DailyDirt: Tiny Generators... Instead Of Tiny Batteries?

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Battery technology just hasn't improved as much as other electronic gadgets. We have computers that are more powerful than room-sized mainframes on our wrists, but we still can't go more than a day without recharging a modern smartphone. We've seen suggestions of various kinds of portable fuel cells, but none seem ready for consumer gadgets just yet -- even several years after promising announcements. There are a bunch of ways of generating relatively small amounts of energy from everyday activities, so maybe we can generate electricity as we need it as we walk around. But probably not.

• Microbial fuel cells could be a convenient way to take personal portable energy everywhere you go, and a UK-based research group has one that runs on urine. Yup. The metabolism of live microorganisms can turn organic waste into electricity -- and urine has been demonstrated in a system that can recharge a smartphone. Another version of this system can be worn as socks (which would still require some way to get all the liquid to where it needs to go). The developers also say "smart toilets" could be a possible product. Uh, maybe in Japan? [url]
• If peeing into your socks doesn't sound like the fashion statement you want to make, you can also try harnessing the power of your footsteps with piezoelectric shoes. This tech needs to be a step up from the light-up kids shoes, and several folks are working on prototypes to get good-looking, adult-sized shoes that also generate a useful amount of electricity. [url]
• Capturing the energy from evaporation is possible, but scaling it up will take some work. An evaporation-powered toy car looks pretty cool, but making a generator many, many times larger to produce a practical amount of energy might be challenging -- especially since this method hasn't been rigorously tested outdoors (yet). [url]
• Fujifilm has a flexible thermoelectric material that can generate electricity from body heat. This energy-generating polymer could be added to solar cells to capture more energy, and optimistically, this stuff could be added to clothing. Maybe even your pee-soaked socks, someday.... [url]

After you've finished checking out those links, take 10% off any $50+ order from our Daily Deals using the promo code DAILYDIRT.

Filed Under: battery, energy, evaporation, fuel cells, generators, mfc, microbial fuel cell, piezoelectric, thermoelectric, wearables
Companies: fujifilm

DailyDirt: Helping The Blind With Technology

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

We've seen some early-stage advances for ways that might help restore sight to people with low vision (or no vision), but it will take many more years before the clinical trials and safety approvals are complete. And not everyone will want to undergo an eye surgery to try to regain some vision, either. Fortunately, robots and wearable technology continue to improve, and these gadgets could become very useful for the blind (and the rest of us, too). Maybe we won't just see telecommuting iPads for remote workers -- but also robot assistants for casual and everyday uses, as well.

• Can robots become better than guide dogs at helping the blind? Given that some of the most advanced robots still have trouble navigating the world by themselves, robots helping the blind might not happen for a long time -- but progress will undoubtedly be welcome by both the sighted and the blind. [url]
• A wearable device could help blind users by providing tactile or audio feedback based on sensors embedded in a ring. A "smart ring" could have cameras and haptic feedback to allow a user to point it at something and have it read text or recognize objects.... But maybe a smart watch app might be a better way to start this kind of assistive tool? [url]
• Tactile Navigation Tools is a company founded by a visually-impaired doctor, making a sensor-equipped vest and "smart cane" to help the blind. The vest and cane can work together to help a user identify dangerous obstacles -- and could also be useful for fire-fighting or military personnel to navigate in low-visibility environments. [url]

After you've finished checking out those links, take a look at our Daily Deals for cool gadgets and other awesome stuff.

Filed Under: baxter, blind, haptics, low vision, robots, smartcane, smartring, tools, visually impaired, wearables
Companies: tactile navigation tools

DailyDirt: Brain-Controlled Robots... And Vice Versa?

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

The general population might not be ready for brain implants for mind-controlled robots, but research on brain interfaces could eliminate the invasive surgery requirements for interacting directly with brain activity -- and then everyone might be able to test drive their own thought-controlled robots. Becoming a cyborg might not appeal to everyone, but remote controlled robots that are easy to operate might be a cool toy.

• Next-generation prosthetic limbs will be controlled by a user's thoughts. Some amputees are already testing prosthetic hands and limbs, and a few patients have reported being able to feel texture using devices that interface with remapped nerves. Modular Prosthetic Limbs (MPLs) have a long term goal of not requiring any surgeries or implants to control a dexterous robot, and the price tags will also need to come down from the half million dollar cost of the prototypes. [url]
• Mind-reading robots can help paralyzed patients interact with common objects more easily. Robot arms are getting much better, but the interface still requires a brain implant. [url]
• A startup called Thync is working on a wearable device that could control your mood using electronic signals to cranial nerves. This brain interface uses transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) which has been tested for treating depression and other medical uses, but this wearable would be used like an electrical replacement for caffeine or alcohol. [url]

After you've finished checking out those links, take a look at our Daily Deals for cool gadgets and other awesome stuff.

