Prototype Boat Flies Above Water at 70 MPH – The Sea Phantom is a prototype high-speed boat, which almost flies above the water, using an aerofoil-shaped body and a pair of spring-loaded hydrofoils.
[Wired]
NASA funded robots to search for life under Arctic ice -Filed under: Robots
In a mission that is apparently similar to searching for life under the ice of Jupiter's moon Europa (sans the space travel part), three robots are set to start a mission to explore the underwater hot springs under the ice of the Arctic: because someone else did the Antarctic last year. On a 40 day expedition in July, researchers from Cape Cod hope to use three new robotic vehicles -- two that can operate without cables under ice -- to find life that resides in the hot streams along the techtonic boundary between Eurasia and North America. Although the robots can descend over 3 miles under the water working just meters from the bottom to photograph objects and collect samples, the task of the NASA-funded $450,000 Puma and Jaguar robots will be hindered by the rough terrain and their inability to surface through the ice. Sounds like NASA's got quite a while to go until it can submarine around Europa -- they probably won't be able to surface there at all. [EnGadget]
Sleazy lawsuit of the week! - A Dutch woman has lost her compensation claim for mental distress she suffered from missing out when her neighbors won a lottery windfall. [Dvorak]