Articles in Science
Parrot AR.Drone floats into damaged New Zealand cathedral, returns with haunting video
Whenever disaster strikes, robots are among the first to scope out the damage. Rarely, however, do they return with footage as eerie as what this Parrot AR.Drone recorded in Christchurch, New Zealand. In the wake of Monday's 6.0-magnitude earthquake, engineers sent the $500 bot into the city's Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament -- a 106-year-old Roman Catholic church that had sustained significant damage, rendering it too dangerous for humans to enter. The iPad-controlled quadrocopter swooped in and captured ...
Whenever disaster strikes, robots are among the first to scope out the damage. Rarely, however, do they return with footage as eerie as what this Parrot AR.Drone recorded in Christchurch, New Zealand. In the wake of Monday's 6.0-magnitude earthquake, engineers sent the $500 bot into the city's Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament -- a 106-year-old Roman Catholic church that had sustained significant damage, rendering it too dangerous for humans to enter. The iPad-controlled quadrocopter swooped in and captured ...
Images Of The Vuzix STAR 1200 Augmented Reality Glasses
The week of May 16th, Vuzix — makers of military and consumer grade Augmented Reality eyewear — announced their newest line of AR glasses as the STAR 1200. As their press release states , STAR stands for See-Through-Augmented-Reality and describes the killer feature of this new concept — transparent displays. Rather than viewing small, mounted video screens in the eyewear that show you both the “real” and “augmented” content at the same time (transferred from external cameras) the STAR 1200 has transparent displays for the “augmented” content ...
The week of May 16th, Vuzix — makers of military and consumer grade Augmented Reality eyewear — announced their newest line of AR glasses as the STAR 1200. As their press release states , STAR stands for See-Through-Augmented-Reality and describes the killer feature of this new concept — transparent displays. Rather than viewing small, mounted video screens in the eyewear that show you both the “real” and “augmented” content at the same time (transferred from external cameras) the STAR 1200 has transparent displays for the “augmented” content ...
Council of Europe To Return To Wired Communication, Potentially Pony Express
Yesterday, the Council of Europe released a report recommending that member states rethink the way they look at radiation used in wireless communication, putting it on par with the type of health hazards found in cigarettes and genetically altered foods. The report suggests that member states should push for a return to wired communication and a ban on Wi-Fi in schools. This seems to be a pretty exaggerated response, as most of the research we have on the dangers of wireless communication is inconclusive, at best. Apparently, ...
Yesterday, the Council of Europe released a report recommending that member states rethink the way they look at radiation used in wireless communication, putting it on par with the type of health hazards found in cigarettes and genetically altered foods. The report suggests that member states should push for a return to wired communication and a ban on Wi-Fi in schools. This seems to be a pretty exaggerated response, as most of the research we have on the dangers of wireless communication is inconclusive, at best. Apparently, ...
Microsoft manager teams up with teens to build a fusion reactor in his garage (video)
Normally, if a grown man talks about building a fusion reactor and wants your 13-year-old to hang out in his garage, we'd expect you to smile, back away slowly, and perhaps alert the authorities. But, if that man is Microsoft program manager Carl Greninger there's no need to run. The science fanatic recruited a team of teens, as young as 13, and worked with them to build a Farnsworth–Hirsch Fusor -- a (comparatively) simple nuclear reactor that smashes together ...
Normally, if a grown man talks about building a fusion reactor and wants your 13-year-old to hang out in his garage, we'd expect you to smile, back away slowly, and perhaps alert the authorities. But, if that man is Microsoft program manager Carl Greninger there's no need to run. The science fanatic recruited a team of teens, as young as 13, and worked with them to build a Farnsworth–Hirsch Fusor -- a (comparatively) simple nuclear reactor that smashes together ...
Telepresence robot blimp sends your real-world avatar anywhere
Some of the most amazing innovations often turn out to be the simplest, as exampled by this new twist on telepresence robots that uses mini-blimps to effectively give you a completely mobile avatar in the real world.
