56230231
submission
Lucas123 writes:
UCLA has created a graduate-level program that teaches architects how to design intelligent robotic buildings that are able to change their configuration to adapt to their owners' needs. The design are not limited to homes, of course, and could be used in office buildings or hotels. For example, a hotel could switch out a small bathroom in a guest room for a larger one that comes to the room along the outside façade of the building. Factories could also be transformed on based on changing needs. Students in the program are working to come up with a more dynamic building, possibly one that has moving platforms or walls that could adapt the building for manufacturing different sized aircraft or products.
56228491
submission
Lucas123 writes:
The Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) announced it broke through to the Mantle and created a superheated steam pipe capable of producing power at the nearby Krafla Power Plant in Northern Iceland. The system was operational for several months until a malfunctioning valve forced its closure. The IDDP, however, plans to either reopen its first magma-based geothermal bore hole — IDDP-1 — or drill another one at Reykjanes. While the IDDP-1 is not the first bore hole to reach the planet's magma, it is the first time an operation has been able to harness the mantle's heat to produce a steam pipe that could power a plant.
56218587
submission
Lucas123 writes:
Football fans will be getting some unusual perspectives of the Super Bowl this weekend. Among more than 80 Fox Sports cameras covering the event will be infrared models that display player body temperature. Players have also taken to wearing Google Glass to give fans an in-person perspective of the festivities, as has at least one of the announcers. And, if you need to know where to place your money, PredictionMachine.com is using a SQL-based engine to crunch team and player stats before and during the game in order to pick the winner and the spread. The analytics engine performs 50,000 game simulations to determine the outcome. The service has got a 9-1 record against the spread over the past four years. So who wins? Seattle: 24-21.
56141381
submission
Lucas123 writes:
In a report released today, Gartner predicts that the time is drawing near when 3D-bioprinted human organs will be readily available, an advance almost certain to spark a complex debate involving a variety of political, moral and financial interests. For example, some researchers are using cells from human and non-human organs to create stronger tissue, said Pete Basiliere, a Gartner research director. "In this example, there was human amniotic fluid, canine smooth muscle cells, and bovine cells all being used. Some may feel those constructs are of concern," he said. While regulations in the U.S. and Europe will mean human trials of 3D printed organs will likely take up to a decade, nations with less stringent standards will plow ahead with the technology. For example, last August, the Hangzhou Dianzi University in China announced it had invented the biomaterial 3D printer Regenovo, which printed a small working kidney that lasted four months. Apart from printing tissue, 3D printing may also threaten intellectual property rights. "IP will be ignored and it will be impossible or impractical to enforce. Everything will change when you can make anything." said John Hornick, an IP attorney with Finnegan, Henderson, Farbow, Garrett & Dunner LLP in New York.
56106439
submission
Lucas123 writes:
Apple today was awarded a patent for a MacBook that would use photovoltaic cells embedded as a layer behind electrochromic glass to generate power from light to power and recharge the laptop's battery. According to the patent, the electrochromic glass, or switchable glass, could be placed in a light-passing state or light-blocking state where the interior of the MacBook's display would be hidden from the exterior view. In other words, the rear panel could appear opaque or translucent. In the light-passing state, the rear panel would allow images or other light output from light-emitting diodes or other light sources, Apple stated. Apple proposed that the solar cells would be capable of producing from 100mW to 1W "or even more" in order to charge the laptop's battery or power the computer while it is in use.
56045355
submission
Lucas123 writes:
Stratysis today announced it will be shipping this year a printer that can use hundreds of colors and polymers to create production-grade or prototype objects without the need for assembly. Previously, manufacturers could print multi-colored parts using many different materials and assemble them after completion. Stratasis' Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer features a triple-jet printer head that combines droplets of three base materials to produce parts with virtually unlimited combinations of rigid, flexible and transparent color materials in a single print run.
55894351
submission
Lucas123 writes:
A new report shows that if movie production houses charged a $15 monthly fee to just 45% of the world's online subscribers, they could rake in just as much cash as they currently do through TV downloads and disc sales. That equates to $29.4 billion. "Movie producers have little to fear from online distribution in the long term," the report states. "It is the distribution part of the movie business that should be worried because online distribution will replace a sizable portion of their current industry." According to the report's hypothetical model, the $15 fee would offer open access to all movie content — meaning instant online access to all movies that have been ever produced, "along with new releases as they come out."
55797523
submission
Lucas123 writes:
Cloud storage provider Backblaze has been using its data center as a test bed for major hard drive providers, recording drive failure rates. Last year, the company released the first of its data showing a comparison between enterprise and consumer drive failure rates. Today, the company released a vendor-specific list of failure rates based on more than 27,000 consumer-grade drives. The 3-year study of 15 types of drives from three major vendors revealed two Hitachi drives had the highest reliability, but all of Western Digital's, on average, had the best overall life expectancy. The worst? Seagate.
