Window Power

A device used to collect solar energy power has been pioneered by Michigan State University. These see- through solar materials can be applied to windows to represent a massive source of untapped energy. This product can produce and collect power much better than the solar units on rooftops.

This product can also reduce the use of fossil fuels and potentially produce 40 percent of US electricity demand. Highly transparent solar cells were analyzed to find their potential to "show that by harvesting visible light these devices can provide a similar electricity- generation potential as a rooftop solar while providing additional functionality to enhance the efficiency of buildings, automobiles and mobile electronics.” When this product is placed on a window, it does not obstruct the view,  it is transparent. While on the window it creates solar energy by being a luminescent solar concentrator.  

On the other hand, rooftop panels take up time, money and are spacious. There are separate fields in order to have these panels in actions. If people used this product, time and spaciousness would not be an obstacle. This technology offers a promising route to inexpensive, widespread solar adoption on small and large surfaces that were previously inaccessible. This highly innovative product would make a huge distance in society, we would not need the solar fields, or contractors to go up on roofs to install these big heavy panels. The simple and easy idea of solar windows will have a positive impact.

<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171023123526.htm>

Exciting Increase in the Popularity of Electric Cars

     As gasoline prices continue to fluctuate due to political instability in America, automobile owners seek a more progressive alternative.  It is reported that the average driver spends over $9,000 annually in general maintenance and fuel costs.  This is an astounding number, considering the average American drives merely 15,000 miles each year.  An obvious solution has been easier said than done for the past few decades; electrically-powered vehicles, nevertheless, are on the rise in popularity.  And with prices consistently falling, its beginning to make a lot of sense for the average consumer.

     The increase in electric vehicles on the public roads began during the Recession from 2008-2010.  As gas prices rose to a record high national average of over $4.50, the pressure rose on engineers to develop a solution very quickly.  Long regarded as a phenomenon of the future, electricity in the automotive world soon became very close to a reality.  Companies almost immediately generated a response, such as Nissan, who rolled off their wildly successful Leaf for the 2011 model year, becoming the first economically feasible option in the segment.  As production became commonplace and the world grew to adapt to this new way of driving, costs began to fall even further.  Ford introduced their Focus Electric and Volkswagen rolled out their eGolf electric in 2012 and 2015 respectively.  The batteries used to power the simplistic motors were specifically designed to be environmentally friendly and competitive on the market in terms of range and reliability.  They grew to offer ranges up to 200+ miles on a single charge.  

     It wasn't until the revolutionary Tesla Inc. brought their meticulously-tuned, marvelously engineered electric motors to the market that anyone considered performance-based electric vehicles.  They set a new standard in automotive design, and yielded hope that electric cars could one day occupy much of the broad landscape that is the modern-day marketplace.  Their motors define the essence of simplicity in electric design when compared to the archaic maze of moving components on the traditional internal combustion engine.  Even still, the electric examples produce far less heat, require little to no maintenance, and are drastically more environmentally friendly.  One can observe the true engineering marvel that is brought about through this innovation simply by comparing one of Tesla's premium motors to that of a typical Ford.  The difference is astonishing.   

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     As of today, car manufacturers are devoting a great deal of their resources to developing and improving their electric vehicles.  In some parts of the country, owners spend as little at $1 per day operating their motors.  Especially considering that electricity is immune to the political fluctuation that foreign fossil fuels constantly fall victim to, buying one of these electric cars makes exceedingly more sense for the average consumer.  Annual costs can be as little as $360, and electric motors have only one moving part, allowing for far less preventative and reparative maintenance than their gasoline powered counterparts.  Considering the improving conditions and joyous cost reduction of modern electric vehicles, U.S. citizens are flocking to play an integral role in the environmental movement.  And with the inviting tax breaks and resulting mechanical peace of mind, there's no reason why Joe Consumer shouldn't go pick himself up a cute little Nissan Leaf.  

