For Security At Airport, China Deploys Robot

China for the first time has deployed a robot to maintain security at one of its busiest airports in Guangdong province. The AnBot can be seen at Shenzhen airport making round the clock patrols through the departure hall in Terminal 3. The robot’s face has a digital display and a HD camera to take pictures of travelers for analysis. After taking the pictures, the robot sends them immediately to human coworkers for further analysis. It can also accelerate to a speed of 18 km/hour to chase any wanted person.

First Recording Of Comp-Made Music Restored

Researchers from New Zealand said on 26 September that they have restored the first recording of computer generated music, created in 1951 on a contraption built by Briton Alan Turing. The aural artifact which paved the way for everything from synthesizers to modern electronic, opens with the UK anthem. The recording was made 65 years ago by a BBC outside broadcast unit in Manchester. University of Canterbury professor Jack Copeland and composer Jason Long fixed it with electronic detective work, tweaking audio speed, compensating for a “wobble” in the recording and filtering out extraneous noise.

Now, Sensor to Monitor Blood Sugar From Sweat

Scientists in Australia have developed a new sponge-like copper based material for wearable sensors that can measure blood sugar levels from sweat. People with diabetes often have low levels of insulin, a hormone that converts sugars to energy, which means they have to closely watch their glucose or blood sugar levels to prevent further chronic health complications. According to researchers the structure can also accurately detect glucose in body fluids other than blood, such as sweat or tears. Researcher said glucose sensors based on copper have good conductivity and low cost. “The sponge like porous structure greatly increases surface are, enhancing the sensitivity required to trigger an electrochemical signal.

'Shifting' Australia Isn't As 'Down Under' As In A Map

That map of Australia you have, it’s wrong. And the whole country is going to officially relocate to correct the error. The trouble is due to plate tectonics, the shifting of big chunks of the earth’s surface. Australia happens to be on one of the fastest moving pieces of all, and by geological standards it’s practically flying: about 2.7 inches northward a year, with a slight clockwise rotation as well. So Australia need to adjust its longitudes and latitudes so they line up with GPS coordinates. Four times in the last 50 years, Australia has reset the coordinated of everything in the country to make them more accurate, correcting for other sources of error as well as continental drift. The last adjustment, in 1994, was a dozzy: about 656 feet, enough to give the delivery driver an alibi for ringing your neighbour’s doorbell instead of yours.

Geoscience Australia, the agency that tracks coordinated, said intelligent transportation systems that rely on the finer accuracy will come with the next generation of GPS technology. The next adjustment, due at the end of the year, will be about 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) – not really enough of a discrepancy to throw off consumer-grade satellite navigation systems, which are accurate only to within 15 to 30 feet. But the next generation of GPS devices, using both satellites and ground stations, will be accurate to within an inch or less, and new technologies that depend on precise location will be important to Australia’s future.