Audi Orders Red Paint Job for Diesel R8 to Show Off Le Mans Prowess: Live at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show

GENEVA — Talk about deja vroom. Audi got rave reviews earlier this year when it showed off a spectacular R8 concept with a hugely powerful twin-turbocharged V12 diesel engine at the Detroit auto show. That clean-power supercar was silver. And while not much has changed here at the Geneva Motor Show except the color, this red diesel R8 still makes 500 hp, racks up 737 lb.-ft. of torque, tops 185 mph and delivers 24 miles per gallon—not too shabby. So is this an all-new car? Did Audi make two of these concepts? In all honesty, one Audi insider told us here, engineers took back the car, painted it bright red and changed the name from R8 TDI to R8 Le Mans—just to remind every journalist here that Audi has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a diesel-powered race car, won the ALMS championship for manufacturer, team and driver in the LMP1 class, and generally dominated prototype sports-car racing around the world. Our source says that Audi boss and VW board member Dr. Ferdinand Piech was the one who ordered the new name.

Either way, it looks great in red, and the body has been tuned up here and there to get the car ready for production. Exactly when that production might start—and the price—is anyone’s guess. But it won’t come cheap. —Jim McCraw

America's Robot Army: Are Unmanned Fighters Ready for Combat?

Lockheed Martin MULE

Customer: U.S. Army ordered more than 1700 for 15 brigades, a potential human-to-robot ratio of 29:1 | Deployment: Ready for combat as early as 2014 | Models: Half will be armed; the rest will clear minefields and haul gear | Cargo capability: 1800 to 2000 pounds | Weapons: Four antitank Javelin missiles and a turret-mounted M240 machine gun. (Photograph by Chad Hunt)

SWORDS Weight: 200 lb. Speed: 4 mph Weapons: M249 light machine gun Notable feature: First armed robot deployed to Iraq; didn’t fire a shot

Warrior X700 Weight: 250 lb. Speed: 10 mph Weapons: A .30-caliber machine gun Notable feature: Articulated arm that can lift 150 lb. swaps in for weapons.

MAARS Weight: 235 lb. Speed: 7 mph Weapons: M240B medium machine gun Notable feature: Programmable no-fire zones to prevent fratricide.

By Erik Sofge

Published in the March 2008 issue.

Top 5 Bomb-Packing, Gun-Toting War Bots the U.S. Doesn’t Have

For the most part, armed robots are a Western phenomenon, with massive defense budgets and multi-national contractors. So even though Hezbollah has flown at least three possibly bomb-laden drones into Israeli airspace, unmanned killing machines remain largely the purview of more well-heeled military forces. While the United States remains the definitive leader in unmanned military vehicles (pick up the March issue of PM for our special report), here are some of the most promising ones being developed elsewhere.

Europe's nEUROn unmanned combat aerial vehicle. (Illustration by Dassault Aviation - M. Alleaume)

nEUROn

A team of European firms is developing this unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator, with the end goal of operating several semi-autonomous UCAVs at once to perform bombing missions while remaining invisible to radar and infrared sensors. The project will only produce a single aircraft, but the advances in swarming and stealth technologies that come from the prototype could spin off related European defense contracts. A successful nEUROn demonstrator could lead to a fully developed UCAV that's perfectly suited to disabling anti-air weapons ahead of human-piloted missions.

| Operator: European Union | Developer: Dassault (lead), EADS, Saab | Armament: Laser-guided air-to-ground munitions | Performance: The 5.5 to 7-ton nEUROn will have a 12.5-meter wingspan, and fly at up to 0.8 Mach. Potentially, an individual operator will be able to control an entire squad of networked UCAVs at once. | Progress: Dassault plans to fly the initial tech demonstrator by 2011

(Diagram by Samsung Techwin)

SGR-A1

Although some early reports envisioned South Korea’s new sentry robot patrolling the disputed border with North Korea, the SGR-A1 actually won’t go anywhere. The system is a smart, unmanned gun tower, intended to partially relieve humans of guard duty at government installations or on the border between North and South Korea. Developers have given it the capability to fire on its own, so if deployed this system would be the first to autonomously shoot at a target. However, that would likely be a mode of last resort, with humans normally making the decision to engage. There’s a familiar logo emblazoned on the front of the CGI render above: -Samsung. The Samsung that the Western world knows is a scrappy consumer electronics powerhouse and high-profile manufacturer of high-def TVs. And then there’s Samsung in South Korea, building an arsenal of tanks and armed robots.

