IBM developing robot assistance for technicians

If you've ever tried typing while talking to technical support with the phone crammed between ear and shoulder, then you know the meaning of frustration. Now imagine doing that upside down inside an airplane wing while juggling wires, crimps and a schematic printout. For some field engineers, that sort of thing is an everyday occurrence, so IBM in collaboration with the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) in the UK is developing a mobile maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) prototype robot. It's a combination of a smartphone app and a camera/projector mounted on a robot arm, that allows supervisors and experts to have a more active presence on the job... Continue Reading IBM developing robot assistance for technicians

Section: Robotics

Tags: IBM, Remote Presence, Robots, Telepresence, University of Sheffield

Related Articles:
Romo the robot uses your smartphone as its brain
AR system lets engineers show remote technicians what they're talking about
Scientists developing intelligent pipe-inspection robot
SmartBot puts your smartphone to a new use
TMSUK sends a robot to do the shopping
Remotely grooming a cat using a Kinect, Wiimote, treadmill and Nao robot

CERN recreating the world's first website

To old fogeys like me, it seems like only yesterday that the coolest way to go online was to dial up the AP wire service bulletin board on a 300-baud modem, but it was actually two decades ago that the web as we know it burst onto our world. On Tuesday, it was 20 years ago that the World Wide Web went public, when CERN made the technology behind it available on a royalty-free basis. To mark the occasion, the organization announced that it is recreating the world's very first website for posterity. .. Continue Reading CERN recreating the world's first website

Section: Computers

Tags: CERN, History, Internet

Related Articles:
Neutrinos do not exceed speed of light, according to latest experiment
CERN to open 'Universe of Particles' exhibition
Faster-than-light travel observed ... of neutrinos, maybe
CERN opens its doors to the world
Antimatter trapped and studied for first time
Large Hadron Collider readies for half-power restart

Honda "Concept M" MPV heads for the Chinese market

Honda is determined to secure a slice of the growing Chinese motoring market with no less than three concept vehicles set to go into production in the near future. While details are scant, the company showcased its “Concept M” Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) that is due to go on sale in China starting next year at Auto Shanghai 2013... Continue Reading Honda "Concept M" MPV heads for the Chinese market

Section: Automotive

Tags: Car, Concept Cars, Honda, Shanghai Auto Show 2013

Related Articles:
Honda to show S2000 roadster concept and many others in Tokyo
Honda presents new Urban SUV Concept
Friend-Me: Nissan unveils vision for growing Chinese auto marketplace
Chery's Ant Concept portends an era of platooning
Honda Accord Coupe Concept for NAIS
Chinese Chika electric city car concept

Alpha Dominche's Steampunk gives baristas total control

With baristas able to draw masterpieces in a macchiato, the days when going out for a coffee meant a cup of something scorched in an urn seem long gone. Unfortunately, if your tastes run more toward brewed coffee rather than a double decaf or skinny latte, you’re still likely to be pointed to a vacuum-flask at the end of the counter. Alpha Dominche’s Steampunk Coffee and Tea Brewer aims to redress the balance of power by asking the espresso machine to make room for a computerized coffee maker that gives baristas the power to replicate a wide variety of brewing methods... Continue Reading Alpha Dominche's Steampunk gives baristas total control

Section: Good Thinking

Tags: Alpha Dominche, Coffee, Modular

Related Articles:
Is that really decaf? Caffeindicator lets you know for sure
Impress brew-and-go coffee mug
Fully Automatic Coffee Machine
Hourglass coffee maker cold-brews your joe, very slowly
The famous Datamancer’s Steampunk Laptop is now up for sale
GSI Commuter Java Press brews no-hassle coffee on the go

