Category: Other Tech

To our graduate student readers: As if constant emails from your boss weren’t enough,  soon you’ll have no excuse to avoid the “got any data?” question—even when you’re out in the field. A new mobile app now lets researchers collect and analyze data from anywhere in the world, using their cell phones. It’s not all bad: The software could help you unload some of your work by allowing citizen scientists to snap pictures from their own backyards, and contribute them to research projects. The software, called EpiCollect, is especially useful for…

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With the aid of one of the strongest materials on Earth, a researcher at Australia’s Swinburne University has created a battery that charges up super fast and can be used over and over and over again, without losing efficiency. Researcher Han Lin developed the battery using a form of carbon called graphene, which is commonly heralded as one of the strongest materials on the planet. The new supercapacitor addresses many of the shortcomings of traditional lithium ion batteries, beating them in charging time, lifespan, and also environmental impact. Researchers around the globe have…

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GKN Automotive has entered its eTwinster technology into the real world, as automakers test the torque vectoring electric drive system. The plug-in hybrid module is being showcased at the company’s Wintertest proving ground in Sweden as an all-wheel drive driveline option. The eTwinster is meant to offer automakers a combined solution for hybrid and plug-in all-wheel drive platforms. It’s a combination of the eAxle technologies GKN provides for companies like Volvo, Porsche and BMW, and the twin-clutch torque vectoring features the company created for vehicles from Ford and Range Rover.…

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Which part of earth haven’t we explored yet? One hint: It’s by far one of the biggest places on the planet. It is, of course, the earth’s mantle, sitting just beneath a relatively thin crust of rocks. To develop a vehicle capable of clawing into the heart of our planet, start by designing and testing such a vehicle in lakes of lava near volcanoes. That’s what the Vulcan concept is about. Lava can range in temperature from 1,500 to 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit, so the Vulcan would need an outer shell…

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Redbox’s ill-fated attempt to take on Netflix and Hulu shut down in 2014, but Variety reports that it’s ready to try again. From the ashes of Redbox Instant rises Redbox Digital, which ditches the subscription element entirely in favor of all-video on-demand all the time. It’s focused on the rental and purchase experience, although for now only invited users can try it out. The app is already live on iTunes, and the screenshots show off the possibility of downloading or streaming videos, and support for Google’s Cast feature. The only problem with video on-demand is that…

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A simple technology meant to stop major arterial bleeding has passed its first field test on the battlefield. The device, called XSTAT, was put to the test recently when a soldier with a gunshot wound to the thigh remained in critical condition after a seven-hour surgery failed to staunch the bleeding from his femoral artery. As a last resort, the forward medical team operating on the soldier decided to use the XSTAT, an oversized syringe filled with absorbent sponges that are injected directly into a wound. The treatment worked, the company says, halting the bleeding in…

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Buzzing may not be the only thing drones have in common with insects. Tiny drones of the future might “see” their world with tiny, artificial sensors inspired by flying insects’ compound eyes. The experimental sensors are small and light enough to fit on the tiniest drones, which could give them the ability to sense and avoid collisions in cluttered spaces. Smaller and Smaller Like most other gadgets, scientists are looking to make drones smaller and smaller for a number of reasons. For one, a tiny drone is far stealthier and…

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Delivery drones may still seem a ways off because of new U.S. commercial drone regulations requiring drones to stay within sight of their human operators on the ground. But such rules pose no problem for a U.S. startup that developed a drone capable of launching from delivery trucks and dropping off packages within the driver’s line of sight. The HorseFly drone developed by Workhorse Group, an electric vehicle company in Cincinnati, Ohio, is an octocopter designed to ride aboard a delivery truck. Once it gets a delivery mission, the drone can take off through the truck’s roof with a…

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