New and Emerging Technology News part 54 ~ NEW GEN TECH LIFE : new generation technology news

Saturday 25 January 2014

New and Emerging Technology News part 54

A solar cell printed on paper to spell MIT (Image: CNET)
When most people think of solar cells they picture the rigid glass panels that dot rooftops around the world. But the solar cells of the future will be much more adaptable, with researchers already succeeding in creating highly absorbing flexible solar cells that can be printed on plastic. Now researchers at MIT have gone one step further with the development of the first solar cell printed on paper.  Read More
Google Chrome browser is faster than... a potato gun
Google has claimed 30% and 35% improvement using the V8 and SunSpider benchmarks with its latest Chrome beta release. Chrome launched in September 2008 and Google says the overall improvement since the first beta is as much as 213% and 305% using these benchmarks. The company has also come up with some novel (read thoroughly unscientific but a bit of fun) ways to test the latest release against some "real life" speed benchmarks. So is it faster than a potato gun?  Read More
Now you see it ... this car speedometer cover with two anti-reflective circular surface ar...
If you have a cell phone or laptop or large screen TV, you’ll understand how annoying it is when sunlight glare renders your screen illegible. It’s even dangerous if that glare hits your dashboard and you can’t see how fast you're going. And for people who wear spectacles, glare off the lenses can be debilitating. But a new nanocoating developed by scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Freiburg, Germany, have developed a perfectly non-reflecting material for use on displays and through eyeglasses. The hybrid coating has further advantages: the components are scratch-proof and easy to clean. And where did the inspiration come from … would you believe moths?  Read More
New Fire-X UAS boasts greater hauling, payload and endurance capabilities
Northrop Grumman Corporation and Bell Helicopter have teamed up to develop Fire-X, a medium-range vertical unmanned aerial system (VUAS) that is designed to stay airborne for longer periods of time, communicate more easily with their commanders, and deliver more cargo to more remote locations. The new rugged, high-capacity UAS is based on the four-blade, single-engine Bell 407 helicopter that’s been in commercial use since 1996 and takes advantage of Northrop Grumman’s experience in developing the smaller Fire Scout UAV.  Read More
An example of one of the solar cells made from silicon ink that achieved the record-breaki...
California-based manufacturer of low-cost solar materials, Innovalight, has achieved record of 19 percent conversion efficiency for its silicon ink-based solar cells.  Read More
The new Latitude E4310 ultraportable laptop has just made an unannounced appearance on Del...
A new business-class laptop has just made an unannounced appearance on Dell's U.S. product pages. The Latitude E4310 ultraportable laptop will be available in a choice of Core i5 processors, the option of HDD or SSD storage as well as up to 8GB of memory, a backlit keyboard and multi-touch trackpad, 7-in1 card reader and fingerprint reader.  Read More
Robots plant a tiny seed into each circular plot on the tray - just one of the automated f...
H1N1, SARS and other pandemics, increasing antibiotic resistance to infectious diseases and even threats of biological warfare have reinforced the need for safe, effective and inexpensive mass vaccination programs. The answer may lie in nature, with plant-based vaccines. While traditional methods of vaccine production typically take months, the Fraunhofer Centers in the U.S., Boston University and iBio have developed a fully automated, scalable plant "factory" that can produce large quantities of vaccines within weeks.  Read More
Telekom Austria has announced the launch of its first prototype electric vehicle charging ...
Telekom Austria has announced the launch of its first prototype electric vehicle charging station which finds a new use for some familiar, but fading, technology. In what is hoped will be a trend-setting initiative, telephone booths operated by the company will be modified to include multiple charge points and the first phase of the rollout will see 30 being installed by the end of 2010. What's more, during the testing period users will be able to charge up for free.  Read More
Panasonic has given two of its Toughbook's a performance upgrade
Panasonic's UK wing has announced that two members of its Toughbook range have been given a performance boost. The semi-rugged CF-52 receives an Intel i5 processor and an extra gigabyte of RAM. The business-rugged CF-T8 is served by an Intel Core 2 processor running at 1.6GHz and doubles the storage available with a 250GB shock mounted flex-connect hard drive. Both systems benefit from a Windows 7 Professional makeover too.  Read More
World's longest sniper kill - 2.47km twice!