Touch Bionics introduces app-controlled prosthetic hand

Whichever marketing genius came up with the Apple catchphrase, "There's an app for that," has a lot to answer for – or brag about. It's heard so often these days that it’s become a cliché. Touch Bionic’s i-limb ultra revolution robotic artificial hand gives yet another reason to repeat the phrase. It’s linked to a smartphone app, which allows for greater control of the hand, including the ability to program it for the wearer’s personal needs... Continue ReadingTouch Bionics introduces app-controlled prosthetic hand

Section: Medical

Tags: Apps, Bionic, Bluetooth, Hand, Prosthesis, Prosthetics, Robotic

Related Articles:
i-LIMB bionic hand approaches 100 fittings
RSLSteeper launches third version of its bebionic myoelectric hand
Touch Bionics launches world’s first bionic finger
iLimb: world's first fully articulating and commercially available bionic hand
The PEREGRINE gaming glove: Own the Glove, own the Game
New prosthesis eases phantom limb pain

DARPA developing personal LWIR cameras to give soldiers heat vision

With their ability to pick out humans by their heat signatures, long-wave infrared (LWIR) thermal imaging cameras are a valuable asset for soldiers – and alien predators. Unfortunately, non-alien built ones are expensive and so large that they need to be mounted on vehicles. In an effort to make a LWIR camera cheap and small enough for an individual soldier to carry, DARPA is working on a five-micron camera that offers a reduced size without sacrificing performance... Continue Reading DARPA developing personal LWIR cameras to give soldiers heat vision

Section: Digital Cameras

Tags: Cameras, DARPA, Infrared, Prototype, Thermal Imaging

Related Articles:
New infrared camera delivers significantly better resolution
Long-wave infrared driving cameras on the way
Night Hawk CCTV cameras capture images in total darkness
Fuuvi takes movies retro with pint-sized Bee digital 8mm camera
Kodak Easyshare V550 and V530 fuse digital camera and camcorder
DARPA releases video of HTV-2 second test flight

Kepler discovers smallest habitable-zone Earth-like planets to date

NASA has announced that the Kepler space probe has discovered two planetary systems that include the smallest planets yet found that lie in the "habitable zone." The systems include three super-Earth size planets, with one of them being a habitable-zone exoplanet that is the closest in size to Earth yet discovered. .. Continue Reading Kepler discovers smallest habitable-zone Earth-like planet to date

Section: Space

Tags: Exoplanet, Habitable zone, Kepler Mission, NASA, Spacecraft, Super-Earth

Related Articles:
First Earth-size planets discovered beyond our solar system
NASA's Kepler finds exoplanet smaller than Mercury
Kepler spacecraft discovers tiniest solar system yet found
NASA: mission accomplished, Kepler – now look harder still
Kepler finds rare multiple planetary system in 'habitable zone'
Scientists say at least one in six stars has an Earth-sized planet

Hybrid solar system boosts natural gas powerplant efficiency by 20 percent

Solar power holds the promise of clean, limitless energy, but it currently suffers from high costs and an inherent disadvantage of not working when the sun isn't shining. The Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is taking a best-of-both-worlds approach by developing a hybrid solar/gas system that increases the efficiency and reduces the carbon footprint of natural gas power plants. .. Continue Reading Hybrid solar system boosts natural gas powerplant efficiency by 20 percent

Section: Science

Tags: Alternative Energy, Energy, PNNL, Solar Powered, Sunlight

Related Articles:
Capturing more heat from low-temp resources to aid geothermal power
Scrubbing CO2 and sulfur from power plant emissions
Record setting small-scale solid oxide fuel cell could power neighborhoods
California approves its first molten salt solar power plant
Google invests US$168 million in world’s largest solar power tower plant
SunPower claims new solar cell efficiency record of 24.2 percent

Proba-3 mission will call on satellites to fly in sub-millimeter precision

The European Space Agency (ESA) wants to bring the sort of precision normally associated with Swiss watch making to satellite navigation. When it launches in 2017, ESA’s Proba-3 mission will incorporate the first satellite pair capable of flying in formation to within a tolerance of a millimeter to one another. It's part of a demonstration technology that could one day be used to build space telescopes using formation-flying satellites as a “rigid structure” that would be impossibly large to achieve in a single spacecraft... Continue Reading Proba-3 mission will call on satellites to fly in sub-millimeter precision

