Clipmarks | Mohir's 'technology' clips

GeoEye-1, Google's Satellite Sends First Image

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:43:41 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: In an interview for Wired magazine, GeoEye's vice president of communications and marketing, Mark Brender, explained, “This is the opposite of a spy satellite. Spies don't put info on the Internet and sell imagery. We're an Earth-imaging satellite, and we can sell our imagery to customers around the world who have a need to map and measure and monitor things on the ground. We're commercializing a technology that was once only in the hands of the governments. Just like the internet, just like GPS, just like telecom – all invented by the government. And now we are on the front end of the spear that is commercializing this technology.”

Clip Source: news.softpedia.com

The picture shows a high resolution view of Kutztown University in Pennsylvania

Clip Source: news.softpedia.com

Since its launch, on September 6^th this year, Google's top-notch satellite has constantly been fine-tuned in order to get even more accurate results. The ultra-high definition images that it is able to provide make GeoEye-1 the world's best commercial satellite.

The state-of-the-art device's first public attempt consisted of a top-down accurate view of Pennsylvania's Kutztown University

Google's next satellite, GeoEye-2, will be able to provide 25-centimeter resolution images, but Google will still be restricted to their 50-centimeter limitations. The launch of GeoEye-2 is set for sometime in 2011 or 2012.

The World's Greatest Aviation Innovations

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 02:32:52 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: 9. The flying wing -- Yves Rossy keeps breaking records and defying expectations with his 8-foot-diameter, carbon composite flying wing. Last week he made a successful 13 minute, 125 mph trip across the English Channel.

10. Stealth aircraft -- What's cooler than a plane that can outsmart radar? Because the surfaces of a stealth are designed to absorb radio waves or reflect them away from the receiver, stealth planes can sneak in and sneak out undetected. Too bad they're so expensive: The 21 plane B-2 program cost over $45 billion.
11. Jetway -- Another one most of us don't think about is the long covered walkway the connects our departure gate with our plane.
12. Deicing -- Ice buildup is the cause of many fatal aircraft accidents, which is why applying monopropylene de-icing fluid to wings pre-flight has become standard operating procedure.

Clip Source: blog.wired.com

It seems all news is bad news when it comes to aviation these days, and it's too bad because it overshadows just how wonderful it is that we can fly. Think about it -- 100 years ago, few could imagine it. Today we take it for granted.

1. Cabin pressurization -- The average passenger doesn't think about cabin pressurization until their yellow safety masks fall from the ceiling, but the reality is that if the technology hadn't been developed during WWII, we wouldn't be able to fly much above 10,000 feet.

2. Black Box -- Morbid but essential, the black box was invented in the mid-1950s,

3. The Concorde

4. Radar -- Sure, the airlines are dying to replace it with GPS technology, but for decades it's been radar that helps air traffic controllers locate and track planes up to 200 miles away.

5. The jumbo jet

6. The hub and spoke system

8. Winglets

The small upward-pointing extensions at the tips of aircraft wings reduce drag, improve climb performance, increase range,

Tags: technolgy, aviation

Wireless at Fiber Speeds

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:17:29 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: Richard Ridgway, a senior researcher at Battelle, says that the technique could be used to send huge files across college campuses, to quickly set up emergency networks in a disaster, and even to stream uncompressed high-definition video from a computer or set-top box to a display.

Clip Source: www.technologyreview.com

New millimeter-wave technology sends data at 10 gigabits per second.

There's no shortage of demand for faster wireless, but today's fastest technologies--Wi-Fi, 3G cellular networks, and even the upcoming WiMax--max out at tens or hundreds of megabits per second. So far, no commercial wireless system can beat the raw speed of optical fiber, which can carry tens of gigabits per second.

One way to achieve faster speeds is to harness the millimeter-wavelength frequency of the wireless spectrum, although this usually requires expensive and very complex equipment. Now, engineers at Battelle, a research and development firm based in Columbus, OH, have come up with a simpler way to send data through the air with millimeter-wave technology. Earlier this year, in field tests of a prototype point-to-point system, the team was able to send a 10.6-gigabit-per-second signal between antennas 800 meters apart. And more recently, the researchers demonstrated a 20-gigabit-per-second signal in the lab.

