Ghost Drone follows its user, and is controlled via their phone

Ehang's Ghost Drone in action

It was just this June that we heard about the HEXO+ and AirDog drones, which were two of the first consumer multicopters to offer a Follow function – that's the ability to track the location of their user, and fly along above them. Since then, models including the Iris+ and Zano have come out with the same feature. Now, Chinese/American company Ehang is successfully raising production funds for its Follow-equipped GoPro-toting Ghost Drone. Developed in partnership with Duke University, not only is the quadcopter able to track and film its user, but it's also reportedly easier to fly than its competitors.

That claimed ease-of-use comes courtesy of a smartphone-based iOS/Android control system, which Ehang tells us is more user-friendly than the control app used by the popular AR.Drone.

By pressing onscreen buttons, users can cause the GPS-equipped Ghost to automatically take off, land, fly to and from selected waypoints, or hover in place. It can additionally be set to Follow, of course, in which it homes in on the user's smartphone signal. As with the other user-following drones, however, it cannot sense and avoid obstacles while doing so.

The copter's movements can also be manually controlled, using onscreen sliders – if users have opted for the optional gimbal mount, they can additionally pan and tilt their GoPro. It looks like using those controls could be rather fiddly, however, which is why it's fortunate that the control app also offers a Tilt function. This allows users to steer the drone simply by tilting their phone in different directions, as is demonstrated in the video below.

The drone itself is powered by an 11.1-volt 5,400-mAh lithium-polymer battery, which should allow up to 30 minutes of flight time without the gimbal and camera, or about 20 with them attached. An included compact "G-Box" communicates with the phone by Bluetooth, and then proceeds to relay commands to the aircraft via radio signals up to a distance of 1,000 meters (3,280 ft).

As with various other drones, if it loses contact, it will automatically return to its take-off point. Additionally, if users would prefer to use a more traditional radio remote control unit with physical joysticks, a Ghost-specific one is currently in development.

Ehang is currently raising production funds on Indiegogo, and has exceeded its goal. Additionally, it was announced yesterday that the company has received US$10 million in funding from two Chinese investors.

Pledges are still being accepted, though, with US$375 getting you a basic gimbal- and GoPro-less Ghost – assuming it reaches production. A pledge of $599 is required to get one with a gimbal included, while a package including drone, gimbal and GoPro Hero 4 Silver edition can be had for $879.

More information is available in the following pitch video.

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JPL enters RoboSimian in the 2015 DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals

RoboSiman and Surrogate (Photo: JPL)

Bigger may be better, but better isn't always better. In October, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California unveiled a new and improved version of its RoboSimian robot. Called Surrogate, it has many advantages over its predecessor, but it's RoboSimian that is going to next year's DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals.

Also named "Surge," Surrogate was unveiled at the inauguration of Thomas Rosenbaum as the new president of the California institute of Technology. Like RoboSimian, it's designed to operate in close-quarters disaster areas, such as damaged nuclear reactors, that are too dangerous for human relief workers. The idea is a robot that can negotiate broken ground, go up stairs and ladders, and carry out tasks using tools at hand, such as clearing debris, opening doors, or operating valves.

According to JPL, Surrogate was built using leftover limbs that were spares from the development of RoboSimian for earlier rounds of the DARPA challenge and uses the same basic computer code and its data files for identifying and using tools. Where RoboSimian looks like a nightmarish cross between a chimpanzee and a spider, Surrogate is more roughly humanoid. It stands 4.5 ft (1.4 m) high weighs 200 lb (90.7 kg), has an upright spine, and two arms. It's much more dexterous than RoboSimian and is better at manipulation. However, after six months of construction and testing, it was determined that RoboSimian would represent JPL during the finals next year.

RoboSimian (Photo: JPL)

It turns out that where RoboSimian can lumber like an ape on its tentacle-like arms, Surrogate rolls on tracks. This gives it speed and stability, but it doesn't do very well on debris-strewn areas or in navigating stairs or ladders, which RoboSimian can climb over. In addition, Surrogate has a head with two stereoscopic cameras, where RoboSimian lacks a head, but has seven cameras for all-around vision.

"It comes down to the fact that Surrogate is a better manipulation platform and faster on benign surfaces, but RoboSimian is an all-around solution, and we expect that the all-around solution is going to be more competitive in this case," says Brett Kennedy, principal investigator for the robots at JPL.

Surrogate (Photo: JPL)

Kennedy went on to say that despite their advanced designs, neither Surrogate nor RoboSimian are designed to work alongside humans. "These robots were specifically developed to go where humans could not, so we have not addressed the many technical and safety issues that come with working side-by-side with people."

The DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals will be held in Pomona, California in June 2015. The contestant robots will be required to drive a car, navigate an obstacle course, clear debris from a door, cut a hole in a wall, operate a valve, and perform other tasks, including one that will not be revealed beforehand.

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2014 year in review: Mobile and wearables

Gizmag looks back at the top mobile and wearable stories of 2014 (Photo: Will Shanklin/Gizmag.com)

2014 saw smartphones get bigger and faster, with sharper screens and better cameras ... in other words, exactly like every other year. But with wearables gaining some traction, tablets' "post PC" aspirations screeching to a halt, and VR waiting in the wings, we did see some significant developments this year. Join Gizmag, as we take a look at the year in mobile and wearables.

In the tech world, every year starts with the mega-trade show known as CES. Though most mobile companies save their biggest announcements for solo events, 2014's show gave us a few big releases.

Some highlights included Pebble, which jumped from geeky plastic to classy metal with its 2nd-gen smartwatch, Pebble Steel. Samsung also launched its first high-end tablets, the Galaxy Tab Pro series, at the Vegas show, though they would be supplanted by a better flagship series, the Galaxy Tab S, only five months later.