Section: Space 

Tags: ESA, Satellite, Spacecraft 

Related Articles:

• NASA selects next nanosatellite flight demonstration missions
• Tiny satellites will use Kinect to dock with one another
• Lockheed Martin receives DARPA grant for modular, networked satellite system
• NASA to demonstrate largest-ever solar sail in space
• ESA develops "snap-proof" space tether
• CHEOPS, the first ESA “small mission,” will study super-Earths

World's largest optical telescope gets construction approval

The world’s largest optical telescope got the go ahead last Friday when the Hawaiian Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) granted a building and operating permit for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) to be sited on a plateau of Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii. The next-generation telescope, which uses a 30-meter (98 ft) segmented mirror promises to capture images from the near-ultraviolet to the mid-infrared wavelengths with unprecedented clarity. .. Continue Reading World's largest optical telescope gets construction approval

Section: Science

Tags: Astronomy, Telescope

Related Articles:
James Webb Space Telescope’s near infrared camera completed
Hubble detects galaxy from the infancy of the universe
X-ray telescope to shed light on dark energy
The anti-mirror... and more
World's largest optical telescope gains a powerful tool, with LUCIFER
China building world’s biggest radio telescope

Scientists bioengineer functional, transplantable rat kidneys

About 100,000 people in the United States alone are on the list to receive a kidney transplant and 400,000 are kept alive by kidney dialysis machines. Unfortunately, there are only 18,000 kidneys available each year in the U.S. and those lucky enough to receive one face a lifetime of immunosuppressant drugs. To increase the supply and remove the risk of tissue rejection, a team of researchers led by Harald Ott of the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Regenerative Medicine has built an experimental bioengineered kidney that not only produces urine, but has been successfully transplanted into a rat... Continue Reading Scientists bioengineer functional, transplantable rat kidneys

Section: Medical

Tags: kidney, Massachusetts General Hospital, Stem Cells

Related Articles:
Scientists come a step closer to growing replacement kidneys
Researchers unveil prototype implantable artificial kidney to replace dialysis
‘Artificial ovary’ allows human eggs to be matured outside the body
The wearable kidney
Peoples' immune systems can now be duplicated in mice
Researchers grow laboratory-engineered miniature human livers

Time Traveler watch uses landmarks to tell the time

World-time functions have been available on digital watches at the press of a stud for over 30 years, but for world weary travelers touching down in a new time zone sometimes even that might be too much effort. To fill this admittedly niche market, Mr. Jones Watches has come up with its Time Traveler watch, which allows you to see at a glance what time it is in 16 different time zones – provided you’re good at recognizing landmarks. .. Continue Reading Time Traveler watch uses landmarks to tell the time

Section: Wearable Electronics

Tags: Time, Travel, Watches

Related Articles:
Sun and Moon Watch tells time with movement of celestial bodies
What's in a face ... the Stocking Watch tells time with circles
Hop! suitcase automatically follows its user
Who needs a second hand anyway?
The Tokyoflash Shinshoku LED watch
Retsu watch changes the face of telling the time

Russian space enthusiasts may have found lost Soviet Mars lander

Russian space enthusiasts have pinpointed the resting place of what is believed to be the Soviet lander, Mars 3, which failed shortly after landing in 1971. Using images returned by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a crowdsourcing effort has found what may be four components of the lander, its parachute and descent module... Continue Reading Russian space enthusiasts may have found lost Soviet Mars lander

Section: Space

Tags: Historic, Mars, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA, Spacecraft

