Last month, NASA declared its Kepler mission to hunt exoplanets at an end when one of the space telescope’s reaction wheels failed. Unable to keep itself pointed in the right direction, it could no longer carry on its hunt for planets beyond the Solar System. That seemed like the end of things, but Keith Horne of the University of St Andrews and Andrew Gould of Ohio State University disagree. They claim that Kepler could still hunt for exoplanets using gravity microlensing to detect how stars with planets distort space. Read More
When you hear the term “electric scooter,” you probably picture something that’s essentially just a little electric motorcycle – you twist the throttle, and it goes. The Scrooser, however, is considerably closer in spirit to a child’s non-powered scooter. You stand up on it and kick at the ground with one leg to move it along, its motor amplifying the power of your kick ... oh yeah, and it’s also got cool fat tires. Read More
In a move that is already sending shockwaves through the gaming community, Microsoft has reversed course on the ill-advised digital rights management (DRM) and always online policies of its forthcoming Xbox One game console. Microsoft, which had up until earlier this week defended its restrictive policies, suffered what many considered to be an embarrassing defeat at the hands of rival Sony PlayStation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo earlier this month. Today Don Mattrick, President of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, announced an about-face that will have consumers breathing a sigh of relief. Read More
Gizmag caught up with William Mannarn and Scott Andrew from EADCO GmbH at the Paris Air Show, and learned that the company recently signed an agreement with PC Aero to start development of a new twin prop, 6-passenger electric airplane called the Elektro E6. EADCO is now busying itself designing the frame for the potentially groundbreaking craft, while PC Aero takes care of the electrical systems. Read More
Many of the communication devices that attempt to make the jump from our hands to our wrists tend to follow the same form factor as mechanical watches (think Pebble or the much-rumored Apple iWatch, for example). The Smile SmartWatch from Emopulse is quite a different proposition. If the company manages to transform its working prototype into an actual commercial product, the Smile will be a smartphone, entertainment and gaming hub, social network and news feed, personal assistant, digital watch, and a stunning piece of wrist bling all rolled into one futuristic device. Read More
Vehicle-to-vehicle communications are a fundamental pillar of autonomous, self-driving cars. Once vehicles can exchange data with each other and the greater driving infrastructure, they'll be able to "see" and adapt to driving obstacles more completely, preventing accidents and delivering more efficient driving. Mercedes plans to be the first automaker to bring a Car-to-X vehicle-to-vehicle communications system to market. Read More
Italian architect Renzo Piano has gone from building Europe’s tallest building (the Shard in London) to one of its smallest. Finally completing his career-long dream of building a micro house that only measures 7.5 sq m (81 sq ft), Piano’s single-occupancy unit has been added to the gardens of the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany. Dubbed “Diogene,” the small structure is named in honor of the Greek philosopher Diogenes of Sinope, who was said to have abandoned all worldly luxuries and conventions for the simplicity of living in a large ceramic jar. Read More
Creating a 3D map of a room could someday be as simple as randomly placing four microphones within the space, then snapping your fingers. Researchers from Switzerland’s EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne/Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) have recently done so on a limited scale, and are now excited about the technology’s possible applications. Read More
Yamaha US has started shipping the NU1 piano, an acoustic upright with the digital heart of a grand. The latest addition to its hybrid product category, which includes 2009's AvantGrand, the new family member is being pitched to serious musicians who are short on space, but still want to experience the feel and sound of a high-end – and therefore much more expensive – concert grand. It features something called Tactile Response System technology, which reproduces the kind of resonance players feel when tinkling away on an acoustic piano. The sonic mimicry comes courtesy of digital samples of the company's hand-built CFX Concert Grand. Read More
EADS has once again taken to the Paris Air Show to present a vision of commercial aviation in 2050. Developed in partnership with Rolls-Royce to increase the efficiency of future airliners, its E-Thrust concept is a hybrid electric propulsion system that EADS says could cut fuel consumption, emissions and noise. EADS and Airbus have baked the E-Thrust into an aircraft design, which EADS calls the eConcept. Read More
