Cold Atoms Image Microwave Fields

Using clouds of ultracold atoms a team of scientists makes microwave fields visible. Microwaves are an essential part of modern communication technology. Mobile phones and laptops, for example, are equipped with integrated microwave circuits for wireless communication. Sophisticated techniques for measurement and characterization of microwave fields are an essential tool for the development of such circuits. Therefore, measurements are required to test the circuits and to verify their performance. To enable efficient testing and specific improvement, one would ideally like to measure all components of the microwave field directly and with very high spatial resolution. In existing techniques for measuring microwave fields, the field distribution has to be scanned point-by-point, so that this kind of data acquisition is slow. Moreover, most techniques only allow for a measurement of the amplitudes, but not of the phases of the microwave field. Furthermore, macroscopic probe heads used for the measurement can distort the microwave field and result in poor spatial resolution.
[More: Science Daily]

World’s Largest Marine Turbine

The world’s largest tidal turbine was recently unveiled in Scotland, weighing 130 tons, 74ft (22.6m) tall, with two 60ft (18.3m) diameter rotors and generating 1MW on both tidal ebb and flow. The Atlantis Resources AK1000 can supply power to 1000 homes, and is to be installed at the European Marine Energy Centre in the Orkney Islands, and has taken more than ten years to develop. The turbines turn at six to eight revolutions per minute, so are incredibly slow turning and will have zero impact on the surrounding environment. Theoretically, the turbine rotors should not harm marine animals.

Asteroid pod in Japan

Thousands of people will have a chance in Tokyo exhibition to see the heat-proof pod, which had travelled in space with the unmanned craft for seven years which was hoped to have brought asteroid dust to Earth. The capsule, which journeyed billions of kilometres (miles), was fired back to Earth in June. Technical problems had plagued the Hayabusa, which at one stage spun out of control and lost contact with JAXA for seven weeks, delaying the mission for three years until the asteroid and Earth re-aligned. When it finally latched onto the potato-shaped Itokawa asteroid, a pellet-firing system designed to stir up dust malfunctioned, leaving it unclear how much material the probe was able to gather. Scientists hope any dust samples from the ancient asteroid in the capsule could help reveal secrets about the origins of the solar system. The space agency found "minute particles" of what it hopes is asteroid dust in the capsule, but it is expected to take months to get the final results of the analysis. The Hayabusa project has generated great excitement in Japan.

WiMAX 2 standard with1Gbps bandwidth !!

While WiMAX isn't exactly streaming through the air everywhere at this point, domestically it has a solid head-start on LTE. Despite that, with many major players (like TATA Indicom in Bangalore, Reliance in Mumbai in India) already choosing the latter of those two, WiMAX has a tough fight ahead of it for 4G supremacy. Maybe its successor will charm the competition, WiMAX 2 - the artist formerly known as 802.16m. That standard will boast theoretical speeds of 1Gbps for downloads, though users are rather more likely to see something in the 100Mbps range. When can we expect all this bandwidth? The standard is due to be finalized in November, then hardware is expected to be ratified through 2011 before getting bolted to towers in 2012 where it will, thankfully, be fully compatible with O.G. WiMAX devices. Hope Govt doesn't take another 100 years for approval and allocation of spectrum.

Robot that develops emotions with humans

The first prototype of a Nao robot that can develop emotions as it interacts with a human caregiver has been completed. A team across Europe was led by Dr. Lola Cañamero of the University of Herefordshire in the UK to develop the bot, which differs in several significant ways from those that came before it. These robots develop over time in much the way that a child does, learning to interact with and respond to the human beings around them. Modeled after human and chimpanzee childhood development paths, they are programmed to be highly adaptable to the people around them, and to become attached to whatever person is most suited to its needs and 'personality' profile. Over time, the more they interact, the more they learn and bond to the human being. These little ones, moreover, are capable of expressing a wide range of emotions, including anger, frustration, fear and happiness. The next steps are to research the bots' emotional and non-linguistic behavior, and to move toward combining linguistic and non-linguistic communication to become further attached and adapted to them.

Chrome to Phone

Chrome to Phone isn't a new product - we've been using it since May, in fact - but Google's second mobile announcement today (behind Voice Actions) is that its continuous client app is now "official" and available to all users (with Android 2.2 Froyo) via Android Market. As it was before, websites can be pushed from the Chrome browser to your Android device, with certain apps (Maps, YouTube) taking over for the browser when contextually appropriate. Additionally, the code is open, which we're hoping means this Chrome extension will find its way to other browsers. The team is "looking into" bringing the capabilities to other mobile OSs.

