WARRIOR MUSCLE: The Warrior from iRobot in the US is quite weighty at around 200kg. A metre long, it's a large robot with an arm, tracks and flippers. It can move at up to 13 km/h and is strong enough to pull a car. The arm can lift more than 68kg. A remote operator uses half a dozen cameras to see what's around the robot, while driving it with an Xbox controller. The Warrior's intended for search and rescue, firefighting or military use. It's that mix of game controller and military tech that's disconcerting. Technology Review has more.
EVAPORATING TAGS: RFID tags are very handy for tracking things, but they still cost a bit too much. Now scientists at the University of Montpellier, France, believe they can cut the cost by up to 80%, by using less metal. Their process deposits an aluminium coil antenna onto paper by using thermal evaporation. They have a prototype, and now need to develop it. The never-ending tech problem: it's a great idea,
but costs too much. Details at Discovery News.
SOLAR HOT, DIESEL NOT: Diesel's popular in India because of electricity supply problems. But solar panels now cost only a quarter what they cost in 2008, finally making electricity from diesel generators more expensive than from solar power. Analysts hope the cost factor will give solar technology a boost. Once something's cheap enough there's usually no stopping it. New Scientist.
MOLE SCAN NOTES: Skin Scan is a smartphone app from Romania that aims to build up a worldwide database of skin cancer information, while also helping individuals. A person takes a photo of a mole and the image is analysed by the Skin Scan servers. A result is returned to the user with a rating from low-risk to high-risk. The app allows a user to track particular moles over time. At the moment their assessments are about 70 per cent accurate, compared with 85% for a dermatologist. Someone needs to take this over and make it free. More at GigaOm.
HIGHER RISE: However tall the building, it's just never enough. Now in Azerbaijan a businessman plans to build a tower more than a kilometre high. And it'll be built on an artificial island in the Caspian Sea off Garadag, southwest of Baku. Construction should start in 2016 and be complete by 2019. Hmmm, huge tower, artificial island. Not sure I'd go anywhere near it. More details here.