nmtinnovation-blog

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This feed is changing

Tumblrers,

We're replacing this Innovation blog and its RSS feed with something big.

We'll continue to cover amazing innovations inside our other feed, NEW MEDIA TRENDS Techno at http://nmttechno.tumblr.com and at the main NEW MEDIA TRENDS blog at http://newmediatrends.tumblr.com.

In place of this feed, in the coming weeks, we will introduce a whole new feed devoted to bringing you Continuing Coverage of ongoing news events. You're going to love it.

Just a reminder: NEW MEDIA TRENDS also has dedicated Business and Politics blogs, each assembled from the perspective of new-media communications. You can also follow us on Twitter @newmediatrends, which boasts updates from the blog, plus bonus links to important stories not on the blog.

Innovatively yours, Christopher Lacroix, Producer, NEW MEDIA TRENDS

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Robots sweat, feel and get teeth pulled

#robot

NEW MEDIA TRENDS' Christopher Lacroix reports

A series of innovations is turning the robotics industry on to sensual, new systems.

An English researcher has invented a robot that's just the pits:

Image: News.com.au

Kevin Grennan invented an animatronic armpit that sweats and stinks. Grennan says he invented the underarm in an attempt to use scent to better allow humans to relate to androids.

Technical University Munich scientists are focusing on much more skin; they've given robots the sense of touch:

A coating of interconnected, hexagonal plates with infrared sensors detects close proximity. The ability allows robots to tell when they've run into an obstacle and to stop and examine it.

There is, of course, no pain like tooth pain:

Japan's Showa University has developed a remarkably lifelike humanoid dental patient named Showa Hanako 2. Hanako wiggles her head, gets tired and even has conversations with tooth docs in training in that open-mouth language only dentists understand. An expert from a sex-toy company was brought in to refine her skin, tongue and mouth.

Finally, robots can sweat and feel the pain of the orthodontist's drill.

PCWorld: http://goo.gl/ddW0K Gizmag: http://goo.gl/lXQCF News.com.au: http://goo.gl/5UvYt

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#android

Infographic - Android Showdown: Bionic vs. Galaxy S II

Click image to enlarge.

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Follow @NewMediaTrends for re-tweets on matters that are important to new-media communication.

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Though the introduction of graphic warning labels on cigarette packs has resulted in some positive results (in Canada, for example, youth smoking rates declined after 2001, when picture-based health warnings were added to cigarette packs), (The University of Waterloo’s David) Hammond cautions, “there is no reliable way to attribute these changes specifically to the warnings rather than other tobacco control measures.”

So why have more than 30 countries followed Canada’s lead in adopting the graphic warnings? Well, they work on some people, and some is better than none, says Hammond. “When you speak to 1,000 or 2,000 smokers that you randomly sample, you get about a third who say they aren’t going to have an impact. And you get three out of ten who say these labels do have an impact. When it’s 30 per cent of almost five million people, that’s huge.”

Click image to enlarge Image: Jennifer Lee

They also reach children, and those who are illiterate or who don’t speak either official language. “We know a third of former smokers say the warnings help them to stay [non-smokers] by providing a reminder,” added Hammond. And they also don’t cost very much. According to Michael Chaiton, assistant professor in Tobacco and Public Health Dalla Lana School of Public Health University of Toronto Ontario Tobacco Research Unit, “Money for labeling is marginal compared to other spending.” News reports about leaked Health Canada documents said that the new labels for packs in Canada cost $3.6 million.-M

Maclean's: http://goo.gl/jh5ax

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The Army says the use of smart-phone devices such as an Android or iPhone leads to an increase in “SPOT” reports, wherein Soldiers share tactically relevant information across the force in real-time, service officials said.

Through a series of ongoing evaluations called “Connecting Soldiers to Digital Apps” — an initiative which places smart phones and PDA-like devices in the hands of Soldiers in mock combat operational scenarios — Army officials are learning that sharing data, images and even video instantaneously can potentially provide a tactical advantage on the battlefield….

Soldiers that went through mock-combat exercises with mobile smart devices achieved as much as a 40-percent increase in “SPOT” reporting, which included taking photographs and sharing data within their formation.-U

Telus to drop roaming rate

Canadian telecom giant Telus will slash international roaming data rates by 60 per cent, the company said today, one week after an OECD report said such rates in Canada were among the world’s most expensive.

In a release, Telus announce the cuts, which will be effective June 27. Voice service rates will drop to $1.50 a minute in Western Europe, Mexico and Oceania, and $2.50 in other countries.

Vancouver Sun: http://goo.gl/AVDJM

U.S. Army: http://goo.gl/bd0By

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#toy #car

Fastest toy on Earth

The Schumacher Mi3 set the world record for being the fastest remote-controlled car on the planet, doing so after posting a staggering top speed of 260 kilemeters per hour or 161.76 miles per hour. It may not be parked under too many Christmas trees this holiday season, however, with a price tag of $4,000 (U.S.).

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LED backlighting is a "below average driver" of purchases, (research firm Display Search) said. The higher cost of LED-backlit sets was a determining factor in that decision. Urban China and Russia were the only two spots around the world where consumers would consider LED backlighting an "above average driver" of purchases.