| Operator: South Korea | Developer: Samsung Techwin | Armament: Variety of small arms, including light machine gun or launcher to dispense tear gas canisters or rubber rounds | Performance: A trio of cameras can detect targets at up to 4 km, and a laser rangefinder helps track them at up to 2 km (distances are halved at night). Its pattern recognition algorithms theoretically allow it to pick out humans, and presumably prevent it from opening fire on animals. | Progress: The developer did not respond to calls and e-mails, but the system has missed its announced deadline—it was originally slated for deployment by the end of last year.

(Photograph by IDF)

Heron TP ("Eitan")

The Heron Turboprop (or TP) is Israel's largest UAV, and one of the largest in the world, with a wingspan of 26 meters. Along with the standard drone assignments of reconnaissance and targeting, experts have speculated that this giant aircraft will play a more active combat role, possibly knocking out ballistic missile sites before they can launch against Israel.

| Operator: Israel | Developer: Malat | Armament: None specified | Performance: With more sophisticated avionics than Israel's previous UAVs, more endurance (up to 36 hours), and a higher altitude ceiling (at least 45,000 feet), this 1200-hp aircraft will not only fly above civilian air traffic, but it should require less operator intervention. It can also take off and land autonomously, although that has become a standard feature for many current UAV models. The real question is payload-the TP can carry at least one ton, fueling suspicions that some sort of weapon system could be installed. Israel, however, is famously tight-lipped about its UAVs, refusing to confirm that it has ever engaged targets with its existing fleet. In other words, we may never know for certain whether the Heron TP can, or will, be used offensively. | Progress: This UAV was unveiled last June; production is expected to begin early next year.

(Photograph by BAE Systems)

Protector

This unmanned surface vehicle (USV) was built to provide a measure of defense against a very specific kind of asymmetric warfare-suicide boats, like the one that punctured the hull of the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen. By investigating a suspicious boat, either an approaching vessel or an apparent derelict, the Protector can trigger a suicide attack, or provide a warning to larger vessels. In a less sacrificial role, the USV can also respond directly to threats, with a hail of bullets.

| Operator: Singapore | Developer: BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, RAFAEL | Armament: 7.62mm machine gun | Performance: Capable of speeds of up to 30 knots, this 30-ft-long robot has a 10-mile range, and is equipped with microphones and speakers, for remote communication between operators and potential hostiles. Its stabilized weapon mount hasn't been tested in combat, but since the vessel itself consists of a rigid-hulled inflatable boat, the Protector isn't necessarily designed to survive a firefight. Once the guns or bombs go off, its job is essentially done. | Progress: Although the United States Navy and Coast Guard continue to investigate the Protector, this USV has been an active part of Singapore's Navy since 2005.

BLADE (Battlefield Loitering Artillery Direct Effect)

"Loitering munitions" is military speak for a brutally simple concept: kamikaze drones, UAVs that are loaded with explosives and ordered to nosedive into enemy targets. Loitering systems have been deployed, such as Israel's Harpy UAV, but Britain's current initiative to develop its own fleet of self-destructive robots has led to multiple UAV programs. One of them, the BLADE system, is based around the unmanned Sparrow-N aircraft. It would allow multiple drones to circle an area, searching and destroying as a team.

| Operator: United Kingdom | Developer: Ultra Electronics (lead), BAE Systems, EMIT, Qinetiq, RAFAEL, Raytheon | Armament: Onboard munitions | Performance: Like the Sparrow-N it's based on, each BLADE UAV has a maximum endurance of 6 hours. It also has the ability to navigate to a destination autonomously, and guide its own final descent towards a target. In theory, drones could perform a range of supportive roles, some searching for targets, others ramming into them, and still others assessing battle damage (to determine whether more kamikaze runs are necessary). | Progress: The BLADE team is scheduled to produce a demonstration by the end of this year.