Related Articles:
Phoenix Mars Lander succumbs to Martian winter
Curiosity sends images of Mars back to Earth
Next Mars mission – after Curiosity comes InSight
Last call: Mars Phoenix lander mission winds down
Mars Express takes close up of Phobos
NASA announces new rover mission for Mars

AirRider hovercraft uses hybrid design

Even though hovercraft have been around for over half a century, they still have an air of the future about them. They’re used in everything from sports to oil exploration, yet they still leave a lot to be desired in terms of ride and stability. Hoverworks of Parry Sound, Ontario hopes to improve matters with its AirRider hovercraft, which uses a hybrid hull and skirt design that combines the best of conventional hovercraft technologies. .. Continue ReadingAirRider hovercraft uses hybrid design

Section: Marine

Tags: Hovercraft, Hybrid, Inflatable, Watercraft

Related Articles:
Affordable Personal Hovercraft
Hov Pod personal hovercraft
Universal Hovercrafts go anywhere in style
Hov Pod launches a hassle free hovercraft
ASV hulls would dramatically improve ship efficiency by riding on a cushion of air
Bubba Watson's hovercraft golf cart

Boeing announces Phantom Phoenix family of small satellites

One problem with satellites is that they’re either one-offs or part of a constellation of a single, costly design. Both can be expensive and neither lends itself to getting a specialized satellite into orbit quickly and on a budget. Boeing’s answer to this is a kit car class of a small satellites called Phantom Phoenix that are relatively easy to customize and economical to launch. .. Continue Reading Boeing announces Phantom Phoenix family of small satellites

Section: Space

Tags: Boeing, Satellite

Related Articles:
Boeing’s hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye goes higher for longer on second flight
Boeing's Phantom Eye autonomous aircraft makes its first flight
Boeing’s hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye taxis closer to second flight
Phantom Ray UAV completes low-speed taxi tests
Boeing Phantom Ray unmanned aircraft begins flight testing
DARPA plans on scrounging parts from dead satellites - while they're still in orbit

U.S. Navy to deploy Laser Weapon System on warship

The U.S. Navy took a step farther away from John Paul Jones and closer to James T. Kirk as it announced that a solid-state laser weapon will be deployed on a U.S. Navy ship in fiscal year 2014. The announcement that the Laser Weapon System (LaWS) will deployed on board USS Ponce (AFSB[I] 15) two years ahead of schedule was made on Monday at the Sea-Air-Space exposition, National Harbor, Maryland. The deployment is the latest in a line of recent recent high-energy laser demonstrations carried out by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and Naval Sea Systems Command... Continue Reading U.S. Navy to deploy Laser Weapon System on warship

Section: Military

Tags: Laser, Laser weapon, US Navy

Related Articles:
Navy ray gun shoots down robotic targets
Boeing and BAE team up to develop laser weapon for the U.S. Navy
U.S. Navy demonstrates solid state laser weapon at sea
Airborne Laser completes activation tests
PhaSR – the first man-portable, non-lethal deterrent weapon
Rheinmetall's 50kW high-energy laser weapon successfully passes tests

Margaret Thatcher and soft-serve ice cream

As if restoring Britain's pride, crushing the unions, saving the Falklands and helping defeat Communism wasn't enough.

Researchers developing fusion rocket to slash travel time of Mars missions

Traveling through deep space is a hazardous undertaking and choosing the right engine can mean the difference between a fast, successful mission and a slow one with mounting dangers of radiation sickness, equipment failures and personal conflicts. A team of researchers from the University of Washington (UW) and Redmond, Washington-based MSNW are aiming to expand the options by developing a new fusion drive rocket engine that promises to make possible a manned spacecraft that could reach Mars and return to Earth in months rather than years... Continue Reading Researchers developing fusion rocket to slash travel time of Mars missions

Section: Space

Tags: Fusion, Mars, Prototype, Rocket, Space Travel, University of Washington

Related Articles:
New ion engine could reach Mars in 39 days
Engineers creating carbon-negative Mars rocket
NASA announces new rover mission for Mars
Curiosity's ChemCam passes first tests with flying colors
In pictures: NASA tracer rockets form ringed clouds at the edge of space
Mars Curiosity Rover successfully launched

Margaret Thatcher (1925 - 2013)

Her claim as Britain's greatest prime minister is surpassed only by Churchill's.

