The electric Roller: Limo costs just 2p a mile to run but cost 1 million pounds to buy

For the environmentally friendly billionaire who has everything, Rolls-Royce today unveils the world’s most luxurious electric limousine – with batteries included.

The super-green Rolls-Royce Phantom offers zero-emissions motoring for a frugal 2p a mile – compared with 40p a mile for the standard Phantom.

That’s just as long as you can first afford the hefty price-tag – likely to be close to £1million.

Green machine: The Rolls-Royce Phantom will offer zero emissions at a cost of just 2p a mile to run - but comes with a hefty price tag of £1m

Google goes off-road: Now it straps Street View cameras to TRICYCLES to look around parks and footpaths

Google is extending its Street View website with photographs of off-road destinations that have previously not appeared online - by using specially-adapted tricycles.

Since its launch in 2007, the controversial site has allowed viewers to see images of individual homes, shops, offices and pubs taken by a fleet of cars.

But now the service will let users go beyond public streets and along footpaths and into parks, historical landmarks and gardens.

Google is extending its Street View website with photographs of off-road destinations using specially-adapted tricycles. Here, Google's Daniel Ratner rides his three-wheeled creation

Future New Noah Ark Floating city that could make weather devastation a thing of the past

It looks like something from a sci-fi film, but this bizarre floating metropolis may be the solution for cities devastated by extreme weather.

The incredible structure measures a staggering 1,200ft high, covers 30 million square feet and is designed to house up to 40,000 residents.

It comes with everything you would expect to find in a normal city - from hotels to shops, casinos and schools.

The Space Age design is even equipped with gardens, special express elevators for 'vertical commuting' and moving walkways for pedestrians.

The bizarre plans were inspired by the devastation caused when the American city of New Orleans was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Origins: The space age city was inspired by the devastation caused when New Orleans was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005

A group of designers has put together a proposal for a new floating city to sit on the bank of the Mississippi to help prevent a similar tragedy

Called the New Orleans Arcology Habitat - or NOAH -tThe sturdy triangular creation reduces the effects of extreme weather by allowing it to blow through the middle

Bionic man: Soldier who lost arm in grenade attack becomes first Brit to use pioneering prosthetic technology

* Corporal uses pectoral and back muscles to work new arm

A soldier who lost his right arm in a grenade attack has been fitted with a bionic limb - and he is getting to grips with it fast.

Corporal Andrew Garthwaite, believed to be the first of the British military amputees to be fitted with the pioneering prosthetic, lost the limb in September in a rocket-propelled grenade attack while serving in Afghanistan.

The attack killed another soldier but Garthwaite, 23, of the Queen's Royal Lancers, was lucky by comparison.

 Slow and steady: The soldier is getting to grips with the pioneering limb. 'It's great,' says Garthwaite

 Careful: Garthwaite is so adept with his new arm, which he controls by flexing his back and pectoral muscles, that he can pour water into a cup without spilling any.Pioneering: Corporal Andrew Garthwaite lost his right arm after a grenade attack in September while he was serving in Afghanistan

HP unveils the TouchPad as battle to become a worthy iPad rival heats up

The clever cubes tiny enough to hold in your hand that could create a cell phone network that actually WORKS

Ugly mobile phone masts which blight the landscape could soon disappear forever, replaced by tiny cubes which you can hold in your hand.

The pioneering technology could also create a seamless wireless network and eliminate internet 'black spots'.

Designers at Bell Labs, New Jersey have developed a tiny antenna which transmits signals without the need for huge unsightly towers.

A thing of the past? Unsightly mobile phone masts could be replaced by tiny cubes to create smaller networks

Hand-held revolution: Wim Sweldens, president of Alcatel-Lucent's wireless division, demonstrates the lightRadio cube, a tiny mobile phone antenna which could replace unsightly masts

The prosthetic arm that amputees control with their MIND

Most modern prosthetic limbs can be considered high tech.

But Jesse Sullivan has a particularly clever prosthetic arm - it doesn't work using a motor, but is controlled by his mind.

Scientists have found a way to make the thought controlled limb by connecting the nerves from Mr Sullivan's stump to muscles in his chest.

It also gives him a wider range of movements than previously possible.

