Philips to develop LED-illuminated wallpapers

Philips to develop LED-illuminated wallpapers: "The future of ambient lighting might lay in glowing walls, according to Philips. The company has announced its plans to develop wallpapers containing integrated LEDs. The luminous sound-absorbing textiles would glow in variety of colors accordingly to the user's requirements. To develop the luminous wallpaper panels, Philips is collaborating with customizable acoustic panels manufacturer Kvadrat Soft Cells, based in Denmark."

Wireless power for heart implants could reduce infections, increase mobility

Wireless power for heart implants could reduce infections, increase mobility: "While implantable heart pumps may buy some time for people waiting to undergo heart transplants, such implants have at least one serious drawback - because they receive their power from an external source, a power cord must protrude through the skin of the patient's belly. About 40 percent of patients experience infections of that opening, which often require rehospitalization, and in extreme cases can even cause death."

Breakthrough in development of cable for ultra-efficient electricity grid of the future

Breakthrough in development of cable for ultra-efficient electricity grid of the future: "The United States' copper-based electric grid is estimated to leak electricity at an estimated five percent per 100 miles (161 km) of transmission. With power plants usually located far from where the electricity they produce will actually be consumed, this can add up to a lot of wasted power."

New process discovered for chemically storing solar energy

New process discovered for chemically storing solar energy: "While solar panels are very useful at converting the sun's rays into electricity for immediate use, the storage of that energy for later use is ... well, it's still being figured out"

MIT unveils durable solar cells printed on paper

MIT unveils durable solar cells printed on paper: "We've been following MIT's progress on creating solar cell-coated paper since 2010, and we're excited to report the current findings of the project. What looks and feels like an ordinary sheet of paper with a fine layer of colored rectangles, is no ordinary piece of paper at all - once connected to a couple of wires, it instantly generates solar electricity. Additionally, the technology is almost as cheap and easy as printing a family snapshot from an inkjet printer. You can even fold it up, slip it in your pocket, then unfold it again for later use."

Synthetic kitty litter ingredient could have many other applications

Synthetic kitty litter ingredient could have many other applications: "Cat litter might not seem like a particularly exotic substance, but it contains a mineral known as sepiolite, which is actually rather remarkable. Mined from only a few sources worldwide, sepiolite is a type of clay that absorbs 2.5 times its weight in water - that's more absorbent than any other known mineral, or any manmade material."

e-Genius flies into the record books, averages 100 mph over 211 miles

e-Genius flies into the record books, averages 100 mph over 211 miles: "Just a couple of weeks after its maiden flight at the end of May, the e-Genius electric aircraft has now winged its way into the record books - managing to stay aloft for over two hours and maintain an average speed of 100 mph (160 kph). Its University of Stuttgart development team are now looking to improve on that performance, ahead of the 2011 Green Flight Challenge for which it was designed."

Motorola Photon 4G gets price and release date

Motorola Photon 4G gets price and release date: "When the Motorola Photon 4G debuts through Sprint later this month it will be Motorola's first WiMAX smartphone and Sprint's first international 4G smartphone that is capable of working on GSM networks around the world. Powered by a dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor with each core running at 1GHz, 1GB of RAM and with 16GB of built-in memory the device will come with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) pre-installed."

LG outs DX2000 glasses-free 3D display with webcam-based eye-tracking

LG outs DX2000 glasses-free 3D display with webcam-based eye-tracking: "Glasses-free 3D displays are getting larger with the LG Cinema 3D DX2000 20-inch computer display being the latest addition to the glasses-free 3D line of devices. The newest LG Cinema 3D display utilizes similar webcam-based eye-tracking technology as the latest glasses-free 3D gaming laptop, the Toshiba Qosmio F750, which is aimed at dealing with the common 'sweet spot' 3D technology issue."

HP TouchPad 4G to launch on AT&T

HP TouchPad 4G to launch on AT&T: "HP has announced that the first connected version of its webOS tablet is to launch exclusively on AT&T's Mobile Broadband Network. Aimed at a mobile workforce and consumers who want multitasking on the move, the new HP TouchPad 4G will be treated to a processor boost, integrated GPS and come with 32GB of internal storage."

Wind turbine placement to optimize wind power generation for a given area

Wind turbine placement to optimize wind power generation for a given area: "Although wind power energy production in 2010 was estimated to be only about 2.5 percent of worldwide electricity usage, wind turbines are considered a mature technology with many experts suggesting that we're approaching the theoretical limit of individual wind turbine efficiency."

New sensor digitally captures complex guitar-playing movements

New sensor digitally captures complex guitar-playing movements: "For most of us, digitally capturing our six-string virtuosity involves plugging an axe into a guitar interface like Apogee's JAM and then launching some software on a laptop or mobile device."