Complex is not simple

Matt Ridley: When ideas have sex | Video on TED.com

Matt Ridley: When ideas have sex

Cell phone that can read lips

The Mobile Phone That Could "Read Lips"

�Researchers at Germany's Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed a method for mobile phones to convert silent mouth movements into speech. The technology is based on the principle of electromyography, that is the acquisition and recording of electrical potentials generated by muscle activity. This muscle activity is measured in the face and converted into speech.

OLPC unveils slimline tablet PC

BBC News - OLPC unveils slimline tablet PC

The XO-3, as it is known, is a slim-line touchscreen tablet PC.

One Laptop per Child (OLPC) said it would be "available in 2012" and would cost "well below $100

StreetSurffer Bike -- 5 wheels -- like a skateboard

Five wheels better than two?:StreetSurfer, Five-Wheeled Bicycle, Australian Bicycle Firm, Australia News Online, BMX, Mountain bike, StreetSurfer Spokesman Mark Palmer, Surfboard,bike handles, invented a five-wheeled bicycle, improved steering,International Kids Weird International News,News-StreetSurfer, Five-Wheeled Bicycle, Australian Bicycle Firm, Australia News Online, BMX, Mountain bike, StreetSurfer Spokesman Mark Palmer, Surfboard,invented a five-wheeled bicycle, Australian firm, United Kingdom, International Online Children's News Portal for Amazing & Funny International School News

An Australian firm has invented a five-wheeled bicycle that it says rides like a surfboard.

The StreetSurfer has a traditional frame and rear wheel - but four front wheels.

And the makers claim having four points of contact at the front means the bike handles in a completely different way.

Those who have tested out the StreetSurfer report improved steering, cornering and front wheel tracking.

They compare the ride more to surfing or snowboarding than a BMX or mountain bike.

The increased traction also allows the rider to lean over further while the unconventional suspension is said to make trick jumps easier.

Gyrosheel - learning to ride a bike

Gyrowheel Gyroscopic Bicycle Wheel Will Eliminate Training Wheels | Gizmodo Australia

Gyrowheel Gyroscopic Bicycle Wheel Will Eliminate Training Wheels

Bike Air Bag

YouTube - Cool Bike Airbag

Cool Bike Airbag

Shape Memory Polymers

Shape memory polymers and textiles

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are smart materials that, as a result of an external stimulus such as temperature, can change from a temporary deformed shape back to an original shape. SMPs are finding an increasing use in such areas as clothing where they respond dynamically to changes in heat and moisture levels, ensuring greater comfort for the wearer. Shape memory polymers and textiles provides an authoritative and comprehensive review of these important new materials and their applications.

Opera uses Face Gestures to replace the mouse

Face the future

Today we introduce Face Gestures, a revolutionary technology designed to make interacting with Opera easier on computers with cameras. Face Gestures lets you perform frequent browsing operations with natural and easy to make face gestures. By using an internal technology dubbed Face Observation Opera Language, we are able to recognize pre-determined facial expressions and match them to commands on the Opera browser.

Opera Browser - Face Gestures replace the mouse

Face the future

Today we introduce Face Gestures, a revolutionary technology designed to make interacting with Opera easier on computers with cameras. Face Gestures lets you perform frequent browsing operations with natural and easy to make face gestures. By using an internal technology dubbed Face Observation Opera Language, we are able to recognize pre-determined facial expressions and match them to commands on the Opera browser.

New Thin Speakers

BBC NEWS | Technology | Thin speaker offers 'crisp sound'

Engineers claim their new ultra-thin speakers, as well as looking good and being easy to conceal, will also deliver clearer, crisper sound.

The loudspeakers could replace public address systems in passenger terminals and shopping centres. 

iPod or Face Sensor Device

Japanese gadget controls iPod in blink of an eye

Enlarge

A wink, a smile or a raised eyebrow could soon change the music on your iPod or start up the washing machine, thanks to a new Japanese gadget. The device looks like a normal set of headphones but is fitted with a set of infrared sensors that measure tiny movements inside the ear that result from different facia

Mad Science: Five Brain-Manipulating Technologies That Prove Dollhouse Exists Right Now

Joss Whedon's new show Dollhouse is about a secret organization that supplies mind-wiped sex ninjas to the rich. It's not set in the future because neuromanipulated technoslaves could exist today. Here's proof.

1. We can erase people's memories.
Back in October a study was published in Neuron that proved an enzyme called CaMKII can erase bad memories while you recall them.

