Next Big Thing – bulletproof spider-goat silk skin Artist creates bulletproof skin using silk extracted from transgenic spider goats. Hooray for science! You’re just stringing together random words It really exists. ArtistJalila Essaïdihascreateda synthetic tissue made from a matrix of bioengineered human skin cells and a spider silk weave extracted from transgenic goats. Science be praised! Bulletproof, you say? Yup. The bioengineered skin managed to stop a bullet fired at half speed (164....

Next Big Thing – electro grip plastic Your mobile could soon switch from smooth to grippy in an instant thanks to a new plastic discovery Electro plastic? Sounds like a crappy superhero. Funny you should say that – this stuff could turn you into Spider-Man. Developed by Xuanhe Zhao at Duke University, electro plastic is a new type of polymer that can change its surface texture in less than a second when it’s electrically charged....

Next Big Thing – Leap Motion 3D motion control Meet the tiny bit of kit that’s 100 times more accurate than Kinect, at a price that won’t break the bank Let me guess. Minority report Yes yes, we know we’ve touted lots of gadgets as bringing the next Minority Report interface to our desks, butLeap Motion‘s 3D control system really does look like it’s up to the challenge. It’s 100 times more accurate than the Kinect and can track motion to 0....

Next Big Thing – Microsoft transparent 3D screens Yes it’s like Minority report, yes it’s real, and yes we want one too What’s this then? You have to use your hands? Yes but not in the traditional keyboard and mouse sense only. In a Minority Report style this Microsoft project uses a transparent Samsung OLED screen, combined with overhead cameras to track your movements. This all means it can render a 3D holographic environment that you can virtually touch....

Next Big Thing – police drones The US is getting drone spies in 90 days – it’s only a matter of time before the UK is similarly swarmed What’s a drone? Like a robot slave? Yes, of sorts. In this case it’s a quadrocopter armed with a camera – and there are going to be lots of them. It’s a US$5.9bn industry that was previously prevented by law from taking to the skies....

Next big thing – Swap-O-Matic exchange machines Fancy swapping your old tennis racquet for a pair of trainers? Thanks to the Swap-O-Matic vending machine, you can What’s so special about a cabinet from the 50’s? Don’t’ be deceived by the Swap-O-Matic’s retro-tastic name and styling. This is a glimpse into the future of self-supplied vending machine recycling, allowing you to swap your unwanted bits and bobs for other peoples’ offerings....

Next Big Thing: palm-reading ATMs A Japanese bank has installed palm scanners at its ATMs – doing away with the need for a bank card Palm-reading? I see a tall, dark stranger… Very funny – but these ATMs are going to be crossing your palm with silver, not the other way around. How’s that? Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank in Japan has installed Fujitsu palm scanners at its ATMs that do away with the need for a cash card altogether....