Water-repellent cicada wings inspire creation of next-gen materials

Why it matters to you

Bio-inspired designs help engineers create the advanced materials of the future, including some that can repel water.

Mother Nature is an inspiring muse. She’s worshipped by writers, painters, and musicians alike. But scientists and engineers also turn to nature as a source of inspiration, including a research team from at the University of Illinois that wanted to borrow the secrets of cicada wings to design water-proof surfaces.

Over millions of years, plants and animals have evolved complex relationships with their environment. Take for example the cicada, a flying insect whose wings can repel water. From a distance their ability to water resistance seems miraculous but, when examined at a nanoscale, the wings reveal a sophisticated structure that has evolved specifically for that purpose.

“Cicada wings have been known to exhibit a slew of interesting properties,” Nenad Miljkovic, a University of Illinois mechanical science and engineering professor who co-led the research, told Digital Trends. These traits include being anti-reflective, superhydrophobic, and anti-bacterial. “We wanted to understand how these functions are achieved and how to mimic them to develop artificial surfaces.”

In previous studies, scientists have zoomed in on cicada wings and discovered tiny structures coated in a thin layer of lipids, which make water molecules roll right off.

“The combination of hydrophobic molecules … and nanoscale roughness, makes the surface superhydrophobic,” Miljkovic said. “The nanoscale roughness is on the order of 100 nanometers.” That’s about 1,000 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair.

But where previous studies focused on wetland species of cicadas, Miljkovic and his team studied four different species from various environments, using high-speed microscopic photography to examine their wings. They discovered that habitat was a surprisingly poor determinant for a cicada’s ability to repel water.

By investigating cicadas and borrowing some of their features, Miljkovic and his team hope to manifest similar properties in synthetic materials. Known as biomimicry — or, as he calls it, bio-inspiration — the practice of borrowing from biology is becoming more popular, and is saving engineers time. But it isn’t a new idea. Velcro was invented by a bio-inspired engineer. And engineers have been looking at lotus leaves for their water-repellent (and self-cleaning) capabilities.

“We are learning from cicadas how to create artificial surfaces based on their natural evolved design principles for the formation of these nanoscale asperities,” Miljkovic said.

A paper detailing the study was published last month in the journal Applied Materials and Interfaces.

From solar showers to tiny espresso makers, these are the best camping gadgets

Camping lets you enjoy the great outdoors, without requiring you to be shackled to the technology that pervades our everyday lives. But when there are so many cool camping gadgets available to take on your next outdoor adventure —  many of which won’t break the bank — it’s hard to resist a little bit of tech. From a pint-sized espresso machine to a straw that lets you drink water directly from a river, our list is comprised of gear to help you agonize less and spend more time enjoying the nature around you. And when you’re finished, take a gander at our guide on what you should pack in an outdoor emergency kit. After all, accidents do happen.

GoTenna ($150)

If you and a friend accidentally split up during a hike, and don’t feel like playing Marco Polo for the next half hour, then the GoTenna is for you. Once connected to a smartphone via Bluetooth, the device allows you and a companion to send texts or GPS coordinates to one another using a low-frequency radio wave network — that is, assuming you’re within three miles of each other (it works up to six miles in flat areas, and a mile in cities). The wands are sold in pairs and each lasts for several days on a single charge. Do keep in mind you can’t contact emergency services with it, unfortunately. Overall, the GoTenna is durable, affordable, and can be a lifesaver for anyone who likes to venture into the great outdoors on their own. Watch our full GoTenna review here.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Venture Pal Daypack ($21)

Venture Pal’s Daypack is the best of both worlds. Not only is this streamlined pack lightweight and durable enough to throw anything at it, it’s cheap price point makes it entirely too tempting to refuse. The pack holds up to 35 liters and when you’re done using it, it folds within itself, allowing you to save some extra shelf space. It isn’t waterproof but the Venture Pal Daypack is still ideal for people who enjoy light hikes and camping trips when the weather’s nice. If you’re in need of additional suggestions, we’ve also curated a list of the best backpacks for any outdoor outing.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Earth Pak Waterproof Dry Bag ($20-$25)