Breakthough: Wires are connected from the bionic arm to muscles in the chest

Advanced: The new technology has enabled patients to have wider movement then previously possible

Research: Scientists based their work on the principle that nerves remain healthy for some time after amputation

Soft car bonnet that folds inwards on impact could save thousands of lives

* Pioneering design reduces head trauma 'by 60 per cent'

A 'soft' car bonnet which folds inwards on impact could save thousands of lives every year on Britain's roads, it was claimed today.

Scientists are developing an 'aluminium mechanical energy absorber' within a sheet of metal which collapses inwards.

The new technology is expected to substantially reduce the number of cyclists and pedestrians killed or seriously injured in road collisions.

Has Indian inventor REALLY made a Back to the Future style flying car?

It sounds like something out of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or even Back to the Future - but one inventor claims to made the flying car a reality.

While it could well help solve the issue of traffic gridlock which plagues many cities, an airborn version of the converted hatchback looks to be some time away from the production line.

Made out of an seemingly-ordinary 800cc Maruti car, it has rotor blades affixed to the roof with extended wheelarches creating a 'vacuum section', and has been one of the star attractions at the Aero India 2011 air show in Bangalore.

Futuristic: Vishwanath's company is part-named after the DeLorean sports car of the 1980s, famously used as a time machine in Hollywood's Back To The Future, starring Christopher Lloyd (left) and Michael J Fox.Flying high?: The 'flying Maruti' is made from a seemingly-ordinary 800cc Maruti car, with rotor blades afixed to the roof and extended wheelarches covering a 'vacuum section'

Launch of spy satellite blazes spectacular rocket trail over Californian coast

The long, thin, beam of light rising up over the Californian coast looks like something from another world.

The spectacular light show, bearing a resemblance to the lightsabers wielded by Jedi knights in Star Wars, took place after the launch of a rocket on a secret mission.

The Minotaur 1 rocket is carrying a spy satellite which will improve the ability of the U.S. to collect data in space.

Trailblazing: The Minotaur 1 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 4.26am

The Minotaur 1 rocket is carrying a spy satellite which will improve the ability of the U.S. to collect data in space. But officials would give no precise details or the cost of the mission.The spectacular light show bore a resemblance to the lightsabers wielded by Jedi knights in Star Wars. Here, Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Alec Guinness, prepares for combat with his lightsaber

Scientists develop glow-in-the-dark liquid that helps doctors see your nerves during surgery

Scientists are developing a fluorescent liquid to inject into patients and make their hard-to-see nerves ‘glow’.

The peptide would enable surgeons to see even the most sensitive nerves instead of relying on their experience and electronic monitoring.

Avoiding these during surgery is important as accidental damage can lead to severe pain or paralysis.

Breakthrough: Scientists are developing a fluorescent liquid to inject into patients and make their hard-to-see nerves 'glow' (file picture)

BloodHound the 1000mph rocket car.

Sony Ericsson makes Xperia Play official in Super Bowl commercial

Construction finally begins on Bloodhound supersonic car engineers hope will reach 1,000mph

* Bloodhound due to make land speed record attempt late next year

It's designed to reach a record-breaking 1,000mph - making it faster than a speeding bullet.

British engineers this week finally begin construction on what they hope will be the world's fastest car.

It is hoped the Bloodhound, which has been in design for three years, will break the land speed record on a dried out lake bed in South Africa's Northern Cape in late 2012.

It is hoped the Bloodhound, which has been in design for three years, will break the land speed record on a dried out lake bed in South Africa's Northern Cape in late 2012.The record to beat: Bloodhound project leader Richard Noble with the Thrust SSC in 1997, which hit 763mph

After months of rumours, Sony PlayStation phone is finally previewed

Following months of speculation and rumours, the 'PlayStation Phone' does actually exist.

A prototype of the phone has finally surfaced and ends months of intrigue as to whether the gadget would ever be made.

Known as the 'Xperia Play', the handset is Sony Ericsson's attempt at conquering the smart phone market and aims to mix PSP style gaming with phone functions.

Details of the phone were revealed on technology website Engadget after it managed to obtain a handset to preview from a Chinese source.

Rumours have circulated for months about the features the phone will contain, but its biggest asset is a gamepad that will be modelled on a PlayStation controller.