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Pop Technology Conferences

Pop!Tech - The Impact of Technology on People

Pop!Tech is a one-of-a-kind conference, a community of remarkable people, and an ongoing conversation about science, technology and the future of ideas.

Flying Car Goes to Market

'Flying car' goes to market - Discovery.com- msnbc.com

The aptly named Transition takes a stab at bridging the gap between automobiles and airplanes. Some people call it a flying car. The company designing and selling the vehicle prefers the term "roadable aircraft."

$10.-- Laptop

India's $10 Laptop | TechWatch | Fast Company

On February 3, the Indian government will unveil a $10 educational laptop intended to bring computing to the masses, reports the Times of India. By comparison, a computer-shaped cake pan is $20 plus shipping in the U.S. Will the $10 PC revolutionize educational computing?

First, the specs: Like a lot of cheap PCs, the device will sport 2GB of RAM, Wi-Fi and expandable hardware, and operate on a modest two watts of power. The current prototype can be produced for about $20, according to India's Secretary for Higher Education, R.P. Agarwal. Large-scale production runs should cut that price in half, he said, resulting in the $10 figure the government is touting.

That's about one tenth the cost of the cheapest available PCs in the U.S. that retail for about $100, and operate on the old razor-and-blade business model; they require costly subscriptions to mobile broadband subscriptions.

The Indian government hasn't broken down the cost of its components, but it probably cut the costs of research and development substantially by recruiting university students to help draw up the plans. Students at the Vellore Institute of Technology played a significant role, working with state-funded organizations like the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and a partially-public entity called the Semiconductor Complex. Despite a publicly-funded development, the notebooks themselves will be manufactured on contract by private companies.

According to the Times of India, the $10 laptop is a direct response to the MIT-developed nonprofit One Laptop Per Child program, that was viewed as grossly expensive in India. The OLPC devices cost about $100 each, but "hidden costs" bring that price up to around $200. OLPC has also been a victim of its own poor strategy, evidenced by recent layoffs and a failure to secure donations and orders in 2008. The program has also seen itself dwarfed by Intel's [INTC] Classmate PC program, that most recently took an order from the government of Portugal for 500,000 PCs. The company still has big plans for a next-generation touch-screen notebook, however.

The Future of Things - magazine

The Future of Things (TFOT) is an online magazine dedicated to bringing original content on science, technology, and medicine from around the world. TFOT aims to provide comprehensive, accurate, and high quality coverage of emerging scientific and technological innovations. TFOT's news stories and articles are unique, not only because they include detailed analysis and commentary, but because of the inclusion of in-depth interviews with leading scientists, engineers, and other visionaries who describe their work and offer us a glimpse into our future.


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New Bike Transmission Design

Bike designers resurrect a 500-year-old idea to change the way people pedal

n the late 1990s, Donald Miller was creating “unsafe and impractical” low-profile lie-atop prototype bicycles in his machine shop (that is, his garage). “I just wanted to build a more efficient bike,” says the San Diego cyclist and former realtor turned inventor. Eventually, Miller instead shifted his focus to the drive train, convinced that the traditional chain-and-gear system was the primary factor holding back the evolution of the two-wheeler.

Go go article

Transology - Cars of the future

Skateboard Car of the future
Discovery channel has been running a four part series called FutureCar for the past few weeks and one of the segments focused on the GM Skateboard chassis that was first shown a few years back, featuring fuel cell power and complete by-wire controls. A variation of the Skateboard is used on the Sequel concept.


Transology - Cars of the futue The people at MIT have done it again in terms of cool-ness... in their concept cars described in this report - Transology: Reinventing The Wheel (PDF) - they examine urban motorisation that adapts to the body of the driver/user like transparent skin with integrated displays and Building a car around the movement of the drivers...

New Technology Can Read Your Intentions

A team of world-leading neuroscientists has developed a powerful technique that allows them to look deep inside a person's brain and read their intentions before they act. Check this info out...

Special LED emitters

OMG Thes Things Are Cool
"Aimulet LA is designed to be held up to your ear like a cellphone. When you stand over special LED emitters set into the ground, Aimulet LA receives the light signals via an array of spherical micro solar cells (called Sphelar by manufacturer Kyosemi) set into the bottom of the handset. Aimulet LA translates the signals into audio messages that are transmitted through a tiny speaker in the device. In Laurie Anderson’s installation, visitors used Aimulet LA to listen to poems in four different languages as they strolled through a Japanese-style garden."