Scientists study orca ears, employ lasers to create hyper-sensitive underwater microphone

There are plenty of reasons to want to monitor what’s going on in the ocean, from whale migration, to the recent stylistic resurgence of hot crustacean bands. There are certain inherent difficulties, however, in creating a powerful underwater microphone, namely all of that water you’ve got to contend with. A team of scientists has taken cues from the design of orca ears, in order to develop a powerful microphone that can work far beneath the waves. The researchers developed membranes 25 times thinner than plastic wrap, which fluctuate as sound is made. In order to operate at extreme depths, however, the microphone must fill with water to maintain a consistent pressure. So, how does one monitor the minute movements of a membrane hampered by the presence of water? Lasers, of course! The hydrophone can capture a 160-decibel range of sounds and operate at depths of 11,000 meters, where the pressure is around 1,100 times what we’re used to on earth. So if the orcas themselves ever master the laser, at least we’ll be able to hear them coming.

Scientists study orca ears, employ lasers to create hyper-sensitive underwater microphone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 05:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scientists engineer laser-emitting cells, bring us one step closer to a Laser Cats future

Lasers have enabled us to transmit data at ridiculously high speeds, kill mosquitoes, and, of course, turn boats into flaming ruins. So what’s next for these photonic wonders? How about lasers made from biological cells? Current lasing media — the materials that amplify light — are usually gas, semiconductors, or crystals doped with rare-earth compounds. But a Harvard Medical team has created a biological lasing medium, using a genetically engineered kidney cell. The cell produced Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP), the chemical that makes some jellyfish glow in the dark. The team put the GFP between two mirrors and fired pulses of light into it – and presto, a tiny green laser. There’s little practical application for this research so far, but come on: how soon until we have cats shooting deadly light-beams from their mouths?

Scientists engineer laser-emitting cells, bring us one step closer to a Laser Cats future originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 03:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Senate denies Navy’s missile-destroying laser funding, puts the kibosh on annoying Dr. Evil impressions

Leave it to the Senate to crush the military’s fragile dreams. All the Navy ever really wanted was a giant ship-based laser that could be used to shoot down missiles. Despite some record breaking stats, however, the latest defense authorization bill handed down from the Senate Armed Services Committee throws a giant congressional wet blanket on the free-electron laser. The project, it seems, has simply proven too expensive — among other things, the laser’s researchers haven’t found the ideal method for powering the weapon from a ship. According to the current timeline, the project was not likely to have been completed before 2020, and as such the Navy’s request for further funding was, somewhat ironically, ultimately shot down.

Senate denies Navy’s missile-destroying laser funding, puts the kibosh on annoying Dr. Evil impressions originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Jun 2011 13:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scientists produce laser light from human kidney cells, we get in touch with our inner Cyclops

Scientists have just created living laser light out of a human cell and some jellyfish protein, but it’s not quite as terrifying as it sounds. Developed by Malte Gather and Seok Hyun Yun at Massachusetts General Hospital, the new technique revolves around something known as green fluorescent protein (GFP) — a naturally glowing molecule found in jellyfish that can be used to illuminate living material. After genetically engineering a human kidney cell to express this protein, Gather and Yun wedged it between two mirrors in an inch-long cylinder, filled with a GFP solution. Then, they infused the system with blue light, until the cell began to emit its own pulses of bright green laser light. Researchers also noticed that the cell could regenerate any destroyed fluorescent proteins, potentially paving the way for scientists to conduct light-based therapy and medical imaging without an external laser source. Hit the source link for more information, though you’ll need a subscription to Nature Photonics to access the full article.

Scientists produce laser light from human kidney cells, we get in touch with our inner Cyclops originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 07:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Razer totes Hydra sticks and 6400dpi dual-sensor mice to E3 2011, we go hands-on

Razer’s Sixense electromagnetic orb threw around plenty of intradimensional portals at CES, but sadly the company wouldn’t let us play. Today at E3 2011, however, we were finally handed the reins. Those twin sticks are impressively responsive and accurate in the specially-made Sixense levels for Portal 2, and it’s a heck of a lot of fun to physically stretch out blocks, reposition portals with a twist of the wrist and physically throw objects through the air. However, we got the impression that outside of games particularly designed to work with the sticks, it might be a different story. Waving the right stick around works pretty adequately for controlling the mouse cursor, but when we exited out to Windows, the sticks didn’t work — apparently, controls have to be mapped separately in a desktop client to work with the OS and other games or programs. We don’t think many PC gamers will mind the six-foot range and wired tether here, but it does restrict those hoping to kick back with a game on the big screen.

We also got to try Razer’s new “4G” dual-sensor technology, which will be rolling out to new Mamba and Imperator gaming mice right away — it pairs a laser sensor and an optical sensor for more precision when lifting mice off a surface for advanced first-person shooter mousing techniques, not to mention 6400dpi tracking. We took it for a spin with a handy Razer Mamba, and we immediately fell in love — whether we flung the mouse around haphazardly, furiously swiped it across the mousepad or simply tried for a quick headshot, it kept up with us. The cursor does creep if you lift and drop very rapidly, though, and without an original Mamba to compare with, it’s hard to say just how much better it was. Thankfully, that won’t be much of a factor in your purchasing decision: you’ll pay the exact same $130 for the Mamba or $80 for the Imperator when they hit shelves this month. PR after the break.

