Portable fat breathalyzer indicates if you’re burning fat

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The portable prototype that detects if you're burning fat by analyzing your breath (Photo: NTT DOCOMO)

rtage of breathalyzers capable of detecting if you’ve had one too many drinks, a prototype device developed by researchers at NTT DOCOMO Research Laboratories analyzes your breath to detect if your body is burning fat. Besides letting users know if that exercise regime is actually shedding some pounds, its creators say the portable sensor could be helpful for diabetics and those trying to lose weight manage their daily diet. Rather than detecting exhaled fat particles, the device detects the levels of acetone on one’s breath. Although primarily produced in the blood when fat is broken down, acetone is also expelled through alveoli in the lungs and is therefore present in exhaled breath, making it a good indicator of when the body has begun to break down fat.
The device, which is 10 cm (4 in) long, weighs 125 g (4.4 oz) and is powered by two AA batteries, features a pressure sensor to detect when someone breathes into it, and two types of semiconductor-based gas sensors that are capable of detecting acetone concentrations of 0.2 to 50 parts-per-million. After detecting the exhaled breath, the device calculates the acetone concentration levels and transmits the results, either via cable or Bluetooth, to a smartphone within 10 seconds.
To test the device, the researchers enlisted 11 men and six women volunteers. All were healthy but had body mass indexes (BMIs) above the Japanese average. The volunteers were split into three groups with the first carrying on their normal routine without any calorie restrictions or exercise requirements.
The second group was required to perform 30 to 60 minutes of light exercise, such as jogging or fast walking, per day without any calorie restriction, while the third group had their daily calorie intake restricted while carrying out the same exercise routine as the second group.
Each day before breakfast for a period of 14 days, all volunteers measured their body weight, body fat percentage and breath acetone concentrations. In addition to using the prototype device to measure the acetone concentrations, a standard measuring instrument was used for comparison.
The results showed that the breath acetone concentrations remained constant for those in the first two groups who were not able to lose significant amounts of fat, while the volunteers in the third group showed a significant increase in their breath acetone concentrations and were able to lose “significant amounts of fat.”
“Because obesity increases the risk of lifestyle-related illnesses, enabling users to monitor the state of fat burning could play a pivotal role in daily diet management,” says Satoshi Hiyama, principal investigator of the study. “Current standard methods, however, are still not practically suitable for point-of-care instrumentation for diet-conscious people who wish to monitor their own fat metabolism at home or outside.”

One Wybelenna home is for the birds

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Located in Brisbane, Australia, One Wybelenna is a luxurious property designed to achieve a high level of sustainability – as evidenced by its turf roof which not only provides insulation but also serves as home for a local species of bird. The stone cottage, originally designed by Australian architect Robin Gibson, was recently extensively renovated by Shaun Lockyer Architects with striking results.

During the renovation, Shaun Lockyer Architects made full use of all available stone from the cottage which previously occupied the plot, and One Wybelenna's guesthouse is actually built upon the basic dimensions of the former dwelling.
The main building is rather more ambitious however, and is heavily influenced by late Australian architect Richard Neutra. This certainly shows, and One Wybelenna bears more than a passing resemblance to the iconic Californian Kaufmann Desert House that is amongst Neutra's most recognized works.

One Wybelenna measures 1,012 sq m (3,320 sq ft), and was constructed with a view to being as environmentally friendly as possible, as per the client's wishes. A 140,000-liter (37,000 US gallon) swimming pool was retained from the original property and repurposed as a water tank (a new pool was also installed), and 300 new trees were planted during the build.
In addition, the property was designed with some thought to passive cooling, taking into a account the northern sun and prevailing wind patterns. Low-e (or low emissivity) glass has been used to reduce the sun's heating effect on the home, and thick stone walls help to maintain a steady temperature. Cross-ventilation also features throughout the property.
Solar panels produce 15 kW of electricity, and the home was built in part using recycled timber. Perhaps the most charming green feature though, is the turf roof which serves not only as insulation, but also as home to a family of local plover birds.

2013 Nexus 7 vs. iPad mini

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If you're shopping for a smallish tablet, we wouldn't blame you for narrowing it down to the iPad mini and Google's new Nexus 7. But how do you choose between the two? Let Gizmag lend a hand, as we compare the specs (and other features) of the two mini-tablets.

Size

The two tablets are roughly the same height, but are proportioned differently. The new Nexus 7 is 16 percent narrower than the iPad mini. The Google/Asus tablet is also a bit thicker, by 21 percent.

Weight

That narrower build helps the 2nd-gen Nexus 7 to tip the scales at 6 percent lighter than the iPad mini.
If you look at weight relative to surface area, though, the iPad mini actually comes in at about eight percent lighter. So it's possible the iPad mini will, in a sense, feel lighter in hand.

Build

Like the original Nexus 7, the new model sports a plastic construction. The updated tablet does skip out on the rubbery backing of the 2012 model though: this one has a smooth matte finish.
The iPad mini is made of Apple's favorite, anodized aluminum.

