Electronics
Electronics
Eye for the blind: Scientists test bionic eye prototype
A team of Australian researchers developing a bionic eye that could help restore sight to the blind will test a full prototype later this month.
The Monash Vision Group, a team of 50 scientists, believes it is on track to be the first in the world to implant a microchip into the brain of blind patients.
A patient will wear glasses with a tiny camera, which will act like an eye's retina. A pocket processor will then convert these images into electronic signals to be sent to a microchip implant in the brain.
At first the team expects to work with patients that have been blinded by trauma like car or industrial accidents.
But at this stage, they are not sure how the technology will react with people who have never seen.
"It's important that for our first patient that they have had full adult vision so that we know that their brain can process these kinds of signals because it has done so previously," Dr Pritchard said.
New technology shows light replacing electricity to perform logic
A new research by University of Pennsylvania unveils a new type of computer circuit which uses light, instead of the conventional electricity to perform its logic. By creating a stack or an array of nano-rods, light can be made to emulate as the various passive electronic components- namely resistor, inductors and capacitors. This light flow through these rods can be regarded as flow of current and voltage. Since both light and electrons follow Maxwell's principle, the use of light justifies its position. This new technology, called metatronics, will bring more efficient, smaller and comparatively faster chips to replace the conventional technology.
The “meta” in “metatronics” refers to metamaterials, the relatively new field of research where nanoscale patterns and structures embedded in materials allow them to manipulate waves in ways that were previously impossible. Here, the cross-sections of the nanorods and the gaps between them form a pattern that replicates the function of resistors, inductors and capacitors, three of the most basic circuit elements, but in optical wavelengths.
Another notable feature of metatronics is that a single set of nano-circuit can have dual nature, that is it can act as two different circuits in different conditions with the same setup. This is what the researchers call as stereo-circuitry. This will have wide applications in consumer electronics as well, since as mentioned earlier, it will deliver faster performance with better efficiency.
Read more about this here.
NVIDIA names its 5-core quad-core chip as 4-PLUS-1
This is a really an 
interesting architecture designed by NVIDIA, previously known by names Ninja, or a companion, this spare architecture now has got an official name. The best way so far to describe the technology was by calling it Variable Symmetrical Multiprocessing, but to catch the sense of anyone quickly, they decide to name the 5th core of their quad-core Tegra 3 chip as 4-plus-1. It refers to the presence of an additional 5th core in addition to the chip's quad-core which will be utilized during the undemanding operations, thus saving considerable battery life. We also spotted this chip on Fujitsu's prototype during the CES earlier this year. Let us see how it improves mobile applications in the upcoming MWC next week.
Using Laser Light to Cool Semiconductors
Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute have combined two worlds – quantum physics and nano physics, and this has led to the discovery of a new method for laser cooling semiconductor membranes. Semiconductors are vital components in solar cells, LEDs and many other electronics, and the efficient cooling of components is important for future quantum computers and ultrasensitive sensors. The new cooling method works quite paradoxically by heating the material! Using lasers, researchers cooled membrane fluctuations to minus 269 degrees C. The results are published in the scientific journal, Nature Physics.
Turns out, when a one millimeter square membrane of gallium arsenide is placed parallel to a mirror in a vacuum chamber and bombarded with a laser beam, an optical resonator is created between them that oscillates the membrane. As the distance between the gallium arsenide and the mirror changes, so do the membrane's oscillations. And, at a certain frequency, the membrane is cooled to minus 269 degrees Celsius -- despite the fact that the membrane itself is being heated by the laser. So, lasers can both heat things up and cool them down simultaneously, and if that confuses you as much as it does us, feel free to dig into the science behind this paradoxical bit of research at the source below. In other news, left is right, up is down, and Eli Manning is a beloved folk hero to all Bostonians.
Thus, laser light not only produces heat, it also aids in cooling.
Cisco, Telia to activate 'world's fastest internet connection' at 120Gbps
At DreamHack on November 24th to 27th Cisco and Telia are building the world’s fastest Internet connection with speeds of breathtaking 120 gigabits per second. DreamHack is expected to attract a record number of participants this year – about 20 000 people. With their help, the aim is to beat the world record in capacity utilization in the network – the starting point is at 16.30 on Thursday.
