When Seattle-based start-up, Zipwhip, wanted to show off its new cloud texting platform, it needed a way to demonstrate just how useful it could be. Most companies might talk data points, like how fast its platform broadcasts or how its product offers a service no one else does. Instead, Zipwhip got a little creative and built the "Textspresso" coffee maker, a machine that accepts and brews specialty coffee orders via text message so the beverage is ready once a person arrives to pick it up.

So why would you need to order coffee through text message? Well, if you’re standing right by the machine, you wouldn’t. If you’re away from the device though – like on your way to the office or in the bathroom – you can send out a text to make sure a hot cup of joe is waiting for you when you get there. After receiving the text order, a mechanical arm automatically picks up a mug from a warming tray and carries it to the espresso maker. The machine then serves whatever drink was ordered and the arm delivers the mug back to the heating tray to wait for its owner.

The machine itself was constructed and programmed in-house by Zipwhip from scratch after the office decided to ditch its old drip brewing machine for a much fancier espresso maker. Once the hardware was in place, the company worked out the movement scripts for the mechanical arm by having employees test different motions using an Xbox 360 controller. For now, the machine can only accept simple orders ("coffee," "latte," "espresso double," etc.). Zipwhip is also refusing to reveal what phone number the Textspresso uses to avoid getting flooded with hundreds of random orders (and no, it’s not the one listed on its screen).

As an added touch, the machine will soon also incorporate an edible ink printer that can actually print directly onto the coffee’s top layer of cream. Zipwhip plans to have it print the company logo along with the phone number that ordered the drink, so that people don’t mix up the orders after they’re made.

Unfortunately, Zipwhip only built the Textspresso in order to demonstrate their cloud texting platform, which allows text messages to be sent and received between computers and Android devices. Since revealing its creation though, the company has been flooded with questions about how to build one and has now stated that it intends to publicly release the designs for the machine later on.

The Stem was invented by Timothy Houle, and is the 187th project to be approved by the Quirky community, and then manufactured and sold by Quirky. It sounds a little cheesy, but, to our surprise, it actually works great. The spritzer action is solid, and it delivers full, rich sprays of delicious lemon, lime, tangerine, yuzu, etrog, ugli, or whatever other citrus into which you’ve stuck the Stem. (Pomelo might be tricky, with its thick pith.)

It’s one of the few single-purpose kitchen gadgets I’d actually use regularly, since most things I cook have some kind of citrus in them. And it’s a better way to deliver that delicious acidic flavor than the usual "cut in half and squeeze over food" method–no more worrying about seeds, no more uneven, unreliable squirts, no more sticky hands. Stab, spritz, done.

The little green serrated part comes out for cleaning, though we’d recommend you do that immediately, since it’ll be covered with citrus juice and becomes very sticky very quickly (ours is currently cemented to the Stem). And, to be fair, we don’t think it’ll work with any fruit besides citrus–the ratio of juice-to-solid in a citrus makes it about the only spritzable produce. Sorry to anyone who wanted eggplant spray or whatever.

Also, it costs five bucks, so you can (and most people might) buy it just out of idle curiosity and not have to regret it later. And you probably won’t! Citrus sprays for everyone!

BAM! You’ve Just Been Speech Jammed

Psychologists have long known that for whatever reason, it’s very difficult to talk when your words are being immediately repeated to you. Not annoying-younger-sibling repeated to you, but spit back at you just a fraction after you’ve spoken. So by using a simple directional microphone and speaker device, the researchers have created a handheld “speech jammer” that records what a person is saying and repeats it back at them with a two-tenths-of-a-second delay.

In tests, the researchers said the device works well at a distance, rendering the person at the receiving end without causing any physical discomfort (nevermind the mental discomfort caused by suddenly being rendered mute). The only limitation is that it only works with words; meaningless syllables like those often expressed by pirates or onomatopoeia don’t necessarily work.

The researchers see it as a tool to maintain order in meetings or discussion groups where someone is trying to dominate the conversation. But the commercial applications are virtually endless, as there are obvious applications for anyone who ever plans to get into a relationship with another human being ever.

So that’s pretty huge. What we generally hear about when we hear about invisibility is some new trick with metamaterials that allows for cloaking in two-dimensions by bending light around some tiny object. This means that from a single side, the object is concealed. Take a walk around the object, and it reappears. Less like a cloak, more like an invisibility curtain.

