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Mini-Z T-ray imaging device takes home the gold
We're all about giving golf claps where they're due, and a healthy round is certainly in order for Mr. Brian Schulkin. The doctoral student in physics developed a breakthrough terahertz imaging device, dubbed a T-ray, that has already demonstrated its ability to "detect cracks in space shuttle foam, image tumors in breast tissue, and spot counterfeit watermarks on paper currency." The Mini-Z marks the first time such a powerful device has become portable in nature, weighing just five pounds and taking up about as much space as your average laptop. Taking home the first Lemelson-Rensselaer Student Prize ($30,000), Schulkin explained that this device didn't pose the same health risks as typical X-rays, and unlike ultrasound, terahertz waves can provide images and spectroscopic information without contacting an object. As expected, the patent-pending technology is already up for licensing, and has already received quite a bit of fanfare and commercial interest from larger companies. So while you may never personally encounter Brian's earth-shattering invention, we're fairly sure this young lad's working days are already drawing nigh if he so chooses.[Via Physorg]
Today's hottest game video: Bomberman Evolved
Students at the University of Aalborg in Copenhagen are mid-way through creating a virtual Bomberman game called Bomberman Evolved. As shown in today's GameTrailers video, a camera mounted in the ceiling tracks the movement of two colored hats, steering on-screen Bomberman characters based on the two players' positions in the room. The process ranks among our favorite hacker-made videogame remakes, along with all of those Tetris-on-a-building projects.Watch the video after the break.
Casio electronic dictionary / translator talks back, recognizes handwriting
While we English speaking folk may prefer our pocket translators to start in English and convert to some other foreign tongue, Casio's latest rendition helps those fluent in Japanese order tickets to the Space Needle, haggle at the Chevrolet dealership, and of course, pick up the correct ingredients for warm apple pie. Aimed at middle / high school students, the XD-SW4800 lineup of handheld dictionaries reportedly house the denotation and correct pronunciation for over "85,000 languages," which ironically enough, probably translates to "85,000 words" when not read through a broken translator. Nevertheless, these handy gizmos come in a variety of colors, and aside from supporting keyboard input, it can recognize stylus-written characters and toss back definitions while pronouncing the word to you via headphones. If America isn't your final destination, it also comes with five other major languages on CD that can be loaded on the 50MB of internal space or on your SD card if necessary, and while these things won't last forever, the approximate 60 to 130 hours of battery life should be more than enough to get you acclimated. So while you're waiting for your passport to show up, make sure you pick up Casio's latest travel necessity -- if you can manage the admittedly steep ¥47,250 ($394) to ¥52,500 ($437) price points, that is.[Via Impress]
Emotion-tracking rings to assist in distance learning
Let's face it, not all of us will have the luxury of attending a school where we get to construct massive LEGO machines or learn how to become savvy in SMS, but a developing technology that tracks student emotions could help tutors and distance instructors alike in keeping kids focused while learning. Co-developed by Essex University's Vic Callaghan and Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Liping Shen, the emotion-tracking tutoring software can analyze physical signs to keep track of a student's attention span, their level of understanding, and even the amount of stress a certain lesson produces. Aimed to help tutors become more effective and to add another layer of "personal" to distance-based education courses, the software would receive information about a student's "heart rate, blood pressure and changes in electrical resistance caused by perspiration" via a sensor-laden, Bluetooth-enabled ring worn on one's finger. The information can then be assessed to determine a student's interest level and frustration level, but a decibel meter to measure snoring isn't likely to be included. If all goes as planned, the team intends on testing the system out in "real learning scenarios in China" to further tweak their creation, so it won't be too long now before an interest-tracking ring will become as necessary as pencil and paper a stylus and a tablet PC come class time.
