TrackingPoint precision guided rifles decide when to take their own best shot

Welcome to the newsletter for Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine. These are the headlines for December the 4th, 2012. TrackingPoint precision guided rifles decide when to take their own best shot TrackingPoint, Inc., a new precision guided rifle development company operating out of Austin, Texas, has developed breakthrough technology that claims to put jet fighter lock-and-launch technology onto a combat rifle, making sniper-level accuracy available to the average shooter. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Voyager 1 gets a taste of interstellar space Voyager 1 has reached yet another new frontier on its historic journey towards the edge of our solar system. NASA scientists believe this "magnetic highway" represents the final region the spacecraft must cross before becoming the first man-made object to reach interstellar space, an event they are guessing could be as close as a couple of months away. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Software works like a traffic cop to boost Wi-Fi performance Researchers at North Caroline State University have come up with a new tool to speed up public Wi-Fi hotspots. The researchers say that WiFox software can improve data throughput by up to 700 percent and could be packaged as an update to existing networks. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile MIT developing a robotic "Swiss Army knife" that changes shape to suit the job An MIT team is developing a robot that has the potential to become possibly the most versatile machine ever. Referred to by the team as the "robotic equivalent of a Swiss Army knife," the milli-motein robot is made up of a chain of tiny modules each containing a new type of motor that can be used to form the chain into various shapes. This shape-changing capability could lead to the creation of robots that dynamically change their form to suit the task at hand. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Jaguar introduces its fastest, most powerful sedan ever After pulling the cloth off the Jaguar F-Type for the first time on North American turf, Jaguar turned stage left and rolled the second member of its R-S ultra high-performance model line out of a makeshift garage door at the 2012 LA Auto Show. The "S" version of the XFR borrows features from the XKR-S and F-TYPE in Jaguar's attempt to take the sporty sedan to the next level. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Boeing's flight simulator display gets ultra high-res upgrade Three years after first displaying its Constant Resolution Visual System (CRVS), Boeing has announced an upgrade that delivers a resolution almost four times that of high definition courtesy of JVC's new e-Shift 8K projection technology. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Scientists create flicker-free, shatterproof alternative to fluorescent lights Fluorescent lights are one of those things that you see everywhere, but that nobody likes. They flicker, they hum, they produce a rather unattractive light, plus they're fragile and contain toxic substances. They may also be on their way out – scientists from North Carolina's Wake Forest University have created a new form of lighting that they say could be used in the same large-scale applications as fluorescent bulbs, but that lacks their shortcomings. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Porsche unveils the new, more powerful Cayman Porsche's big unveil at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show was the all-new third-generation version of its Cayman sports car. When compared to the outgoing Cayman, the newly minted version is longer, wider, lighter, lower, faster, more powerful and more efficient. Porsche stretched out the wheelbase, widened the track and upped the size of the wheels by an inch to increase stability and handling. Meanwhile, the company employed the same lightweight body strategy as used on the latest 911 and Boxster, cutting 60 pounds (27 kg) when compared to the outgoing model. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile ELF velomobile is powered by you and the Sun While it's all very well and good to use an electric vehicle as your around-town ride, full-size electric cars can still be pretty pricey. Also, as many of their critics are quick to point out, the electricity used to charge their batteries currently still tends to come from eco-unfriendly sources such as coal-burning power plants. Well, that's where the three-wheeled ELF velomobile comes into play. It's cheaper than a car, can be pedaled like a tricycle, and the battery that powers its electric assist motor can be charged from the Sun. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Staples stores to offer custom 3D printing You might want to hold off on buying that 3D printer. In the same way that photographers can upload their image files to a photo lab for printing, people will soon be able to upload their CAD/CAM files to the Staples Office Center, for 3D printing on a high-end printer – the only catch is, the finished objects will be made out of paper. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Acura pulls the curtain back on the 2014 RLX in LA The LA Auto Show is a big event for most automobile manufacturers. Acura is no exception, and it took the opportunity to show off its brand new RLX sedan, which will serve as the company's flagship car. The automaker is bringing plenty of new features and improvements to its premium sedan, both in terms of performance and comfort. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile MVRDV unveils plan for supertall "vertical Jakarta" "Vertical city" is not a new descriptor for supertall skyscrapers that combine housing with retail, offices, leisure and goodness knows what else. But it's something of a surprise to see it applied to Peruri 88, which, as we have come to expect from Dutch architectural practice MVRDV, features as many horizontal, skewed, slantwise and sloping lines as it does vertical. That said, with a tower that will top out at 400 m (1,312 ft), it will comfortably join the ranks of the supertall. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile MESSENGER makes compelling case for water on planet Mercury The MESSENGER spacecraft has made a compelling case for the presence of water in the form of ice on the surface of the Solar System's smallest and innermost planet, Mercury. The case is supported by three independent groups of evidence from different sensors aboard the Mercury orbiter. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile CyberCity: Where urban and cyberwarfare collide Internet security specialist SANS is building what it calls CyberCity, a model city to help train U.S. Military personnel – Federal hackers, in effect – in defending cities from cyberwarfare attacks. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Gourmet vending machine dispenses fresh caviar and escargot (for a price) This year has already seen a surprising number of innovations in vending machines, from the EatWave that cooks select items to the Let's Pizza which actually makes fresh pizza from scratch. Now one company has produced a vending machine designed for more discerning (and wealthy) palates. Gourmet food supplier, Beverly Hills Caviar, recently installed vending machines in select Los Angeles malls that serve up fresh caviar, escargot, and other exotic goods, with prices for products running as high as US$500. 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