August 2019 show notes
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Story 1: IBM patents a smartwatch that transforms into a tablet on your wrist
Source: Gizmodo.com Story by Andrew Liszewski
Link: https://gizmodo.com/ibm-patents-a-smartwatch-that-transforms-into-a-giant-a-1836211325
- Here’s the challenge: How can you get more information on a tiny smartwatch screen?
- You can increase pixel density
- Or…
- You can go for a fold out screen
- IBM has patented an idea for just that, a fold out screen for wrist wearables – which they call Variable Display Size For an Electronic Display Device
- The problem: the rollout of devices with folding OLED screens hasn’t been smooth – such as Samsung’s foldable screen smart phones.
- But the technology works, and it won’t take long for the technology to improve.
- The patent’s illustrations detail a smartwatch-like device with a bezel-free screen capable of displaying some basic info like the time, weather, and a few shortcuts to other apps
Story 2: Amazon asks FCC to greenlight its internet satellite plan
Source: C/Net Story by Oscar Gonzalez
Link: https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-asks-fcc-to-greenlight-its-internet-satellite-plan/
- Amazon recently announced it is taking another step toward providing global broadband internet from space through its Project Kuiper.
- The company filed paperwork with the US government on July 4th to launch 3,236 satellites needed for the plan
- Satellites will orbit 366 to 391 miles above Earth.
- The goal: The Kuiper System will deliver satellite broadband communications services to tens of millions of unserved and underserved consumers and businesses in the United States and around the globe.
- Questions I have, not answered in the articles I found – what download and upload speeds will be supported, and what kind of transceiver would be needed for your PC, etc.
Story 3: These tiny robots tackle tasks in groups, just like insects
Source: BGR.com Story by Mike Wehner
Link: https://bgr.com/2019/07/11/ant-robots-switzerland-future-robotics/
See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGpBieCrKKQ
- A team of robotics researchers in Switzerland is experimenting with an army of pint-sized bots that can take on complicated tasks as a group.
- The robots, called simply “Tribots,” are tiny foldable, flexible machines that think and move as a group, solving problems that would normally take the power of a much larger robot.
- Each individual bot weighs a scant 10 grams, and they’re capable of traversing a variety of terrain thanks to their ability to “walk” and even fling themselves over short distances.
- But what makes the tiny machines special is their ability to communicate with each other in a way that mimics insects.
- When the robots reach an obstacle they can relay information to each other and work as a team to overcome it.
- As a team, the bots are assigned specific roles based on the needs of the group.
Story 4: Samsung may develop foldable augmented reality glasses
Source: Engadget.com Story by Mariella Moon
- Samsung is exploring the possibility of developing augmented reality glasses, based on a recent patent application
- The patent documentations shows a foldable device that looks more like a typical pair of glasses — with much thicker frames to accommodate its electronic components
- the current design is an eyepiece that automatically switches on whenever it’s unfolded
- When in use, the glasses’ projector (mounted on the temple) would beam images on the small display placed over the wearer’s field of view
- As this is just a patent filing, this product may, or may not, come to market.
- But, a continued interest in finding a wearable computer enhanced vision solution.
Story 5: A New High-Tech Way to Detect Crime Scene Fingerprints
Source: Mashable.com Story by Jillian Scharr for TechNewsDaily
Link: https://mashable.com/2013/07/05/fluorescent-polymer-prints/
- The latest in high-tech crime scene investigation is a “fluorescent tag” that can help identify fingerprints on bullets, knives and other metal surfaces by creating images that are accurate to the nanoscale.
- A significant portion of crime scene investigation involves searching for what are called “latent fingerprints,” or deposits of secreted sweat and natural oils transmitted by touch onto a flat surface, which are usually invisible to the naked eye.
- One of the most common current methods of imaging and analyzing these fingerprints is called dusting.
- University of Leicester scientists, however, say that only 10% of latent fingerprint images drawn from crime scenes are complete enough to be used in court.
- To that end, the scientists have developed a new method for imaging latent fingerprints that uses a film made of electroactive polymers — long, complex molecules that change shape in response to surrounding electric currents.
- Due to the polymers’ electroactive properties, this film can be applied via an electric current, which drastically reduces the risk of damaging the fingerprint before an accurate image can be drawn, the researchers say.
- When the electric current is directed at a latent fingerprint, the film adheres to the gaps between the swirls of deposits that comprise latent fingerprints, and not to the deposits themselves.
- The polymers that comprise the film are also electrochromic; that is, when exposed to an electrical charge, they change color.
- The result is an inverted image, or negative, of the fingerprint that is highly detailed and visible, making it easy to photograph and analyze, according to the University of Leicester team.
