New and Emerging Technology News part 89 ~ NEW GEN TECH LIFE : new generation technology news

Monday 27 January 2014

New and Emerging Technology News part 89

Researchers at Columbia discovered that isotropic stress can cause graphene sheets to morp...
Graphene, a one-atom-thick layer of carbon, is considered the strongest material known to mankind. It has found countless applications in the field of nanotechnology, including the manufacturing of stronger-than-steel-by-a-hundredfold nanotubes. However, Assistant Professor Chris Marianetti at Columbia University has exposed a fundamental structural weakness of graphene that leads to its possible mechanical failure under strain, and could change the way we use this and other materials to build nanotech devices.  Read More
Konarka's flexible and lightweight Power Plastic
While they offer much lower efficiencies than inorganic photovoltaic cells, organic solar cells are cheaper to produce and are lightweight and flexible. This makes them suitable for a wider range of applications than rigid solar cells, including clothing and bags. Konarka has been producing its organic based photovoltaic (OPV) solar cells under the name of Power Plastic for a number of years now and the National Energy Renewable Laboratory (NREL) has just announced that Konarka’s latest organic based photovoltaic (OPV) solar cells have demonstrated a record breaking 8.3 percent efficiency.  Read More
The Proverbial Wallets provide haptic feedback for your digital transactions
The widespread adoption of credit and debit cards means, for many people, the cashless society is already a reality. However, this means the simple system of checking how much cash you’ve got in your wallet before making a purchase is no longer an accurate reflection of your finances, making it all too easy to succumb to temptation and overextend yourself financially. The Proverbial Wallet project at MIT is looking at “un-abstracting virtual assets” with wallets that provide tactile feedback that reflects a person’s current financial state.  Read More
ASUS is about to release a new addition to its U Series family of ultra-portable notebooks...
ASUS is about to let loose a stylish new powerhouse laptop which boasts a 10 hour battery life, ditches the ultra-low-power processors in favor of 35 W varieties and features Nvidia graphics with Optimus technology. The new addition to the company's U series manages to keep its impressive internals cool with dual heatpipe technology that also keeps the palm rest area nice and chilled too.  Read More
Lightweight capacitors are being developed to meet the high energy demands of hybrids and ...
Research into capacitors for use in hybrid vehicles, EVs, computer power supplies and pacemakers has been given a boost in the order of US$2.25 million. Professor Gerhard Welsch, who began patenting his designs for capacitors a decade ago, will use the grant to complete development of a small, light, powerful and reliable capacitor that promises a 10-fold or higher increase in energy density over current models.  Read More
Researchers from Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California, San Diego h...
Despite many of us willingly letting the online world have regular glimpses into our so-called private lives through social media portals, most would cry foul if such information was collected without our consent or knowledge. Researchers have just completed a study of scripting code contained within the documents used to display web pages in browsers and found evidence of something called history sniffing. This is where website owners gain access to browser history to track your progress around the web.  Read More
The UNDERABOVE dual-lens camera concept bobs on the waterline to capture above and below w...
Waterproof cameras or underwater housings are great for capturing action above or below the waterline, but what if you want to capture both at the same time to provide a greater context for your underwater shots? That’s where the UNDERABOVE concept comes in. It’s a dual-lens buoy-style camera that bobs on the surface of the water positioning one wide-angle lens above the waterline and one lens below to let aquatic shutterbugs the best of both worlds.  Read More
Dutch designer Tjeerd Veenhoven has constructed a prototype wind-powered iPhone charger ca...
As we demand more and more of our smartphones, the up time between charges suffers. Case in point – the iPhone. Chargers come in all shapes and sizes but few offer to power up the batteries using air, or more precisely – wind. Dutch designer Tjeerd Veenhoven has crafted just such a charger where his favored Apple device slides into the soft rubber outer skin and fan blades capture energy from the wind, which tops up the battery.  Read More
Split Stick - Creating a digital divide
Carry more than one USB drive around? Got one storage device for business and another for personal files? Life's natural divide is work and play so here's a dongle that can facilitate that split – the Split Stick.  Read More
The Primo Power Core benefits from automatic Amp switching technology that makes sure an a...
