E3 2013 highlights

Ergonomic

The dynamic luminous ceiling by Fraunhofer IAO recreates natural lighting conditions indoo...

The privilege of working under the open sky is reserved for just a few lucky professions. For the less fortunate majority, spending their working hours surrounded by gloomy office landscapes, the soothing sight of clouds drifting through the sky is unattainable. Setting up office cubicles in the open would do the trick but it's hardly a practical option, especially in places where the weather cannot be trusted. Fortunately, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO), based in Stuttgart, Germany, know what else can be done to bring a little outdoor comfort to the office-bound. They built a dynamic luminous ceiling which allows office dwellers to gaze at clouds without ever leaving their desks.  Read More

FLEXR Sports Bottle uses a liner to keep clean

Water is essential to bring along - and drink - during long workouts. Yet cleaning water bottles between uses sometimes doesn't happen. It's hard to get in those long, tall bottles and feel you've gotten all the germs out. The FLEXR Sports Bottle is a new bottle that uses a biodegradable, collapsible liner to ensure the bottle is clean and ready for use.  Read More

The SensoGlove, which monitors a golfer's grip on their club, has been upgraded

Working with a golf pro can definitely help to improve your performance on the greens, although pros can sometimes find it difficult to determine if you’re gripping your club too tightly, just by watching. Germany’s Sensosolutions addressed that problem with its SensoGlove, a computer- and sensor-equipped glove that allows users to set their desired level of grip, and then receive feedback on whether or not they’re gripping within that range. Yesterday, the company announced that the glove has now been improved.  Read More

Zoleco's lightweight body and drag reduction design offers a claimed 82 percent reduction ...

Canadian Zoltan Bod is a self-proclaimed "car and performance nut" who has built his very own, very efficient, 151 mpg (1.56 L/100 km) concept car. Dubbed Zoleco (which merges part of Bod's name with the word "eco"), it is designed with ergonomic considerations and seats up to four passengers comfortably. It also features a teardrop body shape and a three-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine, along with thermal and braking energy recovery technologies, that conserve as much energy as possible. The result is a sporty and eco-friendly car that we're told is fun to drive.  Read More

The Fizik Kurve is a high-tech racing bicycle saddle that uses the same principle as the v...

Fizik is a company probably best known for making bicycle saddles designed for racers, where light weight is everything and comfort is pretty low on the scale. Brooks, on the other hand, is famous for its very comfortable leather saddles, which most racers wouldn’t allow anywhere near their sleek, streamlined steeds. It’s interesting, therefore, that Fizik’s latest saddle, the Kurve, uses the same principle employed by Brooks. It’s good news for sore-bummed racers.  Read More

SideStix are 'sports crutches,' designed for active users

Thirty-eight years ago, a drunk driver hit teenager Sarah Doherty while she was riding her bicycle. She lost her right leg in the accident. An avid athlete, she continued to participate in sports after her recovery, became an occupational therapist, and began adapting rock climbing gear for her own use. That ultimately led to her and her partner Kerith Perreur-Lloyd inventing SideStix, which are forearm crutches designed for active users - like Sarah.  Read More

The iDigiTip is a stylus that is worn on the finger or thumb

If you’ve got fat fingers, then you probably find it difficult to peck at the tiny keyboards – virtual or physical – on mobile phones. You could just use a traditional stylus, although doing so kind of takes away from the intuitive “hands-on” aspect of finger typing. Well, that’s where the iDigiTip comes in. It’s got the fine tip of a stylus, but because you wear it on the end of your finger or thumb, you can still type like the slimmer-fingered folk.  Read More

The RoChair is a wheelchair that is rowed by pushing and pulling on a central lever

Imagine if the only way of propelling yourself on a bicycle was to reach down and turn one of the wheels with your hand. It would be pretty inefficient, yet that’s essentially how a wheelchair works. Of course, wheelchairs are set up so that the push-rims can be reached very easily, but the propulsion process still comes down to the wheels being directly pushed forward by hand. ROTA Mobility, however, has an alternative. It’s called the RoChair, and it’s a wheelchair that is rowed by pushing and pulling on a front-and-center-mounted lever.  Read More

Watch out, Barack and Michelle - recent studies have concluded that viewing 3D content cau...

No, it's not just you. According to studies recently conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, the viewing of stereoscopic 3D displays does indeed cause visual discomfort, fatigue and headaches. The problem appears to come from the fact that the viewers' eyes are simultaneously trying to focus on the screen, and on objects that appear to be located either in front of or behind that screen.  Read More

The intelligent bed, that automatically turns patients over to keep them from developing b...

Decubitus ulcers, more commonly known as bedsores, are a common and potentially serious problem for bedridden hospital patients. Staff are often required to regularly turn patients over in their beds, as the sores are the result of too much prolonged pressure to the skin, caused by lying on one spot for too long. Turning those patients over (especially the larger ones) can be physically difficult work, however, plus some facilities won't always have enough staff on hand to do the turning as often as needed. Swiss entrepreneur Michael Sauter thought the situation needed addressing, so he invented a bed that turns the patients over itself.  Read More

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