The sniper is without doubt the most feared combatant in any theater of war, the best of whom have an array of skills far beyond simply being able to hit human targets at unfeasibly long distances. As ironic as it might be in wars where satellites and autonomous airplanes are on the same team, snipers are the STILL the most cost effective way of killing the enemy. Individual snipers routinely account for more kills than entire battalions operating in the same place at the same time, hit the target almost every time, and each bullet costs around €2. An elite sniper's skills cannot be assessed with a single measurement, so the “longest confirmed kill” record stands as the pseudo world championship for military combat riflemen, and as of now there's a new outright champion - using an Accuracy International L115A3, British Corporal Craig Harrison killed two Taliban with consecutive shots at a distance of 2.47 kilometres (8120 ft) in Helmand Province, Afghanistan last November (2009). He then fired a third shot and hit the Taliban's PKM machinegun in the most prodigious feat of marksmanship in military history.  Read More

The OCZ Enyo portable SSD with USB 3.0 makes light work of backing up your data and transf...
OCZ Technology Group, known for its high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) and memory devices has released the Enyo Portable SSD that utilizes the next generation USB 3.0 interface. For consumers who want the flexibility of a portable drive with the robust durability and performance advantages of an SSD, coupled with super fast USB 3.0, this device ticks all the boxes.  Read More
Garmin's golf-specific Approach G3 and G5 touchscreen GPS devices
The integration of GPS functionality into mobile phones has had traditional satnav manufacturers such as Garmin working even harder at creating “must have” features which will give their products a point-of-difference. There's also no better way to a golfer's heart than the promise of a reduced handicap, so Garmin's new waterproof Approach G3 (2.6 inch screen) and G5 (3.0 inch screen) should prove popular. Both come preloaded with 1,250 courses and by capturing intimate detail of every round, they will aid in club selection by detailing distance to the pin or the ideal position to land the ideal approach shot. As you'll already have assigned a club to each shot, so you'll know your average yardage per club, the distance and position of every bunker.  Read More
By wearing opposing brands' active shutter 3D glasses upside down, viewers can still get t...
Although 3D TV manufacturers are playing nicely by agreeing to a standard 3D Blu-ray format, they’ve unfortunately clung to their proprietary ways for active shutter glasses needed to view 3D TV images. This means anyone who shells out for a new 3D TV isn’t able to take their glasses to a friend’s home to watch their 3D TV unless it is the same brand. But the folks at Home Cinema Choice have stumbled across an easy – albeit less than comfortable – solution. Just turn the glasses upside down.  Read More
Virtually silent, fully enclosed, bladeless wind turbines on the way
A wind turbine that uses boundary layers instead of blades to generate power has been patented by Solar Aero, a New Hampshire based not-for-profit scientific research organization. Modeled on the 1913 Tesla steam turbine, the Fuller turbine is virtually silent and completely enclosed, which avoids many of the drawbacks of bladed turbines such as noise, radar interference, visual pollution and wildlife injuries.  Read More
The Omni-focus video camera offers simultaneous, real-time, near and far field focus capab...
Imagine viewing concert footage where the foreground vocalist is in the same sharp focus as the background musicians. With the simultaneous, real-time, near and far field focus capabilities offered by the Omni-focus video camera developed by Professor Keigo Iizuka, such a thing may not be too far off. Using a new distance mapping principle, an array of video cameras and some clever software the technique brings objects at varying distances into high resolution sharp focus.  Read More
Seagate's GoFlex ecosystem of drives and cables offers numerous connectivity options
The GoFlex ecosystem, heralded by Seagate as the next step in the evolution of its FreeAgent external drives, not only features a selection of USB 2.0 storage options but also a host of different interchangeable plug and play cables and adapters to give users flexibility when upgrading drives to eSATA, USB 3.0 or FireWire 800 connectivity.  Read More
The CanoScan 9000F flatbed scanner from Canon is aimed at helping to transfer precious 35m...
