We won't even front: Duke's quasi-invisibility cloak is far cooler than this, but a team of microscopic robots sure have the potential to do more good than a glorified figment of someone's imagination. Bruce Donald, a Duke professor of computer science and biochemistry, has teamed up with a few other mad scientists in order to create ridiculously tiny robots that can dance on objects smaller than a pin's head. According to Mr. Donald, they are "almost 100 times smaller than any previous robotic designs of their kind and weigh even less." Sure, watching these critters do the tango is undoubtedly entertaining, but he's hoping to collaborate with the medical center in order to "probe the molecular and cellular architectures of very small things such as cells." We appreciate the dedication to mankind and all, but don't pretend like you don't goof off with these guys on your coffee breaks, Bruce.

[Via Slashdot]

Remember those cyborg insects that seemed so much like a pipe dream just two short years ago? Yeah, those frackin' things have somehow survived into adulthood, and are closing in on being ready to infiltrate enemy camps and extract vital information. According to a recent update on the DARPA project, the insects -- which have "modified body structures and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) embedded" within -- have lasted into adulthood, and now those behind the endeavor are hoping to enable remote control of the bugs via "mechano-sensor activation" or something similar. Additionally, scientists are hoping to harness the energy emitted during locomotion to actually power the internal MEMS. Sure, as long as these critters can be swatted down with a newspaper, we're solid, but we aren't too sure we dig where this could be headed.

[Via Wired]

While we certainly hope the average (read: not GI) jane / joe isn't overly concerned about the rate at which homegrown explosions detonate as desired, we understand the Army's need to have more faith in their own munitions. Reportedly, a new "smart fuse" conjured up at Georgia Tech could soon prevent bombs from experiencing fuse failure by using "semiconductor fabrication equipment to make hundreds of ultra-high precision detonators on a wafer at the same time." In addition to cutting down on the use of toxic heavy metals and increasing the safety of weapon production, the intelligent MEMS fuse will supposedly "incorporate built-in arm and fail-safe mechanisms that virtually guarantee that munitions go off when they should, every time." Weapons that fire when needed -- now there's a concept.

[Image courtesy of Rich's Incredible Pyro]

We already know that Qualcomm and MEMS displays go hand in hand, but now the company is looking to seep into the mobile realm with an iteration that can supposedly handle fast-changing video clips without breaking a sweat. Put simply, the company's electronic-paper display "employs microscopic mechanical switches that turn pixels on and off at rates more than fast enough to display video," and unlike slower alternatives, this variation can switch on / off pixels in "just tens of microseconds." Furthermore, these units will offer up considerable energy savings when not viewing video. As it stands, full color versions are still quite a ways from commercialization, but a two-color flavor is scheduled to appear in a Hisense handset next year.

Try not to get too frenetic here, but a couple of gurus at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland have reportedly created an "incredible levitation effect by engineering the force of nature which normally causes objects to stick together." In layman's terms, the scientists have devised a way to reverse the phenomenon known as the Casimir force so that it "repels instead of attracts." Ultimately, the discovery could lead to "frictionless micro-machines with moving parts that levitate," and in theory, devices could be created to transport humans. Do realize, however, that individuals in this team have also "showed that invisibility cloaks are feasible," so we're not counting ourselves amongst the faithful just yet.

[Thanks, James]

[Our readers have let us know that this article's headline bore some similarities to other articles on the same topic -- though purely coincidental, in the interest of further differentiating the post we've edited it to a small degree. -Ed.]

After months of eyelash batting and heavy petting, Microvision and Motorola have officially exchanged vows. In a deal inked yesterday, Motorola has agreed to help Microvision bring their PicoP laser projection technology to market. Not a surprise really what with Microvision's penchant for using Moto handsets in their marketing collateral. Unfortunately, the agreement looks to amount to the production of a functional prototype only for the time being. While the prospect of an 854 x 480 resolution projection is certainly titillating, we doubt our gadget vanity can withstand the extra chub and battery drain the tech would introduce on our slim, sexy handsets. Then again, the geek cred gained could offset the lack of swank. No worries, we've got several months (if not a couple of years) to grow up before product is ready for consumers.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Oh hey, that little fella looks familiar. Sure enough, the rechargeable Logitech MX Air Mouse we spied last month is getting real this morning. Touting Logitech's "Freespace" motion control, the Air Mouse combines MEMS sensors with DSP and 2.4GHz RF technology for both gestural motion-control and traditional laser mousing about. The Air Mouse attempts to bridge the gap between mouse and remote control with a touch-sensitive scroll-panel (instead of a scroll wheel) and dedicated pause/play and volume control buttons positioned down the center of the device. Push the volume button and flick the mouse right or left to increase or decrease the volume, respectively, at distances up to 30 feet away from your PC. Niiice. Better yet, it's shaped to impress when toted about in the trousers... gaRowl! Ships in the US and Europe for $150 sometime in August.

