Revolution Next

Environmentally Friendly NiZn Batteries May Be Coming Soon

2005-06-10T02:12:00.000-05:00

While working to create a new battery for an electric scooter, engineers working on an EUREKA project have found a way to make Nickel-Zinc batteries without the charging limit of easier models.

The new design uses a copper foam to protect the delicate zinc electrode which had restricted the batteries to as few as 20 recharge cycles. The new design can be recharged as many as a thousand times.

NiZn batteries have the advantage of low-cost and high power of NiCads but without the using the toxic heavy metal cadmium.

The group is looking for partners to help bring the technology to market.

S.C. Researchers Develop Enviromental Double Punch: Pollution Eating Bacteria Generate Electricity

2005-06-09T02:26:00.000-05:00

"The bacteria are capable of continuously generating electricity at levels that could be used to operate small electronic devices. As long as the bacteria are fed fuel they are able to produce electricity 24 hours a day," says Charles Milliken of the Medical University of South Carolina, who conducted the research with colleague Harold May.

"These bacteria are very diverse in their metabolic capabilities, including the food that they can consume. That means that these bacteria can convert a large number of different food sources into electricity," says Milliken. "The technology could be used to assist in the reclamation of wastewaters, thereby resulting in the removal of waste and generation of electricity."

NanoHorizons Introduces Breakthrough in Photocell Design

2005-06-09T01:57:00.000-05:00

NanoHorizons' innovative photocell design will allow for the collection of more light by photocells allowing manufactures to cut costs and increase efficiency.

Current solar cells are a careful balance between absorption and collection. "Layered designs face an inherent paradox," explains co-inventor Dr. Ali Kaan Kalkan, "Thicker light-absorbing layers are needed to capture sufficient light energy, but their thickness makes it difficult for electrons to reach collection layers. Thinner layers reduce loss, but thin layers absorb too little light. What's been needed is a new approach that allows the light absorption path to be optimally long, while simultaneously moving efficient collection much closer to the source of energized electrons."

NanoHorizons' new design breaks the layered approach with columns of "nano-spikes" acting as collectors embedded through the absorption matrix. The spikes cut the distance between absorption and collection meaning that thicker cells can be built which absorb more light and convert more of it to energy. A comparative illustration of the technology is available on the NanoHorizons' website.

Ultra-HighSpeed Inkjets

2005-06-07T09:46:00.000-05:00

Brother Industries has unveiled a new inkjet printer design capable of churning out 170 pages per minute. Using an array of fixed, single-color solid-state print heads, which the company is calling Line Heads, the printer applies ink across the sheet paper as it passes underneath.

Different page widths can be achieved by connecting the line heads in parallel. The technology is still a ways away as Brother is looking for a partner to help bring it to market. It is likely that the line head will first appear in products for high-end, high volume print runs.

via Engadget

Low Cost Self-Cleaning Destroys Pesticides and Related Agents On Contact

2005-06-07T03:26:00.000-05:00

Researchers at the Naval Research Laboratory's Center for Bio/Molecular Science and Engineering (CBMSE) have invented a low-cost self-decontaminating ultra-thin materials coating that actively destroys pesticides and related chemical agents on contact. Better yet it does while leaving no hazardous residue making it ideal for protective clothing in hazardous environments.

The coating is an ultra-thin layer 500nm thick, which is applied to the threads before weaving, guaranteeing complete coverage. The coating contains enzymes which actively degrade the targeted agents. Different enzyme can be utilized to create a variety of coatings optimized for different uses. The NRL researchers have successfully tested the coating on cotton fabric and glass cloth using pesticides, including the nerve agent simulant methyl parathion.

Open Source Reality

2005-06-05T21:42:00.000-05:00

Two researchers from opposite sides of the world have embarked on a project which they hope may change production, economics, and the very fabric of human society forever.

Find out more at my new blog:
Tomorrow Next.

