Elon Musk's Martian Internet Might Help All Of Mankind

Elon Musk is rampaging into the future with yet another astronomically awesome plan.  The mastermind behind SpaceX, Tesla, and the Hyperloop doesn't just want folks to comfortably travel to space - he wants to make sure they're easily connected to the internet while they're up there.

It might sound crazy to think that the humans who will be among the first "space tourists" would spend their time googling cat videos and playing online poker, but Musk's plans are extra ambitious.  His intent is to establish a space internet so powerful that when colonizing Mars becomes a reality, the pioneers will be able to chat about it on Facebook.

Now THIS is an occupation that will achieve something!
(Image courtesy engadget.com.)

According to Bloomberg Business Week, this new and improved World Wide Web would become the Galaxy Wide Web thanks to a fleet of low-flying satellites Musk intends to launch.  While it would not only aid future connectivity to space travelers, it would serve the immediate purpose of expanding internet speed and coverage all around our home planet.

“Our focus is on creating a global communications system that would be larger than anything that has been talked about to date,” Musk stated.

The first humans will be "checking in" on Mars sooner than we think.
(Image courtesy futurology.net.)

The satellites would orbit some 750 miles above the earth, where the vacuum of space would facilitate faster flow of data - even more so than using fiber-optic cables on Earth.  With the speed of light operating a full 40% faster in the vacuum of space, bouncing data off of Musk's satellites and then back to earth would improve speeds considerably.

Great hypothesis...now, to test!
(Image courtesy astrosurf.com.)

Musk is aware that his competitors have the bandwidth territory, but he holds the ace of rocket technology.  He intends to open a satellite factory in Seattle that will draw engineering talent of all sorts (SpaceX projects will also be in fabrication there), and has a long-term plan over the next five years to bring the initiative to fruition.  The exclusive opening of the Seattle SpaceX office took place on Friday, adding to an ever-increasing network of operational sites.  He is completely serious about looking even further than that, though.

“It will be important for Mars to have a global communications network as well,” he says. “I think this needs to be done, and I don’t see anyone else doing it...we see it as a long-term revenue source for SpaceX to be able to fund a city on Mars.”

In space, no one can hear you scream at Candy Crush.
(Image courtesy hothardware.com.)

Newsweek reported that Musk expounded on this statement, telling the assembled crowd at the launch of the Seattle SpaceX office that, “One day I will visit Mars.” He feels the goal of establishing humans on Mars could be feasible inside the next two decades. Most of all, it's for humanity's own good, or as Musk explains, “the thing that matters long term is to have a self sustaining city on Mars, to make life multi-planetary.”

So at least if you end up marooned on Mars, there'll be Netflix and Pandora there to entertain you.  And no one will fault you for not accepting their Facebook invites.

Which Instagram filter will look best for selfies on the Red Planet?
(Image courtesy memeburn.com.)

Power On The Fly: Pioneering With A Pocket-Sized Charger

Sure, you love your devices, but feeding them can become problematic at times.  Stop bothering the bartender and bust out your own portable power, thanks to a new invention: Kraftwerk.  Created by the German company eZelleron, the gadget runs on regular everyday lighter fuel to unobtrusively juice your phone, camera, tablets, e-readers, and whatever other bit of technology is near-permanently in your orbit.

According to the Daily Mail, the device never requires a plug-in of its own, and each refill of lighter fluid or camping gas is enough to fuel 11 iPhones.  The eZelleron company maintains that Kraftwerk is a "quantum leap in terms of performance and availability compared to conventional battery chargers...Kraftwerk really is a small portable power station."

This is your first step to escaping the Grid.
(Image courtesy www.dailymail.co.uk.)

Slated for release in November/December of this year, Kraftwerk already exists in fully functioning prototypes. The remainder of the project is being funded by Kickstarter. The device appeals to a sense of freedom and adventure, with their Kickstarter campaign noting that Kraftwerk is "an invaluable advantage both in everyday life and even when traveling to the ends of the earth."

The durability and portability are major advantages for our hyper-connected world. Lighter than carrying batteries, adept with connection (a simple USB port handles all), approved for air travel, and capable of enduring all sorts of weather conditions, this energy-efficient device will discreetly help fuel the future, 5 volts at a time.

