In a world already packed with devices that need to be recharged or plugin in, this wire-and-battery-free switch saves some trouble and turns the energy of the user’s own motion into its own unlimited power source.

Developed by Panosonic, the switch generates power through users and can trigger anything around you from lights and fans to computers and music players. Imagine walking into a room or sitting down at your desk and having your devices and lamps turn on around you all automatically.

Additional functions can be activated by physically tapping the switch but moving it is not essential – even ambient surrounding activity can charge the device, like opening doors or jostling surfaces. Easy setup and installation are possible thanks to the lack of wiring and while the device is a prototype it can presumably be programmed to various functions in time and on demand.

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Cosmological myths, legends and superstitions of of our ancient ancestors were often tied to astronomical phenomena, and now researchers have found a truly stunning tool they used to make observations of these celestial happenings.

In the absence of modern magnifying glasses and reflective mirrors, the structure discovered in Portugal employed a lower-tech approach: a narrow passage filtered out extraneous light, helping people see stars at times when they would be hard to spot in the open sky.

Part of a prehistoric tomb complex called the Seven-Stone Antas, the astronomical observation device is thought to have been used to view Aldebaran, a red giant in the constellation of Taurus. This star becomes visible in the early morning s of spring, just before sunrise, but would be hard to see outside of a narrow window without a device to block out unwanted night. In turn, its passage was presumably used to mark a change of seasons from spring to summer.

More from the scientists behind the discovery and their next steps: “The team’s idea is to investigate how a simple aperture, for example an opening or doorway, affects the observation of slightly fainter stars. They focus this study on passage graves, which are a type of megalithic tomb composed of a chamber of large interlocking stones and a long narrow entrance. These spaces are thought to have been sacred, and the sites may have been used for rites of passage, where the initiate would spend the night inside the tomb, with no natural light apart from that shining down the narrow entrance lined with the remains of the tribe’s ancestors.”

The post 6,000-Year-Old Prehistoric Telescope Unearthed in Portugal first appeared on Gajitz.

When Hyperkin teased an Android phone accessory that would let users play their old favorite Game Boy games, it was more serious than the viral press realized. The old images, shown above, have been replaced by new press releases, tied to upcoming sales of the actual device enhancer below:

The company is now offering the device add-on for pre-orders in the form of the Smart Boy Development Kit, available for $60.

When it was first published, it was intended as an April Fool’s joke, but so many fans expressed interest the company went ahead and got to work on the physical device.

So far, they have not announced an iPhone version, but that was the original idea so it may well be in the works, too. For now, “The Smartboy Development Kit attaches to Android smartphones, turning the phone into a handheld gaming device. It will be compatible with Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges. Included in the kit is an open source serial app and firmware, which will enable developers of all kinds to advance Hyperkin’s current build toward a retail-ready model. Hyperkin is offering a royalty percentage – of retail-ready Smartboy units sold – to anyone that can improve the Smartboy’s serial app and firmware. Updates and builds of the serial app and firmware can be uploaded to a dedicated Hyperkin Lab forum. Hyperkin Lab is dedicated to product testing and development.”

The post Smart Boy: Android Add-On Plays Vintage Game Boy Cartridges first appeared on Gajitz.

A Harvard professor and serial entrepreneur has released his latest invention, a device that digitally records and then emits individual and combined scents for human users to smell. David Edwards of Vapor Communications has been digitizing all kinds of smells for his growing collection, hoping to commercialize odors through his evolving inventions.

Cyrano, his latest creation, is able to produce 12 distinct smells, but these can also be endlessly remixed and played sequentially, like a composer might with overlapping or ordered musical instrument tracks. The tracks are organized by type: energizing, relaxing or escapist. One could, for instance, select an escapist mix of guava, coconut and suntan lotion, or pep up with orange, ginger and peppermint combinations. People can, of course, also share their favorite playlists on social media. Refillable cartridges, like you might find in a printer or vaporizer, let you refresh scents you are running low on.

His argument is simple: smell is one of our most powerful senses from an emotional perspective, and it makes sense to pair plays of smells along with visual and auditory experiences (like movies, television and music). There could even be health and safety applications, like keeping drowsy drivers awake at the wheel. Users can continue to remix their collections to avoid olfactory fatigue. The current device is being created in a run of 500 and priced at $150.

The post Digitizing Scent: ‘Smell Speaker’ Emits Whiffs on Demand first appeared on Gajitz.

DeWalt is tackling a new kind of household tool with its new MD501, the first smartphone to bear its name, which combines a rugged aesthetic with functional durability.

This phone can survive just about anything, including being tossed in a barrel of water for a half an hour, a drop from head height to a concrete surface below and temperatures down to negative 20 (and up to positive 60) centigrade.

Part of the appeal, at least for those legitimately employing one of these gadgets on a work site, is that it remains easy to operate the touchscreen even with gloves on.

Other features include: a 13-megapixel camera, 1.3GHz processor with 2GB of RAM, 5-inch 720p display, 3,950mAh battery, Qi wireless charging, and Android 5.1 Lollipop and an amplified loudspeaker for clearer speakerphone calls at noisy job sites.

When it becomes available for purchase, it is priced to land (without breaking) somewhere in the $500 to $600 range, competitive given all it has to offer.

The post Phone Meets Power Tool: DeWalt’s Rugged Mobile Device first appeared on Gajitz.