Filed Under: brain, brain implant, cyborg, hmi, neural interface, prosthetic limbs, robots, tdcs, trans-cranial direct current stimulation, wearables

DailyDirt: Robots Doing The Heavy Lifting

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Robots are cool in so many ways. People usually think of them as huge machines that are clumsy and awkward. However, robots come in all sizes nowadays -- and they're getting smaller while still being able to do some tough jobs. Bots aren't just vacuuming our floors. They'll soon do a lot more tasks autonomously and replace a lot of physical labor. Here are just a few examples of robots pulling (sometimes more than) their weight.

• There's a European robot project, Autonomous Vehicle Emergency Recovery Tool (AVERT), designing robots that can maneuver under a parked car, lift it up and move it someplace else by remote control. These robots only lift a car about an inch off the ground, and they're supposed to help police and/or security teams to move suspicious cars to safer locations. But it might be nice to have autonomous bots re-park cars.... [url]
• The Muscle Suit is a wearable suit -- powered by compressed air that can help people lift heavy objects with minimal effort. It only weighs 12 pounds itself, takes less than a minute to put on, and is controlled.. by a mouthpiece. These kinds of supersuits come in several varieties, but this one is designed to be harmless to the wearer. [url]
• Tiny robots that weigh several grams can pull over a hundred times their own weight. The trick for these bots is a gecko-inspired sticky material combined with an inchworn-like movement. [url]

After you've finished checking out those links, take a look at our Daily Deals for cool gadgets and other awesome stuff.

Filed Under: autonomous bots, autonomous vehicle emergency recovery tool, avert, bio-inspired locomotion, biomimicry, muscle suit, robots, wearables

DailyDirt: Wearables That Actually Do Stuff

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Lately, it seems like a variety of gadgets are vying to be worn -- smartwatches, smartglasses, and a bunch of other trinkets that claim to be smart and try to be accessories to your accessories. Before this new wearables trend, textile researchers have been (and still are) working on embedding various functions directly into clothing. The trick is making clothing that can do other stuff without taking away any features of traditional clothing -- like being able to machine wash and dry them. Here are just a few links on smart textiles that might make for better wearable items.

• Nanotechnology clothing promised a lot of nifty capabilities, and this project is making good on creating a super-insulating fabric that can reflect about 90% of a person's body heat back to the wearer. Sure, you could wear a mylar suit to get the same effect, but this fabric won't trap all your sweat like wearing a plastic bag. This fabric is coated in silver nanowire (AgNW) that is durable in a washing machine, and hopefully we'll figure out how to make it into clothing that doesn't look like a Starfleet uniform. [url]
• Smart socks! Yes, socks with sensors in them that connect to an app on your phone to tell you if your foot is hitting the pavement in a way that might lead to injury. This sounds pretty targeted to dedicated runners, but it's nice to see a smart wearable that isn't so obvious when worn. [url]
• Fabrics knitted with conductive fibers are becoming more practical and durable -- and bulletproof? Bulletproof vests with fabric circuit boards are just one possible application for textiles with embedded electronics. (There are also Wimbledon ball boys/girls wearing smartshirts already.) [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: agnw, clothing, conductive fibers, gadgets, nanotech, silver nanowire, smart fabric, smart shirts, smart socks, smart textiles, wearables

DailyDirt: Beyond Simple Mice And Touchscreens

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

The keyboard and mouse combination has been a standard for several decades now, but there's always room for some improvement. Touchscreens are a nice way to interact with phones and tablets (and phablets), and maybe someday we won't be able to keep our greasy fingers off our 5K desktop and laptop screens either. We're always looking out for interesting input devices, and here are just a few other input methods that might get popular.

• If you're using a small touchscreen, it doesn't always make sense to cover up parts of it with your finger. Apple will offer its "digital crown" as an alternative to the touchscreen, but there's also a gesture recognition app for devices that have a camera and some decent processing power. [url]
• Everything gets smaller and smaller, so what's smaller than a smart watch? A smart ring. An integrated accelerometer and some touch sensors could make a wearable ring a more convenient gesture input device. Battery life might be a bit of a challenge for such a small device, but then again the first "smart rings" don't actually look that small. [url]
• More advanced touchscreens may be able to tell the difference between a finger, a knuckle, a fingernail or a stylus. But will these futuristic devices be able to understand the frustration behind a closed fist banging on them? [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: digital crown, gesture recognition, input devices, sensors, smart ring, smart watch, stylus, touchscreens, ui, wearables

MPAA And Movie Theaters Issue A Complete Ban On Google Glass, Because They 'Have A Long History Of Welcoming Tech Advances'

from the welcoming?-we-meant-hating dept

There are days when you wonder what life must be like as a PR person for the MPAA. I mean, it must take an extraordinary amount of either cognitive dissonance or will power to avoid bursting out laughing at writing the opening sentence like the following in an announcement about how the MPAA and the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO) are colluding to ban technologies like Google Glass:

The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) have a long history of welcoming technological advances and recognize the strong consumer interest in smart phones and wearable “intelligent” devices. As part of our continued efforts to ensure movies are not recorded in theaters, however, we maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward using any recording device while movies are being shown. As has been our long-standing policy, all phones must be silenced and other recording devices, including wearable devices, must be turned off and put away at show time. Individuals who fail or refuse to put the recording devices away may be asked to leave. If theater managers have indications that illegal recording activity is taking place, they will alert law enforcement authorities when appropriate, who will determine what further action should be taken.