Blue Brain Supercomputer Aims To Model Entire Brain

2005-06-05T21:25:00.000-05:00

IBM's Blue Gene and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne have embarked on a project who's eventual goal is to create a functioning computer simulation of the entire human brain. Beginning with a simulation of a column of neurons in the neocortex of a rat brain, the team hopes to eventually expand to cover the whole brain, but they admit they don't yet have the computational power:

"The whole supercomputer is going to act as a single neocortical circuit...We won't have enough computing power in the next 10 years to simulate the whole brain," according to Henry Markram, director of the University's Brain and Mind Institute.

"The neocortical microcircuit is very similar from mouse to man," Markram said. "It's a project that could explain how the human cognitive process works. We'd be able to witness in detail how information is processed, how it is stored and retrieved. And it's going to save an immense amount of animal research."

The IBM Press Release provides more details.

New Bio-Diesel Process Boosts Yields Dramatically

2005-06-04T00:30:00.000-05:00

University of Wisconsin researchers have discovered a new process for making bio-diesel that contains 90% of the energy from the source material. It has the potential to create twice the energy as is created in using corn to make ethanol.

Ethanol production creates 1.1 units of energy for every unit of energy consumed. In the new process, 2.2 units of energy for every unit of energy consumed in energy production.

"The fuel we're making stores a considerable amount of hydrogen," says Professor James Dumesic who leads the team. "Each molecule of hydrogen is used to convert each carbon atom in the carbohydrate reactant to an alkane. It's a very high yield. We don't lose a lot of carbon. The carbon acts as an effective energy carrier for transportation vehicles. It's not unlike the way our own bodies use carbohydrates to store energy."

About 75 percent of the dry weight of herbaceous and woody biomass is comprised of carbohydrates. Because the UW-Madison process works with a range of carbohydrates, a wide range of plants, and more parts of the plant, can be consumed to make fuel.

According to the researchers, "The current delivered cost of biomass is comparable or even cheaper than petroleum-based feedstock on an energy basis."

STED Microscopy Breaks Optical Barrier

2005-06-04T00:11:00.000-05:00

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen have created a new law explaining how STED microscopy overcomes the limit proposed by Ernst Abbe in 1873 which limited the resolving power of an optical microscopes based on the wavelength of the light used. The new law which describes the resolving power of the researchers STED technique which adds a square-root element allowing theoretically unlimited optical resolution in fluorescence microscopy.

The Seduction of Mimicry

2005-05-31T10:45:00.000-05:00

How logical are you? Are your views more influenced by those like you than those who are different? Researchers at Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab have been looking into the issue and the results may surprise you.

A computer generated agent was found to be more persuasive if it mimicked the movements of the subject even with just a 4 second delay. The subject rated the agent as more friendly, interesting, honest and persuasive. In fact using the technique resulted in as much as 20% of the variance in whether the subjects were persuaded by the agent who was pushing an Orwellian campus ID system.

An earlier experiment by the lab looking at the effect of morphing a subjects face with either of the two presidential candidates from last year's election found that doing so could swing support dramatically towards a particular candidate with a change seen from 8-12%.

But what does this research mean? With digital printing technology and a database of subscriber's faces, magazines and advertisers could create works which are far more persuasive. Videos playing in the windows of retail stores could be fine tuned to have the maximum psychological effect on the customer. Candidates could morph their visages towards the voter and their opponents away. Even without a phot database the manipulations could be done based on the age, gender and race of the target all of which is currently available in advertising databases.

If videoconferencing finally takes off, telemarketers could use the technique to get that extra edge.

As a defense, software could be created designed to sanitize images removing similarities or reapplying conveyed information to a neutral avatar.

DNA Microarray Printing Technique May Revolutionize Genetic Analysis

2005-05-27T00:20:00.000-05:00

A novel nano-printing techniques which produces patterns of DNA dots as little as 200nm in diameter holds the potential for genetic assay devices costing less than $50 each.

The new technique called Supramolecular Nano-Stamping (SuNS) uses single strands of DNA on a surface to act as a master for the biding of complementary pairs. The duplicates can be used as masters as well, allowing the process to proceed exponentially while reproducing complex patterns.

