Underwater sensors inspired by lowly plankton may give us a better understanding of the world鈥檚 oceans. 鈥溾�� being developed by researchers at the University of Genoa, Italy, generate power from tiny fins waggled by the currents in which they drift. They will communicate through the shoal to a floating hub via flashing LEDs, relaying information on conditions such as temperature and salinity.
Video transmitted by mobile phones is usually too sluggish to allow people to communicate effectively by sign language. Now developed by a team from the University of Washington in Seattle selectively compresses the video data, leaving the caller鈥檚 hands and face in high resolution but squeezing the background. This produces smooth real-time images that make the sign language intelligible.
