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ending tape frustration
You know how you always seem to loose the end of the tape after tearing off a piece? The V-tape aims to end your frustration. A "V" shaped notch in the roll of tape shows you where to look for that elusive starting point. The one drawback? You have to use lengths of tape that correspond to the notch -
solar concetrator
SkyFuel's SkyTrough is the most efficient solar concentrator technology available today, exceeding standard solar panel efficiency by 73 percent. Their parabolic trough is lined with a patented reflector film that harnesses the sun's energy and converts it to steam. Three quarters of its solar radiation is convertedinto thermal energy, and then into electricity. -
tazer
Police may soon be replacing the much maligned Taser with a "Dazer." The Dazer Laser emits a green light at suspects that causes them to temporarily lose their sight. The effects of the Dazer are less harmful than the Taser, more effective than pepper spray over distances, and need minimal training. Laser Energetics claims they are effective up to 1.5 miles, and as well as blinding suspects, makes them feel confused and a little sick. -
bloo- sugar monitor
Life Beans are small injectable hydrogel beads the emit varying intensities of light, depending on glucose levels, that diabetics can use to monitor their blood-sugar. The video shows a mouse ear, lit up by the beans (Bioelectrical Mechanical Autonomous Nano Systems). -
labtop(:
Indian inventors have developed a touchscreen tablet that can browse the internet, read PDFs and do video conferencing, all for a price of $35. And if that isn't cheap enough, they are working at getting the price down to $20 and finally $10. The Linux device is intended for use in schools the world over. -
air bags
Japanese researchers have developed an external airbag that will protect pedestrians if you strike them with your vehicle. Dubbed "iSAVE," the external bags are linked to the internal air bags so that when an exterior bag registers impact, the air inside it is transferred to the interior bags to protect drivers and passengers. They are currently designed for small three-wheeled vehicles, but if testing goes well, may be incorporated into larger vehicles as well. -
smart counters(:
Place a food object on this countertop, and it will suggest recipes, or give nutritional information. The Oasis system uses a camera to track when you are touching the surface, and interprets when it should become interactive. A touch of your finger can bring up a timer, or a virtual shopping list. -
safety gloves(:
Frontline gloves allow firefighters to communicate in circumstances of high noise or zero visibility, by using gestures. Simple gestures such as a thumbs up communicates "OK," while a fist communicates "mayday," by illuminating the corresponding icon on a partner's glove. -
spray bottle
Anyone responsible for using cleaning products will tell you how frustrating it is to have to hold your spray bottle in an upright position in order to get it to work. So often you need to spray up or down, which just doesn't work, especially if the bottles are less than half full. The ANYWAY Spray bottle looks to solve this problem with a novel tube that allows liquid, but not air, to enter the tube anywhere along its length, instead of just at the bottom. -
microwave on the go(:
Want to heat your meals while on the run? The Wavebox is a portable microwave that can be powered by battery, power outlet or car plug-in. Although a bit heavy (14 lbs.) to lug around while walking, being able to heat up some lunch while picnicking on the beach, or warm up your coffee in your car, is a welcome bit of added comfort. -
smart washer
Miele is debuting its smart washer and dryer that can sense when electricity is at its cheapest and run the machines accordingly. You must program in the earliest starting time and latest finish time, and the appliances will then automatically run when rates are cheapest. -
bubble bike(:
The Bubble Bike three-wheeler was designed for northern Asian countries where temperatures plummet in the winter, and roads become too icy for scooters or motorcycles. For only $730 you can keep warm and dry while the electric bike scoots along at 45 mp/h with a range of 100 km. Six to eight hours will recharge the bike from a standard household outlet. The bike will also hold your packages and groceries -
purifying water(:
Sanford researchers have developed a new high-speed, low-cost filter by dipping plain cotton cloth into a mixture of silver nanowires and carbon nanotubes. Instead of trapping bacteria, this new filter lets them flow through, but kills them with an electrical field. Lab tests show that more than 98 percent of Escherichia coli bacteria were killed when exposed to 20 volts of electricity for a few seconds. This technology is perfectly suited to clean massive volumes of water in developing cou -
stand up wheel chair
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aquaskipper(:
This fun new way to keep fit will get your heart pumping and give your legs and arms a great workout. It can be brought to the beach in a bag and quickly assembled. Although a little tricky to get it going, once in motion, you just need to keep jumping. It works with hydrofoils that keep it afloat. -
plastic from biomass(:
An accidental discovery has led researchers to a new method of making plastic bottles, moisturizer and antifreeze, out of biomass instead of petroleum. Normally the biomass refining process required strong acids or other harmful reagents, but Professor Walter Trahanovsky was surprised to find that subjecting materials to high temperatures and pressures yielded significant amounts of propylene glycol and ethylene glycol. Ethylene glycol is commonly used in antifreeze, polyester fabric and plas -
food scale(:
Now you can know the exact nutritional of nearly 2,000 foods just by placing them on this digital food scale. You can tally the precise amount of calories, fat, carbs, sugar, fiber or sodium, as you are cooking, by placing each ingredient in turn on the scale -
seeing in the dark(:
You know night vision goggles are available to help you see at night, but now a smart phone app will do the same job. Instead of the bulky, heavy, expensive goggles currently available, this new technology is small, light and cheap. It uses a detector that converts photos into an LED image, instead of converting photos into electrons. It's tiny, about the size of a nickel, and can be made of plastic instead of glass. It can be added to eyeglasses or vehicle windshields as well as cell phones. -
implantable artificail kidney(:
A collaboration of scientists have developed an implantable artificial kidney that could help more than 500,000 people every year live more normal lives. Kidney management is one of the largest costs to the health care system ($25 billion), with more than 350,000 people needing dialysis several times per week. Currently kidney failure can only be cured with a transplant, but only 17,000 kidneys are donated each year. -
solar poward bus
Japan is the world's first country to deploy a bus that uses it's rooftop solar cells, generating 798 watts, to power its interior LED lights. The Solarve, designed by Sanyo, is a hybrid diesel-electric. The country hopes to use an all-solar vehicle in the near future.