Tags: technology, wireless, communication, network

Artificial eye

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:29:36 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: [The] implant sits mostly outside the eye. The coil around the iris receives wireless power and image data from a microcontroller that can be carried on a belt. The coil transmits data to electronics inside a waterproof titanium case. The electronics controls an electrode array (not visible) connected to nerves in the back of the retina.
This device would be more bio-compatible than others, because it sits mostly outside the eye and therefore carries a reduced risk of inflammation and of a decline in performance with time. So far it has only been tested in pigs but human trials are planned for 2010.

Clip Source: scienceblogs.com

A short piece in the MIT Technology Review describes a new retinal implant designed to remain in place for long periods of time:

In retinal diseases such as acute macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, the light-sensing cells of the retina may no longer work, even though the neurons that carry signals from these cells to the brain are still healthy. The Boston project uses an array of electrodes to stimulate these cells and reproduce a simplified visual image in the subject's brain. A camera mounted on a pair of eyeglasses captures an image, which is rapidly processed by a microcontroller to produce a simplified picture. This is then wirelessly beamed to the implant, which activates 15 electrodes inside the eye. The implant also receives power wirelessly from the microcontroller.

Tags: technology, neuroscience

Plug-in Prius Testing Begins in London

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:53:44 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: Toyota and EDF Energy are using an innovative charging and invoicing system which is incorporated into the PHV. This system is compatible with a new generation of public charging stations, which aim to make electric power more accessible on public roads and car parks, and will reduce the cost to the customer. EDF Energy has helped to install the first of 40 charging posts in the UK, with plans to help install more in the coming months.
A PHV uses Toyota's hybrid technology with the added benefit that the vehicle's batteries can be fully recharged using a standard electrical plug or an electrical charging post to extend its driving range in electric mode. For short distances, PHV can be driven as an electric vehicle, resulting in a silent, zero emissions drive. For longer distances, PHV works as a conventional hybrid vehicle.

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

Toyota and EDF Energy today kicked off a series of road trials of the much-hypded plug-in Prius. EDF and Toyota will be testing the PHEV Prius for the next year or so and expect the data collected during the trial to "play a pivotal role in the development of Toyota's PHV technology."

For these tests, Toyota built a smart meter into the Prius that can regulate charging and invoicing, something that - if standardized - will make plug-in vehicles a much easier sell to utilities. Toyota says that if you're driving no more than 25 kilometers (15.5 miles), then your gasoline use is cut by 60 percent. Not quite as sexy as the Chevy Volt's promises, but still worth it.

The UK partnership is designed to evaluate vehicle performance within an urban environment, vehicle infrastructure requirements, and driver behaviours and expectations.

Tags: green, energy, hybrid

Self Surveillance

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:53:25 GMT

clipped by: Mohir

Clip Source: www.technologyreview.com

A new device tracks activity and sleep patterns 24-7.

Fitbit, a startup based in San Francisco, has built a small, unobtrusive sensor that tracks a person's movement 24 hours a day to produce a record of her steps taken, her calories burned, and even the quality of her sleep. Data is wirelessly uploaded to the Web so that users can monitor their activity and compare it with that of their friends.

James Park, cofounder of Fitbit, says that one of the main goals was to make the sensor so small that it will go unnoticed no matter what a person is wearing. The device can be put in a pocket, attached discretely to a bra, or slipped into a special wristband during sleep. It is meant to be worn 24-7, and each device can run for 10 days on a single battery charge.

Park noted that Fitbit has built-in technology to distinguish between the motion of a car and a person walking or running.

Tags: technology, surveillance

Big step in tiny technology

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 21:18:45 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: Dr Manfred Buck, of the University¿s School of Chemistry, explained, "One of the central issues in nanotechnology is the development of simple and reliable methods to precisely arrange molecules and other nanoscopic objects. One promising route intensively investigated by scientists around the world involves the ability of molecules to spontaneously assemble onto a surface. What we have done is successfully combined two strategies which are complementary but, so far, have been explored independently, and it is this combination which opens up unprecedented opportunities for accessing the ultrasmall length scale."

"The potential of this approach lies in its flexibility on a scale, about 1/10000 of the diameter of a human hair. Using molecules as building units, the features of our structures are less than 5 nanometres in size, which enables us to control structures and materials at dimensions where new properties emerge."

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

crucial step in developing minuscule structures with application potential in sophisticated sensors, catalysis, and nanoelectronics has been developed by Scottish researchers.

Dr Manfred Buck and his team at the University of St Andrews have accomplished one of the big quests in nanotechnology, opening up an exciting new development in tiny technology.

