This shot of the Columbia University’s Mobile Augmented Reality System (MARS) comes from a PopSci story written 10 Februaries ago. (The magazine’s searchable archives just went online.) This right around the time that augmented reality had made the jump from esoteric sci-fi concept to actual thing, albeit in the form of awkward research projects and simplistic military applications:

If you strap on this rig, as [the writer] had, you begin to understand the profound possibilities of an AR system, which can superimpose computer-generated text, graphics, 3D animation, sound, or any other or any other digitized data on the real world.

As much as modern smartphone apps like Layar actually do more – they’re connected to the internet constantly, for one – they still don’t meet one of the core criteria of the augmented reality concept: they’re not glasses. In other words, you’ve got to hold your smartphone out in front of you, as if you’re taking a video at all times, which is as obnoxious as it is exhausting to your upper arms. So it’s not quite sci-fi.

But it’s a far sight closer than we’ve ever come before. [PopSci]

Inflatable space station modules rank high on NASA’s wish list for an important reason: they’re cheap. However, don’t let the price fool you. Despite costing less, the modules can be larger than current models for the same weight, provide just as much protection and even be tested with the currently deployed ISS. Plus, private sector companies have already started developing the technology.

NASA also wants to automate many of the tasks currently performed by humans, essentially replacing the Space Shuttle with unmanned autonomous spacecraft. This new budget dedicates money for a remote rendezvous and docking system, as well as an autonomous precision landing and hazard avoidance system.

And, like every American who’s getting hit at the pump, NASA wants to spend less on fuel. In the new budget, they approach that problem in two ways. The first is by paying for the development of an in-orbit refuelling system. This could significantly increase the lifespan of currently existing satellites, and save NASA the time and money required to launch a new mission every time something runs out of gas. Additionally, NASA is allocating more funds to programs that would make fuel out of materials already found on the Moon and Mars. By only having to bring half the fuel for the trip, and gassing up with material found at the destination, NASA hopes to significantly cut the cost of interplanetary exploration.

The new budget contains a number of other interesting programs, some of which seem like reactions to the new age of lower cash flow, and others that appear to signal a true coming of age in automation technology. Either way, it’s as interesting as any 517-page government report can be.

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The Icon system lets dentists halt decay between teeth. Usually when a dentist spots an early cavity – when bacteria have eaten away enough tooth such that it’s a weak lattice but hasn’t yet degraded into a true cavity’s sinkhole – he prescribes an enamel-strengthening fluoride rinse and hopes the tooth heals itself. If that doesn’t work, the only option is drilling through healthy tooth to get to the problem spot.

Icon, developed by dental-materials manufacturer DMG, does away with both the drill and the waiting time. A dentist simply slides a thin plastic applicator between the patient’s teeth and squirts the cavity with hydrochloric acid, which etches away the enamel to access the tooth’s deeper layers. Using a fresh applicator, he then injects a low-viscosity resin into the gaps in the tooth’s lattice and hardens the resin with a quick flash of high-energy blue light to fortify the tooth.

DMG is working on a version that could hold up to the wear and tear of a tooth’s chewing surfaces, which company president George Wolfe hopes to have ready in a year. The sooner the better, he says: “One of my greatest fears is having to hold down my scared kid for a filling. Hopefully, I’ll never have to.”

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The space agency’s Puffin aircraft design will be officially unveiled tomorrow, showing just how far personal, electrically propelled flight could change the ways we live and get around.

The Puffin is something of a personal V-22 Osprey, complete with vertical-takeoff and landing capability (but minus the squad of Marines). But rather than tilting the rotors forward for horizontal flight, the whole craft – cockpit and all – pitches forward, meaning the pilot flies from a prone position. During takeoff and landing the tail splits into four legs that serve as landing gear, and flaps on the wings deploy to keep the aircraft stable as it lifts and descends.

Don’t let the cuddly name fool you; as far as specs are concerned the Puffin is no slouch. Its 3.7m height and 4.1m wingspan mean it’s big, but of manageable stature. In theory it can cruise at 240km/h and sprint at more like 480km/h. Since the craft is electrically propelled it doesn’t need air intake, so thinning air is not a limitation, meaning it can reach – again, in theory – 30,000 feet before limitations on battery power force it to descend (clearly the pilot would need a pressurised cabin or oxygen tanks at that altitude, but we’re just talking raw physical capability here).