Phonesuit, the company behind the MiLi Pro iPhone/iPod projector, has been added its charging range with the Primo Power Core. When fully charged, it stores enough energy to charge some mobile devices a number of times before it needs a top-up itself. It's compatible with just about any portable electronic gadget and benefits from automatic Amp switching technology that makes sure an attached device is charged at the fastest rates.  Read More

Researchers have developed a camera system that snaps multi-gigabit images at 30 frames pe...
Cameras that can shoot 3D images are nothing new, but they don't really capture three dimensional moments at all - they actually record images in stereoscopic format, using two 2D images to create the illusion of depth. These photos and videos certainly offer a departure from their conventional two dimensional counterparts, but if you shift your view point, the picture remains the same. Researchers from Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) hope to change all that with the development of a strange-looking camera that snaps 360 degrees of simultaneous images and then reconstructs the images in 3D.  Read More
A team of Harvard researchers has perfected a technique to track cells and molecules in li...
Scientists and MDs have a wide range of technologies available for the imaging of live tissue, but each of these comes with its own limitations - be it poor contrast, low resolution, long response times or the viewing process damaging the tissue being observed. A team of Harvard researchers has developed a new type of optical biomedical imaging that promises to overcome these obstacles and is so fast and high-resolution that it can capture live video of cells and molecules.  Read More
The Chevy Volt and Nissan LEAF will be available to rent from next year
Electric rental cars are set to take to the streets next year with both the Hertz and Enterprise Rent-A-Car companies committing to adding electric vehicles to their fleets. Next week (December 15) Hertz plans to begin its ConnectByHertz car sharing program in New York City with the service expanding to San Francisco, Washington D.C, Texas, London and China by the end of 2011. Meanwhile Enterprise has announced that from January 2011 they will begin rolling out EV rentals in Phoenix, Tucson, Knoxville, Nashville, San Diego, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle, although it is not clear how many vehicles will be available at each location and from what date.  Read More
SEM images of nickel-coated TMV arrays patterned using photolithography onto a silicon waf...
The first virus to be discovered was the Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) back in 1898. It is a rigid, rod-shaped virus that, under an electron microscope, looks like uncooked spaghetti. This widespread virus devastates tobacco, tomatoes, peppers and other plants, but engineers have managed to harness and exploit the self-replicating and self-renewing characteristics of TMV to build tiny components for more efficient lithium-ion batteries.  Read More
DoDAMM's Super aEgis 2: South Korea's autonomous robot gun turret
If there's one place you don't want to be caught wandering around right now, it's the demilitarized zone that separates North and South Korea. Especially since South Korean military hardware manufacturer DoDAMM used the recent Korea Robot World 2010 expo to display its new Super aEgis 2, an automated gun turret that can detect and lock onto human targets from kilometers away, day or night and in any weather conditions, and deliver some heavy firepower.  Read More
High surface area of graphene make supercapcitors possible
A breakthrough in supercapacitor performance has been achieved with the development of a device that can store as much energy as a battery while recharging in seconds. The graphene-based supercapacitor being developed in the U.S. by researchers at Nanotek Instruments can store as much energy per unit mass as nickel metal hydride batteries and could one day be used to help deliver almost instant charging to recharge mobile phones, digital cameras or micro electric vehicles.  Read More
The ReWalk robotic exoskeleton is designed to get paraplegics out of their wheelchairs
The wheel may be one of mankind’s greatest inventions, but it’s an unfortunate fact of life for the wheelchair-bound that much of the modern world is built for the upright – from deli counter-tops and store shelves to stairs and escalators. When Israeli entrepreneur Amit Goffer was left paralyzed after a car accident in 1997 he set about creating “robotic trousers” to replace a wheelchair. The fruits of his labor are now set to help others with his ReWalk robotic exoskelton set to go on sale from the start of 2011.  Read More
A report compiled by the FTC proposed a 'do not track' mechanism for browsers that would l...
