In this edition of the Worldwide Wrap, a device designed to let people communicate using just their breath has been developed, and a Nigerian IT worker is being sought by police for his alleged role in co-ordinating a $40 million cyber theft at a bank in Abuja. Get the details on these stories and more below.
Talk with your nose
For people who suffer from serious disabilities like Parkinson's or motor neurone disease, communication can be incredibly difficult.
A 16-year-old-has designed a device that could provide a promising solution, as it lets people communicate using just their breath. Talk works by recognising short bursts of air as Morse code and turning the words and sentences into speech.
Via: Daily Mail
Electrical prescriptions
A new US military-sponsored programme aims to develop a tiny device that can be implanted in the body, where it will use electrical impulses to monitor the body's organs, healing these crucial parts when they become infected or injured.
Known as Electrical Prescriptions, or ElectRx, the programme could reduce dependence on pharmaceutical drugs and offer a new way to treat illnesses, according to the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, the branch of the US Department of Defence responsible for developing the programme.
Via: Live Science
Dancing traffic light
The Smart company has invented a way to keep the would-be law-breaking pedestrians of the world safely entertained while they wait to cross the street: a dancing traffic light.
The firm behind the original Smart Car built a signal at an intersection in Lisbon, Portugal, and configured it so that dance moves of passers-by would be mimicked in real-time by the human figure in the traffic light.
Via: The Huffington Post
Digital tokens cut traffic
The "RoadRunner" system issues a digital "token" to each car entering a congestion-prone area. Once a given number of tokens are assigned, a car can't enter unless another vehicle leaves. Everyone else gets turn-by-turn directions to avoid the area.
A dash-mounted transponder roughly the size of a standard electronic-toll device like E-ZPass or FasTrak, which is read by radio transmitters on gantries built at entry points to congestion zones is fitted into cars.
Via: Wired
IT worker fraud
A Nigerian IT worker is being sought by police for his alleged role in co-ordinating a £25 million ($40 million) cyber theft at a bank in Abuja where he worked.
Godswill Oyegwa Uyoyou is being sought by Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. A wanted notice claims he helped conspirators - dressed as maintenance staff - get into the bank so they could use computers to transfer cash.
Via: BBC
Solar panel cleaning robot
A group of students from CalTech and UCLA have developed a robot that cleans solar panels. Using soft rotating brushes and squeegees, the lightweight robot is designed to cover two average-sized solar panels at a time.
The robot is easily controlled by two operators who simply place it at the beginning of a standard ground-mounted solar array. The on-board computer then co-ordinates the robot, while an operator monitors the cleaning progress and issues commands.
Via: Inhabitat
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