CES 2014 also gave us our second glimpse of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, the Crystal Cove prototype, which later inspired the company's second developers' kit (DK2). The headset added positional tracking, which lets you "lean in" to get closer looks at sections of your virtual environment, and low persistence, to cut down on motion blur. All of which further enhances the mind-bending experience that is Oculus' virtual reality.

February saw one of the biggest smartphone announcements of the year, Samsung's Galaxy S5, which played it safe (and a little strange) from a design standpoint, with its dimpled faux leather (plastic) back. But the phone's IP67 water resistance, innovative Ultra Power Saving Mode and toned-down feature set (at least compared to previous Samsung flagships) still placed it among the top handsets of the year.

Alongside the GS5, Samsung also launched not one, not two, but three new smartwatches – including a fitness tracker with a curved screen. The other two, the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo, refined the design and feature set of the previous year's Galaxy Gear, and switched from a forked Android AOSP build to Samsung's own Tizen OS.

HTC was hot on the Galaxy S5's heels, with March's launch of the HTC One (M8). Though it wasn't a radical departure from 2013's One M7, the new model took the same iconic aluminum build, made it bigger and added a second rear camera (for some kinda useful, kinda gimmicky depth effects).

One of March's biggest stories was Google's reveal of Android Wear, the tech giant's Google Now-centric take on wearable software. Though we'd still have to wait until July to get our hands on the first Wear-running watches (and even longer for the first that didn't look like strap-on tech products), it was clear even in March that Android Wear's voice control and deeply-integrated notifications were going to make it worth watching.

April saw the official announcement of the Cyanogen-running OnePlus One, which provided an unprecedented combination of high-end specs and budget pricing. Unfortunately that price point wasn't meant for volume distribution, as the phone spent the next eight months sitting in invite-only limbo. To this day, you still can't buy the damn thing without jumping through hoops.

In May new CEO Satya Nadella transformed Microsoft's Surface line from "promising but compromised" land to the best evidence yet that tablets and laptops can coexist in the same device, with the Surface Pro 3. The third-generation 2-in-1 makes for a gigantic tablet, but is light for its size and handles much more naturally as a laptop than any previous Surface.

Though it didn't launch in the US for another couple of months, May also saw the global announcement of the LG G3, the first flagship smartphone with a Quad HD (2,560 x 1,440) display. When we finally got our hands on a review unit, we were a bit let down by its slightly laggy out-of-the-box performance, but loved it razor-sharp display, excellent camera and winning combination of screen size and phone size.

Many had once expected an epic Google Glass launch sometime in 2014, but that fizzled – along with most of the hype for the bold head-worn wearable. Privacy concerns and a perception of the accessory as awkward geek gear have transformed Glass from one of the most talked-about devices around to something that's more likely to find a niche in industrial settings.

We're still waiting for Glass' consumer release (assuming there is still going to be one), but in May Google did lift the invite requirement, letting anyone who lives in the US buy the beta version of Google Glass for an eye-popping US$1,500.

June gave us one of the biggest duds of the year, Amazon's long-rumored Fire Phone. With flagship pricing, no Google apps in sight and so-called killer features that were little more than cheap gimmicks, the Fire Phone was one of the few phones we've reviewed that we wouldn't recommend to anyone. We weren't alone in this assessment, as Amazon eventually slashed the handset's price to itty-bitty pieces for the holidays ($200 full retail) to offload unsold stock.

At Google I/O in June, the company fleshed out more detail on Android Wear, showcased the first Wear watches, and previewed the biggest Android update in years, teased as "Android L" (ultimately called Android 5.0 "Lollipop"). The update introduced a new coat of paint, Material Design, that, from a design standpoint, puts the once clunky-looking operating system on par with – if not ahead of – iOS.

Speaking of iOS, Apple also revealed its big 2014 mobile update in June, iOS 8. Though it looked nearly identical to iOS 7, the update added better synchronization with other Apple devices, built-in fitness data and – finally – the ability to run third-party keyboards.

July and August were mostly uneventful in the mobile world, but that's only because companies were saving their best stuff for the pre-holiday season. Starting with IFA 2014, we were hit with an onslaught of quality devices in the following months – the likes of which we've never seen in one short period.

Samsung's IFA releases included the excellent Galaxy Note 4, which showed a restraint and focus on the finer details that we weren't accustomed to seeing from the Korean giant. Its improved S Pen, partially metallic build and more intuitive software made it arguably the best mobile device of the year.

At IFA Samsung also launched its sixth smartwatch in the last 12 months, the Gear S. It forged new ground with its standalone 3G data (courtesy of its own SIM card), gorgeous curved screen and onscreen keyboard, but also doubled down on the gadgety look that could put off customers looking for a more jewelry-like aesthetic.

It was Samsung's last big IFA announcement, though, that turned out to be one of the most exciting wearables to date. The Gear VR uses Oculus-powered software and hardware to turn the Note 4 into a virtual reality headset. There are some chinks in its armor, like a tendency to overheat, but it's also the first modern virtual reality device aimed at consumers – from the company that put modern VR on the map. Its consumer status does, however, need an asterisk attached to it, as this "Innovator Edition" of the Gear VR is being pitched as an accessory for developers and early adopters.

Motorola was another company that swung for the fence with its IFA-week announcements (though they were held far from Berlin, in Chicago), with a bigger and better 2nd-gen Moto X smartphone and the launch of the long-anticipated Moto 360 smartwatch. The round-faced watch has the sketchiest battery life of all the year-end Android Wear releases, and its thick build puts a damper on its aesthetic, but it's also hard to deny its status as one of the most striking gadgets we've used.

