Researchers at Clemson University have created a new sort of robotic design based on the long, curled tail of the seahorse. The seahorse is unique because it consists of “square prisms surrounded by bony plates that are connected by joints.” Other animal tails are cylindrical and therefore easily crushed. The researchers write: Researchers found that the square prototype was… Read More
Follow this link:
Scientists Turn To Seahorses For Nearly Unbreakable Limbs
RICHMOND, Calif.—Wearing Ekso Bionics ’ forthcoming exoskeleton for construction and industrial workers is probably the closest that I will ever come to having a real physical superpower. Through the magic of gravity and amazing industrial and mechanical design, a 40-pound industrial tool that I was holding became totally weightless. After just a few minutes, I quickly figured out that if I let the tool go it would fly off into space, as if gravity had no effect on it at all. The Ekso Works suit is slated to hit the market in 2016 in the “tens of thousands of dollars” range. (One financial analyst, Jeffrey Cohen, believes it will cost about $12,000.) Read 36 remaining paragraphs | Comments
Read more here:
This magic exoskeleton for industrial workers is the future—we know, we wore one
With each passing year, engineers are getting closer to recreating the 3D interface technology that pop culture has rendered so clearly for decades. Read more…
Follow this link:
You Can Feel These Plasma Holograms Made With Femtosecond Lasers
dkatana writes: WiFi Offloading is skyrocketing. This is the conclusion of a new report from Juniper Research, which points out that the amount of smartphone and tablet data traffic on WiFi networks will will increase to more than 115, 000 petabytes by 2019, compared to under 30, 000 petabytes this year, representing almost a four-fold increase. Most of this data is offloaded to consumer’s WiFi by the carriers, offering the possibility to share your home internet connection in exchange for “free” hotspots. But this article on InformationWeek Network Computing also warns that “The capacity of the 2.4GHz band is reaching its limit. the growing number of WiFi devices using unlicensed bands is seriously affecting network efficiency. Capacity is compromised by the number of simultaneously active devices, with transmission speeds dropping as much as 20% of the nominal value. With the number of IoT and M2M applications using WiFi continuously rising, that could become a serious problem soon.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.
See more here:
WiFi Offloading is Skyrocketing
Using a similar approach that allowed MIT to see through walls using just wifi signals , researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, led by Yasamin Mostofi, have found a way to count crowds of people —with a surprising degree of accuracy—using just basic wifi hardware. Read more…
View post:
Wifi Networks Can Count People—No Phones Required
We’re one step closer to biodegradable gadgets. These computer chips are made almost entirely out of wood . Read more…
Original post:
We Can Now Make Computer Chips Out of Wood
Like the noble ant or the sassy-yet-lovable tugboat, Micro Tugs can pull more than their own weight. The robots, which come from Stanford’s Biomimetics and Dextrous Manipulation Lab, use a “controllable adhesive” plate that sticks to surfaces only when shear pressure is applied. In one case a 12 gram robot was able to pull objects 2, 000 times its own weight. Read More
View the original here:
Micro Tug Robots Can Pull Objects 2,000 Times Their Own Weight
Researchers at the University of Tokyo have dusted off some E Ink technology originally developed back in the 1970s to create a new kind of easily erasable whiteboard technology that can be written on using magnetic pens instead of dry-erase markers. Read more…
Originally posted here:
New E Ink Whiteboards Work Like Grownup Magna Doodles
When night falls, danger unfolds at the uMkhuze Game Reserve. And while some of the world’s most deadly predators—ranging in size from hyenas to lions—coexist next to African elephants, giraffes, and more within this massive, 140 square mile natural area, they aren’t the only creatures out hunting at night. This particular section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa plays host to one of the country’s most profitable, albeit illegal, industries: poaching. In Africa, it’s a $70 billion business. Organized crime rings dabbling in poaching often carry ties to other smuggling industries like narcotics and weapons; some even connect with terrorist organizations. In this specific target area, rhinos most often land in the criminal crosshairs, with over 3,800 killed in South Africa alone over the past seven years. Their horns allegedly sell for $65,000 per kilogram as poachers look to profit from ivory and rhino horn powder. On the evening of November 4, 2014, two poaching suspects entered the reserve. One carried a .458 caliber rifle outfitted with a silencer. A cane knife—a long, machete-like tool used for harvesting—may have also been involved. Nearly 80 rhinos had been poached already that year; more seemed destined for the tally. But by chance, four park rangers noticed suspicious movement while on foot patrol that evening. A firefight ensued. Read 30 remaining paragraphs | Comments
More:
Tech vs. terror: Drones and data fight a new battle against poachers
You’re probably familiar with this image, the infamous “trollface” that’s circulated the Internet for years. Someone drew the original trollface, and it’s 24-year-old Carlos Ramirez. Read more…
See the original article here:
The Maker Of The Trollface Meme Is Counting His Money