New type of optical fiber could be used in photovoltaic fabrics

Imagine forgetting to plug in your smartphone, but then not worrying because your clothes could charge it for you. It sounds surreal, but it may one day be reality. An international team of scientists and engineers led by John Badding, a professor of chemistry at Penn State University, have developed a silicon-based optical fiber that acts like a solar cell and offers the promise of fabric that can generate electricity from light.

Astronomers find infant solar system in our stellar neighborhood

The Sun is a bit over 4.5 billion years old, leading many to think of all stars as billions of years in age. Astronomers have now demonstrated that isn't always the case. Using high-resolution millimeter and submillimeter imaging telescope arrays, John Tobin of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and his collaborators have now discovered an infant star whose age is measured in thousands, rather than billions, of years. While at present the protostar has only about a fifth of the Sun's mass, projections point to the eventual formation of a stellar system broadly similar to our Sun and its planets.

DoorBot lets you see who's at the door, wherever you are

Everyone wants to feel safe in their home, and it's easier to do so when you know who’s standing outside. DoorBot aims to help with exactly this, by functioning as a Wi-Fi-connected doorbell that streams live video and audio directly to your smartphone of choice whether you’re sitting on your couch or backpacking abroad.

Parallella: supercomputing for the masses?

A Kickstarter campaign seeking to build a US$99 "supercomputer for everyone" saw its funding target of $750,000 comfortably met on Saturday, raising just shy of $900,000 in pledges. The Parallella is billed by its designers at Adapteva as an affordable, open and easy parallel computing platform based on the company's own multicore Epiphany chips.

Long-distance collaborators create inexpensive prosthetic finger

When South African craftsman Richard Van As lost most of the fingers from his right hand in an industrial accident, he decided to try and create a prosthetic finger to regain some of his lost mobility. In order to bring this about, Richard recruited the help of Washington State native Ivan Owen, after being impressed with the latter's mechanical hand prop which he had posted on YouTube. The result could be a boon to amputees everywhere.

Eco-friendly circuit board releases its electronics when exposed to hot water

As our smartphones and computers continue to become obsolete and get discarded, the environmental problem of electronic waste gets worse. Needless to say, the greater the number of electronic components that can be reclaimed and reused, the better. That’s why scientists from the UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) have developed a printed circuit board that falls apart when immersed in hot water.

LG unveils Windows 8-optimized Touch 10 monitor

If you’ve recently installed Windows 8 onto your PC and would like to try the new operating system’s much-hyped touchscreen features, then LG’s newly-unveiled Touch 10 may be worth considering. The Touch 10 is a touchscreen monitor which has been optimized for Windows 8, and allows all ten digits to be used on-screen, simultaneously.

First true “all-carbon” solar cell developed

Researchers at Stanford University have developed an experimental solar cell made entirely of carbon. In addition to providing a promising alternative to the increasingly expensive materials used in traditional solar cells, the thin film prototype is made of carbon materials that can be coated onto surfaces from a solution, cutting manufacturing costs and offering the potential for coating flexible solar cells onto buildings and car windows.

Samsung Galaxy Smart Dock turns a Galaxy Note II into a mini desktop PC

With Samsung’s Galaxy Note II already blurring the lines between a smartphone and a tablet – earning the moniker “phablet” – it seems the Korean electronics giant is now looking to have the device blur the lines between a phablet and a desktop computer. The company’s new Galaxy Note II Smart Dock gives the Galaxy Note II a mini desktop PC form factor to turn it into what Samsung calls “a productivity powerhouse.”

Microsoft Surface launched in NYC

This afternoon, Microsoft held a a presentation to celebrate the launch of its in-house Windows RT tablet, the Surface. The event, held separately from the main Windows 8 launch presentation, focused on the premium nature of the device and featured a potentially risky drop test.

Flying Kyosho Space Ball: The R/C Death Star and air freshener in one

Almost a year ago, the Japanese Ministry of Defense made quite a splash when it revealed a spherical, remote-controlled aircraft that could zip around a room, roll along the ground, and even bounce off obstacles without losing control. But while it was mainly designed for search and rescue operations, many R/C enthusiasts took one look at that hovering orb and said, "I have got to get me one of those." Luckily, toy company Kyosho must have been listening, since it recently released a similar flying machine of its own for consumers. Kyosho's "Space Ball" can remain airborne while taking just as much punishment and even emits a fragrance to freshen up a room in the process.

