Seeing that current nuclear fusion projects are expected to cost around 14 billion dollars (ITER project) and take 20 years to complete, General Fusion's reactor would indeed come at a bargain price. But how can they make this so cheap, and what makes them so confident they'll succeed?

Well currently, the aforementioned ITER project is attempting to use astronomically expensive, superconducting tokamak magnets to keep superheated plasma in its place for a fusion reaction, while the National Ignition Facility is trying to use lasers to compress plasma into a reaction.

General Fusions wants to create a reaction using a mechanical process where 220 pneumatic pistons push acoustic waves through a sphere filled with liquid lithium and lead into a plasma ring in the center. With 220 of these waves coming in at 100 meters per second, scientists hope that it will compress the plasma into a fusion reaction. And since the majority of the tech consists of long-established machinery, costs will be low.

If successful, General Fusion believes they can ultimately create a fusion reactor rated at 100 megawatts, that could potentially power a grid for 500 million dollars. The most recent contribution of 9 million dollars for General Fusion brings the total funding to 14 million, but they'll need 37 million more over five years to build a working prototype. Um, can we pass a collection plate around? [MIT Tech Review and Xconomy]

As part of a project under the EU's Joint Action Science and Technology team, the Teamworkbot was designed with the goal of having it be able to monitor progress, ask questions, and anticipate what you might do next, helping to prevent errors along the way.

But I really just can get over how peeved the robot seems when you mess something up. [Pop Sci]

MIT Tech Review says Noel Fink, the man responsible for the breakthrough, isn't even entirely sure what it could be used for, except for weaving it into clothing for some military reconnaissance. But the fact that it's designed to be foldable.

Researchers worked this magic by embedding 8 sensors in an arrangement around the center of the fiber sheet which allows it to detect light and color from various angles. Even better, the sensors can detect the angle at which light hits the fiber, which would make 3D imaging theoretically possible. (the MIT article goes into even greater depth as to how they pulled this off, but I'm trying to keep you awake). Anyways, cameraphones are so 2000s. In the '10s I want a goddamn camerasuit. [MIT Tech Review]

The inner ear is able to take in all the noise in a surrounding area, and adapt how it processes the sound accordingly. Gizmag says that in a similar fashion, the RF Cochlea is able to analyze a wide range of frequencies, and maximize how it routes data for maximum bandwidth and minimal power consumption. In testing, these designs have been faster than anything they've ever seen before.

What this means for the rest of us is the development of faster, smarter radios for signals such as television channels, cellphones, wi-fi, etc... These "smart radios" could not only take unused bandwidth from one application and put it to work in another, but they could also learn to avoid certain frequencies based on the radio waves in their current location. The end result would be stronger, clearer wireless signals.

The researchers also think it would be possible to commercialize this technology within a couple of years, if someone was so motivated. I like that. [Gizmag]

Superconducting material is valuable because it has zero electrical resistance and can maintain a current without a power source. So far, it's been used in a variety of high-tech equipment, including MRI machines, and the Large Hadron Collider.

Gizmag says this new metal opens up the possibility for new breakthroughs in these fields, as well as being able to use it to observe how superconductivity itself works. [University of Texas via Gizmag]

The MIT Technology Review says that they both pulled their inspiration from the mind grapes of a British student who hypothesized that making objects look like a flat conducting sheet would successfully render an object invisible.

The basic idea is that objects hide under the mirror bump, and tiny silicon nanopillars on the surface of the mirrors steer light away from the object, making it—and the object it's covering—look flat. Technology Review likens this to hiding something under thick carpet.

That means, unfortunately, that this isn't an invisibility cloak we can run around in. These concepts follow suit with the original concept in thinking that a stationary, conductive sheet would work much better for rendering things invisible. So we all can't start skipping out on our dinner bills quite yet.

Still, you can't overlook the importance of taking little steps towards creating an invisible man. Invisibility is cool, even if just a concept in a lab somewhere. [Invisibility Cloak One and Invisibility Cloak Two via MIT Tech Review via KurzweilAI]

Monstermunch posted on the Siftables, which have a 3-axis accelometor that allows for gesture-based controls, and an OLED touchscreen that allows direct user input. Developed in MIT's Media Lab, the blocks communicate with one another while within proximity, meaning they can peform unique functions next to specific blocks. The creator, David Merrill, says this type of physical UI is better suited to the way the brain works, which makes it more intuitive.

In the demo, these blocks, roughly 1.5"x1.5", can be programmed to do anything. They can as a calculator that spit out answers when you put numbers and operation signs in any order and a color blender where you "pour" color blocks into a mixing block. There's even a musical sequencer, where you can rearrange blocks to change patterns, or tap instrument and effects blocks to the sequence to add new sounds on top.

