Researchers Come Up With a Device That Produces Energy from Human Breathing

A team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison managed to come up with a device that can produce power from airflow that comes from human breathing.

Initially scientists wanted to create a small and flexible apparatus that would utilize the low airflow speed of about 2 meters per second - a speed of normal respiration.

In order to reach their goal, the team decided to use a plastic microbelt made of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) that vibrates as it is being passed by low-speed airflow. PVDF allows the belt to collect electric charge during mechanical stress.

Microbelt produces enough electrical power from breathing to operate small electronic gadgets. In the image the belt is colored in yellow. The other components of the device make up a simulated lung that produces the airflow.

Scientists believe that someday their invention could be used as a power source incorporated into implantable medical devices.

World's First Battery Powered by Paper

Sony has recently announced it managed to come up with a battery powered by paper. However, the whole process is more complex than simply using a standard paper.

The batteries developed by the Japanese tech giant make use of enzymes in order to break down the glucose found in the cellulose of the paper (which by the way is made of wood pulp fibers).

Sony was able to demonstrate its bio-battery. The demo took place at the Eco-Products exhibition in Tokyo. During the presentation the paper was placed into a mix of water and enzymes. After a couple of minutes the liquid started generating enough power to activate a small fan.

After enzymes broke down the paper, they were left with sugar that was produced from cellulose. Then they were able to process the sugar to produce hydrogen ions and electrons. The latter then went through an outer circuit to produce power. Mixed with oxygen in the air, the hydrogen ions were then able to create H2O.

"This is the same mechanism with which termites eat wood to get energy. Bio batteries are environmentally friendly and have great potential as they use no metals or harmful chemicals," explained Chisato Kitsukawa, a PR manager at Sony.

LG's 55-inch OLED TV panel is world's largest, yet might be affordable

LG Display, a leading innovator of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) technology has developed the world's largest 55-inch OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) TV panel, today. It demonstrates the effective application of AMOLED technology to larger panel sizes at a more cost efficient level.

Dr. Sang Beom Han, CEO and Executive Vice President of LG Display, had this to say about today's announcement: "Our objective has always been to actively define and lead emerging display technology markets. Although OLED technology is seen as the future of TV display, the technology has been limited to smaller display sizes and by high costs, until now. LG Display's 55-inch OLED TV panel has overcome these barriers."

But unfortunately LG says they see the device as a step forward in popularizing the concept of large-sized OLED TVs. In other words, the TV is just a prototype at this point with neither a price tag nor a release date, and we might have to wait years before being able to actually buy one.

IBM predicts mind controlled computers and smartphones in 5 years

With the deployment of Siri on Apple’s iPhone 4S, not to mention the steady improvement of voice recognition technology, it would appear as though one of the ways that we could be controlling our smartphones and gadgets in the future would be accomplished through our voice. IBM on the other hand seems to think that technology would have advanced way ahead and that in five years time, we could be controlling our smartphones using our mind.

As part of their “5 in 5” series, IBM has predicted that by the year 2017, technology would have and could have advanced the point where our brain impulses could be used to transmit commands to our smartphones, thus allowing us to perform functions such as making a phone call or even typing up a message simply by thinking about it.

Is this merely wishful thinking (IBM doesn’t seem to think so), or do you think at the rate we are advancing that such a feat is possible in five years? If you’d like a more in-depth explanation of this “dream” that IBM has, check out the video below for a brief overview.

MIT Researches Create A Camera That Makes Light Look Slow

If you thought slow-mo videos of watermelons being exploded by bullets and chubby, jowled faces recoiling from slaps was as good as it gets, think again: MIT Media Lab has created a camera-and-laser rig that’s capable of capturing one trillion exposures per second; fast enough to visualize the speed of light and to see the effect of individual photons as they collide with surfaces.

This new camera uses a new technology called a streak camera, which uses a narrow slit as its aperture. One of the system’s developers, Media Lab postdoc Andreas Velten, says its the “ultimate” in slow motion. Explaining “There’s nothing in the universe that looks fast to this camera,”.

