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Doctors want to fix you with 3D-printed tissues made from water droplets
Doctors dream of using 3D-printed tissues to patch up injuries, but current techniques tend to kill a lot of the cells used in the process. Thankfully, researchers at Oxford University spin-off OxSyBio have found a gentler way to build these materials. Their technique 3D prints water droplets filled with chemicals that let them change shape and transmit electrical signals like real cells. The result is both kinder to living tissues and more controllable -- you don't have to worry about growth or other organic reactions.
Droplet robotic gardener waters your plants with precision (video)
There's a new helper robot for homes called Droplet, but it has no intention of usurping Roomba's territory -- in fact, you can think of it as a Roomba for your garden. It's probably not capable of killing snakes like its badass indoor counterpart, but it can care for your plants without input. Technically, Droplet's a smart sprinkler, but it's actually more like an automated hose that aims only at plants (or anything you want) up to 30 feet away, since it was created as a means to conserve water. Of course, you'll have to configure it a bit beforehand: after adding your plants' names on Droplet's interface using a phone, laptop or tablet, you'll have to aim water at each of them, so the system can remember their locations. The robot then taps into various sources via WiFi to look up each plant's needs to determine how often and how much it should be watered. In the event that rain's coming your way, the device will hold off on doing its gardening duties, as it also gets real time data from thousands of weather stations. Droplet's creators claim it can lower water sprinkler consumption by up to 90 percent, which is huge if true, as lawn sprinklers are one of the top water wasters. They also claim that it can save up to $265 a year on water bills, almost enough to recoup your investment should you choose to pre-order a unit from Amazon right now for $300. As for the remaining $35, well, let's just say that's just the price you'll have to pay for keeping R2D2's Mini-Me as a gardener.
Droplet and StackAR bring physical interface to virtual experiences, communicate through light (hands-on)
Light-based communication seems to wind throughout the MIT Media Lab -- it is a universal language, after all, since many devices output light, be it with a dedicated LED or a standard LCD, and have the capacity to view and interpret it. One such device, coined Droplet, essentially redirects light from one source to another, while also serving as a physical interface for tablet-based tasks. Rob Hemsley, a research assistant at the Media Lab, was on hand to demonstrate two of his projects. Droplet is a compact self-contained module with an integrated RGB LED, a photodiode and a CR1216 lithium coin battery -- which provides roughly one day of power in the gadget's current early prototype status. Today's demo used a computer-connected HDTV and a capacitive-touch-enabled tablet. Using the TV to pull up a custom Google Calendar module, Hemsley held the Droplet up to a defined area on the display, which then output a series of colors, transmitting data to the module. Then, that data was pushed to a tablet after placing the Droplet on the display, pulling up the same calendar appointment and providing a physical interface for adjusting the date and time, which is retained in the cloud and the module itself, which also outputs pulsing light as it counts down to the appointment time. StackAR, the second project, functions in much the same way, but instead of outputting a countdown indicator, it displays schematics for a LilyPad Arduino when placed on the tablet, identifying connectors based on a pre-selected program. The capacitive display can recognize orientation, letting you drop the controller in any position throughout the surface, then outputting a map to match. Like the Droplet, StackAR can also recognize light input, even letting you program the Arduino directly from the tablet by outputting light, effectively simplifying the interface creation process even further. You can also add software control to the board, which will work in conjunction with the hardware, bringing universal control interfaces to the otherwise space-limited Arduino. Both projects appear to have incredible potential, but they're clearly not ready for production just yet. For now, you can get a better feel for Droplet and StackAR in our hands-on video just past the break.
Tetris played in 3D... on 9000-droplet-per-second liquid projection TV (video)
Sure, we've seen Tetris pop up in unusual places before, but never on a liquid 3DTV. While rows of droplets don't actually create the image here -- it's merely "painted" onto the falling H2O pixels -- computer-controlled solenoid valves can cycle 50-droplet curtains of water at up to 60Hz, making for a video-capable projector screen. See it in action after the break, or hit up the source link for a deep dive into how it works.
Consonance's Droplet CDP3.1: the kidney-shaped CD player
Considering Consonance's reputation, we're not all that surprised that its latest CD player is shaped unorthodoxly, but mimicking the proportions of a kidney was an interesting choice. Nevertheless, the Droplet CDP3.1 is a 24-bit, oversampling top-loading player that features gold plated RCA outputs, a wireless remote and a digital buffer to eliminate jitter. It's available in a number of luscious finishes, but considering the $2,495 to $2,995 pricetag attached to this thing, we highly doubt you'll be picking this up solely for use as a conversation piece.
Make your Mac sound retro
Sure, all these new Macs are great, but sometimes you just want your Mac to sound like System Seven. Luckily, Uneasysilence has heard your pleas and has made several 'retro' Mac alert sounds available on his blog. Wild Eep, Sosumi, ChuToy, Submarine (which is my favorite)... they are all there! Go get 'em and give your Intel Mac a little more soul.
Transmit 3.5 - where have you been all my life?
Last month Dave Caolo mentioned that Transmit updated to v3.5, went universal and added droplets, amongst other things like Growl support. While I'm sure droplets aren't a new concept by any means, these handy little DnD (drag-n-drop) extras that can perform all sorts of tasks seem to be all the rage lately with applications both old and new. Photoshop does them, DVGuru discovered Compressor does them, and Transmit 3.5's droplets were one of the few key reasons why I purchased a license a few days ago.Transmit's droplets are icons you can effortlessly create that allow a quick DnD operation to send files/folders up to a specific directory in one of your Transmit FTP accounts. What's even nicer is that you can opt to save the relevant password in the droplet, or require it to be input each time you use it to upload something. Creating a droplet is simple: right-click (control-click) on a directory in Transmit and chose the "Save droplet for Folder..." option like I have pictured.The one drawback of these droplets is that they still have to start Transmit in order to actually perform the upload. On the flip side, however, they also automatically quit the app when finished. Ultimately, these droplets are incredibly handy if you have multiple FTP accounts with various directories into which you simply need to dump stuff.Another new feature is Growl support. Since I am a lover of Growl, this is most welcome, but Transmit's implementation is a little quirky as there is no option in Transmit to toggle this feature; it's all done through the Growl System Preferences pane. Heads up to those who are new to the realm of Growl.The last major new feature in 3.5, the one that truly made this love affair flourish, is the "edit any remote file, in any application" feature Dave mentioned. This one almost has to be experienced to believe: you can now double-click remote files in Transmit (such as image or text files) and it will download and open them in an external editor you specify in the preferences. You can then work your magic, simply hit "Save" and Transmit uploads the altered file - seamlessly (try this on an image file with Photoshop for an insta-drool effect). Gone are the days of "download, surf to your local directory, open the file, edit, save, then upload." This alone was worth purchasing a license.Which reminds me: Transmit offers a 15 day trial, while a single license is a bargain at $29.95. Bulk pricing and upgrades are available.