Boxee TV is first DVR to offer unlimited cloud recording

Boxee’s latest set-top box retains its predecessor’s internet TV–streaming roots, but adds live TV and DVR capabilities to the mix. In fact, the Boxee TV’s primary focus is now live TV and its revamped user interface and simplified remote is designed to appeal to a wider audience than the Linux-based Boxee Box. Although the device is primarily a DVR for recording live TV, it comes without any onboard storage at all. Instead, the Boxee TV uploads recordings to the cloud, making the device “the first ever No Limits DVR.”

CHAMP missile test flight knocks out electronic devices with a burst of energy

This week, science fiction became science fact as a Boeing CHAMP missile knocked out a building full of electronics in the Utah desert at Hill Air Force Base. There was no explosion and no flying shrapnel. There was only the sound of the missile’s engine as it flew overhead and the sputtering of sophisticated computers crashing as they were hit by a beam of high-energy microwaves.

Hacker creates Kinect-powered email interface for his mom after a stroke

For many sufferers of aphasia, a disorder caused by stroke that impairs the language centers of the brain, simple things like writing or typing up emails become incredibly difficult. One inventor, though, has created an email interface based on the Kinect system that allows his mom to do the impossible, and send simple emails to her friends and family.

ORNL roof-and-attic system keeps houses cool in summer, warm in winter

Heating and cooling a house are two of the biggest ongoing costs for homeowners and are responsible for the bulk of the average household’s energy consumption. A new kind of roof-and-attic system field tested at the DoE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) improves the efficiency of both winter heating and summer cooling. Importantly, the new system can be retrofitted to most existing roofs.

Smart fabric designed to detect intruders

If you’re a burglar, and all that separates you from your quarry is what appears to be a simple sheet of fabric, you might not want to cut it. That’s because it could be a new smart fabric, that will set off an alarm if it’s breached. Created by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration, the fabric incorporates a web of silver-coated conductive threads that are connected to a microcontroller. If that controller detects a break in the weak electric current that travels through the fibers, it’ll be sure to let the right people know.

One-cent rectenna could enable large-scale adoption of NFC at low cost

By now, we’ve all become quite used to seeing QR codes on products, price tags and advertisements – just scan the code with your smartphone’s camera, and it’s converted into readable information. Soon, however, those codes could be facing competition from something called the rectenna. It’s an inexpensive label-like device that transmits data to a near-field communication (NFC)-enabled smartphone, using that phone’s radio waves as its power source.

NASA proposes Water Walls to replace mechanical life support systems

When they’re living aboard spacecraft, astronauts presently rely on mechanically-driven life support systems. Not only is there a danger of these systems breaking down, but maintenance can be challenging, as they’re always in use. While redundant duplicate systems could take over in such situations, they add to the expense and weight of a spacecraft, and also take up valuable space. Instead, NASA is exploring another possibility – the passive “Water Walls” system, which would use the principle of forward osmosis to perform tasks such as water filtration, air filtration, and even food growth.

Touchless heart rate monitor apps detect changes in face's reflectivity

There’s no shortage of heart rate monitor apps available for the iPhone, most of which take their readings by detecting the pulsating blood flow through a finger placed over the iPhone camera’s lens. But we’ve recently seen the release of a new kind of heart rate app that doesn’t require any physical contact with the phone as it takes its readings by simply looking at your face.

Gamers may get a charge out of the Gauss Rifle

Well, Patrick Priebe might have outdone himself with this one. In the past, the German cyberpunk weapons-maker has brought us such creations as awrist-mounted mini-crossbow, a laser-sighted rotary-saw-blade-shooting crossbow, and a flame-throwing glove. His latest nasty futuristic device? A video game-inspired electromagnetic weapon, called the Gauss Rifle.

Saturn and Titan in living color

It will soon be spring on Saturn ... and it will last for the next eight years or so. To celebrate the slow passing of the seasons of the giant ringed planet, NASA has released four real-color images sent back by the Cassini space probe. The images not only show the seasonal changes, but also the mysterious vortex recently discovered at the south pole of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan.

