How about a car that works at your nod and wink? Engineers have come up with a whole new way driving using just facial expressions after creating a gadget that controls a car's functions using nods and winks.
The infra-red sensor is mounted on the dash board and recognises the driver's facial expression to control the car. A computer concealed inside the car translates the gestures which corresponds to a list of commands for the radio, Sat Nav, heating and mobile phone.
The gestures, which are being tested before they are finalised, include a wink to turn the radio and music player on and off. The technology is meant to be able to differentiate between an accidental blink and a wink by the length of time of the action before turning the radio on or off.
Drivers can nod left to turn the volume up and right to turn it down while a tap on the steering wheel to skip the station or song. Motorists can even make a phone call by making the 'lifting the receiver gesture' with their hand and dial by saying the name of the person they wish call.
Motorists can even control the air conditioning and heating by raising and lowering their left hand above the gear stick which has another computer sensor mounted inside. The technology means drivers would be able to control the functions inside the car without being distracted from the road.
Engineers from global infotainment specialists Harman have created a prototype car which could hit the roads in two years time.
Hans Roth, director of technology at Harman, said: 'It’s all about reducing distractions in the car. If you don’t have to take your hands off the wheel or look down then it’s obviously safer. We are still testing a list of gestures which could be standard for all cars across the world.'
CAR CONTROL GESTURES
These basic gestures are being testing around the globe to find the ideal system that can be used in countries around the world:
Wink - To turn the radio on and off. Nod left - Turn the volume up. Nod right - Turn the volume down. Tap finger on steering wheel - Skip radio channel or song. Left hand up (above gear stick) - Turn the heating on. Left hand down (above gear stick) - Turn the air-conditioning on. Phone gesture - To make a call.
Battery operated mobile devices like smartphones and tablets are still lagging behind laptops and desktops in sheer computing power.
An Israeli researcher, however, is tweaking their RAM to bring them on par with their bigger cousins, so that they can run various programs just as smoothly and simultaneously, even with a tiny battery.
Elad Mentovich, doctoral candidate at the Tel Aviv University, is relying on carbon molecule called C60, to build a sophisticated memory transistor that can both transfer and store energy, eliminating the need for a capacitor (energy storage device).
"When this new technology is integrated into future devices, you will have much more memory on your smartphones and tablets, approaching the level of a laptop. With that kind of memory, you'll be able to run applications simultaneously, and because it is low voltage, power consumption will fall and battery life will be longer," said Mentovich.
This molecular memory transistor stores and disseminates information at high speed - and it's ready to be produced at existing high-tech fabrication facilities. Major companies have already expressed interest in the technology, says Mentovich.
Places where people often witness an abundant amount of snow in winter face a serious problem linked with roads. Billions of dollars are spent each year to remove the snow and repair the roads damaged by the weather.
In order to solve the problem, a researcher named Rajib Mallick proposed solar powered road systems. The systems would store the power of the sun to help clear streets and possibly provide an alternative source of electricity.
Mallick's idea is to embed pavement with fluid-filled pipes. The fluid, which would be resistant to freezing, would be heated by the sun and stored in an insulated chamber. When ice and snow hit the roads, the heated fluid could be released to melt the snow. The heat from the fluid could also be used to provide electricity to nearby buildings.
The project's cost is estimated at $12,500 for every 50 meters of pipe, plus annual maintenance costs of $1,000. But Mallick tells the system could pay for itself in six months while also providing enough electricity to heat 55 homes for one month a year.
It looks like a wisp of smoke or even the work of a very confused spider, but this is actually a close up of the lightest material that has ever been created.
Lighter than air? Nearly. A newly developed substance called Aerographite is now the lightest material in the world, constructed of 99.9 percent air.
Previous record holder for lightest stuff ever made includes aerogel, which was used by NASA to collect dust from a comet with a density of just 1 milligram per centimetre cubed. That was recently beaten by the metallic microlattice, which upped the stakes to 0.9 mg/cm³. This metallic material is also nearly 1,000 times thinner than a human hair. Now there is aerographite, which easily smashes the previous record. With a density of less than 0.2 mg/cm³.