Oh, and did we mention that little fruit company from Cupertino? Apple used to spread out its announcements throughout the year, but during the last couple of years, Tim Cook has squeezed most – nearly all – of Apple's big announcements into the pre-holiday season.

First up was one of Apple's biggest events in years, where it revealed the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus – the company's first big-screened smartphones – and the long-awaited Apple Watch. We'll have to wait until early 2015 for the watch's release, but both new iPhones were outstanding, with light, thin and premium builds, excellent cameras, and hardware that transcends their specs.

Things didn't let up much in October, with Google and Motorola launching the absurdly large – and very good – Nexus 6. Though it dropped the budget pricing of its last two predecessors, its small tablet size, beastly specs and stock Android Lollipop software made it (arguably) a better value than its biggest phablet rivals.

Apple had a couple more mobile announcements in October, with the excellent iPad Air 2 and forgettable iPad mini 3. While two years ago the iPad mini looked like the future, it now looks like an afterthought, as it had only the most incremental of changes from the 2013 model (just a Touch ID fingerprint sensor). The Air 2, though, took all the things that made its predecessor great – light, thin and compact – and managed to make them even greater. Its screen's anti-glare coating didn't hurt things either.

An even bigger story than the new iPads, though, was 2014's big declines in tablet sales. In the second and third quarters of the year, iPad sales declined year-over-year for the first time in the tablet's nearly five-year history. And Apple wasn't alone: the tablet market isn't shrinking, but its growth has slowed all around. And as for that "post PC era" that Apple told us we'd be living in by now? Well, the company now (once again) makes more money from Macs than it does from iPads – a reversal that pundits from a few years ago never would have dreamed of.

Speaking of tablets, HTC returned to the space in October (last seen in 2011, with the stinker known as the HTC Flyer), now collaborating with Google for the Nexus 9. Though the tablet offered solid hardware and an early taste of Android Lollipop, it had the misfortune of following the superior iPad Air 2. By comparison, it just didn't look like a great value – even at $100 cheaper.

While the Moto 360, despite its flaws, looked like it might be the runaway "best Android Wear watch of 2014," Asus and LG wrapped up the year by sneaking in a couple of watches that offer excellent blends of fashion and function. The $200 Asus ZenWatch looks like a distance cousin of the Apple Watch and offers excellent bang for its buck. And the round-faced, diver watch-inspired LG G Watch R blows a raspberry in the face of the "but I'm almost round!" Moto 360, with a thinner profile and much longer battery life (though it does cost a bit more).

If we learned anything from 2014, it's that the quality of mobile devices isn't quite ready to plateau. Just when we wondered if OEMs had run out of convincing ways to differentiate new devices, we saw that ultra-impressive wave of year-end gear. While it's harder to imagine ways that 2015 handsets will differentiate themselves, we've learned that phone-makers can be pretty imaginative when their money and market share are on the line. It should make for one hell of a 2015.

Gizmag will be at CES all next week bringing you the first glimpse (if not tidal wave) of mobile devices for the coming year. Stay tuned.

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New simulation creates a universe with galaxies just like the real deal

Interstellar gas forming galaxies in EAGLE

Astronomers have created a simulation of the universe that includes more realistic galaxies similar in mass, size and age to real observed galaxies, enabling better research into how the cosmos evolved into its current state over the past 14 billion years.

The international team of astronomers led by professor Joop Schaye of Leiden University used supercomputers at Durham University (UK) and in Paris (the GENCI "Curie" system) to form the simulation known as EAGLE (Evolution and Assembly of GaLaxies and their Environments). The EAGLE team says that it was able to create a more accurate reflection of real galaxies by incorporating strong galactic winds into the simulation. These winds comes from stars, supernova explosions and supermassive black holes and blow away the gas supply used in the formation of stars, creating galaxies that are lighter and younger.

In earlier simulations the galactic winds were weaker, causing galaxies to form earlier in the model than in the real, observed universe. For the record, a team from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the Illustris Project also announced earlier this year that it had created a highly accurate model of the universe.

The EAGLE simulation at three levels of magnification

"The universe generated by the computer is just like the real thing," said Richard Bower from Durham University who co-authored a paper on the simulation. "There are galaxies everywhere, with all the shapes, sizes and colors I've seen with the world's largest telescopes. It is incredible. In the EAGLE universe I can even press a button to make time run backwards."

With a model that produces galaxies like the real thing, the researchers hope that EAGLE can be used as a tool to explore the history of how we got from the Big Bang to the present.

"This is the start of a new era for us," said co-author Rob Crain from Liverpool John Moores University. "We can now manipulate the conditions of the Universe and study the evolution of galaxies throughout the past 14 billion years."

The results have been published in the January 2015 edition of Monthly Notices from the Royal Astronomical Society.

You can watch the dazzling evolution of intergalactic gas into galaxies in one of the simulations from the EAGLE team in the video below.

The Eagle simulations: temperature of cosmic gas from Rob Crain on Vimeo.

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New Samsung app aims to aid social development for children with autism

The Look At Me app is designed to improve the quality of life for those growing up with autism

A new app released by Samsung aims to improve the lives of children suffering from autism by presenting a fun, smartphone or tablet-based developmental aid. Many who have the condition struggle to convey the simplest of emotions or form bonds with others, due to the behavioral development issues that prevent simple interactions such as eye contact. The app, known as Look At Me, is targeted at improving the quality of life for those growing up with autism by aiding in the development of basic social skills.

Over 60 million people suffer from autism worldwide, and many of those affected by the condition lack basic social skills that the rest of us take for granted. However, individuals afflicted by the disorder have no such problem interacting with electronic devices such as smartphones.

