Weird and wonderful: the best instruments of 2012

Welcome to the newsletter for Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine. These are the headlines for December the 31st, 2012. Weird and wonderful: the best instruments of 2012 Should you find yourself thinking about supergroups, you'll likely center on the famous names that make up the bands and not the instruments they use. Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, for example, rather than the double-necked Gibson EDS-1275, or Cream's Jack Bruce instead of his Gibson EB-3, or Brad Wilk of Audioslave/RATM and not the custom Gretsch drumkits he uses. Being as much fans of the tech behind the hits as the talented folks who create them, we've grouped together a super collection of favorite music-making gadgets from the past year. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Wearable ViSi Mobile System lets doctors wirelessly monitor patients Dr. McCoy's tricoder isn't looking too futuristic these days. Not only are real life versions of the Star Trek device under development, but some new medical devices are making it look a bit old fashioned. Take, for example, the ViSi Mobile vital signs monitor built by Sotera Wireless of San Diego, California. This wearable sensor pack uses Wi-Fi technology and is claimed to allow doctors using a tablet or smartphone to remotely monitor patient vital signs with the accuracy of an intensive care unit. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile New microscopy technique lets scientists see live viruses in their natural habitat Traditionally, in order to view tiny biological structures such as viruses, they must first be removed from their natural habitats and frozen. While this certainly keeps them still for the microscope, it greatly limits what we can learn about them – it's comparable to an ichthyologist only being able to study dead fish in a lab, instead of observing live ones in the ocean. Now, however, researchers at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have devised a technique for observing live viruses in a liquid environment. It could have huge implications for the development of treatments for viral infections. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Honda to show S2000 roadster concept and many others in Tokyo The S2000 roadster served as Honda's answer to the Mazda Miata during the most recent golden age of the sporty roadster, back around the turn of the millennium. Honda ended production of the car in 2009, but it is bringing it back, if only for a short time. The S2000 Modulo Concept is a concept model that will appear at the 2013 Tokyo Auto Salon next month. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Re: Sound Bottle remixes everyday noises into a song The idea of catching a sound in a bottle in order to listen to it later is one that many of us have toyed with, especially as kids. Unfortunately it isn't possible in the real world, at least not with a real bottle and nothing but a real bottle. However, Re: Sound Bottle is more than what it first appears to be, and its internal components means this particular bottle is capable of recording, remixing, and playing back sounds captured from all manner of different sources. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile TaskOne turns the iPhone into a legitimate pocket knife The smartphone is already a modern-day multi-tool, combining communications, entertainment, information access and all kinds of personalized content. But while the smartphone can multitask in the virtual world, it can't do quite as much back in the physical world. The TaskOne iPhone case changes that, giving Apple's smartphone the functionality of an old-school Swiss Army pocket knife. Like the Morgan E Pulse, it seamlessly blends cutting edge technology with retro-inspired design. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile 64,000 mph asteroid was fastest on record On April 22 this year, a daytime fireball was seen throughout the western United States, accompanied by a loud booming sound heard over much of California's Sierra Nevada mountains around Lake Tahoe. Scientists have now carried out a thorough analysis of the meteorite and found that it was the fastest meteor ever recorded at 28.6 km/s (64,000 mph). Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile zSpace display simulates motion parallax for more immersive 3D A new interactive 3-D display developed by Californian startup Infinite Z can track hand and eye movements in real time to let users manipulate virtual objects in three dimensions in a highly intuitive way. The zSpace display could bring a new level of realism to computer-aided design, virtual reality simulations, and even gaming. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile New collagen scaffolding technique to benefit tissue engineering Collagen is the main component of connective tissues and the most abundant protein in the human body. Biocompatible and biodegradable, it is an excellent material for making scaffolding for tissue engineering. The trouble is, conventional techniques disrupt the fibrous structure of collagen and weaken the end product. Tufts University researchers are aiming to change this with a new technique for fabricating collagen structures that avoids disruption and retains collagen's strength. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile TARDIS model uses augmented reality to appear "bigger on the inside" Doctor Who. He'd be nothing but an incredibly brainy (if strangely dressed) bloke with two hearts and an attitude if not for his TARDIS. The TARDIS is a combination time machine and spacecraft that can poke into virtually any nook or cranny in the entire history of the Universe. Aside from the marvelous transport capabilities, the most notable thing about the TARDIS is that "It's bigger on the inside!" – a running gag throughout the show. Now, Greg Kumparak has produced an augmented reality model of the TARDIS that produces a remarkable illusion, making the TARDIS indeed appear to be bigger on the inside. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Roboy team aims to build robot toddler in nine months If robots are going to be part of our everyday lives, they'll need to fit into our homes rather than the factory floor. Few people would be comfortable living with a metal spider on tank treads, so the University of Zurich's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (AI Lab) is building a robot toddler called "Roboy." Using "soft robotics" technology that mimics the human body, the 1.2 meter (3 ft, 11 in) tall humanoid robot is part of an effort to make robots that people are more comfortable with in day-to-day situations. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Peavey's AT-200 guitar featuring AutoTune technology now available Peavey's AT-200 electric guitar featuring Antares Auto-Tune pitch correction technology, which was launched in January 2012, has now been released. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile All new U.S. cars may require a "black box" by 2014 Flight data recorders, commonly known as "black boxes," have been a standard feature in airliners since the early 1960s. More recently, various companies have started offering apps and dedicated devices that essentially serve as black boxes for cars, keeping a record of the vehicle's parameters and location when involved in an accident. Now, the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is proposing that similar devices become mandatory in all new light passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. by September 1st, 2014. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Electric Motion's EM 5.7 electric trials bike built for competition and leisure riding A couple of years ago, I joined the call to bring back cult 80s British TV series Kick Start to our screens. Hosted by ex-children's television presenter Peter Purvis, the popular show tested the skill of accomplished trials bike riders on obstacles ranging from a VW Beetle to slippery logs to near-vertical walls of rock. Such a return today, however, may not necessarily mean the once-familiar sound of the two-stroke engine clattering through the home theater system. After seven years at the helm of French trials bike manufacturer Scorpa, Philippe Aresten has broken loose to market his own Electric Motion trials bike. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Hyundai Connectivity Concept turns your car into a rolling smartphone Car makers have been slowly but surely sucking content off your phone and into your vehicle. With the help of a smartphone, you can now access navigation, music, text messaging and other phone functions from the driver and/or passenger seat. The Hyundai Connectivity Concept takes things a step farther, wirelessly transferring all of the phone's content to the car's touchscreen display and adding other wireless functions. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile The Bag Buddy makes shopping on a bicycle less of a chore The Bag Buddy is a simple device developed by industrial designer Nicholas Fjellberg Swerdlowe. He lives in Brooklyn, New York and regularly uses his bicycle to go grocery shopping – a practice that can be tricky if one's bike doesn't have racks or a basket. While Nicholas' product may not be a bicycle that turns into a shopping cart, it does reportedly make carrying bags on a bike safer and easier. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile You are receiving this email because you signed up for our daily newsletter at http://www.gizmag.com. 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