Have you ever wondered what lies just beyond the stratosphere, or better yet the atmosphere? Wonder no longer. Microsoft officially unveiled their telescope service today: Microsoft Worldwide Telescope. Any web surfer with a decent Internet connection can now explore the nether regions of space all from your living room. The service combines 12 terabytes of data and includes 50 surveys, 1,000 high-resolution studies, and links to astronomy research on the web. What you’ll actually be viewing are photos captured from a variety of telescopes: the Hubble Telescope which is high in the sky, and the Cerror Tololo Observatory, which is just north of Santiago, Chile.
To check it out go here (you’ll need to download a file and it’s not compatible with OS X).
By now you’re probably wondering why the hell am I featuring a rock on GR. The answer is quite simple in fact. This ain’t a rock. Nope, it’s an object crafted from man - two men to be exact and 1000 of hours of painstaking work. The Gomboc is in fact a ’self righting object’. No matter what side the Gomboc is placed on it will always ‘right itself’. 10 years of work and many a awards later, Gabor Domokos and Peter Varkonyi of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics finally have vindication.
The Audeo, a Texas Instrument company, is a communication device that when worn can communicate with people or objects without the use of voice. Although similar to the Epoc Headset in end goal, the device captures the brain waves or signals at a different location. The Audeo is placed on the user’s neck, adjacent to the vocal cords. When the user tries to speak brain waves are transmitted to the voice box. The Audeo then captures the neurological signals and digitizes the information for interpretation by a nearby computer for face-to-face communication, or a cell phone for telephone calls. TI’s specs state an 8+ hour operation time. Other real world tests, outside of placing a phone call, have been the ability to wirelessly control an electric wheelchair without any physical movement. The Audeo is set for release by the end of 2008 and is targeted at folks with disabilities preventing them from speaking and/or physical movement.
You’ve probably heard of ‘wireless power’, but disregarded it as myth or mombojombo. In fact, wireless power and wireless charging is teetering on the tipping point of reality. Currently there are a few pads that charge cell phones and MP3 players, but they require a retrofitting for them to work, not to mention they need to be placed directly on top of the pad to charge. True wireless charging on the other hand should be spoken of in feet, not centimeters, and some MIT smarty pants are doing just that.
It all started when Marin Soljačić, an assistant professor of physics at MIT was awoken by an incessant beeping. It was his cell phone (probably a Nokia) calling out in need of a battery charge. It was then that Marin began his search to develop wireless power. He had to find a a transmission tool that wouldn’t be harmful to humans and wouldn’t lose the majority of it’s energy like so many wireless technologies do. What he stumbled on was ‘magnetic resonance’, which are essentially magnetic fields. Marin and a team working together eventually were able to power a 60-watt light bulb wirelessly through a thin wall.
“The researchers built two resonant copper coils and hung them from the ceiling, about two meters apart. When they plugged one coil into the wall, alternating current flowed through it, creating a magnetic field. The second coil, tuned to the same frequency and hooked to a light bulb, reso nated with the magnetic field, generating an electric current that lit up the bulb–even with a thin wall between the coils.”
Wireless charging diagram/example after the ‘leap’.
Wireless Light (below is courtesy of Technologyreview.com)
Marin Soljačić and colleagues used magnetic resonance coupling to power a 60-watt light bulb. Tuned to the same frequency, two 60-centimeter copper coils can transmit electricity over a distance of two meters, through the air and around an obstacle.
1. Resonant copper coil attached to frequency converter and plugged into outlet
2. Wall outlet
3. Obstacle
4. Resonant copper coil attached to light bulb
Medical diagnosis often requires the patient to describe their symptoms. If the description is ‘off’ the diagnosis will be ‘off’. Researches from Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering have developed a respiration monitoring system free of stethoscopes or large machines. Embedded in an article of clothing - like a shirt or t-shirt - is a built-in monitoring system called RespiSENS, which collects data and transmits the information for analysis to a handheld device (a PDA or phone). The device is also designed to provide ‘guidance’ during exercise, and can also be used during sleep, a time when we can’t monitor our own breathing habits (apparently I snore like a freight train). Once the data is collected it can then be sent to their doctor for analysis, and wala, no more guessing. Look out for more info and a presentation of this technology at CeBIT ‘08.
Researchers in Arizona have crafted a rewritable, autostereoscopic, 3 dimensional display. In other words you don’t need any special glasses to see the 3-D image, and unlike other previous Hologram tech you can write over the original image. Currently the tech is limited to a 10 by 10 centimeter palette and a still image. Nasser Peyghambarian, the lead scientist dude behind this tech, hopes to increase that to 30 by 30 centimeters and improve the write times to 30-60 times a minutes (currently write times are 2 minutes per image) such that moving images are achievable. Grandiose as it may sound, we might see a commercial holographic display in 3 - 5 years. The applications could be endless and range from movies to surgical procedures.
Researchers have developed clothes that clean themselves when exposed to a heavy dose of sunlight and water vapor. It starts with spraying a thin layer of Titanium Dioxide Nanocrystals on wool, silk and hemp. Once infused with the compound and heavily stained, the clothing is placed into UV light where the synthesis begins. The Titanium Dioxide turns into hydroxyl radicals and begin to oxidize, or eat away at the stain. Titanium Dioxide poses not threat to humans or the textiles, and is in fact found in toothpaste, paint, and sun screens. Depicted to the right is a red wine stain applied to a treated piece of wool. After a few hours the stain has disappeared. Titanium Dioxide is also known for destroying pathogens, making for a significant commercial opportunity in hospital bedding, gowns and other textiles. No sun or UV light and the stain will remain.
Unbeknownst to me, and probably 99% of the population, surgery under the guidance of a live operating MRI was impossible due to the magnetic fields. The NeuroArm is the world’s first MRI-guided neurosurgical robot allowing for microscopic surgeries. The NeuroArm’s motors were designed and built using ceramics, enabling it to work within magnetic fields and allowing surgeons and scientist to navigate and see how the brain is impacted during surgery.
Researchers have developed clothes that clean themselves when exposed to a heavy dose of sunlight and water vapor. It starts with spraying a thin layer of Titanium Dioxide Nanocrystals on wool, silk and hemp. Once infused with the compound and heavily stained, the clothing is placed into UV light where the synthesis begins. The Titanium Dioxide turns into hydroxyl radicals and begin to oxidize, or eat away at the stain. Titanium Dioxide poses not threat to humans or the textiles, and is in fact found in toothpaste, paint, and sun screens. Depicted to the right is a red wine stain applied to a treated piece of wool. After a few hours the stain has disappeared. Titanium Dioxide is also known for destroying pathogens, making for a significant commercial opportunity in hospital bedding, gowns and other textiles. No sun or UV light and the stain will remain.
