The World's Cheapest Lightbulb Is Made Of Just A Plastic Bottle

The World's Cheapest Lightbulb Is Made Of Just A Plastic Bottle: "

In places where there is no grid, houses can be dark. But a simple solution--a plastic bottle stuck in the roof--can light up a room.

We have lightbulbs made from glowing metal filaments, fluorescent gas, and LED diodes. And now we have one made of water. There is also a virtually unlimited supply since the 'bulb' is composed of nothing more than one-liter plastic bottle, water, and bleach. The simple technology can be installed in less than an hour, lasts for five years, and is equivalent to a 60-watt bulb.

It works simply: The water defracts the light, letting it spread throughout the house instead of focusing on one point. The bleach keeps the water clear and microbe-free.

Developed by students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology focused on 'appropriate technologies,' the solar bottle bulb is illuminating poor settlements across the Philippines, where the organization Isang Litrong Liwanag ('A Liter of Light') has already installed 10,000 of them. “With the Solar Bottle Bulb project, a brighter Philippines is going to become a reality,” Illac Diaz, a social entrepreneur installing the bulbs, told a Filipino publication. You can watch a video of the bulbs in action here.

Millions of poor homes in Manila--and far more around the world--are left in the dark because metal roofs block all light and there are no connections to the electrical grid in cramped informal settlements. This simple bottle bulb, installed through a sealed hole cut in the metal roofs, provides a surprising amount of light by deflecting sunlight into gloomy interiors.

It's just one more innovation in the growing movement to design appropriate technologies for the developing world, where a little ingenuity goes further than a lot of technology.

Update: We've also learned that

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Shoe sole helps you retain balance

Shoe sole helps you retain balance: "

I have seen some folks wear energy pendants around their neck which is said to offer better balance – and during product demonstrations, it does seem to work wonders. Well, here is a slightly more scientific approach to helping people obtain better balance – through the SCRSA (Sponge Core Soft Rubber Actuator) that will see action with shoe soles, helping folks compensate their lack of balance (especially the elderly) by maintaining a flawless center of gravity all the time through the control of the stiffness of the shoe sole. Seems to be the perfect accessory for the elderly, but I am not too sure just whether this technology will be cheap enough to be made accessible to all and sundry. Perhaps if it is too expensive, those energy pendant peddlers won’t run out of business anytime soon.

Shoe sole helps you retain balance, By Ubergizmo. Top Stories : Xperia Play Review, Droid X2 Review,

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ArmAssist uses video games used to heal stroke victims

ArmAssist uses video games used to heal stroke victims: "

While most of us play video games just so we can have fun, in the future some people might get to play video games to get better. Some researchers in Spain have developed a device that is said to help people with neuromuscular disabilities, such as stroke victims, regain function. It is called the ArmAssist, it is made up of a mobile-based device that is connected to the user through an orthotic that records and measures the movements of the shoulder and elbow.

These recorded signals are sent to the computer which are then translated into movements in a video game. As users play the game, they train to regain control of their arms and exercise their muscles at the same time. The ArmAssist is currently going through testing phases before it is made available to the public. No word of when that will be, but it’s great to see video games being used for more than just entertainment purposes.

[Press Release]

ArmAssist uses video games used to heal stroke victims, By Ubergizmo. Top Stories : Xperia Play Review, HTC Sensation Review,

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Inflatable helmet pad makes your helmets safer

Inflatable helmet pad makes your helmets safer: "

While helmets are required by law to be worn at all times when cycling or on a motorbike, the size and fitting of a helmet isn’t regulated by the government. And even though it is always safer to wear a helmet when riding, a badly fitted helmet can be just as dangerous as not wearing one at all. To counter this problem, some designers have come up with a concept called the inflatable helmet pad.

Used in conjunction with your regular helmet, the helmet pad basically an extra accessory that is fitted in between your head and the helmet. Once it is put on, riders can then inflate the helmet pad to make sure that the helmet becomes a snug fit. When a helmet is snug, it avoids movement or slipping of the helmet when riding and the inflated pad can also provide extra protection in the case of an accident. How’s that for simple and innovative? Now let’s see these on the market ASAP. Head over to Yanko Design to find out more about the inflatable helmet pad.

Inflatable helmet pad makes your helmets safer, By Ubergizmo. Top Stories : Xperia Play Review, HTC Sensation Review,

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Amniotik capsule concept lets you chillax

Amniotik capsule concept lets you chillax: "

Don’t you wish you had a hole to crawl to sometimes in life? Perhaps, as the everyday rigors of office work might end up being rather stressful for many people. Singles are better off in this aspect since they can have their personal time outs without having to meet with anyone, but those who are married or have a family will find this to be much harder to achieve. Perhaps when everyone is able to afford one of these conceptual Amniotik personal relaxation capsules, things might just change.

Coming in the form of an egg that might make one wonder whether he/she will be stepping back into the womb, Noela Leis’ concept will send you to a truly tranquil world, sporting an interactive touch screen inside that lets you choose the kind of “treatment” you would like to receive. Inside would be a gel seat, an oxygen mask and a supple feeding tube to boot. No idea if they have a version for “twins”?

