echolocation
Latest
Drones can navigate like bats using four mics and a speaker
Bats can find their way in the dark using echolocation, so why can't drones? Researchers have managed just that. They've developed a system that lets a drone navigate using just four microphones and a speaker. It relies on the familiar concept of measuring distance by generating echoes, but uses an algorithm based on communicative algebra that 'echosorts' to determine which distances represent given objects. It won't produce "ghost walls" that leave the drone afraid to move.
City of Steam's blind-as-a-bat race
While their name might sound like something a cat hacked up in your sock drawer, the Draug are actually the latest revealed race in City of Steam. Boasting a line of noble Elfish blood dating back to whenever, the Draug eschewed adapting and instead became a reclusive society living off the remnants of its former glory. Interestingly enough, the Draug have incredibly poor eyesight, which probably should make them terrible adventurers. But in another clever City of Steam twist, the race compensate for their bad vision with bursts of sonar to "see" around them. That's right: The Draug are bat-men. And bat-women. A dev journal on the Draug talks about how this echolocation works both for and against these batfolk. While they have an advantage in low-visibility situations over normal folks, they're more blind than usual if there's a lot of noise nearby.
DIYer constructs Ultrasonic Batgoggles, doles out instructions
To be exceptionally honest with you, Ultrasonic Batgoggles don't exactly need any pimping from us. What you see above is a homegrown device that enables humans to discover how bats must feel when using echolocation in order to judge how far away certain objects are. The main components are an Arduino microcontroller clone, Devantech ultrasonic sensor and a set of welding goggles -- oh, and a sick poker face to really round things out. Check out the links below to get a gist of the background as well as a step-by-step guide to concocting your own.Read - Ultrasonic Batgoggles project pageRead - Ultrasonic Batgoggles How-to guide
Ellen gives out first Wii during daytime TV
How would you like to be the first consumer in America to own a Wii? Too late as the embedded video shows a young gentleman has already received that honor by care of Ellen Degeneres. When she heard about this special young man who uses echolocation to see (think Marvel comics' Dare Devil), she decided to have him on the show and gift him with Nintendo's latest console.The video is embedded into the post after the break and comes in at a little over 8 minutes. The video lacks any gameplay or demonstration of the Wii, but this young man is just so interesting that we think it more than makes up for it.[Thanks student; via The Wiire]
