Is that person on the phone your friend, an impostor or a prankster? You can find out by taking advantage of the unique way every human ear canal reflects sound 鈥� its 鈥渙toacoustic signature鈥�. In a US patent filed last week, Alcatel Lucent of France claims that callers can be identified by sending a few clicks down the line and comparing the echo from the ear canal to a database of these otoacoustic signatures.
UK defence firm Qinetiq is developing an uncrewed surveillance aircraft that can fly like a plane and hover like a helicopter. Previous aircraft have done this by using swivelling propellers, but in Qinetiq鈥檚 case the entire vehicle tilts upwards into a nose-up vertical position. When vertical its wings exert no aerodynamic lift, but very high thrust from the propellers, pointing straight up, keep the craft hovering.
