Kiwi Choice portable solar charger borrows effective technology

Canada’s Kiwi Choice has announced the release of a strangely familiar-looking portable solar charger for mobile devices. The three-panel photovoltaic fan design first used by Solio has found its way to Kiwi’s U-Powered charger. Featuring a powerful battery, LED flashlight and magnetic feet, the product also comes with multiple device connector tips for maximum compatibility… [...]

Win the back-yard arms race with the Saturator AK-47 Automatic Water Gun

If you’re really looking to shine in any water-based hostilities this summer then the Saturator AK-47 Automatic Water Gun could be just what the aquatic arms dealer ordered. This weapon ups the ante on any previous manually powered water guns that rely on the handle being pumped to fire a semi-continuous stream of water. With [...]

The Magnetic Suspension Device – for all your home levitation needs

Ever wanted to levitate a can or bottle inside an illuminated ring? Of course you have. Well, this device from Chinavasion uses the force to do just that. Unfortunately it uses force of the magnetic variety and not the Jedi kind, but the snappily named Magnetic Suspension Device is sure to be a conversation starter [...]

SAIC SheLL concept car: it’s an automobile … and a bedroom, office and gym

SAIC is already one of China’s biggest automotive manufacturers, which means that by 2050, when China will have 500 million automobiles on its road, it will become one of the largest automakers in the world. Beyond its potential for growth, it’s the company’s futuristic thinking that most impresses us. It recently showed the groundbreaking YeZ [...]

Fleet-of-foot robots could win $200,000

A prize of US$200,000 is being offered for the first robot that can successfully move 10 km (6.2 miles) within 10,000 seconds. Sound easy? Well, to claim the “W” Prize the robot must also negotiate four sets of obstacles that would stand in the way of ordinary wheeled vehicles, but could be easily overcome by [...]

‘Skyscraper of the Year’ completed in Chicago

James McHugh Construction has officially completed construction on Aqua, the Chicago high-rise that was named 2009 Skyscraper of the Year by international building database Emporis. Aqua beat out over 300 competitors worldwide for the honor, thanks in no small part to its no-two-alike undulating concrete balconies. It turns out, however, that there’s more to the [...]

X-51A Waverider breaks supersonic flight record

Boeing’s X-51 WaveRider has made aviation history by completing the longest ever supersonic combustion ramjet-powered flight. The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flew for almost three and a half minutes in the skies off the southern California coast on Wednesday, reaching an altitude of about 70,000 feet and hitting hypersonic (Mach 5) speeds… Continue Reading X-51A [...]

Student creates cost-effective self-healing concrete?

Self-healing “smart building materials” have the potential to reduce structure repair costs, lower cement-production carbon emissions and even save lives. One barrier that has kept these materials from being commercialized, however, is their potentially labor-intensive and thus expensive production process. Recently, an engineering student from the University of Rhode Island (URI) announced that she has [...]

ASUS gives Computex product release sneak preview

Rather than wait for the blogosphere to come up with its own rumors with varying degrees of accuracy, ASUS has opted to start its own pre-Computex 2010 rumor mill. The company’s online technology magazine has hinted at the event release of a couple of notebooks, a pair of gaming motherboards and a new all-in-one. Details [...]

Scientist infects himself with a computer virus

A researcher from the UK’s University of Reading has warned of possible future infection issues for recipients of medical implants. The cause for concern is not biological, though. Dr. Mark Gasson’s disquiet relates to the fact that as implants become more sophisticated, the computerized systems running them could become prone to virus attack. And to [...]

Canon releases compact “Scan-tini” scanner for Mac workers on the move

With so many mobile workers and executives lured in by the lightweight appeal of the MacBook, it seems crazy there isn’t already a raft of compact, Mac-specific scanners on the market. Now, Canon is putting things right with the launch of the lightweight, portable imageFORMULA P-150M Scan-tini personal scanner, designed to shine with the Mac [...]

Pandigital 7-inch color e-reader gets B&N eBookstore integration

Digital photo frame manufacturer Pandigital has announced its entry into the world of the e-reader with the 7-inch full color Novel. The multi-touch Android-based reader features a gigabyte of internal memory, is powered by an ARM Mobile processor and has two reading modes. Users will also benefit from the company’s partnership with Barnes & Noble, [...]

