Pylon Sounds

DOM(E) by NRJA is designed as an all-season home - perfect for those who value unconventional space, easily foldable, durable environmentally friendly use of materials, construction and rational use of natural energy supply.

If you have secretly been pining for a Segway but can’t afford to buy one then it might be worth taking a look at the Electric Unicycle.

I know, I know, there are a lot of Segway haters out there – but part of me suspects that the hate arises from the same places that it always does… jealousy. Segways are not cheap, and the vast majority of people who would like one can’t afford to buy one – hence the hate.

For this reason, the Electric Unicycle might prove to be a winner. The tiny one-wheeled vehicle is capable, by way of its 500W electric motor, of pushing a 160-lb man at a speed of 13 mph for up to two hours on a three hour charge. That range and charge time would put a lot of people within commuting range.

Much like the Segway, the Electric Unicycle is balanced by a gyroscope. Forward and backward movement, which are used for speeding up and slowing down, are gyro-stabilized – sideways movements are not… so you will need to exercise a bit of caution as you learn to steer. In this regard, the two-wheeled Segway has some significant advantages.

What sets the Electric Unicycle apart is the price. At $2,700, it is not cheap, but it is reasonably affordable and it would make for an interesting ride to work if it is able to handle the odd patch of uneven terrain.

From Hammacher Schlemmer:

This is the briefcase-sized electric unicycle that keeps a rider perfectly balanced at all times with gyroscopic sensors. Equally suited for urban commuting and suburban recreation, the unicycle requires a rider to merely stand on its two folding feet pads; gyroscopic sensors detect a rider’s subtle feet movements while accounting for a shoulder-slung backpack or bag for its center-of-mass calculations. Gripping the handlebar and leaning forward results in steady acceleration without jolting, while leaning backward brings the unicycle to a slow, steady stop. A rider controls side-to-side balance and turning with subtle leaning. The unicycle’s 500-watt electric motor propels a 160-lb. rider up to two hours at 13 mph with a three-hour charge of its built-in lithium-ion rechargeable battery. Housed within a sturdy ABS case, the motor spins the cycle’s single 16″ diameter wheel that extends only 4″ from the case, so pant legs won’t snag. Its knobby tire grips surfaces while providing minimal rolling resistance for smooth rides. Includes AC adapter. Supports up to 250 lbs. 25″ L x 12″ W x 23″ H. (57 lbs.)

Price: $2,700 [Source]

This week’s roundup from NOTCOT.org includes a french press for your mason jar, a 3D printer that can print onto any surface, laser tracking bubbles and more.

Sure, I’m at the age where I need to take a pill or two, and I hate it. I’m also not that great at remembering, luckily missing a dose here and there probably wont kill me, but my dad takes some meds that he simply cant miss. I worry, because he forgets too… and even if I could remember everything for him, I don’t have time to be pestering him everyday. How can we all remember to take our medications on time?

Check out a new wireless pill bottle by Adhere Tech, designed specifically to help improve your medication adherence. This cool container can actually measure the exact number of pills in the bottle, and then, via cellular radio technology, send that info to the cloud. Imagine it… no more “did I take my pill today?” you’ll know for sure. The Wireless Pill Bottle will also call you, or send a text reminding you to take your medication.

Working with both pills and liquids, these new devices can also send adherence data, so there will be no question in your doctors mind as to whether or not you are complying with his wishes. This increased adherence could lead to reductions in extra procedures and treatments as well as hospital re-admissions.

In the next few months, AdhereTech will be beginning a trial with The Walter Reed Army Medical Center to test out these new wireless bottles in type 2 diabetes patients.  Other than the folks in the trial, we can’t have the bottles yet, but the company has secured funding, and is actively seeking additional investors. If you had a chance to use a wireless pill bottle, would you? To find out more, or to watch for availability, please visit adheretech.com

 
[ Adhere Tech – Message in a Pill Bottle! copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Have 60 seconds? Excellent, you can watch a super fast version of Aliens. This is from the same group – 1A4STUDIO – who brought you the minute long animated version of Star Wars. I prefer watching Aliens in this sketchy style because it’s not as scary.

