Gizmodo
HAS_PROPERTIES
Posts Tagged “
Research
”
HAS_PROPERTIES
engines
Plastic Motor Powered Directly By Light, No Solar Middleman Necessary
Professor Tomiki Ikeda, along with his research team at the Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a plastic motor that runs on direct light. Unlike solar power, there is no need for storing energy before conversion. The motor can achieve this feat thanks to a plastic compound containing azobenzene which contracts when exposed to ultraviolet light and returns to its original shape when exposed to visible light. By making this material into a belt and wrapping it around two wheels of different sizes, movement can be generated when the larger wheel is exposed to ultraviolet light and the smaller one to visible light. More »
not just for bullets
Kevlar Body Armor Could Soon Repel Germs
If researchers are successful, Kevlar-based armor will soon be able to protect the wearer from more dangers than bullets and fire. Yuyu Sun and Jie Luo of the University of South Dakota have discovered a way to coat Kevlar with a substance called acyclic N-Halamine. After testing it against "E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida tropicalis (a fungus), MS2 virus, and Bacillus subtilis spores (to mimic anthrax)," they discovered that the coating prevented these microorganisms from sticking to the Kevlar fabric. More »
uavs
Curly-Winged UAV Will Leech From Power Lines, Fly Forever
The next version of the DevilRay unmanned aerial vehicle will feature the ability to dock to and recharge from power lines. Made by Defense Research Associates, the UAV uses down-curled wingtips to make such a low-speed maneuver possible. The four-foot wide, propeller-driven flying wing will use "inverse capped helix winglets" to take advantage of the wingtip wind vortexes that form during flight, providing stabilization in lieu of a tail. More »
drone
Research UAV is Preview of Hovering Spy Drones of Tomorrow
Meet STARMAC, the Stanford Testbed of Autonomous Rotorcraft for Multi-Agent Control. Possibly the cleverest remote control mini-helicopter you've ever seen, packed with GPS, sensors and computer power. It's a research quad-rotor that the Stanford team is using to develop algorithms for future aircraft like it. More »
important research
Tequila Could Transform Silicon Valley into Naked Coed Central
I know, you thought tequila was only good for inducing impromptu wet T-shirt contests. And who would have expected more from the famous alcohol? But now, researchers from the University of Nueva Leon have found that tequila can be an even better semiconductor component than silicon. More »
skin antenna
Skin Antenna Uses Your Body to Boost Battery Life, Skin Cancer
Researchers at the Queen's University Belfast have developed a hockey puck-like transmitter that can connect to gadgets on your body and allow them to transmit waves along the surface of your skin. What's the upside to this? Devices on one part of your person that need to talk to gadgets on another part of your person (medical devices, for example) can do so for twice as long because more waves are transmitting over your skin and and not lost into the air. One application we can think of is for Bluetooth stereo headsets to connect to that cellphone in your pocket. [NewScientist via Textually]
robots
Last year DARPA began the search for a company that could develop robots capable of squeezing through small openings and returning to their original size, shape, and functionality on the other side. Like most of DARPA's projects, the idea was way-out there. However, it appears that iRobot (the guys behind practical home robots like the Roomba vacuum and the Looj Gutter cleaner) have answered the call.
More »
Roomba Maker to Develop DARPA's ChemBot Morphing Robots
Last year DARPA began the search for a company that could develop robots capable of squeezing through small openings and returning to their original size, shape, and functionality on the other side. Like most of DARPA's projects, the idea was way-out there. However, it appears that iRobot (the guys behind practical home robots like the Roomba vacuum and the Looj Gutter cleaner) have answered the call.
