futuretech – Page 11 – TechieTonics

Reconstructing Audio from Infinitesimal Vibrations: Algorithm recovers Sounds from Objects

August 6, 2014August 6, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

In an extraordinary way of recovering speech from vibrations of things like potted plant and potato chips bag, researchers at MIT, Microsoft and Adobe have created an algo that can decipher audio signal by analyzing the object’s infinitesimal vibrations. Upon performing experiment on detecting vibrations of a potato-chip bag, the researchers were able to reach a good precision with respect to speech. The bag was being photographed by a high quality camera with a distance of 15 feet installed in a soundproof glass-room.

New Spray-on Solar Cells: Thin-film Photovoltaic Technology

August 3, 2014August 4, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

In an interesting way, a group of researchers at the University of Sheffield was able to develop perovskite solar cells with the help of spray-painting process. Although the process is not new but using perovskite as a spraying material is being employed for the first time. Sheffield’s experts from the department of Physics and Biological Engineering have already used the spray-painting process to fabricate solar cells but the material used was organic semiconductors. In 2012, the researchers were able to successfully demonstrate the efficiency of photovoltaics based on organometal halide…

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…

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.

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.…

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…

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…

Ericsson 5G delivers 5 Gbps speeds: Connectivity across Telephony to Applications

July 3, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Unlike any international tech event, this year at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona people showed an intensive interest on the use of 5G networks. As expected, the 5G network would be offering exponential gains over its predecessor 4G in terms of the two main things, speed and capacity. Anyhow, 2020 is the anticipated year for the implementation of the 5G networks however lately, Ericsson, the Stockholm-based communications technology and services company has demonstrated the pre-standard 5G network technology by displaying its ability of achieving 5 gbps speed.

Skeletal Muscle Cell Powered Bio-Bots: Micro-Bots controlled by an Electric Field

July 2, 2014 Neha Shukla

Inspired from living organisms, researchers try to create robots that can simulate living creatures mechanically or chemically. This field of science is named as Biorobotics. A team of researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Campaign has made a miniature walking bio-bots that derive its power from living muscle cells. And their movement can be regulated externally using electrical pulses.

Online Interactive Visualizations: New Learning Tool for Robots

July 1, 2014July 1, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Researchers at the University of Washington have come up with an approach where robots would be working or learning new skills via collaborating working by shooting a set of query to a larger online community. Rajesh Rao one of the lead scientist asserted that they are taking the one to one interaction to the next stage where the machine would be asking help from the whole world in case it happen to stuck at some problem or a puzzle. Until now, robots could only acquire learning through imitating humans, which…

Self-folding Gripper for Capturing Single Cells: Wafer Fabricated for Cellular Analysis

July 1, 2014July 1, 2014 Neha Shukla

Human body is composed of different biological cells. Each cell is unique. Research shows that a sample of biopsied tumor consists of various distinct cells. These cells differ in their rate of proliferation, responsiveness to drugs, potential metastasis and so on. Therefore, it is essential for researchers to understand the behavior of individual cells and then accordingly design therapy and treatments, for which seizing individual cell is very important.

Automated Parking System: ‘Ray’ the New Parking Assistant

June 24, 2014June 24, 2014 Neha Shukla

Nowadays it is a major challenge to find a perfect parking space in cities, especially in a busy area like markets, railway station or at the airport. The trouble further increases when you are in a hurry to board a flight or watch a movie in the theater.

Polymer for a Shatterproof Smartphone Touchscreen: Copper-based Flexible Display

June 18, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Polymer scientists at University of Akron have developed an electrode, which is transparent in nature. Researchers aim to create shatterproof screens for smartphones with this newly fabricated layer of electrode. It’s been quite some time now since, researchers were looking for alternatives to conventional indium-tin oxide, the ITO technology used for making the touchscreen. Brittleness is one of the major flaws with smartphone screens made up of ITO technology. Another equally important reason for looking at its alternative is its scarcity. Moreover, escalation of smartphone and tablet market is fueling…

Biofuel from Waste Coffee Grounds: Car running on Coffee

June 18, 2014 Neha Shukla

Recycling industrial or household waste is very imperative for keeping the environment clean. Recently, researchers from the University of Bath have demonstrated an effective method of generating biofuel from waste coffee grounds that can power vehicles.