Awesome tech you can’t buy yet: Whale snot, space suits, and giant 3D printers
Check out our roundup of the coolest crowdfunding projects and product announcements that hit the Web this week. You can't buy this stuff yet, but it sure is fun to gawk!
Patrick Stewart is helping conservationists build a fleet of drones to collect whale snot
Ocean Alliance has developed a special set of drones, called SnotBots, that hover in the air above a surfacing whale and collect the blow (or snot) exhaled from its lungs. The Snotbot then returns that sample back to researchers for in-depth analysis.
Sony jumps on the drone bandwagon with a new venture called Aerosense
Rather than jumping in the ring with consumer drone companies like DJI, Parrot, and others, Sony's new venture, Aerosense Inc., plans to use drones to provide aerial surveying services to businesses.
To deter poachers, South Africa is filling rhino horns with cameras and GPS
Protect has developed a new anti-poaching system called RAPID (Real-time Anti Poaching Intelligence Device) that aims to solve the problem by embedding video cameras directly into the horns of the remaining rhino population, thereby making it easier for authorities to catch poachers in the act
Fish don’t stand a chance against this sensor-studded fish finder drone
The AguaDrone is a waterproof quadcopter that not only uses sonar to find fish from the sky, it will "cast" for you by flying your lure out to hot spots.
Scientists have developed a pill that could allow celiacs to eat gluten
This new supplement won't make gluten intolerance disappear, but can offer temporary, as-needed immunity to glutenin and gliadin.
The Smithsonian has partnered up with Kickstarter to reboot Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit
As part of a recently-established partnership with Kickstarter, the Smithsonian has recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to help conserve Neil Armstrong's Apollo 11 spacesuit -- the one he wore during the first ever moon walk, which happened exactly 46 years ago today -- and showcase it at the National Air and Space Museum.
Awesome tech you can’t buy yet: Programmable drums, LED helmets, and more
Check out our roundup of the coolest crowdfunding projects and product announcements that hit the Web this week. You can't buy this stuff yet, but it sure is fun to gawk!
Briliant hands-free wheelchair translates body motions into directional input
New Zealand-based inventor Kevin Halsall turned a Segway into the Ogo, a hands-free wheelchair that stands upright on just two wheels.
The ReWalk 6.0 robotic exoskeleton aims to make wheelchairs a thing of the past
ReWalk Robotics, which produces wearable exoskeletons for people who've lost the use of their legs, has just pulled the curtain back on version 6.0 of its robotically-assisted walking system -- and it's smaller, lighter, and faster than ever before.
Behold: The terrifyingly powerful machine that crushes engine blocks
The Red Giant and its 710-hp motor can shatter engine blocks into tiny pieces for easy recycling.
Solar Impulse 2 grounded until next year following battery mishap
After completing a record-breaking 4,480 mile trans-Pacific flight from Japan to Hawaii earlier this week, the sunlight-powered Solar Impulse 2 has been grounded -- and unfortunately, the plane will not be able to continue its round-the-world journey until next year.
Nike’s fresh new sneakers are designed for people with disabilities
Nike has created the Zoom Soldier 8 with Flyease technology specifically for people with disabilities.
The Large Hadron Collider just helped scientists discover an exotic new particle
Just a few short months after CERN fired it up again, the Large Hadron Collider has already helped scientists uncover a completely new class of particle.
Boeing just patented this awesome laser-powered nuclear fusion engine design
Modern turbofan engines employ a series of fans and turbines to compress air, which is then mixed with fuel and ignited to create thrust. Boeing's engine, on the other hand, uses an array of high-powered lasers to trigger a small nuclear reaction, which would then cause the engine to accelerate forward.
Awesome tech you can’t buy yet: Hot tub hammock, smart luggage, and more
Check out our roundup of the coolest crowdfunding projects and product announcements that hit the Web this week. You can't buy this stuff yet, but it sure is fun to gawk!
You can now 3D print a perfect clone of DJI’s Inspire 1 quadcopter
A drone enthusiast released 3D-printable designs for a nearly identical clone of DJI's Inspire 1 drone -- the company's flagship quadcopter.
This heated, water-filled hammock might be the greatest thing ever invented
Oregon-based entrepreneur Benjamin Frederick has recently taken to Kickstarter to fund a glorious new contraption he calls the Hydro Hammock -- which is essentially the bastard child of a hammock and a hot tub. Could there be anything more relaxing?
Boulton Eyewear makes 3D-printed sunglasses you can customize for a perfect fit
Amsterdam-based startup Boulton Eyewear uses a combination of facial scanning software and advanced 3D printing technology to make custom-tailored eyewear that's both cheap and durable.
This gravity-defying toy leverages a weird aerodynamic shape to fly over 200 feet
Generally speaking, smaller discs aren't as steady as larger ones, but ZipChip's unique shape apparently gives it a high degree of aerodynamic stability.
This robotically-stabiilized exoskeleton could give soldiers perfect aim
The system, dubbed Mobile Arm eXoskeleton for Firearm Aim Stabilization, or MAXFAS, definitely isn't the first device of its kind, but it's got a few tricks up its sleeve that other exoskeletons don't
Awesome tech you can’t buy yet: 4K camera balls, pro optics for your phone
Check out our roundup of the coolest crowdfunding projects and product announcements that hit the Web this week. You can't buy this stuff yet, but it sure is fun to gawk!
BP reaches settlement, agrees to pay $18.7 billion in damages for 2010 oil spill
BP has finally reached a settlement with the U.S. government, agreeing to pay $18.7 billion in damages for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion.
Crazy new tech projects touch-sensitive holograms into thin air with lasers
A new display system uses a set of finely-tuned lasers to selectively ionize molecules in the air, which causes them to emit a bright white burst of light. Even better, Aerial Burton has figured out how to make these holograms touch-interactive.
This is what happens when you drop a laser into a vat of liquid nitrogen
Dropping stuff into liquid nitrogen is always a fun experiment, but putting a laser into the super-cooled gas produces some unusual effects.
Awesome tech you can’t buy yet: Biometric locks, monocycles, and lightsabers
Check out our roundup of the coolest crowdfunding projects and product announcements that hit the Web this week. You can't buy this stuff yet, but it sure is fun to gawk!
This UV-emitting door handle neutralizes bacteria, helps fight the spread of disease
Nobody thinks to sanitize door handles, but luckily for us, a pair of enterprising high school students from Hong Kong have developed a brilliant new handle system that might one day keep germs at bay -- without any harsh chemicals or regular cleaning.
Books burn and discs die, but these etched sapphire ‘Nanoforms’ last forever
Nanoforms are essentially a high-tech cross between stone tablets and a microfilm slides. Instead of chiseling crude symbols into a hunk of rock, the creators use a sophisticated laser etching process to scrawl information into a disk of lab-grown sapphire.
MotoPogo is basically the bastard child of a Segway and a unicycle
The MotoPogo is electric, it's got one wheel, and it will most definitely be ridden by Kevin James in the next installment of Paul Blart: Mall Cop.
An engine that runs on water? Yea right. Except this one is real
If you think about it, humans have been harvesting energy from falling moisture for centuries -- but up until now, nobody has really figured out a way to gather energy from water that's traveling back up into the air.