Tech Universe: Friday 27 May

Genius students in Texas have figured out how to turn an ordinary monitor into a 'touchscreen' of sorts. Photo / Thinkstock

KILLER SUB: Proteus is an experimental submarine from the Columbia Group. Although the sub is less than 8 metres long it can carry up to 725 Kg of cargo, such as bombs or mines. Inside it can carry gear such as sensors and cameras or personnel. It's an autonomous vehicle, but controls can be taken by a human too. At the moment it's rather slow and can't travel far without being refuelled. Air, land or sea the autonomous killers are about. More at Gizmodo.

HANDS-OFF TOUCHSCREEN: ZeroTouch from students at Texas A&M University is a frame lined with 256 IR sensors. The sensors detect anything that intersects with the IR beams. It resembles a picture frame. Lay it over a computer screen to turn that screen into a multitouch surface. That's a clever hands-off way to create a touch screen. I guess you could even operate a computer with greasy or wet hands. Details at Computerworld and video here.

WALK THIS WAY: Japanese researchers are exploring ways to guide us to walk on the correct side of a path or corridor using optical illusion. By using lenticular plastic sheets that give a 3D effect, like the ones you see in postcards, the pattern on the floor guides people to one side or another. The striped pattern below the sheets changes as your viewing angle changes, providing subtle guidance. Or possibly inducing nausea. Details at Ohgizmo and video here.

SLEEP DETECTOR: The fabric electronics embedded in a Somnus nightshirt from Nyx Devices monitor your breathing patterns. A small chip in the pocket analyses those patterns to determine what stage of sleep you're in. The idea is that you'll be able to record your own behaviour, such as drinking coffee or doing exercise, and then correlate that data with your sleep patterns as an aid to sleeping better. It beats being wired up in a lab. More at Technology Review.

THIS LITTLE LIGHT: It isn't easy to determine how well a wound is healing without lifting dressings and taking samples that could themselves cause problems. A Swiss biomedical engineer is developing an optical-fibre biosensor that can show acidity, a key health indicator in wounds. Flexible light-carrying fibres are included in a regular dressing. A carer shines light into one end, and the colour of the light coming out the other end indicates acidity. Set Condition
Red. More on this clever trick here.

- Miraz Jordan knowit.co.nz