stanford

Innovation and re-invention at the Stanford Cool Product Expo

STANFORD, Calif. -- Finding a new product idea is never easy. You have to understand your target audience and test the market. But not every new product comes from a new idea -- sometimes the best products are simply new ways of viewing the world, or new approaches to old problems.

At the Cool Product Expo held at Stanford University this week, a few of the designs on hand are re-imagining some classic products -- in ways you might never have thought possible.

One company, Impossible, is hoping to revive instant photography, and dozens of other companies -- 11 of … Read more

See-through brain lets scientists spot the connections

Studying the brain can be a tricky business.

The interesting stuff, such as neurons and how they communicate, is obscured by things like fatty tissue. Usually, scientists just cut it up into paper-thin slices to study, like with Einstein's brain, but a team of scientists at Stanford University, led by Karl Deisseroth and Kwanghun Chung, have found what the director of the National Institute of Mental Health Thomas Insel is calling "one of the most important advances for doing neuroanatomy in decades."

The new technique lets researchers leave the brain intact, which puts an end to the damage that slicing can cause. It involves infusing the brain with acrylamide, which binds the proteins; once heated, it polymerizes, preserving the important molecules. Then, the brain is rinsed with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) detergent, which strips the fatty lipids, leaving intact the proteins that the researchers wish to study. … Read more

Living side by side with robots

STANFORD, Calif.--When I walked onto the Stanford University campus this week and into the Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Lab, I was greeted by a short, gray robot waving his two long arms -- he was looking for a high-five.

All around me robots of all sizes were roaming the floor. I was trapped -- in the future. … Read more

Robo-cars face a new threat: Lawyers

STANFORD, Calif. -- Self-driving cars are expected to save lives: a vehicle driven by a human will experience, on average, a crash every 160,000 miles or so. It's only a matter of time, advocates say, before robots become better drivers than us.

That is, if the lawyers let them. Industry insiders are already fretting about a host of legal problems that could bedevil robot car makers once a sufficient number of their creations take to the roads. Product liability, tort law, negligence, foreseeable harm, patent encumbrance, and design defects are only some of the concerns.

"The longer … Read more

Student simultaneously juggles and solves Rubik's Cube

When you're a Rubik's Cube aficionado, sometimes you have to think outside the box -- err, cube -- to really challenge yourself.

In an amazing video, 21-year-old Ravi Fernando appears to juggle a Rubik's Cube and two hacky sacks while simultaneously solving the complex puzzle.… Read more

Robotic space 'hedgehogs' under development

We already know how to explore planets with relatively low gravity, like Mars. The Curiosity Rover is engineered to hang onto the planet's surface, despite it having just 38 percent of the gravity we enjoy on Earth. What happens if you want to check out a small moon or an asteroid with a fraction of that gravity? You design a robotic hedgehog, of course.

Stanford University researchers and NASA are working together on spiky space balls that could dance across the surfaces of moons and asteroids whose low gravity and rough surfaces would bog down a regular rover. … Read more

Stick these solar cells on your phone or whatever else

What if everything around you had the potential to generate small amounts of energy?

We've seen flexible, even stick-on photovoltaic cells before, but these decal-style solars are compact and fun.

In a recent article in Scientific Reports, Stanford University mechanical engineering assistant professor Xiaolin Zheng and colleagues describe thin-film solar cells that can be peeled and stuck anywhere.

The researchers manufactured them on a reusable silicon and silicon dioxide wafer and then stuck them on paper, plastic, and window glass.

The original cell efficiency of 7.5 percent was maintained, and the manufacturing uses existing processes and materials. That … Read more

Latest camera-trapping tech helps capture more animals

Since the late 1800s, researchers and the curious have been trying to use photography to capture images of animals in the wild. Over the decades, the technology behind these camera traps has gone from trip-wire film cameras to sophisticated digital rigs. And these days, with the accessibility of digital video, the footage being collected is absolutely arresting. Check out the World Wildlife Fund or the Wildlife Conservation Society to see some of their videos of tigers, gorillas, and rhinos in their natural habitats.

Closer to home, we caught up with a technology specialist who works at Jasper Ridge, Stanford University'… Read more

Facebook hackathon shows off the Zuckerbergs of tomorrow

There's a "Battle of the Bay" going on tonight at Facebook's Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters, and it's happening in a haze of Chinese food, juggling, music, and coding. And maybe some unicycling, if you're lucky.

The social network holds its second Stanford versus Cal (University of California at Berkeley) hackathon for budding coders to try their hands at creating new products. Nearly 200 students from both campuses sat in front of their laptops at around 5 p.m. with no intention of stopping until 3 p.m. tomorrow. That's what Facebook hackathons are … Read more