Gesture recognition could be used by surgeons to control a robotic nurse

By Damir Beciri
One Comment4 February 2011

wachs-gesturesDuring surgery, surgeons routinely need to review medical images and records. However, stepping away from the operating table and touching a keyboard and mouse can delay the surgery and increase the risk of spreading infection-causing bacteria. The new approach which solves that problem is a system that uses a camera and specialized algorithms to recognize… »

Green architecture – Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa, Australia

By Damir Beciri
1 February 2011

wolgan-valley-resort-and-spa-1Emirates’ Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa is located on Australia’s Great Dividing Range and borders the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, a region renowned for its unique landscape and natural diversity. Aside the beauty of nature surrounding Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa, the luxury accommodations designed by are carbon neutral and feature various features of… »

Plankton inspired stealth armor for slow release microscopic drug vehicles

By Rob Aid
29 January 2011

stefan-bon-plankton-biomimicrySome forms of plankton and bacteria have the ability to build an extra natural layer of nanoparticle-like armor. That ability has inspired chemists at the University of Warwick to create a remarkably simple way to give drug bearing polymer vesicles (microscopic polymer based sacs of liquid) their own armored protection. The technology could be used… »

Self-healing sticky substance inspired by mussels

By Damir Beciri
2 Comments28 January 2011

musselsInspired by the hair-thin holdfast fibers that mussels secrete to stick against rocks, researchers from the University of Chicago managed to manufacture a synthetic version of the self-healing sticky substance used by mussels. The substance could be used as an adhesive or coating for underwater machinery or in biomedical settings as a surgical adhesive or… »

Plant sentinels able to detect pollution and explosives

By Damir Beciri
2 Comments27 January 2011

plant-sentinels-medford-1A group of researchers from the Colorado State University (CSU) managed to make a computer-designed detection trait work in a plant by rewiring its natural signaling process. It enables the plant to turn from green to white when chemicals are detected in the air around it or in the soil it is planted in. The… »

Cheap and disposable paper strips could be used for chemical analysis

By Rob Aid
25 January 2011

ziaie-paper-for-rapid-medical-diagnostics-and-chemical-analysisCurrent lab-on-a-chip technology is relatively expensive because chips must be specifically designed to perform certain types of chemical analyses, with channels created in glass or plastic and tiny pumps and valves directing the flow of fluids for testing. In order to counter that, the researchers from Perdue University have invented a technique that uses inexpensive… »

Green architecture – Y. S. Sun Green Building Research Center

By Damir Beciri
3 Comments24 January 2011

y-s-sun-green-building-research-center-magic-school-of-green-technology-1The Y. S. Sun Green Building Research Center (Magic School of Green Technology) of the National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), the first energy-saving and zero-carbon building in Taiwan, has obtained the highest green building certificates from Taiwan’s Ecology, Energy Saving, Waste Reduction and Health (EEWH) and the U.S. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)… »

Robot in the wild project lead to robotic stand-up comedian named Data

By Damir Beciri
One Comment22 January 2011

robot-in-the-wild-data-and-heather-knightA group of developers from the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is developing a robot capable to tell jokes. Before you skip this article thinking of insignificance of such robots in the future, you might need to know the developers plan to develop more effective personalities for everyday human robot interaction, help machines understand charisma and… »