Not only are these IE-TAG sticky notes, designed by Naruse-Inokuma Architects, made of paper recycled from wood construction waste. But they’re also shaped like tiny little houses so you can turn your desk into a miniature neighborhood. The pointed roof design also turns every sticky note into an arrow for pointing out something specific on a page, and as demonstrated above, they just look more aesthetically pleasing when used as bookmarks.
According to a Hungarian-based company called StringDrive, the current design of bicycles, with the drive chain and gears all located on one side, results in an asymmetric riding experience that’s not as inefficient or smooth as it could be. Of course we don’t really notice it because we’ve never driven something better, so not surprisingly that’s exactly what StringDrive claims they have created.
Their StringBike uses two identical but opposing drive units on either side of the bike which feature swinging arms moving forward and back as the pedals are turned. This back and forth motion pulls a set of steel ropes on either side which in turn cause a drum and the rear wheel to rotate. Since the mechanisms on both sides are moving in symmetry as you pedal, the rear wheel is constantly being driven, providing a smoother, and more efficient, ride. If you’re having trouble picturing it take a few moments and watch this mesmerizing video of the StringDrive in action.
The company claims that it only takes a few minutes for a rider to get used to the StringBike, particularly when it comes to shifting gears, but I have to say it does sound like a definite improvement over a chain drive system. I just have reservations about how complicated the system looks, and how easy it would be to repair should something happen while you’re out for a ride.
For years advertisers have been trying to find ways to enhance TV broadcasts. Commercials are one thing, but being able to sell you the exact suit a stylish character is wearing, or finance a vehicle you see in an exciting car chase has been a dream for them. Microsoft’s old WebTV had features like that, though it wasn’t exactly a runaway success. But this morning Yamaha successfully tested a new concept for passing along extra info to consumers that has a lot of promise. Mostly because it’s completely unobtrusive.
Their new ‘Infosaundo’ or ‘INFOSOUND’ technology broadcasts an inaudible (to humans at least) 18kHz or higher signal that’s picked up by a smartphone’s mic and converted into data, or a URL, or some kind of enhanced data via a special app. The system, which has a range of ~33 feet, isn’t exactly high-bandwidth. It’s limited to a mere 80 bits per second, but that’s more than enough to pass along a web address which can then lead to more downloadable content.
A few years ago Microsoft Research showed off a prototype camera called the SenseCam which took a unique approach to photography. Instead of pulling out your camera to snap a random moment for posterity, the SenseCam is worn hanging from your neck all day and thanks to light, infrared (body heat) and other sensors, the camera’s fish eye lens continually snaps photos of your life. And a built-in intervalometer can even keep it capturing life’s little moments every 30 seconds, no matter how boring or mundane they may be.
The SenseCam was never available as an actual purchasable product from Microsoft, but a UK-based company called Vicon Motion Systems has licensed the technology for their Vicon Revue, which is essentially the exact same thing. Besides the obvious uses for creating documentaries and not-so-interesting YouTube time lapse videos, Vicon Motion Systems seems to be marketing the Revue as a useful tool for those suffering from memory impairment conditions like Alzheimer’s.
The included Revue Desktop software allows you to organize and annotate photos at the end of the day, though that could be a heck of a lot of work given the Revue’s battery is good for 12 continuous hours. And if you think it looks like a fun way to capture your life, the ~$775 (£500) price tag seems to be discouraging people from ordering one for just novelty use.
Even though the snowy weather didn’t make for the most memorable of photo ops, yesterday Motor Trend’s 2011 Car of the Year, the Chevy Volt, left General Motor’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant destined for dealerships in the vehicle’s initial launch markets. About 350 Volts will be shipped out this week, marking the end of what’s been a highly publicized development for the vehicle.
To say a lot of stuff has happened since the original Volt concept was unveiled a few years ago is an understatement, and while many believe that General Motors is till standing today because of the Volt, there’s no question the company has invested a lot of time and money into developing the ideal transition vehicle as we move from fossil-fueled powered to all-electric automobiles. So congratulations are in order I guess!
Speed cameras typically rely on negative reinforcement to discourage people from driving too fast where they’ve been set up. If the radar clocks you driving faster than you should be, your license plate is photographed and a speeding ticket is mailed off to you. The Speed Camera Lottery however, which was Kevin Richardson’s winning entry in Volkswagen’s ‘The Fun Theory‘ contest, adds a bit of positive reinforcement to the mix.
