Futurescope

Graphene used to rust-proof steel via gizmag Hexavalent...

Wed, 30 May 2012 11:43:45 +0200

Graphene used to rust-proof steel

Hexavalent chromium compounds are a key ingredient in coatings used to rust-proof steel. They also happen to be carcinogenic. Researchers, therefore, have been looking for non-toxic alternatives that could be used to keep steel items from corroding. Recently, scientists from the University at Buffalo announced that they have developed such a substance. It’s a varnish that incorporates graphene, the one-atom-thick carbon sheeting material that is the thinnest and strongest substance known to exist. […]

[read more] [University of Buffalo]

Scientists Create the Smallest Possible Five-Ringed Molecule,...

Wed, 30 May 2012 10:47:42 +0200

Scientists Create the Smallest Possible Five-Ringed Molecule, Photograph It, and Call It Olympicene

A collaboration between the Royal Society of Chemistry, the University of Warwick and IBM has allowed scientists to bring a single 5-ringed molecule to life in a picture, using a combination of clever synthetic chemistry and state-of-the-art imaging techniques.

Once just a doodle on a piece of paper by an RSC scientist, the molecule has been imaged for the first time at an unprecedented resolution using a complex technique known as non-contact atomic force microscopy.

Known as olympicene it is related to single-layer graphite, also known as graphene, and is one of a number of related compounds which potentially have interesting electronic and optical properties, potentially for the next generation of solar cells and high-tech lighting sources such as LEDs.

[via popsci] [IBM press release] [more images]

Self-driving Volvos cover 200km of busy Spanish motorway

Tue, 29 May 2012 17:09:33 +0200

Self-driving Volvos cover 200km of busy Spanish motorway:

unexpectedtech:

Three cars have successfully driven themselves by automatically following a lorry for 125 miles on a public motorway in the presence of other, normal road users.

The real-world trial, conducted in Spain by Volvo and car automation specialist Ricardo, put technology created for Project Sartre (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) to the test to determine if it can indeed allow the cars to be guided safely by a lead vehicle while their drivers get on with something else.

The Sartre tech is designed to allow cars to slot in behind another vehicle which then effectively takes control of the entire train. It’s a technique called “vehicle platooning”.

On-board cameras, radar and laser tracking allow each vehicle to monitor the one in front. Wirelessly streamed data from the lead vehicle tells each car when to accelerate, break and turn, all in real-world traffic conditions.

“Apart from the software developed as part of the project, it is really only the wireless network installed between the cars that set them apart from other cars available in showrooms today,” said Volvo’s Sartre project chief, Linda Wahlström.

[read more @gizmag] [SARTRE Project]

A View Of The Future Workplace via 33rd square: Writing...

Tue, 29 May 2012 17:07:00 +0200

A View Of The Future Workplace

via 33rd square:

Writing for Forbes, Mark Fidelman writes that the workplace of the future will have to change dramatically in order to remain effective. His thinking was reinforced especially by visiting numerous Microsoft Technology Centers (MTCs).

The MTC demonstrations are leading to a rush of new technology implementations. “Every square foot is built around some element of the customer’s decision making process,” Microsoft MTC Director Adam Hecktman explains, “we’re reducing the risk for businesses to quickly prepare and implement Microsoft technologies.”

Fidelman writes that the future workplace will be more of a digital and analytical environment that smartly enables more innovation, more collaboration, and more learning opportunities that increase competitiveness and your bottom line. It will remind employees that the business does not exist in a vacuum and will set organizational priorities.

Here are 10 reasons why Fidelman says that the workplace needs to change dramatically in order to remain effective:

We’re going to be measuring emotional IQ in the workplace
The right information will find us
The workplace will reinforce corporate goals and strategy
Employees will provide vastly higher levels of real time feedback
Mobile devices will interact with our physical environments
Organizations will become fast learners
Gamification in the workplace will go mainstream
The workplace will help you build relationships
Work spaces that support the visualization of ideas
Adaptive work spaces will adjust to its intended purpose

[read more @forbes] [Microsoft Technology Centers] [image credit: Fidelman]

Silkworms and squid inspire smart materials via reuters Car...

Tue, 29 May 2012 16:23:26 +0200

Silkworms and squid inspire smart materials

via reuters

Car panels made of silkworm cocoons, clothing that can camouflage the wearer at the flick of a switch and a “smart” shirt with a phone and power source embedded in the fabric.

Scientists, some with funding from the U.S. Air Force, have made breakthroughs that could eventually make all this reality. […]

[read more] [paper] [image credit: ceridwen]

Japan robot lab readies second prototype for work at crippled...

