Technology

Blind People Behind The Wheel? Yes Indeed

A group called the Blind Driver Challenge team in Virginia Tech's Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory  has retrofitted a four-wheel dirt buggy with laser range finders, an instant voice command interface and a host of other cutting-edge technologies. D ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 8 2010 - 6:56pm

Tangential Science: Sometimes Naked Girls Are Just An Excuse

Tangential Science: it's not necessarily science, but it's still funny. 1. Drought is a serious problem in many parts of the world, going well beyond our California 'limit the days you water your lawn' irritation and well into 'We ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Jul 23 2009 - 3:46pm

Brewing Science: Beer Company Builds University Of Nottingham Its Own Brewery

Think University of Nottingham students enjoy a pint on occasion?   It's a safe bet, since the school is putting in a fully-functioning brewery, and brewing must be a key contributor to the East Midlands economy since it boasts some 78 small or medium ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 25 2009 - 11:12am

Computing: Having One's Head In The Cloud

Computer trends are interesting to follow [1]; they keep changing, and, as with clothing, the chic trends this year soon become passé, replaced by newer ones. It often seems that it’s really the words that change, while the actual trends continue pretty m ...

Article - Barry Leiba - Jul 29 2009 - 1:35pm

Asimov Redux- Robots Get Three New Rules

Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics were immortalized in the short story "Runaround" in 1942.   In it he formalized the rules that all positronic robots must obey. Two engineers think Asimov's laws need an update. ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 29 2009 - 3:58pm

The New Yorker Versus The Kindle

If you live in New York and like to feel a part of the local intelligentsia, you simply  have to read The New Yorker. Which I do, regularly, every week. ...

Article - Massimo Pigliucci - Jul 29 2009 - 6:04pm

A Little "spray Paint" Goes Along Way Toward Insulating Circuits

Ever since graphene was discovered in 2004, this one-atom thick, super strong, carbon-based electrical conductor has been billed as a "wonder material" that some physicists think could one day replace silicon in computer chips. But graphene, whi ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 31 2009 - 6:05pm

How Ripe Is Your Pineapple?

Like Goldilocks and her porridge, people today want their food to be perfect.   But when you look at something like a pineapple in a supermarket, how do you know what's 'just ripe' and what is spoiled, or not ripe yet?  They all look the sam ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 3 2009 - 10:48am

Subscribe To Our Facebook Page, Make Your Significant Other Jealous!

A study of college students found that the more time they spent on Facebook, the more likely they or their squeeze got jealous about the information posted there, leading to more time spent on Facebook and further fueling jealousy. Facebook could tank your ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 6 2009 - 11:03pm

Origami Provides Inspiration For DNA Engineering

When the ancient Japanese art of origami first came about, it consisted of one piece of paper folded to form cranes, flowers, and other shapes. Now, however origami has been revised and resized a bit. All the way down to the nanometer (1/1000000000 meters ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 6 2009 - 3:56pm