World’s First Airborne Car

The “Runflier” Stalker”, which is an advanced version of the earlier model Evolution, looks like a four-wheeled car with wings that can be folded along the body of the vehicle. It is, however, a lot more than that; it is a landmark airborne vehicle second to none in the world. The Runflier’s designer is a graduate of the Moscow Aviation Institute and a former aviation test pilot. His name is Alexander Begak, and he is also (among his many other hats) the chief designer of Skarabei Laboratory. He proudly claims that in the air the Stalker can travel up to 200 kilometers (about 124 miles) per hour.
The “Runflier” Stalker”, which is an advanced version of the earlier model Evolution, looks like a four-wheeled car with wings that can be folded along the body of the vehicle. It is, however, a lot more than that; it is a landmark airborne vehicle second to none in the world. The Runflier’s designer is a graduate of the Moscow Aviation Institute and a former aviation test pilot. His name is Alexander Begak, and he is also (among his many other hats) the chief designer of Skarabei Laboratory. He proudly claims that in the air the Stalker can travel up to 200 kilometers (about 1The Runflier can take off from a limited runway and can cover the distance of one and a half thousand kilometers (932 miles) without refueling. The vehicle is made of super light coal plastics and Kevlar (a strong, light synthetic fiber) and weighs only 140 kg (about 300 pounds).

A gifted aircraft designer and inventor, Alexander Begak has designed over 15 air-borne vehicles. In 2005 he set an absolute record flying in an ultra-light micro-aircraft of his own construction at the height of 3,701 meters (about 12,000 feet) above sea surface. He said of his air-borne projects most of which were conducted at the Moscow Aviation Institute:

“We want to restore the fleet of ultra-light aviation, the project, which aviators turned down in the 1950s for the benefit of strategic defense goals.”

His ultra-light aircraft can be designated for military purposes as well. The plastic equipment males it invisible to radars and therefore perfect for reconnaissance maneuvers. It can also patrol frontiers, conduct day and night photography, mapping and monitoring.

So the next time you look up in the sky and see something odd there, remember the words of that old television show:

“It’s a bird! It’s a Plane. No, it’s a car!”

Just don’t tell Superman. Even though he’s been dead for years, he just might not be able to take it.4 miles) per hour.

source: www.impactlab.com

Computer Surveillance To Judge Your Intentions

Engineers here are developing a computerized surveillance system that, when completed, will attempt to recognize whether a person on the street is acting suspiciously or appears to be lost. In the recent Proceedings of the 2008 IEEE Conference on Advanced Video and Signal Based Surveillance, James W. Davis and doctoral student Karthik Sankaranarayanan report that they’ve completed the first three phases of the project: they have one software algorithm that creates a wide-angle video panorama of a street scene, another that maps the panorama onto a high-resolution aerial image of the scene, and a method for actively tracking a selected target.

So does this mean that the machines will have to know who you are?

According to the creators, no. “In our research, we care what you do, not who you are. We aim to analyze and model the behavior patterns of people and vehicles moving through the scene, rather than attempting to determine the identity of people. We are trying to automatically learn what typical activity patterns exist in the monitored area, and then have the system look for atypical patterns that may signal a person of interest — perhaps someone engaging in nefarious behavior or a person in need of help.”

This system is more accurate than the traditional camera methods for several reasons. When surveillance operators look through a traditional camera they get only a tiny image — what some refer to as a “soda straw” view of the world. As they move the camera around, they can easily lose a sense of where they are looking within a larger context. The Ohio State software takes a series of snapshots from every direction within a camera’s field of view, and combines them into a seamless panorama.

How does the camera create an accurate panorama? Well, the software maps locations within the fish-eye view onto an aerial map of the scene, such as a detailed Google map. A computer can use this information to calculate where the viewspaces of all the security cameras in an area overlap. Then it can determine the geo-referenced coordinates — latitude and longitude — of each ground pixel in the panorama image.

If this all seems a little bit ‘Big Brother’ to you just wait. The computer is going to try and judge your intentions.

