We have seen the future of laptops, and they have foldable displays, starting with this new Lenovo prototype. This device sports a 13.3-inch OLED 2K display made by LG that can fold in half and reduce its width by 50%. Inside, you’ll find an Intel processor running Windows, allowing for a variety of uses, including folding it into a book to scan multiple social media feeds at once or just standing it up for a hands-free news viewing experience. Read more for a hands-on video and additional information.
Photo credit: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill proposes an permanent village for the lunar surface moon, consisting of inflatable pods that can expand as the population grows. The European Space Agency (ESA) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) aim for this to be “the first permanent human settlement on the lunar surface”. In other words, it will be capable of sustaining human life in an otherwise uninhabitable setting while offering radiation protection, protection from pressure differentials, and providing breathable air. Read more for additional pictures and information.
DARPA’s OFFensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics (OFFSET) was formed to explore tactics to be used by systems of over a hundred unmanned air and/or ground drones. Recently, the group conducted their second field experiment, which took place at Fort Benning, Georgia, where teams of autonomous air and ground robots tested tactics on a mission to isolate an urban objective. Read more for the video and additional information.
Many of us have a habit of laying in bed while using our smartphone or tablet, but what if there was something better? Meet the HiBed. Think of it as a smart bed that not only monitors your sleep patterns with the companion mobile app, but also analyzes sleep quality, biometric parameters, body weight, temperature, air quality and even the noise level. Read more for additional pictures and information.
The ADIFO (All-DIrectional Flying Object) may look like a UFO when in-flight, but this aircraft, developed by Romanian engineer Razvan Sabie and aerodynamicist Iosif Taposu, aims “to change the actual paradigm of flight.” the prototype measures 1.2-meter (3.9-ft) in diameter and features four ducted fans for take-off / landing, as well as two jets in the back for horizontal propulsion. Read more for a video, additional pictures and information.
LumiLor is not tiny LED light you install on a car, nor is it glow-in-the-dark paint, but rather an innovative spray on paint that illuminates in the dark. Put simply, it “turns on and off” by reacting to an electric charge, and can be applied to just about any surface, while looking like regular paint when not charged. Since electric currents excite the material, a push of a button can produce modulating, pulsating light effects. Read more for a video and additional information.
Russia’s defense ministry showcased its latest unmanned aerial vehicle for the first time in public on Wednesday. The Okhotnik (Russian for Hunter) was seen taking off, performing tactical maneuvers and landing after the 20 minute demonstration. This wedge-shaped combat drone was developed by the Sukhoi company and is a major leap compared to other unmanned aerial vehicles previously developed in Russia. Read more for a video and additional information.
Researchers at China’s Tsinghua University recently demonstrated an autonomous bicycle in Beijing that can not only balance itself, but avoid obstacles while doing so. Powered by the Tianjic chip, it’s capable of following certain trajectories and even respond to vocal commands. The chip merges computer science-based machine learning and human brain-inspired networks, which means it can perform several actions independently at the same time. Read more for a video and additional information.
Elon Musk shared a fascinating video of SpaceX’s net-equipped drone ship catching a Falcon 9 nose cone (payload fairing) falling from the sky during the launch of the Amos-17 communications satellite. For those who don’t know, these nose cones surround satellites during launch, and SpaceX’s are composed of two halves, each equipped with small, steering thrusters and parafoils to help in recovery efforts. Read more for the video and additional information.
Keio University researchers in Japan have developed a prototype robot tail, called Arque, for humans. When worn, it can be adjusted to the wearer’s body and allow them to stay balanced when moving quickly or handling heavy objects. Thanks to a modular vertebrae design, it can easily adapt to the wearer’s height and weight. The prototype must be anchored to an external pressurized air system, so this version is not fully mobile. Read more for a video and additional information.