The UT team used a different method, known as plasmonic cloaking, to conceal an 18-centimeter cylinder from every direction. This is true “cloaking,” as the plasmonic material is actually coated onto the object to be concealed. These plasmonic materials work by doing the opposite of what normal materials do: reflecting light. When you see an object, it’s because light is bouncing off of it and striking your eyes, which send that info on to the brain for processing. Plasmonic materials scatter light instead, producing what is essentially transparency from all angles of observation.
Ready for the attached strings? This has only been demonstrated with microwaves. In the visible range, the cylinder is still plenty visible. But the UT Austin team thinks that making this work in the visible spectrum isn’t outside the realm of possibility. And if they can pull that off, you’ll know it because it will be leading the news here. In previous studies the team has shown that its plasmonic coating can cloak any object regardless of shape or symmetry. If they can sort this out in visible light, we may someday be able render just about anything invisible.

Recognizing that using a real insect is much easier than starting from scratch to create a device that works like an insect, Case Western Reserve chemistry professor teamed up with graduate student Michelle Rasmussen, biology professor Roy E. Ritzmann, chemistry professor Irene Lee and biology research assistant Alan J. Pollack to develop an implantable biofuel cell to provide usable power for the various sensors, recording devices, or electronics used to control an insect cyborg.

To convert chemical energy harvested from the insect and turn it into electricity, the team used two enzymes in series to create the anode. The first enzyme breaks down the sugar trehalose, which a cockroach constantly produces from its food, into two simpler sugars, called monosaccarides, while the second enzyme oxidizes the monosaccarides to release electrons. A current them flows as the electrons are drawn to the cathode, where oxygen from air takes up the electrons and is reduced to water.

After testing the system using trehalose solution, the team inserted prototype electrodes in a blood sinus away from critical organs in the abdomen of a female cockroach. The cockroaches suffered no long-term damage, which the researchers say bodes well for long-term use.

"Insects have an open circulatory system so the blood is not under much pressure," Ritzmann explained. "So, unlike say a vertebrate, where if you pushed a probe into a vein or worse an artery (which is very high pressure) blood does not come out at any pressure. So, basically, this is really pretty benign. In fact, it is not unusual for the insect to right itself and walk or run away afterward."

Using an instrument called a potentiostat, the team determined the maximum power density of the fuel cell reached nearly 100 microwatts per square centimeter at 0.2 volts, with a maximum current density of about 450 microamps per square centimeter.

The researchers are now working to miniaturize the fuel cell so that it can be fully implanted into an insect while still allowing it to run or fly normally and examining which materials might last for a long time inside an insect. They are also working with other researchers to develop a signal transmitter that can run on little energy and also exploring how to add a lightweight rechargeable battery to the system.

"It’s possible the system could be used intermittently," Scherson said. "An insect equipped with a sensor could measure the amount of noxious gas in a room, broadcast the finding, shut down and recharge for an hour, then take a new measurement and broadcast again."

The teaser video (below) doesn’t offer a ton of information about the computer, but does show off a widget hub in the corner of the desk you can use to launch applications on the screen, and the ability to pull down a timeline populated with news information, tweets, or other alerts from the top corner of the table. Both the widgets and the timeline can be casually swiped away when you’re done with them, and the screen and location of the widgets can be customized to meet your own personal needs. The ExoPC also supports full-screen applications, showing off in the video an app that instantly turns the computer into an electronic piano.

Multi-touch desk computers aren’t really anything new. Samsung for instance recently announced the Samsung SUR40, a 40-inch, 1080p multitouch table running Microsoft’s Surface software. Where the ExoPC stands out, however, is in its price tag. While the SUR40 and other table computers are designed for businesses (and priced that way, the SUR40 is US$8,400!), the ExoPC is instead priced at a modest $1,299 making it affordable for average consumers.

The Samsung SUR40 is expected to be a computer replacement, however, the ExoPC also appears to be something you would use as a replacement for a traditional desk, and a supplement for your actual computer.

The PreVue concept from industrial designer Melody Shiue proposes using 4D ultrasound technology to enhance the bond between a growing fetus and its parents

Checking the health of a baby inside the womb using ultrasound has been going on for a good many years and can be a useful tool for detecting problems early. A new concept from industrial designer Melody Shiue proposes using the technology to enhance the bond between parents and the growing fetus. PreVue would take advantage of developments in e-textile research and advances in ultrasound technology to offer mother and father a live window into the various stages of their little treasure’s development.

Ultrasound scans are often a standard part of prenatal care. Recent advances in technology now offer clinicians and parents more detailed 3D images of the fetus in real-time. Three-dimensional scanning sends in sound waves from a few different angles and a composite still image is produced that shows surface depth and volume. Now another dimension has been added – time. Real-time viewing capabilities have been added into the equation by 4D ultrasound techniques, so that live images of the fetus moving around can be seen on the screen.

As the long-term effects of repeated ultrasound exams on the fetus are still a bit of a gray area, how often such things take place is generally up to the healthcare provider. Shiue looked into the risks and concerns associated with ultrasound scanning while researching her thesis project at the University of South Wales, and told Gizmag that "in compliance with ultrasonic regulations outlined by the British Medical Ultrasound Society, I have proposed limitations on the usage of my device to a fixed frequency (10 MHz), maximum scanning time (20 minutes every 24 hours), and countdown time be apparent on screen with friendly notifications, not ‘warnings’."