The Puffin’s range would be the most limiting characteristic, at just 80km, but that’s simply a matter of battery density. Batteries are growing more dense by the day, so in coming years that range could be drastically improved.

Of course, the Puffin is so far just a cool digital rendering in a NASA-branded video, but let’s not forget exactly who put men on the moon before we call the concept unfeasible. The coolest thing about the Puffin design is that it shows just how electric flight could revolutionise personal transportation. Aside from the military applications (super-stealthy troop insertions with very low thermal signatures?) the quiet, uncomplicated, low-powered electric lift – just 60 horsepower gets pilot and craft airborne – shows how a world in which everyday folks get around modern cities via personal aircraft may not be as sci-fi as was once thought.

[Scientific American]

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China has been developing its own CPUs at the state-run Institute of Computing Technology (ICT) for several years, but iterations of its chip – known as Loongson or “Dragon Core” – have been incapable of breaking into the elite ranks of supercomputing. China’s last supercomputer, the Dawning 5000a, was intended to run on Loongson processors, but was eventually constructed around AMD processors when the ICT couldn’t deliver a powerful enough chip quickly enough.

The Loongson 3, under development since 2001, should change all this if the ICT can deliver on its promise. Based on the MIPS architecture, the chips theoretically can be strung in 16-core clusters to perform at extremely high speeds, possibly hitting the petaflop performance mark with just 782 16-core chips. That’s one quadrillion operations per second, for those of you keeping score.

Right now, of course, this is all on paper (well, a quad-core chip is in prototype, but the proposed 16-core bad boy is still under development). But authorities in the supercomputing field seem to agree that the chips, running in clusters, can hit the performance marks necessary to create a top-tier supercomputer. This isn’t the first time the Chinese have promised a home-grown high-performance supercomputer, but for the first time it looks like they are going to deliver.

[Technology Review]

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I know it’s only filling up bins in my shop and taking money I could be pouring into more productive hobbies, like drinking and shooting guns. But what if the completion of some future project, some really crucial bit of hijinks, hinges entirely on my having a switch designed to discharge massive capacitors? Then what what, huh?

Am I supposed to just assume my local electronics retailer will have my back? Not likely.

I was doing better, I really was, and then I visited the DeAnza flea market in Cupertino last year, and it all fell apart again. I don’t know, maybe I’m beyond help. Check the photo gallery for some electronics-nerd eye candy, the detritus of my demon.

Popular Science is your wormhole to the future. Reporting on what’s new and what’s next in science and technology, we deliver the future now.

Mystery Relay Switch Thing
In the “I can’t identify” column, we have this thing here, with two sets of relay driven contacts and some big ass resistors. Does anyone want to hazard a guess? Vin Marshall

Charge/Discharge Switch
Shocking: I can only assume that this switch was used to charge and discharge giant banks of capacitors with AWESOME results. Vin Marshall

Rotary Switch
Five separate sets of contacts on a 6-position rotary switch spells some specialised and long-forgotten application. I’m not convinced I won’t have a need for the same one day, so here it sits. Check out the paper labels on the resistors. Vin Marshall

Bezel Indicators
Bezel panel indicators for the control panel of that killer robot, before he breaks free of his laboratory confines and becomes an out of control killer robot. Vin Marshall

Bus Terminators
Bus terminators from a Data General Eclipse (see: Soul of a New Machine, mantra for Electrical Engineers). I can’t imagine I’ll ever use them, but I wanted to keep some keepsake from the Eclipse, and this was just about the lightest part in there. Vin Marshall

Panel Meter
I’ll have to come out and admit it here; I like to collect panel meters. This one is a little more complicated than the average, with two adjustable upper and lower limit needles. The gauge face reads: Set to 3.5 volts. Vin Marshall

Wire Wrapping
Wire Wrapping. The few times I’ve had to do this, I found it relaxing to do and rather mind-bending to debug. It sure does look neat though. Does anyone still do this? Vin Marshall

Antique Radio & Switchboard Wire
Radio & Switchboard cable — Lenz Electric Mfg Co. It came to me in a box of other things that were actually useful. The wire is all right, but the packaging is superb. Vin Marshall

