The Leading Source for Design Engineering News & Insight
The Astounding Athletic Power of Quadcopters
June 13, 2013 11:01 am | by TED | Videos | CommentsIn a robot lab at TEDGlobal, Raffaello D'Andrea demos his flying quadcopters: robots that think like athletes, solving physical problems with algorithms that help them learn. In a series of nifty demos, D'Andrea show drones that play catch, balance and make decisions together - and watch out for an I-want-this-now demo of Kinect-controlled quads.
Engineering Newswire 42: Futuristic Airplanes Carry Passenger Pods
June 13, 2013 10:15 am | by Eric Sorensen, Coordinator of Multimedia Development | Videos | CommentsToday on Engineering Newswire, we’re building Hyperloop transportation, putting paralyzed people behind the wheel, and riding futuristic airplanes that carry passengers in pods.
The Pulse: New Interface Rewires Nerves from Amputated Limbs
June 13, 2013 9:39 am | by Eric Sorensen, Coordinator of Multimedia Development | Videos | CommentsOn this episode of The Pulse, rewired nerves from amputated limbs allow for prosthetic control with existing muscles, a bioengineered blood vessel is transplanted, diabetes is diagnosed through breath analysis alone, and a new technology is paving the way for low-cost electronic devices that work in direct contact with living tissue inside the body.
Driverless Car Navigates Course
June 13, 2013 9:15 am | by Reuters | Videos | CommentsResearchers at Carnegie Mellon University are putting the finishing touches on their version of a driverless car that, they say, lays the groundwork for computers to replace humans in the driver seat within a decade.
Interactive Touch Interface
June 13, 2013 9:09 am | by Reuters | Videos | CommentsResearchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed an interactive touch interface that can be projected onto any flat surface. Called 'World Kit', the system is geared towards allowing users to interact with their environment in the same way they do their smart phones and tablets.
Teardown: Digital Multimeter
June 13, 2013 9:04 am | by EEVblog | Videos | CommentsOn this week's EEVblog Teardown, what's inside a 1980 vintage Yugoslavian digital multimeter, the Digimer 10 from Iskra.
The Kill Decision Shouldn't Belong to a Robot
June 13, 2013 8:56 am | by TED | Videos | CommentsAs a novelist, Daniel Suarez spins dystopian tales of the future. But on the TEDGlobal stage, he talks us through a real-life scenario we all need to know more about: the rise of autonomous robotic weapons of war. Advanced drones, automated weapons and AI-powered intelligence-gathering tools, he suggests, could take the decision to make war out of the hands of humans.
Cheaper Solar Panels Fuel Rise in Renewable Energy
June 12, 2013 1:31 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsA dramatic drop in the price of solar power technology last year helped the continued growth of renewable energy, according to a U.N.-backed report published Wednesday. Global energy-generating capacity from renewable sources rose by 115 gigawatts in 2012, compared with 105 gigawatts the previous year, the report by the Paris-based think tank REN21 showed.
Lockheed Martin in China Nuclear Protection Deal
June 12, 2013 1:31 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsLockheed Martin will develop reactor protection systems for China's next generation of nuclear reactors. The aerospace and defense contractor said it will develop a safety instrument and control platform for the protection systems.
Data Highways for Quantum Information
June 12, 2013 1:24 pm | by Vienna University of Technology | News | CommentsResearchers at the Vienna University of Technology quantum mechanically couple atoms to glass fiber cables. Now, they have shown that their technique enables storage of quantum information over a sufficiently long period of time to realize global quantum networks based on optical fibers.
Real-Time Power Monitoring
June 12, 2013 1:24 pm | by PD&D Staff | Microchip Technology Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsMicrochip Technology (Chandler, AZ) has announced the MPLAB REAL ICE Power Monitor Module, which enables designers to identify and eliminate code that consumes high current, in real time. Microchip’s Power Monitor Module provides programmable power to the target, as well as sampling intervals, enabling users to run at specific voltage levels and see tailored measurements.
Harnessing Ultraviolet Irradiation for Greener Power Generation
June 12, 2013 1:20 pm | by Easan Sivaniah, University of Cambridge | News | CommentsNew research shows that exposing polymer molecular sieve membranes to ultraviolet irradiation in the presence of oxygen produces highly permeable and selective membranes for more efficient molecular-level separation, an essential process in everything from water purification to controlling gas emissions.
An Ultrasensitive Molybdenum-Based Image Sensor
June 12, 2013 1:18 pm | by PD&D Staff | News | CommentsA new material has the potential to improve the sensitivity of photographic image sensors by a factor of five. In 2011, an EPFL team led by Andras Kis discovered the amazing semi-conducting properties of molybdenite, and they have been exploring its potential in various technological applications ever since.
Cheaper and More Flexible Crystalline Silicon Wafers
June 12, 2013 1:13 pm | by Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) | News | CommentsA team of researchers from the Nanoengineering Research Centre and the Department of Electronic Engineering at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech has found a way to make the manufacture of crystalline silicon materials faster and more affordable.
Incremental Rotary Encoders
June 12, 2013 1:11 pm | by PD&D Staff | Product Releases | CommentsNemicon (Japan) has announced its 7S Series Incremental Rotary Encoder. At just 7.2 mm in diameter, and based on Nemicon’s successful line of 18 mm and 12 mm diameter miniature encoders, the 7S Series shaft type encoder features high resolution, high noise immunity, and high reliability.
