Terahertz lasers sure are awesome but, there’s one big problem, we have no reliable way of measuring their power — a pretty important piece of data to have before you start bombarding people with their flesh penetrating rays. A new coating for laser calibration tools called VANTA seems like a viable candidate for sucking up those longer than visible wavelengths. Constructed of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes, up to 1.5mm in length, cakes of VANTA are not only more absorbent than other materials used for measuring a laser’s power (which makes it more accurate and faster), it’s also quite easy to handle. Chunks of the stuff can be sliced off with a razor and shuttled to the detector on the blade’s side. We give it a week before someone cuts a piece with one of those new MacBook Airs.
Answering the call of germphobes and their Stepford ladies-in-waiting everywhere, researchers at the University of Birmingham have devised a silver-infused technique of warding off unwanted bacteria. Eschewing the previously attempted, but short-lived coating method, these scientists have “developed a novel surface alloying technology” that infuses silver, nitrogen and carbon into a newly germ-resistant stainless steel surface. The team hopes this super durable steel will soon find its anti-bacterial way into hospitals and the surgical implements they employ — not to mention your college cafeteria. Modern Lady Macbeth homemaker types can breathe a sigh of “Out, damn’d superbug spot” relief and get back to sealing up the furniture.
Omron, a Japan-based global company that focuses on developing MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) products for customer solutions, has attempted to address Japan’s recent energy concerns with three particularly interesting innovations that were on display at MEMS 2011. The lineup included a full office energy management solution featuring: the “Indoor Environment Monitor,” new facial recognition security system, and an automated air-conditioning adjustment system.
The Indoor Environment Monitor utilizes MEMS technology to create a comfortable (and safe) working environment. The monitor aggregates information such as the room’s temperature, relative humidity, air velocity/airflow, and occupant’s active metabolic rate to calculate an effective body temperature. The system then determines the severeness of heat illness in levels in ascending order from “Need for Care, “Caution,” “Heightened Alert,” to “Danger.” What’s interesting about this monitor is that it wirelessly transmits this information to a smartphone app or PC, which can be used remotely to monitor a grandparent or young child left by themselves at home. Innovation such as this that allow remote care via sensors is a particularly useful advancement.
With the recent increase in software security threats causing a slight panic among the general public, and growing concerns of unsafe and unprotected passwords, Omron also introduced an “intelligent” security system that takes into account “setsuden” (energy saving) as well. In the form of a webcam, this system adds the concept of using thermal detection on top of facial recognition, and combines these two security measures to solve two challenges: unauthorized access to users’ computers and energy saving.
The process is fairly simple in the sense that the thermal camera detects faces of registered users and only allows access if body temperature is detected. Holding up a picture of a registered user would not grant access to the computer. Not only does this make logging in easier and convenient, with regards to “setsuden,” it saves energy by going into sleep mode the second the user leaves their computer (laptop). This reduction may seem trivial when compared to the rest of energy saving products that we have introduced in previous articles, but the Japanese have a popular saying: “even ashes can pile up to form a mountain.” What is most fascinating about this new system is that the whole process is instant and takes less than a second to turn itself on and off.
Omron’s third product involves using SSMs (Smart Sensing Module) to significantly reduce air conditioning power by using adaptation features while maintaining production standards. Using the same technology from the two innovations above, the SSMs are placed in strategic places, acting as a human detection sensor, air flow, and temperature/humidity sensor. The SSMs then transmit their calculations to the air conditioner, which adjusts accordingly the amount and temperature of the air flow it releases. Omron’s Semiconductor factory, which monitors clean room conditions in real time, has been testing the effectiveness of their new technology and so far, have successfully achieved a power consumption reduction of 25%.
New products that use cutting-edge technology never fail to impress us, and Omron has certainly done a fine job of appealing to society’s latest concerns like the aging community and “setsuden”. Energy saving measures have been rolled out across all industries as a result of the disasters in Japan, and innovations in technology aimed at reducing energy consumption due to blackout threats have become a noticeable selling point in consumer appliances.
The folks from Japanese research collaboration Life BEANS yesterday displayed their nanotech fiber clothes at the Micromachine/ MEMS exhibition at Tokyo Big Sight. On display was a dress that incorporated nanotechnology which can be used to heat or cool the wearer, and ultimately allow the whole dress to become an electrical device itself.
BEANS or Bio Electomechanical Autonomous Nano Systems, is a collaboration project between a number of universities and science institutes throughout Japan and are the same team responsible for the glowing glucose tracking mouse ear. The technology on display yesterday incorporates a new fabrication process that allows more flexible layers of conductive cells within clothes. Woven into dresses or protective vests, for example, mean that the wearer can be cooled or heated depending on the temperature by activating the nanocells and also enable the transference of electronic data through the clothes themselves.
The nanotechnology in the clothes is capable of being utilized in a variety of ways, including turning the article of clothing into a mobile phone complete with GPS, recording data for sports and health care, or even ubiquitous data exchange by using the fabric as the circuit board itself. With the advancement in flexibility and the ability to weave the layers of conductive materials into fabrics, wearable technology could be integrated into normal everyday clothes.
