Scientists have developed a plant that can detect explosives

June Medford, plant biologist at Colorado State University, explains from her laboratory on the CSU campus how she's discovered how to rewire plants so that they can detect environmental contaminants and explosives. Green plants turn white once they're exposed to such contaminants -- a discovery made by Medford and her collaborators including some 30 graduate, undergraduate, post-doctoral fellows and researchers in her lab.

Bill Farland, vice president for Research at CSU, says this is the kind of basic science at CSU -- an institution with more than $300 million in annual research expenditures -- that is making a difference in the world.

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Sikorsky X2 - the fastest helicopter in the world

Sikorsky video of the Sep. 15, 2010 test flight during which its X2 Technology coaxial-rotor helicopter demonstrator achieved its 250kt speed goal. Conventional helicopters cruise at around 150kt. The X2 reached 260kt in a shallow dive as is expected to exceed 250kt in level flight once a sail fairing is fitted between the upper and lower rotors to reduce drag further.



X2 uses a single T800 engine to power both the rotors and the tail-mounted variable-pitch propeller, which provides forward thrust to enable the high speed. Other technologies include fly-by-wire flight controls and active vibration control. As the video opens you see a full-scale mockup of Sikorsky's proposed X2 Light Tactical Helicopter in the hang

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Briefcase with a biometric lock

Fingerprint Briefcase is distinguished by the fingerprint sensor, so that the lock of the strap can either host, or 12 other people who the owner trusts. In this case the device can store two fingerprints for each user. Fingerprint Briefcase equipped with a built-in lithium-ion battery that provides up to 600 checks fingerprints without recharging. To restore the battery charge, it is enough to connect to any USB-port.









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Pattie Maes 2009 Sixth Sense

'SixthSense' is a wearable gestural interface that augments the physical world around us with digital information and lets us use natural hand gestures to interact with that information. By using a camera and a tiny projector mounted in a pendant like wearable device, 'SixthSense' sees what you see and visually augments any surfaces or objects we are interacting with. It projects information onto surfaces, walls, and physical objects around us, and lets us interact with the projected information through natural hand gestures, arm movements, or our interaction with the object itself. 'SixthSense' attempts to free information from its confines by seamlessly integrating it with reality, and thus making the entire world your computer.

'SixthSense' website

This demo -- from Pattie Maes' lab at MIT, spearheaded by Pranav Mistry -- was the buzz of TED. It's a wearable device with a projector that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment. Imagine "Minority Report" and then some.

Pranav Mistry is the genius behind Sixth Sense, a wearable device that enables new interactions between the real world and the world of data.

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Falcon 1 - Flight 4 - September 28, 2008

This is the 4th flight of Space Exploration Technologies Falcon 1.

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