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Proposed Nanotechnology Will Convert Body Heat Into Electric Current
Whoever said the movie The Matrix was based on pure fiction obviously didn’t have that discussion with researchers at Wake Forest University. A new technology called Power Felt, a thermoelectric device that converts body heat into an electrical current, soon could create enough juice to make another call on your cell phone simply by touching it.
Developed by researchers in the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials at Wake Forest U, Power Felt is comprised of tiny carbon nanotubes locked up in flexible plastic fibers and made to feel like fabric. The technology uses temperature Read more…
What the future of technology holds
With technology evolving at an exponential rate, it can be hard to fathom the changes that the future holds. What technological changes will revolutionize our lives in the years to come? NOW Lebanon takes a look at this year’s most extraordinary tech predictions.
1- You will never need a password again
No need to remember your password anymore. According to IBM researchers, retrieving money from the ATM or checking your bank account online will soon be done using facial, retinal and vocal recognition technology. Biometric data—facial definitions, retinal scans and voice files—will be combined using software that will provide users with a password unique to every individual. Smarter systems will be able to match biometric profiles with users’ identities. “Some computers are already equipped with fingerprint readers and retinal scans. The chances of this becoming commonplace in five years are high,” says Pierrot Atallah, chief information officer at BLC bank. Version 4 of the Android operating system already includes facial recognition to unlock phones.
2- Games that think outside the box
The launch this year of the Wii U by Nintendo cut a new path for game consoles. The Wii U will include an oversized controller with a touchscreen, speakers, a gyroscope, an accelerometer and a front-facing camera, which synchronize with the TV. Gamers might be able to start a game on their console and pick it up later on their smartphone. Games will also be published in new forms, away from Full article here
Russian superlaser to be as good as H-bomb
The design of the Luch laser device is to be used for the future Russian superlaser (image from vniief.ru)
Russia has launched a $1.5 billion project to create a high-energy superlaser site which designers pledge will be the best in the world. Capable of igniting nuclear fusion, the facility will be used both for thermonuclear weapon and civil purposes.
The new laser device will be used for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) studies. The field aims to recreate in the lab the processes which happen inside a star or in a hydrogen bomb explosion. ICF is similar to what scientists are trying to do with the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, but takes an alternative approach to how nuclear fusion is started.
The laser facility will be developed by the Research Institute of Experimental Physics (RFNC-VNIIEF), a leading Russian nuclear laboratory. In its six decades of history, it was involved in the development of both the military and civilian nuclear programs in Russia.
The site will have the size of a 360 Full article here
Cyborg technology with implanted human brain predicted this year
By Dave Masko
It seems the future is almost here now, with Project Cyborg set to unveil an advanced specimen cyborg robot operated by an implanted human brain grown from neurons.
Famed British scientist Kevin Warwick thinks “being linked to another person’s nervous system opens up a whole world of possibilities.” For instance, he points to “thought communication instead of cell phones.” In turn, Warwick stated in in the January edition of “W” (a monthly fashion magazine at wmagazine.com) that he’s about to unveil this “cyborg” technology soon with his “most advanced specimen to date: a cyborg robot that will be operated by an implanted human brain grown from neurons.” A “cyborg” is the nickname for a “cybernetic organism” – that’s both biological and artificial, with electronic and mechanical robotic parts. Warwick, who began “Project Cyborg” in 2002 with a goal, he told W, of making discoveries that can combat Parkinson’s disease, blindness, arthritis, and schizophrenia.” Also, Professor Warwick explains how using “electronic — as opposed to chemical — medicine may well become the norm.” For instance, “W” explains how “taking Advil for a headache numbs the whole body, whereas electronic remedies could treat only the specific area.”
Professor to become a cyborg in 2012
At the same time, Professor Warwick told Read more…
Virtual Reality Contact Lenses Could Be Available by 2014
Contact lenses that help enhance normal vision with megapixel 3D panoramic images are being designed by scientists using military funding.
For those who do not want to rely on contact lenses, future versions could involve lenses directly implanted within the eye, researchers added.
