Technology Trends

Two interesting points to comment on from Roland Piquepaille's Technology Trends :

- 25 September 2006: Run, elephant, run!

You know that elephants can weigh several tons and move at 15 miles per hour (25 kph). But do they really run? And can they help us to design and build better walking robots? John Hutchinson, who works for the Royal Veterinary College in the UK, thinks so and wants to prove it. He has equipped elephants in UK zoos with sensors and is recording their movements with six infrared motion analysis cameras, each taking 240 pictures per second. But don't think he just wants to improve animal welfare. He also trying to help us -- who have legs and feet similar to elephants -- to early identify arthritis. But read more...

- 20 September 2006: Implantable wireless biosensors

Scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center are developing implantable living chips to monitor patients wirelessly and in real time. These tiny devices will integrate living cells with electronics to become literally 'living chips.' They could be used in a few years to better test new drugs or to control other implanted devices, such as an insulin pump, to detect patients' changes and react to them. But read more...