Behind self-driving, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication is one of the biggest sea changes in transportation technology on the horizon — it could have an enormous impact on driving safety, if it’s implemented quickly and correctly. The concept is pretty simple: cars, signs, and traffic signals all communicate to one another over Wi-Fi-like airwaves, so that drivers (and automatic safety systems built into cars) have more information about the traffic and environment around them. (I got& … Read More → "New York is getting wired with traffic signals that can talk to cars"

At first glance, these lamps all look three-dimensional, but in reality, they’re laser-engraved sheets of acrylic glass—and very much flat. The fun optical illusions are created by Tel Aviv-based Studio Cheha. Their series, called Bulbing, started with a simple flat light bulb. 

Since the first bulb, the series has expanded to include fun shapes such as skulls and teddy bears. The studio’s three new designs are … Read More → "Flat reading lamps that look 3D"

DARPA promised prosthetic limbs that produce realistic sensations, and it’s making good on its word. The agency’s researchers have successfully tested an artificial hand that gave a man a “near-natural” level of touch. The patient could tell when scientists were pressing against specific fingers, even when they tried to ‘trick’ the man by touching two digits at once. The key was to augment the thought-controlled hand with a set of pressure-sensitive torque motors wired … Read More → "Prosthetic hand restores a man’s sense of touch"

A Washington state court judgment marks the first time the operator of a successful Kickstarter got fined for failing to follow-through.

Washington State Attorney Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit in April of 2014 against a Nashville-based company, Nashville, Altius Management, which had failed to deliver a deck of cards marketed on Kickstarter in Sept. 2012.

The campaign was successfully funded to the tune … Read More → "In a first, court fines operator of delayed Kickstarter campaign"

The Philippines is now home to the newest addition to the Lewis Grand Hotel, the first-ever 3D printed building that will be put to commercial use. Lewis Yakich, owner of The Lewis Grand, is a native Californian and graduate of UCSB with a background in material science engineering. He says that after extensive research and development, his 3D printed concrete design is structurally sound, and may even be stronger than conventional methods of construction that use hollow blocks.< … Read More → "It took 100 hours to 3D print this 2-bedroom villa"

When a violent storm knocked over a 215-year-old beech tree outside Collooney, Ireland, it revealed a grisly secret: a nearly 1000-year-old skeleton. Locals discovered the upper half of the remains tangled in the roots of the fallen tree, with the lower portion still embedded in the dirt.

The National Monuments Service commissioned Sligo-Leitrim Archaeological Services (SLAS) to excavate the skeleton. A preliminary analysis indicated that the bones had belonged to … Read More → "Uprooted tree reveals a 1000-year-old skeleton"

Tipping rotor discs into a steep hillsides, rocky terrain and rocking ships are all challenges helicopter pilots can face. A level landing is always the goal, but doing so in some extreme cases takes super-human coordination. Other times, it can result in disaster. That’s why having the helicopter’s landing gear adapt to the terrain, instead of having the pilot adapt to it, is so attractive…

The idea behind the Robotic Landing … Read More → "DARPA’s robotic landing gear could revolutionize how and where helicopters land"

Lab 22 at Australia’s CSIRO has added to the growing list of 3D-printed medical implants by designing and printing a replacement titanium sternum and rib cage for a 54-year-old cancer patient.

The sternum and rib cage features a complex geometry that means the flat and plate implants traditionally used for this part of the chest can come loose over time. For this reason, the surgical team at the Salamanca University Hospital in Spain … Read More → "Patient receives 3D-printed titanium sternum and rib cage"

Arcangelo Ricciardi was booted from the International Chess Festival of Imperia for cheating using a camera pendant to transmit video of the board to an accomplice and some kind of wireless device in his armpit to receive signals of suggested moves. According to The Telegraph, Ricciardi claimed the devices “were good luck charms.”
via Boing Boing

< … Read More → "High-ranking chess player caught cheating with wearable tech"

This simple cast-iron candle holder possesses an ingenious feature: it extinguishes the candle before the wick has a chance to burn out.

Designed by Lars Beller Fjetland for the Danish brand Hay, the Moment candle stick holds a pendulum with a needle on one end. When you insert a candle, you pierce the wax with the needle. When the candle burns down … Read More → "This ingenious candle holder automatically extinguishes the candle"