The all-electric Lightning GT sports car might have just had its formal debut yesterday, but that doesn't mean prototypes haven't been tooling around for a while -- check out this video of the swoopy two-door doing the track thing in ultra-dramatic slow-mo. Of course, there's no sound, so there could totally be a nasty 5.0L Windsor V8 block under that hood, but we'll give 'em the benefit of the doubt for now. Video at the read link -- and be honest, is this thing enough to sway your feelings from the Tesla Roadster or the Fisker Karma?

[Via Autoblog Green]

Sure, we've got fairly sophisticated methods of curbing asthma attacks, but a new pocketable device could hold the key to unlocking more about the relationship between "asthma symptoms and the air a sufferer breathes." Reportedly, this device could allow researchers to look back after an attack has occurred and see exactly what was happening environmentally beforehand. Gurus at the Georgia Tech Research Institute have already been able to help one individual out, as they discovered a "pollutant pathway" from the volunteer's basement into the living room that was allowing vehicle exhaust and gasoline fumes to infiltrate the house. From here, the creators are hoping to downsize the device even further and make it more sensitive, but we've no idea if the current iteration will ever be used commercially.

[Via NewScientist]

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]

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.

If you couldn't quite make it to the last Wii marriage counseling session, there's still good news coming from Georgia Tech. Thanks to a group of engineering minds at the university, a new augmented reality game (dubbed AR Facade) is placing you in the center of a marital spat with nearly limitless options. The program apparently runs on a back-worn laptop and utilizes an oh-so-tacky head mountable display, and developers suggest that being placed in the midst of an "interactive drama" allows you to choose sides, attempt to mediate, and basically "define your own way to win" as you try to talk some sense into the flustered couple. Interestingly, there's even talk of bringing such games "onto mobile phones" and into the workplace, but it looks like they've got a bit of hardware trimming to do first.

[Via The Raw Feed]

Rumblings about the layout and design of Apple's iPod scroll wheel in particular have been making the rounds for what seems like ages, but a new development from the Microsoft Research labs could nix the need to pull your DAP out and nearly collide with foreign objects whilst scrolling to a new tune. Aside from the glaring curiousness that stems from a Microsoft-derived project being dubbed earPod, the team has purportedly been working with scientists at the University of Toronto "on software that could make it possible to navigate the menus of gadgets that use circular touch pads with only audio cues." Essentially, touching the scroll wheel would provide audio clips to help you find your way through menus without ever seeing the screen, which would certainly prove useful on screenless DAPs. Currently, the system is quite limited in regard to the number of cues available, but here's to hoping that text-to-speech capabilities can become integrated as well so we can cycle through the thousands of artists and songs without even needing a display. [Warning: PDF read link]

[Via TechnologyReview]

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]

If you see yourself taking an unwanted trip to the ER anytime in the next decade or so, there's a fairly decent chance you'll end up with at least one or two creepy creatures perusing some aspect of your innards. As if mechanical beings cruising through your intestines wasn't eerie enough, a team of Georgia Tech researchers have proposed a new way to constantly monitor one's blood pressure. The aptly-dubbed nanowires take advantage of the "piezoelectric effect in semiconducting zinc oxide" in order to detect minute forces as tiny "as a few piconewtones," or about the same amount needed to unzip a strand of DNA. The specially designed sensors will purportedly enable robotic nurses to continually monitor your blood pressure to take action before things get too out of hand, and of course, the "biocompatible "system would beam results wirelessly to devices in hospitals or even wrist-mounted readers so you'd know when to pop a proverbial chill pill. This should definitely suffice as a "second opinion," eh?

If there's anything left to accomplish after creating autonomous UAVs and cramming optical circuitry on a silicon chip, it's allowing tax paying citizens to pen their thoughts on an unmanned spacecraft. In a joint initiative between Georgia Tech and MIT, the Your Name Into Space project aims to launch a small research satellite in 2010 into Earth's orbit, and the technology on board will purportedly "help pave the way for humankind to explore our solar system." Folks who throw their name, slogan, logo, or snarky catchphrases onto the craft can expect photographs of their adornment "with the Earth in the background" while it's orbiting space, and if your piece of textual glory lands on a segment that will be returning to Earth, it's all yours upon landing. So if you're looking to splurge a little this year on a bit of tax deductible fun, you can put nearly anything on this forthcoming machine for $35 to $250 per square centimeter, depending on location.

[Via MAKE]