SCIENCE FICTION NO IT IS MODERN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

YOU CAN SWALLOW A PILL-SIZED CAMERA

INSTEAD OF INVASIVE SCOPES

Colonoscopies can be an uncomfortable procedure for

patients who may already be worried about what results

will be found. When the results are inconclusive, a

patient’s options can be limited, causing further distress.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have now

approved a device for use after an incomplete

procedure that is minimally invasive and can achieve

similar imaging results to a colonoscopy. PillCam Colon

is a pill-sized camera that is swallowed and passes

through a patient’s gastrointestinal tract.

INFORM 3-D DISPLAY ALLOWS REMOTE

MANIPULATION OF PHYSICAL OBJECTS

The inFORM Dynamic Shape Display from MIT’s Tangible

Media Group allows users to interact with data with a

minimum of physical barriers. It also allows users to

virtually reach through a display screen and manipulate

physical objects that may be thousands of miles away.

While the current version of inFORM has very limited

spatial resolution, watching it in action gives one a

strong impression of the potential of such devices.

ENGINEERS CREATE A PAPER-THIN ROBOT SKIN

THAT RESPONDS TO TOUCH

A new milestone by engineers at UC Berkeley can help

robots become more touchy-feely, literally. A research team

led by Ali Javey, associate professor of electrical

engineering and computer sciences, has created the first

user-interactive sensor network using flexible plastic.

The new electronic skin, or e-skin, responds to touch by

instantly lighting up. The more intense the pressure, the

brighter the light it emits. We can’t help but wonder if

James Cameron knew something we didn’t when he

was filming the first Terminator in the ’80’s.

SCIENTISTS CREATE MATRIX-ESQUE ARTIFICIAL WOMB

It might sound like a sick movie plot (yes, I am talking about

you Matrix) but the artificial womb exists in the real world too.

In Tokyo, researchers have developed a technique called

EUFI, extra uterine foetal incubation. They have taken

goat foetuses, threaded catheters through the large

vessels in the umbilical cord, and supplied the foetuses

with oxygenated blood while suspending them in

incubators that contain artificial amniotic fluid heated

to body temperature. Thanks to these scientists we are now

one step closer to becoming batteries for our robot masters.

HUMAN BRAIN IS HACKED

With a chilling hint of the not-so-distant future, researchers

at the Usenix Security conference have demonstrated a

zero-day vulnerability in your brain. Using a commercial

off-the-shelf brain-computer interface, the researchers

have shown that it’s possible to hack your brain, forcing

you to reveal information that you’d rather keep secret.

With an EEG (electroencephalograph) headset attached

to the scalp and software to figure out what the

neurons firing are trying to do, it watches for spikes

in brain activity when the user recognizes something

like their ATM PIN number or a child’s face.

INVISIBILITY CLOAK TECHNOLOGY TOOK A HUGE

LEAP FORWARD

The British Columbia based company HyperStealth Biotechnology

showed a functioning prototype of its new fabric to the US

and Canadian military this year. The material, called

Quantum Stealth, bends light waves around the wearer

without the use of batteries, mirrors, or cameras. It can

block the subject from being seen by visual means but

also keeps them hidden from thermal scans and infrared.

SUPERMAN’S VIEW THROUGH WALLS BECOMES REALITY

At MIT, engineers are working on a device that allows the user

to gather data on what is moving on the other side of a wall.

Called Wi-Vi, the prototype translates movement in much

the same way sonar detection does.

THE WORLD’S FIRST FULLY MIND-CONTROLLED

SYNTHETIC LEG GOES FOR A STROLL

Connected to its owner by two nerves and computer sensors,

this bionic leg works in exactly the same manner as a

human leg. With an error rate of just 1.8 percent, it’s as

close to a flawless mind-controlled limb as science has

gotten yet. Created by the Chicago Centre for Bionic

Medicine, the leg is the latest in the line of future prosthetics.