Never miss a gnarly shot again...keep your camera juiced-up anywhere with Kraftwerk.
(Image courtesy GoPro.com.)

The folks behind Kraftwerk are pushing forth what is a small but important part of a larger picture. According to wikipedia, Germany has been hailed as "the world's first major renewable energy economy" and had a third of their electricity generated from sustainable resources in 2014.  With Germany poised to have nearly half of their electricity generated by sustainable resources by 2025, items like the Kraftwerk reflect how such an innovative mentality benefits people in many scenarios, not just on the macro scale.

Their kickstarter pitch isn't being hyperbolic when they say, "So let's revolutionize mobile energy supply together!  Be a pioneer on the fascinating road to freedom of power!"  And nothing says "pioneering" like posting a selfie from someplace definitely sans sockets.  Kraftwerk, keep it going!

Perhaps the band Kraftwerk can use the device Kraftwerk to power their Man Machine?  The possibilities are endless...
(Image courtesy drownedinsound.com.)

Evolution Comes Full Circle As NASA Develops "RoboSimian" Robot

As of this morning, it is 2015, and therefore further into the future.  And what future is fun without new space gadgetry?

As reported by CNN, NASA has developed a new robot to navigate the adventures of interplanetary exploration...or even just to help out around the home planet.  Designed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) facility, the new RoboSimian bot doesn't mess around with any of those cheesy humanoid-droid elements and skips straight to having seven cameras mounted all around a headless, dexterously multi-limbed body.

Don't freak out if you see this thing in a disaster situation; it's trying to come help you.
(Image courtesy robotnyheter.se.)

RoboSimian's four jointed limbs can function as either arms or legs, enabling walking or even rolling over various surfaces.  The limbs can also pick up and manipulate objects, making the robots useful not just to rescue themselves from far-flung planetary problems, but also to aid in earthly disaster scenarios (for example, RoboSimian is dexterous enough to turn off valves.)  If after a nuclear event or other catastrophe, RoboSimian could be sent in to help where rescuers can't reach.

RoboSimian and other robo-siblings will be put to the test in June as part of DARPA's Robotics Challenge, an eight-event challenge that will discern which bots are the most badass.  RoboSimian and its 18 challengers will have to attempt to drive a car, use tools, navigate rubble and climb stairs, all without a human pilot.  A $2 million prize awaits for the robot that can function at the level of what DARPA compares to "as competent as a 2-year-old child."

A two-year-old-child, minus the puking and screaming, plus serious survival skills.
(Image courtesy phys.org.)

JPL already has a huge winner in its wheelhouse with the interplanetarily-famous Mars Rover, currently still on task on the red planet.  The difficult communications gap between Earth and Mars helped to lead to the technology that allows for RoboSimian's autonomous achievements.  This thorough, classic-NASA cautious "consciousness", coupled with RoboSimian's adaptability, makes for a slow but steady robo-rover.

"It is intentionally the tortoise relative to the other hares in the competition," said Brett Kennedy, JPL's supervisor of the Robotic Vehicles and Manipulators Group. "We feel that a very stable and deliberate approach suites our technical strengths and provides a model for one vital element of the 'ecosystem' of robots that we expect to be deployed to disaster scenarios in the future."

RoboSimian (left) will progress to the DARPA Robotics Challenge as JPL's entry after, among other victories, beating out fellow contender Surrogate (right) in a robot dance contest.
(Image courtesy JPL/NASA.gov.)

Kennedy also noted that due to the nature of the search/rescue/explore jobs that RoboSimian will hold, this intent was instilled in RoboSimian's design.  "Basically, we wanted the perceptual equivalent of a St. Bernard," he said.

Yes, someday your life might be saved by a robot-monkey-St. Bernard...if it's not busy working on a comet or Mars.  Welcome to a little further in the future!

R2-D2 and C3P0 have a new buddy in town, and he means business.
(Image courtesy engineering.ucsb.edu.)

Shoot For The Moon Or Pollute The Moon? New Company Leaves Your Stuff On The Lunar Landscape With "MoonMail"

Thanks to a proposed Mars mission as well as various private ventures, human spaceflight seems poised to have another renaissance again over the coming decades.  Yet one of the great goals of our space endeavors always looms up there, staring at us with its giant moony face.  That's right, the moon itself is still a space goal for some, and now, you can't quite go there...but your stuff can.

