Toyota Prius C undergoes name change, comes out feeling ‘Aqua’ blue

Ladies and members of the so-hip-it-hurts demographic, Toyota’s got a Prius hybrid just for you. The curved, futuristic-looking EV first did the dais spin for us at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year and now, armed with a hue-matching ‘Aqua’ moniker, is prepping to rollout to lots in January of 2012. A report in Nikkei indicates this fuel efficient gas / electric car will get just about 40km/l (or 94mpg), besting its current Prius family member’s 32km/l (about 75mpg). And as for that price tag, look for it to retail at around 1.7 million yen (or $22,000) when it makes its eventual splashy blue bow in the Japan and US next year.

Toyota Prius C undergoes name change, comes out feeling ‘Aqua’ blue originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 04:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New NFC spec enables two-way communication, potentially makes Bump obsolete

NFC

The NFC Forum just released the latest update to the growing close-range standard and it includes a nice little treat called SNEP, which stands for Simple NDEF Exchange Protocol. (Side note: the NDEF in SNEP, stands for NFC Data Exchange Format — it’s like a matryoshka doll of abbreviations.) What makes SNEP exciting is that it allows for sending and receiving of data between two devices. This could be used to exchange contact information between phones (similar to Bump, but without the need for an app) or collect links to trailers from movie posters which could be played back on your TV at home. It’s potentially exciting stuff, so long as manufacturers actually make use of it. Check out the PR after the break for a few more technical details.

Continue reading New NFC spec enables two-way communication, potentially makes Bump obsolete

New NFC spec enables two-way communication, potentially makes Bump obsolete originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 03:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Memory “Quantum” Lasts 125 Milliseconds

Is
there a “unit” of memory? Some scientists now think so.

Using a method that allowed them to make brain measurements down to the
millisecond levels, researchers at the Norwegian University of Science
and Technology discovered that there's a discrete “quantum”
of memory:

You’re rudely awakened by the phone. Your room is pitch black.
It’s unsettling, because you’re a little uncertain about where you are
— and then you remember. You’re in a hotel room.

Sound like a familiar experience? Or maybe you’ve felt a similar
kind of disorientation when you walk out of an elevator onto the wrong
floor? But what actually happens inside your head when you experience
moments like these?

[A new study] describes exactly how the brain reacts in situations
like these, during the transition between one memory and the next. […]

Their findings show that memory is divided into discrete individual
packets, analogous to the way that light is divvied up into individual
bits called quanta. Each memory is just 125 milliseconds long — which
means the brain can swap between different memories as often as eight
times in one second.

“The brain won't let itself get confused,” says Professor
May-Britt Moser. “It never mixes different places and memories
together, even though you might perceive it that way. This is because
the processes taking place inside your head when your brain is looking
for a map of where you are take place so fast that you don't notice
that you are actually switching between different maps. When you feel
a little confused, it is because there is a competition in your brain
between two memories. Or maybe more than two.”

Link

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Memory “Quantum” Lasts 125 Milliseconds

Surgical Robot Peels a Grape


(Video Link)

We’ve seen the revolutionary Da Vinci Surgical System do amazingly precise movements before, including folding paper airplanes and playing Operation. In this video, surgeons at Southmead Hospital in the UK demonstrated its ability to make delicate cuts by peeling a grape. So far, there are only 1,032 Da Vinci robots in service around the world, but that number is steadily increasing as doctors find it useful.

Link -via Popular Science

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Surgical Robot Peels a Grape