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death trap
Topia One-Seat Electric HUVO Prototype Might As Well Be Shaped Like a Coffin
With the arrival of Topia's one-seater prototype, I think it's finally safe to say the SMART car has something it can take in a fight. Called the HUVO, this diminutive electric car forgoes features like "well-being" and "sanity" for "lightweight" (330 lbs.) and "Jesus Christ watch out for that MINI Cooper!" To save weight and development costs, the HUVO is made out of materials that would make any contemporary golf cart proud; mainly plastic, ceramic, more plastic, and a bit of high-tensile steel plate. Although, as the headline implies, if HUVO goes into production Topia should probably just make the thing out of a nice, sturdy wood, and save your immediate family a step at the funeral parlor. More »
smart
Brainstorming Room Accelerates Ideas to Warp 9
This is Kage Roi, a room that listens to conversations using speech recognition. It identifies keywords and constantly searches the web for related material, displaying information and images to help brainstorming sessions. In theory, combined with lighting that simulates the changes in sunlight, boosts people's creativity. An amazing idea that, for obvious reasons, we would never be able to use here at Giz. [Pink Tentacle]
Camcorder Pen
4GB Camcorder USB Pen Captures Your Thoughts On Paper, Video
Camcorder pens often sacrifice the whole "writing" thing in the name of capturing video, but this one from BrickHouse Security does write, and has considerably bigger storage capacity than previous video pens, too. It's a big pricey, but if you're into the whole Maxwell Smart lifestyle it could make a nice, voyeuristic addition to your repertoire. Two hours of battery time per charge, 30 hours of audio and/or video (4GB), and a potential restraining order are available to you for $250. [BrickStone Security via GeekAlerts]
china
Chinese company Harbin Smart Special Aerocraft has spent 12 years and over $4 million developing its unmanned flying saucers. Somewhat reminiscent of the Honeywell Micro Air Vehicle, the unmanned drone has propellers that run on methanol, a top speed of around 50mph, and can stay at an altitude of around 1,000 yards up for 40 minutes or so. Expect to see it being used for aerial photography, geological surveys and in people's LSD-fueled weird-outs. [DVICE]
Chinese UFO Looks Like Emergency Life Raft, Spies on You
Chinese company Harbin Smart Special Aerocraft has spent 12 years and over $4 million developing its unmanned flying saucers. Somewhat reminiscent of the Honeywell Micro Air Vehicle, the unmanned drone has propellers that run on methanol, a top speed of around 50mph, and can stay at an altitude of around 1,000 yards up for 40 minutes or so. Expect to see it being used for aerial photography, geological surveys and in people's LSD-fueled weird-outs. [DVICE]
vending machines
SMART Car Vending Machine Only Dispenses Marketing Materials, False Hope
Here I was, credit card in hand, ready to fly across the Pacific and purchase my very first SMART Car from a vending machine, when I'm told it's just some advertisement. Sure, SMART Cars can't float (they can barely survive the SUV-congested streets of the U.S.), and the Japanese steer on the opposite side of their automobiles than us Yanks, but this was the promise of a car via a vending machine. I would have figured out a way to bring it home and make it work. To paraphrase the late, great comedian Mitch Hedberg, things are just better when they fall. More »
Exclusive
We were surprised to learn that one of the stars of Steve Carell's Get Smart is actually a Swiss Army knife, albeit one whose talents are slightly more impressive than your own trusty multi-tool. It's got your scissors, saw, magnifying glass and can opener, but how about a flame thrower that shoots six feet? Or a crossbow with stow-away bolts? Or a blowgun with its own fold-out sight? The crazy part is, even though this thing is a movie prop, the producers had to make it really work. We scored exclusive schematics of the knife itself, and caught up with prop-meister Tim Wiles to learn how the thing was made fully operational for the cameras.
More »
Get Smart's Swiss Army Knife Has Working Crossbow, Flamethrower and Blowgun
We were surprised to learn that one of the stars of Steve Carell's Get Smart is actually a Swiss Army knife, albeit one whose talents are slightly more impressive than your own trusty multi-tool. It's got your scissors, saw, magnifying glass and can opener, but how about a flame thrower that shoots six feet? Or a crossbow with stow-away bolts? Or a blowgun with its own fold-out sight? The crazy part is, even though this thing is a movie prop, the producers had to make it really work. We scored exclusive schematics of the knife itself, and caught up with prop-meister Tim Wiles to learn how the thing was made fully operational for the cameras.
More »
10:00 AM on Fri Jun 13 2008
By Wilson Rothman
20,805 views,
34 comments
Latest by Pyao lyang shen: HAHAH... more »
smart cars
If you are looking for a self-driving car, now you can buy the ByWire XGV, the modified Ford Escape that got third place at the DARPA Urban Challenge. Torc Technologies—who collaborated with Virginia Tech to develop this smartypants SUV hybrid—is going to sell the car for just $89,000 as a "research platform," so other researchers can tune and add new contraptions to make it work better and look even more menacing than the current version. The specs are loaded with ports, sensors, and even optional accessories, like vibration isolators. Whatever that is, we want it.
More »
Ford's Self-Driving Hybrid DARPA Car Now Available for $89,000
If you are looking for a self-driving car, now you can buy the ByWire XGV, the modified Ford Escape that got third place at the DARPA Urban Challenge. Torc Technologies—who collaborated with Virginia Tech to develop this smartypants SUV hybrid—is going to sell the car for just $89,000 as a "research platform," so other researchers can tune and add new contraptions to make it work better and look even more menacing than the current version. The specs are loaded with ports, sensors, and even optional accessories, like vibration isolators. Whatever that is, we want it.
