Opel became yet another another manufacturer to begin preparing for the next era of mobility today when it was learned that the General Motors subsidiary will show the "RAD e", a 250 W pedelec with an electrically-supported range of between 60 and 145 kilometers. Opel says it will be the first e-bike to be built around automotive construction and production principles. Read More

Intelligent Energy and Suzuki are to establish a joint venture company, SMILE FC System Corporation (SMILE FC), for developing and manufacturing fuel cell systems. Suzuki has already been working with Intelligent Energy for six years in the development and testing of the CrosscageFuel Cell motorcycle and Burgman Fuel Cell Maxiscooter, the latter already being approved for European roads. An extensive display of the two-wheeled FC technology in cutaway form was one of the highlights of December's 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. The press release states that the JV will produce at least one car and one motorcycle. Read More

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 become the first person to receive a full 3D-printed titanium lower jaw implant. Amazingly, the combined effort by researchers and engineers from Belgium and the Netherlands is said to have allowed the patient unrestricted mandibular movement within a day of surgery. Read More

With a growing focus on powder and backcountry riding, some of the snowboard designs that have come out over the past few seasons look more like original designs from the 60s and 70s than modern day equipment. They have swallowtails, pointy noses and odd profiles. Some - like the Rome Hammerhead - just look downright strange and otherworldly. With the launch of its new experimental division known as Shape Shack, Colorado-based Venture Snowboards plans to take this trend a step further in designing all kinds of Franken-boards. It may just come up with odd yet functional board designs that big companies just aren't developing. Read More

We've previously featured a number of devices that give players a low latency interface to the world of device-based digital tone manipulation, but each one poses something of a risk for those who like to rock out. To reduce the chances of a connected tablet or laptop flying across the room as you twirl the guitar around your body Malmsteen-style, Ion Audio has developed a wireless system called Guitarlink Air that severs the physical link between device and instrument common to products like Apogee's JAM or the AcousticLink from Alesis. Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More

Anyone who has done a bit of traveling in the rear seat of older model cars will likely have encountered the case of the missing buckle, where the seat-belt buckle has wormed its way down in the gap between the upholstery. While that may not be so much of a problem nowadays, Mercedes-Benz has developed an active seat-belt buckle that not only emerges from the upholstery when the rear doors are opened to make finding the buckle easier, but also improves safety by reducing the belt slack once the passenger is strapped in. Read More

Ducati recently finished its first series of official MotoGP testing at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, beset by the typically hot and humid conditions and rain that interrupted track time. Nicky Hayden had a painful shoulder injury that limited valuable time on the bike, but Valentino Rossi continued until the rain arrived, finishing the session with the fifth-best time. Read More