A Smartphone Enabled Hamster Wheel For Measuring Your Pet’s Exercise

Posted on 07/01/2021 by hite

Pets: just like humans, they need exercise. Granted I don’t do any, but I do understand its importance. Isn’t that half the battle? Oh, G.I. Joe is shaking his head no. Enter the Marathon Pets Smart Wheel, a hamster/small rodent wheel that is supposed to connect humans with their pets via their running activity.

Currently seeking funding on Kickstarter ($49 – $55 for an 8-inch wheel, $68 – $85 for a 12-inch wheel), the device can measure a pet’s current speed, max speed, average speed, distance, revolutions, number of running sessions, and time run, and relay all that information to your smartphone, tablet or PC for analysis. Granted I’m not sure what you’re supposed to do with all that information, but you could certainly make some cool charts and graphs in Microsoft Excel.

So, let’s say the wheel indicates your small pet isn’t getting as much exercise as it should, what do you do? Simple – hire me as its personal trainer. For only $20/session, I’ll Skype your hamster and provide them with all the motivation they need to get fit. Or just talk to them in a baby voice for five minutes before hanging up to make myself a sandwich. It’s really a win-win situation provided if you don’t think about it too hard, or at all really.

[via GeekyGadgets]

Scientists Develop Butt Scanner Because Fingerprints Aren’t Enough

Posted on 28/12/2020 by hite

Our butts: just like our fingerprints, they’re all unique. And now scientists at Stanford University have developed a prototype ‘smart toilet’ (links to their scientific paper) that can identify an individual based on their unique, um, analprint. That’s cool, that’s cool, we’re all mature adults here.

Using both a traditional fingerprint scanner and an image recognition algorithm to identify a user’s unique anoderm (the exterior part of the anus), the system then uses its under-the-seat mounted camera and sensor array to analyze a person’s urine and excrement for health evaluation and discerning potential concerns. You’d think a fingerprint scanner and maybe a voice recognition program or something would have been sufficient to identify a toilet user, but I suppose why not scan the ol’ anoderm for good measure?

The system was developed specifically for being able to identify the different members of a household for separate waste analysis and not as a stand-alone biometric identification system, which is probably for the best since the use of analprint scanners would make identifying yourself for access to an office building significantly more awkward.

[via Vice]

Dress Your Wounds with Pepperoni Pizza

Posted on 14/08/2020 by Paul Strauss

Did you get a boo-boo on your finger? Don’t be normal and wrap it in an ordinary Band-Aid. Instead, be a surrealist and protect your cuts and scrapes with a slice of pizza. No silly, not actual searing hot pizza. That would just burn your fingers. I’m talking about these bandages that look like pizza.

GamaGo’s whimsical Pizza Bandages look like tiny slices of pepperoni pizza, each with just the perfect amount of meat and cheese to dress your wounds. They’re actually made from a latex-free, sterile material with a small gauze pad inside, so they work just like regular bandages – only they’re triangular. I suppose if you’ve got a really weird grouping of cuts, you could arrange multiple slices to form a complete pizza pie.

You can order up a hot and fresh box of Pizza Bandages over at Entertainment Earth for just $5.

Are You Ready for a Robot Massage Therapist?

Posted on 24/07/2020 by Paul Strauss

Back before COVID-19, I used to love going to the massage therapist to have the knots and kinks worked out of my perpetually stiff back. Now, the idea of being locked in a room with a virtual stranger putting their hands all over me is kind of worrisome. Sure, there are mask and disinfection protocols, but a massage is about as up close and personal as you can get with someone that you aren’t dating – and social distancing isn’t possible.

While there are options like massage chairs and personal massagers, nothing really gets into sore muscles like a human hand or elbow. With that in mind, engineers have been working on a robotic massage system that could emulate that sort of touch without the worry of human-to-human contact in a closed space.

French company Capsix Robotics and researchers at the University of Plymouth in the UK are simultaneously working on their own massage robots, each of which takes a similar approach. The Capsix robot uses a robotic arm along with sensors and a camera that guide it along the curves of a patient’s body. As it applies pressure, it follows guidelines that were provided by professional physiotherapists to ensure proper massage techniques are used.

The UK-developed system works with a KUKA LBR iiwa collaborative robot, which is a bit more compact and offers the ability to be programmed to carry out the exact movements you train it to perform. This approach might be more personalized but definitely doesn’t seem as clinically sound.

The Capsix system is clearly more ready for prime time than the university’s version, so I’m more likely to let the Capsix give me a deep tissue massage than the other robot. What do you think? Would you let a robot give you a massage if it meant you didn’t have to be exposed to another human in close quarters?