Continue reading Razer totes Hydra sticks and 6400dpi dual-sensor mice to E3 2011, we go hands-on

Razer totes Hydra sticks and 6400dpi dual-sensor mice to E3 2011, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kinect hack turns your living room into a crazy one-man laser techno dance party (video)

Kinect hack turns your living room into a crazy laser techno dance party

We’ve seen it aid surgery, help make smarter robots, and even do some gaming stuff, but honestly, what good is a controller if it can’t fuel your crazy techno dance parties? Vimeo user Matt “Namethemachine” Davis posted a video showing a new hack for the peripheral, using its camera-based motion detection, combined with Ableton Live, DMX protocol, and more clever hackery to create a one-man electro-laser light show. It’s easy to see this getting a bit out of control real fast in a room packed with overexcited club goers, but if you’re looking to recreate the communal experience for you and your cat in your one bedroom apartment, this may be just the ticket.

Continue reading Kinect hack turns your living room into a crazy one-man laser techno dance party (video)

Kinect hack turns your living room into a crazy one-man laser techno dance party (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 20:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wicked Laser Sith: Dangerous and Probably Prone to Horrible Disaster

The Wicked Laser’s tale of infamy continues. The “laser pointer” was so powerful that you couldn’t really use it without the risk of permanent blindness. So hey, how about jamming two together? More »

Mitsubishi officially prices 2011 HDTVs including a 92-inch DLP and 75-inch LaserVue

Other manufacturers may say they’re living large with their latest HDTVs, but Mitsubishi’s “Go Big” slogan is supported by the biggest displays available for 2011. It’s finally revealed details on the models, with new features including a clearer screen and 16 speaker soundbar with support for a wireless subwoofer on its top of the line 840-series that includes the 92-inch model (pictured above) we saw at CES. The other big addition for 2011 is support for Mitsubishi’s iOS remote control app in the LaserVue TV as well as the 740 and 840 series DLPs. If you don’t need those features, a built in IR emitter for 3D glasses or Stream TV Vudu Apps then look at the lower end 640-series rear projection sets. Still, no matter what the trim level, the new Mitsubishi is strictly a 73-inch and over TV manufacturer so it’s definitely going to be big, whether it’s the 840 series that ships in July or any of the other models that will be available this month. Specs and MSRPs are in the press release after the break, from the 73-inch 640 series for $1,599 all the way up to the $5,999 92-inch.

Continue reading Mitsubishi officially prices 2011 HDTVs including a 92-inch DLP and 75-inch LaserVue

Mitsubishi officially prices 2011 HDTVs including a 92-inch DLP and 75-inch LaserVue originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 18:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Researchers create 26 terabit-per-second connections with just a single laser

Internet Must Be On At All Times
Remember that pair of 100 terabit-per-second connections we told you about earlier this moth? Impressive? Sure, but not entirely practical thanks to the massive banks of lasers (370 to be exact) that guzzled several kilowatts of electricity. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany haven’t hit 100Tbps yet, but they were able push 26Tbps using just one, lonely laser. The new single-laser fiber-optic speed record was set using a technique called fast Fourier transform that pulses light at an incredibly high rate with data encoded in 325 distinct colors across the spectrum. A detector at the receiving end is able to distinguish between the various colored data streams, based on tiny differences in arrival time, and recombine them into a high-speed torrent of ones and zeros. The scientists behind the project believe that, eventually, the technology could make its way into commercial use and be integrated into silicon chips. Now, someone needs to hurry up and jack our FiOS connection into this thing — all this talk of terabits-per-second and graphene modulators, yet we’re still jealous of grandma Löthberg.

Researchers create 26 terabit-per-second connections with just a single laser originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 19:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lingodroid robots develop their own language, quietly begin plotting against mankind

It’s one thing for a robot to learn English, Japanese, or any other language that we humans have already mastered. It’s quite another for a pair of bots to develop their own, entirely new lexicon, as these two apparently have. Created by Ruth Schulz and her team of researchers at the University of Queensland and Queensland University of Technology, each of these so-called Lingodroids constructed their special language after navigating their way through a labyrinthine space. As they wove around the maze, the Lingobots created spatial maps of their surroundings, with the help of on-board cameras, laser range finders and sonar equipment that helped them avoid walls. They also created words for each mapped location, using a database of syllables. With the mapping complete, the robots would reconvene and communicate their findings to each other, using mounted microphones and speakers. One bot, for example, would spit out a word it had created for the center of the maze (“jaya”), sending both of them off on a “race” to find that spot. If they ended up meeting at the center of the room, they would agree to call it “jaya.” From there, they could tell each other about the area they’d just come from, thereby spawning new words for direction and distance, as well. Schulz is now looking to teach her bots how to express more complex ideas, though her work is likely to hit a roadblock once these two develop a phrase for “armed revolt.”

Lingodroid robots develop their own language, quietly begin plotting against mankind originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 11:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceIEEE Spectrum  | Email this | Comments