The Geek Church

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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In the medical field, technology is instrumental in improving the quality of life for the elderly, injured and disabled. Over the years, we’ve seen innovations such as artificial lungs, hearing aids, prosthetic limbs and motorized wheelchairs developed to help those with crippled bodies due to injury, disease, birth defects or advanced age. But now a man has been given a completely artificial heart to live outside of a hospital for the first time in history.

This man is an Arizona resident named Charles Okeke, who previously spent two years in dependence on a 400-pound machine for daily survival, keeping him confined to life in a hospital. However, his life has drastically changed with the recent development of a new artificial heart called the Freedom Driver. This device utilizes miniaturized technology and a backpack power source to allow patients with a heart deficiency to live more independently. Thus making long-term hospital stays hooked up to a heavy machine for survival a thing of the past. The Freedom Driver was created by a company in Tucson called SynCardia and they’re also the makers of the Total Artificial Heart, the 400-pound machine once used by Charles Okeke. In comparison to the older machine, Okeke’s new artificial heart is only 13 pounds.

Obviously, the Freedom Driver is an important innovation in medical technology. In the past, people in need of a new heart were forced to live in a hospital, connected to a heavy machine while they waited for a compatible heart donor. However, the new artificial heart created by SynCardia could prove to be an alternative solution if the search for a heart donor fails. Furthermore, Charles Okeke could live out the rest of his days with the help of the Freedom Driver. Nonetheless, this medical breakthrough is a costly one, with rates such as $125,000 to $18,000 to keep the device operational up to a year.

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In the development of new technology, making better vehicles is one of the goals that researchers seek to achieve. Of course, this leads to projects in which new vehicles are designed to be faster, more fuel efficient, easier to operate and safer for the user. Thus, the Air Force made a recent achievement in aviation when one of their scramjet engines set a new record for hypersonic flight yesterday.

The test vehicle they used is called the X-51A Waverider, which reached a speed of Mach 5 in 200 seconds. Now this is the longest recorded hypersonic flight in history since NASA’s X-43 was the former record holder in 2004 and the X-51A flew ten times longer than the X-43. In its test flight, the unmanned X-51A Waverider was launched from a B-52 plane over the Pacific Ocean and the X-51A used a rocket booster to reach Mach 4.8. Then the booster was jettisoned and the X-51A’s SJY61 scramjet engine did the rest of the work, generating supersonic combustion to make a shockwave that the jet used for propulsion. After setting its historic flight record, the X-51A crashed into the Pacific Ocean, abandoned as a lost vessel.

However, three other X-51A Waveriders have been scheduled for future test runs later this year. According to Air Force X-51A program manager Charlie Brink, the record setting flight was a big day in aviation technology. He also went on to say that the development of the scramjet engine is an achievement equal to the innovation of jet engines replacing propeller planes after World War 2. Considering that the X-51A was unmanned during its test flight, I wonder how long it will take the Air Force to ensure that hypersonic planes are safe for human pilots and passengers in the future.

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Hey there, dear readers! Let’s take a moment to discuss public commuting. Of course, common options in commuting include buses, taxis, and trains. These options exist to serve people who don’t have their own vehicles and those who just want to avoid the issue of parking and spending gas money. But have you ever considered what public commuting could like in the future? How about a robot transport system that you can access through text messaging?

Yes, such a concept really is on the design table right now. It is called the Iris Autonomous Transport, which seems to have a large “eye” in its design, making the term “iris” appropriate in its name. You would use a text message to summon this self-operating commute vehicle and tell it your desired destination in the same way. Apparently, this conceptual vehicle would be relying on GPS technology to guide its navigation during travel from one location to another in a city.

However, if this Iris Autonomous Transport concept ever does make it into the real world, that might not bode well for public commute operators. It’s likely that bus drivers, train conductors and cabbies would never want this concept to be fully realized so their jobs won’t be threatened. After all, the idea of machines replacing human workers could be a legitimate concern in today’s technological culture.

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Ah, the wonders of paper. This byproduct we get from trees is used in many ways. We commonly see it as pages in a book, magazine or newspaper, advertisement fliers, notepads and blank sheets from a printer among other things. But now the company WowWee has added making playable guitars to the long list of paper’s uses.

The product line for these “paper-made” guitars is appropriately called PaperJamz and the actual instruments come in five styles, which each feature certain, well-known songs. The Stratocaster has ‘What I Like About You’, ‘Two Princes’ and ‘End Of The World’. The Telecaster comes with ‘Born To Be Wild’, ‘Mississippi Queen’ and ‘Smoke On The Water’. The Flying V features ‘You Really Got Me’, ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ and ‘Godzilla’. The Explorer offers ‘Hey There Delilah’, ‘All Star’ and ‘Helicopter’. Lastly, you can play ‘Woman’, ‘Rock Star’ and ‘Take It To The Limit’ on the SG-style guitar. However, these guitars were actually made without strings so three alternate methods are necessary for playing them. The user can just strum along to the songs, use “rhythm mode” to follow the rhythm of the songs with strumming and freestyle by creating your own notes and songs. Nonetheless, basic strumming is the easiest method while doing freestyle is the most challenging way of guitar playing.

The Paperjamz guitars are currently available for $35 each at IWOOT.com. Amplifiers and drums are also available as accessories and they’re made of paper as well. These instruments are compatible with headphones and speaker jacks and you can also play real chords if you have backing tracks to accompany them. Personally, I never thought I’d be living in a day where musical instruments can be made from paper. But it seems that technology and people’s creativity continue to make the unlikely and unexpected possible these days.

