Pressure-sensitive paint might be able to warn when a bridge is about to collapse. Engineers at the VTT Technical Research Centre in Helsinki, Finland, added piezoelectric crystals, which produce a voltage when stressed, to a resin which was painted on the underside of a steel footbridge (). Electrodes at each end of the bridge detected changes in voltage as people crossed. The crystals could be used to detect pressure changes due to structural flaws.
A dexterous violin-playing robot could soon lend a hand with fiddly chores. Created by Toyota, the 1.5-metre-tall humanoid has 17 joints in its hands and arms, enabling it to make the finger and arm movements needed to play the violin (). The left hand can also wobble to produce a vibrato effect.