In DNA microarrays as many as 500,000 tiny DNA dots are aligned in a known pattern allowing for the quick assessment of complementary pairs when exposed to a patient's DNA sample. This can be used to identify genetic abnormalities, cancer, and even the presence of specific pathogens.

Currently, microarrays cost in the neighborhood of $500 and require as many as 400 printing steps. According to the researchers, microarrays fabricated with the new process could be manufactured far more simply and for as little as $50.

The wide-scale implementation of such a technology would have massive imlpications both for the cost and quality of medical treatment. Despite modern medicines wonders, diagnosis of pathology remains primarily an art relying on the knowledge and training of the physician. A microarray system would allow for quick and precise diagnoses eliminating many of the costly and potentially deadly complications which ensue from diagnostic errors.

Japanese Researchers Banish Blinking

2005-05-26T00:25:00.000-05:00

Don't you hate it? You've snapped picture after picture and someone in the group is always blinking. What do you do about it?

Well Masahide Kaneko and colleagues at the University of Electro-Communications near Tokyo have developed a novel technique that can reduce or eliminate the blinks altogether. By taking a series of 15 shots within half a second, the camera can then scan through the shots and find the ones where the fewest subjects are blinking.

Hopefully they or someone else will take it to the next level and simply merge portions of the shots from multiple frames to eliminate the blinks altogether.

Robotic Controllable Endoscope Available In Europe By The End Of The Year

2005-05-25T18:10:00.000-05:00

Japanes company Olympus has developed a robotic endoscope system which it ready to begin marketing by the end of 2005. 26mm long the capsule is designed to be swallowed but is then capable of self-propulsion through the GI tract. Powered externally via magnetic induction, the capsule is capable of sustained duration inside the body.

The capsule can carry drug payloads for precise delivery and is also capable of extracting small amounts of body fluids for examination upon retrieval. Additionally, the capsule is capable of generating ultrasound from within the body allowing higher quality imaging than with existing ultrasound techniques.

Canadian Researchers Develop Ultra-Thin Camera Lens

2005-05-23T17:13:00.000-05:00

Tigran Galstian and Vladimir Presnyakov of Laval University have developed a lens that is five times thinner than a piece of paper. Able to zoom in and out without using mechanical parts, the lens allows for movement of the focal point and can increase the clarity and detail of an enlarged picture.

According to the article:

The lens was created by adding a small amount of photosensitive material to a liquid crystal cell. When exposed to laser light, it forms a network of stable polymers varying in density according to the intensity of exposure.

"The network is like a spider web, with its center dense than its periphery," Galstian said. "When we apply a weak electrical current to it, the crystals in the center realign differently from those in the periphery and thus take on the shape and behavior of a lens."

The lens' focal point can be modified by changing the intensity and frequency of the electrical current.

"The reaction is very fast and doesn't involve any mobile parts or mechanical movements," Galstian said.

Revolutionary MEMS Valve Will Increase MPG

2005-05-21T23:48:00.000-05:00

Microstaq has developed a revolutionary MEMS valve technology that has the capability of replacing a heavy, flashlight-sized valve used in vehicles with a tiny silicon-based valve the size of a button. The typical vehicle has as many as 50 valves which could be replaced by the invention. Microstaq plans to begin commercial production in two years.

Revolutionary Game Designer Wil Wright Spawns Another Groundbreaking Game

2005-05-20T15:57:00.000-05:00

Next year, Wil Wright's newest creation Spore will be unleashed to the public. Called by some "Sim Everything", the game takes players from working on single-cell organisms to evolving intelligent life, civilizations and galactic colonization. The creatures in the game aren't pre-canned. According to Wright, "the player can create any creature, and then we figure out how it would walk and move and behave."

The advent of procedural design on this level opens the door for the creation of whole new worlds. Using such an approaches, a game could allow you to switch from a strategic god-game view to become a individual soldier in a FPS or an adventurer questing for glory. The game would fill in the details or extrapolate the big picture as needed.