According to perfscience.com, the Astrobotic company is developing a "MoonMail" service whereby you can send a capsule full of Earth crap up to what Buzz Aldrin called the "magnificent desolation" of the moon.  The company, which is chasing the $30 million Lunar X Prize from Google, plans to launch in the next two years and are currently seeking Earthling donations for small "capsules."

"This is pretty cool, but I feel like I should have brought my lucky Darth Vader figurine to leave as tribute."
(Image courtesy images.nationalgeographic.com.)

Astrobotic's CEO John Thornton proclaimed, "Today marks the beginning of a new kind of participant on the moon: the individual. MoonMail is a new offering allowing anyone in the world to purchase space on our lander and immortalize their important keepsake on the moon forever."

Just don't plan on sending up a ton of stuff...space space comes at a premium.  With a small (.5 inch) capsule space starting at $460, a .75 inch space at $820, and an inch clocking in at $1,660 (plus added fees for height), you're not going to be able to send grandma's whole urn or too many photos of your ex, so pick something really special.

No, you can't buy a capsule large enough to send yourself, sorry.  We all want to go moon cruising, just wait a while longer.
(Image courtesy hometowndumpsterrental.com.)

A free capsule is being offered as a prize to anyone who can come up with the best idea of something to send via MoonMail.  The deadline for these epic ideas is December 23rd.

The Google Lunar X Prize that Astrobotic seeks is part of a campaign to consider the moon as the "eighth continent" and to explore it accordingly.  The $30 million winner will have to get a robot safely to the moon, move around for 500 meters in any direction, and broadcast back their results.  This is all intended to continue the mission set forth by Americans with the Apollo missions, visiting our galactic neighbor in peace for all mankind.

Well, now, with pieces from all mankind.

There's already a few bits of real estate claimed by the family photos of Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke, but your cheesy selfies could be next!
(Image courtesy hyperallergic.com.)

Commercial Drone Use Takes Off As FAA Allows Four Companies Aerial Access

This Christmas season, Santa and his sleigh team are going to find some more traffic in the skies.  Today, the FAA granted approval for four commercial companies to fly drones for the purposes of conducting aerial surveys as well as observing oil stacks and construction sites.

According to USA Today, the selected companies - Trimble Navigation Limited (TRMB), VDOS Global, Clayco Inc. and Woolpert Inc.- will be among the first to utilize drones for commercial purposes.  The FAA has still got a ways to go concerning the exact rules of operation and regulations for flying drones in commercial airspace, but hopefully this development will shed more light on what will work best for future drone aviation.

This has to be handled well, to avoid aerial traffic jams.
(Image courtesy online-shipping-blog.endicia.com.)

The first commercial drone license was granted this June for a drone to keep watch over BP's Alaskan oil pipeline.  The FAA has received 167 requests for commercial drone flight clearance, including one from Amazon, who seek to use drones for delivery purposes.

Jeff Lovin, senior vice president of Woolpert, Inc., was enthusiastic about his company's new acquirement of air access, which will allow their 5-foot, 15 pound drone to examine parts of rural Ohio and Mississippi from the air. He explained that drones "will change the way we conduct some of our existing business in the not-too-distant future, but more importantly, will create completely new and world-changing applications we haven't even thought of yet."

Soon.
(Image courtesy boingboing.net.)

Shock And Awe: Robot Electric Eels To Protect Our Shores?

Oceans are notoriously hard to keep secure from invading threats, particularly those that lurk in the deep.  Now, a new development in robotics may help keep our coasts safe thanks to some electric-eel-style swimming 'bots.

According to Science Daily, the Anguilliform robotic fish is a droid that dives deep and reports back if it spots any enemies.  Designed specifically to venture to more intense depths than a human is capable of, the eel-bots are unobtrusive and agile.  They could be trained to find and detonate undersea mines, and maybe even launch counteroffensives against enemy divers.

It doesn't look like your typical badass robot, but that is part of its camouflage.
(Image courtesy ej.iop.org.)

