A round-up of the latest technology news from around the globe.
BRIGHT E-READER: A University of Cincinnati "zero-power" design for electronic devices puts layers of oil and pigment behind a display screen. The 2 layers sandwich reflective electrodes. Reflected ambient light and a small electric charge allow the electrofluidic e-Display to show a fast, bright display in full colour, readable even in bright sunlight. That's a win for summer reading and viewing. More at ScienceDaily.
URBAN MINING: Rare earth metals are crucial in electronics, electric cars and even wind turbines. Faced with supply difficulties Japan and other countries are reclaiming the metals from used electronics. Each ton of used electronic parts yields only 150 grams of rare minerals though. No word on what becomes of the rest of the ton of waste. More at the NYTimes.
GUARD ROBOTS: Camera-equipped Mobile Detection Assessment Response Systems are diesel fuelled vehicles. They patrol the Nevada National Security Site, a radioactive waste storage and weapons-testing site, alerting guards back at the base if they spot a problem, such as intruders. Each sentry bot can operate for up to 16 hours at a stretch. Double shifts. Do they earn double-time? More at Wired.
BYE BYE BOTTLE: The world is littered with plastic water bottles. An Australian designer hopes her biodegradable polylactic acid bottle will change that. Not only will the bottle disintegrate after 2 years, but its shape 'fits' snugly with other bottles. The designer hopes the shape will encourage people to think about the environment and re-use bottles rather than throwing them away. I doubt people who readily throw away plastic bottles will have any second thoughts. More at UNSW.
OCEANS COUNT: The global Census of Marine Life took a decade and 2,700 scientists. To complete it they used satellites, manned and unmanned submarines, cameras, gyroscopic and GPS sensors attached to marine life, sonar, acoustic tags, seabed sensors, underwater robots, DNA barcodes, oh, and people too. 30 million entries accumulated in the
Ocean Biogeographic Information System database. Results include 6,000
new species. And how many plastic bottles did they find? More at Gizmodo and video on YouTube.
- Miraz Jordan knowit.co.nz