The Art of the Soda Can

How often do you crack open a can of soda or soup? Have you ever thought about the amount of design that went into such a frequently used device? When the aluminum soda can was first being invented the shape of the can was strongly considered. The benefits of a spherical can were that it would use the least amount of surface space and there would be no weak points in the design of the can, other than the opening. A spherical can have many disadvantages though, it would leave lot of empty space in packaging, it wouldn’t be able to stand upright, and most importantly it would be difficult to manufacture. A simple answer to most of these problems would be cuboid can. This can would be able to stand upright by itself and be fairly simple to manufacture. A cuboid can has weak edges at the corners and is difficult to hold comfortably. A healthy middle of a spherical and cuboid can was a cylindrical can shape.

Aluminum cans are made using a series of dyes and presses, and they are most commonly manufactured in a production lines. The can starts off as a flat circle aluminum and are pressed into a small cup first, the walls are then stretched upwards in three different steps to make the height of the can more reasonable. After the neck of the can, or the little indent of the can, is developed the top is worked on. Before I talk about the double seam on the top of the can I would like to draw attention to the dome shape at the base of the can. This dome helps to distribute the weight and pressure of the product and make the packaging more durable. Though most cans of soda will only experience pressure changes of 1-2 atmospheres, they are built to handle 6 atmospheres of pressure. The top aspect of the can is the most impressive part, because it is so simple yet so precise and functional. The engineers came up with a double seam that can be seen in the image below. To assure that no extra gases leak out and to maintain the pressure in the can most manufacturers will add an extra compound that solidifies to form a gasket. The lid of the can is added immediately after it is filled so that the lid can trap the gases and maintain the necessary pressure.

The last feat of the can, which is what sparked my interest in the first place, is the pop tab. This was not a feature of the first can invented. The first can had a flat lid and required a special opening tool that would press in one hole for drinking and another hole for venting and allowing a proper vacuum to occur. The next can that came out around in the 1960’s had a pull tab that would just be torn right off the top of the can to create an opening. These worked well for opening the cans but they caused litter and injuries to barefoot beach-goers or wildlife, as they would leave a very sharp tab sticking up from the ground. Finally came the modern pop-tab that works as a second stage lever, pulling open a little bit of the can where it’s fastened on, then once the seal is broken and the pressure is released it becomes a first stage lever, pushing down on the lid of the can and forcing it to break inwards.  

At the end of the day soda is bad for you, but still incredibly popular as a drink. Furthermore the soda can is ubiquitous at parties and gatherings, and even in the common American household. I doubt that anyone often considers the science behind this can, and I applaud the people who have previously dwelt on the concept because it seems like such a simple idea and it has somehow been so well perfected over time without a big fuss being made. Of course when the first can’s with pop tabs came out people were excited not to need a can opener, but I feel it is something that we seldom appreciate in our day to day lives.

The Ingenious Design of the Aluminum Beverage Can

Lossless Audio Downloads and Streaming Today

By: Liam Godin

Audio streaming and downloads are absolutely the most popular method that people around the world employ to listen to music and other audio products. Streaming platforms such as Spotify and Pandora have increased in popularity massively, as streaming becomes the norm. The capability to stream high quality music files appeals to the masses in a huge way. Though the common consumer can often hear no difference between audio file types, these streaming and downloading platforms continue to utilize and accept a variety of audio formats. Even then, several groups of people wish for higher quality music to be streamable and downloadable through these services. 

Sennheiser HD800s headphones with unknown amplifier

Currently, the streaming service Spotify compresses its audio files down to 160 kbps on their desktop application, and 96 kbps on their mobile application. This compression is considered "normal" quality for their service. Paid users are then allowed access to "high quality" compression of 320 kbps. The file compression system Spotify utilizes is not lossless. Lossless file types can run up to 1,411 kbps. The reasoning for this compression is to limit file size. Compression is a process that removes frequencies that are believed that the human ear cannot hear. This causes a much lower file size, and is almost un-noticeable for most people. Lossless audio is not often used in Spotify, but there is rumors of a quiet beta program testing lossless file types on the servers. 