The current methodology of keeping our coasts safe to this degree involves attack dolphins (seriously.)  To avoid bringing possibly-unethical harm to the animals, the eel-bots make warfare a little more moral.  

The fish contains an artificial neural network which enables it to autonomously run via its oscillators and an amplitude modulator.  Prof. Jianxin Xu, one of the lead researchers and co-authors of the project, was pleased with the results, explaining, "We performed simulations and experiments on the robotic fish, equipped with a motion library to cope with different scenarios, and the results validate the effectiveness of the proposed controllers was able to swim forward and backward as predicted."

If you catch one of these while fishing, it's in everyone's best interests for you to throw it back.
(Image courtesy ej.iop.org.)

Could this robotic sushi really help protect us? It's no crazier than some of other ideas, and doesn't harm our humans or dolphins. Let's just hope the other members of the oceanic ecosystem don't think the undulating undersea eels look tasty.

The eel-bots better not get into a turf war with the attack dolphins.
(Image couresy en.wikipedia.org.)

Sky-High Five: New App Lets You Say Hi To An Astronaut

If you're a fan of the astro-adventurers who make their living by working on the International Space Station, a.k.a. possibly humanity's greatest collaborative scientific achievement, you've probably at some point wondered how they were doing up there.  Maybe it's because you feel a connection to their self-imposed earthly exile, maybe it's because you think they might be looking down over your city at the moment, maybe you just read a lot of our Space Station Sunday articles and feel a faraway friendship with these folks.  Whatever your motivation, the new Friends In Space app lets you chat with one of the human stars of space.

According to wired.com, the app was developed by Italian company Accurat and provides a host of spacewatching options.  You can track past, present, and future orbits of the ISS, chat with other stargazers, check out audio and video from the ISS, and see the astronauts' daily schedules.  But the coolest part is the connectivity:  when the ISS passes over your region, the app will alert you, and you can send a hello up to Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.

"Like"!
(Image courtesy diregiovani.it.)

The idea was created when Accurat co-founder Giorgia Lupi was interacting on Twitter with Cristoforetti, who is currently serving as Italy's first female space station astronaut.  Cristoforetti, who has nearly 84,000 Twitter followers, agreed a social network for space might be a fun idea.  Lupi said, “She liked the idea of doing something that wasn’t scientific...something that reminded people on Earth that there is a human up there talking to them.”

Even though the astronauts can technically see all of us, it's nice for them to be reminded that we're still here supporting them.  And who knows what sort of fascinating posts may show up on this new space-based social media?  With lots of data available for fans and the whole world at the astronauts' hands, it will be interesting to see the daily grind from someone who is outside your normal social orbit.

They totally should have called it "Spacebook" though.
(Image courtesy Accurat.)

New "Tinder For Jobs" App: Score A Job As Easily As A Date?

If you're willing to meet strangers via an app to make your life better via intimate encounters, why not also meet strangers who'll make your life better by giving you a job?  That's the idea behind a new app that hails itself as "Tinder for jobs."

The nspHIRE app (pronounced "inspire") was recently created by a Chicago startup, amid a slew of other Tinder-type notions.  The app uses LinkedIn information to help users create a profile that is essentially their resume.  Employers can then contact desirable candidates and chat with them for $.99.

"Think it's worth a buck to laugh at this nerd's 'references'?"
(Image courtesy ceiainc.org.)

The "swiping right" acceptance that is inherent to the original Tinder app works here too.  Prospective employees "swipe right" on jobs they are interested in, and are notified of a match if employers swipe right on them as well.  Anonymous posting abilities allow for you to seek a new gig on the down-low.  An in-app chat service allows for communication.

As reported by chicagoinno.streetwise.co, nspHire co-founder Rasheen Carbin explained, "The idea of mutual match was very attractive to us because it solves the biggest problem with job boards. If you’re a candidate, when you press submit, you have no idea what happens. For the most part whoever that goes to, that person is probably never going to look at your resume. And if they do, maybe they’ll give it 6 seconds."

Thus, if employers are willing to pay $.99 to look at you, perhaps they truly feel you're more worth their while.  Some 500 downloads for the Android version of the app have already taken place, with the majority being jobseekers.  The iOS version, to be released soon, will incorporate a projected initial 20,000 workers and 2,000 employers.

