World's first pedal-powered ornithopter takes flight in Canada • The Register

World's first pedal-powered ornithopter takes flight in Canada • The Register

Canadian enthusiasts have finally achieved a feat that has eluded humanity's finest engineers since the time of Leonardo da Vinci - to build a machine, powered by a human pilot's muscles, which flies by flapping its wings: an ornithopter.

The ornithopter is the culmination of decades of effort at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) which has long studied flapping-wing flight and encouraged many of its students to work towards a human-powered example. The Institute's Professor James DeLaurier won an FAI “Diplôme d’Honneur” as long ago as 1991 for developing the world's first remotely-piloted, engined ornithopter.

Links: http://hpo.ornithopter.net/

New Supercomputer 'Sees' Well Enough to Drive a Car Someday

Navigating our way down the street is something most of us take for granted; we seem to recognize cars, other people, trees and lampposts instantaneously and without much thought. In fact, visually interpreting our environment as quickly as we do is an astonishing feat requiring an enormous number of computations -- which is just one reason that coming up with a computer-driven system that can mimic the human brain in visually recognizing objects has proven so difficult.

Link: Eugenio Culurciello's e-Lab
Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100915171544.htm

Cisco wil realtime-vertaling tijdens videobellen mogelijk maken | Electronics | Tweakers.net Nieuws

Cisco werkt aan technologie die het mogelijk moet maken om gesproken woord tijdens een videoconferentie in realtime te vertalen. In het lab zijn de eerste proeven geslaagd. De fabrikant probeert nu het achterliggende systeem te verfijnen.

Cisco wil realtime-vertaling tijdens videobellen mogelijk maken | Electronics | Tweakers.net Nieuws

Fibers That Can Hear and Sing: Fibers Created That Detect and Produce Sound

ScienceDaily (July 12, 2010) — For centuries, "man-made fibers" meant the raw stuff of clothes and ropes; in the information age, it's come to mean the filaments of glass that carry data in communications networks. But to Yoel Fink, an Associate professor of Materials Science and principal investigator at MIT's Research Lab of Electronics, the threads used in textiles and even optical fibers are much too passive. For the past decade, his lab has been working to develop fibers with ever more sophisticated properties, to enable fabrics that can interact with their environment.

Source: SienceDaily http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100712115106.htm

Geordi LaForge video-to-brain rig built at MIT

Development and Implantation of a Minimally Invasive Wireless Subretinal Neurostimulator

MIT boffins have devised a method of fitting a chip on the end of the optical nerve which can be used to input electronic images directly into the brain without any need for an eyeball. The technique could offer blind people a degree of vision using head-mounted camera/sensor equipment, in the style of Geordi LaForge from Star Trek: The Next Generation

Once the implant is in place, wireless transmissions are made from outside the head. These induce currents in the receiving coils of the nerve chip, meaning that it needs no battery or other power supply. The electrode array stimulates the nerves feeding the optic nerve, so generating a image in the brain.

Read more:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/09/24/geordi_laforge_mit_nerve_chip/
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?isnumber=5238786&arnumber=4895304&count=24&index=17

Capsules for Self-Healing Circuits

Nanotube-filled capsules could restore conductivity to damaged electronics.

Dropping a cell phone or laptop can, of course, cause irreparable damage. Now researchers are developing a material that could let a circuit self-repair small but critical damage caused by such an impact.

Capsules, filled with conductive nanotubes, that rip open under mechanical stress could be placed on circuit boards in failure-prone areas. When stress causes a crack in the circuit, some of the capsules would also rupture and release nanotubes to bridge the break. The researchers, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, are also working on capsule additives designed to heal failures in lithium-ion battery electrodes, to prevent the short-circuiting that can sometimes cause a fire.

Previous research into self-healing materials has mostly focused on restoring mechanical properties after a damaging event. The University of Illinois researchers have, for example, already made self-healing coatings that can repair scratches and prevent corrosion on boats or car chassis. Now the group has brought the same techniques to the problem of restoring electronic properties.

Source: Technology review

Quantum teleportation - Joint Quantum Institute Maryland university

Scientists have come a bit closer to achieving the "Star Trek" feat of teleportation. No one is galaxy-hopping, or even beaming people around, but for the first time, information has been teleported between two separate atoms across a distance of a meter — about a yard.
This is a significant milestone in a field known as quantum information processing, said Christopher Monroe of the Joint Quantum Institute at the University of Maryland, who led the effort.
Teleportation is one of nature's most mysterious forms of transport: Quantum information, such as the spin of a particle or the polarization of a photon, is transferred from one place to another, without traveling through any physical medium. It has previously been achieved between photons (a unit, or quantum, of electromagnetic radiation, such as light) over very large distances, between photons and ensembles of atoms, and between two nearby atoms through the intermediary action of a third.
None of those, however, provides a feasible means of holding and managing quantum information over long distances.
Now the JQI team, along with colleagues at the University of Michigan, has succeeded in teleporting a quantum state directly from one atom to another over a meter. That capability is necessary for workable quantum information systems because they will require memory storage at both the sending and receiving ends of the transmission.
In the Jan. 23 issue of the journal Science, the scientists report that, by using their protocol, atom-to-atom teleported information can be recovered with perfect accuracy about 90 percent of the time — and that figure can be improved.
"Our system has the potential to form the basis for a large-scale 'quantum repeater' that can network quantum memories over vast distances," Monroe said. "Moreover, our methods can be used in conjunction with quantum bit operations to create a key component needed for quantum computation."

Links:

Teleportation Milestone Achieved.

Onderzoekers teleporteren gegevens over een meter

Robot with a Biological Brain

New research provides insights into how the brain works

The robot's biological brain is made up of cultured neurons which are placed onto a multi electrode array (MEA). The MEA is a dish with approximately 60 electrodes which pick up the electrical signals generated by the cells. This is then used to drive the movement of the robot. Every time the robot nears an object, signals are directed to stimulate the brain by means of the electrodes. In response, the brain's output is used to drive the wheels of the robot, left and right, so that it moves around in an attempt to avoid hitting objects. The robot has no additional control from a human or a computer, its sole means of control is from its own brain.

Read the whole article at Readings University website.

The man who grew a finger

Mr Spievak re-grew his finger tip. He used a powder - or pixie dust as he sometimes refers to it while telling his story.

The "pixie dust" comes from the University of Pittsburgh, though in the lab Dr Stephen Badylak prefers to call it extra cellular matrix.

Doctors though believe that within the so called pixie dust lies an amazing medical discovery.

Stephen Francis Badylak, D.V.M., Ph.D., M.D.
Affiliation: University of Pittsburgh
Title: Research Professor, Department of SurgeryDirector of Tissue Engineering, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Links:

BBC: The man whow grew a finger

Dr. Stephen Francis Badylak - University of Pittsburgh

Brain control headset for gamers

Gamers will soon be able to interact with the virtual world using their thoughts and emotions alone.

A neuro-headset which interprets the interaction of neurons in the brain will go on sale later this year.

Emotiv is working with IBM to develop the technology for uses in "strategic enterprise business markets and virtual worlds"

Paul Ledak, vice president, IBM Digital Convergence said brain computer interfaces, like the Epoc headset were an important component of the future 3D Internet and the future of virtual communication.

For more info go to the BBC website

Computer with insect brain

Insect Robot Interfacing (Timothy Melano; http://neuromorph.ece.arizona.edu/)

The field of neuroscience is moving toward understanding how sensory systems compute under closed-loop control. It is important to step away from open-loop experiments, i.e. where an animal cannot interact with its sensory inputs, because in the real world sensory neurons are passengers on a moving body whose sensory inputs are intimately related to its behavior. The challenge with performing these experiments under natural conditions is that conventional electrophysiology equipment is too bulky to be placed on a freely behaving animal. To solve this problem, we have designed a robotic electrophysiology instrument whose velocity is determined by bioelectrical signals from an animal, in our case the hawk moths and flies (model organisms for visual motion detection, olfaction, and insect flight). This robotic instrument allows us to perform electrophysiological experiments while a moth is onboard and controlling the robot, which, in engineering terms, closes the loop. With this instrument we will characterize visual motion detection neurons and investigate the use of these neurons as biosensors for robots.

Eleven robot cars at the start of the urban challenge

Cars that can drive without any intervention from humans.

“Vehicles competing in the Urban Challenge will have to think like human drivers and continually make split-second decisions to avoid moving vehicles, including robotic vehicles without drivers, and operate safely on the course. The urban setting adds considerable complexity to the challenge faced by the robotic vehicles, and replicates the environments where many of today’s military missions are conducted.”

-Dr. Norman Whitaker, Urban Challenge Program Manager

More info at urban challenge

Brain-computer interface for Second Life

A research team led by professor Jun’ichi Ushiba of the Keio University Biomedical Engineering Laboratory has developed a BCI system that lets the user walk an avatar through the streets of Second Life while relying solely on the power of thought.