Example of lossless audio vs compressed audio displayed in hertz

Other audio streaming options such as tidal utilize lossless file types such as FLAC and WAV, running at about 44.1 kHZ/ 16 bit. Both of these file types are of the same quality as CD audio. Though this is a large improvement on file types such as AAC and MP3 files used on Spotify, it does not truly reach true high-res audio files. Tidal is currently supporting master recording for its Hi-Fi subscribers. This means that true high-res audio will be delivered to the masses through streaming. The company that Tidal is employing to do this is MQA, a company that can deliver high-res audio through containers such as FLAC or WAV, at 96 kHZ/ 24 bit. This means that master recordings can be delivered to mobile devices without extreme strain on data usage. This development will hopefully influence other audio streaming and downloading services to utilize truly high-res audio files, delivering a higher quality product and experience to listeners. 

Audeze LCD-2 Planar Magnetic headphones with Violectric HPA V200 amplifier

 

Saving Scan Time

The MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) procedure is often performed with its high quality images, which can reveal issues with the spinal cord, brain, and other things. The introduction of the MRI brought forth a better understanding for issues and allowed for the problem to be directly solved from the images produced from the scan.

The MRI procedure itself, however, can take nearly an hour to be performed and is extremely tedious for the one having the procedure done, considering they must be laying flat for the entire time. Because of all the negatives with the MRI as whole, people have tried to find solutions to those issues. The idea of the MRI is brilliant, but there are still aspects that could be fixed to make the process easier to all parties.

Richard Baraniuk and Kevin Kelly, faculty at Rice University, discovered "compressive scanning" in order to speed up the MRI process to just seconds, as opposed to nearly an hour. The compressive scanning is used only for the scans of a beating heart, but possibly could evolve to scan even more. The process of a compressive scan requires the patient to breathe normally throughout the procedure whilst the heart is being scanned. The future of compressive scanning is unknown, but the technology has already gained popularity. Siemens Medical Solutions has licensed the technology discovered by Baraniuk and Kelly, which already shows the desire for the product. MRI scans continue to be performed daily and with the time for the procedures cut down drastically, the future for MRI scans seems only brighter.

sources: phys.org dsp.rice.edu

Wearable Security Auxiliary of Voice Signature

Talking to electronics is popular in this era of technology. Through voice assistants, people connect each other more efficiently, and actually more secure. Recently, Barclays bank began to use voice-based security to verify and to identify their customers. But sound can be spoofed and hacked easily by mediocre impersonators and sophisticated hackers.

According to Kang Shin, the Kevin and Nancy O'Connor Professor of Computer Science and professor of electrical engineering and computer science at U-M, it is dangerous to only use voice signature in a system, one must have a second channel to authenticate the voice. 

Shin and his colleagues developed VAuth, which is a wearable device that can take the form of a necklace, earbuds or a small attachment to eyeglasses. VAuth continuously registers speech-induced vibrations on the user's body and pairs them with the sound of that person's voice to create a unique and secure signature. The process of speaking creates vibrations that can be detected on the skin of a person's face, throat or chest. The system works by leveraging the instantaneous consistency between signals from the accelerometer in the wearable security token and the microphone in the electronic device.

In addition, VAuth also overcomes a key problem of voice biometrics. A voice biometric, similar to a fingerprint, is not easy to keep protected. From a few recordings of the user's voice, an attacker can impersonate the user by generating a matching 'voice print.'

"The users can do little to regain their security as they cannot simply change their voice. On the other hand, when losing VAuth for any reason, the user can simply unpair it to prevent an attacker from using their device.

