If you've followed this blog since its beginning then you already know I'm obsessed with skateboarding and snowboarding though I do neither.
This is the Survivor Split snowboard from Signal Snowboards. It's not only a snowboard but it has a survival kit built into it. The kit includes a shovel and saw, which I find pretty awesome. Based off the design of a split board, this one has three splits that transform the outside splits into skis and the center can be used as a shovel. The boards saw can be found with a retractable blade that can be used to cut wood. It also contains a compass. It's pretty cool. Check it out in the video below.
When I was little, I was chasing my cousin around my baby sitters house. I slipped on the newly waxed floor and ran into the wall, forehead first. My head was split open and I had to get a bunch of stitches. I still remember it all. The one thing I remember most is all the blood. It was everywhere. The worst part was that my favorite Disney, The Little Mermaid pj's were destroyed. It was horrible.
MIT has developed a bandage that could have stopped the bleeding from my forehead a lot quicker then it was stopped. My Little Mermaid pj's probably still would have had some blood on them, but at least I wouldn't have passed out from blood loss. Anyway, the new bandage uses a natural clotting agent found in our blood to stop bleeding instantly. These bandages are extremely useful for wounds on the neck, where tourniquets can't be applied and one bleeds out very quick.
A team of scientists at the University of Austin have discovered a new method that can enhance the regrowth of blood vessels in the body. The new method is surgery free and it uses lipid-based nanoparticles that promote cell division creating new cells faster.
Rat's leg before on the left and then after treatment on the right
A test was done with a growth factor called FGF-2. The test subjects recovered in as little as a week. This new testing will be revolutionizing for those with MID or other medical problems that affect blood flow to the limbs.
I hate going to the dentist. I know you are supposed to, and it's a healthy thing to do, especially if I want to keep my teeth. It doesn't matter what anyone says to me. I hate the dentist. Sorry to those who make a living looking at peoples teeth, but it's just not my thing. I think the main reason I hate the dentist is the whine of the drills. The drills scare the crap out of me and make my hands sweat. Even the whine on the gadget they use to clean teeth makes me uncomfortable. I appreciate the television that sits above my head, but when it only plays muted soap operas I think more about it falling on my head to put me out of the misery of having someones hands in my mouth then actually enjoying the show.
Anyway, get to the point right?
A new device is in development by a team at King's College Dental Institute that will be able to block out the high pitched whine of dentist drills. The device is a headset with a microphone and microchip. It blocks out certain sound waves so that the sound of music or a TV can still be heard but the drill sounds are blocked.
I have a friend that goes biking all the time. She bikes every weekend and two or three times during the week before school. Sometimes it's still dark out when she gets out to bike. I always worry about her getting hit by a car. I really want her to get a jacket like this.
This jacket is called the Sporty Supahero cycling jacket. It has LED lights built in that change if the biker is stopping or turning. The jacket includes 64 RGB LEDs incorporated into flexible, wearable circuit boards, an acceleration sensor, and a gyroscope. The sensors detect the motion of the biker. When braking the jacket glows read, and blink when turning.
Have you ever gone camping and tripped over the pins of the tent in the dark? I have.
Designers have developed these stakes that illuminate the area around the tent. The top of the stake is slanted so that the light won't be damaged when the stake is put into the ground. The lights are solar panals that emit green light shining light on the tent lines and the area around them.
Have you ever thought about how many picture you are in? Not just your pictures but other peoples pictures? How many special moments of someone else's life you were caught in? Well now it's possible to get other people out of your pictures.
Scalado, a Swedish photography company has developed an app that allows someone to remove the people walking by in an app. This app makes it easier to have pictures at special landmarks or places without people in the background.
The app takes several shots and then removes any objects that seem to be moving. The items are marked in a screen while allow the user to remove which ones they want.
