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Abertay University researchers create training game for Scotland cops
Whenever we think of training simulators for the local boys and girls in blue, one arcade classic always comes to mind -- the appropriately titled Police Trainer. We had the occasional desire to protect and serve as we effortlessly moved through the games virtual ranks; it was only later we discovered that cops are rarely called upon to shoot multicolored balls from the sky, nor are they required to play simple matching games using their trusty peacemakers.A more "realistic" (see: less fun) simulator from researchers out of Abertay University in Scotland recently received some press when the game's creators suggested it for training purposes for Scotland's Finest. The sim's focus on making on-the-fly decisions on whether to shoot a dangerous suspect or hold fire would certainly come in handy for officers (and, consequently, for those not accidentally shot). The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland have been hesitant to adopt the new simulation, however, relying solely on repeated viewings of the Guttenberg classic "Police Academy" for all training purposes.
Lily-shaped pads could generate solar energy in Glasgow
We've seen some pretty far-fetched efforts meant to capture the sun's rays and convert 'em into energy, but this one holds a special place in our hearts. Rather than consuming acres upon acres of desert land or simply placing a plethora of panels atop some roof, ZM Architecture has an idea that would land a slew of large lily-shaped solar panels in the River Clyde. After winning the International Design Awards Land and Sea Competition, the concept has been passed on to the Glasgow city council in hopes of a trial going forward in the near future. Essentially, energy gathered by the discs would be transformed and exported to the national grid, and integrated motors could rotate the pads in order to "follow the sun for maximum output." Just gotta watch for those sunbathers sure to swim over and kick back on a panel of their own.[Via Inhabitat]Read - BBC reportRead - IDA winner report
BBC broadcasting Rugby Six Nations match in 3D
Not happy letting us Yankees get away with all the 3D sporting action, the BBC plans to test a 3D HD broadcast of a Rugby Six Nations match next month. A lot like the NBA's test with last year's All-Star Game and NBA Finals, the March 8th game between Scotland and England will be captured by three camera rigs and then transmitted via satellite -- unlike the fiber connection used by the NBA -- to an audience watching a big screen with 3D glasses. Can Communicate, Inition and Axis are the companies forming 3DFirm, which is partnering with the Beeb to make the whole thing happen, including working out a new style of camera work and post production. We won't say we're waiting for a 3D broadcast of real football to get excited about these tests (we'll just think it.)
90% of DS owners are pirates? Not bloody likely!
In a recent chat with Scotland's The Sunday Post, John Hillier of the ELSPA (Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association) warns retailers that the R4, a popular DS flashcart capable of running pirated and unauthorized software, could ruin businesses and the gaming industry. In the scaremongering piece, Mr. Hiller throws out an unsourced statistic: "In America it's thought 90 per cent of Nintendo DS users are playing pirated games because of R4s."90%? Considering the near-ubiquity of the handheld and its expanded casual audience, we highly doubt that even 9% of DS owners in the US have a flashcart of any sort, let alone know of their existence. Though we don't consider ourselves supporters of piracy, stating a false figure like that as fact just to rally people to his cause is unconscionable.In a way, we kind of wish the R4 was that popular, but not for any illegal reasons -- it would likely result in more homebrew projects and a much larger homebrew audience. Mr. Hillier will hear none of that, though: "The R4 has shifted balance of power in the piracy industry to the consumer -- and that is hugely worrying. That's why we intend to stop trade in these chips wherever we can."
'Safer Scotland' places anti-drunk driving ads in 360 games
Proving that not all in-game advertising is used solely for evil, the Scottish government plans to spend £10,000 on virtual billboards to discourage drunk driving, the BBC reports today. The campaign will place anti-drunk driving messages in Xbox 360 racing games like Need for Speed: Carbon, Project Gotham Racing 4, and sports titles like Pro Evolution Soccer 2008.The Scottish government is elated that the campaign will be going forward, as it believes that video games are a great way of reaching younger audiences. We couldn't agree more, and think that this is one of the smartest uses for ad dollars we've seen in a while. Kudos to the Safer Scotland campaign.