Over the decades, the video displays that everyone from fighter pilots to the general public use have grown increasingly complex. One possibility for advanced displays is a virtual reality (VR) system that replaces our view of the real world with computer-generated vistas. Another idea consists of augmented reality (AR) displays that overlay computer-generated images over real-world environments. However, these often require bulky apparatus such as oversized helmets.
“Unless the display industry can deliver transparent, high-performance and Read more…
Computer Program to Read Human Thoughts!
An X-ray shows one of the patients in the study with electrodes all over their brain (Pic: Adeen Flinker/UC Berkeley)
Computer Program to Read Human Thoughts! A research that appeared recently in the journal PLoS Biology has revealed about a way of using a computer program to help read a person’s brain and then put the findings into words.
A group of neuroscientists at the University of California Berkeley said that the technique could be beneficial for patients who have speech impairment or are affected by stroke and degenerative disease. The research is said to be capable of taking mind reading to a new level.
In order to reach at the conclusion, the study researchers conducted an experiment in which they enrolled brain surgery patients. They inserted electrodes in the skulls of the patients and connected them with a computer program. They did it so they could know the working of temporal lobe which is associated with the processing of speech and images.
It was revealed that the computer program was successful in analyzing the brain and could also reproduce the Read more…
Americans get closer to building weapon of the future
The US Navy may have the world’s most powerful unit – the so-called railgun – during the forthcoming 15 years. The “Weapon of the 21st Century,” as Russian specialists described it, was undergoing tests during the recent several years. US defense officials were satisfied with the results. They have already signed the first contract to create the power source for the gun. The railgun needs a lot of energy to accelerate projectiles to supersonic speeds.
Raytheon Company, one of the USA’s largest defense suppliers, signed an agreement with the Naval Sea Systems Command for the creation of the power system for the railgun. The agreement was evaluated at $10 billion, a message on the website of the company said.
In accordance with the agreement, Raytheon undertakes to design and build the power module, which will become a part of the Pulse Forming Network (PFN). In the future, the system can be used for the production of railguns and combat lasers.
“This new system will dramatically change how our Navy defends itself and engages enemies while at sea,” said Joe Biondi, vice president of Advanced Technology for Raytheon’s Integrated Defense Systems business. “We have the expertise to design and build a solution that provides our warfighters with a decisive advantage over a multitude of current and emerging threats.”
A railgun is an entirely electrical gun that Read more…
Self-Guided Bullet Could Strike Laser-Designated Targets From A Mile Away
You might remember the scene in The Hurt Locker where some soldiers are ambushed by a sniper and must do a little return sniping. That process of spotting, adjusting the sights, and altering the bullet’s ballistic trajectory bit by bit and degree by degree may soon no longer be necessary: Sandia Labs has developed a bullet with a built-in processor that guides its own flight via tiny adjustable fins.
The idea is that the bullet would go exactly where it was meant to go, and not deviate from the target because of wind, gravity, or other factors. They say that at the range of a kilometer, a normal bullet might be off by almost 10 yards, while this guided bullet would get within Read more…
Weather Satellite Surveillance?
Since its inception in 1988, the Fengyun (FY) program has become an international symbol of China’s burgeoning ambitions in space. China’s weather satellite program began with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai’s 1970 approval of a Central Military Commission proposal to initiate research and development on weather satellites. With the launch of the first FY-1A in 1988, China became only the third nation to launch its own meteorological satellites. Since then, China has launched four FY-1 weather satellites into polar orbit, five FY-2 geosynchronous weather satellites, and two FY-3 satellites that were boosted into polar orbits on Long March-4 launch vehicles.The FY series appear to be roughly analogous to those associated with the U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. The FY-3, equipped with almost a dozen all weather sensors, is China’s most advanced space asset providing meteorological support to the People’s Liberation Army. The system also could provide measurement and signature intelligence data to China’s emerging anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) targeting architecture. In addition to five additional Read more…
Is your smartphone telling every website you visit your telephone number?
O2 mobile users in the UK are venting on Twitter today, fuming at their discovery that their phone number is being shared with every website that they visit over the network.
I found a colleague who owns an iPhone on the O2 network, and we tried it out for ourselves. Making sure we turned off his WiFi connection, we used the O2 mobile network to access the web. Read more…
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