Particles of light — photons — enter the camera through the slit and pass through an electric field that deflects them in a direction perpendicular to the slit. Because the electric field is changing very rapidly, it deflects late-arriving photons more than it does early-arriving ones.

iControlPad - Transforms Your Smartphone into Wireless Personal Gaming Gadget

Today gamers do not have to sit at home to play their favorite video games. A lot of interesting games are now developed for smartphone. The latter, however, lack the control that gaming consoles have.

With this in mind, the British and German developers have come up with the iControlPad Bluetooth gaming controller. With its help gamers can make use of one directional pad, 4 action buttons, 2 analog gaming controls and Select and Start buttons. The rear of the device has left and right trigger buttons.

The device is compatible with nearly all smartphones. You simple have to attach your phone to the device and play. It also has a metal clamp to hold the handset securely over the controller (check out the image).

Initially the gadget was created as a clip-over, wired smartphone gaming controller but since then it has turned into a stand-alone wireless due to an incorporated Bluetooth module. This device can be connected to almost any tablet computer and fully-grown gaming consoles.

The controller has been tested with several smartphones for compatibility. The list of handsets tested with the iControlPad includes: Blackberry Torch, Samsung's Galaxy2 and 2S, the iPhone, HTC's Desire HD and the LG Optimus S.

Besides, the built-in 1350mAh battery can not only power the device, but also charge a smartphone using a USB adapter. Here's also a flash chip that can be used for upgrades.

The gadget can be used as an alternative for a Bluetooth mouse, keyboard, and Human Interface Device (HID) joypad.

BiKN - System that Helps You Find Lost Items

In case you often forget where you put your car keys then the BiKN (pronounced beacon) is the device for you.

The gadget represents a tracking system composed of an iPhone case, a special application and up to 8 tags that the user can attach to various items that are often forgotten.

BiKN is always there to help its user locate missing items. It can also be used to instantly located the current location on your child.

The device's case includes a black or white base that slides into an electronic unit used to gain accesses to the handset via its 30-pin connector.

It is possible to recharge the phone by placing it in the case. The latter can also track radio frequency tags that can be attached onto key chains, bags, or children's clothing. However, it should be noted that both the tags and case must be charged in order to function. The BiKN application informs about the current level of battery life.


There are 3 ways in which the user can keep track of their items or children. If Find mode is activated, the app is used to find lost items with the help of a visual display and an audio tone. In case the Leash mode is turned on, the user will hear an alarm on both the case and the tag, if a tagged item goes beyond a pre-determined distance from the case. The third mode is called Page mode and with its help the user can program several tags and/or other bases to sound an alert, which has the goal of catching the attention of tag-wearing people.

Due to the fact that the Leash and Page modes do note require the use of the application, they can be used when the handset is turned off.

New-Generation Contact Lenses Could Send Data from Internet Right to Your Eyes

Nearly everyday we can witness the appearance of new computers that are smaller in size than their predecessors. A lot of people around the world use their smartphones to surf the web, play games and use a myriad of applications, either for entertainment, business or both.

In case such trend continues to progress, in the future we could witness the appearance on the market of contact lenses that can project the user's emails right onto their eyeballs.

A group of researchers at Washington University has recently carried out tests of a new-gen contact lenses that can make it possible for their wearer to read emails and augment their vision with various data collected from the Internet.

The circuits inside the lenses are made of layers of metal that are just a few nanometers thick and include light-emitting diodes that are 1/3rd of a millimeter across.

But researchers still have to think about ways to supply power to these lenses. The lenses that have been tested work only in case there are several centimeters away from a wireless battery. There re also other issues that the team has to solve, like those linked with toxic chemicals.

According to researchers, in future their lenses could show complex holographic imagery - price comparison data, for example - when the user will look at a particular product.

Such invention could be widely used in medical field and home entertainment...