Body as battery Display screens integrated into contact lenses (image above)? Micromechanical medical devices? Pervasive biosensors? A big challenge in the development of wearable and implantable gadgets is how to power them. Years ago, I wrote about efforts to develop a "glucose fuel cell" and other possible technologies to scavenge power from the human body itself. Obviously, our bodies generate heat–thermal energy. "Embedded Technologies: Power From the People" (Smithsonian) The Department of Mad Scientists: How DARPA Is Remaking Our World, from the Internet to Artificial Limbs (Amazon)
Crows, intelligent? RepRap, la machine réplicante qui fait peur aux capitalistes L’un des multiples objets 3D réalisés par la RepRap Machine d’Adrian Bowyer, qui dit travailler sur l’auto-réplication des objets. En open-source, naturellement… © RepRap RepRap, la machine réplicante qui fait peur aux capitalistes « Nous sommes en 2020, les hackerspaces, fablabs et autres usinettes se comptent par milliers en France et pas seulement dans les grandes villes. Nous sommes en 2010 et ceci n’est pas une fiction, c’est écrit sur le site d’Usinette. Adrian Bowyer présente son RepRap Project et sa machine infernale : Alors donc, cette RepRap machine (pour « replicating rapid prototyper ») et sa copine, la Makerbot, une imprimante 3D open source, sont des machines anticapitalistes. La Makerbot, la copine de la RepRa, version Dark Vador : Cindy désire une assiette pour son invité supplémentaire ! Nous sommes en 2010, et l’invention de Bowyer est à ce jour un peu capricieuse. Cindy et ses copines ont du boulot, car la machine infernale, il s’agit aujourd’hui de la monter.
What are emotions? RepRap.org RepRap is humanity's first general-purpose self-replicating manufacturing machine. RepRap takes the form of a free desktop 3D printer capable of printing plastic objects. Since many parts of RepRap are made from plastic and RepRap prints those parts, RepRap self-replicates by making a kit of itself - a kit that anyone can assemble given time and materials. It also means that - if you've got a RepRap - you can print lots of useful stuff, and you can print another RepRap for a friend... RepRap is about making self-replicating machines, and making them freely available for the benefit of everyone. Reprap.org is a community project, which means you are welcome to edit most pages on this site, or better yet, create new pages of your own. RepRap was the first of the low-cost 3D printers, and the RepRap Project started the open-source 3D printer revolution. RepRap was voted the most significant 3D-printed object in 2017. About | Development | Community | RepRap Machines | Resources | Policy
Signs of intelligence Les origamis robotisés débarquent | Graphisme & interactivité bl Bonjour, Ce matin une actu assez intéressante pour celles et ceux qui comme moi se galèrent avec les origamis Des chercheurs du laboratoire de micro-robotique de l’Université d’Harvard ont créé des feuilles planes dans un matériau composite afin que l’on puisse les programmer. Ces petites feuilles peuvent ainsi se plier dans tous les sens ! Ce papier (qui n’est pas en papier) a une mémoire externalisée et peut donc avoir différentes configurations, notamment pour prendre différentes formes d’objets, comme la forme d’un avion en papier par exemple. Comment ça marche ? Ces feuilles sont bordées par des actionneurs très minces (des fils de type flexinol je crois), qui se contractent lorsqu’ils reçoivent un courant électrique. À quoi ça sert ? Les chercheurs expliquent que cette technologie pourrait être utilisée pour créer des objets composites ou même des récipiens qui changeraient de taille. Et vous, qu’est-ce que vous projeteriez dans cette techno ? source | crédits vidéos | merci Astrid
Monkey See, Monkey Do? Crowd Sourced Data: The Copenhagen Wheel for Poll This is one of the best projects we have seen in sometime, borderline genius – the Copenhagen Wheel. The project transforms ordinary bicycles quickly into hybrid e-bikes that also function as mobile sensing units. The Copenhagen Wheel allows you to capture the energy dissipated while cycling and braking and save it for when you need a bit of a boost. Controlled through your smart phone, the Copenhagen Wheel becomes a natural extension of your everyday life. Access this data through your phone or the web and use it to plan healthier bike routes, to achieve your exercise goals or to meet up with friends on the go.
Can a robot create something original? Yell Releases Online 3D maps of Birmingham, Leeds Yell has just introduced new 3D maps of Birmingham, Leeds, London and Manchester, here in the UK. Currently in Beta the service is actually rather impressive, allowing the 3D view to be dragged, titled and merged with more standard street level panoramas. Screenshot of ‘CASA Towers’ at University College London, out of which digital urban operates. The ability to view and navigate a photomapped 3D model of London within a web page would have been unthinkable only a few years ago. Yell’s Awesome 3D Maps from Launch Group on Vimeo. Accordingly to Yell’s press release – more regions will get the 3D treatment as the concept rolls out around the country. You can take a look yourself at
LuminAR | Fluid Interfaces LuminAR reinvents the traditional incandescent bulb and desk lamp, evolving them into a new category of robotic, digital information devices. The LuminAR Bulb combines a Pico-projector, camera, and wireless computer in a compact form factor. This self-contained system enables users with just-in-time projected information and a gestural user interface, and it can be screwed into standard light fixtures everywhere. The LuminAR Lamp is an articulated robotic arm, designed to interface with the LuminAR Bulb. Both LuminAR form factors dynamically augment their environments with media and information, while seamlessly connecting with laptops, mobile phones, and other electronic devices. LuminAR transforms surfaces and objects into interactive spaces that blend digital media and information with the physical space. This project is generously supported in-kind by Intel and Microvision .
UrbanDive, bienvenue dans la ville 2.0 | PagesJaunes Groupe La recherche cartographique en ligne reste l’un des piliers du développement des services du groupe PagesJaunes. Le projet UrbanDive s’appuie sur un partenariat stratégique avec la société californienne Earthmine et repose sur l’accès à une information pratique locale dynamique au travers d’une représentation immersive et panoramique de la ville depuis n’importe quel point d’une rue. UrbanDive est une application inédite, construite autour d’un écosystème ouvert, proposant tout un univers d’applications permettant à un utilisateur de rester en contact avec son entourage géographique et social. L’internaute pourra ainsi partager avec ses amis, de manière dynamique et contributive, ses lieux favoris et ses expériences, profiter facilement de services pratiques géolocalisés, s’informer en temps réel, ou encore utiliser des applications de jeu dans la ville.
Epoch Times - Future Gear: Robotic Suits Expected to Become Main No longer the stuff of science fiction and Hollywood movies, wearable robotic suits are, with the help of research, being introduced into various areas of everyday life to enhance human performance—from helping the elderly and the disabled to walk and function to assisting in heavy-duty rescue operations at disaster sites. Japan, long a world leader in robotics technology, is at the forefront of developing self-powered, lightweight exoskeleton robotic suits capable of greatly magnifying human strength and endurance. In one such project, a research team led by University of Tsukuba professor Dr. Sankai Yoshiyuki has developed what is called Robot Suit HAL® (Hybrid Assistive Limb®). Sankai is the CEO of Cyberdyne®, the company that he and his research team formed in 2004 to begin marketing and manufacturing their robot suits. Currently, Robot Suit HAL is available in Japan for rental, with plans set later for expansion on the international market. How it works Future uses