Samsung is aiming to capitalize on this with the release of its app, which trains autistic children to maintain eye contact and convey basic emotions via a series of "missions," designed to be both stimulating and fun. It was developed in conjunction with a multidisciplinary team of clinical psychiatrists from Seoul National University and Yonsei University, South Korea.

The app makes use of selected Samsung devices’ cameras, putting users through a stimulating set of points-based missions. Each mission focuses on a specific goal, be it recognizing emotions in others via facial recognition, or helping the child to express their own feelings by mimicking the emotions conveyed on the app.

In order to assess the effectiveness of the tool, professionals from Seoul University and Yonsei University conducted a small-scale clinical trial involving 20 autistic children. The study ran for eight weeks, and yielded very promising results.

"Sixty percent of the children tested showed improvement in making eye contact," stated Kyong-Mee Chung, a Professor at Yonsei University. "They could also identify emotional expressions more easily. This app will help children with autism improve their perception and expression of diverse emotions, such as happiness, surprise and fear."

Look At Me is available from the Google Play Store for free. You don't need a Samsung device to make use of it, but the company has worked to optimize it for the Galaxy S3, S4 and S5, the Galaxy Note S2, S3 and S4, the Galaxy Zoom and Galaxy Zoom 2, as well as the Galaxy Tab S.

The video below highlights the developmental issues faced by children growing up with autism, and shows how the simple app may help them to communicate with others a little more easily.

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Wakati keeps fruit and veg fresh for longer without a fridge

The Wakati increases the length of time that fruit and veg can be stored without refrigeration

For farmers in developing countries without refrigerators, a great deal of produce - and therefore profit - can be lost through spoilage. A new device seeks to tackle this problem by increasing the short-term storage time for fruit and veg. The Wakati stores produce in a sterilized microclimate.

The Wakati designers recognize that often there is no regular access to electricity in developing countries. Like the Buffalo Grid phone charger and the ROSI water filtration system, therefore, it uses a solar power system for its operation.

In addition to a 3 W solar panel, the device comprises a top-loading tent-like structure, in which up to 150 kg (330 lb) of produce can be stored, and a solar-powered ventilator. The ventilator gradually evaporates a weekly supply of 200 ml (6.7 fl oz) of water creating a humid environment within the tent.

Company founder Arne Pauwels explains that the humid environment created by the Wakati helps to reduce the extent to which crops dry out after being harvested. As a result, he says, the cells of the crops are kept intact and the acids and enzymes inside the cells that would otherwise begin to digest the crops are kept contained.

Unlike a refrigerator, the Wakati does not control temperature and, therefore, cannot store fruit and veg for long-term periods. Pauwels says, however, tests on the Wakati have shown that a one or two-day shelf-life in a hot climate can be increased to 10 days. This can increase the amount of time that produce can be stored in developing countries before sale, reducing the amount that goes to waste and maximizing the amount of profit that can be made by the grower.

The first batch of 100 Wakatis has already been supplied to Haiti, Uganda and Afghanistan and Pauwels says that the company is ready to go into full production at an initial cost of US$100 per unit (though it is hoped that increased production will drive that figure down).

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Microwaves enable economical recycling of plastic-aluminum laminates

A commercial-scale plant to demonstrate a process for recovering metals from PAL packaging is now up and running in the UK (Image: Shutterstock)

You may not know what they're called, but odds are you've eaten or drunk something from them. I'm referring to plastic-aluminum laminate (PAL) packaging, which has long been used for toothpaste tubes and in recent years has gained popularity as pouches for food, drink and pet food. Although it threatens to approach the ubiquity of the aluminum can or plastic bottle, PAL packaging lacks the familiar recyclable logo found on cans and bottles. But that could be set to change, with a process to recover the metals contained in PAL packaging, developed some 15 years ago by researchers at the University of Cambridge, now being demonstrated in a full commercial-scale plant.

Despite currently not being recyclable, PAL packaging does tick many other environmental boxes and is still considered more environmentally friendly than other packaging options, such as glassware and cans, when a full life-cycle assessment is taken into consideration. This is because, very little energy goes into the production of the packaging and it is extremely light, cutting transport costs. These attributes, plus the fact it protects contents from light and air, make it attractive to manufacturers.

"There is no real drive to replace them and their market use is increasing by about 10–15% every year," says Dr Carlos Ludlow-Palafox, a chemical engineer at Cambridge. "In the UK, roughly 160,000 tonnes (176,370 tons) of laminates are used per year for packaging, which means at least 16,000 tonnes (17,637 tons) of aluminum is going into the ground. Just imagine if we could routinely recycle this."

The seeds for this idea were sown in 1997, when Ludlow-Palafox started his PhD course under the supervision of Professor Howard Chase. The two of them heard about a bacon roll that had been overcooked in a microwave, leaving a charred mass of carbon that glowed red-hot. The bacon roll had just been through a process known as microwave-induced pyrolysis, where organic material succumbs to thermochemical decomposition when exposed to high temperatures. This leaves a clean form of the metal contained within the material, which can then be recovered.

The two researchers investigated further, starting by placing a pile of particulate carbon and some shredded laminate packaging inside a standard 1.2 kW kitchen microwave oven. They then replaced the air inside the oven with nitrogen and turned the oven on at full power until the temperature inside reached around 600° C (1,112° F). After two minutes, the laminated material had separated into impurity-free aluminum flakes and hydrocarbon gases and oil.

Now, 15 years later, the process the researchers developed is being put to the test in a commercial-scale plant in Luton, UK. The plant was designed, built and operated by Enval Limited, a spin-out company of Cambridge University founded by Ludlow-Palafox and Chase and is intended to demonstrate the capabilities and economics of the technology to potential investors and waste handling companies. It relies on the same basic chemistry used with the kitchen microwave, but the power of the oven in the commercial-scale plant has been increased to 150 kW and is large enough to be housed in a 100 m² (1,076 ft²) industrial unit. It takes three minutes to convert the packaging into aluminum for smelting and hydrocarbons for fuel, with no toxic emissions.