To first determine what constitutes normal behavior, they plan to follow the paths of many people who walk through a particular scene over a long period of time. A line tracing each person’s trajectory will be saved to a database. “You can imagine that over a few months, you’re going to start to pick up where people tend to go at certain times of day — trends,” one of the researchers said. People who stop in an unusual spot or leave behind an object like a package or book bag might be considered suspicious by law enforcement.

Mimes watch out. You may be pegged as a terrorist by the computer when you do your sneaking immitation or your wind walk. While this system has potential it lacks the one thing that humans have, context.

source: www.impactlab.com

Microtool Inspired By Human Hand

Using the human hand as a model, scientists at Johns Hopkins University and its medical school have developed a microscopic tool that might one day be used inside the body. The tool, a clawlike gripper less than a millimeter in diameter, could grab cells from tissue for a biopsy, for example.

Most microtools for use in medical applications are operated by tethers of some kind. But the microgripper, developed by Timothy G. Leong, David H. Gracias and colleagues and described in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is autonomous - it can be guided by a magnetic field and actuated by warming or chemicals.

In a hand, jointed fingers are arranged around a central palm, and the fingers can bend to grasp an object. The researchers mimicked this approach in their design, with six “fingers” arranged around a hexagonal “palm.” And just as in a hand, the microgripper’s fingers have rigid metal “bones” connected by flexible joints.

The joints consist of two thin layers of metal, one of which is stressed. Ordinarily the stressed layer would cause the bimetal strip to bend, but the strip is held flat and stiff by a layer of polymer. When this polymer is warmed or degraded by certain chemicals it becomes flexible, allowing the strip to bend and the gripper to close.

The researchers say that there are many hurdles to overcome in using such a device inside the body, but that the work represents “a step toward the development of biocompatible, minimally invasive, autonomous microtools.”

source: www.impactlab.com

iFlyz Holds Your Mobile Device While Flying

Holding your mobile device in your hand is not exactly hard work, but it can get tiring and lead to hand strain as you browse the internet and play your favorite music while travellng on a plane. Using just a suction cup on a flexible rod to grasp your gadget, the iFlyz can take care of your iPhone for you as you surf the net or watch a movie hands free.

The iFlyz makes use of an adjustable clamp to attach to an upright and locked seat tray. It will also attach to one that is open during drink or dinner service. The flexible gooseneck allows the mobile device to be turned in any angle or direction. iFlyz sells for $29.99.

A pretty convenient gadget if you ask me. Sometimes you don’t want to hold your iPhone.

source: www.impactlab.com

T-34 Security ‘bot

From the “Aren’t you a little short to be a Terminator?” school of design comes the squat Tmsuk T-34, which, while it won’t cut you down at the ankles (nor is it a Soviet tank), packs a powerful net-launching mechanism that wraps opponents in a web like Spider-Man’s.

It’s essentially a remote-controlled car that fires a net, controlled by cellphone with live video feedback (crazy advanced Japanese cellphones, mind you).

The T-34 will cost about $9,000 when it’s ready to be marketed to businesses in two years - meanwhile Tmsuk will be working on a home defense version. I don’t know how effective it is at incapacitating an opponent, but it sure does look annoying - check out a video of the ‘bot in action by clicking Continue.

source: www.impactlab.com

USB Missile Launcher

The USB missile launcher is a small gadget that is growing in popularity. Today there are many different kinds of USB missile launchers to fit every “need”. The one we have been testing is the one on the picture. This launcher has a mounted camera for some extra fun.

This one comes with a mounted web cam and a CD with software to control it. You just plug the USB cable and no batteries are needed.

When it is plugged you can navigate the missile launcher with your keyboard or mouse. When you have located your target you press the fire button and this will trigger a sound effect of a missile that fires and off it goes. It comes with 3 darts (missiles) that are created in harmless soft foam to avoid injuries. It shoots away with more power than you would think.

Fanatec Porsche 911 Carrera Racing Wheel

To get that extra feeling to the best car games you really need a steering wheel. With the help of Fanatec’s Porsche 911 Carrera Racing Wheel for PS3 and PC you will come as close to reality as you possible can. This will give you an incredible control of the car and add a lot of fun. After you have tried this racing wheel you will never be able to go back to using the mouse or keyboard for these kinds of games.The Fanatec racing wheel is not very expensive as you can see below, however not all game support the hardware yet. Not many people own anything with the Porsche badge on it and this cool racing wheel got it. If you want to experience authentic car racing experience this is the deal for you.

