'CableRobot' combines VR simulations and precision motion (Tomorrow Daily 249)

[MUSIC] Greetings citizens of the internet, TD Tomorrow Daily, the best geek talk-show in the known universe, I'm Ashley Esqueda and yes I know this does not look like a talk show to you. That's because these are our mini-episodes where we are waiting until our beautiful new set is built In sunny Burbank, California. But until then, we're going to have to do these delightful mini-episodes, bite-size Tomorrow Daily, if you will, so let's hit the headlines. [SOUND] [MUSIC] Well, everyone Everybody we have finally discovered one of the most outrageously cool uses of VR in the entire universe. It's called cable robot. This parallel cable robot is made to carry a human passenger inside a roll cage and then move them around in a VR simulation which is Super cool and looks really really fun. This was developed by researchers at the Max Plank Institute for Biological Cybernetics which sounds like a terminator company but I'm gonna let that slide. So the person buckles themselves into that roll cage seat And at this point a VR headset can be added to offer a simulation like flying or driving and the cable robot can move fluidly in six directions. So it's super precise and it can also be scaled up or down to any space size. So, what exactly could this be used for? Driving, flight simulators and video games are the obvious choices, but this contraption's creators think that this could also be used for testing neurological disorders. Like motion and balance issues. So, kudos to you, German company that totally sounds like it's from Terminator movies. Please don't make a T1000. Begging you. Okay, let's talk about mind control. Specifically controlling devices with your mind. This is a really fun video and I thought I would share it with you. Chip Audette is a guy who is a researcher and engineer for OpenBCI. And he decided to replace the standard remote control of a mylar shark balloon. With a simple EEG set up and an OpenBCI board. Now, he didn't spend a whole lot of money on the EEG, so it was only able to support two electrodes, and he decided that he needed a very specific and simple signature that the EEG could detect. So we picked his eyes opening and closing. That made it possible for him to control one direction on the shark, forward, but he didn't stop there. He added four of his friends to the board, and assigned different directions for each of them, so they could all work together to pilot the balloon with their minds. Pretty clever set up there, Chip. And, if you're curious about how he did it, I'll link to his blog in the show notes. Okay, very last story, last headline of the day. Let's talk about 3D printing, biological 3D printing to be exact. If we wanna be able to 3D print really delicate structures like the ones inside our body, such as, say, blood vessels, we're gonna have to figure out how to make those complicated shapes With a 3D printer without them actually collapsing under their own weight. And it's a challenge that a lot of researchers have been dealing with and trying to figure out. But the University of Florida believes adding gel to the printing process is a great way to support the finished product as it's being created. This gel is an acrylic acid polymer that acts as a malleable but Ultimately solid block of scaffolding for super thin printing. So they're actually embedding the 3D print inside this gel. Without the gel things like blood vessels would collapse into themselves because of their ultra thin structure, but technique allows researches to make spheres ten times thinner than two sheets of paper. [INAUDIBLE] The team says some day a doctor like a neurosurgeon, for example, could print an exact hydrogel replica of a patient's brain and then practice a procedure on it, which it's pretty amazing. So high five, science, way to go! It's Tuesday, which means we also have to tell you what's new. [MUSIC] My favorite new release this week, The Martian hits theaters on Friday. It is the story of an astronaut played by Matt Damon who ends up stranded on Mars trying to survive. Also, in video gaming land, Persona 4: Dancing All Night. That's out for the Playstation Vita. It's a rhythm game spinoff of Persona 4 and it's a really fun addition to the Persona universe. If you're still hanging on to the Tony Hawk franchise, Tony Hawk Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 is also out this week for PS4 and Xbox One. And of course, the Fallout Anthology is out and available for you on PC today, and it includes Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics, Fallout 3 game of the year editions, and Fallout New Vegas ultimate edition. Also all the games come inside this little tiny case that is shaped like a nuke. So it's pretty amazing, and honestly I think this gives you about a month to play every single one of the games back-to-back. And get 100% on all achievements just in time for Fallout 4. But enough about all this new stuff, let's talk about you guys. Let's hit our phonetographer of the day. [BLANK_AUDIO] Today's phone talker for the day is Steven who shot this wonderful picture on his iPhone 6 and he writes and tells us, hello TD. I felt the push to share the fruits of my labor after an early evening walk picking apples in Ohio. I used my iPhone 6 and it never fails to amaze me. Here's to the fruits of your labor on the upcoming show set and future Tomorrow Daily shows. Cheers, and may tomorrow never fail to amaze. Well, we agree with you Steven, and that is a great picture. I love the big apple right in the forefront, got a lot of depth going on there, lots of interesting stuff. If you guys want us to make your photography to be featured on the show, e-mail us, tomorrow@cnet.com, tell us a little story, send us your picture, give us us permission to use it, and let us know what device you took it with. If you want to find us on the Internet you can always follow us on Facebook and Twitter and other social media sites or at tomorrowdaily.com if you want to send a friend, an enemy, or a frenemy over to the show. And of course you can always follow me at Ashley Esqueda on Twitter and producer Logan over at Logan [UNKNOWN]. Oh and by the way, you want to follow our new co-host before we get spinning back up. You can follow Jeff Kennata, on Twitter with two N's and one T, and I'm sure he'd love to hear from you. You guy's are always delightful, you're super nice. That's it for today's show, so until tomorrow, be good humans. We'll see you guys next time, bye!