Some of the most amazing innovations often turn out to be the simplest, as exampled by this new twist on telepresence robots that uses mini-blimps to effectively give you a completely mobile avatar in the real world.
Portal 2 out now
Thanks to the hard work of the folks who purchased Valve's Potato Sack promotion, the Portal 2 alternate reality game has finished, and the long-awaited sequel is now available on Steam. The game officially releases tomorrow for consoles and PC, but since the Steam version is compatible with SteamPlay, it's also available for the Mac from day one.
Portal was one of the best games of the past few years, and every indication is that the sequel will be ...
Thanks to the hard work of the folks who purchased Valve's Potato Sack promotion, the Portal 2 alternate reality game has finished, and the long-awaited sequel is now available on Steam. The game officially releases tomorrow for consoles and PC, but since the Steam version is compatible with SteamPlay, it's also available for the Mac from day one.
Portal was one of the best games of the past few years, and every indication is that the sequel will be ...
Binary Chairs by BRC Designs
Binary Chair 02 by BRC Designs
When we published about the Binary Low Table, we wished to see a similar design applied to a sofa – although we thought that our rear end would probably not be too appreciative of that “effort” – it looks like BRC designs has fulfilled our wish and the result looks comfortable enough…
The Binary Chairs would be perfect for the geeks who want to feel like they are living in the inside ...
Binary Chair 02 by BRC Designs
When we published about the Binary Low Table, we wished to see a similar design applied to a sofa – although we thought that our rear end would probably not be too appreciative of that “effort” – it looks like BRC designs has fulfilled our wish and the result looks comfortable enough…
The Binary Chairs would be perfect for the geeks who want to feel like they are living in the inside ...
NASA announces where space shuttles go to rest
In a ceremony held at the Kennedy Space Center today, NASA’s Administrator Charlie Bolden announced where all the space shuttles that have taken their final flights will go to rest. In addition to announcing the resting places of the shuttles, they commemorated the 30th anniversary of the first shuttle flight. The space shuttle Discovery will be placed in the National Air and Space Museum just outside Washington DC. The Enterprise that is currently in the Udvar-Hazy Center ...
In a ceremony held at the Kennedy Space Center today, NASA’s Administrator Charlie Bolden announced where all the space shuttles that have taken their final flights will go to rest. In addition to announcing the resting places of the shuttles, they commemorated the 30th anniversary of the first shuttle flight. The space shuttle Discovery will be placed in the National Air and Space Museum just outside Washington DC. The Enterprise that is currently in the Udvar-Hazy Center ...
US Navy’s solid-state laser sets boat ablaze (video)
See that flaming wreckage in the picture above? A laser did that, mounted on board a second vessel similarly bobbing on top of the ocean last week. Yes, even though the United States Navy told us that legitimate seafaring death rays might take another decade to materialize, basic weaponized lasers are ready today, as the 15-kilowatt gun attached to the USS Paul Foster happily demonstrates. Of course, as you'll see in the video after the break, a beam of such minimal ...
See that flaming wreckage in the picture above? A laser did that, mounted on board a second vessel similarly bobbing on top of the ocean last week. Yes, even though the United States Navy told us that legitimate seafaring death rays might take another decade to materialize, basic weaponized lasers are ready today, as the 15-kilowatt gun attached to the USS Paul Foster happily demonstrates. Of course, as you'll see in the video after the break, a beam of such minimal ...
Steve Jobs was top choice for Google CEO
Steven Levy's new book, In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives, has some interesting insights regarding the relationship between Steve Jobs and Google throughout the years. Perhaps most interesting is the fact that when Sergey Brin and Larry Page were looking around for a new CEO their first choice was Jobs.
Jobs turned them down, but saw enough in Google to see that it could be a success; he offered to mentor the two founders, going so far ...
Steven Levy's new book, In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives, has some interesting insights regarding the relationship between Steve Jobs and Google throughout the years. Perhaps most interesting is the fact that when Sergey Brin and Larry Page were looking around for a new CEO their first choice was Jobs.
Jobs turned them down, but saw enough in Google to see that it could be a success; he offered to mentor the two founders, going so far ... 