Welcome to Cool New Gadgets Our mission is to report on all the cool new gadgets out there. Every

Western Digital is first in the world to create a 2TB hard drive. As they say, you can never have enough storage space. Somehow no matter how much space I have available it will get filled. I guess it’s the collector in us that like to keep stuff. Maybe one day I will need it? The other thing is that more and more people are becoming aware of the risk of loosing all the data. So not only do we want to store a lot of data, we also need to back it up.

Today 10 percent of the 3.5” hard drive sales are 1 TB or higher. These 2 TB drives will come handy and help many people out. The Western Digital Green 2TB hard drives come with many different advanced technologies. Everything from StableTrac that helps secures the motor and reduces vibrations to IntelliPower that helps the balance of the spin speed. The price for this disk has been set at $299.

Laptop Flip for Apple Laptops

The Laptop Flip is a 2-in-1 space saver and riser for your laptop computer. Now you can store your laptop in the vertical position when not in use creating additional space on your desktop. In use, the the Laptop Flip raises the back of your laptop by 1.25" improving your viewing and typing angle and increasing ventilation. No other computer accessory offers these beneficial features all in one. Made of lightweight acrylic with a non-skid rubber surface and small enough to carry with you.

You can find more information about the Laptop Flip at New Pc Gadgets. The cost for this little gadget is right now $18.95. Take your time and watch the video below for ideas on how you can use this new cool gadget.

Apple Introduces All New iPod Shuffle

The Apple iPod shuffle, the usual starting device for people to get into the iPod craze has long been forgotten due to the various iPod variants introduced in the market.

Today, Apple announced the launch of the new iPod shuffle, the world’s smallest music player at nearly half of the size of the previous model, and the first music player that talks to you. The revolutionary new VoiceOver feature enables iPod shuffle to speak your song titles, artists and playlist names.

The third generation iPod shuffle is significantly smaller than a AA battery, holds up to 1,000 songs and is easier to use with all of the controls conveniently located on the earphone cord. With the press of a button, you can play, pause, adjust volume, switch playlists and hear the name of the song and artist. iPod shuffle features a gorgeous new aluminum design with a built-in stainless steel clip that makes it ultra-wearable.

NASA gears up for its last mission to Hubble

After a six-month delay, the final preparations are now underway for the last mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. If all goes well, the space shuttle Atlantis will launch on the mission a day early, on 11 May.

Ground crews finished installing the last equipment, which includes 180 tools needed to manipulate parts of the telescope, into the shuttle's payload bay on Wednesday, according to Tracy Young of NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Now mission managers are looking to see how much time can be shaved off final preparations and are hoping to launch a day before the current launch target of 12 May.

They want to provide as many days as possible to launch the shuttle before 14 May, when there's a black-out window for shuttle launches that will last until 22 May. During that time, an Air Force facility needed to track shuttle launches will be used for military operations instead.

During a press briefing on Thursday, NASA officials discussed some of the safety concerns for the mission. Despite initial worries, they said the debris from an unprecedented collision between two satellites in February should not pose a significant risk to the shuttle, even though it will fly at a higher orbit – which lies closer to the debris – than typical shuttle missions to the International Space Station.

Initial estimates put the risk of a catastrophic impact with orbital debris at 1 in 185. But further analysis suggests the mean risk is now 1 in 221, deputy space shuttle programme manager LeRoy Cain told reporters. That risk level is lower than a limit of 1 in 200, above which special approval for the mission would be required by top officials.

The shuttle Atlantis will drop down to a lower orbit after the spacewalks, which will reduce the risk of a collision with orbital debris. The shuttle will also spend as much time as possible flying with its tail forward and its payload bay pointed at Earth, an orientation that protects vulnerable parts, like the shuttle's nose cap.

NASA gears up for its last mission to Hubble

After a six-month delay, the final preparations are now underway for the last mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. If all goes well, the space shuttle Atlantis will launch on the mission a day early, on 11 May.

Ground crews finished installing the last equipment, which includes 180 tools needed to manipulate parts of the telescope, into the shuttle's payload bay on Wednesday, according to Tracy Young of NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Now mission managers are looking to see how much time can be shaved off final preparations and are hoping to launch a day before the current launch target of 12 May.

