Clipmarks | Silkweaver's 'technology' clips

Holographic television to become reality

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:24:18 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: "It took us a while to make that first breakthrough, but as soon as you have the first element of it working the rest often comes more rapidly," he said. "What we are doing now is trying to make the model better. What we showed is just one color, what we are doing now is trying to use three colors. The original display was four inches by four inches and now we're going for something at least as big as a computer screen."

There are no more great barriers to overcome now, he said.

The breakthrough has made some long-time researchers of the technology believe that it could now come to fruition.

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Picture this: you're sat down for the Football World Cup final, or a long-awaited sequel to the "Sex and the City" movie and you're watching all the action unfold in 3-D on your coffee table

It sounds a lot like a wacky dream, but don't be surprised if within our lifetime you find yourself discarding your plasma and LCD sets in exchange for a holographic 3-D television that can put Cristiano Ronaldo in your living room or bring you face-to-face with life-sized versions of your gaming heroes.

The reason for renewed optimism in three-dimensional technology is a breakthrough in rewritable and erasable holographic systems made earlier this year by researchers at the University of Arizona.

Dr Nasser Peyghambarian, chair of photonics and lasers at the university's Optical Sciences department, told CNN that scientists have broken a barrier by making the first updatable three-dimensional displays with memory.

Tags: holographic tv

Future Power Grids Management Inspired by Networks of Brain Cells

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 22:05:24 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

Managing power networks in the future may involve a little more brain power than it does today, if researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology succeed in a new project that involves literally tapping brain cells grown on networks of electrodes.

The Missouri S&T group, working with researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology, plans to use the brain power to develop a new method for tracking and managing the constantly changing levels of power supply and demand.

the researchers will use living neural networks composed of thousands of brain cells from laboratory rats to control simulated power grids in the lab

From those studies, the researchers hope to create a "biologically inspired" computer program to manage and control complex power grids

We want to develop a totally new architecture than what exists today

Power systems control is very complex, and the brain is a very flexible, very adaptable network. The brain is really good at handling uncertainties

Tags: brain, neural networks, neural intefaces, grid management

US Army Invests in 'Thought Helmet' Technology for Voiceless Communication

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:20:02 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: For people concerned about the ethics of the technology, Elmar Schmeisser, the Army neuroscientist overseeing the program, reassures that the technology will not allow mind-reading. As he explains, since every user has to be trained with the system, it would be impossible to use the technology against an individual´s will and without their cooperation.

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

In the future, soldiers may be communicating silently with sophisticated "thought helmets."

The devices would harness a person´s brain waves and transmit them as radio waves, where they would be translated into words in the headphones of other soldiers.

The US Army has recently awarded a five-year $4 million contract to researchers from the University of California at Irvine (led by UCI´s Mike D´Zmura), Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Maryland to study the concept.

It will likely be a decade or two before the thought helmet becomes a reality, but the rough technology is already under investigation.

Soldiers would need to think in clear, formulaic ways, which is similar to how they are already trained to talk. The key challenge to making the system work is a software system that can read an electroencephalogram (EEG) generated by the sensor data, and pick out when a soldier is thinking words, and what those words are.

Tags: brain, neural interfaces

Lifelike Animation Breakthrough

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:02:28 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: AMD last week released a new chip with a billion transistors that will be able to show off creations such as Emily by allowing a much greater number of computations per second. "If you're trying to process the graphics in a photo-realistic animation, in real-time, there's a lot of computation involved," said Mr Koduri.

He said that AMD's new chip - the Radeon HD 4870 X2 - was able to process 2.4 teraflops of information per second, meaning it had a capability similar to a computer that - only 12 years ago - would have filled a room. AMD's chip fits inside a standard PC.

But he said that the line between what was real and what was rendered would not be blurred completely until 2020.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Clip Source: technology.timesonline.co.uk

Extraordinarily lifelike characters are to begin appearing in films and computer games thanks to a new type of animation technology.

