Not only is the British army hoping to make tanks and troops invisible to the naked eye, but it'll soon be honing in on targets way before the mind would normally allow. In a $58.8 million deal, Thales UK has been selected to supply the troops with new Surveillance System and Range Finder (SSARF) technologies, which will reportedly "enable quick identification of enemy locations along with the ability to determine the best mortar or artillery firepower the situation on the ground requires." Best of all, the handheld system will feature integrated GPS, thermal imaging and a five kilometer range, but unfortunately, it won't be giving any Britons in the field an edge until 2009.

[Via MOD]

That's right folks, it's the long awaited Dry British Guy (of Polystation 3 and POP Station fame) review of the Sport Vii (aka the Vii 2) -- the video game console of your nightmares. When a product is as anticipated as this, you expect a little disappointment here or there, and the KenSingTon Vii 2 doesn't fail to deliver... er, on failing that is. Watch in horror as you're taken through the bizarre knock-off world that is the Sport Vii software suite, including a wide variety of games involving horribly mutated-looking rabbits. Watch the video after the break and get all the facts -- our suggestion is that you hang on till the very end for an exciting twist.

We already knew that UK motorists caught driving while texting (or vice-versa) could face a penalty of two whole years in the slammer, but now it seems that merely talking while controlling a motor vehicle could land you in the exact same predicament. Reportedly, British drivers caught chatting on a handset or sending an SMS while on the road "could be jailed" under new guidelines that are expected to be published. In the most extreme cases, they could be tagged with "dangerous driving, which carries a two-year maximum sentence and an unlimited fine." Currently, these folks simply get slapped with an "automatic fine and three points on their license under the lesser charge of careless driving." But honestly, it's not like prison would be so bad for cellphone addicts -- after all, we hear some cells over there actually provide service.

[Image courtesy of MotorTrend]

A number of UK roads are lookin' a lot brighter now, and it's all thanks to the SolarLite smart stud. Produced and marketed by Astucia, these active markers trump the traditional passive reflectors by storing up solar energy all day and then emitting light from dust 'til dawn in order to improve visibility from around 90-meters to 900-meters. The LED-based units reportedly extend driver reaction time from 3.2-seconds to over half a minute when cruising at 60mph, have an expected lifespan of eight to ten years and are said to have reduced night time accidents in certain areas by over 70-percent. Unfortunately, we've no idea when (or if) these things will show up on roads in other nations, but this would sure beat toggling one's brights off and on to get a better look ahead while simultaneously infuriating oncoming motorists.

[Via Autoblog]

We've seen a wide array of devices designed to help the deaf communicate and experience life more fully, and IBM is hoping to make yet another advancement in the field with its SiSi (Say It Sign It) system. Developed at an IBM research center in Hursley, England, the technology works "by using speech recognition to convert a conversation into text," after which SiSi "translates the text into the gestures used in sign language and animates a customizable avatar that carries them out." Currently, the system is still labeled a prototype and only works with British sign language, but there's already plans to commercialize the invention in due time. For a better look at exactly what SiSi can do, take a peek at the video demonstration waiting after the jump.

That $150 Medison Celebrity we glanced a few days back seemed to smell a bit fishy from the get-go, and a recent press release from the firm does a fairly terrible job of assuring us all otherwise. Typically, one's in dire straits if it has to address mass concerns of scamming, and Medison is now blaming the unexpectedly large amount of orders and "tremendous" amount of website hits and support calls for an apparent "shift in the time frame" in which customers will receive their orders. Granted, the company still promises that it will deliver, and now claims that your money will be returned if your machine isn't received in three months. Ah well, it's not like you had better things to do with your cash than let someone else earn interest on it while you fret over ever seeing it (or a laptop in its place) ever again, right?

[Thanks, Valdi I.]

To be quite honest, there's been an awful lot of gadgetry lately tied to rings, and while it's a curious fascination, you won't find us griping over the latest ring-based device. Gail Knight's vibrating GPS hoops are nothing short of a traveler's dream come true, as these fanciful finger adornments work in conjunction with a neck-worn GPS controller to direct you to your destination via simple buzzing cues. The rings vibrate in a variety of manners to instruct the wearer which direction to go, which could certainly help an English tourist in Japan feel a lot more at home. Granted, even the inventor admits that the current design is entirely more suited for a lady, but we can envision quite a few macho gents putting their pride aside in order to refrain from being lost.

[Via NaviGadget]

It goes without saying that talking whilst driving (let alone texting) isn't exactly the safest practice, and unfortunately for a British teenager, she could have four solid years to think about it. Rachel Begg, who was found to have used her cellphone nine different times in the 15 minutes prior to crashing into a grandmother's vehicle and subsequently killing her, was recently found guilty and sentenced to four years in prison. To make matters worse, Begg was driving nearly 70 miles-per-hour on a dark, rainy night, and the judge reportedly emphasized how costly her lack of reason was. Better leave the texting 'til after the ride's over, eh?

[Via Textually, image courtesy of BrockportStylus]

Here's one that's sure to make Toad weep, even if he's toting a golden mushroom or two. In a bid to make every Mario Kart (or speed demon) freak's dream come true, a bloke in Inverness has concocted a jet engine-equipped go-kart that actually sports a functioning afterburner. Similar to a number of other jet-powered vehicles we've seen, this one is fitted with a military spec JFS-100 jet engine and a push button afterburner that emits "extra thrust, noise, and spectacular fire / smoke effects." Moreover, you'll find an EGT gauge, MOMO steering wheel, and digital RPM meter crammed inside the wee vehicle, and if you just so happen to reside in the UK, you can get the bidding starting for a mere £5,000 ($9,864). More drool-worthy snapshots after the break.