[via NewScientist]

Would You Trust This Robot to Stick a COVID-19 Test Swab Up Your Nose?

Posted on 06/07/2020 by Paul Strauss

I’ve been fortunate enough not to have needed a COVID-19 test yet, but my friends who have had one have described the part where they stick that swab up your nose as incredibly uncomfortable – as if the thing could touch their brains. Given the fact that you’re almost surely going to sneeze when that thing goes into your nostril, healthcare workers are exposed to significant risks every time the administer a test. While self-testing kits are helping somewhat, engineers in Korea are working on something more impressive – a special nose-swabbing robot.

Image: Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (KIMM)

A team from the Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (KIMM), led by Dr. Joonho Seo have designed a robot that can stick the swab right up in there, move it around, and grab a sample of all of the germs without exposing any other human to potential pathogens. Similar to that thing you stick your head in at the eye doctor for the puff of air test, patients place their head against a stabilizing brace, and then a healthcare worker can guide the swab in remotely using a joystick and a special controller that guides in the swab. A monitor provides live video of the procedure, along with a graph of the force being applied.

The idea of a robot jamming a long swab into my nose and up towards my sinuses does give me some pause, though it makes me feel a little better knowing there’s a human on the other end of the line. The robot could also be used to administer other sorts of swab tests, like the ones done when you suspect strep or other illnesses, and definitely has the potential to decrease risks for frontline workers.

Image: Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (KIMM)

[via Slashgear]

Star Wars Beauty Face Masks: Use the Moisturizer, Luke!

Posted on 30/04/2020 by Paul Strauss

If you’ve spent any time over in Japan, you know that those stick-on beauty masks are everywhere. They come in all kinds of designs, from panda bears to Hello Kitty. Now, Star Wars fans can get in on the moisturizing goodness too!

Beauty product maker Isshin Do is making face masks that make you look like some of your favorite Star Wars characters.

Yes, now you can walk around the house looking like the Dark Lord of the Sith while at the same time improving your complexion. Each single-use face pack contains a mix of water, glycerin, water-soluble collagen, Vitamin C, and hyaluronic acid, which sounds like a skin-melting chemical developed by the Empire to make Rebel scum talk.

In addition to Darth Vader, the masks come in Chewbacca, Stormtrooper, Darth Maul, and C-3PO designs, so you can stomp around in your slippers and quote the odds that your mask will come off in one piece.

If you live in Japan, you should be able to find them at a variety of retailers for about ¥438 each (~$4 USD). Overseas, you can order them from the Japan Trend Shop, where they’re going for $31 for a 3-pack.

Japan Has a Coronavirus Quarantine Mascot, and He’s as Adorable as You’d Think

Posted on 20/03/2020 by Paul Strauss

Despite some early worries, Japan has so far managed to keep the COVID-19 outbreak relatively well contained in their country. It certainly could spike, but I’m hopeful that their efforts to reduce social interaction, and to quarantine people with the virus have paid off. To help reinforce their message, the country now has a quarantine mascot, and his name is Quaran.

FORTH, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare created the mascot to help remind people that they need to follow quarantine rules, and to promote awareness of their Quarantine Information Office. The adorable yellow egg with wings and a cat tail wears protective goggles and carries a triangular shield as symbols of his protective work. Naturally, he wears a “Q” on his head as a reminder of his name.

Quaran, a winged fairy with goggles and a Q on its head, is the quarantine mascot for airports in Japan. pic.twitter.com/vjhcBwBXTQ

— Mondo Mascots (@mondomascots) January 3, 2020

The mascot was actually created before the novel coronavirus outbreak took the world by storm, but now Quaran is working overtime to get the message out to people as a reminder to avoid crowds and practice social distancing whenever possible.

[via TimeOut Tokyo] (Thanks Francesco!)

This Robotic Thread Can Carefully Weave Itself Through Veins

Posted on 04/09/2019 by Paul Strauss

While most robots use legs or wheels to move around, more and more robotic systems are adopting other kinds of locomotion. Some even wriggle around like snakes or worms. This worm-like robot is designed to maneuver through veins – which sounds scary, but could actually save lives.

Developed by a group of engineers at MIT, this extremely thin robot can make its way through twisty, turny, and narrow paths like the veins in your brain. The magnetic hyrdogel-coated robotic thread is actively-steered to its destination using a magnet to change its direction.

In theory, the tech could be used to build medical devices which smoothly wind their way through veins to perform procedures like clearing blood clots, and do it in a more controllable way than today’s techniques, which often use passive guidewires that work like a plumber’s snake, and can cause injury to delicate vessels and veins should they rub against their walls or catch a corner badly.

GIZMODO.cz

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