friday,may 7,2004
news
the university daily kansan
5A
Computer chip latest upgrade to Adidas shoe
The Associated Press
PORTLAND. Ore. — Adidas says it has created the world's first "smart shoe" by mating it with a computer chip that adapts its cushioning level to a runner's size and stride.
The Adidas 1 is the product of a three-year secret project the German company developed at its U.S. headquarters in Portland, Ore.
"This is the first intelligent shoe ever. It senses, understands and adapts."
Erich Stamminger global marketing director for Adidas
Yesterday, Adidas opened its research lab to reporters from around the world for a first peek at a shoe the company claims will
revolutionize distance running and training.
"This is the first intelligent shoe ever," said Erich Stamminger, global marketing director for Adidas. "It senses, understands and adapts."
After thousands of hours of testing, Adidas is confident the computerized shoe will endure the wear-and-tear of running in almost any condition — from hard pavement to dirt trails, and
The microprocessor is located in the arch of the shoe, and drives a tiny screw and cable system that adjusts the heel cushion depending on the signals sent back by an electric sensor coupled to a magnet.
It is powered by a battery that conserves power by adjusting the shoe while it is in the air during a runner's stride, avoiding resistance from the ground.
The entire assembly weighs no more than 40 grams—just 10 percent of the 400-gram total weight of the shoe, to keep it light enough for distance runners.
But the $250 price tag is likely to make it a luxury item when it first goes on sale in December, said Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon.
Flag'em down
Midshipman Fourth Class J. Jevons, Midshipman Fourth Class Jeffries, and Midshipman Seventh Class Baker lowered the flag yesterday outside of the Military Science building yesterday afternoon.
TOPEKA — A buffalo will grace the back of the Kansas quarter when it's issued next year, and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius promises its horns will be properly positioned.
Where the buffalo roam: Final quarter design chosen
The Associated Press
Students from 211 high schools throughout the state selected the coin from among four designs. The State Board of Canvassers announced yesterday that 36 percent of the 48,080 students voting picked the buffalo design for the coin's reverse side.
minted, she said.
After looking at the buffalo drawing, Dave Carter, executive director of the National Bison Association near Denver, agreed the horns are little off kilter.
"We will make sure the bison is correctly drawn before it is minted," she said.
The buffalo is the official state animal. Sebelius said Kansas is the first state to have the animal incorporated in its state quarter design.
"They are pointing a little bit forward. It looks a little like the toro bull getting ready to go into a bullfight," Carter said. "But don't get us wrong. We are tickled. It's nice to have a buffalo on the back of the coin."
Sebelius acknowledged after the selection there have been some questions raised about the position of the buffalo's horns —some say they point forward rather than up. But she said the drawing was just a prototype from the U.S. Mint.
design "It's a great symbol of the state," Sebelius said. "The bison were here a long time on the Plains long before we came here."
FDA rejects morning-after pill
The Associated Press
Proponents immediately accused the Food and Drug Administration of bowing to conservative political pressure — noting that the agency had overruled its own scientific advisers, who had overwhelmingly called easier access to emergency contraception a safe way to prevent thousands of abortions.
WASHINGTON — The government rejected over-the-counter sales of morning-after birth control yesterday, citing concern about young teenagers' use of the pills. But regulators left open the possibility they will reconsider.
Such a step, which presumably
The FDA had told Barr about the teen concern in February, and the company proposed allowing nonprescription sales for everyone 16 and older but requiring a prescription for anyone younger.
would require drugstores to check customers' ages, has never been tried. The FDA said the company didn't provide many details, making it impossible to decide if such a program would be legal and doable.
In a letter to Barr Laboratories late Thursday, the FDA said there wasn't any evidence that teens younger than 16 could safely use the pills without a doctor's guidance.
But yesterday, FDA officials left open the door for Barr to try again, telling the company what information they would need to reconsider: either data showing young teens could use the pills safely without a prescription or details on how to make the mixed-marketing approach work.
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