Archive for the 'Cutting Edge' Category...
Filed under Cutting Edge
The world of high performance computing is expanding every day, particularly in the fields of geosciences, molecular biology and medical diagnostics, where scientists are increasingly turning to supercomputers to crunch massive amounts of data via complex simulations and applications. Graphics processing unit solution provider Nvidia has developed a new line of GPU-focused solutions that transfer many of the calculations required by scientific and graphics-heavy applications to the GPU rather than the central processing unit found in more traditional PCs.
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Original post by Chris Maxcer and software by Elliott Back
Filed under Cutting Edge
An experimental jet engine has been successfully tested at speeds of up to 11,000 km per hour, or 10 times the speed of sound, during trials in Australia’s outback, defense scientists said on Friday. The experimental scramjet engine is an air-breathing supersonic combustion engine being developed by Australian and U.S. defense scientists that researchers hope will lead to super-high speed flight. Scientists used a conventional rocket to launch the scramjet high above the Woomera test site. The engine was then tested as it reached speeds of Mach 10.
Original post by Peter Svensson and software by Elliott Back
Filed under Cutting Edge
Chip designer Alereon said Monday it is releasing the first chip that uses a frequency band that is legal all over the world for wireless USB, a technology with the potential to cut the tangle of cables surrounding computers. The new chip could prove an important step in persuading computer makers to incorporate the technology. A few wireless USB products are already on the U.S. market, but they send and receive signals over a frequency that isn’t legal in most of the world because of potential interference with radar.
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Original post by Peter Svensson and software by Elliott Back
Filed under Cutting Edge
A promising technology that involves controlling light with magnets could improve the speed and reduce the juice requirements of future computer chips. The technology, developed by researchers at the U.S. Navy Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., and the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, combines knowledge from two budding research fields — plasmonics and spintronics — that may open the door to future development of small, fast electronic devices with low power consumption requirements.
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Original post by John P. Mello Jr. and software by Elliott Back
Filed under Cutting Edge
A new sensor design introduced Thursday by Kodak will double, and possibly quadruple, the light sensitivity of digital cameras, according to the company. Describing the technology as “groundbreaking,” Kodak said the advance in image sensor design will drastically improve the quality of digital pictures taken in low-light situations. Image sensors are used to convert light into electrical charges that are subsequently digitized. The new design, Kodak said, “advances an existing Kodak technology that has become the standard in digital imaging.”
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Original post by Fred J. Aun and software by Elliott Back
Filed under Cutting Edge
Computer experts on Monday unveiled a digital reproduction of ancient Rome as it appeared at the peak of its power in A.D. 320 — what they called the largest and most complete simulation of a historic city ever created. Visitors to virtual Rome will be able to do even more than ancient Romans did: They can crawl through the bowels of the Colosseum, filled with lion cages and primitive elevators, and fly up for a detailed look at bas-reliefs and inscriptions atop triumphal arches.
Original post by Ariel David and software by Elliott Back
Filed under Cutting Edge
Putting in 45 minutes on the health-club treadmill isn’t the exercise in boredom that it used to be. Today you can touch a button on a treadmill’s screen and watch the “Office” episode you downloaded to your iPod. Plug a USB stick into the machine, and your preprogrammed workout pops up. After you’re done, just save your workout results on the stick and track your performance over time. Welcome to a world where even treadmills are networked, as equipment designers strive to engage body and mind.
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Original post by Jon Van and software by Elliott Back
Filed under Cutting Edge
Researchers at Osaka University in Japan demonstrated on Friday a toddler robot designed to assist in studies of child development. Called the “Child-Robot with Biomimetic Body,” or CB2, the robot is designed to mimic a real, human child between one and three years old. It stands just over 4 feet tall, weighs 73 pounds, and crawls, changes its facial expressions, and can make sounds using an artificial vocal cord, according to the Associated Press.
Original post by Katherine Noyes and software by Elliott Back
Filed under Cutting Edge
Sony has developed a display screen so thin it can bend like a piece of paper while at the same time showing full-color video. In the continuing race to shrink the size of gadgets while increasing the amount of cutting-edge technology crammed inside, Sony has topped its competitors with the release of a 2.5-inch display that is only 0.01 inch thick. “In the future, it could get wrapped around a lamppost or a person’s wrist — even worn as clothing,” said Chisato Kitsukawa, a Sony spokesperson. “Perhaps it can be put up like wallpaper.”
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Original post by Tim Gray and software by Elliott Back
Filed under Cutting Edge
Web surfers all too familiar with the distorted-letter tests that accompany so many site registration forms today can now take heart — the time they spend on those tests is being put to good use. Thanks to a project at Carnegie Mellon University, a new version of those pesky CAPTCHA tests makes the technology work double-duty: Not only does it continue to distinguish between legitimate human users and malevolent spam programs, it also uses the results to aid in the digitization of books for the Internet Archive.
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Original post by Katherine Noyes and software by Elliott Back
