A magic multi-tasking mirror? - interactive mirror

"Magic mirror on the wall...who's the fairest of them all..." It seems that the magic mirror of Snow White's evil queen is now a reality. A mirror that can multitask, this is an "Interactive Mirror" which turns reflective surfaces into digital drawing boards. Now dressing room and bathroom mirrors are about to get a lot more awesome. One touch is all it takes to unlock a variety of applications and widgets from touchscreen technology to augmented reality that transform the mirror into a gaming console, a drawing design board, even as a digital portal to browse the latest news updates, it even displays the date, time and weather. The interactive mirror also displays relevant information about real world objects reflected in the mirror. A consumer version of the mirror is currently being developed.

Man Controls Robotic Hand with Mind

For a month, 27 year old Pierpaolo Petruzziello's amputated arm was connected to a robotic limb, allowing him to feel sensations and control the arm with his thoughts. The conducted experiment brings the concept of the bionic man to reality which was long envisioned by science fiction writers. Using only the mind to control a bio-mechanical hand connected to the nervous system, four miniature electrodes were surgically implanted in the amputated arm, the prostetic itself was not implanted but only connected through wired electrodes that help recognize and control the bionic hand. Although similar experiments have previously been attempted, project researchers said this is the first time a patient has been able to make such complex movements in a bio-mechanical hand using only his mind.

Robot Gripper Picks Up Anything

Did you ever have one of those stress balls that helps you relieve mental or emotional strain? Researchers are now using it as a new generation of robotic grippers that grips and holds objects through a combination of suction, friction and geometric interlocking. The advantage of the gripper is it automatically conforms to the shape of whatever it is picking up rather than following a sequence of programming codes to distinguish different types of objects. It can pick up an egg without breaking it, the gripper wraps around the egg which in turn sucks out the air inside the rubber ball making the granular material inside the ball solidify around the egg providing a steady grip on the egg without breaking it.

NASA's Puffin: Your Personal Aircraft?

Engineers from the NASA Langley Research Center unveiled plans to build a personal flying machine that would run on a set of electric motors. This personal flying machine aptly named Puffin is still in the early stages of development. It is designed with electric propulsion using electric motors which offer a wider range of possibilities than turbines and traditional engines. The aircraft lands and takes off like a helicopter with a tail section that splits open to reveal the landing gear. Once in the air it leans forward and flies like an airplane at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour. The aircraft is propelled by electric motors, very much like an electric fan. Electric motors are quieter, cleaner and lighter than traditional engines. The vehicle is environmentally friendly because it essentially has no emissions. The whole aircraft weighs just 400 lbs.

Pregnant Robot used as teaching tool to train students

Medical students at John Hopkins University are getting a real-life birthing experience when a robot goes into labor. Noelle the robot is a lifelike birthing simulation tool being used to train medical students. It definitely is a great aid for medical students to have a full simulated model that can actually teach realistic maneuvers of uncomplicated as well as complicated actual child birth situations. The robot was constructed for two years and is now being used in real world settings for medical education and for residency education because of its ability to provide actual learning experience without risk since it's better to learn and make mistakes on a robot instead of a real person. Most importantly the advantage of the robot is it can be used as a mechanism to study the medical team as they work together during a birth process especially during a high risk situation.

The Flying Car - Urban X-Hawk

At urban aeronautics a revolutionary aviation is truly around the corner. In the form of an areal vehicle it maneuvers like no other flying machines can dare to go between street levels or even on top of buildings. Unlike helicopters, the vehicle has no exposed rotors or propellers which makes it immune to any obstacles, making it possible to hover in direct contact with the wall or the side of buildings. The Urban X-hawk has a patented integrated vane control system that gives the vehicle the unique ability to generate direct and pure lateral forces allowing it to maneuver precisely sideways. The vehicle is extremely compact which gives it the ability to land in virtually any urban space.

Table Saw auto stops when detecting a finger instead of wood

There are around 60,000 medically treated accidents on table saws every year. This inventor developed a system that stops the blade of a saw if it comes in contact with your finger. The system can actually tell the difference between your finger and the wood. The blade has a sensor that detects electrical conductivity, wood is not very conductive so the saw goes right through it, but a salty wet finger is conductive which is detected at less than a thousand of a second, which triggers the system and stops the blade instantaneously.

Car Engine Running on Plain Salt Water

How would you like to run your car on salt water? This inventor wasn't looking for an answer to the energy crisis, he was looking for a way to cure cancer by using radio wave, but by doing so he stumbled on yet another breakthrough, his machine could actually burn salt water, he discovered that his radio frequency generator could release the hydrogen and oxygen from salt water and create an incredibly intense flame which can run a simple turbine engine fueled by nothing more than salt water.