Boost Your Wifi With A Soda Can

Apartment Therapy pointed out these directions on Metacafe for boosting your wifi signal with a soda can. They didn't test the instructions so if you try this out, leave a comment with your results. [via] click here to learn--Link.

Arduino gift guide - Give the gift of learning electronics, interactive art and physical computing - the open source way!

LilyPad Arduino main board - wearable computing! Price: $19.95 Buy: SparkFun Electronics - Link.

This is LilyPad Arduino - the main board consisting of an ATmega168V with the Arduino bootloader and a minimum number of external components to keep it as small (and as simple) as possible. Board will run from 2V to 5V.

LilyPad is a wearable e-textile technology developed by Leah Buechley and cooperatively designed by Leah and SparkFun. Each LilyPad was creatively designed to have large connecting pads to allow them to be sewn into clothing. Various input, output, power, and sensor boards are available. They're even washable!

Resources:

• Schematic - Link.
• LilyPad Arduino documentation - Link.

Also check out:

• LilyPad Accelerometer
• LilyPad Buzzer
• LilyPad Light Sensor
• LilyPad Power Supply
• LilyPad Tri-Color LED
• LilyPad Vibe Board

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XBee shield kit - go wireless with Arduino! Price: $11.99 Buy: NKC electronics - Link.

The XBee shield is a product developed by Libelium together with the Arduino team. It is a shield that, mounted on the Arduino board, allows to establish wireless communication between different devices (more about the XBee here, it's usually $19.00).

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Arduino-compatible shield motor control - get things moving! Price: $4.99 Buy: NKC electronics - Link.

PCB to build the Arduino L293D-based Motor Control Shield. PCB only. Shields are boards that can be plugged on top of the Arduino PCB extending its capabilities. The different shields follow the same philosophy as the original toolkit: they are easy to mount, and cheap to produce.

DIY spectrum analyzer cleans up your wireless signals

I find that sometimes my home wireless network drops out unexpectedly. Here's some pretty cool DIY instructions on building a 2.4 GHz spectrum analyzer to search for the right channels to put your home wireless network on so hopefully this won't happen.

DIY 2.4 GHZ Spectrum Anaylzer - [via], Link

IS IT POSIBLE THEN FIND IT OUT

How It Works Each plant on the Botanicalls system is equipped with sensors connected to an Arduino microcontroller which contains code particular to that plant type. When a plant's microcontroller determines that the plant needs to make a phone call based on current sensor information, it sends data through an Xbee wireless radio to an Xport gateway. This gateway connects to the internet, where it contacts a PHP script with the plant's ID number and type of need. PHP then packages this information and passes it on to Asterisk, an open-source telephone system, which generates the call. When the call is placed, a prerecorded audio file is played, expressing the particular desire of that plant. A PRESENTATION IS HERE http://www.botanicalls.com/graphics/botanicalls-plasma-11.html

Do you want your tree grow as you say? ITS POSIBLE--THIS IS BIO ELECTONICS

Botanicalls Twitter answers the question: What's up with your plant? It offers a connection to your leafy pal via online Twitter status updates that reach you anywhere in the world. When your plant needs water, it will post to let you know, and send its thanks when you show it love.

Twitter is social software that asks a simple question: What are you doing?

Botanicalls is a system that was developed to allow plants to place phone calls for human help. When a plant on the Botanicalls network needs water, it can call a person and ask for exactly what it needs. When people phone the plants, the plants orient callers to their habits and characteristics. Call 212.202.8348 to hear more about each of the plants.

TO KNOW HOW IT WORKS CLICK BELOW

Botanicalls Twitter http://www.botanicalls.com/twitter/

Station activities ramp-up as East prepares to meet West

Station crew members and personnel from around the world are preparing for an international array of hardware to reach orbit over the next few days. Japan’s new laboratory “Kibo” will have its first section, the pressurized logistics module, installed after space shuttle Endeavour launches on March 11. Canada’s new two-armed robotic manipulator also will be in Endeavour's cargo bay.

Image above: This illustration depicts the International Space Station’s configuration after the STS-123 crew delivers and installs new hardware. Credit: NASA

Europe’s new station resupply ship, the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), is scheduled for launch Saturday at 11:03 p.m. EST. The ATV will launch on an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana.