Students design socially-activated phones
While the Smellophone will certainly get you one step closer to joining the social via your mobile, students at the University of Dundee are taking social activation to new heights with its lineup of prototype phones. Similar to sensor-laden gear that sends out a variety of feedbacks when a specified event occurs nearby, the six phones that were created by second year students from the College of Art, Science and Engineering's product design course actually supported "intimacy and sensuality" along with collaborative music making. Two particularly moving devices were the Aware (pictured), which reportedly "sends a tingle down your back if a friend is nearby," and the Boom Tube, which "allows people to make music together." Who knew customized ringtones would lead us to this?
Scottish brainiacs develop spray-on computer for medical analysis
Spray-on gadgetry isn't exactly new, but the possibility of spritzing a computer on your epidermis most certainly piqued our interest. A team of Scottish scientists have reportedly "developed a computer the size of a matchstick head, thousands of which can be sprayed onto patients to give a comprehensive analysis of their condition." The device(s) joins the ever-growing array of communication-enabled health sensors aimed at helping the elderly stay in contact with their doctors even in remote locations, and can compute a variety of inputs such as blood pressure, muscle movement, and pulse rate. The technology, dubbed speckled computing, can even be rigged to transmit information via radio waves, meaning that a full-fledged diagnostic report could get a whole lot less invasive if this stuff pans out.[Via MedGadget, photo courtesy of EISF]
University of Edinburgh crafts energy efficient FPGA supercomputer
Considering that ATI and NVIDIA don't seem to be making any substantial strides in reducing the amount of energy required to run their products, it's a tad surprising to hear of an entire supercomputer running a bit leaner than the competition. Hoping on the ever-growing green bandwagon, University of Edinburgh developers are at it again, this time crafting an uber-speedy machine that's reportedly "ten times more energy efficient and up to 300 times faster than its traditional equivalents." Based on field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), the chips are not only very difficult to program, but they can currently only be used "to perform very specific tasks." Of course, the creators are more interested in the extreme number crunching and power saving abilities than anything else, and while no commercial uses have been identified just yet, the machines could purportedly be used in fields such as "drug design, defense and seismology."[Via CNET]
Mobile speed cameras to suprise chatty motorists with penalties
Nowadays, we're lucky to be able to so much as breathe air while driving without getting penalized. As of late, motorists in South Yorkshire have quite the incentive to keep their phone conversations under wraps while in transit. Mobile speed cameras, traditionally used to catch speeders, will be used by police to catch unsuspecting chit-chatters in the act, who would later receive an unexpected notice showing 3 points on their license and a demand for £60, which was recently, and perhaps not-so-coincidentally, increased from £30. "If officers using mobile cameras see someone using a hand-held phone, whether with their own eyes or through the lens of their camera, then they are fair game." There's been no word on plans for similar implementation within the automated camera system, but "that is not to say that we can't change the policy," states Meredydd Hughes, the head of roads policing for the Association of Chief Constables. Drivers may soon feel compelled to throw down some cash for a headset, although there's even been speculation on the perils of hands-free yapping -- looks like a good tint-job's the last resort... and how about some spinners while you're at it?[Via Textually]
CCTV cameras to watch for speed camera vandalism. Rinse, repeat.
But who's going to watch the CCTV cams? That's the irony apparently lost on the Lothian and Borders Safety Camera Partnership, which is considering installing CCTV cameras to monitor its speed cameras that are frequently the target for vandalism. "There are companies there who would provide us with CCTV coverage of the cameras themselves - the cameras looking after the cameras kind of thing," said Colin McNeil, the head of the group. We're not even making this stuff up. All we know is that as soon as they install these suckers, we're grabbing the first plane to Scotland and liveblogging the hysteria.
