Envisioning the Web, 60 Years Ago

by Chris Sherman SearchDay #996, 28 Feb 2005 Sixty years ago, Vannevar Bush laid out a passionate vision of an "information appliance" of the future. Looking back, we find a remarkably prescient description of what we today call the world wide web. Read the article

New Outlooks In Science & Engineering

NOISE stands for New Outlooks In Science & Engineering, a U.K.-wide campaign funded by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) that "aims to raise awareness of science & engineering among young people by making these subjects more relevant and accessible." The website provides career information as well as articles on ways that science is applicable to a range of areas in life such as health, travel, sports, entertainment, and the environment. A section called Serious Science organizes the articles by scientific field, such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, IT, materials, life sciences, and engineering. The articles provide a nice overviews of innovations in robotics, aircraft technology, and architecture, just to name a few. Other features include a free newsletter distributed via email and animated e-cards to send to friends. [from The NSDL Scout Report for Math, Engineering, and Technology, 25 Feb 2005 - Copyright Susan Calcari and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, 1994-2005] http://www.noisenet.ws/

Global System for Sustainable Development

Global System for Sustainable Development (GSSD) is a project of the Global Accords Consortium for Sustainable Development that is "dedicated to internationalization of knowledge access, provision & sharing for 'reducing the gap between knowledge & policy.'" Housed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), GSSD is "a multi-dimensional knowledge networking system" that combines public and private networks to provide a continually evolving cross-referenced knowledge base for informing decision-making and policy in the domain of "sustainable development." The Using GSSD section of the website provides information on the organizing principles used to develop the database, demonstrates the functionality and architecture of the system and other aspects of the project, such as the multiple mirror sites that are in languages other than English. Reports and working papers from the GSSD are also posted. Visitors can search the holdings of the database using a text search or based on other parameters, such as issue area or industry type, and are invited to submit websites to be considered for inclusion. [from The NSDL Scout Report for Math, Engineering, and Technology, 25 Feb 2005 - Copyright Susan Calcari and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, 1994-2005] http://gssd.mit.edu/GSSD/gssden.nsf

Termite Emulation of Regulatory Mound Environments by Simulation

The Termite Emulation of Regulatory Mound Environments by Simulation (TERMES) project at Loughborough University seeks to understand the complex architecture of termite mounds, focusing in particular on the Sandkings found in Africa. The work is intended to "serve as both the foundation for future basic research, and as inspiration for more tangible and immediate innovations in architecture, structural and environmental engineering." The termite structures are "shaped to accommodate and regulate the exchanges of respiratory gases between the nest and atmosphere" and thus provide a potential model for developing sustainable building structures for humans. The website outlines the research project, providing information on the structure and functions of the mounds, as well as a discussion of their objectives, methods and simulation techniques. [from The NSDL Scout Report for Math, Engineering, and Technology, 25 Feb 2005 - Copyright Susan Calcari and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, 1994-2005] http://www.sandkings.co.uk/

Robotics and Energetic Systems Group

The Robotics and Energetic Systems Group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) conducts research in Robotics, Energy Transformation Systems, Power Transfer Devices, and Human-Amplifying Machines. A full description and related factsheets are posted for each research area. The group's work spans the spectrum from basic research to "one-of-a-kind integrated system design, development, test, and evaluation" in robotics. Other areas of research address approaches to heat storage and release systems, magnetic and fluidic engine systems, fuel cells, and hydrogen-based technologies and technologies focused on achieving high-power density systems. Their work on Human-Amplifying Machines involves developing "systems that work in smooth synergy with humans in augmenting their physical strength abilities while maintaining complete task awareness through feedback to the human." The publications lists various journal articles and books by the group's research staff covering a variety of topics. [from The NSDL Scout Report for Math, Engineering, and Technology, 25 Feb 2005 - Copyright Susan Calcari and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, 1994-2005] http://www.ornl.gov/sci/engineering_science_technology/roboticsenergetics/index.htm

