Reasearchers over at Honda Research Institute Japan have recently showed off technology they have developed that allows MRI images of a brain to control their Asimo robot, essentially mind control.    "A person in the MRI machine made a fist, spread his fingers and then made a V-sign and the robot hand under his control made precisely the same movements."  Honda says this MRI technology can lead to a device the size of a baseball cap that is able to control robots using this mind control technique. Read more over at Robot Gossip.

The SPHERES micro-satellites program, led by David Miller over at MIT is developing micro-satellites that are capable of formation flying. About the size of a volleyball, the spheres micro-satellites have been launched aboard the International Space Station on May 18th. Aimed at developing better robotic technology for orbital work the SPHERES program has developed technology in these small micro-satellites that uses ultrasound technology to determine the micro-satellites position and are able to maintain a position in space with only 0.4 inches of drift. During the test aboard ISS the satellites will use their thrusters and hunt down special beacons installed throughout the the station. Intresting to say the least this technology can lead to more complex versions of micro-satellites that are able to hunt down and repair other satilites as well as help automated docking systems which in the future could be used for missions to the Moon or Mars.

Check out this awesome two person hovercraft from Hammacher Schlemmer. It uses a 60-horsepower air-cooled engine along with a 12 volt battery to cruise at speeds up to 60mph. It includes a 6 gallon gas tank, electric starter and also has a 16" windshield to protect you from stones or incoming enemy fire. The best part is you can travel on water, sand, ice, mud snow and even grass and concrete, as well as up small inclines up to 20%. The hovercraft can hold 2 people or up to 400lbs. This killer toy will run you around $14,000.

Via Uncrate and Hammacher Schlemmer

Have you been spending to much time on the computer and become to lazy to walk up the steps? The Daytona Vacuum Elevator can be installed in less than a week, requires only 1 meter of floor space and can lift up to 450lbs. The elevator uses a vacuum effect to establish a velocity of up to 30′ per minute. One major advantage of this elevator is if the power goes out, or something fails, the laws of physics prevent you from falling. The downside to the vacuum elevator is noise. When operational the vacuum elevator can create up to 87 decibels which is about as loud as a tractor. You can check it out over at Daytona Elevator

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The DLO HomeDock Deluxe is a unique and first of its kind gadget that serves as a docking system for your Ipod and allows you to connect your Ipod to your television and navigate your ipod on the TV screen. The gadget then allows you to play the music through your tv speakers or home theater system. Standard RCA and S-Video connections are supplied with the DLO HomeDock Deluxe as well a USB cable to connect the system to your computer. Uncrate has been using this gadget for the last few weeks and has a hands on impression you can check out here

Although these are just 12 inch models, the concept is still pretty cool. The BAAL & Hyanide All-Terrain bikes were created for the Michelin Challenge Design 2006 by Tilmann Schlootz and Oliver Keller. The key feature of these off road bikes is the bendable rubber track which allows for maximum grip and traction and enables these bikes to climb any terrain. The rubber track also is able to pivot which creates extreme maneuverability. Both concepts use a frame that is very open ended and allows for numerous types engines to be used including fuel cell engines.

Developed by Callum Prentice, Ubrowser is a web browser that demonstrates the power of embedding the Mozilla Geko rendering engine using LibXul into a browser. The web content is first retrieved and then it is rendered onto 3D geometry using Open GL. Ubrowser is compatible with almost every website that works with Firefox 1.5 and the executable as well as the source code are openly available to download at http://ubrowser.com. We tried out Ubrowser and we were very impressed with the speed of the rendering, the interactivity preserved, and the fact that it worked with just about every site we tried it out with. Ubrowser demonstrates 3D web browsing is no longer a concept and is now a reality. Check below for some more screens of Infinity Labs using Ubrowser.
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If you happen to own a Mercedes-Benz SL55 and have about $108,000 to spend you can get it completely pimped out by Henrik Fisker. The Fisker Tramonto is an enhanced version of the SL55. To create it carbon fiber body panels are installed to replace the stock ones and a fighter jet-inspired grille as well as LED’s are installed on the front. The engine also gets some love and the horsepower is increased to 600hp. Xzibit could only dream of pimping out a car like this. Discovery via

We thought we would follow up yesterdays post of the 54" remote controlled yacht with another cool aquatic gadget. With the Radio-Control Robotic Shark jaws comes to a pool near you. The shark can dive up to 9′ deep and is over 2′ long. The propeller is located in the sharks tail and it can be directed left right up or down as well as forwards and backwards. You can check it out over at Discovery.com

Check out Apples new store being built on Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York. The Glass Cube entrance way which appears to have been inspired by the Louvre Museum in France was unveiled yesterday. The new 10,000-sqaure-foot Apple store will be open 24/7 365 days a year. Hopefully no one decides to throw a brick… Read more via News.com