Have I Got One For YOU

About

Oh you thought that was weird, well have I got one for you!
If you've got a story, picture, or link that's beyond belief, send it to tipline@haveigotoneforyou.com with your name and where you heard about it and we'll add it!

Newer posts are loading.

You are at the newest post.
Click here to check if anything new just came in.

February 07 2012

17:26

Black Box Bot Soaks Up Heat, Then Follows You Around and Keeps You Warm

When it gets cold out, staying warm usually means either cranking up the heat—and, thus, the heating bill—or piling on the sweaters and straying from the radiator’s immediate vicinity only when absolutely necessary. But your days of dashing between warm spots, or paying extra for the privilege of not, may soon be at an end. A new robot can keep you warm by saving up the heat you’ve already got until you need it.

HAGENT, as the robot is called, isn’t much to look at; it’s just a plain black cube with a couple barely visible wheels peeking out the bottom. But when HAGENT senses warmth—from an oven, a radiator, or any other heat source—it rolls over and soaks up the heat with its internal phase change material, stuff that turns liquid and stores energy when it’s heated up. Once the bot has its thermal fill, it makes its way to wherever you are and emits the stored heat. Its insides re-solidify in the process, so once it’s made your toes suitably toasty, it’s ready to do the whole thing again. In other words, it’s the automated answer to a housecat that soaks up sunlight, then curls up on your ...

Tags: Physics & Math. ’Nuff Said. Technology Attacks! engineering heating home appliances robots

#
React

December 28 2010

18:07

Fridge of the Future is Predicting We Will Be Lazy

Future forecast: laziness ahead. Appliance designers are trying to make even eating and cooking as fool- and work-proof as possible.

The fridge of the future they are designing can do it all: order food, plan your recipes, and even count your calories.

This future-is-now technology is being created by a team of researchers at University of Central Lancashire (that’s in England, in case your fridge hasn’t told you) working with grocery delivery company Ocado. The fridge will automatically scan its contents and order groceries accordingly. It can even plan recipes around the fridge contents, designer Simon Sommerville told the Daily Mail:

“If the specific item for a recipe is not present, the refrigerator might suggest a delayed option, which allows time for delivery, or possibly attempt to find or propose a passable alternative for the missing ingredient.”

It will even clean itself and its nano-tile shelves will move older food and leftovers forward so it can be used. It will also detect decomposing food, keeping those stinky fridge smells from developing and reducing waste. Dieting will be easier, too, as the fridge has a built-in scale which can weigh and determine the calorie count of your foods before and after eating, keeping a food diary of your caloric intake.

Currently the fridge is just a gleam in its designer’s eye—and, frankly, it seems like it will probably remain just that—but it’s an interesting look at what kinds of tasks might be too much for humans of the future.