Umoove controls smartphones with a nod and a wink
February 3, 2014
Giving new meaning to "tilt to steer," Israeli
tech startup Umoove has developed face- and eye-tracking software for
mobile devices that translates gentle head tilts and nods into in-game
movements. The company has released the Umoove Experience, a free app
for iOS that demonstrates the technology, but hopes third party
developers will integrate the technology into their own titles on both
iOS and Android devices. Read More
New stem cell production technique comes as a shock
By Grant Banks
February 3, 2014
An international research effort has found that
mature animal cells can be shocked into an embryonic state simply by
soaking them in acid or putting them under physical stress. The
fortuitous breakthrough could prove to be massive for many fields of
medical research if the method can be replicated using human cells,
something researchers are confident will be possible. Read More
Smart dust. Utility fog. Programmable matter.
Grey and blue goo. Cooperating swarms of micron-sized devices (motes)
offer completely new solutions and capabilities that can hardly be
imagined. However, cooperation requires communication, and conventional
radio or optical networking simply isn't practical at this size. Now
researchers at Georgia Tech have invented a plasmonic graphene
nano-antenna that can be efficiently used at millimeter radio
wavelengths, taking one more step toward smart dust. Read More
Smart Tech Firearm Challenge offers US$1m to advance gun safety
By Nick Lavars
February 2, 2014
While legislative solutions to curbing gun
violence in the US continue to meet fervent opposition, the Smart Tech
Foundation, formed to incentivize free-market solutions to firearm
safety, aims to take a different route. Through its Smart Tech for
Firearms Challenge, it believes circumventing the political debate and
fostering innovation in smart gun technology is a viable way to move
toward a safer society. Read More
Knowing that there are few places
that pose more of a hazard to laptops than a schoolbag, Lenovo has
announced its Thinkpad 11e series, consisting of four new ruggedized
laptops designed specifically to endure the rigors of the school day.
Read More World first acoustic circulator puts sound on a one-way street
By Anthony Wood
February 2, 2014
A team of researchers at the University of Texas
At Austin's Cockrell School of Engineering has effectively disproved the
adage that, “if you can hear you can be heard” by creating the world's
first one-way acoustic circulator. The simple, compact device, which
controls the direction of sound waves, allows the user to hear without
being heard. Read More
Many lasers become one in Lockheed Martin's 30 kW fiber laser
By David Szondy
February 2, 2014
In another step forward for laser weapons that
brings to mind the Death Star's superlaser, Lockheed Martin has
demonstrated a 30-kilowatt fiber laser produced by combining many lasers
into a single beam of light. According to the company, this is the
highest power laser yet that was still able to maintain beam quality and
electrical efficiency, paving the way for a laser weapon system
suitable, if not for a Death Star, for a wide range of air, land and sea
military platforms. Read More
Polar bear fur could hold secret to ultrathin insulation
By Grant Banks
February 2, 2014
Put a polar bear and a biophotonics expert
together in a chilly room and what do you get? Potentially, better
insulation. When looking to uncover the secrets of the impressive
insulation properties of polar bear fur, researchers at the University
of Namur in Belgium and the University of Hassan I in Morocco found that
radiation plays a larger role than conduction in the insulation of
polar animals, such as penguins and polar bears, than previously
believed. Read More
Miggo camera strap doubles up as a protective cover
By Simon Crisp
February 2, 2014
There's no shortage of camera straps or cases out
there vying for a place on your DSLR or mirrorless shooter. But the
recent Kickstarter-funded Miggo is a little different, in that it's
both. When not being used as a traditional strap or wrist grip, it can
wrap around your camera and double up as a protective case. Read More
Snacking on a freshly-made pizza in
outer space just got a whole lot closer thanks to Anjan Contractor's 3D
pizza printer. Contractor, who won NASA's US$125,000 grant last year to
create a 3D printer that could print food for astronauts on missions,
has come out with a functional prototype. Read More 
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