Washington Auto Show Highlights

Chrome With These 9 Killer Extensions

Bangalore: Google Chrome; released in 2008 is by far is the most widely used web browser, millions across the globe prefer Chrome over other alternatives. The simple and intuitive interface makes Chrome a hit among the users. To further enhance the user experience there are thousands of Chrome Extensions that can be downloaded from the Chrome Web Store. These extensions can make your browsing experience better, faster and more secure. Out of tons of extensions that are out there, read on to top 9 of them that can make your chrome feature rich, as compiled by The Daily Beast.

• Adblock Plus
• Pocket
• Hover Zoom
• Lazarus
• HTTPS Everywhere
• Ghostery
• OneTab
• Google Dictionary
• LastPass

Source :http://www.siliconindia.com

Marblelike Lens for Smartphones Could Be DSLR Killer

       Smartphone cameras might be getting bigger in a small way. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego have developed a wide-angle lens that’s one-tenth the size of those similarly powerful components. The camera, which is small enough to fit in most smartphones, can reliably focus on objects as far away as 500 meters (1,650 feet, or nearly a third of a mile), making it as powerful as a full-size SLR camera.

Source : http://www.livescience.com/

Tongue Drive System to Operate Computers

 
   Scientists developed a new revolutionary system to help individuals with disabilities to control wheelchairs, computers and other devices simply by using their tongue.
Engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology say that a new technology called Tongue Drive system will be helpful to individuals with serious disabilities, such as those with severe spinal cord injuries and will allow them to lead more active and independent lives.
Individuals using a tongue-based system should only be able to move their tongue, which is especially important if a person has paralyzed limbs. A tiny magnet, only a size of a grain of rice, is attached to an individual's tongue using implantation, piercing or adhesive. This technology allows a disabled person to use tongue when moving a computer mouse or a powered wheelchair.
Scientists chose the tongue to control the system because unlike the feet and the hands, which are connected by brain through spinal cord, the tongue and the brain has a direct connection through cranial nerve. In case when a person has a severe spinal cord injure or other damage, the tongue will remain mobile to activate the system. "Tongue movements are also fast, accurate and do not require much thinking, concentration or effort." said Maysam Ghovanloo, an assistant professor in the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The motions of the magnet attached to the tongue are spotted by a number of magnetic field sensors installed on a headset worn outside or an orthodontic brace inside the mouth. The signals coming from the sensors are wirelessly sent to a portable computer that placed on a wheelchair or attached to an individual's clothing.

source:www.infoniac.com

Body Heat to Power Electronic Devices Soon

                    

    Using body heat instead of batteries to power various devices is no longer a dream. German scientists developed a circuit that can be used to produce electricity from body heat. 

A new way of generating electricity from body heat was discovered by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Germany together with scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques (IPM) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research IFAM.

Their method is based on the principle of thermoelectric generators (TEG)produced from semiconductor elements. The temperature difference between hot and cold environment contributes to generation of electricity with the help of TEGs.

Usually, the difference of several tens of degrees is necessary to generate electricity. But when comparing body temperature and environment temperature, the difference is just a few degrees which is enough to generate only low voltages. In order to produce electricity for electronic devices one or two volts are necessary, while TEG extract about 200 millivolts.

The scientists developed a completely new way of generating electricity, creating circuits that work on 200 millivolts. This discovery led to creation of electronic system that produces energy from body heat. Researchers are making further improvements for various applications.

source:www.infoniac.com

New Electronic Display to Be Used on Clothes and Beer Cans

Scientists working on the international project are looking forward to bring the organic light emitting devices to the masses. Thus the invention could significantly cut costs by billions of dollars each year.
Due to the fact that the organic light emitting devices are very thin and flexible, electronic display screens could be easily created on nearly every material, thus, for example, clothing could, for the first time in history, display specific electronic information.
There are various ways of using the this OLED, like for example change the color of clothes, beer can would be able to display various sports results. In addition the OLED is much more efficient than the light bulb used today.
Currently these devices are applied in mobile phones and MP3 players. However, such OLED is not quite reliable for large TV or computer screens.

source:  www.infoniac.com

Portable Pen projector

The Portable Pen projector is as powerful as any other projector, but it’s far more compact and intelligent. The projector is encased in a stainless steel container and comes with many neat features like Bluetooth and an LED system.With this Portable Pen Projector, you no longer have to worry about lugging around a heavy projector device to show off pictures of your vacation or to present an assignment.

