Acoustic Levitation and the Tractor Beam, the Impossible just became Incredible... - StumbleUpon Levitation and the defiance of gravities surly bond has been a science that struggled to keep up with its own mythology, until now. A team of Japanese researchers have this week demonstrated the first technology that not only brings the mythology of levitation to life but leap frogs it to create a tractor beam, lifting and moving objects across 3 dimensions using sound alone. Presented for your viewing pleasure is the astounding video of acoustic levitation in action, now including tractor beam. Scientists from the University of Tokyo and Nagoya Institute of Technology are now able to levitate and move any object in 3 dimensions. This latest acoustic levitation technique uses multiple ultrasonic transducers (speakers) arranged in a phased array to create a standing wave that surrounds the suspended object forming a node, or sonic bubble. Acoustic levitation is only in its infancy, with so many science fiction dreams requiring levitation let’s hope the developments continue.
FreedomPop Goes 3G With Sprint FreedomPop is expanding its low-cost coverage in a big way with Sprint's 3G network. FreedomPop, the company that is basically giving you online access for free, is expanding its coverage dramatically with the addition of 3G service via Sprint's nationwide network. The company is now accepting orders for its first 3G/4G hotspot, the FreedomPop Overdrive Pro. What is FreedomPop, exactly? Until now, FreedomPop was a wireless service provider that offered either free or inexpensive plans on Clearwire's 4G WiMAX network, with the ability to earn additional free data by signing up for offers and inviting friends. "The biggest criticism with our service to date has been the coverage gaps in certain parts of the country," said Stephen Stokols, FreedomPop's CEO. The Overdrive Pro costs $39.99. "We're planning on launching our full national LTE rollout by the end of this year, but until then, adding nationwide 3G coverage gives users the ability to connect from anywhere," Stokols said.
Forget WiFi, It's LiFi: Internet Through Lightbulbs - StumbleUpon Whether you’re using wireless internet in a coffee shop, stealing it from the guy next door, or competing for bandwidth at a conference, you’ve probably gotten frustrated at the slow speeds you face when more than one device is tapped into the network. As more and more people—and their many devices—access wireless internet, clogged airwaves are going to make it increasingly difficult to latch onto a reliable signal. But radio waves are just one part of the spectrum that can carry our data. What if we could use other waves to surf the internet? One German physicist, Harald Haas, has come up with a solution he calls “data through illumination”—taking the fiber out of fiber optics by sending data through an LED lightbulb that varies in intensity faster than the human eye can follow. Haas says his invention, which he calls D-Light, can produce data rates faster than 10 megabits per second, which is speedier than your average broadband connection. Photo (cc) via otto-otto.com
The Spiral Pump: A High Lift, Slow Turning Pump Table of Contents History of this Document First distribution 1986. Additions 1998 and 1990. OCR scan and conversion to HTML by Chris Pirazzi, chris@pirazzi.net, 2005. Internet address of this document: There are other interesting documents about water-powered water pumps at: which readers of this document may also find interesting. History and Theory of the Spiral Pump In some instances, records of preindustrial technology can be a source of concepts which can be updated with modern materials and modified to be utilized in today's technology transfer efforts. Wirtz invented the spiral pump to provide water for a dye works just outside of Zurich. The Wirtz spiral pump was constructed so the end of the outside pipe coil opened into a scoop. Figure 1: Historic Wirtz Pump—1842 drawing Figure 2: Historic Wirtz Pump—1842 drawing Since first completing this report, two projects came to our attention. Construction Wheel and Spiral
German multicopter makes first manned flight. - StumbleUpon It had to happen, and it was almost certainly going to be in Germany. Congratulations have to goto the team at e-volo they have possibly created a new manned flight platform, the first for many years. The platform of choice for many sUAS operators, the multicopter has been super sized to such an extent that manned flight is now possible. In their own words the team from e-volo have the following to say. Simple flight for the average person would be a dream come to reality for us. e-volo and their manned multicopter The motors as well as control systems will be continuously worked on and developed to allow for extended flight time as well as a more efficient usage of available onboard energy. Coming from an ultralight background, safety is written large in our books. Optimization of energy usage in charging and durability in battery life is currently one of the largest problems in electrically powered transportation. The team point to a key advantage for electric flight.
