Tech Article 10/30

Swim for the Earth: 3D-Printed Bikini Scrubs Water Pollution

     When most people swim in the ocean, they're likely not thinking about how they can mop up pollution as they splash around, but a team of researchers have created a 3D-printed bathing suit that could do just that.

     Engineers from the University of California, Riverside, teamed up with designers from Eray Carbajo, an architecture and design firm based in New York City, to design a bikini that can absorb contaminants from water while a person swims. The suit keeps the materials locked up in its fabric. It can absorb up to 25 times its own weight. This suit can be reused 20 times before it begins to lose its absorbency. At that point, it can be replaced with new sponge padding, and the old padding can be recycled, so that the contaminants can be safely extracted and dealt with. article

Do Now 10/19

Google forms can be used in my life by taking surveys about the service at stores or restaurants. It could also be used to make a survey about a new product, asking what you would like it to be(color, design, ect.).

Driverless Cars Tech Article 10/9

Toyota has become the latest car manufacturer to test a driverless vehicle on a public road.
The car, a modified Lexus GS was tested on Tokyo's Shuto Expressway, where it carried out a range of automated manoeuvres. These included merging into highways, changing lanes and keeping intercehicular distance.

Nissan has promised to put an automated car on Japan's roads as early as 2016.

Google is already testing its self-driving cars on US city streets. And Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said in July his company was "almost ready" to make its cars go driverless on main roads and parallel-park themselves.(article)

Tech Article 10/2

Glove Translates Sign Language Into Speech and Text

     ​Designer Hadeel Ayoub​, a Goldsmiths, University of London student, created a glove that translates sign language into text and speech. Actually, she's created three different prototypes, the latest of which incorporates a text-to-speech chip to say out loud what's being signed so that the blind can actually hear the deaf. As outlined in Ayoub's full academic report, the main goal is to improve communication between "the hearing, speech and visually impaired."​

     The glove works by using several flex sensors attached to the fingers that record their position. An accelerometer​ keeps track of which way the glove is oriented. All of this data feeds into a computer program that identifies the gestures and displays the correct output. article