Nearly all companies with a big Web presence, and search engines in particular, are known for gathering the user's browsing history and other personal information to improve on the services they offer, such as by offering better targeted advertisements. A preliminary report compiled by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) addressing the lack of transparency and user control over how companies gather Internet browsing data from their users, proposes a "Do Not Track" feature for Internet browsers that would allow users to opt out completely and protect their privacy.  Read More
3D rendered with backgrounds
Sublime or ridiculous? John Baltazar's Astrum Meera concept car is probably a little bit of both. The beautifully rendered four-seater design combines smooth lines and sporty, low-down fatness with some very ambitious future-tech ideas such as wheels that use magnetic levitation rather than bearings to improve smoothness of ride and fuel efficiency.  Read More
An Oriental hornet, whose yellow and brown exoskeleton is able to turn sunlight into elect...
It’s no big mystery why turtles and other reptiles bask in the sun – being cold-blooded animals, they’re gathering heat to warm their bodies, so they can be active. Recently, however, scientists from Israel and the UK discovered that the Oriental hornet has been putting a “high-tech” spin on that model... the outer layers of its body work as a natural photovoltaic cell, converting sunlight to electricity. The scientists then proceeded to create a cell of their own, using the hornet as their inspiration.  Read More
 
The Blue Jeans Car
It's the third best-selling car in history, behind only the Volkswagen Beetle and Model T Ford, selling more than eight million units in over 100 countries. It was manufactured or assembled in 28 different countries over a third of a century before finally ceasing production in 1994. In Spain, it was nicknamed "Cuatro Latas", in the former Yugoslavia it was called "Katcra", in Tunisia it was referred to as the "Monastir", in Zimbabwe it was known as the Noddy Car, in Argentina it earned the nickname "El Correcaminos", in Finland the "Tiparellu" and in Italy, the "Frog". Got it yet? Happy birthday to the ...  Read More
New spotlight function for Active Night View Assist Plus illuminates pedestrians
Since 2009, Mercedes Benz's luxury class models have included an Active Night View Assist Plus feature that detects pedestrians on the road and highlights them on the display on the instrument cluster using infra-red light projectors. The company has now taken the assistance system a step further with a new spotlight function that specifically directs light on people on or near the road so that both the driver and the pedestrian are alerted to the presence of the approaching vehicle.  Read More
Google has launched a new eBookstore in the U.S. which offers a library of over 3 million ...
It's been six years since Google announced its plan to digitize vast collections of literary works and make them available to view online. Now the search giant has launched a new eBookstore in the U.S. where users are able to get hold of more than three million digital titles, including the latest best sellers, recommended reads and lots and lots of classics. Google eBooks are compatible with numerous Internet-enabled devices and can also be read online via a free browser-based portal.  Read More
The first computer mouse was made of wood and featured two wheels to control X and Y movem...
Dr. Douglas Engelbart is perhaps best known as the inventor of the computer mouse, but when he unveiled that device at a computer conference in 1968 he also introduced additional technology that would profoundly affect computer-human interaction as much as the mouse has. During the "mother of all demos" at the Fall Joint Computer Conference held at the Convention Center in San Francisco, Engelbart and his team of researchers from the Augmentation Research Center at Stanford Research Institute gave a live demonstration of hyperlinks, remote collaboration software, on-screen windows, and even video conferencing.  Read More
Rendering of the New York Hornblower Hybrid (Image: Statue Cruises)
Hybrid vehicles are becoming more and more commonplace on our roads and now the world's first hydrogen powered hybrid ferry is set to take to the water off New York. Following on from the 2008 launch of the San Francisco Hornblower Hybrid that runs on a combination of solar, wind and diesel power, the new 1,400-hp New York Hornblower Hybrid adds another energy source to the mix with hydrogen fuel cells to complement its clean Tier 2 diesel engines, solar panels and wind turbines.  Read More
The X-37B after landing on Dec. 3 (Boeing photo)
Until now the only space vehicle capable of returning to Earth - in a controlled manner anyway - was the Space Shuttle. With that craft scheduled to be retired from service next year the U.S. Air Force's Boeing X-37 program is focused on demonstrating a next generation unmanned reusable spaceplane. On April 22 this year the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. On December 3, after an experimental test mission lasting over 220 days, the craft successfully de-orbited and landed safely at Vandenberg Air Force Base, making it the United States' first unmanned vehicle to return from space and land on its own.  Read More
Scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of a DWNT-polymer fiber which exhibits high stren...