Tue, 29 May 2012 15:59:22 +0200

Japan robot lab readies second prototype for work at crippled nuclear reactor

via kurzweilai

The Future Robotics Technology Center in Japan has developed a new emergency response prototype that will soon be put to work at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

“Rosemary” is about the size of a lawn mower and has four extended treaded feet that swivel up and down to help it climb over obstacles.

It can ascend at angles over 60 degrees and can carry instruments and other payload weighing up to 60 kilograms (132 pounds).

[Future Robotics Technology Center]

Where speech recognition is going via...

Tue, 29 May 2012 15:11:00 +0200

Where speech recognition is going

via kurzweilai

Voice-recognition software company Nuance is extending its speech-interface technology to television devices, the automobile, and wearable devices.

Dragon TV can scan TV channel listings to select relevant shows; a version is already in some televisions sold by Samsung.

Apple is rumored to be developing its own television, using Siri as its controller. […]

Under the right circumstances, solar cells from Semprius could...

Mon, 28 May 2012 17:59:04 +0200

Under the right circumstances, solar cells from Semprius could produce power more cheaply than fossil fuels

via nextbigfuture

This past winter, a startup called Semprius set an important record for solar energy: it showed that its solar panels can convert nearly 34 percent of the light that hits them into electricity. Semprius says its technology, once scaled up, is so efficient that in some places, it could soon make electricity cheaply enough to compete with power plants fueled by coal and natural gas.

[read more] [Semprius]

Is that smile real or fake? via kurzweilA computerized system...

Mon, 28 May 2012 17:01:00 +0200

Is that smile real or fake?

via kurzweil

A computerized system developed at MIT can tell the difference between smiles of joy and smiles of frustration. […]

[read more] [MIT News] [paper]

Übi turns any wall into a touchscreen using Microsoft’s...

Mon, 28 May 2012 16:45:57 +0200

Übi turns any wall into a touchscreen using Microsoft’s Kinect

via physorg:

Ubi Interactive has developed a display system that will convert virtually any surface to a touchscreen display using a conventional projector, a Microsoft Kinect device, and proprietary software running on a Windows based computer. The company, which is currently just three guys, Anup Chathoth, David Hajizadeh and Chao Zhang, is one of eleven startups that have been given $20,000 by Microsoft to develop Kinect based applications. […]

[read more] [ubi interactive (video)]

SpotterRF debuts Radar Backpack Kit via physorg SpotterRF has...

Sun, 27 May 2012 14:50:00 +0200

SpotterRF debuts Radar Backpack Kit

via physorg

SpotterRF has announced a special radar backpack kit designed to enhance situational awareness for soldiers on the ground. The company says its special radar is designed for warfighters as part of small expeditionary groups in austere and remote locations across the world. The company provides small and easy to use surveillance radar, the Spotter M600, for use by these soldiers. The military backpack kit announced this month is called Spotter Radar Backpack Kit (RBK). […]

[read more] [SpotterRF]

Tractor beams could be real possibility according to...

Sun, 27 May 2012 12:40:54 +0200

Tractor beams could be real possibility according to scientists

via dvice

Scientists have followed through on testing the Bessel beam and now say a tractor beam is a very real possibility for the future.

By using a Bessel beam, scientists at Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) have been able to create backward motion of particles in but separate from a forward-moving beam, though on a extremely small scale. […]

[read more @dvice @Huffington Post] [A*STAR] [Paper] [image via memory-alpha]

3D printed, pre-assembled robot hand via boingboing: Chris...

Sat, 26 May 2012 10:51:02 +0200

3D printed, pre-assembled robot hand

via boingboing:

Chris writes, “The Anthromod Mk2 hand is a robotic hand where everything, apart from the tendons, are 3D printed. Unlike other printed hands the Mk2 requires minimal assembly, and is also available from the online 3D printers Shapeways. This is an ongoing project and later designs will plan to add greater functionality such as sensing. I’m also planning to start an Indiegogo campaign to help finance the next model.”

The underlying hand is printed as a single, assembled piece with all mechanisms in place.

[Anthromod Blog] [Anthromod@Shapeways]

thepenguinpress: From the General Motors Futurama Exhibit,...

Sat, 26 May 2012 10:37:34 +0200

thepenguinpress:

From the General Motors Futurama Exhibit, 1940. Featured in the Harry Ransom Center’s upcoming “I Have Seen the Future: Norman Bel Geddes Designs America” exhibit.

smarterplanet: Spanish Government Deploys Robotic Fish to...

