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Articles written by Rob Aid

TEST Rob Aid has published 74 articles.

Gadgets»

Conceptual lamp and why we don’t write about concepts

By Rob Aid
One Comment31 July 2009

gravia_w_person_cutout_bw_400We received a few suggestions on our Twitter account regarding a few conceptual buildings and gadgets. In this article we’re going to make clear why we’re not writing articles related to concepts that aren’t realized at least to some degree. The LED lamp, named Gravia, has won second place in the Greener Gadgets Design Competition… »

Gadgets»

Turn any flat surface into a sound speaker – Kerchoonz K-box

By Rob Aid
7 Comments22 July 2009

kerchoonz-k-boxEver wanted your wall or table to play the music? In this article we’re not talking about flat and thin speakers, but rather of a gadget that turns any flat surface into a giant speaker. As personal music players are becoming more common, there’s another developing trend that is growing: the desire to share that… »

Bionics| Tech»

Biomimicry could help development of self-cleaning materials

By Rob Aid
One Comment10 June 2009

dropletHumans have always wondered how water beads roll off flowers, as well off caterpillars and some other insects, and how insects like water striders are able to walk on water. It’s a property called super hydrophobia. Self-cleaning counter tops, fabrics, walls, even micro-robots that can walk on water – all those things and more could… »

Gadgets»

Project Natal – body motion control and much more

By Rob Aid
7 June 2009

project-natal.jpgIn a couple of our previous articles we wrote about a few new ways for information interaction, and this article will describe a new motion sensing equipment devised for  gaming platforms. Since Nintendo launched their Wii controller it was obvious that the gamers are ready for changes. At this year E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), Microsoft… »

Gadgets| Robotics»

A toy robotic arm or a teaching aid? Both.

By Rob Aid
5 Comments3 June 2009

owi535l-robotic-arm.jpgHere is another article about an affordable toy which can be used as a teaching aid in basic robotics. The award winning Robotic Arm Trainer made by OWI is a robotic arm technology which can be bought assembled or in parts, leaving the joy of robot buildup to you. It has a lifting capacity of… »

Bionics| Robotics»

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s RoboSwift

By Rob Aid
25 May 2009

roboswift.jpgThe students which made RoboSwift based the project on the findings of their supervisor, David Lentink of Wageningen University. In April 2007, with several co-authors he published a about the aerodynamic properties of the swift. During its lifetime, single swift flies a distance comparable to five roundtrips to the Moon and can remain in the… »

Bionics| Robotics»

Robot octopus shows great potential as an addition to mini subs

By Rob Aid
2 Comments23 May 2009

recording-beta.jpgCecilia Laschi, of Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa, and her colleagues are attempting to build a robot with arms that work in the same way that octopuses’ tentacles do. Having no solid skeleton, it will be the world’s first entirely soft robot. Their goal is to use the knowledge related to the principles that give… »

Gadgets»

NASA’s version of Star Trek tricorder

By Rob Aid
21 May 2009

star_trek_tricorder-detail.jpgAstronauts on the space station have their own version of the “Star Trek tricorder” to search for signs of life, whether that life is from Earth or of extraterrestrial life as we know it. The hand held device acts as a miniature biology lab that allows space station residents to get results on a display… »