Immersive Cocoon // Step Into The Future Directed & 3D CG by Oliver Zeller, Video Courtesy of I-Cocoon The world of interfaces continues to evolve and surprise us. We still think of it as something we can hold, fold and place in our bag to carry anywhere. Image Courtesy of I-Cocoon The Immersive Cocoon opens its hatch silently and extends a small set of stairs that helps you move into this 360 degree display covering the entire interior walls. The Cocoon's potential extends beyond leisure and into education, productivity, training and other uses that would benefit from this immersive technology. sources: I-Cocoon, NAU
The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies In The Internet Of Things - StumbleUpon 1. Nest (Google) For solving yet another pain point in building the smart home. 2. For having the bright idea to make smartphone-tethered bulbs. 3. For unleashing simple connected products for the cautious consumer. Monitor your home. 4. For upping the activity-tracking game with a next-gen, supercharged wristband. 5. For opening a platform of Internet-wise devices to let users customize their connected homes. 6. For strengthening its products to stand out among the quantified-self crowd. 7. For giving users control of whatever’s plugged in. 8. For jumping into the IoT fray as only it could—with a superpowered chip. 9. For building out a cloud platform to help make smart machines smart. For racing to establish an Internet of Things accelerator.
25 Simple Yet Awesome Gadgets and Accessories by vinayak mathur You know what they say, “less is more”, and these simple (yet awesome) gadgets are the perfect examples. 25. Mini Doughnut Factory 24. Wooden iPhone Camera Case 23. 22. 21. 20. 19. 18. 17. 16. 15. 14. 13. 12. 11. 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Microsoft Research uses Kinect to translate between spoken and sign languages in real time - StumbleUpon 30 October '13, 08:31pm Follow Microsoft’s Kinect is a wonderful piece of technology that seems to know no bounds. Microsoft Research is now using it to bridge the gap between folks who don’t speak the same language, whether they can hear or not. As you can see in the video below, the Kinect Sign Language Translator is a research prototype that can translate sign language into spoken language and vice versa. The best part? In short, Kinect captures the gestures, while machine learning and pattern recognition programming help interpret the meaning. While this is clearly a massive achievement, there is still a huge amount of work ahead. Guobin Wu, the program manager of the Kinect Sign Language Translator project, explains that recognition is by far the most challenging part of the project. Wu says there are more than 20 million people in China who are hard of hearing, and an estimated 360 million such people around the world. ➤ Kinect Sign Language Translator part 1 and part 2
Mycestro 3D Mouse Ring Controlling objects through abracadabra gestures seems to be a hot trend right now. So can someone please make me a Mycestro 3D Mouse ring or MYO Armband that, in addition to manipulating my PC, will also abracadabra my dog's shit from the ground to the bag while I go all Houdini on it from a safe distance away? Nick Mastandrea, Mycestro godfather, how about it? Mastandrea conceived his idea for a mouse worn on the index finger while flying with a passenger who struggled to cram his laptop on the tray table and use its traditional mouse in the limited space. Mycestro tracks hand motion in 3D space. Mycestro's range reaches up to 30 feet. Other Mycestro mouse characteristics of note: The ring is about the size of a wireless earpiece.It weighs next to nothing.
9 Overlooked Technologies That Could Transform The World - StumbleUpon What I've noticed is that most people don't really pay attention to "science" news, unless it's something that they can see immediately. I think this is at least partially because of the amount of news that comes out daily - whatever we may think about the quality of news, there is just a flood of it, which makes picking out "interesting" items difficult. When I talk about (just for example) the idea of gene therapy, most people think that it is still complete science fiction, as opposed to a very near-term product that will be available. Of course, CSP has been around for years, so it isn't really "new" to the average person. Finally, of course, for a majority of people, the only science fiction they think of it Star Wars/Trek, or (advanced!) If you are on friendly terms with a non-technical coworker, ask them about any of the subjects mentioned here, you will be surprised at their response. I get that, which is why I specifically mentioned "popular sci-fi."
Kinect-like technology turns any surface into a touchscreen - StumbleUpon Imagine a world where any surface could potentially become a touchscreen for your phone: your hands, clothes, a wall or table. That's the vision behind a new Kinect-like technology called OmniTouch, a wearable system that projects any multi-touch interface onto everyday surfaces, reports New Scientist. Perhaps the most convenient aspect of the technology is how it can be operated on the go, requiring no special calibration for each new surface it is used on. The system adapts easily to surfaces of most textures in 3D space, so it works even when the surface is not flat, such as with your hand, or perhaps a tree trunk. The technology, which is primarily composed of a shoulder-mounted depth camera and a Pico-projector, was developed by researchers at Microsoft and is a vast improvement over previous prototypes that could only work on skin. The device also allows for user flexibility far beyond the capability of your phone or tablet.