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Daft Punk Homework: create your own EL suit

Good thing Halloween is months away. You’ll need that time to hone your sewing skills in the noble quest to create a Daft Punk suit of your very own. Instructables has everything you need (except the electroluminescent wire, soldering iron, heat gun, and pleather tracksuit) to build an EL suit worthy of electronic celebration. Best of all, your tutor for the course is none other than the suits’ creator for the duo’s 2007 tour. Now get moving humans, it’s time to let the robots rock the party.

[Via Hack n Mod]

Tensegrity prosthetic foot promises to make walking easier

It may not boast built-in Bluetooth or an array of sensors and motors, but inventor Jerome Rifkin says his so-called Tensegrity prosthetic foot can nonetheless give amputees a more natural gait and make it easier for them to walk across difficult terrain. That’s apparently possible thanks to a unique but simple mid-foot joint, which takes the place of the ankle joint more commonly found in prosthetic feet and creates a flexible arch in the middle of the foot. A range of springs and tensioned cables are used to control it and a second joint at the toe, which simply respond to the natural pressue of walking and adapt to uneven terrain. As you can see for yourself in the video of the most recent prototype after the break, that setup appears to work remarkably well, and Rifkin has even thankfully managed to tone down some of the squeaking noise that plagued earlier prototypes.

Motorola patent application reveals cellphone / HMD combo craziness

It looks like Motorola isn’t about to let Apple have the goofy, non-existent product spotlight to itself, with a recent patent application of its revealing some plans of its own for a head-mounted display. As you can see above, however, this one is no ordinary HMD, with it also able to be folded up into an apparently over-sized cellphone for times when you want to look slightly less conspicuous. Of course, the chances of such a product actually making it off the drawing board are pretty slim (thankfully), and no doubt even less likely given the recent cuts to Motorola’s research division.

Limited edition Metal Gear Solid 4 watch surfaces

Need some way to express your adoration for Solid Snake when not inside the house? Then check out this limited edition piece, would you? The Metal Gear Solid 4 watch will reportedly arrive individually numbered from 1 to 500 alongside a “Konami certificate of authenticity approved by Hideo Kojima.” You’ll also get a nifty gift box to hold the water resistant timepiece in when it’s not flanking your wrist, but only if you manage to score one before the legions of other hardcore fans do. Oddly enough, there’s some sort of “pre-order” going on in the read link below, but we wouldn’t count on that being the most reliable method for procuring the £99.99 ($197) device when it’s released in October.

[Via TechDigest]

Estée Lauder, Lancôme to launch vibrating mascaras

First came makeup designed to shield talking heads from looking too realistic while on HDTV. Now, we’ve got makeup that does half of the work for you. In the coming months, both Estée Lauder and Lancôme are planning to launch vibrating mascaras, both of which require batteries and promise to cover way more ground than your unstable hand ever could. The former company will be introducing the TurboLash All Effects Motion Mascara, which will retail for $30 at Saks Fifth Avenue and buzz along at 125 micropulses-per-second; the latter will be churning out the cleverly named Ôscillation, which aims to provide “a 360-degree coat around each and every lash” when it launches this fall. We know — we just got way too kit ‘n kaboodle for most of y’all, but your lady friend(s) would appreciate the gesture.

[Via CNET]

NASA’s new suits are one giant leap for space fashion

NASA just awarded its future spacesuit contract to Oceaneering International. The US firm must now design, test, and produce two suits — the default suit (pictured after the break) worn on-board for launch and landing and a second, more versatile, cheese-proof suit worn during space walks and upon the surface of the moon. The suits must be ready for the first scheduled launch of the Orion Space Capsule in 2015. The contract is valued at the government special price of just $745 million. Hey, we have to keep up appearances at the International Space Station, you know.

Researchers show off flexible, band-aid-sized tactile display

We’ve seen tactile displays of all shapes and sizes, but none quite like this latest creation from a group of researchers at Korea’s Sungkyunkwan University and the University of Nevada, which promises to be at your disposal whenever you need it. That’s possible thanks to the electroactive polymer material the display is based on, which consists of eight layers of tiny actuator films that have been sprayed with electrodes in a specific pattern, allowing the skin to be stimulated without any additional electromechanical transmission. In addition to making it possible to wrap the display around your finger like a band-aid, that also makes the system extremely power efficient and, apparently, cost effective and easy to manufacture. As with other tactile displays, the researchers say this one could be especially useful as a braille display for the blind, although they don’t see any shortage of other potential applications, with them foreseeing it being used in everything from virtual keyboards to tele-surgical gloves.

DuoFertility skin patch keeps watch on ovulation

It’s been quite a while since we’ve seen any significant advances in ovulation monitoring technology, but this new DuoFertility skin patch looks set to shake things up a bit, with it taking an always-on approach to keeping tabs on your (or your significant other’s) fertility status. That’s done with the help of a patch worn under the arm, which continuously monitors basal body temperature and can be read at any time in just a few seconds with the aid of the reader (pictured above). If you need a bit more information, you can then plug the reader into your PC and get your fertility status in chart and graph form. No word on a release ’round these parts just yet, but those in Europe will apparently be able to pick ‘em up “later this year” for $1,000 apiece.

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

Northrop Grumman lands contract to develop threat-sensing binoculars

DARPA has been talking up the idea of threat-sensing binoculars for some time now, but it looks like it’s now putting up a good chunk of cash to make ‘em a reality, with Northrop Grumman today announcing that it’s snagged a $6.7 million contract to further develop its Human-aided Optical Recognition/Notification of Elusive Threats (or HORNET) system. That’ll use electro-encephalogram electrodes placed on a soldier’s scalp to monitor their neural responses to the presence or absence of potential threats, which helps to train the system’s algorithms and ultimately alert them to threats before their mind is actually able to process the information (in theory, at least). Of course, there’s no indication as to when such a system might actually be put to use, and DARPA itself is still leaving itself a bit of wiggle room, with it only committing to the first 12-month phase of the project at the moment.

[Via Danger Room]

Wearfone watch phone looks to style up Finns

Due to exceptionally poor machine translation from the Finnish language (what gives, Google?), we really don’t know a whole heck of a lot about Wearfone’s admittedly stylish watch phone. Reportedly, similar devices have been around the concept block, but a trio of investors are hoping to actually get this one on store shelves by the year’s end. Thanks to our super-scientific methods of deciphering, we’ve determined that it will boast a touchscreen display, GSM connectivity and the ability to send / receive calls and text messages. Early reports pin the price at anywhere between €500 ($776) and €1,000 ($1,553), but that’s the price you pay for having a technologically advanced timepiece that won’t get you tarred and feathered in public.

[Thanks, Petteri]

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