Game on: The 'PlayStation phone' has finally surfaced and will contain a gamepad similar to a PlayStation controller for enhanced gaming.Say cheese! As well as the gaming functions, the Xperia Play will contain a 5-megapixel camera,Not just for gaming: The phone will have wi-fi connectivity and full keyboard for sending messages

Google Body Browser

The new 3D medical browser that will make us all doctors

Not content with letting you spy on your neighbours with Street View or hover over far-away countries Google has now developed a new browser that maps out the entire human body.

Called Google Body Browser, the hi-tech 3D application has been hailed as a breakthrough in the study of anatomy that could revolutionise our understanding of the human body and even fast-track medical research.

The gadget, yet to be officially released, lets you explore the human body in much the same way you can navigate the world on Google Earth.

It is likely to be the perfect tool for those hypochondriacs who like to use Google to find out what is ailing them and who will get a gruesome thrill from analysing every last vein.

Using the mouse, the body can be spun, before another layer of information is accessed

Eerie female robot learns to 'sing' by copying human singer

Lady Gaga will not be losing any sleep.

But this eerie humanoid robot has been taught to sing just like a real pop star.

The life-sized robot, known as HRP-4 , has a realistic face and movable features that are able to mimic the expressions of a human singer.

But she is now able to 'sing' using a synthesized voice technology that sounds and breathes like a human too.



Robot HRP-4 is able to sing using synthesised sounds and move just like a human singer

Virgin New Spacecraft SpaceShipTwo succesful test fight over desert

Virgin Galactic's space tourism rocket SpaceShipTwo achieved its first solo glide flight yesterday, marking another step in the company's eventual plans to fly paying passengers.

SpaceShipTwo was carried aloft by its mothership to an altitude of 45,000ft and released over the Mojave Desert.

After the separation, SpaceShipTwo, manned by two pilots, flew freely for 11 minutes before landing at an airport runway followed by the mothership.


* Six-passenger aircraft glides smoothly to Earth after disconnection from mothership at 45,000ft
* Virgin Galactic boss delighted with 25-minute 'flight'

Success: Manned by two pilots, the craft flew freely for 11 minutes before landing at an airport runway followed by the mothership.

First solo glide flight: Virgin Galactic's space tourism rocket SpaceShipTwo was released over the Mojave Desert in California yesterday

Moment of truth: SpaceShipTwo detaches from the wing of its special jet-powered mothership, dubbed WhiteKnightTwo

Backyard inventors go head-to-head in Google's £20million competition to fly to the moon

It was once a pursuit reserved for astronauts and top-secret government officials.

But now backyard inventors are hoping to land their own weird and wonderful spacecrafts on the moon after Google launched a £20million competition.

Nasa had previously estimated that such voyages would cost more than £1billion - with some skeptics suggesting that it is almost impossible to even fly to the moon.

But since the Isle of Man government has lifted tax restrictions of space exploration a flurry of do-it-yourself voyages throughout the cosmos are expected.

Internet search giant Google became one of the first to take advantage of the tax break when it announced the Lunar X prize in September 2007.

Twenty two teams who have worked tirelessly on their strange machines will meet in the Isle of Man tomorrow to thrash out the final details of the missions.

Representing Britain in the competition is the crew behind Astrobotic, a four-wheeled silver machine that resembles a moving road sign.

Julian Ranger, the UK financier who is raising cash for Astrobotic, said: 'We believe we can get the cost [of reaching the moon] down to $50m, a price tag that will transform lunar exploration and make the moon a target for for all sorts of commercial operations.

'Part of our business plan will be to get our rover to move round the site and take a 3D high-definition film of it.

'If nothing else, it should prove to the doubters that the Apollo missions really took place.

'We hope to use SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket to get to the moon.The cost would normally be around $100m, but we hope we can negotiate a special deal for this high-profile project.'

Other hopefuls in the competition include Team Italia whose craft is a green dome supported by six spider-like legs.

America's entry, Jurban, looks like a large worm designed to negotiate the moon's rough terrain of craters with several small capsules joined together in the same way as a train.

Flying spider: Italy's entry into Google's $20million Lunar X competition is a green ball supported by six spider-like legs

Out of this world: The British Astrobotic is one of 22 teams hoping to win Google's $20million prize for the first ship to land on the moon and drive 500 metres