The plant, which is partly funded by Nestlé and Kraft Foods/Mondelez International, is now fully commissioned and can recycle up to 2,000 tonnes (2,204 tons) of packaging annually and generates enough energy to run itself. Chase estimates that a plant similar to the demonstration plant would pay for itself within three years. Enval has already struck a deal with PAL packing manufacturers to recycle their industrial scrap at less than the cost of sending it to landfill.

"It was a chicken and egg situation," said Ludlow-Palafox. "No one is going to buy this technology unless this type of waste is separated for recycling, but the waste wasn’t going to be separated because there has been no process to recycle it. We had to break that negative loop somehow. Now we have the commercial-scale plant, we can show waste handlers the benefits and encourage local authorities to implement a selective collecting system."

But the researchers aren't stopping at PAL packaging, with Chase's group in Cambridge University's Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology examining the potential of microwave pyrolysis in recycling of different types of waste.

"We’ve demonstrated that a lot of troublesome waste materials can be pyrolysed using our microwave technology but it’s not always economically sensible to do it; the challenge now is to identify which processes are likely to be commercially viable, and which of those will attract the necessary investment funding to bring them into commercial reality. This is a business sector that is comparatively unfamiliar to most investors who regularly commit to innovation in other areas. By demonstrating the societal and economic benefits of green technologies, we hope to secure the necessary investment to transform innovation into successful commercial practice."

The technology is described in the video below.

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Huge new aquarium forms centerpiece of Miami's Museum of Science

The Gulf Stream Tank aquarium will form the centerpiece of the new Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science

An impressive engineering operation has been carried out to create the centerpiece of the new Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science in Miami. Created in one continuous concrete pour that took 24 hours and 49 minutes, the 500,000 gal (1,900,000 l) Gulf Stream Tank aquarium will be home to a number of deep sea species which visitors will be able to view from both top and bottom.

The creation of the cone-shaped Gulf Stream Tank, which forms part of a larger aquarium, is one part of the Miami Science Museum redevelopment as it becomes the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science. The new museum has been designed by Grimshaw Architects.

As well as being able to look down into the open surface of the tank that is 100 ft (30 m) in diameter, visitors to the completed venue will be able to look up into it through an oculus that is 30 ft diameter. The oculus is reminiscent of the dome at New York's Fulton Center, which is also designed by Grimshaw.

To ensure the integrity of the tank once complete, the concrete had to be poured continuously. It took 120 truckloads to transport the 1,200 cu yd (920,000 l) of concrete required to form the structure. Crews then worked to spread the concrete over the 9,000 sq ft (836 sq m) surface area of the tank.

The tank walls vary between 28-in (71 cm) and 56-in (142 cm) of thickness and the structure also includes 370 tons (336 tonnes) of epoxy coated steel reinforcement and 700 high-strength post tensioning cables to prevent it from cracking.

Once completed, the Gulf Stream Tank will house hammerhead sharks, tuna, sea turtles and other deep sea species. The Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science is due to open in 2016.

The video below is a time-lapse of the concrete being poured to create the aquarium.

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BulletSafe Bulletproof Hat offers protection with a low-key design

The BulletSafe Bulletproof Hat offers frontal protection in a low-key design

For law enforcement, or any job in which there's a real possibility of being shot at, bulletproof gear is incredibly important. A new product called the BulletSafe Bulletproof Hat aims to bring that sort of protection to the head, in a subtle fashion.

The hat is intended for situations where protection is needed but one doesn't want to look threatening. For example, an undercover police officer is not going to want to walk into an event in full body armor, and a low-profile hat that looks like any other baseball cap can offer a basic level of protection while still maintaining cover.

We've seen bulletproof protection in less obvious forms before, with a bulletproof polo shirt and a US$3.2 million suit.

Of course, the impact from a round is still going to do some damage, and comes well within the range of force that can cause a serious concussion. When compared to the damage caused by an unimpeded bullet, however, it could prove to be a worthwhile investment.

The hat starts with a base model in three different sizes. From there, the team modifies it to include a BulletSafe ballistic pad in the front two panels of the six-panel hat. The team expects that it can stop frontal impacts from handguns that use 9-mm, .40 and .38 caliber rounds.

This is not the first bulletproof device from BulletSafe, as the company has been making and selling bulletproof vests since 2013.

BulletSafe is seeking funding to bring its Bulletproof Hat to market on Kickstarter. It started with a modest goal of $3,500, and it has already surpassed that with almost a month left in its funding period. Backers interested in preordering a hat can do so for a minimum pledge of $99, with an expected delivery date in November 2015.

The Kickstarter pitch video below provides more information on the BulletSafe Bulletproof Hat.

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Heijmans ONE: A prefabricated home for young professionals

The prototype Heijmans ONE is currently undergoing testing with a full-time resident

Dutch construction firm Heijmans recently took the wraps off a new prototype prefabricated house that it plans to install in underused city areas and rent out to single young professionals as a starter home. The Heijmans ONE is currently being tested with a view to launch in 2015.

Heijmans intends to situate ONE developments primarily in derelict city plots owned by the firm, the local council, or other developers. It will be available for rent at around €700 (US$852) per month, which Heijmans says is comparable to a small apartment in cities like Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

"Heijmans ONE serves the generation that falls between two stools," explains the company. "Who? The well-educated: between 25 and 35 years old, first job, single, the world at their feet."

