Pooja Kashyap | TechieTonics

Building 3D Products in Space: Printing the Metals of the Future

July 31, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

One of the major drawbacks of 3D printing is its lack of ability to use varied types of materials in printing a particular product. The same inability has been hindering 3D printing in space travel as well, where at times, situation demands fabrication of certain parts from several different materials. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) space scientists in collaboration with researchers from Caltech and Penn State University have been working closely to resolve this problem of bringing 3D printing closer to space travel. They developed a process that allowed for…

Damaged Robot learns to Hobble Quickly: Coping with Limb Loss

July 30, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Last year, a set of researchers at the Sorbonne University, Paris created a hexapod that was able to figure out how to walk even after one of its legs was malfunctioned, just like animals do. The robot was very much dependent on an experimental discovery to carry out the best gait to surmount the caused damaged. This meant that it analyzed then entire stuff that has been programmed into it to figure out the best possible way. Although, this worked fine but it consumed nearly 20 minutes every time it…

Flexible and Enduring Rechargeable Battery: Reshaping landscape for Wearable Devices

July 27, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

In an effort to reshape the battery landscape, Imprint Energy, a California based startup is fabricating flexible and rechargeable batteries, which can be printed using the very common industrial screen printers. The firm envisions to market the ultrathin zinc based polymer batteries to wearable electronics manufacturers and pitch the same in medical field, robotics and military for environmental sensors and smart labels.

Black Holes morph into White Holes: Space-Time Loops cause Big Bounce

July 25, 2014July 24, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

As per a recent theory, supernova explosions could be the dying throes of black holes that were formed soon after the Big Bang. The phenomenon called black holes have been the most flabbergasting observable fact of the universe and until now, there has been no concrete evidence as to what is on its other side and what happens to the matter that it engulfs. However, two physicists have gone ahead and postulated that these black holes have an expiry date too and that they morph into ‘white holes’ explosively dispersing…

DARPA’s Guided Bullets: Revolutionizing Rifle Accuracy or Developing Tools for RoboSoldiers

July 24, 2014July 24, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

In an interesting ammunition research development program, DARPA has come about with a technology that could change mid flight direction of bullet only to hit the target down. Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance program under DARPA brought about the first live-fire tests showing the in-flight guidance of .50-caliber bullets. EXACTO is able to demonstrate the maneuvering of bullet’s direction while it’s in mid flight only to counter balance the aim that is being set by the sniper. Agency released the following video depicting the test flight of 0.50-caliber bullets that were…

US military to develop a Reusable Unmanned Spacecraft: The Experimental Spaceplane project

July 24, 2014July 23, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

The US military is looking forward to create an affordable and efficient robotic space plane that has an ability of embarking payloads directly into the orbit. DARPA has already granted the design contract to three firms namely, Boeing, Masten Space Systems and Northrop Grumman. For the initial stage of the Experimental Spaceplane project, also called the XS-1, the firms have collaborated with similar other aerospace companies. For instance, Boeing is working with Blue Origin, Masten is teaming up with XCOR Aerospace and Northrop Grumman is collaborating with the Virgin Galactic.…

World’s Largest Wind Solar Hybrid: Saving Over $2 Million in Energy Costs

July 23, 2014July 22, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Lately, in Jamaica wind-solar array has been installed, which happens to be the world’s first such arrangement. This hybrid array boasts of providing the maximum renewable energy density of any technology on the market. Energy limit of more than 106,000 kWh is expected to churn out yearly. WindStream Technologies, the renewable energy tech firm envision that the longevity of the project is around 25 years and the energy cost savings is graphed to go beyond $US 2 million. However, the return on investment will start showing itself within the consequent…

Baxter Research Robot: Ideal Platform for Collaborative Robotics

July 21, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Baxter Research Robot is an interesting and affordable concept for the corporate and academic robotics research across the world. It would help teaching fifth graders how to code on a real robo machine. Targeted towards academic and corporate R&D departments, it would assist in human-robot interaction and collaborative robotics to the next level. Safe and reliable hardware platform The humanoid robot platform is worth $25,000 (USD). It consists of two 7-axis arms, embedded cameras, sonar, torque based sensors and direct programming access through standard Robot Operating System interface. It makes…

