BallIP robot is able to balance on a ball while it carries weight

By Damir Beciri
One Comment14 May 2010

ballip-robot-balancing-on-a-ball-1Dr. Masaaki Kumagai, director of the Robot Development Engineering Laboratory at Tohoku Gakuin University, in Tagajo City, Japan, and his student Takaya Ochiai have built a robot named BallIP (Ball Inverted Pendulum) that is able to balance on a ball. Such a ball-balancing design is like an inverted pendulum, and thus naturally unstable, but it… »

Sharp develops modular 3D camera system

By Damir Beciri
13 May 2010

sharp-modular-3d-camWe already wrote about a 3D camera from Fujifilm named the Real 3D W1, however, the folks from Sharp have added a new ingredient to the mix and claim they have achieved  an industry first in the process. The company has announced the development of a 3D camera unit compact enough to be used in… »

Are robots with knives around humans a good idea?

By Damir Beciri
11 May 2010

sami-haddadin-testing-collision-detection-systemThis article might be interesting for all of our readers concerned about their security around aiding robots.  German researchers performed a series of stabbing, puncturing, and cutting experiments in order to understand the biomechanics of soft-tissue injury as well as to test a robot internal collision-detection system that could prevent or at least minimize injury…. »

Moths inspire perfectly non-reflecting surfaces for displays

By Damir Beciri
10 May 2010

fraunhofer-iwm-anti-reflective-materialInspired by moths, the research scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM, Freiburg, developed a new nanocoating that ensures a perfectly non-reflecting view on displays and through eyeglasses. The necessary surface structure is applied to the polymeric parts during manufacture, obviating the need for a separate process step. The hybrid coating also… »

Green architecture – Salmon Creek Falls Environmental Center

By Damir Beciri
One Comment2 May 2010

salmon-creek-falls-environmental-center-1Environmental Center, part of the Harmony Union School District which will serve grades K-8, became the first public elementary school building in California that reached LEED Platinum certificate. The building design was done by Persinger Architects and Symbios Design – part of the global “green” design and architecture movement. The goal for the building is… »

Minput provides low-cost and high-precision pointing for gadgets

By Damir Beciri
One Comment30 April 2010

minputBy installing a pair of optical sensors on the back of a mobile phone or mp3 player, the researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that the entire device could have many of the same benefits as that of a computer mouse when the device was placed against a surface, a piece of clothing or the… »

eyeDriver software enables car steering with your eyes

By Damir Beciri
One Comment29 April 2010

spirit-of-berlin-carGerman researchers have developed a new technology that lets drivers steer cars using only their eyes. The scientists Berlin’s Free University developed the software eyeDriver which is responsible for the steering of their car dubbed “Spirit of Berlin” just by the movement of the eyes. Raul Rojas, an artificial intelligence researcher at Berlin’s Free University,… »

RealFiction’s Dreamoc 3D display mimics holography

By Damir Beciri
2 Comments29 April 2010

realfiction-dreamocWe may not have true holographic displays for several years yet, but in the meantime, there are plenty developers around the world willing to provide us with something that gives the appearance of those. In our previous articles we already wrote about few solutions, and in this article we’re going to describe Dreamoc – a… »