Fri, 25 May 2012 19:52:25 +0200

smarterplanet:

Spanish Government Deploys Robotic Fish to Monitor Maritime Pollution

Currently the port relies on divers to monitor water quality, which is a lengthy process costing €100,000 per year. The divers take water samples from hundreds of points in the port, then send them off for analysis, with the results taking weeks to return. By contrast, the SHOAL robots would continuously monitor the water, letting the port respond immediately to the causes of pollution, such as a leaking boat or industrial spillage, and work to mitigate its effects.

The SHOAL fish are one and a half metres long, comparable to the size and shape of a tuna, but their neon-yellow plastic shell means they are unlikely to be mistaken for the real thing. A range of onboard chemical sensors detect lead, copper and other pollutants, along with measuring water salinity.

They are driven by a dual-hinged tail capable of making tight turns that would be impossible with a propeller-driven robot. They are also less noisy, reducing the impact on marine life.

The robots are battery powered and capable of running for 8 hours between charges. At the moment the researchers have to recover them by boat, but their plan is that the fish will return to a charging station by themselves.

Working in a group, the fish can cover a 1 kilometre-square region of water, down to a depth of 30 metres. They communicate with each other and a nearby base-station using very low-frequency sound waves, which can penetrate the water more easily than radio waves. However, this means the fish have a low data transmission rate and can only send short, predefined messages. “It’s a good solution, but it requires thinking carefully about what data to transmit and how to use that data,” says Kristi Morgansen, a roboticist at the University of Washington, who was not involved in the research.

Robotic fish shoal sniffs out pollution in harbours - environment - 22 May 2012 - New Scientist

via joshbyard:

Course on design/architecture for orbiting hotels via...

Fri, 25 May 2012 13:01:07 +0200

Course on design/architecture for orbiting hotels

via boingboing

Are you a designer or architect who would like to work within the unique constraints of zero gravity? Spaceship designer Susmita Mohanty, who worked on the International Space Station and Shuttle-Mir missions, is teaching an intensive course at Milan’s Domus Academy this summer (July 2-13, 2012) titled “Zero Gravity Design: Products and Microenvironments for Orbiting Hotels.”

[Domus Academy]

Paratrooping Roomba-Style Drone Concept Could Help Clean Oil Spills

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:12:00 +0200

Paratrooping Roomba-Style Drone Concept Could Help Clean Oil Spills:

singularitarian:

Clearing the muck from an oil spill is tough enough without having to worry about collateral damage, but designer Hsu Sean is looking to create a Roomba-like Bio-Cleaner drone that degrades oil while keeping animals out of harm’s way.

[read more incl. video]

Barcode everyone at birth wildcat2030: This week science...

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:09:56 +0200

Barcode everyone at birth

wildcat2030:

This week science fiction writer Elizabeth Moon argues that everyone should be given a barcode at birth. “If I were empress of the Universe I would insist on every individual having a unique ID permanently attached - a barcode if you will; an implanted chip to provide an easy, fast inexpensive way to identify individuals. It would be imprinted on everyone at birth. Point the scanner at someone and there it is. Having such a unique barcode would have many advantages. In war soldiers could easily differentiate legitimate targets in a population from non combatants. This could prevent mistakes in identity, mistakes that result in the deaths of innocent bystanders. Weapons systems would record the code of the use, identifying how fired which shot and leading to more accountability in the field. Anonymity would be impossible as would mistaken identity making it easier to place responsibility accurately, not only in war but also in non-combat situations far from the war.” (via BBC - Future - Technology - ‘Barcode everyone at birth’)

Jet-injected drugs may mean the end of needles Whether you’re...

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:20:00 +0200

Jet-injected drugs may mean the end of needles

Whether you’re at the doctor’s office or taking medicine at home, future injections could be a lot less painful with this new gadget developed at MIT. Instead of a sterile metal point penetrating your skin, it fires a jet of medicine through your skin at the speed of sound. […]

[read more @popsci & @MI T News] [paper]

8bitfuture: New scanner lets you create 3D scans of the real...

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:09:40 +0200

8bitfuture:

New scanner lets you create 3D scans of the real world.

Startup company MatterPort has shown off their 3D scanner, able to rapidly create maps of rooms by scanning the device around the space.

While the scanner is still under development, the company won’t say how much it will go on sale for except it will be “18 times cheaper” than competing devices (which typically retail for $30,000 to $50,000).

Check out the MatterPort website here.