Tasuke I hobbyists aim to develop next generation cycles

Continuing our reports from Tokyo Make Meeting 2010, here’s a fascinating group of bicycle hobbyists who brought some very creative bike designs to the show. The Tasuke I group were set up in the far corner of the exhibition hall, where they happily brought interested onlookers out the back exit for demonstrations. .. Continue Reading [...]

Facebook caves to pressure and tightens privacy controls

Facebook has caved to pressure from users and privacy advocates and overhauled its privacy settings. The site and its social networking brethren have come under increasing fire from users, privacy advocates and lawmakers, so in an attempt to address such concerns Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, says the site will introduce simpler and more powerful controls [...]

MIT unveils colorful solution for cheap, accessible gesture-based computing

They’re not a failed attempt at Belgian jigsaw camouflage or a trophy from clown school, these colorful lycra gloves are the vital component in a new gestural user input system developed by researchers at MIT. When used with a standard webcam and some clever software, the wearer’s hand movements are instantaneously translated into on-screen commands [...]

Phoenix Mars Lander succumbs to Martian winter

Almost two years to the day after it landed on the red planet NASA has announced its Phoenix Mars Lander has officially ended operations after repeated attempts to contact the spacecraft were unsuccessful. Phoenix was not built to survive the dark, cold, icy winter on Mars and a new image transmitted by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance [...]

Lockheed Martin to develop advanced rifle scope attachment

Lockheed Martin has won a $3.93 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop high-tech rifle-scope attachment. Designed to improve marksmanship over distances of between three and 600 meters, the Dynamic Image Gunsight Optic (DInGO) system combines a low power laser rangefinder, an embedded ballistics computer and onboard sensors that determine [...]

Roll up! Roll up! Sony develops super-flexible OLED screen

The miniaturization of electronic components has seen mobile devices shrink to the point where screen size is a major limiting factor. That could be set to change with Sony announcing it has developed a super-flexible full color OLED display which can be repeatedly wrapped around a thin cylinder while still producing moving images. Could we [...]

Nissan EV quick charger to hit the market

In preparation for the December release of its much-anticipated all-electric LEAF automobile, Nissan announced this week that it will be selling in-house-designed EV quick chargers. The company plans to install 2,200 standard non-quick chargers in Nissan dealerships throughout Japan, with 200 dealerships offering the new 49-kilowatt/200-volt quick-charging units for sale. The idea is that ultimately, [...]

H-Cell 2.0: Hobby market hydrogen fuel cell gets an upgrade

If you’re into R/C vehicles, there’s just the slightest chance that you might be interested in a power train that runs three to four times longer than regular battery-only systems, and that requires nothing but sunlight and water to recharge. It also educates people on what will likely be the power system of choice for [...]

UK release confirmed for Dell’s Streak tablet

The much-talked-about Dell Streak is finally scheduled for release, albeit exclusively to the UK’s O2 network for the time being. The 5-inch touchscreen device is billed as slotting in “between traditional smartphones and larger-screen tablets” and features a 1GHz processor, 2GB of internal memory and runs on Google’s Android operating system… Continue Reading UK release [...]

The Venom Evil street legal quad

The “ultimate in road legal quad biking” is how the makers of the Venom Evil describe their creation. If its exclusive designer styling and the splash of shiny chrome on the front crash bars and speedos don’t manage to turn heads, then perhaps the water-cooled 250cc engine, twin exhaust and sporty alloy wheels will. .. [...]

Amazing bike-wheel LED art at Tokyo Make Meeting

We’ve covered some creative bicycle wheel LEDs on Gizmag recently, so when we discovered the amazing Anipov project on display from Suns & Moon Laboratory at Tokyo Make Meeting this past weekend, we couldn’t help but take a closer look… Continue Reading Amazing bike-wheel LED art at Tokyo Make Meeting Tags: Art, Bicycle, Bike, Japan, [...]

Pure platinum alternative promises breakthrough in fuel cell technology

The most obvious obstacles for the widespread adoption of fuel cell technology are cost and performance. Although they promise benefits over internal combustion engines and batteries in terms of environmental impact, they are still fairly limited in use for these reasons. One of the most expensive elements used in most fuel cells is platinum, but [...]

