Ben Coxworth

Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) are in development at various research institutes and aerospace firms worldwide, with an eye toward someday being used in applications such as search and rescue operations, environmental monitoring, or exploration of hazardous environments... or spying, as seems to be the case with all things micro. Like insects, many of these MAVs fly by flapping a set of wings, so they need to be designed to cope with crosswinds or potential wing damage. Engineers at Harvard University have created a tiny automobile-style differential, to keep the two wings generating the same amount of torque. The device is literally one one-millionth the size of what you’d find in your car.  Read More

They’re known as smart materials, memory materials or shape memory alloys, but it all boils down to the same thing: materials that hold one shape, but then take on another at a certain temperature. Such substances have been around for decades, but now researchers at Canada’s University of Waterloo have taken them to a new level. Using a patent-pending process, they can embed multiple shape memories in one object – in other words, while memory materials can presently take on only two shapes, going from one to the other at just one temperature, using the new process they could take on several shapes at several temperatures. The Multiple Memory Material Technology (MMMT) is said to work with virtually any memory material.  Read More

Two years ago, Chinese scientists coated one side of a flag with a thin sheet of nanotubes, then played a song using the flapping sheet-coated flag as a speaker. It was a demonstration of flexible speaker technology, in which nanotubes can be made to generate sound waves via a thermoacoustic effect – every time an electrical pulse is sent through the microscopic layer of nanotubes, it causes the air around them to heat up, which in turn creates a sound wave. Now, an American scientist has taken that technology underwater, where he claims it could allow submariners to detect other submarines, and to remain hidden themselves.  Read More

Fried food without oil... is such a thing possible? According to Philips electronics, the answer is yes. Philips recently unveiled their Airfryer at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, where we were on hand to check the device out. It’s still early to be making any sweeping statements, but this product could have a huge impact on the developed world’s obesity epidemic.  Read More

After two decades of planning, the world’s first kilometer-scale neutrino observatory should finally be completed by this December. Named IceCube, it will consist of an array of 5,160 optical sensors embedded within one cubic kilometer of the Antarctic ice shelf – to put the accomplishment in perspective, one of the next-largest such observatories is just 40 cubic meters in size. Its main purpose will be to try to establish, once and for all, the source of cosmic rays.  Read More

Three years ago, Fallbrook Technologies introduced its NuVinci Continuously Variable Planetary (CVP) N170 transmission for bicycles. The device created something of a stir in the cycling community, as it replaces traditional derailleurs with a rear hub containing metal spheres, plus it also replaces distinct gears with a continuously variable system of transmitting mechanical power – kind of like comparing a three-setting desk lamp to one with a dimmer switch. Riders can change gears even when not pedaling, they don’t need to worry about improper chainring/cog combinations, and the fiddly bits aren’t out in the open where the dirt can get at them. The N170 is heavier than a conventional derailleur system, which is why you don’t see it much on bikes other than cruisers. That could change, however, with this Wednesday’s announcement of the NuVinci N360 transmission. Fallbrook claims it has all the good points of the N170, but is 30 percent lighter and 17 percent smaller.  Read More

Ford Motor Company has revealed its new Police Interceptor utility. The SUV, along with the new Taurus-based Interceptor sedan that Ford unveiled earlier this year, will replace the Crown Victoria Interceptor sedan when it ceases production in late 2011. The utility reportedly gets at least 20 percent better fuel economy than the Crown Vic, and sports a variety of other features that Ford hopes will make it the vehicle of choice for car-shopping police forces.  Read More

The North American Frost and Sullivan Award* for New Product Innovation of the Year has been awarded to Canadian company Solegear, for its 100 percent biobased Polysole plastic. According to Solegear, although many of today’s biopolymers come from a natural feedstock, they are compounded using synthetic additives. Polysole, however, utilizes proprietary additives that are entirely natural and organic. The non-toxic plastic is claimed to have high impact and tensile strength, and can be efficiently processed using conventional techniques such as extrusion, blow molding and injection molding. Its biodegradation point can also reportedly be tweaked, so it can maintain its molecular integrity until product-specific compost conditions are met.  Read More

Despite the stunningly futuristic looks and high technology of cars such as the Aptera, practical electric vehicles don’t need to be exotic. Take, for instance, the E-Beetle. It’s a 1972 VW Beetle, which a group of students from the University of British Columbia Electric Car Club retrofitted with an electric motor. They had originally intended to enter it in the Zero Race, in which teams in electric cars are racing each other around the world. Once they realized they couldn’t make the deadline, however, they settled for a more modest goal – to drive it 6,400 km. (3,977 miles) across Canada... and they’re almost done.  Read More