US$145,000 Elektra One and SunAirport hangar take recreational flying off-the-grid

US$145,000 Elektra One and SunAirport hangar take recreational flying off-the-grid: "PC-Aero's single-seat Elektra One electric Ultralight is one of the most efficient transportation devices ever conceived. It's lightweight composite construction and highly efficient aerodynamics enable it to be powered by a modest 13.5 kW electric engine. The whisper-quiet Elektra One can fly for three hours, cruise at 160 km/h and has a range of 500 kilometers."

Software nudges frozen computers out of infinite loops

Software nudges frozen computers out of infinite loops: "There are few things as maddening as being in the middle of a task on a computer, and having the software freeze up on you. This can be particularly enraging if you haven't backed up your work recently, and you know that the only way of 'thawing out' the program will be to execute a force quit - your work will be lost, all because the (insert word of your choice here) computer didn't know what to do next."

New facial recognition software designed for study of wild apes

New facial recognition software designed for study of wild apes: "When studying wild animals such as gorillas and chimpanzees, it's not uncommon to use photo or video traps - unmanned cameras that are triggered to capture images when creatures pass in front of them. Scientists can then retrieve the cameras and review the footage, to get an estimate of the numbers of a certain species within a given area, and to see what those animals have been up to"

Bio-synthetic material could replace soft tissue

Bio-synthetic material could replace soft tissue: "Soldiers whose faces have been marred by explosions could be among the recipients of a new biomedical material designed to permanently replace soft tissue. Developed at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, PEG-HA is a composite consisting of synthetic and biological materials. Lab tests have indicated that it doesn't break down like pure biologicals, or get rejected like some synthetics."

Long Distance Tele-Operation system for remote control of unmanned ground vehicles

Long Distance Tele-Operation system for remote control of unmanned ground vehicles: "The U.S. military is currently able to operate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in far away countries from the U.S., while ground robotic systems such as the TALON can be remotely operated at distances of up to 1,000 m (3,280 ft). Now U.S. Army engineers have provided unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) with the long distance tele-operation capabilities of a UAS to allow them to be controlled from anywhere in the world and keep soldiers even further out of harm's way."

New computer technologies shown to expose personal information

New computer technologies shown to expose personal information: "Facial recognition software, social networking and cloud computing ... they're all technological advances that alone have thrown up questions regarding privacy. According to a recent Carnegie Mellon University study, however, the three technologies can be combined to learn peoples' identities and other personal information about them, starting with just a photograph of their face."

Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Tower to claim world’s tallest building title

Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Tower to claim world’s tallest building title: "Chicago-based firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill (AS+GG) has officially been announced as the design architects for the Kingdom Tower that is to be built in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Initially planned to stand one mile (1.6 km) high and be called the Mile-High Tower, the building was scaled down after soil testing in the area in 2008 cast doubt over whether the location could support a building of that height. Now the building will stand over 0.62 miles (one kilometer) tall, which will still allow it to overshadow the 2,717 ft. (828 m) Burj Khalifa to claim the title of the world's tallest building."

The $500 million Italian designed floating resort

The $500 million Italian designed floating resort: "As envisioned by the Italian architectural firm Giancarlo Zema Design Group (GZDG), Amphibious 1000 is a US$500 million semi-submerged resort project planned for a protected marine area on the coast of Qatar."

Electromagnetic fish hook reduces accidental shark catches

Electromagnetic fish hook reduces accidental shark catches: "In fisheries all over the world, many fish are caught using a process known as pelagic longlining. This consists of fishing crews traveling out into the open ocean and deploying a series of baited hooks that are all attached to one horizontal main line, that can range from 20 to 40 miles (32 to 64 km) in length."

Nissan unveils system to provide household electricity from all-electric LEAF

Nissan unveils system to provide household electricity from all-electric LEAF: "Nissan has unveiled a new power supply system that allows electricity stored in the lithium-ion batteries of the all-electric Nissan LEAF to be supplied to a house. With the LEAF's batteries able to store up to 24 kWh of electricity, Nissan says the system could supply the average Japanese household with electricity for about two days."

