New technique for mass-producing microbots inspired by pop-up books and origami

Inspired by origami and children's pop-up books, Harvard engineers have pioneered a means of mass-producing bee-sized flying microrobots from flat laminated sheets

Inspired by origami and children's pop-up books, Harvard engineers have pioneered a means of mass-producing bee-sized flying microrobots. The breakthrough mechanizes the already state-of-the art process of making Harvard's Mobee robots by hand, by mass producing flat assemblies by the sheet which can be folded and assembled in a single movement. The technique, which cunningly exploits existing machinery for making printed circuit boards, can theoretically be applied to a multitude of electromechanical machines.

The art of flat

Prototypes of the mass-produced Mobee (short for

Beam toothbrush reports your brushing habits to a smartphone via Bluetooth

The Beam toothbrush is Bluetooth-enabled to track your dental hygiene using a smartphone

From heart monitors to cooking thermometers, almost any piece of tech seems to be equipped with Bluetooth and an accompanying smartphone app these days. Now it looks like even the simplest of items can get their own high-tech upgrade, as evidenced by Beam Technologies' upcoming Bluetooth-enabled toothbrush. The Beam Brush will monitor a person's dental hygiene using sensors that sync

Tiny sensor transmits data from orthopedic implants

Scientists have developed a tiny sensor that could wirelessly transmit data on the status of orthopedic implants, like this one (Photo via Shutterstock)

In order to determine how a patient is recovering from orthopedic surgery, doctors must presently rely on technologies such as X-rays or MRIs. Before too long, however, they may instead simply be able to read the output from tiny sensors, implanted in the patient's body. A team of scientists from New York's Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have already created a prototype of just such a device, that measures

Genius Swedish computer program has IQ of 150

Swedish researchers have created a computer program that can score 150 on standard non-verbal IQ test questions (Image: Shutterstock)

Researchers at the Department of Philosophy, Linguistics, and Theory of Science at the University of Gothenburg in Göteborg, Sweden, have created a computer program that can score 150 on standard non-verbal IQ test questions.
Intelligence is an "I know it when I see it" phenomenon, but psychologists have formed no consensus on what abilities combine to produce the appearance of great intelligence. Despite this, the lure of condensing a person's "intelligence" into a simple "intelligence quotient" (IQ) has proven irresistible to many in the

Researchers track mobile phone locations with cheap hardware and open-source software

Researchers have shown it is easy for a third party to track a mobile phone user's location using a cheap phone and some open source software (Image: Shutterstock)

While cop shows have shown us that it's easy for service providers to track a person's location via their mobile phone, researchers at the University of Minnesota have revealed it's also an easy task for hackers. Using a cheap phone and open source software, the researchers were able to track the location of mobile phone users without their knowledge on the GSM network, which is estimated to serve 80 percent of the global mobile market.
According to the new research by computer scientists in the University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering, a third party could easily track the location of a mobile phone user without their knowledge because cellular mobile phone networks "leak" the locations of mobile phone users.

Quad-core iPad 3 to be announced March 7?

If the rumors prove true, an LTE, quad-core, Retina display iPad 3 will be announced on March 7 - but it's a big if

It's been a busy week on the iPad 3 rumor mill, and things have progressed considerably since our last iPad 3 update with the iMore blog citing "reliable sources" who suggest an official iPad 3 announcement is likely on March 7. Further, the same sources indicate that the next iteration of Apple's tablet could be powered by a quad-core processor and include - as we already suspected - a Retina display. There's some suggestion that the device could feature LTE connectivity - though this latter point seems

NASA launches search for greener propellant

The launch of the Phoenix spacecraft on a Delta II rocket in 2007. NASA is looking for alternatives to hydrazine monopropellant, used en route by Phoenix's navigational thrusters (Photo: NASA/Sandra Joseph and John Kechele)

NASA has put out the call for greener propellant fuel for use on the spacecraft of the future. Though it does not appear that NASA has stipulated that alternative propellants must match the performance of current mainstay hydrazine, it's clear that only high-performance substances need apply. Environmental credentials are where the new fuel must demonstrate an edge over hydrazine, which is a corrosive, toxic pollutant. As well as the environmental benefits, use of greener propellants should prove more economical

