12mph step-on-and-go unicycle you can take anywhere

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Balancing act: A user test out the Solowheel, which has a top speed of 12mph and can travel for two hours on a single 45-minute charge


A designer has reinvented the wheel - with the world's smallest self-balancing unicycle.

Suitable for the daily commute or for weekend leisure, the one-wheel machine is powered by a 1,000-watt electric motor that generates a top speed of 12mph.

Users place their feet on a foldable platform either side of the wheel and simply lean forward to move, back to stop and left and right to turn.

The further forward you lean, the faster it goes, and a series of gyroscopes inside ensure the wheel remains perfectly balanced.

The Solowheel can travel for two hours on a single 45-minute charge and can climb hills with an incline of up to 15 per cent.

The rechargeable lithium-ion battery even recaptures energy when going downhill or slowing down.


The one-wheel machine will retail at £975


It was designed and created by Shane Chen, 54, who has created over 30 sports-related products for his company, Inventist.

A spokesman for the firm, based in Washington, U.S., said: 'The Solowheel is the smallest, greenest, most convenient people-mover ever invented.

'Our new self-balancing electric unicycle is more compact and fun to ride than any folding electric bike.

'Because of the gyro-sensors and left and right steering capability, you can literally step on and go - it is easy to learn.

'The Solowheel is very portable and weighs only 20lbs. This allows you to carry your wheel with you into a shop or restaurant, on an elevator, into work, to the cinema, onto a bus or train or into your classroom.

'It eliminates chaining your electric bike up to a bike rack along with others where it may get damaged or even stolen.

'Solowheel provides users with an easy, uncomplicated, straightforward ride.'
The unicycle costs £975 and will be available in the UK from next month.





source: dailymail

US Army to build a Cheetah robot that can run faster than humans... let's hope it doesn't get a taste for flesh

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

The Cheetah-bot will be developed by Boston Dynamics and could reach speeds of 70mph. The first prototype is due in 20 months


But despite spending taxpayer millions on the android the Department of Defense officials don't know what they will use it for

A new robot that can outrun the fastest man on Earth and a Terminator-type android that will work alongside troops is being developed for the US Army.

The speedy robot – called, unsurprisingly, the Cheetah – is being developed by Boston Dynamics, which brought to the world the $18million BigDog robot used to help soldiers carry equipment over tough terrain.

But despite the multi-million dollar contracts awarded by the Department of Defense, army officials still don’t know exactly what the robots will be used for, according to the company’s boss.

Marc Raibert, lead investigator on the project and president of Boston Dynamics told the Boston Herald the Department of Defense is ‘not so focused on what the ultimate use will be.’

He added: ‘They’re most focused on developing the technology and seeing what uses they can be applied to.’

The four-legged Cheetah will have a flexible spine and articulated head, and, when built, it will be added to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s impressive robot arsenal.


Boston Dynamics boss, Marc Raibert, who will oversee the multi-million project, said the army doesn't know what purpose the Cheetah will have


It will be able to sprint, take sharp corners, zigzag and be precise enough to stop on a dime.

The costs have not been revealed, but the multi-million dollar contract is expected to take quite a bite out of the department’s $3.2billion annual budget.

Real Cheetahs – the faster animal on land – can reach speeds of up to 70mph, and the company are hopeful their robot will be able to match them pound for metal.

The company hopes to have a prototype built in 20 months which will hit between 20 and 30mph.


Robots in disguise: The BigDog was unveiled in 2008


The Atlas robot, which looks not too dissimilar to the androids in Terminator, will be a force to reckon with, the company hopes.

It has a body, two arms and two legs but no head and will be able to walk over rough terrain, fit through tight gaps and crawl on its hands and knees if needed.

The makers hope it will be a more technologically advanced version of its Petman robot, which is used to test out chemical weapons protection suits for the army and is capable of walking at 3mph and remain standing, even when pushed.


the Atlas is set to be the newest robot built for the Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency alongside the Cheetah


Boston Dynamics hope to recreate the success its BigDog robot had when it was unveiled in 2008.

