Of all the energy-harvesting technologies
presently in development, piezoelectric devices offer some of the most
intriguing possibilities. They work by converting mechanical stress,
which can take the form of movement-caused vibrations, into an
electrical charge. This means that things such as shoes, roads, keyboards
– or anything else that moves or is subjected to movement – could be
outfitted with piezoelectrics, which would produce power. Unfortunately,
the range of vibrations that any one device can harness is presently
quite limited. Research being conducted at North Carolina’s Duke
University, however, could change that. Read More
Ever wondered what it would be like
to see the world upside-down? And no, just turning your head upside-down
doesn't work. Well, anyhow, these goggles allow you to do just that. If
seeing the ground above and the sky below is just a little too
out-there for you, though, they can also be adjusted to let you see
everything right-side-up, but reversed. Read More 
The 2012 Chevy Camaro ZL1 - the most powerful
production Camaro ever - will make use of the latest iteration of
TapShift technology. This automated transmission option allows drivers
to move through gears using paddle shifters. The updated 2012 TapShift
system creates faster shifts, that make the automatic Camaro quicker to
60 mph ( 96.5 km/h) than the manual version. While the transmission
choice for a muscle car as fast and powerful as the ZL1 would
traditionally have been obvious in the past (manual all the way), GM's
updated TapShift technology makes a strong case for the automatic. Read More
Nike crochets its way to running performance with Flyknit shoes
By C.C. Weiss
February 24, 2012
Nike has been busy showcasing new innovations
this week. One of the most interesting is the new Flyknit shoes,
lightweight runners that look like a wraparound blanket for your feet.
Nike says the shoes are like a "second skin." Read More
Pivothead glasses record what you see in 1080p
February 24, 2012
Pivothead's entry into the small market of
sunglasses with built-in video cameras threatens to knock much of the
competition into a cocked hat this April, thanks to its ability to
capture 1080p video. The glasses additionally include an 8 MP stills
camera, a 44.1 kHz microphone, gyroscopic image stabilization and
continuous auto-focus. Read More
When it comes to the many “life-changing”
injuries that can result from an IED blast, the loss of a limb is
probably the first one that springs to mind. But injuries to the pelvic
region that leave soldiers with the inability to have children can
obviously be just as devastating. That’s why the U.S. Army has developed
a Pelvic Protection System - dubbed “Kevlar boxers” or “combat
underpants” by some soldiers - to protect dismounted soldiers patrolling
Afghanistan roads. Read More
With Canon releasing its EOS 5D Mark II
way back in 2008 - a lifetime in the world of digital cameras - rumors
are circulating that the company has plans to announce its replacement
early next week. Read More 
With the wait still on for a miniaturization ray to allow some Fantastic Voyage-style
medical procedures by doctors in submarines, tiny electronic implants
capable of traveling in the bloodstream show much more promise. While
the miniaturization of electronic and mechanical components now makes
such devices feasible, the lack of a comparable reduction in battery
size has held things back. Now engineers at Stanford University have
demonstrated a tiny, self-propelled medical device that would be
wirelessly powered from outside the body, enabling devices small enough
to move through the bloodstream. Read More
Typically when we think of indoor skiing, it's in
the form of massive, resource-intensive indoor ski resorts like the Skipark 360
being built in Sweden. German company SkyTec Interactive offers a more
streamlined type of indoor skiing: simulated ski training on ski-based
exercise equipment with virtual slopes. SkyTec debuted its first public
facility in the United States this month. Read More
For those who dream of one day
shooting aerial footage without the bulky cranes and cables to hold
everything aloft, Japan's NHK may have just the thing: a tethered,
balloon-mounted, four-axis gyro-stabilized camera rig that weighs in at
about 2 kg and can soar up to 300 meters. Read More
Cellphones play an obvious role in dating,
meet-ups, and generally keeping in touch ... but they also have an
increasing role to play in our breaking apart. Data snaffled from
smartphones is flourishing as divorce evidence, and on the other side of
the ledger, apps exist to help in the process of hanging up marital
connections - there are apps to initiate, manage and survive a divorce
as well as apps for assessing the costs and scheduling time with kids
afterwards. Read More
Current World Superbike Champion Carlos Checa
piloted his Ducati 1098R to an emphatic 5.7sec victory in the second and
final race of the opening round of the season at Phillip Island in
