The Tigers down at Clemson University are doing more than deciding whether an all-purple uniform really sends a sense of fear to the opponent, as they're also crafting shock-absorbing carbon springs which could theoretically protect gadgets when they crash to the ground. In working with researchers at UC San Diego, the crew has determined that layers of tiny coiled carbon nanotubes can act as "extremely resilient shock absorbers." The team envisions their discovery finding its way into body armor, car bumpers, bushings and even in shoe soles, but we're hoping that cellphones and PMPs get lined with this stuff to protect from those butter-finger moments.

[Via Physorg]

We know, most of you Blue Devil fans are still reeling from that recent loss to Wake Forest, but if it's any consolation, at least your campus is about to become home to the "world's largest" 802.11n wireless network. Last we heard, The Ohio State University held the crown for Earth's biggest WLAN with 1,700 access points lit, but according to Cisco, Duke's campus will soon house 2,500 Aironet 1250 Series APs. The installation will leave more than six million square feet of central North Carolina blanketed in WiFi, and will supposedly be the "largest planned 802.11n wireless network in the world by any organization to date." Watch out, Dukies -- we hear those folks in Chapel Hill have a thing for swiping unsecured signals.

Those Fraunhofer folks are nothing if not prolific, and it now looks like they're getting a little boastful as well, as evidenced by some comments reps from the group made at CES this week. As MacWorld reports, Fraunhofer IIS is not only saying that its new HD-ACC codec is "better than CD," but that it "makes CDs obsolete." That is apparently due to the codec's lossless compression of 24-bit music content, as opposed to the 16-bit, 44.1 kHz quality now found on CDs. What's more, the HD-AAC encoding process embeds a so-called "core layer" on any device that supports plain old AACs, although you'll obviously need a player with an HD-AAC decoder in order to take advantage of the fully lossless signal. Of course, some formats have a tendency to take off more quickly than others, so we'll just have to wait and see how HD-ACC plays out in the grander scheme of things.

If being able to recharge your future collection of batteries "a thousand times more" than your existing stockpile sounds enticing, a team of NC State physicists now have your attention. Thanks to their research on the electromechanical properties of the commonly used polymer polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), they have discovered that when combined with CTFE (that's yet another polymer), it may allow capacitors to store "up to seven times more energy than those currently in use." According to Vivek Ranjan, the process moves atoms within the material "in order to make the polymer rearrange with the least voltage," and this storage booster could even be used to allow electric cars of the future to sport the "same acceleration capability as a gas-powered sports car." Sounds like more than a few manufacturers are desperate for something like this, eh?

[Image courtesy of Biopact]

While you've already gotten a taste of the prep work involved at RoboCup 2007, we know a more multimedia-packed perspective of the gala is more likely to quench your appetite for roboto-a-roboto action. From mechanical canines bending it like Beckham to Wiimote-controlled AIBOs, Atlanta is the place to be if you're looking for all things robotic. Best of all, the gurus inside have translated their circuitry and programming skills over to the camera, and a well-stocked Flickr pool and YouTube library are already beginning to form. So go on, give the links below a gander, and be sure to check back as the week unfolds to catch even more of the madness at this year's RoboCup.

Read - Northern Bites Blog
Read - RoboCup 2007 Flickr pool
Read - RoboCup 2007 YouTube library

While we weren't able to get a first-hand glimpse of the mayhem that is RoboCup this time around, a camera-wielding Georgia Tech graduate student was able to do the honors for us all, and snagged quite a bit of impressive footage from the expo. Many of the shots were snapped during yesterday's practice rounds as competitors prepped their gear for battle (which began yesterday), and we must say that the oh-so-athletic Junior Soccer League robots are worth the price of admission alone. Still, even if witnessing robotic contention in person isn't enough to drag you to Atlanta, be sure to click through to get a glimpse of homegrown robotic innovation at its finest.

While the Virginia Tech Hokies tend to rely more on dazzling special teams teams play than sheer defensive prowess, the players take a lickin' regardless. In a presumed extension of Beamer Ball, the sparkly helmets donned by the football squad will sport internal accelerometers and wireless transmitters that beam (ahem) information about the seriousness of each blow to a Sybase database in order to tell if and when a certain player has had enough. The primary objective is to prevent any long-term injuries and detect concussions before individuals can even realize they're hurt, and an interesting byproduct of the system has shown what types of thwacks are typically sustained at different positions. The HITS (head impact telemetry system) technology could reportedly be used in places like the battlefield as well, or moreover, rigorous rounds of Wii Boxing -- but we're sure WVU's Punchstat system is already on top of that.

