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from Engadget

There's plenty of devices out there designed to keep folks from falling over, but this so-called iShoe developed by some MIT researchers takes a slightly different tact, with it promising to detect balance problems long before a person actually falls. That's apparently possible thanks to some sensor-laden insoles that measure the pressure distribution across as person's feet, which can be offloaded onto a computer and analyzed with the aid of a special algorithm the researchers have created. Eventually, they say the system could let doctors catch balance problems in their early stages and take the appropriate action, or even notify family members if a person falls, although that latter bit doesn't exactly seem very optimistic of them. No word on a commercial release just yet, but the team is apparently moving steadily towards one, with it currently conducting trials and recently having snapped up a $50,000 grant to help cover start-up costs.

Read more at TGDaily

from Gearlog

I met with Iogear today; the company was showcasing a handful of new and upcoming additions to their product line. The one that caught my attention the most out of the spread was the Powerline Audio System. The audio accessory utilizes the titular technology to transmit audio signals over a home network.

Powerline technology has been available in consumer products for some time now but has never really caught on, due initially to limited transfer speeds. The technology has since been eclipsed in homes by far more popular wireless technologies such as Bluetooth and the various 802.11 incarnations, though Iogear assured me that Powerline transfer speeds have since improved greatly.

Essentially, Powerline transmits information over your existing electric lines. The Powerline Audio Station Receiver incorporates an iPod dock and audio input. Plug the receiver into an outlet in one room and the speakers into another, anywhere in your house or apartment, up to 990 feet away (it should be on the same circuit breaker). The Audio Station transmits audio signals to up to four receivers.

more of Iogear's upcoming gear

from Engadget


The current generation of robots, whether they're the gun-carrying or child-coddling variety, come in all sorts of shapes and sizes to suit their intended purpose. But if research going on at Tufts University comes to fruition, future robots might feature designs that are rather more flexible. Scientists at the school are working on so-called "chemical robots" with no solid parts. Chembots could squeeze under doors, slither through cracks in walls, and even squirm into your orifices, performing internal diagnoses before slowly dissolving away, leaving nothing more than a feeling of creepy violation behind. What about assuming the shape and voice of John Connor's adopted mother? We're hoping that's still a few years off.

Read more at PhysOrg or LiveScience

from Engadget

Earlier this month we saw open-source Ubuntu remixed for netbook-class ultra-portable laptops. Today, MIDs are feeling the hot, sweaty breath of Hardy Heron breathing down the back of their Intel chipsets. The UME-8.04 release features a Gecko-based browser with screen zooming optimized for smaller displays, Pidgin for instant messaging, GNOME's Cheese webcam app, Claws Mail eMail, and Moblin Media for music and video -- all optimized for current and last generation MID / UMPC chipsets from Intel. Available to download now for McCaslin (e.g., Samsung Q1 Ultra) and Menlow-based (Lenovo's Ideapad U8) MIDs.

from TechOn!

Jun 13, 2008 19:30
Kouji Kariatsumari, Nikkei Electronics

Genepax Co Ltd explained the technologies used in its new fuel cell system "Water Energy System (WES)," which uses water as a fuel and does not emit CO₂.

The system can generate power just by supplying water and air to the fuel and air electrodes, respectively, the company said at the press conference, which took place June 12, 2008, at the Osaka Assembly Hall.

The basic power generation mechanism of the new system is similar to that of a normal fuel cell, which uses hydrogen as a fuel. According to Genepax, the main feature of the new system is that it uses the company's membrane electrode assembly (MEA), which contains a material capable of breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen through a chemical reaction.

More info & pictures at TechOn!