I鈥橫 WORKING LATE鈥T THE CIRCUS
Ever wanted to disguise where you are when answering a call on your cellphone? Romanian company Simeda has software to place you where you鈥檇 like to be. The program, called SounderCover (try it at ), comes with nine background sounds, including a traffic jam, roadworks, a dentist鈥檚 surgery and the circus. There is even the sound of another phone ringing, so you can get rid of an unwanted caller by telling them you are wanted on the landline. The first versions will work on selected Nokia phones.
BEACH BALL CONQUERS SOUTH POLE
Advertisement
A giant beach ball could be the next rover used to explore the Martian polar caps. NASA鈥檚 Jet Propulsion Laboratory recently completed the toughest tests yet on its Tumbleweed Rover, a ball 2 metres in diameter and stuffed with electronics.
In its eight-day mission it rolled around the Antarctic polar plateau for 70 kilometres, gathering meteorological information in one of the harshest environments on Earth. It measured temperature, pressure and position, and transmitted the figures back to JPL in Pasadena via the Iridium satellite phone network. Measurement instruments, radio transmitters, a GPS receiver and batteries are suspended inside the ball ().
The rolling rover travelled at up to 16 kilometres per hour during tests, in 鈭�30 掳C. But unusually gentle winds meant the rover stopped long before its target of 200 kilometres.
EXOSKELETON LIGHTENS LOADS
The exoskeleton used by Sigourney Weaver in the Alien movies came a step closer to reality this week. The Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton (BLEEX) made its debut at a defence symposium in Anaheim, California. It is part of a military project designed to allow foot soldiers to carry heavy loads over long distances (New 杏吧原创, 10 November 2001, p 32). Wearers strap on the 45-kilogram robotic legs and a backpack that contains its gasoline engine and control system ().
In tests, a volunteer carrying a 32-kg pack plus the 45 kg exo said it felt as if they were carrying a mere 2 kg, according to project leader, Homayoon Kazerooni of the University of California, Berkeley. The aim now is to increase the maximum pack load to 55 kg.