Check out the video after the break.

(MetaFilter via io9)

    

Beautiful and mesmerizing subdivision organisms and mutation topologies by Raven Kwok.

(Reddit via Cheezburger)

    

FLUIDA is a flexible led lamp to adapt to different uses of desk.

Coming soon to the Nerd Approved Shop is this life-size Assassin’s Creed Connor Kenway statue!

Now you can have a full-size version of Connor to put in the corner of your living room. Or maybe by your front door to scare away unwelcome visitors? This incredible resin statue is 6 3/4′ tall and 4 1/4′ wide. He comes on a themed based and weighs 193.6 pounds. Preorder now for delivery in July.

Connor Kenway Life-Size Statue ($3,599.99)

    

Ionut Budisteanu of Romania certainly does seem to have a pretty bright future ahead of him, especially after he picked up the top prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, which so happens to be the largest high school science research competition in the world. This would mean that Ionut Budisteanu managed to earn the Gordon E. Moore Award, in addition to a $75,000 prize that was named in honor of the Intel co-founder and fellow scientist. According to the organizers of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, “Their research demonstrates the value of hard work and creative thinking. All the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair finalists here this week show great promise in harnessing the power of science and innovation to solve problems and create opportunity for our global community.” Just what made Ionut’s work so valuable? Well, he manages to address a major global issue by potentially reducing the cost of a self-driving car dramatically, so much so that it could make such technology affordable to the mainstream folks.

Thanks to an array of 3-D radar and mounted cameras, Ionut has successfully created a feasible design for an autonomously controlled car which is smart enough to detect traffic lanes and curbs, in addition to keeping track of the real-time position of the car. The best part of the news is? The entire shebang would cost a mere $4,000, which is a whole lot more affordable that what Google is currently using in their self driving car project.

Ionut decided that processing webcam imagery using artificial intelligence technology to check out items like curbs, lane markers, and who knows, soccer balls which so happen to go out of the field of play and roll onto the road, would be able to eliminate the need for a high end 3D radar, resulting in the use of a low-resolution 3-D radar to get the job done when it comes to recognizing large objects such as other vehicles, houses, and obstacles like trees. Ionut ran 50 simulations with his system, where in 47 of them, no accidents were recorded. Three of the simulations that failed involved the non-recognition of people who were 65 to 100 feet (20 to 30 meters) away, and a slightly higher-resolution 3-D radar should get the job done down the road.

Press Release
[ Romanian teenager advances self-driving car idea copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Haus am Moor in Krumbach, Austria by Bernardo Bader.

If you’ve ever wanted to pretend that your car is a TIE Fighter, then here’s your chance. These floor mats feature an image of Darth Vader along with the Death Star. They’ll fit most cars and trucks and are available for the front and rear footwells. You can even get a matching steering wheel for practicing your Force Choke.

See the floor mats after the break…

Product Page Rear Mats/Front Mats/Steering Wheel ($17.99/$53.99/$19.99)

    

When it comes to mobile operating systems, this particular market is starting to get a little bit more crowded than usual. First of all, let us list down the two major players where smartphones are concerned, and obviously iOS as well as Google’s Android would pop into your mind, and after that we have Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform that is closely followed by BlackBerrry 10 OS, and the featurephone market will see Symbian taking the chunk of the market share. Does this mean that there is no longer any more room for innovation for the more ambitious around? The correct answer would be a resounding, “No!”, as Jolla from Finland recently announced their maiden attempt at a smartphone which is powered by their very own Sailfish mobile operating system.