Stanford: MediaX

Media X is a network of interdisciplinary researchers, faculty and students at Stanford University who study and design interactive technology. Media X "influences the next generation of interactive technology relevant to commerce, learning and entertainment." Their work focuses on challenges related to people and technology, such as ease of use, natural forms of input and output, social and emotional responses, enhancement of learning, and interaction strategies in business. Numerous research projects are listed with links to additional information on each project, some with their own website. Other features of the website include a listing of upcoming and past events hosted by MediaX and a list of the researchers and industry, foundation, and government partners and their websites. [from The NSDL Scout Report for Math, Engineering, and Technology, 25 Feb 2005 - Copyright Susan Calcari and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, 1994-2005] http://mediax.stanford.edu/flash/home.html

Stay Connected via In-Vehicle Networks

fibers.org News, 24 Feb 2005 Firecomms, an Irish-based compound-semiconductor company, says its high-speed fiber-optic devices are being evaluated in an advanced in-car entertainment system developed as a proof-of-concept for a demonstration vehicle designed by Renault RSA of France. Read the article

SOA Yields All-Optical Flexibility

fibers.org News, 24 Feb 2005 The Centre for Integrated Photonics (CIP) in the UK has unveiled a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) that, it claims, will provide a fundamental building block for next-generation WDM networks. The component, the SOA-NL-OEC-1550, has already been used successfully for wavelength conversion and 2R (reamplifying and reshaping) signal regeneration at 40 Gbit/s. Read the article

Demonstration of Directly Modulated Silicon Raman Laser

by Ozdal Boyraz & Bahram Jalali Optics Express, 7 Feb 2005 The first Raman laser with intra-cavity electronic switching is demonstrated. Digital control of intra-cavity gain is attained by using a diode gain cavity. In contrast to traditional Raman lasers, the Raman laser reported here is made from pure silicon and can be directly modulated to transmit data. Room temperature operation with 2.5W peak laser output power is demonstrated. Read the article

Comment on "Epitaxial BiFeO3 Multiferroic Thin Film Heterostructures"

by W. Eerenstein et al. Science, 25 Feb 2005 Wang et al. (1) recently reported multiferroic behavior, with ferromagnetic and ferroelectric polarizations that are both large at room temperature, in thin strained films of BiFeO3 (BFO). Although at room temperature, bulk BFO is ferroelectric (2) and anti-ferromagnetic (3–5), Wang et al. (1) reported that a 70-nm film shows both an enhanced ferroelectric polarization (90 µC cm–2) and a substantial magnetization (1 µB/Fe). This remains the only report of a robust room-temperature multiferroic and suggests the potential for novel devices that exploit the anticipated strain-mediated magnetoelectric coupling between the two ordered ground states. In this Comment, we argue that epitaxial strain does not enhance the magnetization and polarization in BiFeO3. Read the article

Simultaneous State Measurement of Coupled Josephson Phase Qubits

by R. McDermott et al. Science, 25 Feb 2005 One of the many challenges of building a scalable quantum computer is single-shot measurement of all the quantum bits (qubits). We have used simultaneous single-shot measurement of coupled Josephson phase qubits to directly probe interaction of the qubits in the time domain. The concept of measurement crosstalk is introduced, and we show that its effects are minimized by careful adjustment of the timing of the measurements. We observe the antiphase oscillation of the two-qubit |01> and |10> states, consistent with quantum mechanical entanglement of these states, thereby opening the possibility for full characterization of multiqubit gates and elementary quantum algorithms. Read the article

Solar Tower of Power Finds Home

by Stephen Leahy Wired News, 24 Feb 2005 The quest for a new form of green energy has taken a significant step with the purchase of a 25,000-acre sheep farm in the Australian outback. The huge alternative energy project isn't driven by manure, but by a 1-kilometer-high thermal power station called the Solar Tower. Read the article

