Monthly Archives: March 2009

The Cheapest Automatic Pool Water Filler!

  By ScienceProg | 29 March, 2009 - 6:05 pm |
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You don’t want to waste over hundreds of dollars buying the pool water filler, but you’re now desperately need one to maintain your swimming pool water level?

Well, your wish is granted, as today you’ll have the chance of your lifetime to build an automatic pool water filler originally designed by Jon Rutlen. The point is this pool water filler is extremely cheap, where it only cost you less than $15! Yep, it might sounds like unbelievable, but it’s a truth here.

This device is simply incredible, where is automatically add water to your pool when it gets below a specified level.

automatic-pool-water-filler

Here are step-by-step how to perform this task:

  1. First of all, you have to cut the vertical piece of pipe, which is use to hold the entire assembly low over the side of your pool.
  2. After that, add two of the 90 degree elbows to the vertical piece.
  3. Then, epoxy toilet valve into 90 degree elbow.
  4. Remember to cut two shorter lengths of PVC pipe and insert one into each of the 90 degree elbows on the vertical piece.
  5. Assemble the coupler, attach hose coupler and toilet valve to vertical assembly.

In the end, you have to connect it to the hose and turn the water on. Test it out and adjust the height of the valve according to your need! By using this automatic pool water filler, it can avoid you from wasting water by overfilling.

ZapataBot – The Spectacular Autonomous Robotic ATV

  By ScienceProg | 29 March, 2009 - 1:04 pm |
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If you always wondered, “What is the feeling of riding on an autonomous robotic ATV?” So, what will you do, if you can make your dream come true, but develop an awesome ZapataBot?

autonomous-robotic-atv

By the way, this autonomous robotic ATV, ZapataBot idea was derived from “Autonomous robot” technology. It is a concept, which based on a robot that can perform desired tasks in unstructured environments without continuous human guidance. Assorted types of robots have certain degree of autonomy.

Different robots can be autonomous in different ways. A high degree of autonomy is normally desirable in field, such as space exploration, cleaning floors, moving lawns and so on.

The most important things of autonomous robotic research are to enable the robot cope with its environment. Those fully autonomous robots have several abilities, which as: (more…)

The Brilliant Green Concept – The SmartSwitch

  By ScienceProg | 26 March, 2009 - 12:48 am |
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Thanks to the rapid growing of fossil fuels industry, our mother Earth has been badly polluted day after day. In order to stop the global warming problem from becoming worse, many activities and inventions have been carried out since few decades ago…

Today, Peter Russo and Brendan Wypich, the smart duo researches from University of Stanford, United States has been introduced a smart green device. They named it “SmartSwitch“.

According to Russo and Wypich, SmartSwitch has well-embedded with several intelligence ideals. Thus, it is different from the ordinary household light switch.

smartswitch

For your information, SmartSwitch is designed to be easily integrated into the home. It can fits into any standard electrical boxes and data communication occurs through the electric lines.

The best part about the SmartSwitch is it provides the user with instant feedback about the amount of energy being consumed throughout the month.

Furthermore, SmartSwitch also can help the user to change their bad habit away. Let’s take an example, every time when a switch is flipped, an opportunity to change individual behavior is created. Over the time, these changes in behavior are added up across a community, where is can slowly changing the community’s mind about the energy conservation purpose.

PS: By the way, don’t forget to switch off your light for an hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 on 28th March, 2009…!

Small Robots – The Ideal Lunar Surface Helper for NASA Outpost!

  By ScienceProg | 25 March, 2009 - 12:44 pm |
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NASA, the short form of the “National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is the world’s famous space development and research center. Over the past five decades, NASA has done endless long-term civilian and military aerospace research.

In February 2006, NASA has launched a mission, where is to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research. After that, many kinds of small robots have been developed to help them prepare a safe landing site for NASA’s Moon outpost.

small-robots

William Whittaker, chairman and chief technical officer of Astrobotic and a Carnegie Mellon professor of robotics said that NASA has faced a challenge in planning the layout for its outpost, where is expected to begin its operation in year 2020.

However, the landing and loading cargo on the Moon’s surface isn’t easy at all, as without the atmosphere, the dry soil would sandblast the outpost in seconds!

In order to overcome the above matter, researchers have developed a two rover’s robot weighing 330 pounds each. This type of small robots can efficiently block the sandblasting effect and can be easily landing on any surface without any hassle!

In the future, this type of small robots are going to be modified and upgrading into a more sophisticated robots, where is can be used to comb the lunar soil for rocks and gathering them to pave a durable grit-free landing pad. [sciencedaily]