Gadgets Blog

Sanyo does not only make great rechargeable batteries in the form of Eneloop, they are also environmentally conscious with their new range of AWD-AQ4000 drum type washing and drying machines known as Aqua. These new versions comes with a built-in ozone (O3) generator, which helps increase the amount of ozone generated to double that of its current product, the AWD-AQ3000. In addition, during the rinsing process for washing out detergent and dirt, Sanyo decided to change it by replacing one of the two rinsing cycles which use water pooled within the tub with a “high-speed shower rinse,” where the laundry is rinsed with a shower of water instead. Sanyo hopes that by introducing these improvements, the amount of water used will be decreased by approximately 10% (which is roughly 68 liters in a 9kg laundry wash, while reducing washing time to 34% despite maintaining washing performance that is equal to the current product.

Not only that, Sanyo’s new Aqua range will also increase the output of the O3 generator from 285ppm to 600ppm. Its predecessor had circular generating elements which were laid out on a plain surface, whereas the new generator features linear electrodes located within the center of a cylindrical glass tube. This helps make ozone get generated more effectively thanks to the entire glass tube as linear electrodes are able to discharge electricity toward the wall of the tube while air is sent into the glass tube.

What’s more, power consumption was reduced to approximately 6Wh - which is roughly a 33% reduction compared to the current product. For those who want to save money while doing their house chores in these times of economic hardship, you’ll be pleased to know that Sanyo’s AWD-AQ4000 is able to reduce electricity cost from approximately $0.14 to just $0.03 in a 60-minute course of “air wash” which sterilizes and deodorizes your clothes using O3.

Source: Tech On!

Some of you might remember about two years ago when we reported on the Child-robot with Biomimetic Body, aka the CB2. The CB2 is a robotic toddler that is programmed with AI to make it act like a baby.

Apparently, two years of cognitive development have been good for the robo-tyke. It has been developing social skills by recording facial expressions with its eye cameras, and it can match them with physical sensations of its own.

There have even been reports that the CB2 has learned to walk by observing humans doing it. That is all my sources say about that, and I would like to know if any interim period of crawling for the CB2 was required before it learned to walk.

The developers hope that it will not take long before CB2 learns how to talk, presumably by listening to other people. At what point will the CB2 start school? Should it be home-schooled, or entered into public school? Man, the other kids will be merciless to him…it.

Well, the future of CB2 seems uncertain, but I’m sure we’ll keep you posted on its development. If you want to know about a little more about its origin, feel free to check out this article I wrote about it a while ago.

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Segway and General Motors have announced a new 2 seat automobile project called Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility Project (PUMA). The idea is to take the self balancing gyroscopic design of the Segway and apply it to a two wheeled sedan that can reach a top speed of 35 miles per hour and will be powered by a lithium battery which will provide for up to 35 miles travelled in single charge.

Additionally, the PUMA will have so called “vehicle to vehicle communications” for reducing the risk of accidents and regulating the flow of traffic. Huh? Can you imagine tooling around Los Angeles in this little puppy and trying to talk to the 200 other drivers around you in order to make sure someone doesn’t hit you? I’m sorry, but that’s not going to happen … especially when states already have passed hands free laws which frown on communication. I mean, I can see these being very popular on golf courses or small towns where Main Street is the hub of transportation, but in the big city, the PUMA would be a death trap. I got T-boned in Burbank once and if I was in a PUMA, they’d be putting me in a body bag.

Still, I’d tool around in it for the back nine.

Hat Tip â€" Like Cool

This is probably one of those stories that might be getting too much press, but I’m covering it anyway for those who haven’t heard. Essentially, General Motors and Segway have teamed up to create Project PUMA.

PUMA stands for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility, and it is essentially the next step up for Segway. The PUMA can hold two or more passengers, and everyone always asks how in the world a third person could ride this without being dragged.

Is anyone still amazed at the perfect balance? I admire that they figured out how to put two people on it. Anyway, the PUMA can reach speeds of up to 35 miles an hour, at a cost of 35 cents per charge.

A recent press release has stated that this versatile vehicle will be good for “social networking”. Man, everyone wants to dip into that Kool-Aid these days, don’t they? PUMA drivers may not be able to update their Facebook sites as they go, but the OnStar system will inform the PUMA drivers or other PUMA drivers in the vicinity.

PUMA will be on display at the New York Auto Show this week, and is certain to draw a crowd. As far as my sources are concerned, there doesn’t seem to be any word about a price or availability.

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I’m not certain how small cellular phones are going to be in the future. Pretty soon, they will be as tiny as the one that Ben Stiller had in Zoolander.

Case in point: the card mobile phone, which is a cellular phone that is the size of a credit card. Well, it is the length and width of a credit card, but it is thick as a stack of three credit cards. That is thin enough to slide into the pocket with your Visa or MasterCard, and it weighs in at 1.3 ounces.

In case you are concerned about the lack of buttons on the card mobile phone, dialing is accomplished by navigating an onscreen dialpad, and it also comes with a built-in voice dialer. This is a dual band GSM GPRS that has about 200 minutes of talk time. The screen is either color or monochrome, and the credit card phone is waterproof.

It would appear that the user can put his or her personal message on it. Someone must be very proud that he or she won the CTIA Emerging Technology Awards.

The Card Mobile Phone will be available in June or July. Rumor has it that it will hit India, and then the United States.

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