After the tests on its prototype, it achieved 97% detection accuracy and less than 0.1% false positive rate, and it also thwarts different practical attacks. According to the survey, out of 952 people, 70% of them are willing to give a try on VAuth, half of them are willing to pay more than $25 for the technology.

Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-10-wearables-boost-voice-based-log-in.html

How many robots does it take to Screw in a lightbulb?

Alex Newton

25 October 2017

This soft robot gripper can screw in your light bulbs for you

Ok before anything, I actually thought of the joke before I even read the article. The answer is one. This robot can pick up and manipulate objects without needing to see them. It can twist, sense, and can build objects. Michael T. Tolley is leading a group of engineers in developing this robot. "We designed the device to mimic what happens when you reach into your pocket and feel for your keys," said Tolley.

 

The fingers on the robot move when air pressure is applied. This allows the robot to turn screwdrivers, and screw in light bulbs. The conductivity of the nanotubes changes as the fingers flex, which allows the sensing skin to record and detect when the fingers are moving and coming into contact with an object. The next steps to this project are adding machine learning and artificial intelligence to data processing so that the gripper will actually be able to identify the objects it's manipulating.

NeuroShield

Your brain is the most important organ in your body and even though contact sports such as hockey or football are fun, they can be detrimental to your brain's health. To overcome this problem, brilliant team of neuroscientists and engineers inspired by nature, were able to create, test, and put on the market an affordable, slim neck brace that helps prevent concussions for hockey players and players of other contact sports. The creators of this innovation in sports protection looked to nature for inspiration. They wondered how the woodpecker is able to repeatedly thrust its head into a tree without harming itself and thought that if they could understand how this works, they will be able to use this information to create a product that would help prevent brain damage to contact sports players.

Brain damage is caused when the brain slams against the inside of the skull. The early solution to this was to create helmets that reduce the force going into the head upon contact. However, hits to the head still caused the brain to slam into the skull causing long-term effects such as CTE and concussions. To counteract this slamming of the brain into the skull, the NeuroShield works by stabilizing the brain by applying light pressure to the neck, similar to how a woodpecker's neck is like. The pressure on the neck creates more blood to go to the areas around the brain, in turn, creating less space for the brain to move within the skull. The NeuroSheild will help athletes stay healthy and dramatically decrease brain damage done to players of contact sports.



Sources:

https://neuroshield.ca/index.html

Robots With Skin

Robots With Skin
Alexander Pedro

There are many things that robots are more equipped and safer to do than humans. Defusing bombs or delicate first aid procedures are a couple of examples where robots are more efficient tools. But there has been a roadblock where robots do not have the senses that humans do. Robots cannot smell, see, and hear like humans can. But now they can feel like humans can.

Rubber electronics and sensors that operate normally even when stretched to up to 50 percent of their length could work as artificial skin in robots, according to a new study. They could also give flexible sensing capabilities to a range of electronic devices, the researchers said. Like human skin, the material is able to sense strain, pressure and temperature, according to the researchers.




As the University of Washington explains:


"As the robot finger slides along a surface, serpentine channels embedded in the skin and filled with electrically conductive liquid metal stretch on one side of the finger and compress on the other. This changes the amount of electricity that can flow through the channels, which can be correlated with shear force and vibration."

A Car that Knows You

Destination Prediction in Tesla Cars

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk 

          The CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk (in photo to the right), said in a brief that Telsa's won't need to be told where to go for the destination. Musk stated that the self driving cars will be able to predict where the driver wishes to go. The hope is that this feature will be a part of the improved autopilot system which is promised to be released in 2018. 

          On October 20th, James Harvey tweeted to Tesla to suggest that Musk should design cars that will ask the destination desired once the driver gets in the car. In response to this suggestion, Musk replied saying that the future plans for the newer models will be able to predict the destination without a word being said by the driver. 

