A new type of ‘smart’ clothing which adapts to changing temperatures to keep the wearer comfortable is being developed by two universities using nature as a guide. The clothing will use the latest in micro technology to produce material which will let in air to cool a wearer when it is hot and shut out air when it is cold. […]
Intelligent Clothing Adapts To Changing Temperatures
The Fabric Evolution
UK-based Eleksen has developed ElekTex fabric sensors that could lead to a whole class of new applications and may, mind you, herald a new age in industrial design! Elektex is exactly like traditional fabric – it can be easily washed and ironed, and is very durable and cheap to make. However, Elektex fabric can actually conduct electricity, hence its promising […]
Changing Signs
Ran Poliakine, founder of promising start-up Magink, envisions a future in which his “digital ink” technology will be used in products all around us, forever changing everything from billboards to laptops. For example, you would be able to “cover your living room with digital wallpaper that will be able to change, even the color, according to the seasons around the […]
Your Desktop Altar
Too busy to attend church? Then you’ll need PocketChapel, a computer program that allow you to create and customize a computer desktop altar. Iconoculture reports with insightful analysis: The wired faithful can personalize their PC altar, adding flowers, candles, icons, and even specific wishes and prayers. But some PocketChapel fans have decided to make their altar even more accessible with […]
P2P Filesharing for Hospitals
P2P (peer-to-peer) applications have been in the negative spotlight ever since the release of Napster and KaZaa due to their users illegally distributing music files over the networks. But P2P can have its own merits and legitimate uses too, such as linking up hospitals and allowing them to search for patient information and high-quality 3D moving images across the entire […]
Mixing Technology with Feelings
BBC News has an interesting article about the big role feelings and emotions are going to play in this high-tech world. There are many projects popping up all over the world to allow us to communicate our emotions to our loved ones with more than just words and our voice. For example: US artist Alison Lewis has developed some hi-tech […]
It’s Safety First At Legoland
Thanks to the implementation of RFID technology, parents can have great fun with their children in Legoland without worrying about losing them in the vast park. The Legoland amusement park in Denmark is implementing a new child-tracking system that combines radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and Wi-Fi technology which allows staff to be able to locate a child who got […]
Tellme More Please, Won’t You?
Silicon Valley entrepreneur Mike McCue thinks that his company, Tellme Networks, can transform the cell phone into a powerful tool for sales and marketing with its proprietary technology. Tellme uses a combination of Internet and voice-recognition technology to replace human operators and traditional automated attendants. Instead of requiring people to enter data by pushing numbers on the keypad, Tellme allows […]
Star Trek Communication
The magic of Star Trek “com badges” has come to life! Wearing a Vocera badge, people can touch the slim device they wear on their uniforms, identify who they want to talk to and start talking immediately as they did on the TV show. The Vocera Communications Badge, made by Silicon Valley-based Vocera Communications, contains a digital signal processor chip […]
Wi-Fi and Vineyards: A Mismatch?
Owners of a USA vineyard are now using Wi-Fi technology to more carefully monitor growing conditions at their site. California-based Accenture Technology Labs installed 40 wireless units on existing trellising posts around the 30-acre vineyard and fitted them with sensors to measure microclimate data such as soil, air temperature, moisture content, and leaf wetness. The data is sent from sensor […]