Miniature craft readied for space flight

NASA is in the final stages of sending a remotely controlled robotic space shuttle into orbit around the earth, according to the latest reports.

The X-37 is much smaller than the space shuttles that take astronauts out of the Earth’s atmosphere and its first unmanned flight into the final frontier will be monitored by experts on the ground in Florida.

The X-37 has been created not to travel into space on its own, but to become a kind of life craft for astronauts. It will accompany future shuttle missions and be attached to the International Space Station in order to provide its residents with a speedy escape route back home in an emergency.

Sources suggest that the total space available inside the craft could be a little as seven feet by four feet, but given that the passengers should only be on board for a short time this should not be a particular issue.

Observers believe the X-37 will be making its first ever voyage into the atmosphere on the back of an Atlas V rocket some time soon. This speculation has been brought about by the news that the X-37 has been transported down to Cape Canaveral, which suggests that a launch is imminent.

The X-37 project is shrouded in the typical kind of secrecy that any quasi-military US organisation applies to its latest developments, but it will be difficult to disguise the rocket as it launches into the clear blue skies over Florida.

Interactive horror film conceived

Using some clever voice recognition technology in partnership with standard mobile phones, a horror film firm has come up with a novel viewing experience for fans of frightening films: interactive audience participation.

The idea is simple enough. Flyers urging potential audience members to submit their mobile numbers to the service are distributed and then during the showing of a film, one member of the audience will be chosen at random to answer a call from the onscreen character.

That call will be controlled using software that can work out what the audience member is telling the character to do and the appropriate outcome relating to their instructions will be played out on-screen.

According to its creators, the software is capable enough to work out basic instructions, but it cannot hold an entire conversation with the audience member, because this would obviously require the film maker to record an infinite number of variations of the same scene.

The interactive horror movie idea does allow the course of a film’s plot to be changed. Presumably in a horror film this means that the hero or heroine will either live or die by the hands of the killer based on the audience member’s instructions.

There is no doubt that an audience member getting a call during a horror film will increase the level of tension, but it could equally break the level of immersion that those not involved in the call are feeling. The firm behind the idea will have to get some top quality productions on board to make it a worthwhile venture.

Portable gadgets grasped by Spiderpodium

Having a portable media player or smartphone with you can be an entertaining way to pass a long journey or a dull commute, but having to hold onto the thing for hours a day can leave you with aching hands. The Spiderpodium is a universal travel dock that intends to fix this issue for everyone.

The Spiderpodium is an eight-legged flexible beast, with each limb acting independently of the others to provide completely customisable angling and grasping of your most precious portable gadgets.

You will usually have six of the legs working to support the device on a flat surface, whilst two are flipped up to hold onto the device you are watching, so ideally you will need to rest it on a tray table for the best experience.

The creators of the Spiderpodium also suggest that when you are at home you can place your portable gadget on one whilst it charges, leaving it upright and visible, even when it is powering up via USB.

Because the legs are completely flexible, the Spiderpodium can be packed up into a portable form itself, making it possible to slip it into a pocket or bag and carry it without being weighed down.

Smartphones, MP3 players, handheld games consoles and even camcorders can be properly gripped by the Spiderpodium, which means that it should have a wide range of applications.

Each Spiderpodium is on sale for just under £15 and the product will hit UK shelves at the end of March. The only downside is that anyone who is mildly arachnophobic might be a little squeamish around this particular docking solution.

First prices for home 3D specs

Sony has released details and prices for its first range of glasses that will enable home cinema lovers to view their favourite films in 3D. You will still need a 3D-ready TV set and a Sony Blu-Ray player with 3D playback in order to enjoy the benefits of this emerging technology.

Sony is planning to package the active shutter 3D glasses with its LX900 Bravia television. This will be the only one of its 3D-ready TVs that will offer support for the new format straight out of the box, although wrangling over standardisation is still ongoing and it could be some months before this is settled.