Tesla Model X with Autopilot system 

          In 2014, Tesla cars were the first to ever stablish an auto pilot system. This was deployed in their Model X (in the photo above). Since then, their design has proven to even save lives. Many governments are using driverless cars to understand more about navigating safely. These cars are constantly getting software updates and firmware updates to enhance the already wonderful features and bring more buisness. The boom in business makes Musk very confident in the progression of his cars of the future. 

SAE Internation Standard of Automated Driving Levels

          Even though the technology used in these cars are considered to be so advanced,  the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) do not consider the Tesla technology to be classified as Level 5 autonomy, which is considered full automation of the vehicle. This is defined as "the full-time performance by an automated driving system of all aspects of the dynamic driving task under all roadway and environmental conditions that can be managed by a human driver" (SAE International Standard). However, their newest model expected to be released before the end of  2017 should have to updates of new software and autopilot hardware to meet the criteria of Level 5 autonomy. 

Article Link: Tesla Destination Prediction

Here is a interesting video of the Tesla Autopilot being tested 😱😱😱

Century Old Bridge Restoration

by Lorenzo DeSimone 
Glacier National Park in Montana is widely known as "the Switzerland of North America," and is treated like it, with over two million hikers, photographers, and adventurers crossing bridges in the Park. One of these bridges is the Swiftcurrent Bridge, one that sees the most traffic as a single point of entry into the park, but after almost 100 years of use, inspections of the bridge deem it in need of repair.




Swiftcurrent Lake, credit: Federal Lands Highway


Repairing the bridge posed unique challenges. The Swiftcurrent Bridge resides deep within Glacier National Park. While this remote location gives visitors a welcome sense of escape to nature, it also creates major limitations in available construction materials and machinery. Replacing the bridge can not hinder the visitors, and starting construction in September was taking a serious risk in the cold climate of Montana.


Through the use of prefabricated bridge elements and systems, the Contractor could build bridge components in an off-site location, then deliver and install them during final construction stages. This would reduce on-site construction time while allowing crews to fabricate bridge components in a controlled environment. Considering the difficult time constraints of the Swiftcurrent Bridge job, this approach would provide the highest probability of success.





Repairing the Bridge, credit: Federal Lands Highway


With an eye for engineering, precision and time management, the builders successfully reconstructed this historic crossing without hindering park visitors or hotel guests. Once the winter ice thawed, the Many Glacier Hotel opened as usual, and guests were able to walk, ride, or drive to its entry across the newly fortified Swiftcurrent Bridge.

Owl Inspired Wind Turbines

Wind turbines are notorious for their immense noise at close proximity and this is a large reason for their absence in heavily populated areas. However researches at Lehigh University have took to studying the Owl, as its wings are able to suppress noise in order to go unheard by its prey. This is due to wing porosity, the term used to describe the space in between the wing that allows air to pass through. Using the formula they developed, the results for pressure distribution on a wing and curvature of a wing section can be determined buy a single equation. This equation can be used by turbine designers to both minimize noise and maximize aerodynamics in future turbines.

"The fact that our result is explicit and in closed form for arbitrary porosity distributions makes it easy to implement in analyses of aerodynamics vs aero-acoustics to anticipate whether or not a particular porosity design will be effective for a given application," said Jaworski, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and mechanics.

Smart-foam

Nano Technology To Detect Concussions

In the world of football Concussions are a huge dilemma. From very young ages kids begin to play contact football, where their heads are vulnerable to serious injury. Once kids get older the sport inevitably becomes increasingly dangerous. Bigger, stronger, faster players cause the likelihood of head related injury to skyrocket. 

Once you hit the college and pro levels, a head injury can happen to anyone. they could range from minor to even death by contact. Studies show that concussions can cause problems later in life as well. The only thing between your head and the contact point is their helmet. Helmets have come a very long way over the course of 20 years. Long ago they used to play with leather caps. 