55585135
submission
Lucas123 writes:
Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab are trying to expand 3D printing to include mixed materials at the same time, such as polymers and metals. With those advances, a company could build, for example, body armor for soldiers that are stronger and lighter. If their work pans out, they’ll create materials that have properties that simply don’t exist today.
55544033
submission
Lucas123 writes:
Hershey's has signed a multi-year partnership with 3D Systems, a maker of consumer- and professional-grade 3D printers. The deal with give 3D Systems access to Hershey's food science and manufacturing expertise and the chocolate company will be able to assist in the development of new 3D printing machines for consumers and businesses. At CES, last week, 3D Systems revealed two printers that are able to churn out confections, including chocolates. "Whether it's creating a whole new form of candy or developing a new way to produce it, we embrace new technologies such as 3D printing as a way to keep moving our timeless confectionery treats into the future," said William Papa, Hershey's chief research and development officer.
55434415
submission
Lucas123 writes:
The so called traffic study that closed New Jersey access lanes on the heavily traveled George Washington Bridge last September has left engineers scratching their heads because in modern America, simulation software is used instead of closing down lanes. One of the best sources for simulation data are video camera systems that use software to count vehicles on roadways. Traffic studies use microscopic traffic simulations to create virtual environments that can model driver behavior to road changes with exacting detail. Instead, the Port Authority, under Gov. Chris Christie, shut down two of the three access lanes for four days last September from Fort Lee to the George Washington Bridge without warning the public, citing a "traffic study." "I would be pretty confident that if we knew exactly which lanes are closed we could replicate that, and it would show exactly how bad the backups are going to be," said Lorenzo Rotoli, an engineer and vice president at Fisher Associates, a civil engineering firm in New York that works on roads, bridges and signal systems.
55386349
submission
Lucas123 writes:
At CES this year, Toyota announced two evolutionary cars: a hydrogen-fueled vehicle that's due out next year and a bullet-shaped vehicle with an LED-skin that turns with the driver's body movement. Audi displayed its Quattro Sport concept car that it said will be the basis for cars in three to five years from now; one of those concepts is a headlight that's a combination of an LED and laser. The LED us used for near-vision and the laser projects a white beam up to 500 meters ahead of the vehicle. The laser headlights will be used in Audi's R18 E-Tron Quattro race car at the Le Mans 24 hour later this year. There were also quite a few custom cars used to display the latest in-car audio and touch-screen technology, including a 1995 Nissan Silva with a 1,000 horsepower engine and an iPad to control its 2,400-watt stereo system.
55316899
submission
Lucas123 writes:
This year's CES saw more car manufacturers showing technology than any show in the past. Among some of the prototypes was Toyota's FV2 concept car, a single passenger vehicle that looks like a bullet, has no steering wheel and sports an outer skin that can change color like a chameleon. Audi displayed its Quattro concept that it said will be the basis for cars in three to five years from now; one of those concepts is a headlight that's a combination of an LED and laser. The LED us used for near-vision and the laser projects a white beam up to 500 meters ahead of the vehicle. Audio makers also showed off their wares in some custom hot rods, including an off-road, on-road Rally Fighter that features a Corvette LS3 430 horsepower engine and a 1995 Nissan Silva sporting a modified Skyline engine with a turbo booster that produces 1,000 horsepower.
55160197
submission
Lucas123 writes:
The number of 3D printing companies displaying products at CES jumped from five last year to more than 20 this year. Several sub-$1,000 printers, including a new model from XYZPrinting for $499, were unveiled at CES this week. 3D Systems had the most interesting printers with a machine that prints ceramic products, like tea kettles, and two food printers. A bit larger than a washing machine, the CeraJet ceramic 3D printer will be available in the second half of this year, it will sell for under $10,000. 3D Systems' ChefJet 3D Printer series, can print confections, including chocolate and candies with vanilla, mint, sour apple, cherry and watermelon flavors.The ChefJet printer is expected to sell for under $5,000 while the larger ChefJet Pro (also about the size of a washing machine) will retail in the sub-$10,000 range.
54920303
submission
Lucas123 writes:
Ford plans to demonstrate its first solar-powered hybrid vehicle at CES next week. The Ford CMAX Solar Energi Concept car will have 1.5 square meters of solar photovoltaic cells on its roof to generate power to charge its battery. By themselves, the PV solar panels generate only 300W of power — not enough to charge the vehicle's battery in one day. Ford, however, said the car will be coupled with a carport that has solar concentrating lens atop it. The magnifying lens, called a Fresnel lens, will concentrate about 10 times the solar energy so the vehicle can be recharged in a single day — the same speed with which is standard hybrid charges using a plug.
