New and Emerging Technology News part 150 ~ NEW GEN TECH LIFE : new generation technology news

Sunday 2 February 2014

New and Emerging Technology News part 150

2011 - a year in technology
We cast a wide net over all types of new and emerging technologies here at Gizmag.com - some save us time, some keep us connected, some help us stay healthy and some are just plain fun, but at the core of what we cover are those discoveries and innovations which have the potential to impact the fortunes of the human race as a whole and make a difference to the future of our planet. So with the calender having rolled over into another year, it's an ideal time to take a look back at some of the most significant and far-reaching breakthroughs that we saw during 2011.  Read More
A test of a U.S. Harpoon anti-shipping missile (Photo: Jason C. Winn)
Last month U.S. Military, government and industry officials witnessed a demonstration of a new missile warhead casing material at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) in Dahlgren, Virginia. The material, known as High-Density Reactive Material (HDRM), is the result of collaboration between the Office of Naval Research (ONR), NSWC Dahlgren and NSWC Indian Head Divisioncan and can be employed within existing designs, but with added destructive power.  Read More
The Mushroom charger from Bracktron eliminates vampire power when charging mobile devices
The spring-loaded PumPing Tap concept that would eject electrical plugs from an outlet when not actively drawing electricity attracted a fair share of criticism from readers when we looked at it earlier this week. Bracktron has come up with a more practical solution with its line of GreenZero chargers that detect when the device being charged is unplugged or fully charged and automatically shut off to eliminate stand-by – also known as vampire power – consumption.  Read More
The new eight-speed Chrysler 300 Luxury Series sedan
Chrysler has launched its new 300 Luxury Series with what it has dubbed “the most luxurious and fuel-efficient Chrysler flagship ever.” Coupling a ZF 8HP45 eight-speed automatic transmission to a 292 horsepower, 3.6-liter aluminum Pentastar V6 engine, the 2012 Chrysler 300 Luxury Series sedan gets 31 mpg (7.5 l/100 km) on the highway and 19 mpg (12.4 l/100 km) in the city, for a combined fuel economy figure of 23 mpg (10 l/100 km).  Read More
The proposed WindFlip system would use barges that sink stern-first into the ocean, for tr...
While large offshore turbines can be very effective at harnessing the power of the wind, they do pose at least one challenge – how do you get them out into the ocean? One option is to bring them to their deployment site on board a ship, partially assembled, then put them together on location. Doing that kind of work on the pitching deck of a ship can be challenging, however, and requires crews to stay out at sea longer. Another option involves towing them from shore in their final, vertical orientation, but this requires an uninterrupted channel of deep water, and limits the speed at which they can be transported. Now, Norwegian company WindFlip is developing an alternative method that can accommodate shallow water, while allowing for relatively high transport speeds and a minimum amount of time spent putting the turbines in place.  Read More
The Help! app will allow people who are in danger to send footage of their situation, alon...
In the TV series Max Headroom, one of the sources of security for hardcore news videographer Edison Carter was the fact that his camcorder was constantly transmitting a live audio/video feed back to his co-workers at Network 23. If anyone attacked him out in the field, his colleagues would know about it, and would have the attack recorded on tape for the police. Well, given that we're now probably at about the time in history when the series was set, perhaps it only makes sense that we may soon be able to get a smartphone app that does pretty much the same thing as Edison's camera. Its working name is, appropriately enough, Help!  Read More
Multi-modal geolocation hardware designer and manufacturer Edgetrak and performance skateb...
Contrary to celluloid legend, Marty McFly did not invent the skateboard in 1955. Street surfing actually originated a little later and has gone from a few home brewers mounting some roller skate wheels onto the underside of a plywood board to an international sport which challenges both the creative ingenuity and physical capabilities of its participants. The design and structure of board and components have improved greatly over the years, but there appears to have been little headway in feeding back vital performance data to riders. Designer and manufacturer of military grade tracking technologies Edgetrak and performance board producer wefunk have now joined forces to fill the void. The newly-formed Stealth Division has just put the finishing touches to a new operational prototype longboard called the Mach1, the first deck in the world to feature built-in telemetrics.  Read More
Aftershokz is using a patent-pending bone conduction technology in its headphones
When you think of headphones, no matter what comes to mind, it's likely a set that fit inside or on top of your ears. There is another way however - headphones that transmit sound through your cheekbones using bone conduction. Initially developed for military use, we've seen a few examples of this technology before in headphones, waterproof MP3 players and even mobile phones and the latest to cross our desk - Aftershokz Bone Conduction Headphones - will be on show at CES next week.  Read More
Eugenia Morpurgo's Repair It Yourself (RIY) shoe concept is designed for disassembly and r...