Light Bandage treats skin cancer on-the-go
A physicist and a dermatology consultant at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland (no, that's not the beginning of a joke) have just built a new revolutionary mobile treatment for skin cancer. Their invention is a "light bandage" whose LEDs shine onto the affected area while the wearer is out and about, and draws power from an iPod-sized battery pack. The device is based on the principles of photodynamic therapy treatment (PDT), which is traditionally used to treat skin cancer; however, in current applications of PDT, patients must sit or lie still while sitting under huge light sources. Of course, this means that now you can go lay on the beach to get your tan on, absorbing ultraviolet rays while wearing a light bandage to treat your skin cancer. Perfect.[Via medGadget]
Location of first Apple store in Scotland
Survivingcinemas.org.uk has uncovered the future location of Apple's first store in Scotland. 147 Buchanan Street, Glasgow will house Scotland's Apple Store as well as a glass spiral staircase and a Genius/iPod bar. This former theater will have an estimated £1,1,68,000 pumped into it to covert it into an Apple store with stainless steel encased ceilings (signage will be approved separately). Interestingly, it would seem that this store will not have a theater which is becoming a trend in new Apple Stores.[via MacNN]
(Mostly) complete list of Wii tour stops in Europe
We know this is going to come as a big surprise to our friends in Europe, but you guys are getting something a little later than the United States. Try to pick your jaws up off the floor, guys. We know it's a shock. But hey, at least it isn't months later, right? And you guys get to miss out on the pain of Hawthorne Heights. That's right, you get an emo-free Wii Tour! We only have dates for Western Europe -- Scotland, Ireland, England -- but if anyone knows about the Wii sweeping through the rest of the region, let us know. Full list of available dates after the jump.
Scottish police testing metal-detecting gloves
Police in Scotland have begun field-testing a pair of tactical gloves that sport built-in metal detectors for identifying sharp objects during routine pat-downs -- and should they fail to detect a hidden weapon, they're made out of Kevlar to protect the wearer during the ensuing knife fight. Although not specifically mentioned in the source article, it seems the Scottish cops are trying out seven pairs of the HF-1 from Adams Electronics, which are powered by regular 9-volt batteries and vibrate inconspicuously at the wrist to signify that an object has been detected. Available in either "passive active" or "dual active" configurations (depending on whether one or both of the gloves sport a detector), the HF-1s deployed for the trial cost about $370-a-pair, and are being used to supplement the 1,000 or so FriskerPRO-like handheld detectors that are already in use. Overall these seem like a good way for officers to protect themselves without getting too touchy-feely with suspects, but on the other hand, they may just encourage enterprising criminals to step up their game and begin carrying around undetectable weapons like ceramic knives and filed-down toothbrushes.
Scotland to get medieval on zombie gadgets
Remember that report in late 2004 that stated that as much as 10% of our energy draw could come from aggregate power use of devices in standby? Well, Scotland's mad as hell, and they're not gonna take it anymore. ScottishPower, Scotland's biggest power company, is calling for standby-free devices -- you know, like back in the good old days when an off device meant the device was off. In fact, according ScottishPower, gadgets in standby cost Scottish consumers over £62 million (about $108.5 million US) and produce 360,000 tons of CO2 annually. Of course the influence on the global consumer electronics market ScottishPower wields is, um, less than knightly, but if more power companies and government energy conservation programs (like EnergyStar) in more countries get behind ScottishPower, we might just be able to slow down this global warming thing (a little) with some clear(er) conscience devices.
The RunBot out runs MIT's "Spring Flamingo," can you?
Sure, RunBot might not be a true runner yet, since it still keeps one foot on the ground at all times. Also, it's only fastest for its height, managing a swift 3.5 leg-lengths per second, besting the MIT's four times taller Spring Flamingo, which runs at comparably sluggish 1.4 leg-lengths per second. All that being said, RunBot currently holds the world record for fastest bot on two legs. The RunBot's German and Scottish creators attribute its speed to the fairly simple design, which only senses when a leg is on the ground and when a leg swings forward. RunBot merely experiments with whichever leg motions keep it upright and keep it going fastest, and the bot can accelerate up to three times its original speed with its "learnings." So far the RunBot can only walk in circles, since it's attached to a boom in the center of a room, but the developers say they're at work on a freestanding version, which shouldn't be too tough because the boom has little influence on the RunBot's walking. Be sure to check the read link for video of the bot in all of its herky-jerky glory.
Apple Stores in Scotland soon?
This article in the Scotsman, which is about Apple trying to leverage the success of the iPod to get into the enterprise, mentions that is very likely that an Apple store will open in Glasgow and Edinburgh 'once Apple can secure prime retail locations.Sounds like Scottish Mac fans should start saving up their money, because the Mothership will be building a few outposts soon.[via Fraser Speirs]
