Thursday, December 29, 2005

Web Visual programming

While I was busy searching for information about Ruby progamming language I came across Tersus.


This is a visual programming environment for creating web application. Sofar it looks very promising and is (for a large part) opensource.
Have a look yourself:
www.tersus.org
www.tersus.com
https://sourceforge.net/projects/tersus

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Robot gets job as receptionist


The new Honda prototype Asimo Robot got his/her first job as a receptionist. If you watch the clips it all still looks a bit awkward but I think it is big step forward.

Flash movie
More clips of Asimo

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Cyberhand

Development of a new generation of hand prosthesis. New is the ability to feel and control the hand from the brain. Read more at the Cyberhand homepage.

Friday, November 25, 2005

Holographic storage finally arrived?

According to the NewScientist InPhase Technologies (together with their partner ) will sell optical storage devices and discs at the end of 2006. The new holographic disc will hot 300 Gigabytes of data and the read/write access will be 10 times faster than DVD.

Read article: Holographic-memory discs may put DVDs to shame

Monday, November 21, 2005

Waterless Washing Machine


Students from the National University of Singapore have invented a washing machine that does not need water.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Medical Nanobots

I, Robot may have a new meaning in the 2020s if programmable dermal displays—implantable nanomedical systems for the human body—become a mainstay for medical monitoring and record-keeping. First presented by Robert A. Freitas, Jr., in his book Nanomedicine, Volume 1: Basic Capabilities, dermal displays use embedded data screens visible on the back of the hand, which are activated by three billion display nano-robots underneath the skin.

The displays would switch on by touch and connect the patient with billions of fixed and mobile nanobots monitoring vital signs and physiological parameters throughout the body, says Freitas. "Patients will be able to check their own medical condition any time of day or night, wherever they may be, in great detail, without the need to visit a doctor or a testing lab." When turned off, display nanobots emit no light and the skin has its normal pigment. When turned on, they emit photons, creating a display visible through the uppermost layer of skin.

See: Hand Me My Data

Friday, October 14, 2005

Moving adverts on paper coming soon according to Siemens


Another (small) step towards electronic paper and away from dead tree paper.

Researchers at Siemens have developed a printable interactive display with a similar thickness to paper.

The display consists of a layer of electrochromic material sandwiched between two electrode layers. The material changes from one colour to another when stimulated by an electric current. The top electrode layer is made from transparent plastic, so the display can be seen clearly through it.

Read the whole article.

Electronic painting with the I/O Brush


I/O Brush is a new drawing tool to explore colors, textures, and movements found in everyday materials by "picking up" and drawing with them. I/O Brush looks like a regular physical paintbrush but has a small video camera with lights and touch sensors embedded inside. Outside of the drawing canvas, the brush can pick up color, texture, and movement of a brushed surface. On the canvas, artists can draw with the special "ink" they just picked up from their immediate environment.

Read more about it at MIT just click here.

I/O Brush
High Resolution MPEG [27MB]
Low Resolution Quicktime [9MB]