Star Trek -- Engadget

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NASA turns iPhone into chemical sensor, can an App Store rejection be far away?

by Tim Stevens posted Nov 13th 2009 at 7:36AM

NASA turnes iPhone into chemical sensor, can an App Store rejection be far away?

People have been trying to turn cellphones into medical and atmospheric scanners for some time now, but when it's NASA stepping up to the plate with a little device to monitor trace amounts of chemicals in the air, it's hard to not start thinking we might finally have a use for all those tricorder ringtones. Developed by a team of researchers at the Ames Research Center led by Jing Li, the device is a small chip that plugs into the bottom of an iPhone and uses 16 nanosensors to detect the concentration of gasses like ammonia, chlorine, and methane. To what purpose exactly this device will serve and why the relatively closed iPhone was chosen as a development platform are mysteries we're simply not capable of answering. Damn it, man, we're bloggers not scientists!

Update: George Yu, a developer who wrote this implementation for Jing Li, commented to let us know that the choice to go with the iPhone was made because it was "cool," but he soon realized that choice was a "horrible mistake." We're guessing that could have something to do with an apparent lack of wireless coverage at Ames if the above screenshot is anything to go by.

Gallery: NASA iPhone sensor

[Via Gizmodo]

Make your own Bluetooth Star Trek Communicator (video)

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Nov 6th 2009 at 5:21PM

If you're looking for a project for the weekend and the Knock Lock seems a little naff, why not try building your own Bluetooth Star Trek communicator? This is definitely not a project for the faint of heart -- expect to custom cut a circuit-board, drill some holes, add a serial port, a Bluetooth module, and a microcontroller. That said, when it's all said and done you'll be placing (and answering) calls the same way they do in the 23rd century: by speaking through a small, distorted speaker. If this is your thing, hit up that read link to get the full step-by-step. But before you go that route, be sure to peep the video demo after the break.

Continue reading Make your own Bluetooth Star Trek Communicator (video)

Tricorder PMP-09 won't analyze data or call Starfleet, will lift your spirits with music

by Ross Miller posted Aug 17th 2009 at 9:07PM

Let us tell you, this isn't any ordinary Star Trek tricorder prop, if such a thing exists. The Tricorder PMP-09 looks an awful lot like the Mark X model from the series, has a 2.8-inch TFT screen, plays up to 12 hours music / 4 hours of video and supports AVI, MP4, JPG, BMP, and WAV files. It boasts 12 different LCARS / themed interface, and from what we can see on the site, at least six different skins, including Starfleet, Borg, Workbee, and Marine. Starting price is $362.50 for US orders / $384.50 for international. It probably won't help you in the event of a Sith or Dalek encounter, or if you find yourself in need of medical assistance, but the next time you run into a Deep Space 9 crew member on the street, you better believe this'll make for a great ice breaker. Videos of the packaging and working display model, flashing LEDs and all, after the break.

[Thanks, Anthony]

Continue reading Tricorder PMP-09 won't analyze data or call Starfleet, will lift your spirits with music

Transparent aluminum! Would that be worth somethin' to ya, eh?

by Darren Murph posted Aug 4th 2009 at 1:44AM

It's hard to say if boffins at Oxford University got their inspiration from Nimoy and Co., but one thing's for sure: they aren't joking about the creation of transparent aluminum. In what can only be described as a breakthrough for the ages, a team of mad scientists across the way have created "a completely new state of matter nobody has seen before" by blasting aluminum walls (around one-inch thick) with brief pulses of soft X-ray light, each of which is "more powerful than the output of a power plant that provides electricity to a whole city." For approximately 40 femtoseconds, an "invisible effect" is seen, giving the gurus hope that their experiment could lead to new studies in exotic states of matter. For a taste of exactly what we mean, feel free to voice command your PC to jump past the break. Or use the keyboard, if you're feeling quaint.

Continue reading Transparent aluminum! Would that be worth somethin' to ya, eh?

Nokia, cheesiness featured in new Star Trek movie

by Joshua Topolsky posted May 10th 2009 at 2:14PM

Do you like your Star Trek movies riddled with Beastie Boys songs and Nokia product placements? Yeah, neither do we. Still, if you've been to see the reboot of the franchise, then you probably noticed the outrageous spot for the Finnish phone-maker. Said ad comes in the form of a futuristic "Nokia ring" coupled with a large, touchscreen device placed in the dash of the totally tubular Corvette a young James T. Kirk is about to smash up but good. Seriously. Do yourself a favor and check it out in the soon-to-be-pulled-by-the-studio clip after the break.

Continue reading Nokia, cheesiness featured in new Star Trek movie

Video: Star Trek USB Communicator because you're out of your Vulcan mind

by Thomas Ricker posted May 7th 2009 at 4:45AM

While the new Star Trek film is bound to disappoint hardcore Trekkies since it's unusually fun and exciting, we're sure the Star Trek USB Communicator will meet their expectations perfectly. The $45 USB mic with speaker is compatible with Skype or your favorite instant messaging client and finally up for sale at all fine crapgadget stores. Check the built-in sound effects video with complimentary Onion film review after the break. Kirk out.

Continue reading Video: Star Trek USB Communicator because you're out of your Vulcan mind

Dream Cheeky's USS Enterprise webcam exudes charm and class

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Apr 12th 2009 at 2:11AM

Now that it's legal for George Takei to get married in Iowa, what better way to celebrate than by letting your "Trek flag" fly in your home or office? The USS Enterprise-themed USB webcam features an adjustable focus, and the red engine lights (or whatever they are) actually, you know, light up. For maximum realism, we guess. And the cable is adorned with the Star Fleet Insignia although, sadly, it will not function as a communicator. It is just a TV series, you know. No word on release date or price, but we're keeping our eyes peeled.

