TASTY TECH EYE CANDY OF THE WEEK L

Tasty Tech Eye Candy Of The Week (May 31)
By Tracy Staedter, Discovery News, 31 May 2015.

Coming soon: an underwater tennis court, a flying bicycle, mood shoes and robotic cockroaches. Oh, what the future has in store.

1. Underwater Tennis Court

Polish architect Krzysztof Kotala, owner of 8 + 8 Concept Studio in Warsaw, wants to build a tennis court off the coast of Dubai, a proving ground for audacious feats of engineering. The dome-shaped structure would accommodate seven courts as well as a rooftop coral reef to attract sea life.

Critics say there are too many technical challenges to overcome, such as manufacturing much larger sheets of glass than exist today in order to reduce the number of joints. But come on, it's Dubai, home to the tallest building in the world, artificial islands, and an indoor ski resort. There, nothing's impossible.

2. Robotic Arm

Engineers at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland have developed a thought-controlled robotic arm that can be surgically attached to the patient's remaining nerve endings. The limb has 26 joints and can lift up to 45 pounds. With a little practice, the patient can move the Modular Prosthetic Limbs, or M.P.L, gently and smoothly.

3. Flike

The Flike is a flying bike designed by Bay Zoltan Nonprofit Ltd., a Hungarian applied research institute. Recently, the prototype tricopter got its first manned test flight, proving that it can hover and manoeuvre, while compensating for wind. The next model to be built will come closer to a commercial version.

4. Biodegradable Computer Chip

Conventional computer chips are made from petroleum-based polymers, which are not non-biodegradable and use toxic compounds. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, have taken a first step toward changing that by creating a material made from wood that would serve as the substrate for a semiconductor chip. The biodegradable material, cellulose nanofibril, is also flexible, making it attractive to new kinds of computer development.

5. Cheetah Robot

Engineers from MIT continue to make progress on their DARPA-funded Cheetah robot, which is already five years in development. The latest technical hurdle they've cleared is, well, a hurdle. This week, the 70-pound Cheetah proved it can run, jump and clear obstacles up to 18 inches tall, all while maintaining an average speed of 5 mph. See a video here.

6. Solar Impulse

Today, the Swiss solar-powered plane Solar Impulse 2, began its six-day flight over the Pacific Ocean. It left China on the seventh leg of its round-the-world journey and is expected to land in Hawaii on Saturday.

7. Mood Shoes

At Lenovo Tech World in Beijing, the Chinese company showed off their latest collection of Internet-connected devices. Among them were the Smart Shoes, which have a simple display on the side that indicates the wearer's mood. The shoes can also provide directions and maps as well as track fitness data such as miles walked and calories burned. [Video]

8. Light Grips

A new Kickstarter project improves safety for bicyclists. The durable, water-resistant and rechargeable HueRay grips emit bright, lateral light, which increases visibility. Lots of colours to chose from and not batteries required.

9. Robo-Roach Launches Robo-Bird

Researchers at UC Berkeley designed a scrambling robotic cockroach, called the VelociRoACH that can launch a micro aerial vehicle from its back. The launch is needed because the H2Bird air vehicle weighs about 13 grams and doesn’t have the equipment to take off at the necessary speed and angle.

10. Ironman Phone

To promote its new Galaxy S6 Edge, Samsung released its Iron Man, which ties into Marvel’s new movie, "Avengers: Age of Ultron." The phone comes in a special edition Avengers box and has a case in Iron Man red and gold. It goes on sale in South Korea this week and in other “select markets.”

Top image: The Flike flying bike. Credit: Flike.

[Source: Discovery News. Edited. Top image and some links added.]