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Solid Alliance phones home with UFO detector, warns of imminent takeover
We're not surprised that the slightly off kilter Solid Alliance is breaking out yet another questionably designed device, but you can certainly color us impressed if the company's newfangled UFO detector actually does everything it's supposed to. Marketed as a cellphone wrist strap (you know, so you always have this highly pertinent device with you), this unearthly "radar strap" is reportedly sensitive to intergalactic changes and cosmic forces surrounding us all, and it presumably goes berserk whenever it detects a UFO overhead. Sporting both UFO detection and "extraterrestrial heuristic" modes, it can even discern if the mysterious flying object is harmful to your health or simply a peaceful creature from another locale. While we hope this insult of human intelligence doesn't catch on, you can spend your hard-earned ¥2,222 ($19) to snag one now until it becomes the next standard inclusion on our favorite handsets.[Via The Raw Feed]
UK radar station causing car engine and electrical troubles
If you happen to live in the small village of Trimingham (population 370) on the northeast coast of Norfolk, England and while driving past the Royal Air Force Trimingham radar station your car's engine and lights seem to be cutting out, or your speedometer is spinning out of control like something straight out of the X-Files, you're not hallucinating. According to the BBC, the Ministry of Defence has "admitted that a fault at a radar dome was responsible for causing electrical problems with dozens of cars" and that it "will consider claims for compensation after and inquiry found the radar was 'out of alignment.'" Apparently this isn't a new problem, given that the dome was previously out of alignment from November 2005 until February 2006, but now the MoD is denying that the problem has resurfaced. However, the local mechanic, Neil Crayford, told the BBC that he's "dealt with 30 calls over a couple of months." We wonder if for a few extra hundred quid Mr. Crayford would hack your in-dash display so that you could use that radar signal to monitor maritime activities in the North Sea.[Via Fark]
Smart speeding sign flashes your license plate number
The M42 is a major British motorway that has a reputation for being a testbed for new roadside technology, with a current traffic management scheme including sensors for tracking traffic built into the road and variable speed limit signs every 500 meters. The latest piece of kit to be tested out during roadworks is a radar-assisted speeding sign that not only flashes when it detects a speeding car, but also displays the license plate number of said car. Yeah, scary. Apparently the public shame (or swift realization that it could also be an automated ticket-writer) that the sign dishes out to speeding motorists is having some effect, with 50% of drivers slowing down once they see their number is up. Presumably the other half were concentrating too hard on getting out their digicams -- look ma! I'm on a roadsign! -- to slow down.[Via Autoblog]
Researchers develop stealth radar system
Researchers at Ohio State's ElectroScience Laboratory say they've created a radar system that that is virtually undetectable when used, and able to penetrate solid walls to boot -- no doubt a significant boon to military, law enforcement, and disaster rescue operations. The radar works by scattering a very low-intensity signal across a wide range of frequencies, effectively disguising itself as random noise, but apparently not actually interfering with devices because its bandwidth is much broader than the signals it's hiding in. Although it's hardly the first to pull off wall penetration, the entire radar system can be built from components totaling less than a hundred bucks. But hold up before you run out to Radio Shack, because it shouldn't come as much surprise that they aren't providing detailed DIY plans. In fact, it sounds like those industrious Ohioans already got this system patented and are looking to license the IP -- so cheap gear or not, when it comes to the tech you gotta pay up or shut up.[Via Physorg]
Widget watch: Radar in Motion
I first saw this widget earlier in the week at Macworld when someone sitting next to me pulled it up on his dashboard. Radar in Motion pulls a radar image of a user-specified location (either zip code or a more general region) from The Weather Channel and displays the animation. Click it while its running to zoom in for a larger image. Click again and it zooms back. Preferences include refresh rate, animation speed and a slew of maps to choose from. Check it out, it's fun.
