Robot Mimics the Sticky Feet of Geckos

WhenTalking| Technology developments like the growth of an art, constantly evolving and rapidly changing according to the mindset of its maker, and will continue to evolve over time and human needs, and technology is a masterpiece and the expression of needs.

 

When engineers turn to nature for inspiration, They rely upon the wisdom of Millions of years of evolution to guide the design of modern technology. In a stunning example of this Biomimicry, Researchers at Simon Frasier University have developed a robot can climb vertical surfaces That thanks to the biology of a gecko's foot.

Instead of using wet adhesives, the researchers turned to a dry adhesive method that would not leave behind a sticky trail. Some dry adhesive methods require pumping air for suction or use magnets that are only effective on metal surfaces. But the surface of a gecko’s foot can stick to any surface using the force that holds molecules together.

A gecko’s foot is covered in microscopic hairlike growths called setae, which the researchers mimicked using mushroom cap-shaped artificial hairs. According to SFU, “The mushroom cap shape allows the setae on the treads to release at an angle, so no extra force is require to unstick them from a surface. That’s what allows the tank to roll forward with ease, without dropping off the surface.”

Watch how it works:

SFU explains, “”The research…provides an alternative to using magnets, suction cups or claws which typically fail at climbing smooth surfaces like glass or plastic. It also paves the way for a range of applications, from inspecting pipes, buildings, airplanes and even nuclear power plants to employment in search and rescue operations…”

Hemm amazing, congratulations to these researchers

Animals Loving Each Other

WhenTalking| It’s so cute to see others being in love. But it’s more amazing to see these animals loving each other. They are really sincere in their feelings. Maybe the romance is gone when it comes to people, but the animals really know how to love.

hohoho so cute - - - -

Joking, but there are rules

WhenTalking| Social networks like facebook, twitter and others, should be used as a useful of media, but not the least the people who do not or are less liable to abuse as mere sensation, or because of ignorance of the person, Because of its that we as users must be vigilant and do not easily believe a word that is not necessarily proven true, as was the case last February, According to Twitter, the man who plays Mr. Bean is said to have died.

Nowadays, with the vast influence of the media in our lives and with the widespread use of social networking sites it is quite easy to spread news, information, quotes, and even Gossips. In America, people woke up today learning from the top news That Mr. Bean was dead. Rowan Atkinson known for his role as Mr. Bean in television and as Agent Johnny English on movies was rumored dead. Fortunately, many have realized and learned That the news is false. However, how did it start?

A message posted on Twitter become a trending topic "RIP Rowan Atkinson. "By a Filipino twitter user named Michael Robert Meras Because the which he regretted afterwards he was bombarded with questions and harsh comments Because of his bad sense of humor.

He wrote: "Shutting down now. Sorry guys, RIP Rowan Atkinson was just a joke. Sorry for that matter, I never thought That it would be viral. We <3MrBean. "

The <3 sign is that of a heart and the message means “We love you Mr. Bean.”

If you are going to search in Google the name Rowan Atkinson it would generate a lot of hits pertaining to his death so people do take these types of false news seriously!!!

Now that’s one way of getting fame but I am pretty sure that is not good publicity and there are better ways to get attention.  We are grown adults that should know our limits when it comes to sharing sensitive issues. Be responsible for your own actions.  

Railway Therapy in Indonesia

WhenTalking| Rail is the path used for train transportation are made of long steel, and this pathway was very dangerous to pass arbitrary, because the train is not like a car that can stop easily, because it's a lot of very tragic accident victim who was hit by a train that does not can stop. but this is different

You might think you’re on the track to better health but people in Rawa Buaya, Indonesia, have taken “training” to the next level. Villagers there believe if they lie down on the railway  tracks, electrical energy carried within the steel rails will end their suffering… that is, if an onrushing train doesn’t do it first.

 Fast Track To Good Health?

Illnesses often start with infection by a single pathogenic bacteria or virus which then spreads, er, “virally.” Such is also the case with rumors, and in Indonesia we have a curious, coincidental case of a rumor about a miracle cure spreading virally and expanding into an epidemic of shared beliefs.

It’s known as Railway Therapy  or Electric Therapy, and both terms combine to describe the dangerous practice of undergoing various degrees of electrical shocks from contact with railroad tracks.

