Sandfish lizard motion biomimicry used for robot development

By Damir Beciri
One Comment26 June 2010

sandfish-lizard-under-sandTo survive in its hot habitat, the sandfish lizard (Scincus scincus), like other desert-dwelling creatures, spends a lot of time underground. Unlike other creatures that live in burrows or sand traps, this lizard moves over and through the sand in its own unique way. That movement intrigued researchers and inspired them  to develop a robot… »

Prysm TD1 Laser Phosphor Display plunges competition?

By Damir Beciri
24 June 2010

prysm-td1-lpdA company from California named Prysm has presented their high definition television with a Laser Phosphor Display (LPD) based on their patented method of using lasers reflected off a bank of mirrors to excite pixels on the television screen in a similar way to cathode ray tubes. Aside the high image quality and wide viewing… »

Green architecture – Suzlon One Earth

By Damir Beciri
One Comment23 June 2010

suzlon-one-earth-1Suzlon Energy Limited (SEL), India’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, received LEED Platinum award for their new corporate headquarters in Pune, Maharashtra, India. Developed on an area of 41,000 square meters (10.13 acres) with a capacity to house 2,300 people, One Earth is one of the largest green building projects in India. The green approach has… »

New DESSO AirMaster carpet cleans indoor air

By Damir Beciri
21 June 2010

airmaster-carpet-1The indoor air quality is often far from ideal, mostly because of the high concentrations of fine dust and particulate matter. This can lead to health problems. While some claim the hardwood is better for people with allergies and asthma, the carpet manufactures challenge that by improving their products. The carpet manufacturer DESSO has introduced… »

Hitachi’s vision of a future service robot – EMIEW 2

By Damir Beciri
19 June 2010

emiew-2Electronics company Hitachi unveiled a new version of their small roller-skating robot which they plan to use as tour guides or help to security guards with additional surveillance. Dubbed the EMIEW 2 (Excellent Mobility and Interactive Existence as Workmate 2), the little humanoid robot has complex spring-loaded shock absorbers in its legs that allow it… »

Humanoid Robot Justin developed for maintenance of satellites

By Damir Beciri
18 June 2010

justin-space-robotAfter writing about several potential modular robotic space explorers (such as SuperBot or Festo Molecubes) and writing about NASA’s dexterous space robot Robonaut 2, in this article we’re going to present another dexterous humanoid robot named Justin. It is developed at the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics, part of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), in… »

US Navy develops robot Octavia for more natural human-robot interaction

By Damir Beciri
17 June 2010

octavia-robot-1The number of various army robots is rising, whether those are scouting drones, bomb squad robots, search and rescue robots or assault robots. Most of the mentioned robots are remotely controlled with small interference from their autonomous systems, however, the US Navy Center for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence (NCARAI) is working on more natural… »

Green architecture – 3927 Kahala Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaii

By Damir Beciri
3 Comments16 June 2010

kahala-long-and-associates-1In this article we’re going to write about an ultra luxury home, located on the beach near Diamond Head State Monument in Honolulu, Hawaii, which also has sustainable features. The modern five-bedroom home on 3927 Kahala Avenue has been designed and built by Long & Associates Architects. Because it has diverse sustainable features, it was… »