Holladay, meanwhile, turns collision detection on its head to funnel an object into place, such as balancing a delicate object with a free arm before setting that object down.

ENGADGET: MIT algorithms teach robot arms to think outside of the box (video)

It is more likely, then, that the object was floating free in space, and was captured by the sun's gravity in what was, in astronomical terms, the fairly recent past.

ECONOMIST: X marks the spot

The BBC and others noted, for example, when a flat region was hidden under a "carpet", when the carpet hid a 3D object, and when the carpet was dispensed with and a 3D object was hidden in "free space".

BBC: Invisibility cloaks: Will we ever really have them?

Tom Higgins, the boss of Best Western, says free access is becoming the norm because travellers object to paying for what they now regard as an essential service.

ECONOMIST: Hotel internet access

Conservative voters who support Cain on other issues logically ought to object to this proposed interference in the free market.

FORBES: Is Herman Cain An Enemy Of Free Trade?

Intel , and Verizon object to what they see as the crippling effect nationwide free wireless would have on their business.

FORBES: Google Might Be Planning Free Nationwide Wi-Fi Since The FCC Isn't

Microsoft Draw 98: If you already have Office 97, this free program makes Microsoft OfficeArt drawing tools available in any application compliant with Object Linking and Embedding.

CNN: Top 10 hot graphics tools

But now, with a free app for your phone, you can take a bunch of photographs of an object and the app will give CAD specifications.

FORBES: Compute Midwest: Inventables CEO Zach Kaplan On The Digital Manufacturing Revolution