Just don't confuse it with actual Tinder, or your job could get weird.
(Image courtesy huffingtonpost.co.uk.)

Roaches To The Rescue! New "Biobots" Could Help Respond To Your Cries For Help

Technology can be used for all manner of rescues.  We have devices and programs that can spot and stop fires, find humans in the dark, preserve habitability in difficult environments, and much more.  But what about sending another species on a rescue mission, amped up with the benefits of technology?  Meet the biobots.

As reported by the Atlantic, biobots are basically hot-rodded common cockroaches.  Armed with small electronic "backpacks", they are able to transmit sound wirelessly using a multi-directional microphone.  These dispatches are analyzed by first responders and could be used to help determine everything from a leak in a pipe to a human trapped under a pile of collapsed debris.

Is this the real hero Gotham needs?
(Image courtesy hightech-edge.com.)

Dr. Alper Bozkurt, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at North Carolina State University and major contributor to the project, explained, "In a collapsed building, sound is the best way to find survivors."

Another type of the "backpack" the roaches can be outfitted with uses three-directional microphones to locate the source of the sound, which hopefully the roaches can be trained to pursue.  The research team hopes to train the roaches to go for only the most important sounds, such as prioritizing human cries for help rather than lesser distractions.  In time, these public nuisances may be recreated as creepy, crawly heroes!

Then it's only a matter of time before they teach themselves to remix the sounds into funky Roachstep jams.
(Image courtesy ddppchicago.files.wordpress.com.)

Score Scorchy Selfies With New Thermal-Imaging Smartphone Camera

What new photo tool brings the real hotness for your smartphone?  Literally?  How about your own personal thermal imaging camera?

According to redferret.net, the Seek Thermal Imaging Camera is a new iPhone and Android-operable device that turns your smartphone into something like you'd spot in a cool spy movie.  Thermal imaging cameras, which use infrared technology to sense the presence of heat, make any temperature-producing item visible, regardless of lighting conditions.  Ninjas hiding in your house at night?  Not anymore, you spotted them with Seek!

Your evil black cat may resent his fresh lack of hiding skills.
(Image courtesy NASA.gov.)

The Seek can detect heat signatures at up to 1,000 feet, recognize more resolutely at 250 feet, and identify specifics at 150 feet.  As their product description explains, "Our eyes rely on light to see, Seek Thermal relies on heat."  It has a spectrum from -40 degrees to 330 degrees Celsius, so you can just as easily determine if your drink is acceptably ice-cold as you can gauge how well-done your burgers are.

Your pet penguins can be kept suitably chill thanks to infrared analysis.
(Image courtesy boingboing.net.)

For $199, the 8-ounce, micro-USB-enabled Seek can capture all the hotness (or coolness) around you.  It's the same technology that NASA uses to spot space phenomena, surely you too can come up with some interesting experiments!  Besides, wasn't that sepia filter starting to get boring anyway?

AAHHHH, FLAMETHROWER ATTACK!  Oh no, just a hairdryer in infrared.
(Image courtesy NASA.gov.)

Shine On, Mine On: Solar And Wind Power Make Electricity 70% Cheaper For Mining

The clean energy revolution could stand to gain many supporters when it's proven to work effectively for big business.  Now, the mining industry is looking towards alternative energy to fuel their pursuits, with some interesting and prosperous results.

As reported by cleantechnica.com, renewable solar and wind power is up to 70% more cost-effective for the mining industry than diesel fuel - a startling revelation.  With many remote mining areas amenable to wind and unhindered sunlight,  as well as factoring in the cost of NOT having to truck fuel out to the far-flung sites, the benefits of going green begin to add up considerably.

Dig this:  it's a bright future thanks to solar power (and other renewables.)
(Image courtesy energymanagertoday.com.)

One Australian mining site uses solar power to the tune of offsetting some 600,000 gallons of diesel fuel.  Another Alabama steel mill is run mainly on solar power, and one of the world's preeminent copper mining companies is set to follow suit with a 70 MW solar array.  It's not just for hippies anymore.  If the metal crews are into it, what's to stop the rest of society?

