Inspired by outdoor cafe tables, which often wobble or are sloped due to uneven ground, the patent-pending FLAT (Fluid Locking & Adjustment Technologies) system has a number of potential applications, including helicopter landing gear, ladders, industrial crane bases, and mortar launchers for the military. An interconnected series of hydraulic actuators provide horizontal support on uneven surfaces and then locks to provide stability at the chosen level or angle the user requires. Demonstration videos are available here.

FLAT is seeking a partner to commercially develop the technology.

[thanks, gizmag]

In an innovative convergence ecommerce play, New York-based Entertainment Media Works launched Star Style this week, which is helmed by former CBS President Jim Rosenfield. For years, companies have paid for product placement in television and movies, but it’s a marketing strategy that’s increasing in importance, as a result of ad-skipping technology, and Star Style aims to be a central place online where viewers can purchase things they discover via television or movies. American Idol and The Real World - Key West are among the first shows featured, so you can dress like your favorite American Idol, or buy a couch from the Real World, for example.

Fast Company has a slideshow collection of breakthrough technology that may change the world over the next ten years or so. Check it out — Very cool stuff.

“Fast Pass” Security Lines

Verified Identity Pass, a private-sector company led by Steve Brill, is developing an identification card program, which entitles registered travelers to a “fast pass” dedicated security line at airports. Before Verified issues the biometric ID card, the company collects biometric data, and the government performs background checks. A pilot program at Orlando International Airport has been hugely successful in saving people time, and has nearly 17,000 members. Other airports, including San Jose, Sacramento, and Indianapolis, are pending TSA approval. GE recently acquired a 16% stake in the company. Additional competition in the space is on the way: biometrics company Saflink has announced it is forming a partnership with Microsoft, Johnson Controls, Expedia, and other companies to offer a similar service, which can only be good news for frequent travelers who are tired of long security lines, and taking their shoes off.

Boarding Pass via MMS

Several airlines offer the option for travelers to print their boarding pass at home prior to leaving for the airport, but now an additional easy option is being developed by DBA, and Lufthansa: approximately 3 hours before your flight, a check-in barcode MMS (multi-media message) will be sent to travelers. All you need to do is flash the barcode over a scanner at the gate and you’re clear to board.

[thanks, Random Good Stuff]

By the way, SeatGuru.com is a great site — you can check the configuration of your airplane, prior to booking a seat assignment, so you can specifically request a bulkhead or emergency row seat, which has more legroom, and avoid seats with misaligned windows and limited recline.

While traveling, have you ever lost your luggage? Did you have to wait days for your bag to arrive, and were distracted from your vacation or business conference, as a result of having to replace your essentials? This is not an uncommon problem: the U.S. Department of Transportation reports that an average of 10,000 bags are lost a day.

Travelers can now purchase a slimTRAK GPS device, a small, battery powered device which can be placed inside luggage. In the unfortunate event of a lost bag, travelers can immediately go online to locate and track it on slimTRAK’s secure internet site. In the era of Web-enabled mobile phones and PDAs, travelers can locate their luggage and immediately notify airline representatives of its location.

Other potential applications: hiding the device in a car, so you know where your cheating spouse is, for instance.

The slimTRAK device costs $470, and requires a one-time activation fee of $50, and an annual web access fee of $96.

Neven Vision’s mobile software enables secure authorization of cell phone functions such as sending emails, unlocking applications or payment transactions via facial recognition software, which can be used on your mobile phone in lieu of manually entering a PIN. In addition, the potential implication for law enforcement personnel in the field is obvious, but also there’s tremendous potential for consumer marketing applications. The company is developing “shoot and recognize” programs that can send a sample track from a band to a user’s phone after the consumer shoots an image of the band’s CD cover in a store, for example, or deliver coupons, and/or additional product information for products in a grocery store.

Another interesting company is ScanR, which utilizes the camera on your mobile phone to capture white board images, or scan documents, and turn them into PDF form, or email or fax them for easy archiving or distribution. The company received yesterday $4.65 million Series A funding led by Trinity Ventures. The technology only works with camera phones with a resolution of at least one megapixel, but nearly 400 million phones with such capability will be sold in 2006.

Finally, Six Apart, a provider of blogging software, announced today its acquisition of SplashBlog Corp, a Seattle-based developer of software that enables blogs to easily and instantly update with photographs taken via mobile phones.

[thanks, VentureWire and BusinessWire]

Jerry Levin’s Knightspoint Group has proposed a takeover of Sharper Image to resuscitate the brand, which has suffered disappointing performance, in the past couple years, largely as a result of declining sales of the Ionic Breeze product, which accounts for an estimated 40% of total sales. When I was a kid, Sharper Image epitomized cool, innovative, high-tech gadgetry, and Sharper Image has lost its luster by focusing on air purifiers, nose hair clippers, jewelry cleaners, and vibrating back massagers, which hardly evoke excitement. In consumer electronics, Sharper Image branded stereos, for example, look “thumpy,” in comparison to stereos at Sony stores, for example. A couple ideas for a turnaround:

1) Introduce Bang & Olufsen inspired, innovative consumer electronic products at affordable prices under a new brand name. The cool cordless phone on the Apprentice, for example, is sold at B&O for $1,995, and Sharper Image could sell a similar product for $120. Sharper Image should invent a new brand for these products, a name that evokes quality and cool, fresh style, because I bet research would indicate that Sharper Image branded tech products don’t come close to comparing with Sony or Apple, for example, and they should.

2) Improved product mix that appeals to the Maxim crowd — more high-tech toys, cool party accessories etc. FireBox.com, for example, has an amazing selection of cool, fresh gadgets, and has a cool brand image, an image that Sharper Image should better represent. Firebox is one of U.K.’s fastest growing companies, by the way.

Sharper Image (SHRP) 2-yr share price:

The $1,195 Bang & Olufsen BeoCom 2 cordless telephone:

Seattle based Bag Borrow or Steal, which raised $8.25 million Series B funding this week, is a great example of “cross-pollination innovation.” The company utilizes the Netflix subscription model to loan a wide variety of designer bags to consumers for cost efficient enjoyment. Monthly subscription pricing depends on the quality of bags selected and ranges from $19.95 a month to $99.95 a month for the most expensive and exclusive bags in the collection. The company, founded in 2004, has several thousand members. A wide selection of jewelry and watches is coming soon.

[thanks, VentureWire]

Swimmers beware this summer! Hammacher Schlemmer is selling a two-foot long radio controlled shark, which replicates the fluid motion of a real shark. The Shark is available in blue or red for $99.95.

[thanks, Oh Gizmo!]

Sharper Image today announced an exclusive collection of FresherLonger Miracle Food Storage Containers (TM), which Sharper Image claims can keep food up to four times longer than conventional containers because of their patent-pending silicone gasket locking system, and antimicrobial silver nanoparticles, a safe antibacterial agent, in the polypropylene material, which reduces the growth of microorganisms. Another benefit: reduced freezer burn, in a container that’s easy to open and close. The containers are shatterproof and safe for the dishwasher, microwave, and fridge. The $69.95 set includes 12 pieces in 6 sizes that conveniently store inside each other.