innovation – Page 13 – TechieTonics

Brain Mechanics Still a Debatable Issue

March 25, 2014March 25, 2014 Neha Shukla

Humans in their entire life come across thousands of people. And they relatively recognize and remember all of these individual faces, thanks to the extraordinary brain for the same. But the mechanism behind this ability of the brain is still an issue for debate among the scientists. There are two hypotheses proposed by the researchers explaining how humans acquired this ability. One group of researchers suggests that the brain has specialized mechanism, exclusively for faces. Whereas the other group put forward the belief (expertise hypothesis) that the identification of any…

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.

Juxtaposing Living and the Nonliving Worlds Together: Materials Synthesis

March 24, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

So far, we have seen robots inspired from the best of biomimicry. Researchers have often looked upon nature to solve problems. At the same time, there are certain natural tendencies, which engineers are still trying to figure out the way towards artificially re-invention and one of them is ‘bone’. Bone is one of those natural materials that require no supervision, yet it fabricates material in response to environmental signals. In order to understand this phenomenon, researchers at the MIT, have tried to juxtapose living bacterial cells with non-living substance like…

Active Cancellation of Tremor to Combat Essential Tremor

March 23, 2014March 28, 2014 Wa'd Abuzurayk

In another health technology breakthrough, scientists have successfully managed to design and manufacture a shake cancelling device. As essential tremor causing uncontrollable hand-shakes is a common disorder in older ages, scientists from the University of Michigan Health System conducted a study that evaluated a new device which cancels the effect of hand-shakes resulting from essential tremor. The device was developed by a team from the startup company Lift Labs. 15 adults living with essential tremor participated in a clinical trial to test the use of this spoon. Participants were better…

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…

Gamification is More Than Just Points & Badges: Lord of the Rings

March 19, 2014June 1, 2020 Pooja Kashyap

Recently, I watched Lord of the Rings, second time of course but consciously with a different angle. This time, I translated Frodo Baggins journey in terms Gamification strategy. By introducing the gaming element in the movie, I discovered that the trilogy became all the more interesting and innovative so I thought of penning down my insights and if I’m wrong anywhere please free to rebut my point(s), I’d be of great help, thanks. Introduction to the world of Gamification: Task assigned Frodo Baggins is having a good time at his…

Galactic Gas Stations: Re-fueling Spacecrafts on the Way

March 12, 2014April 15, 2014 Neha Shukla

MIT researchers are planning to build a gas station in space, positioned at some point between the earth and the moon, which can fuel the future spacecraft going on lunar missions. These space-based spacecraft refueling station would involve low cost and require lesser maintenance. The space station will be positioned at Lagrange points, which is that region of space somewhere between the Earth, the moon and the sun that sustain gravitational equilibrium and thus remain at one place with respect to moon and earth.

Robots Might Perform At Live Concerts: Prosthetic on the Sticks

March 7, 2014 Neha Shukla

Robots got advanced and sophisticated in the last few decades after all, they are capable of performing various tasks with precision making our life all the more simpler. Now, Gil Weinberg Professor at Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology has designed an innovative robot that can create music of its own. The bot is not the one that just plays the music instead it has been designed to create music by first ‘carefully’ listening a song or melody and then improvise new tunes. Imagine how interesting it would to have…

EcoMotors’ Opoc Engine: Breaking the Conventional Designs

March 6, 2014May 16, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

EcoMotors, a Michigan-based start-up, is about to revolutionize the internal combustion engines by creating an innovative type of engine, which they claim would pay less stress on wallet and at the same time, might enhance fuel economy by twenty percent with respect to turbo diesel engines. The company has decided to work in co-ordination with China because they feel that China has right market for the technology. Government in East Asia is quite particular when it comes to air quality and fuel efficiency.

Nano Innovation to Cure Macular Degeneration

March 6, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Until now, treatment for eye disorders and other related problems were administered through injections, which were not only unpleasant but expensive as well. However, this would very soon become obsolete since researchers at University College London (UCL) have come up with eye drops for procuring macular degeneration. Nearly 2 in 10 people over 75 have age-related macular degeneration. And at this point of time, the research would prove a boon in combating the growing numbers of patients, and especially when the escalating demands of eye injections becomes responsible for halting…

Spider Silk for Fixing Broken Bones: No More Additional Surgeries

March 6, 2014March 6, 2014 Neha Shukla

Silk produced by the spiders or silkworm are known to have great tensile strength, elasticity and essentially bio-compatible. Medical researchers would very soon are going to use silk produced from these insects for fixing broken bones. Until now, metal screws, plates or biodegradable ones were being used for mending the bones. But now with this breakthrough invention we can have devices made up of silk for mending bones.

Learning Changes Brain Cell Connectivity

March 1, 2014May 31, 2014 Wa'd Abuzurayk

A new discovery has been achieved in the world of neurology. Scientists have made progress in better understanding what happens inside our brains when we learn or remember information. According to the University of British Columbia research team, molecular changes are observed in the brain when one learns or remembers. Such changes occur in the brain’s chemistry as fatty acids attach to delta-catenin (a protein important for normal cognitive development- Wikipedia) upon learning new things, which ultimately alters brain cell connectivity coupled with learning and memory. The study was conducted…

Predictive User Interface for Cars: The Next Revolution

February 28, 2014May 16, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

In the last 150 years, there has been tremendous escalation in terms of economic and innovative growth in the paraphernalia of automobiles. There are auto-manufacturing companies that are taking giant steps towards the next revolution, and lately Mitsubishi has hit the news with such a breakthrough effort. In an attempt to revolutionize the driving experience in car, Mitsubishi Electric is trying to come up with a predictive user interface. The technology would be able to predict the route of the driver as per the past driving history. In case there…

Neurofeedback And Brain Power

February 10, 2014May 31, 2014 Wa'd Abuzurayk

The advanced brain imaging technology magnetoencephalography (MEG) could be the next big thing in the world of neurology and rehabilitation. “MEG is a new technology that measures the very faint magnetic fields that emanate from the head as a result of brain activity”- PBS.org . MEG measures and captures magnetic fields generated by nerve cell circuits in the brain at a matchless time resolution. This gives us the ability to observe brain activity as it happens, according to Dr. Sylvain Baillet, acting Director of the Brain Imaging Centre at The…

High Haze Paper Might Replace The Plastic Substrates Of Solar Cells

January 24, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Paper coming from wood fibers would now be replacing plastic substrates that are employed in the manufacturing solar cells. Researchers from University of Maryland, the South China University of Technology, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have proposed this evolutionary step towards future technology. As per the researchers, solar cells gives maximum output when the materials involve have high optical transparency and high optical haze. Diffusion of light is of high quality when the optical transparency is high. And high optical haze helps in increasing the scattering of light which further…