Helmets like these have been designed to help curb concussions, but do they really work? not so much. A new technology has been produced to be put inside of football helmets. It is a foam composite laced with nickle nano particles which rub and make friction with the foam. When the friction happens a static charge is produced which can measure the force of impact of the brain. this technology has the potential to save football from being barred to all kids who wish to play but their parents wont let them because of head injury.

Shrimp Cam

The Mantis Shrimp Leads to New Camera Technology 

IN THE WORLD OF CAMERA TECHNOLOGY comes the new cheap and effective way to take underwater, and medical pictures. the advances made include, vision of new phenomena under water, and also the possibility to detect cancer before it develops. this ultra-sensitive camera is capable of sensing color, polarization, and can see things that are invisible to the human eye and to cameras we use today.

 

The mantis shrimp, considered one of the best hunters in shallow waters, possesses one of the most sophisticated eyes in nature. Compared with human vision, which has three different types of color receptors, the mantis shrimp has 16 different types of color receptors and six polarization channels.

The fact that detecting early formation of cancer is what is driving this research forward. But more importantly the cost of this technology costs less than $100, this will enable quality health care in resource-limited places around the world like underdeveloped countries in Africa, and the Middle East.

Leading developers (Viktor Gruev, and Missael Garcia)

Zumwalt and the Railgun

I’m a big Maritime guy. The Navy and the Cast Guard are the coolest and most impressive forces on the Earth today- not only for its sheer size, but for its technologies and innovations. For example, the Zumwalt-class is the newest commissioned class of destroyer. The first of her class, the U.S.S. Zumwalt, was launched in 2013. It features an Integrated Power System, which in short means that the power system feeds to all ship systems. According to an article published by The Diplomat, the IPS is “capable of generating 100% of the ship's propulsion needs including electrical components and weapons systems.”

One feature of the Zumwalt that really peaked my interest was the introduction of the railgun. The Navy approved the prototype weapon’s development in ‘05. Currently in it’s second phase of testing, the main focus now is to make it fire repetitively consistently, and to work on work “thermal management techniques.”With initial testing of the prototype weapon at 32 mega-joules proving feasible, the final weapon can launch a projectile over 100 nautical miles(~115 miles) with a muzzle velocity of 4,500 mph.

sources: Office of Naval Research; The Diplomat;  Navy.mil

3D Printing Human Body Parts

Currently, I am deep in binge-watching the series "Westworld" on HBO Go. In this science fiction horror series, artificial intelligence beings are 3d printed into looking remarkably similar to human beings. I know that it is a stretch to say that humans will be able to 3D print artificial intelligent beings anytime soon from now, but it is definitely not impossible. 

The first steps of this fictional world are beginning to be implemented in hospitals around the world. There exists the machine called the "ITOP" in which bones, tissue, and even organs are 3D printed to suit the needs of the patient. It is home to the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Winston Salem, NC. Instead of using 3D printer ink, this machine uses human cells to create tissue that would later be able to be surgically implanted into a patient. There would be no risks of the patient's body rejecting the printed tissue because a sample of the patient's tissue is taken from them and the doctors create cells used for the printing of the tissue. Also, the size and shape of the organ or bone would be identical to the one given to the person at birth because through MRIs and CT scans the printer would be able to identically reproduce the tissue or organ. 

The Dawn of Autonomous Cars

     Perhaps one of the most life-changing concepts introduced in modern engineering history is the autonomous car.  The popularization of self-driving vehicles would greatly alter the way humans travel and would revolutionize one of the most widely used existing inventions of the 20th century.  The most daunting task of the mechanical engineers involved in the project is the necessity of a guaranteed flawlessly driving vehicle without room for error.  It must employ the ability to safety navigate roads, obey traffic laws and signals, and react to other drivers and unforeseen obstacles during its operation.  

