A round-up of the latest technology news from around the globe.
MAKING TRACKS: Skateboard? Tank? Scooter? The DTV Shredder is a bit of everything. Designed for the military, it has 2 caterpillar tracks, a Honda 200cc 4-stroke engine, travels up to 50 Kph, and can be remotely operated. Oh, and it looks like quite a ride. More at BPG-Werks and video on YouTube.
ROBOT SKINS: Touch sensitive human skin is very tricky to mimic, but 2 different techniques can do it. One uses an elastic polymer whose shape determines its ability to hold an electric charge. The other uses a grid of semiconductor nanowires in pressure-sensitive rubber. Bend me, shape me. More at Nature.
WORDPOWER: Speakers transform electric signals into sound, so how about transforming speech into electricity? Korean researchers used sound, zinc oxide, nanowires and electrodes to produce a 50 millivolt
electric current. It'll be a good day when talking on your cellphone charges it rather than draining the battery. Details at DiscoveryNews.
POCKET PROJECTOR: The Lemoptix mini projector is smaller than a credit card, yet projects images onto a surface equivalent to a 15 inch screen. Red, blue and green laser beams reflect off tiny mirrors less than 1mm thick. The beam can scan a surface up to 20,000 times a second. Amaze and annoy your friends with your home movies. More at ScienceDaily and video on YouTube.
WATER SLICER: The US Army's latest tool is a knife made of water.
Explosive material is detonated to create a shock wave that shapes a
chamber of water into a thin blade. The blade slices through the steel
of improvised explosive devices, then a water slug disrupts what's
left. Nothing is as soft as water. Yet, who can withstand the water
blade? Details at Physorg and video on YouTube.
- Miraz Jordan knowit.co.nz
