Inventor Dean Kamen has created a version of his self-balancing Segway Human Transporter that incorporates a smart seat. While some firms have developed bolt-on, static seats for the Segway, he has filed a US patent application (20080035395) on a movable seat that doubles up as a controller, allowing the rider to steer and shift the Segway’s centre of gravity – all with a twist of the derriere.
Israeli researchers have made a hydrophobic silicon surface that causes water droplets placed on it to form near-perfect spheres that minimise contact with the surface (Nanoletters, DOI: 10.1021/nl080317d). The material, which also immobilises…
