The PocketFinder is a GPS tracking device for parents, allowing them to keep an eye on their children even when they are out of sight. The gel cased tracker can be attached to a book bag or key ring, and includes an antenna that is constantly connected to the user's home computer. Once the PocketFinder has been registered online, parents can set up zones where they expect their child to be. An alarm will sound via text message or email if the child leave an expected zone. The device can also be set to monitor speed limits.

By studying the fins of humpback whales, scientists have been inspired to create rotor blades for helicopters that allow them more maneuverability. Humpback whales have small protrusions on their fins, called tubercles, that provide extra lift when water flows over them. When scientists from the German Aerospace Center applied small tubercle-like bumps to the undersides of rotor blades, they found that each blade was able to generate more lift. This extra lift resulted in a noticeable improvement in helicopter performances. The small rubber bumps have been patented by the team as Leading-Edge Vortex Generators (LEVoGs).

A new device may make it easier to monitor patients who are at risk for strokes without the need for invasive tests. Knows as near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), the small, thin device attaches to the patient's forehead like a sticker. It measures blood oxygen levels in the brain using near-infrared light to penetrate the skin and reach the brain tissue, and readings can be taken simply by shining a light on the patient's brow. NIRS could replace the current methods of CT scans and the insertion of oxygen probes in the brain.

The Buhel Speakgoggle G33 uses Bluetooth technology and an integrated micrphone to allow snow-players to communicate with their cell phones through the goggles. The Speakgoggles pick up the user's speech through bone conduction, which eliminates background noise and provides cleaner communication. The goggle will also automatically pause music and answer incoming calls, and can communicate as an intercom with other Speakgoggles within 1600 feet.

Engineers have proposed the idea of powering a pacemaker with the patient's heart, eliminating the need for surgery to replace dead batteries. The prototype, developed by engineers at the University of Michigan, uses a piezoelectric material that generates electricity when flexed by the vibrations of the heart and chest. The device is able to produce more than enough energy to power the pacemaker, which typically requires only 1 millionth of a watt to operate, and can draw energy from heart beats ranging from 7 to 700 beats per minute.

Next week on PopSci.com we investigate, adumbrate, and celebrate the Future of Fun, including a tour of modern playgrounds, an online arcade of the most innovative games you can play in your browser, and yes, the contention that fun is becoming more and more quotidian and effortful as it gets repurposed for dubious utilitarian ends.

(After playing for an hour, my score is now averaging under 3 seconds on Where's the Pixel -- can you beat that?)

See you next week.

Here's how to make your own, with just three kinds of food starch

Chris Young and team have made the Wylie Dufresne-inspired recipe available on their site, and it looks delicious. You mix the cheese-infused water with starches to make a paste, which you then dry and fry till puffy. ("The residual water expands 1,600 times in volume as it turns to steam, forming bubbles in the gel that harden when cooked.") Meanwhile you've made a cheese sauce, and turned it into a powder using a miraculous ingredient called N-Zorbit which turns oils into fluffy dust. The latter gets dusted on the puffs, and the game is on.

[Modernist Cuisine]

When raw chicken breasts had a normal amount of pathogens (Salmonella enterica and Campylobacter jejuni were the culprits that were tested), the plasma almost completely eliminated them. The technology is still too expensive to fit into the highly streamlined production lines that bring skinless, boneless, sanitized poultry to your table, but -- not least because it is equally effective on antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria -- the proof of concept is an intriguing one.

The researchers suggest that the treatment could significantly increase the shelf life of raw meat by removing microorganisms responsible for spoilage. They don't mention, though, the first idea that popped into my mind: delicious chicken sashimi.

Add 'mannequin' to the list of jobs being replaced by robots

The idea, according to Geminoid-F’s creator, is to see how people respond to an android in the window rather than the usual mannequin. Mannequins, after all, are static and don’t show off clothing in a real-world, kinetic way. Ideally a store would have live models in their displays, but that’s simply impractical. But he thinks androids can fill that role admirably, interacting with passersby while showing off clothing worn by a real human analog.

So Geminoid-F sits there coyly, acting as though she’s waiting for a friend. She’s programmed with emotions and 65 different actions triggered by her sensor data. She doesn’t speak to anyone, but occasionally she will look up at viewers, and perhaps return a friendly smile. But mostly she just ignores you and stares at her mobile device. These robots are getting more and more realistic all the time.

[DigInfo News]

The Smart-Seal surgical mask features a fog free visor and snug, single tie design that promotes better use and germ free environment. Released by Cardinal Health, the mask uses a "cinch and hug" design to create a seal around the wear's nose and mouth that eliminates gaps. It also included closed cell foam, a vapor barrier to reduce foam, and pair of bands to keep the mask comfortable. The Smart-Seal mask provides a bacteria filtration efficiency of 99.9 percent.

The West Coast Chill Can is able to quickly drop the temperature of the beverage inside using an all natural, environmentally friendly method. The Chill Can's development was slowed when concerns about one of its ingredients and its effects on greenhouse gasses emerged. The new technology, created 12 years later, uses activated carbon from organic materials and reclaimed carbon dioxide to replace the less friendly substance. It is capable of cooling the liquid inside the can 30 degrees in 3 minutes.

The Anon M1 Ski goggles make it simple to adjust to changing light conditions, using Magna-Tech to remove and attach the new lenses within seconds. The googles, offered by Burton, use a series of magnet to secure the different lenses. They are designed to work with gloved or numb hands, and can be switched without needed to remove the goggles from your face. The goggles are expected to reach the market by fall 2012.

Stanford researchers are developing a method of wirelessly charging cars through power coils embedded in the roads, which could allow the cars to charge while moving at full speed. The new method would greatly increase the range of the electric car, providing 10 kilowatts of energy every 6.5 feet with a 97 percent efficient transfer. The coils would also be designed to sit in the middle of lanes, which would make it easy to use them to augment driverless technologies. The team is currently testing the coils for dangers to humans and electronics.

A method of making solar panels from plant waste could lead to a new generation of inexpensive and easily accessible photovoltaics. Andreas Mershin of MIT developed a way to remove the photosynthesizing molecules from the plants, stabilize them, and coat then onto a glass substrate. Titanium dioxide and the plant material gather the sun's energy, turning it into electricity where it is then carried away by nanowires. While the current efficiency is very low, Mershin hopes to boost it, and ultimately create an easy DIY solar panel mix.

A new material able to slowly release medication over time could lead to better treatments for chronic pain and recurring tumors. Developed by a team from Boston University, the 3-D structured material is extremely resistant to water. The denser the air inside the material, the longer it takes for the water to penetrate and displace the embedded medicines. By controlling the density of the air, the drug's release can be specified. The team is hoping to begin tests on living animals in the near future.

The K-TOR Power Box is a small, foot powered generator that uses pedal power to charge gadgets and cameras. Designed to be portable, Pedal Box folds into a small cube when not in use and weighs about 4 pounds. It can charge devices under 20W, including low power notebooks, video cameras, and smart phones, through a conventional 2 bladed socket. The Power Box was an honoree at 2011 CES Innovation Awards for the category of Portable Power.

The RESPeRATE uses sound to guide the wearer to slower breathing, helping to reduce blood blood pressure. Available in the UK, the device includes a sensor mounted on a strap and a small control unit with headphones. Placing the sensor on the stomach allows it to gather data on the breathing rhythm, which is then converted into tones. The user is able to breath along with the tones, which gradually lengthen the exhalation, slowing the breath and relaxing the blood vessels.

It could help patients with early-stage gastrointestinal cancer and is far less invasive than other surgical options — since it enters through your mouth, it leaves no visible scars.

Enterologist Lawrence Ho of Singapore’s National University Hospital co-designed the robot and said it has already been used to remove early-stage stomach cancers in five patients in India and Hong Kong, according to Reuters. Other existing methods to excise these types of cancers require cutting a patient open, either through a large-scale invasive surgery or a keyhole surgery, in which smaller incisions can still enable surgical access. But those methods are both quite painful and invasive.

Instead, this device enters through a patient’s mouth and is attached to an endoscope, through which a surgeon can watch and control the robot’s actions. A hook attached to the crab bot is used to remove the cancerous tissue, and it also coagulates the blood to stop internal bleeding.

Ho and Louis Phee, associate professor at Singapore's Nanyang Technological Institute, decided to build the robot after a 2004 chili crab dinner with a well-known Hong Kong surgeon named Sydney Chung. Chung apparently suggested the crab as a prototype. “The crab can pick up sand and its pincers are very strong,” Ho noted.

The team formed a company in October and hopes to commercialize the crab bot within three years, Reuters reported.

[International Business Times]

For a proper visual explanation of what Lin and colleagues are up to, the video below is thorough. But briefly: DARPA and other defense- and public safety-related research entities in both the public and private sectors have been exploring the idea of tiny, sensor-capable drones the size of aircraft for years now (regular readers have read about many of them on this site). But actually recreating mechanically the kind of flight achieved by insects is notoriously difficult.

Users want MAVs they can pilot through complex urban environments, where the variables--obstacles, tight spaces, variable air pressure and wind speeds--make it difficult to fly. Wishing to tap real insects’ tricks, mechanical engineering junior Lin crossed over into entomology, using a high-speed camera array to capture butterfly flight--wing flapping, body deformation, and anything else that contributes to mass distribution as a butterfly moves through the air.

His high-speed rig allowed him to capture 3,000 one-megapixel images per second (compare that to 24 frames per second for standard video), allowing him to dissect the forces at play as the butterflies flapped their wings roughly 25 times per second. Using three cameras, he was able to capture three dimensional data and analyze the way butterflies’ bodies and wings move in sync to provide them with their maneuverability.

His findings? Butterflies appear to be very much like figure skaters, using angular momentum as they flap their wings to modify their moments of inertia (this is akin to figure skaters tucking their arms to increase the speed of their spins and outstretching them to slow their rotation--essentially manipulating their rotation by redistributing mass). This refutes earlier assumptions that a butterfly’s wings don’t have enough mass relative to their bodies to be a factor in maneuverability. And it just might change the way roboticists approach robo-insect design going forward.

Much more via the video below.

[JHU]

Simply put, the technology opens the door to augmented reality systems that don’t require some kind of bulky, virtual-reality-headset-from-the-‘90s peripheral visor or helmet. Instead, Innovega’s tech relies on images protected on a normal-looking set of specs and a pair of nanotechnology-infused contact lenses that provide megapixel clarity of that up-close imagery while still allowing the eye to focus on the world beyond.

At least, so goes the company’s CES pitch, which you can judge for yourself below. We haven’t tested the product, so we can’t really speak to its awesomeness. But DARPA can. The Pentagon’s blue-sky research wing announced yesterday that Innovega has developed for the agency a new breed of contact lenses that allow “a wearer to view virtual and augmented reality images without the need for bulky apparatus” and that allow users to focus on both faraway objects and images placed very close to the eye.

For DARPA’s part, Innovega is working as part of the Soldier Centric Imaging via Computational Cameras (SCENICC) program, which aims to eliminate the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability gap at the individual soldier level. Read: AR setups that plug individual soldiers right into drone feeds and other intel streams while still allowing them to maintain their peripheral vision and situational awareness. Meanwhile that could lead to more immersive 3-D television and gaming experiences for the rest of us. More tech detail via the video below.

[DARPA, Innovega]

The Draco engines currently used on the Dragon spacecraft allow the robotic resupply capsule to maneuver on orbit and orient itself during reentry, but SpaceX has bigger plans for a system that will one day be able to return all elements--including rocket stages--to Earth intact for reuse in later missions. That’s a tall order and a long way off. But the SuperDraco is a step in that direction.

More powerful than the Draco, the eight SuperDracos that will reside in the side walls of the Dragon can essentially propel the Dragon capsule on their own, making it possible for astronauts on board to abort at any time during a launch and separate from the rocket--that is, the controlled explosion--hurling them skyward. That’s a huge advantage over previous launch abort systems, which could only be triggered successfully during the first few minutes of a launch.

They can also be restarted multiple times and can be used repeatedly, meaning they wouldn’t have to be completely re-serviced each time a capsule went into space. During the recent tests at SpaceX’s Rocket Development Facility in Texas, the SuperDraco underwent full thrust firings, full duration firings, and a series of deep throttling demos, passing each test, we’re told, with flying colors. We’re still a ways away from that space capsule that can navigate itself back to the launchpad under its own propulsive force but as the video below shows, we’re getting there.

[SpaceX]

Does this man have a robot problem?

Romney looks right, but is undeniably uncomfortable in public situations, sinking into awkward moments where he does not seem to know where to put his limbs. Or breaking into uncomfortable song.

Robots do this too, and it's discomfiting when they're so close to human, but missing that essential element.

The theory of uncanny valley holds that the more realistic a robot or machine appears, the more humans like it — but only up to a point. As a machine takes on very human characteristics or behaviors, our minds interpret them as so human-like that they make us uncomfortable, even sick. This precipitous drop in our comfort level is called the uncanny valley. Is that what’s going on with Romney? He’s so close to an ideal candidate, but yet so far, that he repulses us?

We’re not going to pass any judgments here, but it’s an intriguing question. Head over to the Atlantic for an analysis of Romney’s robot problem.

[Atlantic]

We’ve written extensively about “swarming” robots before, but this is a serious swarm if we’ve ever seen one--right down to the high-pitched cacophony of rotors that sounds eerily like a hive of bees moving en masse. But it’s the way these nano quadrotors swarm--seemingly aware of each other and of each individual’s place in space--that’s truly fascinating.

Perhaps it’s somewhat hyperbolic, but seeing the ease and grace with which these things move in and out of formation, negotiating obstacles and ducking seamlessly between each other as they execute a figure eight really tickles the fanciful, sci-fi-friendly part of the brain. GRASP Lab creations have already shown us how quadcopters can work together to manipulate objects and even build structures together. The idea of looping more than a dozen of these things together--as we see in the video below--and putting them to work on complex projects makes this kind of precision performance feel very much like the future.

The House Arc was designed to be lightweight and able to pack flat, and takes a spin on a classic look. Designed by Bellomo Architects of California, the House Arc is also able to function off the grid, and could provide quick shelter in disaster areas. It can also withstand storms and earthquakes, providing long term shelter in extreme areas. An integrated system collects rainwater, panels on the roof harvest solar energy, and large windows allow natural light. housearcassembly1 from joseph bellomo on Vimeo.

Bicycle commuters just gained a bit more space with the Overade foldable bike helmet, able to slip into a bag or backpack. Developed by Agence 360 designer Patrick Jouffret and engineer Philippe Arrouart, the helmet is designed to appeal to both men and women. Sturdy enough to provide proper head protection, it also encourages helmet wearing by being easily carried and stored.

A method of gathering crowd density data using already installed cameras could lead to a new way of monitoring people's shopping habits. Developed by startup Prism Skylabs, the software method uses installed surveillance cameras to monitor the number and flow of people throughout the day. Each person appears as a colored disc, making it easy to determine how people move through the area and where they choose to linger. It is designed to keep each person unidentifiable, and cannot track individuals. The technology could also be used as a real time crowd map, allowing users to find out the crowd size of a particular place, such as a restaurant or mall.

The Urban Cultivator is a compact hydroponic system designed for the indoor gardener, providing a continual growing environment in a small space. Designed to attach to the existing water and power lines of a typical home, the Urban Cultivator includes computer controlled water and light cycles and integrated fans. It is large enough to grow a constant supply of herbs and greens, requiring only weekly feedings. The smaller, consumer version, the Kitchen Cultivator, is the size of a typical dishwasher.

