Tron: Legacy Consultant Creates Robotic Fish That Can Move in Any Direction (Video)
January 20, 2011 No Comment
Image via Vimeo video And you thought the robo-fish news had died down… A team of researchers, led by Malcolm MacIver, associate professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, has come up with a robotic fish based off of a “weakly electric fish” — specifically the black ghost knifefish — that uses a weak electric force-field around its body to sense prey and danger. The new robot could be a breakthrough for more nimble underwater vehicles, including those that could monitor coral reefs. Check out a video of the fish in action after the jump. … Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Nokia has to do something big if it wants to crack the US smartphone market. We can agree on that, right? And believe us, Nokia wants this — nothing will make the mighty Finns (and the company’s global investors) prouder than to gain some traction in the home of Apple pie and Google desserts. So how will the company do it? With Symbian? Oh, hell no . By introducing another MeToo handset? Nope, with MeeGo on a rockin’ platform like the rumored N9 slider pictured above. Nokia announced its hardware plans for Maemo 6 a long time ago. At that time, the company was clear that it would continue using TI OMAP processors. Much has changed since then, however. In addition to several key leadership changes including a new Canadian-born CEO who spent much of his time working in the US, Nokia has joined Intel to roll up Maemo 6 and Moblin into MeeGo with Nokia’s first Maemo 6 MeeGo/Harmattan handset pushed into 2011 . Simultaneously, Intel has also been doing its best to show its new Moorestown platform as a powerful ARM alternative, even showing off MeeGo handsets exploiting a Lincroft SoC and Atom processor core. And Intel has said that Medfield-based smartphones would arrive in the middle of 2011. So why the build-up? Well, we’ve just been tipped to a claim by Prosessori, a respected Finnish technology magazine, that the Nokia N9 will launch with a 1.2GHz Atom processor. Better yet, it could be unveiled as soon as Mobile World Congress in February, presumably during Stephen Elop’s keynote. Do we believe it? Not entirely, but it is possible given the chain of events that have taken place. And you can bet that the first commercially available Intel smartphone with a brand new Nokia user experience would certainly grab headlines in the US and around the world. Something that should translate into high-end market share (and profits) if it’s as ” exciting ” as Elop claims. [Thanks, Janne] Nokia N9 to bust loose with MeeGo on Intel Atom power? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 07:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …More than 230 mayors are meeting in Washington this week and they plan to sign a “civility accord” thought up by Tucson’s mayor after the shootings in his city. Mayor Robert Walkup aims to have mayors take the lead in restoring civility to politics. His accord urges mayors to “strive…
Continue reading …Chrysler announces battery-free hydraulic hybrid tech, compresses gas to make power
January 20, 2011 No Comment
Think of a traditional hybrid and you probably think of a Toyota Prius . Then, after you’ve woken from your nap, you probably envision some complex system of batteries and electric motors and gears to capture power when braking and spit it back out when accelerating. Chrysler is now looking to deploy a different way, a seemingly much simpler way that’s all based on hydraulics. The vehicle is outfitted with a low-pressure reservoir of hydraulic fluid and a high-pressure chamber filled with nitrogen gas. When braking, pumps move the fluid into the nitrogen chamber to compress it and then, when accelerating, that compressed gas is used to push the fluid and drive the wheels. It’s a setup that was actually developed by the EPA and is currently in use by some commercial vehicles, most notably UPS trucks, but a hybrid Town & Country minivan could bring it to consumers — though not until 2012 at the earliest. Now, there’s a good chance the idea of a hybrid minivan is threatening to put you back to sleep, so we wish you pleasant dreams. Continue reading Chrysler announces battery-free hydraulic hybrid tech, compresses gas to make power Chrysler announces battery-free hydraulic hybrid tech, compresses gas to make power originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 07:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …French lawmakers have decided that Jean-Paul Sartre, Coco Chanel, and other long-dead icons can have their cigarettes back. Smoldering cigarettes and pipes had been airbrushed out of old photos and vintage movie posters out of fear of breaking a 1991 law that banned the “direct or indirect” promotion of smoking….
Continue reading …When it comes to forecasting Apple’s earnings, amateurs are better than the pros
January 20, 2011 No Comment
The Challenge: predict seven key metrics of Apple’s fiscal success over the past quarter — such as sales numbers, profit margins, and gross revenue — with the highest accuracy. The Competitors: In the blue corner, a bunch of amateur finance bloggers, and in the red corner, a cabal of professional analysts making mad dough at banks and trading houses. The Conclusion: whatever you’re paying for your ” expert ” advice on the future financial wellbeing of Apple, or any other tech stock for that matter, stop . Just… stop. When it comes to forecasting Apple’s earnings, amateurs are better than the pros originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 07:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …A sickly infant snatched from her Harlem hospital crib has been located—23 years after she was kidnapped. Nejdra Nance of Atlanta contacted the distraught mom who always thought her daughter was alive. Nance spotted photos of missing Carlina online and thought they looked amazingly like her own baby photos….
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A study done at the Dolphin Research Center in the Florida Keys says although imitation is rare in the animal kingdom, dolphins can imitate one another while blindfolded by using sound. (Jan. 20)
Continue reading …Tunisia has arrested 33 members of the country’s despised former first family. The relatives of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali were caught trying to flee the country with large amounts of valuables, reports the Financial Times . The clan of former first lady Leila Trabelsi had a huge amount…
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Photo: B. Alter Clean out the corners of your room, under the sofa and behind your bed and send the dust in to ” Laid to Rest “. If you do it quickly enough you can have your own personal brick made with your name on it. Sounds bizarre? It is a social history and artistic project examining dust and our changing perceptions of dirt. It’s everywhere now that half of the world’s population lives in cities…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
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