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Kinect sensor wants to guess astronauts' weight, tell them to hit the space gym
How do you weigh yourself when there's no gravity keeping you down? Well, you can calculate your mass by sitting on an oscillating spring and comparing its standing frequency to your riding frequency (NASA's current method), or you could rig up a Kinect sensor to tell you when you're getting fat. Carmelo Velardo, a Eurocom computer scientist in Alphes-Maritimes, France, is developing the latter option. Working with colleagues at the Italian Institute of Technology's Center for Human Space Robotics, Velardo paired the Kinect sensor's 3D modeling digs with a database of weight to body measurements of 28,000 people -- the resulting system can guess your weight with a 97 percent accuracy. NASA scientist John Charles notes that while the rig works well on the ground, it might hit some snags in space. Microgravity can shift water around in an astronaut's body, changing their density and potentially throwing off the Kinect setup's readings. Still, Charles says the technique "appears feasible," and suggests pairing it with the existing weight measurement tools might "provide insights into changes in body density that might be illuminating." Velardo hopes to test the system in parabolic flight soon. If he succeeds, not even outer space will protect us from the shameful judgment of video game peripherals. Now if you'll excuse us, we have some squat-thrusts to get to.
Carbon nanotubes find yet another purpose, could star in ultra-reliable batteries
Carbon nanotubes are kind of like peanuts. They both seem pretty simple at first glance, but with a little work, you can make pretty much anything out of 'em. Take this case, for example, as MIT boffins have discovered that by forming the tube-shaped molecules of pure carbon into minuscule springs, they could be "capable of storing as much energy, pound for pound, as lithium-ion batteries." The real kicker is exactly how they'd do it -- "more durably and reliably." Essentially, these newfangled cells could be left alone for years on end without losing their charge, and unlike conventional batteries, these wouldn't suffer from performance degradation when exposed to temperature extremes. Of course, anything as pie-in-the-sky as this is probably at least a decade or so out from Walmart shelves, but considering that the group responsible has already filed a patent, we'd say they're pretty confident in the possibilities.[Via Physorg]
Gemotion display boasts reactive 3D functionality
We've seen dozens of (mostly futile) attempts to bring 3D technology into our lives in a non-gimmicky manner, but the 54-year old Yoichiro Kawaguchi has developed yet another device that will likely fall by the wayside rather than gain steam. The University of Tokyo professor has devised a psychedelic 39- x 24-inch screen that boasts no fewer than 72 air cylinders behind the flexible fabric front, which are used to "push and pull" based on whatever action is being portrayed. The creator describes the Gemotion as a "soft, living display that that bulges and collapses in sync with the graphics on the screen," creating a moving display that's likely to terrify (or thrill, depending on perspective) small children. Apparently, the idea is to use computer software to convert images projected onto the screen into specific movements, allowing characters on screen to literally "jump out" at viewers, and can purportedly liven up your average "video game, TV show, or film" by giving it "an element of power never seen before." While the idea seems impressive in theory, we'd definitely need to see this thing in action before taking it too seriously, but those hanging around the National Art Center in Tokyo can drop by and give it a once over for us until February 4th.[Via PinkTentacle]
