Join Will Disposable Laptops become popular in the future?
Recyclable laptops made of paper could be popular in the future, and good for the environment.
Our friends at Yanko are working overtime again trying to come up with environmentally friendly electronics which won’t pollute our landfills. And this time they’ve come up with a recyclable paper laptop. That’s right. A paper computer which can be thrown away once it’s no longer wanted or needed. Considering Moore’s Law means computing power doubles about every 18 months, a disposable laptop may be a good idea. Here’s the thinking …
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The Vertical Bed lets you literally sleep standing up
Imagine walking the streets of New York City and seeing this guy. If you were a true New Yorker, you would probably just walk on by, assuming you even noticed him in the first place.
As an “out-of-towner”, I probably would just assume that this man had some disability that required him to wear metal braces on his neck and…backside, and would probably not ask him about it.
Actually, this man is asleep. That’s right, he is on the Vertical Bed, and all those braces are designed to attach to an ordinary subway grating. This very tired chap tried it out in NYC, and he actually got forty good minutes of shut-eye.
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R1 Radio makes me want an analog radio
You can probably see from the photo here how the R1 radio works. It sits on a tabletop like a mouse without a computer, and is controlled by rolling it in different directions.
Yes, rolling it up will turn the volume up, an rolling it down will turn it down. I am going to assume that you turn the radio on by turning it up, just like you would an older radio dial.
If you want to tune the radio into a certain station, just move it left and right. In short, it’s like having an analog radio that allows you to shift the station marker with your hand.
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Roca Waterdrop Shower Room gives you a 3D touchscreen as you bathe
I might as well get this out of the way and just say that the Roca Waterdrop Shower Room is just a concept. Not that you probably couldn’t tell that by looking at the pure white device on the pure white background. I mean, that is just screaming science-fiction movie prop.
Yes, this is a shower, and none like I’ve ever seen in its shape. Not only that, it has a 3D touchscreen, allowing you to watch a movie while you bathe. The touchscreen enables the user to control the temperature of the water as well as the intensity of the jets.
My source uses the word “3D touchscreen”, but I’m not certain that your movies would be in actual 3D. I mean, do you need to wear special glasses while in the shower, or does the teardrop shape of this tub make it possible to view movies in 3D without glasses?
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AIDA: A robot head on your dashboard to show you the way
Imagine if you were to chop off Johnny Five’s head and put him on your dashboard. I realize that sounds gruesome, and I’m sure someone actually did that at the end of the original Short Circuit, but just imagine that cute little head on your dash having loving expressions, and showing you the way to go home.
This is essentially the role of AIDA (Affective Intelligent Driving Assistant). This robot head not only serves as a GPS Navigation system, but it actually has expressions. It’s eyes will look happy when you’re going the right way, and become a warning sign when you are not. There is a video of this intriguing concept after the jump if you aren’t already sold on it yet.
AIDA is more than a navigation system, though. It is intelligent enough to remember where you have been, and from this information determines your driving habits. It uses a lot of sensors to gather intel, and will even let you know when you’re low on gas, and where is the best place to stop for gasoline on your way.
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Concept Spider Computer from Sony Ericsson
Take a good look at this potato-masher on a tripod. It looks like a three-legged mechanical spider, doesn’t it? Just to let you know, these legs are not designed for moving, so you can forget your science fiction dreams, for now.
In fact, there is probably more science fact than fiction in this particular device. This was on display at the Taiwan broadband show by Ericsson to show what a computer might look like in the future.
That’s right, this device that you see here is a computer. Actually, it is more of a model of what the computer could look like, and there is a working model of this product after the jump. There is also video of it after the jump as well.
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A Radar System made for an Army Helmet
One of the scariest things in combat is that the enemy could be anywhere, and you wouldn’t know it until it was too late.
This is why the military is developing a miniature helmet-mounted radar system (HMRS). Think of it as radar for the head, to let you know if people are around you.
The range on this guy is about 25 meters, and it is very lightweight at 2.5 pounds. One of those pounds is actually on the helmet itself. I’m not certain what the power source would be used for this guy, but it would have to be built to last.
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Ropid Robot can run and jump on your command
You got to admit that Ropid the robot looks like it should have been in the recently released Astro Boy movie. By the way, that movie is actually pretty good, just so you know.
Ropid is the creation of a Kyoto based group known as Robo Garage, and it has the ability to run and jump. By the way, the robot is programmed to jump with a vocal command. In other words, if you say “jump”, then the robot may not say “how high”, but it will jump as high as it can, which is 8 centimeters high.
That’s not bad considering Ropid measures 38 centimeters tall, and weighs 16 kilograms. The robot has 29 joints and four gyro-sensors, and is powered by a lithium-ion battery. By the way, the vocal commands will also run when you tell it to run, and stop when you say stop. Now if it could run and jump, perhaps it could beat the Olympic long jump record.
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