DIY Spycraft with 3-D Printing

Ever wanted to send secret information just by passing along an ordinary-looking object? That’s the premise of Microsoft Research’s new project InfraStructs, which pioneers techniques for concealing identifiers inside 3D-printed objects.   Anyone with a 3D printer can fabricate an object with coded air pockets, or voids. And then anyone with a terahertz scanner can decode the tag hidden in the objects—whether it’s a shape, a line of binary, or a grey code. It’s the modern microdot.  

Electronic Skin

These ultra-thin, ultra-flexible electronics could become bionic skin for robots and humans.  

Televised Sailing Gets a Dose of Augmented Reality

Sailboat racing is as thrilling, dynamic, and suspenseful as any sport—but until now it’s made for boring television. No longer. Starting with the 2013 America’s Cup, you will be there, virtually speaking.   New augmented reality techniques provide perspectives and information never before available to spectators: the tracks of the boats through the water, course boundaries, penalties issued, wind direction, speed, and other things that significantly affect the outcome of the race.  

STEM Crisis Myth: Robert N. Charette Responds to Readers

IEEE Spectrum senior editor Jean Kumagai will talk to Charette about his September article “The STEM Crisis Is a Myth” and the many reactions that it sparked.  

A Full-size, Autonomous Helicopter Lands Itself

Lyle Chamberlain shows how Boeing’s Unmanned Little Bird uses Piasecki Aircraft’s Klearpath LIDAR to identify the best landing site.  

The Homemade MōVI

This homebrew camera stabilizer is based on a system intended to be used to mount a camera under a model helicopter. It replaces the counterweights of a traditional steadicam with gyroscopes, accelerometers, and motorized gimbals.  

Is the STEM Crisis a Myth?

Last month’s article “The STEM Crisis Is a Myth,” by IEEE Spectrum contributing editor Robert N. Charette, triggered a hearty response from readers. Many commenters shared his view—that there is no shortage of scientists and engineers—and quite a few were against it. It seemed clear that a discussion of the issue should continue.  

Fighting Paralysis With Electricity

When the spinal cord is broken, the brain’s commands can’t make it past the neural injury. But now researchers may be able to supply artificial commands to lower limbs with electricity.   Electrodes were implanted in a paralyzed rat’s spinal cord and, when activated, they enable the rat to walk short distances. Even more amazingly, researchers are conducting similar experiments with humans.  

Motorcyclists Get a Heads Up Display

Skully Helmets is putting a heads-up display, rear-view camera, and GPS into a motorcycle helmet that it unveiled at Demo Fall 2013.  

Drinking Singapore’s Toilet-to-Tap Water

Water is at a premium in Singapore. Recycling waste water could be the answer—if residents can bring themselves to drink toilet water.  

Toilet to Tap Water: How Singapore Became Water Self-Sufficient

It’s hard to convince people that drinking recycled wastewater is a good idea. But for the bustling city-state of Singapore, it’s better than the alternatives. Singapore’s leaders and researchers have worked hard to educate the public about the benefits of water recycling, and now they envision the island as a global water-technology hub.  

iREX 2013 Robot Mashup

Countless robots were on display at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo this month. Here’s the best of the IREX robots, all mashed up.  

Valkyrie: NASA’s Superhero Robot

Meet Valkyrie, NASA JSC’s DARPA Robotics Challenge humanoid robot.  

Enclosed Tricycle is Half Bike, Half Car

The Elf—an enclosed, electrically assisted tricycle—is certainly something different.  

Return of the Theremin

An exhibition of designer theremins marks a revival of this classic electric instrument.  

Brew Your Own Conductive Ink for Electronics Projects

Draw working circuits in liquid metal ink – no soldering necessary!  

This Jumble of Tent Poles Could Be NASA’s Next Titan-exploring Robot

The “Super Ball Bot”, under development at NASA Ames, is a robotic exoskeleton designed to land on the surface of Titan without a parachute or airbag. The robot, created by Vytas SunSpiral and Adrian Agogino, can then roll about the surface by adjusting its shape.  

New Parrot Robots Jump and Fly at CES 2014

Sphero 2B Robot Demo

Demo of Sphero 2B robot from Orbotix at CES 2014.  

Innovega Takes Augmented Reality Beyond Google Glass By Adding Custom Contact Lenses

Innovega moves the essential optics to a contact lens, which means they’ll eventually be able to offer higher resolution, larger field-of-view glasses displays.