Volkswagen Bik.e electric-driven micro mobility concept

With Volkswagen "Think Blue" stands for ecological and sustainable mobility.


But that is not necessarily a car as Wolfsburg demonstrated at the Auto China 2010 in Beijing. Their latest "Think Blue"-project is a bicycle.


* Comments on Youtube:


- I thought the bike was already environmentally friendly. I guess now we will make it not environmentally friendly by adding batteries lol..


- hahah this is sooo rediculous. where does the power from the batteries come? huh?


- wow! that's really amazing and fantastic...Congratulations to the brilliant brain that invented and thought about that high grade invention. Aside from saving fuels and money, it's also convenient for the consumers to bring with them that kind of bike because i can be folded...


- I don't understand Volkswagen..... it's an european automobile manufacturer and he's not able to create a bike to drive legal in europe. Normally a bike must be powered by pedals or it's powered by a motor, then it will need an assurance and of course a driving license!!! "Think Blue" or "Green Thinking" is not a new idea, before 3years I'd created my own electric vehicle called "LowRacer hybrid" and that never needs an electric socket.....

Robot & Rubik's cube Record

Robitic Solutions build a Lego Mindstorms robot that can solve any 3x3x3 Rubik's cube in less than 12 seconds.


The Worlds Fastest Lego Mindstorms RCX Speedcubing Robot.


Built entirely from lego elements now scanning and solving any 3x3x3 Rubik's cube combination in under 12 seconds.


Lego Mindstorms robot solves Rubik's cube in under 12 seconds.

U.K. Introduces 'Unbreakable' Pint Glasses

Shatter-proof pint glasses are to be introduced to British pubs and clubs in an attempt to cut alcohol-related violence.

Designers hope they can reduce the number of glass attacks which cost the NHS an estimated £2.7 billion each year.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson heralded the glasses as a step forward in fighting the problem.

Accordin to Dailymail.Co.Uk, Design Bridge, the company behind the prototypes, say the glasses are safer than those in pubs and clubs for two main reasons.

As well as being difficult to smash, if they are broken then any dangerous shards are held together by a layer of resin.

The Glass Plus design has a thin layer of resin on the inside, while the Twin Wall model has two layers of glass bound together by resin.

NASA and GM Take a Giant Leap Forward in Robotics

WASHINGTON -- NASA and General Motors are working together to accelerate development of the next generation of robots and related technologies for use in the automotive and aerospace industries.

Engineers and scientists from NASA and GM worked together through a Space Act Agreement at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston to build a new humanoid robot capable of working side by side with people. Using leading edge control, sensor and vision technologies, future robots could assist astronauts during hazardous space missions and help GM build safer cars and plants.

The two organizations, with the help of engineers from Oceaneering Space Systems of Houston, developed and built the next iteration of Robonaut. Robonaut 2, or R2, is a faster, more dexterous and more technologically advanced robot. This new generation robot can use its hands to do work beyond the scope of prior humanoid machines. R2 can work safely alongside people, a necessity both on Earth and in space.

"This cutting-edge robotics technology holds great promise, not only for NASA, but also for the nation," said Doug Cooke, associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "I'm very excited about the new opportunities for human and robotic exploration these versatile robots provide across a wide range of applications."

Augmented reality system to prevent road accidents

If only drivers could see through walls, blind corners and other dangerous road junctions would be much safer. Now an augmented reality system has been built that could just make that come true.

According to Newscientist.Com, the prototype uses two cameras: one that captures the driver's view and a second that sees the scene behind a view-blocking wall. A computer takes the feed from the second camera and layers it on top of the images from the first so that the wall appears to be transparent.

This makes it simple to glance "through" a wall to see what's going on behind it. But the techniques needed to combine them were challenging to develop, says Yaser Sheikh of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.


* Altered images:

The view of the hidden scene needs to be skewed so that it looks as if it were being viewed from the position of the person using the system. The system does this by spotting landmarks seen by both cameras: the one seeing the hidden view and the one with the same view as the user.

Sheikh and his colleagues also had to develop software that transforms moving objects in the images to avoid distortion.

Ultimately, the team want to build the system into a car. An onboard video processor would tune into a wireless feed from a roadside camera with a view of the hidden scene, such as a stretch of road behind a blind corner, and project the image of the hidden scene onto the windscreen rather than a monitor.

The project is funded by Denso, a car parts manufacturer based in Kariya, Japan.