Australia. In hot, blustery conditions which saw wind assisted top
speeds of 202 mph (325 km/h) by Biaggi’s Aprilia, Checa led from the
early part of the race and extended his lead as Rea (Honda) and Sykes
(Kawasaki) fought out the minor places. Read More
Lyonheart K - a modern take on the Jaguar E-Type
By David Szondy
February 25, 2012
Last year, to mark the 50th anniversary of the
Jaguar E-type, the Swiss firm Classic Factory unveiled its Growler
concept car. Intended as a modern version of the classic sports car, the
concept was so well received that a new car-making company, Lyonheart
Cars Ltd. has been opened in Coventry, U.K., for the purpose of turning
out a limited run of the production version of the Growler - the
Lyonheart K. Read More
Former multiple world champion Max
"the Roman Emperor" Biaggi took his Aprilia RSV4 to victory in the first
race of the 2012 World Superbike season at Australia’s Phillip Island
today. Read More 
The DS4 Racing concept from Citroen
promises much - a light stytlish 256 bhp turbocharged pocket rocket with
a decade of WRC domination behind its design. Read More 
Soon, you may never have to play Russian roulette with potato salad again. Instead of just hoping that E. coli
bacteria aren't present in your foods or drinks, you could instead use
your mobile phone to find out for sure. That phone would have to be
equipped with a bacteria-detecting scanner, which researchers from the
UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science recently
created - in a prototype version, for now. Read More
Chaotic Moon Labs drew a lot of attention last month at CES 2012 with its motion controlled "Board of Awesomeness," a longboard that a rider controls by gesturing at a Kinect
sensor on the front. Apparently though, that was just the beginning.
So, how could the studio possibly improve on a skateboard that starts
and stops just by having a person move their hands? By not having the
rider move at all. The latest creation, the aptly named "Board of
Imagination," moves forward just by having a user think about it while
wearing an Emotiv EPOC headset. Read More
Six months after the Evoque hit
showrooms, Range Rover is to show an Evoque Convertible Concept at the
Geneva Motor Show in March. No production plans have been announced, as
the design is intended to gauge the market potential for a premium
convertible four-seat SUV. Read More 
It is a great irony that alcohol has been almost
universally legislated into becoming man's most commonly used
recreational drug, as it's also the ONLY drug that causes more harm to others than to the user.
This is most evident on our roads, where even in supposedly civilized
first world countries with low road tolls, alcohol still accounts for
between a third and a half of all road deaths and injuries. Now France
is attempting a bold solution - from July of this year, it will become
law in France to have a working breathalyzer in every car on the road.
Don't laugh! The world is fast running out of tolerance for the road
toll and tougher laws everywhere are inevitable. Read More
D-Shape 3D printer can print full-sized houses
By Jan Belezina
February 24, 2012
The growing popularity of 3D printers, such as the Printbot or MakerBot's Thing-o-Matic,
testify to the fact that additive manufacturing is slowly entering the
mainstream. The devices are now small enough to fit on a desk and they
can make all sorts of stuff, such as toys, chess figures, or spare door
knobs. But what if you want to make something slightly bigger - say, a
house? Then you need to turn to Enrico Dini, the founder of Monolite UK
and the inventor of the D-Shape "robotic building system." Read More
Mia's plug-in electric delivery van puts driver front and center
By Paul Ridden
February 27, 2012
Small-scale courier services, electricians,
plumbers or any other professionals who depend on being able to drive
through city streets for their livelihoods and need a generous helping
of cargo space to boot, may well find the novel mia electric microvan a
very good fit indeed. The mia U doesn't have anywhere near the storage
space of Ford's trailblazer Transit Connect
electric van that we featured in 2010, but it does have a similar
battery range and speed, and places the driver right in the center of
the action. Read More
Adobe Photoshop Touch is now
available for the iPad 2. Adobe made the image-editing app official at
the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and the app is already available
to be downloaded from Apple's App Store. Read More 
When it comes to cycling apparel, it's right that
style plays second fiddle to safety. But if high visibility can be
achieved without making the ultimate sartorial sacrifice, so much the
better. With its Sporty Supaheroe cycling jacket, the Utope Project aims
to achieve just that - integrating 64 RGB LEDs into its stretchable,
wearable circuit boards. And the inclusion of in-built sensors means the
LED array can display a variety of patterns depending on circumstance.
