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Loz Blain
LG's 2009 Audio/Visual range: connectivity, convergence and clean, clear interfaces
By Loz Blain
23:16 April 2, 2009 PDT
LG's latest Audio/Visual offerings are moving down the path of connectivity and convergence, and delivering some very nice user interfaces. LG's new "Technology Design Centre" made its debut at the Melbourne Formula One Grand Prix on the weekend where the Korean company introduced its PS80 big-screen plasma "Time Machine" TV, with built-in hard drive and digital video recording, its YouTube-capable super-fast BD370 Blu-ray player, its HB954WA 1000w home theatre 5.1 system, tuned by Mark Levinson and featuring wireless rear speakers, and the LH50, an ultra-quick 200hz LED-backlit LCD TV that intelligently adjusts picture controls according to the ambient light conditions in the room. Read More
Honda's Brain-Machine Interface: controlling robots by thoughts alone
By Loz Blain
00:25 April 2, 2009 PDT
Honda has taken some very significant steps into what could be an absolute revolution in human-computer interface. Honda Research Institute, Japan, has demonstrated a Brain-Machine Interface (BMI) that enables a user to control an ASIMO robot using nothing more than thought. Wearing a headset containing both electroencephalography (EEG) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) sensors, the user simply imagines moving either his right hand, left hand, tongue or feet - and ASIMO makes a corresponding movement. The system is still huge and slow, and the commands are quite crude and imprecise - but Honda's baby steps represent a huge leap in technology. The next task is to refine the system to work with fine motor controls, add the ability to decode non-motor brain signals and speed it all up. Then, the doors will be open for a whole range of machines that can sense your thoughts, intentions and feelings, and act directly upon them. BMI has staggering potential - this is just the beginning. Read More
The Breezy Seat fan-forced toilet odour filter: no more courtesy flushes
By Loz Blain
23:14 March 24, 2009 PDT
They say necessity is the mother of all invention - so we're going to steer clear of the Tennessee inventor of the Breezy Seat. It's a battery-powered, fan forced toilet seat that turns on when you sit on it, sucking smelly air out of the bowl and sending it through odor-absorbing filters and "nano-modules" before it escapes to stink up the rest of the house. Far more effective than air freshener sprays that merely paint over the turdy waft with a thin veneer of "mountain air," the Breezy Seat kills the odors right where they begin. And let's face it, in a modern world, you really shouldn't have to be holding your breath as you walk past the bathroom after your brother's been through. Read More
Porsche releases technical innovations on new 4-door Panamera luxury sportster
By Loz Blain
14:11 March 19, 2009 PDT
Porsche's 4-door Panamera will be finally unveiled at the Shanghai Motor Show on April 20 - not that we haven't already had plenty of chances to take a good look at it through the company's prolific PR department. Designed to be at once more luxurious than an S-Class Benz and sportier than a Beemer M5, the Panamera is the first 4-door Porsche with an uncompromising performance focus. It looks like a belter too, considering rumors that the 500-horsepower, US$132,600 turbo model actually had to be reined back in performance terms just so it wouldn't trouser the 911, which is supposed to be Porsche's performance flagship. As a brand new, extreme high end model, you'd be expecting the Panamera to pack a few technological punches - and you'd be right. Here's a few of the key innovations. Read More
AeroQuad: the foldable, self-stabilizing VTOL personal flying platform
By Loz Blain
14:05 March 19, 2009 PDT
We've written before about the nifty flying carpet-style PAM Individual Lifting Vehicle - now it seems there's another self-stabilizing coaxial dual-rotor flying platform on the way. The AN-1 AeroQuad, from Spain's Aeris Naviter, boasts all the key advantages of the PAM VTOL platform - it's as easy to pilot as a Segway, it'll fly for up to 5 hours, and happily hover at 20-30 feet with a maximum payload of 200kg - making it very handy for crop spraying, firefighting, aerial photography, lifeguarding, rescue and border control in mountainous areas. The AeroQuad moves forward from the PAM design, though, in that it comes in both land- or water-based configurations, and either one is able to fold up after use to a size so small you only need a half-trailer to transport it. Read More
World's first all-electric 24-hour endurance motocross race to be held in California
By Loz Blain
20:36 March 18, 2009 PDT