The Touchy-Feely Side of Telecoms

by Celeste Biever New Scientist, 26 Feb 2005 At the end of March 2005 Samsung will release a mobile phone with a difference. Not only will it be able to send images and streaming video, but the phone can vibrate in such a way that you can add the sensation of a playful tickle to your text message, or make the person on the other end of the phone feel as if their handset has slapped them across the face. Welcome to the world of haptics -- the technology of recreating touch and texture through artificial stimuli. Read the article

Hydroelectric Power's Dirty Secret Revealed

by Duncan Graham-Rowe New Scientist, February 2005 Contrary to popular belief, hydroelectric power can seriously damage the climate. Proposed changes to the way countries' climate budgets are calculated aim to take greenhouse gas emissions from hydropower reservoirs into account, but some experts worry that they will not go far enough. Read the article

AMD Demos Dual-Core Athlon 64

by Alexander Wolfe VARBusiness.com, 23 Feb 2005 The latest shoe to drop in the race toward multicore technology came today from AMD, which says it has demonstrated a working dual-core version of its Athlon 64 desktop processor. Read the article

For Simpler Robots, a Step Forward

by Anne Eisenberg New York Times, 24 Feb 2005 The moment of truth had come for the knee-high robot standing on its improvised runway at a hotel news conference. Reporters circled it, their microphones and cameras trained on the machine as it tried to start up. Then a curious 13-year-old boy who had joined the throng reached out, poked his fingers between the robot's metal legs and gave them an exploratory push. With that, the robot, built at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, lived up to its nickname, the Toddler. It rocked gently until the poking stopped, steadied itself and marched firmly across the level surface, a tabletop propped up on cinderblocks. Read the article

Hard Superconducting Nitrides

by Xiao-Jia Chen et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1 Mar 2005 Detailed study of the equation of state, elasticity, and hardness of selected superconducting transition-metal nitrides reveals interesting correlations among their physical properties. Theoretical calculations for NbN show that all elastic moduli increase monotonically with increasing pressure. These results suggest technological applications of such materials in extreme environments. Read the article

Raman Injection Laser

by Mariano Troccoli et al. Nature, 24 Feb 2005 Stimulated Raman scattering is a nonlinear optical process that, in a broad variety of materials, enables the generation of optical gain at a frequency that is shifted from that of the incident radiation by an amount corresponding to the frequency of an internal oscillation of the material. This effect is the basis for a broad class of tunable sources known as Raman lasers. In general, these sources have only small gain (approx 10-9 cm W-1) and therefore require external pumping with powerful lasers, which limits their applications. Here we report the realization of a semiconductor injection Raman laser designed to circumvent these limitations. The physics underlying our device differs in a fundamental way from existing Raman lasers: it is based on triply resonant stimulated Raman scattering between quantum-confined states within the active region of a quantum cascade laser that serves as an internal optical pump -- the device is driven electrically and no external laser pump is required. This leads to an enhancement of orders of magnitude in the Raman gain, high conversion efficiency and low threshold. Our lasers combine the advantages of nonlinear optical devices and of semiconductor injection lasers, and could lead to a new class of compact and wavelength-agile mid-and far-infrared light sources. Read the article

A Synthetic Enamel for Rapid Tooth Repair

by Kazue Yamagishi et al. Nature, 24 Feb 2005 The conventional treatment of dental caries involves mechanical removal of the affected part and filling of the hole with a resin or metal alloy. But this method is not ideal for tiny early lesions because a disproportionate amount of healthy tooth must be removed to make the alloy or resin stick. Here we describe a dental paste of synthetic enamel that rapidly and seamlessly repairs early caries lesions by nanocrystalline growth, with minimal wastage of the natural enamel. Read the article

Photonics: Expect More Delays

by Joe T. Mok & Benjamin J. Eggleton Nature, 24 Feb 2005 Slow light research has been a fast-moving topic in recent years, with potential applications from quantum computing to telecommunications. Techniques are now emerging that can slow down light in optical fibres. Read the article