MagBak just might be the world's thinnest iPad mount

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Mounts for iPad are thick on the ground, but the creators of MagBak are looking to stand out from the crowd with a slimmed down approach to attaching the tablet to any surface that also keeps the Smart Cover closed and provides a convenient grip. In fact, the MagBak so thin, it doesn't even look like it's meant to mount an iPad at all, which is exactly what the designers were aiming for.
The MagBak is basically two silicone-coated magnets that attach directly to the back of the iPad. These allow the device to be attached to almost anything made of metal. For other surfaces, a metal O-ring with 3M adhesive backing is included.
The magnets will also hold the Apple Smart Cover open and prevent it from flapping around while the device is in hand. They are also coated in silicone, which should make the iPad easier to carry around, and keep it from sliding on smooth surfaces. Additionally, the 0.5mm thick pads keep the back of the iPad slightly elevated, providing a little protection.

Survival Shovel: "Multi-tool on steroids" delivers a dozen functions 0 inShare

Multi-tools have come a long way. At one time they were simply pocket knives with a handful of other functions. Today they're tooled smartphone cases, multifunctional snowboards, bike-specific Swiss Army tools and bottle-opening wallets. The Survival Multi-Tool Shovel from AceCamp is advertised as a multi-tool on steroids thanks to a design that incorporates wilderness essentials like a hatchet, shovel, compass and bottle opener.
We first ran into AceCamp a year ago at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, where it was showing a plastic firestarter called the FlameStick. For this year's Summer Market, AceCamp is showing a larger line of survival hardware, which includes the Survival Multi-Tool Shovel.

The 11.4-oz (312-g) Survival shovel appears to be an average folding shovel, good for digging a wilderness toilet or firepit. What makes this one different from the rest of the folding shovels you find at outdoor superstores is its 11 additional functions. Look closely and you'll see that the shovel packs more than just the usual blade – on one side is a saw blade, and on the other, a hatchet blade. The shovel blade also has a hammer, nail puller, wrench and bottle opener.
Those functions are enough to push the AceCamp's shovel past nearly any other shovel in the function department, and that's just on the outside. Remove the compass cap on the bottom of the handle and a small knife blade, fishing line and hooks, and matches fall out. So this shovel not only digs you a fire pit, it cuts the wood, starts the fire, catches the fish to fry over that fire, and pops your beer while that fish sizzles. Cutting wood and fishing might be a little awkward with the shovel's hardware, but at least you can give it a go.

Leap Motion controller released at last

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Leap Motion has just released it motion sensor, and launched its AirSpace app store

Hot on the heels of the Leap Motion Controller, which began shipping last week, Leap Motion has released the accompanying software. The software allows people to control their computers with natural movements, detecting both hand and finger movements. In addition, the company launched its Airspace store which includes apps specifically designed for use with the device.
The apps available on the Airspace Store are designed for the motion sensor technology. The store currently has more than 75 free and paid apps that cover a broad range of categories, from educational apps to (of course) plenty of games. More apps are expected and the collection should grow as more developers are brought on board. You'll need a fairly modern Mac or PC for the Leap Motion Controller to work. It requires a Mac capable of running OS X 10.7 or higher, or a PC with an Intel Core i3, AMD Phenom II, 2 GB of RAM and Windows 7 or 8. Apparently it won't just be for desktops either. The computer maker ASUS is partnering with the company to embed the sensor in high-end laptops and All-in-One (AIO) systems.

This looks like some exciting technology, even if it is a version 1.0 product. The company co-founder claims the sensor can track movement in both hands and all fingers with up to 1/100th millimeter accuracy with no noticeable latency.
If you didn't pre-order, the device is available to purchase on the Leap Motion website for US$79.99. Beginning July 28th, the Leap Motion Controllers will be in Best Buy stores in the US and also available in the UK from Amazon.
A demo of the technology can be seen in the video below.

MagPen offers a new take on the stylus

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The MagPen contains a magnet which is detected by the phone's existing

The humble smartphone stylus may soon be gaining new features, thanks to a seemingly simple piece of technology. Developed by Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) PhD student Sungjae Hwang, the MagPen is essentially just a plastic tube covered in conductive tape, with conductive rubber tips at either end and a coin-shaped magnet inserted half-way down its length. Via a custom app, however, magnetometers already present in the phone are able to determine where that magnet is in relation to the screen, and respond with a variety of drawing and writing functions.
Any existing smartphone or tablet should be compatible, as long as it already contains the magnetometers and associated electronics that most such devices use as a compass.
By sensing the proximity of the pen's magnet, the magnetometer-enabled app is able to tell not only how close the pen is to the screen, but also where its tip is on the screen, the angle at which it’s being held, and even the amount of finger pressure that’s being exerted on the glass. Different “ink” colors can even be chosen by going off the screen, and dragging the pen’s tip across the phone’s frame.

Because the app can differentiate between the magnetic qualities of multiple MagPens, users could alternately change colors by using different pens.
The app can also tell when the magnet (and thus the pen) has been spun around, by detecting which pole is closest to the phone. This allows for extra functionality, letting one end of the pen be used for writing and the other for erasing, as an example. In another mode, turning the pen around allows users to change between different line widths – this can also be done simply by pressing harder when drawing. In fact, the pen can be spun in three different fashions, each of which allows the user to access different functions.