As hardware such as the PS3 becomes more standard, we will no longer worry so much about the realism of games and more about their design and flexibility.

LifeStraw Offers Clean Water to Thirsty World

2005-05-20T13:16:00.000-05:00

Designed to filter enough water to meet the annual needs of an individual, LifeStraw offers a low-cost, portable and intuitive system for the developing world. 25cm in length, the LifeStraw uses a number of filters and iodine to filter the water and kill bacteria to a standard which surpasses that of tap water even in some developed countries.

The LifeStraw is currently in field tests, and the group hopes to make it commercially available soon throughout the developing world. It could also find use in developed countries for campers and others who need to get there drinking water from unprocessed sources.

World's First Commercial Wave Farm To Be Built Off Of Portugal

2005-05-20T12:54:00.000-05:00

In 2006 Enersis SPGS power company will deploy 3 Pelamis P-750 wave power generators developed by Ocean Power Delivery of Scotland capable of generating 2.25 megawatts of electricity enough to power 1,500 homes. The power plant will be moored 5km offshore and connected via an undersea power cable. If the initial phase is successful the company will order 30 more generators by the end of 2006.

Turbocharger For Your Heart

2005-05-19T00:29:00.000-05:00

No, it's not Cupid's dream system. The device, called a C-Pulse, is designed to reinforce the pumping action of a damaged heart. By squeezing the aorta around 20ms after each beat the device helps to propel the blood around the body with greater force. It has been implanted in a New Zealand man and will be implanted in five other patients as part of a pilot study to test the system. If successful, the C-Pulse could aid millions of patients world-wide suffering from moderate heart failure.

Update:
The always excellent New Scientist, provides a more detailed overview of the device.

WEP Encryption Cracked In 3 Minutes

2005-05-17T12:29:00.000-05:00

At the recent ISSA meeting in LA, a team of FBI agents demonstrated the ability to break a 128-bit WEP key in about 3 minutes. The attack used a suite of publicly available software tools running on standard hardware.

The team used a couple of methods. One was an active attack using the deauth command to knock the wireless user off of the access point and then record the reconnection. This method would be easily detectable as the user is alerted to being disconnected and reconnected to the AP. The other method is a reply attack where captured traffic is replayed to the Access Point causing the traffic to be repeated.

This should serve as a wakeup call to be careful about what you do on any shared wireless networks. You should assume that Wireless connection is unsecured, and use appropriate caution. Use multiple levels of encryption such as SSL or a VPN in addition to that used by the WiFi network. If possible, upgrade from WEP to WPA as it provides better security. Run local system firewalls to keep out any intruders. Keep up to date on security patches and firmware upgrades.

Kudzu Dampens Drinking

2005-05-17T00:41:00.000-05:00

In an almost surreal turn of events a research study has concluded that Kudzu can reduce the frequency and quantity of imbibement in humans. Supposedly this has been known to Chinese herbalists and had been observed in mice, but this is the first time the effect has been documented by a scientific experiment. Of course, at 14 subjects the study doesn't have enough scale to be definitive.

We've miscalculated once what effect Kudzu would have our land, I shudder to think what could go wrong with this new direction.

BrightHandle Unlocks New Paradigm

2005-05-16T10:37:00.000-05:00

Innovations in door handle design don't come everyday, but Stockholm based BrightHandle offers up a news with their eponymously named design. Simple and intuitive, the BrightHandle will glow green for unlocked and red for locked. It can be powered via battery or wired in.

via Engadget

Japanese Scientist Create Glucose Powered Fuel Cell

2005-05-15T00:34:00.000-05:00

An innovation which sets the stage for the vampiric robot hordes which will rampage across the planet in a few decades, Japanese scientist have unveiled a fuel cell device which can run on blood without the need for toxic substances.

The device use Vitamin K3 which exists naturally within human as the electron mediator for the device which can draw electrons directly from glucose. The fuel cell design is ideal for use in implants which generally rely on batteries charged through induction coils beneath the skin.