The record-breaking attempt will take place during the opening ceremony of DreamHack on 24 November at Elmia in Jönköping. All participants will be invited to take advantage of as much as possible of the network’s capacity. The previous DreamHack-record is 20 gigabits.
A working group of some 50 people from Cisco, Telia and DreamHack have been working since last summer to design and build the infrastructure for world’s fastest Internet connection between Stockholm and Jönköping. All the equipment is in place and only a few test runs remain.
The fast connection is made possible by several new technologies from Cisco and Telia. Telia is behind the fiber network while Cisco contributes to the hardware, including two CRS-3 routers that are the most powerful router with a transmission capacity of 322 out of bits per second. With this capability, it would for example be possible for all 1.3 billion Chinese to conduct a video call – simultaneously.
The total value of Cisco equipment used during DreamHack is about 45 million. In addition, Telia’s equipment in the network.
“Schluckspecht” EV Goes Over 1,000 Miles on a Single Charge!
Electric vehicle records are being broken all the time these days, which is great news for the advancement of EV technology. But the “Schluckspecht” EV (“heavy drinker” in German) from the University of Applied Sciences in Offenburg just broke a pretty significant one: the world record for total distance traveled on a single charge. As we just learned testing the 2012 Chevy Volt EV, range is still a very real issue for electric cars. Some automakers get around the problem by setting up charging station networks, others add range-extending engines to their electric cars — but the Schluckspecht team used aerodynamics, weight reduction, and balancing to bust through the range anxiety problem. The Schluckspecht EV recently proved it could travel farther than any other electric vehicle in the world on a single charge: 1013.77 miles, to be exact!
This world record follows the team’s successful participation in the South-African Solar Challenge 2010, in which the Schluckspecht drove 626.6km (389.35 miles) on public roads – farther (at the time) than any other electric vehicle.
The Truth Behind “Battery Re-Calibration”
So it seems like your battery isn’t lasting very long. You search the Forum at SDX Developers and hear about this thing called “Battery Re-Calibration” and how its supposed to be great for increasing your battery life. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but the guides for “Battery Calibration” lead you through some steps that actually do more harm than good!
And here’s the reason why:
The batteries in your mobile forms are high-capacity lithium-ion batteries. This kind of battery technology cannot be simply reset and “re-calibrated.” When you follow the steps to recalibrate your battery and delete the batterystats.bin file from your phone, you are getting rid of more than what you think… Stored inside that batterystats.bin file, your phone keeps detailed logs of the capacity of your battery and uses it on how it can be utilized more efficiently. By deleting this file, it basically wipes the phone’s memory on what the battery can really do. This actually does damage to your battery by using up valuable charging cycles, all while giving a fraction of battery life and performance.
Now, you might be saying uh-oh, I’ve already re-calibrated my battery! What do I do?!
U.K. drivers race to beat their GPS
When was the last time your car’s GPS gave you an estimated time of arrival to your destination and you didn’t feel the slightest bit compelled to beat the time?
We’ve all been there, deriving that competitive pleasure from the knowledge that we have bested our inanimate on-board computer.
In fact, according to a recent U.K. study, 50% of the 7.2 million drivers surveyed said they had driven over the speed limit to “beat” their GPS.
But while commonplace, the practice is also hazardous. The same survey found that 144,000 of those 7.2 drivers surveyed had been involved in a collision with another automobile, 1.2 million of them had run through yellow lights, and 570,000 did not slow down at intersections and roundabouts.
“Used correctly GPS units are a fantastic invention that help drivers navigate effectively and concentrate on the road far more than when using maps or printed directions,” said Ben Tyte, head of car insurance at Sainsbury’s Finance, the company that commissioned the study from ICM Research.
Turanor PlanetSolar- World's largest Solar-Powered Boat
The Turanor PlanetSolar is the first boat to travel the world using only solar power. It's covered in over 500 square meters of solar panels, which connect to one of the two electric motors in each hull. Check out the boat in action as it reaches speeds of up to 14 knots.