A new high performance fiber that is better at absorbing energy without breaking than Kevlar has been created by the U.S Department of Defence. While still under development, the material could be used in bulletproof vests, parachutes, or in composite materials for vehicles, airplanes and satellites in the future. The fiber has been engineered from carbon nanotubes spun into a yarn and held together using a polymer. The resultant material is tough and strong while still remaining flexible.  Read More
Sonic screwdrivers may soon be more than props at Doctor Who conventions (Image: R. Steven...
The sonic screwdriver has proven an indispensable piece of equipment for Doctor Who when battling Daleks, Cybermen and the Master. The fictional tool is capable of opening just about any lock known to man - or alien - and can fix a damaged TARDIS in a matter of seconds. Now engineers at Bristol University say a real-life version of the sci-fi screwdriver could be created that would use sonic technology to open locks and undo screws ... just don't expect to see one under the Christmas tree this year.  Read More
Study finds electronic cigarettes can cause health problems (Photo: Gizmag)
Researchers from the University of California, Riverside, have some bad news for smokers looking to put a halt to the filthy habit by using electronic quitting aids. After examining various aspects of a handful of commercially-available electronic nicotine delivery systems, the team concluded that so-called e-cigarettes are unsafe and pose a health risk. They are now calling for such devices to be withdrawn from sale pending a rigid safety evaluation.  Read More
The Meizu M9 smartphone is reportedly available for pre-order at retail stores in China
Chinese manufacturer Meizu, which had to halt production of the (in)famous M8 iPhone clone back in October, isn't giving up the fight to become China's favorite homegrown smartphone. The company's CEO J Wong has indicated that he hopes the M8's successor, the M9, will be out by Christmas. The phone is reportedly now available for pre-order at retail stores in China.  Read More

Up, up and away ... the BEXUS 11 balloon, all 12,000m3 of it, just before take-off. The ba...
An off-the-shelf camera from Axis Communications has set the world record for the highest wireless network camera delivering high quality images to Earth. The PTZ (pan/tilt/zoom) dome network camera was sent into the atmosphere to a height of 35 km (21. 7 miles) from the Esrange Space Center, north of Sweden, as part of the BEXUS 11 program.  Read More
JAMBOX in blue
Jawbone, a company better known for its Bluetooth headsets, has now released a Bluetooth speaker system that makes use of two powerful acoustic drivers and ultra-small speakers that work in concert with an innovative moving-wall passive bass radiator and airtight enclosure. The company says this is the first time this technology has been seen in a personal speaker system and delivers more punch than you'd expect from such a small unit.  Read More
Fujitsu converts heat and light into electricity with a single device
Fujitsu Laboratories today announced a two-in-one energy harvesting device that can convert both light and heat into electricity. With no electrical wiring or batteries to replace, Fujitsu says that this sort of device can be manufactured from organic materials keeping costs to a minimum.  Read More
World's first - the Mobile Solar Station powers the perimeter lights and chainsaws to trim...
