Snowbird

Welcome to the newsletter for gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine.
These are the headlines for September the 23rd, 2010.

“Snowbird” claims record for sustained flight of a human-powered ornithopter

Ornithopters, aircraft that fly by flapping their wings, are a staple at birdman rallies the world over, inevitably resulting in the pilots of such craft plunging headlong into the drink. Now, more than 500 years after Leonardo da Vinci sketched the first human-powered ornithopter in 1485, a team from the University of Toronto have succeeded where so many before them have failed and made aviation history by achieving a world record for sustained flight in a human-powered aircraft with flapping wings. Read More

Smart vehicles get even smaller with all-electric smart escooter concept
Daimler’s smart brand has managed to reduce the size of its already micro-sized vehicles even further by subtracting a couple of wheels and unveiling a concept scooter. The chassis of the all-electric smart escooter is modeled on the tridion safety cell of the smart fortwo, with its steel and aluminum frame clad in fully interchangeable plastic body panels. The scooter has a top speed of 45 km/h (28 mph) with power provided by a 48-volt lithium-ion battery pack with a capacity of 80 Ah that gives the vehicle a range of up to 100 km (62 miles). Read More

Gorillapod Video brings bendy legs to camcorders
Ah, Gorillapods. There’s something almost endearing about the little tripods that can hold onto things like branches with their grippy, bendy legs – they’re just the thing for getting a steady shot in those tripod-unfriendly locations. One might think that manufacturer Joby had gone as far as it could with its various versions of the Gorillapod, but at the Photokina tradeshow in Germany, we spotted the just-released next step in the evolution of the device: the Gorillapod Video. Read More

Jorno folding Bluetooth keyboard – ideal for iPhone and iPad
To maximize portability, mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad eschew the traditional keyboard for on-screen versions. While on-screen keyboards may be tolerable for typing the odd text message or entering a few words into a search engine, their shortcomings quickly become obvious. With mobile devices now packing processors powerful enough to handle word processing and other more intensive tasks there is a market for physical keyboards to turn an iPad or even a smartphone into an ultraportable computer. One of the better solutions we’ve seen to fit this bill is the newly announced Jorno Bluetooth keyboard from Cervantes Mobile. Read More

Ford gets techy with MyFord Touch
A recent New York Times print advertisement for the Ford Edge crossover included barcodes that, when scanned by a mobile phone camera, provided readers with access to Times articles on style and technology. It’s part of a techy advertising campaign for the Edge, which will be the first vehicle to feature the likewise-techy MyFord Touch system. Touch is built around Ford’s existing Windows-based SYNC communications and entertainment system, and allows drivers to use the dashboard as... well, pretty much as a big smartphone. Read More

iBGStar plug-in glucose meter for the iPhone and iPod touch
With the number of apps in Apple’s App Store standing at more than 250,000 it’s no surprise that there are a number of diabetes-related apps amongst them. Such apps require users to manually enter information such as glucose numbers, carbohydrate consumption, insulin dosages and activities to allow diabetics to better control the disease. A new plug-in attachment for the iPhone and iPod touch called the iBGStar takes things one step further by incorporating a blood glucose meter that allows users to view and analyze readings in ‘real time’. Read More

Pentax gets super sensitive with its K-5 digital SLR
Hot on the heels of the K-r digital SLR, Pentax has revealed the next in line for the flagship position currently occupied by the K-7. Like its predecessor, the new K-5 is aimed at the pro-thusiast and features a 16.3 megapixel sensor, an immense sensitivity range, fast autofocus and full 1080p high definition video recording. It also sports 77 weather seals to keep dust and moisture out and its magnesium alloy construction should help it survive the odd knock. Read More

Park Spark transforms dog doo into light
It’s definitely a good thing that so many dog owners scoop their pooches’ poop, but what happens to that waste after it’s been bagged and discarded isn’t so great... usually it ends up fermenting in a landfill, where it poses a health risk, attracts vermin, and releases harmful methane gas into the atmosphere. Pickling it and turning it into plant fertilizer is one option, but American conceptual artist Matthew Mazzotta would like to see it fed into digesters that use it to produce methane gas, which is then used for fuel. To that end, he has created a sort of demonstration project/art installation called Park Spark, at a dog park in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It features a lamp that lights the park at night, powered by nothing but canine doo-doo. Read More

Seagate unveils 1.5TB GoFlex external drive
Digital file hoarders and multimedia fans looking for a portable drive solution will no doubt salivate uncontrollably at the announcement of a 1.5TB FreeAgent GoFlex solution from Seagate. The compact drive comes with a USB 3.0 interface, 192-bit Triple DES encryption and is compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems. Read More

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