Story 6: Irish teenager may have solution for [micro]plastic-free ocean
Source: CNN Story by Alisha Ebrahimji
Link: https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/01/us/irish-teen-wins-google-science-fair-trnd/index.html
See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJUOjBhJe1E
- A teenager from Ireland may have found a way to rescue our oceans from the growing plastic pollution problem.
- A walk on the beach led Fionn Ferreira to develop his project on microplastic extraction from water for the annual Google Science Fair.
- The project won the grand prize of $50,000 in educational funding at this year’s event.
- What are microplastics?
- Microplastics are pieces of plastic that are typically less than 5 millimeters long, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
- The agency says plastic is the most common type of marine debris found in our oceans and Great Lakes. In even smaller pieces, it’s used as an exfoliator in face wash, body scrubs and toothpaste.
- The challenge:
- Because of the tiny size of these microplastics, they’re able to pass through water filtration systems and ultimately harm marine life and damage oceans.
- Americans alone eat, drink and breathe between 74,000 and 121,000 microplastic particles each year
- In the presence of water, ferrofluids — nontoxic magnetic liquids made up of oil and magnetite, an iron- based rock mineral — attract the microplastics because both have similar properties.
- For his project, Ferreira added oil and magnetite to water and mixed in a solution emulating plastic waste in the ocean.
- When the microplastics latched on to the ferrofluids, Ferreira dipped a magnet into the solution three times to remove both substances, leaving clear water.
- After a little over 950 tests, the method was 88% effective in removing a variety of microplastics from water
Story 7: Pentagon tests ‘talking’ lasers that could transmit speech hundreds of miles and will be ready for military use in five years
Source: UK’s Daily Mail Story by: Ian Randall
- The ‘Laser Induced Plasma Effect’ program is part of a US Department of Defense effort to develop new methods to ward off, stun or generally stop the actions of target individuals without killing them.
- The laser device works by sending a beam of high-energy laser light — in short pulses — to strip the electrons from atoms of air in its path and create a plasma.
- Using a second laser tuned to the right frequency, researchers are then able to vibrate the plasma to create sound waves — from unearthly shrieks to clear snippets of speech.
- Researchers are confident that the laser will soon be able to cross distances of around 330 feet (100 meters) and then eventually on to distances of multiple or even hundreds of miles.
- This range would allow users to communicate with distant crowds, warn intruders away from a military perimeter or even beam orders to the ground from an aircraft.
- The only limitation of the laser is that it would not be able to travel through solid barriers — although it can pass through glass windows into buildings.
Story 8: Scientists create fabric that smells better the more you sweat – Your gross workout gear could double as an air freshener.
Source: C/Net Story by Eric Mack
Link:
- A team of engineers from the University of Minho in Portugal have developed two ways to modify cotton fabric so that it lets off a citronella aroma when it comes in contact with sweat.
- Their methods for using sweat against itself are outlined in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.
- The scientists used a protein found in pigs’ noses (yes, hog snouts could be the key to sweet-smelling sweat) that binds to scent molecules.
- They also attached what’s known as a carbohydrate-binding module, which binds to cotton.
- They used a second method involving fat-like liposomes rather than proteins to bind the pleasant scent to the fabric.
- The tweaked cottons released the citronella scent when they came in contact with an acidic sweat solution.
- The pig nose protein-treated fabric emitted a “quick burst of scent,” while the liposomes cleared the air with a slower, more controlled release.
- As a bonus, citronella is also a popular insect repellent. Keeping both the mosquitoes and bad body odor away could soon be as simple as reeling off 50 quick jumping jacks.
Story 9: Researchers have published a new 3D bioprinting method that brings the field of tissue engineering one step closer to being able to 3D print a full-sized, adult human heart
Source: Science Daily Press release from College of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
Link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190801142542.htm
- A team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University has published a paper in Science that details a new technique allowing anyone to 3D bioprint tissue scaffolds out of collagen, the major structural protein in the human body.
- This first-of-its-kind method brings the field of tissue engineering one step closer to being able to 3D print a full-sized, adult human heart.
- The technique, known as Freeform Reversible Embedding of Suspended Hydrogels (FRESH), has allowed the researchers to overcome many challenges associated with existing 3D bioprinting methods, and to achieve unprecedented resolution and fidelity using soft and living materials.
- What these researchers have demonstrated:
- They can print pieces of the heart out of cells and collagen into parts that truly function, like a heart valve or a small beating ventricle
- By using MRI data of a human heart, they were able to accurately reproduce patient-specific anatomical structure and 3D bioprint collagen and human heart cell
- Looking forward, the FRESH technique they have developed has applications in many aspects of regenerative medicine, from wound repair to organ bioengineering, but it is just one piece of a growing biofabrication field.
