nano grass
nano grass
HANDS FREE
BINOX
the gauntlet
IN OUR EVERYDAY COMMUNICATION, we are constantly monitoring other people's facial and body cues to discern whether we are enrapturing them, boring them, or confusing them—such that we can maintain or change our social tactics accordingly. But people are born with different degrees of this ability, and some need a little help. People with autism spectrum disorders like Asperger's—a social disorder that some scientists believe has afflicted the world's greatest geniuses, including Einstein—often have trouble deciphering what other people are thinking or feeling. As a result, they frequently make poor social judgments.
But with the help of a new tool developed by the MIT Media Lab, this problem may someday be a thing of the past. Researchers have developed "mind-reading" software consisting of a tiny camera that clips onto a person's clothing and analyzes the facial expressions of others, reporting the results back to the wearer via a tiny earpiece. While the device isn't foolproof—like the best of us, it sometimes misjudges expressions—researchers hope that with further tweaking, it might one day serve as a learning device or prosthesis for people with social disorders.
Jet Man
A Swiss man has become the first person to fly solo across the English Channel using a single jet-propelled wing.
Revolutionary paper is stronger than steel
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
'Buckypaper' could revolutionize the way everything from airplanes to TVs are made
When stacked together, buckypaper is potentially 500 times stronger than steel
It conducts electricity like copper or silicon and disperses heat like steel or brass
Researchers at Florida State developed Buckypaper from carbon molecules
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AP) -- It's called "buckypaper" and looks a lot like ordinary carbon paper, but don't be fooled by the cute name or flimsy appearance. It could revolutionize the way everything from airplanes to TVs are made.
Florida State University researcher Ben Wang, whose computer screen shows a microscopic view of buckypaper.
Buckypaper is 10 times lighter but potentially 500 times stronger than steel when sheets of it are stacked and pressed together to form a composite. Unlike conventional composite materials, though, it conducts electricity like copper or silicon and disperses heat like steel or brass.
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15 STUNNING CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGIES
We live in a spectacular time. The pace of technology steadily increases, new fields of science are heavily explored and innovative concepts emerge almost every day, resulting in stunning and overwhelming products. The impact of these products can be tremendous: in fact, new technology can completely revolutionize the way we play, communicate, work and live our lives. Some of these products are just eye-candy, some are useful, some are visionary and some may become revolutionary in the next years.
In this post we present stunning examples of cutting edge technology which is already reality today or will become reality in 2008. Please notice that some videos might not provide you with a concrete idea of what the technology offers, e.g. it’s imposle to display the advantages of 3D-TV using videos produced by a 2D-video-camera.
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Father of the internet: 'web is running out of addresses' From Times Online
The world is about to run out of the internet addresses that allow computers to identify each other and communicate, the man who invented the system has told The Times. Vint Cerf, the “father of the internet” and one of the world’s leading computer scientists, said that businesses and consumers needed to act now to switch to the next generation of net addresses. Unless preparations were made now, he said, some computers might not be able to go online and the connectivity of the internet might be damaged. Mr Cerf said that internet service providers in particular needed to prepare and that time was running out for a smooth transition. Every computer and online device is assigned a unique IP address, but the pool of unallocated numbers is about to dry up. IP address timebomb When Mr Cerf and others founded the internet system in 1977, he set in place "internet protocol version four" (IPv4) which provided 4.2 billion addresses. With the number of internet-enabled devices, particularly mobile phones, soaring, less than 14 per cent of those addresses remain vacant. It is estimated that IPv4 addresses, each of which is a series of 32 binary digits, will run out in 2010 and possibly as early as next year. A new system, called IPv6, has been ready for implementation for more than a decade. Under IPv6, each address has 128 bits and so provides 340 trillion, trillion, trillion different addresses - that is 340,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. It is assumed that this will meet humanity’s needs for decades to come. The two protocol systems will run in tandem and IPv4 addresses will still work as normal. But if the IPv6 is not widely adopted, then those using it may find themselves unable to connect across the whole internet. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has warned that shifting to the new addressing scheme was “critical for the future of the internet economy” and was likely to affect “all businesses that require IP addresses for their growth". It has urged governments to mount extensive education campaigns and encourage its adoption by specifying it in tenders for work.
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Chrysler plans electric vehicle in 2010 Top Chrysler execs Tom LaSorda, left, and Bob Nardelli stand next to a Dodge electric sports car prototype. The company showed reporters three electric prototypes: a Dodge sports car, a Jeep Wrangler and a Chrysler minivan. Chrysler's product development chief, Frank Klegon, said the automaker hasn't decided which one it will roll out first. The Dodge sports car is completely electric and based on Lotus Europa underpinnings, but the Jeep Wrangler and Chrysler minivan models will be extended-range vehicles similar to the Volt, which GM has said will go on sale in November 2010. Like the Volt, the Wrangler and minivan plug into a standard wall outlet and can go 40 miles (65 kilometers) on battery power alone, but then a small gasoline engine kicks in to recharge the batteries. Chrysler said its vehicles will be able to travel up to 400 miles (640 kilometers) on 8 gallons (30 liters) of gas . "We believe in the saying, 'Actions speak louder than words,"' LaSorda said. Chrysler Chief Executive Bob Nardelli denied that Chrysler showed off its electric prototypes now because Congress is considering a $25 billion loan program to help automakers and their suppliers modernize plants to make more fuel-efficient vehicles.
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Homeland Security Detects Terrorist Threats by Reading Your Mind A computer screens displays input from Homeland Security's FAST body scanner during a demonstration. Most preventive screening looks for explosives or metals that pose a threat. But a new system called MALINTENT turns the old school approach on its head. This Orwellian-sounding machine detects the person — not the device — set to wreak havoc and terror. MALINTENT, the brainchild of the cutting-edge Human Factors division in Homeland Security's directorate for Science and Technology, searches your body for non-verbal cues that predict whether you mean harm to your fellow passengers. It has a series of sensors and imagers that read your body temperature, heart rate and respiration for unconscious tells invisible to the naked eye — signals terrorists and criminals may display in advance of an attack. But this is no polygraph test. Subjects do not get hooked up or strapped down for a careful reading; those sensors do all the work without any actual physical contact. It's like an X-ray for bad intentions. Currently, all the sensors and equipment are packaged inside a mobile screening laboratory about the size of a trailer or large truck bed, and just last week, Homeland Security put it to a field test in Maryland, scanning 144 mostly unwitting human subjects. While I'd love to give you the full scoop on the unusual experiment, testing is ongoing and full disclosure would compromise future tests. |
