Replica of iconic Nurburgring racetrack proposed for Las Vegas

Nurburgring is as ominous as the clouds in the background

Germany's Nurburgring is possibly the most famous racetrack in the entire world. Not only does it host racing competitions, but it also provides the ultimate testing grounds for new cars and prototypes - manufacturers from around the world travel to Germany to test their cars. Speedway Motorsports wants to make some of those journeys a little shorter, by building an exact replica of Nurburgring just outside of Las Vegas.

U Grok It uses your phone to find your misplaced things

U Grok It is a smartphone-based system that allows you to find missing items, that have been tagged with radio-frequency labels

Last year, we told you about a smartphone-based system that can be used to find your missing stuff, known as BiKN. It consists of an electronic case that the phone slides into, which tracks the whereabouts of paired radio frequency tags that the user attaches to their car keys, purse, children - you name it. The phone displays the location of the sought items, or can sound an alarm if one of them gets too far away. Now, it looks like BiKN might have some competition, in the form of the similar-but-different U Grok It.

NASA and GM develop power-assisted Robo-Glove

NASA and GM engineers have created Robo-Glove, a power-assisted glove designed to keep astronauts and autoworkers from getting repetitive stress injuries

Having trouble getting the lid off that pickle jar? Well, perhaps the Human Grasp Assist device can help. Designed through a collaboration between GM and NASA - and also known as Robo-Glove or K-Glove - the device is based on grasping technology initially developed for the hands of the space-going Robonaut 2. Essentially a power-assisted work glove, Robo-Glove is designed to minimize repetitive stress injuries in both astronauts and autoworkers.

The impressive new Mercedes A-Class launched at Geneva

The new Mercedes-Benz A-Class in 'AMG Sport' exterior spec.

The original A-Class was a strange thing. An attempt to bring the Mercedes magic to the masses its tall boxy styling, though practical, was not a thing of beauty. Unfortunately the high center of gravity meant that it infamously failed the Swedish "moose test" and had to have its suspension modified. This caused the ride to be unacceptably hard for its target market of middle-class mums and the poor quality of the interior finish did nothing for MB's reputation. My parents had one and it was not the auto maker's finest hour. The new A-Class launched at the Geneva show could not be more different.

Delta Shelter provides almost indestructible living space

The Delta Shelter provides secure living with low impact and a small footprint

What do you do when you want to build a worry-free home on land that also happens to be a 100-year flood plain? If you're smart, you'll do what the owner of Delta Shelter did and have Olson Kundig Architects build you a metal fortress to withstand the elements in style. The compact 1,000 sq ft (93 sq m) steel-walled hideaway with a footprint of only 200 sq ft (18.6 sq m) looks ready to handle whatever the Washington wilderness can throw at it - even, perhaps, a 1,000-year flood.

The 1937 Atalanta Sports Tourer rides again - brand new inside, 75 years old on the outside

The 2012 Atalanta Sports Tourer

On March 5, 1937, a new automotive marque was born in the form of the Atalanta Sports Tourer. The Atalanta was well received but when Britain went to war just two years later, all production capacity was turned toward the war effort and the marque ceased to be.

DARPA wants swarms of "disposable" satellites to provide almost-live images on demand

SeeMe would provide eyes in the sky quickly to troops on the ground

DARPA, the United States' defense technology research agency that's created such notable projects as the Internet you're using right this moment, is now looking for help in creating a swarm of "disposable" eyes in the sky. It is seeking technical assistance from a wide range of fields - from auto racing to optics - to create the means to provide on-demand satellite imagery for troops on the front lines.