Researchers have developed a 'smart paint' able to detect tiny faults before damage can occur, and at a fraction of the cost of current methods. The paint is made mostly of fly ash mixed with carefully aligned carbon nanotubes. Once it is applied to the surface of the object, it is embedded with electrodes. When the nanotubes in the paint bend, their conductivity changes, which is detected by the electrodes. The electrodes communicate via wireless transmitters located throughout the structure, which could then signal an alert system. The team, from the University of Strachclyde, have demonstrated a successful prototype, and are now hoping to have positive results on a larger structure.

A newly developed method of powering medical implants with low frequency sound waves could lead to a new generation of monitoring devices. Professor Babak Ziaie of Purdue University created the device to power sensors meant to monitor pressure in blood vessels and the bladder. He built a tiny piezoelectric cantilever that vibrates at low frequencies, generating the power to allow the sensors to take a reading and transmit the results to a receiver near the patient. Ziaie chose to use music to make the experience more pleasant for the user, and discovered the device operates most efficiently when exposed to hip-hop.

The Label Popper makes is easy to quickly and completely remove the labels from steel cans, making it easier to recycle every part of the can. When the paper label is left on the can, it is burned away when the metal is melted down, wasting trees. The Label Popper's narrow, flexible extension is not sharp, but is able to slip underneath the label, slicing it and making it easier to remove. Each Label Popper is manufactured using renewable energy, and includes fridge mounting magnets and space for a custom label.

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Stac64 product family from Molex now certified to the most stringent automotive OEM criteria. Molex Incorporated has announced that its Stac64 Stackable Connection System is now validated against the most stringent specifications from the major key

Baguio, northern Philippines (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) -- Sagada, the most popular tourist destination in Mt. Province in the Cordilleras in north Philippines, wants to patent its homegrown etag, an indigenous salted meat dish that is the favorite

Fabless semiconductor firm RFaxis Inc of Irvine, CA, USA, which was founded in 2008 to design RF semiconductors and embedded antenna solutions for the wireless connectivity and cellular mobility markets, has been awarded four patents for its

In an economy gasping for air, patents are increasingly becoming the oxygen of biopharma, fueling a litigation process that fans their value even more. Years ago, intellectual property comprised about a quarter of the value of pharmaceutical companies.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY), a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a Notice of Allowance for patent application number 12/813,448, covering the

Extract not available.

A coalition of copyright owners is lobbying the government to prevent search engines such as Google and Bing from ranking websites that provide access to pirated content. In a confidential document obtained through Freedom of Information request by the

Precision BioSciences, Inc., a leader in the field of genome engineering, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has issued a Notice of Allowance for U.S. Patent Application 13/245,607 ('the '607 Application'). The

Because patent standards are applied differently many medicines which are under patent in South Africa may not be under patent in India. The case of the cancer medicine Imatinib (brand name Gleevec) demonstrates how this can impact on the price of

A new open competition, the Innovation by You Awards (IBY Awards pronounced eye-bee awards) is giving students of the United Arab Emirates the opportunity of a lifetime to design, fabricate, test, and showcase their own inventions and innovations was

The appeals board at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) released a ruling on January 24 that invalidates the third Barth patent held by Rambus, pertaining to memory chips used in computers which the firm successfully used to intimidate Nvidia

Africa has its first handheld tablet to rival the iPad and similar western inventions, which went on sale in the Republic of Congo on Monday, its inventor Verone Mankou said. "We have set up a team and logistics to sell the tablet since Friday. Today,

State recruiting eligible companies for upcoming trade missions ATLANTA, Jan. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Do you run a small or medium-sized Georgia business interested in growing its exports? If so, check out upcoming trade missions to key

Information contained on this page is provided by companies via press release distributed through PR Newswire, an independent third-party content provider. PR Newswire, WorldNow and this Station make no warranties or representations in connection

Information contained on this page is provided by companies via press release distributed through PR Newswire, an independent third-party content provider. PR Newswire, WorldNow and this Station make no warranties or representations in connection

WIPO Domain Name Decision for thestingonlineshop.com

WIPO Domain Name Decision for jardiland-catalogue.com

WIPO Case Summary WIPO Case Number D2011-1877 Domain name(s) aidatour.info aidatour.net Complainant AIDA Cruises - German Branch of Costa Crociere S.p.A.

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ILYA SHAPIRO: Copyright Case May Have Profound Effect on Treaty Power.

Government House leader Peter Van Loan has just finished speaking with reporters in the Foyer of the House of Commons, outlining some of the government’s priorities for the upcoming sitting. Not much of it was a surprise. In keeping form with the

On January 18, 2012 the Supreme Court affirmed Congress’ authority to apply U.S. copyright protection to works which, although protected abroad, were previously considered to be within the public domain in the U.S. The 6-2 decision in Golan v. Holder

Look at this home page headline in today's Washington Post: "Is Obama the most polarizing president ever?" When you click to go to the column, the question is flatly answered in the affirmative: Obama: The most polarizing president. Ever. But now read

LostRemote :: A patent application obtained by the site FierceCable reveals that Comcast is planning to add a number of social TV features in its program guides that are staples of many second-screen apps. For example, viewers could receive notifications

Comcast patent reveals social TV plans January 30, 2012 By Andrew Couts Tweet The next version of Comcast's Xfinity TV program guide could include a wide array of new social features.Comcast subscribers, your TV-watching may soon get a whole lot more

Oracle and Google have now filed their joint statement on patent marking (706 [PDF; Text]) as required by the court's supplemental order of December 6 (641 [PDF; Text]) Although reading the joint statement may give one the impression that the parties'

NetworkingIn Networking:NewsReviewsFeaturesHow-tosSlideshowsRelated ContentFeaturesTop tips for troubleshooting Fibre Channel networksTen habits of highly effective SAN adminsAdopt IPv6 soon or be sorry later, says Internet Society's Leslie

The /bin/true Command and Copyright posted by Thom Holwerda on Mon 30th Jan 2012 14:10 UTC "One of the fun examples among all the copyright fuss is the extreme example of copyright claims made by AT&T some time in the 1980s. It's the /bin/true program.

Against Copyright? Why? "Why do people do it? Because they have no fear of reprisal. Sure, some of them pay me after they are confronted or take the image down, but why should I have to find them and confront them? I guess it shouldn't be so surprising

Intellectual Property

The debt crisis in Europe is beginning to look less like a dry exercise in budgeting, and more like a national aggression via banking. In Greece today leaders and citizens bristled at the news that the German leaders wanted to take control over the Greek

Upfront TV : CNN Patents Magic | Lowe’s Leaves…

In Delaware, Butamax Advanced Biofuels responded to the latest lawsuit filed by Gevo, Inc. related to isobutanol flash fermentation technology. “Let us state emphatically, Butamax does not infringe the generic product separation technology claims in

Before smartphone patents took over the spotlight, everyone's favorite patent troll was Rambus. The technology licensing firm has been using the so-called Barth patents for years to sue tech companies and extract licensing fees as a settlement. After

A patent attorney named Daren Gibby was kind enough to send me a copy of his new book Why Has America Stopped Inventing? As you’d expect from a book written by a patent attorney, it’s a pretty strongly pro-patent book. I didn’t expect to agree with

In the year 2011 Homebuilt UAV hunts down hydrogen balloons, shoots firework missiles (video)0 commentsIn the year 2010 Virgin Mobile Canada lights up HSPA+ network, iPhone 3GS, Bold 9700 in tow57 commentsIn the year 2009 Windows Vista SP2 RC may be in

< > IGN teams up with TV firm for ... Spry Fox sues Yeti Town dev over iOS copyright breach by Ben Parfitt Monday, January 30th 2012 at 11:44AM Tweet Email The critically acclaimed freemium game Triple Town has been flagrantly plagiarised by a rival

Smartphone patent lawsuits, as visualised by George Kokkini at designlanguage. Used with permission. Some suits have been settled since this was drawn. Google intends to buy Motorola Mobility (MMI) for $12.5bn. Is it a good deal? Following the