For those who would be interested in arming their business with the might of the sun, there exists an online aggregator of clean tech called Renewables And Mining.  It contains information on "Photovoltaics, concentrated photovoltaics, concentrated solar power, solar thermal, and wind power" for comparison to assess what might work best for a particular type of industrial site.  Why spend tons when you can invest in the sun?  For those who work at removing some of the precious things the environment has to offer, why not harness a similar energy for the harvesting itself?

Even old mines can get in on the usefulness!
(Image courtesy spiegel.de.)

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Has Crashed

The scariest news this Halloween involves the continued delay of a first-rate independent space program.  Virgin Galactic's premiere tourist spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo, crashed today in the Mojave desert during a test flight.

According to the LA Times, the WhiteKnightTwo airplane, which carries the spacecraft, landed safely after a "serious anomaly" caused the crash.  One pilot is dead, while another successfully parachuted from the flight.

The SpaceShipTwo was thought to be an attractive option for space tourism, with Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson enthusiastic about being "on the verge" of initiating commercial space travel.  Tickets for $250,000 were to ferry passengers to the edge of space, riding 50,000 feet up via the WhiteKnight plane before disengaging with SpaceShipTwo.   The spaceship would then travel at 2,500 miles per hour, toting a pilot and six passengers to the upper atmosphere, around 60 miles up.

SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo, in better times.
(Image courtest spaceshiptourist.com.)

One possibility for the anomaly, according to NBC News, is that Virgin Galactic has switched the fuel for the aircraft in the nine months since their last test flight.  SpaceShipTwo's rubber-based fuel compound was traded for a plastic-based fuel that was thought to be able to improve the hybrid engine's function.

Earthlings, have a safe Halloween, and don't be too haunted by the failures that must occur on the path of progress.

Ad Astra Per Aspera.
(Image courtesy 10news.com.)

Fire(fighting) In The Sky: NASA Drones To Patrol For Literal Hotspots

With all of the bad rep they get as military and surveillance machines, we can't be quick to also denounce the drones that might do good work helping people.  NASA is working on a new series of drones that you can think of as your friendly local fire department, not the police force that puts the emphasis on "force."

As reported by wavy.com, the new drones are in development at Langley Research Center, and are intended to be used to find and fight fires (as well as provide help for underfunded local fire departments.)  NASA aerospace engineer Mike Logan, who heads up Langley's unmanned air vehicle lab, explained, “The theory is that we should actually be able to see smoke rising up, or we should be able to see the hot spot with the infrared...They’re going to be doing so many missions that flat out can’t be done now. People can’t afford to do them now because of the expense.”

Fires in rural areas that would often go unpatrolled, or that might naturally occur in the depths of the wilderness, can now be monitored and dealt with before they become a more serious issue for civilization.  The drones are especially useful for this task, as they can fly in storms that other aircraft or humans would have a more difficult time dealing with.

Although the drones only have 20-25 minutes of flight time at 40-50 m.p.h., they could cut significant costs for fire departments and eventually cost very little per launch.  Originally developed as Army target drones, the 15-pound aircraft could save firefighters and citizens a ton of trouble.

These drones don't want pictures of YOU, they're looking for something much hotter.
BTW, that's NASA aerospace engineer Mike Logan, and it seems like his life is awesome.
(Image courtesy fireengineering.com.)

A Museum In Your Monitor: Immerse Yourself In Art In New Virtual-Reality Gallery

Do you like museums, but live in the middle of nowhere?  Do you long to gaze upon the world's artistic treasures, but are daunted at the thought of walking through miles of gallery halls just to spot one specialty?  Now, thanks to virtual reality, some of the finest art and artifacts are available for your perusal, in 3D, from the privacy of your own computer screen.

According to factor-tech.com, the University of Sheffield in England has created the "Computer Love 2.0" program to make art enthusiasm available everywhere.  Navigated with an Oculus Rift system or simply a mouse and keyboard, the Computer Love 2.0 program takes the viewer through virtual versions of Sheffield's National Fairground Archive, the Turner Museum of Glass, and the Alfred Denny Museum.

If you don't trust yourself around the artifacts (pictured) in the real-life Turner Museum of Glass, perhaps visiting the virtual version is smarter.
(Image courtesy bbc.co.uk.) 

