Concerns for the future continue to alter how we apply and use technology. As cities become more crowded and polluted, new methods of transportation need to be developed and implemented in order for cities to continue normal operation. In order to cope with such issues, GM, alongside its partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Group, has developed a two-wheeled car system for city transportation.
The two-wheeled concept, known as the Electric Networked-Vehicle (EN-V) concept, involves many unprecedented vehicle technologies. In each of the two wheels, there is an electric powered motor. The motors not only provide power for acceleration, but also bring the vehicle to a stop. GM has also worked aside Segway in order to create a drivetrain platform and an efficient energy source for the car. The platform for the car is an evolution of the platform Segway developed for the Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility (P.U.M.A.) prototype. The companies have worked together to develop and deliver multiple copies of the platform that can connect to multiple EN-V’s.
The EN-V cars are powered with lithium ion batteries and can be charged in standard wall outlets. The car is able to communicate with the electric grid in order to determine optimum charge times. One charge can power the car for over a 40km distance.
GM has combined GPS, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and distance sensing technology in order to develop an autonomous driving option. Vehicle based sensor and camera systems enable the EN-V to decelerate and stop before reaching an unexpected pedestrian. Also, these systems allow the car to maneuver through traffic and perform other difficult driving tasks such as merging, passing, and parking. Alan Taub, Global VP of GM Research and Development, claims, "The EN-V concept represents a major breakthrough in the research that GM has been doing to bring vehicle autonomy to life."
http://www.gizmag.com/gm-en-v-concept-vehicle/14617/
http://smart-products.tmcnet.com/topics/smart-products/articles/80110-gm-showcases-en-v-concept-urban-mobility.htm
Friday, March 26, 2010
The Water Pebble
In today's water-conscious environment, any device that helps conserve water should be applauded. The Water Pebble, created by the design company Priestmangoode, monitors how long you're taking in the shower. Not only does it monitor shower time, it will indicate when you need to get out of the shower. The most impressive part of this device is it memorizes the amount of time you took in the shower, and fractionally reduces your shower time helping you to save water without needing to think about it The Water Pebble, uses "traffic lights" to alert you and inform you of your shower times. Similar to the traffic light, green means to start the shower, yellow means your halfway, and red means time is up. This device is placed near the plughole and monitors the amount of water. This emerging technology is helping the world go green. By monitoring amount of water used, you can help reduce water usage. Not only are you helping the environment, but you are reducing the water bill. This little device will help.
http://www.gizmag.com/water-pebble-shower-timer/14490/
http://www.waterpebble.com/
http://www.gizmag.com/water-pebble-shower-timer/14490/
http://www.waterpebble.com/
n.Fluent ( Intergrated web based translation)
Language-- the only thing separating us from other cultures and way of life around the world. Now imagine if there was a way to view any webpage in your fluent language. Combining these two ideas, IMB has created a webpage interface to do such a thing(through machine based translation). The n.Fluent from IBM automatically translates the webpage of your choice to your preferred language. Although this idea is still in developmental stage, it has been idea since 2006 and is growing ever near to being released. This very idea was started because IBM realized language was a key issue for business transactions and companies with online clients around the world.
Google is also working on creating a web based tool to translate not just web pages but search engines in general – seeing how the Google search engine only recognizes English words. One downside to this is all the work that has to be put into translating words in every language available – which is where crowd sourcing comes in. crowd sourcing English words to volunteers effectively cuts down the time it takes for one company to translate all the words themselves. Using this method, in a years time 30,000 crowd sourcing volunteers translated 36 millions words (and the volunteers are still pouring in).
http://www.research.ibm.com/social/projects_nfluent.html
http://www.ctoedge.com/content/ibm-showcases-nfluent-translation-service
3-D Television
3D Television is becoming increasingly popular day by day. Thanks to new 3D films, major television manufacturers are begining to develop televisions which display channels in 3D. Some of the TV's that are going to be on sale, require glasses, while other more advanced systems, don't require glasses. Panasonic created 3D glasses, called the Panasonic Active-Shutter Glasses. These glasses work by rapidly
blocking one eye at a time so that each eye sees only the frame meant for it. Each one of our eyes have different perspectives of the same scene we are looking at. The brain takes both images, and fuses them together, helping us to have a sense of depth. Getting the 3-D effect at home involves tricking the brain into doing something similar, however with the images you get from a TV set. TV makers have to figure out a way to precisely show a set of slightly differnt images to each of your eyes. Many times, as used in movie theaters, people have to wear Glasses which enhance the picture, resulting in a 3 dimensional image. However, LG's 3D TV does not require glasses. This TV uses lenticules, a cylindrical plastic that goes on the LCD screen, which magnify and enlarge the display on the screen. When the viewers are sitting in the right angle, the brain combines the two views from each of your eyes, and creates the perception of depth, the 3D image. This technology is not essential, however, it is essential for entertainment. Films such as Avatar, shown in 3D, made more money than movies shown in regular 2D. You can expect to see projects in stores in 2010.
