MDI have been working on their air-powered engine for years now, and Edmunds Inside Line were lucky enough to take the 2010 AIRPod prototype for a spin. Distinctively designed, the AIRPod throws out internal combustion in favor of running from compressed-air, a full tank of which – refilled in just two minutes with the right infrastructure – is good for 90-125 miles with a single occupant.
I’ve no doubt this video will be all over the place before long (if it isn’t already) but we’re suckers for transforming tech here at SlashGear. Apparently created for the French postal service, to publicize their new home printing service for shipping labels, it shows a MacBook option that, while cool, could get expensive after a while.
Video after the cut
If you ever needed proof that the Japanese love their robots, then the viewing figures for this video of Hina should convince you. Already racking up over 100,000 views in just 24 hours, the clip shows Hina making a cup of coffee – including measuring out the beans, grinding them, adding the water and even pouring it.
Video after the cut
You might not realize it, but you’re probably sleeping wrong. Thankfully Zeo are around to tell you the error of your ways, and since we won’t take anybody seriously unless we’re paying them a subscription and they’re offering us a wireless-enabled alarm with LCD display, that’s part of the deal too. Measurements are taken via a headband you wear during the night, which sends data to the alarm and rates your quality of sleep as a “ZQ” number.
“You’ve more chance of being struck by a meteorite” goes the old saying, making German teen Gerrit Blank either particularly lucky or very unlucky. The fourteen year old was hit on the hand by a falling pea-sized meteorite, apparently traveling at up to 30,000mph and hitting the ground with enough force to produce “an enormous bang like a crash of thunder” and knock Blank off his feet.
It may not put the fear of the Empire into any nearby planets, but steaks and chicken thighs should begin quivering at Bryan Tate’s custom Death Star grill. Currently up for auction on eBay, the grill has a vent built into the weapon-dish and a neat little Imperial Cruiser handle.
We can’t all be Jean Michel Jarre, but thanks to the Arduino microprocessor we can flail our arms around and make music. Omer Yosher’s “Airpiano” is a long strip of motion sensors treated as, via the Arduino, midi keys and faders; moving your hands over and through the sensors control notes or samples, as well as volume.
Video demo after the cut
It may look odd, but this ergonomic keyboard promises to free up your desk from the tyranny of your mouse. Well, from the tyranny of a separate mouse, anyway; the handiwork of an Australian inventor, the Combimouse turns the right-side of the keyboard into the mouse itself, using cleverly placed contacts to figure out when you’re trying to use it to to control your cursor.
Video demos after the cut
There’s little that excites us more than a DIY synth, but slapping an arcade-style joystick onto a fuzzy, glitchy, beeping analog monster practically pushes us over the edge. Synth-master Unearthed Circuits has combined four oscillators with various levels of pitch adjustment and come up with Drone Machine; the joystick individually mutes or activates each one.
The German patent office have rejected an application for a “killer chip” for political undesirables. The chip, which the Saudi inventor suggested would be useful for tracking terrorists, criminals, fugitives, illegal immigrants, political dissidents, domestic servants and foreigners overstaying their visas, consisted of not only a GPS transceiver but an optional capsule of cyanide that could be remotely administered.
JP