The Repair It Yourself (RIY) concept by Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Eugenia Morpurgo is a canvas shoe designed to be as repairable as possible. It's a design that not only addresses the shortcomings of traditional shoemaking, but also poses questions as to the sustainability of our consumer habits.  Read More
A test firing of Lockheed Martin's GMLRS (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
Aerojet has conducted a successful demonstration of its "scalable effects" warhead. The recent flight test was carried out at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico using Lockheed Martin's new Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System-Plus (GMLRS+). As the name suggests, the scalable effects warhead allows the user to select the explosive yield of the weapon depending on the nature of its intended target.  Read More

DJ Scratching Deck
Felis catus, the domestic cat. They've been our companions for thousands of years, but if you're a cat looking for some comfort, distraction or just some new playthings, there's never been a better time to be alive. We recently looked at some fun apps for your cat to play with on your iPad or tablet, but if you're not inclined to let your feline loose on an expensive piece of modern computing equipment, read on. Whether your furry fleabag is a pampered Persian or an ear bitten moggy, Gizmag's top 10 cat gadgets have been compiled with Puss's pleasure (and yours) in mind.  Read More
JAGM fit check (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
With the announcement of the successful testing of a sophisticated Pneumatic Cooling System (PCS) by Lockheed Martin and industry partner Marotta Controls in December, the highly versatile Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) weapons system is a step closer to deployment in the field.  Read More
The foxLO subwoofer (rear) adds some low frequency oomph to the foxL portable speaker (fro...
Soundmatters has announced a new speaker designed to bring some low frequency oomph to its portable foxLv2 Bluetooth and non-Bluetooth brethren. The new foxLO, which Soundmatters calls “the world’s first palm-sized hi-fi subwoofer,” plugs directly into foxLv2 speaker’s subwoofer output but will also work with other branded portable speakers, such as the Jawbone Jambox, thanks to the inclusion of a 3.5 mm full pass-through output.  Read More
The C-1 is a proposed fully-electric and fully-enclosed self-balancing motorcycle
As any avid biker will tell you, motorcycles have a lot of advantages over cars - they use less fuel, accelerate faster, are more maneuverable, can be parked in more places, and don't incorporate the weight of extra seating for passengers who are non-existent on solo commutes. As many other people will tell you, however, motorcycles also leave their occupants open to the rain and cold, and can potentially tip over and scatter those occupants across the road. That's where Lit Motors' C-1 comes into the picture. It's a proposed fully-enclosed two-passenger electric motorbike that uses an electronically-controlled gyroscopic stabilizing system to stay upright when stopped, or even when struck from the side in an accident.  Read More
The dynamic luminous ceiling by Fraunhofer IAO recreates natural lighting conditions indoo...
The privilege of working under the open sky is reserved for just a few lucky professions. For the less fortunate majority, spending their working hours surrounded by gloomy office landscapes, the soothing sight of clouds drifting through the sky is unattainable. Setting up office cubicles in the open would do the trick but it's hardly a practical option, especially in places where the weather cannot be trusted. Fortunately, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO), based in Stuttgart, Germany, know what else can be done to bring a little outdoor comfort to the office-bound. They built a dynamic luminous ceiling which allows office dwellers to gaze at clouds without ever leaving their desks.  Read More
The PINOKY ring animates your plush toy's limbs (Photo: JST ERATO)
Bringing your childhood memories back to life has never been easier, at least when it comes to your plush friends. Toys that were never designed for movement can now be animated thanks to a simple ring-like device called PINOKY designed by a group of researchers from Keyo University, the University of Tokyo in frames of the Igarashi Design Interface Project. Simply snap the ring around a plush toy’s limb, or any other plush extremity for that matter, and marvel at the sight of your favorite childhood friend waving at you vigorously.  Read More
Orangutans at select zoos are now using iPads, and will soon start Skyping orangutans at o...
