Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory announced this week the program’s top inventions of 2005. A breathalyzer mask device that can detect disease before it spreads can rapidly assist medical personnel determine if a patient’s symptons are caused by biological or chemical attack, or simply the common flu. The device was developed by JHUAPL senior scientist Joany Jackman and researcher Nathan Boggs.

Other winning inventions include a device that may enable amputees to communicate reflexive movements simply by thinking about them, and a Dust Storm Forecaster, an automated system that makes 72-hour forecasts of dust conditions and predicts the time, location and magnitude of dust storms, which regularly disrupt military and commercial operations in the Middle East, Africa and Southwest Asia.

[via JHUAPL]

An IKEA guerrilla marketing campaign in New York for Design Week had 600 outdoor “interior” installations, including living rooms in bus stops, and stools and rugs for phone booths. Apparently, most of the installations were stolen.

More pictures available here.

[via neatorama]

The winner of the 2006 Modern Marvels and Invent Now Challenge, a competition sponsored by the History Channel, is the Strawjet. Invented by David R. Ward, the machine processes straw that’s left over after harvests into a mat, similar to a very large bamboo window blind, which can be used to construct eco-friendly composite building panels.

Click here to check out the top 25 finalists via makezine.

When I wrote about Moving Mannequins, I thought about all kinds of possibilities, including the idea of a mobile phone remote controlled lifelike, robotic mannequin.

In that vein, LocaModa has devloped an interactive digital mannequin application, which allows consumers to customize a model’s clothes displayed on a large screen using a cell phone as a remote control. LocaModa’s technology works with any phone and any network and does not require the user to download any software.

Other StreetSurfer applications previewed by LocaModa at the Digital Retailing Expo include interactive real estate, travel agent and branded interactive games.

[Thanks, Gizmag]

BioVigilant Systems completed a $4 million series A financing this week. The company has developed patented optical technology instruments that can instantaneously detect the presence of extremely small microbes and bio-agents in air and liquid and determine, on a particle-by-particle basis, the size of each particle, the total quantity of each size of particle, and if each particle is biologic or inert. These results are provided on a real time and continuous basis.

Particles enter the instruments and are funneled to what’s called an ‘interrogation area,’ where they interrupt a laser beam. The scattered light and intrinsic fluorescence of each particle is captured and measured by separate sensors. The way the light ’scatters’ determines the size of each particle, and the presence or absence of fluorescence at certain wavelengths tells us if a particle is biologic or inert and if it meets the set alarm criterion. All this is accomplished in real time.

Says Battelle Ventures General Partner Ralph Taylor-Smith, who has joined the BioVigilant Systems Board of Directors: “Most other analytical methods, such as PCR (or polymerase chain reaction, which is used by the U.S. Postal Service to detect anthrax, for example) and biological cell culture, can take from a day to more than a week to go from sample to results.

“The most common analysis or test method is the conventional plate culture method, whereby airborne samples are periodically taken and grown, and require two to nine days for results,” he continues. “Newer, ‘rapid methods’ can reduce that testing time, but are cumbersome and expensive. And for critical applications in homeland security or pharmaceutical clean-room manufacturing, even a day time-lapse in microbial detection is a major disadvantage.”

He notes that in the event of a biological attack, test results might not come back before disease symptoms occur and, potentially, after lives are already lost. Similarly, he says, in pharmaceutical manufacturing, if microbial contamination occurs, then affected batches of medical drugs could be continuously produced until test results were obtained, resulting in potential losses of millions of dollars due to drug contamination and/or product liability. “So,” he says, “knowing the size and biologic/inert status of particles in real time is of significant importance.”

Besides the advantages of real-time detection, he says, “The IMD instruments are small and lightweight with low power consumption, allowing remote and wireless deployment, additional key advantages in the homeland-security sector.”

[thanks, Battelle Ventures]

Nike and Apple announced today a partnership to produce smart shoes that send data to an Apple iPod via a wireless system called Nike+iPod (appropriately). Expected to retail for about $29, the Nike+iPod Sports Kit will be able to give runners data about time, distance, pace and calories burned through the earphones of a nano version of the iPod via a sensor in the insole of special shoes that communicate with the digital music player.

A 2002 deal between Nike and the Netherlands’ Philips Electronics NV that resulted in an mp3 player that tracked time and distance fizzled, because of differences in the two companies’ target consumers, according to Nike VP Trevor Edwards.

[via Reuters]

Summertime is nearly here, so check out this awesome flying tube! Retail: $599.95 (ski boat not included).

For a video demonstration, click here.

[via]

London’s free daily business newspaper, CityAM, has launched a free, mobile version of its daily afternoon podcast.  Titan’s Transvision screens at Liverpool Street and Waterloo stations will display a CityAM commercial prompting commuters to enable bluetooth on their mobile phones and download the MP3 podcast.
[via paidcontent]

JavaVoo has developed and patented a disposable Ready-To-Pressure-Brew cup of Espresso, or other hot beverages, using any standard microwave. Utilizing proprietary Micro-Brew technology, the Micro-Brew Personal Barista replicates the same pressure brewing process as an expensive Espresso machine. It’s a completely self-contained package, which comes complete with all necessary ingredients including water, ground coffee, cream and sugar. An additional benefit: no clean up! The cost is less than a medium cup of Espresso or Latte at Starbucks.

Michelin is developing an innovative concept for an airless tire: the Tweel utilizes a hub and spoke design that replaces the need for air pressure while delivering performance previously only available from pneumatic tires.

Check out this video demonstration, which shows the Tweel in action.

Michelin’s Tweel is already in production and available as an enhancement for iBOT™ mobility systems. Invented by Dean Kamen, the iBOT has the ability to climb stairs and navigate uneven terrain, offering mobility freedom impossible with traditional wheelchairs.

Checking tire pressure, fixing flats, highway blow-outs and balancing between traction and comfort may one day be a thing of the past!

[thanks, Autoblog and Nick Baum]