Sleep well, Ma'am.

MIT researchers study electro-hydrodynamic thrust

Imagine an aircraft that is silent, invisible to infrared detectors, has zero emissions and can hover in an eerie manner that helicopters can’t. Now imagine it coming from technology currently used to suck dust out of living room air. That’s what a team of researchers at MIT are doing. They've conducted a study that indicates that ionic thrusters, currently a science fair curiosity, might one day take to the skies... Continue Reading MIT researchers study electro-hydrodynamic thrust

Section: Aircraft

Tags: Aviation, ion engine, MIT, Research

Related Articles:
An ionic wind to cool laptops may blow fans away
Mini ionic motor to set small satellites free
NASA's NEXT ion thruster clocks up continuous operation world record
New material promises fuel-cell design breakthrough
Microthruster ion drive gives tiny satellites a boost
Plastic and fuel that grows on trees

Bracelet uses social network to protect civil rights activists

Fighting for human rights is a noble undertaking, but it’s also extremely dangerous in places where that fight isn't about simply arguing over abstractions. Aware of the very real possibility of campaigners being beaten, kidnapped or murdered, Civil Rights Defenders in Stockholm has launched the Natalia Project. Named after Natalia Estemirova, a human rights activist who was abducted and murdered in Chechnya in 2009, it’s based on an electronic bracelet that sends a pre-programmed text alarm if activated or forcibly removed. .. Continue Reading Bracelet uses social network to protect civil rights activists

Section: Good Thinking

Tags: Alarm, Bracelet, Security

Related Articles:
Civil Rights Captcha employs an empathy test to ward off spambots
Apple cleared to use iPhone Trademark
Scientists use brain activity analysis to reconstruct words heard by test subjects
LinkMe bracelet displays text messages on your wrist
Steve Jobs on DRM (Digital Rights Management)
Samsung's "Matrix Reloaded" phone

Boeing completes final certification test of new 787 battery system

On Friday, Boeing completed the final certification test required by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for approval of the company’s lithium-ion battery modifications for the 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The test flight was made using a Boeing-owned production airplane built for LOT Polish Airlines with the company reporting that the test was “straightforward and the flight was uneventful.” .. Continue Reading Boeing completes final certification test of new 787 battery system

Section: Aircraft

Tags: 787, Aircraft, Aviation, Battery, Boeing, Lithium-ion

Related Articles:
Boeing begins assembly on third flight-test 787 Dreamliner
Boeing opens P-8A Poseidon production facility
Boeing Phantom Ray unmanned aircraft begins flight testing
First glimpse of Boeing 787 Dreamliner interior
P-8A Poseidon production aircraft reaches final assembly
World's Longest-Range airplane makes first flight

2014 Honda Odyssey has a built-in vacuum

If you’re like me and have kids and dogs, then a day out can leave the car looking as if the interior was marched through by a battalion of crisp-munching soldiers. To help deal with this everyday reality and eliminate the need to hunt down a hand vac, Honda has installed a built-in vacuum system into its 2014 Odyssey Touring Elite. Unveiled at the 2013 New York International Auto Show (NYIAS), it's the latest iteration of Honda’s eight-passenger van... Continue Reading 2014 Honda Odyssey has a built-in vacuum

Section: Automotive

Tags: Cleaning, Honda, Vacuum, Van

Related Articles:
Honda improves railcar fleet
Honda Accord Coupe Concept for NAIS
Honda to show S2000 roadster concept and many others in Tokyo
Honda presents new Urban SUV Concept
Honda opens new solar cell plant in Japan
CR-Z sports hybrid to hit showrooms next year