Turns out we aren't that different from other apes after all. Our primate cousins at a handful of zoos love to use iPads to combat boredom just as much as humans. Zookeepers say that the device is perfect for orangutans, and many have been taking part in guided touchscreen interactions with all sorts of apps, including music, games, movies, cartoons, art, painting, drawing, photos and videos. The orangutans have been playing with the iPads for the past several months, and now a U.S. charity is hoping to round up more of the tablets so the apes can Skype with orangutans at other zoos.  Read More
The Decagon Link Station by Logos is a modular tent system with, theoretically at least, n...
The Decagon Link Station is a modular tent system by Japanese camping firm Logos. The various tents, canopies and tunnels of the Decagon range can be selected and connected as needed for a bespoke tent tailored to the specific needs of the user. Campsite etiquette notwithstanding, there's no theoretical limit to the size and complexity of the final assembly.  Read More
With Portal boxes, two people connected to the internet can literally reach behind a video...
Thanks to touchscreens and motion controls, we're able to interact with anything with a screen like never before; but this still leaves that glass barrier between us and the virtual world that we see behind it. We can't just leap into our televisions or computers like Mike Teavee in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and we certainly can't jump into the same space as someone else on the other side of the world. Now though, thanks to one design student's Portal boxes, we can at least reach our hands behind the screen along with another person connected to the internet, and interact with a virtual world together.  Read More
The teleoperation system created by Taylor Veltrop lets him remotely groom his cat
The Kinectimals video game lets players pet a virtual pet on their TV screen, but Tokyo-based software engineer Taylor Veltrop has gone one step further. By pairing a Kinect sensor, a Wiimote, a treadmill and a Nao humanoid robot together, Veltrop has cobbled together a teleoperation system that allows him to groom his real life feline friend remotely.  Read More

Unlocking the three-dimensional structure of the enzyme endomannosidase could lead to new ...
Viruses can enter the body via a number of pathways and while scientists have known how to block the main one used by viruses such as HIV, Hepatitis C, Dengue Fever and West Nile virus for some time, these viruses are able to bypass this main pathway to replicate and cause disease via a second pathway by hijacking an enzyme known as endomannosidase. Now an international team of researchers has determined the three-dimensional structure of the enzyme endomannosidase, opening the door for new treatments to a variety of deadly viruses through the development of inhibitors that block this bypass route.  Read More
A prototype system has been created for cleaning and heating the air in chicken and swine ...
If you’ve ever so much as stepped into a chicken or swine barn, you’ll know that they can be very, very smelly places. When vented outdoors, the air from these buildings does more than just make the area stink – it can actually be a major source of air pollution and greenhouse gases. Fortunately, however, researchers from North Carolina State University and West Virginia University have created a system that not only helps clean the air going out of the barns, but it heats up the air coming in from outside.  Read More
The e2251Fwu monitor from AOC comes receives both power and signal from a single USB cable
AOC, the makers of a range of USB monitors including the16-inch E1649FWU USB monitor, has upped the screen size for its latest USB-powered offering. The new e2251Fwu boasts a 22-inch LED backlit display and receives both power and signal solely through a USB connection. The single USB cable connection is designed to make hooking yourself up with a dual- or multi-monitor setup a simple plug-and-play affair and appeal to those looking to take a second monitor on the road to accompany their laptop.  Read More
Sleeves equipped with sensors have been developed to time the actions of factory workers, ...
In factories where products are mass-produced, it's extremely important to know how long the human workers take to perform certain tasks. This not only allows the pace of the assembly line to be set, but it also allows factory owners to identify time-wasting problems such as superfluous movements, overly frequent tool changes, or impractically-located components. Typically, workers are periodically timed by a stopwatch-wielding supervisor, or using a timer that they start and stop themselves. A new wearable time-keeping system, however, promises more accurate readings.  Read More
An African Agama lizard, and Tailbot
For some time now, scientists have assumed that dinosaurs’ tails didn’t simply drag on the group behind them, but were instead held out to serve as a counterweight for the giant reptiles’ heavy front ends when running. More recently, however, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, have discovered that modern-day lizards also use their tails to control the orientation of their bodies when leaping through the air. It’s a discovery that could be applied to devices such as search-and-rescue robots, and in fact already has been. Based on their observations, the UC Berkeley team created a small, tailed robot known as Tailbot.  Read More
The BreathalEyes app for iPhone uses the smartphone's camera to detect and measure involun...
