A cattle-rustling robot, a spokeless bicycle and the latest design for a flying car top off this week's gallery.
1. Rose Museum
Visitors to this year’s World Federation of Rose Societies Convention in China were able to wander inside the new Rose Museum, which opened its doors for the first time. Built by NEXT Architects, the building embodies the beauty of rose cultivation, which dates to the 11th century B.C. in China. The pattern of flowers are cut from the stainless steel façade. A surrounding park featured 2,000 species of roses during the convention.
2. A.I.-Powered Toy
Cozmo is an artificially intelligent toy robot that recognizes faces and mimics emotions. It was designed by San Francisco start-up Anki and comes with a software development kit that lets anyone adjust the program to make the robot perform different tasks.
3. Quadricycle
This pedal-assist quadricycle goes 15.5 miles per hour and has a convertible roof to protect riders from the rain. Although it has four wheels, it’s still narrow enough to ride on a bike path.
4. Wider Airplane Seats
Waistlines are getting wider and commercial airline seats are getting smaller. But Canada-based Bombardier’s new C-Series CS100 could alleviate the squeeze. The window and aisle seats are 18.5 inches wide, while the middle seat is 19-inches wide. For a comparison, the Airbus A319 has 18-inch seats and the Boeing 737 has 17.3-inch seats.
5. Spokeless Bikes
There are a lot of cool features on this spokeless bike called the Cyclotron. The bike’s solid polymer airless tires never go flat. At night, the rim lights up, illuminating the path. The derailer and chain are completely enclosed, protecting them from the elements and the bike comes in a 12- and 18-speed manual option as well as an electronic option. The Cyclo App connects to the bike via Bluetooth, collecting data such as cadence and time to power, speed and calories burned.
6. Marine Microscope
For the first time, marine scientists are able to see the tiny lives of corals extremely close-up, thanks to an imaging system developed by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego. The instrument is able to focus on microscopic objects with micrometer resolution, make it possible to image and study reef micro-organisms without disturbing or harming them.
7. Robotic Arm Goes on Sale
This robotic prosthetic device named LUKE got FDA approval in 2014 and will be the first of its kind to be sold on commercial markets. LUKE, which stands for Life Under Kinetic Evolution, translates signals from a patient’s muscles into complex motion. Developer Mobius Bionics is accepting names of people interested in owning the device.
8. Robot Walks in Sneakers
DURUS could be the most efficient walking bipedal robot ever. It was developed by researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology to walk just like a person. In the video, the life-like gait is clear. DURUS’ legs and chest are upright and it lands on its feet heel first, rolling through the step to push off on the toe. In its pair of size-13 shoes, it has a certain swagger that only a confident robot could have.
9. AeroMobil Unveils Latest Design
In Brussels, flying car maker AeroMobil unveiled the latest version of its futuristic vehicle. AeroMobil 3 is designed to drive on roads as well as fly in the air. CEO Juraj Vaculik told the crowd that the car will go on sale in 2017.
10. Cattle-Herding Robot
Swagbot is working the back 40 like a champion rustler. It was developed by researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia and can herd cows, tow heavy trailers, and traverse rugged terrain. Ye-haw, watch him go.
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