NapAnywhere: A flat-out new take on the neck pillow

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The NapAnywhere is designed to help commuters sleep anywhere

or a long flight, and you just can't seem to get your head to stay upright so you can get a few hours of sleep to pass the time. The fact is, airplane seats aren't built for comfortable sleeping. A new product called NapAnywhere is designed to rectify the situation by supporting your head and allowing you to sleep comfortably, even while sitting straight up. If you've ever been to an airport, you've probably seen some neck pillows designed to help support your head while you slumber. According to its creator Ravi Shamaiengar, these were his inspiration for the NapAnywhere. "Like many, I would use a U-shaped neck pillow. Unfortunately, the support I needed just wasn't there," he said. So, he sought to design one that actually had the support he desired.
NapAnywhere starts as a flat disc. Once opened, the top of the pillow forms a shelf where the user rests his or her head while sleeping. The bottom curves over the user's shoulder. The area in between is what allows the weight to be distributed around the shoulder, and thus what prevents the head from drooping, which could lead to neck cramps or an annoyed neighbor. The video below demonstrates using the NapAnywhere.
The pillow also comes with an adjustable strap, which exists to help hold everything in place while sleeping.
Each side uses two different materials. The top uses material that is warm to the touch, and the other side feels cool, which could add a little bit of extra comfort to those difficult sleeping locations. It only weighs 8 oz (230 g), and it folds flat, so carrying it around should not be an issue.
Ravi Shamaiengar is seeking funding for his NapAnywhere on Kickstarter. The minimum pledge required to receive a pilloe is US$39 while the remainder of the early bird specials are available. Once those sell through, the price jumps to $44.
The Kickstarter pitch below provides more information.

SmartPlayhouse: When wendy houses and contemporary architecture collid

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SmartPlayhouse's Illinois model

Joking aside (thank goodness; signing off – Ed), the SmartPlayhouse is precisely that: a place for children aged 2 to 10 to be left alone to play and have fun. There are four outdoor designs to choose from, named Casaforum, Illinois, Kyoto and Hobikken, the last two of which are also available as indoor models.

The Hobikken (top left), Casaforum (top right), Kyoto (two-story model, bottom left), and Illinois (bottom right)

SmartPlayhouse claims that the outdoor houses are built with high quality weather-resistant materials that should stand the test of time (and small stamping feet). To protect against the elements, doors and windows are sealed, and the whole house raised above the ground.
SmartPlayhouse has thought hard about safety. Windows are acrylic, and doors and windows shut using magnets. Standard versions come without locks, though outside of the US, a lock can be added as an option. It can only be secured from the outside.

In Orbit art installation offers spidery spacewalk experience

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Between the nets, six inflatable PVC spheres up to 8.5 m (30 ft) in diameter, divide the space and allow visitors to move freely (Image: Studio Tomás Saraceno ovides 2,500 sq m (27,000 sq ft) of steel wire safety nets stretched between three different levels below the glass cupola of the piazza. Between the nets, six inflatable PVC spheres up to 8.5 m (30 ft) in diameter divide the space and allow visitors to move freely around each "net" floor.

"To describe the work means to describe the people who use it – and their emotions," explains Tomás Saraceno. "For me, the work visualizes the space-time continuum, the three-dimensional web of a spider, the ramifications of tissue in the brain, dark matter, or the structure of the universe. With ‘in orbit,’ proportions enter into new relationships; human bodies become planets, molecules, or social black holes."

In the three years of planning for the installation, Saraceno consulted with engineers, architects, and spider experts (arachnologists). Saraceno has also established a study of living spiders and their delicate web formation in the artist's room of the gallery's K21 Ständehaus building to inform the design process. Saraceno has created a formidable web as a result of these studies, the net structure alone weighs 3000 kg (6,600 lb), and the largest of the spheres weighs 300 kg (660 lb).

New screen tech displays clear 2D and 3D images at once

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Like her mittens, the 3D glasses might one day be optional (Photo:University of California Santa Cruz have developed a 3D display which can also be viewed in 2D without glasses, and without the blurred effect caused by overlapping images. Though, as you'd expect, the screen displays both left and right images, it also emits a mysterious third image which is the key to the technology.

Regardless of whether active or passive 3D technology is at work, glasses-based 3D televisions rely on those glasses to selectively show each eye one of two pictures displayed on the screen. Because the two images are shot from slightly different perspectives (mimicking the slightly different views we'd see with each eye), our brain is able to put the two images together, creating the three-dimensional effect. But without glasses, both eyes see both pictures at once, creating the blurred effect that renders glasses-based 3D pictures all but unwatchable without the appropriate eyewear.
Not so UCSC's new technology, which cleverly uses a third image which remains apparently unseen to viewers, whether or not they're wearing 3D specs. Viewers without glasses will only see the left image because the right is cancelled out by the third, which is an exact negative of the right. 3D glasses mask the third image altogether.
The technology isn't perfect because it compromises the available contrast to 2D viewers and so, as a compromise, the researchers show 3D viewers a dimmer image to the right eye and a brighter image to the left. According to a UCSC press release, the researchers found that brightness ratios between 20 and 60 percent were "acceptable" to viewers of both 2D and 3D pictures.
The researchers' prototype was "built" using an ordinary 3D projector, with the negative image overlaid using a separate 2D projector. The researchers used active 3D glasses, in which shutters in the left and right eye open and close in sync with the on-screen images, creating the 3D effect. The synchronization additionally meant that the the 2D negative of the right image remained unseen by glasses wearers.
UCSC student Jing Liu is looking into the possibility of commercializing the technology.

