SPL | Thats Bad Ass! Tech News and Reviews

Posts Tagged ‘SPL’

Smart Fingers Turn Your Hands into Rulers

|

Fast payday loans For Every One

You know when your uncle Pete comes back from a fishing trip and tells you about the giant trout he caught? “It was this big,” he says, stretching his hands out in front of him. Well, with the Smart Finger, you’d know exactly how big “this” is, and you could put an end to uncle Pete’s stupid lies and exaggerations right away.

The Smart Finger actually uses two fingers. The pair of plastic tubes slip over your real fingers and measure the distance between themselves. This distance is shown on an OLED display in your choice of unit, in metric or good ol’ ‘merican, and a click of a switch will store it in memory for later transfer to a PC.

It’s a wonderful concept. Just like uncle Pete, we tend to use our hands and fingers to describe size, and measuring length is a natural extension. The gadget itself is also rather nicely designed. The two halves join together to make a single bullet-shaped capsule which slips into a USB charging-dock, and the interiors of each part have a silicon membrane with a hole in the centre to grip any size of finger. Thank God they made it in green, though, as it already looks a little too much like a Fleshlight.

Is it as useful as a tape-measure for a quick check to see if the new fridge will fit in the gap left by the old one? Probably not, but for an extended measuring session, this concept design would work great. And if it gives you chance to shut uncle Pete up once and for all, it’s got to be worth it.

<< Previous
|
Next >>

smart_finger3

<< Previous
|
Next >>

View all

My Fingers Are So Smart, They Measure [Yanko. Thanks, Radhika!]

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

More:
Smart Fingers Turn Your Hands into Rulers

Incoming search terms:

Worldâ€™s Most Cramped Airline Seat to Launch Next Week

|

Author: Katie Scott

The SkyRider is a saddle-style airplane seat which will allow airlines to squeeze even more passengers into already cramped cabins. The poor passenger will perch atop a sculpted squab that has more in common with a horse-saddle than a comfy chair.

The new seats are due to be launched next week at the Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas conference in Long Beach, by manufacturer Aviointeriors. They’re intended to introduce a new cabin-class, below economy. It should probably be called cattle-class.

As you can see, part of the passenger’s weight is taken on their legs, and the legs are tucked under the seat in front. Just how close are the seats? Aviointeriors says that the seat-pitch is just 23-inches. Seat-pitch is the distance between the same point on two seats, and the smallest seat-pitch on economy-class flights is around 31-inches. Even low-cost carrier Southwest has a pitch of 32-33 inches on its planes.

No airlines have yet committed to using the SkyRider, but it can’t be long before companies like Europe’s Ryanair, notorious for wanting to charge passengers to use the toilet, puts these things into their planes. But would this be so bad?

I’m almost 6 feet 3 inches tall, and I have a hell of a time flying. I recently got stuck in front of the exit row. My seat wouldn’t recline, but the one in front certainly did, and I had nowhere to put my knees. The SkyRider seat, by contrast, would make space for my long legs by raising the seats higher. It would also eliminate the pressure that the seat edge puts on my thighs, because the seat-squab is contoured and slopes down.

On a long-haul flight, the lack of alternative positions would probably make your legs drop-off, but on short-haul, the SkyRider could actually be more comfortable, with the bonus of no idiots being able to recline their seats.

What do you think? Is it one step closer to just drugging us and piling us onto shelves like suitcases, or a legitimate next step for cheap air travel?

<< Previous
|
Next >>

24527

<< Previous
|
Next >>

View all

SkyRider product page [Aviointeriors via USA Today]

Incoming search terms:

Skyrider airline seats

Pyramids, Nanowires Show Two Futures for Artificial Skin

|

Author: Heather Brown

Video: Stanford University News Service

Making artificial limbs that can perform gross motor functions is relatively easy. Fine motor actions are harder, and wiring the limbs into the nervous system is harder still. But researchers at Berkeley and Stanford are crossing the real frontier: making artificial skin that can touch and feel.

