ENCRYPTED BATTERIES
Cellphone owners have sometimes been injured when cheap, counterfeit batteries have shorted out and exploded. Now a scheme is under development that will verify the authenticity of a battery by fitting it with a chip containing a secret code.
Software in the phone will look for the code and not allow the phone to operate if it is not present. The simple software, which is being developed by NEC of Japan, uses very little memory. The batteries and software will be launched later this year and will be available to all cellphone makers.
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SAFER FUEL TANK TAKES OFF
A safety system designed to prevent fuel exploding in the tanks of civil aircraft was successfully flight-tested on a NASA Boeing 747 last week. The new system, modelled on one used in some military planes, works by bleeding nitrogen into the tanks as fuel is used up, rather than letting in air. This avoids the risk that a spark from a defective fuel pump or wiring will ignite the explosive vapours in part-empty tanks.
The tanks in the fuselage midway between the wings are considered most at risk because nearby air conditioning systems warm the tank, making the vapour more likely to explode. The US Federal Aviation Administration says adopting the 鈥渘itrogen-inerting鈥� system could prevent up to four fatal accidents over a 25-year period. The worst centre-wing fuel tank explosion to date occurred in 1996, when a Boeing 747, flight TWA 800, exploded in mid-air off the coast of New York, killing 230 people.
REMOTE-CONTROL PARENTING
New parents who find themselves parted from their pride and joy will be able to keep in touch using a new internet-enabled playpen. A prototype developed by Luke Hughes and colleagues at Accenture Technology Labs in Palo Alto, California, allows an authorised person to use a webcam to wave and talk to the baby, who will be able to watch their antics on an LCD 鈥渨indow鈥� mounted on the side of the playpen.
A webcam in the playpen will allow the remote user to watch the baby. A rattle and a toy car in the playpen will be fitted with actuators that will allow the remote user to operate them. If this is all too much, the browser menu will offer parents a menu of songs and stories that can be played to the baby 鈥� saving them the trouble of having to read a story or sing themselves.