The galleries are not limited exclusively to artwork.  Many of the installments in these particular institutions involve animal elements, such as an eagle skull or guillemot eggs.  Dr. Steve Maddock, a member of the university's Computer Science department and one of the program's creators, explained, “Hopefully our art gallery – which explores the relationship between science and art by ‘displaying’ things like our half-specimens as artworks – will pique the interest of visitors and encourage them to make the trip to see the full collections in real life."  

With virtual reality poised to make a major impact on how we see and interpret new things to learn, this could be an important first step in sharing culture worldwide. Could the Met or the Louvre soon follow suit? Will Banksy start writing grafitti electronically? And what happens when someone creates a piece of art that REQUIRES the digital 3D format?  Someday soon, we'll see...in elegantly rendered 3D.

Now you can take a field trip anytime!
(Image courtesy sheffield.ac.uk.)

iRideNYC: A Big App For The Big Apple

6,000 miles of roads.  12,750 miles of sidewalks.  6,000 shared bikes, and countless more independent ones.  1.7 billion subway rides a year.  And cabs...well, cabs EVERYWHERE.  Transportation availability in New York City is no joke, and now thanks to a new app, it will be no mystery.

As reported by gcn.com, the open-sourced app iRideNYC aims to decode every aspect of travelling in NYC, with realtime information updates from the NYC Department of Transportation aiding the actual (not just scheduled) needs of everyone, from tourist to townie.

Cordell Schachter, chief technology officer at NYCDOT, explained, “It recreates the experience of a local app, but you always have up-to-the minute information."

Issues like construction or train maintenance interference would be factored into your results, as well as smaller-scale options like CitiBike locations and availability. iRideNYC will even suggest interesting nearby sights, and the feasibility of walking to them (which, in NYC, is an often an even better adventure than using mechanized transport.)

Based off of a mobile development platform that the NYCDOT used to document damage during the brutal aftermath of 2012's Hurricane Sandy, the app updates every 30 seconds. Think you can outbike any bus in town? Now you can know for sure...and also catch some cool sightseeing along the way!

Find your place amidst the millions right here.

"Hurry the hell up, I'm about to beat my record for racing the express train."

Avast! Modern Pirates May Be Thwarted By Small Submersible Robots

Even in modern times, sea pirates are still a threat.  But instead of having to combat them in tall ships with cannons blazing, we can now counteract would-be buccaneers thanks to small, submersible robots.  MIT has perfected just such a craft, that operates covertly and inexpensively to thwart would-be smugglers.

According to ship-technology.com, the oval-shaped robots created by the MIT team were originally designed to check for cracks in the water coolers of nuclear reactors, but have the capability to examine the undersides of ships of all sizes.  Each robot has a flat belly which is ideal for crawling along to suss out false hulls or hollow propeller shafts that could be used to hide contraband.

Onboard acceleromators and gyroscopes measure the robot's motion, which is propelled by water ejected through six pumps in the robot's body.  An onboard communications antenna relays intel.  The robot's lithium battery currently allows for 40 minutes of activity, moving at half a meter to a meter per second while attached to a surface, although an updated version is set to allow for 100 minutes with wireless recharging and expanded propulsion capability.

Best of all, they're small enough to be unobtrusive, and created easily enough to allow for fleets of them to be deployed with no financial worry.  Designer Sampriti Bhattacharyya explained, "It's very expensive for port security to use traditional robots for every small boat coming into the port. If this is cheap enough, if I can get this out for $600, say, why not just have 20 of them doing collaborative inspection? And if it breaks, it's not a big deal. It's very easy to make."

These barnacle-bots may be just the thing to help port security search for hidden "treasure."

Fortunately, traditional pirate justice is of no use against the robots, as they are specifically built for being keelhauled.

Here Comes The Sunflower: New Device To Provide Solar Power, Heat, & Clean Water

This could be a breakthrough that gets through three major modern human needs at once.  A new invention called the Sunflower could be planted in remote areas to harvest solar power, generate heat, and create drinking water, all in one shiny package.

As reported by newscientist.com, Airlight Energy of Switzerland has crafted an ingenious three-in-one solution to many of the remote world's requirements.  Standing at 10 meters high, the Sunflower is relatively unobtrusive, and can fit neatly into one shipping crate to help out humans anywhere.