The two-story home is designed by Dutch architects MoodBuilders and is built primarily from wood, measuring 9.2 x 3.5 m (30 x 11.5 ft) and rising to a height of 5.9 m (19.3 ft). The partly open-plan ground floor includes a kitchen, bathroom, and lounge area. A bedroom and small desk area is located in the mezzanine upstairs, and the home also features a small outdoor patio area.

The Heijmans ONE is transported by truck, and on-site installation takes just a day. Though the home's roof-based solar array currently serves only to offset some of the costs of its grid-connected electricity needs, a Heijmans rep informed Gizmag that it's working on making the homes completely self-sufficient, energy-wise.

There are currently two trial ONE homes being tested, one of which has a full-time occupant. Once testing is completed in March 2015, the Heijmans team will further develop the concept for market, with the aim of launching the first 30 rental units later in the year.

The video below includes some more information on the project.

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KC-46A tanker program makes first test flight

The KC-46A tanker program makes its first flight (Photo: Boeing)

Boeing and the US Air force have announced the successful first test flight of the KC-46A tanker program. Set to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of KC-135 Stratotankers, the KC-46A is designed to act primarily as an airborne refueling tanker that is compatible with all US, allied, and coalition aircraft capable of in-flight refueling, but can also carry passengers and cargo, or act as a medivac airplane.

As part of the KC-46A test program, Boeing is building two 767-2Cs for testing as freighters (after which they will be fitted with in-flight refueling and other military systems systems) and two KC-46As built fully equipped to complete the FAA and military certifications.

In today's test, one of the Boeing 767-2C commercial cargo aircraft lifted off from Paine field in Everett, flew for 3 h and 32 min, and then landed at Boeing Field in Seattle.

Based on the 767 airframe and incorporating the cockpit avionics from the Large Boeing 787, the aircraft's versatility is further boosted by the fact that it's equipped with countermeasures that allow it to fly in medium-threat environments.

Powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW4062 turbofan engines, the KC-46A carries a crew of three, including the refueling boom operator, and has permanent seating for 15 passengers, though it can be reconfigured to hold 114 passengers, 18 pallets, or 58 patients. It has a fly-by wire refueling boom and can lift off with more fuel from shorter runways than the KC-135. According to Boeing, it has a cruising speed of Mach 0.80 (530 mph, 851 km/h), and a range of 6,385 nmi (12,200 km).

The first 18 of 179 KC-46As are scheduled for delivery in 2017.

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Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout makes first destroyer flight

The MQ-8C Fire Scout hovering over the flight deck of USS Jason Dunham (Photo: Northrop Grumman)

A helicopter landing on the flightdeck of a destroyer is hardly news – unless it's the US Navy's latest Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Northrop Grumman's MQ-8C Fire Scout became the first unmanned helicopter to operate from a US destroyer on December 16. Under guidance of the ship's ground control station, the MQ-8C made 22 takeoffs and 22 precision landings on the guided missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) off the coast of Virginia.

The MQ-8C has already completed a year of land-based testing since its first flight from Naval Base Ventura County in California on October 31, 2013. Based on the Bell 407 airframe, the MQ-8C uses an improved version of the autonomous avionics from the smaller MQ-8B, and is powered by a Rolls-Royce 250-C47E.

Designed as a dynamic, multi-purpose unmanned helicopter, the Navy has 28 on order. When delivered, each will have a range of 150 nmi (170 mi, 280 km) an endurance of 12 hours, and will be able to carry a 318 kg (701 lb). The helicopter is intended for unmanned resupply missions, support for special forces, and other missions requiring a longer on-station presence.

"These dynamic interface tests are an essential part in clearing the operational envelope of the system and are proving the system's ability to operate off any air-capable ship," says George Vardoulakis, vice president for medium range tactical systems, Northrop Grumman Aerospace System. "We are on track to validate all of the critical performance parameters of this Navy asset and ready the system for deployment and operational use."

The video below shows the MQ-8C undergoing sea trials.

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MESSENGER uses helium for last minute reprieve

Artist's concept of the MESSENGER orbiter (Image: NASA)

Now orbiting the planet Mercury after over ten years in space, NASA's MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft is still functioning better than expected. Its mission will soon come to an end though – it's running out of fuel and is scheduled to crash into the planet in March. However, mission control have come up with a novel plan that will use the helium used to pressurize the unmanned probe's engine to give it another month of life.

According to the MESSENGER team, fuel is usually the last problem that a robotic exploration team worry about because there are so many other things that can go wrong long before it runs out. That being said, the fuel is the single most important consumable aboard an orbiter mission because it not only allows the spacecraft to maintain the correct attitude and keep its antennae pointed at Earth, it also lets it use the main engine to boost its orbit against atmospheric drag, which decays the orbit. The upshot is that when the propellant runs out, the spacecraft starts to tumble and spirals in to burn up in the atmosphere or, in MESSENGER's case, crash into the surface at hypersonic speed.

So normally when the fuel runs out, that's it, but NASA reasoned that MESSENGER's liquid-fuel rocket engine design meant there was still a bit of thrust left even after all the propellant was expended. The MESSENGER's engine is pressure fed, which means that it uses helium from a separate tank to push the fuel and oxidizer into the engine's combustion chamber. Since the helium needs to work against the force of the rocket's combustion, it's under considerable pressure, and when the fuel is gone, there will be some helium left in the pressure tank.

The idea is to use the helium as a cold propellant. In other word's where the rocket engine gets its thrust by burning fuel, the helium pushes the spacecraft by simple gas pressure like a toy balloon when the open neck is let go.

