T-ray antenna (via Tokyo Institute of Technology)

It may seem sometimes that we have exploited the vast reaches of the electromagnetic spectrum, but technologies like WiGig, are showing this notion is not correct at all. T-rays, or electromagnetic waves found in the terahertz band, have traditionally been used for imaging research like X-rays, but now researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Technology are developing a system to apply this technology to ultra fast data transmission.

The terahertz band actually makes use of the 300 GHz to 3 THz frequencies a range currently unregulated by telecommunication authorities. Using a frequency of 542 GHz the team achieved data transfers of 3 Gb/s using a device called a resonant tunneling diode (RTD). These results are higher than anything achieved so far in the terahertz band.

This device is revolutionary in the terahertz data transmission because of its small size of only 1 mm-squared and low power necessities.  RTDs are unusual in that the voltage across them can be decreased as the current increases. The RTDs generate waves in the terahertz band by making the diode inside them resonate.

Due to the energy usage, the Tokyo researchers hope to some day implement them in hand held devices for short-range data transfers. It is likely that terahertz Internet would work only in short distances of up to 10 m (33 ft), and this short range is something the researchers are trying to improve by making their devices resonate at higher frequencies, but this will also require more power.

It will take a long time before these devices are put in any device consumers can hold, but the future hopes for speeds of up to 100Gb/s, which blows current transfer rates out of the water at 15 greater than 802.11ac Wi-Fi.

Eavesdropper

Attendees at the TEDx conference (via TEDxMogadishu)

Somalia’s capital city Mogadishu hosted their first ever TEDx (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference earlier in March of this year. Between 50 and 100 people from diverse backgrounds attended the conference, held at the First Somali Bank, and discussed how to best to rebuild the war-torn capital and bring in new businesses after two decades of conflicts.

The forum was also a way of changing the world’s opinion about the country to show that there is more going on than terrorism and piracy in the hopes that new businesses will bring forth foreign investors (capitalists?). The event (called ‘Rebirth’) featured short films, music and speakers that included a University founder, property developers and health-care specialists. Only those who were invited (most of the invitee’s never heard of the TEDx conference) attended the talks due to security concerns, however, the forum was broadcasted over the internet for those who were interested. The talks came with mixed reviews as some thought that rebuilding Mogadishu gave them hope while others thought the focus should have been on rebuilding the country of Somalia itself. Still, no matter how you look at it any step forward is a monumental undertaking and a beacon of hope for that country.

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Digital language translators are used every day. However, there is one dialect that still eludes the automation.

Engineering students, Ranjay Krishna, Seonwoo Lee and Si Ping Wang, from Cornell University are attempting to develop a very different type of translator, one that helps those who cannot make use of auditory signals. The students have created a sign language translator that converts hand gestures to their corresponding letter symbol and sound.

This translator is in the form of a glove for the hand and circuitry that fasten to the forearm. The glove itself contains nine flex sensors, four contact sensors, one x-y axis accelerometers and one z-axis accelerometer. The flex sensors are positioned around the upper/lower knuckles and the contact sensors at the tips of the fingers to distinguish between gestures. The accelerometers are needed because some letters vary only on movements of the hands and other letters vary only on the orientation of the hand.

An ATMega644 Microcontroller is used to analyze the signal from the electromechanical sensors and send transmission requests to the transmitter. The device is made wireless using a Radiotronix transceiver. All of this makes up what they call the Detection Unit, and it is simply strapped to the forearm.  The signal is then received by the base station with outputs the results to an LCD screen as well as transmits the signal to a computer via USB where it can also be outputted as sound through the computer speakers. The students used Matlab, Java and C for all their coding.

As far as can be seen, this device only converts gestures to letters so more development is needed for those gestures that represent nouns or actions but no doubt this is a start towards a world where we can all communicate a little easier.

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(Left) Erin Treacy Solovey wearing the Brainput device (Right) Artistic concept (via MIT & Erin Solovey)

When it comes to multitasking we as humans try the best we can. While we all have a modicum of ability, some are better than others. It suffices to say, we could all use a boost to become more efficient in our multitude of multitasking efforts, which is why a team of researchers has developed an unconventional solution to the problem. Led by Erin Solovey from MIT’s Humans and Automation Lab, the team has designed a system called ‘Brainput’ that can off-load some of our brains multitasking skills to a computer which is way more efficient at doing multiple things than we could ever hope to be. They system uses a portable low-cost version of a functional magnetic resonance imager called ‘fNIRS’ (functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy) to measure the activity going on in the brain. The measurements are monitored and processed (using two probes) in real-time using Boxy software (from ISS). The information is then analyzed by a software engine (created using both Matlab and Weka tools) to look for specific patterns associated when the individual is multitasking. When the system has learned these patterns the software kicks in and is able to help the user with the task at hand.

A maze was created to test Brainputs effectiveness where a subject had to navigate through using two robots simultaneously. The operator using the fNIRS system was constantly switching back and forth between them and once the software learned the patterns it was able to engage sensors in the robots to help the user with their guidance. While the robots were autonomous, the test subject’s performance did indeed improve. While Brainput is still in its early development stages, it could be implemented into many applications in the future like helping you drive while you’re momentarily distracted or used during surgery with robotic assistance. What if the system could be used wirelessly? If you have an automated laundry machine, you could be slaving at work and washing your laundry at home at the same time! The possibilities are endless.

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Sodium in the raw (stock photography)

Batteries are a key part to developing green and more energy sustainable products. Lithium-ion batteries power almost everything we use today. A short list of applications; smart phones, laptops, GPS units, and electric vehicles. However, lithium is expensive and rare. So, having an alternative option to support those applications is a logical decision, especially due to China's dominance in the production of rare earth minerals. A recent project is making table-salt, sodium, an appealing choice for a lithium replacement.