Common sense should be enough to tell us that getting behind the wheel of a car after consuming alcohol is not a particularly good idea, but still there are those who stupidly risk life and liberty by driving home after the party. When trying to convince such people to call a taxi, friends are often faced with a call for proof that the would-be driver is unfit to drive. Instead of analyzing a user's breath to determine alcohol content, the BreathalEyes app for iPhone detects involuntary eye movement in a similar way to field sobriety tests undertaken by police patrols.  Read More
Microsoft and the University of Washington are developing an electronic contact lens that ...
We've heard of experimental contact lenses that can non-invasively monitor the blood sugar levels of diabetes sufferers before, but where prior research relied on chemical reactions inducing color-change in the lens, new joint research by the University of Washington and Microsoft Research aims to incorporate electronics into such lenses to report blood sugar levels wirelessly. Gizmag spoke to Desney Tan, Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research Connections, to find out what sets this work apart.  Read More
AMP will unveil an all-electric version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee in Detroit next week (P...
The AMP Jeep Grand Cherokee, to be unveiled next week at the North American International Auto Show, is a 100 percent electric-drive vehicle with all the cargo space and utility of a true SUV. AMP trades out Jeep's V6/V8 powertrain for a combination of two Remi electric motors and a 37.6 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery. Because the motors are direct drive, the electrified Grand Cherokee does not require a transmission. The motors combine for 152 kW (203 hp), and the model will travel about 80 to 100 miles (129 to 161 km) per charge.  Read More
Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
Of all the colorful characters in the motorcycle world, few polarize opinion as strongly as Sweden's mysterious "Ghost Rider." It's not hard to see why - with five DVDs full of heinous traffic law violations, including 300 km/h (180 mph) wheelies, police baiting and near-suicidal top speed time trials around the Swedish freeway system, he's probably the most famous flaunter of road rules the world has ever seen. And now, his most famous steed, a 499-horsepower turbocharged, naked Hayabusa, is being given away through a website lottery. Only ridden to church on Sundays, it's the perfect practical getabout to take down to the shops.  Read More
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept pairs a 280 hp gasoline engine with a 70 hp electric...
The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) 2012, which kicks off in Detroit next Monday, will see Volvo unveil its XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept car that it describes as “an electric car, a highly economical hybrid and a powerful high-performance car all rolled into one.” At the press of a button, the XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept can switch between Pure electric mode, Hybrid mode, or Power mode, which combines the power of the 280 hp gasoline engine with the 70 hp electric motor to propel the car from zero to 60 mph (96.5 km/h) in 5.8 seconds.  Read More
 
 
The De Soto T1 Wetsuit in action
Over the past few years an unlikely material has found its way into wetsuits: limestone. One would think that using rock to create rubber might cause a wearer to sink, but the porous yet closely-packed cells found in a limestone-based rubber is said to make the wearer more buoyant. De Soto Sports, a San Diego-based company that makes clothing and gear for triathlons, developed its own brand of limestone-based rubber, GreenGoma, to use in its wetsuits. Starting with the 2012 line, which first hit stores this past fall, all of the company's T1 wetsuits are made with GreenGoma, which eliminates the use of petroleum products in the line.  Read More
The Fujifilm FinePix F660EXR
This year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is fast approaching, and the North American wing of Japanese photography giant Fujifilm is celebrating with the launch of 19 new digital cameras. Our team on the ground will be nudging through the crowds to get a closer look at some (if not all) of the new cameras on offer, but here's a quick spec overview to whet your appetite.  Read More
Mogees turns any hard surface into a playable musical interface (Photo: Bruno Zamborlin)
Mogees is great news for all the air guitarists out there. This tiny device, built by Bruno Zamborlin for his Arts and Computational Technologies PhD project, offers a whole new way of expressing yourself musically, even if you don’t have the slightest idea how to play an instrument. Mogees, or a “Mosaicing Gestural Surface," is based on a simple contact microphone that turns any hard surface into a musical interface for triggering audio samples. What sets Mogees apart from other interfaces of this kind is that different types of touch stimuli generate different output. Simple gestures like scratching, rubbing or tapping can produce a surprising array of sounds worthy of a serious experimental music set up.  Read More
Parabox is a system that lets cyclo-cross racers add hydraulic disc brakes to their existi...
