Your's Web Tech Power Blog's: Latest Posts on Coolest Gadgets

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Latest Posts on Coolest Gadgets

Japanese technology creates a kiss over the Internet
Gadget Thumbnails for 01-May-2011
Fanbrella provides both shade and wind
Strandbeest now available on 3D printers

Japanese technology creates a kiss over the Internet

Posted: 02 May 2011 05:37 PM PDT

What we are seeing here is not a man drinking out of a large juicebox, but a project from students at Japan’s Kajimoto Laboratory at the University of Electro-Communications. It is a way of sending a kiss through the Internet.

Yes, I am telling the truth. You can watch the video after the jump if this sounds too improbable for you to believe, and I have to admit it is pretty laughable when you see the apparatus itself. It looks like someone put the bottom part of a hamster waterbottle on a box and sent it spinning.

One person on one end rotates the “straw” (for lack of a better word) with his or her tongue, and that causes the “straw” on the other side to rotate in the same direction. I am unclear how this simulates a real kiss, unless you get a lot of tongue.

Yeah, it’s really hard to talk about this without getting weird about the anatomy of kissing, and the idea of sending a kiss through the Internet makes me wonder what other bodily union that we can be engaged online. Okay, I am done touching (excuse the pun) on that issue.

I believe that the purpose of this device is to recreate a kiss from a popular entertainer. So if you want to know what it would feel like to be kissed by Lady Gaga, this could be the means to that end. Perhaps they could perfect the technology so it will actually feel like it. I don’t think I want to test it out, though.

Source

Conference Calendar – The global conference and expo finder.
[ Japanese technology creates a kiss over the Internet copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Gadget Thumbnails for 01-May-2011

Posted: 02 May 2011 10:32 AM PDT

Introducing Foolish Gadgets because not all gadgets are cool

[ Gadget Thumbnails for 01-May-2011 copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Fanbrella provides both shade and wind

Posted: 02 May 2011 04:54 PM PDT

The umbrella is one of humanity’s oldest inventions, and there is evidence of it in Ancient Egypt. I would imagine that back in Egyptian times, it didn’t get used for blocking the ran, but sunshine.

Most of the times in present-day America, the only time that I see an umbrella is when it rains. Very few Americans use them for shade, but for those that are mocked for doing so, the Fanbrella can do more than just block out the rays of the sun.

The Fanbrella keeps you cool with a built-in fan that spins at 650 rpm right underneath the canopy. This enables the user to stay cool with a handheld air conditioning, so if anyone is laughing because you’re using an umbrella for shade, then don’t let them stand underneath it.

In case you are curious, the fan blades will collapse when the umbrella is folded in. I’m sure that you also might be wondering what powers the fan blades, and it needs six AA batteries for five and a half hours of spinning.

What I don’t know is if the spinning fan blades can get caught in your hair. Usually, the frame of my umbrella catches my hair, and I would imagine that spinning fan blades might make it worse. If you’re willing to risk it, then you should be able to purchase it for about $79.95.

Source

Check out the Coolest Gadgets 2008 Gift Guides, Christmas shopping made easy.
[ Fanbrella provides both shade and wind copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Strandbeest now available on 3D printers

Posted: 02 May 2011 04:23 PM PDT

Some of you have never heard of the Strandbeest, which are creations of Theo Jansen. They are kinetic powered sculptures that appear to walk on their own. The last time we mentioned them was last year.

Standbeests can be quite large and are often made of light wood. They sound very difficult to make, but what if it is possible to make these Strandbeests from something as simple as a 3D printer?

Of course, I don’t see anything simple about 3D printing, and it’s not like all of us have a 3D printer like we have a 2D printer. You can see in the video after the jump how a giant blob is made and how it has to be chipped away into what looks like a pre-assembled toy.

So who would want this? Anyone who wants a cool toy, and it shows me another reason why 3D printers need to be cheaper. If I ever had a 3D printer, I suppose the first thing that I would do is make Lego bricks, and then make this particular Strandbeest, because they really are cool.

How cool are they? If George Lucas was still doing stop-and-go models for Star Wars movies, then something tells me the Strandbeests would be attacking a Rebel Base. They would need to have some guns on them, though.