Subscribe to Gizmag's RSS feed
Follow Gizmag on Twitter
Kyle Sherer
- MarySlim: Multimarine Composites' wave cleaving Very Slender Vessel (22,940 Views)
- Milestone for Sikorsky X2 helicopter (22,543 Views)
- The Storch amphibious light-aircraft (20,435 Views)
- The human battery: turning body heat into electric power (19,833 Views)
- Armchair Cruisers - Backseat driving has never been more satisfying (18,583 Views)
All Articles by Kyle Sherer
The future 3D TV – we look at some of the best angles
By Kyle Sherer
19:37 April 13, 2009 PDT
A number of companies has invested considerable resources into developing autostereoscopic 3D TVs, confident that they will be the “next big thing”. Gizmag examines some of the best 3D TV design concepts out there, in an attempt to sort what's truly possible from what's pie in the sky. Read More
Robot can perform surgery on beating heart
By Kyle Sherer
21:19 April 12, 2009 PDT
Scientists at Japan’s Waseda University have created a machine that can perform surgery on a functioning heart by adjusting to the rhythm of its beat. The Waseda crew’s robot has been operating on pig’s hearts since 2004, with a claimed 95% tracking accuracy. Read More
da Vinci robotic surgery system gets visualization upgrade
By Kyle Sherer
17:56 April 11, 2009 PDT
Robotic Surgery specialist Intuitive Surgical has added enhanced 3D HD resolution, an updated interface and new ergonomic settings to the latest incarnation of its da Vinci System. Read More
Children's game inspires new generation of security robot
By Kyle Sherer
16:50 March 25, 2009 PDT
Sophisticated sensors allow robots to see and hear the world at a level far beyond humans, but when it comes to interpreting the data they’re still a few notches below Daleks. Scientists at Duke University and the University of New Mexico have used the game “Marco Polo” as the inspiration for the creation of an algorithm that allows robots to identify and intercept moving targets. Read More
Brown University develops autonomous, gesture-following robot
By Kyle Sherer
00:07 March 20, 2009 PDT
A team from Brown University has developed a robot capable of following verbal and nonverbal commands in indoor and outdoor environments. Based on iRobot's brain-trust, previously known for developing PackBot, the machine was presented at the Human-Robot Interaction conference from March 11-13. Read More
Robot supermodel takes to the catwalk
By Kyle Sherer
18:10 March 18, 2009 PDT
Japanese researchers on Monday unveiled the HRP-4C robot in a mock fashion show, which showcased the versatile facial expressions and motions of the bot, rather than the outfit of the month. The petit, 158cm tall robot has 42 motion motors in its body, and can imitate a variety of facial expressions. Read More
Airborne microbots to create wi-fi zones in disaster situations
By Kyle Sherer
17:24 March 9, 2009 PDT
Autonomous flying quadcopter robots, built from off-the-shelf parts in €300 kits (US$380) could be used to establish radio networks for phones and wireless Internet in disaster zones. Under development by researchers at the Ilmenau University of Technology, the bots are equipped with satellite navigation, GPS, and VIA Pico-ITX hardware. Read More
The most violent gamma-ray explosion ever observed
By Kyle Sherer
20:23 March 2, 2009 PST
The Fermi Gamma-ray Space telescope, which was launched on June 11 last year, has borne witness to the most violent gamma-ray burst ever observed – a monster that exceeded the power of 8000 supernovae. The GRB 080916C burst appeared in the Carina constellation, 12.2 billion light years from Earth, and was analyzed by five French teams, which published their results in the February 19 issue of Science Express. Read More
Planet seeking Kepler Spacecraft readies for launch
By Kyle Sherer
16:56 February 25, 2009 PST
On March 5, NASA will launch the largest camera ever sent into space in an attempt to find the holy grail of astronomy: an Earth-like planet. The $591 million Kepler craft will orbit the sun for at least 3.5 years, using an unprecedented 0.95-meter diameter Schmidt telescope packing an array of 42 CCDs, each with 2200x1024 pixels, to scan over 100,000 stars in the Cygnus-Lyra region of the galaxy. The craft is seeking planets in the “goldilocks” zone – not too close to the sun, and not too far – but the scope of the project means that no matter what scientists find, our understanding of the universe will be greatly enhanced. Read More
Protonex Soldier-Worn portable power management systems
By Kyle Sherer
14:57 February 22, 2009 PST
Smaller, lighter, and easier to configure than previous models, Protonex' new line of power managers reduce the amount of batteries soldiers have to carry into the field and streamline the recharging of electronics. The latest line feature six configurable power ports and provide troops with greater and easier access to man-packable equipment such as the Defense Advanced GPS Receiver, the Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio, the PRC-119 radio system, Night Vision, BB 2590 batteries, PDAs and solar blankets. Read More
Cosmic Dawn simulation provides insights into the early universe
By Kyle Sherer
14:18 February 18, 2009 PST
Computational Cosmology – the use of simulations to shed light on astronomical mysteries – has provided scientists with a glimpse of what the universe may have looked like 500 million years after the Big Bang, when the first galaxies were forming in the universe’s “reionization” stage. The images, produced by scientists at Durham University, will provide researchers with key insights into dark matter, which remains frustratingly elusive, despite being first proposed in 1933 and making up an estimated 80% of the universe. Read More
Biomass eating robot makes its own electricity
By Kyle Sherer
20:56 February 15, 2009 PST