This is the same MPAA that tried to sue the VCR out of existence. This is the same MPAA has tried to block things like "day and date" releases so that movies might be released to home viewers more conveniently. This is the same MPAA that sued a variety of file sharing properties out of existence. This is the same MPAA that was the main backer of SOPA, a copyright bill that would have significantly hindered security on the internet. This is the same MPAA whose prominent member, Viacom, engaged in a years-long legal fight with YouTube. Yeah, it has a history of "welcoming technological advances"? I don't think so.

This particular policy is not too surprising. After all, the company did summon Homeland Security to interrogate a guy for deciding to wear his Google Glass (while it was turned off) during a movie. For groups so welcoming to new technology, they don't seem to recognize that Google Glass has terrible resolution and battery life and would be a really dumb choice for someone to use to record a movie (not the least of which is because when the video is recording there's a bright LED light shining from the device, making it easy to spot).

Of course, they're coming out with this policy after basically Google Glass has become a dead product. It didn't catch on, and it's not clear that Google is even taking it that seriously any more. There are others attempting similar things, but, really, at this point the MPAA seems to be barring a technology that was never a serious threat in the first place for no good reason. Because it's so "welcoming" of new technologies.

Next time, MPAA PR person, why not just be honest for a change. Here's the announcement translated for accuracy:

The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) have a long history of trying to stop any even remotely innovative new consumer technology that challenges our existing business models. As part of our completely wasteful and pointless effort to stop file sharing of movies, we have a zero-tolerance policy that makes us look clueless and out of date, by doing things like having young people arrested for capturing a few seconds of a movie as part of a birthday celebration. As part of this long standing "screw the customer for no good reason" policy, all devices that might possibly record just seconds of a movie in terrible quality must be shut off. Frankly, if we could, we'd force everyone to dump them in a bin before going into the theater, but even we think you'd probably revolt at that step. Individuals who have basic common sense will be asked to leave and everyone will be reminded that maybe, just maybe, instead of paying $12 for a movie in a crappy theater, they'd be better off at home, futzing around on the internet. But, don't worry, we're looking for ways to make that illegal too.

Filed Under: film recording, google glass, movie theaters, movies, wearables, zero tolerance
Companies: mpaa, nato

DailyDirt: I've Fallen And I Can't Get Up 2.0

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

In the US, over half of the mobile phones people are using are smartphones, so it's not surprising that there's a nascent market for smart devices trying to take advantage of this existing user base. Wearables like smartwatches and smartglasses are nifty gadgets, but there could be other smart-things that might be hanging around necks or strapped to our arms in the near future. One feature for all of these smart accessories could be personal protection -- allowing the wearer to signal to friends/family/police in an emergency situation. Here are just a few examples (that are available for pre-order or need some crowdfunding love).

• A portable panic button that connects to your smartphone could be psychologically calming. This particular button lets your friends track your location while you're going down a scary dark alley. (But maybe try to avoid going to dangerous places in the first place, okay?) [url]
• Smarter jewelry could be a more fashionable take on wearables -- and they can also track your location 24/7. At least it looks nice, but how many more gadgets in your life do you want to charge on a regular basis? [url]
• If you really want to feel safe, how about a can of pepper spray that also connects to your smartphone? This smartphone accessory also takes a picture of your attacker right before you spray him in the face.... [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: cuff, defender, pepper spray, react sidekick, safety, smart accessories, smart jewelry, wearables
Companies: indiegogo, kickstarter

DailyDirt: Supersuits Are The Next Wearable Tech?

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

All kinds of technophiles are looking forward to new and better-looking smartwatches and wearable devices that don't make a person look like a member of the Borg. Everyone has seen gadgets getting smaller and more fashionable over time, so it's not just foolish optimism to hope that wearable tech will be amazing and cool in a few short years. Some cool wearable stuff is being developed right now, but it doesn't look too fashionable yet. Here are some examples.

• Employees of Daewoo who are building ships in South Korea have access to robotic exoskeletons that can help them lift 70 lbs of stuff effortlessly. These prototype robotic suits are going to be able to lift over 200 lbs in the near future, and they also sound like an awesome toy for a billionaire superhero.... [url]
• Wearable robots are already helping out the disabled, but there are still a lot of bugs to work out before these powered exoskeletons are ready for full-time use. Walking around instead of rolling in a wheelchair is a nice feature, but robotic legs need to handle falls better and have longer lasting batteries. [url]
• Wouldn't it be cool to wear a mask that could give you superhuman abilities -- like superhearing or supervision? These face prosthetics look bulky and scary, but it might not be too long before something like Google Glass is offering super-abilities instead of dorky augmented reality. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: exoskeleton, gadgets, prosthetics, robotic suits, smartwatch, superhearing, supersenses, superstrength, supervision, wearables