Optical Tweezers To Prove Einstein Right

from innovation-reports.com, 31 Jan 2005 100 years after Einstein’s landmark paper, optical tweezer technology could confirm the theory of classical Brownian motion in details that Einstein missed when he first proposed it a century ago. This research is reported today in a special Einstein Year issue of the New Journal of Physics (www.njp.org) published jointly by the Institute of Physics and the German Physical Society (Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft). New Journal of Physics

Augmented-Reality Machine Works in Real Time

by Will Knight NewScientist.com, 3 Feb 2005 Computer-generated scenery can be realistically added to live video footage, using a machine vision system developed at Oxford University, UK. Read the article

Tracking Technology Trends: An Online Approach

by Kirk St. Amant

IEEE Professional Communication Society Newsletter, February 2005

As technologies change, employees must adjust work habits and skill sets to address these developments. In the case of international markets, such adaptation can be tricky, for cultural groups can use technologies in unexpected ways. From an educational perspective, students can benefit from resources and activities that examine how technology trends affect professional practices. Read the article

Access Technologies for B3G Wireless

from What's New @ IEEE in Wireless, February 2005

The February issue of IEEE Communications Magazine devotes a special feature to multiple access technologies for B3G wireless communications. According to the issue's editors, the study of next-generation multiple access technologies involves many cutting-edge research topics, such as novel CDMA code design, time-frequency adaptive equalization, interference-free CDMA architecture, high-data-rate TDMA, orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) techniques, and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) algorithms. Read the editorial IEEE Communications Magazine

Optimal Resource Allocation for Wireless Video over CDMA Networks

by Shengjie Zhao, Zixiang Xiong, & Xiaodong Wang IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, January/February 2005 We present a multiple-channel video transmission scheme in wireless CDMA networks over multipath fading channels. We map an embedded video bitstream, which is encoded into multiple independently decodable layers by 3D-ESCOT video coding technique, to multiple CDMA channels. One video source layer is transmitted over one CDMA channel. Each video source layer is protected by a product channel code structure. A product channel code is obtained by the combination of a row code based on rate-compatible punctured convolutional code (RCPC) with cyclic redundancy check (CRC) error detection and a source-channel column code, i.e., systematic rate-compatible Reed-Solomon (RS) style erasure code. For a given budget on the available bandwidth and total transmit power, the transmitter determines the optimal power allocations and the optimal transmission rates among multiple CDMA channels, as well as the optimal product channel code rate allocation, i.e., the optimal unequal Reed-Solomon code source/parity rate allocations and the optimal RCPC rate protection for each channel. In formulating such an optimization problem, we make use of results on the large-system CDMA performance for various multiuser receivers in multipath fading channels. The channel is modeled as the concatenation of wireless BER channel and a wireline packet erasure channel with a fixed packet loss probability. By solving the optimization problem, we obtain the optimal power level allocation and the optimal transmission rate allocation over multiple CDMA channels. For each CDMA channel, we also employ a fast joint source-channel coding algorithm to obtain the optimal product channel code structure. Simulation results show that the proposed framework allows the video quality to degrade gracefully as the fading worsens or the bandwidth decreases, and it offers improved video quality at the receiver. Read the article

ISSCC Speakers Tout Ubiquitous Networking

by Stephan Ohr EE Times, 7 Feb 2005 Researchers at the 2005 International Solid State Circuits Conference agreed that wireless networking will become ubiquitous and intelligent, but differed on how the networks will be rolled out. Read the article

Nissan's Smart Cars Return to Lanes, Park with Ease

by Yuri Kageyama technologyreview.com, 22 Feb 2005 A car that swerves back into lanes on its own and a video system that makes parking a breeze were part of technological features on display by the Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. Read the article

The Tangled Webs They Weave

by Karen Epper Hoffman technologyreview.com, 21 Feb 2005 After struggling for years to divine the mysteries of spider silk, researchers have finally been able to step into the parlor of their eight-legged subjects, and appear on the verge of creating new materials with more stretch, strength and durability than humans have been able to spin themselves. Read the article