Emily - the woman in the above animation - was produced using a new modelling technology that enables the most minute details of a facial expression to be captured and recreated.

She is considered to be one of the first animations to have overleapt a long-standing barrier known as 'uncanny valley' - which refers to the perception that animation looks less realistic as it approaches human likeness.

"Ninety per cent of the work is convincing people that the eyes are real," Mike Starkenburg, chief operating officer of Image Metrics, said.

"The subtlety of the timing of eye movements is a big one. People also have a natural asymmetry - for instance, in the muscles in the side of their face.

they are what makes people look real."

Emily' will set a new precedent for photo-realistic characters in video games and films

Tags: animation, computer graphics, virtual characters, gaming

From Snapshots, a 3-D View - Amazing New Technology

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:50:16 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: In a Photosynth demonstration at the annual TED conference last year, the presenter blew the crowd’s mind with a photosynth of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, made up of photos mined from Flickr.com. In other words, Microsoft had created a seamless, successful photosynth using hundreds of existing photos, taken by different people at different times using all kinds of cameras.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

How do you describe a place? How do you express its essence to people who aren’t there?

You use the best technology you have available.

In the beginning, there was the printed word (“Dear Queen Isabella: You gotta see this place!”). Then there was audio (“My God, it’s full of stars!”). Eventually, photos (“That’s us in Hawaii. Or is it Cape Cod?”).

Wednesday, Microsoft introduced yet another way to represent a place: Photosynth. This sophisticated technology does a simple thing. It turns a bunch of overlapping photos into a 3-D panorama.

The result, called a photosynth, is a little bit like a virtual world.

You can turn around to look behind you. And at any time, you can zoom forward incredibly far into a photo, since it retains all of its original, multi-megapixel resolution.

Creating a photosynth is free and automatic. You visit www.photosynth.com, click to install the necessary Web browser plug-in, and start uploading your photos.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: web, 3d worlds, photosynth, microsoft

Pioneering Research in Neuromorphic Electronics that Function Like the Biological Brain

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:36:58 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: The HRL team's ultimate goal is to build a low-power, compact electronic chip combining a novel analog circuit design and a neuroscience-inspired architecture that can address a wide range of cognitive abilities--perception, planning, decision making, and motor control. In the initial two phases of the SyNAPSE program, the team will translate the neuronal and synaptic functions of the biological cortex into similar microelectronic functions.

Clip Source: www.alzheimer.ca

Clip Source: www.prweb.com

HRL Laboratories, LLC, will begin pioneering research to develop electronics that will simulate the cognitive capabilities and efficiencies of the biological brain.

The daunting undertaking is part of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's (DARPA) SyNAPSE, or Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics, program. HRL will lead a group of industry and university research laboratories with expertise in core areas of neuro and cognitive science in the groundbreaking research.

Despite exponential advances in computing technology over the last decade, the limitations of hardware and architecture prohibit computers from functioning independently in real-world scenarios. The goal of the SyNAPSE program is to bridge biology and electronics and establish a new paradigm for creating more intelligent machines that can interact with, react to, and actually learn from their environments.

Tags: technology, neuromorphic electronics, electronics

Eco-architecture could produce 'grow your own' homes

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:43:17 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Sounds really cool.

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

A bus stop that grows its own foliage as shade? A children's playground, made entirely from trees? A shelter made from living tree roots that could provide natural protection against earthquakes in California?

"Eco-architecture" may sound like a Buck Rogers vision of an ecologically-sustainable future, but that future is now thanks to the guidance of Tel Aviv University Professors Yoav Waisel and Amram Eshel.

The concept of shaping living trees into useful objects -- known as tree shaping, arborsculpture, living art or pooktre –– isn't new. But scientists are now ready to use this concept as the foundation of a new company that will roll out these structures worldwide.

Pilot projects now underway in the United States, Australia and Israel include park benches for hospitals, playground structures, streetlamps and gates.

It's even possible that, in the near future, entire homes will be constructed with the eco-friendly technology.