Gulf oil spill disaster: a closer look at the clean-up options

The damaged Deepwater Horizon oil well in the Gulf of Mexico is a huge environmental disaster that’s said to be gushing anywhere from 5,000 to 100,000 barrels of crude oil into the ocean per day. BP has deployed a reported 2.5 million feet of oil booms in an effort to contain the slick, as well [...]

HBO content arrives on PS3 and PSP

Earlier in the week we covered Microsoft’s agreement with Australia’s Foxtel that will see pay TV content streamed to Xbox 360 consoles. Now Sony has announced that PS3 and PSP owners in the US will now be able to access programming from premium cable TV network HBO on their consoles. Using the PlayStation Network’s (PSN) [...]

Audi first to offer factory-installed WLAN hotspot with new A8

Audi is offering the option of a factory-installed WLAN hotspot on its new A8. The system will enable front and rear seat passengers to tap into Internet access at up to 7.2 Mbit/s by dropping a data-capable SIM card into the car’s Bluetooth phone or by pairing your existing phone… Continue Reading Audi first to [...]

A high-tech replacement for a hanging carcass – the Interactiv’ Boxing punching bag

Remember that montage from Rocky IV where Drago’s high-tech training is contrasted with Rocky’s decidedly more low-tech approach? Well, we can’t help thinking that if the Interactiv’ Boxing punching bag was available in the mid 80’s that Drago would have been pounding away on it. This 21st century take on the punching bag features built-in [...]

First North American electric superbike race a (non)roaring success

The era of electric motorcycle racing which began at the Isle of Man in June last year has grown into a world series road race for 2010. On May 16th, history was made as TTXGP North America Round 1 took place at the Infineon Raceway in California. It was the first-ever electric superbike race to [...]

iLuv’s speaker trio for iPad, Mac and PC 

iLuv, one of a number of manufacturers of Apple accessories, has added three small and portable speaker options that provide high quality sound while eliminating cable clutter. The three speaker options include a mini clip speaker, a portable speaker bar and a pair of newly designed cube speakers, all powered by USB to reduce cable [...]

Seagate Momentus XT hybrid claimed as world’s fastest laptop drive

Seagate has revealed a hybrid solid state/hard drive which is claimed to be “the world’s fastest 2.5 inch laptop PC hard drive.” The Momentus XT offers users the price and capacity benefits of a hard disk drive and the speed advantages of solid state memory in one laptop-sized drive… Continue Reading Seagate Momentus XT hybrid [...]

ExoPC Slate – the new Windows multi-touch tablet

ExoPC has developed a Windows-based tablet PC which is larger and more powerful than an iPad, is WiFi-enabled and supports Flash. The Slate will be available with 32GB and 64GB SSD storage, benefit from 2GB of memory and has a built-in webcam… but will this be enough to make it a serious contender in the [...]

AIWI turns your iPhone into a wii-like motion controller … and more

Computex Taipei 2010 is the biggest IT show in Asia and one of the most important such shows in the world and we’ll be there next week to report on the hundreds of new products. One Computex new release certain to cause a stir is ASROCK’s AIWI, an Apple app which turns your iPhone or [...]

Review: The Zo Personal Subwoofer

At the beginning of May digiZoid introduced the Zo personal subwoofer, which claimed to enhance a listener’s sonic experience by offering increasing degrees of bass contouring to any audio fed through it. Over the past week I’ve had the chance to take the Zo for a spin. Has it lived up to the claims of [...]

NASA hones in on next-gen satellite-aided search and rescue technology

The satellite-aided search and rescue technology pioneered by NASA is credited with saving more than 27,000 lives worldwide since its inception nearly three decades ago. Now the agency has developed new technology that will more quickly identify the locations of people in distress and reduce the risk to rescuers. .. Continue Reading NASA hones in [...]

Elgato EyeTV HD PVR lets users watch and edit cable and sat TV on a Mac

Want to turn your Mac into a DVR with full access to premium cable or satellite TV content? Elgato says its customers can do just with its EyeTV HD, that lets users watch, record, edit and enjoy cable and satellite TV in high-definition, including all their premium channels, on a Mac. What’s more, the EyeTV [...]

