DIVE FREE: The British Autosub6000 is a free diving Autonomous Underwater Vehicle that's pressure-rated to 6000 metres. That means it could explore 90 per cent of the world's oceans. Without needing to be tethered to a mothership, it can travel for 60 hours or 350 Km on a programmed path, thanks to 12 rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery packs. The sub's instruments include GPS, collision avoidance sonar, an Inertial Navigation System, and an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler that allows it to maintain a constant distance from the sea floor. 60 hours travel on battery is pretty spectacular. Gizmodo elaborates.
THE RIGHT TAIL: Animals that have tails use them for balance. Now the 8.1 Kg X-RHex Lite robot has a tail all of its own. The tail gives XRL the ability to right itself in midair after being dropped or if running off a horizontal surface. The robot has 6 springy legs so it can easily be up and running after landing. Also like an animal. IEEE Spectrum explains. Video here.
CHEAP SHOT: Lenses for infrared cameras are usually made out of expensive crystalline materials like germanium, zinc selenide or zinc sulfide that then have to be ground or polished to the correct shape. Scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany can now make the lenses from amorphous chalcogenide glass. It can be pressed into shape at low temperatures and low cost. That could make infrared cameras much more accessible for monitoring production processes, checking for heat loss in buildings or perhaps keeping an eye on people vulnerable to falls. Or maybe a silent burglar alarm. Fraunhofer Institute details.
SHIELDS UP: If you need to block X-rays and gamma rays you might want to see if a new tungsten-based paper from Japan can do the job. The tungsten-based, lead-free paper is easy to manufacture and can be cut, folded, or even affixed to other materials such as films. The paper could be used in radiology rooms and radiation therapy rooms, or in regions affected by nuclear disaster. Or maybe in hats. Japan Technology Information has the news.
CHIRPY CHIRPY COUGH COUGH: Researchers from the University of Rochester in New York studied 4.4 million tweets from people in New York for a month in 2010. Then they analysed the tweets for mentions of physical illness. The researchers were able to predict with about 90 per cent accuracy when healthy people were about to fall ill. That's surprisingly accurate. New Scientist has further info.
