APPLE PATENTS SHOE THAT TELLS WEARER WHEN TO BUY NEW ONES

Apple has patented ‘smart shoes’ that would come with embedded sensors to track your activity and tell you when you needed a new pair. Instead of wearing an additional sensor, people would just have to wear the shoes, where the technology would be less visible and be a more seamless part of your lifestyle than an external tracker.

The Infrascanner, The Gadget That Detects Internal Bleeding.

The Infrascanner Model 2000 is a portable screening device that uses Near-Infrared (NIR) technology to screen patients for intracranial bleeding, identifying those who would most benefit from immediate referral to a CT scan and neurosurgical intervention. In the triage of head trauma patients, the Infrascanner can identify patients most likely to have intracranial bleeding.

The Infrascanner Model 2000 unit is a small, portable handheld device, which includes a Sensor and a Cradle. The Sensor includes an eye safe NIR diode laser and an optical detector. The light to and from the laser and detector are optically coupled to the patient’s head through two disposable light guides. The detector signal is digitized and analyzed by a single board computer (SBC) in the Sensor. The SBC receives the data from the detector and automatically adjusts the settings to ensure good data quality. The data is further processed by the SBC and the results are displayed on the screen.

The Sensor is turned on by placing a disposable shield on the Sensor and turned off by removing the disposable shield. The Sensor can be powered either by a rechargeable NiMH battery pack or by 4 disposable AA batteries. The Cradle is used to charge the rechargeable battery pack, if it is used in the Sensor, and to copy the data from the Sensor into a Personal Computer.

The Infrascanner Model 2000 was developed based on Infrascanner Model 1000, following the specifications of the US Marine Corps. The key changes included:

• Integration of the processing, display and control functions of the separate PDA into the sensor.
• Ruggedization of the system for improved durability.
• Addition of the ability to use regular AA batteries in addition to a rechargeable battery pack.

2 Weeks of Power No Outlets Ever

Today’s consumer electronics devices are more power-hungry than ever. A dead battery means important missed calls and emails, no GPS when you’re lost, no e-reader on your train ride, no communication in an emergency, and an overall feeling of dread and anxiety. Lilliputian has the cure, nectar™- the world’s first truly portable power device that will power all of your CE devices for up to a month with a single power pod.

http://www.nectarpower.com/

HERE ARE 12 TIME MANAGEMENT HABITS FOR THE NEW YEAR.

Habit 1: Strive to be authentic. Be as honest with yourself as you can about what you want and why you do what you do.

Habit 2: Favor trusting relationships. Put your efforts into building relationships with people you can trust and count on, and make sure those same people can trust and count on you.

Habit 3: Maintain a lifestyle that will give you maximum energy. Work your way up to doing aerobic exercise at least three times a week, eating a light lunch, and getting enough sleep.

Habit 4: Listen to your biorhythms and organize your day accordingly. Make it a habit to pay attention to regular fluctuations in your physical and mental energy levels throughout the day; and based on what you learn, make adjustments to how you schedule tasks.

Habit 5: Set very few priorities and stick to them. Select a maximum of two things that are your highest priority, and plan time to work on them.

Habit 6: Turn down things that are inconsistent with your priorities. Get good at saying no to other people, and do so frequently.

Habit 7: Set aside time for focused effort.Schedule time every day to work on just one thing.

Habit 8: Always look for ways of doing things better and faster. Be on the lookout for tasks you do over and over again, and look for ways of improving how you do them.

Habit 9: Build solid processes. Set up processes that last and that run without your attention.

Habit 10: Spot trouble ahead and solve problems immediately. Set aside time to think about what lies ahead, and face all problems as soon as you can.

Habit 11: Break your goals into small units of work, and think only about one unit at a time. Spend most of your time working on the task in front of you, and avoid dreaming too much about the big goal.

Habit 12: Finish what’s important and stop doing what’s no longer worthwhile. Don’t stop doing what you considered worth starting unless there’s a good reason to give it up.

Source:Forbes.com

Volvo Developing Accident-Avoiding Self-Driving Cars for the Year 2020-Sustainable Design Innovation

Volvos have always been marketed as some of the safest vehicles on the road – and now the automaker is working on “crashproof” cars with next-gen collision avoidance systems that could hit the streets by the year 2020. The features are designed to help drivers stay alert and well-informed to avoid collisions and dangerous situations. Although Volvo has set a goal of 2020 for the release of these new technologies, many of them will start showing up as soon as 2014.

“The safety systems are intelligent and work together to make driving more pleasant and safe. They are designed to warn about threats. If necessary, they can also step in and intervene in critical situations. And, in some situations where the collision is unavoidable, there are safety features to help mitigate the consequences.”