Although 35mm photographic film is now a thing of the past for all but the die-hard enthusiast or seasoned professional, many of us will still have filmstrips or slides dotted around our homes. With the aid of Canon's new flatbed scanner, these treasured memories can now be transferred to high resolution digital storage. The CanoScan 9000F scans at 9600 x 9600 dots per inch in Film mode, benefits from instant power up thanks to white LED and can even automatically remove imperfections from scanned images to improve on the originals.  Read More
The Mercedes-Benz Style EC145 Luxury Helicopter
It's not surprising that Mercedes Benz should begin developing luxury helicopters and luxury yachts. The original meaning of the trademarked Mercedes three pointed star signified mobility on land, on water and in the air, so it is possible that the portfolio will include boats, aircraft, helicopters and other transport products. Unveiled in Geneva this week, the new Mercedes Benz Style EC145 Luxury Helicopter is actually a twin-engine turbine Eurocopter EC145 model with an extensive interior redesign using Mercedes' knowledge of luxury materials, lighting and re-purposing flexibility to offer both luxury ambiance and German practicality. It's all the work of the newly created Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Studio in Como, Italy. Oh, and they're also working on a prototype yacht.  Read More
Existing infrastructure could be used to store surplus renewable electricity as synthetic ...
The use of environmentally friendly wind and solar energy is on the rise throughout the world, but the problem with such energy sources is their unreliability. Depending on the weather or time of day (or more specifically, night) the amount of electricity generated may be deficient or surplus to current requirements. Storing surplus energy in batteries for later use is one solution, but now researchers are developing a way to store surplus renewable electricity as natural gas.  Read More
The Epson Stylus NX420 all-in-one printer/copier/scanner sells widely for under US$100 - t...
Epson says its new Stylus NX420 printer/scanner/copier is the first all-in-one device with built-in wireless-n (IEEE 802.11n) that costs less than US$100. The company says this product has been designed as an affordable and easy-to-use option for busy families and students who want to share a multi-function printer.  Read More

The LUXA2 H4 is a 360-degree adjustable holder for the iPad or Kindle
One of the early complaints about the iPad (yes, some people have complaints!) is that it's surprisingly heavy and sometimes difficult to hold. In an effort to remedy that problem, LUXA2 (a division of Taiwanese company Thermaltake) has created one of the more clever iPad holders that we've seen to date.  Read More
The new lightweight environmentally-friendlier electric motor from Hoganas, suited to bike...
A new electric motor designed for use with electric bicycles, scooters and other lightweight vehicles has been launched by Swedish company, Höganäs. The motor takes advantage of "metal powder technology", resulting in high performance but with reduced size, with a range of up to 75km between charges. The motor has been shown during the World Expo in the heart in Shanghai, China, one of the world’s stronghold for electric bicycle manufacture and deployment due to its cost efficiency, flexible and environmentally-friendly means of transportation.  Read More
Apple patents invisible, Magic Mouse-like controls suitable for next-gen MacBooks
An Apple application had been unearthed detailing plans to develop invisible touch, pressure sensitive controls. Using similar technology currently found in Apple’s Magic Mouse, the concept designs show plans for buttons which could be implemented on a next-generation range of MacBooks, iPods or Apple TV remotes.  Read More
Fujitsu's second-gen color e-paper – brightness x 1.3, re-write speed x 2, contrast x 3
E-paper has some compelling advantages for the next generation of handheld and tablet devices. It provides an image which is very stable and easy to read in comparison to commonly used screen technologies, it consumes negligible power and is lightweight and paper-thin. Color paper arrived in 2007 but it hasn't really been good enough, until now. The principal developer of color e-paper to date has been Fujitsu which has just announced a dramatic increase in color e-paper display quality. The technology will be shown this week at Fujitsu Forum 2010 (May 13 - 14 at Tokyo International Forum) and can be expected in Japanese market e-book readers and advertising billboards by Q3 this year.  Read More
The latest work from case mod specialist Jeffrey Stephenson was inspired by a powerful gam...
