Now, Car Made of Lego Bricks that Runs on Air

An enterprising duo has built a working life-sized car out of Lego bricks that runs on air and can reach speeds up to 30 kilometres per hour.  More than 500,000 Lego pieces were used to develop the car. From engine to seats, the vehicle is made completely from the tiny bricks, with the exception of a few structural parts including wheels, tires and gauges. The car is the brainchild of Melbourne entrepreneur Steve Sammartino and Raul Oaida, a 20-year-old from Romania who Steve met on the internet. 

 

 

Gen-next Video Games to See Through Walls

Imagine playing a video game while moving freely throughout your house! A revolutionary new technology that uses radio signals to track a person through walls and obstructions could change the way video games are played, scientists say. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed the new high-resolution, 3D motion tracking system dubbed “WiTrack,” which can pinpoint a person’s 3-D location to within 10 to 20 centimetres - about the width of an adult hand. Earlier this year, Katabi and her graduate student Fadel Adib unveiled WiVi, a system that detects humans through walls and can track the direction of their movement using WiFi signals. Based on this earlier work, Katabi and Adib developed WiTrack in collaboration with Rob Miller, a professor of computer science and engineering, and graduate student Zach Kabelac. In comparison to WiVi, WiTrack has significantly higher accuracy and can track both two-dimensional and three-dimensional movement using specialised radio waves, as opposed to WiFi signals. 

 

 

Google Glass Eyewear Lets Winking Snap Pictures

Google Glass on Tuesday announced updates to the software in its Internet-linked eyewear to allow users to snap pictures by winking. The new feature, which promises to escalate privacy concerns already being voiced about the high-tech gadget, came as one of an array of improvements. Notions put forth included Glass wearers someday paying for cab rides by winking at meters or buying something in a shop with a blink. Updates included letting owners lock eyewear so it can’t be used unless a person knows the right “handshake” of swipes and taps. The “Glassware” code powering the eyewear was also modified to upload video directly to Google-owned video-sharing venue YouTube. 

 

 

New Apps Predict, Provide Information about What Users Want

New apps that listen to conversations or scan emails and calendars can predict and provide information such as websites, videos and maps to users before they ask for them or realize they want them. MindMeld for the iPad is a voice conferencing assistant that understands conversations, and depending on what people are talking about, will find a map of a city and tourist information if the chat is about a trip, or restaurants if it is about eating out. 

 

 

Facebook Launches Video Ads

Facebook is rolling out a feature Tuesday that will allow advertisers to play videos in users’ news feeds. The feature offers companies a new way to promote movies and products on smartphones and computers, and is being tested with a small group of Facebook users.”Rather than having to click or tap to play, videos will begin to play as they appear onscreen -- without sound,” Facebook said in a statement. When users tap the videos, the sound will turn on and the video will play in full-screen mode.