About two weeks ago, I had a flat tire. Well, it wasn't flat, but it had very little air in it. It was a pain in the ass because I was worried it was going to go completely flat and I would have to learn how to change a tire by myself. I had to drive to campus and to class with my tire almost completely flat. I just didn't have time to put air in the stupid thing.
These tires would have made the stress I had two weeks ago go away. Bridgestone has created a new tire that is air-free. It's made of recyclable thermoplastic-resin spokes. They are immune to punctures.
I started this blog wanting to post about cool inventions I find. Well, I guess it's become more than that. I've begun posting about ways that we adapt. My first post like this was about the mouse for your foot for those who can't use their hands or arms. I hope to keep posting things like this, because they are cool. But, more than that, they show that we care about people with disabilities.
This is the DrawBraille Mobile Phone. It was designed by Sheffield Hallam University student Shikun Sun. This phone was designed for the visually impaired. It has a braille board and finger pads. The first rows is made up of braille buttons while the other side is sort of like a touchscreen. Battery life can be read by the row on the side of the phone.
Georgia Institute of Technology developed an app that brings Braille to a smartphone. It's called the Brailletouch app and consists of six-key keyboard. Typing on the keyboard is almost like using a Braille keyboard.
If you were wondering how my second phone fared after I killed the first one, this post will probably clue you in. I'm a klutz, what can I say?
Nissan has developed a new coating that is scratch resistant. They've created the first self-healing iPhone case. The paint is made of polyrotaxane which can stretch itself to fill gaps. It takes anywhere from an hour to a week for the case to heal itself. The surface is gel-like which makes it easier to grip and reduces the chances of dropping the phone. Originally, the Scratch Shield paint was developed for cars, but this new case is the first of many new uses for the substance.
Recently, my mother has learned to text. Not well, I might add, but she is learning. I have to give her credit for that. Anyway, when she does text, she always complains that the buttons are too small for her fingers. When I say always, I don't mean occasionally or sometimes, I mean every-single-time. I was tempted to buy her this little gadget, but she doesn't have a smartphone. So, no luck.
This little gadget was developed by a Norway company ONE2TOUCH and is called the "Touch & Type" keyboard. It can communicate with most tablet or smartphone by simply downloading and installing a driver on the device. The phones can then be set on the black strip and be used to type on the phone. The keyboard also has a charging strip in the middle, is waterproof, and can fold up to be put in a purse, or pocket.
I received my first cell phone as a Christmas present when I was 16. I remember that morning very well, because I had been complaining to my parents for months. All my friends in school had a cell phone. In face, most of them had cell phones since we were in middle school. I complained almost everyday. When we went to the mall, I would purposely walk by the Verizon Wireless store and stare at the phones in the window. My mom got annoyed quickly, but she held out, telling me "You're too young to have a phone. What are you even going to do with it?"
I was told if I kept my grades up, kept my room clean, and behaved, I could have a phone when I turned 16 because I would be driving soon. When I turned 16 in September, no phone. I had to wait til December 25. I was opening gifts from my stocking when a bright orange pop can snuggie fell out. I looked at it. "Uh, thanks?" I said disappointed. I picked it up and realized it was too heavy for a cloth snuggie. I looked inside and a pretty little phone was sitting there. I had a big smile on my face. Mom said I was still too young for it.
About two months after I got my phone, I dropped it in a puddle on accident while it was raining. The red X's that were on the battery were gone. It was damaged. Sure enough, I went to turn it on and it wouldn't work. First phone. Gone. I had to wait for a new one.
I bring this up, because it would have saved me a lot of trouble to have had something like this back then...
A company in California named Liquipel has developed water resistant nanocoating. It's suppose to protect smartphones from water intrusion. It's just a coating that is applied as a vapor and doesn't affect the usability of the phone or make it any bigger. The vapor penetrates the whole device and gives the phone a longer life span. Check out the video. It's pretty cool.
Do you want to know more? Do you want to get your smartphone treated?