One of the cooler ones was an interactive storybook in which a kid places character and object blocks next to each other, and an improvised, interactive story is projected up on a TV screen.

The thing I like most is that it manages to be forward thinking, while mostly using tech that is currently available for mass production. And they're currently working to patent and commericalize the tech. You can check out more at the Siftables homepage. [Siftables via Monstermunch via BBG]

Ceramic Cloth: Cloth knit from ceramic fibers can provide protection from extreme temperatures. It is easy to see the benefit for military personnel and firefighters.

Temperature Sensitive Glass: Remember Hypercolor shirts? Picture the same sort of thing happening with the glass tiles in your shower. The water will cause the tiles to morph into all kinds of trippy colors. Finally, burnt out hippies will have a reason to wash up.

Flavor Changing Additives: Imagine food that changes flavors repeatedly over time. These additives contain nanospheres encapsulated in larger microspheres that burst with with new flavors in succession. It could turn everything you eat into a Gobstopper.

Conductive Hook and Loop Velcro: The Velcro pictured here can conduct electricity and complete a circuit when the hook side comes in contact with the loop side. This could result in a soft switch for clothing, backpacks, etc.

Hit the link to check out the rest of the list. [Popular Mechanics]

Companies all over the world, not only from Dubai, but also Nevada and Brazil, are beginning to develop their own way of creating both houses and towers that have the ability to rotate (generally 360 degrees/hour). Custom contractors are building homes on a one-off basis out in California, while Brazilian developer is wrapping up their Suite Vollard, where the 11 flats will sell for $550,000. They also have deals to develop in Canada, Japan, Portugal, the US and the UAE.

Apparently, the big issue in the past with building houses like these came down to plumbing. Now contractors and plumbers are working around those limitations with rubber hoses, rounded half pipes, or just leaving all that stuff in a stationary center column.

The custom houses built in California only use between 370 watts and 1 kilowatt of power for every hour the house was rotating. These houses also have an interesting way of delivering power: there's a metal brush on the that sweeps against a metal ring connected to a power supply inside the anchored base.

In any case, while the idea of rotating houses may not be entirely new, the prospect of them becoming somewhat commonplace is. [The Economist]

These quantum dots, as they're referred to, would theoretically fluoresce when hit by light packets, and serve as a light amplifier for retinal images. The patent says early tests on rats have been successful, as they showed improved vision over the control group. The upside is that this solution requires no power source, and can target specific areas of the retina, making it more of a reality than bionic eyes or begging for an eye cam. [Patent via New Scientist via Oh Gizmo!]

Toray's carbon fiber produces a platform that's 50 percent lighter than steel but 1.5 times safer in a collision, and the shorter molding process will allow it to make enough parts for roughly 30,000 vehicles a year. Though the ten minutes is still longer than the five or six needed for regular sheet metal and carbon fiber is still ten times more expensive to buy, Toray says the new method will cut manufacturing costs drastically.

So when can you look forward to buying a carbon fiber car that doesn't cost as much as your house? About four to five years, the company estimated. Well, I guess that gives you some time to save up. [Japan Today]

The researchers said they were able to get better lifetime ratings after identifying a flexible, highly impermeable barrier layer, which helps keep the OLED screen from degrading because of oxygen and water. Flexible, amazingly thin and with a very decent lifespan? It sounds like we're two steps closer to handing out Young Lady's Illustrated Primers. [AVS Symposium via Slashgear]

According to researchers, when someone becomes paralyzed, the neurons that control movement remain active, only missing the actual bridge between the brain and the body. These neurons remain alive and emit signals for years after paralysis.

The electrodes are able to detect where the strongest movement signal is coming from, and attach itself to that area of the brain. So far connections only last for about four weeks or so, but researchers hope to improve on this implement the breakthrough on humans. [New Scientist]

According to tests, the screens have yet to deteriorate after 100 straight hours of use, making this technology a prime candidate for mass-market reproduction. Once everything has been perfected (and made less expensive), we can probably look forward to crazy 3D ads in every window store—kind of like Times Square on acid. Wait a minute... do I actually want that to exist? [Wired]

Glaucoma, a disease that causes a loss of cells in the optic nerve, is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide. Unlike the first leading cause, cataracts, it's irreversible, making the ability to keep tabs on warning signs even more crucial. UC Davis will start clinical trials of the smart contact lenses in humans soon. [UC Davis via io9]

For instance, if someone shows fear, the robot can learn to change its behavior to appear less threatening. If someone seems happy, the robot can make a mental (or, I guess, digital) note of what brought on that response. And if someone seems upset and lonely, the robot can give her a pat on the back, offer her a stiff drink and say "Elaine, you deserved someone better than that dickwad anyhow."

I, for one, welcome our new emotionally adept overlords. [Physorg]