When the flag drops, the bullsh*t stops, as they say in racing, and few sectors in the auto market have as much to prove as electric motorcycles. The performance potential of electric bikes is almost unbounded, with massive advantages over petrol bikes in so many areas - and battery technology is starting to catch up with the market's needs - but until recently, there's been no international competitive showcase for the top level of electric motorcycles. Just this week, the FIM announced a zero-emissions TT Grand Prix on the Isle of Man in June - and paved the way for electric bikes to compete in the future against top-level petrol bikes. Now, off-road specialists Zero Motorcycles are gearing up for the world's first all-electric 24-hour endurance motocross race in California on April 4. The flag has dropped on electric racing. Time to see who's got the goods, and who's been telling porkies. Read More
The Android handset war begins in 2009
By Loz Blain
15:45 March 16, 2009 PDT
While Apple's iPhone has enjoyed enormous success using a highly controlled, locked-down handset, operating system and application store, Google's touchscreen smartphone platform takes the opposite approach. Android is a completely open-source operating system, meaning that developers can write whatever abilities they want into it - and Google doesn't make or recommend any particular handsets. The HTC Dream (AKA the T-Mobile G1) gave Android a start in the market - but several big-name competitors are working on Android smartphones to be released sometime this year. The battle for Android handset supremacy is about to begin - let's take a look at the challengers. Read More
Facebook homepage goes Twitter-style, users go bananas
By Loz Blain
00:03 March 16, 2009 PDT
Social networking site Facebook is rolling out its second set of major interface changes in the last 12 months - accompanied by the usual cries of protest from its user base. The most notable change is the new live feed page, which gives a long list of status updates - which will soon include not just mutual friends, but updates from one-way "fan" relationships you may have with bands, brands and celebrities. Sound familiar? Is Facebook the new Twitter? Read More
Sentience intelligent cruise control demonstrated: you steer, it works the pedals
By Loz Blain
00:39 March 12, 2009 PDT
The driverless car of the future is getting closer every day, as more and more technologies come along that take critical jobs away from the driver and put them in the hands of lightning-fast, all-seeing computers. One of the latest and most ambitious of these systems has just been successfully demonstrated in the UK; the Sentience system is a kind of hyper-intelligent cruise control system designed specifically to minimize fuel consumption and emissions. It calculates the best route for you based on traffic, topography, curves, speed limits and a host of other information, and then actually takes over the throttle and brakes for you for the entire journey. It keeps you strictly within speed limits, slows down for corners, speed bumps and roundabouts, and it even knows when the lights ahead are about to turn red, so you don't waste petrol accelerating towards a stop point. Fuel savings in testing have been between 5% and 24% - a very significant figure - and Sentience is expected to be available on production cars, for a minimal cost, as soon as 2012. Incredible stuff. Read More
AIRPod: tiny air-powered commuter costs half a Euro per 100km
By Loz Blain
22:48 March 6, 2009 PST
Compressed air cars are well and truly on their way to mass production in India and America, among other places - although they seem to be taking their time. But the cheap, environmentally-neutral compressed air engine also lends itself to other interesting urban and industrial transport concepts like the AIRPod. Intended both as a personal 3-4 seater city commuter and as a getabout for airport, train station and municipal workers, the AIRPod is cute and easy to drive with a joystick instead of a steering wheel and pedals. The three-wheel transport weighs around the same as a touring motorcycle at 220kg, so it only needs 5 1/2 horsepower from its lightweight air engine to reach top speeds a little over 40mph. Best of all, cheap compressed air refilling will take as little as 90 seconds and cost about EU1.10 for the AIRPod's expected 220km range. Read More
Yamaha's Ben Spies stuns with pole position on World Superbike debut
By Loz Blain
23:46 February 27, 2009 PST
