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The geometric shape of a room can be mapped using the echoes from a sound recorded by four microphones placed inside a room, research finds. Like bats who emit sounds in order to navigate, researchers can now plug sounds into a computer algorithm to map a room. The team were able to build a full 3D image of a room using four microphones to record echoes bouncing off walls. Writing in the journal PNAS, the researchers say the technology could one day help solve crime. The ability to use sounds to navigate the world, called echolocation, is already used by dolphins and bats. Though rare, some blind people have also been known to possess this skill. But now with the help of a computer algorithm, the echoes from a chirp like sound can reveal the shape of a room The algorithm could also distinguish between stronger and weaker echoes and whether they had bounced one or more times around the room.
A new generation of designers takes on an ambitious set of pressing social challenges. In this year’s Next Generation Design Competition, Metropolis aims to tap into the vital energy of a new crop of designers, looking to find not just beauty but meaning and service through their work. For these entrants, design is no mere stylistic exercise, but an incisive and creative tool that can and must enhance the lives of those whose needs have been ignored. This year’s runners-up have aimed high—drafting solutions for the inhabitants of a malaria-infested slum in Nairobi, for the thousands of child amputees in Cambodia, and, closer to home, for amputees who want prosthetic devices that will allow them to do more than just walk and run without a hitch. Ours may never be a truly new world. But through the efforts of this wave of dedicated designers, it may have become just a bit more brave.
Are you a bit postmodern, or do you belong in the Bauhaus? Watch six short videos then take the test to discover your design alter-ego.
Just a few years ago, sewage trucks would queue for up to 24 hours to ditch their filthy loads at Dubai's sewerage plants - but new technology means this is a thing of the past "We're not suggesting you drink it, there's actually a lot of applications for ultra purified water, processed water for cooling, water for processes in industrial areas. The applications are really varied, and the technology does exist to treat water to very high levels." Back at the main sewage treatment plant, there's another by-product which might come as a surprise. Sludge that was separated from the incoming water gets baked and dried using methane gas which is yet another by-product of the treatment process. Granules then get bagged and sold to gardeners all across the city as a fertiliser of human origin; a bargain, perhaps, at $2.50 for 25kg. And clearly demonstrating that in the end, very little to do with waste water in this part of the world, actually goes to waste.
Are you a bit postmodern, or do you belong in the Bauhaus? Watch six short videos then take the test to discover your design alter-ego.
Natural disasters can happen anywhere with little or no warning. When they do, they threaten community water sources and jeopardize public health by destroying vital pipelines or existing sanitation systems allowing the introduction of contaminants into the drinking water supply. One of the most immediate concerns post-disaster is providing a supply of clean, safe hydration to survivors to help prevent the occurrence and spread of waterborne diseases. "Water is one of the first things that a victim of a natural disaster has to have to survive," says Nathan Jones, vice president of government and institutional sales at HTI. "Many of the deaths that occur from natural disasters don't happen because of the disaster itself, but what happens later—the waterborne disease that sweeps through the population."
Researchers create device with e-paper style screen that curls up with emails, texts and calls Canadian researchers have created a flexible smartphone that curls up when someone calls. The MorePhone, created by researchers at Queen’s University, is a thin, tablet-like device with a reactive display that bends with each new notification. The electrophoretic display – similar to e-paper – is manufactured by British firm Plastic Logic and houses "shape memory" wires that contract according to whatever message is coming in. For example, users can set the display to bend one corner on a text message, two corners for a call, or the entire body of the phone for an email. They can also set visual notifications for more urgent messages, like bending a corner repeatedly.
Commuting on buses and trains, even crossing the road, people in South East Asia are transfixed by their smartphone screens, and increasingly their fingers are typing at top speed on their chat app of choice.
Eerie Photos Of Abandoned Airplane Wrecks From Around The World - DesignTAXI.com
What are the greatest global threats to the future of humanity? An international team from Oxford University's Future of Humanity Institute is investigating the biggest dangers. And they argue in a research paper, Existential Risk as a Global Priority, that international policymakers must pay serious attention to the reality of species-obliterating risks. Last year there were more academic papers published on snowboarding than human extinction. The Swedish-born director of the institute, Nick Bostrom, says the stakes couldn't be higher. If we get it wrong, this could be humanity's final century.
Partnered with Stratasys, Dassault Systèmes and Sculpteo, Designer Tom Dixon has launched the first open design competition based on a modular concept at MOST in Milan during Design Week.
Japanese boffins at Fujitsu have been showing off new user-interface technology which uses advanced image processing to effectively digitise physical content, allowing users to manipulate it like they would with a touchscreen interface. The system consists of a camera and projector so that a user can select a piece of physical content – for example a section of text or image in a book – by dragging their finger across it, and it will then be scanned and projected digitally back onto the table top. It can then be manipulated just like digital content on a touchscreen computing device. Although the system uses a standard projector and web cam, its powerful image processing software is able to accurately map and then detect a user’s finger as it travels across a physical object, at speeds of 300 mm per second, Fujitsu said.
