Now Hear This

By Maryanne Murray Buechner, Lev Grossman and Anita Hamilton

WALKING AND TALKING

If cell phones are wireless, why aren't the headsets that go with them? More and more of them are, thanks to the new Bluetooth technology developed by a consortium of electronics manufacturers to connect various digital components over short distances. This year brought a slew of Bluetooth earpieces from Jabra, Motorola, Nokia Plantronics and Sony Ericsson. Now you can walk around town with your cell phone tucked away in your pocket or briefcase and a tiny headset tucked into your ear. The biggest drawback (besides looking like a Secret Service agent): the headsets need to be charged regularly, just like your cell phone. INVENTORS Various AVAILABILITY Now, $99 to $250 TO LEARN MORE bluetooth.com

TALKING TEETH

Tired of having to wear a cell phone on your belt wherever you go? In the future, you may not have to. Two British researchers have developed a prototype "phone tooth" that can be embedded in a molar and receive cell-phone calls. The signals are translated into vibrations that travel from the tooth to your skull to your inner ear--where only you can hear them. Great for giving instructions to spies and NFL quarterbacks. Not so great for the rest of us, because while our teeth may talk to us, we can't talk back to them. INVENTORS James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau AVAILABILITY Prototype TO LEARN MORE sciencemuseum.org.uk

HELPING HAND

When high school student Ryan Patterson, 18, saw a deaf woman trying to order food at a Burger King, he had a eureka moment: Why not create a device that translates sign language into text? Armed with that idea and a leather golf glove, Patterson created a device that senses its wearer's hand movements and transmits them wirelessly to a tiny handheld monitor, where they appear as words. The device won Patterson a top prize at the Siemens Westinghouse Science and Technology Competition. INVENTOR Ryan Patterson AVAILABILITY Prototype TO LEARN MORE www.siemens-foundation.org

BOWWOW

Wonder what your dog is really thinking? Japanese toymaker Takara claims it can get you in touch with your inner canine through its new Bowlingual. A radio microphone attaches to Fido's collar, and a handheld receiver "translates" his yelps, growls and whines into such phrases as "I can't stand it," "How boring" and "I'm lonely." How does it work? Samples of dog noises were collected, interpreted by animal behaviorists and stored in a doggie database. When your dog barks, the sound is beamed to the handheld and matched to the database. When in doubt, take him for a walk. INVENTOR Takara Toys AVAILABILITY Only in Japan, $100 FOR MORE INFO www.takaratoys.co.jp/english

PASS THE MIKE

Democracy is about giving everybody a voice, but that's not so easy if there's only one microphone. Enter the Sputmik, a colorful gadget designed to let anybody who wants to take the floor at a public meeting or lecture. Developed as a collaboration between Design Continuum, based in Boston, and M.I.T., the Sputmik (it's a pun on Sputnik) is a basketball-size, completely wireless microphone that's well padded and easy to handle so crowds can pass it overhead like a beach ball at a rock concert or even toss it from person to person. INVENTOR Design Continuum and M.I.T. AVAILABILITY Prototype TO LEARN MORE www.dcontinuum.com

PALM READER

Two years ago, IBM researcher Ismail Haritaoglu found himself at a Tokyo train station, unable to make heads or tails of the kanji lettering in the posted routes and timetables. Next time he'll be ready. His InfoScope snaps a picture of a street sign and ships it over a wireless network to a remote computer that extracts the text and beams back a translation--all in less than 15 seconds. Haritaoglu is working on a similar service for GPS-equipped cell phones that would offer travel tips. INVENTOR IBM Almaden Research Center AVAILABILITY Prototype TO LEARN MORE www.almaden.ibm.com