The St Andrews researchers have developed a way of forming an easily modified network of molecules over a large area - the chemical technique provides an advantageous alternative to traditional methods which become increasingly cumbersome at the ultrasmall length scale.

The key to the development lies in the creation of robust and versatile surface - self-assembling structures just one molecule thick which can be exploited for further control and manipulation of nanostructures.

Tags: nanotechnology

MIT Team Use Viruses to Build Nex-Gen Batteries

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:46:06 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: Bio-battery technology could open up a whole new field of science with exotic new applications. The study was partly funded by the Army Research Office Institute of Collaborative Biotechnologies, and the Army Research Office Institute of Soldier Nanotechnologies, which suggests that the Army has some interest in this type of research. One can only imagine the strange and/or nefarious possibilities of fusing batteries into living organisms. However, Belcher diffuses any excitement over possible cyborg applications.

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

If you think AAAs batteries are small, then consider this: Next-generation batteries may be half the size of a human cell and built with viruses. Now that’s small. MIT says this is the way of the future when it comes to powering tomorrow’s miniature electronic devices.

MIT engineers have developed a way to at once create and install such microbatteries. The team used a genetically modified (GM) virus to build a tiny microbattery that can power miniature electronic devices. The GM virus is called M13. The virus was designed to have negatively charged amino acids at its surface and an affinity with cobalt, a favored material for batteries.

“the resulting electrode arrays exhibit full electrochemical functionality.”

Belcher mentions, "We're also interested in integrating [the batteries] with biological organisms."

Tags: battery, virus, technology

Bionic Humans: Top 10 Technologies

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:30:53 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: rest will follow in separate clips, due to clipping problems

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

cientists are getting closer to creating a bionic human, or at least a $6 million one. Today, we can replicate or restore more organs and various sundry body parts than ever before. From giving sight to the blind to creating a tongue more accurate than any human taste bud, gentlemen, we have the technology.

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Prosthetics for Your Brain

Replacing a part of your brain isn't as simple as replacing a limb, but in the future it could be. Theodore Berger, a professor at the University of Southern California, created a computer chip that could take the place of the hippocampus, a part of the brain which controls short-term memory and spatial understanding. Frequently damaged by things like Alzheimer's and strokes, a hippocampus implant could help maintain normal function in people who'd otherwise be severely disabled. Berger is still testing this implant, but he'd like to see more. He even wrote a book, "Toward Replacement Parts for the Brain," in 2005.

Tags: bionic, technology

Scientists to study synthetic telepathy

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:59:15 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: The brain-computer interface would use a noninvasive brain imaging technology like electroencephalography to let people communicate thoughts to each other. For example, a soldier would “think” a message to be transmitted and a computer-based speech recognition system would decode the EEG signals. The decoded thoughts, in essence translated brain waves, are transmitted using a system that points in the direction of the intended target.

“Such a system would require extensive training for anyone using it to send and receive messages,” D’Zmura says. “Initially, communication would be based on a limited set of words or phrases that are recognized by the system; it would involve more complex language and speech as the technology is developed further.”

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

A team of UC Irvine scientists has been awarded a $4 million grant from the U.S. Army Research Office to study the neuroscientific and signal-processing foundations of synthetic telepathy.

The research could lead to a communication system that would benefit soldiers on the battlefield and paralysis and stroke patients, according to lead researcher Michael D’Zmura, chair of the UCI Department of Cognitive Sciences.

“Thanks to this generous grant we can work with experts in automatic speech recognition and in brain imaging at other universities to research a brain-computer interface with applications in military, medical and commercial settings,” D’Zmura says.

Tags: telepathy, computers, communication

Future 'Top 10' Hot Careers in 2012

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:14:56 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: 5) Simulation Engineering
By 2012, an increase in processing power and rich data will make simulations more realistic, and user-friendly. Simulation engineers will be working on bringing us closer to “Star Trek’s” Holodecks—the ultimate total immersion simulation. Simulations will be in every industry and every engineering field,

6) Boomer Caregiving
7) Genetic Counseling
8) Brain Analysts
9) Space Tourism
10) Roboticists

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

In our information-rich society there is an ever increasing demand for workers in the fields of computers, health care, science and space technology—much of it driven by the demands of the retiring baby boomers. If you like to plan ahead, here is sampling of some of the jobs that will be hot in the next several years and beyond.