New heat-regulating building material could cut building heating and cooling costs

New heat-regulating building material could cut building heating and cooling costs: "Researchers at the Ningpo, China campus of the University of Nottingham (UNNC) have created a new heat-regulating material that could be used to cut the heating and cooling costs of buildings"

Mozilla launches Boot to Gecko web-based mobile OS project

Mozilla launches Boot to Gecko web-based mobile OS project: "The way we spend our time online is changing fast. While the browser still reigns supreme, more and more people are getting their online fix using apps. Mozilla, the folks behind the popular Firefox browser, has now announced the start of a new project to develop an app-centric, completely open, web-based phone and tablet operating system called Boot to Gecko (B2G)."

MIT reports breakthrough in heat-based photovoltaics

MIT reports breakthrough in heat-based photovoltaics: "MIT researchers have reported a breakthrough in 'wavelength tuning' that promises to boost the efficiency of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems and in turn could lead to lighter, longer-lasting portable power sources."

Bioengineered spinal disc implants to combat back pain

Bioengineered spinal disc implants to combat back pain: "Researchers have created a biologically based spinal implant they say could someday provide relief for the millions of people suffering lower back and neck pain."

Graphene-based transparent touchscreens and solar panels a step closer

Graphene-based transparent touchscreens and solar panels a step closer: "Graphene promises to revolutionize electronics but we're still waiting for graphene-based technologies to hit the market. Rice University researchers have now created transparent, graphene-based electrodes that they say could be the 'killer app' that finally puts graphene into the commercial spotlight. The graphene-based electrodes could be used to replace the increasingly expensive indium tin oxide (ITO) in touch-screen displays, photovoltaic solar cells and LED lighting."

World's first 'printed' aircraft is flown

World's first 'printed' aircraft is flown: "One of the biggest selling features for 3D printers is the fact that you can just whip up a design using CAD software on your computer, then create a physical copy of it to try out - no special factory tooling required."

New X-ray camera to shoot 4.5 million frames per second

New X-ray camera to shoot 4.5 million frames per second: "In order to capture slow-motion footage in which a bullet can actually be seen traveling through the air, a camera has to film at a speed somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000 frames per second."

Timesnap puts portable media on a wristwatch

Timesnap puts portable media on a wristwatch: "Despite some initial similarities, this is definitely not another iPod nano strap, such as the TikTok or LunaTik, but Chinavision's new Timesnap MP3/MP4 multimedia player wristwatch. Although not touchscreen-based, it offers a number of features including music, image, text and video file playback, along with an FM radio, at a reasonable price."

I think, therefore I move - 'brain cap' turns thought into motion

I think, therefore I move - 'brain cap' turns thought into motion: "Researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) continue to advance the development of their 'brain cap' technology that allows users to turn their thoughts into motion."

World's strangest hotel to finally open - maybe

World's strangest hotel to finally open - maybe: "The Ryugyong Hotel in the center of North Korea's capital city Pyongyang, must count as one of the strangest building projects, not to say one of the ugliest, in the world. Construction began in 1987 and continued until it's abandonment in 1993 when the projected cost of required remedial rebuilding was simply too much for the impoverished city and state to bear. Now, twenty-four years after the first concrete block was laid, it's finally finished - kinda."

Eight young inventors give us a 2-minute elevator pitch

Eight young inventors give us a 2-minute elevator pitch: "The James Dyson Awards for young inventors are always a treasure trove of fresh ideas and up-and-coming innovators - so we caught up with 8 of the Australian finalists and got them each to deliver us a 2-minute 'elevator pitch' explaining their designs and the inspiration behind them."

The world's most and least expensive cities plus the most expensive extreme hardship postings

The world's most and least expensive cities plus the most expensive extreme hardship postings: "Luanda in Angola, Libreville in Gabon and N'Djamena in Chad are the most expensive extreme hardship locations in the world and thanks to the marketplace volatility which results from local inflation, political instability, currency fluctuations and natural disasters, Tokyo has consolidated its title as the most expensive city in the world in which to live."