Unfortunately, this is the first time a pressurant has been as an improvised thruster and MESSENGER's engine is a bit more complicated than a balloon. According to MESSENGER Mission Systems Engineer Dan O’Shaughnessy, of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), the pressure in the helium tank isn't much compared to a firing engine. In addition, the gas passes through a number of reduction valves and nozzles that have to be taken into account, and helium is the second lightest of gases, so it doesn't provide much in the way of thrust.

If these problems can be overcome, NASA estimates that it will give MESSENGER another month of active life before impact on Mercury. MESSENGER's current closest approach to Mercury is 25 km (15 mi). If a scheduled course correction using the helium is successful, this will rise to 80 km (50 mi). This will allow the orbiter to carry out additional low altitude observations, including collecting a new set of high-resolution images.

"During the additional period of operations, up to four weeks, MESSENGER will measure variations in Mercury’s internal magnetic field at shorter horizontal scales than ever before, scales comparable to the anticipated periapsis altitude between 7 km (4 mi) and 15 km (9 mi) above the planetary surface," says APL’s Haje Korth, the instrument scientist for the spacecraft's magnetometer. "Combining these observations with those obtained earlier in the mission at slightly higher altitudes will allow the depths of the sources of these variations to be determined. In addition, observations by MESSENGER’s Neutron Spectrometer at the lowest altitudes of the mission will allow water ice deposits to be spatially resolved within individual impact craters at high northern latitudes."

Built and operated by John Hopkins University for NASA, the MESSENGER spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral on August 3, 2004 as the first mission aimed to place an orbiter around the innermost planet Mercury. It wasn't until March 18, 2011 that it went into orbit around its target because matching orbits with Mercury required an elaborate series of flybys of Earth, twice of Venus, and three times of Mercury before it obtained the proper trajectory. After completing its year-long mission to study Mercury's surface and exosphere, the orbiter was then placed on two extended missions; the second of which is now scheduled to end in April.

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Moto Hint review: The future of Bluetooth headsets ... almost

Gizmag reviews Motorola's attempt at reinventing the Bluetooth headset, the Moto Hint (Image credit: Eric Mack/Gizmag.com)

When we visited Motorola's Chicago headquarters in September, one of the most intriguing new gadgets wasn't quite ready for the press to try out. But now we've been able to spend some quality time with Moto Hint, the company's next generation Bluetooth earbud. Though it's a step in the right direction compared to the wonky things some of us stick in our ears, there's still some room for improvement.

Unlike most Bluetooth headsets that make your ear look like a miniature satellite dish, the majority of the Moto Hint fits snugly but comfortably inside your head. It resembles something like an oddly shaped hearing aid: it's visible, but doesn't have the cyborg aesthetic that most headsets add to your cranium.

Ironically, the Hint does grant its wearer more cyborg-like powers than the average Bluetooth ear dongle, at least when paired with a Moto X or Droid Turbo. On Motorola's flagship phones, the Hint basically acts as an extension of the Moto Voice feature, which allows a user to control the phone from across a room using voice commands.

The Hint essentially acts as a remote ear for those phones and is always listening for their user defined trigger phrase, which then tells the phone that the next thing you say will be a search or executable command. It can also push incoming calls, select notifications and other kinds of audio to your ear, even when your phone is in the next room.

If you're in an environment where you don't want to address your unseen phone by some silly name, you can also tap the outward-facing capacitive touch area of the headset to get your phone's attention to start listening for commands. If you're using the Moto Hint with a late model Android phone or iPhone, a touch will summon Google Now or Siri, respectively.

Concierge in your ear

The things you can do with a Moto Hint in your ear and a connected Moto Voice device within range are limited only by what Google Now and the Moto software can understand, which seems to expand monthly if not weekly. Using only voice, we were able to do currency conversions, send and receive texts, calls and emails, manage calendar events, get weather reports, translate "oatmeal" into a handful of different languages, navigate to the veterinarian, and play a little old school Cypress Hill via Spotify, among many other potential functions – all without having the paired phone in the same room.

As long as you remain conscious that you're wearing a Moto Hint, it can become easy to go a little crazy with it, asking it for help with every mundane thought or query that comes into your head. There's a good chance this will quickly irritate any companions you might be with, as it did my wife and daughter at our breakfast table, who both rolled their eyes when I asked the digital bug in my ear how to say oatmeal in Portuguese.

It is surprisingly easy to forget that you're wearing a Hint, as it is as comfortable and lightweight as any ear-worn consumer device we've tested. We tried a number of headsets, earbuds and helmet insert devices while wearing a ski helmet for winter sports, and the Hint is the best yet for getting through an entire day on the mountain. We found it even more comfortable than elaborate helmet-mounted systems designed specifically for active sports use.

Hinting at serious design chops

The Hint is also a leap forward in design in terms of being able to take it with you and still have normal social interactions that don't leave people joking about your robot ear minutes later. Yes, it's smaller and less ostentatious or geeky than most headsets. You can even choose from different premium materials for the touch area including leather, bamboo and walnut. But the smartest new feature here is an infrared proximity sensor that detects when it's in your ear and automatically connects when you put it in. By the same token, it automatically disconnects and hands off any calls or other audio in progress to your phone relatively seamlessly when you pull it out of your ear.

This is pretty much perfect for how I wear a Bluetooth headset, and I'm the biggest fan of Bluetooth audio devices that I know. But I still tend to pull my headset out of my ear to have a face-to-face conversation with someone or if I need to focus on another external source of sound. I love being able to just pull the Hint out in a quick, subtle motion and know that I'm not missing any part of what I was just hearing, and without fiddling with any switches, buttons or long presses.

The final thing that we love about the Moto Hint is its nifty little carrying case/charger/battery pack that is another of those neat little ways that Motorola shows off how good it has become at design. When you plug in the case, you're charging both the Hint in its cradle and an extra rechargeable battery in the case itself. With a fully charged case, which can be slipped on a key ring via the plastic loop that lights up when charging is happening, you can juice up your Hint at least two more times while on the go.