Read More
At Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona, HTC announced its new flagship handset, the HTC One X. Like the Optimus 4X HD from LG also unveiled at MWC 2012, the phone will be HTC's first quad-core handset. The One X comes sporting a NVIDIA Tegra 3
quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and a 4.7-inch 1,280 x 720 HD display.
With an 8-megapixel rear-facing and 1.3-megapixel forward-facing camera,
the phone is capable of capturing high-resolution still photos
simultaneously while shooting 1080p video that can also be edited
directly on the smartphone. Read More
The final hammer has come down on the Milhous Collection auction
we previewed last week. The two-day event resulted in 100 percent of
all lots being sold for a total of US$38.3 million. The item to fetch
the highest price was a 1912 Oldsmobile Limited Five-Touring, which set a
world record auction price for an Oldsmobile at $3.3 million. Read More 
LG arrived at Mobile World Congress (MWC) this
year with a number of new and updated Android smartphones. The company’s
new L-Style series kicks off with three handsets ranging from the
3.2-inch L3, through the 4-inch L5, to the flagship 4.3-inch L7.
Meanwhile the Optimus 3D
gets an update in the form of the Optimus 3D Max, while the new Optimus
Vu with its 5-inch display pits itself against Samsung's Galaxy Note. The show also sees the debut of the company's first quad-core powered smartphone, the LG Optimus 4X HD. Read More
Samsung shows off latest Galaxy Beam projector phone
By Emily Price
February 26, 2012
Samsung has officially unveiled an updated
version of the Galaxy Beam, a smartphone with its own built-in pico
projector. The biggest feature of the phone as you might guess is its
ability to project pictures, video, and other media onto walls, ceilings
or any other flat surface via a 15 lumens projector that Samsung says
can display images up to 50-inches wide. Read More
A new approach to stroke treatment initially
developed by Dr. Jeffrey Saver's group at the UCLA Stroke Center
combines the ability to restore circulation and remove clots using only a
single device ... and it's showing significant promise in trials. In a
study comparing the Covidien Solitaire FR Revascularization Device with
the FDA-approved Merci Retriever, the device successfully and safely
treated roughly 60 percent of stroke patients, compared to roughly 30
percent when the Merci Retriever was used. Read More
Italian coachbuilders Zagato and archetypal Brit
sports car company Aston Martin have had a relationship since 1960 when
the Milanese artisans created a lightweight racing body for the DB4, by
hand naturally. The 19 units made at that time all still exist and are
valued at around US$6 million minimum apiece. While AM continues
developing the replacement for its aging VH platform it still needs to
make a buck and guaranteed collectors items seem to be immune to global
financial instabilities. The new Zagato V12 is clearly influenced by
that original DB4, and to a lesser extent the 1985 and 2002
incarnations, but here's the thing - was the new vehicle actually
designed by the chaps at Aston Martin and not the sharp suits in Milan?
Read More
A rare piece of car history is
headed to the auction block. Named after the King of Spain who reigned
from 1886 until 1931, the Type Alfonso XIII is set to go on sale at an
upcoming Amelia Island auction, and is expected to fetch somewhere
between US$750,000 and $1 million. Read More
Sony Sony has chosen this year's Mobile World Congress
to announce two new Android-powered additions to its Xperia NXT line:
the Xperia P and Xperia U. The new devices slot in below the Xperia S
announced at CES 2012 in Sony's NXT series, which is designed to allow
easy connection to other devices, allowing the viewing of content from
your phone on not only the smartphone's screen, but also a TV, laptop,
or tablet. Read More
FINIS gets out of the pool with open water GPS tracker
By Ben Coxworth
February 27, 2012
For those of us who just swim lengths in pools,
keeping track of where we’ve swum is pretty easy. When it comes to
triathletes and other people who swim in lakes or the open ocean,
however, there aren’t any lane markers to look back on. Instead, they
can now use the Hydro Tracker GPS, made by California water sports tech
company FINIS.
