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Latest Gear Live Videos
Boomerang to Launch With Endeavor
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Misc. Tech, Science, Transportation,
Can a boomerang work in space? That’s precisely what astronaut Takao Doi will find out when Endeavor takes off March 11. Doi is bringing two paper ones created by Yasuhiro Togai, a champ at the sport and space fanatic who taught him how to throw them. Although he believes they will not return, he wondered how they would react without gravity in the ISS. One is 13cm and the other is 20cm. It will be interesting to see if they are tested at the same time as the paper airplane we told you about a couple of months ago.
Read More 
| Pink Tentacle
Gallery: Boomerang to Launch With Endeavor
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Denver Airport Censors WiFi Service
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Internet, Transportation, Wireless / WiFi,
If you plan on traveling to Denver International Airport, expect free, but censored WiFi service. Spokesperson Chuck Cannon explained that officials considered some sites to be “potentially racy.” These include the Vanity Fair site and boingboing. He says they would rather have a few upset parents than their kids’ access to Websites that may contain what they consider borderline porn. The service, which was instigated in November, seems to be utilizing the same tech that is used in Sudan and Kuwait to keep their countrymen/women in line. Those that giveth sometimes also taketh away.
Read More | Denver Post
Gallery: Denver Airport Censors WiFi Service
SOTAB Assists in Oil Spills
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Misc. Tech, Science, Transportation,
Researchers from Osaka University have developed SOTAB 1 (Spilled Oil Tracking Autonomous Buoy 1) with imaging sensors that can spot globs from a distance. The GPS bot dives down and when it senses something that resembles oil, floats back to the surface and “swims” towards the oil spill. SOTAB then helps cleanup crews by providing data on wind speed, and depth and temperature of the water. Still in the developmental stage, head researcher Naomi Kato hopes the 243 lb. robot will be available commercially in a couple of years.
Read More | Pink Tentacle
Gallery: SOTAB Assists in Oil Spills
Italian Car Maker Develops Wiper-Free Windshield
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Misc. Tech, Science, Transportation,
Imagine not having to deal with the noise and hassle of replacing windshield wipers. This is exactly what Italian Car Designer Leonardo Fioravanti has done with his prototype Hindra. The windshield not only filters out UV rays, it repels water. “Nano-dust” forces dirt to the glass edges activated by sensors. Electricity is used to run the entire mechanism. The process is completed by drag which allows freer flowing air over the windshield. The Hindra and its technology will be on display next month at the Geneva Motor Show.
Gallery: Italian Car Maker Develops Wiper-Free Windshield
This must have been designed for cab drivers, security guards, soccer moms/dads, and those that want fast food without the grease. The Road Pro 12 Volt Sandwich Maker plugs into your cigarette lighter socket and runs on 5 amps. It has a power-on indicator light, is non-stick, and has a 5 ft. power cord in case someone in the back has the munchies, too. The Sandwich Maker carries a 90 day warranty and a price of $19.50, not much more than a Crave Case of White Castle Burgers.
Read More | The S. King Company
Gallery: Make Sandwiches While You Drive
Hyundai to Feature Dual In-Dash Monitor
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, GPS, Movies, Music, Transportation,
It isn’t enough that you are fighting with traffic, your cell phone, and GPS while driving, not to mention the dreaded back seat driver hammering in your ear. Hyundai will soon be releasing an in-dash dual monitor into the company’s Grandeur. So while you watch the road, the map, and listen to your missed messages, you can also be distracted by your passenger watching a DVD. We think we would rather sit that one out, thank you very much.
Read More | Aving
Gallery: Hyundai to Feature Dual In-Dash Monitor
Pentagon Gets OK to Play Space Invaders
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Editorial, Science, Transportation,
Prez. G.W. Bush has allowed the Pentagon permission to use a Navy Standard Missile 3 to “intercept” the broken 5,000 lb. U.S. spy Satellite 193 and save us from its bulk as well as its toxic hydrazine fuel. Expected to otherwise arrive on Earth during the first week in March, there was no specific time given, but the “window” should open in the next week or so. This is the first time an attempt of this kind has been made and the missile’s software has been updated to give it a better chance of reaching its target. We wonder if another satellite will be on hand to film the event. George Lucas could certainly use it in his next Star Wars Episode.
Read More | msnbc
Gallery: Pentagon Gets OK to Play Space Invaders
Zoe is learning cartography. The robot contains a hard disk with a basic map with data from ASTER (Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets,) an infrared spectrometer on NASA’s Earth Observing Satellite. It works on about a kilometer of area at a time and takes one astral image/second. So far the bot is working on differentiating clay from basalt, with the researchers hoping that someday a similar device could be sent to a planet like Mars, where we won’t be tripping around for quite some time. Zoe has already mastered avoiding obstacles and fair-field sensing, simple for humans, but not for bots.
Read More | Space Daily
Gallery: Zoe Makes Maps
X Prize Offers A Million for Green Car
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Transportation,
The green heat is on. To continue a quest for a car that can make it up to 100 mpg, The AXP (Automotive X PRIZE) promises $10 million to the company that can make a “safe, affordable, and desirable” vehicle for middle America. There are two categories, mainstream and alternative.
The foundation putting up bucks was created by Peter Diamandis when Charles Lindbergh went after the $25,000 reward for flying from New York to Paris. We figure there are plenty of creative Gear Livers that could use the bucks and certainly can come up with their own idea or two by 2009.
Read More | MSN
Gallery: X Prize Offers A Million for Green Car
HumanCar Is Hybrid Transportation
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Transportation,
They may look a bit strange, but each of Charles Greenwood’s HumanCars is a hybrid electric vehicle with an exoskeletal safety cage chassis, dual electric motors, a variable human power input, patented Body-Steering chassis and SyncGuideway compatibility as standard equipment. You can also go for optional GPS, iPod plug-in, and power windows, locks, mirrors, and wipers. HumanCars are available in three models, the FM4 Troublemaker, the Rod, and the LMV Imagine. At a base price of $15,000.00, you can pre-order for their 2008 Earthday debut this April.
Read More | HumanCar