1) Organic food Industry

By 2010, organic food and beverage will represent about 10 percent of the total market — a tenfold increase from 1998

2) Computational Biology

There is a growing need to combine computer science, biology and math to make sense of research data in massive quantities,

3) Parallel Programming

By 2012, computers will jump from core duo processors to multi-core processors — as many as 80 processors per machin

4) Data Technology

Data technologists build structures—real and virtual—that turn the pile of data into something meaningful and beautiful,

Tags: future, work, jobs

First Electronic Ink Magazine Cover Expected

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:04:21 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: “The possibilities of print have just begun. In two years, I hope this looks like cellphones did in 1982, or car phones.”

Science fiction readers have been looking forward to this development for a long time, and can give us an idea of what this technology will look like in coming years. For example, writer Greg Bear had a very clear view of the Esquire E-ink cover in 2003 in "Darwin's Children." He wrote about e-paper covers with speaker chips.

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

The first E-ink cover for a magazine will come out with the September issue of Esquire, according to Editor-in-Chief David Granger. Electronic ink paper is created by coating a surface with millions of tiny microcapsules; they have about the same diameter as a human hair.

Each of the microcapsules contains positively charged white particles and negatively charged black particles suspended in a clear fluid. When a very small electric charge is applied, the black particle will move to the top surface; that makes a little black dot in that space. In this way, text characters and even graphic elements can be displayed.

The cover display will flash "the 21st Century Begins Now." The cover will have enough energy to run for about 90 days.

“Magazines have basically looked the same for 150 years,” Mr. Granger said, showing a prototype e-ink cover. “I have been frustrated with the lack of forward movement in the magazine industry.”

Tags: e-ink, technology, future, magazine

Encephalon #50 Edition: Brain & Mind Research

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:38:10 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: and much more....

Clip Source: www.sharpbrains.com

Welcome to Encephalon´s 50th edition, where you will find another superb collection of blog posts on all things Brain and Mind.

Clip Source: www.sharpbrains.com

Enjoy these contributions:

Science & Technology

Mind Hacks reports that Facebook ate my psychiatrist. We can learn about the benefits of social networking sites like Facebook,

Dungeons And Dragons - Or Mazes And Monsters?: PodBlack Cat offers a thought-provoking review of the therapy (including self-therapy) applications of role-playing games

Uses of Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS): Brain Stimulant explores emerging and potential future applications of this non-invasive intervention. Weight loss? Alzheimer´s? Schizophrenia? Depression?. Check it out to read respective developments.

Research

The function of a Fearful Expression

Clip Source: www.sharpbrains.com

Oh Happiness.

Improve Memory with Sleep, Practice, and Testing:

Tags: brain, mind, research, science, technology

Terabit per second internet coming soon

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:41:18 GMT

clipped by: Mohir

Clip Source: nextbigfuture.com

Researchers at the University of Sydney have developed technology that could boost the throughput of existing networks by sixty to 100-fold without costing the consumer any more, and its all thanks to a scratch on a piece of glass.

After four years of development, University of Sydney scientists say the Internet is set to become on average 60 times faster than existing networks.

"This circuit uses the 'scratch' as a guide or a switching path for information - like when trains are switched from one track to another - except this switch takes only one picosecond to change tracks. This means that in one second the switch is turning on and off about one million times. We are talking about photonic technology that has terabit per second capacity."

An initial demonstration proved it possible to achieve speeds 60 times faster than existing local networks.

Tags: internet, technology

Electronic Papyrus: The Digital Book, Unfurled

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:20:58 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: The black-and-white display holds about 22 lines of a book page, depending on the font, all shown in the crisp black type provided by technology from E Ink, also used in Amazon’s Kindle and other e-readers. The screen changes from one page to the next in about half a second, at the touch of a thumb.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

CONSUMERS like large displays on the mobile devices they use for reading an e-mail message or an e-book, but they also like to tuck those devices into their pockets. But the bigger the screen on a cellphone or an e-reader, the sooner it outgrows pocket size.

Now a hallmark feature of these screens — their rigidity — is changing. New technologies are developing that make displays flexible, foldable or even as rollable as papyrus, so that large screens can be unfurled from small containers.

One new mobile device, the Readius, designed mainly for reading books, magazines, newspapers and mail, is the size of a standard cellphone. Flip it open, though, and a screen tucked within the housing opens to a 5-inch diagonal display. The screen looks just like a liquid crystal display, but can bend so flexibly that it can wrap around a finger.

Tags: ebook, e ink, technology, gadgets, display