I guess the word Japanese in the title is redundant. You can’t expect any of these contraptions to come from anybody else.
(Somebody please translate the sign)
It is obvious that its owner, a resident of Kuwait, simply went to the car supermarket, randomly recruited various accessories and parts. Here is a list of its shopping: the front part of the BMW 7-Series, the bumper of the BMW M3, the front door, a pair of scissors from Lamborghini, hood, which consists of two parts, rear doors in the style gull wing and the rear wing of Toyota Supra.
A car which rotates 360 degrees and a driveable armchair are among the cars of the future now on display in London.
'The Car That Makes Parking Easy' The Nissan PIVO 2 can pivot on its wheels, meaning drivers never need reverse park again.
You simply drive into the space, turn the car around and drive straight out again.
Its designers have also added a built in pop-up robot to the dashboard which reads the facial expressions of the driver.
If the driver appears stressed or confused the robot will talk to them and offer advice.
And while this car is still only an idea, the team behind it believe it could provide a real insight into the future of road transport.
But if a rotating car still sounds like too much work, the Toyota i-REAL could be the answer.
Its manufacturers describe it as a new step in personal mobility - although to the untrained eye it's a motorised armchair.
Complete with a fingertip control panel, the i-REAL is designed to travel on roads and pavements. It also interacts with other i-REALS nearby.
Both vehicles are part of a new display of Japanese cars at the Science Museum in London.
The exhibition's curator, Kenya Hara, said: "Japan's cars have their own unique characteristics and individuality."
Other more practical designs include an electric car which can be charged overnight using a domestic plug.
After seven hours of charging the car can then be driven for about 100 miles.
Shigeru Ban, a Japanese architect and designer, said: "Cars are not the only industry that represents Japan, but the one which best reflects Japanese society.
"Today Japanese car design also deeply relates to global environmental issues."
Optimus Maximus keyboard
The Optimus Maximus keyboard, previously just "Optimus keyboard", is a keyboard developed by the Art. Lebedev Studio, a Russian design studio headed by Artemy Lebedev. Each of its keys is a display which can dynamically change to adapt to the keyboard layout in use or to show the function of the key. Pre-orders began on 20 May 2007 for a limited production run from December 2007 to January 2008, with a second batch expected to arrive in February 2008. It first started shipping the week of February 21, 2008.
The design featured on the studio's website received attention on the web when it was featured on Slashdot on 14 July 2005, and afterwards for a few weeks on other technology websites. The original release date was "end of 2006", however production issues caused the Optimus mini three to be developed first, with the full keyboard delayed until the end of 2007. The keyboard was number 10 in the Wired Magazine 2006 Vaporware Awards[1] and number 4 on the list in 2007 due to its numerous delays and feature reductions.
The Optimus allows for greater user interaction, by dynamically displaying the current function of the keys. For example, when the user presses the shift key, the pictures would change to upper-case versions. It would also make switching between different keyboard layouts (such as English and Cyrillic) rapid, and could make the switch to alternative layouts such as Dvorak easier for people who only have a QWERTY keyboard with no possibility of rearranging the keys. To demonstrate this concept, there are computer renderings showing example layouts for Quake III Arena and Adobe Photoshop.
A newly-revealed (as of January 3, 2008) patent application filed on March 13, 2007 suggests that Apple Inc. may be working on a similar dynamically changeable OLED keyboard.
Optimus Maximus keyboard Author- Antonio Andjuar
Optimus Maximus keyboard Author-Nicolas Macuser
Apple Wireless Keyboard
The Apple Wireless Keyboard is a wireless keyboard built for Macintosh computers. It interacts over Bluetooth wireless technology and unlike its wired version, it has no USB connectors or ports. Both generations have low-power features when not in use.
On September 16, 2003, the first Apple Wireless Keyboard was introduced at the Apple Expo. The device required four AA batteries, and had an On/Off switch on the bottom. It lacked wires and USB ports, but otherwise was cosmetically the same as the wired version.
