In this week's wrap, London has become home to the world's largest solar-powered bridge; and reading becomes tactile after scientists create a vest that produces physical sensations based on the written word.
Bra senses racing hearts
Japanese lingerie company Ravijour has developed the True Love Tester Bra, which it says "saves women" from unwanted sexual advances.
The smart bra contains a hidden sensor, which is synced up via Bluetooth to an app on the owner's phone. The app analyses heart rate, and when the wearer's heart rate hits a specified point, the bra unhooks on its own. The Huffington Post describes it as "a chastity belt for your chest".
Via: Huffington Post
World's largest solar-powered bridge
The world's largest solar-powered bridge - spanning the River Thames - was unveiled in London this week.
The roof of Blackfriars Bridge, a Victorian-era road and foot-traffic bridge in central London, was covered with 4 400 solar panels, as part of a five-year project to help cut emissions from the Blackfriars railway station on the bridge's northern bank. The solar panels are expected to provide up to half of the energy needed to power the railway station.
Via: Live Science
Send scents over app
Mixed Reality Lab wants people to use all their senses when communicating over the Internet. The Lab has unveiled the Scentee app, which allows users to send smells to friends - rather than images of their food. It can also be synced with a morning alarm clock to emit a whiff of freshly brewed coffee.
The app comes with a small tank, which is plugged into the smartphone and will light up and release a puff of scent from the top. The individual tanks are each filled with various food aromas so different smells can be sent.
Via: Phys.org
Wearable book
MIT Media Lab's 'Sensory Fiction' project aims to take reading to a whole other level by creating sensations based on the written word.
The reader wears a vest-like contraption that uses effects such as ambient lighting, vibration, temperature and compression to produce physical sensations that represent setting and emotion described in a story. The pre-programmed responses are set to go off via sensors and actuators (a type of motor) once the reader is on the right page.
The equipment includes a body compression system, a heartbeat and shiver simulator and a localised body temperature control - all of which are responsible for the physical effects. There are 150 LEDs positioned onto the book's cover that light up based on the plot.
Via: Mashable
Lifeguard drone to the rescue
Drones have been used to deliver pizza, beer, laundry and textbooks. Now, Iranian incubator, RTS Labs, is taking that a step further. It has developed and tested a prototype of a battery-powered drone, called Pars, that could rush to a drowning victim and drop down a life preserver from the air.
RTS Lab director and engineer Amin Rigi came up with the idea after hearing news reports about people drowning in the Caspian Sea.
They tested a prototype of Pars, which is remote-controlled by a human and can fly for 10 minutes on a charge, in the Caspian Sea in August. Pars was able to deliver assistance to a victim who was 75 metres from the beach in 22 seconds, while a human took 90 seconds in the trials.
Via: Fast Company
Wikipedia adds audio clips
Wikipedia wants to add audio clips of people who are the subjects of articles on the site, "so that readers know what they sound like and how to correctly pronounce their names".
The Wikipedia Voice Intro Project (WikiVIP) asks people who are the subject of articles to upload audio clips, about 10 seconds long, of them speaking. The clips will be added to their pages.
Via: CNN
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