Some folks might have thought that the device was named “The Movement” as though it were to be a representation of a rapper or a wrestler, but that is besides the point. As with any new hardware release or announcement, you can be sure that ordinary folks would flock to word of it, hoping to get more information on the important details such as the hardware located underneath the hood. We do know that the Jolla smartphone will come with a 4.5” display, powered by a dual-core processor, carries 16GB of internal memory, has 4G LTE connectivity for you to enjoy a blazing fast Internet connection no matter where you are (subject to signal availability, of course), and an 8-megapixel shooter for posterity.

Not only that, there is another feature known as the “Other Half”, where users are able to switch out the handset’s backplate. Jolla explained it this way, “Attach the Other Half and your Jolla becomes alive and unique. Magically, the software changes to match your selected colour and design. Your Ambience. Your Jolla.” Basically, Jolla’s Salifish operating system is actually a reworked version of Nokia’s now defunct Meego OS, and Salifish OS will play nice with Android apps, now how about that? We should be able to see the Jolla handset hit Europe by the end of 2013, where it will carry a €399 price tag – so you might as well place your pre-order at the moment if you are interested.

Source
[ Jolla introduces first Sailfish OS smartphone copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Outside-In Garden by Meir Lobaton Corona + Ulli Heckmann

This realistic version of Jake is going to stick with me for too long. Artist Tom Lishman built this rendering in ZBrush and Photoshop, and he also gives this treatment to the Ice King and Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time as well as other video game characters. It’s fun – if a bit intense – to see these versions.

Check out a few more examples after the break.

(Tom Lishman via Kotaku)

    

Are all vacuum cleaners created equal? Apparently not, as you can tell by the $349.95 Gtech AirRam High-power Cordless Vacuum Cleaner. Sure, you might prefer to settle for a more expensive Dyson vacuum cleaner, but not everyone is raking it in, you know? Times are still hard for many, and we all try to manage according to the best of our ability at any given moment. Well, the Gtech AirRam High-power Cordless Vacuum Cleaner works as its name implies, delivering all the suction power required sans the pesky cord.

Each full charge is said to allow the Gtech AirRam High-power Cordless Vacuum Cleaner to run for up to an hour before it finally runs out of juice, and considering its slim 3” profile, it is a snap to tote around, not to mention stash away once you are done with the day’s chores, in addition to making it easier to maneuver around and under furniture since there are no bags or clunky canisters for you to worry about. Your back will thank you too, since it tips the scales at a mere 7.7lbs, and crams all dirt into compact “bales” that are a snap to dispose of. A convenient LED power gauge is thrown into the mix so that you know when it is time to juice it up.

[ Gtech AirRam High-power Cordless Vacuum Cleaner copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

So you have got the itch to whack a few balls even while you are fully dressed up to the nines at the office? I guess other avid golfers in your circle of influence feel the same, too. The thing is, since you are not your own boss, it can be rather tricky and challenging to get some time off – anytime you like in order to tee off. Well, since dad has worked so hard all year round to provide for the family, it makes perfect sense to reward him with a gift this coming Father’s Day that will be very different from the usual tie and wallet combo. How about the $59.95 Pro Chip Floating Golf Game?

The Pro Chip Floating Golf Game is extremely lovable, as it literally places the 18th hole right there and then in your pool. All you need to do is inflate the target green, drop it into the pool, and you’re good to go. Place a floating golf ball on the chipping pad that comes with each purchase, and chip away according to the best of your ability. Each Pro Chip Floating Golf Game purchase will include a quartet of color-coded balls, allowing the entire family to join in the fun, and hopefully mum will turn as well so that she no longer needs to be the fabled golf widow for the rest of her life.

[ Pro Chip Floating Golf Game copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

The tilt chair, a flat-folding chair from Folditure.

Even if you kneel at the right time and spell the name of God correctly, you’re never going to get this screen capture right. Illustrator Josh Mecouch of Formal Sweatpants has given poor Indy the toughtest screen capture of them all.

(via Mashable)

    

A wonderful collection of larger than life garden creatures by sculptor David Rogers. NOW through September 8 at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois.