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NEWS
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 Artificial
fingertip
A thin-film pressure sensor made of semiconducting
nanoparticles detects
textures as fine as those felt by the human fingertip,
which is many times more sensitive than current touch
sensors. The device could be used to improve humanoid
robots' sense of touch and to increase the sensitivity
of surgical robots. (High-Resolution Thin-Film Device
to Sense Texture by Touch, Science, June 9, 2006)
These shoes were made for walking -- in place
Prototype motorized
roller skates make it possible to walk in any direction
while remaining physically in place. The shoes could be
used to enhance the realism of navigating virtual environments.
(Powered Shoes, Siggraph 2006, Boston, July 30-August
3, 2006)
Liquid crystal clothing
Textiles made of conductive
yarns and fibers dyed with liquid crystal ink change
colors from red to green to blue as electricity heats
the dye. The textiles could be used to make clothing and
furnishings capable of changing colors and patterns, and,
if small enough pixels can be made, changing images. (Fabcell,
Siggraph 2006, Boston, July 30-August 3, 2006)
Pushpin input devices
Pushpins sporting knobs, buttons and sliders are
the basis of a reconfigurable
computer interface. Users push the input devices into
a surface that links them to the computer. (VoodooIO,
Siggraph 2006, Boston, July 30-August 3, 2006)
Interactive water
A method of turning
water into an electrical and optical sensor makes
possible a liquid touch screen and a harp that uses streams
of water as strings. The technique could be used to give
surface coatings sensing capabilities. (Submerging Technologies,
Siggraph 2006, Boston, July 30-August 3, 2006)
Molecular refrigerator
A theoretical study shows that a molecular motor
driven by random particle movements can be made to transfer
heat against a thermal gradient. Such a motor could
be used to cool nanoscale devices. (Brownian Refrigerator,
Physical Review Letters, June 2, 2006) |
FEATURES
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View
from the High Ground: ICL's John Pendry
Physics as machine tool, negative refractive
index, metamaterials, shattered wine glasses, higher capacity
DVDs, scientific backwaters, risk perception and practice,
practice, practice.
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How
It Works: Quantum computing: qubits
Photons, electrons and atoms, oh my! These particles are
the raw materials for qubits, the basic building blocks
of quantum computers. |
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"Physics
is to the rest of science what machine tools are
to engineering. A corollary is that science places
power in our hands which can be used for good or
ill. Technology has been abused in this way throughout
the ages from gunpowder to atomic bombs."
- John Pendry, Imperial College London |
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Thanks
to Kevin from
GoldBamboo.com
for technical support |
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