New Blimp Swims in Air Like Fish By Bill Christensen Swiss researchers created this fish-like airship that uses artificial muscles made from electroactive polymers (EAPs) to propel itself forward.
Robots Might Benefit from Sleep, Too By Bill Christensen Humans process the day while they snooze, aiding memory. Perhaps robots could do the same, a researcher suggests.
New Technique Stores Data in Bacteria By Bill Christensen Artificial DNA with encoded information can be added to the genome of common bacteria, thus preserving the data.
Medication 'Robot' Fits Inside Tooth By Bill Christensen The IntelliDrug device would be implanted in the mouth of a patient, where it could provide regular, measured doses of medication.
Army Developing Paralysis Beam By Bill Christensen The US Army is working on a modified 7.5 million candlepower strobe light in hopes of creating a beam that would stun the human nervous system.
Futuristic Workstation Moves Freely in Space By Bill Christensen Forget those cumbersome chair/desk/computer combos. This setup combines it all onto one comfortable device.
Scary Small: New Tracking Chip Size of a Dust Grain By Bill Christensen The world's smallest and thinnest RFID tags, like electronic barcodes, were introduced Tuesday by Hitachi.
Robotic Exoskelton Could Help People Walk By Bill Christensen A robotic ankle exoskeleton developed at the University of Michigan helps people regain limb function; it is controlled by the wearer's own nervous system.
Stealthy Iris Scanner in the Works By Bill Christensen A public iris scanning device has been proposed in a patent. The device can work without the knowledge of the person being scanned.
Plunging Necklines: New Transformer Clothes By Bill Christensen Fashion designer Hussein Chalayan has a new line of dresses that change while being worn.
Nosy Robots Smell Like Moths By Bill Christensen A moth can smell a mate 7 miles way. Scientists now say they've derived a new algorithm that uses a similar strategy.
Huge 'Printer' Would Build a House in 24 Hours By Bill Christensen Behrokh Khoshnevis (USC Engineering) has been perfecting his contour crafting device, which squirts semi-liquid construction materials to form walls and domed ceilings.
Invisible 'Radio' Tattoos Could Identify Soldiers By Bill Christensen Researchers announce a new passive RFID technology that uses ink instead of metals; the tattoos can be colored or invisible. They might help identify friend vs. foe.
The Next Really Big Thing: Digital Billboards By Bill Christensen Digital billboards are starting to sprout along highways near you. Some are visible for more than 2 miles. Expect distracting ads to include animations.
New Meth Coffee is Super-Caffeinated By Bill Christensen An edgily-named coffee company based in San Francisco, opened for business yesterday with its own special brew of super-caffeinated coffee.
Genetically Modified Skin Cells Fight Infection By Bill Christensen The modified skin cells added to cultured skin substitutes might fight potentially lethal infections in patients with severe burns.
Self-Cleaning Underwear Goes Weeks Without Washing By Bill Christensen A protective coating of nanomaterial repels water, oil and bacteria.
New Wheat is Totally Sweet By Bill Christensen Sweet wheat is a hybridized variety of wheat with twice the sugar of its ancestor. It's expected to hit stores two to three years.
Microbots Designed to Swim Like Bacteria By Bill Christensen A remarkable micromotor will allow tiny robots to swim like an E. coli bacterium, which uses its flagella to move around.
Paul Bunyan Robot Dives For Trees By Bill Christensen Sawfish is a real-life robotic underwater lumberjack; it swims down to harvest trees that are now underwater due to flooding to create reservoirs.
Smart or Scary? Software That Follows You By Bill Christensen Rity, a software robot (or "sobot"), can transfer itself from one computer to another to serve his masters.
RoboSalmon to Spy on Fish By Bill Christensen The robot has a built-in camera to broadcast images of real fish back to the operators of the device. Zoologists will use RoboSalmon to monitor various fish species in their natural habitat.
New 'Magic Wardrobe' Simplifies Shopping By Bill Christensen The research prototype is a piece of smart furniture that would allow people to use their actual wardrobe as a starting point in online shopping.
