Curiosity is a Mars Rover being built at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Photo / NASA
A round-up of the latest technology news from around the globe.
MARS WATCH: Curiosity is a Mars Rover being built at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, ready to land on Mars in August 2012. It has 6 wheels, weighs 900 kilos, and will include a laser to vaporise rocks, a spectrometer and a telescope. Now a live cam lets you watch
construction, and a chat facility lets you discuss progress with the technicians. I hope there's a journey cam too. More at Wired and live webcam on UStream.
AUGMENTED GLASSES: The not yet released 20 gram AR Walker glasses come from Olympus and Japan's NTT Docomo. A cellphone detects motion and direction, then software supplies relevant information through the glasses directly into the wearer's peripheral vision. The glasses should be specially useful for tourists. Who won't stand out at all. More at the BBC and video on YouTube.
PRINT A SCENT: Japanese researchers used an off-the-shelf printer to 'print' 4 different aromas. Aroma generation could be used to remind people with Alzheimers to eat. The biggest problem is the lack of standard components to create smells - there's no RGB as for print. Wait till supermarkets start using this. Details at NewScientist.
THE NEW TOUGH: Kevlar? That's so 80s. The new tough is an organic material out of Israel. It's transparent, easy to manipulate and manufacture, and similar to beta-amyloid proteins. The new synthetic proteins include amino acids coated with a protective layer to create microscopic spheres, from about 30 nanometers to two micrometers. Now the material just needs a catchy name. More at DiscoveryNews.
SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF: Sweat on your fingers can cause slight
corrosion on something like a bullet. This can allow forensics to pull
fingerprints even when a surface has been wiped clean. That finding
has led to a handheld device, run off a 9-volt battery, that can
detect corrosion on machine parts. If it's quicker, cheaper and safer
we all win. More at ScienceDaily.
- Miraz Jordan knowit.co.nz
