Tech Universe: Thursday 5 May

Researchers at the University of Florida are using a porous layer of carbon nanotubes to provide current to individual diodes in OLED displays. Photo / Thinkstock

NANO TV: Is there anything carbon nanotubes can't do? Researchers at the University of Florida are using a porous layer of carbon nanotubes to provide current to individual diodes in OLED displays. 98% of the device emits light. Black is created not by blocking light, but by not powering the relevant diodes. TVs and computer displays could use less energy while still providing brilliant, sharp images. Less waste, less cost. It's a win all around. More at DiscoveryNews.

PROSTHETICS BADGE: A group of 11 year old girl scouts in the US
invented and created a prosthetic device for a 3-year-old girl born
without fingers on her right hand. Their design features a platform
that straps to the arm and a device to hold a pencil or other tools.
The child was able to write for the first time. Writing at 3,
inventing prosthetics at 11. What are today's kids coming to? More at CNet.

MOVING TESTS: Johns Hopkins University has won a DARPA contract to develop and test the Modular Prosthetic Limb with people. The prosthetic arm has 22 degrees of motion and can move each finger independently. It's almost a dextrous as a natural arm and can respond to the wearer's thoughts. A micro-array is implanted in the brain and used to send signals to the arm. In the last few years macaque monkeys were able to control a robotic arm to feed themselves. Now its the turn of quadriplegic humans to experiment. Monkey do, human do. More at Jhuaple.

MICRO HEAT: Imagine a thermoelectric heat pump only 1 cubic millimeter in size. Now cluster thousands of them and you could heat your house. Engineers from Norway have created these tiny devices and expect them to be on the market within the next few years. The new heat pumps could be placed where they're needed and can conform to any size or shape of space. That sounds like a breakthrough. Details at Physorg.

COME HOME GRANDPA: The Laipac S-911 bracelet is a specialised GPS tracking device intended for use with people who have cognitive disorders. It tracks the wearer's location in real-time and is able to alert a caregiver via SMS, email or phone if the wearer goes outside a defined area. The device also allows the caregiver to speak directly to the wearer. Help, my wrist is talking to me! More at MedGadget.

Miraz Jordan, http://knowit.co.nz