On August 7, 2007 Apple released a completely redesigned model of the Apple Wireless Keyboard. Like the wired Apple Keyboard, the new model is thinner than its predecessors and has an aluminum enclosure. Another addition is the new functions added to the function keys, such as media controls and Dashboard control. Unlike the previous version, the Wireless Keyboard now has a layout similar to the MacBook. The power button has been relocated to the right side of the keyboard, and the key layout does not include a numerical typepad.
The caps lock key now includes (undocumented) accidental press prevention; the key must be held down for a moment for Caps Lock to engage. This behavior is not configurable, and has frustrated users who remap Caps Lock to a different modifier, such as Control.The new keyboard also requires only three AA batteries, one fewer than its predecessor.
Although Apple includes support solely for Macintosh computers, it can also be used on a Windows PC providing that a Bluetooth receiver and appropriate Bluetooth stack is installed and properly configured. Enabling use of the 'Fn' and 'Eject' keys will require customization using a generic HID driver.Enabling the multimedia keys and remapping keys, such as assigning 'Del' to the 'Eject' key is also possible.
Apple Wireless Keyboard, Old and New Author - josh bancroft
Logitech DiNovo Edge
Logitech's diNovo Edge keyboard certainly looks like the best keyboard around. Taking the clean-lined design cues of its previous diNovo boards, Logitech's latest high-end keyboard is a remarkably attractive piece of hardware. It's a pleasure to type on, with a sturdiness that belies its thin profile. Logitech also added some innovation, making this the first wireless keyboard that's also rechargeable
Logitech DiNovo Edge Author - Antonio Andjuar
Bluetooth Laser Virtual Keyboard
The keyboard itself is pretty reliable as long as you keep it clean. It can become a pain if you are used to the press of the keys or need the feel of the keyboad to guide you, If the keyboard is your second home and you dont have to look the recent version of this keyboard is great for those who need a keyboard on the run, for their pda, or if you just need space
Bluetooth Laser Virtual Keyboard Author Creart DC
Surta 7 industrial stainless steel keyboard
Stainless steel built-in keyboard with trackball is designed for representative input stations in places where there is a high risk of vandalism or where they are subjected to high strains (e.g. information desks, bank applications, point of sales-applications, industrial applications), and where information is entered by constantly changing users.
The keys of this keyboard are on one level with the surface, with small gaps; the operating forces are buffered by a baffle plate. The plate is waterproof and corresponds to the degree of protection IP54 (built-in version only front). Sealing is ensured by a silicon foil located underneath the key caps.
Surta 7 industrial stainless steel keyboards
Ceratech Zboard
The Zboar is the only keyboard that gives you ‘hot swappable’ key sets. One minute you have a professional Multimedia office keyboard, the next, an unbeatable gaming platform to make sense of all that power.
Each key set can be changed in less than 10 seconds without the need to turn off or re-boot the computer. Simply unclip one end, lift out and replace with the other key set – it’s that easy.
Ceratech Zboard
Senseboard Virtual Keyboard
The Senseboard Virtual Keyboard is the full-sized “virtual” keyboard and mouse in the world. Its unique design allows for standard text input in practically any environment. The Virtual Keyboard consists of two hand-worn components, which use Bluetooth technology to connect with the designated computing device. Senseboard utilizes sensor technology to recognize the characters a user is typing. Text input is based on movement of the users hands and fingers.
The virtual Keyboard has a maximum height of 53 mm, length of 95 mm, width of 32 mm and a maximum weight of 45 grams per unit.
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Eleksen fabric keyboard
Eleksen fabric keyboard is built into a pouch that protects your UMPC during transit. The keyboard connects to the PC via USB. Looking at the keyboard and other fabric Eleksen products I always have the same thoughts.
First, how long with the letters on the keys last, they look to be screen printed. Second what sort of typing feel do you get from the keys? You might assume the keys would feel spongy considering that they are made from fabric, but I could be wrong. At any rate, this looks like a useful and very portable keyboard for UMPC users.
Eleksen fabric keyboard
Combimouse
Intensive mouse and keyboarding use has been associated with increased risk of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders . As a result, input devices (e.g. ergonomic keyboards, trackball or joystick) are often recommended as a therapeutic intervention. However, use of these alternative devices may result in a trade-off between comfort and performance.