San Diego residents can feel particularly warm and fuzzy this festive season as their Purdy Farm Christmas trees have been lovingly trimmed and lit up via solar power. In what is believed to be a world first, Stellar Solar's Mobile Solar Station has been contracted to power the Purdy Farm Christmas tree lots in Del Mar, Carlsbad, and San Diego. The Mobile Solar Station is being used to power the compact fluorescent lights (CFL) on the lot perimeter and the electric chain saws used to trim customer's trees.  Read More
Tracking Protection is the new privacy feature in Internet Explorer 9 designed to help kee...
Hot on the heels of a call for a user-controlled tracking prevention mechanism from the FTC comes news that Microsoft is introducing a new privacy feature to the next version of its browser - Internet Explorer 9. The Tracking Protection tool is aimed at helping netizens take control of online tracking from within the browser.  Read More
The 1988 McLaren MP4 was the most successful F1 car in history, winning 15 of 16 races.
The world's most watched sporting series, Formula One, is set to announce a new greener formula later this week, which will take effect in 2013. The rule changes are expected to see the introduction of 1.6 liter turbo engines with more powerful energy recovery systems, reduced maximum rpm (from 18,000 rpm to 10,000 rpm) and fuel (flow and capacity) restrictions, and can be expected to further the sport's objective of encouraging R&D relevant to road cars. While the targeted 30% initial improvement in gas mileage will only improve the current obscenely wasteful 3 mpg to 4 mpg (approx 70 liters/100 km) in 2013, it will enroll the brightest automotive technicians on the planet in a quest for greater efficiency from our automobiles and that's a wonderful outcome.  Read More
Same-sex couples may soon be able to have their own genetic children (Image: See-ming Lee ...
In what could be the first step towards same-sex couples having their own genetic children, reproductive scientists have produced male and female mice from two fathers using stem cell technology. The achievement of two-father offspring in a species of mammal could also be a step toward preserving endangered species, improving livestock breeds, and advancing human assisted reproductive technology (ART).  Read More
Skylark I UAV from Elbit Systems flies on AEROPAK fuel cell power in simulated battlefield...
The latest test of Horizon Energy System's AEROPAK fuel cell power system has seen it fitted aboard an Elbit Systems Skylark I-LE UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) and put through its paces. Although the AEROPAK has been put to the test in other UAS aircraft, the official test flight recently carried out in Israel marked the first time a fully operational system using the AEROPAK - including take-off and recovery with an operational payload integrated onboard - has been tested.  Read More
Takayanagi Miluira - Japanese retro styled EV due for release in March
Japanese company Takayanagi is taking orders for its first one person electric vehicle, the Miluira. Due to be shipped in March 2011, the retro-styled all-electric car has a range of only 35 km on a full charge, a maximum speed of 37 mph (60km/h) and a rather lengthy recharge time of 12 hours.  Read More
A technique helping stroke victims regain their mobility has won the 2010 Danish Research Result of the Year award and is now attracting attention from investors keen to see the research move from the lab and into rehabilitation centers. Professor Ole Kaeseler Andersen of the Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction at Aalborg University, Denmark, has developed method that uses the nervous system's natural reflex reaction to pain to aid stroke patient rehabilitation.  Read More

CQD graduate student Paritosh Manurkar taken with the world's first LWIR FPA based on Type...
Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a new infrared imaging system that delivers a 16-fold increase in resolution over long wavelength infrared radiation (LWIR) cameras currently used in industrial, security and nighttime surveillance applications. Based on a type of semiconductor called a Type-II InAs/GaSb superlattice, the IR camera is mercury-free, more robust, cheaper to produce and can collect 78 percent of the light showing temperature differences as small as 0.02° C.  Read More
Seymour Duncan has released what it says is the world's first universal solderless pickup ...
For many people, learning to play guitar is only half the battle. Once you've mastered the basics and maybe even developed your own style, you need a sound to set you apart from the rest. There are numerous amp and effects pedal combinations that can help in this regard, but swapping out the pickups on that cheap guitar for better quality ones can add a whole new dimension to the way the instrument sounds. Seymour Duncan has introduced a new system that not only helps guitar technicians to swap out pickups in record time, but also means that bedroom guitarists needn't become a skilled soldering iron operator. All you need is a couple of screwdrivers, and maybe a pair of tweezers.  Read More
Internet radio stations are assigned to the cube's sides via software that's downloaded fr...
