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archive: Mar-Apr 2006
Tech-news archive: March-April 2006
Insect eye inspires future vision
(Apr 28, 2006)
An artificial insect eye that could be used in ultra-thin cameras
has been developed by scientists in the US. The dimpled eye, contains
over 8,500 hexagonal lenses packed into an area the size of a pinhead.
The dome-shaped structure, described in the journal Science, is similar
to a bee's eye. The researchers, from the University of California,
Berkeley, say the work may also shed light on how insects developed
such complex, visual systems.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Your thoughts are your password
(Apr 27, 2006)
What if you could one day unlock your door or access your bank account
by simply "thinking" your password? Too far out? Perhaps not. Researchers
at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, are exploring the possibility
of a biometric security device that will use a person's thoughts to
authenticate her or his identity. Their idea of utilizing brain-wave
signatures as "pass-thoughts" is based on the premise that brain waves
are unique to each individual. Even when thinking of the same thing,
the brain's measurable electrical impulses vary slightly from person
to person.
Read
more. Source: Wired |
Robo-turtle answers some flippery questions
(Apr 25, 2006)
A robotic turtle could help engineers build better autonomous underwater
vehicles and answer fundamental questions about how prehistoric beasts
swam. The robot, called Madeleine, is already helping researchers
understand when it is best to swim with four flippers and when to
use two. Madeleine is similar in size and weight to a Kemp's Ridley
or Olive Ridley sea turtle, measuring 80 centimetres by 30 cm and
weighing 24 kilograms. The robot also has a comparable power output,
between 5 and 10 watts per kilogram, depending on how hard it is working.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Green mini-car to beat congestion
(Apr 24, 2006)
A tiny, three-wheeled car that could solve city congestion has been
demonstrated at the University of Bath. The prototype Clever (Compact
Low Emission Vehicle for Urban Transport) car is one metre wide and
less polluting than normal vehicles. It has a top speed of 100 km/h
(60mph) and uses a novel tilting chassis to make it safe and manoeuvrable.
The traffic-busting, two-seater is the result of a 40-month project
by researchers in nine European countries.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Duke Nukem sheds light on brain
(Apr 18, 2006)
Studies of the brain using the video game Duke Nukem have shown how
sleep affects long-term memory. The Belgian team used MRI scans to
see how volunteers stored spatial information from the game. Sleep-deprived
gamers recalled information from a different part of the brain to
those who slept.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Organic LEDs use fluorescence to pump up efficiency
(Apr 17, 2006)
The traditional light bulb's days could be numbered, according to
scientists who have taken an important step towards making white organic
light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) commercially viable. They expect that,
for the wealthy at least, it could be just a few years before rooms
are lit by gently glowing thin panels. The lights should be ultra
efficient, saving on energy bills and helping to lower energy consumption.
Read
more. Source: Nature |
Google launches Chinese service
(Apr 13, 2006)
Google has launched its Chinese service with bullish growth forecasts
and a robust defence of its decision to limit user access to certain
internet sites. Chief executive Eric Schmidt said that sales growth
"will obviously be large" and Google expects to have thousands of
software engineers working in China. He also said that Google had
no choice but to accept restrictions if it wanted access to China's
internet market. The number of internet users in China is set to top
187 million in two years.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Hope over self-focusing glasses
(Apr 4, 2006)
US researchers have designed glasses which can change focusing power
by harnessing the images seen by the eyes. The University of Arizona
team has created lenses which use electrodes to alter the optical
properties of liquid crystal between layers of glass. The team believes
they could one day replace bifocal and varifocal glasses, Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences journal reports.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Chip ramps up neuron-to-computer communication
(Mar 29, 2006)
A specialised microchip that could communicate with thousands of individual
brain cells has been developed by European scientists. The device
will help researchers examine the workings of interconnected brain
cells, and might one day enable them to develop computers that use
live neurons for memory. The computer chip is capable of receiving
signals from more than 16,000 mammalian brain cells, and sending messages
back to several hundred cells. Previous neuron-computer interfaces
have either connected to far fewer individual neurons, or to groups
of neurons clumped together.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Nanotube circuit could boost chip speeds
(Mar 24, 2006)
A single-molecule logic circuit has shown that using carbon nanotubes
instead of silicon pathways could someday soup up integrated circuits
to near-terahertz processing, up from today's low-gigahertz range.
