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Protection
E is for electric: The BMW C1-E concept scooter
By Alan Brandon
21:36 November 17, 2009 PST
When BMW released their original C1 scooter in 2000 nobody had seen anything like it on the road. And not many C1s were seen on the road after it was released either. In the three years that BMW produced the scooter-with-a-roll-cage, only about 12000 were made. The riding public didn’t quite know what to make of the C1 and BMW never sold as many as it had hoped. Now BMW has brought the urban runabout back as the C1-E concept vehicle with an electric drivetrain. Could it be the C1’s time has come? Read More
Concept car provides roadside bomb protection
By Darren Quick
15:50 November 4, 2009 PST
Casualties in Iraq from Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) have dropped as the number of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles has increased, but with roadside bombs still responsible for the majority of casualties to coalition forces in Afghanistan, there is a need for a smaller, more nimble version more suited to its rugged, mountainous terrain. A new concept that would see military vehicles built around a protected personnel compartment and use a sacrificial “blast wedge” to absorb energy could improve safety for the occupants of future light armored patrol vehicles. Read More
State of the art back protection for cyclists
By Darren Quick
06:32 October 8, 2009 PDT
Helmets are the obvious form of protection for cyclists, and many parts of the world have laws in place making the wearing of them while riding a bike mandatory. But with cyclists being such vulnerable targets on the roads, other protective gear is undoubtedly a good idea - and almost essential for offroaders traversing rugged terrain. The Spine Ergo Flow is a lightweight armor for your spine that is designed to decrease the likelihood of sustaining a serious spinal injury in the event of an accident. Read More
Anti-paparazzi lasers being fitted to the world's biggest private yacht
By Loz Blain
05:34 September 22, 2009 PDT
Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich rose from obscurity and successfully navigated the shady world of early Russian privatization to become one of the world's wealthiest self-made billionaires. His 40-man private army of security personnel make him one of the best-protected businessmen in the world, and when his private gigayacht the Eclipse is handed over in time for Christmas this year, it will be the largest (at a staggering 560ft) and most expensive (at US$1.2 billion) private yacht the world has ever seen. Security will be as tight as you'd expect, with missile defence and intruder detection systems - but the Eclipse's most notable feature is a privacy system that can detect the digital cameras of snooping paparazzi and blind them with laser bursts, ruining spy photos. Read More
Graffiti-proofing our history
By Jeff Salton
01:09 September 14, 2009 PDT
Graffiti is not only ugly, it costs society millions of dollars to remove it. But graffiti on historic landmarks is worse because it often can't be removed using basic caustic solutions without damage to the underlying surface. Now a new, breathable coating could help preserve some of our most beautiful and priceless links to the past by providing them with an efficient, all-round protection against attacks by taggers. Read More
New thinner, safer, blast-resistant glass
By Darren Quick
00:54 September 14, 2009 PDT
Conventional blast-resistant glass is more than an inch thick and expensive, but researchers are developing and testing a new type of blast-resistant glass that is less than one-half of an inch thick, lighter and yet less vulnerable to small-scale explosions. Read More
Flash Drive Lock fits any standard USB memory stick
By Darren Quick
20:49 August 12, 2009 PDT
If you’re looking for some hardware-based protection to supplement data encryption on your USB memory stick, you might want to consider the Flash Drive Lock. The combination lock fits to the end of any standard USB memory stick and can’t be removed without inputting the correct three-digit code, thereby preventing any nefarious types from inserting the drive into a computer’s USB slot. Read More
Tarian high-tech fabric: the future of military armour-plating?
By Paul Lester
17:55 August 9, 2009 PDT
Developed by UK firm Amsafe, Tarian cloth is capable of repelling armor-piercing anti-tank warheads by creating a ‘cushion’ between the vehicle’s exterior and typical armor plating, thereby triggering the explosive early and dispersing the force of the blast across the existing armor. Read More
Dishwasher-safe, waterproof keyboard and mouse
By Jeff Salton
18:33 July 26, 2009 PDT
Seal Shield's range of keyboards and mice are waterproof, dishwasher safe and contain antimicrobial properties to resist the spread of harmful germs and bacteria, which means a cleaner, healthier work and play environment. Read More
Physicists find way to hide buildings from earthquakes
23:41 July 21, 2009 PDT
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there are 500,000 detectable earthquakes every year, of which 100,000 will be felt and about 100 will cause damage. Engineers now use seismic vibration control technology - and base isolation in particular – to make buildings more earthquake-proof. But what about existing structures? Researchers from the University of Liverpool have now developed a means of effectively making buildings “invisible” to the destructive path of a quake. Read More
Terotech
- November 21, 2009 @ 19:38 UTC