Story 10: This last-mile delivery startup wants to put robots in bike lanes
Source: The Verge Story by James Vincent
See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47WNq9u4QsY
- A whole host of startups have launched in recent years with the aim of making last-mile deliveries using robots.
- But a company from Michigan has a new spin on this familiar enterprise: it wants to put those bots in bike lanes, at least part of the time.
- Refraction AI recently announced its autonomous delivery robot REV-1
- The company’s co-founder and CEO Matthew Johnson-Roberson, a University of Michigan professor, described the three-wheeled vehicle as a “Goldilocks” solution to last-mile delivery robots — neither too big nor too small.
- REV-1 is larger than most delivery robots, which are about the size of coolers and drive on sidewalks. But it’s smaller and less expensive than autonomous delivery vans or shuttles.
- The robot is lightweight and low-power enough to “qualify under e-bike regulations,” says Refraction’s website, and at 32 inches wide it slots neatly into a bike lane.
- The platform is lightweight, nimble and fast enough to operate in the bike lane and on the roadway,” Johnson-Roberson told Trucks.com.
- With a unit cost of around $5,000, the REV-1 will also be more affordable than bigger rivals, while still offering enough space to carry four packed grocery bags of shopping.
Story 11: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Toyota sign 3-year deal to develop a fuel cell Moon rover
Source: TechCrunch Story by: Darrell Etherington
See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSO1Cat2wWo
- Toyota will work with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on a fuel cell Moon rover vehicle, with a target launch date of a Moon mission currently set for 2029.
- Each year of the 3-year agreement will see the partnership focus on a different phase of the prototype’s development with 2019 all about identifying technical requirements and drawing up spec docs;
- next year, the goal will be to build test parts and then actually put together a rover prototype;
- finally, in fiscal 2021, the partners will test both the rover parts and rover prototype in order to evaluate the results for potential full production.
- The pressurized rover will be able to transport astronauts over 10,000 km using its onboard fuel cells and solar recharging mechanism
- It would have a total seating capacity of two people, with the option to carry as many as four if there’s an emergency need to do so.
- It’s about the size of two microbuses, according to Toyota, which means about 20 feet long, by 17 feet wide and 12.5 feet tall.
- The six-wheeled concept also features deployable solar panels for recharging, ample communications equipment and a front winch for getting itself out of jams and other potential applications.
Story 12: Watch researchers turn a wall into Alexa’s eyes and ears
Source: Science Magazine Story by Elizabeth Pennisi
Link: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/04/watch-researchers-turn-wall-alexa-s-eyes-and-ears
See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cMfwl3PT6k
- Researchers have found an inexpensive way to turn walls into giant touch screens that can also sense what a person is doing nearby and when the TV, microwave, or computer are turned on and off.
- These interactive walls could make electronic personal assistants, such as Alexa or Cortana, much smarter, enabling them to assist better in managing a household. Imagine, for example, a TV that turns on as you sit down on the sofa, or Alexa letting you know that your kids have snuck into the living room to play video games.
- The first step was converting a wall into an antenna.
- The engineers first taped a grid onto the wall, then painted over it with a water-based compound containing nickel.
- They removed the tape, which left behind a pattern of metallic diamonds that act as electrodes.
- They then connected the electrodes to a computer and painted the wall with standard latex paint, hiding any sign of its new capabilities.
- Touching or moving an arm or limb close to the wall changes the wall’s electrostatic fields, just as a finger touching an iPad does
- TVs, computers, and other electronic devices generate distinctive electromagnetic fields, which the walls also sense.
Story 13: Amazon is developing a ROBOT called Vesta that will roam your house on wheels and can be summoned by voice commands
Source: UK’s Daily Mail Story by James Pero
- Amazon is inching closer to making a wheeled robotic assistant that can be controlled via its Echo smart speakers.
- In a report from Bloomberg, sources from Amazon say the company has pulled engineers off of other projects to develop the bot — a show of faith that indicates Amazon may soon look to bring the wheeled-assistant to market.
- The robot, called ‘Vesta’, is controlled by Amazon’s voice assistant, Alexa, and measures about waist-high according to Bloomberg.
- speculation is that the bot would be a kind of mobile Echo, bringing the Alexa capabilities with users around their home.
- Helping the bot on its transient journey around one’s home will be an array of cameras that use computer vision to navigate their environment.
- Bloomberg reports that an Amazon employee was able to summon the robot using voice-commands in a demonstration.
- it’s unclear whether Vesta –which is named for the Roman goddess for the home and domestic life — will actually make it to Amazon’s product lineup.