The World Superbikes season is off to a cracking start, with an action-packed qualifying stage and Superpole now decided. Boasting a huge grid of superstar riders, some ominous new faces, a raft of new bikes and brand new teams from BMW and Aprilia, we've tipped WSBK 2009 as the one to watch over MotoGP in our detailed season preview a few weeks ago. And what a start! Texan Ben Spies has taken an astonishing Superpole victory on his international debut for Yamaha, ahead of veteran Max Biaggi on the brand new Aprilia RSV4 and newcomer Jonny Rea on his Hannspree Honda CBR1000RR. The new Superpole format has proven itself to be pure cut-throat desperation and a great spectacle - and the races tomorrow should be absolutely stunning. Check TheBikerGene for full coverage of Round 1 of the 2009 World Superbike Championship. Read More
Magenn floating wind generators take advantage of high altitude winds
By Loz Blain
16:15 February 26, 2009 PST
Wind power is notoriously flighty, particularly at ground level. Most turbine-on-a-post wind powered generators operate at around 20-40% of their rated generation capacity, simply because wind is intermittent and changes direction. But a generator situated 500-1000 feet above ground level would enjoy much more consistent strong wind - which is why the Magenn MARS system makes so much sense. It's a helium-filled rotating airship that spins in the wind on the end of a variable-length tether that also acts as a power transmitter, and it's expected to operate at more like 50% of its rated capacity. Each MARS system will be cheap and portable, which will make them extremely useful in rural, camping and emergency situations. A prototype has successfully been flown in North Carolina. A great idea that makes economic sense. Read More
Less is more (expensive): Gibson's Holy Explorer
By Loz Blain
22:12 February 23, 2009 PST
You can often tell a lot about what a guitarist is about to do just by looking at the axe he's chosen for the gig. If it's a Flying V, he's here to rock, and he doesn't care who knows it. If it's got a big round wooden face with f-holes and a scratch plate, he's here to jazz out with some fruity 13-chords. If it's a seven-string Ibanez with a whammy bar and it looks like it's been dragged backwards through a paint shop, he's gonna shred and finger-tap until somebody's face falls off. But what can you say about a guy who turns up with a Gibson Holy Explorer? Read More
Memory surgery: common drug takes the panic out of traumatic memories
By Loz Blain
14:56 February 17, 2009 PST
Memory-induced panic attacks can be absolutely crippling for sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - the suffocating, gripping fear associated with traumatic memories can destroy victims' careers, relationships and the normal functioning of their lives. But a team of Dutch clinical psychologists are developing an almost magical cure, using a single dose of a common and fairly harmless beta-blocking drug that seems to be able to separate the panic emotion from the factual elements of the memory - leaving patients with an apparently lasting ability to recall and talk about the traumatic incident without the usual devastating rush of fear. Read More
Windows Mobile 6.5 shoots for iPhone-esque usability
By Loz Blain
14:25 February 17, 2009 PST
When Apple's iPhone first hit the stores two years ago, it was a revelation in slick, simple user interface design that left competition reeling as it quickly achieved cult status. Such ease of use, however, comes at the expense of some functionality and configurability that many users expect from their smartphones, leaving the door wide open for platforms like Android, Symbian and Windows Mobile to go for the power-user market if they can just address their interface issues and build something slick and sexy that does what the iPhone can't. Gizmodo has shown the first hands-on look we've seen at Windows Mobile 6.5, which doesn't add a lot of new features, but makes WM much more finger-friendly and puts some surprisingly effective lipstick on the old girl. Read More
Solving the global food crisis: vertical aeroponic farm grows food out of thin air
By Loz Blain
01:14 February 17, 2009 PST
More than 50% of our planet's massive human population is concentrated into urban centres - and on current estimates, that's likely to be as high as 80% by the year 2050, a year many of us will be around to see. So the challenge facing today's forward-thinking architects is how to create positive outcomes out of a crushing space constraint. Going upwards, in projects like Eugene Tsui's Ultima Tower and the London Vertical Village concept, seems to offer some practical solutions to the living space conundrum - but what about feeding all those people? Vertical Aeroponic Farming seems to be an idea whose time has come - it will let us use land, nutrients, power and water much more efficiently than ever before, while delivering a quality-controllable, year-round and emissions-positive food source for urban communities. Eric Vergne's Dystopian Farm is a design study that examines how a vertical farm might use the latest in agricultural and architectural technology to feed the cities of the future. Read More
