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Microsoft Kinect used to map asteroids, glaciers, other scary things
Ken Mankoff is a PhD student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he studies ice and ocean interactions. He also counts himself among a growing legion of environmental scientists who have begun using Microsoft's Kinect to create detailed, 3D maps of caves, glaciers and even asteroids. As Wired reports, the Kinect has garnered something of a cult following within the scientific community, especially among those who, until now, have relied upon comparatively more expensive and complicated technologies to gather detailed 3D data. The approach du jour for most researchers is something known as Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) -- a laser-based technology capable of creating precise maps over relatively large areas. The Kinect, by contrast, can only see up to 16 feet in front of itself, but at just $120, it's significantly cheaper than the average LIDAR system, which can run for anywhere between $10,000 and $200,000. It's also surprisingly accurate, capable of capturing up to 9 million data points per second. Mankoff, for one, has already used the device to map a small cavern underneath a glacier in Norway, while Marco Tedesco, a hydrologist at the City College of New York, is looking to attach a Kinect to a remote-controlled helicopter, in the hopes of measuring so-called meltwater lakes found on glaciers during the summer. Then there's Naor Movshovitz, also a PhD student at UC Santa Cruz, who's more interested in using the Kinect and its image processing software to figure out how asteroids behave when broken up by a projectile. There are limitations, of course, since the device still has trouble performing amidst severe environmental conditions, though its supporters seem confident they'll find a solution. Read more at the source link below.
Are the Rock Band 2 instruments really quieter? (A semi-scientific study)
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iPhone Calculator gets scientific in 2.0
It probably wasn't the most consequential update of the day, but we did get one big question answered from the iPhone SDK event in February: why the iPhone's calculator icon got changed from round buttons to square ones. Apple apparently had a lot of requests for a scientific version of the calculator, and so in iPhone 2.0, you'll be able to rotate the calc to landscape mode for a sci calc, including squares and square roots, sin, cos, and tan, factorials, and everything else you use to use the old TI-85 for back in the lab.As we noted, probably not a huge sales point for people planning to pick up a new iPhone (which, at $199 for the 8gb, is pretty much everybody), but the added functionality will be a nice bonus for those of us require a calculator for every little bit of math that needs doing.
Researchers develop artificial nerve
Regular nerves getting you down? Why not try a bionic nerve? According to reports, researchers at the University of Michigan have developed an artificial nerve which could have the ability to bring damaged limbs and organs back to life. In a study published in the medical rag Experimental Neurology, Dr. Paul Kingham and his team at the UK Centre for Tissue Regeneration managed to take fat tissue from adult animals and differentiate them into nerve cells to be used for repair and regeneration. The team will repeat the study with human volunteers, and then develop an artificial nerve constructed from a biodegradable polymer. The "bio-material" will be rolled into a tube-like structure and inserted between two cut nerves, so that regrowing nerve fibers can spread from one end to the other. Next, the researchers hope to create a species of tyrannical man-bots called the Borg, whom they hope will move outward through the galaxy, assimilating all who stand in their way.[Via Slashdot]
TiVo HD still having macroblocking issues
TiVo might just have a issue on their hands. The TiVo HD launched late last month and almost immediately, it required a software update (8.1.7b1-01-2-652) to fix pixilation issues caused by Scientific Atlanta CableCARDs. Well, some users are still having the same issue two weeks after the update. TiVo has in fact responded via TiVoCommunity.com and indicated that they are working on a fix. No word on when this update will hit the street but hopefully the 3rd time will do the trick. [Via TiVo Lovers Blog]
National Geographic games on Nintendo platforms
Scientific Journal and National Geographic are teaming up with Destination Software to create games based on National Geographic's films. The first project, which is a DS game based on March of the Penguins, is set to release later on this month. The other, possibly higher-profile project, is a game on the Wii and DS based on Sea Monsters, which is not to release until 2007. The film deals with extinct aquatic animals, so we honestly do not know what to expect in the way of gameplay at this point.
National Geographic games on Nintendo systems
Scientific Journal and National Geographic are teaming up with Destination Software to create games based on National Geographic's films. The first project, which is a DS game based on March of the Penguins, is set to release later on this month. The other, possibly higher-profile project, is a game on the Wii and DS based on Sea Monsters, which is not to release until 2007. The film deals with extinct aquatic animals, so we honestly do not know what to expect in the way of gameplay at this point.
More Raving Rabbids scientific facts
Those silly rabbids! Baths are for kids! These quarky scientific facts about rabbids always make us smile. Yet, with this video and the next, we find ourselves missing the old music. One of the main reasons we loved watching these 30 seconds of joy had a lot to do with the crazy rabbid screaming. Now, you can't really hear it all that well. It is drained out by rather annoying music. Annoying music doesn't mean we are done watching them. In fact, we have another Raving Rabbid scientific fact for you!