Like the name suggests, the Earth Pak Waterproof Dry Bag excels at keeping belongings dry during your next rafting or kayaking adventure. As an added bonus, the bag also comes with a waterproof phone case — one which event allows your phone to be submerged in up to 100 feet of water. The bag is also available in a range of sizes, and comes with a convenient shoulder strap. Earth Pak has seemingly thought of everything when it comes to making the perfect dry bag.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

MiniPresso Espresso Maker ($52)

The outdoors are great and all but they’re glaringly missing something: coffee shops. Fortunately, MiniPresso makes an espresso maker so compact and easy to use you can finally take good-tasting coffee with you — no matter your weekend destination. With a cup of grounded beans and some hot water, the MiniPresso provides instant coffee that doesn’t taste like “instant coffee.” You also don’t have to worry about wasting paper filters thanks to the espresso maker’s stainless-steel sieve. It weighs less than a pound and measures a mere 7 inches long, too, which makes it great for traveling. Better yet, pair it with Wacaco’s protective case and you’ll have yourself a mini-espresso maker that stays with you for quite some time.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

BioLite Campstove 2 ($200)

With a couple pieces of kindling and a match, BioLite’s eco-friendly Campstove allows you to cook food, boil water, and charge your smartphone on the trail. Once up and running, it boils a pot of water in less than five minutes — depending on the strength of your fire — and juices your phone with about an hour of talk time after 20 minutes of charging. The device is compatible with BioLite’s existing KettlePot and Portable Grill, too, and comes equipped with an LED dashboard that provides information on the amount of available power at any given moment. If your camping diet is nothing more than some hot dogs and s’mores — and you want to make the occasional phone call — then the Campstove 2’s added features make it worth the price of admission.

Buy one now from: 

Amazon

Anker 21W Dual USB Solar Charger ($60)

Like Superman, Anker’s lineup of solar panels harness the power of the sun to charge two of your devices simultaneously. Anker’s 21-watt offering provides an impressive 2.4 amps per port, however, it’s also the company’s most expensive model to date. The solar charger is incredibly portable and built to withstand mud and an occasional dusting. The device’s internal components render it too delicate to use in the rain but for the price, this is one of the best solar chargers you can take on your next camping trip. If you want a cheaper offering, Anker has other products which vary in price and wattage.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Mosquito Repellent Bracelet ($16)

For those beautiful, mosquito-ridden campsites, a bracelet built to ward off bugs can be a godsend. Though many companies sell repellent bracelets nowadays, what makes this offering the best of the bunch is that it’s 100-percent natural and non-toxic — meaning it won’t set off an allergic reaction or lead to an irritable rash. A single bracelet lasts up to 240 hours, too, though that number drops drastically if the bracelet gets exposed to water. Thankfully, they come in packs of 15 and fit adults and children alike.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Nemo Helio LX ($130)

There’s nothing nicer than a warm shower after camping but why wait until after your trip? The Nemo Helio LX sports a six-gallon tank and a pumping mechanism, which nets you a shower experience no other portable shower offers. After stepping on the pump mechanism a few times, the shower provides up to 10 minutes of steady pressure and you can make the water warm by placing it in direct sunlight. Nemo also offers a cheaper option, though it features a smaller tank and lacks the nifty silicon sleeve that holds the nozzle in place.

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Amazon

LifeStraw Personal Water Filter ($20)

The LifeStraw Personal Water Filter allows you to turn any swimming hole into your own, personal drinking fountain. The filter eradicates 99.99 percent of waterborne bacteria and parasites, and it filters up to 1,000 liters of contaminated water without the use of chemicals. The straw lets you turn any bottle of contaminated water into drinking water for a mere $20, and its portability makes it second to none.

Buy one now from: 

Amazon

Casio Pro Trek PRG600Y-1 ($320)

You’re probably good with any watch in Casio’s Pro Trek series but we’re a sucker for this particular model — namely because it hits the sweet spot when it comes to features and price. One of the watch’s coolest features is its Triple Sensor Engine, which provides you with directions, altitude readings, and weather forecasts. The device is powered via an unnoticeable solar panel located on the watch face and its frame is tough enough to endure temperatures as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit and up to a 100 meters of water.