Researchers from Tokyo University have recently created an innovative sodium-ion battery using a new electrode composition consisting of manganese, iron, and sodium oxides. The new metal mix composition allowed the researchers to create  sodium based battery that held a charge close to that of lithium. Lithium batteries are still more powerful due to lithium atoms naturally releasing more energy when they lose an electron. To match this power difference, the new batteries created consisted of a positive electrode that held more ions allowing it to reach energy densities close to that of lithium batteries by using the new metal material as the cathode (positive electrode) and sodium as the anode (negative electrode).

The metal mix was created by mixing the chemicals together and smashing them into a pellet sized shape. From there, the composition was heated at 900 °C for 12 hours. The result was a product with an average voltage of 2.75V and capacity of 190 milliAmp-hours/gram that decreased over 30 cycles. Furthermore, the energy density was very similar to that of the lithium electrodes around 520 mWhr/g. As of now the new batteries will not be smaller or longer lasting than the lithium ones (power density is around 1200 W/kg). However, they are cheaper and provide a nice alternative to their rare earth counterparts. The new finding will help further the development of battery technology, and may create an explosive new battery for consumer products. Let's hope no water is allowed to come in contact with the sodium; instant disaster.

Eavesdropper

Three-dimensional video conferencing seems like something only found in sci-fi movies, but a research team from Queen’s University’s Human Media Lab has designed a life-sized working model made from a few readily available electronic components. The team, led by Professor Roel Vertegaal, designed the 3D video conferencing pod called ‘Telehuman’ around Microsoft’s Kinect sensor device.

The design uses an opaque acrylic cylinder that’s approximately 5.6 feet tall with a diameter of 29.5 inches mounted on a plywood platform as the Telehuman’s display screen. Six Kinect sensors are arranged in a circular fashion on top of the acrylic screen which is used to capture a person’s image from the front, back , and both sides to create a real-time 3D image at 30 fps. Located in the bottom of the screen’s base is a DepthQ projector (in conjunction with a Nvidia 3D Vision kit) that’s aimed upward toward a convex mirror which allows the projected image, at a resolution of 720p, of the other user to cover the entire screen.

The images captured from the Kindest sensors are sent to a series of PC’s (1 for every 2 Kindest sensors) to process the image data as well as distance and position relative to the screen and broadcasts the result over a gigabit LAN connection to the corresponding party in conference. The Telehuman is  based off of Human Media Lab’s BodiPod 3D imaging system that allows researchers a cut-away 3D view of the human body. However, unlike the Telehuman, the BodiPod has a gestural interface allowing users to manipulate images of human anatomy. An example being using a ‘peel’ gesture to remove an imaged layer of anatomy of what’s displayed on the screen while other gestures could be used to focus on the depth of the anatomical image with ‘proximity-based slicing’. Both systems share the same technological base and prove that 3D real-time imaging systems aren’t just an aspect of science fiction any longer.

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Capacitive touch-sensing technology won’t be limited to smart devices (phones/tablets) and monitors as a group of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and Disney Research plan to bring it to everyday objects and surfaces. To do this, the team designed what they call ‘Touché,’ which brings interactive capacitive-touch sensing to everything from tables and doorknobs. Where typical touch-capacitive screens use a single frequency to sense a predefined touch event, Touché uses multiple frequencies, known as Swept Frequency Capacitive Sensing, which can enable objects to sense complex combinations of touches or even gestures.

For example; a door would unlock itself based on how you grabbed the doorknob, or a table could sense and advise you on your posture based on how you’re leaning against it. The team states that this could be done by using just one sensing-electrode and can even be implemented on the human body making ‘you’ an input device. Another test showed that SFCS could detect a person’s body gestures using electrodes which could be used to interact with smartphones or other devices. An example could be silencing your phones ringer by simply placing a finger on your lips or starting your car just by grabbing the door handle. The possibilities are endless , and the researchers state that Touché could be immediately implemented in creating new ways of interaction with our environment.

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QLEDs producing 168,000 candelas/square meter. (via Jeonghun Kwak & American Chemical Society)

Within time every product meets its predecessor. While quantum dot LEDs (QLEDs) are nothing new, they have taken the back burner to their organic counter parts (OLEDs) for quite some time. Quantum dots are small crystal shaped particles only a few nanometers wide, that behave similarly to semiconductors. They are readily excited by light and their small size and composition give them extraordinary fluorescent optical properties, which are easily adjusted by changing the size or physical composition. Recently, research teams at Seoul University, South Korea, have found a way to improve the color, efficiency, and costs to produce QLEDs.

Seoul National University's Changhee Lee stated that QLEDs suffer from problems due to a large energy barrier between the injected holes from the anode and the transport layer holes. The result is low quantum efficiency, and in turn, low maximum brightness, leakage current, and device degradation. His goal was to correct these issues.

The researchers compensated for this setback by using the usual anode, indium tin oxide, as the electron transport layer, to create a more reliable conductive, efficient product. The new composition of the QLEDs give a greater performance that can be competitive towards the OLEDs.

However, the QLEDs at this time have a much shorter lifespan than OLEDs. They do possess some qualities that make them worth researching further into though. They have a shorter bandwidth which can produce deeper colors and higher contrast ratios. In addition, the ease of adjusting fluorescent properties of quantum dots also make them an appealing product along with their low cost to manufacture, they can be printed easily on a large-area substrate. A breakthrough in QLEDs may soon pave the way for next generation electronic displays and solid-state lighting applications.

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