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Sensors
Computer program stops sensors and satellites from 'crying wolf'
By Jeff Salton
17:52 January 31, 2010 PST
We rely so heavily on information gathered by satellites and weather instruments to help us program our daily lives, imagine what would happen if the data we received from these technologies went bad and foretold of cataclysmic outcomes in the days or weeks ahead? Panic could induce scenes on our streets reminiscent of Hollywood disaster movies. To avert such events - or just help get things right even if the forecast is more mundane - scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) have devised an innovative computational technique called Intelligent Outlier Detection Algorithm, or IODA, that draws on statistics, imaging, and other disciplines in order to detect errors in sensitive technological systems. Read More
NEPTUNE Canada - world's largest cabled seafloor observatory goes live
By Ben Coxworth
20:00 January 26, 2010 PST
Deep-sea research is great and everything, but man, those submersibles can get pretty cramped. The other, bigger problem is that it requires going off and traveling on a ship, which is costly and can therefore only be done a few times a year. Fortunately, however, there’s now a way of obtaining real-time undersea data without leaving your office. NEPTUNE Canada, the world’s largest and most advanced cabled seafloor observatory, officially started going live to the Internet last December, giving anyone with an Internet connection free access to what will become an absolute mountain of data from the bottom of the sea. Read More
Synaptics debuts Fuse next-generation mobile phone concept
By Ben Coxworth
23:22 January 24, 2010 PST
Last December, the world was introduced to the Synaptics Fuse, a new concept in mobile communications. The prototype smartphone is the result of a collaboration between Synaptics, Texas Instruments, Immersion, TheAlloy and The Astonishing Tribe (TAT). What makes this phone so special is its user/phone interface. It takes Synaptics’ pioneering touchscreen technology to a whole new level, allowing people to use the phone one-handed, and without having to even see the screen. Read More
Researchers show off tiny piezoelectric energy capture sensor
By Paul Ridden
19:21 January 7, 2010 PST
Working within the Holst Centre program on Micropower Generation and Storage, researchers have developed a small piezoelectric device capable of harvesting 85 microwatts of electricity from vibrations. Fabricated using MEMS technology, the fully autonomous temperature sensor generates enough power to wirelessly measure and transmit environmental data to a base station every 15 seconds. Read More
New sensors protect priceless paintings in transit
By Jeff Salton
18:46 December 27, 2009 PST
Valuable paintings that are shipped or loaned to museums or other destinations around the world will soon have unusual traveling companions for their long journeys – sensors that can detect the buildup of pollutants within their specially-designed shipping crates. Occasionally, adhesives and other chemicals within the crates can breakdown and the fumes can damage the works of art. But the new sensors, developed by scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC in Würzburg, Germany, will detect these dangerous substances and help avoid the treasures being damaged. Read More
Robovie II - the personal robotic shopper
By Mick Webb
15:37 December 23, 2009 PST
For some elderly citizens the simple act of shopping can prove daunting and an assistant or carer may be required to help out. Aiming to help increasingly (if sometimes reluctantly) tech-savvy seniors, is Robovie II - a robotic assistant that takes a pre-transmitted shopping list and follows the customer around the store, carrying their goods while communicating and even offering suggestions. Read More
MIT debuts the Copenhagen Wheel
By Paul Ridden
13:58 December 17, 2009 PST
Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology's SENSEable City team have chosen the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change to show off a new bicycle wheel prototype which not only provides electric rider assist, but also contains "a veritable Swiss army knife's worth of electronic gadgets and novel functions", including sensors to monitor air quality and noise pollution, GPRS and Bluetooth connectivity. Read More
Gestural interfaces make touch screens look so ‘last year’
By Jeff Salton
21:21 December 13, 2009 PST
The gestural interface used by Tom Cruise in the movie Minority Report was based on work by MIT Media Lab’s Hiroshi Ishii, who has already commercialized similar large-scale gestural interface systems. However, such systems comprise many expensive cameras or require the user to wear tracking devices on their fingers. To develop a similar yet cost effective gestural interface system that is within reach of many more people other researchers at MIT have instead been working to develop screens with embedded optical sensors to track the movement of the user’s fingers that could quickly make touch screens seem outdated. Read More
