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PSVR's rodent adventure 'Moss' arrives February 27th
PlayStation VR's adorable murine tale Moss finally has a release date. Next Tuesday, February 27th, you'll be able to guide the big-eared rodent Quill along her adventure on your PlayStation 4. When it debuted at E3 last year, developer Polyarc (made up, in part, of former Bungie and Rockstar Games alums) promised the mouse-scale adventure would be out by holiday, but the game was delayed until this spring. If you're curious how it'll play before you drop hard-earned cash, there's a demo version available as part of the free PSVR demo disc on the PlayStation Network Store. Need more convincing? Maybe the new trailer below will do the trick.
Snail venom provides a new way to treat chronic pain
The Conus regius' venom is bad news for its prey, and it's been proven harmful to humans as well. For instance, a 2009 clinical case describes a diver who had trouble moving his arm for 12 hours after an attack. However, scientists from the University of Utah see hope in the ocean dweller's powerful venom. In fact, research suggests it could be used to develop a new treatment for chronic pain.
ICYMI: E-paper kicks, robot directions via thought and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-978000{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-978000, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-978000{width:570px;display:block;}try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-978000").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Shiftwear wants to change your shoe game with color e-paper screens that can move and shift into beautiful pictures on the sneakers you're wearing. It's too early to tell whether they will fund; or look as good as they do in the online video. There's also a nail-art printer if you're in the mood to spend a lot of money on something temporary.
Video: SCRATCHbot hunts like a rat for those trapped like one
Designed for search and rescue missions - which, let's face it, are only ever one loose word away from "search and destroy" - the SCRATCHbot uses its whiskers to detect disaster survivors in inhospitable or dangerous areas. The Bristol Robotics Laboratory developed the rat-inspired people searcher over the past 6 years and now hopes to find interest for it in underground and underwater projects where vision may be impaired. Far less heroic uses are also being contemplated, such as textile inspection and implementation inside intelligent vacuum cleaners that would be able to adjust their cleaning to the particular surface they sense. Video of the new bot coming to life is after the break.
Jacketed hamsters demonstrate movement-powered nanogenerators
Imagine this -- one day, with enough steroids, your pet hamster actually could power your home by just running on its wheel. Georgia Tech researchers have discovered ways to "convert even irregular biomechanical energy into electricity," and it's demonstrating the finding by showing off jacket-wearing rodents that are game to run. According to the institution's Zhong Lin Wang, the minuscule nanogenerators "can convert any mechanical disturbance into electrical energy," which theoretically means that power can be driven by simple, irregular mechanical motion such as the vibration of vocal cords, flapping of a flag or the tapping of fingers. As with most of these university discoveries, there's no telling how soon this stuff will be pushed out to the commercial realm, but at least they've found something to keep the rats busy during the off hours. [Via news:lite, thanks Charles]
Get your gift on: Holiday gamer shirts
Check out all of the different Way of the Rodent t-shirt designs while you're searching for stocking stuffers. Sure, they aren't all holiday themed, but this Katamari t-shirt where the Prince is rolling up a snowman is the bomb. Although the Q*bert Christmas tree trumps them all in terms of nostalgia, and that Pac-Man Christmas Carol shirt, "Tonight you will be visited by three ghosts ..." is priceless. Well, priceless to the tune of $22 plus shipping and handling. But don't let that turn you into a Scrooge, share some holiday gaming love this season.[Thanks, Trina]
Fluffy Soap mouse works without a desk
Can you imagine controlling your computer with a peripheral that resembles a fluffy bar of soap? Well hear us out, because the Soap pointing device from Microsoft Research offers to combine the accuracy of a traditional optical mouse with the freedom of a wireless, even desk-free peripheral. The device, which consists of a soft, fluffy hull coating a wireless optical mouse core, reads the fabric's movement when the user applies outside pressure, and reports it as a position (think: rolling a bar of soap around in your hand). Through a demonstration in combination with a mobile keyboard in Unreal Tournament (albeit with dumb bots), the creators have shown that Soap offers a degree of accuracy that comes close to a table-bound mouse; when the user squeezes, the Soap can even outclass desktop mouse performance in large wall display setups. If users can cope with the idea of blasting away fiends in UT with a ball of fluff and Soap gets a commercial release, if nothing else you can be sure that an entire cottage industry will spring up around supplying fake eyes and tails to turn the Soap into a line-up of cute, pointable rodentia.[Via hackaday]