This brings us to a shorter but still significant list of gripes that we have about the Moto Hint.

Hinting at areas in need of improvement

First off, let's address why that cool carrying case has a battery in it in the first place. It's because the battery in such a tiny headset is correspondingly tiny and only lasts for about three hours worth of listening, be it to music, podcasts, audiobooks or whatever. Motorola deserves a lot of credit here for designing a case that goes a long way towards solving this shortcoming, but it means you basically need to remember to bring a charged case with you everywhere you go, and if you lose it, your US$150 headset is now worthless.

Yes, you read that right, too. The Hint costs $150, which is more than you'll pay for a Moto X to connect to it (with a new carrier contract, at least) and makes it one of the more expensive earbuds on the market, but without the same sound quality you'll get from most other high-end headsets.

That would be our third complaint about the Hint: its volume is often either too low or inconsistent. Walking through city traffic or working in a loud environment, you can easily miss a notification, even with the volume on your phone (the Hint does not have its own volume controls) turned up to 100 percent. Beyond the volume issue, sound quality is adequate, but we get better fidelity on headsets that cost a third of the Hint's retail price.

Sometimes the Hint itself can also have problems hearing, but strangely the issue is not with background noise in the user's environment, it's with the sounds coming from the Hint itself. When listening to music via the headset, it often seems to be unable to hear our attempts to give it new commands. We'll say the trigger phrase over and over with no response, then remember that we can just as easily get the Hint to pay attention by tapping it with a finger ... only to find that it also is less responsive while music is streaming from it. Eventually a forceful enough tap will get it to listen to our desperate attempts to ask directions to the nearest Starbucks.

Oh, and one final little complaint: The Moto software does not seem to be aware that Google tries to force most Android users to use its Hangouts app for texting, so if you've integrated your text messages into hangouts, you won't automatically have new texts read to you via the Hint. To hear the message, you'll have to say your trigger phrase or tap the Hint and then ask it to "read notifications." It's a minor hassle, but one that it seems should be easy to fix with a software update.

Conclusion

I'm a huge Bluetooth fan and an admitted cyborg constantly listening to books, podcasts or music in my ear while working, walking, exercising or sometimes even when trying to fall asleep. It kind of blows my mind that it isn't more socially acceptable to have one of these things in your ear, even as it's increasingly acceptable to thoroughly disconnect from the society around you by focusing your full attention on screens of all sizes at all times.

The Moto Hint seems like it could be a big step towards building the bridge to that future of more seamless, hands- and eyes-free utilitarian connection that looks cool in movies like "Her" but that many people continue to resist.

Perhaps it's a good thing that we aren't all ready for this vision of the future just yet, because if the Moto Hint is going to lead the wave of wearable devices that brings it into the mainstream, it's going to need a few upgrades and improvements before it's ready for primetime itself.

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Recapture system limits mercury exposure from gold purification

The MCS costs about US$500

According to the World Gold Council, about 195,300 tons (177,200 tonnes) of gold have been dug out of the ground in all of human history. Countless lives have been lost obtaining the rare metal, and in the developing world, which currently accounts for 20 percent of the world's gold production, small-scale mining and smelting under primitive conditions poses a major health hazard. To help alleviate this, a team from Argonne National Laboratory and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are developing a prototype mercury capture system (MCS) to reduce heavy metal pollution.

A common method used by small miners in South America and other places is mercury extraction, which exploits the ability of mercury to "dissolve" gold and form an amalgam. This way, particles of gold can be separated from crushed ore and floated away. When the mercury is boiled away, the gold remains behind. This process is now outmoded in the mainstream mining industry, where it's been superseded by cyanide and other methods that are cheaper, more effective, less expensive, and much safer, but is still in common use in the developing world.

The use of mercury is more than a theoretical hazard. The removal of the mercury in smelting the gold is often incomplete, so when goldsmiths melt gold in their city shops, more mercury is released. Worse, the protections against airborne mercury are notoriously poor with only five percent of gold shops in Brazil having any mercury control systems. Usually, the shops have little more than extraction hoods that empty directly into the open air, and Argonne says that Peruvian shops have no protection at all. Not surprisingly, the mercury levels in and around gold shops in the developing world generally exceed safe levels.

The upshot of this is that these small operations account for 700 tons (635 tonnes) of airborne mercury being released each year. The heavy metal falls back to earth, where it is inhaled, is picked up on exposed food on market stalls, and washes away into streams, where it enters the food chain. Its this latter problem that drew the attention of the EPA, because it can get into food exports, which eventually reach US tables, as well as airborne aerosols that can drift into US water systems.

Argonne and the EPA's answer is the prototype MCS, which consists of a converted steel drum that condenses and recaptures the mercury vapor with 80 percent effectiveness. An Argonne/EPA team worked with locals in the Amazon region to refine the design of the MCS and to build prototypes, which cost about US$500 each. These were then installed in several gold shops along with fume hoods and exhaust chimneys.

The prototype is made of a 55-gallon drum fitted with a circulating fan, baffles for collecting the mercury, and a piping system to collect and remove the liquid metal. The over-large hood, the drum, and the baffles provide the mercury vapor plenty of time to condense, which is the key to the device's efficiency. The team says that the MCS is affordable and can be retrofitted to existing shop hood ventilation systems.

"We wanted to design a system to address the significant mercury exposure affecting both the shops and the homes that purify gold," says Argonne environmental systems engineer Margaret MacDonell. "Many people have been burning mercury for decades because that is the way their grandparents or neighbors did it. We helped develop a better way of thinking about the process."

The video below explains the MCS project.

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