Amniotik capsule concept lets you chillax, By Ubergizmo. Top Stories : Xperia Play Review, Samsung Infuse 4G Review,

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Posture Pad tells you to sit correctly

Posture Pad tells you to sit correctly: "

If you’re always working in front of the computer all day, you should know how important it is to have a good posture when you’re seated. But how do you remind yourself to sit up properly all the time? Well, a group of high school kids who call themselves the Back Straight Boys seem to have a solution called The Posture Pad.

The Posture Pad is basically a device that makes use of embedded sensors and microcomputers in an ergonomically designed seat pad to gauge a computer user’s seating position and transmits the data to his/her computer to provide feedback about how they’re sitting. When a user isn’t seated correctly, the Posture Pad will vibrate or emit a tone to let the user know so they can make the necessary corrections to their posture.

Right now it’s still a prototype, however the Boys plan to hone and refine the device with the aid of a professor and occupational therapist in time for a presentation at the upcoming Human Factors and Ergonomics Society this year. It’s good to see our future generation putting their minds to good use. Who knows what they’ll come up with next?

Posture Pad tells you to sit correctly, By Ubergizmo. Top Stories : Xperia Play Review, HTC Sensation Review,

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Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: cancer experts say 'What, me worry?'

Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: cancer experts say 'What, me worry?': "If you haven't already gotten whiplash from the ongoing cellphone-cancer debate, a freshly released scientific review might just do the trick. In the paper, published Friday, a panel of experts from Britain, Sweden and the US conducted a thorough survey of previous studies, before concluding that existing literature is 'increasingly against' the theory that cellphone use causes brain tumors in adults. The researchers also questioned the biological mechanisms underpinning this hypothesis, while acknowledging some lingering uncertainties, since data on childhood tumors and longer-term research are still lacking.



The results come just a few weeks after the World Health Organization released its own literature review, in which it claimed that cell phones should be considered 'potentially carcinogenic.' But Anthony Swerdlow, a professor at Britain's Institute of Cancer Research and leader of the most recent investigation, said his group's work doesn't necessarily contradict the WHO, since the latter was simply seeking to evaluate cancer risks according to its own 'pre-set classification system' -- under which things like pickled vegetables and coffee are also considered 'potentially carcinogenic.' Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that the debate will die down anytime soon, though Swerdlow expects more definitive conclusions within the next few years -- assuming, of course, that all of our brains haven't turned to oatmeal by then.

Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: cancer experts say 'What, me worry?' originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jul 2011 06:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Textually  |  Reuters  | Email this | Comments"

Lounge-Wood laptop stand is a beautiful piece of furniture too

Lounge-Wood laptop stand is a beautiful piece of furniture too: "

Despite the term laptop, chances are you’ll probably be more productive and slightly more comfortable if you were sitting at a desk, or if you had a more stable surface to place your laptop on. Sure there are laptop stands currently available which claim to provide ergonomical features, but are they as beautiful as the Lounge-Wood laptop stand? We think not.

Lounge-Wood laptop stand is a beautiful piece of furniture too, By Ubergizmo. Top Stories : Xperia Play Review, Samsung Infuse 4G Review,

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HAL exosuit takes a Cybernic approach to disabled tourism

HAL exosuit takes a Cybernic approach to disabled tourism: "

Cybernics -- it's not a typo, it's a completely new field that mixes cybernetics, mechatronics, and informatics with an all-human core. Pioneered by Tsukuba Univeristy designer Yoshiyuki Sankai, the Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) exosuit originally created to aid Japan's eldery has now found an even nobler mission -- assisting disabled tourists. Through detection of weak muscular bioelectrical impulses in the legs, this RoboCop-like lower body suit boosts its wearer's load-bearing abilities by a whopping 176 pounds. The exoskeleton tech first helped paralyzed Seiji Uchida nearly tackle Switzerland's Breithorn peak in 2006 and is now getting another go at the disabled traveler's bucket list. This time 'round, Uchida hopes his ride atop a HAL-outfitted human will successfully carry him to the top of Normandy's rugged Mont Saint-Michel, paving the way for other similarly handicapped travelers to do the same. Although the robotics in question here is more mech suit than say, dental training real doll, it's still a huge leg up for the nascent research industry that got its kick-start making a wish come true.

HAL exosuit takes a Cybernic approach to disabled tourism originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jul 2011 14:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PhysOrg  |  Center for Cybernics Research  | Email this | Comments"

Vermont Uses Draft Horse To Lay Fiber-Optic Cables For Internet Access

Vermont Uses Draft Horse To Lay Fiber-Optic Cables For Internet Access: "

In what seems like an ironic situation, a draft horse is being used in Vermont to lay fiber-optic cables that will be used for internet access. It’s like how “old” technology is being used to install newer technology, but the reasoning behind it is far from ironic, but instead quite practical.

