The Geek Church

“It’s an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.” That’s what Obi-wan Kenobi said to Luke Skywalker in the first Star Wars movie, A New Hope when he described the legendary laser sword used by Jedi Knights. If you’re a fan of the Star Wars movie series, then you’ve probably imagined what it would be like to wield your own lightsaber. Well, this weapon of the Jedi is no longer a thing of science fiction, thanks to the creative minds at Wicked Lasers. They actually created a real-life lightsaber as the most powerful portable laser in existence.

They call it the Spyder III Pro Arctic. It was made with the blue-laser diode of a dismantled Casio projector. It’s capable of blinding you permanently, burning through your skin and any other material as well. The diodes that came from Casio’s new mercury-free Green Slim projectors actually make it possible to create a very powerful, portable laser. Furthermore, Wicked Lasers used these diodes for the Spyder III, comparing it to their greatest creation in portable laser technology, the Sonar, which costs $2000. According to the company, the Spyder III is 2000 times brighter to the human eye and it’s available for $200. That price is one-tenth the cost of the Sonar.

The Spyder III Pro Arctic also comes with a pair of safety glasses. Apparently, this portable super laser is intended mostly for welding. With that said, let it be clear that this device is not a toy but a very powerful tool and potential weapon. Like a lightsaber, “it’s not clumsy or random like a blaster pistol” or gun as Obi-wan would have said. It’s an elegant device that must be handled with care.

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Hey thrill seekers, adventurers and adrenaline junkies, you like vehicles that go fast, right? Of course, I’m talking about things like sports cars, fighter planes, water jet skis and motorcycles. You know what I mean, dudes! These vehicles represent speed, tricky maneuvers, intensity, fearlessness and that certain element of danger. You already know this firsthand if you’ve ever been out riding in one of them. So, how would you feel about riding a motorcycle that runs only on electricity? It actually does exist.

This electric, motorized “chopper” is called the MotoCzysz E1pc. The bike is capable of speeds up to one hundred and forty miles per hour. Furthermore, its motor can generate about five hundred volts of electrical power. The motorcycle is a fully-functional, electrical marvel that moves just like a regular, gas-powered one.

This week, the MotoCzysz E1pc is scheduled for an extensive test run of twists and turns on a 37.7 mile trip. The setting for this test run will be the Isle of Man, located in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland. If this electric “chopper” becomes a successful product and hits the mainstream market, you could possibly find yourself on an electric-powered Harley in the near future.

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Personal safety is very important when it comes to bicycling. It is wise for a cyclist to use protective gear such as wrist guards, elbow pads, knee pads and a helmet. That being said, the helmet is obviously the most important piece of protective equipment you can use. Of course, making sure your helmet is good condition for use is just as important as having it in the first place. But how you do know when your helmet needs to be replaced after long-time use? Apparently, some German scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Freiburg decided to deal with this issue by designing a bicycle helmet that actually stinks when it’s been damaged.

They placed microcapsules of stinky oil inside of a helmet as a mechanism to signal when the piece of head gear is damaged and should be replaced. These tiny capsules are 1 to 50 micrometers in size. In the event of a cyclist having a serious fall off of a bike, stress is put on the helmet. Then cracks can develop in the helmet, lessening its effectiveness as protective head gear, which puts you at risk of a future head injury if you keep using that helmet. However, the stinky smell released by the microcapsules in the helmet are intended to provoke the user to get rid of that head gear and replace it. The amount of stinky smell released in the helmet depends on the size of the cracks when the head gear is damaged. Larger cracks will give off more of a stench.

According to Dr. Christof Koplin from the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM, bike riders tend to waste their helmets by replacing them too soon after having a fall. Furthermore, cyclists also face the uncertainty of not really knowing when their protective head gear is truly damaged and must be replaced. Thus, the capsules of stinky oil are a suitable answer to resolve this issue. Personally, I’d take my chances with a regular helmet and waste money on a replacement instead of dealing with head gear that punishes me with a foul stench if I break it.

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Attention coffee drinkers, this article is for you! Is the day off to a rough start when you don’t have time to make your essential cup of steaming java goodness before rushing to work? Is your personal coffee machine proving unreliable in preparing the stuff just the way you like it? Does your workplace fail to provide a decent machine to brew coffee during the day when you need it? If you said yes to any of these questions, then Saeco might have the solution you’re looking for.

They call it the Xelsis Digital ID coffee machine. It is designed to remember your favorite style and preferences for the right cup of java by scanning your fingerprints. This brew machine features timer programming, automatic descaling and machine self-cleaning. Sounds like the ideal appliance for lovers of coffee, right?