Synthetic cornea offers hope to thousands

Donor corneas are extremely rare, but for 40,000 people in Europe corneal transplantation from donors offer the only hope of addressing blindness in one or both eyes. That was, until Dr. Joachim Storsberg of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam-Golm created the first artificial cornea. .. Continue Reading Synthetic cornea offers [...]

Intel’s new ULV Core processors headed for ultraportable laptops

Intel has introduced new ultra-low voltage (ULV) versions of its Intel Core processors. Based on Intel’s 32 nanometer (nm) technology the Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 processors are destined for the insides of ultraportable laptops – which Intel defines as less than an inch thick and weighing just two to five pounds – [...]

The Uda makes electronic music with a twist

Among the many sounds emanating from the Tokyo Make Meeting 05 this past weekend was the unusually shaped electronic instrument, the Uda. It’s played with two hands, and looks like it might be a less-flexible cousin of the accordion.Notes are played by pressing different sections of a rope that’s coiled around the device, on both [...]

Diamonds combined with ceramics to create super high-wearing material

Diamonds aren’t just a girl’s best friend – they also boast outstanding physical properties that makes them an ideal material for industrial applications such as cutting and polishing. It is extraordinarily hard, conducts heat well and is practically inert to chemical substances. Ceramics – particularly high-performance ceramics – are likewise able to demonstrate special qualities. [...]

PowerV Quad wirelessly charges four Wiimotes at once

If you belong to an avid Nintendo Wii gamer family chances are someone will keep forgetting to charge their Wiimote and ruin the fun for the others (or start WWIII). Thankfully, Konnet has come to the rescue. The company’s new charger lets you store and charge up to four controllers wirelessly, using advanced induction technology. [...]

Earthwatch expeditions – 40 years of ‘citizen science’

It can be extremely frustrating, watching the destruction of our environment and not being able to do a thing about it. Sure, you can give money, write letters and take part in rallies, but… wouldn’t you rather be out there on the front lines, where you could physically help save the threatened habitats, animals and [...]

Pano Logic’s minimalist business networking solution

Instead of looking to upgrade a network of computers with the familiar PC-server setup, Pano Logic offers a solution where users still benefit from a Windows-like experience but the desktop PC is gone. The PC is replaced by the Pano Device, a small silver or black box which connects to a virtual computer hosted at [...]

The EUR 250,000 Bocklet Dakar U685

Getting away from it all in Germany, where there are 8000 camping grounds and an equally massive motorhome industry, you need to go just a bit further to escape the madding crowd. Bocklet caters to the adventure touring market by building “go anywhere” motorhomes for those who do not wish to travel the road well [...]

New Sony projectors – brighter, greener, more flexible

Sony has released two new models in its Bright Era 3LCD business projector series – the VPL-FX500L and VPL-FX30. Both projectors have native XGA resolution of 1024 x 768, excellent lens shift capabilities, feature long-life lamps and filters and have low power consumption even with their high-brightness performance. The FX500L (7,000 ANSI lumens) is suited [...]

A legend in audio: Fritz Sennheiser dies

To any who work in audio or communications, the name Sennheiser is synonymous with the absolute top quality in sound; indeed there are many who wouldn’t dream of using anything less. So it is with regret that this year the industry loses the founding father of the brand, Fritz Sennheiser, who died on May 17th [...]

Tesla and Toyota begin working together

Electric auto pioneer Tesla Motors and Toyota Motor Corporation have signaled their intent to work together on a number of initiatives, primarily developing EVs in California. Toyota’s purchasing of US$50 million worth of Tesla shares completes a stunning twelve months for the start-up which has included Daimler purchasing a substantial (more than 5%) share, a [...]

Beatfly: The open source blimp

On display at the Tokyo Make Meeting this past Saturday was Beatfly, a cleverly designed illuminated blimp created by Hideki Yoshimoto. Rather than just implement simple radio controls, he has playfully given Beatfly a number of control interfaces. You can drive it by iPhone, MIDI controller, Flash web interface, a standard keyboard, voice control, or [...]

Ferrari celebrates 60 years of F1

We mentioned last week that Formula One was celebrating its sixtieth birthday but a key fact escaped our attention – to mention that only one team has been there for all sixty seasons, and hence was also celebrating its sixtieth birthday. The Ferrari F1 Team made its debut in round two of the inaugural F1 [...]

