Search Results for: emerging technology

Wrist Computer Inspired by Video Game

The Pip-Boy 3000 is a wearable wrist computer that looks like it came straight out of a video game, and in fact, it did. The device was inspired by the Fallout series of video games. A team of Reno Hackers—Ashley Hennefer, Colin Loretz, Christopher Baker, Andrew Warren and Ben Hammel—created the cuff device for NASA's space wearables competition, part of the International Space Apps Challenge 48-hour hackathon.

With technologies like tablets, touch screens, computers in cars and cloud computing becoming ubiquitous, inventions that were once firmly in the realm of science fiction are becoming a daily reality.

Enzyme Micro Insulin Pump

One of the latest trends in the arena of mechanobiology is a micro-pump designed to autonomously deliver insulin in response to an individual’s glucose levels. Developed by Samudra Sengupta and his team of associates from Pennsylvania State University, the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, the device is self-powered and is capable of the autonomous delivery of small proteins and molecules in response to biological stimuli, according to phys.org.

Bacteria Could be Used to Grow Healing Materials

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have tweaked bacteria, enabling it to grow living materials that may one day be used for healing purposes. Inspired by natural materials such as teeth and bone, the research team reprogrammed bacteria Escherichia colibacterial to excrete special proteins.  This allowed scientists to control the type of materials made by the bacteria. This technology could eventually lead to the development of self-healing materials that could detect damage and repair it.

Researchers Develop Thinking Cap

In the not too distant future, you may be able to put on a real thinking cap to improve your ability to learn. A research team at Tennessee's Vanderbuilt University recently conducted a study that may help people wanting to increase their learning ability and may also help to treat medical conditions such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and schizophrenia.

Virtual Arm for Phantom Limb Pain

Between seven and 10 amputees suffer from phantom limb pain. Now Swedish researchers have come up with a virtual device that provides a real solution. Max Ortiz Catalan and his team from Sweden’s Chalmers University of Technology have created a device that can be attached to an amputee's arm stump via electrodes.

Robot Drumming Prosthesis

Engineers at a Georgia Tech laboratory have created a robotic arm that can be attached to amputees, enabling the technology to be embedded into the human body. The robotic arm has motors that can power to drumsticks. The first drumstick is manipulated by the musician's arms and electromyography (EMG) muscle sensors. The second stick is tuned into the music being played and is able to improvise.

Human beings are not the biggest animal on Planet Earth. Neither are we the strongest, fastest, sturdiest, or longest living. However, we have become the most successful apex predator in existence as we know it. How have we accomplished this? What sets us apart is our intelligence and ability to use tools. These interrelated abilities have allowed us to overcome our environment and any other predators we have faced.

The future has a way of sneaking up on us. Part of the reason for this is the accelerating pace at which new technologies are developed, as predicted by Moore's Law. But another reason for this is that before a technology gains mass market acceptance, chances are that is has gone through an extensive research phase and many failed iterations. Consider Google Glass. Even though the consumer edition of Glass won't hit the market until next year, the device is already making waves.

When it comes to social media, women rule tech:

New research shows that women use social media in greater numbers and more often than men. Research also indicates they are more likely to use social media on mobile platforms, and to interact with brands. With the changing face of technology, are female-focused startups the wave of the future?