• Watch NASA TV

Meanwhile, the Expedition 16 crew is preparing for the arrival of Endeavour on the STS-123 mission. They are reviewing robotics procedures and tagging up with specialists on the ground. Europe’s new Columbus laboratory is operational with the crew performing experiments and the control center in Germany is monitoring operations

Arduino! Programming microcontrollers --WITH THIS WORLD IS YOURS

Next up! The best (and only) book on all the things you need to get started with Arduino! Programming microcontrollers used to require an expensive development environment costing thousands of dollars and requiring professional electrical engineering expertise. Open-source physical computing platforms with simple i/o boards and development environments have led to new options for hobbyists, hackers, and makers. This book contains a series of projects that teach you what you need to know to get your creations talking to each other, connecting to the web, and forming networks of smart devices.

Click here for example code - Link. Sample chapter - Link. Table of Contents - Link.

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Arduino starter pack - the best way to get started! Price: $65.00 Buy: Adafruit Industries - Link.

Heard about Arduino but not sure how to start? Want to learn how to work with electronics and microcontrollers but need a little help?

This bundle is designed to get you started quickly and easily on your path of learning electronics. Once you've received your starter pack you can follow the introductory tutorials here, designed for everyone, even people with little or no electronics and programming experience. The starter pack has everything you need (except tools) for lessons 0 through 10.

It includes:

• Arduino Diecimila - The latest and greatest Arduino revision, assembled and ready to go
• 3' USB cable - Perfect for connecting your Arduino to a computer
• Protoshield Kit - One of my designs, its got everything you need to make prototype designs using an Arduino. Note that this comes unassembled by default
• Tiny Breadboard - Fits on top of the protoshield, high quality and easy to use
• 9V DC regulated wall adapter - You can power your Arduino from any wall socket. This switching regulator is efficient and small
• 9V Battery case with switch and a 2.1mm plug - so you can power your arduino using a 9V battery. This case is much sturdier than just a battery clip and it has an on/off switch too!. Note that this comes unassembled by default
• Tutorial starter pack parts - Includes a 10K potentiometer, 1K potentiometer, 2 small pushbuttons, 5 red diffused bright LEDs, one each of red, green and blue ultrabright LED, 5 100 ohm resistors, 5 1K resistors, 5 10K resistors, and a CdS photocell (new!). Also includes 4 pieces of 18" long jumper wire in red, black, yellow and blue, perfect for use with the solderless breadboard.
• A nice tucked box to store it all in.

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Bare Bones Arduino board Kit (unassembled) - clone clone! Price: $19.99 Buy: Maker store - Link.

If you're an Arudino pro, you might want to get a cheap clone version for your projects. Despite the Bare-Bones name, the BBB is a full featured Arduino-compatible that includes the vast majority of the functionality of the Arduino Diecimila. The latest revision even includes some analog noise-reduction features not found on other official Arduino boards. Breadboard-friendly options on the BBB are also not found on other official Arduino boards. Two interfaces available: A P4 Serial Adapters & cable which allows serial port programming of Bare Bones Boards and other microcontrollers. However, the board was specifically designed to work with a FTDI TTL-232R USB-to-TTL serial cable, also available.

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P4 adapter/serial cable - connect on up! Price: $7.00 Buy: Maker store - Link.

Serial adapter with DTR support for those who have an RS232 port. Includes DB9 Male / DB9 Female serial cable (while supplies last). For use with the Bare Bones Board or other Arduino clones.

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Boarduino (Arduino clone) kit - attack of the clones! Price: $17.50 Buy: Adafruit Industries - Link.

If you've ever struggled to use a solderless breadboard with an Arduino, you understand how frustrating it can be! This clone acts just like an Arduino, and works with the latest Arduino software. For many projects it can even be preferrable! The kit includes all parts necessary, the assembly is straightforward and well documented. Since this design doesn't include a USB chip, you'll want an FTDI USB 232-TTL cable. Since the cable plugs right into the Boarduino, you can use one cable for multiple Boarduinos.

Arduino

What is Arduino?

Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It's intended for artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments.

Arduino can sense the environment by receiving input from a variety of sensors and can affect its surroundings by controlling lights, motors, and other actuators. The microcontroller on the board is programmed using the Arduino programming language (based on Wiring) and the Arduino development environment (based on Processing). Arduino projects can be stand-alone or they can communicate with software on running on a computer (e.g. Flash, Processing, MaxMSP).