How to add any hi-def display to your computer using the USB Port

If your computer is lacking the necessary video port to marry up with the new display you desire, Gefen has just made it easy for you with a “USB to DVI HD” adapter. The adapter offers plug and play connectivity for any digital display using the DVI, VGA or HDMI format, with support for resolutions [...]

OmniVision creates world’s smallest 1080p sensor

OmniVision has developed a 1/6-inch, native HD, 2 megapixel CMOS sensor capable of delivering full 1080p high definition video at 30 frames per second. Likely headed for webcams, notebooks and video conferencing technology later in the year, the tiny OV2720 sensor is also claimed to provide best-in-class low light sensitivity and is capable of removing [...]

Ever Increasing Watch plots the time on a graph

Watches, movies, poems and paintings… a lot of people think that the harder any one of these things are to understand, then the better they are. We’ve certainly covered some intentionally-obscure watches here at Gizmag before, with everything from a row of LEDs to numbers on a sphere to dots that get filled in and [...]

Students compete to build racing motorcycles from scratch

The challenge: to design and build a high speed road-racing motorcycle from scratch, with an eye towards cost-effective production. Could you do it? The folks at Spain’s Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) think that a team of their engineering students can. The team is competing in the Moto Student competition, which pits university teams [...]

Google’s front page Pacman tribute – a fully playable game

Google’s front page today pays tribute to the iconic video game, Pacman. It’s just 30 years ago today since Pacman was first released in Japan, indicating the warp speed at which gaming has become part of the global social fabric. Fittingly for such a landmark date for a landmark game, Google’s front page is more [...]

First truly synthetic organism created using four bottles of chemicals and a computer

A research team, led by Craig Venter of America’s J. Craig Venter Institute, has produced the first cell controlled by a synthetic genome. The team had previously synthesized a bacterial genome, and transplanted the genome from one bacteria to another, but this is the first time they have combined the two techniques to create what [...]

Remote control exhaust system offers range of exhaust notes

Without doubt, one of man’s greatest delights is to experience firsthand the stereo staccato of an exhaust system trumpeting the sound of a high performance engine being controlled by an expert touch on a mountain road. Sadly, the same engine, exhaust and expert touch become highly anti-social in urban confines, so German tuning company Cobra [...]

Epyon opens Europe’s first commercial fast-charging station for EVs

Earlier this month, we told you how Dutch EV charging company Epyon was promoting its new fast charging station. It can reportedly charge a Nissan LEAF up to 80 percent within 30 minutes, and certain other EV’s within even half that time. Now, Epyon is announcing the opening of its first commercial fast-charging station in [...]

Microsoft joins with Foxtel to provide pay TV over Xbox LIVE

Microsoft has signed an agreement with Australia’s dominant pay TV provider, Foxtel, to stream over 30 channels to Xbox 360 consoles through Xbox LIVE. The Foxtel by Xbox LIVE service will allow Xbox 360 owners in Australia to access Foxtel channels without the expense of a Foxtel installation and set-top box. Instead, to access the [...]

Viewsonic’s new energy efficient, space-saving mini-PC

ViewSonic has announced U.S. availability for its new handy VOT125 mini-PC. Coming with a quartet of ultra-low-voltage processor options from Intel to help cut down on power draw and benefiting from Windows 7 Home Premium, its petite dimensions may well see the unit being squeezed into the tightest nook of limited home and office space… [...]

MSI offers BIOS-free Windows core unlocking software

MSI has announced the launch of a Windows-based software tool that puts an end to all that bothersome fiddling around in the BIOS to enable inactive processor cores. The tool lists available cores, and with a few simple clicks on the basic interface and a reboot, a user is able to unleash previously disabled ones… [...]

French team smashes five year efficiency record in eco-marathon

A five year Shell Eco Marathon fuel efficiency record has been smashed by a team of French students. Team Polyjoule broke the record on the first day of the event and then went on to break its own record by a further 482 kilometers. But the students still expect even more from their hydrogen fueled [...]

SAIC YeZ Concept Car inhales C02, emits oxygen

General Motor’s Joint-Venture partner in China, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) rolled out a concept alongside GM’s EN-V at Expo 2010 which in many ways is more ground-breaking than the EN-V. The idea behind the YeZ Concept is that it will photosynthesize, absorbing carbon dioxide from surrounding air and emitting oxygen back into the atmosphere. [...]

