Sound detective

A new real-time magnetic imaging system, developed by the researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the US, allows investigators to detect signs of tampering on audiotapes far faster than current approaches allow. The heart of the new detection system is an array of 64 customised magnetic sensors, or read heads, placed in a regular audiotape de-ck to detect changes in the magnetic data while playing. It?s then converted to an image by a software on a computer. A tape that?s been erased or partly rerecorded, however, displays characteristic marks that let investigators know it has been tampered with.

Chaotic motion

Two robotists at the Tokyo University have devised a computer simulation of a 12-legged machine in which each leg is controlled by a chaotic mathematical function. Standard robots control their locomotion either through complex computer programmes or by using the so-called algorithms to ?evolve? a successful walking strategy. The researchers say that the 12-legged machine may have brought us closer to understanding how people and animals learn to move.