Posts from Coolest Gadgets for 11/04/2012

The latest and coolest gadgets daily digest Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Nov 04, 2012 06:00 am | Edwin Robotic ankle makes a splash Have you ever wondered whether we will be able to reach the level of medical advancement such as found in I, Robot and the Star Wars universe? Body parts that are replaced with bionic segments which not only offer the ability to function in an even more efficient manner compared to the original, and yet is far longer lasting. Perhaps mankind has just taken another step closer to such an age, where research engineers over at Vrije Universiteit Brussel have managed to develop a new powered transtibial prosthesis that is capable of mimicking natural ankle movement, while ensuring that it uses energy in an efficient manner. Rather they relying on powerful motors which start and stop with every step, this particular new system will run a small electrical motor non-stop, ensuring that it keeps stretching a rubber band, which will result in energy that the bionic foot can use as a source of motive power. Through the act of lowering the overall energy requirement of prostheses, this means that you need not use more batteries, and smaller batteries are always a good thing as it ensures that the overall weight of the device remains lowered. Not only that, being smaller would mean it is more quiet, while more efficient motors also help simplify design as well as implementation purposes. Called the AMP-Foot 2.0, it relies on a spring that is called the plantar flexion (PF) spring, helping accumulate energy from the dorsiflexion phase of stance while the actuator is actually injecting energy into another spring, where the latter is known as the push-off (PO) spring – and that happens during the complete stance phase. A locking system will see energy stashed in the PO spring, before heel off (HO) occurs, which remains within the system for a release so that a push-off can happen. We do wonder just how much something like this is going to cost when it becomes publicly available. Press Release [ Robotic ankle makes a splash copyright by Coolest Gadgets ] Read More Nov 04, 2012 05:43 am | Edwin OLED glasses are controlled by your eyes Google's Project Glass is certainly one consumer electronics idea that might just take off in a big way – assuming that the price is right, of course, and the use of it resonates among the masses. Well, here we are with a pair of futuristic looking glasses to boot – I'm referring to the OLED glasses that hail from the Fraunhofer Center for Organics, Materials and Electronic Devices Dresden (COMEDD). Scientists at COMEDD have managed to successfully develop glasses which enable the wearer to virtually flip pages on a digital document – without the need for the actual movement of one's hands. Yes sir, non-physical manipulation of a digital book does sound like a decent idea, especially for mechanics referring to a highly technical manual while ensuring their greasy hands do not stain anything else, concentrating instead on loosening or tightening that one particular bolt. This particular pair of glasses, however, is not intended just for mechanics alone, but also targets technicians, surgeons, and basically anyone else who require a hands-free document navigation experience. Within the lenses lie a combination of photodiodes and OLED pixels, where the former will function as a camera, helping register the direction of the wearer's eye movements, while the OLED pixels will work together in order to form a display which is overlaid on the view via the glasses. While you are busy occupied with a particular task at hand, you will still be able to read up on the next step without any worries. Assuming you look up "as if at the horizon," your eyes will be greeted by the document which is displayed as though it is being projected at a size of about one meter (3.3 feet) right in front of you. Just to turn pages, all you need to do is just glance at an arrow within the display itself. This is different compared to the Project Glass from Google that require you to tilt your head to control the display. Not only that, the chip inside the Fraunhofer glasses lets you send and receive information simultaneously, in a wireless manner to boot. Source [ OLED glasses are controlled by your eyes copyright by Coolest Gadgets ] Read More In This Issue Robotic ankle makes a splash OLED glasses are controlled by your eyes Recent Stories Executive Motherboard Desk Clock Motion Activated Talking Yoda Sentry Comfortably Light Your Way Watch an iPad Mini Strip Show High Tech for the Slopes

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