The BigDog supports American troops by carrying up to four backpacks of equipment over bumpy and rocky ground that wheeled vehicles cannot move over.

The 2ft tall and 3ft long metal beast also comes with high-tech gadgets including laser gyroscopes, video camera sensors and an on-board computer.

It wowed the world in 2008 and the company hopes to eventually sell the dogs to farmers for transporting crops.


BigDog Reflexes



PETMAN Prototype



source: dailymail

A mother's grief: The startling images which show how chimpanzees mourn their dead just like humans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcJPaHFbsc0endofvid


[starttext]

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Grieving process: A chimpanzee mother tenderly lays her dead 16-month-old infant on the ground after carrying the body for more than 24 hours. Scientists filmed this heartbreaking footage in Chimfunshi, Zambia


Chimpanzees appear to mourn their dead infants just like humans, scientists have discovered.

Chimpanzee mothers establish close physical relationships with their young, carrying them for up to two years and nursing them until they are six.

But now scientists have filmed how one chimpanzee mother, whose 16-month-old infant died, apparently begins the grieving process.

It’s the latest evidence highlighting just how similar chimps and other great apes are to humans.

The ape continued to carry the body for more than 24 hours before tenderly laying on the ground. Then from a short distance she watched over her child.

Periodically she returns to the body and touches the face and neck with her fingers to establish it was dead.

She then took the body to other chimpanzees in the troop to get a second opinion. The following day the chimp had abandoned the body, according to a report by scientists from the respected Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics.

Dr Cronin said the research provided 'unique insights into how chimpanzees, one of humans' closest primate relatives, learn about death'.

Dr Katherine Cronin and Edwin Van Leeuwen together with Prof Mark Bodamer, of Gonzaga University in Washington State, and Innocent Chitalu Mulenga videoed the chimpanzee in Chimfunshi, Zambia.


Devastated: Struggling to take in the news, the mother then moves to a nearby grass bank and watches over the body of her dead child


Dr Cronin said the research provided 'unique insights into how chimpanzees, one of humans' closest primate relatives, learn about death'.

She said: 'After carrying the infant's dead body for more than a day, the mother laid the body out on the ground in a clearing and repeatedly approached the body and held her fingers against the infant's face and neck for multiple seconds.

'She remained near the body for nearly an hour, then carried it over to a group of chimpanzees and watched them investigate the body. The next day, the mother was no longer carrying the body of the infant.'

The report, published in the American Journal of Primatology, said almost nothing is known about how primates react to death of close individuals, what they understand about death, and whether they mourn.

The researchers therefore believe they have reported a unique transitional period as the mother learned about the death of her infant, a process never before reported in detail.


Second opinion: The mother then invites other chimpanzees over to the body, touching the face and neck with her fingers to confirm it is dead


'The videos are extremely valuable, because they force one to stop and think about what might be happening in the minds of other primates,' Dr Cronin said.

'Whether a viewer ultimately decides that the chimpanzee is mourning, or simply curious about the corpse, is not nearly as important as people taking a moment to consider the possibilities.'

Previous reports have documented chimpanzee mothers carrying their deceased young for days or weeks, showing the strength of the mother-infant bond.
The latest research complements these observations and sheds new light on how chimpanzees might learn about death.

Professor Bodamer said: 'These data contribute to a small but growing body of data on how non-human primates respond to death.

'We hope these objective accounts will continue to accumulate and eventually allow researchers to take a comprehensive look at the extent to which non-human primate understand death, and how they respond to it.

'It was only a matter of time, and the right conditions, that chimpanzees' response to death would be recorded and subjected to analysis that would reveal remarkable similarities to humans.'

Chimps are human’s closest relatives in the wild. Like people they can use tools, using sticks to fish out termites, hunt in teams and plan ahead.

They are also one of the few animals that can recognise themselves in a mirror - and realise that they are looking at a reflection.


Chimpanzee mother learns about her dead infant



source: dailymail [endtext]