Bruce Willis is getting a bit old now, so we can’t rely on him if we find ourselves facing a massive asteroid strike. That’s where the Emergency Asteroid Defence Project (EADP) comes in.
A global initiative to develop a method of protecting our planet from extinction-level asteroid impacts, the EADP has taken to Indiegogo to crowd fund its mission.
Its initial goal is a modest $200,000, which will go towards a feasibility study into the potential effectiveness of a Hypervelocity Asteroid Intercept Vehicle (HAIV) – yes, that’s really what they call it.
The HAIV concept was developed by Iowa State University’s Asteroid Deflection Research Center . The idea is that small spacecraft would be able to deflect or disperse incoming asteroids with only a few days’ warning.
It would be a two-stage process: the front of the ship would hit the asteroid and produce a crater, the rear would then deliver a nuclear weapon into the breach, hopefully breaking the rock into small, harmless pieces.
The EADP plans to follow up its initial study with full development, construction and in-space HAIV testing, and ultimately production of several spacecraft to stand ready in case of emergency.
Small asteroids – measuring a few meters in diameter – enter the Earth’s atmosphere about once a week. The odds of a larger one making impact are harder to quantify, but an unlucky strike could lead to massive loss of life.
In 2013, a relatively small meteor – about 20 meters in diameter, weighing about 13,000 metric tons – exploded several miles about the Russian city of Chelyabinsk. More than 1,000 people were injured.
The 1908 Tunguska asteroid , which hit a remote area of Siberia, is estimated by some scholars to have struck with a force 1,000 times greater than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It destroyed around 80 million trees across an area of 2,150 square kilometres.
With that in mind, it’s pretty easy to argue that the EADP project is slightly more worthy of crowd funding attention than a new high tech wallet or natty Apple Watch charger.
Rewards start at $1 (which gets your name added to the project’s Hall of Earth Heroes) and include a 3D printed key chain model of the HAIV for $20, the chance to send a message into space for $79, and a piece of asteroid for $139, all the way up to naming the first spacecraft for $200,000.
The Indiegogo campaign ends on July 12 and the usual caveats apply: the team may not actually succeed in building a spaceship that saves the human race from galactic extinction.
➤ Help defend Earth against asteroid threats [Indiegogo] | Emergency Asteroid Defence Project
Feature image credit: NASA Other images: EADP
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Omnia secure Wi-Fi router might not be the sexiest tech but it’s smashing it on Indiegogo
Your wireless router is one of the most energy-hungry gadgets in your home and who knows how vulnerable it is to data leaks.
Enter Turris Omnia, a powerful open-source router that’s smashing it on Indiegogo right now because it can do loads of other things while sitting idle and auto-updates when a security flaw is found.
Although it might not sound like the sexiest project in the world, you can easily turn Omnia into a backup server, or insert a SIM card into it if your connection stops working.
Omnia also has its own open-source OS built on Linux-based OpenWRT firmware, an effort backed by CZ.NIC , a Czech-state-sponsored network security research project.
The company has sailed past its $100,000 production target, which means an app controller and an extension to allow programmers to start meddling using the humble Raspberry Pi are also on the way.
If the company reaches its final $350,000 stretch goal (it’s currently past $270,000) it’ll also offer IoT support.
“Real geeks” can get the board without the case for $99 now, otherwise it’s $189 plus shipping, on an estimated retail value of $285. And the first units are expected for delivery in April 2016.
But, as always, buyer beware . We are awaiting more detail from the team about how they plan to fulfil their plans, particularly given the huge success of the campaign.
That said, if it allays your fears at all, the company has working prototypes and says it has manufacturing plans in place ready for the April delivery date.
And if you think you’ve heard that name before, you have, over at Samsung . That may mean an early rebrand for the Czech product in the not-to-distant future.
Jawbone rolls out new features, colors and a redesigned clasp for UP activity trackers
Jawbone is rolling out an update for its UP2 and UP3 activity trackers that will bring new features and a few design tweaks to the wearable devices.
Feature-wise, the UP3, which previously only allowed for Resting Heart Rate (RHR) measurements, will now measure your Passive Heart Rate (PHR) too.
Unlike the RHR scores, which are automatically taken while you’re asleep for a more accurate readings, the new passive monitoring takes measurements throughout the day for a more complete picture of your health. By combining the two readings, the UP app ‘Smart Coach’ can make better-informed recommendations about your life too.
The Passive Heart Rate reading feature will only activate when you’re not moving – and there’s no on-demand heart rate measurement option still.
The UP3 will attempt to take a PHR score every 10 minutes, providing you are stationary. If you’re not, it waits another minute to see if you are. It’s the same deal while the reading is actually being taken too (a 30-second process); if you move excessively, it abandons the reading and will wait another minute.
While this is good news for UP3 users, it won’t mean a lot for users of Jawbone’s other activity trackers. However, UP 2 (and 3) owners do get a few tweaks coming their way too – for one, the UP bands can now automatically detect when you’ve fallen asleep and when you wake up.
This is pretty handy if you’re the sort of person who never remembers to switch into sleep mode before your slumber, but it’s not going to change the world.
Perhaps more interestingly, Jawbone has tried to partially address the design criticism leveled at it over the clasp on the UP 2 and UP 3. As I noted in our review , the clasp constantly unhooked itself and fell off without warning.
Now, new UP2 models have a slightly redesigned clasp system to try and help this problem. The UP 3’s clasp remains the same – a spokesperson told TNW that the sensor placement makes redesigning the clasp on that model a trickier prospect.
There are also new color options across both models. For UP 3, the new colors are: ‘Ruby Cross,’ ‘Indigo Twist,’ ‘Teal Cross’ and ‘Sand Twist.’
The UP2 is being offered in six new color options too, although only five of them use the new band design.
The new retail options will hit online and offline stores this month, and the app updates are rolling out to iOS and Android devices from today.
➤ Jawbone