Research teams at Berkeley and Stanford recently announced breakthroughs in producing highly-touch-sensitive artificial skin. In both cases, an extremely thin layer of plastic or rubber are bonded to electronic elements arranged in micropatterns, so the skin can retain flexibility and elasticity while still transmitting a strong signal. Both papers appear in an forthcoming issue of the journal Nature Materials.

At Berkeley, the team used germanium/silicon nanowires, which they compare to microscopic “hairs” on the filmy plastic skin. The Stanford team paired electrodes in a pyramid pattern, which communicate through a thin rubber film (total thickness of the artificial skin, including the rubber layer and both electrodes: less than one millimeter). They also created a flexible transistor, again to retain elasticity.

The density and sensitivity of the electrical transmitters allows the skin to detect and transmit extremely precise patterns and delicate pressure — essential for activites such as typing, handling coins, cracking an egg, loading and unloading dishes, or anything that requires a gentle touch rather than sheer mechanical force.

The sensors could also be used in nonprosthetic applications. Benjamin Tee, a Stanford graduate student, notes that an automobile’s steering wheel could be fitted with pressure-sensitive sensors that could detect whether or not a drunk or sleeping driver’s hands had slipped from the wheel.

It’s difficult to tell at this point which team’s approach might be better suited to particular applications; the Berkeley teams touts its skin’s low energy use, the Stanford team its skin’s extreme sensitivity.

There’s also a sobering link between the two projects. Both Berkeley’s and Stanford’s research was indirectly supported by the U.S. Department of Defense — Berkeley’s by DARPA, and Stanford’s by the Office of Naval Research. The past decade has seen tremendous advances in artificial limb technology, due in no small part to the number of veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan after losing arms or legs, or with major burns. This in turn is partly a function of the previous decade’s advances in body armor, which have saved lives at the costs of limbs. Let’s hope that as these wars finally end, our desire to continue to improve the lives of everyone with limb differences continues.

<< Previous
|
Next >>

E-skin

An optical image of a fully fabricated e-skin device with nanowire active matrix circuitry. Each dark square represents a single pixel. (Credit: Ali Javey and Kuniharu Takei)

<< Previous
|
Next >>

View all

Sources:

Engineers make artificial skin out of nanowires [Berkeley News]
Stanford researchers’ new high-sensitivity electronic skin can feel a fly’s footsteps [Stanford Report]

Incoming search terms:

powered by SMF weapons of mass destruction found in iraq

At Last, HDR Comes to Video?

|

Author: Stacey Cook

Still from Soviet Montage's HDR video

Finally a better use for two cameras than producing 3D movies. You may have heard of HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography before, but if you haven’t, it’s basically a technique that combines two or more photos of the same scene, taken with different exposures. An overexposed shot brings out the shadows and an underexposed shot leaves some detail in the highlights. The shots are combined in software to produce the final image, which can often look slightly unreal.

The technique has been around for a few years now, at first for the pros only, but then you could get “an app for that“, and now the latest version of the iPhone 4’s operating system bakes the HDR shooting right into the camera software, so it won’t be long before it’s everywhere.

Now a company called Soviet Montage Productions has developed a way of producing the HDR effect for video. They use a custom built rig including a beam splitter to send the video image to two Canon 5D Mark II DSLR cameras, one underexposing by -2e/v and the other overexposing by 2e/v, and the resulting videos are combined in post production to give the slightly erie effect shown in the video below.

There’s a great debate going on in the comments of their site as to the merits of the technique, but we’ll leave you to make up your own mind on that.

(via @felicaday!)

Visit link:
At Last, HDR Comes to Video?

At Last, HDR Comes to Video?

|

Author: Jesus Sargent

Still from Soviet Montage's HDR video

Finally a better use for two cameras than producing 3D movies. You may have heard of HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography before, but if you haven’t, it’s basically a technique that combines two or more photos of the same scene, taken with different exposures. An overexposed shot brings out the shadows and an underexposed shot leaves some detail in the highlights. The shots are combined in software to produce the final image, which can often look slightly unreal.

The technique has been around for a few years now, at first for the pros only, but then you could get “an app for that“, and now the latest version of the iPhone 4’s operating system bakes the HDR shooting right into the camera software, so it won’t be long before it’s everywhere.