More »
air dress
EPA Dress Wrinkles Up to Show it's a Bad Air Day
Currently showing at the 2nd Skin Exhibition at San Francisco's Exploratorium is this piece of smart clothing by designer Stephanie Sandstrom. Inside it hide a bunch of sensors that measure the nearby air quality, along with drivers that can adjust the fabric. The idea is that on bad air days the dress detects the problem, and adjusts itself to look all rumpled and messy, and raising environmental awareness. Does that wrinkling mean it raises the hemline? I'm not sure... but if it did, that might work to take your mind off the damage being done to your health by all those airborne pollutants. [Inhabitat]
usb
Smart Dog USB Hub Has Four Paws, Four Ports and a Radio
This Smart Dog USB hub is a bit of a three-in-one marvel. As well as the four USB ports, the bow-wow acts as a shonky computer speaker. Then, if you rip the head off this iridescent puppy, you've got yourself a portable radio with autoscan capability. Cost is $19.15. [Gearlog via UberGizmo]
footwear
Verb for Shoe Auto-Adjusts Comfort With Built-in Computer
The adapting Verb shoes from VectraSense Technologies, an MIT spin-off company, have been in development for a while, but now they're finally ready to buy. They're not quite Marty's amazing Nike's from Back to the Future 2 but they are clever: the built-in twin air bladders are controlled by an on-board computer that detects what activities you're up to and adjusts the air pressure accordingly. More »
windows mobile
Giga-Byte GSmart Windows Mobile Phones Have a Fancy Smart Touch UI
It took a year for Giga-Byte to follow in HTC's footsteps, but the upcoming GSmart Windows Mobile smartphones will have a brand new UI on top of the standard WinMo affair. The interface is called "Smart Touch," and will be more finger-friendly—more oriented toward gestures and finger-navigation—lending itself to launching your commonly used programs directly from the home screen. The Chinese version of this has been available since April, but suffers from some incompatibility issues that most likely won't be in the European release version coming sometime after May. [The Unwired via Into Mobile]
ecg
VitalJacket: Heart Monitor And T-Shirt in One
Some of the same kind of health telemetry that the French army may be using could be yours in the new VitalJacket product. It's a smart T-shirt with a built-in electrocardiogram monitor, designed for both medical diagnostics and sports fitness uses. It's supposed to be less awkward than conventional devices, as well as more comfortable. The HWM200 version sends data on the wearer's heart over a Bluetooth link to a phone or PDA, allowing real-time monitoring. The 100 version stores it on an SD card for later analysis on a PC and allows the wearer to define heart rate limits which trigger a vibration alarm in the shirt. Both editions are available for pre-order for around $635. [Vitaljacket via Talk2myshirt]
cellphones
An FCC leak back in February tipped us off to the fact that Motorola was prepping a car phone, but it wasn't until today that the details were announced. However, unlike the car phones of yesteryear, the Smart Rider features GPS navigation, voice activation and Bluetooth. But here is the kicker—you can use it outside of your car, which basically makes it just another cellphone. Oh those Motorola execs with their marketing trickery! No wonder you guys are kicking so much ass. Available starting in June. Press release after the break.
More »
Motorola's Smart Rider Car Phone: Just In Case You Were Expecting a Call From 1992
An FCC leak back in February tipped us off to the fact that Motorola was prepping a car phone, but it wasn't until today that the details were announced. However, unlike the car phones of yesteryear, the Smart Rider features GPS navigation, voice activation and Bluetooth. But here is the kicker—you can use it outside of your car, which basically makes it just another cellphone. Oh those Motorola execs with their marketing trickery! No wonder you guys are kicking so much ass. Available starting in June. Press release after the break.
More »
9:20 PM on Thu Apr 3 2008
By Sean Fallon
4,405 views,
28 comments
Latest by sublimnl: @Ashley927: so hot. i didnt think they let your kind on gizmodo more »
simon fraser university
Ladybag Idea Uses RFID to Tell You If You've Forgotten Anything
In the words of the Conchords, a team of Canadian students just wanted to do something special for the lay-deez of the world. And so they came up with the Ladybag concept. It's a smart bag that uses RFID technology to ensure that you leave the house with those three staples you need in the modern world: mobile; keys; and wallet.More »
portable media
Next Gen Zune Could Have Smart Shuffling
At Microsoft's Techfest, a researcher was showing off a smart shuffle system that uses tags and meta data like tempo and genre to direct playlist creation in a portable music device. The demo was being done on a first generation Zune. More »
drilling-aid
Smart Guide Drill-Aid Will Stop Your Holes Wandering (Yes, I Said HOLES)
Bongkun Shin's concept design Smart Guide keeps your drill at right-angles to the surface, meaning no more badly-placed and mis-aligned holes. It also keeps your aim right on target by collapsing smoothly as you advance the drill bit forwards. It looks like it acts as a guard to protect you from flying debris, as well. The idea seems so simple I'd love someone to make it soon, please—building my new computer desk would be so much easier. I am hoping, though, that, if it becomes reality the Smart Guide is separate from the drill in the pics, which just looks like something that Buck Rogers' pastry chef might use to whip up a meringue. [Yanko designs]
magic carpet ride
