concepts – Page 8 – TechieTonics

Anti-Glare Surface based on Moth Eyeballs: Futuristic Solar Panels

April 7, 2014April 7, 2014 Neha Shukla

Researchers observed that the moth eyeball consisted of numerous minute cones arranged in a pattern that diminish glare. This anti reflective property provides the moth with the ability to see during the night and at the same time makes them less visible to the predators around. The team reproduced the pattern on a flexible film and applied a thin layer of gold that could be used to coat various products as solar panels and electronic displays. They also discovered that the material so developed could also repel moisture and dust…

An Interview with Industrial Designer Ivan Luccion

April 6, 2014April 6, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Ivan Luccion is an industrial designer from Madison, Wisconsin Area. He has been recipient of the General Motors Fund Scholarship in Industrial Design from 2005 to 2007. As a child, he observed fondness to cars and their designs, which later in his life inspired him to go into the world of designing. Ivan’s current work includes designing cycling helmets and other cycling accessories for the Bontrager brand. He enjoys sketching as he feels it’s one of the most easiest and quickest medium to communicate an original idea. We asked him…

10 Festo Robots Based on Their Biological Models: Biomimicry

April 5, 2014April 12, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Festo, a Germany based industrial control and automation company has been into research and development of bionics since more than two decades. It collaborated with renowned universities, institutes, development companies and private inventors across the globe and launched the Bionic Learning Network during 2006. And since then it has been delving into the subject and bringing about the best of biomimicry. Every time their new project gets into air, they prove how they are able to merge industrial automation, and combining electronics with pneumatics in new and efficient ways. Here…

New Laser Technology Allows for Controlling Lightning Strikes

April 2, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Researchers at the University of Arizona and the University of Central Florida have created a technology that has an ability of beaming high-intensity lasers all the way through the layers of atmosphere hence crossing the limitations that it had before. The research is still in its testing phase but the optical scientists envision that it might steer lightning strikes away from human inhabited areas and buildings. Extending the laser beam Lasers undergo diffraction because of which it fades away after beaming some feet only. This phenomenon does not allow it…

Biomimicry: RoboClam Replicates Atlantic Razor Clam’s Dynamics

March 27, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Biomimicry: RoboClam Replicates Atlantic Razor Clam’s Dynamics In order to understand the efficient workings of flora and fauna, scientists always try to emulate nature’s wisdom, to which they call biomimicry. In one such attempt, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created RoboClam that digs itself into the soil to annihilate mines and to bury anchors. Atlantic razor clam (Ensis directus) has a stiff shell yet it is able to thrust itself through soil with a rate of 1cm/s. It’s been long since researchers were working upon the mechanism as…

Altaeros’ Buoyant Airborne Turbine: Floats at High Altitude

March 26, 2014December 20, 2022 Neha Shukla

We visualize wind turbine as tall tower with a huge fan mounted on it and fixed at some distant place. But we might have never imagined a wind turbine that floats in the air. Does it sound like a sci-fi movie subject? Surprisingly, it’s a reality being developed by MIT startup Altaeros Energies and will be seen floating in the sky above the city of Fairbanks and the power so generated will be used to power remote military sites and families residing off the grid that usually depend on expensive…

Virtual Environment gets converged with Real World: The Sulon Cortex

March 25, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Running against the walls of the physical reality is one of the major huddles while being into the world of gaming in the virtual reality. Sulon Technologies, a Canadian based startup delved into the issue and pioneered a new spirit into the visual immersion system by their latest concept to which they call the Cortex.

New Computer Vision System: Emotion Recognition

March 22, 2014March 21, 2014 Neha Shukla

Everyone, in some point or the other in life, must have faked of being in pain or being ill, to escape from going school, college, office or so on. We humans are not always correct to distinguish a fake emotion from the genuine one. Lately, researchers have developed a computer system that can easily distinguish when an individual is genuinely in pain or is just faking it away more accurately than the humans.

Scrabble-Playing Robot: Excited When Wins While Sulks on Losing

March 21, 2014 Neha Shukla

In the computer science lounge at Carnegie Mellon University, sits Victor, a scrabble playing robot. Unlike other robots who are designed to be the masters of the game, Victor is a below average player and just like humans, the bot is excited when it wins and sulk on losing. But be careful, the bot can be really nastier at times and can talk a lot of trash.

Protean Electric’s Gearless, Direct-Drive System: An In-Wheel Motor Concept

March 21, 2014May 16, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Protean Electric, an automotive start-up is paving way towards revolutionizing electric cars with its in-wheel motor design. Beijing roads will first experience this radical technology. Like the EcoMotors, Protean Electric’s preferred the East Asia since the government is very supportive towards technology that evangelizes fuel efficiency and air quality. In-Wheel Motor Concept Generally, central motor in an electric vehicle is under bonnet that transmits power down to the rotating shaft, which further sends torque to the axels. But in the Protean system, small motors, which is responsible for creating power, is…

Microalgae Lamp: Consumes More CO2 Than A Tree

March 10, 2014 Neha Shukla

Increase in concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air is the major cause of green house effect. Researchers are determining ways to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide. Pierre Calleja, French biochemist and Shamengo pioneer have found a solution to this problem and designed an innovative algae powered street lamp, capable of absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere. These lamps can absorb a massive, one ton of CO2 in a year, which is the same amount that is absorbed by an average tree during its life span of nearly 150…

Sugar Driven Smartphones And Laptops

March 3, 2014March 16, 2014 Neha Shukla

Today, almost all our works are dependent on electricity. And meeting the energy requirement of ever increasing population is a challenge. Electricity generation based on renewal source can not be alone sufficient to meet the demand and researchers are constantly looking for alternative ways of electricity production.

Air, The Next Fuel For Cars!

February 26, 2014May 16, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

It’s always been a far-fetched dream for engineers to build a car that requires air as a fuel. It not only will give pollution free environment but also would be a preferred choice because it is found everywhere, without any traces of dirt and is free unlike the present fuels. The main huddle, which an air base car might encounter, would be the ability of storing energy since the air must be compressed within the mechanics of car, which is quite a tricky business. However, a team of two engineers…

Researchers Leverage Lattice Dynamics to Conserve Thermoelectric Energy

February 25, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

It’s been quite some time since researchers were working on the property of thermoelectric material and lately, they were able to develop a prototype that allows electricity to pass through while heat transfer but maintains insulation at the same time. They were able to do this by placing an arrangement of nanopillars on top of the thermoelectric material; to conduct the experiment the material they took was a thin film of silicon. Effect that thermoelectricity produces refers to a phenomena, where electricity is produced due to the temperature variation between…

Interview: Clément Eloy, The Promising Star of French Design

February 18, 2014February 17, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

After his Master’s in Engineering Design with Honors from the ISD Valenciennes, France, Clement Eloy decided to start his own firm. In 2008, he founded Feel Addicted, the global design agency in Lille, France. His firm deals with user experience and overall brand perception. Through its various services, like products, packaging, brand identity and creation of environment, Feel Addicted combines design to marketing in a comprehensive and personalized process. His list of awards includes Red Dot Design Award, and many of his designs have been showcased across countries like Belgium,…