Expected to survive autonomously for extended periods of time in hostile conditions, Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) could be seen as decidedly unglamorous in comparison to their airborne cousins – and none more so than the proposed Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR) from Robotic Technology, which will suffer the indignity of ingesting and expelling biomass to fuel itself, presumably with no toilet paper. Scatalogical humor aside, it's a remarkable project which promises to greatly extend the capability of unmanned roving bots with researchers estimating that 150 pounds of vegetation could give it enough juice for 100 miles of driving. Read More
Wheelchair-mounted robotic arm controlled by thought alone
By Kyle Sherer
20:39 February 10, 2009 PST
Researchers at the University of South Florida have designed a system that uses an Electroencephalograph (EEG) to read the brain waves of wheelchair-bound people and allows them to control a robotic arm with their thoughts. The Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) captures P300 brain wave responses, the consistently detectable brain waves associated with decision making, and transmits instructions to the robo-arm “without the user moving a muscle.” Read More
Japanese company builds your robotic twin
By Kyle Sherer
16:39 February 8, 2009 PST
A Japanese company called Little Island will manufacture your own custom-made robotic doppelganger. The pint-sized bot is produced based on a picture you send in and at USD$2,215, it definitely overshoots the “novelty buy” demographic, aiming for the true-believer market that is really, really into robotics. Read More
Mars tech to assist in Earthly eco cleanup
By Kyle Sherer
15:33 February 8, 2009 PST
The Mars Organic Analyzer, fresh from seeking evidence of life on the red planet, has taken a new job to assist life on Earth. The MOA has been modified by researchers in California to detect potentially carcinogenic molecules, providing valuable information in environmental cleanup sites. Read More
K-9 the robot dog circa 2009
By Kyle Sherer
14:59 February 3, 2009 PST
The latest winner in this round of the Trossen Robotics competition combines both of man's best friends - dogs and computers. Despite its high tech capabilities, the autonomous pooch dubbed K-9 looks suitably low-budget from the exterior in-line with its namesake from the original Dr. Who television series. Read More
Roofus robot scours rooftops for snow
By Kyle Sherer
17:10 February 1, 2009 PST
Here's an interesting idea for those readers out there facing bleak winter conditions to ponder. The Roofus robot concept will diligently wipe snow from rooftops, carting loads of up to 250kg to the edge and dumping it over the side. And though the concept designed by Michal Glogowski is primarily intended for work on icy surfaces, it can also be fitted with lawn mowing blades and sweeping attachments, making it a useful design throughout the whole year. Read More
Climbing robot inspects wind turbines for damage
By Kyle Sherer
16:14 January 29, 2009 PST
Wind turbines, predominantly constructed from glass fiber reinforced plastics, are vulnerable to fractures and flaws that can be impossible for the human eye to detect - and even the cracks visible to humans can often only be spotted in a time-consuming and dangerous examination. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute say that their latest robot creation, RIWEA, can solve both problems to increase the overall efficiency of the wind energy system. Read More
NASA two years away from full sun visualization
By Kyle Sherer
14:10 January 27, 2009 PST
NASA's two STEREO spacecraft, launched on October 25, 2006, will align on either side of the sun on February 6, 2011, allowing scientists to view the entire sun simultaneously for the first time in history. The Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory is currently providing scientists with a view of 75% of the sun. Read More
HP unveils 2009 line
By Kyle Sherer
19:48 January 12, 2009 PST
HP released the details of its 09 lineup at CES, outlining new notebooks, a desktop, a gaming keyboard, a server, and a photo printing app for iPhone. Among them, the inch-thick HP Pavilion dv2 weighs less than four pounds and has a high-capacity hard drive of up to 500GB. Read More
MSI's Hybrid SSD/HDD notebook
By Kyle Sherer
23:33 January 7, 2009 PST
The MSI U115 Hybrid notebook uses both a Solid State Disk and a Hard Disk Drive, allowing users to switch between them at will. The 1kg notebook measures 26cm by 18cm, with a 10-inch widescreen LCD display (1024x600), and supports 802.11 b/g/n wireless LAN and Bluetooth. Read More
HP introduces new notebook in Mini line
By Kyle Sherer
17:57 January 6, 2009 PST
HP's notebook PC uses a low-power Intel Atom processor, and includes integrated Wi-Fi Certified WLAN, a VGA webcam, and optional Bluetooth 2.0. The lightweight model will be available later this month from USD$499 Read More
SanDisk's new Ultra Backup Flash drive
By Kyle Sherer
10:36 January 6, 2009 PST
SanDisk’s Ultra Backup USB Flash drives allow users to securely store and protect their data at the touch of a button. Billed as world first functionality for a USB portable Flash drive, the backup technology is designed to quickly and painlessly copy important files and will be available from April in capacities ranging from 8GB-64GB. Read More
Snowball Launcher prevents pitcher's elbow
By Kyle Sherer
17:47 December 22, 2008 PST
The Snowball Launcher will outdo even the most accomplished snow tosser by making and blasting softball-sized snowballs up to 50 feet. Unless you live anywhere near a city, in which case it might blast softball-sized chunks of muddy slush mixed with cigarette butts and gravel. Still, it is sure to give you the edge in snow fights this winter. Read More
LightSpeed binoculars transmit sound and video
By Kyle Sherer
15:38 December 22, 2008 PST
Torrey Pines Logic has designed an optical system that allows people to speak to the person they’re looking at. The LightSpeed uses infrared LEDs to transmit the wearer’s voice via a secure optical beam to another LightSpeed model. The data channel used by the binoculars can accommodate Ethernet, video streaming and multi-channel audio data, and the devices transmit data at 1Mpbs, at distances exceeding 5km. Read More
Jonathan Cole
- November 6, 2009 @ 16:15 UTC