Buy one now from: 

Casio

Snot Beard, anyone? Neural network comes up with names for craft beers

Why it matters to you

Beer-naming AI gives us a lesson in the creative power of computers. And could save brewers from potential lawsuits, too.

Artificial intelligence can already brew its own original craft beers, so it was only ever going to be so long before some smart individual gave it the ability to name its creations, too. That is what Janelle Shane, a research scientist and neural network enthusiast, has created with her latest project. Having previously been responsible for an AI which generated gross-sounding names for colors of paint (sample name: bank butt), Shane’s craft beer namer purports to solve the problem of how to find a unique name for your custom brew when there are more than 4,000 craft breweries in the United States alone.

In the best-case scenario, two identically named craft beers just means creators feeling despondent that their whimsically titled “Raven’s Goblin” ale is not quite as unique as they thought. In the worst case, two identical names could mean marketplace confusion and, potentially, lawsuits.

Shane said she started out her project by getting help scraping more than 100,000 beer names, representing more than 90 subcategories, from the website BeerAdvocate.com. She then sorted these into major subcategories and began the neural net training process. “I trained the neural network separately on IPAs, strong ales, red ales, and stouts, ending up with four specialized models,” she told Digital Trends.

The names the neural net has so far created range from the inspired (an amber ale called Blangelfest) to the odd (a stout called Spulgican’s Chocolate Coconut Pamper) to … ones that sound like they are describing something else entirely (O’Busty Irish Red). Shane’s favorites? Three red ales called Snot Beard, Slugsty Red Ale, and Wooly Barrel Choo Red.

“I really like the way applying AIs to creative tasks gives us a look at ourselves from a brand-new perspective,” she said. “What does a computer make of our world? What patterns does it discover that we had no idea existed, and what patterns does it miss? We rely to such an extent on our background and cultural knowledge when dealing with the world that it’s fun to see what happens when this is stripped away.”

And, hey, doesn’t a good craft beer make everything a bit more fun? Unless it’s called Snot Beard, that is.

Snot Beard, anyone? Neural network comes up with names for craft beers

Why it matters to you

Beer-naming AI gives us a lesson in the creative power of computers. And could save brewers from potential lawsuits, too.

Artificial intelligence can already brew its own original craft beers, so it was only ever going to be so long before some smart individual gave it the ability to name its creations, too. That is what Janelle Shane, a research scientist and neural network enthusiast, has created with her latest project. Having previously been responsible for an AI which generated gross-sounding names for colors of paint (sample name: bank butt), Shane’s craft beer namer purports to solve the problem of how to find a unique name for your custom brew when there are more than 4,000 craft breweries in the United States alone.

In the best-case scenario, two identically named craft beers just means creators feeling despondent that their whimsically titled “Raven’s Goblin” ale is not quite as unique as they thought. In the worst case, two identical names could mean marketplace confusion and, potentially, lawsuits.

Shane said she started out her project by getting help scraping more than 100,000 beer names, representing more than 90 subcategories, from the website BeerAdvocate.com. She then sorted these into major subcategories and began the neural net training process. “I trained the neural network separately on IPAs, strong ales, red ales, and stouts, ending up with four specialized models,” she told Digital Trends.

The names the neural net has so far created range from the inspired (an amber ale called Blangelfest) to the odd (a stout called Spulgican’s Chocolate Coconut Pamper) to … ones that sound like they are describing something else entirely (O’Busty Irish Red). Shane’s favorites? Three red ales called Snot Beard, Slugsty Red Ale, and Wooly Barrel Choo Red.

“I really like the way applying AIs to creative tasks gives us a look at ourselves from a brand-new perspective,” she said. “What does a computer make of our world? What patterns does it discover that we had no idea existed, and what patterns does it miss? We rely to such an extent on our background and cultural knowledge when dealing with the world that it’s fun to see what happens when this is stripped away.”

And, hey, doesn’t a good craft beer make everything a bit more fun? Unless it’s called Snot Beard, that is.

Microsoft wants your cloud storage to sleep with the fishes, literally

Why it matters to you

Microsoft’s plans for these undersea data centers could reduce our current reliance on massive, expensive data centers, and provide a home for endangered sea life.