Star Trek USB Communicator dials up galactic jetsetters

by Darren Murph posted Feb 6th 2009 at 7:57AM

Heads-up, Trekkies! We just stumbled upon the perfect complement to your LCARS-esque touchscreen, and chances are that you won't have to sell off too many Spock action figures in order to procure it. Created by Dream Cheeky, this VoIP / Skype phone is powered by USB and looks pretty much exactly like one of those classic Star Trek Communicators. Best of all, there's a velcro backing in order to mount it up for everyone to see. Because you will want everyone checking this out, right?

[Via OhGizmo]

SpaceX's rocket destroys Scotty's space-bound ashes in a demonstration of tremendous irony

by Joshua Topolsky posted Aug 4th 2008 at 12:22PM

Finely riding that razored edge between tragedy and comedy, the New York Times reports that not only did the SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket lose its three satellites and fail to reach orbit during a recent launch, but it also destroyed the remains of actor James Doohan, best known as the original Star Trek's Chief Engineer "Scotty." The actor's ashes -- as well as those of over 200 others -- were being carried into orbit by the rocket when complications with the ship's stage separation led to the (assumed) destruction of the craft. This recent mishap puts a sad period on the end of the sentence that already included an earlier loss and eventual recovery of the remains.

[Via Slashdot]

LCARS-esque touchscreen controls home, excites Trekkies

by Darren Murph posted May 15th 2008 at 11:57AM

za9000's LCARS-like touch panel isn't quite ready to hop aboard any spacecraft, but it sure seems to do a fine job of controlling his home. Truthfully, detailing this thing in words wouldn't do it justice, so we'll leave it to you to don your best Spock face and check out the three-minute clip waiting just past the break.

[Thanks, Daniel]

Continue reading LCARS-esque touchscreen controls home, excites Trekkies

Portable medical scanners built to interface with cellphones

by Darren Murph posted May 2nd 2008 at 6:10AM

You know those elephant-sized medical scanners? Totally amazing machines, sure, but things like that aren't apt to be shipped into obscure jungles throughout Africa. Thankfully, a team of researchers have developed something that could bring medical scanning to an even larger chunk of the world: a real live Tricorder. Of course, it's not really going by that moniker, but the diminutive scanner is able to interface with a cellphone via USB and utilize its 3G / WiFi access to send raw scan data to servers and receive images back. Granted, you won't get any high-resolution viewing from your average mobile, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

Aptera to make cameo in next Star Trek film?

by Darren Murph posted Mar 28th 2008 at 12:35AM

For those unaware, "veiled in secrecy" is an extreme understatement when it comes to the next Star Trek flick -- if there actually is a next Star Trek flick, that is. Nevertheless, an undercover photographer managed to grab some recent shots of a film production operating under the title "Corporate Headquarters," and a few snaps caught a vehicle that looks awfully similar to the 300MPG Aptera. Coincidentally enough, said craft was also missing from last week's New York Auto Show. Look, we aren't piecing together clues in a valiant attempt to get you stoked about seeing a space aged automobile in a movie that may or may not even be real (okay, it's real), but then again, it's hard to shake the evidence.

[Via AutoblogGreen]

The Blu-ray Phaser defends dorks from the HD DVD borg

by Thomas Ricker posted Nov 8th 2007 at 5:33AM

If the intersection of 1st and 1st in the East Village is the nexus of the universe, then this Blu-ray Laser Phaser is easily the nerdom equivalent. Kipkay -- already Internet-famous for his phone line and remote control hacks -- crosses a toy Star Trek phaser with the PlayStation 3's laser assembly for a weapon of retina sizzling proportions. Check the video after the break for all the hot dremeling action.

[Via Blogmond]

Continue reading The Blu-ray Phaser defends dorks from the HD DVD borg

Adgadget: Fantasy fembots market male products

by Ariel Waldman posted Oct 1st 2007 at 8:43AM

Ariel Waldman contributes Adgadget, a column about the intersection of advertising and technology.

Technologically better equipped than booth babes, fantasy fembots seem to be popping up everywhere in ad campaigns these days. Alcohol seems to be popular with the fembots -- they're employed in ads from both Heineken and Svedka -- but Philips is utilizing them in a campaign for an electric razor as well.

It's pretty easy to be creeped out by the influx of ready-to-serve robots -- and not just because these fembots could be the beginnings of the Singularity in disguise. (C'mon, what more suitable "smarter-than-human brain-computer-interface" would be better to take over the human race than one that offered kegs and clean shaves as a "gift from the Greeks"? And who better to be behind the downfall of society than advertisers?) Misogynist undertones run rampant throughout all the ads, so it's no shock that feminine cyborgs are used exclusively in advertising targeting young males -- they tap right into stock fantasies of complete feminine subservience.

Continue reading Adgadget: Fantasy fembots market male products

Buy Star Trek: TOS HD DVD and a Toshiba HD DVD player, get an uber-rare Phaser remote

by Darren Murph posted Sep 6th 2007 at 10:55AM

If you somehow managed to hold off on picking up a Toshiba HD DVD player along with eight free titles, and you eat, sleep, and breathe Star Trek, we've got a feeling your resistance is futile. In an admittedly interesting promotional move, Toshiba has teamed with CBS to offer those who purchase Star Trek: The Original Series HD DVD box set and any Toshiba HD DVD player a "limited edition Star Trek Phaser remote" that will operate Tosh's HD DVD players. Regrettably, there's no mention as to how many of these things will actually be handed out, but if you're even remotely (ahem) interested, we'd be on the ball as soon as the set lands.