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Monday 16 May 2016

TASTY TECH EYE CANDY OF THE WEEK LXXXVIII


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Tasty Tech Eye Candy of the Week (May 15)
By Tracy Staedter,
Discovery News, 15 May 2016.

This week we look at a wearable robot, a high-tech surfboard, and a swimsuit that works like a life jacket.

1. Iron Man-Style Exoskeleton

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South Korean automaker company Hyundai also seems to be into wearable robot area. They've built an exoskeleton that they're comparing to an Iron Man suit. The H-LEX suit (for Hyundai Lifecaring ExoSkeleton) is designed to help a person lift objects weighing hundreds of pounds. And it looks pretty cool, to boot.

2. Skull ID

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Google Glass transmits sound to the ear the same way a hearing aid does: via bone conduction. It turns out that the vibrations produced are as unique to an individual as a fingerprint. Capitalizing on that fact, a team of scientists from the University of Saarland and the University of Stuttgart figured out to convert the pattern of vibrations into a biometric identifier. Their "SkullConduct" could give people access to secured devices just by listening to a favorite song.

3. Ingestible Origami Pill

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A new, ingestible pill could make stomach and esophagus procedures less invasive. Developed by Daniela Rus at MIT and her colleagues, the pill is a capsule that's swallowed like other pills. But once inside the body, it unfolds and then can be steered around by external magnetic fields. Such a device could be used to remove foreign objects from the stomach or patch a wound. Here's a video.

4. City Car

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Those 12-lane highways in Russia are just plain nuts. Getting around might be a little easier with the Provocator, though, a city car developed by Russian company Mirrow. The innovative design has just one door at the rear to maximize interior space and comes with a standard rally-style rollcage for safety. The turbocharged, 1.5-liter diesel goes 0 to 60 in 8.7 seconds. We would have preferred electric, but the vehicle is expected to sell for an affordable prices - just under US$4,000.

5. Home Battery Storage

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A year after Tesla introduced its home battery, the Powerwall, Nissan has come out with its own. The xStorage battery will have 4.2 kWh of capacity and retail for about US$4,350. Nissan is marketing the home storage battery primarily to people and small businesses that generate electricity using rooftop solar panels.

6. High Tech Surfboard

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They say that water and electronics don't mix. But Samsung's new Galaxy Surfboard is laying that claim to rest. The company created an electronic board for Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina. It’s powered by a Galaxy S7 that slides into a special pocket at the base. A display on the face provides the surfer with text messages from a coach or fans, and also indicates wave and wind conditions. You can see a video here.

7. Driverless Cars in London

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The UK is undertaking its first public trial of driverless cars. Anyone in London can register with the Greenwich Automated Transport Environment's Gateway project and ride around in one of their self-driving electric shuttles. Riders can give feedback and participate in workshops, too. For more information, visit their site.

8. Swimsuit Life Jacket

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Tiny air bubbles trapped in small tubes make these swimming suits unsinkable. They were conceived of by Russia-based designer Katerina Semenko and inventor Valery Griaznov. The suits won a Golden A' Design Award for Safety Clothing and Personal Protective Equipment Design Category. The team hopes to commercialize their suits as well as jackets and shirts for people who live or work near the water.

9. Electric SUV

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This e-bike is the SUV of electric bikes. The Carbon SUV e-bike has oversized 400 mm Magura front hydraulic discs, 26 x 4.8-in fat tires, and an LED display that lights up with details about speed, distance traveled, and the battery's charge status.

10. Electric-Hybrid Rig

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Long-haul trucking is on the road toward efficiency. Salt Lake City-based Nikola Motor Company is creating quite a buzz with its semi-truck named Nikola One. It features a 335-hp electric motor that when combined with a 536-hp range-extending gasoline-powered turbine gives the truck 1,200 miles of range.

Top image: The Mirrow Provocator. Credit: Mirrow.

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

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