Crave goes Diving with Dolphins: UK start-ups fly the flag for tech innovation

OmniPlug RatPlug: Plug your phone into the Web

You've put your mobile phone on to charge, and look at it. Sitting there, not doing anything except soaking up the juice. Lazy. OmniPlug has created a charger that allows different types of phone to sync content with the Web while the phone is charging, without needing to plug it into a computer. It's called the RatPlug.

Yes, RatPlug. OmniPlug reckons the name is memorable. Unfortunate, and kind of disgusting, but definitely memorable. There are three versions, starting at £50 for a cabled version, followed by a HomePlug model and a £100 Wi-Fi version. Register your handset and online accounts with the OmniPlug Web site and every time you plug your phone in to charge, your photos will be uploaded to Facebook or Flickr, and your music and podcasts will be downloaded from the Web.

RDS Chain Reaction DNA: Get in the middle of a Chain Reaction -- then get nicked

RDS showed a protoype of a door protection system that features an automatic door-arresting device, similar to a door-chain but removing the need for you to remember the chain every time you open the door. The door includes a webcam that captures an image of the home invader and can beam that image to a CCTV monitoring centre, as well as spraying the intruder with a unique DNA-trace chemical. Police can then look for the chemical on a suspect's skin with a UV torch.

Already on the market and on people's doors is the Chain Reaction DNA system, which weds the old-school door-chain with a high-tech DNA-trace spray. When the chain is forced, an alarm goes off and the spray is activated, filling the doorway with a mist of DNA spray that coats anyone going in out or out.

There are a vast number of possible DNA combinations -- RDS told us a 1 and 49 zeroes would just about cover it -- and because each unique DNA trace is registered to each address, it's admissible as evidence in court. This also means it's RDS which goes to court, and not necessarily the victim. Installation costs £200 for a canister that lasts five years. If that sounds a lot, it could be offset by improved insurance premiums.

Dust-Bug: Motes interesting

Dust. Anybody? No? Dust. The University of East Anglia's School of Environmental Sciences has developed this video microscope, nicknamed the 'Dust-Bug', which spots patterns in build-ups of dust. Seriously.

While you'll probably never have one in your house -- unless your levels of cleanliness are in the Howard Hughes realms, in which case you have bigger problems than a bit of dust -- it's a godsend for museums, stately homes, hospitals and other large institutions. Smaller versions of this prototype can analyse whether the amount of dust and fibres generated by visitors is damaging delicate paintings, tapestries and fabrics.

That information is Bluetoothed or Wi-Fied to a central monitoring station -- form an orderly queue for that job -- where decisions can be made on whether to keep visitors an extra metre from a painting, staff uniforms can be made of fabrics that shed fewer fibres, or cleaning schedules can be optimised to cut down on unnecessary cleaning.