     The first indication of an effort to reduce driver input on motor vehicles dates as far back as the early 1900s.  Cruise control, a standard feature on all new vehicles sold today, traces its roots to the early implementations of speed control systems in 1900-1910.  While this only eliminates accelerator pedal input at highway speeds, it set into motion one of the most challenging concepts in the automotive field.  In recent times, automobile manufacturers have developed sensory systems that strive to reduce vehicular fatality.  These include lane departure warning systems, emergency braking systems, blind spot monitors, and reverse monitoring cameras.  Engineers have studied common driver error and developed these intricate instruments in an attempt to increase safety on the road.  

     Despite driverless cars being created mainly for convenience purposes, they have the potential to even further reduce fatality on the road.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over 90% of automobile accidents are the result of human error.  If engineers are indeed successful in achieving the goal of errorless self-driving vehicles, they can market those cars and slowly fill the roads with faultless transportation.  This, combined with the great market value of a vehicle chauffeur, would almost guarantee market success.  Luxury car companies strive to provide their customers with the latest technology, and autonomous vehicles would be a fiery acquisition for their lineups.  Therefore, the companies have no issue investing in engineers who work tirelessly to make this longly-awaited dream a reality.  

     If the world's finest mechanical engineers are able to bring a relatively cost-effective, flawless self-driving vehicle to the market, evidence suggests it would be one of the most successful products in automotive history.  There is no doubt that it is a welcome addition to car culture, as vastly increased comfort and convenience, revolutionized technology, and new standards of safety are inherently beneficial.  With time and rapidly increasing technology, this dream could truly become a reality!  "I believe engineers will save the world."  -Jay Leno  

http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/587f7494f10a9a283f8b6236-1190-625/heres-how-waymos-brand-new-self-driving-cars-see-the-world.jpg

     

Innovative Materials for Cars

           

          In Japan, researchers are trying to create a strong material out of wood pulp to replace steel parts in cars. This research is hoped to be completed within a decade. Researchers are also working on plastics that can withstand high temperatures to replace metal for parts near the engine. The main motions of the industry is making attempts to make cars lighter. These efforts are being made due to the fact that slimmer cars consume less fuel. 


          The US Department of Energy says a 10% reduction in vehicle weight can improve fuel economy by up to 8%. Researchers at Kyoto University in Japan say a material made from wood pulp could be as strong as steel, but 80% lighter. The researched material is a mix of wood pulp and plastic. They chemically treat the wood pulp which contains of millions of cellulose nanofibres (CNFs), and then put these CNFs into plastic. Blending CNFs with plastics creates a strong, hybrid material that could replace steel in cars. Prof Hiroyuki Yano, who leads the work at Kyoto University, says the material could be used to make door panels, fenders and car bonnets.


Article Link: Hybrid Materials for Cars

Heart Login

At the University of Buffalo, a team has developed a new way to login to your computer. Forget the finger prints and retina scans, this technology uses your heart. This mechanism takes the dimensions of your heart to identify you.

This system uses a low-level Doppler radar. It continuously monitors your heart even after login to ensure no one else is using your computer. They say this system is safe and even more effective than alternate passwords methods.

The lead author was Wenyao Xu, PhD. He said "The signal strength of the system's radar "is much less than Wi-Fi," and therefore does not pose any health threat, Xu said." The system only needs 8 seconds to recognize your heart the first time you use it, and after that it will always remember that specific heart.

Xu plans to input this system into the corners of computer keyboards. This system eventually might be used in smartphones and during airport identification screenings.

University at Buffalo. "New non-contact, remote biometric tool could be next advance in computer security." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 25 September 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/09/170925133000.htm>. LINK

Eye Tattoos.