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/10/3d-tv-explainer/
blocking one eye at a time so that each eye sees only the frame meant for it. Each one of our eyes have different perspectives of the same scene we are looking at. The brain takes both images, and fuses them together, helping us to have a sense of depth. Getting the 3-D effect at home involves tricking the brain into doing something similar, however with the images you get from a TV set. TV makers have to figure out a way to precisely show a set of slightly differnt images to each of your eyes. Many times, as used in movie theaters, people have to wear Glasses which enhance the picture, resulting in a 3 dimensional image. However, LG's 3D TV does not require glasses. This TV uses lenticules, a cylindrical plastic that goes on the LCD screen, which magnify and enlarge the display on the screen. When the viewers are sitting in the right angle, the brain combines the two views from each of your eyes, and creates the perception of depth, the 3D image. This technology is not essential, however, it is essential for entertainment. Films such as Avatar, shown in 3D, made more money than movies shown in regular 2D. You can expect to see projects in stores in 2010.
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/10/3d-tv-explainer/
Silicon computer chips successfully implanted in living human cells
Scientists at the Instituto de Microelectronica de Barcelona. have found a way to institute minute silicon chips into living-cells. This step in the bionanotechnological movement can tell us alot about our cells and find an early detection of disease, and new cellular repair mechanisms. The scientists at this institute have been working with nanotechnology for a while and they finally have been able to implement the nano chips into living cells and tell us about our cells and how they work at a nano level. CMOS, a technology for making integrated circuits, have produced the chips the scientists have used in their experiement. To achieve success in the experiment the scientists first needed to gather the nanochips and implant them into the living cells.
Once the chips were implanted thet monitored the cells to make sure they were living and healthy. The scientists discovered that the implanted cells stayed alive and working for a week, 90% of the cells remained and only a very small amount died. The most important goal for the scientists was to create intracellular sensors and make sure they worked perfectly and can be used in humans to possibly cure diseases." "Today's micro- and nanoelectronic processes already would allow us to produce complex 3-dimensional microscale structures as sensors and actuators," said Plaza. The main applications of future intracellular chips will be the study of individual cells. This technology could aid in the early detection of diseases and new cellular repair mechanisms.
Once the chips were implanted thet monitored the cells to make sure they were living and healthy. The scientists discovered that the implanted cells stayed alive and working for a week, 90% of the cells remained and only a very small amount died. The most important goal for the scientists was to create intracellular sensors and make sure they worked perfectly and can be used in humans to possibly cure diseases." "Today's micro- and nanoelectronic processes already would allow us to produce complex 3-dimensional microscale structures as sensors and actuators," said Plaza. The main applications of future intracellular chips will be the study of individual cells. This technology could aid in the early detection of diseases and new cellular repair mechanisms.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wireless Controlled from the Cloud
Shipping out next-gen wireless networks can be long and tiresome as the U.S. deployment of 3G has shown. IBM researchers in China have been working on a new network system that will make upgrading existing ones easier.It could lead to wireless networks that could provide better coverage by rapidly adapting to user demand. the new architecture called the Wireless Network Cloud (WNC) marks a step away from using dedicated hardware in the radio base station the serve wireless networks like GSM nd 3G cell phone networks.
All of the signal processing, the modulation and encoding of the signals to and from the physical antennas is done using software radio technology; this allows the network to be managed in a more centralized way using raw signals being relayed to and from multiple antennas called "remote radio heads" via fiber optical from as far as 40 Km away.
The main hook of this project to network operators is cost, traditional bas stations are about 40% of a network's total cost, and when ever a network is upgraded because of it's software used almost all of its equipment has to be replaced.WNC upgrades can be implemented relatively cheaply by installing new software. This also means the centralized nature of this network allows their operators can manage it more efficiently.
Just think about it? we all do it, when we hold are wireless device up to the sky to try to get a better signal the sky will answer back with a 3G network ready to use.
RNA – Loaded Nanoparticles
The discovery of RNA interface, which won researchers, Andrew Fire and Craig Mello the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, has been used to create more effective treatments for diseases like cancer. RNA interface technology, also known as RNAi, can target human cells and “silence the target gene”. What this means is that the proteins created in cancerous cells, which are responsible for a myriad of activities within the cell, can be targeted and caused to go through degradation and thereby lead to a loss of that protein. Instead of attacking the protein itself however, which is difficult due its 3-D dimensions, the mRNA is targeted. These mRNA’s (messenger RNA) are responsible for carrying the genetic instructions from the DNA on how to create a given protein. When RNAi technology is applied, a targeted area of the mRNA can be sliced and inhibited from creating a certain protein. Without certain proteins, the treatments for cancer patients will become more effective.
A major problem with the application of the technology is how to get the therapeutic RNA into the cell. “When injected on their own, so-called small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are quickly filtered out by the kidneys, and researchers have struggled to design particles that carry their contents to target cells with enough specificity, or that don't cause toxicity or elicit an immune reaction from the body.” Nevertheless, Mark Davis, the Warren and Katharine Schlinger Professor of Chemical Engineering at Caltech, and the research team’s leader, has already been studying ways in which deliver nucleic acids into cells. Davis and his team have created a “four-component system – featuring a unique polymer – that can self-assemble into a targeted siRNA-containing nanoparticle. Once the nanoparticle reaches its destination, the cancerous cell can then releases the siRNAs.
Using the new technique with the RNAi technology, the team was able to analyze tissue from trial participants. There have been several different studies and trails, all in experimental and early stages using RNAi. The three melanoma patients in the trail at Caltech have been given different dosages. A direct relationship between the amounts of particles in the tumor and the dosages was discovered; “That's the first time anyone has seen that for any kind of particle delivery system, whether it's a liposome, a nanoparticle, or anything," said David. Another exciting finding was that the mRNAs were cut in the exact same way the siRNAs were intended to cut. A different trail, funded by the Department of Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province and by City of Hope National Medical Center and Beckman Research Institute, was used in breast cancer patients. “The study demonstrated the potential of inhibiting telomerase[using siRNAs] as an effective treatment of breast cancer when used alone and, when used in conjunction to doxorubicin [most common drug used for breast cancer treatment], could potentiate the cytotoxic effect of the drug to breast cancer cells.”
The side affects of the patients have yet to be revealed, and although the scale of the trails are small, there is much hope for this new technology to allow more effective cancer treatments. ‘"At the very least, we've proven that the RNAi mechanism can be used in humans for therapy and that the targeted delivery of siRNA allows for systemic administration," Davis says. "It is a very exciting time."
Sources:
http://www.physorg.com/news188378267.html
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24841/page2/
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/9/133
A major problem with the application of the technology is how to get the therapeutic RNA into the cell. “When injected on their own, so-called small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are quickly filtered out by the kidneys, and researchers have struggled to design particles that carry their contents to target cells with enough specificity, or that don't cause toxicity or elicit an immune reaction from the body.” Nevertheless, Mark Davis, the Warren and Katharine Schlinger Professor of Chemical Engineering at Caltech, and the research team’s leader, has already been studying ways in which deliver nucleic acids into cells. Davis and his team have created a “four-component system – featuring a unique polymer – that can self-assemble into a targeted siRNA-containing nanoparticle. Once the nanoparticle reaches its destination, the cancerous cell can then releases the siRNAs.
Using the new technique with the RNAi technology, the team was able to analyze tissue from trial participants. There have been several different studies and trails, all in experimental and early stages using RNAi. The three melanoma patients in the trail at Caltech have been given different dosages. A direct relationship between the amounts of particles in the tumor and the dosages was discovered; “That's the first time anyone has seen that for any kind of particle delivery system, whether it's a liposome, a nanoparticle, or anything," said David. Another exciting finding was that the mRNAs were cut in the exact same way the siRNAs were intended to cut. A different trail, funded by the Department of Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province and by City of Hope National Medical Center and Beckman Research Institute, was used in breast cancer patients. “The study demonstrated the potential of inhibiting telomerase[using siRNAs] as an effective treatment of breast cancer when used alone and, when used in conjunction to doxorubicin [most common drug used for breast cancer treatment], could potentiate the cytotoxic effect of the drug to breast cancer cells.”
The side affects of the patients have yet to be revealed, and although the scale of the trails are small, there is much hope for this new technology to allow more effective cancer treatments. ‘"At the very least, we've proven that the RNAi mechanism can be used in humans for therapy and that the targeted delivery of siRNA allows for systemic administration," Davis says. "It is a very exciting time."
Sources:
http://www.physorg.com/news188378267.html
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24841/page2/
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/9/133
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