Seasoned case modder and hater of all things beige, Jeffrey Stephenson has been squeezing fully functional mini-PCs into all sorts of strange and beautiful outer shell designs ever since first crunching a VIA mini-ITX motherboard into a cigar box in 2002. The latest stylish addition to his expanding collection was inspired by the six drive Thermaltake Level 10 gaming monster and includes VIA's latest Pico board which pumps out 1080p video, 160GB of solid state storage, 2GB of memory and a DVD burner.  Read More
Sony's Qlasp headphones are all the colors of a gnarly rainbow
Either my ears provide a tight fit or I’m just not as active as I should be, but I wasn’t aware that earbuds falling out was a major problem. For those that do experience such heartbreak Sony has come up with a solution in the form of its new Qlasp bud headphones. The headphones feature a nifty “qlasp” that clips to the wearer’s earlobes to ensure they stay put even during the most extreme physical activities.  Read More
TweakTown's Week in Review - Microcool Banchetto 101
There's such a constant flood of news in the tech-space that it's almost impossible keep up, so we've enlisted the help of our friends over at TweakTown to bring you a weekly wrap of the juicy highlights. This week's recap includes some hands-on time with ZOTAC's upcoming ZBOX HD-ID11-U Nettop, plus a close look at Microcool's Banchetto 101 chassis and a super quick OWC Mercury Extreme SandForce SF-1200 100GB SSD.  Read More
Former Grand National Champion Joe Kopp leads the field on his Ducati
Harley Davidson has been dominating flat track racing in America basically since it began. On the faster one mile tracks it is 17 years since any other manufacturer has won a race. So it was an enormous surprise to see the Ducati Hypermotard 1100EVO powered flat-tracker take the marque's first ever Grand National victory in the Yavapai Downs Mile in Arizona last Saturday. Apart from ending an unbroken 17 year winning streak by Harley on one mile tracks, the win marks the first time a readily available production engine has won a Grand National Twins race in 29 years.  Read More
Solar City Tower with ‘urban waterfall’ proposed for 2016 Rio Olympics
Aside from the events that take place as part of the Olympics, it seems the competition is also on for each Games to become “greener” than those that have gone before. This year’s Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver boasted a variety of green initiatives, including Canada's biggest "living roof." London looks set to outdo Vancouver in 2012, but Rio is looking to up the ante again and be the first zero-carbon footprint games when it hosts the Summer Olympics in 2016. To help the city achieve this goal Swiss-based RAFAA Architecture and Design has proposed a Solar City Tower which features an eye-catching energy-generating waterfall.  Read More
Better Marriage Blanket soaks up pesky ‘flatulence molecules’
As viewers of South Park will know, holding farts in can lead to spontaneous human combustion. Unfortunately letting one rip in the marriage bed can lead to the equally unwanted result of the withholding of snuggling. Thankfully there’s now a solution in the form of the Better Marriage Blanket that soaks up offensive “flatulence molecules” to keep any marriage smelling rosy through the most destructive Indian curry.  Read More
 
Researchers have succeeded in building a molecular computer that can mimic the inner worki...
Researchers from Japan and the Michigan Technological University have succeeded in building a molecular computer that, more than any previous project of its kind, can replicate the inner mechanisms of the human brain, repairing itself and mimicking the massive parallelism that allows our brains to process information like no silicon-based computer can.  Read More
Take control of your amp with the TightDrive from Amptweaker
The TightDrive from Amptweaker allows guitar and bass players to take control of that all important tone and overcome any unwanted delay that can slow down the sound as it moves through an amp's circuitry. As well as LED-lit gain, distortion, volume and Tight controls the pedal also features an effects loop where onboard effects can be moved in front of or behind the TightDrive's tone modifications.  Read More
Injured airmen could now be treated with Photochemical Tissue Bonding
There are quite a few bits of “future tech” in the various Star Trek series that are a little hard to believe, and the device their medics use for treating cuts is definitely one of them... they just shine the gizmo on a wound, and it instantly heals up. C’mon, that could never work! Or could it? The US Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) is now developing technology that could treat airmen’s battlefield injuries with - you guessed it - light. What’s next, replicator-made Klingon food?  Read More
NEC's new technology hopes to stamp out video piracy on the Internet
NEC Japan has fired the latest salvo in war between pirates and video producers with the announcement of new identification technology capable of detecting copies of videos illegally uploaded to the Internet in a matter of seconds. According to NEC the technology achieved an average detection rate of 96 percent at a very low false alarm rate of 5ppm (5 in one million). It is also capable of detecting altered video content, such as caption overlays, camera captured copies and analog copies.  Read More
Corser appears to be approaching his best again now that the BMW is getting sorted Photo b...
