ROBOKID: One Texas schoolboy has a rare disease that prevents him from attending school. By using a Vgo robot he attends class virtually, chatting and working with classmates in real time. The Vgo robot gives you a physical avatar at a distant location. This robot moves itself around, carrying a
screen and sound system for live video conferencing. This is one of those possibilities that makes high-speed broadband so important. More at SingularityHub and video on YouTube.
POWER BEADS: Using hydrogen as a fuel creates storage and handling problems. Cella Energy is developing nanobeads of ammonia-borane hydride. Their porous polymer coating protects them from reacting with the air, but they release their energy very quickly, so are suitable for fuelling cars. The beads behave as a fluid so they can be pumped like petrol, while waste beads can be rehydrogenated and used again. This solid's a liquid; what's wine again? More at NewScientist.
SITWAY: Honda's U3-X Personal Mobility Prototype just may mean we never need walk again. It's a slim, mobile self-balancing seat with footpegs. As with the Segway, lean towards the way you want to move. An Omni Traction Drive System puts small wheels crosswise round one larger wheel, allowing movement in any direction. The lithium-ion battery provides 60 minutes of power, and the whole unit weighs 10 Kg. Max speed is around 6 Kph. I'd like to see a racing version. More at DiscoveryNews and video on YouTube.
NOW YOU DON'T SEE IT: Need to hide an ant or a grain of sand? Try the latest in invisibility cloaks. Two separate research teams have used calcite prisms to create cloaks that hide tiny objects. The prism cloak is shaped in such a way as to bend light away from the object to be hidden while appearing to bounce it back in its original direction. It's the old trick: smoke and mirrors, only without the smoke. More at Wired.
SKIN SHOOT: It usually takes weeks to grow skin for burn victims. A new technology takes stem cells from their own healthy skin, and in the space of an hour or two is able to spray the treated cells on the burned areas, using a 'skin gun'. New skin grows in just a few days. That's one of the better reasons to be 'shot'. Details at Gizmodo and video on NationalGeographic.
- Miraz Jordan knowit.co.nz
The Vgo robot allows a Texas schoolboy with a rare disease to 'attend' classes. Photo / Supplied
ROBOKID: One Texas schoolboy has a rare disease that prevents him from attending school. By using a Vgo robot he attends class virtually, chatting and working with classmates in real time. The Vgo robot gives you a physical avatar at a distant location. This robot moves itself around, carrying a
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