Researchers at the Hamburg University of Technology and the University of Kiel, both in Germany, made it from a network of hollow carbon tubes grown at nano and micro scales. As the electron microscope picture above shows, it is mostly empty space, though if you held a clump in your hand, it would look like a black sponge.
Its sparse nature means aerographite can be compressed by a factor of a thousand, only to spring back to its original size. The material can also support 35 times more weight than the same mass of aerogel. Aerographite's ability to conduct electricity means it might also find a use as part of an ultra-lightweight battery.
A Swedish company has invented a charger for mobile phones, cameras and GPS devices that can power-up your electronic gadgets with little more than water.
The PowerTrekk has been designed for people who 'who spend time away from the electricity grid' and do not have access to conventional power in remote locations. The charger needs just a tablespoon of water to produce around 10 hours of phone battery life.
The invention works with any device that has a USB port and with almost any type of water, including salt water. It can even run on puddle water providing it isn't thickened with mud or any other sediment.
"PowerTrekk has a competitive edge over traditional portable chargers" said Björn Westerholm of myFC, the company behind PowerTrekk.
Fuel cell power is generated immediately and charging is not impacted by weather or the position of the sun, as for solar panels. Compared to battery powered travel chargers, PowerTrekk offers reliable charging as the fuel packs do not deplete as batteries do.
The process is easy for users. The sodium is stored in a small round container called a PowerPukk. The PowerPukk slots into one half of an outer container. In the other half is a tiny water tank, into which you pour the water. Once the lid is sealed on the outer container the chemical reaction begins automatically and the PowerTrekk is ready to use.
The chemistry process is said to be safe and eco-friendly, and the only by-product is a little water vapor.
Mechanical engineers and roboticists working at MIT have developed an intelligent automobile co-pilot that sits in the background and only interferes if you’re about to have an accident. If you fall asleep, for example, the co-pilot activates and keeps you on the road until you wake up again.
MIT co-pilot uses an on-board camera and laser rangefinder to identify obstacles. These obstacles are then combined with various data points such as the driver’s performance, and the car’s speed, stability, and physical characteristics to create constraints. The co-pilot stays completely silent unless you come close to breaking one of these constraints which might be as simple as a car in front braking quickly, or as complex as taking a corner too quickly. When this happens, a ton of robotics under the hood take over, only passing back control to the driver when the car is safe.
This intelligent co-pilot is starkly contrasted with Google’s self-driving cars, which are completely computer-controlled unless you lean forward, put your hands on the wheel and take over.
The video below does a fairly good job of explaining the system:
We are living in an extremely exciting time in terms of science and technology. Things that have always been considered science fiction are becoming normal day-to-day components of our lives. And while we have been seeing invention breakthrough over and over in the last couple of decades, the next ten years is going to blow everything else out of the water. To give you an idea of the magnitude of this reality, here are 10 amazing innovations to different sectors of life.
1) Architecture
Revolving Tower in Dubai
While Dubai is currently known for it’s ridiculous extravagance, developers in the region are building a tower that has fancy and extremely practical applications.
This beautiful building is going to be made of 59 independently rotating modules/floors so that inhabitants will have a constantly shifting view of the outside world. Each floor will rotate at approximately 6 meters per minute so that the inhabitants will not notice the movement. The independent rotations will also give the building an ever-changing exterior that can warp into very complex designs.
All of that aesthetic stuff is great and all, but the real innovation comes from the wind turbines built in between each floor. The resulting pollution-free energy will be enough to power the tower and several buildings in the surrounding area. Just Wow.
2) Bio Technology
Bionic Hand controlled by brain signals
It doesn’t let you crush rocks like you would think, BUT it does allow people without fingers to have fully functional hands that can pick up and handle delicate objects. It is completely controlled by the brain and requires no surgery. Touch Bionics, the company the produces the Pro Digits hand, is able to install the hand complete with “living skin,” a plastic covering resembling human skin, for under $50,000.
