Chinese supermarket trialling WiFi-enabled tablet PC-equipped shopping carts

Chinese supermarket trialling WiFi-enabled tablet PC-equipped shopping carts: "It doesn't have quite the appeal of sending a robot to do your shopping, but this Smart Cart service being trialed by SK Telecom could definitely take some of the hassle out of trolling the supermarket aisles."

Cows check in for meals using electronic ear tags

Cows check in for meals using electronic ear tags: "With diseases such as Foot and Mouth, TB, and of course Mad Cow still presenting a danger to cattle, it's of the utmost importance that farmers monitor the health of their animals, and immediately proceed to isolate any that might be showing symptoms."

Hitting the brakes by reading drivers’ minds

Hitting the brakes by reading drivers’ minds: "With human error the predominant cause of car accidents, automatic braking systems like the Pedestrian Detection system found in the Volvo S60 use cameras and sensors to assist drivers in detecting oncoming hazards and automatically applying the brakes."

Wireless sensor to monitor structural integrity of bridges

Wireless sensor to monitor structural integrity of bridges: "According to a 2009 estimate by the U.S. Society of Civil Engineers, more than one in four U.S. bridges are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. While newer 'smart' bridges have embedded wired networks of sensors to monitor their structural integrity, the high cost of installing such systems on existing bridges is simply unaffordable for strained city, state and federal budgets."

'Roll it' turns compact housing on its head

'Roll it' turns compact housing on its head: "Students from the University of Karlsruhe in Germany have created a flexible housing solution that makes the most of its minimal interior space in a very unusual way. Dubbed 'Roll it', this cylinder-shaped home changes its purpose depending on its orientation - roll the the work space 180 degrees and it becomes a bed, the kitchen becomes a bathroom and you even get some exercise in the mouse wheel-like center section when you decide to 'move house'."

Acoustic diode allows sound waves to only travel in one direction

Acoustic diode allows sound waves to only travel in one direction: "When it comes to the sound-proofing of buildings, most people likely think of using materials that simply absorb the sound waves in a noisy room, so they can't proceed into a neighboring quiet room. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), however, are taking a different approach."

Scientists create water walking bionic microrobot

Scientists create water walking bionic microrobot: "Chinese scientists have developed an aquatic microrobot that mimics the water-walking abilities of the Gerridae - a family of long-legged bugs commonly known as water striders that are able to run on top of the water's surface. The scientists say their bionic microbot incorporates improvements over previous devices that make it an ideal candidate for military spy missions, water pollution monitoring and other applications."

Fujitsu Toshiba unveils IS12T - world's first Mango OS phone

Fujitsu Toshiba unveils IS12T - world's first Mango OS phone: "Fujitsu and Toshiba have announced IS12T, the first smartphone to run on Windows Phone 7 with the new Mango update pre-installed. The new smartphone is waterproof and dust-resistant and comes with 13.2 megapixel camera and large 32GB of internal storage."

Ion Audio’s Piano Apprentice + iDevice = personal, take anywhere piano tutor

Ion Audio’s Piano Apprentice + iDevice = personal, take anywhere piano tutor: "We recently took a look at the iPerform3D online guitar lessons for those looking to unleash their inner Hendrix, but if you're thinking tinkling the ivories might be more your style then Ion Audio's Piano Apprentice could be worth a look - at least for a basic introduction to playing the piano. Following the Simon school of music instruction, the Piano Apprentice features a 25-note keyboard that docks with an iPad, iPod touch or iPhone to demonstrate how to play as the relevant keys on the device light up."

Lockheed Martin’s HALE-D airship takes to the air

Lockheed Martin’s HALE-D airship takes to the air: "With the use of airships for passenger transport decreasing in the early 20th century as their capabilities were eclipsed by those of airplanes - coupled with a number of disasters - they were largely resigned to serving as floating billboards or as camera platforms for covering sporting events."

'Dynamic charging' might let electric race cars juice up while moving

'Dynamic charging' might let electric race cars juice up while moving: "As some Gizmag readers will already know, the new technical regulations for Formula One racing state that cars must move under electrical power only when in the pit lanes. Eyebrow-raising though that may be, two companies are currently collaborating on technology that would see cars being powered by electric motors for the entire race."

Boeing and BAE team up to develop laser weapon for the U.S. Navy

Boeing and BAE team up to develop laser weapon for the U.S. Navy: "Both Boeing and BAE Systems have been working on laser weapon systems for use at sea for a number of years and now the two companies have teamed up to develop the Mk 38 Mod 2 Tactical Laser System for the U.S. Navy. The system combines both kinetic and directed energy weapons capability by coupling a solid-state high-energy laser weapon module with the Mk 38 Machine Gun System that is already in use on many U.S. Navy vessels."