Centimeter-accurate GPS system could radically transform mobile devices
Centimeter-accurate positioning systems are already used in surveying and mapping, but the antennas these systems employ are too large and…
Prototype video camera requires no power
Columbia University researchers led by Shree K. Nayar have developed the first video camera to be fully self-powered – its…
Mis-synced music proves to be a powerful enhancement for TV ads
It turns out that offsetting the music soundtrack of TV adverts by an imperceptible amount makes the adverts significantly more…
Laser sensor busts drunk drivers from outside car
Most health and law enforcement agencies would agree that the effective early detection of drivers under the influence of alcohol…
Stock prices can be predicted, say math researchers
A new mathematical model developed by researchers from the University of Iowa challenges the generally held belief that stock prices…
Eye reflections can identify criminals
A new study published in PLOS ONE shows that the high resolution images produced by modern digital cameras can be…
Radical new data compression method delivers significant gains in quality and speed over existing techniques
To create an entirely new way to compress data, UCLA researchers drew inspiration from physics and the arts. The technique,…
Hipster or Goth? Software algorithm identifies your urban tribe
Social networks like Facebook may soon be able to tell which urban tribe you belong to. University of California, San…
Anomalous ferroelectric behavior could point way to brain-like computing
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) say their observations of unexpected behaviors in ferroelectric materials lend support to the…
Decoded smartphone movements reveal transport mode
Planes trains, and automobiles – scientists in Finland have worked out how to use accelerometer data from smartphones to reveal…
Synaptic transistor learns while it computes
The human brain has around 86 billion neurons, connected by synapses that not only create logic circuits; they also continuously…
Boffins say Internet 2.0 doesn’t need servers
University of Cambridge scientists say their proposal for a revolutionary new Internet architecture could make the Internet more “social” by…
Researchers expose Google’s massive network expansion
Google has dramatically increased the number of sites around the world from which it serves client queries, say researchers who…
Touch-feedback out of thin air
Using focused ultrasound radiation, scientists have created a human-computer interface that provides haptic (touch) feedback above a computer screen without…
Smartphone microscope can see a single virus
A smartphone-based microscope attachment developed at UCLA is sensitive enough to detect viruses and nanoparticles, allowing sophisticated biomedical testing in…
Researchers demo human brain-to-brain interface
University of Washington researchers have demonstrated a non-invasive human-to-human brain interface, with one researcher able to send a brain signal…
No power source needed for new wireless communications technique
A new wireless communications technique uses what researchers call “ambient backscatter” to allow devices to communicate and exchange information with…
3D images generated from single lens
Researchers at the Harvard School of Engineering have developed a way for photographers and microscopists to create a 3D image…
Magnetic wand provides three dimensions of smart phone interaction
A magnetic pen-like wand that makes use of the magnetometers built into most smart phones and tablets adds a third…
Kinect-like gesture recognition leveraged from standard WiFi signals
In a clever use of Doppler frequency shifts, computer scientists have shown it’s possible to use the existing WiFi signals…
Quantum tricks turbocharge magnetic storage
Researchers have found a new way to switch magnetism that is at least 1,000 times faster than methods currently used…
Facebook Likes reveal surprisingly accurate intimate personal information
Surprisingly accurate estimates of users’ race, age, IQ, sexuality, personality type, substance use, and political views can be inferred from…
Conjoined rat brains demonstrate thought transference over the Internet
Duke University researchers have electronically linked the brains of pairs of rats for the first time, enabling the rodents to…
Stretchy battery can bend and twist
A team of scientists from Northwestern University and the University of Illinois are the first to demonstrate a stretchable lithium-ion…
New imaging device is flexible, flat, transparent, and disposable
An Austrian research team has developed an entirely new way of capturing images based on a flat, flexible, transparent, and…
Bio-computer combines DNA memory and cellular logic gates
MIT scientists have created genetic circuits in bacterial cells that not only perform logic functions, but also remember the results,…
Cheap USB ultrasound ready for developing world
A USB ultrasound device about the size of a computer mouse that can be manufactured for as little as $50…
Cell phone scanner diagnoses anemia
Designed for use in the developing world, a low-cost screening device connected to a cell phone could prevent the anemia-related…
E-waste should be managed as a resource, say sustainability experts
A staggering 320 tons of gold and more than 7,500 tons of silver are used to make computers, cell phones,…
Vacuum tube tech could save Moore’s Law
To run integrated circuits at faster and faster speeds, University of Pittsburgh scientists are proposing a new spin on an…