3) Cars and Fuel
Electric Car to Power Your Home
There are tons of different fuel-types for the “automobiles of tomorrow” but the only kind that seems to have any realistic chance of actually being used by the masses in the next ten years is electric. A new charging station for the all-electric Nissan Leaf allowing users to pull power from the car to for use in their home.
It allows power to flow in both directions so that the house can power the car and the car can also power the house. This kind of interconnected smart technology that only uses the power it needs and actually gives back some power that it doesn’t need is truly remarkable. It’s something that’s been talked about for years and is finally coming to market.
4) How We Interact With the World
Google Glasses With Virtual And Augmented Reality
Google is expected to start selling eyeglasses that will project information, entertainment and many more information onto the lenses. These glasses will have the combined features of virtual reality and augmented reality. The glasses are not yet for sale. Google will, however, be testing them in public.
The Google Glasses can use a 4G cell connection to pull in information from Google’s mountain of data and display info about the real world in augmented reality on the lens in front of your eye. As you turn your head you’ll get information about your surroundings and nearby objects from Google Goggles, info on buildings and establishments from Google Maps, even your friends nearby check-ins from Latitude.
Google glasses are basically wearable computers, that will use the same Android software that powers Android smartphones and tablets. Like smartphones and tablets, the glasses will be equipped with GPS and motion sensors. They will also contain a camera and audio inputs and outputs.
Project Glass is one of many projects currently being built inside the Google X offices, a secretive laboratory near Google’s main Mountain View, Calif., campus where engineers and scientists are also working on robots and space elevators.
5) Energy
Sandia’s solar cells
Solar energy will soon leave fossil fuels and inefficient wind farms in the dust. According to Kurzweil, “the cost per watt of solar energy is coming down rapidly and the total amount of solar energy is growing exponentially. It has in fact been doubling every two years for the past 20 years and is now only eight doublings away from meeting all of the world’s energy needs.”
Emerging technology from a company called Sandia is making the reality that much closer.
Sandia’s solar cells are made of 100 times less material than the current top solar cells while operating at the same efficiency. Since the biggest hurdle in the path of solar power is the expensive and large nature of solar panels, these new microscopic cells will make a huge difference. For example, current panels are massive and require large motors to move them to track the sun. Sandia’s cells, on the other hand, would only need to be moved a fraction of a millimeter to track the sun efficiently while weighing next to nothing.
Even more amazing, they can be suspended in liquids and printed on flexible materials, allowing the cells to be places on any surface
6) Health
A company called Organovo has developed the first commercial 3-D bio printer that builds custom organs cell-by-cell. Each individual cell is based upon sample cells from the body of the customer. Organovo reports that veins and arteries will be available in 5 years, and more complex organs like hearts and livers in 10.
On a more general note, nanotechnology is revolutionizing the health world. The awesome combination of a higher understanding of how DNA works and the ability to create very small cellular parts is painting a very bright future for medicine.
Scientists are finding specific sequences of DNA that code for conditions like schizophrenia, autism and even aging. The cures are actually in sight.
7) Computer Speed, Size and Usability
Most people know of Moore’s Law from 1965 (the number of transistors we are able to cheaply put in computer chips doubles every year, thereby doubling the speed). However, most people don’t know that Moore, himself, came out and said his law will most likely fail finally in 2020 where the number of transistors we can put on chips will be limited by the laws of physics. Does this mean the exponential rise in computer processing speed will come to a halt in ten years?
Not a chance, says Jim Tully, chief of research for semi-conductors at Gartner. “The technology which will replace this is a bottom-up approach, where chips will be assembled using individual atoms or molecules, a type of nanotechnology.”
Ray Kurzweil, a well-respected Futurist, stated when this molecular computing technology comes out in 2020, computers will have the intellectual capability of human beings.
That Macbook Air, so thin, in fact, that it makes you wonder if physical computers will even exist in 2020. Well according to developers at Intel, the keyboard and mouse surely won’t. Who needs QWERTY when you can control a computer with your mind?