The world's fastest road bike derivatives went to Italy last weekend for the latest round of the World Superbike Championships at Monza, AKA “the Cathedral of Speed.” Monza favors very fast motorcycles and the results echo what we'd already suspected after several rounds of the championship - there appears to be a changing of the guard underway and the addition of BMW and Aprilia to Europe's previously sole superbike contender, Ducati, appears to have tipped the balance of power away from the Japanese marques. A double-win to Aprilia and BMW's first podium in the superbikes were one indicator as was BMW's continuing superstock dominance. In a class that's an excellent guide to the sportiness of showroom road bikes, BMW's S1000 RR blew the competition into the weeds.  Read More
Self-weighing suitcase knows exactly how heavy it is
It's happened to most of us at one time or another - you pack a suitcase before going on a trip, only to find that it's over the airline's weight restriction. Surely there has to be a better way than lifting that heavy suitcase back and forth to your bathroom scales, right? British company Expert Verdict is now selling a clever solution on their website. This self-weighing suitcase has an LCD display just underneath the handle that will tell you exactly how much the contents weigh.  Read More
A NIF technician checks the target positioner, which precisely centers the target inside t...
The quest to create a controlled fusion reaction is underway at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility (NIF), with scientists reporting early progress ahead of ignition experiments which are due to start later this year. The ultimate aim of the world's largest laser - which is the size of three football fields - is to develop carbon-free, limitless fusion energy.  Read More
Tokyoflash Broke watch with stained-glass window-like display - pictured watch's time is 1...
The "Broke" is the latest weird and wonderful watch design from Tokyoflash. Featuring a fragmented stained-glass window-like display, the outermost LED lit fragments on the Broke represent the hour, while inner fragments represent five minute intervals and central fragments indicate one to four minutes. The current time is displayed by which of the LED fragments are blinking. Got all that?  Read More
UPDATE: econogo launches the 1500w electric yogo scooter
British company econogo has launched the yogo, the first electric scooter that uses a fully detachable and portable lithium battery. Traditionally, electric two-wheelers in the UK have used impractical fixed silicon batteries which require the owner to run an extension lead from a mains electricity socket to the vehicle’s integrated battery. yogo owners can remove and charge the two LiFePO4 batteries inside an hour. Two spare batteries offer the option of an instantaneous swap for a further 44 miles of range. The GBP1999 (USD$3000) yogo has a 1500W motor, a top speed of 38 mph giving it the acceleration of a 100cc motorcycle, if not the top speed … and almost negligible running costs.  Read More
The wall-mountable Electrolux SHINE concept washing machine
Washing machines aren’t exactly the kind of appliances you want to put on show in your home - which is one of the reasons they’re generally located in the laundry away from discerning eyes. But with around 74 percent of the world’s population expected to live in an urban environment by 2050 according to the UN, many people will be living in dwellings without a dedicated laundry and will be forced to house their washing machines in other rooms. With that in mind Electrolux has come up with a couple of sleek washing machine designs that can be integrated into a bathroom.  Read More

The world's fastest road car - 1900 rear wheel horsepower and 267 mph after one mile
The emerging sport of One Mile Racing has a new champion – Ray Hofman's 2006 Ford GT runs a twin-turbo motor with a reputed 1900 rear wheel horsepower. A fortnight ago, Hofman piloted his Heffner Performance modified Ford GT over the measured mile with a terminal velocity of 266.9 mph, beating out the other two logical contenders for the title of the world's fastest street car. Just for the record, a Bugatti Veyron exits the standing mile at just over 200 mph. Hofman is now aiming for 280 mph. Is this the world's fastest road car?  Read More
A rendition of the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2)
DARPA has launched an unmanned hypersonic gliding vehicle that can reach speeds up to Mach 20 (13,000mph). The Falcon program aims to develop and demonstrate hypersonic technologies for prompt use in global reach missions and the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) forms part of this quest to produce an unmanned, rocket-launched, maneuverable air vehicle that glides through the Earth’s atmosphere at incredibly fast speeds.  Read More
The one-inch wide by three-inch long Lawrence Livermore Microbial Detection Array that con...
