A new research details how angiosperms appeared and became dominant during the age of dinosaurs and how they have changed over time
Robotic walking stick for visually impaired
In a first, engineers have designed a robotic walking stick for the visually impaired that can detect the user's immediate path and store localised geographical information.
Published : 24 August 2014, 03:32 PM
Updated : 24 August 2014, 03:32 PM
The robotic cane has two cameras and Bluetooth audio functionality.
The cameras detect objects in the user's path, such as chairs and stairs, while the audio system communicates to the user.
Meanwhile, a computer holds information about recent pathways and objects within them.
"This allows the cane to recognise the user's location and guide the user, much as a seeing-eye-dog would do. Like a traditional cane, the robot cane is adjustable to different lengths," explained its designer Cang Ye from University of Arkansas at Little Rock - Engineering ERIQ Lab.
The technology has been prototyped under the National Robotics Initiative, funded by the US National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, Live Science reported.
RELATED STORIES
The newly identified black hole is located about 2,000 light-years from Earth
The researchers studied five early dinosaurs - all bipedal, fleet-footed, and with clawed, grasping hands and sharp teeth
A formal request for proposals will go out Tuesday to various NASA centres and laboratories, as well as to space industry companies