The CombiMouse is an alternative input device1 that combines the functionality of a keyboard and a mouse into one device. The CombiMouse consists of two units, much like a split-keyboard, in which the left hand unit (LHU) is a stationary device with keys that are typically used by the left hand, while the right hand unit (RHU) contains keys typically used by the right hand but also is mobile and serves as a mouse. To change the RHU to mouse mode, the user grips the RHU touching a proximity circuit that detects finger contact. This cancels out the keyboard functions and allows it to act as a mouse
Those cars are defined as concepts and prototypes in the past. Some of them really have futuristic design and looks very strange. Those ideas from the past really looks interesting and maybe those ideas which cars manufactures have in 21st sanctuary will look strange and unusual in a future.
December will bring us the first in a set of four asteroid-tracking telescopes. With the help of the world’s largest digital camera this piece of modern technology will scan large portions of the sky in search of asteroids and other near-Earth objects.Each telescope is equipped with a 1.4 billion pixel digital camera capable of taking highly detailed photos of the night sky. The Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System or Pan-STARRS project aims to scan the sky from high on top of Mount Haleakala in Maui Island, Hawaii. Three times a month they will be searching for asteroids and other NEOs ( near-Earth objects ) starting from sizes as small as 300 meters in diameter. Pan-STARRS is going to have at a minimum three times the collecting power of today’s NEO telescopes.
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Each of the cameras in the project consists of charge-coupled devices or CCDs arranged in a 40 centimeter square array.
The maker of the cameras, Barry Burke, who is also a senior staff member at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory said that the most innovative aspect of the CCD is it’s ability to electronically shift an image to counteract atmospheric blur and deliver clearer astrophotography.
“The atmosphere is the limit to the quality of the image, but there is a special feature of these chips that allows them to remove some of the blur due to atmospheric effects, it allows the image to be shifted in any direction in the chip in a way that matches the motion of the stars and that takes out a significant part of the blur.” he said.
The orthogonal transfer CCD or OTCCD is a technology that electronically adjusts an image instead of doing it mechanically by tilting a camera’s lens or mirror. The same technique is used in consumer cameras with image stabilization. Distributing the technology to each cell of the CCD array allows for a more granular adjustment to localized atmospheric turbulence, resulting in a sharper image.
The CCD array structure leads to a more reliable and cheaper system. Burke says “The chip could not possibly be made to that size, so we are forced to break the camera down into tiles,”. A camera is made of an eight by eight array of devices, each containing an eight by eight array of CCD cells. Every cell is about six millimeters on a side, a carefully determined size. If the chips were much larger the cost of making them would be too great because the number of defects on them would rise, and if they were much smaller it would be harder to organize them into the camera’s focal plane.
This kind of design that results in tiling the camera’s focal plane into many OTCCD cells will likely be the way of the future. Blooming is a problem that often affects CCD chips that can easily be avoided by using this kind of technology. Blooming occurs when the light from a very bright star creates a large electrical charge in a particular row and column of a CCD chip, overwhelming other pixels in the same row and column because of the data transmission occurring between the chips along the rows and columns of the device. By using a lot of chips the effect of the very bright light can be localized and by using orthogonal transfer technology the peak intensity can be corrected.
Classical large telescopes usually use adaptive optics to correct for atmospheric turbulence. Adaptive optics takes advantage of the presence of a bright object called a natural guide star near the telescopes target. Focusing on the guide star, the telescopes image is adjusted to compensate for aberrations detected while observing it, resulting in a much clearer picture corrected for atmospheric turbulences. However, in almost all of the viewing cases a natural guide star is not available, so telescopes such as Keck 1 and Keck 2 at the Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, use a laser guide star. A laser guide star consists of a sodium-wavelength laser beam sent into the upper atmosphere to excite a thin layer of sodium atoms there, creating a reference point near the target of observation.
Even though adaptive optics can produce images similar to that of the Hubble telescope when quality is concerned, the approach is too expensive for smaller telescopes. The OTCDD technology results in a lower cost and a comparable or even quite as good image quality when it comes to the 1.8 meter Pan-STARRS scopes.