“We’re trying to prove you can do interesting things with brain waves,” said Intel researcher Dean Pomerleau. Eventually people may be willing to be more committed to brain implants. Imagine being able to surf the Web with the power of your thoughts.
8) Clothing
Nanotechnology in Clothing
Nano-fibres will make garments tremendously more comfortable and durable. By this process the textile products can be made more attractive, strong and responsive to customers’ choice.
Fiber-based nanogenerators will build up electrical energy in clothing from physical movement, ultrasonic waves and even blood flow. If we can combine many of these fibers in double or triple layers in clothing, we could provide a flexible, foldable and wearable power source that, for example, would allow people to generate their own electrical current while walking.
Extremely hydrophobic (water-resistant) nanofilaments allow for completely waterproof clothing. It can be submerged in water for two months and still remain dry to the touch.
9) Success and Popularity Accessibility
The internet is the perfect tool for capitalism, entrepreneurship, and dreaming. Whatever you can dream up, you can make possible on the World Wide Web
The ability of a 'Nobody' to come from nowhere and suddenly gain recognition and become a well known someone. The internet has been continually leveling the playing field so that you don’t need million in capital or marketing to get your ideas, creations and business into the spotlight.
Many 10 year-olds are making thousands off their viral YouTube videos. Anyone with a business idea can start a website and get going for little to no capital. Even Twitter can launch people into the spotlight if they can work the system in the right way.
Many people are getting huge jobs because companies are seeing how well their content does on the web. For example, Fede Alvarez, a director from Uruguay, recently had this short film go viral and was offered $30 million from a Hollywood company to direct a film for them.
10) Robots
The first decade of the 21st century has been a remarkable time for innovation in robotics. Recently a robot was able to teach itself human facial expressions by randomly contorting its face and receiving feedback on what resembled real expressions.
Bipedal version of BigDog that walks heel-to-toe just like humans do. Again, it can regain balance when shoved.
Wouldn't it be great if you could take a photo with your eyes, just by blinking?
In the future, we might be able to do just that! Design engineer Mimi Zou is working on a prototype of a new type of camera that is controlled by the eye. Dubbed "Iris," the camera uses eye-tracking tech and biometric detection to make it utterly simple for taking photos.
Eye-tracking controls the mechanics of the camera -- you squint slightly to zoom, open your eyes to zoom out and you blink twice to take a picture.Though Zou has a working prototype, a final product is a ways off. Still, even if we never see Iris in the wild, chances are, eye-tracking tech will find its way to future cameras.
The real innovation of the camera is that it will not only react to eye movements, but instead develop a relationship with its user over time. When a user picks up the camera, it scans his/her iris and can immediately determine his identity as long as he/she is registered his/her biometric data in the camera’s software. Once it recognizes the user, the camera automatically pulls down a series of previously created preferences.
Another proposed feature, like the recently featured Google Glass, is biometric recognition to identify the subjects in the pictures. To participate these subjects would need to provide their consent and biometric information, which would be stored on a proprietary Iris server.
Using the camera’s built in wifi capabilities, would both help the camera identify its subjects and tell it whether they wanted their photos sent to a particular location like a cloud or Facebook.
The final product seems to be a long way off, if it happens at all, but Zou is optimistic that Iris could eventually make it to market.
IBM Research announced the prototype of a mobile app that can act as a personal shopping assistant in stores.
The mobile app could be branded and provided by retailers. Consumers would download the app and then input products they’re shopping for and their selection criteria.
On the front end, here’s how it would work: Upon entering a store, consumers download the app on their smart phone or tablet, register, and create a profile of features that matter to them – from product ingredients that will inflame an allergy, to whether packaging is biodegradable. When the shopper views a product via the camera viewfinder, the app recognizes it and, via augmented reality technology, overlays digital details on the image, such as ingredients, price, reviews, and discounts that apply that day.
IBM Research thinks that the app can help retailers offer marketing – in the form of product information, coupons or suggestions for related products – that would be welcomed by consumers. At the same time, the data it produces can give retailers insights into consumer trends.
