Gizmag News - The AsphaltFighter Stormbringer - 280 bhp production motorcycle

Welcome to the newsletter for gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine. These are the headlines for December the 24th, 2009. The AsphaltFighter Stormbringer - 280 bhp production motorcycle German company Asphaltfighters' latest creation has the most outrageous set of raw numbers we’ve seen for a production motorcycle. The 999cc Stormbringer has 220hp and an extra 60 ponies kick in over 180kmh for a 280bhp total. It’ll run "more than 198mph", hits 62mph in 2.9 seconds, 124mph in 6.5 seconds, and 186mph in 13.9 seconds. It comes standard with a HELD riding suit and kevlar/carbon X-Lite helmet, and the riding position and suspension are all tailored for the purchaser. The machine has the full array of cutting edge technology such 10 stage traction control, heads up display, rear-view camera, programmable speed limiter and, considering what it offers, a remarkably reasonable price tag of EUR 57,500 (USD86,000). Read More Two million eyeballs a month - thanks for your valuable time As the majority of the business world gets set to take a break after an extremely difficult year, we’d like to say a million thanks to our readers for your kind patronage during 2009. As of this week, that’s one heartfelt thanks for each and every one of you. According to Quantcast, which measures Gizmag.com traffic directly, we reached the million unique visitors a month mark on December 17, so we’ll all be celebrating extra hard as we head into 2010 with a full head of steam up. For the record, the top ten countries where Gizmag.com readers live are U.S. 53.27%, U.K. 8.64%, Canada 6.26%, Australia 4.29%, India 2.49%, Germany 1.44%, Netherlands 1.29%, France 1.02%, Italy 0.89% and Brazil 0.80%, with “others” growing larger every day. Read More Robovie II - the personal robotic shopper For some elderly citizens the simple act of shopping can prove daunting and an assistant or carer may be required to help out. Aiming to help increasingly (if sometimes reluctantly) tech-savvy seniors, is Robovie II - a robotic assistant that takes a pre-transmitted shopping list and follows the customer around the store, carrying their goods while communicating and even offering suggestions. Read More ASUS hoping to clean up with robotic E-Cleaner ASUS subsidiary AGAiT Technology is the latest to have a bash at realizing the dream of robots performing domestic tasks with the EC01 E-Cleaner robotic vacuum cleaner. As well as offering similar cleaning functionality to that of its rivals, the EC01 also benefits from a sanitizing UV lamp which disinfects as the unit vacuums. Read More Ferrari's F1 simulator pushes the limits Simulators have long been used to teach new skills that would otherwise involve great expense and/or great risk - like learning to fly a new aeroplane. Now Ferrari has built its own F1 simulator so it can develop its Formula One cars and train its drivers to use new technology and to race on new tracks without breaking F1 rules limiting testing in the real world. The simulator uses ten linked computers, 60 GB of RAM, five giant 3D video screens, a 3500 watt Dolby sound system, and weighs more than 200 tonnes. Even the 130 kW electrical power supply for the machine is a beast. Read More Dell redesigns Inspiron Mini 10 Dell has announced that its popular netbook, the Mini 10, has been given a fresh new look and some performance enhancement options. Most of the features outlined when we first covered the release of the Dell Mini 10 earlier this year will remain, but now some of the promised optional features have been officially announced. Highlights include improved battery life, a smudge resistant palm rest, internal TV tuner, increased disk space and the choice to go HD. Read More CyberQuad: best of both worlds UAV designed for urban reconnaissance If one rotor is good, four must be better. That’s the general idea behind the CyberQuad, a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from Cyber Technology. The CyberQuad is an electric, remote-controlled reconnaissance platform that features four ducted rotors to provide lift and maneuverability, allowing the remote-control UAV to be used in urban and enclosed environments. The four rotors give the CyberQuad the payload capacity and stability of a helicopter-type UAV, while the ducted design avoids the dangers associated with exposed propellers. Read More Secret of the golden ratio revealed The golden ratio describes a rectangle with a length roughly one and a half times its width. Also known as the golden section, golden mean and divine proportion, among other names, it has intrigued mathematicians and artists alike for centuries. The