By Jasmine | Mar 15, 2012
The life of a firefighter is a mixed bag of fairly mundane things to extremely dangerous situations. One hundred firefighters die per year, according to the United States Fire Administration, while tens of thousands are injured. In order to prevent more casualties, the Naval Research Lab (NRL) has created a robot firefighter that can perform the more dangerous duties.
The NRL is working with researchers from Virginia Tech and the University of Pennsylvania to create the humanoid Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot (SAFFiR), which is based on the CHARLI-L1 created at Virginia Tech. The robot is programmed to autonomously maneuver around the narrow passageways and ladders aboard ships, and fight fires.
It is equipped with a camera and gas sensor to effectively detect fires and an infrared camera to see through smoke in order to pinpoint the fire. The lightweight aluminum central frame and titanium springs minimize overall transport weight, and makes the SAFFiR easy to transport should the need arise.
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By R.J. Huneke | Mar 14, 2012
Following a trend of free promotions that began with the free iBook download of the New Avengers #1 comic, Marvel has started to offer traditional comic buffs a new technological incentive: readers now receive a free digital copy of every $3.99 paper comic book they buy!
Avengers Assemble!
There are certainly myriad comic book connoisseurs that have already preordered the first true High Definition retina-like screen wielding iPad from Apple, and now they will have all of the ammunition to soak up the gorgeous clarity and vivid coloring of the tablet with any of the Marvel super hero comics.
Are we in the middle of an Iron Man-like technologically innovative Tony Stark revolution?
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Though many of us are not particularly musically inclined, we still tap our feet and drum our fingers on the table.
Now, there’s a neat little gadget that can help you turn those vibrations into musical masterpieces of your own.
Meet the Pulse Surface Controller System, a MIDI-based controller that hooks into your computer and turns any surface into a musical instrument.
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By R.J. Huneke | Mar 7, 2012
At just over eighteen miles-per-hour, DARPA’s funded and Boston Dynamic’s newest animal-based robot, the Cheetah, is the world’s fastest bot and can run with the likes of Usain Bolt and a couple of other extraordinarily talented freaks of Olympic nature.
One of the most fearsome and suspenseful characters in Ray Bradbury’s masterpiece Fahrenheit 451 is the fireman’s ultimate weapon: their artificially intelligent robotic dog. This creature is made to run down any transgressors trying to escape from a book hoarding crime scene in a future where books are outlawed and ruthlessly burned by the fire department.
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Have you ever wished there was a way to automatically print out and keep your favorite Instagram photos? Sure, there are companies like Postagram, which prints and sends your photos on a postcard for a fee, but until now, there hasn’t been an astonishingly easy way to get your Instagram photos on demand.
With that in mind, meet Instaprint.
What’s remarkable about this little printer is that you can set it to automatically print photos that are tagged at a specific location, or use a certain hashtag. It’s been used at events such as store openings and product launches, as well as The Grammys and Lady Gaga concerts.
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By R.J. Huneke | Mar 2, 2012
The technological advancements storming out of Japan now include two researchers’ methods for building a conversation ending SpeechJammer gun.
Imagine the board room meeting droning on for hours on end, and the very second a couple of the corporate clowns bend their heads down to joke with one another at a whisper (so that they can placate themselves and not lose their sanity in such a dry environment) the director points a radar gun-like device at them and – BAM – silences them instantly.
The device created by Kazutaka Kurihara, from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tskuba, and Koji Tsukada, at Ochanomizu University is not science fiction. On the other hand, it is simple, easy to engineer, and fully functional. It can stop people from talking in mid-sentence.
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By Jasmine | Feb 29, 2012
When you think of cotton candy, the first image that probably pops to mind is that airy confectionery so often found at carnivals and fairs. With the introduction of FXI’s Cotton Candy, however, the word takes on a whole new meaning.
The Cotton Candy is, simply put, the world’s smallest computer, measuring 3 inches in length. While it might not be made of sugar, it is totally sweet (had to do it). The tiny computer comes equipped with dual-core ARM Cortex A9 CPU, ARM Mali-400MP GPU, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 and a micro-SD slot. On opposing ends is a USB and an HDMI-out for all types of uses and a mini-USB to attach any peripheries.
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By Charles | Feb 28, 2012
YOUgNeek has created a new must-have weapon to add to your growing wardrobe arsenal.
This mini tie clip is a real working, one touch, 1.5 by 0.5 inch switchblade. Simply press the button and out slings a sharp pointed 1 inch blade perfect for slicing mini cocktail foods, opening a package, or stabbing would-be attackers.
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By R.J. Huneke | Feb 27, 2012
Let the toast do the talking, as the sexy Pop Art Toaster burns phrases into your bread.
The wait for the cooked breakfast is grueling, and the only thing that can rejuvenate the early morning techie before journeying to work is that hot food (and coffee)!
Pop! The bread leaps to life, sizzling as only golden brown toast can do. You grab the sustenance and drop it down for a vigorous buttering . . . and you laugh raucously. The toast says, “BITE ME” on it!
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By R.J. Huneke | Feb 24, 2012
A first of its kind product from Cellpig.com is featuring an iPhone 4 and 4S case that guarantees to repair or replace any iPhone that is physically damaged while wearing the Cellhelmet.
What? That’s right, if the iPhone’s sound flick switch should fall out after an accidental drop (not a throw) onto the floor, Cellhelmet will fix or replace it.
Considering how costly monthly cell phone insurance charges are, and that most cell phone providers will still charge an inordinately large amount of money for the insured phones when they are actually replaced (practically eliminating any savings for us consumers), at $44.99 the Cellhelmet seems like a duh, why didn’t I think of that pitch.
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