The parents themselves, working with their healthcare provider, would be likely to impose their own limits on the use of such a device – one interviewee revealing to the designer that a likely usage window would be 5 to 10 minutes before bedtime, to coincide with a period of high fetal activity.

PreVue would utilize upcoming e-textile technologies to incorporate the viewing screen and electronics into the device. Recent innovations like the bendy micro-LED arrays created by researchers at the University of Illinois and the work undertaken by the STELLA project offer only a glimpse of things to come. It shouldn’t be too long before such things start to make regular military, medical or commercial appearances.

The device would also operate in two image modes – one for general diagnostic purposes and the other with enhanced resolution for more domestic settings. Although its primary use would be as a means of bonding enhancement rather than medical examination, Shiue says that "the user should still seek professional advice if anything is uncertain."

While safety concerns surrounding the use of ultrasound for prenatal care continue to be raised, the fact is that 4D scanning is being offered now and the personal approach offered by a device like PreVue may well be a viable alternative to the impersonal – and perhaps stressful – conditions of an examination room.

In the meantime, PreVue has been entered into the 2011 Australian Design Award/James Dyson Award competition.

This fork, demonstrated at Interaction 2011 and profiled by DigInfo, has an embedded theremin that begins making its unique and oddly unpleasant screeching noises once it touches a person, completing a circuit. But the pitch of the theremin changes based on the feedback from the fork’s tines: The more resistance it encounters, as when you’re gnawing on something particularly tough or chewy, the lower the tone. Oh, and it has a cute name: the EaTheremin.

According to the video’s narrator, "Flexible items like chicken skin can generate vibrato effects as they stretch," so theoretically you could put together a dish that produces a melody, based on the textures you choose. The video above is worth watching if only for the uncomfortably close shots of the spokesperson gnawing sausages and fried chicken. We just hope she made it through the day without feeling too ill.

Exoskeletons aren’t all just made for soldiers — now they can help desk jockeys reach for a pen or a cup of coffee, and reduce the fatigue that comes with typing all day long.

The x-Ar arm support won’t give you superhuman strength or do your work for you — it will just help your arm feel a little less like dead weight.

The first model can help prevent fatigue and repetitive stress injuries, although it’s not designed to address medical conditions, according to manufacturer Equipois. See it in action in the video below.

It attaches to your arm and supports your limb’s weight, but allows for full range of motion, which can let you work with your arms outstretched for longer periods. The device is a descendant of the company’s zeroG mechanical arm, which holds tools and parts so that they seem weightless, reducing fatigue in factories and other workplaces.

The exoskeleton debuted Monday at a trade show and will go on sale in June, according to Equipois.

PepsiCo says it has developed the world’s first 100 percent plant-based PET bottle

Mountain Dew’s green bottles could become even "greener" with an announcement from PepsiCo claiming it has developed the world’s first polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottle made entirely from plant-based, fully renewable resources including switch grass, pine bark and corn husks. The bottle not only offers a significantly reduced carbon footprint compared to petroleum-based PET, but is also 100 percent recyclable.

The company says that by combining biological and chemical processes it has come up with a way to create a molecular structure that is identical to petroleum-based PET using plant-based materials, resulting in a bottle that looks and feels identical to current PET bottles. In the future, PepsiCo hopes to expand the renewable resources used to create the bottles to include orange peels, potato peels, oat hulls and other agricultural byproducts from its food business.

"PepsiCo is in a unique position, as one of the world’s largest food and beverage businesses, to ultimately source agricultural byproducts from our foods business to manufacture a more environmentally-preferable bottle for our beverages business," said PepsiCo Chairman and CEO, Indra Nooyi.

With the announcement PepsiCo gets some bragging rights over its main competitor. In comparison, Coca-Cola currently produces bottles that use 30 percent plant-based materials although it says it has produced a 100 percent plant-based bottle in the lab that is still undergoing testing. With both companies producing billions of PET bottles between them each year, the switch from petroleum-based to plant-based PET could have significant environmental impacts.

Over 60 percent of the world’s petroleum-based PET production is used as polyester for textile applications, while bottle production – usually for soft drinks – accounts for around 30 percent of global PET demand.

The plant-based bottle isn’t the first effort by PepsiCo to move towards more environmentally sustainable packaging. Its Frito-Lay division was also responsible for the world’s first fully compostable bag made from plant-based polylactic acid for its SunChips snacks in the U.S. and Canada.

PepsiCo says it will pilot production of the new bottle in 2012 and upon the expected successful completion of the pilot intends to move directly into full-scale commercialization.