From what I can tell Volkswagen’s contest actually ended last year, but Kevin Richardson’s idea was so good that it has already been tested and implemented by the The Swedish National Society for Road Safety in Stockholm. Instead of only photographing drivers who are caught speeding, this camera also photographs those driving within the speed limit and automatically enters them in a lottery that’s funded by the money generated by the speeding tickets. It’s brilliantly simple and clever, but also very effective in practice since a 3-day test with around 25,000 vehicles passing the camera resulted in an average speed reduction of 22%.
The idea seems pretty far out there, but Chris Mullin has designed a pair of sunglasses that use an LCD display to selectively darken the area in your field of view where there’s a glare, like from oncoming headlights or mankind’s greatest foe, the sun. Wearing them is akin to holding your hand up to block a bright light, except that it all happens automatically, faster than the blink of an eye. And even if you turn your head, or if the source of the glare is moving, the darkened spot on the glasses also moves to ensure the bright light hitting your eyes is darkened to the point where it’s not irritating, or causing serious damage.
The technology seems like something that wouldn’t be feasible until the not-too-distant future, but when you think about the size of digital cameras or modern display technologies, the pieces to this puzzle are already out there. In fact there’s a video of a prototype doing its thing on the Dynamic Eye website, which admittedly looks pretty slick. What’s particularly cool is that you don’t actually end up seeing black blobs while wearing the glasses. Light still passes through the darkened area allowing you to see what’s behind it, and since the glasses are so close to your face your eyes will always be focused beyond the spots, so they’ll look more like darkened smudges when they’re activated.
Now unfortunately the glasses aren’t ready for primetime just yet, and Chris currently has a Kickstarter page set up hoping to raise $20,000 by the middle of January to proceed with development.
Look out T9, another alphanumerically named typing alternative could be stealing your thunder, at least among those who winge and complain about having to use an onscreen keyboard with their portable devices. Called the Kee4 because it only has (1…2…3…4!) 4 keys it allows you to type with just one hand, making it far more portable than the full-sized QWERTY keyboards we all know and love.
Of course in order to produce 26 different letters and punctuation from just 4 keys there is a special typing technique involved which the makers of the Kee4 refer to as ‘composite keystrokes.’ Not surprisingly you’ll need to press multiple keys in a specific order to get the letter you’re after, with either a rocking or rolling keystroke as described below.
Rocking Composite Keystrokes:
If the key that was pressed second is the first to be released, that is called a ‘rocking keystroke’, since it suggests a rocking motion from one finger to the other and then back.
Rolling Composite Keystrokes:
If the key that was pressed first is also the first to be released, that makes a ‘rolling keystroke’, since it suggests a rolling movement of the hand from one finger to another.
I’ve also included a video of someone typing on the Kee4, which is still in its prototype form at this point. It doesn’t seem like it would be that hard to get used to, but your typing speed will probably be halved since it requires two keystrokes for every letter. (Maybe even quartered since you’re just using one hand too.) As for when it might be hitting the market? Well the fact that it’s still in prototype form coupled with the section on their website where they’re still looking for investors suggests it will be a while before anyone will get their hand on one.
Designed primarily for use on ‘other worlds’ where AAA isn’t readily available to change a flat tire (yet!), NASA and Goodyear worked together to develop this new spring-based tire that was recently honored with an R&D 100 award, which Goodyear’s press release refers to as the “Oscars of Innovation.”
The airless tire is constructed from 800 load bearing springs which allow them to carry loads up to 10X heavier than the wire-based tires developed for NASA’s lunar rover many years ago. While the benefits of the new tires also makes them suitable for applications here on Earth, they were primarily designed for off-world exploration where traditional rubber tires are problematic. Not only do they perform differently depending on the temperature (which can have extreme variations on a place like the moon) but unfiltered solar radiation degrades them more quickly, which can lead to deflation. To borrow a phrase from Timex, these new spring tires can ‘take a licking on keep on ticking’ since thanks to redundancy they’ll still operate efficiently even if some of the springs are damaged.
Instead of using a long pointy needle to deliver medication, which can be quite painful at times, the PharmaJet uses a high-speed liquid jet that literally blasts the medicine through your skin in less than 1/3 of a second. While the technology isn’t necessarily new, the PharmaJet improves on older designs with a sterile, single-use syringe and a spring-powered mechanism that requires no external power source besides the muscle needed to re-load it.
And since pain is a subjective feeling, the PharmaJet isn’t billed as being completely ‘pain-free’, but according to the company’s founder it feels like the equivalent of a tiny rubber band snapping against your skin. The injector, which can be reused thousands of times, currently costs about $100 while the single-use syringes run somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 cents to $1, probably closer to the latter. So they’re more expensive than traditional needles at the moment, but as production and use increases it could end up being a viable and even more cost-effective alternative to being stabbed in the arm.
