Tech Universe: Wednesday 1 December

The Bloodhound SSC will be powered by a Falcon rocket and an EJ200 jet engine that together produce 21 tons of thrust. Photo / Curventa, Bloodhound

FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET: The Bloodhound SSC will be powered by a Falcon rocket and an EJ200 jet engine that together produce 21 tons of thrust. The body will be made of thin alloy, while the wheels, at 97 Kg each, will be made of a solid aluminum alloy. This car is being built to challenge the world land speed record in 2012, and is expected to reach 1600 Kph - faster than a bullet. Its clear subtext though is to inspire and educate. Engage. More at Physorg, BloodhoundSCC and video on YouTube.

SUNSHINE WHEELS: Take a solar-powered wheelchair, put it in the sunny United Arab Emirates and you have a formula for travel. Haidar Taleb is on a record-breaking 320 Km voyage across the desert in a chair he designed and built himself. He wants to raise awareness of disability and sustainability. The chair travels at around 18 Kph, while the solar panels charge four 20-watt batteries and provide shade. I guess that's an outdoor wheelchair. More at TreeHugger, details of Haidar's journey at BeWithHaidar and video on YouTube.

I THINK I CAN: It took only 5 minutes for test subjects to learn to move a cursor up and down with their thoughts alone. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania combined brain-scanning and feedback techniques to help test subjects learn to control a computer cursor just by thinking about moving it. Today the cursor; tomorrow the click. More at TechnologyReview.

HORN CHOPPER: Rhino poaching is a problem in South Africa - in particular, catching the poachers. And that's where the UAVs come in. The National Defence Force is thinking about using an unmanned drone helicopter to spot and photograph the poachers. I'm picking that the poachers will add larger anti-drone weapons to their kit. More at SuasNews.

COW POWER: Huishan Dairy in China is installing a system to collect methane from cow dung and turn it into electricity - on a massive scale. The dairy runs 250,000 cows. The power system will will capture 20 million cubic metres of biogas and produce 5.6 megawatts of power from just 30,000 cows. That's enough power for 3,500 American-size households. If you look at things the right way, there's no such thing as waste. More at TechnologyReview.

- Miraz Jordan knowit.co.nz