Lets get some of these for our broadband rollout  Time Lens Speeds Optical Data |
An energy-efficient silicon device compresses light to make ultrafast signals. |
Researchers at Cornell University have developed a simple silicon device for speeding up optical data. The device incorporates a silicon chip called a “time lens,” lengths of optical fiber, and a laser. It splits up a data stream encoded at 10 gigabits per second, puts it back together, and outputs the same data at 270 gigabits per second. Speeding up optical data transmission usually requires a lot of energy and bulky, expensive optics. The new system is energy efficient and is integrated on a compact silicon chip. It could be used to move vast quantities of data at fast speeds over the Internet or on optical chips inside computers. Read more at www.technologyreview.com |
What are the possibilities for an open source digital camera? How an open source camera will change photography |
Professor Marc Levoy plans to release a complete implementation for the camera in a year, a platform on which apps can be built. |
Already he has created software for the camera that does things no commercial camera can do, like extend its “dynamic range” so all distances are optimally lit, and enhance the resolution of videos with still images. Read more at blogs.zdnet.com |
How might this new manufacturing technique be used, to develop innovative new products? LED technology gets a twist
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| US researchers say they have found a way to make large-scale flexible display screens that can be stretched to fit the contours of a bus yet are transparent enough so riders can see out windows.
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He said the large display screens combine the scale and durability of light-emitting diodes, or LED technology, used to make flat, lighted billboards, with the flexibility of screens made using organic - carbon-containing - materials. |
The thin, light screens might be used to make brake light indicators that follow the contours of a car, or health monitors or imaging devices that wrap around a patient like a blanket, said John Rogers of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, whose study appears in the journal Science. Read more at www.stuff.co.nz |
Worker productivity can be improved, for certain tasks, by using larger monitors. Update: Could a 30-in. monitor help you do your job faster? |
Computerworld -
Providing employees with 30-in. computer monitors can boost worker productivity at companies where 17- or 19-in. monitors are typically used, according to a French consultant hired for a study sponsored by Apple Computer Inc. |
The study, which evaluated Apple’s 30-in. Apple Cinema Display, concluded that large screens can offer gains of up to 50% to 65% in productivity on a variety of specific office tasks and can earn back their extra costs in time savings over several years. The 30-in. display costs $1,999. |
But other experts say those conclusions are wrong, arguing that the productivity improvement estimates are too high and that using two monitors side by side would likely be a better productivity booster than one larger monitor. The 40-page study was conducted by Andreas Pfeiffer, principal of Paris-based Pfeiffer Consulting, for Apple, which paid for the research (download PDF). Read more at www.computerworld.com |
Examples of new futuristic technology. | Five Futuristic Interfaces on Display at SIGGRAPH |
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Augmented Reality for Ordinary Toys |
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Hyper-Realistic Virtual Reality |
Sousveillance: Wearable Computing and Citizen “Undersight” |
Sousveillance – the inverse of surveillance – is the general activity of an individual capturing a first-person recording of an activity from his or her own perspective as a participant in the activity. Rather than watching “from above,” the French “sous” means “under” or “from below.” |
Predictions
Protecting ourselves at the individual level should be seen as being as important –- if not more important –- as protecting our buildings. You can think of clothing as a “building” built for a single occupant. It’s only natural that the personal architecture of the human body deserves as much or more technological protection as merchandise or products. And who better to look after our own safety than us as individuals. |
A high-quality image projector on your smartphone? |
This is one of the many potential promises of a new microdisplay technology from Displaytech, a recently acquired division of Boise-based Micron. Known as FLCOS, or fast liquid crystal on silicon, the technology is designed to make it possible to project from a relatively small form factor device, and with high image quality and vibrant colors, just about anything you’d want, be it a Disney flick or a complex PowerPoint presentation.
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For now, no mobile phone makers have gotten on board with Micron’s microdisplay technology, in part because the chips may still be too expensive, and because smartphones may not yet have the power to allocate to something like FLCOS. But because the projection technology is on a chip, it is likely to follow the traditional silicon curves, Boles said, meaning that the chips will probably get smaller, faster and cheaper quickly.
Read more at news.cnet.com |
New RF chip mimics inner ear to pick up cell-phone, Internet, radio, and TV signals. |
The human ear is a marvel of efficient engineering–using very little energy, it can detect a stunningly broad range of frequencies. Inspired by that prowess, MIT engineers have built a fast, ultrabroadband, low-power radio chip that could be used in wireless devices capable of receiving many different kinds of signals. Read more at www.technologyreview.com |
Television viewers will soon be able to change channels with a wave of the hand. A new TV set with a chip-based infrared sensor embedded in its front maps the depth of objects in the room, making it possible to detect hand motions–even when the lights are low. A sharp wave powers up the set; a circular motion flips the channel; an up-and-down motion controls volume. The product is expected to be available in 2010. Read more at www.technologyreview.com |
PhoneSuit Turns iPhone, iPod Touch into Portable Projector |
Due out in September 2009, the PhoneSuit MiLi Pro has been optimized for pairing with an iPhone. The device can display images at a 640-by-480 resolution wherever you wish to project an image. This is perfect if you’re tired of having your friends huddle around your iPhone to catch up on the latest stupid YouTube video. Read more at tech.yahoo.com |
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New device accelerates optical data from 10gbps to 270gbps
