathing. There’s even evidence that shows that checking your email can cause the same sort of irregular breathing caused by our fight-or-flight mechanism. So how can we decrease our stress levels in the connected world? While you could lock your devices away, that’s not always practical.

What Moraveji proposes is that we leverage our gadgets to help us live more consciously – through practices such as breathing exercises and meditation. His research shows that the introduction of “calmors” such as music, intentional distractions, and moments of mindfulness can make a difference. Among their projects, the Calming Tech team is working on a system called BreathAware, a biofeedback device that pairs with your wireless device to help you manage your breathing throughout the day.

In addition, the team is working on ideas for user interfaces which reduce stress, as well as tools which let users know how frequently they’re performing common tasks like reading emails. The lab also offers a regular course called “d.compress – Designing Calm,” which encourages students to create interactive technologies which reduce, rather than introduce stress.

It’s a very interesting field of study, and one well worth pursuing in my opinion. While I’m all for pervasive technology and connectivity, it is important that we don’t let them add new forms of stress to our lives.