Communication clothing is a growing area where, as we are increasingly seeing, fashion and electronics become closer combined together. As we rely on electronic data and portable devices more and more in our lives and jobs this type of advancement in technology will be pushing the boundaries of how we communicate with our devices in the future.
You’re in the middle of a midwestern field right now. You feel a warm breeze gathering. Then wall of clouds starts heading in your direction. The wind gets stronger. Then a thunderstorm comes out of nowhere. More »
Add that magical material known as graphene to the list of things you can make with inkjet printers alongside OLEDs, solar panels, and light-bending metamaterials. Scientists at the Seoul National University used printers and a technique known as vapor deposition to leave a thin film of the graphite-based conductor on sheets of PVDF (poly vinylidene fluoride). By sandwiching the the PVDF between graphene electrodes and applying a current from a sound source researchers were able to create a flat and transparent loudspeaker that could be integrated into windows or screens. Don’t expect this low-power sound source to replace your hi-fi though — since it relies on the distortion-prone piezoelectric effect, it probably won’t sound much better than the earpiece on your cellphone.
The academic paper ‘Experimental Characterization of a UWB Channel for Body Area Networks’ won’t reshape your mental state, but that’s because academic papers are rarely titled ‘OMG. Tricorders!’. A team of scientists at Oregon State University have examined ultrawideband tech to see if it’s capable of transmitting the enormous load of data required to monitor a human body. Imagine it; your heart rate is monitored on your watch, smart bandages examine your blood insulin levels and feedback-pants measure your muscle responses, all viewed online by a doctor. Sadly you can’t rush to your nearest hospital and demand to be wired with some X Prize – winning kit — there’s a couple of hurdles to overcome before you can more efficiently post your bodily functions to Twitter. Transmission had to be line-of-sight and the energy needs are too vast for a handheld device. Still, given how sophisticated the network technology will be when it’s perfected, don’t be surprised if civilization grinds to a halt when Quake is ported to your temporal lobe.
Microbial fuel cells aren’t exactly new, but microbial fuel cells scouring the ocean floor? Now that’s an initiative we can get behind. The Naval Research Laboratory is currently toying around with a so-called Zero Power Ballast Control off the coast of Thailand, presumably looking for treasures dropped from the speedboat of one “Alan Garner.” Purportedly, the newfangled hydrogen fuel cell relies on bacteria to provide variable buoyancy, which allows an autonomous ocean sensor to move up and down water columns with little to no effort. Furthermore, it’s able to get its energy from microbial metabolism (yeah, we’re talking about hot air), and while it’s mostly being used to measure things like temperature and pressure, it could be repurposed for more seirous tasks — like mine detection. There’s no clear word yet on when America’s Navy will have access to this stuff, but if we had to guess, they’ve probably be using it behind our backs for the better part of a score.
We won’t lie: we love us a heartwarming story about scientists using run-of-the-mill tech to help people with disabilities, especially when the results are decidedly bionic. Today’s tale centers on a team of Oxford researchers developing sensor-laden glasses capable of displaying key information to people with poor (read: nearly eroded) vision. The frames, on display at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, have cameras mounted on the edges, while the lenses are studded with lights — a setup that allows people suffering from macular degeneration and other conditions to see a simplified version of their surroundings, up close. And the best part, really, is that the glasses cull that data using garden-variety technology such as face detection, tracking software, position detectors, and depth sensors — precisely the kind of tech you’d expect to find in handsets and gaming systems. Meanwhile, all of the processing required to recognize objects happens in a smartphone-esque computer that could easily fit inside a pocket. And while those frames won’t exactly look like normal glasses, they’d still be see-through, allowing for eye contact. Team leader Stephen Hicks admits that vision-impaired people will have to get used to receiving all these flashes of information, but when they do, they might be able to assign different colors to people and objects, and read barcodes and newspaper headlines. It’ll be awhile before scientists cross that bridge, though — while the researchers estimate the glasses could one day cost £500 ($800), they’re only beginning to build prototypes.
There’s nothing triangular about the Mount Teide volcano. From its base, it’s the third largest volcano in the world but is pretty flat on top. So why does its shadow look like a perfect ghost pyramid rising over the horizon? More »
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Terahertz lasers sure are awesome but, there’s one big problem, we have no reliable way of measuring their power — a pretty important piece of data to have before you start bombarding people with their flesh penetrating rays. A new coating for laser calibration tools called VANTA seems like a viable candidate for sucking up those longer than visible wavelengths. Constructed of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes, up to 1.5mm in length, cakes of VANTA are not only more absorbent than other materials used for measuring a laser’s power (which makes it more accurate and faster), it’s also quite easy to handle. Chunks of the stuff can be sliced off with a razor and shuttled to the detector on the blade’s side. We give it a week before someone cuts a piece with one of those new MacBook Airs.
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