As part of Microsoft’s plan to toss your data — and its data centers — into the sea, a recent patent filing illustrates just how the Redmond, Washington, company would keep your data safe in underwater data centers.

Microsoft’s underwater data center program, dubbed Project Natick, first emerged in 2016 as a way to offer an alternative to massive land-hungry server farms. It is still in the early stages, and your data is still going to reside on dry land for the time being. But according to a recent patent application, Microsoft is hard at work refining the plan and ensuring you data stays safe from marine intruders.

Landlocked data farms are easy enough to secure through typical means, but underwater data centers, designed to be fairly autonomous present a few unique challenges — like marine mammals trained to penetrate sensitive servers. Seriously.

“Because data centers may contain large amounts of valuable data, they are subject to intrusion. Submerged, or subsea data centers may be subject to intrusion by unwanted natural or man-made phenomena, in particular divers, submarines, ROVs, trained sea mammals, capture devices, or other covert attempts to access the datacenter,” reads the patent application, according to MS Power User.

So to thwart any trained otters from prying their way into these undersea data centers and pilfering your most sensitive data, Microsoft has a plan: Disguise the data centers as coral reefs. Well, there are other techniques outlined in the patent application, like intrusion detection which would scuttle the data in the event of any serious hostile intrusion.

But to protect the data centers from being targeted in the first place, Microsoft’s patent application suggests the company might clad the data centers in coral in hopes that it would not only remain hidden but also offer a refuge to adorable sea life like endangered corals.

“A data center configured for operation while submerged in water is designed to incorporate structural components and other features that actively promote marine life and attract growth of reef inhabitants,” the application reads. “Because the artificial reef data center emits little to no heat differential in the surrounding environment, natural growth of diverse reef life is provided. Further, diverse and rapid growth of reef inhabitants is actively promoted due to the structural stability and environmental conditions provided by the data center.”

Microsoft wants your cloud storage to sleep with the fishes, literally

Why it matters to you

Microsoft’s plans for these undersea data centers could reduce our current reliance on massive, expensive data centers, and provide a home for endangered sea life.

As part of Microsoft’s plan to toss your data — and its data centers — into the sea, a recent patent filing illustrates just how the Redmond, Washington, company would keep your data safe in underwater data centers.

Microsoft’s underwater data center program, dubbed Project Natick, first emerged in 2016 as a way to offer an alternative to massive land-hungry server farms. It is still in the early stages, and your data is still going to reside on dry land for the time being. But according to a recent patent application, Microsoft is hard at work refining the plan and ensuring you data stays safe from marine intruders.

Landlocked data farms are easy enough to secure through typical means, but underwater data centers, designed to be fairly autonomous present a few unique challenges — like marine mammals trained to penetrate sensitive servers. Seriously.

“Because data centers may contain large amounts of valuable data, they are subject to intrusion. Submerged, or subsea data centers may be subject to intrusion by unwanted natural or man-made phenomena, in particular divers, submarines, ROVs, trained sea mammals, capture devices, or other covert attempts to access the datacenter,” reads the patent application, according to MS Power User.

So to thwart any trained otters from prying their way into these undersea data centers and pilfering your most sensitive data, Microsoft has a plan: Disguise the data centers as coral reefs. Well, there are other techniques outlined in the patent application, like intrusion detection which would scuttle the data in the event of any serious hostile intrusion.

But to protect the data centers from being targeted in the first place, Microsoft’s patent application suggests the company might clad the data centers in coral in hopes that it would not only remain hidden but also offer a refuge to adorable sea life like endangered corals.

“A data center configured for operation while submerged in water is designed to incorporate structural components and other features that actively promote marine life and attract growth of reef inhabitants,” the application reads. “Because the artificial reef data center emits little to no heat differential in the surrounding environment, natural growth of diverse reef life is provided. Further, diverse and rapid growth of reef inhabitants is actively promoted due to the structural stability and environmental conditions provided by the data center.”

Sharp’s latest bezel-less smartphone is the Aquos S2, and it’s coming this month

Why it matters to you

Sharp’s previous full-screen phones have paved the way for future smartphone design, and we are expecting the Aquos S2 to do the same.

