Paralympics
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Toyota's self-driving shuttles return to the Paralympics following crash
Toyota is once again running its self-driving e-Palette vehicles at the Paralympics following a collision with a pedestrian.
Lifting weights in a Panasonic exosuit destined for the Tokyo Olympics
Exosuits, exoskeletons and power-assist suits are mostly a thing of science fiction, used for battling alien menaces or lifting extremely heavy obstacles. Mostly. Now companies like Panasonic are making the case for actually using one. The reality is less about batting away threats and more about supporting workers with physically demanding or repetitive jobs and tasks. That was why Panasonic's Atoun Model Y was meant to go to the Tokyo Olympics, right?
Tokyo's Olympic medals will be crafted from old gadgets
Tokyo's olympic planning committee has a novel idea for crafting new medals: old technology. Instead of relying on mining companies for new gold, silver and bronze, it's turning to the public and its swathes of unwanted, forgotten gadgets. You might not realize it, but your smartphone and household appliances contain small amounts of these precious materials. Starting in April, public offices and more than 2,400 NTT Docomo stores will offer collection boxes in Japan. The initial target is eight tons of metal, which will be whittled down to two tons and then, hopefully, used to produce 5,000 Olympic and Paralympic medals.
NIH funds Zika study on US team during Rio Olympics
There's a lot of excitement building for the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic events in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but also mounting anxiety around the prevalence of Zika in the South American country. The National Institute of Health (NIH) has funded a study to monitor any evidence of the virus in a subset of the US athletic team dispatched to the games. Health officials hope to learn all they can about its infection and duration, as they can do little more to protect the the athletes, coaches and staff than educate them about how best to avoid catching it.
'Bleeding' pants can show paralympians that they're injured
One of the biggest worries paralympians have is sustaining injuries in areas where they won't be able to feel it. After all, if they don't even know they're injured, they might end up bleeding to death. That's why a group of students from London's Imperial College and The Royal College of Art have teamed up to create Bruise pants, which show paralympians where they're injured and how severe it is. The designers sewed pressure-sensitive films made by Fuji onto a pair of Lycra leggings, marking vital points where injuries would be most damaging. In the event that any of those areas sustain impact damage, the film develops a red stain similar to blood seeping through cloth. If the color's showing up as a deep, dark magenta, that means it's time to stop and find the medics.
Virgin Media extends free tube WiFi for all until 2013
Tweeting about the obnoxious individuals you share a tube platform with was expected to be a one-time thing if you weren't a Virgin Media customer. The Branson-backed provider had said that, once the summer games had finished, it would make the service exclusive to its own broadband subscribers. Now, however, the company has reversed that decision, extending the free period through until the end of the year. The Telegraph is reporting that the turnaround is in part thanks to wholesale talks with other ISPs, who are keen to offer the service as part of their own packages. Given that we're unlikely to make it into the stratosphere or the bottom of the ocean any time soon, we'll settle for pretending we're a daring explorer of the Piccadilly line.
YouTube live streaming this year's London Paralympics in the US and Canada
Now that the Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps show in London is well behind us, it's time for this summer's Paralympics to get started -- in fact, they've been underway since this past Wednesday, August 29th. But in case you've been missing out on all the action due to shortage of viewing options, YouTube just announced it'll be streaming over 500 hours of live competitions to folks in the US of A and Canada. The real-time streams are being brought to you via the ParalympicSportsTV channel, which will also offer more than 1000 hours of on-demand content, such as daily highlights, behind-the-scenes footage and athlete interviews. The only thing left to do now is grab some popcorn and hope your country of choice leads that glorious medal count -- so far, it's China with the celebrated number one spot.
Double amputee Oscar Pistorius will race in the London Olympic games
Four years ago, double amputee Oscar Pistorius -- aka the Blade Runner -- was battling bureaucracy (and his own ability) for the chance to compete in the Beijing Olympics. He might not have made the cut for China, but this time around he's secured his ticket to London. The South African athlete was already penned in for the 4 x 400 meters relay, and will now also compete in the singles 400 meters -- said to be his favorite distance. The South African Olympic committee made a last-minute decision to include Pistorius in the team, making him the first amputee track athlete to compete in the full Olympic games. An amazing achievement in its own right, but a race victory on top of the bureaucratic one would surely be the ultimate finish.
New Zealand paralympian buys first Rex Bionics exoskeleton, takes robot walking legs for a spin
Surely we weren't the only ones to wonder aloud who would be the first come up with $150,000 for a Rex Bionics robotic exoskeleton when the Auckland-based company introduced it last summer. Of course, no price seems too high for the ability to walk again, but that's still a lot scratch to get together -- and the space has been getting a lot more competitive as of late. The honor went to fellow Kiwi Dave MacCalman, a multiple medal-winning paralympian, who lost the use of his legs after sustaining a spinal cord injury while diving into a river. The 6-foot, 4-inch athlete took his first steps in over 30 years with the use of his newly-purchased robot legs -- and from the look on his face, he definitely got his New Zealand dollar's worth. If you need a quick refresher on exactly what this thing can do, check out the video after the break.