This coffee machine actually seems like a unique and fascinating way to use your fingerprints. Unfortunately, it will be a demanding investment for the general consumer. The Xelsis Digital ID coffee machine is available for a price of $2,500. That’s equipment your employer probably isn’t willing to pay for to bring into the workplace so you might want to save up to get your own later.

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Among its many possibilities, technology is often explored as a means of developing better forms of treatment for people with long-term physical and mental disorders. Recently, a research project was conducted at the University of Southern California to find a way to help autistic children become more sociable among other people. In this project led by USC computer scientist Maja Matari´c, a robot was created to assist autistic children in gradually adjusting to a social situation.

This robot is called Bandit, a two-wheeled, gray, humanoid machine with large eyes that is about the size and height of a regular kid. The machine is equipped with stereo cameras for eyes and infrared sensors which enable it to track a child’s current position and behavior and its wheels allow it to move independently as well. Bandit was also given programming to make it capable of doing facial expressions and movements as it attempts to engage socially with an autistic child. Currently, the robot only has the capability for performing basic social skills such as arm gestures and it’s not yet able to understand human speech. Furthermore, Bandit is operated remotely by a researcher who instructs it to act accordingly in response to a child’s reactions to the robot.

Maja Matari´c calls Bandit “a catalyst for social interaction”. The robot’s purpose to help autistic children overcome common weaknesses and behavioral tendencies such as inability to speak clearly, habits like hand-flipping and being obsessed with objects like toys and electronic devices. One autism expert from England is psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen of the Autism Research Center at the University of Cambridge, who also commented on the issue of social interaction. He said that autistic kids tend to trust objects such as computers and electronic devices because they’re very predictable while people are not. The behavior of other people is less predictable and potentially distressing for autistic children, so they often find comfort in objects.

Matari´c intends to perfect Bandit eventually in other aspects of robotics such as artificial intelligence, machine vision, mechanical and electrical design, and signal processing. Then robots can be very effective in treating autistic patients through careful, social interaction without frightening them. Matari´c also hopes to make robots like Bandit available for the same cost as a laptop in the next ten years.

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Scrolling through options on a menu or running applications on a screen with just a simple wave or gesture of your hands seems like something out of science fiction, doesn’t it? Beyond the world of movies, this technology isn’t completely possible right now. However, Toshiba is now very close to actually creating this technological breakthrough. Recently, they developed a gesture-control concept for interface screens.

They call this concept the AirSwing and they also built a working prototype with real gesture control capability. The prototype is a user interface that runs on 4% processing power of the 400MHz ARM 11 processor and gesture control is made possible through a regular webcam. When using this interface, a transparent image of you is put on the screen, which then displays a menu with options you can scroll through with hand gestures. Furthermore, you can also move your transparent self around on the screen and use it to manipulate accessible content simply by using gestures.

Toshiba worked with DigInfo.tv to develop their prototype for the AirSwing device. Currently, there is no information about a release date or cost for the consumer concerning this new innovation. Sources indicate that this user interface will only be available as a tool of advertising at this point. Nonetheless, the technology of gesture-controlled interface screens seems to be an imminent reality for the near future.

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Almost anything could be possible these days as scientists and inventors pursue bolder ventures in this modern age. It seems that technology is continually employed to fully realize any vision of the imagination. So, the main limitation that innovators might actually be facing today is how big men can dream. For example, I never thought of the Moon as anything more than a giant rock orbiting our planet that can reflect light and affect ocean tides. But now a Japanese construction firm called Shimizu Corporation has conceived a vision for the Moon as a massive source of solar energy.

They’re currently planning a project called Luna Ring to implement this vision. Their idea is to create a large belt of solar panels around the Moon, which will be connected to a series of energy conversion facilities on Earth located close to the near side of the Moon. Then energy from the Luna Ring solar belt will be transmitted to these energy conversion facilities through microwaves and lasers. Shimizu actually plans to convert the Moon itself into a giant solar power plant through the use of moon rocks and dust. Furthermore, these resources from the Moon will be used to create building supplies such as cement, bricks and glass fibers. The production of water will also be possible on the Moon through a chemical process using lunar soil and hydrogen. In this project, machinery and equipment sent from Earth will be assembled in orbit and on the lunar landscape. Lastly, most of the construction work will be performed by robots controlled by human operators who are still on Earth and astronauts sent to the Moon to oversee the project directly.