Major UK study examines the long-term effects of Ecstasy use
By Loz Blain
02:04 February 13, 2009 PST
Ecstasy use is widespread across the globe, and has been for more than 20 years now. While there are occasional deaths and more frequent hospitalizations related to Ecstasy use, some argue that as illicit drugs go, it has far fewer negative effects than the real bad boys - heroin, crack, ice - so why is it treated by lawmakers as a class A or schedule 1 drug with penalties attached to it as severe as with heroin? The counter-argument is that Ecstasy's long term effects on the brain aren't well understood - but a recent UK review by a government advisory council has sifted through more than 20 years' worth of evidence to come to the conclusion that yes, Ecstasy can be shown to cause cognitive impairment, memory loss and depression. But the effects are so slight that users still fall well within the normal ranges. The report concludes with a recommendation that Ecstasy be re-classified down to the level of class B drugs like marijuana. Read More
Gizmag road test: Sonoma Wireworks 4-track recorder for iPhone
By Loz Blain
19:58 February 12, 2009 PST
The song you're about to hear will probably never win a Grammy, but it was recorded entirely on an iPhone using only the equipment that came with the phone - and one very nifty application. FourTrack, from Sonoma Wireworks, is a US$10 iPhone app that brings 4-track audio recording capabilities to the iPhone, including the ability to adjust the volume and pan of each track. Each track is recorded to WAV at CD quality and auto-compressed - and once you're done you can WiFi the results straight to your computer. Apart from a couple of niggles, it's a pretty amazing little songwriting tool that lets you flesh out a tune with harmonies or instrumental tracks when you don't have GarageBand handy. Read More
Fight shrinkage with the Rooster Booster: the Wonderbra for men
By Loz Blain
22:53 February 11, 2009 PST
Post-swim shrinkage of the male genitals is a problem that has occupied some of the great minds of our time. "Budgie smuggler"-style Speedos are a primary culprit - they loudly broadcast the wearer's size, shape and religion even when they're dry, but when wet lycra meets a cold, squashed lunchbox after a blood-draining swim, the resulting "frightened turtle" effect can be a true seaside tragedy. But if it's OK for women to pump up their credentials with a Wonderbra, why shouldn't men be able to cheat too? This is the thinking behind a new line of Australian swimwear featuring a hidden pocket in which a variety of different foam padding options can be concealed. Gentlemen, meet the "Rooster Booster." Read More
Rebuilding the face: medicine meets engineering at the beginning of an industrial revolution
By Loz Blain
00:11 February 10, 2009 PST
Mass-production technology has revolutionized so much of modern life that we take it for granted - but early iterations of all technologies were hand-built, relying on the skills and intuition of master craftsmen for the effectiveness of each end product. It might surprise you to learn that in the field of facial reconstructive surgery, the vast majority of work is still being done in a pre-industrial revolution fashion - and results for patients who present with horribly disfiguring facial tumors or bone injuries are as varied and inconsistent as the human hands that do the work. Dr. Ninian Peckitt, originally from the UK, has pioneered a truly revolutionary "Engineering Assisted Surgery" approach that uses advanced CT-to-CAD modeling, rapid stereolithographic prototyping, pinpoint CAD design, electron beam melting (EBM) mass-production and error-eliminating surgical procedures. The results are absolutely stunning. Patients that would normally require traumatic 20-hour operations involving complicated, imprecise and ugly bone grafts are being fitted with incredibly precise, long-lasting titanium facial inserts so effective that once surgical scars fade you'd never know they had a facial injury. Surgery is simple and can often be completed in an hour or two using techniques that eliminate human errors - and the entire procedure comes in at a fraction of the price. Peckitt's work is amazing - but if powerful lobbies in the medical fraternity have their way, it may cost him his career. Read More
Electric garbage truck is powered by garbage
By Loz Blain
01:08 February 5, 2009 PST