Sharp may be a company best known for its televisions but over the years, it made some pretty significant contributions to smartphone design as well. There was 2014’s innovative Sharp Aquos Crystal, which you could say popularized the trend toward bezel-less handsets we see today. The company recently announced it will reveal the latest product in its full-screen line, the Aquos S2, at an event in Beijing on Tuesday.

Not much is officially known about the Aquos S2, though Sharp says the phone utilizes free-form display technology to curve the screen around the speaker and front-facing camera. The Essential PH-1 was designed in a similar way and the latest iPhone 8 images indicate Apple also carved a small space out of the top of the screen to house those components.

Sharp describes the Aquos S2 as having “slim bezels on three sides,” with a screen-to-body ratio of nearly 85 percent. A leaked render below shows the potential fit and finish of the final product. Xiaomi’s Mi Mix, a popular full-screen smartphone at the time of its launch last year, managed a ratio of around 84 percent — though its successor is rumored to improve the display’s footprint significantly.

Possible render of Sharp Aquos S2 105 Limited Edition with bezelless 4K display, under-display fingerprint sensor goes live. ???? (weibo/神侃数码) pic.twitter.com/5zadEofxy1

— krispitech (@krispitech) July 25, 2017

Over the years, Sharp says it has been able to further its full-screen designs with emerging technologies, like bone conduction audio that works in place of a dedicated earpiece and “waterfall” glass that seamlessly blends the edges of the display with the sides of the device. For the Aquos S2, it is expected to add another advancement — a fingerprint sensor built into the screen. This has also been considered one of the iPhone 8’s defining features throughout the rumor cycle and was publicly demoed for the first time by Vivo in June.

All that said, we still do not know most of the details surrounding the Aquos S2. Historically speaking, Sharp has not demonstrated a willingness to adopt Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line processors. The Aquos Crystal offset its premium design with mid-range specs, and the same could be true this time around. It has been rumored that the Aquos S2 will debut alongside another lower-end device known as the S1, though Sharp’s teaser mentions only the former.

Unfortunately, like most of Sharp’s full-screen phones, there is no indication we will see the device make it to western markets. The company says it will launch just a week after the reveal on August 15 in China. Still, the Aquos S2 will likely pave the way for future smartphone design, so we will update this story with more information following the announcement.

A frowning pile of poo is among the potential emojis for Unicode 11.0

Why it matters to you

If the new emojis coming out this year aren’t enough for your library, there are 67 more potential options headed your way in 2018.

Emojis have become an essential part to crafting the perfect text, so it is no surprise that the library only keeps growing. During the quarterly Unicode Technical Committee meeting, new emojis were unveiled for potential inclusion in Unicode 11.0.

Even though Unicode 10 has not launched yet, Mark Davis — Unicode’s president and co-founder — posted a tweet announcing 67 new emojis have advanced to Draft Candidate status for June 2018. The latest list of candidates are not final and could change by the time the new set is available — but the choices are abundant.

The list includes a range of popular additions appearing for the first time like a cupcake, sliced bagel, kangaroo, and broom. Under smileys, there is one with a party hat surrounding by confetti and one blushing with three hearts. There is also a cold face with icicles attached and a grinning face with OK replaced for the eyes.

One familiar emoji may also be coming back a bit tweaked — the beloved smiling poop emoji could be available in a frowning variation instead. While the “Pile of Poo” looks different depending on the operating systems, the ones available are always grinning. The new addition gives users another emotion to express without having to rule out a classic.

Other fresh emojis in the running include a salt shaker, mango, and softball. There are also previously accepted candidates like the fire extinguisher, test tube, and mooncake, among others, that remain on the list. Another recommendation under the smiley category are cape-wearing heroes, — one of which is smiling and another with a serious face and eye mask.

As Unicode releases more emojis throughout the years, the options are becoming more inclusive — offering men and women in a variety of occupations and physical traits. Unicode 11.0 has a person with red hair, white hair, and curly hair listed as possible choices in terms of people emojis but they will not be determined until a later date since new code points are not required.

While we still have a while to go until October when this batch is officially approved, Unicode 10.0 should hold you over until then. The 56 new emojis have already been released and will be included in major updates for Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, and Google devices.