The boards can be assembled by hand or purchased preassembled; the software can be downloaded for free.

Arduino received an Honory Mention in the Digital Communities section of the 2006 Ars Electronica Prix. Credits

Arduino Software

The open-source Arduino Environment makes it easy to write code and upload it to the i/o board. It runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.

Download. From the software page.

Learn. From the tutorials.

Look up. In the reference.

Learn more about the Arduino environment in the guide or see the release notes for updates.

EXAMPLE FOR USING Arduino environment HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE IS HERE

Botanicalls Twitter DIY

Botanicalls, the project that lets your plants let you know when they need water (Radar post), has expanded beyond their Asterisk-based voice system. Now you can learn how your plants are doing with a DIY kit that lets them Twitter you. The system uses Arduino, the open-source board featured in Making Things Talk. The instructions they've included are very detailed; this looks like a great starter project if you've been thinking about experimenting with Arduino.

Endeavour set for Tuesday launch

• Watch NASA TV

Space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-123 mission is officially set for launch after getting the 'go' from NASA's Mission Management Team on Sunday. Liftoff from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is scheduled for 2:28 a.m. EDT Tuesday, March 11. LeRoy Cain, chair for the team, stated that the countdown to liftoff is proceeding smoothly. "I’m happy to report that the mission management team is not working any issues or constraints to launch." said Cain.

On Feb. 18, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds flew past Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in commemoration of NASA's 50th anniversary. On the pad, space shuttle Endeavour waits to launch on the STS-123 mission. Photo courtesy of USAF/TSgt. Justin D. Pyle

Endeavour's go for launch clears STS-123's seven astronauts to start final preparations for their mission. Over the next few days, the crew will be busy double-checking equipment, rehearsing procedures and looking forward to an exciting trip into space. At 6 a.m. Monday the gantry-like rotating service structure, which provides easy access and weather protection for Endeavour, will be retracted. The current weather forecast calls for only a 10 percent chance atmospheric conditions will delay the launch, with the primary concern coming from a slight chance of a low cloud ceiling around Kennedy. The flight is commanded by Dominic Gorie with Gregory H. Johnson serving as Pilot. The crew also includes Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan, Robert L. Behnken KE5GGX, Mike Foreman, Garrett Reisman KE5HAE and Japanese astronaut Takao Doi. The crew will deliver the first section of the Japanese-built Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system called Dextre. STS-123 is an international mission combining the expertise and experience of several countries working together to create a working 'home' in space.

144 MHz contact by bouncing signals from ISS

Radio amateurs have successfully bounced radio signals off the International Space Station

BTW http://www.n2yo.com/ gives a nice live Google Earth graphics display of ISS and other satellites.

On the Moon-Net reflector Bernd DF2ZC reports that he has successfully had a CW contact on 144 MHz by bouncing his signal from the structure of the International Space Station (ISS).

The posting says: Triggered by Peter SM2CEW's attempts to complete a QSO by using the ISS as a reflector, Frank DH7FB and I decided to try that as well.

From Peter's experience (and also Frank's when SWLing Peter's tries) we believed it would be worthwile considering BPSK63 as this would enable us to exchange all information within few seconds only (using the EME report and QSO rules).

However with the first tries on 8 December we quickly had to realise the amazingly quickly changing large doppler makes use of this mode impossible and we returned back to good old CW since this is also copyable at such a situation when you are not 100% tuned on the signal.

The second try today Sunday 9 December at ISS orbit 51845 starting with a common window at 1626Z we copied signals at elevations of > 20 degrees and within a minute exchanged all data. Signal reports were about S3...S5 (DF2ZC running only 300 watts out). It was a tough task to follow the quick doppler changes and also adjust elevation and azimuth rotators. Two hands is at least one too few...

That was a thrill! And now we are celebrating. .. And we will try more QSOs in the coming days.

"Luke" arm

Here's an incredible video from IEEE Spectrum on the new robotic arm Dean Kamen's DEKKA group is working on, it's inspired by robotic arm in Star Wars that Luke Skywalker had - Link.