Mr. Fusion it ain't, but in what is believed to be a world first, a small town in the UK has debuted an electric municipal garbage truck that's powered by the garbage it collects. Kirklees council has deployed a modified Ford Transit with a 40kWh lithium-ion battery pack as its first silent garbage truck - and the trash it collects is burned back at the Energy from Waste center, generating enough energy to recharge the truck's batteries and pump another ten megawatts back into the power grid. Read More
Winter wheelies: bolt-on kit turns your dirtbike into a powder-carving snowbike
By Loz Blain
01:04 February 5, 2009 PST
This looks like serious winter fun. What if you could ride your high-performance, lightweight dirtbike in the snow? Imagine throwing huge snowy rooster tails, wheelieing across snow-covered fields, carving corners through the powder and cranking your bike down to elbow-dragging lean angles - all the while knowing that if you overcook it, you'll fall into a nice soft pile of the white fluffy stuff. The US$4250 2moto snowbike kit is a bolt-on mod that takes about 2 hours to fit to a range of common dirtbikes. In place of the front wheel, you get a tough, flexible ski on the end of your forks. At the rear end, you swap your swingarm, wheel and suspension out for a thin paddle track drive unit - and voila! You've got half a snowmobile, except it leans over in the turns and looks like a helluva lot more fun. Read More
AutoMoto tilting three-wheeler: cheap, practical commuting fun
By Loz Blain
02:00 February 3, 2009 PST
There was lots of interest last year when we wrote about Sidam's Xnovo, which essentially looked like a 500cc micro-minivan on three wheels. But the Xnovo hasn't materialized on the market yet, and its USD$10,000 projected price robs it of any practical claim to economy. The California-built AutoMoto, however, achieves many of the Xnovo's aims for less than half the price. It's got a roof, a windshield, wipers, an MP3 stereo, CVT, two seats and a large, lockable storage trunk - and it has three wheels, with two at the rear, which attach to a platform that allows the body to tilt when cornering. Its 150cc engine gets 83mpg in daily use - 30mpg better than the Toyota Prius - and it's much easier to park. It can squeeze through traffic like any other scoot, but it doesn't require a motorcycle license or helmet in many US states. The AutoMoto should prove itself to be a practical and fun way to get around and it looks like a bargain too, at only USD$3800. Read More
2009 World Superbike Championship: season preview and predictions
By Loz Blain
23:52 February 2, 2009 PST
The global financial crisis has clearly hammered the highest echelons of prototype racing, with established teams like Honda and Kawasaki pulling out of F1 and MotoGP respectively in the last couple of months. But for the production-based (and much cheaper) World Superbike series, things have never looked better than they do at the start of 2009. Despite the retirement of beloved champion Troy Bayliss, the 2009 WSBK grid will field a record 32 bikes from a record 7 manufacturers as BMW and Aprilia join the fray with exotic new machinery. There's also an influx of phenomenally talented riders - including AMA champ Ben Spies, BSB champ and ex-GP god Shakey Byrne, and precocious youngsters Tom Sykes and Leon Haslam to do battle with battle-hardened veterans like Nitro Nori Haga, Biaggi, Corser and Kagayama. The first pre-season test has been run, giving us a glimpse at who's fast and who's faster, so it's time for a WSBK season preview, looking at the class, the teams, the bikes and the personalities that make SBK the race series to watch in 2009. Read More
Water-propelled jetpack: could this be the one?
By Loz Blain
02:25 February 2, 2009 PST
We're nearly 10 years into the new millennium, and the stark reality facing science fiction fans is that we STILL don't have an affordable jetpack. Promising technologies like this ion-propelled, remotely-powered unit seem to pop up from time to time, but nothing materializes on the market. The guys at JetPack International have built a beauty of a machine that does exactly what you'd hope - but at USD$200,000 it's still way out of reach for most people. This one might not be, though. It's propelled by super-fast jets of water pumped up through a tube that connects the jetpack to an engine that sits under the surface of a body of water. By tethering the flyer to the ground, this device is able to vastly reduce the weight of the flying apparatus by leaving all the heavy fuel and engine components behind, and since you're flying around above the surface of the water, you've got a much softer landing if you fall. Most importantly, the device looks like exactly as much fun as you'd hope, and because there's nothing too complicated to it, we can't see it costing much more than a jet-ski if it goes into production. Excellent! Read More
John M
- November 25, 2009 @ 17:19 UTC