New airline seats provide individual climate control

These days, jet air travel is less of a glamorous Don Draper adventure and often more of a tedious ordeal. The cabin air doesn’t help as passengers suffer sinus troubles and can’t stay warm or cool enough for comfort. At the ILA Berlin Air Show running September 11 - 16, the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP) will reveal to the public a new airline seat that provides air passengers with individual climate control that may make even traveling coach a bit more pleasant.

Thermaltake´s Level 10 M Mouse for pro gamers released

In the same way that professional athletes have turned to technology to give them an advantage in training and competition, professional gamers are increasingly being targeted by peripheral manufacturers promising gamers an edge over their opposition. Thermaltake’s Level 10 M Mouse is just such a peripheral. Unveiled earlier this year, pricing and availability details of the mouse have now been announced.

TextGenie translates SMS messages for puzzled adults

Text messaging has transformed language into a kind of coded parlance that can be puzzling or outright indecipherable for recipients who do not follow SMS trends, which probably start in classrooms across the world. In order to help those with difficulties understanding abbreviations and obscure acronyms used in English, British software developer DCML has greated TextGenie, which translates the increasingly cryptic SMS messages the younger generation tends to use.

NASA's Dawn probe sets its sights on dwarf planet Ceres

The Dawn spacecraft was the first to ever orbit an object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and has been studying the asteroid Vesta since July 2011, revealing unprecedented detail on its distant past and providing astronomers with a better picture of the early history of our solar system. Now, however, it's time to say goodbye – in only a few days' time, Dawn will make its escape from Vesta's gravitational grasp and start a two and a half-year journey toward the dwarf planet Ceres.

Lifeproof nüüd case waterproofs your iPad without covering the screen

One of the appeals of tablet computers is that they’re “good to go” – you can just grab them and use them wherever you want. The fact that they’re not particularly real-world-proof, however, takes away from that a little. The same thing could be said about smartphones, which is why so many people now keep their phones in rugged, waterproof cases. Well, Lifeproof’s just-launched nüüd case is like one of those smartphone cases, but for the iPad. It’s not the only such product to ever exist, but it is able to do the job without anything covering the tablet’s screen.

Flying drone controlled with mind power

Researchers based at Zhejiang University in China have produced a system for controlling a quad-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle with the mind. Dubbed "Flying Buddy 2", the system uses a standard, commercially-availableElectroencephalogram (EEG) headset, a computer and a Parrot AR Drone. The computer processes the data received from the EEG and converts it into control commands which are beamed to the drone via a Wi-Fi connection. Judging by the video, the latency of the setup appears to be relatively low.

Scientists use light to alter properties of high temperature superconductors

When people have a difficult problem they often talk about “shining a light on it.” Creating and controlling high-temperature superconductors has been a problem for scientists and engineers for over two decades. Now, Yoram Dagan, a professor at Tel Aviv University's (TAU) Department of Physics and Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, has made a breakthrough in superconductors by literally shining a light on them. By doing this, he is able to control their properties.

Just-launched HyperJuice2 charges a MacBook and two iPads at once

While it may not be likely that one person would need to charge a MacBook and two iPads all at the same time, it’s entirely possible that a group of people (say, a group of people covering an electronics trade show) might need to. If they did, and an AC outlet wasn’t close at hand, a single Sanho HyperJuice2 could apparently do the job. The portable battery pack was just launched at IFA 2012.

How Microsoft Will Profit Off Webmail Without Reading Your Inbox

No doubt about it: Outlook.com looks great. The user interface for Microsoft’s just-announced Hotmail overhaul is crisp and clean—I’m a sucker for whitespace. The social and Skype integrations seem winning, and the newsletter filter looks like inbox salvation. Here’s the kicker: When you sign up, before you even see your inbox for the first time, Microsoft makes this promise:

“Outlook is private—you’re in control of your data, and your personal conversations aren’t used for ads.”

