drag2share: Buy an LG G3 in the US, get a free VR headset

source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/31/lg-vr-headset-US/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

LG's new mobile VR headset -- which is basically just a plastic version of Google's cardboard VR viewer -- is finally hitting American shores. The company just announced that it'll be throwing in a free headset, simply called the VR for G3, with the purchase of its latest flagship Android phone at participating retailers. Since it's adopting the Google Cardboard platform, which is just a box that you can plug your smartphone in for simple VR experiences, there really isn't much to LG's offering. You just need to slide in a G3 unit and load up a VR app (LG will also link users to some VR gaming content). It also features a magnet that works together with the phone's gyroscope (again, just like Google's box), that lets you select things without interacting with the screen. Unfortunately, it's still unclear how existing G3 owners can get their hands on LG's VR headset (we've dropped a line for additional details).

It may seem a tad gimmicky, but a cheap VR headset will allow consumers to get a taste of the virtual reality experience without shelling out for an expensive accessory like Samsung's $200 Gear VR. And while it certainly won't compare with complex VR tech from Oculus, HTC and Valve, the VR for G3 is a reminder how small the barrier to entry for VR is getting.

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drag2share: 'Spooky' experiment proves quantum entanglement is real

source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/30/spooky-experiment-proves-quantum-entanglement-is-real/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

Einstein was wrong -- about the quantum mechanical phenomena known as superpositioning and wave form collapse, at least. A team from Australia's Griffith University and Japan's University of Tokyo, have proven that both are tangible phenomena, not simply mathematical paradoxes. See, back when he was still reigning "smartest guy on the planet," Einstein just couldn't wrap his massive intellect around the theory of superpositioning (or as he called it, "spooky action across distance"). That is, a particle in superposition effectively exists in both places at once (not unlike Schroedinger's Cat) until you observe it at either location. At which time the particle you aren't looking at ceases to exist (a process known as wave function collapse). What's more, the disappearing particle seems to know that its twin has been discovered through some mechanism that happens instantly, literally traveling faster than the speed of light -- a clear violation of Einstein's theory of relativity.

In a paper published last week in the journal, Nature Communications, the team split a single photon in half and transmitted it to two separate labs. Upon analysis, they found that the particle not only exists in a superposition state until its observed but that it never showed up in both labs at the same time. According to Einstein's understanding of physics, this simply shouldn't be possible.

Now that the researchers have proven that both superposition and wave function collapse are real, we can begin to apply these phenomena to the next generation of quantum information processing systems. "Usually there are two types of quantum information processing," University of Tokyo professor of applied physics, Akira Furusawa, said in a statement. "There's the qubit type, the digital information processing, and there's continuous variable, a sort of analog type of quantum information. We are trying to combine them." And by leveraging the wave function collapse mechanism, researchers may be able to make quantum communications more secure.

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Article: Researchers demonstrate quantum entanglement, prove Einstein wrong

What Einstein termed "spooky action at a distance" has been successfully demonstrated for the first time. For the first time, quantum entanglement of a single particle has been observed by researchers -- an event that Albert Einstein believed to be impossible under the contemporary quantum mechan...

http://www.cnet.com/news/researchers-demonstrate-quantum-entanglement-prove-einstein-wrong/#ftag=CADf328eec

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Liquid metal machines 'eat' in order to move

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/30/liquid-metal-eating-machines/

Robots typically rely on batteries to get power, but they may soon have to do little more than nibble on another material to start moving. Chinese researchers have developed simple liquid metal machines (not shown here) that zip around if they "eat" aluminum and other substances that produce electrochemical reactions. It's not possible to directly control their movement, but they closely mimic whatever space they're in -- you can propel them through channels, for instance.

These amorphous machines aren't blisteringly fast. Right now, chewing on metal lets them move at about 2 inches per second for over an hour. It's doubtful that you'll see a nimble, Terminator 2-style shapeshifting android any time soon, then -- perhaps thankfully -- but one of the basic ingredients for that kind of liquid robot is now in place.

[Image credit: Shelley Brunt, Flickr]

Filed under: Robots, Science

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Source: Xinhua

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: e-paper shoes, superhighways and solar ovens

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/29/superhighways-shoes-oven/

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

Fans of green cars are eagerly awaiting the release of the Tesla Model X, but you won't have to wait to see what it looks like on the road -- a YouTube user spotted the new car cruising down the freeway in Palo Alto, California. The electric vehicle, which was originally supposed to be released in 2013, is now set to launch in the third quarter of 2015. In other automotive news, Mercedes-Benz has announced plans to release 10 new plug-in hybrid models by 2017. The new models will be designated with a simple "e" instead of the longer "plug-in hybrid" branding. Toyota is currently testing its i-Road three-wheeled electric vehicle in France. The i-Road is seen as a "last-mile" vehicle, and Toyota wants to see how it can integrate with public transportation to decrease traffic gridlock.

In other green transportation news, a Russian oligarch has announced plans to build a massive superhighway that would connect all the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. NASA is quietly testing an electric plane concept that has the potential to shake up the aviation industry. The plane, which looks quite a bit different than today's typical commercial jet, has 18 independently operated electric motors that are powered by lithium-phosphate batteries. And for contemporary nomads, the Mogo Freedom is a versatile trailer that sleeps two and contains plenty of storage space for schlepping outdoor gear.

The Solar Decathlon is one of the biggest green architecture events of the year, and plans for this year's slate of houses are already trickling in. A team of German and American students from Munich and Austin, Texas (respectively), will build NexusHaus, a small one-story prefab that's equipped with an efficient water-treatment system and rooftop solar panels. In other design news, Spanish architects Jose Selgas and Lucia Cano of SelgasCano just unveiled designs for the 2015 Serpentine Pavilion, a temporary structure that will be built in London's Kensington Gardens. The United Nations is partnering with the social enterprise Better Shelter to deliver 10,000 solar-powered flat-pack IKEA shelters to refugee families. Irish company Thermo Tent has created a new type of insulated camping tent that maintains constant internal temperatures and muffles noise, while Heimplanet released a new inflatable tent that can fit up to six people. A father-daughter team has recreated many of the scenes from Jurassic Park using stop-motion video and over $100,000 worth of Lego bricks. And in wearable tech news, a new shoe created by iShüu Technologies is made from electronic paper that can change colors and patterns. And fashion designer Pauline van Dongen and architect Behnaz Farahi have teamed up to create a 3D-printed flexible collar that can move on its own with a little help from nitinol and a small electric signal.

Chinese officials have announced plans to shutter all of Beijing's coal-fired power plants by 2016. The city will be switching to gas-powered plants, which are significantly cleaner. Meanwhile, Europe is leading the way when it comes to dealing with climate change. France just passed a new law that will require all new commercial buildings to be at least partially covered with either solar panels or green roofs. But increases in renewable energy aren't confined to the European continent. Thanks to heavy rainfall, Costa Rica was able to run solely on renewable energy for more than 75 days. And in Uzbekistan, workers have erected an enormous solar oven that uses concentrated solar energy to produce temperatures hot enough to melt metal. New photos show the futuristic structure, which can heat up to 3,000 degrees Celsius. In other clean energy news, researchers have figured out a way to transform packing peanuts -- those little, white, foam nuggets that typically end up in the landfill -- into carbon anodes for lithium-ion batteries.

Filed under: Misc, Household, Transportation, Science

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