Deep Blue luxury catamaran designed as submarine support vessel

Ardoin Yacht Design's DEEP BLUE catamaran is designed to serve as a support and transport vessel for U-Boat Worx' one-, two- and three-person submarines

Luxury yacht designers Ardoin Yacht Design and U-Boat Worx submarines have collaborated on the perfect companion for U-Boat's one, two or three person submarines. The Deep Blue catamaran can carry the submarine and 12 passengers to your diving spot at up to 30 knot speeds, then hydraulically lower and raise the submarine for launching and docking.
DEEP BLUE is designed for the day charter market as a support vessel with limited crew requirements with

DoubleBack adds a sliding pod to VW's Transporter van

The DoubleBack is a sliding pod that extends the interior space of the Volkswagen T5 Transporter van

It was over thirty years ago that Volkswagen first started offering "pop tops" on its camper vans. In the years since, the soft-sided interior height-extenders have become a common sight on VW vans parked in campgrounds all over the world. Now, Welsh company Overlander Motorhomes is offering what it sees as the logical compliment to the pop top - it's the DoubleBack, a sliding insulated pod that extends the

"Fracture putty" could speed healing of broken bones

A new material known as 'fracture putty' could be used to help broken bones heal much more quickly than is currently possible (Image: nelgdev)

Anyone who has ever broken a bone knows that while receiving the injury itself is quite unpleasant, being laid up for several weeks to even a few months afterwards is also no picnic. Help may be on the way, however. The U.S. Department of Defense is funding a study, to develop fast bone-healing treatments that could be used on soldiers, along with civilians and even animals. Already, scientists have gotten

Nike develops performance rubber sole for prosthetic running blades

The Nike Sole is an attachment designed for use with Ossur's Flex-Run carbon fiber running blades

By now, probably just about everyone has seen amazing footage of single- or double-amputee runners, using Össur's Flex-Run carbon fiber running blades. The springy substitutes for legs allow their users to run so fast and naturally, that there is currently a debate over whether or not it would be fair to allow athletes using them to compete against non-amputees. Carbon fiber isn't exactly known for its grippy qualities, however, so

iPad 3 rumors hint at larger battery, Retina display

The rumor-mill suggests the iPad 3 will has space for a larger battery, and a slightly different camera than the current model (pictured)

Leaked iPad parts suggest that the iPad 3 will have a larger battery, an updated camera, and a Retina display all in the same form-factor as the iPad 2.
RepairLabs got its hands on what are said to be insider photos of the the rear-shell of the device, which seems to point to a few changes coming to the next generation of the tablet. The mounts for the iPad's logic board are different and the casing also has space for a larger battery, plus a slightly different camera. The mount for the display is also slightly different, indicating we'll see a change (and hopefully an upgrade) on that front as well.
After looking at the rear casing, RepairLabs source thinks that the iPad 3 will keep the

iRobot launches new 710 Warrior robot

The 710 Warrior can lift loads of up to 220 lbs (100 kg)

iRobot, the company behind household helpers, such as the Roomba and Scooba, and military and police robots, such as the PackBot and Negotiator, has released an updated version of its Warrior 700 robot. Like its predecessor, the newly launched 710 Warrior is designed for EOD (explosive ordnance disposal), reconnaissance and surveillance missions and can lift loads of up to 220 lbs (100 kg) and carry payloads of more than

Recording data using heat could lead to faster, more efficient magnetic recording devices

A recent study has shown that heat can be used to magnetically store data on tiny magnetic grains

For the past several decades, it has been assumed that in order to store data on a magnetic medium, a magnetic field must be applied. Recently, however, an international team of scientists discovered that heat can be used instead of a magnetic field. Not only is this method reportedly more energy efficient, but it also theoretically allows for ten times the storage capacity and 300 times the performance of current hard drive technology.
Traditionally, hard drives have worked by using a magnetic field to invert the polarity of magnetic domains within the drive platter - the stronger that field, the faster bits of data can be recorded. In the new study, however, it was discovered that those same inversions could be attained by applying ultra-