Nokia N8

This is another popular iPhone rival from Nokia’s camp is N8. Powered by the Symbian3 platform, N8's biggest feature is its 12 mega-pixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash. The phone has a VGA camera for video calling. The phone can record HD videos at 25 frames per second. N8 runs on ARM 11 680 MHz processor. Measuring 113.5 x 59 x 12.9 mm, the phone weighs 135 grams. Featuring a 3.5-inch multi-touch AMOLED touchscreen display, the phone comes with 16GB internal memory. The phone's battery promises upto 5.5 hours of talk-time. Nokia comes with free global Ovi Maps walk and drive navigation. The phone can play back MPEG4, H.264, Real and Flash Video. In India it would cost around Rs. 22,000.

Apple Peel converts iPod Touch to iPhone

Believe it or not, you may not have to buy iPhone and instead buy iPod Touch to make calls in near future. A Chinese firm has developed a special protective case known as the " Apple Peel" for converting the iPod Touch media player into a mobile phone. The device attaches to the iPod Touch like a protective case but has a dock connector, an extended battery and a SIM card slot, enabling users to make phone calls and send text messages. Users who unlock their iPod Touch can install the rubber and plastic case for 388 yuan ($57).

F1 Simulator Installed into Giant Robotic Arm

This CyberMotion Simulator is intended to realistically replicate the experience of driving a Ferrari without actually having to buy one. Players sit in a cabin on a robot arm about 7 feet off the ground and drive a Ferrari F2007 car around a projected track. The robot arm, a type usually found in amusement parks, whips the driver around to simulate the Ferrari's motion. You can hear the robot whine as the driver tries to turn at high speed. The researchers at the Max Planck Institute, Germany wanted to use a robotic arm as a motion simulator with the goal of understanding how humans experience the sensation of motion. The robotic arm was used because, unlike other simulators, it allows users to be freely displaced in six degrees of freedom in space and even be placed upside-down. Check out the video:

Robot to enter the Pyramid's Final Secrete Chamber

Egyptologists are hoping some 21st-century tech will help them unlock secrets from 4,500 years ago by using a robot to explore the Final Secrete Chamber at the Great Pyramid of Giza. The robot will traverse two unexplored shafts leading from the Queen's Chamber in the pyramid. The robot will be able to drill through a secret door in the pyramid’s innards to see what lies beyond. The Pyramid of Khufu, after the king who built it around 2,560 BC, is the last remaining wonder of the ancient world. In 1992, researchers sent a camera up the shaft and found it was blocked by a limestone door with copper handles. Ten years later, researchers drilled through the door, hoping to unlock a treasure trove of artifacts - but they found yet another door about 8 inches away. This project called Djedi project will drill through the second door and, researchers hope, follow the shaft to its end. The team hopes to send the robot through the door by the end of the year. Let us see if the Mummy returns :D

Microsoft Arc Touch

After the release of Microsoft Arc Keyboard earlier this year, its time for Microsoft to release another Microsoft hardware - Arc Touch, a multi touch mouse. The touch device is thought to be a competitor to Apple's Magic Mouse. The Arc Touch has touch surface instead of traditional clicks. The mouse was originally a research project, details of which emerged as Apple's Magic Mouse was being shipped. This mouse is expected to be in the market by September and could cost up to $70.

India prepares for cyber war

The Indian government is forming an army of software professionals to hack computer systems of hostile nations. According to the proposal by government administrators, IT workers and ethical hackers, who sign up for the project will get protection from law. The software professionals will have to use their expertise to breach the security walls of enemy systems. In recent times, India faced a spate of assaults on its computer systems, and the government is worried about spying attempts from neighbouring countries like China and Pakistan. This is a good step by taken by Indian government, which should have been done long back. And India has good number of research scientists and software engineers, so hiring shouldn't be a problem at all.

Stephen Hawking : Danger for Humans

Stephen Hawking in an interview with BigThink says that he's an optimist. Perhaps theoretical physicists have an idiosyncratic definition of the word. Unless the human race begins to inhabit outer space, it will disappear. If we can avoid disaster for the next two centuries, our species should be safe as we spread into space. But those two centuries might well be fraught with far more crises than ever before. Hawking is worried about the way humans are eating up finite resources and commented that our genetic code "carries selfish and aggressive instincts," which have helped humanity survive so often in times gone by. Chk out more in the video below: