Tech Universe: Monday 13 June

An image from the surprisingly durable Mars rover Opportunity - Nasa's other rover, Spirit, gave up long ago. Photo / Nasa

OPPORTUNE ENDEAVOURS: NASA's Mars Rover, Opportunity, has travelled
more than 30km in the last seven years. NASA expected it to travel
less than 1km in total in its planned three month mission. While its
sister Mars Rover, Spirit, has unfortunately been officially declared
no longer active, Opportunity is still going strong. It's now on a
trek to the Endeavor Crater, 3.5 km away, and should arrive later this
year. Slow and steady's won the praise. More at Universe Today.

TRIPLE HOT: Ford is developing a 1000 cc EcoBoost engine which has three cylinders and the displacement of a soft drink bottle. They claim the tiny engine will have the same torque and power as 1600 cc four-cylinder engine. Their main goal was to reduce fuel consumption while keeping the power. Special construction techniques help the engine get up to operating temperature more quickly and reduce the temperature of the exhaust. Direct injection and variable camshaft timing also help. More at Wired.

SMS SIGNS: NHK science and technology research labs in Japan are
working on a new animated sign language translation system. People
send Japanese texts into the system and the software converts it into
sign language delivered by an avatar. If there is a word that doesn't
directly translate it's replaced with a synonym. The system's not
perfect yet so there's a manual mode that allows human intervention to
adjust the translation and fix mistakes. The primary use is expected
to be for emergency news broadcasts. Signs of the times.
Popular Science and video here.

STICKIES FOR WOUNDS: 3M's Kind Removal Silicone Tape sticks well to the skin yet is easy to remove without pain. The silicone adhesive
works differently from the standard acrylate adhesives, although 3M
don't explain what those differences are. Tests have shown though that
the silicone tape caused significantly less damage to the skin. It's a
slow peel that's painless. BusinessWire.com has more.

RED HOT WOUND: Australian scientists are working on a bandage that
changes colour according to the temperature of a wound. The
temperature change could suggest inflammation or problems with blood
supply that could lead to infection. The fabric can detect changes of
less than half a degree C. A simple colour chart can help the wearer
determine the health of their wound. The system is expected to reduce
costs. Is green OK? Find out more from Monash University.

- Miraz Jordan knowit.co.nz