Detroit Electric unveils "fastest pure-electric production car on the market"

High-performance electric cars have been around for some years now, but despite the fact that Detroit and the electric car go back a long way, no all-electric supercars have been built in the Motor City. That is, until now. After giving us a bit of a tease last month, Detroit Electric has taken the wraps off its Limited-edition SP.01. According to its maker, the SP.01 is not only the “first pure electric sports car” to come out of Detroit, but it's also reportedly the fastest, and the first to be fully integrated with a smartphone... Continue Reading Detroit Electric unveils "fastest pure-electric production car on the market"

Section: Automotive
Tags: Detroit Electric, Electric Vehicles, World's Fastest

Related Articles:
Subaru's treat for the eyes: the Hybrid Tourer Concept
Detroit Electric automaker to introduce its first car in over 70 years
smart forstars "sports utility" concept heads to Detroit
FIAT shows electric version of its iconic 500
Volvo to enter the EV market with all-electric C30
Ford to unveil all-electric Focus at NAIAS CES 2011

Austria sends manned mission to Mars ... in Morocco

Of all the nations who might get to Mars first, Austria doesn’t loom large. Yet the Austrian Space Forum (OEWF) has sent a manned mission to the Red Planet – or at least, to an Earth-bound version of “Mars” located in the northern Sahara near Erfoud, Morocco. During February OEWF conducted a series of experiments and simulation tests with the aim of gaining a better understanding of how to execute a manned mars mission and develop technology for making it a reality... Continue Reading Austria sends manned mission to Mars ... in Morocco

Section: Space

Tags: Communications, Mars, OeWF, Simulator, Space Travel

Related Articles:
NASA announces new rover mission for Mars
Phoenix Mars Lander Spacecraft being readied for August launch
Sun will cause pause in Mars exploration in April
Google Earth goes to Mars
Boeing wins Instrument Unit Avionics contract for Ares I launch vehicle
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity getting "brain transplant"

Parasound CD 1 CD player uses multiple readings to reduce errors

Audio files may seem to have put paid to CDs, but new technology shows that, like vinyl, the format still has a few tricks left in it. CDs do a pretty good job of reproducing music, but for many an audiophile the digital format lacks “warmth” and often suffers from tiny, yet detectable, imperfections that can be as jarring as serving Gordon Ramsay ketchup with lobster. The Parasound CD 1 player strives to eliminate these imperfections by ditching the conventional CD player in favor of a CD-ROM drive that spins CDs at four times normal speed in order to find and eliminate imperfections before they reach the speakers... Continue Reading Parasound CD 1 CD player uses multiple readings to reduce errors

Section: Home Entertainment

Tags: Audio, Audiophile, CD Player, Computer

Related Articles:
Parasound introduces the Halo P7 dual-mode analogue pre-amp
Ingenious Dual Play MP3
JumpGear-MP3 uses flashdrive storage for flexibility
Turn your Palm Pilot into a digital audio player
High Definition Audio explained
irock!

ESA develops "snap-proof" space tether

This month, the University of Helsinki and the European Space Agency (ESA) will test a new space tether that has less chance of snapping under the stresses of operating in orbit. Installed aboard Estonia’s ESTCube-1 cubesat, the new tether is scheduled to launched with ESA’s Proba-V satellite atop a Vega rocket as part of an experiment in developing an electric solar sail... Continue Reading ESA develops "snap-proof" space tether

Section: Space

Tags: CubeSat, ESA, Satellite, Solar Sail, Spacecraft, University of Helsinki

Related Articles:
IKAROS becomes first spacecraft to successfully deploy solar sail in space
Electric solar sail moves closer to reality
Nanosatellite to help keep space clean
NASA to demonstrate largest-ever solar sail in space
Turn of fortune for NASA as solar sail successfully deploys
NASA investigates sending CubeSats to Phobos and back