You'll be staring at this for hours! Pop Chart Lab has created a monster print charting 179 games console controllers. The chart, which is available as a 27x39in print, shows how gaming input has evolved from simple knobs to directional pads to touch screens over seven decades of gaming.
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Two junior doctors develop giant holographic human body parts to make medics' lectures more memorable. A system which uses giant holograms to help medical students master their subject has been pioneered by two London-based junior doctors. They have demonstrated a 3D graphic of a kidney measuring 4m (13 ft) to demonstrate renal function at a "test lecture" last week. It was one of a series of animations they are developing. However, the University of London, which hosted the event, said it was not ready to be rolled out yet. "The cost would be prohibitively expensive," said a spokesman. "It's more a proof-of-concept at this stage."
Artist Lisa Park's performative piece Eunoia uses an EEG sensor and her brain to interact with dishes of water. So, how does she actually make the water vibrate? She translates her brainwaves into sound waves by linking Processing with Max/MSP and Reaktor, where the megahertz from her brain are turned into deep, echo-y, trance-inducing audio.
Trucking giant Caterpillar backs eye and face-tracking technology to reduce risk of accidents caused by driver fatigue. Eye and face-tracking technology that aims to prevent accidents caused by fatigue is being rolled out by the world's biggest mining equipment maker. Caterpillar is to sell a package of sensors, alarms and software which detect when a truck driver is about to fall asleep. BHP Billiton and gold producer Newmont Mining have already carried out trials. The firms believe it out-performs earlier systems that needed workers to wear special equipment. Driver Safety Solution (DSS) also benefits from the fact it does not need to be recalibrated when one worker swaps shift with another. The product was developed by Australian firm, Seeing Machines, which secured the tie-up with Caterpillar after a panel of experts selected it over 21 rival technologies. It will cost up to $20,000 (£13,260) to install on each vehicle, although a discount applies if it is bought in bulk.
The concept of a library is going to be re-invented in Texas with the launch of a public library with digital rather than printed books. Bexar County's so-called BiblioTech is a low-cost project with big ambitions. Its first branch will be in a relatively poor district on the city of San Antonio's South Side. It will have 100 e-readers on loan, and dozens of screens where the public will be able to browse, study, and learn digital skills. However it's likely most users will access BiblioTech's initial holding of 10,000 digital titles from the comfort of their homes, way out in the Texas hinterland. It will be a truly bookless library - although that is not a phrase much to the liking of BiblioTech's project co-ordinator, Laura Cole. She prefers the description "digital library" - after all, there will be books there, but in digital form.
After years of conflict, it can be difficult to imagine the people of Mogadishu enjoying a nightlife. Thanks to improved security and street lighting, the Somali capital has been transformed from a war-zone to a place where people can venture out without fear. Anne Soy shows the city's nightlife for the first time in 20 years. Read MoreStreetlights bring normality to Mogadishu
Scientists in the US have created a robot the size of a fly that is able to perform the agile manoeuvres of the ubiquitous insects. Robo-fly, which is built from carbon fibre, weighs a fraction of a gram and has super-fast electronic "muscles" to power its wings. Its Harvard University developers say tiny robots like theirs may eventually be used in rescue operations. It could, for example, navigate through tiny spaces in collapsed buildings.
Scientists in the US take a step forward in their ability to mimic the sense of touch, developing highly touch-sensitive transistors. The sensors, which are described in Science magazine, could also help give robots a more adaptive sense of touch. Using bundles of vertical zinc oxide nanowires, the researchers built arrays consisting of about 8,000 transistors. Each of the transistors can independently produce an electronic signal when placed under mechanical strain. The touch-sensitive transistors - dubbed taxels - have a sensitivity comparable to that of a human fingertip.
Wallace & Gromit creator Aardman Animations has joined forces with English actor, writer, and TV presenter Stephen Fry to produce an animated short about the fruitless quest of the last dodo to find another of its kind.
New keyboard layout promises faster typing on touchscreen devices Researchers at the University of St Andrews claim Qwerty keyboards on touchscreens are an anachronism, and have come up with a new system for typing with two thumbs. According to the team behind the project, the KALQ keyboard's layout makes the most of the way people write on touchscreen devices, placing keys in the positions that are best suited to thumb controls. The team claims that in tests users were able to input data 34% more quickly than with a Qwerty touchscreen interface. "The legacy of Qwerty has trapped users with sub-optimal text entry interfaces on mobile devices," said Per Ola Kristensson, whose team ran a computer optimisation models to define the most efficient layout. "The Qwerty layout is ill-suited for tablets and other touchscreen devices when typing with both thumbs."
A British man who spent four years designing and building an enormous diesel-powered hexapod robot admits it has no purpose
'Interactive' fabric that can change shape and colour has been developed at a Canadian university The project - dubbed Karma Chameleon - involves weaving electronic fabric into clothes in a way that allows the storage of energy from the body. Uses for the technology include a dress that "changes itself", and a shirt which can charge a phone.
Thousands flocked to social media to 'investigate' the Boston bombings - but they found the wrong man. Should such efforts be stopped?
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