[Via Notebooks.com]

Oh goodie, a world's first. This time it's courtesy of Lubix's UBHS-PH2 Bluetooth headset sporting Qualcomm's Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) display. The reflective display sports Interferometric Modulation (IMOD) technology to avoid battery-draining backlighting. Otherwise, we're just looking at the nub end of a stereo Bluetooth 2.0+EDR headset presumably offering the same A2DP, AVRCP, HSP, and HFP profiles available in their rest of their lineup -- which isn't a bad thing.

Read -- Lubix UBHS-PH2
Read -- Qualcomm MEMS display

Make no mistake about it, accelerometers have certainly been all the rage of late, and Freescale Semiconductor isn't missing its chance to cash in on the bonanza. The firm has recently announced what it calls the "world's thinnest 3-axis digital-output accelerometer" for use in motion-based user interfaces, and it checks in at around "77-percent smaller" than existing offerings. The MMA7450L is available in a 0.8-millimeter thin plastic land grid array, eliminates the need for a dedicated analog-to-digital converter, includes three g-select sensitivities, and is almost ready to rock in tomorrow's most diminutive controllers, handhelds, and mobile handsets. Currently, only major manufacturers are getting their hands around samples, but general availability of the $2.66 device (when you order 10,000, that is) is expected by Q3 of this year.

[Via TGDaily]

Akustica, which makes its mark building acoustic system-on-chip solutions, has recently introduced what it calls the "world's first HD microphone that enables HD voice quality in laptop PCs and other broadband mobile devices." The firm's AKU2103 is a digital-output microphone with a "guaranteed wideband frequency response," which means that you can sleep easy knowing that your built-in mic complies with the TIA-920 audio performance requirement for wideband transmission. This MEMS device crams the mechanical transducer, output amplifier, and sigma-delta converter onto a single chip of silicon, and touts near-immunity to RF and electromagnetic interference as well as to power supply modulation. The surface-mountable unit measures in at just four- x four-millimeters in size, and while pricing details aren't available to the masses just yet, Akustica plans on sampling the AKU2103 in Q3 of this year.

[Via Slashdot]

While we've seen mention (and patent applications) of origami-based gadgetry before, the latest gizmo to incorporate crafty folding also melds it with a water reactive plastic in order to create diminutive shapes that "could be used to make certain microscopic 3D structures in large quantities." Gurus from ESPCI and the Paris Institute of Technology have teamed up to concoct specialized plastic sheets which react in curious ways to wee water droplets, and while the process itself seems more interesting than useful, the bigger picture could enable this technology to become a staple of microelectromechanical systems used in printing heads and video displays. Interestingly enough, the scientists were even kind enough to create a time lapse video of the morphing process in action, so be sure to tag the links below if you're even remotely interested in seeing a two-dimensional triangle mystically convert into a pyramid.

[Via NewScientistTech]

We've seen a fair bit of mesh networking approaches lately, and thanks to a unusual project going on at the University of California, Berkeley, the next great ad hoc network could be started by a horde of bugs. Sarah Bergbreiter has developed an "autonomous robotic flea has been developed that is capable of jumping nearly 30 times its height," thanks to what could possibly be hailed as the "world's smallest rubber band." Interestingly, the creator hopes that the minuscule bugs could eventually be used to "create networks of distributed sensors for detecting chemicals or for military-surveillance purposes." The Smart Dust initiative could eventually be expanded to grow wings, but for now the solar-powered bugger will stick to hoppin' via a "microcontroller to govern its behavior and a series of micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) motors on a silicon substrate."

[Via BoingBoing]

Given the choice, even we'd take the pills over the vaccination, but a new Israeli startup is hoping to ease the fears so commonly associated with needles. NanoPass Technologies is working to develop its "proprietary intradermal drug delivery technology," which supposedly deliver injections without the painful side effects by actually not reaching the nerve endings of the skin. Based on MicroPyramids, which are manufactured by MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems), the pure silicone crystals are used in extremely diminutive microneedles for intradermal injections, and the tip of the device measures less than one-micrometer in diameter. The company touts its pain-free technology (sound familiar?) as a breakthrough that is "non-intimitdating," which should reduce the likelihood of fainting both youngsters (okay, and adults) face when dealing with needles, and is even said to be easier to administer. Unfortunately, we've got no good news proclaiming that these will be replacing intramuscular and subcutaneous methods later this week, but the $6.5 million in funding that the company has acquired should go pretty far is helping its cause.

[Via MedGadget]

It's no surprise that humans are doing less and less of the dirty work while they simply control robotic creatures that are actually doing the internal repairs, but a UCLA researcher has devised a ridiculously tiny "microhand" to handle even the smallest surgery-related tasks. The hand, which is said to be a "feat of microscale mechanical systems (MEMS)," measures just one millimeter across when closed into a fist, features four "fingers" made of six silicon wafers each, and touts four gas-powered balloons acting as the muscles at the wafers' joints. As you may expect, the gas lines that run to the balloons inflate and deflate the joints, causing the fingers to grasp and release as needed. The primary purpose is to eventually use the technology in new forms of "minimally invasive surgery," and although the microhand is likely years away from practical use, they're already in cahoots with robotic firm to develop a "slightly larger" rendition with an onboard camera for live action video feeds.

[Via MedGadget]