Now a company called Soviet Montage Productions has developed a way of producing the HDR effect for video. They use a custom built rig including a beam splitter to send the video image to two Canon 5D Mark II DSLR cameras, one underexposing by -2e/v and the other overexposing by 2e/v, and the resulting videos are combined in post production to give the slightly erie effect shown in the video below.

There’s a great debate going on in the comments of their site as to the merits of the technique, but we’ll leave you to make up your own mind on that.

(via @felicaday!)

Excerpt from:
At Last, HDR Comes to Video?

Neither Pen Nor Pencil: Write Endlessly In Metal

|

Author: Dave Adams

One of the pleasures of writing in pencil is the friction of two solid materials in contact. One of the delights of writing in pen is that you can write continuously without having to stop to sharpen your stylus. Writing in metal, while expensive, provides some of the benefits of both while exhibiting its own unique beauty.

These two (that’s right, two) different metal pen manufacturers come to us by way of champ design blog Dornob. Both models work on the same principle: a tiny amount of metal alloy transfers from the pen to the page. Unlike pencil, it can’t be smudged with your hand, and unlike ink, it doesn’t need to dry. The amount of alloy for each stroke is so tiny that the pens are expected to last a lifetime without needing to be refilled or replaced. You can sharpen the tips for a finer point with a little sandpaper.

Each company takes a slightly different approach. The Inkless Metal Pen by Vat19 goes with a full stainless-steel barrel. Their marketing department, as you can see from the video above, also has a sharp, playful, dudely sense of humor. (The word “awesome” gets thrown around a lot, and there’s a Scrooge McDuck reference.)

Grand Illusions goes a little more highbrow with their Metal Pens. They have two short versions (including one that can be worn as a keychain) and a Beta Pen which comes with a full-length extension in either black or silver metal or cherry-stained wood.

Grand Illusions also appends a short history on writing in silverpoint: “In the Medieval period, artists and scribes often used a metal stylus in order to draw on a specially prepared paper surface. Generally known as Metalpoint, or Silverpoint when the stylus was made of silver, artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, DÃ¼rer and Rembrandt all used this technique.” My friends, this is music to my early-modern-loving ears. (Luckily, you don’t have to rub your paper with pumice to get these 21st-century pens to make an impression.

The alloy in the Vat19 pen (at least) has trace amounts of lead, so it’s not so good for kids. Both are targeted for designers, lefties (who often have to deal with smearing or smudging ink/graphite as they trace their hand across the page), and geeks who like even their handwriting to be all shiny. (Note: the writing isn’t actually very shiny, more kind of a matte titanium, but you can pretend).

<< Previous
|
Next >>

metal-pen-closeup

<< Previous
|
Next >>

View all

Images via Vat19 and Grand Illusions. Story via Dornob.

See Also:

Originally posted here:
Neither Pen Nor Pencil: Write Endlessly In Metal

Camera Strap Buddy Makes Any Camera Comfy

|

Author: Sriram Reddy

Photojojo’s Camera Strap Buddy is an almost ridiculously simple widget that could change the way you carry your camera. Nothing more than a small metal bracket and a tripod-screw, the Buddy lets you use your existing camera strap but makes carrying the camera a lot more comfortable.

The usual neck-strap is possibly the worst way to carry a camera. If anything heavier than a pocket-camera around my neck, it starts to get uncomfortable, fast. Use a longer strap and sling it across your chest like a messenger-bag and things get better, but bigger cameras can be bouncy, and knock against your hip. The Camera Strap Buddy lets you run a strap from one of the regular strap brackets to the bottom of the camera.

When slung bandolier-style, even a heavy camera sits comfortably at your side, and is kept out of your way but ready for a quick grab-shot. I haven’t tested Photojojo’s adapter, but I have tried others and it’s possible to carry something like Nikon’s hefty D700 around all day and still be comfortable.

Could you make your own? Indubitably, but why bother? The Camera Strap Buddy is just $15. Just make sure you screw it in tight.

