You remember all that hype that came with the Segway about a decade ago? I believe that it was supposed to revolutionize pedestrian travel in the big city, but the city streets are still full of walkers with only the occasional Segway.
An MIT student named Stephan Boyer created this homemade self-balancing unicycle which he calls the “Bullet”. Yes, if you have problems balancing on a unicycle, the Bullet could be your solution.
Of course, the Bullet cannot steer, at least at this present time. It does go backwards and forwards, though. You can watch a video of this after the jump if you want to see it in motion, just a little warning though, there is no sound.
Conceptual Gadgets
Triangle Tablet, as satirized on “The Office”, could actually be a reality
Some of you might remember when we covered how the popular television show The Office (American version) satirized PC tablet culture as Dwight Schrute introduced a triangular tablet. Apparently, someone wants to harness “The Power of the Pyramid” as they are trying to develop an actual triangle tablet.
The man is Eric Calisto, and apparently he was inspired by the aforementioned episode of The Office. You can read about his progress at Kickstarter, and he wants about $25,000 of funding. At this writing, only four people have pledged about $28.
Texting Glove for the hearing impaired
What you see here in the picture is exactly what you think it is. The Texting Glove is essentially a device where you can use sign language to create a text message.
This device was introduced at Google’s Developers Day in Tel Aviv, by designers Oleg Imanilov, Zvika Markfield, and Tomer Daniel. It uses a gyroscope, an ADK Board, Lilypad Arduino, finger sensors, and an accelerometer.
There is a a video after the jump so you can see how it works. It looks like it has to be calibrated to work with individual hands.
Pico-Projector phone, to use or not to use?
I always try and keep my eye out for the latest in mobile technology. Considering that we communicate through email and texting, technologies that we didn’t even really conceive two decades ago, I can’t help but wonder how we will communicate by the year 2031.
How about cell phones with pico-projectors? They already exist, so why not make it so you can communicate via projected screen?
This comes in handy for when you need to swap photos or drag other files from one place to the next. Of course, you will need the recipient’s permission. Check out the video after the jump for more information.
Frauenhofer Institute’s robot spider
We have reported on robots that can search through rubble before, such as the Omnitread. Generally, these types of robots are snake-shaped so they can fit into narrow crevices.
This robot from the Frauenhofer Institute in Germany is arachnid in shape, but it is essentially the same thing. These eight legs are all on hydraulics, and four of its legs on the ground at the same time.
As for the body of this robot, it has many sensors, including radiation monitors in case it has to go into irradiated zones. It also has video cameras so it can find what is really important: survivors.
Digimo Camera Concept
As you can tell by the headline, this is a concept camera. The Digimo has three cool features, and even one would be enough to sell it on the existing camera market.
The first is that it can split in two. This comes in handy for situations where you need to take a picture of something remotely. You can even see a picture of what you are taking, as there is an LCD on both halves.
The second feature is that it can do 3D pictures. As you might know, 3D pictures are taken with two different camera lenses. When both halves are put together, this camera can get you the 3D pics that you want, if you are into that type of thing.
The third feature is that the Digimo is very modular. It has an extendable telescopic leg that can reach up to 50 centimeters, and you can see the ball and socket connectors that can stand one half of the camera at an angle.
Raytheon-Sarcos prototype is for heavy lifting
What you are seeing here is a modified Ditch Witch from Raytheon-Sarcos, and it is essentially the top half of a Power Loader from Aliens.
As you might have guessed, it gives a user’s upper arms superhuman strength. In case you think you might need crane operator training to operate this, you are wrong. All you need to do is use your own arms, and the metallic arms match.
You can watch the video after the jump, and it shows how easy it is to use. I have no idea how heavy those sheets of metal are, but I’m guessing that you don’t want to haul them without some machinery. I have to admit that I didn’t see the comparison between the movie Real Steel and this, but I would pay to see two of these robot arms fighting it out in real life.
Origo, the toy 3D printer that makes more toys
In the future, every household will have a 3D printer like they have a 2D printer. You will note that I didn’t put a year on this, because I’m not stupid. Every time I read a sentence that starts with “by the year” it hardly ever comes true.
However, this Origo 3D printer could bring 3D printers into households sooner than later. The Origo is currently a concept from designers Artur Tchoukanov and Joris Peels, and it can turn any drawing into a 3D object.
I have no idea how it can translate a 2D drawing into a 3D figure, but here is the real cool feature of the Origo. After a child has created his or her toy, he or she can recycle the material and make another toy.
RePro3D system lets users play with and touch digital 3D characters
This is the RePro3D system, and it is under development by Keio University in Japan.
My Source calls it a miniature holodeck, but I don’t believe that this is an accurate description. You can see in the video after the jump what it actually is, and it combines several technologies.
The user looks into this box, and projectors create a naked-eye 3D fairy character. An infrared camera tracks the users hands, and that device that you see in the photo is for haptic feedback. It reminds me of those devices we discussed yesterday that could be used for virtual video game stabbings and shootings.
This concept aircraft carrier is mostly made of ice
During World War II, there were a lot of technologies proposed that seem outlandish by today’s standards.
One of them was by a British inventor named Geoffrey Pike, who wanted to build an aircraft carrier that was mostly composed of ice. He wanted to build it using Pykrete, a material that is 86 percent ice and 14 percent sawdust.
You might be thinking that the only place to build a carrier made of ice would be in Arctic regions. There might not be a reason to defend this cold area, but this ice carrier is actually made for warmer waters, too. Yes, it would begin to melt, but it can be repaired while at sea using the waters around it. Don’t ask me how it is supposed to do that.