The Q2 Internet Radio asks users to boil down the thousands of available online radio stations and choose just four. This may appear to limit choice, but actually reflects the fact that most of us only regularly listen to a few stations anyway. The device also does away with display screens and has only one button – an on/off switch. To change a station, you tip it onto another of its sides. To increase volume, you raise the front of the unit, and raise the back to lower it. I've been given the chance to take one for a test run, so read on for my thoughts.  Read More
Tom Weis calls for a 100 percent green electricity grid for America by 2020  (Photo: Kim R...
On December 7, renewable energy advocate Tom Weis concluded a 10-week ride across America in his pedal-powered hybrid electric-assist “Rocket Trike." He collected opinions and signatures from people on “Main Street, USA” in support of a 100 percent green electricity grid by 2020 to present to key members of congress, the President and First Lady.  Read More
New research published in two studies suggests that smoking may also affect another vital ...
New research published in two studies suggests that smoking may also affect another vital organ: the brain. In one study, smoking was found to thin the brain cortex in an area suggested to be linked to addiction, meaning long-term smokers could become more prone to addiction the longer they continue to smoke. In the second, successful quitters were found to enjoy the most happiness during periods of abstinence, while a subsequent return to smoking was found to depress mood, suggesting that perceived psychological dependence on smoking as a mood enhancer is in fact quite the reverse.  Read More
The GymyGym ergonomic exercise chair places a full body workout at your disposal without e...
A relatively recent shift from manual labor to office-type work has resulted in a large chunk of today's workforce spending eight hours or more sitting at a desk or workstation. The general health and fitness of a significant proportion of such a workforce is bound to suffer as a result. Anyone wanting to fight against this decline can of course opt for gym membership, but Adam Ben-David thinks he has a better solution. The GymyGym ergonomic exercise chair places a full body workout at your disposal without ever having to leave your desk.  Read More
Formerly unobserved increase in length and twist of the anode in a nanobattery (Image: DOE...
Because battery technology hasn’t developed as quickly as the electronic devices they power, a greater and greater percentage of the volume of these devices is taken up by the batteries needed to keep them running. Now a team of researchers working at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT) is claiming to have created the world’s smallest battery, and although the tiny battery won’t be powering next year’s mobile phones, it has already provided insights into how batteries work and should enable the development of smaller and more efficient batteries in the future.  Read More
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft lift off (Image: NASA/Tony Gray and Kevin O...
SpaceX, an American space transport company founded by Elon Musk (think PayPal and Tesla Motors), has become the first commercial company in history to re-enter a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit. The craft, a fully functioning uncrewed Dragon capsule was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on December 8 and parachuted back to Earth around three hours later following maneuvers in orbit.  Read More
Future of Electric Vehicles conference a buzzing success
This week saw the Future of Electric Vehicles USA 2010 conference take place in San Jose, California. Billed as “the world's only event that covers all forms of electric vehicles – land, water, and air,” it included a series of presentations on new technologies, an exhibit hall, and master classes that featured trips to nearby Silicon Valley tech development firms. Gizmag was one of the main sponsors of the event, and we were there to learn more about what’s happening in the world of EVs. Here’s a quick look at some of what we took in.  Read More
Supernova in a jar: 'It is extremely difficult to observe the inside of a real exploding s...
Physicists from the University of Toronto and Rutgers University studying the effects of mixing two reactive chemicals have discovered a new phenomena which mimics the explosion of a type of supernova in miniature. The observation centers around two reactants which create a self-sustaining vortex ring without any external forces or additional catalysts. These kinds of reactions are occurring around us all the time in the atmosphere and oceans as well as stars, but this effect has never been seen and this new ability to study it will help further our understanding of the evolution of the universe.  Read More

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