Gizmag News - The UFO-like Domespace rotating wooden house

Welcome to the newsletter for gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine. These are the headlines for October the 18th, 2010. The UFO-like Domespace rotating wooden house Taking up a large section of the Eco Habitat zone at the recent Viv'expo exhibition in Bordeaux was a walk-in cutaway model of a rotating wooden house known as Domespace. Built on a central concrete pedestal, the Domespace home benefits from little or no damp penetration, and its aerodynamic shape has been found to be resistant to cyclonic winds of up to 174mph (280kph). It also makes the most of passive solar energy, has a central chimney with a designer open fire and is surprisingly spacious. Read More DTV Shredder stands up for off-roading Twenty-one year-old Canadian Ben Gulak heads up BPG Werks, a company that is developing this seriously fun looking vehicle called the DTV Shredder. Like the Scarpar Powerboard, the Shredder is an all-terrain tracked vehicle that the rider stands on, like a skateboard – or in this case, a mini-tank. What sets it apart is its larger size, handlebars, and an in-development 48hp rotary combustion engine that should allow for a top speed of over 97km/h (60mph). Read More The UK's first eco-car spectacular Britain held its first free eco-car show last month on London's famous royal driveway, The Mall. The event was held as part of HRH Prince Charles's latest sustainability initiative “Start”, which aims to promote positive steps to leading a sustainable lifestyle, and was opened by his “Garden Party to Make a Difference”. The Start Eco-Car Spectacular aimed to showcase the future of green transport with a variety of bicycles, cars and other environmental transport solutions. Read More Ambitious project to bring world's first general purpose computer to life Charles Babbage was the quintessential "man ahead of his time". In the mid 19th century the English mathematician and inventor developed the concept of a programmable computer and designed complex, steam-powered calculating engines that were never completed during his lifetime. One of these machines – the Difference Engine – was successfully constructed using Babbage's original plans in 1991 and now programmer John Graham-Cumming is on a mission to build a working replica of a second, more complex computing machine known as the Analytical Engine. Read More Electrified nano filter could mean cheap drinking water Yi Cui, an Assistant Professor of Material Science and Engineering at Stanford University, has invented quite the water filter. It’s inexpensive, is very resistant to clogging, and uses much less electricity than systems that require the water to be pumped through them. It also kills bacteria, as opposed to just trapping them, which is all that many existing systems do. Read More Nanotechnology boosts conductivity of carbon fiber reinforced plastics Protecting aircraft from lightning strikes probably isn't the first use of nanotechnology that springs to mind, but that's exactly what Fraunhofer researchers hope to achieve by combining carbon nanotubes with carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs). Read More Oil field brine proposed to treat Hungary's red sludge spill It might sound like fighting fire with fire, but geologist Chen Zhu proposes the application of another industrial waste to the Hungarian bauxite residue spill, with the aim of reducing toxicity via a technique called carbon sequestration. While he says it wouldn't render the residue completely harmless, it would at least minimize the environmental damage. Read More Eowave unveils Persephone mark II duophonic ribbon synthesizer Ever since the dawn of electronics, inventors have looked at weird and wonderful ways of getting at the wealth of opportunities offered by synthesized sound. The instruments through which such sounds are controlled by a player have enjoyed much variety in form, size and functionality in the years since. While most have been keyboard-based, some – like the Theremin – have broken away from tradition to offer an altogether different way of playing. French sound and sensor innovator Eowave has recently updated an instrument that uses a more modern approach to the ribbon-based synthesizer technology used by the likes of Dr Freidrich Adolf Trautwein for his Trautonium – the Persephone Mark II. Read More App allows users to view electrocardiograms on smartphones Gone are the days when we simply used our mobile phones for calling people – now we can conduct our own ECGs. We’ve already seen iPhone and Android applications that can create ultrasound images and that measure air pollution. Now tech companies IMEC and the Holst Center, together with TASS software professionals, have released a new heart rate monitoring application. 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