DIY Helicopter kit

I doubt the MAKE Store will be carry this any time soon, but we can always dream. This is the ultimate kit to make and show off to all your friends. You can pick one up for under $30,000 which is cheap compared to other helicopters. Imagine showing up for the next meet-up in this thing. - Link

Related: Homebrewed helicopter - Link

Wired Science on DIY UAVs

Wired Science has a nice segment on Wired Editor in Chief Chris Anderson's efforts to bring together amateurs working with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

DIY UAVs - [via] Link

Personal helicopter lifts you above the rest

Is this really the world's smallest personal helicopter? Your guess is as good as ours, still it looks like a pretty cool way to avoid the morning rush if you don't mind burning a hole in your scalp. Watch the video!

A Personal Helicopter Can Lift You Up - [via], Link

The trials of the jet pack

Popular Mechanics has an informative piece on the many trials and tribulations of the fledgling "jet pack" industry, starting with the deceit in the name itself:

Then there's the bad news. First, these jet packs aren't what they seem: Jet-powered devices are in development (and models were tested as early as the '60s), but all models on the verge of availability are, in fact, jet-free and called, officially, rocket belts. Second, while last year there were two commercial rocket-belt manufacturers--Mexico's Tecnologia Aeroespacial Mexicana (TAM) and Colorado-based JetPack International--there are now three: Thunderbolt Aerosystems, based in California, plans to start selling its ThunderPack TP-R2G2 rocket belt to customers this summer. Why is another entry in the fledgling human-flight business bad news? After all, three companies might be just enough to spur the kind of innovation that a healthy niche industry needs.

Well, that's the problem with so-called jet packs: everything...

[BTW: Here's a piece I did on the original Bell Rocket Belt many moons ago.]

The Inside Story of When Jet Packs Really Are Coming [via] Link

Full size Electric Plane

Electric cars, and conversion kits, can be found all over the Internet. But when was the last time you saw a full size electric plane? Yeah, me neither. This is not an RC toy, it's a full size, human carrying, electric plane powered by an 18 kW, 25hp, brushed "industrial" motor. It flew for 48 minutes and went 50 km, that's about 31 miles. I would love to know what kind of noise it made as it flew by.

On Sunday, December 23, 2007 at 11:50 took place, the first flight of F-WMDJ ELECTRA, equipped with an electric motor of 25 hp and Lithium-polymer batteries.

The website was originally published in French, but there is a translated version that has some interesting information and more pictures. - Link [Via]

Huge space truck races into orbit

This article is taken from BBC World technology

Europe's new orbital cargo ship has launched from French Guiana on a mission to resupply the space station.

The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) is the biggest and most complex spacecraft Europe has ever tried to put in orbit.

The 20-tonne unmanned freighter left the Kourou spaceport at 0403 GMT, riding atop an Ariane 5 rocket.

The spectacular night launch in the South American jungle was declared a success once the ATV had separated from its booster 66 minutes after lift-off.

The news was cheered by a huge crowd of VIPs, space agency officials and representatives of the industrial teams that have worked on the development of the ship for past 11 years.

"With the launch of the ATV, we are embarking on an extraordinary voyage," reflected European Space Agency chief, Jean Jacques Dordain.

"As of today, Europe is an essential partner of the International Space Station (ISS)."

The ATV has videometers which analyse the way pulses of light are bounced off reflectors on the station to determine the orientation of the vehicle. The ATV's small thrusters bring it to a gentle contact with the platform using a Russian docking mechanism.

The ATV is the largest, completely automated rendezvous and docking ship to go to the ISS. When it attaches to the platform on 3 April, it will do so without any human assistance.

The vessel will provide the largest refuelling and waste elimination capability for the ISS; and it is the only vehicle on the current timeline that will be able to de-orbit the $100bn platform when it is retired sometime towards the end of the next decade.

Red button

The launch was a significant event for Ariane, too. The European rocket had never before lifted so big a "passenger". Its normal payload is a pair of commercial telecommunications satellites that weigh together less than 10 tonnes.

