A wireless antenna that sends signals across human skin could transmit information to medical implants or portable gadgets on the body. The device, designed by a team at Queen鈥檚 University Belfast, in the UK, consists of an antenna with a plate of conductive material on top to reflect signals sideways along the skin. The 鈥渃reeping wave鈥� effect, which allows waves to travel along a surface, ensures the signal travels around the body.
Cowherds can now sing to their animals from afar. Researchers at the US Agricultural Research Service in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a solar-powered wireless headset for animals, allowing farmers to track and corral them. The headsets contain a Wi-Fi antenna, a GPS receiver and speakers that broadcast sounds such as songs or sirens, to get the cows moving.
