Day: May 13, 2022

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Erin Winick’s Clever Customizeable Glasses Are Out Of This World

https://makezine.com/2022/05/12/erin-winicks-clever-customizeable-glasses-are-out-of-this-world/


Science writer and creative maker Erin Winick has come up with a simple yet fantastic project for some customizable glasses.

Like most great ideas, hers started small. She realized that she could make accessories to fit the existing magnets on her Pair Eyewear. Having a 3D printer and easy access to tiny magnets via amazon, she got to work and came up with these delightful little 3D printed Saturns that she can pop on when the perfect moment presents itself.

Before I carry on, I must insist that you indulge in a bit of satisfying magnetic click appreciation.

Ok, now that the click enjoyment is out of the way, let’s carry on. Winick got plenty of feedback on twitter. Many of those folks were saying that she had to go bigger.

Taking their advice, she found this masquerade ball mask on thingiverse and adjusted things a bit to get them to fit her glasses.

a more clear view of her tiny Saturns.

She points out that these don’t interfere with the proper functioning of the existing customizable glasses, which is great. While tiny decorations are ultimately what I’d end up using these for most of the time, I can’t help but start to brainstorm more things she could make attach magnetically. How about a jeweler’s loupe? Maybe a tiny headlight? The possibilities are endless.

Be sure to follow Erin on TikTok and/or Twitter for more.

via MAKE https://makezine.com

May 12, 2022 at 10:01AM

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Google TV is Getting a Neat Picture-in-Picture Mode

https://gizmodo.com/google-tv-android-13-picture-beta-new-feature-io-keyboa-1848914270


Picture-in-picture mode on Google TV is making my dreams come true.
Image: Google

I don’t know about you, but my favorite demonstrations at the electronics store back in my childhood were the TVs up on the wall showcasing their picture-in-picture abilities. Being able to tune into two TV shows simultaneously on two different channels felt like such a futuristic idea. The dream of the ‘90s lives on in the next version of Google TV. The Android 13 Beta for TVs launched days before Google I/O kicked off this week. Google used the second day of its developer conference to offer more insight into what’s coming to Google TV and Android TV OS later this summer.

Picture-in-picture has been available on Android smartphones for many years, beginning with Android 8. Google is only now fully extending the ability to Android’s TV interface. Just like on an Android phone or tablet, you’ll be able to use two separate apps at the same time: one that takes up most of the screen, and a second one available in the corner. Google encourages developers to use its keep-clear API to avoid overlaying critical parts of the interface that you need to navigate the screen.

The speckling of other new features in the Android 13 Beta for TVs is mostly minor. For one, you’ll be able to use the Google TV app on your smartphone to start casting from a particular app, so you don’t have to even bother with the TV remote to find something to watch. The beta also includes a new API called AudioManager, which developers can implement so that devices like your Chromecast with Google TV or Android TV can identify different audio sources. It’s an extension of an existing API that Google added to the Android 13 Beta on phones, just as picture-in-picture is an extension of a smartphone-first feature.

If you often fall asleep with the TV on (that’s me every night!), Google has introduced a new API called MediaSession. Developers can implement this into their Google TV apps to better react to HDMI state changes. Once you turn off the TV (or it shuts off automatically after you’ve been zonked out too long), your Google TV-enabled device recognizes there’s no screen to cast to, so it shuts off, too.

For folks who rely on differing input methods to access their TVs, Android 13 Beta for TVs supports different keyboard layouts as part of the InputDevice API. Game developers can use this feature to swap between QWERTY and AZERTY keyboards. And for those with accessibility needs, Google TV will enable audio descriptions across apps and the interface.

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These changes aren’t live in Google TV yet, but they are a glimpse at what’s to come later this year when the company finalizes the next version of Android.

via Gizmodo https://gizmodo.com

May 12, 2022 at 11:08AM

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Scientists grow plants in soil from the Moon for the first time

https://www.engadget.com/scientists-plants-moon-soil-university-of-florida-160712950.html?src=rss

Scientists from the University of Florida have completed a world (and lunar) first by growing plants in soil from the Moon. The researchers used samples obtained by the Apollo 11, 12 and 17 missions, but they didn’t have much to work with.

While a total of 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of soil and rocks has been brought back to Earth from the Moon, the researchers received just 12 grams of so-called "lunar regolith" from NASA. Still, that was more than the four grams they requested. Scientists Rob Ferl and Anna-Lisa Paul had to be patient to get their hands on the soil as well — they applied three times over 11 years for the samples.

The team used thimble-sized wells in plastic plates, which are typically used to culture cells, as pots. The scientists placed a gram of soil into each of these, added a nutrient solution and then placed a few thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) seeds. They planted the seeds in other types of soil as part of a control group, including simulated Martian soil, soils from extreme environments and a substance that mimics lunar soil.

Nearly all of the seeds planted in the lunar regolith sprouted, but the plants eventually showed some differences from the ones grown in the control group. Some of the Moon dirt plants grew slower or were smaller. There was more variation in sizes than with the control group cress as well.

The scientists, who published their research in the journal Communications Biology, found that differences in the makeup of the lunar soil samples appear to have impacted the growth of the plants. They determined the cress that struggled the most was grown in what’s known as mature lunar soil, which is exposed to more cosmic wind.

In particular, as The Guardian notes, samples from Apollo 11 were deemed the least effective for growing plants. Those were obtained from the older surface of the Sea of Tranquility, which had a couple of billion years more exposure to the environment. The researchers wrote that "further characterization and optimization would be required before regolith can be considered a routine in situ resource, particularly in locations where the regolith is highly mature."

Still, the success of the experiment paves the way for the possibility of growing plants on the Moon for food and oxygen, ahead of NASA’s Artemis Program taking humans back to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. “Artemis will require a better understanding of how to grow plants in space,” Ferl, one of the paper’s authors and a distinguished professor of horticultural sciences in the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, said.

via Engadget http://www.engadget.com

May 13, 2022 at 11:15AM