Automatically generated social networking status updates
By Darren Quick
22:43 November 15, 2009 PST
Ahhh, social network status updates. How would we know what breathtakingly exciting (or mind-numbingly boring) activities our friends and family are up to from one moment to the next without them? And if you sometimes find it’s a chore just reading these missives, spare a thought for those people writing them. But soon, by combining networking and messaging platforms with emerging ambient intelligence systems that use sensors and smart objects to create awareness of users’ whereabouts and activities, such status updates and other social information could be generated automatically. Read More
SmartHand brings movement AND touch to amputees
By Darren Quick
02:49 November 5, 2009 PST
Scientists have successfully wired a state-of-the-art artificial hand to existing nerve endings in the stump of a severed arm. Its creators say the device, called “SmartHand,” resembles a real hand in function, sensitivity and appearance. In order to develop such an intelligent artificial prosthetic hand with all the basic features displayed by a real one, the SmartHand team integrated recent advances in nanobioscience, cognitive neuroscience and information technologies. Read More
'Hyperspectral Remote Sensor' senses disasters from space
By Darren Quick
23:59 October 25, 2009 PDT
Combining sophisticated sensors in orbit with sensors on the ground and in the air has led researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) to create a “Hyperspectral Remote Sensor” (HRS) that can give advance warnings about water contamination after a forest fire, alert authorities of a pollution spill long before a red flag is raised on Earth, or inform the population where a monsoon will strike. Read More
Gel sensors to detect bomb chemicals and illegal drugs in seconds
By Jeff Salton
03:26 October 12, 2009 PDT
Sensors that quickly detect chemicals used to make bombs are being developed by scientists at Queen’s University, Belfast. The devices will use special gel pads to "swipe" a person or crime scene to gather a sample which is then analyzed by a scanning instrument that can detect the presence of chemicals within seconds, much quicker than current analysis methods. This will allow better, faster decisions to be made in response to terrorist threats. The team is also working on devices that detect illegal drugs and will hopefully be deployed by police as roadside drug "breathalyzers". Read More
Mouse 2.0: Microsoft's multi-touch mouse prototypes
05:01 October 10, 2009 PDT
It's been over forty years since the first computer mouse saw the light of day, and the fact that its basic design hasn't changed all that much is a testament to the original. But that doesn't mean there's no room for improvement. A group of researchers at Microsoft has come up with five new experimental designs that tie traditional mouse functionality to increasingly popular multi-touch technology on a single device. Read More
La Montre Verte: people-based environment monitoring
By Paul Ridden
14:43 October 6, 2009 PDT
A wrist-bound sensor that gathers information about pollution as the wearer walks about town was a surprise hit with visitors at a conservation festival in Amsterdam last month. La Montre Verte (The Green Watch) follows the example of similar projects in London, New York and San Francisco and puts ozone and noise pollution detection in, or rather on, the hands of citizens. Read More
SurroundSense uses your phone's sensors to figure out where you are
17:02 September 30, 2009 PDT
Smartphones use GPS locating for a variety of functions but mainly they're used on the road where their accuracy - only within 10m - is basically a case of 'near enough is good enough'. But try using one indoors. They don't work! Nor can they distinguish between two adjacent environments, however different. And 10m can make a big difference inside a shopping complex or multi-roomed office block. In a research jointly sponsored by Microsoft, Nokia, Verizon and the National Science Foundation, a group of computer engineers from Duke University is working on achieving better indoor localization using a combination of sounds, lighting and accelerometer data picked up by a mobile phone. They hope it will supplement the use of GPS systems, which most users know, have their limitations. Read More
DUSTBOT collaborative, multifunctional robots keep your town clean
20:14 September 23, 2009 PDT
A group of European companies and universities have collaborated to produce a series of multifunctional robots for urban hygiene tasks. With abilities ranging from door-to-door garbage pickup and transportation, to automated street cleaning, the DUSTBOTs recently demonstrated their skills at a station in the town of Atxuri, Portugal. Read More
LG’s Roboking robotic vacuum cleaner gets smarter
By Paul Lester
11:18 September 10, 2009 PDT