Google Chrome now used by one in three web surfers

Google's Chrome web browser is going to turn four years old in less than a month. According to web analytics service StatCounter, approximately 33.8% of web surfers are using Chrome to look at kittens, puppies, and to see how many likes their last status update received. That's absolutely astonishing when you step back and realize that it wasn't too long ago when Firefox was considered the browser to beat. How many people still use Firefox? About 23.7%, which is certainly nothing to sneeze at, but let's be honest, when was the last time you actually set Firefox as your default browser?

Fenix bike light line to include affordable 800 lumen unit

Flashlight manufacturer Fenix is bringing its lighting expertise to the bike market with plans to launch a pair of bike lights that combine powerful output, low pricing and an established brand name. Some bikers already mount Fenix torches to their handlebars in place of more purpose-built lighting systems but its new bike light line will just give users a more integrated package for lighting up the road or trail with Fenix power.

New system saves time and money in locating leaks in water pipes

Tracking down the source of a leak in water pipes can be a tricky business. Current techniques rely on acoustic sensing with microphones often used to identify noise resulting from pressurized water escaping the pipe. In plastic pipes in particular, that noise can fall away quickly, making leak detection difficult and time consuming. Researchers at the University of Sheffield claim to have developed a much more accurate system that locates leaks by sending a pressure wave along the pipe that sends back a signal if it passes any anomalies in the pipe’s surface.

Apple smart cover patent application hints at secondary display for iPad

The US Patent Trademark Office (USPTO) has made public an application for an iPad cover encompassing a flexible touch-screen display. The product detailed in the patent that Apple filed for nearly a year ago would aim to “greatly enhance the overall functionality of the tablet device.”

The future is coming, in the form of internet-controlled power outlets

A common theme in any form of entertainment depicting the future is the use of a remote to control everything – futuristic houses are often shown with the owner turning the lights on before they even arrive. Turns out, using the internet to control our houses is not too far away. A group of researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication Systems ESK in Munich, in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM in Kaiserslautern, have developed a new power outlet that supports the brand-new IPv6 Internet protocol. These new outlets, known as the wireless smart socket, could very well revolutionize the way we turn things on and off in our homes.

Siemens unveils world's largest wind turbine blades

Siemens has released pictures of its truly gargantuan B75 wind turbine rotor blades. As you might imagine, the prototype turbines that will use these blades boast some staggering statistics of their own (Airbuses at the ready, please).

Small, portable Goal Zero Switch 8 charger offers multiple functions

The Goal Zero Switch 8 is a lightweight, pocket-sized charger that carries enough juice to just about fully charge a cell phone.The charger can also multitask, including serving as a flashlight and UV water purifier.

GameKlip pairs Android smartphones with PS3 controllers

Handheld games consoles such as the impressive PS Vita, though still popular, are in danger of being sidelined by increasingly capable smartphones and the games that are available to play on them. There is one problem with this transition however: the control system on touchscreen phones and tablets leaves a lot to be desired. Which is where GameKlip enters in to the equation.

NASA announces advanced technology proposals

A submarine glider to explore the ocean of Europa, a solid-state air purification system and a way of making concrete out of lunar soil for Moon colonies - these are a few of the 28 proposals that NASA has selected for study and development under its NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program. Part of the larger Space Technology program, NIAC is the space agency’s way of kick-starting innovation that has the potential to improve future missions, aerospace systems and other capabilities.

The AmigaOne X1000: Keeping a dream alive

The 30th anniversary of the Commodore 64 and death of its creator Jack Tramiel earlier this year is a reminder of a bygone age of computing. In the consumer climate of 2012, where computer architecture is dominated by Intel chips, it is hard to imagine another time when a battle for personal computing supremacy occurred between truly different systems. The struggles between Commodore, Atari and Apple throughout the 1980s and early 1990s (of which Jack was an integral part) are well documented. Personalities like Tramiel - who acquired Atari in 1984 after being removed from its main competitor, Commodore, which he had founded thirty years earlier - were often at the center of what became a consumer technologies war. Indeed the rise and fall of the Amiga and Atari ST, in retrospect, was greatly affected by boardroom politics and corporate mud slinging.