 

Portable Power Generator future

‘Cyclus’ is one of the solution for the power generating without further environmental impact within everyday circumstance. In nowadays, it is really hard to survive without any electrical devices where especially urbanised society. Obviously power supplying issue is one of the fundamental problem to sustain current life cycle, and it can’t be split to consider for further sophisticated user experience. in reality there are some kind of archetype which already exists in the current market, for instance solar panel. However these early type of solution also requires certain user effort (eg, finding a location where appropriate to generate power.). Additionally in the meantime the device generates power, user cant move the place.

source: www.itechfuture.com/portable-power-generator-future/

Accept payments Everywhere

A new company, called Square is turning the credit card processing industry on its ear with an application available at the iTunes store. Available for the iPad, the iPhone and iPod Touch, Square enables you to take credit card payments for, well, just about anything.
Once you register for the free Square app they will send you a card reader that plugs into your mobile device and then, let the swiping begin. With no contracts or monthly fees. Receipts are sent electronically and you can track your sales all in one place. Transaction fees are settled nightly, instead of monthly and it’s available for use by anyone that would like to be able to take credit cards, not just businesses.

Electrical Clothing

ne of the future inventions that could greatly impact our lives are nanoribbons.
Rubber films developed by engineers at Princeton University could power mobile devices and other electronic devices.
The silicone sheets are embedded with ceramic nanoribbons (piezoelectric ribbons) that generate electricity when flexed, converting mechanical energy to electrical energy.
Materials made of this material, such as shoes, would harvest electrical energy created from walking and power everything from an ipod to a pacemaker.
The nanoribbon strips are so narrow that 100 fit side-by-side in a space of a millimeter. The strips are then embedded into clear sheets of silicone rubber to create a chip.
These sheets could be woven into fabric and placed against any moving area on the body to create electricity.
For example, a vest made from this material could take advantage of breathing motions to generate energy.
Nanoribbons are highly efficient in converting about 80% of mechanical power into electricity.

Source: princeton.edu/main/news/research

MobiSocial

Welcome to "mobisocial" and the new smart phones of the future.
Mobile and Social Computing Labratory at Stanford University is developing this open-source mobile social media future with support from the National Science Foundation, Google, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and AVG.
They have created a suite of applications such as anytime-anywhere communications with friends, making purchases, transferring contact info, video and photo sharing. These new smart phones would be operating independent of proprietary social networks and will be open-source to foster innovative uses while protecting personal data security.
These mobile devices could become the must have gadgets for users that want the best smart phone for interacting and sharing outside proprietary social networks.
Current social networking providers are closed networks and they often own your content posted to their servers. The content can also be searched, analyzed and used for advertising purposes.
MobiSocial platform will be based on widely adopted email technology, where providers and open standards have privacy of content and non-sharing with third parties.

Source: mobisocial.stanford.edu

Water Drop Lens

Physicist and inventor, Bruno Berge, has created a liquid optical lens.
Using a process known as electro-wetting, a water drop is deposited on a metal substrate and covered by a thin insulating layer. When a voltage is applied to the metal, it modifies the angle of the liquid drop.
The liquid lens is comprised of two liquids, water and oil, one is a conductor while the other is an insulator. A variation in the voltage causes a change to the curvature of the liquid to liquid interface, which changes the focal length of the lens.
The use of liquids allows for low cost construction. There are no moving parts and electrical consumption is extremely low. The lens has a large inverse focal length range, quick response, high optical quality and can operate in a wide temperature range.