Tags: environment, trees, ecological technology

Nano-Solar Power -Will it Be the Next Revolutionary Technology?

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:50:11 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Not that the technology is perfect. The system can absorb energy very well, but that's no good to anyone until they work out a way to harvest it from the sheet - when you're dealing with a hyper-complex web of millions of units oscillating at trillions of cycles per second, you can't just solder copper wires to the ends and call them plus and minus. This isn't a mistake or a weakness in the concept though; it's an issue because no-one has ever done this before. You know, the kind of thing that happens with cutting edge invention.

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

Nanotech has fueled the imaginations of science-fictioners for years, with world-changing and ending inventions in equal measure.

But the real strength of this molecular machinery is how it can upgrade existing concepts, and this time it's solar power's turn.

Considering that the Sun already provides all the Earth's organic energy in one form or another, it seems a shame we can't make the machines use it too.

Step forward Idaho National Laboratories, who were working on nano-enhancing existing technologies

Now they're working on entirely nano-paneling

The new nanonet is flexible and can be printed on many surfaces. A demonstration was printed on plastic bags

The microscopic structures can pick up the infrared wavelengths that only Predators can even see, absorbing energy at 80% efficiency - four times the efficiency of commercial panels.

Tags: energy, solar energy, nanotehcnology

Researchers discover technology that silences genes

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:01:29 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: A safe and reliable gene silencing technology might be a component of a larger arsenal of gene therapies. It is a ground breaking research.

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

Mount Sinai researchers have developed a new gene silencing technology that could be used to target genes that can lead to the development of certain diseases.

This technology could pave the way for preventing diseases where gene dysfunction plays a role.

By being able to silence certain genes, we may be able to suppress genes that can cause diseases such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, inflammation and diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems.

In the study

discovered that Paramecium bursaria chlorella virus uses a viral protein to modify host DNA packing chromatin and switch host transcription machinery for viral replication.

Based on this finding, researchers were able to develop a new gene targeting technology that effectively suppresses transcriptional expression of targeted genes in human cells, including genes that are linked to the onset of a number of diseases.

Tags: gnetics, medicine, molecular biology

Scientists to study synthetic telepathy

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:58:28 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: “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

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

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.

Tags: brain, neuroscience, telepathy, brain computer interface

U.S. Swimmers Trim Times At Beijing Olympics Using 'Top Secret' Technology

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:56:08 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: As an amateur swimmer, I hope this technology will be more widely available in the future. Just to learn to take it to the limit is really rewarding.

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

When we picture computer technology improving human abilities, we imagine cybernetic systems and metallic skeletons.

We don't imagine the computers just telling a regular Joe "You're doing it wrong" - but that's exactly how the US Olympic team is improving their lap times.

Professor Wei of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY) is bringing hydrodynamics experience from his time with the U.S. Navy to an even more extreme environment - the Olympics.

The idea of simulating swimmers isn't new, but while mathematical models can help you, they can't beat real data, which is what Wei's Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (DPIV) delivers.

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

“This is the real thing,” Wei said. “We have the physical system, we’re taking flow measurements of actual swimmers, and we’re getting more information than anyone has ever had before about swimming and how the swimmer interacts with the water.

so far, these techniques have contributed to some very significant improvements in the lap times of Olympic swimmers.

Tags: olympics, swimming, physics, simulation, human enhancement

The Intelligent Egg

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:50:00 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: The ramifications are enormous as we imagine homes that customize themselves to us and our needs. Adjusting temperature, music, lighting, and putting a pot on boil are all things that could be done automatically. Taken a step further we look at intelligent environments, where the home is constantly monitoring our health and safety, and is prepared to respond quickly. An intelligent home of the future may also ask us what time we want to wake up when we hit the sack.

A plausible prediction is that these intelligent environments and or ambient intelligence will take away many of our chores and allow us to focus on productivity, learning, and leisure. They may stream customized interactive information that serves to create a nurturing environment. Differing from ubiquitous computing, it would allow us to create an intimitate connection with technology.