The current device is about the size of a coin and generates about 0.2 milliwatts of electricity. While small that wattage could power a device which monitors a patients blood contents and transmits the data elsewhere.

via Engadget

E-INK Partners with Neolux To Commercialize Ink-In-Motion Technology

2005-05-15T00:09:00.000-05:00

E-Ink has partnered with Neolux to commercialize E-Ink Ink-In-Motion point of sale technology. Similar in format to the old segmented LCD displays of the 80s, the Ink-in-Motion system uses E-Ink electronic ink technology to create large animated displays which can be manufactured in a printing process and powered for long periods from a battery. Microsoft is already using the technology for the release of their XBOX game Jade Empire.

MagInk has developed and deployed another type of electronic ink technology which has received little coverage. While E-Ink and Gyricon through their association with large companys have gained voluminous coverage, MagInk has moved ahead to get their products into the field. Their technology is the only one currently capable of being used on large scale billboards. While it can't handle video refresh frequencies yet, the company promises that ability in the future.

Air Conditioned Shirts

2005-05-13T14:25:00.000-05:00

A pair of air conditioned work clothes has been introduced on Japan. Available in either a long-sleeved or short-sleeved model the shirts sport am integrated fan and venting system powered by rechargeable batteries. With enough juice for 5 hours these shirts could be particularly helpful for those working outside on hot summer days.

via AkhibaraNews

UNC Researcher Develop Novel X-Ray Device

2005-05-13T02:27:00.000-05:00

Researchers from UNC Chapel Hill working with UNC start-up Xinetek have invented a new type of x-ray device which can create images of objects from numerous directions without mechanical motion. The device utilizes an array of nanotubes to emit multiple x-ray beams. The system can operate at room temperature rather than 1000 degrees Celsius traditional systems use. Images are created more quickly and cleanly while using substantially less energy. Initial uses are targeted for x-ray security scanners. The company is working with several manufacturers to commercialize the technology.

HDRI Technology Helps Bring Verisimilitude to Computer Graphics

2005-05-13T01:23:00.000-05:00

I found this while reading about the XBOX 360 launch (BTW You would think they would provide some more images and videos of the games, but maybe it's just me.)

High Dynamic Range Image(HDRI) technology changes the way that pixel information is stored. In a traditional RGB bitmap each pixels has three color values between 0 and 255. Obviously, that isn't a lot of gradation. If you notice digital images tend to have wash out and tiling when the contrast between these values doesn't allow enough range.

Enter HDRI which replace the 8-bit scale with a floating point number. This obviously provides for much finer granularity. But you're asking what does this have to do with the picture at right. Well, the rendering of robot was modeled with a skymap recorded from the digital image. To accurately merge with the environment it needs to accurately reflect the projected light. Using a traditional bitmap the errors compound, but the HDRI image allows for more accurate surface rendering.

The technology is being added to games such as Half Life 2 and Far Cry.

For more images see this thread from Face Punch Studios.

Non Allergenic Latex Developed

2005-05-12T17:04:00.000-05:00

Yulex Corporation of California has announced the development and licensing of a new hypoallergenic form of natural latex. While synthetic alternatives have existed they don't perform as well as the natural form. The new latex is derived from the Guayule a dessert plant indigenous to the southwestern U.S.

The company has licensed with Centrograde Rubber to distribute the latex worldwide to medical device manufacturers of surgical gloves, condoms, catheters and other latex-based medical products.

via MedGadget

New Diode Design May Enable Nuclear Batteries

2005-05-11T15:56:00.000-05:00

A new porous silicon diode design may enable the implementation of batteries which draw their power directly from the beta radiation emitted by the decay of tritium, an isotope of hydrogen. The new porous silicon design etched with a network of deep pores is projected to increase efficiency by an order of magnitude over previous designs. Batteries based upon the design should be able to provide power for decades. The new diode was developed by a team of researchers from the University of Rochester, the University of Toronto, Rochester Institute of Technology and BetaBatt, Inc. of Houston, Texas. Funding was provided by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

via Eureka Alert

Contactless Palm Biometric Authentication System Deployed

2005-05-11T14:25:00.000-05:00

Fujitsu Is deploying a contactless palm access control system to the University of Tokyo Hospital. The scanner uses infrared imagers to record the palm's vein structure which can then be compared against a database. The contactless system provides improved hygiene for hospitals, as well as providing a high reliability and precision. The system has been in operation since March 28th. For more information read Fujitsu's Technology Overview.

