Posts by Category: future tech

It’s coming WHEN?

Awesome October 13, 2009 posted by

3G starts to flex muscles – other wireless techs whimper and huddle dejectedly in a corner

(photo) Martin Sauter’s recent post on the upgrade of the HSDPA spec (3G + to you and me) made me stop and blink. So mobile phones are now on their way to achieving data download speeds of up to 84 Mbit/s with existing hardware? Really? In fact, a quick trawl of the Wikipedia site reveals that there are now 250 HSDPA networks in 109 countries, with a few supporting speeds of up to 21 Mbit/s and 28 Mbit/s peak data…


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Awesome October 8, 2009 posted by

Honda U3-X – more videos showing off awesome new miracle transporter

The astounding new Honda U3–X Personal Mobility Unicycle is getting some real buzz around the world right now, and well deserved too. These guys have managed to cram a Segway type transportation device into something backpack sized, with enough battery power to run for an hour and propel you along at something between 5 and 10 km/h. And all based around some super clever Asimo robot balancing technology. Miraculous indeed.   Of course it’s all concept/prototype talk right now, but…


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future tech October 7, 2009 posted by

BMW C1-E – Electric scooter with a roof

BMW released the original C1 way back in 2000 and it was a bit of a flop. Pitched as a roofed motorcycle with roll bars, crumple zones and a seat belts it was claimed that the C1 was as safe to crash as a small compact car. A few countries disagreed and still made riders wear helmets, negating the whole idea resulting in BMW killing it off in 2002. Well Beemer are having another crack at it, this time with…


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cool tech August 1, 2009 posted by

Toyota Partner Robots – the case of the advancing robot army

Look, I don’t mind when you show me robots playing brass instruments, or even the violin . But I do get just a tiny bit creeped out when you demonstrate an inorganic piece of metal and plastic aka a Toyota Partner Robot running in a disconcertingly human-like manner. Robots should stay out of the running game, because we all know, deep down, that it’ll just end in tears, right?  Toyota’s most recent humanoid robot prototype (one of many partner robots the automotive…


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Bookmark This! July 24, 2009 posted by

Quirky – the product development community with smarts

Quirky is a clever new community portal based around the idea of product development. Submit an idea, other members of the community vote on it and the winner product gets made in a factory and everything. The site promises to deliver a new product every few days, which is a pretty ambitious goal. The catch? You’ve got to hand over $99.00 to get your product idea on the board. Everything else is free.   I particularly like the fact that…


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cool tech July 22, 2009 posted by

Contactless Power Transmission – Japanese get closer to some wireless nirvana

Japanese researchers recently unveiled a rather clever contactless power transmission system which can supply power without wires to an object up to 60 cm away. OK, so it’s no Tesla device, but that’s still pretty interesting, especially if you consider the type of applications which could benefit from the technology. Beaming power without wires is one of those techs, like the flying car, which has always seemed so close, yet so far. One to watch perhaps?  The company had a…


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Awesome July 21, 2009 posted by

The 3D Printer comes of age – making parts you can’t get anywhere else

I stumbled across this amazing story of US television host Jay Leno using a 3D scanner and printer to create obsolete spare parts for his car collection and was immediately transported into a world of science fiction wonder. How cool is this technology? OK, so the parts have to be relatively unsophisticated, but just think of the potential as these printers advance in capabilities and the price comes down. We’ll finally be free from the constraints of obsolescence and will…


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Awesome July 16, 2009 posted by

Graphene – from the humble pencil to the strongest material in the universe?

They’re calling Graphene the strongest material in the universe, and it’s hard to argue with the figures. It can be made into a carbon sheet one atom thick, conducts electricity 100 times faster than silicon and it’s stronger than diamond. Oh and it’s flexible enough to wrapped up in a roll. But before we all run around cheering, as with all new materials, it’s going to take time – lots of time – to perfect the manufacturing process. The good news…


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future tech July 10, 2009 posted by

The ATNMBL car – see Ma, no hands!

The ATNMBL car – a concept vehicle by the design team of Mike and Maaike – is one step closer to the cool car I grew up seeing on the Jetsons. You control the vehicle with simple voice commands. It’s the ultimate future car – with a flat screen, electric glass sliding doors with a standing-height entryway, but no steering wheel, brake pedal or drivers seat. The engine is four in-wheel electric motors and the batteries are augmented by solar…


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The ATNMBL car – see Ma, no hands!
future tech June 16, 2009 posted by

Nokia works to eliminate cell phone chargers

Nokia is working on the cell phone of the future – one that won’t need recharging. The Nokia Research Centre in Cambridge, UK is designing a prototype that harnesses ambient radio waves (aka electromagnetic radiation from antennas, TV masts, WiFi transmitters). This new tech will convert electromagnetic waves into electric signals which it harnesses for power. A current prototype can grab 3 to 5 milliwatts of electricity,although it seems you need 50 milliwatts to recharge a real life cell phone….


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Nokia works to eliminate cell phone chargers
future tech June 10, 2009 posted by

eTablet Electronic Writing Tablet – the humble blackboard gets a better? makeover

The Kent Displays eTablet Electronic Writing Tablet takes the idea of the humble blackboard and chalk, throws away the simplicity and robustness, adds in a dollop of high technology and battery power and comes up with something you can write on, is viewable at wide angles and in bright sunlight and is thin and lightweight. Am I missing something or has this feature list already been done better, cheaper, faster, more reliably?  No more paper, pencils, or pens. Reflex LCD Writing…


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cool tech May 11, 2009 posted by

Cone of Silence – the smart power strip that will shield your conversations in any room

Researchers at MIT are working on a secure conversation masking system which will use a system of power strips and sensors to mask out confidential conversations in any room or open plan office environment. The Distributed Acoustic Conversation Shielding System can be set up in any room simply by plugging in special power strips which contain a PIR infrared sensor, a microphone and a small speaker. Each person in a private conversation activates their personal sensor which ‘logs’ them into…


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cool tech May 4, 2009 posted by

Mobile Phone ultrasound machine – scantastic tech could revolutionise medical diagnosis

Researchers at Washington University in St Louis are on the way to perfecting a mobile phone based ultrasound machine which could radically improve medical diagnosis in remote and inaccessible areas. The USB device can be used to scan internal body organs, eyes, and veins and arteries for IVs. The two boffins, David Zar and William Richard have set a target price of $500 for the device, which makes it orders of magnitude cheaper than current portable imaging products. Sometimes these people…


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future tech April 3, 2009 posted by

China Crisis – the Asian electric vehicle onslaught begins…?

We’re going to revel in a bit of a ‘we told you so’ moment, regarding this week’s New York Times report on China’s plan to dominate the global electric vehicle market. Regular Ferret readers will remember we spotted this possibility way back in 2006. It is indeed gratifying to be such an insightful polecat.  Chinese leaders have adopted a plan aimed at turning the country into one of the leading producers of hybrid and all-electric vehicles within three years…The goal, which radiates from the…


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cool tech March 23, 2009 posted by

Pininfarina Bluecar – stylish electric vehicle from a boutique stable

The Pininfarina Bluecar is the first car in the world to have an iPhone as a remote control. The electric vehicle, which can travel 155 miles on a charge and has a top speed of 80 mph, will feature an iPhone remote control which can be used to check up on the battery charge remotely or ‘pre-heat the car’s electric drive system’ before you get in. Very flash. A full charge will take 6 hours from a standard power socket,…


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