Researchers at IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center used techniques
similar to conventional chip-making technology to create field effect
transistors along a carbon nanotube – one very large carbon
molecule – that had been deposited onto a silicon wafer. Unlike
shrunken conventional silicon circuits, the resulting logic circuit
yielded virtually no electron flow impedance, meaning current flowed
faster.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Sony gears up PS3 online network
(Mar 24, 2006)
Sony has outlined plans for its new online gaming service for its
forthcoming PlayStation 3 (PS3). The service will allow users to download
games and other content direct to the console's hard drive. When it
is launched in November, the online offering will seek to rival Microsoft's
Xbox Live network.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Laser chips could power petaflop computers
(Mar 22, 2006)
Laser communications chips capable of pumping data through the veins
of gargantuan "petaflop" supercomputers have been demonstrated by
NEC in Japan. The communications chips can transfer information through
optical fibres at a blistering 25 gigabits per second (a gigabit is
a billion bits). This is a record for such components, according to
NEC, and is many times faster that the purely electronic interconnects
used in today's supercomputers.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Chemists work on plastic promise
(Mar 21, 2006)
A new plastic that could rival silicon as the material of choice for
some electronic devices has been developed. The invention could eventually
slash the cost of flat panel screens and bring electronic paper into
common use. The new material can also be laid down using simple printing
techniques rather than the expensive and elaborate methods used to
process silicon.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Virus used to make nanoparticles
(Mar 20, 2006)
UK scientists from Norwich have used a plant virus to create nanotechnology
building blocks. The virus, which infects black-eyed peas, was employed
as a "scaffold" on to which other chemicals were attached. By linking
iron-containing compounds to the virus's surface, the John Innes Centre
team was able to create electronically active nanoparticles. The researchers
tell the journal Small that their work could be used in the future
to make tiny electrical devices.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Nanotech discovers the Americas
(Mar 16, 2006)
It is without question the smallest map that has ever been made. US
scientists have coaxed strands of DNA, the molecule that holds the
"code of life", to take up a shape that resembles the Americas. The
mini-map measures just a few hundred nanometres (billionths of a metre)
across, smaller even than some bacteria – a scale of 1:200 trillion.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Fuels cells to change laptop use
(Mar 11, 2006)
Soon you could be running your laptop computer all day without a recharge
as commercial versions of fuel cells go on sale. At the Cebit technology
fair in Hanover, Taiwanese hi-tech firm Antig said its fuel cells
should be on the shelves of computer shops by early 2007. The first
versions of the methanol-using units should keep a laptop going for
up to nine hours.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
'Technology feeds grassroots media'
(Mar 10, 2006)
It is not an impact on the epic scale of an asteroid smashing into
the Earth and killing off the dinosaurs, but the collision of technology
and media is having profound effects on a more modern ecosystem. Media
are becoming democratised, and a global conversation is emerging.
The tools of production – used to create digital content such
as blogs, podcasts, wikis, discussions, multiplayer games, mashups
(I'll describe each of those in more detail below) – are increasingly
powerful and easy to use, yet decreasingly expensive.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
China and the break-up of the net
(Mar 7, 2006)
Chinese ideas about the setting up its own domain name system could
change the global nature of the internet, argues internet law professor
Michael Geist. "There was a buzz in the internet community last week
after the People's Daily, widely regarded as the most influential
newspaper in China, published an article in English announcing changes
to that country's domain name system."
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Car makers shout about green credentials
(Mar 6, 2006)
In a world where climate change is said to threaten the lives of future
generations, the car industry is widely seen as the main villain.
This general view prevails, despite its repeated insistence that it
is here to help. Many senior figures go out of their way to show they
are taking environmental issues seriously. "Climate change is the
biggest single challenge facing the automotive industry today," says
Lewis Booth, head of Ford's luxury division, the Premier Automotive
Group.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Robotic 'pack mule' displays stunning reflexes
(Mar 4, 2006)
A nimble, four-legged robot is so surefooted it can recover its balance
even after being given a hefty kick. The machine, which moves like
a cross between a goat and a pantomime horse, is being developed as
a robotic pack mule for the US military. BigDog is described by its
developers Boston Dynamics as “the most advanced quadruped robot on
Earth”. The company have released a new video of the robot negotiating
steep slopes, crossing rocky ground and dealing with the sharp kick.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
'Nano-skin' could create super-bendy screens
(Mar 4, 2006)
A flexible polymer infused with billions of carbon nanotubes could
be used to make incredibly bendy displays and other novel electronic
devices, researchers say. The "nano-skin" polymer was created by scientists
at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in New York, US. Nanotubes
are excellent electrical conductors and group member Swastik Kar says
the material may well be used to build highly efficient electronic
parts for highly flexible electronic displays.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Warcraft game makers look to grow
(Mar 2, 2006)
If you have played games online in the last year or so, then World
of Warcraft is a name that has been hard to avoid. Blizzard's stunning
MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) has swept
all before it, breaking various genre records and notching up more
than 5.5 million regular players in the process. It has been a meteoric
rise for a game that was expected to do well, but arguably not this
well.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
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