Volvo is part of a larger group of automakers and companies that are working on fully autonomous vehicles, which can drive themselves and take over control if the driver becomes unresponsive or a dangerous situation is predicted. “The car of the future will be like the farmer’s horse. The farmer can steer the horse and carriage but if he falls asleep the horse will refuse to walk into a tree or off a cliff,” stated Anders Eugensson Volvo’s head of government affairs.

While we have to wait a bit for the arrival of fully autonomous cars, some of the technology will begin showing up sooner. Volvo hopes to launch the first vehicles with technology that can monitor pedestrians and other traffic and even ensure that a car is a safe distance from other vehicles in 2014.

HOW 3D PRINTING IS REVOLUTIONIZING AFFORDABLE HOUSING

As 3D printing solutions advance in terms of available materials and scale, architects are beginning to adapt the on-demand technology for use in the construction of dwellings and other structures, ushering in the next stage of prefab buildings. Whether creating the units in pieces or in some cases, pre-assembled wholes, the on-demand nature of architecture is changing the pace at which areas can be developed, while reducing associated labor and costs.

Open Source Platform Allows Users To Design And Print Pre-Fabricated Homes

WikiHouse is an open-source construction system that allows anyone to download and ‘print’ CNC-milled wooden components, which can be quickly and easily assembled into homes without formal skills or training. Created by the London-based design team 00 (zero zero), the software offers consumers free, open-source designs for ‘WikiHouses’ and corresponding CNC (computer numerical control) codes to print structure components out of plywood sheets. Following production, each of the designs can be assembled through interlocking features without requiring any fasteners or nails, similar to a jigsaw puzzle. By allowing consumers to create homes to their exact specifications on demand, WikiHouse is helping to drastically reduce construction cost and waste attributable to mass production lines.

3D Printer Constructs Eco-Friendly Buildings From Sand

The Stone Spray Robot is an on-site robotic 3D printer that can be used to create architectural designs out of sand. Utilizing a jet spray system, the robot can deploy a soil and liquid binder mix to construct a variety of architectural shapes.  In addition to pointing to the future of building eco-friendly structures, the robot’s creators claim the device runs completely on solar power.

Source: PSFK Labs

Solar-Powered Lamp-Post Provides Ray of Light for Mali

An Italian architect has transformed life in the Mali village of Sanogola by designing a portable, locally manufactured light

Momodou Keita, town chief of Sanogola, a small village 300km north of Bamako, Mali's capital, stands proudly beside the community's solar-powered lamp-post – a shiny, blue, enamel-coated construction of welded bicycle parts and water pipes. "Ten villages now want these lamps," he announces with pride from inside his traditional Malian mud-walled compound. "Now we have electricity and it helps us so much," he says.

Solar technology is spreading throughout countries across Africa and it is getting cheaper and more efficient. The searing rays of sunlight coupled with the lack of electricity grids on the continent make this renewable form of energy a no-brainer. But what makes Foroba Yelen, or Collective Light – the name given to the lamp-posts by the women of the area – so different is that it was designed specifically for the Malian communities who would end up using it, earning funding from the University of Barcelona for winning a special mention in the City to City Barcelona FAD (El Foment de les Arts i el Disseny/Support for Art and Design) award, a competition recognising initiatives that transform communities across the world.

Italian architect Matteo Ferroni spent three years studying villages in rural Mali, where close to 90% of the population have no access to electricity. He wanted to design a light that villagers could manufacture for themselves, so went on to study how welders in nearby Cinzana built donkey carts, the traditional mode of transport that is still widely used today. He used their expertise, along with parts that could be found in any small village in the country, and came up with a design that would "work for the people, not the manufacturers".

"Wherever we need the lamp to be, we just move it," says Assitan Coulibaly, the town chief's wife, gesturing to her son who proceeds to rock the lamp-post gently backwards on to its built-in wheel and trundle it around the yard. "Children can do that. Elders can do that. Everyone can do that," she says with a smile. And they make money from renting the lamp-posts out to other communities too, adds Keita. "When other villages need light for any occasion they borrow it and go for the ceremony and bring it back," he says. "They have to pay to know the value of the lights."

Ferroni noticed how people in rural areas did not follow western night and day sleep patterns. Instead, they wake and sleep depending on circumstances, and it was often the women who would work through the night using costly and often dangerous paraffin lanterns to finish jobs, such as grinding shea nuts, maize or millet, to sell the following day. "The light is a tool to help women who carry out most of the work in the villages," he says. "If they can do extra work at night, they can bring in more money for the family and in turn improve the education and health of their children."

The lamp-posts have become much more than just a source of light for the community of Sanogola. They are enhancing their lives economically, socially and educationally, creating a space for the people of the village to use in whatever way they desire. And 62 more were delivered to communities in the surrounding areas in December. "This light is the equivalent of the shade of the tree in the daytime," says Ferroni.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/dec/28/solar-powered-lamp-post-mali