A tiny implant to connect Human & Machines

                A tiny implant the size of a grain of sand has been created that can connect computers to the human body without the need for wires or batteries, opening up a host of futuristic possibilities. The devices, dubbed “neural dust”, could be used to continually monitor organs like the heart in real time and if they can be made even smaller, implanted into the brain to control robotic devices like prosthetic arms or legs.

                It is believed that they could help treat conditions like epilepsy by stimulating nerves and muscles, help people width incontinence control their bladder and ev

en suppress appetite. They could also potentially either be used to prompt the immune system into action or reduce inflammation. One of the inventors, Professor Michel Maharbiz, of University of California, Berkeley, said: “I think the long term prospects for neural dust are not only within nerves and the brain, but much broader.

                Ultrasound vibrations, which can penetrate almost every part of the body, are used to power the sensors, which are about a millimeter across. They contain a special crystal that converts ultrasound into electricity to power a tiny transistor. If there is a voltage spike in a nerve or muscle fibre this alters the vibration of the crystal, changing the way the sound echoes back to an ultrasound receiver.

                So far, experiments have been carried out on muscles and the peripheral nervous system of rats, but the researchers believe the dust could also work in the central nervous system and brain to control prosthetics. The researchers are currently building neural dust that could last in the body for more than 10 years. And because they are wireless there is no need for holes to remain in the skull.

Cleaner fuel made from plastic waste

                Scientists have found a way to use plastic trash to create a cleaner diesel-like fuel that could power vehicles, an advance that may turn landfills into potential energy sources in future. The researchers from the Chinese Academy of Science and University of California in the US hope to scale up the technique to allow for it to be used in actually reducing plastic trash. The new method involves mixing the plastics with organometallic catalyst, made from readily available molecule that were then doped with metal iridium. The reaction caused the bonds holding the plastic together to weaken, allowing them to be more easily torn apart. Researchers were able to use the broken down material to create a diesel-like fuel.

Aeroplanes to be lighter, stronger

                Scientists have found a new way to make aeroplane frames lighter and more damage-resistant by reinforcing materials using carbon nanotubes – atom-thin rolls of carbon that are incredibly strong. Passenger jets today are made from advanced composite materials such as carbon fibre reinforced plastic-extremely light, durable materials that reduce the weight of the plane by 20% compatred to aluminium-bodies planes.

Lightweight airframes translate directly to fuel savings, which is a major point in advanced composites’ favour. However, composite materials are vulnerable. While aluminium can withstand relatively large impacts before cracking, composites can break apart due to small impacts. Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found a way to bond composite layers in such a way that the resulting material is substantially stronger and more resistant to damage.

They fastened the layers of composite materials together using carbon nanotubes. They embedded tiny “forests” of carbon nanotubes within a glue-like polymer matrix, then pressed the matrix between layers of carbon fibre composites. The team found that, compared with existing composite materials, the stitched composites were 30% stronger, withstanding greater forces before breaking apart.

HIFiRE Hypersonic superjet technology successfully tested in Australia

                On 18 May 2016, a team of scientists successfully tested hypersonic superjet technology as part of the Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation (HIFiRE) program. As part of the test, scramjet attached to a rocket booster was successfully sent to an altitude of 278 km. at Mach 7.5 (seven times the speed of sound). The test was conducted in Woomera, South Australia.

Main Features:

•          It is one of the largest collaborative research programs between Australia and the USA.
•          It aims to explore the fundamental science of hypersonics and the potential for next generation aeronautical system.
•          Hypersonic flight is a flight through the atmosphere at speeds above Mach 5.5, or more than five times the speed of sound.
•          The program has already achieved some significant milestones such as the design, assembly and pre-flight testing of the hypersonic vehicles and the design of complex avionics and flight systems.
•          It is considered as one of the most advances hypersonics programs in the world.
•          It is supersonic combustion technology that uses oxygen from the atmosphere for fuel.

A robot that can park cars in tightest spots

                The dreaded act of parallel parking could soon become a thing of the past with Chinese inventors backing their new parking robot to take away the stress for anxious drivers. The laser-guided “Geta” (get a car) robot slides under your vehicle, picks it up, finds a parking space in the lot and places the car in tightest of spots. The soon to be launched robot needs just two minutes to park a vehicle, does not need tracks and has 360 degrees mobility, said creators Yee Fung Automation Technology.

                “The robot is designed to increase parking space and will reform parking in the future,” Yee Fung’s 33 year old chief executive Marco Wu, said. Mainland China is expected to have more than 200 million cars by 2020, meaning that finding space to park could become increasingly difficult. Wu said Geta finds spaces by transmitting signals to a computer containing a map which then directs the robot to the spot. The purple and lime green robot will cost more than $1,50,000.

World's first Holographic phone is coming

                Scientists claim to have developed the world’s first holographic flexible smartphone that lets users interact with 3D videos and images without any headgear or glasses. The device, dubbed HoloFlex, is capable of rendering 3D images with motion parallax and stereoscopy to multiple simultaneous users without head tracking or glasses.

                “HoloFlex offers a completely new way of interacting with your smartphone. It allows for glasses-free interactions with 3D video and images in a way that does not encumber the user,” said Roel Vertegaal, from Queen’s University in Canada.

                Holoflex features a 1920×1080 full high-definition Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode (FOELD) touch screen display. Images are rendered into 12-pixel wide circular blocks rendering the full view of the 3D object from a particular viewpoint. These pixel blocks project through a 3D printed flexible microlens array consisting of over 16,000 fisheye lenses. The resulting 160×104 resolution image allows users to inspect a 3D object from any angle simply by rotating the phone.

                Holoflex is also equipped with a bend sensor, which allows for the user to bend the phone as a means of moving objects along the z-axis of the display. Vertegaal envisions a number of applications for the new functionality of the HoloFlex technology. “By employing a depth camera, users can also perform holographic video conferences with one another,” said Vertegaal.

                HoloFlex can also be used for holographic gaming. In a game such as Angry Birds, for example, users would be able to bend the side of the display to pull the elastic rubber band that propels the bird. When the bird flies across the screen, the holographic display makes the bird literally pop out of the screen in the third dimension.

Bite counting tech to determine overeating

                Wearable technologies that allow users to keep track of the number of bites they take during a meal may help them lose weight by reducing overall food intake. Researchers at Clemson University in the US wanted to analyse how providing bite count feedback might influence eaters in different situations and determine its efficiency in the presence of environmental cues linked to overeating. They found that people who received bite count feedback ate less and reduced their overall intake during a meal. Researchers recruited young adults to consume a meal. Some were outfitted with bite count feedback devices and given either a small or large plate. The group that received bite count feedback significantly reduced their intake regardless of plate size.