Shimizu is clearly very ambitious in their conceptual design ventures. They have six other projects set for the future and they are called Green Float, Mega-City Pyramid, Space Hotel, Lunar Bases, Urban Geo-Grid and Desert Aqua-Net. Most of the projects involve building cities in unlikely places, utilizing natural resources to improve human civilization and making uninhabited global areas compatible for human life. Thus, this construction firm is definitely driven to follow their dreams through to fruition.

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In this modern age, researchers, scientists and inventors continue to explore the possibilities of technology to find new ways of doing ordinary, regular things. For example, there is ongoing research to replace oil, gas and coal with solar, wind and hydro power as environmentally safer and easily renewable sources of energy. Now there is a concept for a car that has absolutely no need for a steering wheel.

This concept developed by designer Yanchao Wang is called The Swing Beginner and it is meant to increase the effectiveness of using space inside of a vehicle while making driving easier. In this conceptual design, a configuration of three seats can be adjusted to one seat, the trunk is retractable for extension or shortening and the car door is located on the front of the vehicle. Furthermore, a rocking chair equipped with joysticks on the armrests and gravity sensor pedals was designed to guide the car’s directional motion. Thus, a regular car’s need for a steering wheel would be obsolete. Similar to a video game controller, the rocking chair and joystick armrests would be used to move the vehicle forward, backward and making turns. The Swing Beginner car would also have non-rotation, radius wheels and a large dome acting as windows to make driving possible with only the simple movements of your body.

As its name implies, the Swing Beginner concept car is intended for new drivers to make operating a motor vehicle less difficult and complicated. This design also features the ability to use the backrest as a wearable backpack. Personally, I don’t think a car seat’s backrest was ever meant to be a backpack and the design of this car concept looks like something out of the Jetsons cartoon. This design idea may have potential as a car of the future but right now it seems as realistic as making a flying car.

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Through applied science and human creativity, technology is a means of finding solutions to long-term problems in regular life and making feats achievable that were once thought impossible. One problem in everyday life is a deaf person’s inability to hear the sound of music. However, German designer Frederik Podzuweit is developing a sensory device concept to make music accessible for deaf people through their sense of feeling or touch.

Podzuweit’s idea is based on synesthesia, which is a form of stimulus using one sensory ability of the human body to generate the perception of a different sensory ability. This concept is called Music For Deaf People. According to Podzuweit’s conceptual design, a regular audio device like an iPod will send vibrations of bass, midtones and treble to a secondary device like headphones, which might be placed on a person’s neck or shoulders. Furthermore, volume and track number would be adjusted by using large, conveniently located controls resting on the top of the secondary device.

Frederik Podzuweit also intends for Music For Deaf People to be used by people who don’t have a hearing impairment. If this concept ever becomes a real world product, it could also be embraced by consumers without hearing problems as a unique way to enjoy music by feeling it instead of simply hearing it. Thus, a day may come when musical devices are used through the human sense of feeling and touch.

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In today’s culture, we continue to see the development of devices designed to be modern conveniences for our everyday life. Some examples include GPS technology for easy road navigation, Bluetooth headsets for hands-free phone calls and voice-controlled car stereos for convenient access to your music playlist. But now a robotic duo has been developed by Norris Labs to serve you cold drinks in the home.

Steve Norris from Norris Labs created two robots called Baxter the ButlerBot and RoboFridge and he named the pair, the Beverage Delivery System. Basically, this dynamic duo was designed to bring you a cold, canned beverage while you sit comfortably on your chair or couch. Furthermore, these robots work together to get the job done since they are a pair. Baxter operates as a delivery boy to bring you the drink while RoboFridge functions like a non-coin op vending machine to dispense the drinks for Baxter to deliver. In order to use the Beverage Delivery System, you make a drink request via remote control and the route to and from RoboFridge is given to Baxter through a wireless link. Routes for Baxter then come in the form of instructions for navigation such as ‘go to beacon,’ ‘follow line,’ and ‘turn right 90 degrees.

Currently, this Beverage Delivery System known as Baxter the ButlerBot and RoboFridge is only effective when they’re used on the same floor of a building. Nevertheless, Steve Norris intends for Baxter to have the capability for multiple routes in different locations eventually. He went on to say that Baxter can handle carrying a canned drink just as well as an actual person would. He plans to improve the robotic duo’s bartendering skills for his home office as well. Thus, the day of robot servants in the home may finally be upon us. This new modern convenience may be embraced by the consumer if it becomes a mainstream product but it could come with some repercussions. Films of science fiction have taught us that machines tend to turn against the humans who use them. Nonetheless, an actual problem in reality might be obesity and poor health due to a lifetime of modern conveniences.

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