If you happen to live in Japan, you will be able to buy the new active shutter specs individually and a price of around £90 has been suggested for the retail models. Since the LX900 will come with two pairs, a group of four people will need to fork out nearly £200 more if everyone wants to enjoy the 3D experience.

What makes the LX900 different from its other 3D-ready siblings is that it has the necessary emitter already built-in. If you want to get the active shutter specs synchronised with the 3D image using other Sony 3D Bravia models, then you will need to buy a separate emitter for another £30 or so, which increases the price of the package even further if you don’t want to pay for Sony’s top of the range model.

There is no official UK launch date set, as yet for Sony’s 3D-ready Bravia range, but with Sony’s rivals already revving their 3D engines, we should not have too long to wait.

Backpack doubles as booster seat

If you have young children, or have ever had to look after some during a car trip, you will be well aware of the necessity of booster seats to keep them safe and strapped in tight.

Now a new gadget has been created to turn children into snail-like carriers of their in-car protection, taking the burden from the parent and giving the kids a fun place to store their travelling accoutrements as well.

The BoostApak is an interesting concept that combines a comprehensive booster seat with a portable backpack for the kids’ trinkets and toys.

When it is folded into its seating position, it provides full support for the back of the child, as well as keeping them snugly secured by the car’s seat belt.

The BoostApak can then be folded away completely and has a couple of padded straps on the underside to make it comfortable for the smaller wearer. The styling is vibrant and the practicality is obvious, so kids will be sure to enjoy carrying their booster seat with them, as well as having a place to hoard treasures and keep a juice carton.

The creators of BoostApak say that the gadget is suitable for kids between 4 and 11 years of age and when it is released in April of this year it will be an exclusive to the UK market. If it catches on, there is no doubt that the technology will hit international markets to provide the same benefits for parents the world over.

Consumer jet-pack launched

If you have around £60,000 burning a hole in your pocket and if you have always dreamed of breaking the bonds of gravity, then you might consider picking up the Martin Jetpack.

Jetpacks have long been the preserve of fictional movie heroes, but now a New Zealand-based firm has created what is the world’s first commercially viable jetpack to take one person skywards at speed.

Incredibly Martin Aircraft has managed to give the Jetpack a full half hour in the air before it needs to land. With a 200 horsepower engine powered by good old-fashioned petrol, the jetpack is constructed of lightweight material comprised of Kevlar and carbon.

Martin Aircraft has been working on the jetpack for over a decade and it has taken a long time to develop and refine something that is safe enough to sell to the general public.

The biggest safety feature of the jetpack is a built-in parachute that acts as a failsafe to rescue the pilot if something goes catastrophically wrong. The parachute is fired out quickly to make sure that it is fully deployed before the ground intervenes!

The controls of the jetpack are organised in precisely the way you will have seen many times on the silver screen, with the pilot’s hands altering the pitch, thrust, yaw and roll.

There is a weight limit on the jetpack and only people between 140 and 240 pounds will be safely accommodated. However, this is a broad enough bracket for most of the super-rich. The one downside is that you have to wear a jumpsuit and a helmet, so tuxedo flight is out of the question.

Next Grand Theft Auto V game to be announced

The follow up to the world-beating Grand Theft Auto IV, which has since spawned two downloadable spin-offs that are coming to the PS3 and PC after enjoying Xbox 360 exclusivity for a while, could be unveiled in the run up to E3 in the summer.

This is according to games industry analyst Mike Hickey, who said in an interview recently that GTA five is almost certainly in the works and could be ready for previewing at some of 2010’s biggest gaming events.

Mr Hickey, who was speaking to IndustryGamers, said that developer Rockstar, which has worked on the GTA games since the beginning, will not actually reveal any information at E3. Instead it is set to announce the next GTA title before the event to stir up some publicity for its other upcoming releases such as Red Dead Revolver.

It is believed by industry insiders that GTA five, or whatever it is called upon release, will outsell its predecessors by a significant margin. Mr Hickey believes that this is possible because there is now an established group of dedicated fans hungry for next-gen gaming on the PS3.

