Conductive Blanket Makes 3-D Images

For those who never jumped on the Snuggie bandwagon, you were wise to wait. There's a smarter, more advanced, self-aware blanket from the University of Toronto that will put all other wraps to shame.
The prototype, dubbed the “IM Blanky,” is made of a conductive fabric and contains tilt sensors. Clusters of sensor-embedded petals gather information about their respective angles and send the position information to an Arduino computer, which calculates the slopes between the flowers. This results in a 3-D picture of the blanket’s state no matter how crumpled or folded it may be.

Paraplegic Remotely Controls Robot with Thoughts

A professor at a Swiss university on Tuesday unveiled a robot that can be controlled by the brainwaves of a paraplegic person wearing an electrode-fitted cap, news agency ATS reported.
A paralyzed man at a hospital in the town of Sion demonstrated the device, sending a mental command to a computer in his room, which transmitted it to another computer that moved a small robot 60 kilometers (37 miles) away in Lausanne.

The system was developed by Jose Millan, a professor at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne who specializes in non-invasive interfaces between machines and the brain.
The same technology can be used to drive a wheelchair, Millan said.
"Once the movement has begun, the brain can relax, otherwise the person would soon be exhausted," he said.

But the technology has its limits, he added. The brain signals can be scrambled if too many people are gathered around a wheelchair, for example.
Besides making paraplegics mobile, neuroprosthetics could be used to help patients recover lost senses, researchers said.
Professor Stephanie Lacour and her team are working on an "electric skin" for amputees, a glove fitted with tiny sensors that would send information directly to the user's nervous system.
Eventually, researchers say they hope to create mechanized prosthetics that are as mobile and sensitive as a natural hand, Lacour said.

Ah yes, the grocery store dilemma: How does this food item stack up against the rest? When the options are squinting at labels or using a special phone app on each package, sometimes good intentions get left behind. Maybe your grocery cart will have the answer.

Dad Builds Ghost-Hunting Gizmos For Late Daughter

Gary Galka knows better than most that a father's love lasts forever.

The Granby, Conn., dad lost his daughter, Melissa, eight years ago in a car crash. Galka says that his connection to Melissa remains strong, and that he constantly feels her presence. That connection led the electrical engineer to design what he says is a digital device for paranormal exploration -- or ghost hunting.

Origami' Aircraft Flies Inside Out

Inspired by geometry, researchers built an aircraft that propels itself through the air by turning itself inside out. The SmartInversion, designed by the German company Festo, is an airborne geometrical band with an inversion drive. The lightweight triangular-shaped craft is filled with helium and has electrically-activated joints controlled by a remote control. So-called "inversion kinetics" propel the contraption forwards. The video is mesmerizing. via Gizmag

Evans delighted with campaign

Red Devils stopper pleased form has improved

 onny Evans is delighted he has achieved his own challenge this season and performed more in keeping with a player of Manchester United's stature. The Red Devils stopper revealed last summer that his Old Trafford future could be on the line unless his displays improved.
Evans has seized his opportunity in Sir Alex Ferguson's team this term following Nemanja Vidic's season-ending injury and has been one of their more consistent performers since the turn of the year.
The Northern Ireland international is pleased he has emerged from his tough period a stronger player and has proved he deserves his place in the defending champions' starting line-up.

Too honest

"Maybe I was too honest and shouldn't have said that," he told the club's official website. "But that was an honest opinion of myself, I guess.
"Every player goes through that. It was up to me to find a way to get through it. It was a challenge for me and everybody needs to be challenged.
"You either rise to it or you don't, and if you don't then you don't deserve to be at a club like Manchester United.
"Those are the sorts of challenges everybody here faces - when that happens it's up to you to try and raise your game and get back into the team."

Surprise

Evans has been a regular in United's team in recent season and even he has surprised himself at how much he has featured.
"When I came back from being on loan at Sunderland [in 2007/08] I never thought I'd go on to play more than 30 games in my first season at United. That was crazy," he continued.
"And I don't think about how many games I might end up playing. My aim is always to just get into the next team and then play well.
"I've been here about four years and I've played 120-odd games - that's about 30 a season. Hopefully I can add a few more to that next year."

Vidya or Priyanka: Who would be a better ‘Parvati’?

Karan Johar is all set to make a film on the adaptation of the famous novel ‘The Immortals Of Meluha’ written by Amish Tripathi and he has zeroed in on Hrithik Roshan to play the lead role of lord Shiva. However, he is yet to finalize the actress for the role of Parvati. While he is interested in Vidya Balan, Hrithik is keen to have Priyanka Chopra on board.
Karan Johar is smitten by Balan’s performance in The Dirty Picture and Kahaani, and if his say holds, this will be the first time Vidya and Hrithik will be seen together. As for Priyanka Chopra and Hrithik Roshan, they exude a commendable chemistry on-screen and have worked together in Agneepath and Krrish. Now, they are also working together for ‘Krissh 3’.
Who would be a better choice for the role of Parvati opposite Hrithik Roshan as Lord Shiva. Let us know your say……..