The 2011 Nissan Leaf: It’s going to be the first “mass-market” pure-electric car. It’s not the first electric-car period, but the “mass-market” qualifier makes it OK. I guess. And the 160km range. And it’ll be about $30,000 before a $7500 tax break, so you can afford it. And we love Nissans. [Popsci]

The Sikorsky X2 Helicopter: It’s going to be the fastest chopper in existence based on the fact that there are counter-rotating rotors and a backwards-facing propeller that pushes the whole thing forward. It may not look like a helicopter you’re familiar with, but it’s pure sweetness. [Popsci]

Diamond Interchange: This new traffic intersection type can “reduce clogging by as much as 60 per cent”, which bodes well for drivers everywhere. You don’t need to know how it works, you just need to know that it does, and convince your local MP to change over to this style. [Popsci]

Powergenix Rechargeable AA Batteries: These are supposed to be, thanks to better Nickel-Zinc technology, as good as disposables — but can last up to 1000 charges. They’re not too expensive either, comparatively, at $US15 for four. [Popsci]

Sennheiser HD800 headphones: Sennheiser’s HD series are expensive (boldly expensive), but very much worth it. The 800 is just another reason why you should be taking night classes in order to get a better job to pay for these. $US1400 isn’t something you throw down casually, but if you’re talking sound quality AND comfort (others can do one or the other), you’ll have a hard time beating Sennheiser. [Popsci]

X-Flex Blast Protection Wallpaper: These sticky, rollable, self-adhesive sheets can be applied to any wall that you think will be the subject of explosions. In turn, the walls stay vertical and the occupants inside the building say alive. Popsci says these things kept a wrecking ball from going through pure brick, so it’ll definitely keep your angry teenage kid from putting his fist through your drywall. [Popsci]

Filigent Limited BioMask: A face mask — like the kind everyone wears in Japan when they’re sick — that kills 99.9 per cent of flu viruses in less than a minute. And 100 per cent after 10. A regular mask still holds 50,000 bugs (on average). If you want one of these you’ll have to import it from Hong Kong or Europe, where it’s more acceptable to wear one of these on the street. I should really stock up on these for CES next year; not because it’s going to be a mass of diseased bodies in a confined space, but because Adam Frucci is really disgusting. [Popsci]

Xela Innovations Purleve Hygienic Door Handle: The door handle is actually a sleeve dispenser, so instead of touching poopy metal, you touch a removable plastic sleeve whenever you have to get out from the can. It’s genius, even if it is slightly wasteful to refill sleeves all the time. But if we have no problem protecting our arses from public toilets with disposable toilet rings, this should sell just as well. [Popsci]

Microsoft’s Project Natal: If there’s one game development we’re looking forward to, it’s Natal. Imagine combining the fun of being at home with the fun of moving around in your living room and having a machine know exactly what you’re doing. Perhaps we should phrase it another way: Whenever Mark and I play any game, he says “imagine how great this would be with NATAL!!!!” He actually pronounces those exclamation points out loud over Xbox Live so I get how serious he is. [Popsci]

Bosch Full Force Technology Nail Gun: You might not use nail guns every day, but when you do, you really want to savour the experience. In this case, Bosch uses a secondary air blast that follows the first nail-ejection one in order to return the piston into firing position. So the nail gun literally goes pew-pew with each shot. As a result, the gun is 20 per cent smaller and 10 per cent more powerful than anything else. With one of these, everything you own becomes a board. [Popsci]

That’s right, these people are blowing up a bus for science. In particular, they’re testing out new forensic cameras that are disaster-proof. In other words, cameras that can withstand the impact of being blown up in a bus, or other natural disasters like flooding and volcanoes.According to PopSci, the experiments were partically successful, in that 14 out of 16 of the camera chips were recovered from the explosion. The question now is whether or not the data on the chips will be readable…

[PopSci]

Pop Sci has a tutorial on how to build supplementary LED grow lights for plants. I’d assume you should use LEDs with fuller spectrums, and they’re supplemental, but look neat. [PopSci via Lifehacker]

Just as vague questions of cosmology and consciousness make up just about every other cover of New Scientist today, fantastical futurist gadgets were at one point the safe default for the covers of Popular Science and Popular Mechanics. Like lots of the other cover staples, the monowheel has to some degree come to pass, but hardly to the extent that you might have been led to believe it might in 1917. Or 1923. Or 1938. You get the idea. [RoadsideResort]