Over the last year and a half, Patria Aviation Oy has worked on developing a flexible-yet-durable, functional-yet-adaptable antenna. The best part? Based on a successful call to the "Netherlands from their headquarters in Finland by using the prototype antenna," they've succeeded.

How do they work? Apparently the flexible antennas connect "to Iridium satellites (whose low-altitude operations do not require large antennas)" for outgoing calls. As it stands, they can't take incoming calls. This leaves me a bit baffled, since if I'd only want to call people with other patch communicators, if I had one. Also a bit confusing is exactly where the actual phone and GPS portion of this device is kept (the patch is only the antenna, after all).

Aside from those oddities, these flexible antennas sound fantastic: They're supposedly able to "maintain a strong radio signal, even when the patch is bent vertically, horizontally or diagonally" and "send location information to a remote user" (great because a device in your pocket or wherever might have trouble sending a GPS signal). All that seems to be missing is the option to get beamed up.

And in case you're wondering: no, I won't share my number one Star Trek fantasy (though you're free to guess). [Network World via Slashdot via PopSci]

Babyglow is a diagnostic onesie, constructed of heat-activated-pigment-laced cotton. Soon available in colors (pneumonia) pink, (no breathing) blue and (you'd better not really be sick because it's going to interrupt Survivor) green, just remember: If the onesie turns white, something ain't right.

Babyglows will be available this October in the UK for about $30 a pack. [Daily Mail via Gizmodiva]

Gore-Tex is about to take another step forward in its dominance of artificial wet weather skin. Now, they can fuse together outer layers with foreign inner layers, to two great results.

Gore-Tex's most capable shell materials have always had to be stand alone, making them a little bit like wearing a crinkly sheet or garbage bag (without the sweat build up, of course). They're taking their 3 layer shells and bonding them to interesting inner liner materials in an extension of their "comfort mapping" tech. So, if the chest and back need insulated, they can attach a piece of fleece there; or padded armor on elbows and shoulders; or antimicrobial liners on armpits. The sub brand isn't new, but before, comfort mapping involved sewing, opening up the potential for unsightly seams and water leakage. Now they heat press the new layers in, so that there are no extra punctures in the outer layers, and things like pockets can be sewn now into the inner materials without causing punctures, either. The materials will be breathable, but not as breathable as the naked Gore-Tex layers we're used to now. But it would be nice to have a jacket while peeling off a few undergarments. (I'll take some pants with built in butt and knee padding, please.)

The other tech is called X-trafit. Most multi-layer gloves get some parts turned inside out when you take them off. Also, multi layer gore gloves have reduced mobility, grip and finger feel because of the slipping of each layer against another. X-trafit gloves fuse the inner and membrane together, while a grippy material between the inner liner and the outer shell makes the entire thing feel as if it's one piece of material. The only downside is that these gloves are not going to be as warm as those with many different components.

Oh, I know what you're thinking, but Breppies are a real product, standing for Bud Replacement Ear Protection Provisioning System. (We realize that spells "Brepps," but we didn't engineer the acronym.) The fabric sock slides over your earbuds to soften the feel, fix fit and absorb sweat. And all that seems great, but it's hard to believe that they do nothing to block sound.

Right now, it looks like you can only order a "free" pair of Breppies (for $1.95 shipping and handling). Sure, it's completely evil product spam, but I'm betting someone out there suffers chaffed ears and stinky headphones. And maybe, just maybe, they are reading this post right now. [Breppies]

The fabric is constructed of polyester fibers that are covered in a layer of 40-nanometer-wide silicone nanofilaments. These nanofilaments are spiky and cause water to sit in a sphere above the fabric, a permanent pocket of air protected safely below.

Not only could the fabric create a self-cleaning clothing; it reduces drag in water by 20%. In other words, Michael Phelps could go without washing his bathing suit ever again—a prospect that's probably in mixed demand depending on the specific sexual orientation of the fan. [newscientist]

The Price: $21.90

The Verdict: Protective goodness. We're usually very down on cases for any kind of phone or PMP—why cover up something well designed with something quite ugly—but sleeves are an entirely different matter. Fabrix' version provides ample cushioning for your phone when it's not in use, but you're supposed to take your iPhone entirely out of the sleeve when you're actually handling it. Couple that with the fact that these sleeves are actually very nice looking and you've got a great combination of usability and aesthetics.

It's especially useful for women with purses, as the ones we're familiar with just throw their phones in with their keys, pens and other sharp objects. Now with the case, we can place our phones in the same pocket as our keys—something we have always stayed away from. Pick up a few to change out when you're tired of the old one. [Fabrix]

Professor Zhong Lin Wang and team of the Georgia Institute of Technology coated kevlar strands with zinc oxide nanowires, protecting the bushy wires with a polymer and adding gold to other fibers to act as a conductor. The piezoelectric power-generating action comes when the nanowires bend as two fibers rub together, translating bending of the material into electricity which flows along the gold fibers.

Professor Wang says that across several square feet of fabric the nanowire fibers can generate power adding up to tens of milliwatts, which is not a huge amount, but is certainly enough for a dribble top-up charge for your portable devices.

With a little more power, the idea could be great in smart fabrics for consumers, or even for medical or military use, but it's clearly an invention in its infancy—as Wang notes, "What we've done is demonstrate the principle and the fundamental mechanism." For the time being it also has a fundamental flaw: it's not waterproof, and putting your smart clothes in the wash would dissolve the nanowires. [BBC News and Reuters]

Fujitsu Shows an Eye for Style with "Fab PC" [Daily Tech]