3D-printed implants just got one of their biggest real-world tests to date. Peking University Third Hospital has successfully implanted the first 3D-printed vertebra in a 12-year-old boy with cancer in his spinal cord. The bone substitute is made from titanium powder like many orthopedic implants, but promises to be both safer and longer-lasting than conventional replacements. Since it’s designed to mimic the shape of the child’s original vertebra, it doesn’t need cement or screws to stay in place; healing should go faster, too. The construct is full of small holes that let natural bone grow inside, so it should eventually become a permanent, stable part of the spine that won’t need adjustments at some point down the road. CCTV notes that the full results of this surgery won’t be available for some time. He’ll have to wear gear that keeps his head and neck still for the next three months, and it will likely take much longer than that before we know how well the implant holds up in real-world conditions. If everything goes smoothly, though, the surgery will be proof that 3D-printed bones are useful virtually anywhere in the body — and, in some circumstances, might save your life. [Image credit: Peking University Third Hospital] Filed under: Science Comments Source: Forbes

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Boy gets the first 3D-printed vertebra implant

LG only just brought its 55-inch 1080p OLED to a $3, 500 price that’s within the limits of mainstream credit cards, and it’s already back with something better. The curved 4K OLED TV we saw at CES is about to go on sale in Korea, and will arrive soon everywhere else, meaning well-heeled buyers don’t have to choose between Ultra HD resolution and the sweet black levels offered by this newer display technology. We don’t have an official US price for the TV yet, but HDGuru’s usually reliable retail sources say the 77-inch model (there’s also a 65-inch version in) will arrive for about $7, 000 next month. In Korea it’s priced at about 12, 000, 000 won ($11, 738), however US prices are usually much lower. LG exec Hyun-hwoi Ha isn’t mincing words either, calling the new display “the pinnacle of technological achievement” and saying the tech will overcome LCDs in sales in just a few years. Can OLED pull off what plasma couldn’t ? LG is betting it will — meanwhile Samsung seems convinced that OLED isn’t quite ready for prime time. Filed under: Displays , Home Entertainment , HD , LG Comments Source: LG Newsroom

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LG’s first 4K OLED TV is ready to kill LCDs once and for all

The influence of Hong Kong action cinema stars like Bruce Lee lives on in today’s cinema, but the ancient styles they based their techniques on are slowly dying out. But there’s now a crowdfuding project aimed at preserving the heritage of different Kung Fu fighting styles, called the Hong Kong Martial Arts Living Archive . It’s a collaboration between a martial arts society called the International Guoshu Association (IGU) and the City University of Hong Kong. The goal is to use photos, high-speed video, panoptic video and motion capture to capture and quantize the different techniques. The project organizers believe that fighting styles like Hung Kuen and Wing Kong from the south of China, along with various northern styles, are best preserved in Hong Kong. That’s because many of the Kung Fu masters from the nation’s north and south converged on Hong Kong due to political instability on the mainland around the turn of the 20th century. Rather than preserve such techniques in traditional 2D forms as shown above, the group wants to preserve a complete 4D analysis of the forms. On top of storing images, video and mocap data, it plans to include physical data like speed, torque, torsion and force data. That’s because different Kung Fu techniques use different body mechanics, which can’t be conveyed by mere drawings or oral descriptions. It’s also capturing a large amount of 3D panoptic camera data shot from six different angles. While a large amount of motion capture has already been performed by the City University of Hong Kong, its funds are starting to run dry. As a result, they’ve launched a crowdfunding campaign on FringeFunder , with the hope of raising $47, 000 to hire motion capture experts. The minimum pledge is about $39, which will get you perks like a framed certificate and project poster, with higher level pledges snagging Kung Fu tours in Hong Kong and even dinner with local celebrities. Check the video below for more information — and as a reminder of what they’re trying to preserve, watch Bruce Lee single-handedly transform US television. Filed under: Misc , Home Entertainment Comments Via: Off the Reservation Source: FringeBacker

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Crowdfunded project uses 3D motion capture to catalog ancient Kung Fu styles