* Future view:

"It's an interesting peek into the future," says Bruce Thomas of the University of South Australia in Adelaide. He points out that many cities already have networks of CCTV cameras that could provide footage of hidden scenes.

Such a network could be supplemented by images from cameras mounted on many cars, says Shiekh. The Carnegie team is working on software that integrates feeds in footage from such sources into the system.

But Thomas adds that several formidable hurdles will have to be cleared before the technology can be used on public highways. Fast, powerful data processing and communication would be required to make the system work usefully in a moving car in real time.

"I'm not saying it's impossible," says Thomas. "But I don't see it in a car anytime soon."

The prototype system was presented at the International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality in Orlando, Florida, this week.

Apple Unveils The iPad

* First Video : Jobs Unveils "iPad"




* Second Video: Apple iPad FEATURES AND SPECS




Apple has put an end to weeks of speculation by unveiling its tablet device, which it has called the iPad.

According to the BBC; Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive unveiled the touchscreen device at an event in San Francisco.

Mr Jobs described the tablet, which will cost between $499 and $829 in the US, as a "third category" between smartphones and laptops.

The device, which looks like a large iPhone, can be used to watch films, play games and browse the web.

The firm has also done a deal with publishers including Penguin, Macmillan and Harper Collins to allow e-books to be downloaded directly to the device through a new iBook Store.

"You can download right onto your iPad," said Mr Jobs.

He also showed off magazines and newspapers on the device.


'Gold rush'


He told an audience of journalists, analysts and industry peers that the device lets people "hold the whole web in your hands".

"What this device does is extraordinary. It is the best browsing experience you have ever had," he said.

The device has a 9.7-inch multi-touch display, allowing people to type directly on to the screen, as well as manipulate pictures and control the action in games with their fingers. However, users can also plug in a keyboard.

Apple claim it has a battery life of 10 hours.

It comes preloaded with twelve applications - essentially multi-touch versions of existing Mac software such as iPhoto.

However, owners can also download third party apps - both specially designed for the iPad and those already available for the iPhone. People with both can synchronise their apps between the two devices.

"We think it's going to be a whole other gold rush for developers," said Scott Forstall, who runs Apple's app division.

Apple revealed that more than three billion apps have been downloaded from its App store.

The New York Times showed off its app for the iPad, which recreates the look and feel of the newspaper but allows it to have new features, such as video.

"We're pioneering the next version of digital journalism," said Martin Nisenholtz, a senior executive at the newspaper.

It also includes the firm's iTunes software built in, allowing people to purchase songs and movies straight to the device.


'Cheap laptops'


It is not the first touchscreen tablet computer on the market. Earlier this month, manufacturers such as Dell and HP showed off devices at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Some industry experts have questioned the need for another category of device, alongside laptops, smartphones and netbooks.

Analyst firm CCS Insight said that it remained "sceptical" of the market. It described the iPad as "a supersize iPod Touch that would get little interest if not from Apple".

Mr Jobs dismissed netbooks as "just cheap laptops".

"Netbooks aren't better at anything - they're slow and have low quality displays," he told the audience.

"They're not a third category device, but we have something that we think is."

The cheapest iPad, which will come with 16GB of flash memory and wi-fi will cost $499. The most expensive version, with 64GB of storage and the ability to connect via a mobile 3G signal, will cost $829.

Buyers of the versions with 3G connectivity will also need to sign up to a data plan with a telecoms provider, but Apple's US carrier AT&T said it will be offering subscriptions on a monthly, not annual basis.

CCS Insight said the high cost would put it "beyond most consumers".

Mr Jobs said that he hoped to have international prices in place in June or July.

However, all the 3G models are unlocked, meaning they will work with any network.

The launch puts to rest months of speculation and rumour in the blogosphere.

Apple - famous for its secrecy - had remained silent in the run up to the launch, unwilling to release any details publicly.

Lardong: The German Chocolate Records Maker

The latest recording innovation from West Berlin doesn't pose a threat to the compact disc--but, then again, compact discs can't be eaten like Peter Lardong's chocolate records.


According to Los Angeles Times, the german inventor claims his chocolate LPs can be played up to 20 times without hurting the turntable "as long as you eat the record fast" after that. "But if you hold it in your hand for a long time, the record melts."


Lardong makes his sweet LPs by creating a master copy of a record in latex, pouring melted chocolate onto the master copy and deep-freezing it for about 10 hours.


As you can tell from the video it is not a new invention, because Mr. Lardong made this invention public since the year 1987.