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There are risks involved when it comes to developing new concepts in this ever-changing modern age of technology. Some of these risks include product malfunctions, loss of money on a failed project, professional equipment being damaged during test runs and safety threats to the user of a new product. Of course, scientists, inventors and research companies are willing to take such risks in the name of science to make new discoveries and breakthroughs in technology. Such is the case with scientist Dr. Mark Gasson from the University of Reading in the U.K. who recently tested a chip implant for the human body on himself.

Dr. Gasson actually placed a tiny RFID chip into his own body by implanting it under the flesh of his hand. This chip implant was designed to give its user the capability to open certain doors and lock down one’s own cellphone and limit access of its use to the owner alone. However, the chip was also used for a very unique purpose, which is to be exposed to a computer virus and then be put into a living person’s body. That’s right, readers. Gasson actually got a chip implanted into his hand and used it to give himself a computer virus. In this experiment, Gasson’s goal is to identify weaknesses in computer systems and online networks and explore the possibilities of improving the abilities of the human body through technology.

According to Gasson, mobiles devices such as cellphones can be vulnerable to threats like computer viruses. He also stated that a person’s chip implant could be compromised by a hacker who gains access to it online. This potential vulnerability might affect devices put into the human body like pacemakers and other types of implants that can interface with vital organs like the heart too. Thus, Gasson’s research could lead to better security options and solutions for vulnerabilities in computer systems, web networks and greater protection for various types of personal, electronic devices as well. Personally, I’m impressed that Gasson chose to be his own test subject for his experiments. In his scientific work, this researcher is definitely a risk-taker.

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Along with making our lives easier, technology is also meant to improve personal health and preserve the safety of human lives. Thus, ongoing research is in motion to develop better equipment for rescue teams so they’ll be more effective at saving lives during a natural disaster or emergency situation. Now Yanko Design has conceived the concept of a wearable computer that assists search and rescue teams in their operations.

A designer Dieter Amick created this concept and called it the SixthSense for Search and Rescue System. It is a portable computer intended to give rescue workers quick and convenient access to maps and relevant information. The computer itself would be strapped to your torso and its features would also include the ability to locate survivors and determine who among them needs immediate help first. Furthermore, this wearable computer is equipped with storage space for important items such as water and travel food as well.

The purpose of SixthSense is to provide search and rescue team personnel with better equipment for communication and getting vital information. This concept seems to be part of the growing trend in our culture to create more portable personal computers for easy storage and use. Apparently, the next phase in this trend is to make them wearable on the human body. At this rate, we could be wearing our computers on our arms, torso or forehead by the next decade or two.

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New innovations continue to emerge in the ever-growing trend of virtual reality technology. Recently, researchers Robert Wang and Jovan Popovic from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory made a new breakthrough in this field. They developed multicolored gloves that can track hand gestures and control capacity in virtual reality.

The multicolored gloves are called Lycra gloves, which enable a computer to identify the different parts of the human hand and distinguish its movements, postures and actions in a simulated environment in real time. In this process, a regular webcam is also used for tracking the hand’s gestures and movements from place to place. Meanwhile, both of the Lycra gloves are made up of twenty patches that have ten different colors and they allow tracking of the hand to nearly match the speed of its movements.

Currently, there is no information about future availability of this technology for consumers. Furthermore, the Lycra gloves are being used in virtual reality application to move objects, assemble parts of a mechanism and disassemble it in a simulated environment thus far. Perhaps this technology will help start a new generation of three-dimensional effects in video games, television and film.

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In the ever-changing automotive industry, researchers continue to explore the possibilities of designing vehicles that don’t need gasoline as fuel. Of course, the electric car is a well-known concept that has been attempted in the development of new automobile technology. Unfortunately, this concept hasn’t succeeded in replacing conventional vehicles since an electric car’s battery only has a limited charge capacity. However, a civic group from Tokyo called the Japan Electric Vehicle Club recently made an accomplishment in their research.

Their electric car used a Sanyo lithium-ion battery as a fuel source instead of gasoline. Furthermore, the Sanyo lithium-ion battery was constructed by using 8,320 cylindrical lithium-ion batteries. Thus, the vehicle itself was able to run for twenty-seven and a half hours at least 40 kilometers per hour. In a previous trial run, they drove an electric car for 555.6 kilometers from Tokyo to Osaka on a single charge last month. But today, the research team announced that they modified a Mira EV and managed to travel for a distance of 1,003.184 kilometers without a recharge.

The new distance record was made at a driving course in Shimotsuma, Japan. The Japan Electric Vehicle Club had seventeen people on their team, who all shared the task of driving the car. They also plan to contact the Guinness World Records to get their accomplishment officially recognized. So, the electric car is now that much closer to becoming mainstream in the consumer market.

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In this modern age, technology continues to become more portable for greater accessibility and effective use on the go. This applies not just for consumer products but also professional equipment and hardware for the military as well. The U.S. Armed Forces is currently looking for a better method of communication between soldiers during their operations in active duty. So, the mighty computer company Hewlett-Packard is in the process of developing watch computers for our nation’s troops.

They’ve named their concept the Dick Tracy watch. This device will utilize a flexible, wrist-mounted display designed to run on solar energy and plastic will be a major component in its creation. The purpose of this project is to create a versatile, communication device for use on the battlefield that won’t be hindered by a limited power source or possible malfunction.

Currently, there is no information about the military’s long-term plans for using the Dick Tracy watch. Personally, I wonder how realistic it is to actually make this technology in the real world since the concept itself is named after the tech of a comic book character. It seems that scientists, inventors and research companies like to draw their inspiration for new innovations directly from the literature and films of science fiction and fantasy.

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