IT HOVERS!: The Australian Hoverbike looks like a motorbike except
that the wheels are parallel to the ground. It has handlebars with a
throttle control and another control for deflecting air. It's still
only in the ground testing phase. They expect that once it's ready for
flight it will be able to carry a 130 Kg person for up to 45 minutes
flying. The 1170 cc hover bike is made from carbon fibre, Kevlar, and
foam core and uses propellers made from oak. The makers estimate that
it will be able to hover at over 3,000 metres, though it's really
designed for flying close to the ground. And we thought it'd be flying
cars. Details at hover-bike.com.
BAKER BOT: The PR2 robot at MIT's Distributed Robotics Lab is being
programmed to bake. The robot has to be to follow a long list of tasks
while also recognising objects and executing control motions. A laser
scanner and stereo camera allow it to locate the baking sheet and
butter. It identifies other ingredients and supplies by colour and
size, then follows hardcoded steps for mixing, scraping and making the
biscuits the right size and shape. That's the science of baking. It'll
be a challenge to incorporate the art of it. Details at MIT or watch video here.
METAL MIND: The Northwestern University School of Medicine in the US is testing a new way to steer an electric wheelchair. Since even
paralysed people can still usually move their tongue, the user wears a
magnetic stud in their tongue. A headset with sensors picks up the
magnetic signals from the stud. The wheelchair user simply moves their
tongue to change the wheelchair's direction. Piercings: not just
decorative. Read more at NY Times.
SHIELDS UP: NASA's Voyager probes have found something new at the edge of the solar system: they've encountered an area of frothy magnetic
bubbles. Each bubble is around 160 million Km wide. Researchers think
this zone has been created by the sun spinning and twisting its
magnetic field. Now they're trying to find out whether the magnetic
bubbles protect us from cosmic rays. And one wonders how the disturbed
magnetic fields may affect observations of the universe from Earth Nasa has more and there's video proof here.
HOT BLUE: Bluetooth v4.0 is to include some profiles specifically
designed for medical devices. The Health Thermometer Profile and the
Heart Rate Profile allow wireless monitoring of body functions. For
example a thermometer patch may send temperature readings to a mobile
phone every half hour, letting parents watch a fevered child without
disturbing them. Bluetooth v4.0 is expected to be embedded in new
smartphones starting this year. Fitness fans will love this. More here.
Miraz Jordan knowit.co.nz
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
Latest from Technology
Women in tech face ‘microaggression’, career limitations - study
'A large complex problem that needs to change,' says NZTech chief executive.