According to Al Jazeera, who sent on-scene reporter Step Vaessen to Rawa Buaya on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, to document the odd phenomenon, people of all ages are flocking to nearby railway tracks to get a free hit of electric therapy. Those who have experienced it believe that electricity absorbed from the metal rails can alleviate, even cure, a host of health problems including hypertension, diabetes, rheumatism, gout, obesity and high cholesterol.

Here’s Vaessen’s video report, and kudos to her for risking her health by lying down on the hot rails – pretty much the opposite of the local folks’ intentions.

One wonders what the natives thought about Vaessen “doing like the Romans do”… perhaps it reinforced their distrust of Western medicine. Nice going there, Al Jazeera.

How did it all begin? The apocryphal anecdote that sparked (sorry) this frightening fad seems innocent enough: a man from Rawa Buaya (some say he was a taxi driver) had suffered and stroke which left him partially paralyzed. Unable to work and severely depressed after several physicians were unable to improve his condition using conventional treatments, he decided to end it all by lying down on the nearby train tracks.

While waiting for the next train to trundle along and end his misery, the man suddenly realized he wasn’t feeling quite so miserable. While versions of the story don’t exactly state the cabbie leaped up and began tap-dancing to his own whistled accompaniment, rumors of the man’s surprising and FREE cure spread like wildfire. Before long, increasing numbers of people began “riding the lightning” in Rawa Buaya, looking for their own lil’ hit of that locomotive ‘lectricity!

Not Your Father’s Electroshock Therapy

Trains are a popular and ubiquitous form of transportation in Indonesia’s populous urban areas, especially around the capital of Jakarta. Spiderwebs of train tracks spiral out from the city center, linking the inner city with rural and suburban neighborhoods, and often passing through slums where ramshackle housing nestles up to railroad infrastructure. Not only is Railway Therapy free, it’s convenient as well… but does it actually work?

According to Sri Mulyati  it works just fine, thank you, especially when compared to 13 years of ineffective treatments for her diabetes prescribed by expensive doctors. As her body twitched and convulsed with electric current that heralded an approaching train, the 50-year-old Mulyati leaped to safety while stating “I’ll keep doing this until I’m completely cured.”

Besides the aforementioned and largely discredited electroshock treatment, electrical therapy has been known to offer some benefits in the case of certain illnesses. What’s more likely in Indonesia is that people who claim to feel better are at their wit’s end to find effective and affordable cures for their ailments – the trains are their last resort. Call it a placebo effect born of desperation.

While rumors of the practice’s beneficial effects continue to spread owing to a critical mass of proponents who report improvements in their condition, at the same time there have been no reports of people adversely affected, either by the electricity or by a wayward train. Judging from the age and infirmity of the people and the nearness of the track switch above, however, we’re guessing the ultimate miracle cure is just one missed signal away.

Engine Near…

Now just to set the record straight, the Indonesian trains whose tracks are attracting the nation’s tired, poor, huddled masses who yearn to breathe free (among other things) are electrically powered but not in the manner of, say, the New York Subway. That’s why the Rawa Buaya rail-sitters feel mere tingles and not the fatal jolt of the third rail.

No, the power comes from above… not in the way you’re probably thinking, but through overhead cables. Even so, some small fraction of those massive megavolts gets into the rails through the conductive metal bodies, chassis and wheels of the passing trains.

How much power? It depends on many factors: the nearness of the train, the humidity of the air, possibly even the number of people on the tracks getting juiced. The uncertainty involved in the exercise has governmental and corporate authorities worried about being held responsible in case of the inevitable injury(s), which has led to the police posting warning signs at the most popular train therapy locations.

Though threats of penalties of up to three months in prison or fines of $1,800 have reduced the numbers flocking to the railway tracks, people still come and no one has been arrested yet. Times are tough for the state-run railroad company, which can’t afford to secure huge stretches of unguarded track from unwanted visitors.

Desperation is the mother of invention, however, and Indonesia’s state-sponsored health system has suffered from severe under-funding over the past dozen years since Suharto, the country’s longtime dictator, was overthrown. “They told us not to do it anymore, but what else can I do?,”  explained Hadiwinoto (above, top), who like many Indonesians uses just one name. The 50-year-old has had trouble walking since suffering a debilitating stroke, and his only hope is the glimmering of the steel rails in the hot afternoon sun. “I want to be cured,” said Hadiwinoto, “so I have to come back.” Mr. Conductor, all aboard!!