Researchers from a national security laboratory in the U.S. have announced a technology which can detect the presence of thousands of microorganisms in just 24 hours. Hundreds of thousands of probes on a 1 x 3 inch glass slide can look for the entire range of known viruses and bacteria in a single test, which could prove invaluable in product safety testing, medical diagnosis and bioterrorism detection and prevention.  Read More
Loftbox 101 provides office privacy... in a box
Nowadays any hip office worth its salt will eschew the traditional partitions or cubicles in favor of open plan office setups – preferably in a converted warehouse or loft. That’s great for encouraging communication (work-related of course) between employees, but what about when some privacy is required, whether it be for a meeting or just to avoid that annoying guy from accounting? Enter the Loftbox 101, a mobile rectangular box from Atelier Graff that unfolds to form a table with high backed facing chairs for private conversations.  Read More
The Air Deck transforms the rear of the aircraft into an extended living space
BAE Systems has partnered with luxury transport design consultancy firm Design Q to develop an "Air Deck" viewing platform concept for BAE’s Avro Business Jet (ABJ). Aimed at jet setters that like heading off the beaten flight path, the Air Deck transforms the rear of the aircraft into an extended living space by way of an elevated outdoor viewing deck.  Read More
Sony's 3G VAIO P: accelerometer, digital compass and stand-up controls
With so many variations of smartphones, netbooks, and tablet PCs on the market it's hard to imagine the categories of mobile tech getting more confusing - but they are. Sony has just thrown another unclassifiable beast into the mix with its new VAIO P Series. The first Type P had a sexy and ultra-portable form factor that could be stuffed into one of your larger pockets and while this new Type P might not be a game changer, it certainly has a boat-load of mobile-friendly features.  Read More
Gulfstream G650 business jet hits Mach 0.925
When first announced in 2008 the Gulfstream G650 business jet promised to be the world's fastest civil aircraft and in a test flight earlier this month, it delivered. Flown by Gulfstream’s Chief Test Pilot John O’Meara and Senior Experimental Test Pilot Tom Horne, the G650 hit its top speed of Mach 0.925 while at 42,500 feet in the skies above Savannah, Georgia, on Sunday, May 2.  Read More
A negative-index metamaterial that bends light in the 'wrong' direction could have several...
Metamaterials are manmade substances designed to do some very weird things that natural materials don’t. The path of a beam of light through a natural material like glass is predictable, but scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have engineered an optical material that bends light in the wrong direction. This new negative-index metamaterial (NIM) could have several valuable uses including invisibility cloaking, superlensing (imaging nano-scale objects using visible light) and improved light collection in solar cells.  Read More
Sleek Audio's SA7 in-ear headphones are built from aluminum, carbon fiber and titanium
Back in August 2007, we told you about Sleek Audio’s SA6 in-ear headphone system. It featured adjustable bass and treble, interchangeable ear tips, replaceable cables... oh yeah, and it cost $US250. Not exactly your $5 drug store system. Well, the SA6 is still around, but it’s about to lose its title of World’s Fanciest Earbud. Later this year, Sleek Audio will be rolling out the carbon fiber/aluminum/titanium SA7.  Read More
 

 

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