-
ADD TIME NEWS
- NEWSLETTERS
- Main
- Global Business
- Small Business
- Curious Capitalist
- Nerd World
- The Cheapskate Blog
- Money & Main Street
- Videos
Best Inventions 2005: Thin Skins
The Right Touch
Inventor: Takao Someya
Availability: Prototype only
To Learn More: www.ntech.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp
The key to making artificially intelligent robots lies in giving them plenty of ways to gather information about their environment. Takao Someya, a researcher at the University of Tokyo, has created an electronic filmmade up of bendable, shock-resistant transistors embedded in plasticthat can detect pressure and temperature. The sheet, known as a "large-area sensor array," is flexible enough to cover small objects and could give robots a sense of touch. Another potential use: smart carpet or furniture upholstery that can automatically adjust its temperature.
Next Product: Goin' Coconuts >>
- 1
- 2
- 3
- NEXT PAGE »
Most Popular »
- How Bad Are Auto Sales? Ten Questions and Answers
- Why Sarah Palin Quit as Governor
- Why Obama's Afghan War Is Different
- The Challenge That Awaits Obama in Moscow
- When Benedict Meets Barack
- How Medicated Was Michael Jackson?
- Is There Hope for the American Marriage?
- Afterbirth: It's What's For Dinner
- Searching for Palin's 'Hot Photos'
- What Michael Jackson Did on His Last Day
- Afterbirth: It's What's For Dinner
- How Bad Are Auto Sales? Ten Questions and Answers
- Is There Hope for the American Marriage?
- Why Obama's Afghan War Is Different
- Why We Have Affairs And Why Not to Tell
- Why Sarah Palin Quit as Governor
- Why Legalizing Marijuana Makes Sense
- When Benedict Meets Barack
- Trying Times for Russia's Nesting Dolls
- How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live







RSS