A round-up of the latest technology news from around the globe.
HEX DIGITS: Panasonic's 16-fingered hair-washing robot scans the head in 3D, computes and remembers the correct pressure for shampooing and massaging. 3 motors on each arm control swing, press and massage motions. Intended for hospitals and health care facilities, it could be rather nice in the home too. Cleaning up hair here.
PANE FREE: The Windoro window cleaning robot, out of Korea, consists of 2 modules attracted together by neodymium magnets. Each module cleans one side of a window. Distance sensors, attitude adjustment, and obstacle detection help the robot navigate the window. Nice, but it doesn't move itself from one pane to another. More at plasticpals.com.
MOUSE BAR: The Kiwi-made Able-X air mouse is a bilateral arm exerciser for people with neurological or muscular-skeletal impairments, such as those who've had a stroke. A short bar held with both hands, it controls specially made computer games. Even people who've never used computers can work with this. I guess they aren't first person shooter games. Details here; video here.
BRAIN SPOTTING: The new EVestG machine from Monash University, Australia, measures electrical signals between the brain and inner ear when the head moves. Distinctive patterns indicate neural disorders such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's. This could make early diagnosis quick and straightforward. More information on EVestG here.
COLD HEARTED: If our core body temperature drops below 22C we quickly die. But human testing begins soon on a surgical procedure to remove warm blood, replace it with cold saline solution and drop the core temperature to 10C. This leaves no pulse, no blood pressure, no electrical waves in the brain. It's a state of suspended animation that could allow more time to work on severe trauma patients such as those with gunshot wounds. Hmmm, drains blood, awakens to new life...
We've heard that before. More on a here.
- Miraz Jordan knowit.co.nz