[Photo courtesy of VT]

While the school of the Ramblin' Wreck may be best known for its barrage of engineering graduates, the university has been on quite the medical trip of late, as researchers have reportedly developed a nanometer-scale generator after already cranking out nanowires that monitor your blood pressure. The aptly-named nanogenerators can produce "continuous direct-current electricity by harvesting mechanical energy from such environmental sources as ultrasonic waves, mechanical vibration or blood flow," which translates into easy energy for implanted and worn medical gadgetry of the future. Interestingly, the project was funded by the likes of the National Science Foundation and our pals at DARPA, and while this invention may not quite match up with wireless charging (hey, we're scared of hospitals), the concept is novel nonetheless. So if you were hoping that dreams of implanted analysis of your vitals would suddenly cease, things aren't looking up for you.

[Via MedGadget]

We had a sneaking suspicion that there was an ulterior motive behind Raleigh getting lit up as the "world's first LED city," and aside from savings tons of dough on energy bills over the next decade or so, it seems to make motorists feel a good bit safer, too. According to a before and after survey conducted by Mindwave Research, the number of respondents who "perceived the garage as very safe increased by 76-percent after the LED fixtures were installed." Admittedly, the newfangled lighting certainly added a new level of brightness to the situation, and the number of individuals who gave the garage an overall rating of "excellent" increased by 100-percent in response. The (unnecessarily lengthy) survey also added a few more minor figures to further prove that LED lighting is simply superior to the other stuff , but we're not yet sure if Cree will successfully use this ammunition to grab even more contracts to freshen up the city lights.

Considering that Vista isn't exactly getting perfectly positive praise, it looks like Microsoft is looking into other ways to bring cashflow to Redmond. While we already know the firm is diving head first into the VoIP handset market, it looks like it'll also be involved with a new virtual headphone. In an effort to allow VoIP / computer-based communications to be handled without tethering yourself to your PC and also allow you to hear ambient conversations around the office, researchers at Microsoft have "developed an algorithm that adjusts the timing of sound waves emitted from each speaker in an array, creating a focused beam of sound that acts as virtual headphones." Essentially, the speakers would create a "sweet spot" so that computer users could hear the audio perfectly, while individuals just inches away from the sound zone wouldn't hear much more than a peep. Furthermore, the focused wave technology could even bleed over into the tracking realm, which could actually allow the tones to follow one around as they move. Ideally, the creators want to conjure up a beamforming system that is easy to configure and relatively inexpensive, but we're hearing (ahem) that it'll be at least three years before these aural luxuries break into the corporate sphere.

The Blue Devils certainly haven't fared well on the hardwood of late, but a group of engineering minds at Duke University are thinking up ways to get even. While we can't actually confirm the motives, a recent patent filing spells out details of a device that can "use the brain's thoughts to control an array of mechanical and electrical devices, up to and including weapons." Thought-controlled interfaces have long since been available, but these researchers are suggesting that everything from household items like televisions and ovens to "weapons systems" could be used to not only "improve one's quality of life," but could actually produce thoughts that litearlly kill. Interestingly, the verbiage even mentions that the recently-ratified UWB technology could be used to beam commands from your devious brain, and although it's not surprising to find that DARPA has a hand in funding department, we're still not any closer to finding out when our military will switch from triggers to impulses.

[Via Wired]

Mvix has certainly found its way to your living room before, and we've heard the rumblings of its latest HD streaming / storage device coming to fruition, but just before the holiday rush the firm is officially releasing the MX-760HD Wireless HD Media Center. This feature-laden box supports wireless media (HD thankfully included) streaming over 802.11g with full WEP support, and comes packed with an optional 200 to 750GB hard drive to store files remotely. Sporting a 7.4- x 7.6- x 2.3-inch enclosure, the Linux-based box plays nice with Windows systems and outputs in NTSC / PAL, and even includes an external LCD to give you quick updates on what's going where. Aside from WiFi, it also features Ethernet connectivity and USB ports, and Mvix even includes a remote to control the action from afar. On the rear, you'll find outputs for DVI, component, composite, stereo, and optical / coaxial digital audio to play back any of your DivX, MPEG 1/2/4, WMV, ASF, DAT, DVD, IFO, VOB, ISO, MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG, PCM, AC3, DTS, BMP, JPEG, and PNG files -- and that's just the tip of the iceberg. So if you're scouting a svelte HD streamer with internal storage to boot, the MX-760HD can be pre-ordered now (sans an internal HDD) for $329.

[Thanks, Chris and Rich]