Featuring a water-cooled solar panel designed by IBM, the petal-like array reflects light back onto itself, concentrating the light energy two thousand fold.  The water-cooling elements keep the photovoltaic chips at optimum operating temperature, then the sun-heated water can power a desalination station.  In coastal areas, this could use seawater (which is evaporated through a membrane three times for purity), while in other areas it could serve to purify water from lakes, rivers, or rain.  An astonishing 2,500 liters of water a day could possibly be made palatable.

The mirrors themselves are not the traditional heavy-glass variety, but rather are fabricated from, "the same material potato chip and chocolate wrapping is made of," Airlight's Ilaria Besozzi says. The mirrors are in a low-vacuum concave shape that could release to disseminate sunlight and preserve the photovoltaic chips, were the chips to reach a critical melting temperature (in event of water cooling failure.)

While power storage issues are being assessed for the Sunflower, prototypes are expected to enter experimental field tests in 2016, before hitting the market in 2017. The projected output of the Sunflower is slated to provide 12 kilowatts of electricity and 20 kilowatts of heat from 10 hours of sunlight exposure.

Whether its helping far-flung tribesmen or supporting survivalists in style, the Sunflower could light up (and heat, and hydrate) lots of lives.

Radiant!  (Image courtesy inhabitat.com.)

R2BeerMe, You're On Fire! New Beer "Droid" Livens Up Office Parties

Need a barman for your next bash, but don't want to hire a human or force one of your friends to mind the taps all night? Thanks to the glory of technology, one company solved that problem. Meet R2BeerMe.

Named after the famous "Star Wars" robot R2D2, this drink-droid is a motorized, remote-controlled beer "kegerator" (mini-fridge turned keg cooler, with tap.) As reported by bizjournals.com, R2BeerMe was created by real estate adviser Charlie Wolff, and it generally tends to protocol by scooting around his firm's office on a modified wheelchair chassis.

Wolff was inspired by hospitality carts that circled his company office during parties, and he rolled with the idea. "In a parallel universe, I had aspirations of building an RC lawn mower," he said. "Everyone has a garage project, right? So, I had put together a wheelchair base under radio control."

R2BeerMe has been known to sport a camera, mood lighting, sound effects, and even a different costumes (including Pancho Villa) for events of all sorts. But most importantly, he's full of beer. And that's a Force you want to be with you.

Now he just needs his sidekick, C-3POT.

Get Down With The New Deep-Sea-Diving "Exosuit"

It's an intriguing notion that we've explored more of outer space than we have examined of our own Earth's oceans.  The difficulty of water pressure and other dangers of the deep have made seriously submerging humans prohibitively difficult, but a new invention called the Exosuit will allow humans to boldly dive where no one has ventured before.

Beneath the surface at depths of 1,000 feet, humans have yet to make a major mark, though all manner of undiscovered treasures await.  The obvious human-infused elements like shipwrecks and other abandoned items could be explored with ease now thanks to the Exosuit.  Even better, the types of flora and fauna that decorate the depths could be analyzed for any number of uses by dwellers of dry land.

According to industrytap.com, this major advance in solo oceanography is thanks to Phil Nuytten, a scientist/sea diver who has invented an “Atmospheric Diving System” (ADS), a.k.a the Exosuit, which could enable human exploration by dramatically expanding on our current capabilities. Designed specifically to battle the intense cold and pressure a thousand feet or more undersea, the Exosuit also features 1.6 horsepower water thrusters for added mobility, "manipulator" grabber-claws for snagging sea samples, 18 rotary joints for maximum flexibility, LED lights (so you can act like a native bioluminescent creature while dancing with Davy Jones), and a fiber-optic tether for two-way communication to the surface (as well as video feed, in case you need to prove you once punched an anglerfish.)

The suit, created from metal alloys, weighs 530 pounds, costs $500,000, and is operational for up to 10 hours, although it can hold oxygen reserves of "life support" for up to 50 hours. Nuytten has put 25 years of diving technology research and advances into the construction of this seasuit, and it resembles something that wouldn't look out of place in space. What new "alien" life might it discover, right here, buried (well, sunk) in our own oceanic backyard?

Show Cthulhu who's boss in your new Exosuit!