Virtually noise-free Eco Whisper Turbine unveiled

Virtually noise-free Eco Whisper Turbine unveiled: "Brisbane's Renewable Energy Solutions Australia (RESA) recently unveiled the first working installation of what is claimed to be the world's quietest wind turbine. The Eco Whisper Turbine is capable of producing 20kW of electricity despite being about half the height and having half the blade diameter of more familiar three-bladed solutions, and is able to automatically adjust the position of the blades to maximize wind capture."

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Subaru's BRZ Concept sports car finally breaks cover

Subaru's BRZ Concept sports car finally breaks cover: "It feels like we've been waiting for Subaru's BRZ concept forever. The BRZ is a joint development effort between Toyota and Subaru, using a 2.0 litre version of Subaru's signature horizontally-opposed engine with Toyota's direct injection system."

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Walking robot uses its own weight for propulsion

Walking robot uses its own weight for propulsion: "Creating systems that are energy autonomous is a key goal in the development of robotics, and this new walking prototype from Japan's Nagoya Institute of Technology (NIT) is a big step in the right direction. To some, calling this device a robot may be a bit of a stretch, especially since it lacks electricity, motors or computers of any kind, but its entry into the Guinness Book of Records last year shows it can certainly go the distance with its weight as the only motive force."

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Intelligent absorbent removes radioactive material from water

Intelligent absorbent removes radioactive material from water: "Nuclear power plants are located close to sources of water, which is used as a coolant to handle the waste heat discharged by the plants. This means that water contaminated with radioactive material is often one of the problems to arise after a nuclear disaster."

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02 Pursuit motorcycle runs on compressed air

02 Pursuit motorcycle runs on compressed air: "A vehicle that runs on air. It sounds like a fantastic idea, but energy is still needed to compress the air and the losses that go hand-in-hand with converting energy still have to be taken into account, just as in fossil fuel-based propulsion systems. Pros and cons aside, we still haven't seen air powered transport make an impact in the race to find economic, environmentally-friendly ways to get from A to B. "

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First-ever manned flight of an electric multicopter takes place in Germany

First-ever manned flight of an electric multicopter takes place in Germany: "By now, most readers are probably pretty familiar with quadracopters - small hovering unmanned electric aircraft, which get their lift from a set of four propellers. Well, make the whole thing larger, boost the number of propellers (and accompanying motors) to 16, and you get what German aircraft developer e-volo calls a multicopter."

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HyQ - robotic Lipizzaner does more than just prance

HyQ - robotic Lipizzaner does more than just prance: "HyQ is the Italian cousin of Boston Dynamics' DARPA-funded BigDog. Under development at Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia (IIT) by a group of researchers led by Professor Darwin Caldwell, this Hydraulically actuated Quadruped robot is being groomed to navigate rough terrain, jump and run at speeds up to 15 km/h (9 mph)."

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2012 MINI Roadster unveiled

2012 MINI Roadster unveiled: "MINI has unveiled the final production version of its MINI Roadster which is set to join the company's rapidly-expanding lineup next year. Looking pretty similar to the Roadster concept unveiled alongside the MINI Coupe concept at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, the sixth model to join the current MINI line-up is the first open-top two-seater in the company's history."

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New paper-based explosives sensor is made with an ink jet printer

New paper-based explosives sensor is made with an ink jet printer: "There's never been a greater need for explosives detectors. From detecting IEDs on the battlefields of Afghanistan to screening cargoes at airports and sea terminals for bombs or illegal arms shipments, the need to seek out and identify explosives means deploying detectors to hundreds of thousands of locations around the world. "

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Review: Kogan Agora 8-inch Tablet

Review: Kogan Agora 8-inch Tablet: "Like its 10-inch stablemate, the Agora 8-inch Tablet is powered by a 1 GHz Cortex A8 processor, 512 MB of RAM and comes running Android version 2.3 (Gingerbread) with access to the Android Market."

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Successful Progress spacecraft launch is good news for the ISS

Successful Progress spacecraft launch is good news for the ISS: "The future of the International Space Station (ISS) became more secure on Sunday, October 30, 2011 when the Russian space agency, Rosocosmos carried out a successful launch of an unmanned Progress spacecraft."

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The 300kW Varley evR450 electric sportscar

The 300kW Varley evR450 electric sportscar: "Another high-performance electric sportscar broke cover last week from an unlikely source. To be built by a 125 year-old Australian company specializing in aerospace, defense and electric vehicles, the less-than-US$215,000 gull-winged Varley evR450 was on display at the Third Annual Australian Electric Vehicle Conference."

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