• Scientists at Georgia Tech have come up with a technique that uses acoustic waves with radar to detect buried land mines. In this method, sound waves create tiny soil disturbances while precision radar measures the resulting movement, which can be less than 1 mm. Combined with other advanced location methods, a new generation of detectors will be able to locate different types of buried weapons across a broad range of soil and environmental conditions.But researchers still must develop a faster detection process, come up with a noncontact transducer, and devise a portable system that works reliably under different field conditions.
• Lucent Technologies and E Ink Corp. are jointly developing electronic paper. This technology combines E Ink's electronic ink with Lucent's plastic transistors. The ink contains millions of tiny "switchable" capsules that react to electrical signals. When they react, they show a dark dye or a white pigment. This image is maintained with little or no additional power. A grid of plastic transistors can be used to create electric fields that cause the electronic ink to change color and create images. In other words, these sheets would look very much like paper pages. Unlike traditional media, though, the text could be electronically updated or replaced. Designers envision a number of consumer applications, from downloadable newspapers to self-updating textbooks.