Tattoos have become very popular among young people however a startling trend is beginning to become more popular and is become safer. Eyeball tattoos are here and as crazy as they sound they are here to stay. As seen in this picture of the man, eyeball tattoos are very real and as of recently have become much more safe to go through with. It is recommended by experts to have a medical surgeon and there is such thing as a medically sanctioned eye tattoo, “Like any physical defect, people with congenital eye problems or damage can suffer not just from the thing itself, but from the stigma of having a visible scar. A corneal tattoo can’t repair vision, but it can dye discolored bits back to white” The tattoo is performed safely by having the needle insert within a barely-millimeter-wide gap between two layers of the eye. As you can see there is a very large margin for error, which still makes them very unpractical and not recommended however some gangs are making it a part of an initiation as seen in this picture below. The other picture of the girl is one of an eyeball tattoo gone wrong and it left her crying purple tears after the procedure was finished. This goes to show how dangerous the process can be and the article outlines how the procedure is done, “ Ink needs to get between the conjunctiva and the sclera… The sclera is the actual white bit, and the conjunctiva is a thin, clear layer directly atop.” As you can see eye tattoos are not a great idea, and not practical at all but for some people the idea of having black and blue eyes is appealing and if that's the case, this is what they would have to go through on the journey to colored eyes.

Article Link: https://www.popsci.com/this-is-how-eyeball-tattoos-are-supposed-to-work#page-2

Strange Weather in Antarctica

Ryan Trojan
Engineering

Antarctica has been experiencing some extremely weird weather and scientists are starting to get worried. There's an area on the west side of the icy continent called the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and last January, scientists found a 300,000-square-mile portion of its perimeter was melting. That's an area roughly two times the size of California, covered in slush. According to recent research published in Nature Communications, the melt was caused by an unusually strong El Niño event around January 2016.


El Niño is a weather event that brings unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean, and one of the big takeaways from the research is that this strong El Niño in 2016 directly contributed to the unusually widespread Antarctic ice melt.

For more than two weeks in January 2016, a passive microwave satellite observed surface ice melt two times the size of California.

A Robotic Hand Has a Sense of Touch Through Artificial "Skin"

     Recently, a breakthrough in stretchable electronics that can serve as an artificial skin, allowed a robotic hand to possess more of one of the five senses — touch. The robotic hand can sense the difference between hot and cold, and the stretchable electronics will also offer advantages for a wide range of other areas.
     The work from the team of researchers of the University of Houston describes a new mechanism for producing stretchable electronics, a process that relies on readily available materials and could be scaled up for commercial production.
     Professor Cunjiang Yu, who is the lead author of the paper, said the work is the first to create a semiconductor in a rubber composite format, designed to allow the electronic components to retain functionality even after the material is stretched by 50 percent.
     His semiconductor is different from the traditional semiconductors. They are not brittle, and using them in otherwise stretchable materials has required a complicated system of mechanical accommodations. Their new discovery is less complex, less expensive, and more stable.

     Professor Yu and the rest of the team created the electronic skin and used it to demonstrate that a robotic hand could sense the temperature of hot and iced water in a cup. The skin also was able to interpret computer signals sent to the hand and reproduce the signals as American Sign Language. The robotic skin is also capable to translate the gesture to readable letters that a person can understand.

     The artificial skin is just one application. Researchers said the discovery of a material that is soft, bendable, stretchable and twistable will impact future development in soft wearable electronics, including health monitors, medical implants, and human-machine interfaces.

Source: https://www.rankred.com/robotic-hand-artificial-skin-gains-sense-touch/

Automatic Farms

Alexander Pedro
10/3/17
Automatic Farms



In a farm in the United Kingdom there is a farm completely run by robots. Researchers from Harper Adams university in Edgmond, UK harvested about 5 tons of barley from the first robotically tended farm. The entire process of seeding, fertilizing, collecting samples, and harvesting is completely automated by drones and self driving cars.

A similar project is being developed in Japan where they are building an indoor lettuce farm. This farm is completely autonomous an computerized. This farm in expected to open at the end of this year and it is predicting to lower the price or lettuce and make it healthier for the environment. The advantages of the types of automated and vertical farms is the ability to recycle.98% percent of the water used to feed the plants is recycled. Also the factory wont have to spray pesticides because they are indoors.