Google’s Knowledge Graph is pretty good at telling you who was the 37th president of the US , or what the square root of 342345 is. Ask it more complex questions, like “why does the sun set at night?” and it’ll still send you off to find the answer yourself. Next week in New York, Google researchers will present a paper on its “Knowledge Vault, ” which Kevin Murphy of Google Research, describes as “the largest repository of automatically extracted structured knowledge on the planet.” Knowledge Vault applies machine learning (unlike Knowledge Graph which is an extension of community supported tools) to automatically trawl webpages, assimilating their facts, information and connections therein. Not only does this mean it’s faster, it can continually grow and update itself. The net result will be a huge database of knowledge, the likes of which would have been unimaginable just years ago. The real-world implications are that services like Google Now (or Siri et al) could get a huge boost in smarts — tapping into a much deeper well of understanding, knowing what, how and why things are related. This could lead to much more intelligent web services, or truly explode any limits of augmented reality (“ah, you’re in Berlin, and sent an email last week about museums, perhaps you want to visit the Museum Berggruen “). Unsurprisingly this comes at a privacy cost; analysts are expecting Google to leverage services like Gmail that contain your data (plus the data that’s public/online) bundled in with the rest of the world wide web. While there are no timelines on when we might see this implemented in live services, don’t be surprised when it’s not just your proximity to Sir Bacon that freaks you out, but how and why you’re so close, plus favorite films you have in common, and where you can go and see them locally. Filed under: Science , Software , Google Comments Via: New Scientist Source: CIKM

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Google’s ‘Knowledge Vault’ seeks the answer to life, the universe and everything

One of the unique features inside Google’s self-driving car is that it doesn’t sport a steering wheel or a set of pedals. That won’t fly on public roads in California though, so the folks in Mountain View are faced with adding them or sticking to closed-course testing . New regulations that go into effect next month require autonomous vehicles to let the driver take “immediate physical control” should the need arise. Google says it’ll adhere to the rule by installing a temporary steering wheel and pedals in its 100 prototype cars set to begin testing on private roads in September. Filed under: Transportation , Google Comments Source: Wall Street Journal

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California requires manual controls before Google’s car hits public roads

McDonald’s is taking on a new strategy to get us to eat more of its artery cloggers — one that involves ramping up its digital efforts. Golden Arches has just hired its first ever U.S. vice president of digital (former Ticketmaster exec Julia Vander Ploeg) and, at the same time, posted a bunch of relevant job opportunities . By the looks of it, the company wants to form a team of professionals under Vander Ploeg to be able to reach its goals, including offering “a variety of digital music and entertainment experiences” (as stated in its posting for a product director for music and entertainment) to its patrons. McDonald’s is also looking for people to improve its mobile website, develop games and, more importantly, release a global mobile ordering app that customers can use anywhere they are. Sadly, the company hasn’t elaborated on what its plans are at this point in time. And since you’re not the only one wondering if McDonald’s aims to release games and downloadable music in the future, we’ll keep an eye out for more details. Filed under: Misc Comments Source: CNBC

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McDonald’s plans to release global mobile ordering app, digital music program

If traditional printers use ink and toner cartridges, most commercial 3D printers use plastic filament spools to create the objects you want. These filaments, however, are typically made from plastic pellets, so an Ohio company called Sculptify thought: “Hey, why don’t we make a 3D printer that uses pellets straight up?” Thus, David, a 3D printer loaded with open source software, was born. David can print objects using a number of soft and flexible materials, such as Polylactide (PLA) and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), though it can surprisingly use wood, as well. Since pellets are usually much cheaper than filaments (according to Sculptify, a 2-pound bag of pellet costs around $18, while a 2.2-pound spool costs roughly $48), you’ll be saving quite a bit of money. “…using pellets allows for access to a wide variety of unadulterated materials, stripped of several layers of cost and time, ” the Sculptify team wrote on their Kickstarter campaign page to raise funds for David’s production. “In short, you get to print with higher quality materials, for less money.” Before you get to enjoy the savings, though, you’ll first have to pay a considerable amount up front, as you can only get a unit for a minimum pledge of $2, 745. If the team manages to raise $100, 000 via Kickstarter, they plan to use the money to finalize David’s hardware and to purchase whatever else they still need for mass production. Sculptify expects to ship out the first units by April 2015 if the campaign ends up a success, but for now, you can watch David do its job in the videos below. Filed under: Peripherals Comments Source: Kickstarter