Source: varioptic.com

Jet Man

Inventor and former Swiss Air Force fighter pilot, Yves Rossy, jumped from a plane over Calais, France and flew 200 mph crossing the English Channel in 13 minutes before landing in Dover, England.
Earlier this year he unfolded the wings on his back and flew 186 mph (300 kilometers) above the Swiss Alps.
Using four small jet engines attached to his carbon wings, he climbed at 200 ft per minute before executing a series of stunts for a crowd of reporters watching from a mountain top.
The spectacular demonstration was the first public revelation of his latest invention, which he spent five years developing.
"It is absolute freedom" says Rossy.
The inventor says his 120 lb Jetman suit will eventually be available to the public but it's still a few years away.
The flight over the English Channel was his second public demonstration. He is planning his next flight through the Grand Canyon.
Update: Yves Rossy has completed his flight over the Grand Canyon. He jumped out of a helicopter at 2,440 metres (8,000 feet) and soared over the Canyon at 330 km (205 mph) for eight minutes before deploying his parachute.
"My first flight in the US is sure to be one of the most memorable experiences in my life, not only for the sheer beauty of the Grand Canyon but the honor to fly in sacred Native American lands," said Rossy.

Sources: jet-man.com;swissinfo.ch/jetman

New Battery Technology Charges in Seconds

For the successful takeover of alternative energy over conventional sources of energy we need a good battery technology too for power storage. The devices we want to keep on using need to be recharged. And we all know that recharge takes hours whether it’s our mobiles or laptops. If the researchers from MIT has implemented the know-how of these lithium-ion batteries, successfully then our waiting hours for recharge will be over.

Nanotech Batteries – A New Energy Future

People want to use clean and green energy and live easy on earth’s resources. Many are changing to hybrid cars and using solar panels side by side with conventional sources of energy. But they hold a grudge. How to store large amount of energy in batteries? Hybrid cars fit batteries for power storage. But this power is not enough to last long distances and takes many undesirable hours to recharge. The storage battery is not very helpful during acceleration. Solar and wind also don’t provide us with power at constant rate. They give us energy intermittently. Their storage devices also take lots of space and money as well and yet they don’t seem promising for surge demand. Gary Rubloff, who is the director of the University of Maryland’s NanoCenter is also voicing a common consumer’s concern, “Renewable energy sources like solar and wind provide time-varying, somewhat unpredictable energy supply, which must be captured and stored as electrical energy until demanded. Conventional devices to store and deliver electrical energy — batteries and capacitors — cannot achieve the needed combination of high energy density, high power, and fast recharge that are essential for our energy future.”

Smartphone concept Philips Fluid

Source:  http://itechfuture.com

Intel Technology in Digital Signage

Digital signage is a relatively new display category that encompasses in-store kiosks, large information displays suspended from a ceiling, touchscreens for navigating a building or store, ambient displays that show imagery or advertising, and more

Source: http://itechfuture.com

Robonaut 2 -The First Humanoid Heads into Space: A New Era Dawns

Another vivid sign that we have entered the dawn of the age of post-biological intelligence: NASA and General Motors announced on Tuesday that they planned to send a robot to the International Space Station, with the eventual goal of having it help the astronauts there.
Although there are already several robots in space — including the famous now AI-enhanced Mars Rovers, which have been zipping around the red planet for years — NASA and G.M. said this would be the first human-like robot to leave Earth.
 
source: http://www.dailygalaxy.com

Latest Invention: Robot that Makes Discoveries on Its Own

Scientists at Aberystwyth University and the University of Cambridge in the UK managed to create world's first robot that can carry out its own experiments, produce hypotheses as well as make scientific discoveries. Researchers dubbed their latest invention Adam.
Working on its own, the robot-scientist already managed to find new functions for several genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, also known as brewer's yeast.

Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) is the latest version of the Android platform for phones, tablets, and more. It builds on the things people love most about Android — easy multitasking, rich notifications, customizable home screens, resizable widgets, and deep interactivity — and adds powerful new ways of communicating and sharing.

Powerful voice input engine 

Redesigned Gallery app with photo editor

Android Beam for NFC-based sharing

Face Unlock 

Wi-Fi Direct and Bluetooth HDP