They want to provide as many days as possible to launch the shuttle before 14 May, when there's a black-out window for shuttle launches that will last until 22 May. During that time, an Air Force facility needed to track shuttle launches will be used for military operations instead.

During a press briefing on Thursday, NASA officials discussed some of the safety concerns for the mission. Despite initial worries, they said the debris from an unprecedented collision between two satellites in February should not pose a significant risk to the shuttle, even though it will fly at a higher orbit – which lies closer to the debris – than typical shuttle missions to the International Space Station.

Initial estimates put the risk of a catastrophic impact with orbital debris at 1 in 185. But further analysis suggests the mean risk is now 1 in 221, deputy space shuttle programme manager LeRoy Cain told reporters. That risk level is lower than a limit of 1 in 200, above which special approval for the mission would be required by top officials.

The shuttle Atlantis will drop down to a lower orbit after the spacewalks, which will reduce the risk of a collision with orbital debris. The shuttle will also spend as much time as possible flying with its tail forward and its payload bay pointed at Earth, an orientation that protects vulnerable parts, like the shuttle's nose cap.

Innovation: Mind-reading headsets will change your brain

This week, engineer Adam Wilson made global headlines by updating Twitter using his brainwaves. "USING EEG TO SEND TWEET" he explained.

Wilson's achievement was actually pretty trivial. He used a system called BCI2000, found in hundreds of laboratories across the globe, that can do the job of a keyboard for any software program. But it was significant precisely because it was trivial: mind-reading tech is going to have a massive impact this year.

In the coming months, cheap headsets that let you control technology with the electrical signals generated by your firing neurons will go on sale to the general public. Our relationship with technology – and our brains – will never be the same again.

Researchers have developed systems that read brainwaves – in the form of electroencephalogram (EEG) signals – in order to help people suffering from disabilities or paralysis control wheelchairs, play games Movie Camera, or type on a computer. Now, two companies are preparing to market similar devices to mainstream consumers.

Australian outfit Emotiv will release a headset whose 16 sensors make it possible to direct 12 different movements in a computer game. Emotiv says the helmet can also detect emotions.

Compatible with any PC running Windows, it will ship later this year for $299 (see image). They have shown off a game where the player moves stones to rebuild Stonehenge using mind power alone.

Californian company NeuroSky has also built a device that can detect emotions: the firm says it can tell whether you are focused, relaxed, afraid or anxious, for example.

Rather than selling it directly to the public, NeuroSky is licensing its set-up to other companies, including Mattel, Nokia and Sega. Mattel, for example, will soon sell a game which involves players levitating a ball using thought alone.

Computer Literacy Program in Elementary School Children

Computer literacy is the knowledge and ability to use computers and technology efficiently. Computer literacy can also refer to the comfort level someone has with using computer programs and other applications that are associated with computers. Another valuable component of computer literacy knows how computers work and operate.

The advantages of having a computer literacy program to the elementary student are that they would know the basic things on how computer works and how to use it. It can help them arouse their basic computer skills and would be properly educated about computers. Through computer literacy they would discover lots of things by just using the internet. Also students may learn and gain lots of experience through it.

Disadvantages of having computer literacy program for the elementary students are that they may abuse the use of computers by playing computer games for many hours that could effect to lose their appetite. It would also make them a couch potato and its making them irresponsible.

It can be implemented here in the Philippines if the government would give attention to this and especially to the poor schools that could not afford to have a computer set. It would be a big help if young Filipinos would learn basics of computers because now jobs requires basic computer skills that can help to easily get jobs.

One Laptop Per Child Program (OLPC)

In this contest I see the project OLPC as the best social service project in this era. The project is initiated by Prof.Nickalas Negroponet who engage in Mesunset technical institute. His objective is to have a computer for each and every child in the world. The mission of this non-profit association (One Laptop Per Child) is to develop a low-cost laptop - the "$100 Laptop". A technology that could revolutionize how we educate the world's children. Their goal is to provide children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment, and express themselves. To create educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning. This is a new way of teaching other children to be educated in easier way and to provide them with access to knowledge.