Wave energy generator provides Scotland with power

Wave energy got a boost with the connection of the Oyster hydro-electric device to the electricity grid in Scotland last Friday.

Aquamarine Power activated the connection of the Oyster in the waters off Orkney, marking one of the few ocean power devices to be producing electricity.

The device is a hydraulic pump operated by a "hinged flap", where a large metal piece moves back and forth from the motion of the waves. The movement moves a hydraulic piston that pumps water underground to a hydro-electric turbine that drives a generator to make electricity.
Read more »

Audiophile chair for the music lovers

I've come across plenty of hi-fi tweaks in my quest for music perfection, but this is probably the only one of its kind out there. The US$8,200 Ballerina Sweetspot is a specialized, purpose-build listening chair designed for optimum sound quality, versatility as well as comfort. Shaped like a ballerina lifting her ballet skirt, it features height adjustment to match your speakers and a narrow headrest to minimize sound blockage from the side and rear. The Ballerina Sweetspot even comes with vibration damping feet, although I'm not quite convinced that they are necessary in this case. After all, this technique is used primarily to fine-tune speaker performance.

Versatility- and comfort-wise, there are curling armrests for holding remote controls and cushions made out of memory foam. Extra details, including a lightly arched headrest and back, are catered specially for prolonged listening sessions, too. The Ballerina Sweetspot by Klutz Design is still in prototype stage and is scheduled for full production in 2010. International distributorship will be available when the audiophile chair is ready for launch according to the company's Web site.

Via Bornrich

SixthSense technology brings wearable gesture interface closer to reality

We first heard about SixthSense in a Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) presentation by Dr Pattie Mae earlier in February. At TEDIndia this month, MIT grad student Pranav Mistry demoed in detail the various applications of the wearable gesture interface he created, bringing virtual reality into the physical world. The technology cobbles together a camera and image projector system that you hang around your neck and sensors you wear on your fingertips. To call someone, you simply extend your hand and a dial pad appears on your fingers. To find out the time, just draw a circle on your wrist. And we're only scratching the surface of SixthSense's potential. The best part? Mistry said he'll open source the software starting next month. Watch the video if you haven't already seen it.

Large Hadron Collider back in action

The world's biggest particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider, is in full operation after a year of repairs.

The European Organization for Nuclear Research, CERN, said in a statement on Friday that particle beams are once again circulating in the LHC, and that a clockwise circulating beam was established at 10pm in Geneva.

According to the CERN Twitter feed, an anticlockwise beam was also successfully injected, and both beams have completed many thousands of turns of the LHC.

Read more of "Large Hadron Collider up and running again" at ZDNet UK.

Japan unveils remote which runs without battery

Don't you hate it when your TV remote runs out of juice? Or when your clicker gets totaled by a battery leak? NEC and Soundpower Corporations' new battery-less remote control may be the solution. This technology is based on three key components:

Vibration power generation which harnesses energy created by clicking a remote button.

A microprocessor which transmits and receives data in varying bandwidths.

A power supply controller that drives the electronics with minimal electricity.

It will probably take some time for this technology to mature, but both companies are planning to promote its adoption in the consumer electronics market as early as 2011. That said, do we have to click such remotes furiously just to get them running fresh out-of-the-box?

Via Tech On

Filed under:  Future Tech, Home AV
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