It's massive, costs $500,000, and is just a prototype; but you're looking at a possible solution for swapping out heavy car batteries from future electric vehicles. Kind of important if you're hoping to take your EV on a trip a bit further than the supermarket or city center without having to stop for a lengthy recharge. This switch station, unveiled in Japan by Better Place, can swap out a spent battery in less time than it takes to refuel the tank in that baby-killer of a car you hold so precious. These battery swap stations are just part of the enormous infrastructure required to support Better Place's subscription approach to electric vehicles -- infrastructure easily estimated to cost $250 million or so for countries like Israel or Denmark on up to the $1 Billion already pledged by San Francisco Bay Area mayors. Better Place admits that the swap technology is a work in progress but hopes to have 150,000 charging stations and about 100 battery swap stations deployed in Israel by 2011. Check the video after the break.

By sitting there and getting ran over by motorcars, that is. In an effort to best other power-generating highway options that involve solar panels and enlarged blender arms, Britain's Environmental Transport Association is looking to test a prototype highway that's embedded with piezoelectric crystals. Essentially, the process would work much like the power-generating Tokyo station floors we saw earlier this week; each car that squishes a crystal would contribute a tiny bit of energy, and the collective effect could be enormous. In fact, it's estimated that a single kilometer of roadway could generate 400-kilowatts of energy, or enough to power around eight small cars. And we're no rocket scientists (nor physicists), but we're assuming these whiz kids already made sure these magic crystals weren't friction-generating, too. Right?

We've seen plenty of out-of-the-ordinary, so-called ergonomic keyboards concepts, including some that are configured so that the user types on the "back." This prototype, from Israeli startup Grippity, is especially odd looking, as it appears to be a full-sized QWERTY keyboard with gamepad buttons that's completely handheld -- "no desk needed" as the developer says. We don't have a ton of detail about the apparently patented design, other than the fact that it's not yet in production, but the makers expect it to cost about $1,000 once available. That's an expensive keyboard, but if it frees us up from the necessity of hunching over our desks for 12 hours a day, we just might give it a try. Check out two more photos of the device after the break.

We've seen a couple armed defense bots make the scene now -- the US military even has a couple deployed in Iraq -- but the promo video for the $600,000 Guardium bots recently commissioned by Israel isn't exactly a fearsome demonstration of next-gen force. Not only do the rendered old-school CRT displays offer warnings like INTRUDER NONCOMPLIANT, all the bot seems to be able to do is sneeze out of a cloud of white smoke. Terrifying. Maybe these things play better at defense contractor conventions, but something tells us that an actual angry dog might be a little more effective. Check the whole video below.

[Via Danger Room]

Israel is reportedly developing a sophisticated piece of software meant to help troops make quick decisions during battle and, under the right conditions, autonomously manipulate the nation's defense systems. First reported in Defense News (subscription required), the unnamed system would primarily be used for tactical decisions during periods of heavy bombardment, although in a worst-case scenario, the complex algorithm would supposedly be capable of taking over total military control. Yes, we know what you're thinking, but don't worry: Israeli officials have already sworn up and down that "there's no way we're letting this thing go Terminator on us -- no freakin' way."

[Via Danger Room]

While there are many rational and irrational reasons for the delays we've seen in production of a mass-market and massively adopted electric car, most of the major issues seem to be addressed by this new initiative going down in Israel. One of the primary problems with electric cars is refilling, and that's going to be nicely addressed by entrepreneur Shai Agassi's Project Better Place, which will build a charging network of 500,000 plug-in points across the country. Other issues were a bit more easily addressed: since Israel is a small country, the limited range of electric cars isn't as much of an issue, and the government subsidies should make prices competitive -- with the eventual cost of ownership significantly less than gas cars to sweeten the deal even further. Nissan and Renault plan to built the cars, naturally, and hope to port the concepts into other vehicles in other countries in the near future. The plan is to launch the first cars in Israel around 2011.

Explay is apparently trying to ensure that its micro-projector doesn't become just one of the crowd, as it's trying to outdo the competition by showing off its oio at SID 2007. While we'd seen offerings from Explay before and even heard whispers of a 2007 launch, it looks like it'll be next year before the oio hits the hands of the general public. Nevertheless, the firm was off parading its accomplishment in Long Beach, California, dubbing its minuscule PJ the "first truly mobile and fully operational nano-projector." Of course, we're sure more than a few outfits would love to disagree on that very point, but Explay went on to praise the oio's ability to function in a variety of locales from a "dimly lit bar to a bright office." Notably, it sounds like the company will be aiming for more dollars than those held by mere gadget freaks, as the oio marketing team will be targeting "medical, security, and even artistic" fields whenever Explay can get these things out of the door. Click on through for a closeup of the oio itself.