'JULES VERNE' STATISTICS Mission Guide: Jules Verne Total cargo: 4,860kg 1,340kg - 'dry' supplies 20kg - air (oxygen/nitrogen) 280kg - drinking water 860kg - propellant for ISS 2,360kg - reboost propellant The ship itself has 3,490kg of propellant for rendezvous, re-boost and de-orbit manoeuvres In graphics: Space Station

The rocket had to be specially strengthened to carry the ATV aloft.

Its upper-stage was also programmed to perform extra burns - the first to put the freighter in the correct 260km-high orbit, the second to take itself out of the sky and into the Pacific Ocean.

The ATV has been dubbed "Jules Verne" for its maiden flight and is even carrying a first-edition hardback of the 19th-Century French author's book From the Earth to the Moon. It will return on a space shuttle at a later date.

The ATV will now essentially be parked in space. It must wait until the US space shuttle Endeavour has completed its forthcoming mission to the ISS before moving in to make a docking.

The ship's own computers will be in charge of the approach, employing an advanced form of GPS and, in the latter stages, optical sensors to guide itself into the correct position on the end of the Russian Zvezda module.

Astronauts on the station will only intervene - by pressing a red button on a panel - if they sense danger.

Future applications

"Now we have a number of operations to do," said Robert Laine, the technical and research director at EADS Astrium, which is the prime contractor on the ATV.

"First, we have to deploy the solar panels, antennas, and check out everything. Then there will be a major operation in the next few days when we will test out what is known as the 'escape procedure', he told BBC News.

"It will be as if the red button has been pressed, which tells the ATV everything is lost and it must get out of the way. This is a major milestone insisted on by the US space agency to prove the emergency systems work."

The ATV is the way Europe will pay for its membership of the ISS project. Four vehicles will follow this initial flight. But the European Space Agency hopes its new ship will be more than just a high-flying heavy goods lorry.

The sophisticated automated systems onboard are expected to be transferred into many more spacecraft - especially those that require automatic rendezvous and docking.

This would include any mission that went to Mars to try to retrieve rocks to bring back to Earth laboratories.

The hardware that is used to lift the samples off the surface of the Red Planet would need to meet up in orbit with the propulsion unit which would carry it home. The technology for this in-orbit assembly might be derived from ATV know-how.

And there may even be a grander application - one not lost on the Nasa chief Mike Griffin.

"It occurs to me that it's a fairly short step to go from the ATV to something which can carry crew," he has observed.

"It needs an entry system to allow it to come back safely and crew accommodations instead of cargo payload. But it seems to me that having a very fine launcher with the Ariane 5 and a very fine space vehicle with the ATV that it's only a step from there to an independent, European manned-spaceflight capability; and I for one would like to see it."

Cost: Total bill was 1.3bn euros (at least 4 more ATVs will be built) Total cargo capacity: 7.6 tonnes, but first mission is flying lighter Mass at launch: About 20 tonnes depending on cargo manifest Dimensions: 10.3m long and 4.5m wide - the size of a large bus Solar panels: Once unfolded, the solar wings span 22.3m Engine power: 4x 490-Newton thrusters; and 28x 220N thrusters

Free phone os from GOOGLE

Google has made no secret of its ambitions in the mobile space. There are mobile versions of all its key services, such as search, e-mail and calendar.

But the company is going much further. At the end of 2007 it lifted the lid on Android, an open mobile operating system that is being used to power a new generation of devices under the Open Handset Alliance, a group which involves firms like HTC and chip designer ARM.

Android is the creation of Andy Rubin, Google's director of mobile platforms.

He believes that a lack of openness in the mobile phone space has stifled innovation to date.

"What Android enables for third party developers is the kind of programming we see on the internet," he says.

"What it enables is agility and rapid innovation and the same kind of innovation that happens on the internet."

Android was developed by former robot maker Andy Rubin

Mr Rubin says that by opening up the phones - from the operating system, released under open source, to the drivers and the application framework - developers will have more freedom to innovate, and more scope also.

But if you talk to Symbian and Microsoft, two companies that also build mobile operating systems, both claim to be open also.

Mr Rubin says: "There's a distinction we have to make - and it's an important one - between open source and open APIs (Application Programming Interfaces).

"APIs are essentially documentation, they're the way that somebody like Symbian or Microsoft will allow third party developers to develop for their platform.

"Open source is a mechanism by which the source code of the operating system is actually for free and that way the carriers and OEMs are not really locked into a single vendor, nobody really owns this.

