Tech Universe: Tuesday 3 May

A team from Romania and Japan has created a laser-powered spark plug, increasing efficiency and reducing pollution. Photo / Thinkstock

LASER SPARK: Spark plugs have been around for a good long while. A spark jumps the gap between terminals and ignites the fuel to run a combustion engine. A team from Romania and Japan has created a laser-powered spark plug, increasing efficiency and reducing pollution. The lasers are made of ceramic powders pressed into spark-plug sized cylinders. It's still all about burning fossil fuels though. More at the BBC.

BOOT SCOOT: Park your car in a handy spot and then pull an electric scooter out of the boot and head in to your meeting. That's what the Chinese concept Geely McCar lets you do. The 2-door 4-seater car is ultra compact. A folding 3-wheeled electric scooter docks in the rear, receiving a charge as you drive along the road. The scooter should have a skateboard in its luggage space for where the electric
3-wheeler can't go. More at Gizmag.

VIRUS POWER: The MIT Biomolecular Materials Group has found a new use for viruses - the biological kind. Viruses can make batteries and solar cells more efficient. Biotech at work. More at SciBlogs and video on YouTube.

ACROBATIC ROBOT: The GoQBot from Tufts University has a 10 cm long flexible silicone body. Embedded shape-memory alloy coils act as muscles so the robot inches along like a caterpillar. If necessary though the robot can be heated, causing it to curl into a disc and roll itself forward at more than 200 rpm. Having 2 modes of motion allows it to slowly access tiny spaces but cover more open ground at speed. Great jumping caterpillars! Details at ScientificAmerican and video on YouTube.

HOLE IN ONE: If you need a big tunnel you might want to call on Herrenknecht AG's Earth Pressure Balance Shield. The cutterhead requires 12,000 kilowatts to run, and the machine itself weighs 4,300 tonnes. It's 15.5 metres in diameter, and 122 metres long. It balances removing soil and moving forward to make sure soft ground overhead stays in place. No sneaky prison escapes with this. More at Gizmodo.

- Miraz Jordan knowit.co.nz