Touchdown! Curiosity lands safely on Mars

NASA's Mars lander Curiosity has landed safely on Mars. After a 253-day voyage punctuated by a dramatic plunge through the Martian atmosphere, the nuclear-powered rover has reported to mission control that it is on the ground and systems are nominal. The landing occurred at 10:31 p.m. U.S. PDT (August 6, 05:31 GMT) plus or minus a minute. The landing site was near the base of Mount Sharp inside Gale Crater, 4.6 degrees south latitude, 137.4 degrees east longitude. This marks the beginning of a two-year mission to seek out places where life may have existed on Mars – or may yet exist today.

Android multi-user support built into Jelly Bean, can be enabled with a bit of work

We told you about the various multi-user capabilities built into Android over the last year or so, and it seems that while they’re not quite ready for primetime, the feature can be enabled in AOSP Jelly Bean. Developers at XDA-Developers have been experimenting with the prospects, creating second accounts and seeing exactly what is blocked off and allowed from the primary account.

Motion Lamp concept sheds light on design

The importance of lighting can often be overlooked, but selecting the right illumination for each situation is actually rather important. Using a computer in the near-dark or reading without a suitable lamp can cause eyestrain, while creating the right mood can also be achieved by choosing the correct color, tone, and brightness. One light to suit every single situation doesn't exist, but the Motion Lamp from designer Gergo Kassai tries to its hardest to achieve this impossible task.

Breakthrough allows inexpensive solar cells to be fabricated from any semiconductor

Despite their ability to generate clean, green electricity, solar panels aren't as commonplace as the could be. The main sticking point, of course, is price. Due to their need for relatively expensive semiconductor materials, conventional solar cells don't yet have a price-efficiency combination that can compete with other sources of electricity. Now Profs. Alex Zettl and Feng Wang of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley have developed seriously unconventional solar cell technology that allows virtually any semiconductor material to be used to create photovoltaic cells.

MIT students reveal PopFab, a 3D printer that fits inside a briefcase

There are plenty of different 3D printers to choose from these days, from the popular Makerbot Thing-O-Matic to the budget-priced Solidoodle. These all have one drawback however in that they aren't exactly portable. Most need to be disassembled to be moved and even the fully-assembled Cubify printer isn't really built for travel. But now, two MIT students have developed the PopFab, a machine that does 3D printing and more, all while fitting inside a small suitcase.

Panansonic develops world's most efficient artificial photosynthesis system

Panasonic has recently developed an artificial photosynthesis system that, using a simple and straightforward process, can convert carbon dioxide into clean organic materials with what it says record efficiency. This development may lead to the creation of a compact way of capturing pollution from incinerators and electric power plants and converting them into harmless – even useful – compounds.

FreedomPop brings free 4G data to iPod touch and iPhone users

The iPod touch is more or less an iPhone without the phone functionality. When connected to a Wi-Fi network, it can do most of the same functions as the iPhone. However, Wi-Fi is not available everywhere, and without it, the touch loses some important functionality. FreedomPop is launching an iPod touch case for US$99, that brings free 4G data to touch owners.

Microsoft announces Wedge Mobile Keyboard and Mouse

Microsoft has announced a set of new peripherals for its upcoming tablet-friendly Windows 8 OS. The Wedge Mobile Keyboard features a minimalist design, slim form factor and full-sized keyset, while the Wedge Touch Mouse is the smallest and lightest pointer that the company has ever produced.

Optical communications system and autonomous microscope to boost underwater research

It would definitely be an understatement to say that underwater research has its technical challenges. Remote-operated vehicles (ROVs) must be tethered to surface support vessels with unwieldy communications cables, deep-sea water samples have to be hauled to the surface for analysis ... or do they? Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution recently announced that it has partnered with two private companies, to market a couple of technologies that address both of those situations.

Chimera Energy develops fracking technique that uses no water

“Fracking” may sound like something out of Battlestar Galactica, but it’s actually short for “hydraulic fracturing.” It is one of the most remarkable success stories in the history of the energy industry and its ability to open up previously unprofitable oil and gas resources in North America, Europe and China holds the promise of centuries of cheap, clean and abundant energy free of Middle Eastern control. However, it has raised the concerns of some environmentalists. Chimera Energy Corporation of Houston, Texas, has announced that they are licensing a new method for extracting oil and gas from shale fields that doesn't contaminate ground water resources because it uses exothermic reactions instead of water to fracture shale.