[Photo courtesy of Explay]

There's a growing number of devices that not only monitor one's health, but can also transmit pertinent information back to remote caregivers, but SHL Telemedicine's latest gizmo takes things a step further by beaming your ECG results directly to your physician's mobile phone. The oddly-named CardioSen'C is a portable heart-monitoring system that gathers information from twelve electrodes strapped to one's chest and upper body, and once activated, transmits the results of the electrocardiograph instantly to a user-selected handset. Unlike similar systems already available in the US, SHL's iteration will be aimed at the Israel / European markets initially, and while we aren't exactly sure how much coinage such an advanced machine will cost to wear, you should probably make sure your insurance covers spontaneous service calls before you start lighting your doc's handset up with ECG results.

[Via Israel21c]

When you've already got self-assembling robots and Li-ion batteries, you might as well tackle 3D printouts next, right? Apparently that's the mantra being used by physicists in Israel who have purportedly invented a monomer solution that, when heated over 33 degrees Celsius, would bend and form into the object depicted, theoretically turning a flat, 2D photo into a three-dimensional rendition. Eran Sharon and colleagues from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem applied N-isopropylacrylamide to the surface of a prototype "disc," and "created a range of structures varying in complexity, from slightly wavy crisp-like objects to those that look like a sombrero." Interestingly, a scientist not directly involved with the study commented that the discovery could actually be used to craft printers that could pop out 3D printouts when heat was added, which would surely keep kids occupied (and your ink cartridges bone dry) for weeks on end. As expected, there weren't many details hinting that this novel idea would be headed for the commercial realm anytime soon, but considering all the other 3D paraphernalia already out, we can't imagine this taking too long to follow suit.

[Via Slashdot]

We doubt inmates get the luxury of catching the latest episodes of Prison Break while under lock and key, but we also doubt they'd need a pre-fabbed drama to instill such thoughts in their brain. Bio-Sense Technologies has reportedly harnessed the power of software that "interprets barking" in order to alert humans sooner to when danger is approaching or something has gone awry. In tests performed by the firm, they found that in 350 various dogs, they all possessed a distinctive "alarm bark" that differed from any other yelp, and this distinction allows for an alarm system to be triggered whenever a canine unleashes said sound. Marketed primarily towards prisons and supply yards where intruders may often wander, the "Doguard" security system has been fairly successful since being installed in a high-security Israeli jail, and just a few false alarms have been set off thus far. Further improvements could actually monitor the dog's heart rate to further substantiate a true threat, and while the system can work when Rover's rolling solo, having multiple pups on guard tends to increase effectiveness. While we're not sure if these howling systems will ever make it into American joints, we hope none of you have to personally find out, anyway.

Just in case there weren't enough alternate fuel developments going on around the world, it looks like we've got yet another vying for business over in Israel. Engineuity, a company started by Amnon Yogev, has reportedly developed a method for vehicles to "produce their own fuel" using metals such as magnesium and aluminum to create hydrogen and steam. Similar to a solar-powered "zinc-to-hydrogen" approach that gained attention in 2005, this method utilizes a "long metal coil" which would be inserted into a metal-steam combustor that stands to "separate hydrogen out of heated water." After intense heating, the metal atoms would purportedly bond to the oxygen from the water, creating metal oxide; the result would free up hydrogen molecules to be sent to the engine alongside the steam to provide the juice. The firm also insinuates that "refueling" the vehicle would be "remarkably simply," and construction could be completed on current production lines without requiring entirely new infrastructures. According to Yogev, the "running cost of the system should be equal to that of conventional cars today," and hopes to have a full scale prototype ready to rumble in "around three years."

[Thanks, Mike]

One side effect of living in the age of terrorism is that pretty much every week, someone thinks that they've got an explosives detector better than the next guy. Well, Acro, a new Israeli firm has developed the Acro-Pet, which is likely to be among the world's smallest detectors of triacetone triperoxide (TATP). It turns out that TATP-based bombs (like the one found in the shoes of would-be bomber Richard Reid), while only 80 percent as powerful as traditional TNT, are much easier to construct (like, at home) and much more difficult to detect. Acro has just released what appears to be a small pen-sized TATP sniffer that is soon-to-be evaluated by the Department of Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies in the US and in Europe. Just as this product was shrouded in secrecy for a few years before its announcement to the public, Acro is still keeping mum about its price, for now.