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3D printer saves you money by using pellets instead of plastic filaments

The music industry is extremely well-blanketed on the web, what with services like Pandora, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Rhapsody, iTunes Music and many, many more. But one can easily argue that the same can’t be said about online videos — namely, those available at no cost on YouTube , Vimeo , DailyMotion and other similar sites. Here’s where N3twork believes it can help. The startup, which describes itself as a “personal network for internet video, ” has taken a cue from Pandora on how it delivers content to you. The new app, available only on iOS at launch, uses your personal interests to tailor a feed of videos, allowing users to employ swipe gestures to skip (left) or watch later (right) — think of the latter option as a DVR of sorts. N3twork uses its sign-up process to know a little more about you, as that’ll determine what your stream looks like; the populated channels are hashtag-based, so there’s always the ability to keep subscribing to different stuff as you continue to use the app. And you can search, too, by simply pasting in a URL or using keywords for whatever category you’re into, including sports, photography, technology and others. In addition to that, N3twork also acts as a social network of sorts, as it lets you have followers and interact with people by way of likes and comments, as well as repost videos that you may have run into and liked. What stood out the most is how the application displays thumbnails — they’re not static images, but rather 15-second previews of the videos that are coming up on your feed. You can upload your own content as well, which can then be shared to your friends on Twitter or Facebook, as is the case for videos from your personalized stream. Since it is fully invested in iOS at the moment, N3twork told us it went the extra mile to create a second-screen experience for Apple TV (pictured above), which should provide a nice touch for people who want to use AirPlay to watch videos on a bigger screen. “The internet isn’t just cat videos. We want to put content that you care about in front you, ” N3twork’s founder and CEO, Neil Young, said to Engadget about what he hopes to accomplish with the new service. Filed under: Internet , HD , Mobile , Apple Comments Source: N3twork

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N3twork wants to be the Pandora of internet video

You know how Twitter started inserting others’ favorites and follows into your timeline? As it turns out, it’s not an experiment — it’s official policy. We now know that the social network recently updated its timeline explanation to confirm that it’s adding tweets from strangers, new accounts to follow and other “popular” content to your feed. Like you might have suspected, the company is trying to make your stream “even more relevant and interesting” by showing you material you might not otherwise have seen. It’s reassuring that Twitter isn’t simply broadcasting everything you do. However, as Quartz notes , it still represents a big change to the way the service behaves. Outside of ads, the timeline has always focused on showing you the latest content from people you meant to follow. Now, it’s a more Facebook-like experience where the company chooses a bit of what you see in an attempt to get more active users and boost its ad revenue. You shouldn’t miss out on any of the action, but you may have to wade through some clutter (and become some of the clutter) to get what you want. Filed under: Internet Comments Via: Quartz Source: Twitter

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Twitter is officially putting tweets from strangers in your timeline

While it may not be a full suit of high-tech gadgetry like Iron Man dons , the US Navy is set to test exoskeletons from Lockheed Martin . In the first contract to employs the company’s strength-boosting garb for industrial use, two FORTIS exoskeletons will help carry heavy loads for the trial period. The lightweight unpowered option lends endurance by using the ground to help bear the mass. During the testing phase, the company hopes to further develop the tech for use at Navy shipyards where a smattering of heavy tools are needed for maintenance. “By wearing the FORTIS exoskeleton, operators can hold the weight of those heavy tools for extended periods of time with reduced fatigue, ” said Adam Mill, director of new initiatives at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. Filed under: Misc Comments Via: The Washington Post Source: Lockheed Martin

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Lockheed Martin’s FORTIS exoskeleton helps US Navy with heavy lifting