About a year and a half ago, the International Cycling Union – the organization that sets the rules for bicycle racing – announced that it would allow the use of disc brakes on cyclo-cross bikes. This was good news for off-road racers, who were willing to accept the slight weight penalty of disc systems in exchange for the performance advantages that they offer over traditional rim brakes. As a result, we’re now seeing various disc-equipped competition-level cyclo-cross bikes entering the marketplace. However, what does this mean for all the perfectly-good bikes out there that were made before the announcement? Well, it turns out that they can be converted to hydraulic discs, thanks to something known as the Parabox system.  Read More
The iShower from iDevices is a bluetooth-enabled water resistant speaker for 'aqua-centric...
From iDevices, the iPeople behind the iGrill, comes iShower - a battery-powered, Bluetooth-enabled, water-resistant speaker for what its makers charmingly refer to as "aqua-centric environments." The iShower can stream music from any Bluetooth-enabled Apple or Android device, apparently to an impressive range of up to 200 feet (60 meters). Well iNever.  Read More
Chimeric monkeys Roku, Hex and Chimero (not pictured) are the first three primates ever to...
Scientists have reached a major milestone in the field of stem cell research. A team at the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) say their work has led to the first successful birth of three chimeric monkeys - monkeys developed from stem cells taken from two separate embryos.  Read More
The Nikon D4 will be available in late February 2012 for the suggested retail price of $5,...
Who says all the good stuff has to be announced at CES? It's just a few days before the show, and Nikon has taken the wraps off its newest flagship DSLR - the Nikon D4. The 16-megapixel camera has been optimized for “speed and precision,” with a number of new features to make the camera both faster and to improve its overall image quality over its predecessor. The D4 has an ISO range from 100 to 204,800, allowing it to capture crisp photos in exceptionally low-light situations, a faster shutter speed that allows it to capture photos at 10 frames-per-second, and the ability to capture 1080p high definition video.  Read More
Logitech is soon to launch its Cube mouse and presentation device, with automatic 'Present...
When is a cube not a cube? When it's a Logitech Cube. That is, a mouse and presentation device which, though called a Cube is not a cube. You follow? Here's the thing: when you put it on a desk it behaves like a mouse, but when you pick it up it automatically goes into "Presenter Mode" for navigating PowerPoint presentations like a pro (because without one, PowerPoint is really, really hard). But it's the Cube's in-built gestures (all both of them) that separate it from the herd. Warning: this article contains unavoidable double entendres.  Read More
A commonly-available, inexpensive polymer has been shown to be very effective at capturing...
In recent years, worries over global climate change caused by excess atmospheric carbon dioxide have led to a number of technologies all aimed at the same thing – capturing human-generated CO2 at the source. These have included the use of things such as edible sponges, molten salts and bacteria, to name just a few. Now, a group of scientists are claiming success with a process that has achieved “some of the highest carbon dioxide removal rates ever reported for humid air” ... and it uses a common and inexpensive polymer.  Read More
The Hexa Space concept's honeycomb-like seating layout
Hyundai will be giving its new multi-purpose vehicle concept its world premiere at Auto Expo 2012, which kicks off in New Delhi, India on the weekend. Based on Hyundai’s “Fluidic Sculpture” design language, the “Hexa Space” – also codenamed the HND-7 – is powered by Hyundai’s 1.2-liter “Kappa” turbocharged GDI petrol engine paired with a six-speed automatic transmission and features eight, hexagonally shaped seats that “fit together like puzzle pieces” to enable multiple configurations, including a limosine layout.  Read More

The Rukus Solar portable Bluetooth sound system's lithium ion battery can be charged by th...
While insufficient battery-life can be annoying in most mobile devices, getting cut off from the outside world because your radio has run out of juice can be much more serious. This is why Eton has been producing various devices powered by hand-turbines and solar panels for some time now. Today’s CES Unveiled saw Eton demonstrating its latest FRX line of self-powered radios that come in three flavors – the FRX 3 and FRX 2, which both sport a solar panel and hand turbine, and the FRX 1, which features just the hand-turbine. Also on show was Eton’s new Rukus portable Bluetooth sound system, which comes in battery- and solar-powered versions.  Read More
Researchers have developed a biofuel cell to enable the development of 'insect cyborgs' (I...
Research into developing insect cyborgs for use as first responders or super stealthy spies has been going on for a while now. Most research has focused on using batteries, tiny solar cells or piezoelectric generators to harvest kinetic energy from the movement of an insect’s wings to power the electronics attached to the insects. Now a group of researchers at Case Western Reserve University have created a power supply that relies just on the insect’s normal feeding.  Read More
Six different float designs undergoing tests in the wave pool of the Institute for Hydrome...