Vermont Uses Draft Horse To Lay Fiber-Optic Cables For Internet Access, By Ubergizmo. Top Stories : HTC Sensation Review, Samsung Infuse 4G Review,

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Keas: The New Game That Has Officemates Battling One Another To Get Healthier

Keas: The New Game That Has Officemates Battling One Another To Get Healthier: "

Former Google exec Adam Bosworth is helping companies save money on health care by gamifying exercise and nutrition as coworkers compete for cash prizes. 'We’re trying to change health habits in a very fundamental way,' he tells us.

The reward of living longer, healthier lives hasn't been enough to incentivize too many Americans into exercising or eating well--a lifestyle choice wreaking havoc on employee productivity and health care costs. But former Vice President of Product Management at Google, Adam Bosworth, has found success encouraging healthy habits by stopping the lecturing and turning wellness into a game, through a workplace wellness platform called Keas (pronounced 'Key-ahss'). He spoke with Fast Company about what he believes are the psychological keys to motivating healthy living--and, how these are making up for the failed Google Health project.

Bosworth argues that Keas separates itself from the competition by only
counting sustained engagement. Measuring the number of initial signups
or those who only log on a few times is not helpful. Instead, he says: 'We’re trying to
change health habits in a very fundamental way.'

Keas outfits workplaces with an opt-in healthy competition software platform, where individuals or teams vie to rack up points by completing tasks such as walking to work, eating healthier, or learning about nutrition. Winners earn badges and take home mid-sized prizes, including cash and gifts.

 

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Keas boasts that, on average, roughly 35% of an entire company's staff plays the full 12-week program. After only three months of testing, Bosworth admits they have insufficient data on life-long lifestyle changes, but the demand has been so strong that his team is now building a program for gung-ho employees who want to continue long after the workplace game ends.

For Bosworth, gamifying health needs to be consistent with 'human nature.'

Come for the reward, stay for the people

Rewards are 'what brings people to the game, but it's not what sustains them; it's not what keeps them there, it’s too little money,” argues Bosworth. Rather, it's the exhilaration of team competition and the support of coworkers that keeps employees committed. More than age or sex, 'the one thing that had a dramatic effect on engagement was being a member of a team.'

Bosworth says that teams of six are large enough to exert social pressure, but small enough so that everyone can keep tabs on each other. 'Peer obligation is a very important psychological factor in the game,” he says.

Bosworth thinks that Google Health ultimately failed because it wasn't social. 'It
wasn't actually a place you wanted to go to. It wasn't fun. It wasn't a
place to hang out with others dealing with the same issues. Nobody was
cheering you on as you made progress or encouraging you during
setbacks.'

In addition to swapping nutritional tidbits over lunch and encouraging a struggling peer to press on, our colleagues' actions are socially contagious. Seeing a sweat-dripped coworker arrive energized to work shows us the person we could have been if we had chosen to walk to work. On the darker side, if everyone orders dessert after Friday happy hour, the temptation to cheat may break those struggling to maintain healthy eating habits. An environment overflowing with Keas participants can snatch up stragglers who don't want to be left out of the fun.

Be like Richard Simmons: Keep it positive

Bosworth learned early on that the carrot was far more effective than the stick: Biting reminders of obesity caused users to bolt. 'Rather than causing people to wake up and suddenly be motivated and see the light and say, ‘Oh, I must fix this,’ they were gone in 60 seconds.'

Gorging is about cheap, immediate gratification--not nutritional needs or, sometimes, even taste. To prove this, one clever experiment mapped the density of fast food restaurants around participants and found that, unsurprisingly, one of the greatest predictors of whether employees grabbed a greasy snack was impulsivity, or “reward sensitivity.” Likewise, Bosworth found that tiny incentives were enough to satiate the reward-itchy fingers of his obese users: 'Now that we’ve made the thing entirely positive feedback, people love it and they stick around.'

Surprise: Quizzes are a reward

A recent meta-review of video games
for workplace training found that games can be more effective than
traditional training alone, which is precisely how ice cream retailer
Cold Stone Creamery saved itself money through an interactive game
showing employees how to reduce the amount delicious of ice cream they
served up. 'One of the advantages of games is that they are
intrinsically motivating, resulting in employees choosing to repeatedly
engage in game play and mastering the skills,' author Traci Sitzmann
told ScienceDaily.

'Quizzes are not a cost, they are a reward,' says Bosworth. His team believed they had created a cheap, endless pool of bonus rewards when they crafted 60 nutritional quizzes. 'Four days after we launched the game, we had customers besieging us with emails saying they were out of bonus points,' he says. 'We realized they’d done all 50 or 60 quizzes; they’d done them in four days and they wanted more.'

Advice: Hire a psychologist

'Frankly, those of us who designed software were not psychologists,' he admits. Applying intuitive understandings of human behavior to their programs ended up backfiring.

Negative feedback, for instance, seems like a time-tested way to kick people into action, but few studies support it, as research finds that punishment is good for stopping behavior, but not for replacing it with desired actions: 'A big change for us was when we put a psychologist in charge.'

[Image: Flickr user xJasonRogerx]

Follow Greg Ferenstein on Twitter. Also follow Fast Company on Twitter.

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