Feathers in PCs No Birdbrain Idea

by Katie Dean Wired News, 22 Feb 2005 Researchers are turning to an unlikely source to develop environmentally friendly computer components: the barnyard. Richard Wool, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Delaware, wants to recycle discarded chicken feathers and use them to manufacture circuit boards, replacing petroleum-based components with keratin-based composites. Computer circuit boards are only one of the many applications researchers envision for this material. Read the article

Silicon Laser Runs Non-Stop

by Mark Peplow news@nature.com, 16 Feb 2005 A silicon laser than produces a continuous beam of laser light has been unveiled. This is an important milestone in the quest to create computers that can easily switch from using electrical currents to using light. Read the article

Robocopter Team Snaffles Defence Grant

by Philip Ball news@nature.com, 17 Feb 2005 It's small, learns new tricks as it flies, and can pull off moves that would tax the most dexterous of human pilots. Meet GTMax, the 70-kilogram helicopter that flies without human input. Read the article

Who Do You Trust More: G.I. Joe or A.I. Joe?

by George Johnson New York Times, 20 Feb 2005 Recent reports that the Pentagon is planning to spend tens of billions of dollars over the next decade to perfect computerized warfare sound like science fiction. In fact, the plan, Future Combat Systems, was first dreamed up years ago. Its designers envisioned a 21st-century fighting force of automated tanks, helicopters and planes, remote missile launchers and even troops of robot soldiers - all coordinated by a self-configuring network of satellites, sensors and supercomputers. A way to get the human out of the loop. Read the article

Robots Hit Stride with Human Walk

by Paul Rincon BBC News Online, 18 Feb 2004 The latest robots that walk like humans -- that familiar staple of science fiction films -- have been demonstrated by scientists from the US and Holland. Three bipedal designs, each built by a different research group, use the same principle to achieve a human-like gait. Making machines walk like us has proven notoriously difficult to achieve. The new designs were shown off at the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) annual meeting held this year in Washington DC. Though machines like those in the film I, Robot are still a long way off, robots using this method of walking could have uses in dangerous space missions or in cleaning up nuclear and toxic waste. The work could transform the way humanoid robots are built and brings the prospect of robotic replacement limbs a step closer. The Japanese have already made great progress in humanoid walking robots - machines such as Sony's latest QRIO; and Honda's Asimo, in which motors control much of the movement. The new machines shown off at the AAAS meeting have less control over their movement and use up less energy than "mainstream" robots, yet they walk in a more human-like manner, their designers claim. These new robots are based on previous "passive-dynamic" robots that could only walk downhill, powered by gravity. Some of these previous machines waddled like penguins and some strode like humans. By taking advantage of the natural swinging of limbs, passive-dynamic robots used up gravitational energy relatively slowly. Now, the three new designs show that two-legged, walking robots can use the same passive-dynamic principles, even on flat surfaces. They simply replace gravity power with small motors. Buckethead brains Two of the machines, developed at Cornell University in the US and Delft University in Holland respectively, are built in a very similar way. But while the Cornell robot is powered by batteries in its arms, the Delft robot uses gas canisters in an attempt to mimic human muscles. It has an empty bucket for a head, to emphasise that it uses no intelligence. The third robot, developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has been nicknamed the Toddler on account of its walking style. It uses neural networks to learn - adapting its movement according to the terrain it is on. It is about 43cm (1ft, 4in) tall, weighs 2.8kg (6.2lbs) and has curved feet that look like clogs. "For the first time, we've demonstrated a robot that learns how to walk without anything in its control system that tells it how to," said Russ Tendrake, of the cognitive and brain sciences department at MIT. "It learns how to walk in about 20 minutes from a blank slate and adjusts itself with every step." The Toddler transfers its weight from one foot to the other until it gains enough energy to start walking forward. It can start, stop, steer and walk backwards. The research could have much to tell us about the way humans walk: it suggests passive dynamic movement plays a key role in human locomotion. Copyright BBC 2005

Brain-Controlled 'Robo-Arm' Hope

by Michelle Roberts BBC News Online, 18 Feb 2005 Scientists in the US have created a robotic arm that can be controlled by thought alone. Read the article