25 inventions, innovations, devices and research fields aiming to change your world for the better Step aside, Leonardo da Vinci - these 25 inventors and scientists are set to change the world. Source: News Limited AUSTRALIAN scientists are among the best and brightest, continuously pushing the boundaries to make the world a better place. In that spirit, we showcase 25 amazing innovations, devices and fields of research being developed right here in Australia — ideas that have the potential to change the world for the better. 1. Robots may be capable of highly intricate pre-programmed manoeuvres but they are yet to master a sense most humans take for granted — sight. The ultimate goal, according to Professor Peter Corke, is to build a robot that can be told “this is capsicum, this is what it looks like, go out and find one”. Prof Corke’s research is already delivering real-world results — check out what visitors to the ARC Centre for Excellence in Robotic Vision are greeted by outside his office. These are not the droids scientists are looking for. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.
Herald Sun | Latest Melbourne & Victoria News | HeraldSun Yao Chen: Meet China's answer to Angelina Jolie Chinese actress Yao Chen. Photo: Getty Images "Is it like having a superpower?" One could add the word "modest" to that list, because Yao, self-effacing as she is, has more followers on Weibo (China's version of Twitter) than the population of Britain. In fact, so great is that influence, she has the ability to change the course of people's lives with a click of her mouse. Angelina Jolie ... one of the reasons Yao Chen was inspired to accept the role of UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador in China. So how did a 34-year-old from a small coastal city in south-east China rise from obscurity to become one of Time magazine's 100 most powerful people on the planet? Advertisement Let's start with the second question. "Of, course if the right script came along I would love to do a Hollywood film," she says when we meet in a bustling café on the east side of Beijing. Yao Chen attends Adidas promotional event at Sanlitun on July 17, 2012 in Beijing, China. I'm not sure luck comes into it, I say.
thetelegraph.com.au | Breaking news, videos and pictures from Sydney, NSW, Australia and the world | DailyTelegraph Beyoncé Knowles album sold just 4290 copies to be the lowest selling number one this year Still got it ... Coldplay’s Ghost Stories has the highest first-week sales in Australia so far this year. Source: Supplied HOW many copies does it take to get a number one album in Australia? This week British hit maker Ed Sheeran topped the ARIA album charts with just 4646 copies of his album x sold nationally. The album, which hit No. 1 on over 10,000 sales upon release five weeks ago, took advantage of low sales and no big new releases to return to the top. ED SHEERAN: Shane Warne introduces his daughter BREAKUP SONG: How Ed Sheeran even shocked Taylor Swift But this week’s figures are not even the lowest-selling No. 1 of the year. Beyoncé’s self-titled album holds that unwelcome record with just 4290 copies giving her a No. 1 in January, which is traditionally one of the lowest-selling months. While INXS’s The Very Best is the most popular album 2014 so far, it has been subject to the extremes of this year’s sales figures. Low sales figures ... Talking the truth ...
News.com.au | News Online from Australia and the World | NewsComAu Famous Logos With Hidden Messages Did you know that amongst some of the most famous brand logos are little hidden messages? A lot of these you could probably see on first glance but others you would have to look a little harder. It makes you wonder how many other logos have hidden messages out there… FedEx The FedEx logo isn't just two different colors. Spartan Golf Club The Spartan Golf Club have cleverly disguised a golfer inside the Spartan's face. Mitsubishi The Mitsubishi logo is combined the three-leaf crest of the Tosa Clan and the three-diamond crest of the Iwasaki family. Toblerone Tostitos Look closer and you will see two people sharing tortilla chips with salsa. Toyota The first part of VAIO represents an analog symbol and the last two letters are binary numbers. Wendy's Look at Wendy's collar and you should be able to see the word "MOM". Hope for African children There are two ways of looking at this logo. Coca Cola Hidden in the 'o' of Cola is the Denmark flag. Baskin Robbins amazon No it's not a smiley face.
The 10 futuristic gadgets that will change your world Could this one day become a reality? Smart gadgets are being built in labs that will change the way we live our lives. Source: Supplied FROM talking forks and smart clothes — the future of technology as seen through the eyes MIT Media Lab scientist David Rose is about making the computer personal. Decades after their invention, computers look roughly the same. Though smaller and more portable, we still click, type and stare at flat screens. But not for long, Rose argues in his new book, “Enchanted Objects: Design, Human Desire, and the internet of Things” (Scribner), which supplies his own research to argue that people desire direct interaction with technology. “Screens fall short because they don’t improve our relationship with computing,” he writes. Rose believes that we really want magical objects straight out of the Harry Potter universe: “flying carpets, talking mirrors, protective cloaks, animated brooms.” 1. There’s going to be rain, man. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. What’s that? 7. 8. 9. 10.
Parrot’s new range of toy drones aimed at teenagers raise privacy concerns The Parrot Jumping Sumo is a responsive bot with a strong personality which rolls, rushes, zig-zags, circles, takes turns at 90. In a flash, it leaps up to 80 cm in height! Verruckt is German for 'insane', a fitting tag for this 17 storey monster water slide in Kansas City. Courtesy Fox 4 Kansas City. A Texas mother is facing charges and a second could be arrested after letting kids ride on the hood and trunk of a moving car because they were wet from swimming. Courtesy Fox 4 Dallas Sunday Night shows Oscar Pistorius re-enacting the night he killed Reeva. A witness to the Sydney mall stabbing has said the attacker 'taunted police' as he stabbed the victim. Scantily-clad Sports Illustrated models star in Air New Zealand's latest in-flight safety video. Rolf Harris has spent his first night in jail amid criticism the sex offender's sentence is too lenient. Police have confirmed a fatality at a major Sydney shopping centre following a public altercation. Available in August ...
Principals cash in on after-school care No guarantees: Jo Karabin with her children, Mila, 8, and Kiki, 4. Photo: Janie Barrett Cash-strapped public schools are capitalising on an aggressive push by private after-school care operators in a move that will see parents paying higher fees but will do little to ease the chronic shortage of places across Sydney. Some parent-run not-for-profit organisations pay a licence fee of less than $10,000 to operate on school grounds but private companies are now offering principals fees of up to $170,000, money which goes straight back to the school. Providers warn this means parents can expect fees to rise next year by as much as 15 per cent, as operators find ways to recoup their licence fees. Higher fees but fewer vacancies for after-school care: Jo Karabin with daughters Mila and Kiki (right). Advertisement "This is a form of cross-subsidisation. Ms Monro Miller said about 25 per cent of after-school care centres in NSW are now run by private operators but that figure is rising.
Lumific’s new Android app means your work ends after you snap your photos | Drippler - Apps, Games, News, Updates & Accessories Image Credit: Lumific/Facebook Although Dropbox has yet to acquire them as I previously predicted, Lumific is now releasing its app out of private beta and into the wild. Lumific, a little startup that graduated from 500 Startup’s Batch 9 last June, has made a nifty mobile app that automatically sorts and edits the photos on your Android phone. After spending a few months in a private beta phase with about 1,000 users, the app is officially now in the Google Play store. While this might sound like yet another photo-editing app, it’s a bit more magical than that. The app also automatically stacks duplicate photos and selects the best one to show you. Lumific’s other awesome trick is the automatic editing of your photos, including enhancing (sharpening, fixed exposure, vibrancy), rotating, and cropping. There are lots of other small features and functions to the app, like “featuring” an event to make it more prominent. Mobile developer or publisher?