Animals Also Inspired The Development of Technology

WhenTalking| Examples of biomimicry based on animal and human biology capitalize on the unparalleled efficiency of nature.

Surveillance cameras flap their wings in the sky just like birds and bats. Tiny little hairs on gecko feet help a robot climb a smooth vertical surface. The impact-resistant surface of human teeth inspires light and durable aerospace materials. Just like designs inspired by the sea, insect-mimicking inventions and buildings that look like natural terrain, 

A Robotic Arm Like an Elephant Trunk

 

 Robotics have always been bound by the limitations of the computers of their time, but as computer technology continues to evolve, more complex calculations for a wider range of movements become possible. And the capability of flexible, pliable movement has given way to more advanced designs like this one: a new ‘biomechatronic’ handling system based on an elephant’s trunk. Created by German engineering firm Festo, the Bionic Handling Assistant smoothly transports heavy loads, expanding and contracting by inflating or deflating air sacs within each ‘vertebrae’

Solar  Powered Bat Inspired Spy Plane

Bats have unwittingly become the inspiration for a government surveillance device. The United States military commissioned the COM-BAT from the University of Michigan College of Engineering, giving them a five-year, $10-million-dollar grant to develop the design. Fitted with a solar panel in its transparent ‘head’, the 6-inch spy plane has wings shaped like those of the flying mammal. The plane must be able to collect large amounts of surveillance data while running on only 1 watt of power.

Bird Skulls Inspire Lighter, Stronger Building Materials

“Skulls in general are extraordinary impact-resistant structures and extremely light at the same time as they protect the most important organs of an animal body and this performance and physical property can be applied in structure or architecture design,” says architect Andres Harris, who has studied animal bones – particularly bird skulls – extensively in a bid to design a highly efficient bio-inspired surface. Harris imagines mimicking the material for a large pavilion, and the blog Biomimetic Architecture notes that this concept could also be applied to cars.

Bullet Train Has a Nose Like a Kingfisher Beak

The kingfisher dives into the water from the air without making a splash, mostly thanks to its highly efficiently-shaped beak. In a stroke of genius, engineer and bird enthusiast Eiji Nakatsu realized that the same shape could solve an annoying problem  faced by Japan’s ultra-fast bullet trains, which created a loud booming sound like a thunder clap whenever they exited a tunnel. The nose of the train was pushing air at high speeds, creating a wall of wind that not only made the loud sound, but also slowed down the train. The new, kingfisher-inspired train nose eliminates this problem, making the trains up to 20 percent more fuel efficient.

Bio Inspired Computer Takes Cues from Cat Brains

Sure, computer tech has advanced a lot in recent years – but even supercomputers still can’t recognize human faces as well as cats can. The University of Michigan decided to study the feline brain  in order to develop an intelligent computer. The idea is that current computers execute code in a linear fashion, as opposed to the mammalian brain, which can process many things at once. Lu is in the process of developing a circuit element that behaves like biological synapses. This ‘memristor’ can remember past voltages that passed through it in a way that is similar to memory and learning in the brain.  Why cats? Computer engineer Wei Lu says it was simply a more realistic goal than mimicking the brain of a human.

Bat Sonar Navigation Helps the Blind Get Around

It doesn’t have any cool physical features that reveal its inspiration, but the Ultracane wouldn’t be possible without study of the way bats get around in pitch blackness. In the same way that bats can “see” in the dark using ultrasonic echoes that reveal the location of obstacles, the Ultracane warns blind users of objects in their path. A number of sensors on the cane even make it possible for users to sense objects higher than head height.

Radio Chip Mimics the Human Ear

 

Faster than any human-designed radio-frequency spectrum analyzer, this radio chip also needs very little power to operate. How is that possible? The design is based upon the human ear. MIT researchers looked at the way the cochlea converts sound waves into electrical signals sent to the brain. The sound waves create mechanical waves in the fluid of the inner ear, which activate tiny hair cells that facilitate electrical signals. Rahul Sarpeshkar used the same design principles in his artificial cochlear radio chip, which would make possible wireless devices that can receive cell phone, internet, radio and television signals.