NYC mulling pay-per-use phone lockers for students
In our formative years we were kept on the straight and narrow with wireless leashes, and we got in touch with our folks the old-fashioned way -- two cans and a string -- and that's the way we liked it. Modern high school students, though, have a decidedly different take on the best way to drop a line, ditching pay phones (or, heaven forbid, the principal's office) in favor of trusty cellphones. Yipes, seems we've got a little hiccup: New York City's public schools have recently started clamping down on its longstanding ban on wireless goodies on school grounds, leaving a healthy percentage of tech-savvy pupils in the lurch. Parents aren't too happy, either, noting that it's the most effective way to keep tabs on lil' Johnny and Susie from afar in the event of an emergency. School officials are responding with the standard arguments, distraction and the threat of cheating, and are coming to the table with a proposal to install lockers outside schools for the sole purpose of housing phones during the school day. Sounds to good to be true, right? A rare case of taxpayer dollars being put to exactly the right use at exactly the right time, you say? Well, there's a catch: thanks to the crushing cost of said lockers, students would likely pay 25-50 cents a day for the privilege of being separated from their technology for a few hours. Needless to say a legal fight seems inevitable, though parents, teachers, and the school board will try to iron things out on the 18th of this month with a little face-to-face time. Of course, they could just give in and make texting a school subject, but we're not really seeing that happen.
Task List: Open Source Homework Management
With Christmas break sadly drawing to a close, it's time for students to start thinking about keeping up with assignments again. We've previously mentioned Assignment Planner, but just in time for the Spring semester, Funkware brings us another option with Task List 5, "the simple way to manage your homework." This open source program allows you to record and schedule assignments, make notes, calculate your GPA and more. It even includes a menu bar item and a dashboard widget for accessing your tasks. The only downside: you can't blame the dog any more.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
PSP phone resurfaces in design contest
Sony Ericsson recently held a contest for Chinese university students to design a new phone. One creative student decided to take the opportunity to render his idea about the rumored Ericsson PlayStation phone. This render features a UMD slot and a DS-inspired flip-top. This render is also shown to be slightly smaller, but thicker, than the PSP itself. What do you guys think about it? If it didn't cost a gazillion dollars, would you pick one up?[Thanks, christian! Via slashphone]
Mystery student identified: developer of EZiD
The identity of the student featured in this picture with Steve Jobs has been discovered. His coworker Jesse is a fan of TUAW and let Martin (that's the dude in the picture) know that he had been featured on TUAW.So, what was he showing to Steve? Why his application which is called EZiD. It creates 'decks' of like windows to clear up cluttered screens. Sounds a lot like the rumored 'Piles' feature that Apple was playing around with for awhile, though for windows (as was pointed out in the comments).The app is clearly not ready for prime time (it didn't work on my MacBook Pro), but I am sure Martin got lots of great pointers at WWDC.Now if you'll excuse me I am going to ponder exactly how Steve can fire someone who doesn't work for him. The man is powerful.
Jobs approached by student developer - doesn't fire him?
For those who don't quite get the headline: Jobs is notorious for being a demanding and quick-to-fire-you CEO; there are a few stories of His Steveness doing things like firing an employee who pulled a Porky Pig (an American cartoon character with a stuttering speech impediment) when he found himself on the same elevator as Mr Jobs.With that said, TUAW reader Florian sent us a link to this Flickr image of what looks like a WWDC attendee (student?) approaching Mr. Jobs with something on his PowerBook/MacBook. I'm sure this isn't the first time something like this has happened (with no one receiving a pink slip), but it's a great shot and Steve seems genuinely interested.Florian took the pic, but didn't have a chance to ask this guy about what was going on. If anyone knows anything, or if Mr. Guy Who Was Talking to Steve is a TUAW reader, feel free to drop us a tip (a link to our tips form, by the way, is located at the bottom of our categories list in the middle of this page) and share your wisdom.