Ever since Electrolux introduced the couch-potato to the Tribolite, vacuum cleaner manufacturers have been coming up with progressively smarter, more efficient ways to automate this common chore. iRobot has been busy refining the Roomba and Dyson came up with something that looks more at home on the battlefield in the DC06, but this time it’s LG’s chance to get involved and the new Roboking promises intelligent cleaning using a range of advanced sensors. Read More
Robotic gaming gets on a roll
By Darren Quick
00:42 August 26, 2009 PDT
Robots have uses beyond packaging, production lines and the imminent overthrowing of humanity - or at least South African/U.S. start up Robonica thinks so. It’s aiming to ‘redefine the entertainment robotics market’ with a line of robotic gaming products that fuse elements of robotics, remote controlled vehicles and electronic gaming. The core of the Robonica’s introductory product, Roboni-i Action Games, is a fully programmable remote controlled robot with sensors that make it aware of its environment and that enable it to interact with other robots. Read More
Raytheon announces improved infrared detector
By Paul Ridden
18:41 August 17, 2009 PDT
Raytheon has announced the creation of the world's largest infra-red light wave detector, the "4K by 4K" focal plane array. Not only will it allow whole hemisphere satellite monitoring at 16 megapixel resolution but it should also make sensors less dependent on the complicated scanning mechanisms used in current systems. Read More
Tiny MEMS devices to filter, amplify electronic signals
By Jeff Salton
18:42 August 13, 2009 PDT
Researchers are developing a new class of tiny mechanical devices, made up of vibrating structures the thickness of a human hair, that could be used to filter electronic signals in cell phones and other applications. Only the size of a grain of sand, these microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) will, nonetheless, improve performance and reduce power usage. Read More
Virtual co-drivers will make trucks of the future safer
By Jeff Salton
06:55 August 4, 2009 PDT
Trucks of the future could be equipped with an on-board digital co-driver to help the human behind the wheel, or even take over if the driver loses control. The HAVEit project (short for Highly Automated Vehicles for Intelligent Transport) has 28 million euros (USD$40 million) at its disposal and is aiming to develop an intelligent driver assist system that responds to both traffic conditions and drivers' needs. Read More
Amphibious hybrid concept car - street machine to mean marine
By Jeff Salton
18:45 August 3, 2009 PDT
Despite the fact that very few make it off the drawing board to prototype stage, ‘go anywhere’ concept cars are an ever popular subject for budding auto designers and car lovers alike. And why not - they allow us to forget about the pesky practicalities of design and tiresome economics and imagine what could be. The latest to cross our desk - the Amphibious Hybrid concept vehicle - is a case of Bond meets the Transformers with its automatically adjusting tire design that morphs to ensure maximum grip on any given terrain including ice and water, where it becomes a kind of three wheel paddle boat. Read More
New driver-assist systems from Nissan help straighten out curvy roads
By Jeff Salton
19:07 July 31, 2009 PDT
We've been covering a raft of new technology from Nissan this week and one of the most interesting is its innovative assisted steering system, which synchronizes navigation, engine, braking and steering systems to help drivers make smoother (and safer) turns. By linking Nissan’s existing Distance Control Assist System to on-board navigation map data, the Navigation-Cooperative Intelligent Pedal can help the driver decelerate or brake as the car enters a curve based on real-time navigation information. Read More
Reality Mining: Tomorrow’s forecast predicts humanity’s needs
By Darren Quick
23:54 July 29, 2009 PDT
Researchers will one day be able to accurately predict such things as the economic and social effects of billions of new Internet users in China and India, or the exact location and number of airline flights to cancel around the world in order to halt the spread of a pandemic, says Indiana University’s Alessandro Vespignani. This capability will be possible thanks to “reality mining”, which involves the collection of data from machine-sensed sources to provide knowledge about aggregated human behavior. Read More
Interpreting sign language is just the beginning for the AcceleGlove open source dataglove
02:00 July 23, 2009 PDT
After years in the making, the AcceleGlove open source data glove is now available for purchase. Originally designed for use as an automated American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter, the AcceleGlove can also be used for a host of other applications thanks to its open source Software Development Kit (SDK). Developers and hobbyists alike can adapt the glove for use in assistive technology, rehabilitation, robotics, video gaming, virtual reality or a computing input device to name a few. Read More
windykites1
- February 9, 2010 @ 19:22 UTC
