The Technology & Gadgets Blog

According to the article in the Daily Mail, special forces in the US army may soon be scrapping traditional parachutes for 6 foot rigid wings, which would allow them to glide up to 120 miles from their drop point to the insertion point, carrying 200 pounds of equipment. Future versions of the wings may also include small turbojet engines to allow the forces to travel even further. While probably more difficult to dispose of after landing than a traditional chute, the wing would be completely silent and very hard to track on radar. On reaching their destination, a more standard canopy is opened and the soldier can glide to the ground.

Elitegroup has developed a laptop that will run for 500 hours on a single battery charge. Demonstrated at Computex 2006, the laptop has an additional built in 2 inch LCD screen which works while the machine is not even turned on. It seems that the small LCD is run by it’s own processor, the same one as is used in Apple’s video iPod, along with 128 megs of flash memory. The LCD allows you to browse through important data on the computer, while not powering up the whole thing. Hence the 500 hours of run time.
Found on: Gizmowatch

Finally, someone has got their act together and built an LED flashlight bulb that should fit in most conventional D-Cell flashlights.  Nite Ize has developed this LED bulb which can replace regular bulbs in your old Mag-Light.  Not only are these bulbs brighter, being LED’s they should last MUCH longer without burning out, as well as allowing your batteries to last up to 10 times longer.
Found on: OhGizmo!

This is a simple but ingenious computer program that translates an image into an audio “code” that, with practice, the brain is capable of translating back into an image. It can be used by a person who is completely blind to “see” again in a rudimentary way.

How it works:

For reference, think about the way a gray-scale image looks on a computer screen. Each pixel in the image has an (x,y) coordinate and also a brightness. The vOICe samples vertical lines of the image, going from left to right, producing an instant of sound for each line. Brightness is represented by volume, the lounder the volume, the brighter. The y coordinate is represented by pitch, the higher the pitch the further up the pixel is. The x coordiate is that of the line, which is easily represented direcitonally by use of stereo sound. Keep in mind that you can have a varying range of pitches and volumes in any moment of sound, so an entire vertical line can be represented at once.

Perhaps a diagram would help those of us who use our actual eyes to see.

But to really understand how this technology works, you’ll have to hear it for yourself.

Visit http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/archives/04-05/apr02.html to listen to the recording of the CBC radio broadcast show “Quirks and Quarks” to hear the story of how “The vOICe” is helping a woman see again.

After that, you can visit http://www.seeingwithsound.com/winvoice.htm to download a free copy of the program.

(I have practiced with the program for several hours now, blindfolded. There is a practice exercise where you play a game of tic-tac-toe, while all the time the vOICe is producing the audio for the image. It takes quite a bit of practice to use, but it feels neat to be able to know what’s going on in the game by using your ears to see it, rather than your eyes.)

If you’ve ever gotten tired of those crazy weed trimmer blade spools that are supposed to “self adjust” this gadget may be for you! The Weed Thrasher is an attachment for your gas powered weed trimmer that replaces your old self-adjusting spool system with new replacable blades. According to their site, it will cut through the thickest brush and weeds. For $14.99, it comes with the all-steel Weed Thrasher Head, universal mounting hardware and 12 cutters, E-Z glide wearing cap, user guide and safety instructions.
Thanks to Jack for pointing out this invention.

Sweet! Now I’ll be able to get that USB hair dryer I always wanted! … er … yeah….

A new USB connection is being developed to deliver approximately 12 time more power than conventional USB connections. This opens up a whole new realm of USB connectable gadgets, not to mention a need for yet more powerful laptop batteries.

Found on: Gizmowatch

Working models are cool. Working models that shoot are even cooler! These guys take it to the extreme!

The Australian Battle Group Club puts a lot of time and attention into their detailed models of famous WWI and WWII battleships, but they go one step further and add working Co2 powered cannons and balsa wood armor.

Originally found at: OhGizmo!

Want a cool gift for your dad? This baseball can clock speeds of up to 100 miles per hour so he can figure out how well he really does bat!

Originally found at: Gear Factor

Now you can avoid scalding your hands when you turn on the tap. The Light Delight has small lights in it that change color depending on the temperature of the water.
Found on: Tech Ticker

Sony appears to be researching and developing a way to make electronic items with selectively flexible joints so that you can fold up the cell phone or PDA when not in use in order to take less space. When you want to use the item, a current passed through the gel inside causes it to harden and become solid enough to use.
Originally found on: New Scientist Invention blog