Video: Terrafugia's Flying Car Lifts Off

[Via Slashdot]


Huge shocker here: removing your shoes at airport security causes massive headaches and makes the wait longer for everyone. Now that we're all good with Captain Obvious' latest headline, let us point you to one prototype that's looking to solve said dilemma. SecuriScan, which has been developed by Professor Wuqiang Yang at the University of Manchester, would theoretically be able to "detect and pinpoint suspicious objects instantly," all without requiring passengers to remove their kicks.




Boeing's European outpost has achieved a technical feat that, while not expected to revolutionize air travel, at least shows progress in the effort to lower the overall reliance on very pricey (and, you know, scarce) jet fuel. Audio/Video, Computers, Gadget Head


Every step you take could soon be the power source for your mobile phone, MP3 player or portable GPS device. A group of university researchers from the United States and Canada have developed a prototype knee brace that captures energy in a way that's similar to how some hybrid cars charge their batteries by converting energy while they brake.
"There is power to be harvested from various places in the body, and you can use that to generate electricity. The knee is probably the best place," said Arthur Kuo, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, in a statement released yesterday.
Kou and colleagues determined that when a person stops his or her lower leg from swinging forward into a step, the majority of the energy expended is just lost. The new prototype knee brace is built to capture and store that energy more efficiently than other human powered electricity generators. For example, a hand-crank generator requires 6.4 watts of metabolic power from a person to generate one watt of electricity because of inefficiencies -- but the knee brace requires less than one watt of metabolic power to produce one watt of electricity.
The challenge for the team of researchers, which also includes staff from Simon Fraser University in Canada and the University of Pittsburgh, is to make the device lighter so it doesn't tire the wearer. For now it is too bulky and heavy to be practical.
Kuo says that in the future, a light device could be very useful to hikers or soldiers who don't have quick access to an energy source. For people with a prosthetic limb, the energy capture device could be on one knee while a battery is implanted within the fake limb.
From The Daily Mail, Engadget and Reuters.
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The Travelodge hotel chain in the United Kingdom is rolling out a new test program aimed at helping people get a good night's sleep. The method for giving guests a better snooze experience? A futuristic set of pajamas made from a material called Dermasilk, which is supposed to feel like a second skin.
According to a statement by Travelodge, the Dermasilk sleep suit "allows the skin to breathe, regulates body temperature (in hot and cold conditions) and maintains the skin's moisture balance." The Dermasilk is made from natural knitted silk, which the hotel chain claims controls body odor and is good for people who may suffer from skin disorders such as eczema and dermatitis, since it reduces the symptoms of itching and scratching.
The chain conducted a survey of 3000 British adults and found that:
The sleepwear, which looks like something out of a sci-fi movie (maybe 1971's 'THX-1138' starring Robert Duvall), is made up of leggings, a long sleeved tee-shirt, gloves, socks and a facial mask and comes in small, medium, large and extra large sizes. Guests can choose to have the sleepwear provided when they make their hotel reservation, and they get to keep their new jammies if they like the new slumber experience.
What are some other interesting tidbits revealed by Travelodge's survey? Well, women are willing to look less desirable in bed in order to keep warm. Plus, wearing "passion killer" socks are more favored by women at 23 percent, which is more than double in contrast to men wearing socks to bed at just 11 percent. Men are simply more interested in keeping warm.
Travelodge seems quite interested in helping its guests get a good night's sleep, and has a separate program to provide MP3s that you can listen to just before going to bed called "Nodcasts." Titles include:
Give them a listen -- you can download the Nodcasts here.
From The Daily Mail and Travelodge UK.
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