Israel's Eco Wave Power is just entering the second phase of proving its new wave energy harvest and conversion system that's claimed to produce cheaper energy than existing coal-fired power plants. Energy is captured by the influence of rising and falling waves on two proprietary float designs called the Wave Clapper and Power Wing, which are installed on existing, stable structures. The floats are said to be capable of gathering energy from both high and low waves, which is fed through undersea cabling to a land-based power plant for conversion to usable electricity.  Read More
The HDMI dongle that turns any HDTV into a 'Smart TV'
Now you don't necessarily need to own a “Smart TV” in order to get Android apps on your television. Always Innovating will be showing off its HDMI dongle at CES this week, a compact device that can turn any HDTV into a Smart TV. Essentially Always Innovating's HDMI Dongle is a portable version of a set-top box. The device is based on the Texas Instruments Cortex-A9 OMAP 4 ,which can run from 1GHz to 1.8GHz depending of the configuration, and offers 1GB of RAM as well as a micro SD card for local storage.  Read More
A Canadian citizen pulled up to the U.S. border holding an iPad showing a full-sized image...
While driving from Quebec to the United States, a Canadian citizen named Martin Reisch suddenly realized the fear of every world traveler: he'd completely forgotten his passport at home. Going back for it would've meant several hours extra driving time, so using a little quick thinking and a huge amount of luck he pulled up to the U.S. border holding an iPad showing a full-sized image of his passport that he had taken five years previous and had saved to a Dropbox folder. After what must have been a nerve-racking five minutes while border officials looked over the document, Reisch was amazingly allowed through into Vermont, even receiving a "Happy Holidays" from the border officer for the trouble.  Read More
Store the Douchebag nearly anywhere
Douche bags at ski hills aren't a new phenomenon. Whether it's the aggressive adrenalin junkies yelling at you from the lifts in hopes you'll fall in glorious YouTube-ranking fashion or the rich folks in $5,000 fur-lined one-piece ski suits, they're everywhere. Now there's a new kind of a Douchebag that is designed to actually make your ski day more fun. Douchebags in this case is simply a clever (it got your attention, didn't it?) name for a newly launched ski accessories company whose first product is a feature-filled ski bag that should make getting to and from the slopes - whether it be flying and shuttling to an exotic resort or just driving to your local hill - easier and more efficient.  Read More
The SolarKindle Kindle case can provide you with three months of reading time, and over 50...
What if you could read on your Kindle for three months straight? SolarFocus will be showing off a Kindle case at CES this week designed to do just that. Called SolarKindle, the case has a solar panel built into its front that allows you to charge your Kindle poolside, or while you're involved in other outdoor activities, delivering three months of reading time and over 50 hours of reading lamp use on a single charge.  Read More
Swann Sky Eye RC helicopter with camera
An iPhone app and a camera take flight in the new remote control helicopters from Swann. Three models include i-Fly Micro Lightning, Sky Eye and Black Swan. The i-Fly Micro Lightning lets you control the helicopter via an app for the iPhone, iPod or iPad. The Sky Eye and Black Swann models house a camera capable of taking still and video images.  Read More
A new radar system could be used to detect and identify objects that fall onto train track...
Although you may never have seen it happen yourself, it isn’t all that uncommon for large objects – including people – to fall onto the tracks at subway or railway platforms. While security personnel viewing CCTV feeds will catch some of these accidents, the cameras’ shots are sometimes obscured by people, poor lighting, or even the trains themselves. The results can range from lengthy delays in rail service, to fatalities. Now, however, researchers working on a project for the Université Lille Nord de France have developed a system that uses radar to automatically detect and identify objects that fall onto the tracks. When installed at a platform, the system could then shut off power to the tracks, and notify oncoming trains.  Read More
Scientists have created a rudimentary data storage device using salmon DNA (Photo: Isaac W...
Salmon ... they’re good to eat, provide a livelihood for fishermen, are an important part of their ecosystem, and now it seems that they can store data. More specifically, their DNA can. Scientists from National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany have created a “write-once-read-many-times” (WORM) memory device, that combines electrodes, silver nanoparticles, and salmon DNA. While the current device is simply a proof-of-concept model, the researchers have stated that DNA could turn out to be a less expensive alternative to traditional inorganic materials such as silicon.  Read More

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