American researchers have created a robotic jellyfish, named Robojelly, which not only exhibits characteristics ideal to use in underwater search and rescue operations, but could, theoretically at least, never run out of energy thanks to it being fuelled by hydrogen.
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From WP
Scientists funded by the U.S. Navy have developed a robot “jellyfish” — a foot-long submarine that runs on seawater and could be used on spy missions.
Researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas and Virginia Tech created the submarine drone, dubbed “Robojelly,” which is powered by hydrogen and oxygen in the water through which it sails.
The scientists, funded by the Office of Naval Research, reported their findings this week in the academic IOP Publishing's journal Smart Materials and Structures.
“We’ve created an underwater robot that doesn’t need batteries or electricity,” said Dr. Yonas Tadesse, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas and lead author of the study.
“The only waste released as it travels is more water.”
Engineers and scientists working for the military have increasingly turned to the animal kingdom, especially simple creatures like jellyfish or insects, for inspiration when creating new technology.
Scientists at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, for example, are working on ways to create insect cyborgs, by incorporating mechanical elements into larvae and then using them to control the fully grown insect when it emerges.
The Robojelly consists of two fist-sized bell-like structures made of silicone that fold and unfold like an umbrella. Connecting the umbrella are artificial muscles created with nanotechnology that contract to move the vehicle.
“It could stay underwater and refuel itself while it is performing surveillance,” Dr. Tadesse said.
Take advantage of the HD video capability of your iPhone 4S/4 and bring it to the underwater world. Put the phone in the Keystone ECO MarineCase that protects the phone up to 20 ft underwater. It also protects your phone from sand, rain and snow.
When you go to the pool, the beach and any watersport activities, exchange your daily phone with the Keystone ECO MarineCase for added protection.Wish you could take pictures and videos with your iPhone while submerged under 20 feet of water?
A new waterproof swimsuit for the iPhone 4 and 4S keeps the phone completely dry — whether you’re snapping shots of marine life in the ocean or texting during a casual swim in the pool.
iPhone case manufacturer Concord Keystone has created the Keystone ECO MarineCase, which protects against water exposure.
The device also works well in any situation where water might be present, such as snorkeling, fishing, boating and rafting.
The clear protective silicon cover supports the full iPhone screen and call functionality, so you can watch videos, answer email, send texts and use apps without ever leaving the water.
It also protects against sand at the beach.
The case — which comes in black and white, along with a neck strap — is not for everyday use. It’s designed for in-water use, so you would switch your cases before jumping into water:
“You don’t swim in your everyday clothes. Your iPhone shouldn’t either,” the site says.
Check out the video below of a turtle swimming underwater, which was taken with an iPhone wearing the MarineCase.
The mobile swimsuits are now available for $39.99 on Amazon.
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Ryan Hipwood is one of the new breed of Ozzy Big Wave Hellman.
He basically spends his life chasing rather large swells around to tow and paddle into very scary waves.
Some of his exploits at massive Cloudbreak (Fiji) and the secret slab in West Oz, almost beggar belief.
World free-diving champion Tanya Streeter dives with humpback whales in the Turks and Caicos Islands as they migrate southward.
Brilliant footage from BBC sea life show 'Diving with Whales'.
Some tourists, in search of extreme thrills, have taken to diving with killer whales.
In Tysfjord in Norway, a local diver offers tourists a unique encounter with killer whales as David Attenborough explores the safety of such an extreme sport.
From CNES
It was on January 9: the first full moon of 2012.
The Pleiades satellite was there to immortalize the event, not only for the beauty of the show but because the Moon is a very interesting "target" for its in-orbit activities : free from atmospheric disturbances, it is possible to finely calibrate the instrument optical Pleiades on the seas and lunar craters.
Best of all, Pleiades has also achieved a first by taking, thanks to its agility, two stereo images of the visible face of the Moon: so here the first three-dimensional image of our natural satellite from an observation satellite Earth!
The two images were taken while the satellite Pleiades occupied two diametrically opposed positions on its orbit at 694 km altitude: two views separated by nearly 14100 km.
It is this gap that creates the differences between the red and cyan, which allows you, with appropriate spectacles, to see the Moon in 3 dimensions.
This parallax effect of the difference of views, is known since ancient astronomy: the Greeks (Aristarchus, Eratosthenes, Hipparchus, Ptolemy) used this method to measure the distance between objects in the solar system and stars.
In 1751, 'l'abbé' de Lacaille and Joseph de Lalande, in Berlin and Cape Town, performed the first accurate measurement of distance from the Earth to the Moon.
Note: Due to shooting conditions and to use the 3D glasses, the image is rotated 90 ° from the representation "usual" of the Moon: the large crater Tycho Brahe, right here, is well located in the southern hemisphere of the Moon.
Engineers and scientists working for the military have increasingly turned to the animal kingdom, especially simple creatures like jellyfish or insects, for inspiration when creating new technology.
