Tech Universe: Thursday 3 March

A joint project by Pukas and Tecnalia set up a high-tech surfboard with GPS, computer, accelerometer and more. Photo / Supplied

SURFING STATS: Surfing, on the sea not the web, seems the epitome of freedom from tech: just a surfer, a board and the waves. A joint project by Pukas and Tecnalia set up a high-tech surfboard with sensors, GPS, computer, accelerometer, compass and other gadgets to track how the surfer's doing. Dude. More at PukasSurf and video on Vimeo.

WIRELESS BIKE: With all the good stuff enclosed within the front wheel, the Shadow Ebike claims to be the world's first wireless electric bicycle. No brake cables, gear cables or electric wires from motor, batteries, controller or throttle are visible on the bike. The bike has a 36V 10AH Lithium battery and weighs 26 kilos. Oh, and it's very yellow. Now let's ditch the chain too for real freedom. Details at ShadowBike.

UNTOUCHED: The NEC HS100-10 Contactless Hybrid Finger Scanner reads and recognises both your fingerprint and the pattern of veins in the finger for positive identification. And it seems to do it without you needing to actually touch the scanning unit. How clean is that? More at NEC.

BOOM, IT'S FUEL EFFICIENT: When GMC engineers tried to make the Terrain SUV more fuel efficient by keeping the engine running at lower revs they struck a problem with noise. A low frequency boom would be too disturbing to those in the car. By adding active cancellation for the engine noise they've been able to boost efficiency while keeping customers happy. Microphones detect the unwanted noise then the system pumps out a cancelling signal through the vehicle's speakers. So ABS may come to mean 'anti-boom system'. More at GM.

3D WALKING: The University of Twente in the Netherlands is working on a robotic exoskeleton called LOPES. It will help teach stroke victims how to walk again by providing gait training while assessing motor function. The device helps the wearer move their legs in 3 dimensions while walking. I bet sports trainers will be looking into it too. More at University of Twente and video on YouTube.

- Miraz Jordan knowit.co.nz