Top TechTop Tech #21: DIY instant robots, audio aids the blind, and a smarter bandage
Promising products and interesting innovations
Today’s Top Tech:
• DIY your own too-human robot
• Soundscapes let the blind walk city streets
• Smart bandage detects sores
DIY your own too-human robot
There are a handful of tech trends cresting of late such as3D printing, scanning, drones, and robots. Yesterday’s news looked at one combo of those traits, and here’s another: a robot you can make yourself, which will learn to emulate human behavior.
It’s just a Kickstarter project so far, and the promo video admittedly looks more like a trailer for a sci-fi movie. The inventors even say their work will revolutionize the relationship between humans and robots, and that their creation will mirror human behavior.
As TechCrunch puts it, “Plen2 is a 3D-print-it-yourself humanoid robot kit.”
The “PLEN Project Committee” says they’re developing “the world’s first printable open-source humanoid. Anyone can easily build and personalize it. Our aim is to open up the relationship between humans and technology… Robots should complement our abilities.”
The kit will provide control boards, servomotors and accessories. “You do not need any technical knowledge or special tools.” The resulting robots stands almost 8 inches tall. Pricing will start at about $500.
The project has reached its initial funding goal.
Soundscapes let the blind walk city streets
“Tens of thousands of blind people never leave their homes due to anxiety,” says a UK agency. “Soundscape technology” can addresses “the mobility challenges faced by people with sight loss in our cities.”
In the Cities Unlocked program, Microsoft is working with Guide Dogs for the Blind and the Future Cities initiative “on an answer to the problem of making the world more inclusive.”
The bone-conducting headphones with added accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS “provides guidance and information to the wearer,” Digital Trends reports. Various sounds then provide audio cues to let the walker maneuver correctly.
Smart bandage detects sores
A smart bandage fabricated with gold electrodes detects bedsores invisible to the naked eye.
UC Berkeley engineers use flexible electronics for a smart bandage that uses electrical currents to detect early tissue damage from pressure ulcers, or bedsores, before they can be seen by human eyes, before the damage reaches the surface of the skin.”
