Touché sensing technique – enhancing capacitive touch sensing

By Damir Beciri
8 May 2012

touche-capacitive-touch-sensingA new sensing technique developed by a team at Disney Research, Pittsburgh, and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) could enhance current capacitive touch sensing used for information interaction by enabling detection of more complex gestures. Named Touché, the new method monitors capacitive signals across a broad range of frequencies instead sensing electrical signals at a single… »

Small LED projector projects sharp images on uneven surfaces

By Damir Beciri
One Comment5 May 2012

fraunhofer-mini-LED-projector-1.jpgIn order to compensate for usually small display size on digital cameras and smartphones, many companies and research groups focused on development of small projectors that could be used alongside these devices to project larger images on nearby surfaces. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering (Fraunhofer IOF) in Jena, developed… »

e-Nanoflex Sensor System – physiological data textile sensor

By Damir Beciri
One Comment4 May 2012

e-nanoflex-sensor-system-1An interdisciplinary team of engineers at the University of Arkansas developed e-Nanoflex Sensor System – a wireless health-monitoring textile-based sensors that can be integrated into conventional sports bra or a vest. Since the monitored information can be sent in real time to a physician, hospital or the wearer’s smartphone, the technology enables easier monitoring of… »

Starch fibers could be used to create absorbable bandages

By Damir Beciri
3 May 2012

bandage-catFood scientists from Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) devised a process that spins starch into fine strands that could be used to create new type of bandages, as well as produce less expensive and more environmentally-friendly toilet paper, napkins and other products. Once the process is scaled to industrial size, companies could use starch fibers… »

Using smart materials to mimic squid and zebrafish camouflage

By Damir Beciri
One Comment2 May 2012

color-changing-clothesInspired by extraordinary camouflaging abilities of organisms such as squid and zebrafish, a group of researchers from the University of Bristol have created artificial muscles that can change their state and appearance at the push of a button, and demonstrated two different transforming mechanisms that could lead to new clothes with camouflaging tricks analogous to… »

Green architecture – Primera Terra community

By Damir Beciri
One Comment1 May 2012

primera-terra-community-1Despite the fact this project isn’t new it earned its spot among our articles due to a different approach that increases sustainability. KB Home’s Primera Terra community serves as a great example to architects and builders which shows that you can gain a LEED Platinum certificate without power generation utilities – a part of most… »

Festo shows operating concepts for human machine interaction

By Damir Beciri
29 April 2012

festo-cognigameAlthough Festo primarily represents a supplier of automation technology, our loyal readers have been introduced to them with various interesting biomimetic projects we covered through the years. On a recent Hanover Trade Fair 2012, Festo exhibited a couple of their new concepts, and in this article we’re going to write about human-machine interaction, music being… »

Nature inspires a new multifunctional glass surface

By Damir Beciri
28 April 2012

mit-multifunctional-glass-1Inspired by nature, where textured surfaces ranging from lotus leaves to desert-beetle carapaces and moth eyes have developed in ways that often fulfill multiple purposes at once, a group of researchers from MIT developed a glass that is self-cleaning, virtually eliminates reflections, and resists fogging and glare. These features could lower the maintenance expenses for… »