““The more I started to look at the ear, the more I realized it’s like a super radio with 3,500 parallel channels,” said Sarpeshkar.

RoboSwift Micro-Airplane is No Ordinary Bird

Here’s yet another invention to make you paranoid that that little flying creature above your house is no ordinary bird or bat. The RoboSwift, as implied by its name, is based upon the biology of the swift, a family of birds capable of extremely fast flight. Developed by Delft University of Technology, the RoboSwift is equipped with observation cameras that might be used either to study birds, or possibly for surveillance of human activity. Wind tunnel tests have found that its flight is remarkably bird-like thanks to the ability to fold its ‘feathers’ backwards.

Stickybot: Gecko Feet Help Robot Climb

How can a robot climb a smooth surface like glass without using suction cups, which are slow and inefficient? The secret lies in the intricate design of a gecko’s toes. Mark Cutkosky, a professor of mechanical engineering at  Stanford University, developed the ‘Stickybot’ with the same type of dry adhesive that lets those lizards cling to the most improbable of surfaces. This ‘directional adhesive’ relies on millions of hairs on the ridges of a gecko’s foot with split ends that interact with the molecules of the climbing surface.

“Other adhesives are sort of like walking around with chewing gum on your feet: You have to press it into the surface and then you have to work to pull it off. But with directional adhesion, it’s almost like you can sort of hook and unhook yourself from the surface,” Cutkosky told ScienceDaily.

Deer Antlers Inspire Basis of Super-Tough Materials

What makes the antlers of a deer so bone-crushingly strong? Scientists at the University of York in the UK weren’t sure exactly how the moisture level in deer antlers affects their strength. They studied antlers  that were cut just before the stage when stags start dueling, when they need their antlers to be at their strongest, and discovered that during this period, the antlers dry out. Dry, stiff materials are usually brittle and easily breakable, but deer antlers proved to be 2.4 times stronger than wet bone. This revelation seems to have solved a puzzling problem for engineers: making a material that is both stiff and tough. The structure of deer antlers will likely become the basis of incredibly durable industrial materials.

Human Teeth Structure and Aerospace Technology

Our teeth are only about a strong as glass – so how can they withstand nearly a lifetime of chomping on all kinds of hard foods? Researchers at Tel Aviv University examined thousands of extracted human teeth  and found that under stress, the highly sophisticated structure that makes up the exterior of our teeth forms a network of micro-cracks instead of large ones. These tiny cracks are then able to heal over time. If engineers can find a way to replicate this ‘wavy’, multi-layered structure in a synthetic material, they could develop lighter and more crash-resistant aircraft, though the self-healing properties are probably a long way from realization.

Contact Lenses of the Future Inspired by Gecko Eyes

Feet aren’t the only part of gecko anatomy that’s got engineers excited. Scientists have discovered that geckos have a series of distinct concentric zones in their eyes that make it possible for them to see colors at night, an ability few other creatures have. These zones have different refractive powers, giving geckos a multifocal optical system  that allows light of different wavelengths to focus on the retina at the same time. This makes their eyes 350 times more sensitive than humans, and lets them focus on objects at different distances. The discovery may allow engineers to develop more effective cameras and possibly even multi-focal contact lenses.

Beer Foam Like Bird Feather Colors Influence Optical Materials

The brilliantly colored feathers of the male Eastern bluebird aren’t created by pigments, like most other colors found in nature – that shade of blue is actually produced by nanostructures  that self-assemble in much the same way as beer foam. Essentially, they form the same way as materials undergoing ‘phase separation’, when different substances become unstable and separate from each other. Color-producing structures in feathers start out as bubbles of water inside living cells, and are replaced with air as the feather grows. These intricate optical structures, which look like sponges with air bubbles under a microscope, are being used to create a new generation of optical materials in the lab.

Human Eye Inspires Cameras with Wider Field of View

The curved surface of the human eye facilitates a wider field of view than has ever been possible using a camera. The challenge for engineers was to transfer microelectronic components onto a curved surface without breaking them. Yonggang Huang of Northwestern University and John Rogers of the University of Illinois built a digital camera  of the same size, shape and layout of the human eye, and developed a mesh-like material that hold electronic components onto the curved surface. This technology would enable photographs that are entirely clear and focused, unlike today’s cameras which can focus only on certain areas. It may even enable the development of an artificial retina or bionic eye.