via MedGadget

Motorola Unveils World's First Nano Emissive Display

2005-05-11T14:01:00.000-05:00

Motorola Labs demoed a 5-inch Nano Emissive display (NED) based on Nano Tube technology. The new display type should provide better image quality, longer life, and reduced manufacturing costs. The screens are produced by growing carbon nano tubes on a glass plate, a technique which should supposedly scale well for larger screens. Motorola estimates that production costs on a 40in display could be under $400.

via GizMag

Taking Virtual Reality To Another Dimension

2005-05-10T14:07:00.000-05:00

As you were rampaging across the fields in Everquest or blowing off a zombies head in a Resident Evil game, did you ever wish you could know what that smelled like? Well you may soon have the chance. SpotScents, developed by Yasuyuki Yanagida at the Media Information Science Laboratories in Japan, is a scent projector that can target scents directly to the user without needing to wear special devices. To keep the scent focused and of sufficient strength, the device uses a air cannon to eject a vortex containing the scent cloud targeted at the user's nose.

A PDF is available explaining the research.

via We Make Money Not Art

New Transistor Breaks 600ghz Speed Barrier

2005-05-10T10:08:00.000-05:00

Milton Feng, a professor at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has created a transistor based on a novel material structure composed of indium phosphide and indium gallium arsenide. The pseudomorphic heterojunction bipolar transistor is deigned with a compositionally graded collector, base and emitter reducing the transit time for electrons across the junction and improving current density. At 604ghz the transistor breaks existing speed barriers and sets a possible path towards breaking into the terahertz range.

via Science Daily

Modular Robots Are The Future

2005-05-08T13:59:00.000-05:00

The Robots of the future be less like C3-PO and more like the shape-shifting replicator robots from Stargate SG-1. Read more at Robots Next.

Miniature MRI Device

2005-05-06T17:58:00.000-05:00

The Mini MRI device can be used to diagnose cartilage degeneration, nerve compression, ligament injuries, tendon abnormalities, tumor detection, bone injuries and scarring within the wrist.

The device was developed at Mayo Research and has been tested at the Mayo Clinic for a number of years. It is being produced and distributed by IBM.

via Medgadget

Fast, Automated Acquisition of 3D Cityscapes

2005-05-05T13:40:00.000-05:00

Researchers at UC Berkeley have assembled a data acquisition system which can be driven through a city and construct a 3-dimensional model of the cityscape within a matter of hours. The 3D model could then be used for city planning, real estate, mapping, military planning or other uses such as simulating snow fall.

Mounted to the bed of a pickup truck, the system uses a combination of laser range finders and color cameras to collect the raw information. Afterwards a computer system combined the data into an integrated 3D model.

The use of aerial drones to collect the data is also being considered.

via New Scientist

"Mad Scientist" Creates Device to Shrink Matter!

2005-05-05T11:54:00.001-05:00

By day a digital press manager, by night a Mad Scientist, Brian Basura has built the prosaicly name Quarter Shrinker. Unleashing 10,000 megawatts of stored energy from its 22,000 volt capacitor the device compresses the atoms within the quarters. It is unclear whether the same technology will work on humans...actually it's pretty clear it would simply vaporize you...but maybe it just shrank you to microscopic size!

Experiments in Interface Design - MenuVista

2005-05-04T16:58:00.000-05:00

For his thesis project ITP student Chia-wei Chang produced MenuVista which allows restaurant goers to preview and order their meals using the tabletop. The menu and images of the dishes are projected onto the table from above while the diners make their selections. QProx sensors beneath the table allow for touch sensitivity. For more detailed information and background on the project see the ITP page.