Grad student produces cellphone lab coat
We're certain there's a better way to increase your cellphone signal, and it's clearly not those mass-marketed antenna boosters from days past. But Purdue University grad student Yuehui Ouyang may be onto something. With the help of electrotextiles -- clothing with metal in or on it -- she has determined that using outerwear as a mega-antenna would yield fewer dropped calls and cause less frustration by eliminating the need to find just the right corner to stand in to get signal. Essentially, the antennas on your body would receive the signal and pass it a short distance to the mobile, creating a larger opportunity for remaining connected while chatting. Currently, her antenna-strapped lab coat acts as the prototype, but she's hoping to extend the technology to sweaters, jackets, and other forms of clothing sure to give fits to metal detectors. The first wave of recipients, should this ever go big-time, would likely be government and emergency personnel who could immediately benefit from "hands-free clothing." While the new threads sound practical, we should probably ensure these things aren't traceable before suiting a soldier up in electrotextiles for top secret reconnaissance. [Via Textually]
Girls = Way Cooler than WoW
This letter from a frustrated female college student to her school's online newspaper paints a sad, lonely tale of a young woman competing with the latest in video-game technology for the attention of her man. Or maybe she's got a point, what do I know?"These boys spend a majority of their day in their rooms. Not that this is a bad thing. There are plenty of productive things you can do in a dorm room. One specific thing they do is play the role playing game World of Warcraft. The boys are able to create a character and spend time in a world being able to fight, learn certain techniques (i.e. Magical, healing, fighting), go on missions, etc. I, myself, have played this game. And I proudly admit I have made it to level seven. This dims in comparison when compared to their characters who have reached level 100 and so on."Hmm, sounds to me like someone is just jealous. Level 7...ha!
Professors banning in-class laptop use
In yet another sign that Luddism is alive and well in academia (remember Lakehead University's silly WiFi ban?), the Associated Press has picked up on a disturbing "trend" of professors banning laptops in their classrooms. Unlike the WiFi brouhaha, which revolved around fears that the wireless signals might be dangerous, keeping laptops out of the lecture hall is seen as a way of forcing students to pay attention. The AP article cites several law school professors who have enacted the ban, including one whose inspiration came while serving as an expert witness in a trial, when he realized the court stenographer wasn't absorbing any of the content that he/she was transcribing. If you ask us, not only does this policy fail to address the root of a problem -- hey Prof, try making your classes more interesting if you want people to pay attention -- but considering what students are paying for a higher education these days, they should be allowed to lug a mainframe and three monitors to class if that's how they like to get their learnin' done.
Apple Design Awards 2006 now accepting entries
"Show off your latest feat of programming genius," says the Apple Developer Connection email announcing the call for entries to their 11th annual Design Awards. Recognizing "technical excellence and outstanding achievement in developing Mac OS X software," there are eight award categories into which developers can submit their apps: Best Mac OS X Developer Tool, Best Use of Mac OS X Graphics, Best Widget, Automator Workflow, User Experience, Game, Scientific Computing Solution and Student Product.As far as what winning developers receive for all their hard work, Apple's going all out this year. Each category winner receives two 15-inch MacBook Pros, two 23-inch Cinema Displays, an ADC Premiere Membership, a WWDC 2006 E-ticket, and an exhibitor space at Macworld 2007. The Student category winner will receive one 15-inch MacBook Pro, one 23-inch Cinema Display, one 60GB iPod, an ADC Student Membership, and a WWDC 2006 Student E-ticket. Does anyone else find it odd the non-student members don't receive an iPod? And how about the lack of PowerMac prizes?The entry deadline is June 16th, and the winners will be honored at WWDC in August.
Guitar Hero hack - a sequencer is born
Here's a class project that you probably wish you'd managed to get credit for. By interfacing the Guitar Hero peripheral with a sequencing program, these students at the University of California have managed to turn the five-button guitar into something approaching a real musical instrument. From novelty sound effects to an almost orchestral piece, it's an impressive start which could spark off a whole series of musical Guitar Hero hacks.[Via /.]