The fourth game in the GTA series has now sold over 15 million copies worldwide and the imminent release of the two add-on packs will surely boost sales of the original even further.

The next GTA game will not arrive before 2011, as analysts believe that Rockstar will continue to milk the current game in the franchise for a little while longer.

Avatar 3D planned for November 2010 Blu-Ray launch

James Cameron has confirmed that his hugely profitable 3D flick Avatar will be coming to home cinema users with all three dimensions intact, but you will have to wait until November this year until it finally arrives.

Some had hoped that Avatar would be one of the first movies to arrive on Blu-Ray when the 3D revolution kicks off in the summer of this year, but the film’s landmark technical achievements will not be completely available to consumers until the winter.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Mr Cameron said that standard definition DVD and high definition Blu-Ray versions of Avatar would be released in April for US customers. However, by the time the 3D version arrives later in 2010, titles such as Cloudy, With A Chance of Meatballs will already have made their debut in 3D.

Some observers have expressed their annoyance at the decision, as it means that many consumers will pick up Avatar in 2D when it first makes an appearance and will then have to buy it again a few months later when the 3D version is released. Creating special collectors’ editions of movies is not particularly unusual, especially since the dawn of the DVD and the arrival of multiple endings, special features and director’s cuts.

However, Avatar will still be one of the first 3D Blu-Ray releases. It should be able to really show off the capabilities of the technology and hopefully generate enough interest to finally give Blu-Ray its killer app.

Sausage used as capacitive touchscreen stylus for iPhone

A number of enterprising South Korean residents have started using meaty snacks to interface with their iPhones. The news comes after it was discovered that a certain brand of sausages, created by the CJ Corporation, possess the correct electrostatic charge to allow for the iPhone’s capacitive screen to register them.

It may seem a little odd to use a sausage as a prosthetic finger, but the main motivation behind the switch has been the cold weather, which leaves people wearing gloves unable to use the iPhone unless they first remove their unwieldy but warming hand-wear.

At the moment there is no real way in which to use the iPhone, or indeed any other mobile that has a capacitive touch screen interface, without getting your fingers out. However, both Apple and Taiwanese manufacturer HTC are in the process of patenting special styli that will allow for precision input on capacitive screens.

According to reports, the sale of the snack sausages in question has risen markedly since their iPhone compatibility was discovered, leading many western media outlets to label them as the ‘meat stylus’. It is certainly a low-fi way of getting around the iPhone’s capacitive interface.

Sadly the sausages are not sold over here in the UK and it looks as though you will have to wait for some brave souls to spend a few hours smearing their iPhone’s with local sausages to see if there is any brand available over here that can achieve the same results.

The hygiene factors at play here are, of course, another matter entirely!

High Definition Freeview Channels On The Way

Although Virgin Media and Sky customers have had access to pricey subscription freeview services for a while now and Freesat has brought a limited bunch of free to air HD channels to those willing to fix a dish to the side of their houses, most people have been stuck with standard definition broadcasts via Freeview.

However, this spring Freeview HD is launching in certain areas of the UK, coming with ITV HD and BBC HD to start with, but with plans to offer Channel 4 HD and potentially some HD channels from Channel 5 as and when they are made available.

It is worth checking out the official Freeview website if you want to see when your area will become Freeview HD enabled and as the switchover to digital proceeds over the coming years, more and more regions will get high definition content without the need for a subscription.

At the moment there is no officially sanctioned Freeview HD set top box on offer. However, manufacturer Humax is working on the first, which it has called the Fox-HD T2.

When Humax and other manufacturers come out with Freeview HD boxes, they will be required to include an Ethernet connection. This will allow for the box to take advantage of catch up TV services such as iPlayer and 4OD using your broadband connection, which will take Freeview HD in line with subscription services without the monthly costs.

Whilst HD broadcasting will be fairly limited at first, the 2010 World Cup will arrive in HD, as will the 2012 Olympic Games.

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