These sort of new paradigms and experiments in interface design are sorely needed in a field which has hardly budged in 20 years.

via We Make Money Not Art

New Sequencer Set To Revolutionize DNA Analysis

2005-05-03T12:44:00.000-05:00

Helicos Biosciences, a one-year old start-up based in Cambridge, MA, has developed a new sequencing technology that is set to drastically cut the time and expense needed to sequence DNA.

The system cuts DNA into fragments approximately 100 base pairs long and aligns on a plate. Then the fragments are exposed to fluorescent versions of the amino acids one at a time. The computer photographs the pattern and uses it to build up the sequence. The process is said to take about 3 days and cost about $5,000.

We definitely come a long way since the early nineties when sequencing a single humans genome was slated to take more the 20 years.

Two other companies 454 Life Sciences and Solexa are set to bring their own advanced sequencing technology to market this year. Helicos' machine won't be available until the end of 2006 at the earliest.

Artificial Retinas See Light

2005-05-02T16:44:00.000-05:00

For the inner Cyborg in all of us, a company located in Sylmar, California called Second Sight has announced success in treating six previously blind patients with their implanted retina device. All six patients suffering from Retinitis Pigmetosa had little or no sight. After implantation the patients were able to localize and count a number of high contrast objects, discriminate simple shapes, and recognize motion.

Via EurekaAlert

Pneumatic Elevators

2005-05-02T16:17:00.000-05:00

A company called Daytona Elevator has introduced a device which satisfies the fantasies of anyone who's seen one of those pneumatic tubes at the bank. It doesn't look like they have a model yet which will zip you around corners and upside down, but I'm sure they will address that deficiency soon enough.

This would be the perfect thing for underground complex, not that I have one heh heh.

Toshiba Demonstrates Cell Microprocessor Simultaneously Decoding 48 MPEG-2 Streams -- Tech-On!

2005-05-02T16:09:00.000-05:00

The video streams were decoded by 6 of the Cell's 8 co-processing units with a seventh scaling them video to the 1920x1080 screen. The eighth unit was unused. This is an impressive feat for such early hardware. Imagine the possibilities for a TIVO type device that can simultaneously record 48 channels, or better yet include 4 Cell processors as Sony plans to do and record 192 channels. Obviously, we'll have to do some more work to find a storage architecture capable of handing that capacity and bandwidth.

Time Warner had a product in the works a year ago called Mystro TV which would record all of the cable channels and make the content available to all digital cable subscribers ala a DVR without needing the device on-site. The cell would be the perfect device to accomplish this task. The beauty of the system was that it would require only software updates to the set-top boxes Time Warner had in place already. They were struggling with the cabling channels over licensing, since the channels were justly afraid that users would simply fast forward through commercials. I've used a DVR from Time Warner for nearly 3 years now and I definitely fast forward through the commercials, but if there is one that catches my eye, I will stop and watch it.

Any way the processing power available in the Cell architecture is just now beginning to be tapped, and I expect that we will see far more impressive examples coming out over the next few years.

New Optical Sensor

2005-04-28T18:42:00.000-05:00

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering in Germany, SUSS MicroOptics SA and the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland have created a compound eye made of an array of tiny imaging sensors. The images are then fused afterwards into a composite image.

The researchers' prototype is only 2mm thick and consists of 21 mini-telescopes with 3 sensors each. Some of the sensors are only 73microns in diameter.

This would allow for the creation of seeing surfaces eliminating the need for large, fragile lenses.

From the image, you can see that they are still working out spacing and overlap issues. The overlap "issue" is somewhat ridiculous since they could simply cut off the bitmaps where they would abut.

Welcome

2005-04-25T03:10:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the home of Revolution Next.

Here we chronicle the events and innovations which are remaking our world at an ever faster pace. These are exiciting times we're sharing. The coming revolutions occuring across all fields from technology to politics and everywhere in between are going to have a vast impact on the way we live our day to day lives. The only way to be prepared is to know what's coming in Revolution Next.