"It means they are free to take it into the direction that's important to them; they can fix bugs, add enhancements so in the end the consumer has a better experience."

Mr Rubin believes this will lead to greater variety of mobile experiences - driven not by the rules and regulations of an operating system but by the ideas of developers.

In essence, it could lead to greater variety of phones and of what those phones are capable.

Google has formed the Open Handset Alliance, with manufacturing partners like HTC and chip designers like ARM.

At the Mobile World Congress earlier this month the first reference handsets running Android were on show.

The first Android phones are expected in the second half of 2008

Mr Rubin gave BBC News a demo of his handset and while the software was in pre-beta form, it was a good representation of what the phones will be able to do.

The browser was responsive and driven by both touch and a mini-track ball.

Google Maps supported Street View, the ability to see stills of real world locations, which has not been seen on a mobile device before.

Mr Rubin says Android is running on a phone powered by a 300Mhz chip, which puts the device in the mid-range of smartphones.

"A lot of applications we are seeing on phones today, in some of the newest and most powerful phones, are doing internet style web browsing.

There should be nothing that users can access on their desktop that they can't access on their cell phone Andy Rubin

"But that is just one of the components of the internet we need to bring to cellphones. There should be nothing that users can access on their desktop that they can't access on their cellphone.

Mr Rubin points out that not all net experiences are available through the browser.

"Applications like Google Earth and YouTube have specific functionality that hasn't yet effectively been brought to mobile.

"Up until Android that wasn't possible on the phone - you could only access functionality given to you by the operating system."

The iPhone is a great 1.0 product said Mr Rubin

Mr Rubin says the open nature of Android will let developers take advantage of the web, of other applications, of the phone's hardware capabilities, from 3D graphics to multimedia capabilities.

This is not Mr Rubin's first foray into overturning the "natural order" of things.

A former roboticist and Apple engineer, he created Web TV, and the device which led to the pioneering Sidekick handset.

"One of my passions throughout my whole career is consumer products; making things my mom would use.

"That need wasn't satisfied doing robotics. that was behind the scenes factory stuff."

So what does he make of Apple's first phone to the market?

"It's a great 1.0 product; I use one.

"Apple has that great balance of being both a hardware and software firms so they have a lot of flexibility.

"One of the things that is a challenge for them is having an incredible footprint worldwide - there are different types of communications standards, regulatory issues, and different language issues.

"I'm hoping that doesn't limit them."

With about three billion people using mobile phones worldwide and the number of devices that can access the net climbing rapidly, the future of the web is definitely mobile. And with no one company dominating the mobile arena as yet, the race is very much on.

Discovery Ultimate Star Planetarium

View the night sky as it would appear anywhere in the world with this motorized indoor planetarium.

• As seen on the Today Show!
• Project 88 constellations; 12 celestial objects, including 8 planets, Pluto and its moon, Charon
• Uses super bright bulbs to project over 600 stars
• Searchable database with over 600 star facts and myths
• Interactive talking computer and backlit navigational screen
• Features five modes for a variety of astronomy tours and settings
• Features a one-hour timer so you can fall asleep under the stars
• Includes AC power adaptor and 24-page, full color instruction manual

This accurate, computer-aided, motorized planetarium transforms an ordinary room into a truly stellar display.Safety warning: This product contains small parts that may present a choking hazard for young children.

Motorola Sparrow

Yet another new gadget that gives shappers independence. This nifty little gadget was designed for the retail industry, making selling and buying much easier. The sparrow will sacan the items and give you the product information. The hand-held device has a credit card reader, scanner, point-of-sale system and built-in communication device. The RFID (radio frequency identification) scanner would make shopping so much easier. To buy the item, and eliminate the need to wait in line, the customer can purchase the item on the spot, in real time, with a swipe of their credit card.

Mooon+ Touch Screen Cell Phone

Check out this concept mobile phone called the Mooon+. The Mooon+ by Korean Sunman Kwon has a very nice iPhone-like stylish design with a big gorgeous touchscreen, sexy metal accents, and a digital camera.

An innovative communication device which has separable bluetooth headset equipped, and also able to attach the headset to the phone when it’s not in use, simultaneously charging itself.