Automobile computer systems successfully hacked

The alarming number of safety recalls appearing in headlines of late is worrying enough. Now researchers have shown that it’s possible to take away driver control of a moving vehicle by remotely hacking into relatively insecure computer systems common in modern automobiles. The team managed to break into key vehicle systems to kill the engine, [...]

Roger Linn demonstrates incredibly expressive digital music interface – the LinnStrument

The last time most of us heard of Roger Linn, it was when he put his name to the revolutionary Linn LM1 drum machine that became such an integral part of the sound of 1980s pop music – it was used on so many #1 hits that you’ll recognize its signature sound straight away. Now, [...]

Toshiba develops low crosstalk 3D glasses

Aside from the obvious fashion concerns arising from donning 3D glasses (which is already being addressed with the release of designer 3D eyewear) the biggest drawback of active shutter glasses is crosstalk. This refers to the ghosting of images when the right eye sees some residue of the image intended for the left eye and [...]

New ‘microlens’ could lead to ultra-powerful satellite cameras and night-vision devices

Anyone who likes to get their gear off for a spot of naked sunbathing in the backyard may have to think twice in the future. Researchers have developed a new nanotechnology-based “microlens” that could lead to a new generation of ultra-powerful satellite cameras and night-vision devices. Thankfully, the new lens is used for infrared imaging, [...]

Global study on link between cell phones and brain cancer ‘inconclusive’

The world’s largest study into the link between mobile phones and brain tumors is inconclusive according to a Canadian scientist. Over 10,000 people took part in the study led by epidemiologists from more than ten countries but the findings, according to University of Montreal professor Jack Siemiatycki, are “ambiguous, surprising and puzzling.”.. Continue Reading Global [...]

Japanese researchers create artificial butterfly

Last year, we brought you the story of tech company AeroVironment’s life-size artificial hummingbird, that flies solely by flapping its wings. Now, a group of Japanese researchers has successfully built and flown a flapping-wing-powered swallowtail butterfly. Besides looking incredibly cool, the life-size “ornithopter” has also proven a principle that could have big implications in the [...]

Move over Nessie – new wave power system sighted at Loch Ness

Solar power might be stealing the limelight when it comes to the subject of renewable energy, but ocean waves are also seen as a great, largely untapped source of clean power. The latest news surrounding attempts to mine this potentially limitless energy source comes from Scottish marine energy technology developer, AWS Ocean Energy, which has [...]

Kisai Round Trip Pocket Watch blends the old with the new

Purveyor of weird watches, Tokyoflash, has blended the old with the new in its latest creation, the Kisai Round Trip Pocket Watch. Designed to attach to a key chain, belt loop or even on a chain in your top pocket like a traditional pocket watch, the Round Trip continues Tokyoflash’s history of releasing timepieces that [...]

Rukus – Toyota’s odd-ball urban fashionomobile

Hand a crayon to a three year old, ask them to draw a car and you are likely to end up with something that looks like the Rukus. This is how Toyota describes the new Scion xB derivative that’s just been launched into the Australian market. With the footprint of a Corolla hatch, the engine [...]

The Green Samba – the first viable electric Personal Water Craft

You’re looking at the first exclusive images of what we expect to become the Personal Water Craft V 3.0 – it’s the Green Samba. It has the same straight line 65 mph performance of the fastest 260 bhp sit-down PWCs, combined with handling and agility far beyond those of a stand-up PWC. The biggest benefit [...]

Double bubble aircraft design would use 70 percent less fuel

The contribution of aircraft to greenhouse gas emissions has been well documented and while biofuels are being trialled in an effort to combat the issue, an expected doubling in air traffic by 2035 suggests that a fundamental shift in technology is needed to make real progress. That’s the starting point for the D “double bubble” [...]

Mitsubishi Electric installs elevators to carry 80, possibly the world’s largest

If you’ve ever been annoyed by the impatiently waiting for an office building elevator, this might just be the perfect building for you. Each of the new elevators installed by Mitsubishi Electric in Umeda Hankyu Building’s new office area in Osaka, Japan measures 11.2 x 9.2 feet in area by 8.5 feet high (3.4m wide, [...]