Miniaturized butane fuel cell system enables new USB battery charger

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The Nectar fuel cell-powered USB charger converts butane into electricity

Burning fuel results in a good deal of heat. While this is a useful property, small amounts of heat are very difficult to efficiently convert into electrical energy. This is where fuel cells enter the picture. In the simple example shown below, a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) similar to that in the Nectar takes in hydrogen and oxygen, and produces electricity and water. Where does the electricity come from? Let's track the reactions taking place in the fuel cell.

We provide the fuel cell with hydrogen gas on the anode side and oxygen (usually the oxygen in air) on the cathode side. In the cathode, the oxygen molecule splits apart and doubly charged negative oxygen ions are formed. The electrons needed to form the oxygen ions come from the anode of the cell through an electrical load. Those electrons are released in the anode by the reaction of the hydrogen fuel with the oxygen ions to form water.
The role of the electrolyte here is key as it allows the oxygen ions to easily pass between the cathode and the anode, but blocks electrons from passing. This forces these electrons to pass through the external electrical load, where their energy can do work. In the end, the properties of the electrolyte allow a fuel cell to generate electricity. A typical electrolyte for an SOFC is ceramic, a common example of which is yttrium-stabilized zirconia (YSZ).
Fuel cells typically provide less than a volt of electric potential. In the basic reaction for an H₂O₂ fuel cell, an oxygen ion, a hydrogen molecule, and two electrons react to form a molecule of water. The overall energy from burning a single molecule of hydrogen to form water divided by the charge of a pair of electrons is the theoretical maximum voltage of the fuel cell, which is about 1.23 eV in this case. However, in practice and under load the actual voltage is 0.7 to 0.8 V owing to a number of inefficiencies dwelling within a practical fuel cell.

In developing the Nectar, the team at Lilliputian Systems decided to use the highest energy density fuels, reaction conditions that give the highest possible system efficiency, and to make a fuel cell of large energy density, so that the Nectar beats the performance of a battery in the real world. They chose butane as a fuel, a SOFC design, and to minimize system size by using MEMS manufacturing techniques. None of these selections lead toward simple engineering problems.

Lightning's Electric Superbike takes 2013 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

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Carlin Dunne takes his Lightning Electric Superbike up Pikes Peak (Photo:

The Lightning Motorcycle Electric Superbike seems to collect records as easily as falling off a log. It holds the current world records for fastest production motorcycle (189.086 mph / 304.304 km/h), and in a tweaked version for fastest electric motorcycle (215.960 mph / 374.554 km/h). While setting this latter record, the equivalent fuel mileage was still better than 50 mpg. Now it also holds the record for fastest ascent of Pikes Peak by an electric motorcycle. More importantly, it is the first electric motorcycle to win over a field of gas-powered motorcycles.
Carlin Dunne, who rode the Superbike to two-wheel victory at Pikes Peak this year, is no stranger to records himself. He has now won the Pikes Peak climb three years in a row, and owns the all-time record of nine minutes and 52.819 seconds for his performance in 2012 on a Ducati Multistrada 1200.

Of course, the Pikes Peak Climb is ideally suited to electric bikes. It takes place at altitudes that make regular gasoline engines cough and wheeze. But as the twists and turns of the course are a bit more difficult on a bike with a battery pack weighing about 250 pounds (110 kg), what the Superbike wins in the straights might be lost in the roundabouts. But not this year.
The Electric Superbike boasts an amazing set of specs. The motor is an internal permanent magnet Remy HVH250, an oil-cooled electric topping out at 10,000 rpm that pumps out in excess of 125 hp (92 kW). The exact value isn't specified, and the HVH250 can put out 230 hp (170 kW) at higher voltage than used in the Superbike. The basic Superbike comes with a lithium-ion battery pack that holds 12 kWh of energy at 370 volts, but a larger pack can be chosen. The total weight of the bike is just under 500 pounds.
Lightning claims 0 - 100 mph (160 km/h) time of 3 seconds, and acceleration from 100 mph to top speed (166 mph for the basic Superbike) in less than ten seconds.

The Superbike uses a monocoque design by Glenn Kerr, wherein the battery pack and motor serve a dual function as the primary stressed elements of the chassis, a design whose equivalent appears in most large gas-powered bikes. The swingarm of the Superbike is directly connected to the rear of the motor.
Lightning's Superbike is equipped with user-programmable regenerative braking, allowing the batteries to be charged whenever the throttle is closed and the brakes applied. The effect on the ride is said to closely replicate the engine braking effect characteristic of gas-powered bikes. The programming allows the user to balance the braking between maximum range and driving style.

Peugeot targets urban commuters with AE21 Hybrid electric bike

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Peugeot's AE21 Hybrid electric bike previewed last week at the 'What's Next'

Peugeot actually began manufacturing bikes in 1882 and only branched out into internal combustion engine-powered automobiles in 1890 after dabbling with a three-wheeled steam-powered car the previous year. The car and bike divisions were split in 1926, with Cycles Peugeot building up an impressive racing heritage thanks to the sponsoring of various events and riders. In 2011, Peugeot revealed plans to revamp and relaunch the Cycles Peugeot brand in a partnership with Cycleurope.
Set to join Peugeot’s Allure line, the AE21 is a compact ebike aimed at urban commuters with a design that integrates a lithium-ion battery into the bike’s aluminum Clever Case frame. This also provides space at the center of the bike for a laptop bag and ABUS Bordo folding lock. To allow the bike to be stored against a wall, the bike also features folding handlebars and pedals.

