Sci-tech

The Smile Helmet Forces You To Smile

Hate smiling? Grab the smile helmet. A helmet for people in jobs which demand an unusual amount of smiling, such as air-stewards, receptionists and politicians. A sensor in the front of the helmet detects anybody within a 2 metre range, at which point the mouth is pulled into a broad grin by a small servo motor and some concealed fishing wire. The helmet addresses the facades of social interaction and explores our responses to affected expressions.

One Click Butter Cutter
Too tired or lazy to cut your butter in the morning? Here's a machine that'll do it for you, precisely measuring a 35-calorie portion at a time. Keep in mind, butter is 100% fat. This could actually be useful. If you're a fanatic about calorie counting, dole out a controlled portion, count it accurately, slim down. While you're at it, don't forget to count those crows on the clothesline.

Airless Tires
Worrying about running over a nail, or making sure your tires are always full may be a thing of the past thanks to the R&D team at Michelin. This is a prototype for airless tires. Instead of the regular inflated tire, this tire has the traditional outer treads wrapped around flexible, yet sturdy spokes. Apparently these tires are going by the name tweel.

Motorised House Always Turns to Bright Side
We always start our day with a glorious view of the urine-stained alley next to us, but some clever contractor in Australia designed and built a motorised house that rotates to the view of your choice (assuming you have nice views to choose from). The house is made of glass and steel and has a max speed of 1 revolution every 30 minutes. You can programme it to always face the sun, or in any view you like. There's only one of its kind at the moment, but plans are being made to construct more rotating houses. Clever idea if you're filthy rich.

A painful reminder
Did you forget your anniversary again? Missed your significant other's birthday? Those Post-It notes and alarms on your PDA clearly aren't working - how about some physical pain? Wrapped around your finger, the Remember Ring will make sure you don't forget an important date by heating up to 120°F for 10 seconds 24 hours before the big day, and then doing it again every hour on the hour. It's equipped with a micro thermopile, converting the heat from your hand into electricity so the tiny battery stays charged and the internal clock never stops. Once the jeweller programmes the date, you can just slip it on and forget your troubles; after all, that's what the ring's there to remind you about. But before you forgetful folk start lining up for it, I'm sad to say this is just a concept item right now.

A bed that makes you deaf while you sleep
If you thought blasting your iPod was bad for your ears, you haven't seen anything yet. The sonic bed is a king-size bed with 12-channel surround sound. It may look like a wooden tank from the outside, but inside it's got enough speakers to dwarf any home theatre set up. Created by Kaffe Matthews as a museum exhibit (no plans for retail as of yet), the bed requires 220 volts of electricity and covers every inch of your body in sound. Throw in a flat-panel TV and we'll never leave bed again.

Watch iPod Movies for 16 Hours Straight
If that 3.5-hour playback time of the 30GB iPod or 6.5 hour playback of the 80GB model isn't going to be enough for you, here's the Sonnettech Volta Rechargeable Battery Pack, claiming 'up to' 16 hours of video playback on a single 5.5 hour charge. In addition to its extended video playback capabilities, a fully-charged Volta can actually charge your iPod three times if you can't get to a hot USB port or AC adapter. Even though it's yet another device to put into your bag of tricks, this one looks like it could keep you watching video until your eyes get crossed. This is great for those of us who whine about the iPod not having enough battery longevity. If that's a priority, it might be worth shelling out USD 70.

Compiled by IMRAN H. KHAN

Source: Gizmodo Online and Wired

Copyright (R) thedailystar.net 2006