Join Castoven: Watch a YouTube Video while you microwave
I don’t know about you, but when I put in something in the microwave to “nuke”, I don’t stand around it, waiting for my food to cook. Generally, I find some time to do a few other things, and I generally get so distracted by those things that don’t get back to my food until five minutes after the timer has gone off.
However, what if there was a way to keep yourself entertained for the time your microwave is cooking? This is exactly what two researchers from Keio University were trying to do when they invented the Castoven.
The Castoven is an ordinary microwave oven, with a little bit of a twist. It has a 10.4 inch LCD screen on its front. Not only that, this screen displays YouTube videos. So the next time you set the time for cooking, you have the option of watching a video of equal length while you are waiting.
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Recon Technologies making some highly advanced ski goggles
I haven’t been skiing in over a decade, and there were times that I got lost on the slopes. They didn’t have navigation units or cellular phones back then, but this new device from Recon Instruments could turn skiing into a very high-tech experience.
The Recon Instruments ski goggles have a miniature heads-up display that can show the skier’s position on the slopes, as well as the location of his or her friends. You can even use the GPS function to guide the ski patrol to you in case you crash and burn on the slopes.
Not bad, but that is not all they do. It can also display altitude, temperature, as well as recording the skier’s speed the height that he or she has jumped.
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Gryphon Stealth Wingsuits could replace parachutes
So what are we looking at here, a still shot from the next Transformers movie? No, believe it or not, that is a human, one wrapped up in a wing-like contraption.
This is a little pet project of the Special Parachute and Logistics Consortium called the Gryphon Next Generation Parachute System. The idea is instead of soldiers bail out of planes with parachute things on, they put something on that helps them take full advantage of the sky.
In other words, it isn’t a parachute with a big silk canopy that is slowly falling to the earth like giant slow-moving target. No, this Gryphon Next Generation Parachute System would allow a parachuting soldier to get far away (about 30 miles) and would be invisible to radar.
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LifeHand brings prosthesis to a whole new level
The idea of cyborgs is sort of a science fiction staple. From the Six Million Dollar Man to the Teen Titans’ Cyborg, the idea of a half-man, half-robot has fascinated us for years. Even Luke Skywalker had that artificial hand.
It would appear that science fiction has become science fact as a neurologist Paalo Maria Rossini has created the LifeHand. This LifeHand allows the wearer to control the robotic hand on thought processes alone.
Unfortunately, none of my sources have a video of this. That is a real shame, because this is something that I would really have to see to believe. The LifeHand has been put on Pierpaolo Petruzziello, an amputee who says that he can do complex movements by thought alone.
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Zerokill Reflectors to help cut down on roadkill
I’ve had my fair share of close calls when it comes to hitting deer, I’ve actually only hit one rabbit. Considering how many animals I’ve managed to dodge, believe me, that’s an accomplishment. Anything that would make the odds of hitting an animal of any size less likely would make driving a lot less hazardous for a great deal of drivers.
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Harry Potter Magic Clock shows people where you are, using Twitter
I don’t remember if this Magic Clock was in the Harry Potter books, but I remember it from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets movie.
The scene was Harry waking up in the Weasley’s tree house, and Harry sees this odd clock with Ron and two of his brothers’ faces on the hands. They are pointing at the place where they are.
It would appear that someone has designed a Weasley Whereabouts clock that actually works. It works with the magic of Twitter. All you need to do is tweet your location, and the supposed magical arrow will point to where you are. Assuming that you have put it on the face of the magic clock, of course.
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Suma is a new type of 3D PC Gaming Control
Considering the trend in 3D that has been rising since last January’s CES, it appears that video games are not really doing a good job meeting these needs. After all, you can work Link in the Zelda game with a simple joystick, but that is only because he is generally on land. Yet when the third dimension of flying or swimming gets involved, the game soon becomes more difficult then it should be in real life.
Fortunately, the Wiimote with its motion control helps Link when he is riding a bird or in the water. It’s hard to believe that Cambridge Consultants have created a controller that is even simpler than the Wiimote.
The Suma is a tool that uses the principles of squeezing to create control. I’m not certain how this is supposed to work exactly, but picture a game where you are flying in a spaceship, and you have to use three-dimensional control. Instead of moving a joystick or motion controller, you just squeeze in the proper direction.
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Mechanical Mobile charges by swinging it around your finger
I’m sure you can tell by the picture that this is a concept product, for now. If you haven’t figured it out yet, then read the fine print, starting with the label that says: “It’s a mechanical mobile phone”.
This Mechanical Mobile phone was designed by a Russian designer named Mikhail Stawsky. See that ring in that picture? Apparently, you can spin it, and it will give you enough juice to make a call.
It reminds me of a flashlight that I have by C. Crane that allows me to charge the battery by turning the crank. I guess the purpose of this is to stick your finger in it and spin it around your finger in order to charge the battery completely.
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