While the bike previewed at the “Who’s Next” show last week had the electric motor located in the front wheel, a Peugeot representative told us that when the bike is commercially launched in September at the Salon Du Cycle in Paris there will be two versions: one with the wheel hub motor and another with a belt-drive motor. Both will also be offered with two, as yet undisclosed, battery capacities. The battery can be recharged while still on the bike, or removed so it can be recharged inside while the bike waits outside.

Portable SunSocket Solar Generator incorporates on-board tracking

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To get the most out of solar panels they need to be facing the right way. Systems that track the sun are often used in large solar power stations and some larger home installations, but most flat panels for portable applications just lie there. Colorado-based Aspect Solar has come up with the SunSocket Solar Generator, a lightweight, portable, self-contained solar power system consisting of a battery and solar panels that brings the advantages of automatically tracking the Sun to small applications.
On the outside, SunSocket looks a bit like something out Q’s laboratory. It’s a metal case weighing 25 lb (11.3 kg) hiding high efficiency mono-crystalline 60 Watt photovoltaic panels that charge a 20 Ah lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery that can sit idle for years. According to Aspect, it only discharges zero to two percent per month when left on its own. The entire system is self contained, needing no adapters, batteries, or cords.
So far, it seems like any other portable solar power system, but opening the lid reveals something more. Inside, there’s an expanding solar panel that slides its wings open to 44.8 in (113.7 cm). You flip up the panel, slide out the wings then, when you press the power switch, the panels automatically track the Sun. This increases performance, allowing the 250 Wh battery to fully charge in only five hours.

In addition to the panels and battery, the SunSocket also has a 100-watt inverter with universal plug, a 12-volt plug, USB plugs, charge meter, and a port for charging the battery from the mains.
In good sunlight, the SunSocket can power small devices like phones and tablets for an unlimited time and for 25 hours on battery with no sun, though as you approach the maximum output the battery is fighting a losing battle, and at a load of 100 watts in good sun it can only run for 4.2 hours with panels and battery together. One drawback to note is that the system is not weatherproof and the manufacturer warns that it should be used in dry conditions only.
The SunSocket sells for US$1,499.

On the ball: Eone debuts a tactile watch for the visually impaired

Unfortunately, there aren't many options available for the visually impaired when it comes to timepieces. While a number of talking watches and braille wristwatches with removable covers are already on the market, those often draw attention to a person's disability. That's why watchmaker Eone's debut timepiece, the Bradley, indicates the time with magnetic ball bearings that can be read subtly by touch.
Bradley Snyder, a naval officer turned paralympic swimmer who lost his eyesight after an explosion in Afghanistan, provided the inspiration and namesake for the tactile watch. The design team built the first prototype of the watch mechanism from Lego pieces and worked extensively with visually impaired testers to manufacture a functional and appealing timepiece.
Instead of the usual analog watch hands, which can lose their setting if touched, the Bradley measures the time using two ball bearings contained within special channels: one on the front for the minute and one on the side for the hour. Each bearing is held in place with a magnet connected to a precise Swiss quartz watch movement inside the body. Like most other watches, the time is set by turning the crown on the side.
To read the time, the wearer feels where the balls are located in relation to the notches on the face, which are distinguishable through different shapes and textures. Even if a person accidentally nudges the ball bearings out of place when touching them, a quick shake of the wrist will lock them back to the correct time. As an added bonus, the watch is waterproof up to 50 m (164 ft), so users can still keep track of time while showering and swimming.

The Bradley has been crafted with a minimalist design so it can be worn in almost any situation and with any outfit. The 40 mm x 11.5 mm (1.6 in x 0.5 in) body of the watch is made of durable titanium and designed to be easy to clean – an important feature for something that will be handled all day. Users will have a choice of watch bands made of either a stainless steel mesh or a combination of fabric and leather colored mustard yellow, olive green, or silver blue.
As the designers have pointed out, the Bradley was made with the visually impaired in mind, but people with full eyesight could get just as much use from a watch that can be read by hand. Aside from a distinctive style, the watch makes it easier to surreptitiously check the time in a dark movie theater or boring business meeting, for example.
Eone recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring the Bradley into mass production, which received more than double its original US$40,000 goal from backers in less than a day. The first batch of watches has already sold out, but anyone who contributes $128 or more will receive a watch from the second batch that is due to ship in December.
For now, though, check out the video below to see how the designers developed the tactile Bradley wristwatch

Crowdfunded solar-powered classroom leaves the grid

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Aaron Sebens and his class of fourth-graders from the Central Park School for Children in Durham, North Carolina hit Kickstarter back in March to try and raise enough money for their classroom to go off-grid. A rather modest target of US$800 was smashed within a day by the kindness of the international community and, at campaign end, the kids found themselves with the handsome sum of $5,817 to spend on the purchase and installation of a roof-mounted solar energy harvesting system. A wind turbine was added to the shopping list, and just two months later, the 208ers threw a huge "Flip the Switch" party to celebrate leaving the grid. Sebens reports that the classroom has been running on renewables ever since.
The original idea to power the classroom from solar came from discussions in lessons, so it will come as no surprise that the project has since been used as fodder for math, writing, and science lessons, including the design and testing of different wind turbines.
"When we raised more money than we thought, we upgraded our system substantially, more panels, more batteries, and a better inverter that is grid tie capable," says Sebens. "All of the energy is currently stored in batteries but we hope to move to grid tie eventually (it's a lot of permits, time, and paperwork). We used the rest of the money to make and ship Kickstarter rewards and to do a wind turbine engineering project. Every 4th grader designed and built their own wind turbine and we tested to see which were able to generate the most electricity."