Egyptians supposedly used it to guide the construction the Pyramids, the architecture of ancient Athens is thought to have been based on it, and many artists have fashioned their works around it. This includes Leonardo da Vinci, who used it in the Mona Lisa and the Vitruvian Man. Now a Duke University scientist believes he has figured out the secret behind the golden ratio’s popularity – and it’s all down to evolution. Read More Mobile MaxPure solar filters bring pure water to refugees Recently we reported on Marines and their deployment of GREENS solar-power for technological devices on the battlefield. World Water and Solar Technologies (WWST) has also placed solar-powered water purification units throughout the world including war-torn Darfur, Sudan. Working with the Humanitarian International Services Group (HISG), two high-volume Mobile Max Pure (MMP) water filters have been installed that use the sun for their power. Placed in a carefully selected location where it could do the most good, each unit can generate up to 3.5kW of solar electric power and provide 30,000 gallons of clean drinking water for the many thousands of displaced civilians. Read More Printing Your Toast: a fun way to start the day If you have a love for quirky gadgets you might appreciate this toaster concept from designer Othmar Mühlebach. The ‘Printing Your Toast’ design looks like a mini desktop printer – and just like paper, a stack of sliced bread goes into the feeder at the top. Once it has printed…I mean…toasted - it falls onto a plate at the bottom. Read More Silica nanoparticles make wool even more wonderful Already regarded as a “wonder fabric” for its lightness, softness, warmth even when wet, and other qualities, scientists from China say they have been able to improve on the natural properties of wool. They say their discovery could give wool a “brain,” placing it among other “smart” fabrics that shake off wrinkles, shrinkage and “breathe” to release perspiration. Read More On running shoe: shock-absorbers for your feet It may be a great form of exercise, but running is a high impact pursuit that places great strain on muscles and tendons. The stress it places on the body forces many runners to hang up their shoes and seek alternative, lower impact forms of exercise. Looking to take the pain out of running, a Swiss engineer set about creating a shoe that enabled the runner to land as soft as if running on sand, and to push off as if running in track shoes. The result is the the On Running Shoe – a shoe that incorporates a unique rubber ring into the sole design to provide a soft landing, while offering firmness and stability on push off. Read More Oblo didactic puzzle: good fun or just an exercise in frustration? Why are we humans so obsessed with games and puzzles? Oh that’s right – they’re fun, often challenging and can entertain you for hours. Here’s an interesting puzzle concept that might entertain the youngsters - the Oblo didactic puzzle. It’s an intriguing three-dimensional puzzle that requires the user to find exactly the right extracting position in order to move to the next level. Will it be fun or just frustrating? Read More FN Herstal releases Black Box for weapons Weapons manufacturer FN Herstal has created a "Black Box" that detects, discriminates, counts shots, measures burst rates and burst lengths, records firing sequences and detects stoppages due to failures to cycle. Designed to fit any weapon type, the molded FN Black Box improves maintenance processes and can deliver critical information to mission commanders including, when coupled to a GPS, ID and location data. Read More Windows Mobile 6.5 reviews are in: better, but not good Recent mobile coverage at Gizmag HTC Dragon to put Android on the Snapdragon chipset? HP Mini 311 gets benchmarked App Store hits two billion downloads AT&T launches MMS support for the iPhone 3G and 3GS The Vertu Constellation Ayxta: yours for just 4,900 Euros BlackBerry Desktop Software for OS X coming very soon NTT's TOUCH WOOD concept phones Intel's Core i7 Mobile processors bring desktop performance to the road If you would like to refer this newsletter to a friend or colleague, please point them at our free subscription page. Please don't try to forward this email, as the formatting is unlikely to remain intact. And don't worry, we don't share email addresses. Please read our privacy policy if you are concerned. Watch for more of the best new innovations, ideas and practical technologies in your inbox. You are receiving this email because you signed up for our daily newsletter at http://www.gizmag.com. If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter please click here to unsubscribe. COPYRIGHT GIZMAG (C) 2009