Snails with benefits? Our salt shaker might disagree. But some enterprising engineers over at Japan’s Chuo University managed to turn this garden-variety pest into fodder for mechatronic inspiration. Based on the gastropod’s preferred method of ‘galloping’ — wherein waves of foot-to-head muscle contractions propel it forward — researchers at the Mechatronics Lab created TORo II, an omnidirectional robot that could make its way to a hospital near you. Why’s that? Well, the bot’s large gripped surface area makes it ideal for narrow, slippery environments — so it won’t budge if knocked into (though you might wind up on the emergency room floor). Although the unique movement technique has been used to create other mecha-mollusks in the past, the team behind this project made sure to create some of their own ceiling and wall-climbing critters — suction definitely included. We admit, we kind of feel guilty about the sodium chloride transgressions of our youth. And now that we know snails can be useful, it’s only a matter of time before the bedbug gets repurposed. Full omnidirectional video awesomeness after the break.

Continue reading Japanese TORo II gallops ahead at a mechanical snail’s pace (video)

Japanese TORo II gallops ahead at a mechanical snail’s pace (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jul 2011 21:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The United Kingdom has not long ago had one of the worst winters for a long time, but thanks to dependable meteorological predictions the worst has been disallowed. Despite some grit deprivations the road authorities in general made a acceptable effort at preparing the roads with salt and grit countermeasures.

It’s important to have the correct kind of equipment in these weather circumstances such as effective replacement wiper bladess. Grit isa type of sedimentary rock composed of small pebbles and sharp sand grains help prevent skidding on ice. The other component salt works by reducing the temperature at which ice melts, chemical treatments are usually a type of chloride e. g. sodium or calcium. This constituent has a useful effect all the way down to minus five degrees centigrade, but is also some what able at minus seven degrees centigrade. When the snow is deep calcium chloride is chosen to sodium chloride but the price is usually much higher.

There are also many inert elements added these can include sand, rubble, slag, ash and even sawdust. It is not unusual therefore that your motor vehicle takes a beating in the winter with all this course materials. Your wiper wipers are most at risk once the ablation sets in you have no choice but to find replacement wiper bladess immediately. You know this circumstance is in effect when your wipers provides streaky results and shrieks and judders when in use. Another problem is this regard, is the amount of salt which is thrown up by moving auto mobiles and sprayed directly onto the windscreen.

When this happens not only is the drivers vision critically obscured but once it has dried it becomes even worse comprising an darkened screen blocking the drivers field of view and giving a strange halo effect at night. This causes the wiper blade to be used considerably and your screen wash to be reduced if it is not already frozen. You can use a devoted designed winter formulation in your screen wash to avoid freezing in addition with your wiper blade containing alcohol. This will lower the temperature at which the washer fluid will melt but the chemicals will constantly degrade the rubber on your wiper blade.

Your standard rubber replacement wiper bladess are therefore inadequate and therefore present poor value for assets in the longer term. A new type of element called silicone can help avoid all of these problems when used to produce replacement wiper bladess. Silicone wiper blade have a lot of useful properties which help sustain their life span long into the future when common rubber wiper blade would have failed. The silicone resin is highly resistant to wear and tear and chemical attack, they will retain their amenability in almost all conditions all he way down to minus sixty degree temperature gradients therefore they are ideal in arctic environments.

Another awesome product is something called a flat wipers, this destroys the wear and distortion endemic to ordinary wipers frames. They have no joints and therefore are prevented from tightening when combined with silicone they no longer suffer from corrosion.

By Andrew Liszewski

Well this is rather fascinating. PepsiCo (who owns Frito-Lay, who makes Lay’s chips) researchers have developed a proprietary, and of course patent-pending technology, that allows them to reduce the amount of sodium in their chips by about 25 percent “with no impact on taste.” Research shows that standard cube-shaped salt crystals only dissolve about 20 percent of the way in your mouth, leaving the rest of the cube to be swallowed and dissolved later on in your digestive tract, where you can’t taste it.

But working with scientists from all over the globe, PepsiCo’s research team have found a way to restructure the standard salt crystal, making it dissolve more quickly in your mouth where it’s actually tasted. So you’ll need less of the stuff to produce the same salty flavor we all know and love. Apparently since the restructured salt crystals are still made of good ol’ sodium chloride, once they’re dissolved they’re no different than regular salt, so FDA approval isn’t needed. However, it will still be at least a year before the new salt starts being used in the company’s products.

[ Food Processing - PepsiCo Reduces Sodium by Restructuring Salt ] VIA [ Popular Science ]

Are you planning on going into space any time soon? No? Maybe it’s hot where you are, though. Yes? Then you need to be drinking some of this! The Right Stuff, a NASA-developed sports drink/zero-calorie electrolyte liquid concentrate, was designed to basically be the greatest drink on or off the planet. I mean, it’s astronaut proven, probably the highest standard ever. Check out the stats:

Developed as a remedy for dehydration, it helps prevent the loss of body fluids during heavy exercise, heat exposure and illness. It also can be used to treat and prevent dehydration caused by altitude sickness and jetlag.

The novel electrolyte formula contains a specific ratio of key ingredients, sodium chloride and sodium citrate, for rapid restoration of hydration. These electrolytes, dissolved in water, optimize the levels of sodium ions in the body. The beverage is an isotonic formulation that restores both intra- and extracellular body fluid volumes in dehydrated astronauts, athletes and others.

What they don’t tell you is that it’s going to be half of the next great fad drink: one part Right Stuff and one part any Russian vodka creates the International Space Station. I’m such a genius.

They’re coming to sports stores soon, or you can order some online; it comes in citrus, wild berry, and “unflavored,” which I guess just tastes like… electrolytes. Too bad it’s super expensive: if you buy 10 they’re about $2.70 each. Come on, NASA, we don’t all have astronaut salaries.

[via Medgadget]