[Via El Reg]

While San Franciscans (and birdwatchers around the globe) enjoy the beauty of the Sutro Forest through a new MMO, British chaps are figuring out a way to rid a city of an apparent "obese pigeon" quandary. In order to shoo away the unsightly animals, a Scottish firm has delivered Robops to sit atop Liverpool rooftops and "flap their wings and squawk loudly to scare the problem pigeons away." Reportedly, the solution was crafted after officials (and citizens) grew tired of the increasingly nauseating droppings and incessant badgering for food. Proponents of the plan are hoping that the newly disturbed pigeons will find their way to parks and green pastures where their diet will be more balanced, but critics are suggesting that pigeons will "soon realize that these mechanical things are not a threat," effectively rendering the project useless after a short while.

We get a little more creeped out each week or so, as a new form of minimally overtly invasive robotic creature somehow comes to life and sets its sights on perusing our innards. The newest species hails from Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was designed to "crawl across the surface of the heart to deliver treatment." The eerily-dubbed "robotic caterpillar" measures just a few centimeters in length and can scoot about at a blistering 18-centimeters per minute via "push and pull" control wires that reside outside of the body. The lead doctor on the project suggests that the critter could "allow procedures to be carried out without having to stop the heart, reducing the risk of illness linked to heart bypass surgeries," and moreover, insinuated that patients would spend less time recovering in the hospital after he / she was all sewn up. Apparently, the HeartLander could be available for human practice "within three to four years," but according to a director at the British Heart Foundation, "a lot more research is needed to determine whether something delivered to the outside surface of the heart can modify activity on the inside."

[Via BBC]

When you've got folks dreaming up such things as a $2.5 trillion "space sunshade," we reckon a Star Trek-style deflector shield isn't too far-fetched. Apparently, a team of British scientists are looking into the possibility of crafting such a device in order to " protect astronauts from radiation" when they venture beyond the Earth's protective magnetic envelope, or "magnetosphere." Reportedly, the team is hoping to "to mimic the magnetic field which protects the Earth" and deploy the shields "around spacecraft and on the surfaces of planets to deflect harmful energetic particles." As nation's begin to revive plans of space exploration, the homegrown shield should look mighty attractive at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting, but details concerning a proposed launch date, and moreover, the presumably lofty pricetag, have yet to emerge.

[Via Slashdot]

This one is most definitely for the kid in all of us. C'mon, at age seven, visiting the River Thames in central London is probably on the top ten most unexciting ways to spend a crucial week of summer vacation, but if you could snag a WiFi signal whilst the 'rents oohed and ahhed at all the lovely sights, now we're talking. Thanks to the Thames Online mesh networking system, bored children and internet addicts alike can disregard the beauty around them and focus more on things that truly matter, as the service stretches 22-kilometers (about 12.5-miles) along the banks from Millbank near the Houses of Parliament to the Millennium Dome in Greenwich. The system utilizes equipment from Proxim Wireless -- namely the company's 100 ORiNOCO AP-4000MR mesh access points -- and adding CCTV video surveillance cams, VoIP channels, and GPS capabilities are all in the cards. Sadly, this turnkey service is far from gratis, as users will be forced to hand over £2.95 ($5.79) for one hour, £5.95 ($11.68) for a day, £7.95 ($15.61) for a week, or £9.95 ($19.53) for a month of quasi-unlimited service.

[Via WiFi-Planet]

Going to the slammer because of the PlayStation 3 (sadly) isn't the most uncommon of occurrences, but if you're headed off to a British prison, we certainly hope you weren't counting on getting your game on with Sony's latest whilst locked up. Home Secretary John Reid has made clear that Sony's latest console simply won't be allowed within UK jails, as its ability to "send and receive radio signals" lends itself to becoming an illegal communication device with the "outside world." After getting over the slightly unbelievable tidbit that such luxuries would even be considered as a prison amenity, we also noticed that Mr. Reid feared that the PS3 could communicate with the PSP via WiFi, giving him yet another reason not to blow thousands of pounds to entertain convicted criminals. And before you try to sneak one of these beasts in via a sly underground tunnel, we've no doubt that Murphy will be all over those taboo data transmissions before you can even read up on old emails.

[Via PS3Fanboy]

Although that handy Kill-A-Watt device might do a number on showing you just how much energy your array of consoles and AV equipment is sucking down each time you power up, it won't do much anything to stop the electrical bleeding. Enter Domia, which offers up a full range of Bye Bye Standby products to shut off power en masse to home or office electronics. Essentially, the lineup of products provides specialized, wirelessly-enabled Smart Socket middlemen that can connect to wireless toggle switches via your PC, a wall-mounted "Green Switch" button, a cordless remote, or even a voice recognizing microphone. By switching the channels on your sockets, you can power down up to four (or more, if using a power strip) devices at a time, and each allows you to manually override it if you decide to crank one or two back up. If you're curious about just how much loot you'll save by powering down your pad whenever possible, Domia estimates a £40 ($79) savings "for a family of four," but for those of you already stingy with the light switch, the benefits could be marginal. Notably, this product appears to play nice with UK-based power outlets only, and considering the British wishes to outlaw standby buttons entirely, you may want to hold off of this here £29.99 ($59) purchase until the politics shake out.