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

July 14, 2014February 16, 2021 Pooja Kashyap

Very aptly, Walter Isaacson has been able to depict the lives and times of the celebrated genius, Steve Jobs. The book talks about the emergence of Silicon Valley and the contemporary tech aficionados as well. It begins with his rebellion attitude towards life and his contemptuousness towards his biological parents who left him for adoption. Right from Steve’s first job at Atari, perfectionism could be seen as one of his major character trait. One probable reason could be his father’s influence who was very particular even about the look of the…

Tidal Forces influence Planets in Eccentric Orbits: Possibility of creating Habitable Worlds

July 11, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Fixation towards heat for survival is the key element across planet earth and the solar system. During the origination of human life, early man stumbled upon the discovery of fire by rubbing sticks and since then it has evolved gradually. In an interesting study, researchers at NASA have discovered a similar fixation towards heat for survival across constellation. The findings are primarily based on the Earth sized planets in other star systems. Excessive heat denotes destruction but right amount of same heat results in creating habitual climatic conditions.

Back Pain does not Link to the Weather Conditions: Posture is to be blamed

July 10, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Australian researchers have come up with a study that has exploded the stereotypical myth of the reason behind the lower back pain. Till now temperature, humidity, air pressure and wind direction have been blamed for causing the lower back pain in people. However, the team of researchers has rebutted this external reason. As per WHO, nearly 33% of the world’s population suffer from lower back pain and people in huge number blame weather condition for the discomfort in the respective bodies. Initial studies showed that extreme weather conditions altered the…

Carbon on the Cathode of Li-ion Batteries: The New Electrochemistry Technology

July 9, 2014July 9, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

The University of Alberta experts have fabricated next gen batteries from carbon nanomaterials. This novel product is standing tall in front of conventional lithium-ion batteries where the former is efficient enough to charge faster and happens to lasts longer relatively. The electrochemistry technology As per Xinwei Cui, one of the lead researchers, they have worked upon an innovative approach towards electrochemistry technology consequent upon which, they it was able to yield higher energy density and power. The team has worked along a mechanism called the induced fluorination, a new concept…

Contraceptive Implant with Remote Control: Women Conceiving with a Push of Button

July 6, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Last month we witnessed MagnetoSperm microrobots for the nanoworld and now research scholars at MIT lab have devised a technology oriented birth control drug delivery system, which can be controlled from the outside. The 20 x 20 x 7 millimeters devise is supposed to be implanted inside the skin somewhere around buttocks, abdomen or upper arm. The mechanism Single implant will last for about 16 years with 30mg of levonorgestrel doling out per day. Levonorgestrel is the same hormone that is used in most of the over the counter contraceptives.…

Frozen Steller Twins Discovered: Orbits in Binary Star System

July 4, 2014July 4, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Lately a binary star system has attracted attention of many space scientists. This binary system consists of twin stars, mutually orbiting around a common center of mass. Situated around 3,000 light years away from Earth, astronomers’ expecting that it could shed some information regarding similar Earth like bodies floating in space. The planet weighs twice that of the Earth and orbits, in binary system, one star. Distance between the two corresponds to the distance between the Earth and the Sun. However, unlike the Sun, the planet’s host star is dimmer…

Titan’s Ice Shell overlies Salty Ocean: As Salty as Earth’s Dead Sea

July 4, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

NASA’s Cassini mission has given strong confirmation regarding the saltiness of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. Space scientists have even compared the salt content with Earth’s Dead Sea. The result corresponds to 10 years observation, where Cassini was busy accumulating the gravitational and topographical data. Researchers organized this information and developed a model based on Titan’s structure. This resulted in gaining better insights of the moon’s exterior ice shell.