UniversityofAuckland
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Stretchable square of rubber doubles as a keyboard
There's a whole branch of science that's dedicated to turning flexible surfaces into sensors that can be used as an artificial substitute for skin. These materials could then be used to give robots a sense of touch, or even to restore feeling for people with artificial prostheses. Researchers at the University of Auckland have taken the concept in a slightly different direction after building a square of soft, stretchable rubber that pulls double-duty as a keyboard. It's hoped that the technology can be used to create foldable, rollable input devices, which reminds us of Nokia's twisty-stretchy phone concept from way back when.
Turing machine built from artificial muscles may lead to smart prosthetics
In the hierarchy of computing hardware, artificial muscle doesn't really even register: it's usually a target for action, not the perpetrator. The University of Auckland has figured out a way to let those muscles play a more active role. Its prototype Turing machine uses a set of electroactive polymer muscles to push memory elements into place and squeeze piezoresistive switches, performing virtually any calculation through flexing. The proof-of-concept computer won't give silicon circuits any threat when it's running at just 0.15Hz and takes up as much space as a mini fridge, but the hope is to dramatically speed up and shrink down future iterations to where there are advanced computers that occupy the same size as real muscles. Researchers ultimately envision smart prosthetic limbs with near-natural reflexes, completely soft robots with complex gestures and even a switch from digital to analog computing for some tasks. Although we're quite a distance away from any of those muscle-bound ideas becoming everyday realities, it's good to at least see them on the horizon.
Qualcomm Halo wireless charging concept eyes-on
Let's run through the fundamentals of wireless charging: floor-mounted electromagnets pump out EM waves to your EV's engine to absorb. This means ripping up the floor to install and precisely driving your whip over the exact spot. There's no efficiency loss between wireless and wired charging, in case you were wondering. We got to speak to Qualcomm's Joe Barrett as he walked us through the chip foundry's innovative approach to the technology that it picked up from the University of Auckland. The Halo is a 28mm plate that can reportedly push 3.3kW/h to your vehicle without requiring it to park it precisely over the unit. The company's not talking about vertical range, but did insist that it would charge an SUV, so we can assume it'll travel at least a foot off the ground. The company is planning to foster an open standard for the technology through licensing and has joined the three-year design cycle that modern cars undergo -- with an expectation that we'll see the first commercial models of the technology surfacing in 2014, which you can just lay on the floor of your garage. A 50 unit trial led by Chargemaster and Polar is currently underway under the names of your favorite tier-one automaker. Sean Buckley contributed to this report.
