A round-up of the latest technology news from around the globe.
TREADMILL TRANSPORT: The Tread-Walk is a mobile treadmill with a steering handle, out of Japan's Waseda University. It moves along the street about twice as fast as you're walking on it. It's intended as a mobility vehicle for rehab and exercise. Will it get tank tracks for all-terrain walking? More at GizmoWatch and video on YouTube.
QUICK, SHOOT: A University of Rochester study showed that playing action video games improves probabilistic inference. In other words, you get better at making speedy decisions. They also found playing action games makes you more able to analyse sensory information. Management training camps should include video games. Details at Wired.
ACTIVE AVATAR: Do you find your online avatar just a bit too static? Stanford University are creating avatars that make gestures, based on your voice's rhythm, intonation and stress. No, not those gestures. More at ScienceDaily.
FLAT OUT: Panasonic's 360° Freestyle iron has points at both ends, so you can easily iron in any direction. But even better, it's cordless, lighter and faster too. Extreme ironing fans charge your batteries now. Details at Gizmodo.
RIGHT SIDE DRIVE: Imagine a solar powered heads-up display that constantly reminds you which side of the road to drive on. That could be very handy for all the tourists driving round New Zealand. The Lanesafe does just that: a red X displays on the wrong side, and a green arrow points to the correct side. It's right to keep left. More at RedFerret.
- Miraz Jordan knowit.co.nz
