Tombstones are about to enter the digital age, my friend. Vidstone is offering the Serenity Panel, a solar-powered 7" LCD panel that can be placed on a gravestone, mausoleum, or columbarium. The Serenity Panel will display a five to eight minute photo slideshow detailing "the most precious memories of your loved one's life" and fully creeping out everyone who happens to pass by on the way to less haunting memorials. The product sounds suspicious, and judging from the picture, Vidstone is actually the ghost of a company that died four years ago. The only ghost companies I trust employ Peter Venkman.
CNN has an article about a new interface that transmits images directly to the brain through a device placed on the tongue. The interface, known as the "Brain Port," has the potential to transfer data from cameras, compasses, sonar, etc. through electrodes on the device and into images in the user's brain. It is currently being developed for military applications, with an intent to create soldiers with "superhuman senses similar to owls, snakes and fish." At its current stage, the device has helped scuba divers locate small objects in controlled conditions and produced some visual perception for blind testers. Although it would be great for soldiers to have 360° sonar, it's a lot harder to call for help during the next shark, bear, or bear shark attack with giant plastic pacifiers in their mouths.
Verify Location, a UK company that specializes in offering tracking services to the public, is now offering the Sazo GSM. About the size of a matchbox, the Sazo GSM broadcasts its geographic location to an internet site where it can be tracked and monitored. Unlike GPS tracking devices like the TrackStick, this Sazo model uses cellular phone frequencies to determine its location, making it feasible for use in enclosed areas. In addition to tracking, the Sazo GSM offers services similar to a cell phone, like receiving calls and sending emergency SMS messages. Unfortunately, the device and service are only offered in the UK, so you'll have to find another way to determine if your girlfriend really spends her nights volunteering at that homeless senior citizen blood drive she's always talking about.
Audi has unveiled a car accessory that could make your daily arguments with moody teenage barristas a thing of the past. The WMF espresso machine is a coffee machine that sits firmly between the driver and passenger seat in Audi's latest concept car. Although it appears in a concept form, Audi assured that it is fully functional, "provides fresh coffee at the touch of a button," and will only occasionally sprays the driver's crotch with a blistering stream of searing coffee. Combine this espresso machine with some of RoadPro's utensils, and you could rent out your kitchen to a family of nomadic herders.
Crigler-Najjar syndrome is a disorder that inhibits the breakdown of poisonous bilirubin in the body, which can lead to yellow skin and eventually be fatal. To treat the disorder, sufferers are forced to expose their skin to a specific blue light for hours on end, usually in a modified tanning bed. In an attempt to create an easier form of treatment, Philomeen Engels has developed the Ledwrap, a suit made of breathable material with flexible disks of LEDs. The Ledwrap emits the correct color of light necessary to treat the disorder, and it enables a much more fluid and comfortable treatment. The final benefit of the Ledwrap is to give the wearer the proper data files necessary to end the tyrannical reign of the MCP once and for all.
Electrical engineering students at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have created the world's largest 3D-display. The display consists of 8,000 suspended ping pong balls that each contain a red LED light. It will be used to play games of 3D snake, 3D pong, and 3D duckhunt, and it will display SMS messages and simple animations. The display will be revealed on April 23, and remain open to the public until a wino inevitably enters and gets trapped in the strands of welcoming light.