thedailyfeed:

Why just donate to a project when you can invest in one? That’s the premise behind Gambitious, a sort of Kickstarter for video games — except Gambitious investors will actually share in the project’s profits.

“Gambitious is the first equity-based, crowd-funding platform that solely concentrates on the video game industry,” Paul Hanraets, the company’s managing director, told The Daily. “Our model is the first of its kind, providing a new way for small and large investors to directly invest in a wide selection of promising game projects, thus taking home a share in any eventual profits from the venture.”

wildcat2030:

UK engineers have begun critical tests on a new engine technology designed to lift a spaceplane into orbit. The proposed Skylon vehicle would operate like an airliner, taking off and landing at a conventional runway. Its major innovation is the Sabre engine, which can breathe air like a jet at lower speeds but switch to a rocket mode in the high atmosphere. Reaction Engines Limited (REL) believes the test campaign will prove the readiness of Sabre’s key elements. (via BBC News - Key tests for Skylon spaceplane project)

springwise:

From Japan, underwear uses nanotechnology to help combat body odor

We’ve already seen fabrics that purify the air and tags that neutralize body odors, so it seems only natural that the next step should be undergarments made from such materials. Sure enough, new from Japanese firm Goldwin is MXP underwear, a new line of underclothes based on a fabric that uses nanotechnology to combat body odor. READ MORE…

springwise:

In Japan, cardless ATMs will scan users’ palms

Biometric technologies can help bring banking to illiterate users, as we saw in our article about NCR’s Pillar ATMs last fall, and now we’re seeing how they can be put to use in a completely different scenario. Specifically, in times of disaster, cardless banking ensures consumers can still access their accounts. Inspired by just that need, Japan’s Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank will soon roll out a line of ATMs that scan users’ palms and require no external form of identification. READ MORE…

smarterplanet:

Laser System Paints Information on the Road Ahead   | Technology Review

Ever wondered if you could control your house’s climate, security, and appliances — along with your PCs and peripherals — using Microsoft software? That day may soon dawn, as its Research arm has started testing its home automation software, called HomeOS, in twelve domiciles over the past few months. The budding system views smartphones, printers and air conditioners as network peripherals, controlled by a dedicated gateway computer. The project even has a handful of apps in play, which perform functions like energy monitoring, remote surveillance and face-recognition. This growing list of applications, available through a portal called “HomeStore”, will allow users to easily expand their system’s capabilities. So how does it all work out in the real world? Head past the break, and let Redmond’s research team give you the skinny.

joshbyard:

Korea To Deploy Robotic Corrections Officer

[Robo-guard is] a robotic corrections officer designed to help keep tabs on troublesome South Korean inmates… Equipped with 3D cameras, a microphone, and a program that helps it spy unwanted behavior, Robo-guard cruises the halls all by his lonesome, keeping a keen eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

If need be, Robo-guard can be controlled by prison personell using nothing more than an iPad. Otherwise, this blocky robotic hero goes about his business completely unattended. If, by chance, he happens upon something truly uncouth, Robo-guard immediately alerts those in charge…

Developed by the Asian Forum for Corrections, Robo-guard is still being tested, though prison officials hope to have the robotic security guard roaming other prisons shortly. “The purpose of developing this kind of robot is to secure prisoners’ life and security and to decrease the workload of corrections officers in a poor working environments,” said AFC chairman Lee Baik-Chul, who went on to call the robot a “game changer”.

(via Meet Robo-guard: South Korea’s Robotic Corrections Officer | WebProNews)

revoltfactory:

“Cultural Differences” application culls the top six photos from a Google image search for a specific word in 15 countries, displaying a visual comparison of its meaning among an array of different nations.

(via Cultural Differences)