arizona state university posts on CNET

Trying to lose weight? Breathe into this gadget

Did you indulge at the Super Bowl party last night? Maybe you're still trying to work off the excesses of the holidays. Well, here's a dieting tool that's quite breathtaking -- literally.

Created by four Ph.Ds, mostly from Arizona State University, Breezing is a portable device that measures your metabolism using a method called indirect calorimetry. It analyzes your rates of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production.

You breathe into the mouse-size gadget that contains a sensor cartridge. It gauges your resting energy expenditure (REE), the metabolic rate indicating how quickly you're burning calories at rest. If you're trying to slim down, the faster the better. … Read more

Army invests $50 million in flexible displays

The U.S. Army has committed to renewing its partnership and providing another $50 million to Arizona State University's flexible-display research facility, the university announced on Thursday.

That brings the Army's total investment since the Flexible Display Center (FDC) started in 2004 to $100 million.

The announcement comes in conjunction with a two-day event in Tempe, Ariz., near ASU, in which the U.S. Army and Flexible Display Center plan to showcase their progress to the public.

So why is the military so keen on flexible displays?

It's all about information and communications...and possibly profit.

Flexible displays are paper-thin electronic screens that can be bent, mounted onto objects, and sewn into clothing. Soldiers could easily wear them on their sleeves or wrists, and use them to receive critical data in real time in the form of instructions, photos, or maps.

In addition, flexible displays can be made more durable than regular LCD screens, allowing them to get banged around in combat and still work. They also consume only a fraction of the power of LCDs.

That doesn't just make them good for the military; it also makes for cool tech products.

That commercial value is something the military, ASU, and its partners clearly have in mind.… Read more