The waterproof device attaches to the user’s goggle straps, then uses
GPS technology to create a map of where they’ve been, while also
recording performance data. Read More
Spot brings long-overdue update to vision screening
By Ben Coxworth
February 27, 2012
For the past 150 years, ophthalmologists have
used the Snellen chart – with its rows of letters in descending sizes –
to check patients’ vision. While it has done the job reasonably well,
PediaVision CEO David Melnik believes that his Spot device offers some
distinct advantages. Most importantly, instead of being required to read
and recite letters, patients simply look into the device as it takes
some pictures. Based on those images, it will proceed to notify
clinicians if it detects potential vision problems. Read More
Samsung has unveiled a new
1/3.2-inch 8-megapixel CMOS imager, the S5K3H7, which utilizes 1.4um
backside illuminated (BSI) pixel technology for capturing photos in
low-light situations. The sensor is designed to be used in high-end
smartphones, and promises zero shutter lag, along with the ability to
capture 1080p video at 30fps while using less power than the sensors
that came before it. Read More Digital sneakers: new NIKE+ for basketballers and other athletes
By C.C. Weiss
February 27, 2012
In addition to launching knit shoes, Nike expanded its Nike + offerings
last week with the addition of two new sneaker-based products. Nike+
Basketball and Nike+ Training use sensor systems and accompanying
software to provide performance measurement and training tools for
athletes. The systems reportedly make workouts more engaging and
fruitful for their respective participants. Read More
ViewSonic has taken a new range of dual-SIM
Android smartphones to Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona, that
includes the successor to last year's V350 smartphone - the ViewPhone 3.
Two of the brand new phones will run on the latest flavor of Google's
Android mobile operating platform, codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich. The
company hasn't given away too much in the way of detail, but read on for
what we do know. Read More
We first covered this story back in August,
when news surfaced of an unusual hotel being constructed in the bowels
of ex-Russian aircraft carrier the Kiev - the centerpiece of an 80,000
square meter (20 acre) state-supported military theme park in Tianjin,
China. Three carriers were purchased from the Russians around 1996, and
while one is being fitted out to become China's first real aircraft
carrier, the other two have found employment as a casino and – in the
case of the Kiev – a novel hotel. Last year the tale could have been
dismissed as perhaps a fanciful ambition, but now the ship is on track
to offer 148 rooms to the public, and we have some official pictures of
the interior. Read More Defender bike light resists theft and water, looks dangerous
By Ben Coxworth
February 27, 2012
People who commute by bicycle don't have to
remove their pedals, racks or fenders when they park in public ... so
why should their lights be any different? Well, because most
battery-operated bike lights come off with the simple flick of a
quick-release, or the turning of a single bolt. Massachusetts-based
Gotham Bicycle Defense Industries, however, is attempting to address
that problem with its Defender bike light. Not only is it
theft-resistant, but it's also waterproof, and it looks like the light Dirty Harry would use - if he rode a bike. Read More
Nokia 808 PureView packs a 41-megapixel camera
By Emily Price
February 27, 2012
At this week's Mobile World Congress in
Barcelona, Nokia announced the 808 PureView, a smartphone with an
astounding 41-megapixel image sensor. The Nokia 808 will be the first
smartphone by Nokia to include its new PureView imaging technology,
which combines a high-resolution sensor with Carl Zeiss optics and
Nokia-developed algorithms. Read More
A smart system for charging electric vehicles
known as ELVIIS may leave the electric car industry all shook up - and
for the better. The ELVIIS cross-industry research project would not
only enable EVs to be recharged from any available outlet, but also use
mobile and smart grid technology to establish the best energy deal for
the consumer. Read More
Quad-core smartphones are stealing the show at MWC 2012 in Barcelona, Spain this week. We've already seen LG's first model take center stage, with HTC's One X
snapping at its heels, and now China's Huawei Device is hoping to trump
the competition by launching what is claimed to the be the fastest
smartphone in the world - the Huawei Ascend D quad. Read More
What happens when some old army
buddies decide to create a mug? Well, in the case of the Battle Mug,
