The future of military camouflage may be a cute chameleon robot

Researcher Guoping Wang of Wuhan University, China, and a handful of collaborators 3D-printed a chameleon robot that changes colors in response to its environment, as spotted by New Scientist. The little lizard is lined in plasmonic displays created out of gold-infused glass encased in an electrolyte gel containing silver ions. Using a light sensor, the displays read the reflective and absorbing properties of nearby colors. With the application of an electric field, the gold and silver ions interact so the displays take on these light properties, actively changing the chameleon’s color.

So far, the camouflage robot can only detect red, green and blue. Researchers are optimistic that a more advanced chameleon will be able to read any color at all, New Scientist reports. If a similar system can be shrunk down and streamlined, it may be used in military camouflage pursuits, Wang tells the publication.

Scientists have previously taken cues from another animal, the majestic squid, in their hunt for on-demand camouflage.

Via: Motherboard

Source: New Scientist, ACS Nano

Monster Powercard Turbo review

There are a multitude of options out there if you are looking for a smartphone charger — plenty of different types, shapes, colors, bells and whistles. But the bottom line is they all perform the same function – they charge your smartphone.

The key to floating to the top of the sea of charging banks is to simply put out a quality product at a reasonable price; that is exactly what the Powercard Turbo does.

The Powercard Turbo, made by Monster, is just that, a monster, especially in quality of the build. This charger is built to last. Within the first hours of having it in my possession, my son dropped it on the tile floor in my kitchen. Then, I knocked it off my desk and also had it slide off my lap onto the parking lot at work. Not one dent, ding or scratch. All that trauma and it still fully charged my phone in under forty minutes.

If by some miracle you manage to break the Powercard, the charger comes with a one year warranty for products sold in North America and a two year warranty for products sold in Europe.

In terms of capacity, the Powercard Turbo comes with 3350mAh, which is more than you’ll find in most smartphones. Older devices might be able to get up to two charges out of it but today’s devices are inching into this space. Nevertheless, there’s plenty of reserve juice should you run low earlier in the day than you’d like.

Using the Powercard Turbo is extremely easy; you take the two inch USB charging cable, plug the microUSB connector into the port then plug the standard USB port into the wall plug. After about two hours the Powercard Turbo will be ready to charge your smartphone.

Once ready, simply switch the USB charging cord so the microUSB end is plugged into your smartphone and the standard USB end is hooked into the Powercard Turbo. After that, hit the power button and let it go to work.

When it comes down to it, this is a really great power bank as it’s tough, durable and charges my smartphone quickly. The two inch USB cord is easy to keep track of because I can keep it plugged into the device. Never get caught with your power down again, get a Powercard Turbo and keep your device working for hours.

Where to Buy

You can pick up a Powercard Turbo charger via Monster’s website for approximately $50.  Additionally, you’ll find it in a variety of colors at Amazon, too. As of today the champagne gold version is only $20.

http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=ss_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=agref_batteries-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00MH722PU&asins=B00MH722PU&linkId=3FLNR2Y2OFT63DA3&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true

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The Pirate Bay begins testing browser streaming

The Pirate Bay torrent site has blown around so much, you might not even be sure where it is right now (thepiratebay.se, we think). It’s still kicking though, and now has a new trick — streaming directly from your browser. It’s able to do that thanks to a new plugin from Torrents Time, using the same technology as Popcorn Time (the second version, not the original). If you dare, all you have to do is download the plugin for Firefox, Internet Explorer or Chrome, and when you go to a given Pirate Bay torrent, you’ll get the option to stream.

The plugin is a free beta right now, but there are a few of the usual Pirate Bay caveats. You’ll need to have enough seeders and peers, the quality is suspect and, of course, it’s completely illegal. Once you get it working, there are few nice features like casting support for Chromecast, Airplay and DLNA and a built-in VPN.

Torrents Time pitching it as a valid business idea, complete with buzzwords. “By harnessing the incredible abilities of torrents, you can transform your website … this will result in an immediate, natural drop in your bounce rate and will greatly improve SEO,” it says in a blog. The group also points out that the plugin can be used by any site, and according to Venture Beat, Pirate Bay rival Kick Ass Torrents will eventually integrate it, too. It’s ad-free for now, but the Torrents Time has promised that ad server integration is “coming soon.”

Via: Gizmodo

Source: Torrents Time

The environmentally friendly rainbow laser forest

Lasers might not be the first things that come to mind when thinking of the conserving the environment. Nonetheless, they’re being used to manage commercial forests more efficiently.

The false-color image above was captured with a “laser radar” LIDAR (light detection and ranging) system from Irish company Treemetrics. The colors are a 2D representation of 3D data that reveals how dense and straight the trees are. This allows plantation managers to understand how many logs can be harvested from any given tree, and what their quality will be.

Around 20 percent of potential wood from commercial forests is wasted during harvesting. By combining LIDAR information with data from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel satellites, aerial imagery and drone photography, Treemetrics is able to cut that figure down to a tiny fraction. This technology is being used by state forest agencies in 26 countries (and private forest owners) to prevent waste and, as Treemetrics puts it, “deliver more wood from fewer trees.”

The Big Picture is a recurring feature highlighting beautiful images that tell big stories. We explore topics as large as our planet, or as small as a single life, as affected by or seen through the lens of technology.

Source: European Space Agency

3D hand scanner could give you custom braces

Many 3D scanners are built to scan whole objects, but that doesn’t necessarily cut it if you’re trying to scan a specific part. Ever try to map your own hand? Yeah, that doesn’t work very well. However, recent graduate Pieter Smakman has a better way. His custom-built Curatio scanner creates a detailed 3D model of your hand simply by putting your hand inside a ring — you don’t have to wave a device around. It uses relatively off-the-shelf parts for the capture process, too, including Raspberry Pi mini-PCs, 32 (!) cameras and laser pointers.

Curatio is a one-off at the moment, and there’s no guarantees that it’ll become a device you can buy. If it does take off, though, it could be incredibly useful for multiple fields. In health care, it could lead to braces that fit the exact contours of your hand. It’d also be an ace in the hole for designers who want to make customized gear (such as gloves or steering wheels) or simulate real hands in virtual worlds. You might not get a device like this at home, but you could easily notice its impact.

Via: Adafruit

Source: Sparkisan, Pieter Smakman (YouTube)