The team at GRASP (General Robotic, Automation, Sensing  & Perception) at the University of Pennsylvania have created an array of nano quadrotors (like a helicopter but with 4 rotors) that can autonomously move in groups, pass through doors, avoid obstacles and form complex formations in 3D space.  Each robot copter is equipped with sensors that allow it to maintain balance and accurately position itself while executing even the most complex maneuvers.

The YouTube video showing the swarm in action has gone viral, garnering more than 3 million views in less than a week.  After you watch the video, you can find out more about the GRASP team’s work on the GRASP Laboratory website.

USA Today’s Technology Live blog reports that TV makers LG and Vizio will announce their versions of Google TV at this month’s CES 2012 in Las Vegas.  Up until now, Sony has been the only manufacturer to adopt Google TV.  Samsung will unveil its own model later this year.

With Google TV, viewers can surf the Internet using Google’s Chrome browser, access content from Netflix, Pandora and other websites, browse photos, play games and more.  Learn more on the official Google TV website.  You can also see Google TV in action in this YouTube video.

At CES 2012, Lenovo introduced a versatile new laptop called the IdeaPad Yoga.  The name of this new laptop must refer to its flexibility — a patented dual-hinged screen flips 360 degrees to turn the Yoga into a tablet or to create a self-standing screen to watch video and films.  When you flip it into a tablet, the Windows 8 OS automatically switches to the Metro UI. 

The Yoga features a 13.1 inch screen with a resolution of 1600×900.  According to Lenovo, the Yoga is the thinnest and lightest convertible ultrabook, weighing in at a mere 3.1 pounds. 

Read more about the Lenovo Yoga at Wired’s Gadget Lab blog.

Popular Science magazine has released its list of the Top Innovations of 2011.  Topping the list is the Lytro Light-Field camera, which allows photographers to focus pictures after they’re taken. The Wacom Inkling doodle digitizer also made the list (we wrote about the Wacom Bamboo Stylus in a recent post). 

One of the gadgets on the list that caught our eye is the Kycero Echo, an Android phone that mimics a tablet with a second 3.5-inch touchscreen that can be snapped into place alongside the primary screen.  This creates a total screen resolution of 960 x 800, just slightly less than a 7-inch tablet.  The pair of screens share one image by default.  App creators are also expected to code games and other apps that display different coordinated images on the two screens.

Find out more about the Kycero Echo and the other Top Innovations of 2011 on the Popsci website.

According to the Chicago Tribune, American consumers are returning electronic gadgets in record numbers – even when the gadgets aren’t defective.  These returns generate huge costs for manufacturers and retailers.  Eventually those costs, which added up to $16.7 billion in 2011 alone, are added to the price of products. 

Sales data from the Consumer Electronics Association indicates that almost 70% of returns are categorized as “no problem found,” while 27% of returns are attributed to buyer’s remorse.  When consumers return products that are not defective, chances are good that they were unable to set up or learn how to use them. 

Gadgets that were included in the survey included computers, mobile phones, HDTVs, digital video cameras, gaming consoles and software.  The situation seems to indicate that consumers need more support and training and that gadgets need simpler designs.

If you want to try drawing, sketching or adding handwritten notes to documents on your iPad or iPad2, you’ll need a digital pen that feels like a regular pen. Look no further than the Wacom Bamboo Stylus. This elegant stylus is available in five colors (white, blue, green, orange and pink) and features a narrow 6mm tip and a natural, ergonomic design.

Use the Wacom Bamboo Stylus with iPad apps such as Penultimate or Autodesk Sketchbook. Wacom also offers a line of pen tablets that can be used with desktop computers or laptops. Find out more about the Wacom bamboo Stylus on the Wacom website.

You can also see a demo of the Wacom Bamboo Stylus in this YouTube video.

If you ever played with the Magic 8 Ball when you were a kid, then you’re sure to appreciate the 21st century version of the fortune telling toy. The Mystic Pyramid Fortune Teller answers your questions about the future with more than 100 different recorded responses. It also glows with synchronized light effects. It the perfect gift for that person on our list who has everything!

The Mystic Pyramid is produced by U.S. Games systems, a small games company founded by a former stock broker named Stuart Kaplan. Read more about the Mystic Pyramid Fortune Teller on the Daily Grommet website.

This sparkly watch features a face covered in Swarovski crystals. Beneath the crystals is Micro-Magnetic Mechanical Digital technology that uses miniature rotors and magnets to rotate each crystal to form the correct time and date. Every minute an electrical pulse generates an electromagnetic field that triggers a change in the position of the watch’s crystals. The effect is pure magic.

Available in black, white, pink or red, the Phosphor Appear ranges in price from $199 to $249. Find out more on the official Phosphor Watches website.

Streaming media players promise to be popular gifts for the upcoming holiday season, allowing streaming content from Amazon, Netflix, Hulu and other Internet sites to be viewed on TV. Apple TV, priced at about $100, is a palm-sized box that can be used to watch TV shows and movies from iTunes, Netflix and YouTube.

For only $50 (yes, that’s half the price of Apple TV) there’s the Roku LT. This compact box has all the same features as Apple TV with the exception of iTunes support. The Roku LT streams content from Amazon, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora, HBO Go and a variety of other sources.

Find out more about these streaming players at the Apple and Roku websites. You can also read an in-depth comparison and review of these two products on CNET.

At around the same time that Amazon put its Kindle Fire on the market for $199, the Indian government was preparing to unveil the $35 Aakash Android Tablet.  The goal of this super-low priced device is to put a tablet computing into the hands of more students.  The devise (whose name means “sky” in Hindi) was developed by a U.K. company named DataWind and produced entirely in India.  The cost of the 7-inch tablet is $60, with the Indian government subsidizing almost half the price of each tablet.  Even so, this is the world’s cheapest Android device.

The Indian government expects to distribute between 10 and 12 million tablets by the end of 2012.  Read more about the Aakash Android tablet, including the results of hand-on testing, at the VentureBeat website.

You can also see an impressive Aakash demo in this YouTube video.