Toyota showed off at the Geneva Motor Show a hot, three-seat hybrid sports car called the Volta. The car is in fact a collaboration between Italdesign-Guigiaro and Toyota. The car is powered by a modified powertrain from the Lexus RX 400h sport-utility vehicle, which goes on sale next year. It has a top speed of 250kph and accelerates from 0 to 100kph in 4.06 seconds. Oh, and it gets 40 miles to the gallon.
Inventor/artist Alison Lewis has invented the idea of a pair of rings worn by two lovers who may be separated by distance. When one lover touches the ring, it releases heat in the other's ring and lights up. Called the Think Of Me, or "T.O.M." ring, it's currently just an idea. The rings are powered with a watch battery, and feature a heating coil for warmth, an L.E.D. for the light, and a 900MHz transmitter and receiver for wireless communication. The idea started as an M.I.T. thesis.
It's like Hidalgo, but without the humans or horses. The DARPA Grand Challenge, which I first told you about on February 14, 2003, is easily the coolest race in history. Some 20 robot vehicles, not controlled by humans, compete for a winner-takes-all $1 million prize in a race from L.A. to Vegas sponsored by the Pentagon. The race is just eight days away!
The last refuge from your ringing cell phone -- airplanes -- has now been compromised. Verizon has introduced a service whereby they forward your cell calls to the phone on the seatback in front of you in flight -- as long as the plane features Verizon Airfones. The calls you receive and make in flight are charged to your Verizon Wireless bill -- $3.99 per minute. Isn't that nice?
DARPA Grand Challenge Entrant Is a Robot Motorcycle!
The DARPA Challenge, a race of autonomous robot vehicles from L.A. to Vegas sponsored by the Pentagon, includes one robot motorcycle. Called the GhostRider, the robot is the brainchild of 23-year-old Anthony Levandowski.
Have you noticed that HP Chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina has been rubbing elbows with the glitterati at a host of star-studded events lately? Since the beginning of the year, she attended the Oscars, the Sundance Film Festival and even shared a Las Vegas stage with Sheryl Crow and Dr. Dre. What's going on? Click here to find out!
Al Qaeda terrorists were paranoid and savvy enough to buy many cell phones anonymously and change them frequently, but not bright enough to use different SIM cards, according to a major scoop in tomorrow's New York Times. A huge post-September 11 investigation, code-named "Mont Blanc," started almost two years ago and involved the tracking of calls made by a large number of random cell phones using just a few known SIM cards. The investigation resulted in, among other things, the apprehension of Ron Jeremy look-alike Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.
Satan Crashes 'Passion' Composer's PC; Reboot Helps
John Debney, the man who composed music for Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," says he was "visited by the devil" while writing the movie score. He said Satan's image appeared repeatedly on his computer screen (no word on whether it was a PC or a Mac), but he dealt with it by rebooting repeatedly.
Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley are developing a robotic exoskeleton that can boost human strength. Called the Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton, or BLEEX, the unit consists of external, self-powered robotic "muscles" worn outside the legs that respond to human control. The system currently weighs 100 pounds. But even with a 70-pound backpack, it feels like carrying about five pounds because the exoskeleton is doing most of the heavy lifting. The system could be used for helping people with disabilities walk or giving soldiers the ability to carry huge loads over long distances.
I told you on December 16 about a new Volvo designed by, and for, women. Based on the ideas that women can't parallel park, the car parks itself (much like the Toyota Prius); that women are obsessed with tidiness, the paint and glass are dirt repellent, the seat covers can be machine washed and there's no gas cap to touch when refueling; and that women can't change tires, the car drives even with flat tires. The company unveiled the car today in Sweden.
NTT DoCoMo Inc. is working on a "speech recognition" technology that doesn't require actual speech. It works by measuring the electrical activity in facial muscles that are used for speaking. All the user has to do is "mouth" the words, and they're, theoretically, understood. Unfortunately, three electrodes must be touching specific parts of the face in order for it to work.
Yet another Japanese company has created a robot that walks. Called Nuvo, by a Tokyo-based ZMP, the rambling robot was shown off to the press today in Tokyo. The 15-inch Nuvo walks on two legs, picks itself up when it falls, recognizes voice commands, and sends images from its face-cam to an NTT CoCoMo cell phone. The bots will be sold for some $4,600 by the end of the year. Herecome the videos.
Not satisfied with tossing satellites around in space, Canadian robot-arm scientists have created a new brain surgery robot called the neuroArm. The neuroArm was created by Canada's MD Robotics and researchers Deon Louw and colleagues at the University of Calgary in Alberta to give brain surgeons super hearing, vision and touch.
Hacked Ink-Jet Printer Used for Printing Human Organs
Mad scientists at the University of Missouri recently showed how human organs might be printed using an ink-jet printer. Folks, I'm not making this up. Patients who need a new organ would donate cells from which a modified ink-jet printer would print new organs in layers. It's alive! IT'S ALIVE!!!
I told you about the strangest USB memory dongle available -- the duck-shaped iDuck, from Solid Alliance -- on December 6. If a yellow duck attached to your laptop is too obtrusive, now you can buy the camouflaged version. The company announced other colors as well.
Video games can make kids violent -- and even criminal -- in their behavior, according to a study conducted in Sweden. The good news is that games also make kids too fat and weak to wield axes and chain saws.
Wireless Love Ring Invented 
It's like Hidalgo, but without the humans or horses. The 
The DARPA Challenge, a race of autonomous robot vehicles from L.A. to Vegas sponsored by the Pentagon, includes one robot motorcycle. Called the 
Proof You Can Buy Anything On the Internet
Milestone: Sanyo has created the world's 
Robotic Muscles Give Puny Humans Super Strength
These Bots Are Made For Walkin'
iDuck USB Memory Dongle Now More Colorful