Algorithms guide robot design toward telescope-like structures

Why it matters to you

Telescoping robots could someday make better search-and-rescue robots.

We love robots but do we appreciate how much work goes into creating them? We may admire their shell and internal wiring, but we tend to forget that each robot has to be meticulously designed — often from the ground up — to suit a specific purpose. That’s no easy feat.

But researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) have developed a system that may make robot design a lot simpler. The robot design algorithms take suggested shapes and convert them into complex, telescoping structures that can twist, turn, extend, and restrict. The system could help design shape-shifting robots of the future.

“Our core method takes a curve in 3D space, and produces a telescope whose shape follows that curve as closely as possible,” Chris Yu, a CMU PhD student who co-led the project, told Digital Trends.

Yu, Crane & Coros

To design a structure, users simply draw lines to represent their desired shape. The algorithms then optimize the lines into a network of curves, which they then convert into functional telescoping shapes that can pack into themselves like turtles in shells. Using this system, the researchers have created complex structures like dinosaurs and trees.

Telescoping robots have a number of advantages. For one, they’re easier to transport and store, since the robots can retract and take up less space when not in use.

“This would be useful around the house, since it wouldn’t be getting in your way,” Yu said. “It would also make transporting robots much easier, since you could pack it into a small box or something similar. And you would get all of this without trading away functionality, since the robot could expand itself to its normal size when needed.”

And telescoping enables a robot to change its shape on the spot to suit various scenarios. If a search-and-rescue robot were designed to telescope, it could adapt to different situations, retracting to squeeze through a tight spot and extending to reach over an obstacle.

“So, for instance, you could imagine that there’s a pile of fallen rocks in front of you, and a person trapped behind the rocks,” Yu explained. “It’s too difficult to climb over the rocks, and you can’t just reach straight through them. But if your robot could reshape its straight arm into a circular one, it could reach over the top and save the person.” See the video above for a visual example of this shape-shifting in action.

The researchers presented their findings this week at SIGGRAPH Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques.

Skin grafts could replace the need for insulin injections in diabetics

Why it matters to you

CRISPR gene-editing skin grafts could help fight Type-2 diabetes, obesity, and potentially other diseases.

CRISPR gene-editing therapy — administered through skin grafts — could help treat Type-2 diabetes and obesity, according to cutting-edge work carried out by researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Genetically modifying glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1), a hormone which stimulates the pancreas to secrete insulin, the researchers found that they were able to both decrease appetite and regulate blood sugar levels in mice. The work suggests that treatments such as insulin shots for diabetics could one day be replaced by simple skin grafts. This would be a significant advance since the procedure is safe, minimally invasive, inexpensive, and easy to monitor — as well as not requiring patients to administer their own ongoing treatment.

“Skin transplant is easy to make with cultured skin stem cells, and has been used clinically for treatment of burn wound for decades,” Xiaoyang Wu, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago, told Digital Trends. “In this study, we took advantage of this well-established platform and showed that skin transplant with engineered skin stem cells can be used to deliver therapeutic proteins for treatment of obesity and diabetes. In animal models, we [have shown] this technology can reduce body weight gain and inhibit Type-2 diabetes development.”

In the study, two groups of mice — one with the skin grafts and another without — were fed a high-fat diet. Those which had undergone the gene therapy gained only half the weight of those which had not, and developed less resistance to insulin. (Resistance to insulin can be a symptom that commonly precedes Type-2 diabetes.)

“Our proof-of-concept work demonstrated the possibility for using engineered skin graft for treatment of many non-skin diseases,” Wu said. “Clinical translation of our findings will be relatively easy as skin transplantation in human patients have been well established and clinically used for many years. It is also a very versatile platform. The engineered skin grafts can be used to release many different therapeutic molecules, and the technique can be used for treatment of many other diseases, such as genetic disorders, including urea cycle disorders and hemophilia.”

A paper describing the work was recently published in the journal Cell Stem Cell. Between this and some of the other innovative diabetes-related projects, hopefully we are not too far from finding a more permanent way to improve life for the more than the 30.3 million U.S. adults who suffer from diabetes.