More »
nintendo
Hacked Wii Fit Board Lets You Stumble Around Azeroth
The Germans who hacked a Wii Balance Board from Wii Fit to surf Google Earth have found a much more fun use for the peripheral – running around World of Warcraft. In this follow up video, Simon and Mattieu control a low level gnome exploring Ironforge, avoiding wolves and slamming into tree trunks. Now all they need to do is hack the Wiimote and Nunchuck to understand macros and I will be the fittest WoW player EVER. [Technabob]
nasa
Google Signs 40-Year Lease to Build New Campus on NASA Land
Sergey and Larry's involvement with NASA seems to be getting ever deeper. Alongside the parking rights for the Google company jet at Moffat airfield, and using NASA data for Google, the Mountain View-based company is to build a brand new empire on 42.2 acres of land owned by the space agency at the Ames Research Center in Mountain View. The high-tech campus will have around 1.2 million sq ft of offices and R&D facilities, and is costing around $3.66 million per year of its 40-year lease. More »
nano towels
MIT Nanomesh Paper Towel is the Last Quicker Picker Upper You'll Ever Need
Sorry, Brawny man. Your paper towels were always handy in a pinch for the occasional Coke-on-keyboard spill, but they fall apart when held up against this incredible nanomesh towel from the folks at MIT. Designed with the environmentally unfriendly act of oil spills in mind, this recyclable towel's potassium manganese oxide fibers absorb up to 20 times their weight in oil (which can then be recovered, for future oil spills). More »
robots
Modded Kids Snowmobiles to be Used to Aid Climate Research
Instead of trekking across ice sheets and into dangerous areas to gather data on climate change, scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology are going to send robots in instead. Dubbed SnoMotes, the in-development robots are modified kids snowmobiles—chosen for their cheapness and resilience—packed with navigation gear and sensors, and able to work as a team without the need for remote control. More »
airplanes
Self-Healing Aircraft Could Save Passengers From a Fiery Death
Imagine if airplanes could miraculously heal cracks or holes in the skin during flight. Obviously, that would go a long way in boosting airline safety, not to mention the confidence of passengers. Interestingly enough, researchers in Britain are attempting to make this dream a reality using a technique that utilizes composite materials that "bleed" when damaged—creating a "scab" of sorts that mimics our own natural healing process. More »
research
Are Nanotubes the New Asbestos?
A new study has found that carbon nanotubes—if inhaled—could be as dangerous as asbestos. This is not only problematic for a future of semiconductors that would like to exploit the technology, but the goods already on the market now that use nanotubes in composite mixtures, like baseball bats and tennis rackets. More »
fuel cells
MIT Scientists Increase Fuel Cell Efficiency 50%
Scientists at MIT have been tackling the efficiency of next-gen power source fuel cells, and have discovered how to significantly improve it. Most current direct-methanol fuel cells use a membrane called Nafion sandwiched between their electrodes, and apparently it's got a flaw. As well as letting hydrogen nucleii through to drive the power-generating process, it apparently also leaks methanol, lowering the efficiency of the cell. By coating the Nafion with a new material (kept secret for now) the boffins have plugged the leak and have been able to measure up to 50% efficiency increases. What's this mean for us? Well, longer-lasting fuel cells in our future gizmos of course. [Reghardware]
solar power
IBM Boosts Solar Cell Efficiency Using Magnifying Trick
IBM's researchers have been busily beavering away trying to improve solar power technology, and they've just come up with a neat solution that uses a surprisingly simple technique: concentrator photovoltaics. In much the same way as kids use magnifying glasses to focus the sun on things to burn them (we all did that, didn't we?) the IBM boffins combined a large lens and a photovoltaic cell to focus a record-breaking 230 watts solar energy per square centimeter. That ends up producing about 70 watts of useful electric power, effectively creating a solar cell about five times more powerful than the cells commonly used in solar farms. More »
displays
Imagine being able to dip a brush into a bucket or spray a wall with paint and have an instant OLED screen or solar panel. The term "far-fetched" comes to mind, but according to Mitsubishi Chemical and Sumitomo Chemical, this is a very real possibility. The companies are currently working together on two different versions of a "molecular soup" that can be applied to a surface and dried to a thickness of 100nm—creating either a solar cell or OLED screen in the process.
More »
Spreadable Electronics: OLEDs and Solar Cells Sprayed From a Can
Imagine being able to dip a brush into a bucket or spray a wall with paint and have an instant OLED screen or solar panel. The term "far-fetched" comes to mind, but according to Mitsubishi Chemical and Sumitomo Chemical, this is a very real possibility. The companies are currently working together on two different versions of a "molecular soup" that can be applied to a surface and dried to a thickness of 100nm—creating either a solar cell or OLED screen in the process.
More »
4:00 PM on Thu May 15 2008
By Sean Fallon
7,971 views,
56 comments
blackberry
AT&T Confirms First Dibs on BlackBerry Bold
AT&T told our friend Sascha at PC Mag that it would be the first carrier to sell the new BlackBerry Bold. Others may very well follow this year, and judging from the fact that the hardware specs include room for T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon, they most certainly will. AT&T also said that it's got exclusivity on international 3G usage—Sprint/Verizon's EV-DO isn't as universal as AT&T's HSDPA—and the ability to use the BB in Japan and South Korea. [Gearlog]
11:11 AM on Mon May 12 2008
By Wilson Rothman
24,980 views,
18 comments
Latest by vote Obama: Blackberry Bald (after Ballmer and Hotmail). more »