Support for the project has come in from all corners, including a tweet from the White House that linked to the US Department of Energy video below.

Function Flashlight tries to fill a lot of shoes

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The Function Flashlight is designed to be a do-it-all portable light source

If you’re anything like me, you own a flashlight, a bike light, and a videography light. While they all emit the same sort of white(ish) LED light, their form factor can make it difficult to use one of them for another’s purpose. Vancouver-based mechanical engineer Ronald Chan, however, is hoping that his Function Flashlight will become the one and only go-to portable light source for its owners.
The water-resistant, black-anodized Function has a solid aluminum body, and its three Cree XPG2 LEDs produce up to 1,600 lumens. Buyers can also opt for Nichia 219 Hi CRI bulbs which put out a more neutral white light, but at a lower intensity.
For typical use, a simple push of its control knob turns it on and off. Once it’s on, however, that knob can be used as a dimmer switch, allowing users to turn it down as low as 10 lumens. More advanced functions, such as SOS signaling and variable-rate strobing, can be accessed by holding the knob down longer.
Besides its ability to be stood up either horizontally or vertically, the Function also features threaded tripod holes on its top and rear surfaces. Combined with one or more of the optional mounts (where necessary), these allow it to be attached to the top of a camera, the handlebars of a bicycle, a backpack strap, a Gorillapod, or various other items.

Several magnetically-attached filters are also in the works, which will let users change the color of the light, diffuse it, or turn the flashlight into more of a domed table-top lamp.
Power comes from one user-supplied 18650 lithium-ion battery, two CR123A’s, or two 18350’s. There are no hard figures provided as far as battery life goes, although we're told that it depends very much on the output setting, and the type of batteries used.
Chan’s company, Cryos Illumination, is now in the process of raising production funds on Indiegogo. A pledge of 175 CAD (US$165) will get you a Function Flashlight of your own, assuming the financial goal is met.
The light can be seen in use in the pitch video below.

Wood nanobattery could be green option for large-scale energy storage

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A closeup of the wood fibers used by the researchers in their sodium-ion battery

Li-ion batteries may be ok for your smartphone, but when it comes to large-scale energy storage, the priorities suddenly shift from compactness and cycling performance (at which Li-ion batteries excel) to low cost and environmental feasibility (in which Li-ion batteries still have much room for improvement). A new "wood battery" could allow the emerging sodium-ion battery technology to fit the bill as a long-lasting, efficient and environmentally friendly battery for large-scale energy storage.
Scientists are speculating that sodium-ion batteries, currently in an early stage of development, could suit large-scale energy storage much better than Li-ion batteries, partially because sodium is cheap and plentiful and because sodium is environmentally benign. But for Na-ion batteries to become a viable energy-storage option there are still many obstacles to overcome, the greatest of which is the phenomenon known as sodiation.
With each charge/discharge cycle, the sodium ions cause the anode of the battery to swell by as much as 420 percent and then return to normal. This phenomenon, known as sodiation, can literally pulverize the anode after only 20 cycles, rendering the battery extremely short-lived. University of Maryland (UM) researchers Liangbing Hu and Teng Li found a way around this problem.
The stiff bases often used in existing batteries are too brittle to withstand the swelling and shrinking caused by sodiation, so the researchers turned to the much softer wood fibers. These have evolved to withstand these forces extremely well as they use capillary forces to transfer the sodium ions from the soil around them to the leaves of their tree. The resulting sodium-ion battery that uses wood fibers increases durability twenty-fold compared with previous designs.

The researchers coated a sliver of wood fibers with a thin layer (10 nm) of single-walled carbon nanotubes to make it electrically conductive, and then deposited a tin film over it. The soft wood fibers effectively neutralized the strong mechanical stresses of the sodiation process: Even after charging and discharging the battery hundreds of times, the wood ended up wrinkled but remarkably intact.
"Pushing sodium ions through tin anodes often weaken the tin’s connection to its base material," said Li, an associate professor of mechanical engineering. "But the wood fibers are soft enough to serve as a mechanical buffer, and thus can accommodate tin’s changes. This is the key to our long-lasting sodium-ion batteries."
"Wood fibers that make up a tree once held mineral-rich water, and so are ideal for storing liquid electrolytes, making them not only the base but an active part of the battery," added Hu.
In their testing, the researchers measured a stable cycling performance of 400 cycles with an initial capacity of 339 mAh/g, which is a marked improvement over previous designs.
Because sodium doesn't store energy quite as efficiently as lithium, there is little chance of this technology eventually finding its way to your next-generation gadget. However, because of their low cost and use of environmentally benign common materials, sodium-ion batteries could be used to store large amounts of energy from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar.