Roller Buggy – the baby stroller/scooter hybrid for kids on the fast track

Being a single, childless (as far as I know), male my experience with baby strollers is largely limited to trying to avoid parents using them as battering rams at my local shopping center. That task could get a whole lot tougher if the Roller Buggy gains widespread popularity. A simple pull of the lower body [...]

Sugar-powered biofuel cell to power artificial organs and medical implants

The miniaturization of electrical sensors coupled with the development of flexible silicon technology paves the way for a wide variety of medical sensors that can be implanted into the human body. One of the major obstacles facing the development of such devices, not to mention artificial organs, is how they are powered. Currently devices need [...]

Researchers create hair cells – cure for deafness on the way?

It’s become an accepted fact of life that people tend to lose much of their hearing as they get old. This is because our hair cells, the cells in our ears which allow us to hear, cannot regenerate – we’re born with 30,000 per ear, but once they die off or get damaged, they’re gone [...]

Release office tension with the USB Stress Ball

Stress balls are a great way to relieve tension and help combat repetitive strain injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome. They’re also an easy answer for office workers looking for a gift when social convention states you need to get a little something for someone you work with, but don’t really know that well. Since [...]

Novel process lifts fingerprints based on geometry, not chemistry

If shows like CSI have taught us anything about lifting fingerprints, it’s that we do it by dusting them with powder or fuming them with chemicals… and that we have to turn on blue accent lighting and play moody electronic music while we’re doing it. Approaches like these rely on chemical reactions with the deposited [...]

Schooling fish inspire new approach to wind farming

Schooling fish, it turns out, have a lot to teach us about setting up wind farms. That’s the conclusion reached by John Dabiri, a fluid dynamics expert from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). One of the biggest current problems with wind farms is the large land area that they require – if you place [...]

HP joins Team AMD for release of more than a dozen notebooks

HP has boosted its range of laptops quite substantially, with its largest single introduction of AMD-powered notebook PCs to date. Fourteen new machines are on offer in total, pitched towards both business customers and home users. All of the models in HP’s new notebook range include updated AMD multicore processors. Among the new brood is [...]

That’s a very “rice” bra, Triumph

A couple of times a year, Japan’s Triumph International unveils a themed undergarment based on a current trend or issue. Bringing women closer to agriculture is the company’s latest inspiration for crazy conceptual underwear, which takes form in the shape of the Rice Bra… Continue Reading That’s a very “rice” bra, Triumph Tags: Agriculture, Japanese, [...]

Back to back with the Bi Computing concept

Pauley Interactive’s Bi Computing concept looks to provide “the perfect platform for gamers, Internet surfers, business applications or watching TV and movies all at the same time, in the same place.” The design crunches a couple of computers into one unit with back to back displays, an idea that could help ease the battle for [...]

The world’s most coveted automobile finds a new home

RM Auctions believes it has just sold the world’s most coveted car – a rare 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO. The marque (chassis no. 4675 GT), in unmistakable Ferrari red and with the prancing horses emblazoned on the hood, has an excellent pedigree. One of only 36 250 GTOs originally produced and one of a limited [...]

HP Labs geo-tagging experiment is good to Gloe

With increasing numbers of people accessing the Internet on mobile devices there is a call for a quick, easy way to sort locally relevant content from the mountain of data residing on the Internet. To address this need HP is dipping its toes in the geo-tagging waters with Gloe – a concept service that allows [...]

Alligator Lopper chows down on trees

Black & Decker has a tool that fits comfortably between a chainsaw and a branch lopper. It’s the Alligator Lopper LP1000 and can cut through branches and logs up to four inches thick. It uses its patented scissor action to grab the offending piece of wood, clamps it tight and then powers through it with [...]

Building artificial organs using ‘biological Legos’

Earlier this year we looked at a technique to grow 3D cell cultures using magnetic forces to levitate cells while they divided and grew, forming tissues that more closely resemble those inside the human body. Now researchers at the MIT-Harvard Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) have devised a new way to achieve the [...]

LEO II – the world’s first commercially available computer

The latest in out series of early technologies from Michael Bennett-Levy’s collection looks at the world’s first commercial business computer, the LEO II/3. The LEO II (short for Lyons Electronic Office I) was the successor to the LEO I, which was designed by Oliver Standingford and Raymond Thompson of J. Lyons and Co. – one [...]