The system consists of a headpiece equipped with electrodes that monitor activity in three areas of the motor cortex (the region of the brain involved in controlling the movement of the arms and legs). An EEG machine reads and graphs the data and relays it to the BCI, where a brain wave analysis algorithm interprets the user’s imagined movements.

The researchers hope the mind-controlled avatar, which was created through a joint medical engineering project involving Keio’s Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and the Tsukigase Rehabilitation Center, will one day help people with serious physical impairments communicate and do business in Second Life.

Links:
Brain-computer interface for Second Life
Movie brain computer interface Second Life

Scientists Invent 30 Year Continuous Power Laptop Battery

Your next laptop could have a continuous power battery that lasts for 30 years without a single recharge thanks to work being funded by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. The best part about these cells are when they eventually run out of power they are totally inert and non-toxic, so environmentalists need not fear these high tech scientific wonder batteries. If all goes well plans are for these cells to reach store shelves in about 2 to 3 years.

True or a Hoax?

Read the full article at next energy news

Mobile system promises free calls

A new way of making calls directly between mobile phones, for free, is being trialled by a Swedish company TerraNet.

And TerraNet phones currently only work with a special handset - although Mr Carlius said he hopes that it will eventually be a feature available on all phones, like Bluetooth.

He said that were this to happen, it could potentially spell the end for the current Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications model. About 70% of all mobile phones use this technology.

Mr Carlius said that mobile phone manufacturer Ericsson had invested around £3m in TerraNet.

Additional links:
Peer-to-peer mobile trial in Africa
Mobile system promises free calls
TerraNet AB

Robotic age - Is it coming soon ????

An ethical code to prevent humans abusing robots, and vice versa, is being drawn up by South Korea.
The Ministry of Information and Communication has also predicted that every South Korean household will have a robot by between 2015 and 2020.
Other bodies are also thinking about the robotic future. Last year a UK government study predicted that in the next 50 years robots could demand the same rights as human beings.

ASIMOV'S LAWS OF ROBOTICS (From 1942):

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law

Read more in the BBC article http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6425927.stm

OpenMoko - First open source mobile phone platform

Check it out this could be an excellent alternative to the Microsoft and Nokia platforms and without the restrictions of these proprietary platforms.

First phone should be available for sale from 11 March 2007 produced by FIC (http://www.fic.com.tw/) in Taiwan.

OpenMoko (http://www.openmoko.org/)

More links:

Gizmodo

The Guardian newspaper

Libervis

Open Source Multimedia Player VLC

This is an excellent open source multi media player it plays almost every format more than Windows Media player or Real Player even .flv (flash) files are no problem. Multiplatform Apple, Windows and serveral Linux distributions.

Go and visit the VLC media player homepage.

Parallel Universes (superstring theory)

Some scientists now believe there may really be a parallel universe - in fact, there may be an infinite number of parallel universes, and we just happen to live in one of them. It all started when superstring theory, hyperspace and dark matter made physicists realise that the three dimensions we thought described the Universe weren't enough.

Watch at YouTube or read more about it at the BBC.
More links:
wikipedia
Dr. Michio Kaku pioneer parallel universe and string theory

Imagine a machine with the ability to manufacture anything

A factory of one's own
According to MIT's Neil Gershenfeld, the digital revolution is over, and the good guys won. The next big change will be about manufacturing. Anyone with a PC will be able to build anything just by hitting 'print.'
Read article at CNN

Neil Gershenfeld
I have never understood the division between computer science and physical science. The problems that I've studied—from molecular quantum computation to virtuosic musical instruments—have all had the character that their logical function and their physical embodiment cannot be understood independently.
My research interests have always been at the boundary between the content of information in a system and its physical representation. More recently, I've also focused on the institutional context required for the development of this kind of work, which led to the establishment of the Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA) at MIT. CBA is assembling the significant physical (and intellectual) infrastructure required to bring the sensibility of the Media Lab to the practice of physical science.
Of the grand-challenge problems being addressed by CBA, two are of particular interest to me: personal fabrication, which involves programming the assembly of active materials in order to bring the malleability of the digital world to the physical world; and "statistical-mechanical" engineering, which seeks to bring rigor to the design of the emergence of functionality in enormously complex systems without explicitly specifying how they work. The former promises to bring not only information technology to the masses, but also the locally appropriate design and development of those technologies. And the latter promises to support the resulting distributed engineering of planetary-scale systems.

Links:
Prof. Neil Gersh homepage
FabLab at MIT
Centre for Bits and Atoms (CBA) at MIT