Altair 8800 Clone: A near-empty box filled with history

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Owning a piece of computer history can be expensive and not much fun. You can buy a vintage MITS Altair 8800, one of the world’s first successful desktop computers, on eBay, but a good one will cost you over US$4,000. That’s why computer enthusiast Mike Douglas developed the Altair 8800 Clone. It’s a modern, inexpensive, functional reproduction of the historic Altair 8800 computer that uses 21st century technology to recreate a bit of computer history for hobbyists and educators.
When the MITS Altair 8800 hit the market in 1975, it was as if NASA started giving away Apollo space capsules. In those days, computers were still things that even people who worked with computers had trouble getting access to. They were large, expensive and still rare enough that you had to book time on them for even the simplest job. The MITS company of Albuquerque, New Mexico used the newly-developed Intel 8080 processor to change all that when it used the microchip as the basis for the Altair 8800, a computer that could sit on a tabletop and sold for only $621 assembled.
The computer featured on the cover of the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics wasn't the first hobby computer, but it was the first that came as a complete kit instead of list of parts or, also a first, fully assembled and tested. Exactly how many were sold isn't known, but it's estimated over 2,000 were delivered into the hands of consumers and the Altair 8800’s computer bus became the defacto industry standard.

Today, all this is surprising when a computer can be plugged in and connected to the internet in a matter of minutes of unpacking. To modern eyes, the Altair 8800 looks incomprehensible. There’s no keyboard, no monitor and the first ones didn’t even have any ports. It was just a blue and white box measuring 7 x 17 x 17.5 in (17.7 x 43.1 x 44.4 cm) with rows of switches and LED lights on the front panel marked with cryptic labels such as “HLTA” and “WO.” It ran on undiluted machine language and programming it was a long, tedious process of flipping switches to input binary code. It was also prehistoric in performance with 64 K of RAM and a CPU running at 2 MHz. Then there was the fact that assembling the kit was a long, difficult job.
Despite all this, MITS couldn’t keep up with demand and some buyers camped in the company’s car park waiting for their machines. After they got their machines assembled, the enthusiasts would then rack their brains trying to figure out what to do with the things. Meanwhile, a company called Traf-O-Data offered to write a new version of BASIC as the operating system for the Altair 8800. The partners behind Traf-O-Data went on to start an obscure software company called Microsoft.

The Altair 8800 Clone was started by Mike Douglas in 2012 when he discovered how much it would cost to buy a vintage Altair 8800. Even reproduction kits were expensive and hard to obtain, so Douglas decided to use the original data sheets and schematics to design his own replica with modern technology to emulate the original Altair 8800. The result was the Clone, which looks and acts like the original, but the inside is made of 21st century components. What started as a hobby became a business because producing things like custom casings or nameplates is only feasible when done in commercial runs.
The Clone duplicates the look, feel, features, and performance of an Altair 8800 down to the limitations and quirks, and it will run software written for the Altair 8800. This has a strong educational and nostalgia factor because, for all its historic significance, the Altair 8800 had some real design problems. The only thing the Clone can’t do is play “The Fool on the Hill” over an AM radio as an early Altair 8800 was famously programmed to do. That’s because the modern parts don’t bleed radio emissions, so they can’t be manipulated to play songs on a receiver.
The most obvious difference between the Clone and the Altair 8800 is that the former is suspiciously light. The modern components are so small compared to the original that the the power supply, circuit boards and buses have been replaced with a whole lot of nothing. At first glance, it looks like an empty box with a few wires running between the front and back panels. The case itself is an original design to emulate the Altair 8800s, though simpler inside to keep down construction costs.

VTech InnoTab 3 wants to be your kid's first tablet

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The InnoTab 3 is the latest in the series of child-friendly tablets from VTech. Designed to be a portable and affordable introduction to tablet computing, it features a 4.3-inch touchscreen, a 2-megapixel rotating camera and 2 GB of onboard memory. As with many other kids tablets, the InnoTab 3 can also be used as an eBook reader, MP3 music player, photo viewer and video player.
While we recently saw the LeapPad Ultra from LeapFrog, which offers a larger screen and better tech than previous models, the InnoTab 3 does things differently. The screen size has shrunk from the InnoTab 2 it's replacing, down from 5 to 4.3 inches, making the device more compact and lightweight. The new model also lacks the wireless connectivity of the InnoTab 2S, which will remain on sale alongside it.
However, there are some notable changes and upgrades. A new design has seen the InnoTab 3 gain a D-pad control that can be used alongside the touchscreen and will give a better experience in some games and apps. The camera, which rotates 180 degrees so that it can shoot stills or video in both directions, has been boosted from 1.3 megapixels to 2 megapixels.

A new (more pointy) stylus should make writing on the screen easier, and the 2 GB of storage can be expanded by up to 32 GB via a micro SD card slot. While the InnoTab 3 can be powered by AA batteries, a new rechargeable battery pack is also available.
There are 15 apps pre-loaded on the InnoTab 3, including educational games, eBooks, music and videos. The Learning Lodge content library, which consists of 350 more downloads, and will increase to 600 by the end of the year, means parents can add more apps via a computer. They can also use the Learning Lodge software to track their child's progress.
The InnoTab 3 will sell for US$70 when it is released later this month. That makes it $10 cheaper than the InnoTab 2, and $30 cheaper than the 2S with its Wi-Fi and larger screen.
Here's a video from VTech introducing the InnoTab 3

Solar-powered airplane completes trans-America flight

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André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard celebrate the completion of the Solar Impulse's Mission Across America at New York's JFK International Airport
the solar-powered airplane of Swiss pioneers Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg – has successfully landed at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. In so doing, it begins a new era in the history of aviation: for the first time, a plane capable of flying day and night powered exclusively by solar energy has crossed the USA from the west to the east coasts, without using a single drop of fuel.