It's a similar story with 3D. DisplaySearch said that the general lack of compelling 3D content is causing consumers to balk at the idea of buying a new television for the sole purpose of viewing content in the third dimension. The researchers were especially surprised to find that Japanese consumers, who DisplaySearch said have long been willing to adopt new technologies before much of the rest of the world, have viewed 3D "as a relatively unimportant factor when deciding to buy a new TV."

Image: Dominic Alves

Last year, Deloitte unveiled its own study that found 83 percent of consumers didn't believe 3D would be enough to make them want to buy a new television. The research firm also found that 60 percent of respondents wouldn't be willing to pay extra for a set that offered 3D viewing.-C

Cnet: http://goo.gl/ig96l

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#stanleycup #nhl #canucks

Vancouver players wear wrist bands designed to take measurements when they sleep, determining how they're sleeping, if they're in a deep sleep or a light sleep. Fatigue Science then runs the data through its software to advise the Canucks on the best approach to travel, practice, eating habits and even determining who should room with who in the hotel.

"They look at all the guys, how they're sleeping, and it shows if you should stay over in a city or fly right after the game," Daniel Sedin told NHL.com. "It works especially if you've been on a four- or five-game road trip. It really decides if we're going to stay over and fly the next day, or fly right after the game."

Image: Mister Leung

The Canucks decided to fly out of Vancouver at 10 a.m. PT Sunday, whereas the Bruins left two hours earlier. Daniel Sedin believes that extra two hours of sleep are an advantage to the Canucks.-V

Vancouver Canucks: http://goo.gl/o1H1R

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#electricity #energy #power #green

An American researcher has devised a way to get solar rays from space to the Earth for electricity so cheaply, it could put an end to dirty coal power.

The key is this monster, the Reaction Engine Skylon, an unmanned rocket that promises to reduce the cost of going into orbit to less than a third of what it is now. Party in space? Well, it still costs $1.5 million (U.S.). But, for a hydro project, that's not too bad.

The rocket puts solar collectors into orbit. The collectors are strapped with giant "lazers". These "lazers" are beamed to Earth and caught in super-targeted receivers. The receivers convert it into power. The power powers your computer so you can visit NEW MEDIA TRENDS.

Image: Debs

With some accounting magic called amortization, the project would generate electricity at two cents per kilowatt hour. While the method is set in a detailed report, there is no word yet on any company interested in taking the leap.

amortization - (1.) the reduction of the value of an asset by prorating its cost over a period of years; (2.) payment of an obligation in a series of installments or transfers. Princeton

The Oil Drum: http://goo.gl/sXXEC

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#space

Video: Orbiting the Earth on a budget

A rocket built by a group of Danish space enthusiasts has successfully launched on a short flight high above its sea-based launch platform.

The non-profit organisation Copenhagen Suborbitals built the rocket for around £42,000. They hope to eventually fly a human on a suborbital flight to space using a beefed-up version of the rocket, which is just big enough for one person....

Abort! Abort!

The rocket reached an altitude of only 2 kilometres, well short of the intended 16 kilometres. Kristian von Bengtson of Copenhagen Suborbitals says he shut down the rocket's engine by remote control after it started veering off to one side.-N

New Scientist: http://goo.gl/3OuBh

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#flight #travel

Called the Gander Automated Air Traffic System Plus, or GAATS+, the system’s high degree of automation and integration allows the current 10-minute longitudinal separation standard between same-speed planes in non-radar airspace to be cut in half, to five minutes. That’s equivalent to a much closer 50-mile separation for eastbound planes 40 miles for westbound ones, opening the possibility for far more planes to exploit the most efficient routes. It also allows for earlier climbs to higher, more fuel-efficient altitudes and easier transitions from one flight level to another. The system was commissioned April 14.

Image - A U.S. Naval air traffic control centre

About 60 per cent of trans-Atlantic jets are equipped with the latest GPS position-reporting and text-based communications avionics to take advantage of GAATS+.

Nav Canada estimates the technology will save client airlines $1 million in fuel costs in the first year and reduce engine emissions by 3,000 metric tonnes.-O More >

If you can see this, your browser doesn't understand IFRAME. However, we'll still link you to the file.

Ottawa Citizen: http://goo.gl/8nfFU Nav Canada: http://goo.gl/zWNfO

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#utopia #friedman

Milton Friedman's grandson Patri will build his own country 12 miles off the San Francisco coast, then float it down maybe near San Diego. He calls it Seastead.

His utopia will be free-market and residents will form governments that he'll pit against each other.

Image: Hannu Makarainen

He will offer a preview with an AquaDome and Giant, Floating, Tilting Labyrinth Board Game (that's its name) at a seasteading festival in Frisco.

Pay Pal co-founder Peter Thiel gave him $2 million toward his dream, so construction starts in 2012.

Image: Seasteading Institute

San Francisco Chronicle: http://goo.gl/R63fi

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#Windows8 #microsoft

Video: Windows 8

Microsoft has pulled the curtain back on Windows 8. And it's a game changer. The new operating system is unlike any Windows you've ever seen -- except, in a way, on your smart phone.

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Computerized food

NutriSmart hopes the public will eat up its concept that embeds RFID tags into food. The product works with an electronic plate reader and send information to a computer program. The program tells you anything you want to know about what you're eating, including any ingredients, to which you might be allergic.

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#police #cops

Video: LAPD's new high-tech cruiser

The Los Angeles Police Department's new Chevrolet Caprice cruiser comes outfitted with night-vision, infrared camera that can pick out a suspect's footprints in the dark.