Segway inventor Dean Kamen is looking to re-invent the prosthetic arm. IEEE Spectrum caught up with Kamen and one of his "test pilots," to see the robotic arm (named after Luke Skywalker's articficial limb) in action.
It's everyone's favorite droid! IEEE Spectrum talked with R2-D2 builder Steve Simmons at Maker Faire to find out how the Star Wars droids work. (For more, check out http://www.artoo-det oo.net/)
IEEE Spectrum http://spectrum.ieee .org stopped by Ignite NYC, where Bre Pettis and the NYC Resistor hacker collective hosted a contest to see who had the fastest soldering iron in the city. The contestants all raced to build a TV-B-Gone kit http://www.makershed .com/ProductDetails. asp?ProductCode=MKAD 4, and the first to turn off the TV won.
IEEE spectrum (http://spectrum.iee e.org) takes you inside Kiva Systems' robotic warehouse, where orange robots make inventory move instead of workers. Over time the system becomes increasingly efficient, with the robots learning from the wisdom of the crowd.
To read more about Kiva Systems and how their robots work, check out the article at http://www.spectrum. ieee.org/jul08/6380.
At CES, Ford announced a new navigation system that will be in the Ford Flex, the Ford F-150, and the Lincoln MKS. The nav system uses Sirius to stream information like gas prices, movie times, and weather updates directly to the car. IEEE Spectrum caught up with Ford to talk about Travel Link, which, like Sync, can be voice activated.
IEEE Spectrum caught up with Andrew Turley, who had turned an archival tool into a musical instrument. Using a simple photodiode, the keyboard plays notes based on how light the center of the screen is.
It's hard enough to get the mouse trap to work right in the board game, but the San Francisco crew at Maker Faire managed to pull it off on a human scale several times over the weekend. The rig apparently took 10 years to build.
At Digital Experience! (the CES pre-show), IEEE Spectrum stopped by the Altec Lansing booth to check out the first dock/speaker system designed specifically for the iPhone. Not only does it shield GSM radiation, it pauses the music when you get a call.
Anyone can hook up a speaker to make a robot talk, but Mike Brady wants his Voxhead to use it's own vocal cavity. What's more, he really made Voxhead to explore learning, so the bot has to listen to itself to correct its speech (which, at this point, is more like singing).
For more info, visit http://www.fluidbase .com/mike/projects/V oxHead
At Showstoppers @ CES, Ford showed off their Sync system that lets drivers operate their phone and music systems hands-free. Sync works with any bluetooth phone, and any USB based music player: Zune, iPod, or memory stick. IEEE Spectrum hopped in the Ford Focus for a live demo of the system, which can also call 9-1-1 if your airbag goes off.
Jeremy Toeman, head of marketing for Bug Labs, explains how open source software and hardware interact on Bug Labs' customizable gadget. For a more general introduction to the device, check out part one of IEEE Spectrum's interview with Bug Labs' Mehrshad Mansouri
IEEE Spectrum looked around Maker Faire for some of the coolest projects. These mouse robots follow a beam of light and have bump-sensing whiskers and tails.
IEEE Spectrum checks out the sights and sounds of the 2008 Maker Faire. It was impossible to be bored, with the Zelda theme song played on Tesla coils, a flame spewing fire hydrant, and a car made of bricks.
Mitsubishi hopes their new LaserVue TVs will give LCD and Plasma screens a run for their money. The screens use three lasers to scan the screen at 1080p. The main sacrifice is depth-the TV's are about ten inches thick. IEEE Spectrum http://spectrum.ieee .org caught up with Mitsubishi at NYC's Digital Experience in July.
Sci-fi author Vernor Vinge talks about the run-up to a technological singularity and what we can do to engineer the best outcome for humans. The interview is part of IEEE Spectrum's Singularity Special Report: http://spectrum.ieee .org/singularity
In the report, Vinge also updates his ideas in an article called "Signs of the Singularity": http://www.spectrum. ieee.org/jun08/6306
Episode 5: How do the students on each Cambridge campus feel about Harvard's new engineering school?
(To get the background on this video, read "Engineering the Harvard Engineer:
One man's determined quest to make Harvard a contender in engineering?after 372 years" at
http://www.spectr um.ieee.org/apr08/60 97.
IEEE Spectrum held a Maker Faire contest for digital clock makers. Keith Bayern won with his clock made only of transistors and other discrete components, with no integrated circuits. To find out more about Keith's clock go to www.transistor-clock .com.
The Computer History Museum was on hand with a working model of Charles Babbage's Difference Engine No. 2. The real device, essentially a mechanical, Victorian-era calculator, will go on display next week.
Robert Wood's robotic flies are currently featured in MOMA's "Design and the Elastic Mind" exhibit in New York. They're definitely an engineering work of art, as the first insect-sized robots with the ability to lift themselves off the ground(read more at http://www.spectrum. ieee.org/mar08/6017) .
IEEE Spectrum editor Phillip Ross shows off his new favorite office toy, Tengu. Tengu's not cheap (he'll set you back $50) but he does have 8 different faces to mock you with when you speak. (more)
A new docking system allows you to customize kitchen real estate that used to be reserved for magnets and school papers. IEEE Spectrum looks at the gadgets Whirlpool hopes to cash in on.
IEEE Spectrum magazine takes a look at some of the human powered vehicles at the Maker Faire in Austin, Texas. Ride along with correspondent Josh Romero as he pedals the three person Big Wheel.
![Dean Kamen\](http://img.youtube.com/vi/R0_mLumx-6Y/2.jpg "Dean Kamen\")
![CES 2008: First \"Works with iPhone\" Speaker System](http://img.youtube.com/vi/YWTMD6E9_k8/2.jpg "CES 2008: First \\"Works with iPhone\\" Speaker System")
![Maker Faire 2008: Babbage\](http://img.youtube.com/vi/HBBwscIJXgM/2.jpg "Maker Faire 2008: Babbage\")