they machine the sucker out of a solid block of 6061 T6 billet aluminum,
add three military-spec 1913 scope rails on its sides, and stick a
carry handle from an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle on one of those rails -
they leave the other two open, so users can add their own night-vision
scopes, laser sights, or other gear needed for really heavy-duty
drinking. Finally, they slap on a US$189 price tag – that's without the
handle, which costs an additional $33.95. Read More Take your tunes in the water with the Eco Terra boombox
By Paul Ridden
February 28, 2012
Liquipel nanocoating
may well keep moisture from damaging the inner workings of mobile
devices but if you're looking to share your tunes with friends at the
beach or pool, you need something with a bit more output than the
resident speakers. Grace Digital has just announced the release of a
fully waterproof boombox for smartphones or digital music players that
was first seen as a limited preview at CES 2011. The Eco Terra Boombox
is fully submersible, waterproof and shock resistant, and can even keep
cash and valuables safe and secure as it pumps out the music while
bobbing on the surface of the water. Read More
Created by the same man who came up with Le Whif (inhalable chocolate) and Aeroshot
(aerosol caffeine boost), portable containers for food and drinks could
soon be available in a novel edible form. The project emerged out of an
idea put forth by Dr. David Edwards from Harvard University's Wyss
Institute. The plastic-free products would be a useful alternative to
take-away containers, lunch boxes, and drink bottles, while reducing the
environmental concerns often associated with plastic production and
recycling. Read More
Infiniti's long-awaited electric
sportscar is now just a week away from all being revealed, with Infiniti
leaking official photos of the car during the last few days. The
curvaceous Emerg-e will be unveiled on March 6, no doubt by reigning F1
champion and Infiniti Brand Ambassador Sebastien Vettel. Details of the
powertrain are still scarce prior to the launch, but it is known to
include a gas-powered range extender. Read More 
The HoverMast is a hovering
surveillance machine that can be deployed from a small vehicle such as
an armored SUV. The machine, developed by Sky Sapience and currently at
the prototype stage, can be deployed to an altitude of up to 50 meters
(164 feet) within 10-15 seconds. Read More 
The near concurrent rise of Kickstarter and semi-affordable
3D printing means we live in a time when it is easier than ever to be
an inventor of physical things. Gizmag spoke at length to David Alden,
whose spring-loaded Recoil Winder
cable management device clearly struck a chord raising more than 14
times the original US$10,000 investment target. Both Kickstarter and 3D
printing may have been essential to the development of the Recoil
Winder, but Alden's story also demonstrates the need for good
old-fashioned perseverance. Read More
JetFlow hydration system replaces moldy bladders
By C.C. Weiss
February 28, 2012
The JetFlow hydration widget is a little bit old
school and a little bit new school. It pulls the dirty, moldy,
bacteria-ridden hydration bladder out of your backpack and replaces it
with a good old-fashioned water bottle you can toss in the recycling bin
or dishwasher - but with much of the function of a hydration bladder
intact. Read More
Those looking for a little more screen real estate to scribble on than offered by the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note
now have the Galaxy Note 10.1. Unveiled at Mobile World Congress in
Barcelona this week, the Galaxy Note 10.1 comes with Android 4.0 (Ice
Cream Sandwich) and is a little more powerful than Samsung's Galaxy Tab 2
thanks to a 1.4 GHz dual-core processor vs the Tab's 1 GHz. It also has
a 2-megapixel forward-facing camera to the Tab 2's VGA snapper and tops
out storage-wise at 64 GB - double that of the Tab 2's maximum 32 GB
storage capacity. It is also both slightly thinner and lighter than the
newest Galaxy Tab. Read More
Contrary to what some cartoons might have led you
to believe, explosives aren’t always emblazoned with the letters TNT
making them easy to identify. Some people will actually go to the
trouble of disguising explosives by placing them in nondescript
containers. This means that to analyze them, some close quarter
examination that puts someone at risk is usually required. Researchers
at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna) have developed a
detection method using laser light that allows explosives to be detected
not only from distances of over 100 meters (328 ft), but works even
when the explosives are hidden inside an opaque container. Read More
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