Many electronics now come with USB chargers. iPhones and iPods come with a USB cord that can be plugged into a computer or a small square to go into the wall. eReaders have the same cords. The problem with the cords they come with is that if you lose the small box to plug into the wall, you either need to buy a new cord or you have to just use the computer.
Well, Power2U Wall Outlet allows a USB cord to be plugged directly into the outlet. They are easy to install and all four ports can be used at once. The ports also only deliver as much power as the device needs to charge it. The USB ports have a little shutter that closes over the port when it is not in use to protect it.
When I was growing up, I had about five or six different bikes. Of course, all of them were hand-me-downs from my cousins and sister. I loved bike riding, but every time I grew a little I needed a new bike.
Orbea has created a bike that expands and grows with a child. They used an adjustable aluminum frame, handlebars, and seat. Just by adding the adjustable frame for the bike, it nearly doubles its useful life span. A bike can last from 4 years to 9 years old now for a kid instead of getting three different bikes as they get older.
A pacemaker powered by the heart. That sounds pretty cool, and a little too good to be true. For anyone who doesn't know what a pacemaker is, it's a little machine that helps keep the heart beating normally for those with heart murmurs or other heart problems. Pretty ideal, right? The problem with them is that they run on batteries, which means people need surgery to put them in, and then surgery again later when the batteries die.
Engineers have started to develop a pacemaker that doesn't run on batteries at all. It's powered by the heart. Right now it's only a prototype. But engineers at the University of Michigan have developed a material that flexes with the beats of the heart. It can produce enough energy to power the pacemaker.
Two years ago, I suffered from severe muscle spasms in my back. They were mostly from the back problems I have, but these little things would have come in handy then. Instead, I had to use the machine from my doctors office, which didn't work very well. I would have loved to have these USB massagers for my back.
These uPixie are from OSIM. They are powered by USB and use electrical currents to massage. The massages can be customized to the user.
Ever since I was little, I can remember my dad pulling out a black pouch before dinner. He would unzip the small black pouch and pull out a cylinder the shape of a pen, a small monitor, and alcohol wipes. He would put a little piece of plastic into the pen that looked like a stick with a small ball on it. The ball would break off and inside would be a small sharp needle. My dad would take the alcohol wipe and wipe off one of his fingers on his right hand then prick his finger. Then he would squeeze his finger and let the small dot of red blood soak into the strip sticking out of the monitor.
I never understood why he would prick his finger every night before dinner until I was considerably older. My dad has diabetes, and he's had it for many years. My father and many other people in the world prick their fingers everyday to measure their blood sugar levels. Pricking his fingers doesn't bother him anymore, but I imagine there are people out there that absolutely hate it.
Researchers have developed a new way to test blood sugar levels. They have developed a new sensor that can measure glucose levels in saliva giving a diabetic a new way to measure their glucose every night. The picture above is of a surface with nano-meter wide grooves and slits that capture and scatter protons to allow a wave to detect the difference in lightwaves to determine glucose levels.
People don't just create electronics or random things to entertain us. Some inventions are made to make food preparation a little easier, safer, and fun. Here are some interesting inventions.
It rained the day before. Not just rained, but rained so hard that you could hear the water come down and hit the ground. Each drop made a sound. You wake up ready to go for a quick run in the park. After making it to the park, you meet someone you know. You start talking to them, and after a while you two decide to sit down. Your friend sits down on the bench near you, and quickly jumps back up. Water now soaks her pants from the puddle she sat in.
Has this ever happened to you? Maybe you weren't the friend but the one getting the wet pants? Well, I have a gadget for you. The Rolling Bench is a new creation that everyone can find a little enjoyment from. I mean come on, no more wet butts, that's great. The bench has a handle on the side, and after a rainy day or spilled drink, you can simply turn the handle. The bench will roll and the wet side of the bench will go underneath and you will be rewarded with a dry place to park your bottom.
Just remember to not sit on it while turning the handle. That probably won't help, or your bottom might end up on the ground.
