Fighting Autism One Robot At A Time
Keepon is a spongy robot that looks like two tennis balls placed on top of each other. At first, it looked like it would just be a fun toy to look at, but actually it can help children with autism slowly adapt to social interaction.
This robot has no arms and legs, and has a simple face as well. The main way it communicates emotions is with bobbing or nodding its head, and turning around. The simplicity of the movements help children with autism learn how to slowly intereact with others. A camera behind the eyes of the robot help to record the interactions children with autism have with it. The data can be used to study the different aspects of socialization as they affect an autistic child.
It’s still early, but there are many signs that this robot will be able to do more, and more with autistic children in the future.
SOURCE: popsci.com
Graphics Card That Does It All … Almost
Video games these days have some amazing graphics – even the lower end ones. You have to have some power behind your CPU to run most of them like Call of Duty, or Halo. There are many graphics cards out there to choose from, but few that measure up to the Asus EN9800GT.
First off, the graphics-processing unit (GPU) does an amzing job in processing the graphics that are seen on your computer screen. The GPU normally handles only visual effects, but this one is takes over the graphics processing duties from the CPU – the main processing station of a computer. Other CPUs, such as Intel’s Core i7, top out at three or four computing cores. Graphics chips are great for breaking down into smaller processing jobs to still put out some amazing graphics.
Rendering on this thing is also phenomenal as well. Adobe Photoshop is a lot easier to work with using this graphics card than most.
But don’t just take my word for it. Check it out for yourself.
Not Just a Game More types of programs are using high-power graphics cards like the Asus EN9800GT. Its Nvidia chip sports 112 processors Greg Neumaier
SOURCE: popsci.com
Guided Military Drones, MOUNT UP!
Going into war is not easy for anyone. So many lives, so many casualties. Many times you have to send in actual soldiers since the place you want to check out would not be conducive for a tank. Still, it would be great if you could send in a robot to check the place out, and report back what it finds – or get blown up instead of actual people.
There have been many robot drones before that can go into the heat of battle, but few are quite like the SUGV. Future Combat Systems has been coming out with some ambitious looking robot warriors. So far, they have done well in test simulations, and hopefully more will be rolled out in the future.
Recon Robot The remote-control Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle feeds images to soldiers in real time Brent Humphreys
Sensor in Hand: These palm-sized devices are a key part of modernizing the military Courtesy Program Manager/ Future Combat Systems
SOURCE: popsci.com
Speedo LZR Seeks To Make Swimmers Beyond Belief
In general, for most swimmers to get faster, they focus on having less, and less on their bodies (shaving everything, all the way down their heads is quite common). Now we are moving into the era of putting on more to get faster.
The Speedo LZR is something to behold. It’s pretty simple in design, but it’s been created in order to help make the swimmer that dons it much faster in the water. Of course, there are a few competitions that have set out some rules so that swimsuits, such as the Speedo LZR, will still stay within a few set limits:
- The material used shall have a maximum thickness of 1mm;
- When used, the material shall follow the body shape;
- The application of different materials shall not create air-trapping effects;
- The swimsuit shall not have a buoyancy effect of more than 1 Newton (100gr);
- Any system providing external stimulation or influence of any form (e.g. pain reduction, chemical/medical substance release, electro-stimulation) is prohibited;
- All swimsuits of an approved model must be constructed in an identical fashion with no variation/modification for individual swimmers from the samples submitted for approval;
- The swimmer can only wear one swimsuit at a time
The Speedo LZR Courtesy Speedo
SOURCE: popsci.com
Save Gas With This Plug – MP3 500 Hybrid
I can still remember when gasoline was $1.25 and people were complaining about how expensive gasoline was at the time. Of course, if they could have known that one day we would be paying almost $4.00 per gallon for the stuff, they would not have been so quick to complain. There are many hybrids out on the market, but many either do not get much distance to the gallon, or they sacrifice something along the lines of acceleration. There must be a hybrid that someone can develop that gives you great gas mileage along with great speed. I think Piaggio may have something special with the invention of the MP3 500 hybrid.
Although some people may dismiss this since it is a scooter (technically), the MP3 500 has much to offer. First off, it gets a whopping 140 miles to the gallon (even the best of the hybrids is around 60 miles to the gallon). Also, as part of the stimulus bill, electric scooters and motorcycles purchased before the end of 2009 can net a ten percet federal tax deduction and a refund of state and local sales tax. That is definitely something to make them a bit more desireable.
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MP3 Hybrid Piaggio USA
SOURCE: popsci.com