19908076
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yyzmcleod writes:
CanadArm designers — MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates — have created a prototype surgical robot, called KidsArm, that's intended to perform delicate vessel operations on infants and children.
13446300
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eldavojohn writes:
Want to make a great concave mirror for your telescope? Put a drop of mercury in a bowl and spin the bowl. The mercury will spread out to a concave reflective surface smoother than anything we can make with plain old glass right now. The key problem in this situation is that the bowl will always have to point straight up. MIT's Technology Review is analyzing a team's success in combating problems with bringing liquid mirrors into the practical applications of astronomy. To fight the gravity requirement, the team used a ferromagnetic liquid coated with a metal-like film and very strong magnetic fields to distort the surface of that liquid as they needed. But this introduces new non-linear problems of control when trying to sync up several of these mirrors similar to how traditional glass telescopes use multiple hexagon shaped mirrors mounted on actuators. The team has fought past so many of these problems plaguing liquid mirrors that they produced a proof of concept liquid mirror just five centimeters across with ninety-one actuators cycling at one Kilohertz and the ability to linearize the response of the liquid. And with that, liquid mirrors take a giant leap closer to practicality.
13379078
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13374198
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yyzmcleod writes:
As the World Cup finals kick off, the most talked about and controversial figure in the game isn’t a player but Jabulani, the new Adidas World Cup soccer ball (the name means “to celebrate” in isiZulu). Designed by researchers from Loughborough University, United Kingdom, the ball has drawn considerable criticism from players. Goalies in particular have described the ball’s in-air behaviour as “ridiculous”, “shameful” and even “supernatural”. Not only does it travel faster than previous World Cup models but players say the ball’s curve through the air or “bend” is erratic and unpredictable. Adelaide University physics professor, Derek Leinweber, explains why.
13373320
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WrongSizeGlass writes:
PC World is reporting on the latest version of Apple's Mac Mini. At only 1.4-inches tall the unibody aluminium enclosure includes an HDMI port, an SD card reader, and more graphics and processing power. Even the power supply is inside now. The base model comes with 2.4-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard disk — for $699. Graphics power comes from an NVIDIA GeForce 320M GPU (as found in lower-end MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops). Apple appears to be aiming for living rooms by including the HDMI port and eliminating the external power brick. Does the addition of these new features blur the line between Mac Mini and Apple TV?
13154200
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yyzmcleod writes:
Researchers in the Biorobotics and Biomechanics Lab (BRML) at Technion, Israel Institute of Technology have created a series of hyper-redundant or snake robots, which, among other applications, could be used in combat. Sheathed in a camouflage “skin”, BRML’s robo snake can slither through rough terrain or urban environments and rear up like a cobra to perform reconnaissance. A camera and LED lights mounted in its “face” beam audio and video back to the operator’s laptop. Taking the concept one step further, Israeli military have said they may adapt the robot to act as weapon. Packed with explosives, the snake could worm its way into an enemy position and curl up near combatants’ before detonating.
12567612
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ampegb5r writes:
New microprocessors for vehicles could predict mechanical failures and reduce traffic accidents. The plan is to integrate the vehicle sensors and microprocessors, which currently don't share information, using a "super" microprocessor originally developed for video games.
12564800
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yyzmcleod writes:
At the opening of a Canadian tech conference this week, Apple co-founder Steve "Woz" Wozniak offered his thoughts on the keys to innovation and reminisced about the early days of Apple. During the on-stage Q&A, Woz also revealed that he only recently discovered how the iconic computer company got its name and why his wife, Janet Hill, is the "One".
4318115
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Retrospeak writes:
Amazon is making a small acquisition with potentially big consequences for e-book readers. They've picked up e-reader start-up Lexcycle and thus will control the future of its popular iPhone application, Stanza. Lexcycle founder Marc Prud'hommeaux (http://www.lexcycle.com/lexcycle_acquired_by_amazon) is trying to reassure loyal Stanza users this is a positive move forward, but skeptical e-book fans fear this is a move by Amazon to close the book on competitive option in this fast-growing market.
4317079
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NinjaKicks writes:
AMD is launching yet another new ATI Radeon graphics card today and this card
brings solid performance for around $99 mark.
The new Radeon HD 4770 is AMD's first desktop GPU
manufactured using a 40nm process for a smaller die size that consumes less power and allows decent performance
at a more reasonable price point. The
40nm RV740 GPU at the heart of the card
is comprised of 826M transistors and its reference specifications call for a 750MHz
engine clock. The GPU is outfitted with 640 stream processors that accesses its 512MB GDDR5 frame buffer memory over a 128-bit interface running at 800MHz. The
4770's benchmark numbers are very respectable for a card in its class and its
power consumption is low enough to require only a single supplemental 6-pin PCIe power connector.