DuPont breakthrough could mean bigger OLED TVs that don’t cost the earth

The prospect of more affordable large screen OLED TVs has taken another step towards becoming reality with the announcement by DuPont that it has developed a manufacturing process that can be used to print large, high-performance OLED TVs cost effectively. The announcement could see OLED TVs become more widespread and affordable than the pint-sized and [...]

Nasty bacteria get gagged with plastic

Everyone knows that when certain bacteria are present in an environment, they can cause infections. These infections can take the form of diseases such as bubonic plague, cholera, leprosy, and tuberculosis. The problem isn’t simply that the bacteria are present, however, it’s that they communicate with one another – essentially coming up with a battle [...]

Scientific team creates molecular robot from DNA

Scientists from Columbia University, Arizona State University, the University of Michigan, and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have created a robot that’s just 4 nanometers wide. And no, it doesn’t have flashing lights, video cameras or wheels. It does, however, have four legs, and the ability to start, move, turn, and stop. Descendants of [...]

Tom Kent’s shape shifting electric vehicle concept

While Optimus Prime and his fellow Transformers may be pure fiction, shape-shifting cars are destined to become a reality. Over the years here at Gizmag we’ve featured several examples including the Vauxhall Flextreme GT/E with its retractable aerodynamic body panels, the Rinspeed iChange with its ability to change from a one- to a three-seater, and [...]

UPDATE: Toxin-detecting mobile phone prototype in development

A far cry in terms of both size and capability from the “bricks” of just over a decade ago, the smartphones of today are virtual offices and entertainment arcades that fit in your pocket. As we reported last month, America’s Department of Homeland Security is examining whether the ability to detect dangerous airborne chemicals should [...]

Breville One-Touch Tea Maker produces the perfect cuppa every time

Even that most basic of kitchen appliances, the humble teakettle, is getting a high-tech makeover in the form of Breville’s One-Touch Tea Maker. The fully programmable unit takes the guesswork out of brewing that perfect cuppa by providing the right water temperatures and brewing times to suit different tea varieties. The device even does the [...]

Automotive X PRIZE – Shakedown stage results

Twenty-seven vehicles have survived the first of three on-track testing stages in the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE. This initial Shakedown stage saw vehicles put through efficiency, safety, and performance evaluations including durability, acceleration and braking and avoidance maneuvers. The competitors will now set their sights on the Knockout Qualifying Stage at Michigan International Speedway [...]

D-Drive redux: about that holy grail thing…

Every now and again, astute Gizmag readers come to the fore to keep us on our toes – and never has this been better demonstrated than with last Friday’s D-Drive Infinitely Variable Transmission article. More than 40 comments and e-mails have flooded in over the weekend questioning the D-Drive’s capabilities as a true IVT, and [...]

Researchers identify new low-cost catalyst for hydrogen production

To make sunlight practical as a dominant source of energy a viable storage technology needs to be developed. One promising area of research is imitating the process of photosynthesis to separate the hydrogen and oxygen atoms in water to create hydrogen fuel. An MIT team led by Daniel Nocera is now reporting that nickel borate [...]

Evoluce brings gesture control to 47-inch touchscreen display

Last October, Evoluce showed off its 47-inch multi-touch LCD HD display monster which can register an unlimited number of simultaneous contact points from both stylus and human touch. Not content with mere touchscreen technology, the company has now unveiled geo-spatial gesture functionality which allows users to control actions on the screen at up to a [...]

Volkswagen shows production-ready folding two wheel EV Bik.e

The concept of “last few mile mobility” is one which we’ll all grow accustomed to over the next decade as the world’s cities become more congested and non-polluting micro mobility concepts begin to supplement other forms of transport. In the last year alone we’ve seen Toyota’s Winglet, Honda’s U3-X, Nissan’s electric skis, and now Volkswagen [...]

Companies join forces to offer more space tourism opportunities

While Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is moving steadily along the space tourism trail, Space Adventures, Ltd, – featured regularly on Gizmag – is currently the only company skyrocketing people into space (and bringing them home again). It has even placed “privateers” in the International Space Station. The company has just announced that it has [...]