<< Previous
|
Next >>

camera-strap-buddy-0e10_600.0000001283921360

<< Previous
|
Next >>

View all

Camera Strap Buddy [Photojojo]

See Also:

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

See the article here:
Camera Strap Buddy Makes Any Camera Comfy

Incoming search terms:

New iPod Touch Easiest to Open Yet, Says iFixit

|

Author: Ang Nguyen

With a blast from a heat gun and a quick twist of a plastic spudger, the iFixit team found themselves inside the new, slim iPod Touch. First, the question you’re all asking: how much RAM does it have? The new Touch has just 256MB, the same as the iPad and half that of the iPhone’s 512MB. That means a lot less can be held in memory at once, which in turn means that any apps running in the background will wink out of life much quicker.

The super-slim body is the reason the Touch has such a crappy camera: the iPhone’s 5MP cam is just too big to fit. There are some additions to the case, though: the Touch now has a real speaker-grill, presumably to make FaceTime calling possible, and it loses the little plastic RF window on the back which used to let the Wi-Fi in and out. Now the antenna is near the glass panel.

The vibrator, which was revealed in FCC photographs and also pimped as a FaceTime alert on Apple’s own site, has disappeared like an out-of-favor politician from a Stalin-era photo. My guess is that it was pulled to keep the price down to $229 in the base model.

The other big change is of course the retina-display, which quadruples the number of pixels on the screen. Right now it is unknown whether it shares IPS (in-plane-switching) tech with the other iDevices and recent iMacs. IPS is what gives a screen an almost 180-degree viewing-angle.

It looks like Apple has squeezed a lot inside, while simultaneously boosting battery-life and making the sliver of a iPod even thinner. I have a perfectly good last-gen Touch but, dammit, now I want one of these.

iPod Touch 4th Generation Teardown [iFixit]

See Also:

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

Read this article:
New iPod Touch Easiest to Open Yet, Says iFixit

Modular iPad Case Lets You Tweet From Your Kegerator

|

Author: Brian McKinnell

<< Previous
|
Next >>

mg_9482_1

<< Previous
|
Next >>

View all

The guys behind the new modulR line of iPad cases have a clever idea: Let one case take on multiple identities through a variety of add-ons.

The basic case is a hard plastic shell that protects the iPad in use. Its rubberized edges grip the tablet securely, while little “nubs” on the back give your hand something more to grip onto than the iPad’s normally slick exterior. They also help raise the device off the table so it’s a little easier to pick up.

When traveling, you can clip on a hard plastic face plate that protects the iPad’s screen.

At your desk? Slide the case into an L-shaped metal bracket, which has slots that the case’s rear nubs lock into.

Those same slots appear on modulR’s “slim case,” which lets you mount your iPad on the wall — or, with the addition of a handful of powerful neodymium magnets, a refrigerator. In fact, this is the first refrigerator mount we’ve seen for the iPad in the Gadget Lab. It works with most old-school fridges, but if you’ve got a fancier wood-paneled or stainless steel refrigerator, you’re out of luck. (Stainless steel isn’t magnetic.)

We used it to display our favorite websites and recent tweets on the face of Beer Robot, our office kegerator.

You might be nervous about the effect of those powerful magnets on the iPad’s internals. While modulR couldn’t offer us a blanket assurance, they did say that they expected no problems — and we saw none during our tests. Perhaps if the iPad had a spinning disk inside instead of solid state storage, the proximity of magnets might be a bigger problem.

One down side is weight. The case is substantial, which provides protection, but it also adds 5.8 ounces to the iPad’s weight (10.2 ounces with the cover on). That may not sound like much, but it’s a noticeable addition to a gadget that weighs just 1.5 pounds to begin with.

The other is price: modulR sells a bundle that includes the case, cover, stand, and the slim mount for $100. The case and cover alone are $60.

Still, it’s a substantial, solid case and the only one we know of that allows fridge mounting. If that’s what you’re looking for, the modulR case is a good choice.

modulR iPad Case (product website)

Photos: Jon Snyder / Wired.com

Follow us for real-time tech news: Dylan Tweney and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

See Also:

Read the original here:
Modular iPad Case Lets You Tweet From Your Kegerator

Modular iPad Case Lets You Tweet From Your Kegerator

|

Author: Anthony Kristo

<< Previous
|
Next >>

mg_9482_1