Further evidence that Mars once had oceans emerges

Mars Express has used its MARSIS radar to give strong evidence for a former ocean of Mars (Image: ESA, C. Carreau)

The European Space Agency (ESA) has provided more evidence that suggests the surface of Mars was once home to an ocean. Featuring ground-penetrating radar capabilities, the MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding) radar aboard the ESA's Mars Express spacecraft has detected sediments like that seen on an ocean floor.
In 1877, with the aid of a 22 cm (8.6 in) telescope, Italian astronomer Giovanni Sciaparelli produced the first detailed map of Mars, which featured what he called canali. Although canali actually means "channels" in English, it was popularly mistranslated as "canals," which, along with books by Percival Lowell, helped foster the popular notion of water and

World's first 3D-printed lower jaw implant gives 83-year old patient her bite back

An 83-year old woman is the first in the world to receive a full 3D-printed titanium lower jaw implant

The ability to create your own replacement curtain rings, door knobs or even a custom chess set at home using a 3D printer like the Replicator or the Cubify 3D printer has the potential to knock global production models on their heads. Such advances are certainly impressive but not quite in the same league as those being made in the field of medicine. We've already seen small bone-like objects printed by Washington State University researchers, and now an 83-year old patient with a serious jaw infection has

Photovoltaic nanoshell "whispering galleries" trap light for more efficient solar cells

A scanning electron microscope image of a single layer of the nanocrystalline-silicon nanoshells

For those unfamiliar with the term, a "whispering gallery" is a round room designed in such a way that sound is carried around its perimeter - this allows a person standing on one side to hear words whispered by a person on the other. Now, scientists from Stanford University have developed a new type of photovoltaic material, that essentially does for sunlight what whispering galleries do for sound. Not only does the

Chips with collaborating CPU and GPU lead to faster processors

A new technique that allows CPUs and GPUs to collaborate on computing tasks has resulted in improved processor performance (Photo via Shutterstock)

Want to get your computer to run faster? Well, consider its graphics processing unit (GPU) and central processing unit (CPU). The two work away at their own tasks, each one rarely helping the other shoulder its workload. Researchers from North Carolina State University, however, are in the process of changing that. They have already developed a technique that allows GPUs and CPUs located on a single chip to collaborate on tasks, and it has resulted in a processing speed increase of over 20 percent

U.S. Navy set to test first industry railgun prototype

Test firing from the EM Railgun laboratory demonstrator also based at NSWC-Dahlgren where the first industry-built prototype demonstrator is set to undergo testing (Photo: NSCW-Dahlgren)

Two years after BAE Systems was awarded a US$21 million contract from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to develop an advanced Electromagnetic (EM) Railgun for the U.S. Navy, the company has delivered the first industry-built prototype demonstrator to the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Dahlgren. The prototype launcher is now being prepared for testing which is scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.
Unlike weapons that rely on explosive chemical propellants such as gunpowder to launch a projectile, electromagnetic railguns accelerate a conductive projectile along metal rails using a

Non-surgical procedure repairs severed nerves in minutes

U.S. researchers have developed a nonsurgical technique to repair severed nerves in minutes instead of months (Image: Shutterstock)

Professor George Bittner and his colleagues at the University of Texas at Austin Center for Neuroscience have developed a simple and inexpensive procedure to quickly repair severed peripheral nerves.
The team took advantage of a mechanism similar to that which permits many invertebrates to regenerate and repair nerve damage. The new procedure, based on timely application of common chemicals to the severed nerve ends, could help patients to recover nearly full function in days or weeks.
Peripheral nerves connect the central nervous system to the muscles and sensory organs. Nerves contain a bundle of cylindrical sheaths called axons, within which reside individual nerve cells. The axons are surrounded by Schwann cells which coat the axons with myelin.
Trauma to peripheral nerves is relatively common. A nerve that has been damaged by pressure or stretching generally has a severed nerve fiber inside an intact axon. A severed nerve occurs when