Googles driverless cars Google has been talking about, developing, and demonstrating its driverless cars for a few years now, but it wasn’t until May last year that things got really serious. By serious, I mean Google wanted a license to put them on the roads of Nevada. One year on, and Nevada has agreed. Google has proved its driverless cars work by completing over 200,000 miles of driving, and in a recent demonstration took a blind man to Taco Bell in a Prius: Having an emotionless system in control of the vehicle means there won’t be any road rage, fuel consumption will be better, and speeding and/or accidents will hopefully be a thing of the past. Nevada has decided to get well and truly behind the autonomous revolution and wants to be “at the forefront” of development. For the moment, they are only classed as test vehicles and someone sits behind the wheel ready to take control if something goes wrong. It will be interesting to monitor how well they perform in the coming months. Read more at CNN
Absolutely Genius Ideas data-original="images/genius/29.jpg" class="lazy image"/> data-original="images/genius/75.jpg" class="lazy image"/> fuel cell charger Fuel cell gadget charger PowerTrekk is finally hits store shelves in the States. Starting May 2012, you can head to outdoor equipment store REI to purchase this nifty device, which charges electronics with only water. PowerTrekk first debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show 2012. The water is confined to a PowerPukk, a small disc that holds the powder and can be sealed up after the water is added. The science behind PowerTrekk was developed by Michael Lefenfeld of Signa Chemistry. “My grandfather was a vain man who had stopped smoking in later years, so he no longer carried matches around. He used his chemistry background to develop a metallic powder-based air freshener that could go in the toilet. “I started working on the science side, I found that the material would react with water and produce hydrogen in a controllable reaction,” Lefenfeld said. Signa Chemistry grew out of the air freshener project, becoming a full-fledged business that specializes in stabilizing reactive metals.
word watch Biegert & Funk presents the world's first wristwatch in words at Baselworld For the first time, Biegert & Funk is exhibiting a completely new kind of wristwatch, the QLOCKTWO W, at Baselworld. QLOCKTWO W does not show the time with hands or digits. Time is indicated on this purist watch as readable text, turning it into a statement: "It is half past nine". The square watch face has a uniform grid of 110 letters. The basic shape of the QLOCKTWO W is, like all QLOCKTWO variations, a square. Together with the time, QLOCKTWO W also displays the calendar day or seconds. QLOCKTWO W will be available from autumn 2012 in two variants, natural stainless steel or black, at a cost of approx. 550 euros.