Clip Source: memebox.com

James Law Cybertecture International has just debuted its design of the so called Intelligent Egg, a building that represents an unprecedented combination of architecture and technology.

The intelligent environments created in the design offer a glimpse into what we might see in homes and buildings in the next ten years.

Intelligent environments (also called ambient intelligence) offer the opportunity to drastically change our quality of life, our level of interaction with our surroundings, and our ability to choose our surroundings.

They represent a plausible evolution that brings aspects of the virtual world into our built environment.

Intelligent systems and design are incredibly ambitious in the so called “Egg” project.

So called cybertecture is a form of design that integrates multimedia, intelligent systems, technology, and interactivity to create customizable living and working spaces focused on experiences, health, and productivity.

Tags: architecture, intelligent environment

The Atomic Age Enters a New Dawn

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:10:46 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Current nuclear technology is still suffering from problems of safety and waste management. The forced economic investment in nuclear power at present, is diverging present and future resources from finding cleaner and safer solutions.

Clip Source: www.spiegel.de

Germany may still be debating whether to abandon its nuclear phase-out plans, but the rest of the world is already moving full steam ahead into expanding the use of nuclear technology.

It was seen as risky, dangerous and uneconomical. Less than 10 years ago nuclear energy was still being treated as yesterday's news.

Today the sinister technology, still more unpopular than almost any other, is experiencing an unexpected comeback.

Thirty-six new reactors are currently being built worldwide, while another 81 are in the planning stages.

Two fundamental developments are fueling the nuclear energy comeback.

The international effort to combat climate change favors power generation technologies that involve relatively low emissions of carbon dioxide.

Rising oil prices are also a boost for nuclear energy.

In light of these new realities on the energy markets, many are now once again seeing nuclear energy as the lesser evil.

Tags: energy, nuclear energy

Tau Zero Foundation

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 23:42:09 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: A web site promoting the vision of reaching the stars.

Clip Source: www.tauzero.aero

Imagine the historic moment when the first Earth-like planet is detected deep across interstellar space. Like an inaccessible jewel it will beckon us. Is this a future home for humanity? What forms of life are already there? How do we get there? What happens when we arrive?

Based on today's technology, traveling to the stars is a long-term proposition. While existing space agencies grapple with sending astronauts beyond Earth orbit, and entrepreneurial firms bring the thrill of spaceflight to the people, no one has taken on the challenge of reaching other habitable worlds; until now.

The Tau Zero Foundation is a volunteer group of scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and writers who have agreed to work together toward practical interstellar flight and to use this quest to teach you about science, technology, and our place in the universe.

Clip Source: www.tauzero.aero

"While reaching for the stars, we will create benefits with every step"

Tags: space travel, advanced propulsion

The End of Aging - Still a Controvertial Vision

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:28:41 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Leon Kass and his friends are contemporary incarnations of an Orwellian nightmare. Besides "War is Peace", I hear also "Death is Life".

Of course there are no known social good coming from the conquest of death, we never lived in a social system that conquered death. How could we possibly know? But Kass and his friends, seem to have some privileged knowledge we do not possess, and they already decided for us as individuals and as a society. Well, in time, I believe, they will have the choice to walk their talk. All I want is a chance to walk mine.

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

In his non-fiction Amazon bestseller, Ending Aging, Aubrey de Grey, champions recent progress in genetics and calorie-restricted diets in laboratory animals that hold forth the promise that someday science will enable us to exert total control over our own biological aging and substantially slow down the aging process.

Dr. de Grey

believes that the key biomedical technology required to eliminate aging-derived debilitation and death entirely is now within reach —technology that would not only slow but periodically reverse age-related physiological decay, leaving us biologically young into an indefinite future—is now within reach.

Leon Kass, the former head of Bush's Council on Bioethics, insists that “the finitude of human life is a blessing for every human individual”. Bioethicist Daniel Callahan of the Garrison, New York-based Hastings Centre, agrees: “There is no known social good coming from the conquest of death.”

Tags: aging, life extension