Solar Impulse's Mission Across America began in San Francisco on May 3, and made stops in Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, St. Louis (where the plane's inflatable hangar was used for the firs time), Cincinnati and Washington D.C. The 3,511-mile (5,530-km) trip took a total of 105 hours and 41 minutes in the air, for an average speed of 33.14 mph (53.34 km/h).
The flight ended at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport on July 6 at 11:09 pm local time. The pilot for this final leg of the voyage was Borschberg, who had alternated with Piccard throughout the journey.

While Solar Impulse succeeded in finishing the cross-country flight, during the flight from Washington D.C. to New York its left wing suffered an 8-foot (2.5-m) rip in the wing fabric on the lower wing surface. Inspection by helicopter while in flight led to the conclusion that the rip was stable, and would not prevent the mission from proceeding.
After catching their collective breaths, the next set of tasks for the Solar Impulse team is to build and test the next-generation of the solar-powered aircraft. The HB-SIB will be larger and heavier, comprising a pressurized cockpit to allow cruising at altitudes up to 39,000 feet (12 km). Advanced avionics will allow the HB-SIB to safely navigate the airways on transcontinental and transoceanic flights. HB-SIB test flights are likely to begin in 2014.

Rosphere spherical robot could be rolling up for work to monitor and tend crops

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If you see what looks like a hamster ball rolling around a cornfield, it doesn’t mean that someone’s pet is incredibly lost. It may be an experimental robot developed by the Robotics and Cybernetics Research Group at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) called Rosphere. The spherical robot can propel itself over uneven ground and may one day be rolling up for work in fields to monitor and tend crops.
Spherical robots aren't new. There have been a number built over the years for use in military operations, security, and experiments in space exploration. Rosphere’s approach is to take the simplicity of the sphere to make a robot that is low cost and a bit more general purpose. Its spherical shape gives the robot the ability to handle rough terrain, yet is safe to use around humans and delicate crops.
Mechanically, the Rosphere prototype is remarkably simple. The researchers compare the robot’s “mechatronics” to a hamster ball, which it strongly resembles except for the rubber ridges on the outside and the mechanical workings inside. Like a hamster making a ball roll by running up the sides to shift the center of gravity, the Rosphere uses an eccentric pendulum rotating on an axle to roll and steer itself.
The pendulum consists of ballast hanging by an arm from the ball’s axle. This ballast incorporates the robot’s battery and the axle carries Rosphere’s Wi-Fi antennas and electronics package. The pendulum has two rotational degrees of freedom along the transverse and longitudinal axes. By controlling the pendulum’s swing, the robot can roll forward and backward and steer.

UPM sees the main application for Rosphere being in precision agriculture. That is, instead of tending crops by broadcasting pesticides and fertilizers and dealing with a field as a whole, small robots can tend the individual plants like a gardener. Robots like Rosphere would be able to move about crops without damaging them, making close-up examinations of local conditions and precisely applying pesticides and fertilizers.
Tests of Rosphere were conducted on a farm where it was put up against rough terrain and different soils while testing for moisture and other environmental variables. Afterwards, it was tested at the Parque del Retiro of Madrid to see if it could operate safely with people. According to UPM, the results have so far been satisfactory.

Sense+ turns a smartphone dock into a potential life-saver

Rather than replacing them, Sense+ is designed to work alongside household ceiling-mounted smoke alarms. This is because most ceiling-mounted smoke detectors rely on ionization smoke detection and are generally more responsive to flaming fires, while the Sense+ features a photoelectric smoke sensor that is better at detecting smoldering fires (and which doesn’t contain any radioactive material). This is coupled with a second sensor that detects carbon monoxide, a gas that causes drowsiness and makes it more difficult for people to wake up.
If the dock detects smoke or carbon monoxide, it will sound an alarm and the accompanying app will ask the user to respond. If no response is forthcoming, the app will automatically call all the numbers listed in the phone’s home call group. The app will then display an alert screen offering to call emergency services, which the user can accept or decline.

The Sense+ is powered by mains power, but if the mains power goes down it can also run off the docked device’s battery or its own built-in battery. When powered by the mains, it also acts as a charger for the connected phone. The creators say a smartphone dock is an ideal device to feature a smoke alarm as most people keep their smartphone by their bedside while sleeping. The Sense+ is also compact enough to throw in a suitcase when traveling.
While the current model is designed for the iPhone 5, it also supports the connection of other smart devices via USB. The makers also have future versions planned for Android and Windows smartphones.
The Sense+ team is currently seeking funding through Indiegogo, with a pledge of US$79 scoring an iPhone 5 compatible dock, charging cable and USB wall power adapter. If the team reaches its $150,000 goal, deliveries are expected by November.
The video pitch for the Sense+, (which was called the emergency aide during development and still bears that name on the device), can be viewed below.
Source: Indiegogo