NASA ISS Image: Interior Decor designed by Scientists

ISS Astronauts work daily in amongst this nest of wires, cables, hoses, lines, cords, straps etc

Credit: ESA/NASA

GPS with Android and WiFi on its way

The world's first handheld GPS to use the Android mobile operating system is here.

The All Sports GPS from Holux is also the first handheld unit with WiFi capability.

The idea is to fuse smartphone capability into a handheld GPS, allowing users to download GPS apps directly without having to hookup to a computer.
 
The All Sports GPS is a cooperative effort between Taiwan's Holux, which manufactures GPS products, and Satski, a Canadian company best known for its winter sports apps.

So, it's not surprising that the GPS will come pre-loaded with the SatSki app and a companion suite that includes other sports apps for golf, biking, running and geo-caching, among other activities.

The apps provide all sorts of speed, distance, real-time location and navigation information. For winter sports fans, the Satski app uses resort trail maps.

There's also Facebook and Twitter integration and on online community at luvthesnow.com to share and boast about your greatest runs.

Another app included in the package is All Sports Maps, which allows users to download live maps, including Google, Nokia OVI, Open Street and Open Cycle, for later offline use, all for free.

Similar apps in the Android Market can run you as much as ten US dollars for something well-suited to backcountry use, out of the range of a data connection.

SatSki promises that the All Sports GPS will be a "rugged, highly sensitive IPX 6-rated unit" that also supports Bluetooth health monitor accessories. No word on an exact release date or pricing for the device, but the company promises it is "coming soon."

Implant could wirelessly relay brain signals to paralysed limbs

For a great number of people with paralysed limbs, the reason that they can't move the arm or leg in question is because the "move" command isn't able to reach from their brain to the limb.

This is often due to damage to the nervous system, or to the brain, although the limb itself is still perfectly functional ... so it could still move, if only there was a way of getting the signal to it.

Well, one might be on its way. Scientists at the University of Michigan have developed an implant known as the BioBolt, that wirelessly transmits neural signals from the brain to a computer. In the future, that computer could hopefully then relay them onto a formerly-paralised limb.

Neural implants do already exist, although previous attempts have required an access hole in the patient's skull to remain open while the device is in use - not all that practical for everyday use. The BioBolt, by contrast, would sit underneath the skin and within a hole in the skull, effectively sealing it.

True to its name, the device (which is about as wide as a dime) does indeed look like a bolt. It has a film of microcircuits on the bottom, which sit in contact with the brain.

Those microcircuits detect the firing of neurons, and based on the patterns of those firings, are able to recognise certain commands. Using the patient's skin as a conductor, the BioBolt then amplifies, filters and digitizes those signals, then transmits them to an external computer.

The incorporation of the conductive qualities of the skin is a key part of the technology, as this allows the implant to use relatively little power for its wireless transmissions.

Down the road, it is hoped that the computer could be replaced with wearable electronics, that might take the form of a watch or even a pair of earrings.

Those electronics could send the brain signals directly to the muscles of paralyzed limbs, stimulating them to perform the desired movements. The University of Michigan researchers, however, state that such a system is still years away.

First self-powered device can transmit data wirelessly over long distances

Recent advancements in sensor technology and electronics have allowed electronics to generate enough energy from movements.

According to a new study, scientists have developed the first self-powered nano-device that can transmit data wirelessly.

The device has a nanogenerator that generates electricity from mechanical vibrations. There’s also a capacitor that can store the extra energy and a Bluetooth-like communication system that transmits data wirelessly over distances of more than 30 feet.

It’s not far-fetched to think that surveillance cameras could travel in the air and be powered by the wind, wearable personal electronics could be powered by the person’s strides and implantable medical sensors could be powered by the patient’s blood flow.

It’s feasible that in the future, sources like airflow, solar or chemical energy could power devices so batteries don’t have to.

Source: American Chemical Society

Eliminating range anxiety in Electric Cars

The ultimate cure for the “range anxiety” that afflicts electric car drivers worried they’ll run out of juice mid-trip could come when road-embedded wireless charging strips power up cars as they motor down the highway.

HaloIPT, a London-based developer of cable-free charging systems, took a small step in that direction yesterday, as it signed an agreement with another UK company, Chargemaster plc, to manufacture HaloIPT’s wireless transmitting pads.

On the surface, the deal is not huge- Chargemaster will make “dozens” of charging pads, according to a joint press release. But the “strategic partnership” is significant because it calls for Chargemaster to help develop and deploy a wireless charging infrastructure and billing system in Britain.

Chargemaster is already the largest provider of cabled charging bays in the UK, where it has installed posts in parking lots, supermarkets and other public spaces. It has done the same across Europe, where it has about 500 charging posts. It should be a key ally for HaloIPT, a company owned by international engineering firm Arup, by the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and by Australian venture capital firm Trans-Tasman Commercialization.

Continuous Glucose Monitoring for Diabetics Uses Microneedles & Smartphones

They all knew somebody with diabetes: grandparents, friends, even a girlfriend.

Such close contact with the disease drove the four engineering students to form a startup around a painless, wireless monitor that could change the lives of the 26 million Americans with the disease.

Their invention might also revolutionise a self-diagnosis industry worth billions of dollars.

The big innovation in GlucoReader comes from using tiny microneedles to draw blood, as opposed to their traditional use in delivering drugs without the painful injections. The method is painless compared to pricking a finger to draw blood, and can be worn as a patch on a person's shoulder.

By contrast, more expensive continuous glucose monitors on the market merely draw fluid from the body and still require finger-stick tests as backup. MobiLIFE's new device holds the promise of eliminating the pain and boosting the comfort of users, as well as giving more accurate readings.

Type 2 diabetics, whose bodies don't produce enough insulin, could use the GlucoReader to spot-check their blood sugar levels after eating. But Type I diabetics, who can't create the insulin necessary to break down sugars such as glucose, need constant monitoring to get regular doses of insulin.

"Type 1 diabetics require these readings throughout the day at 5- to 10-minute intervals to sync up with an insulin-delivery system," Chan told InnovationNewsDaily. "They're not receiving the most efficient and best system possible."

GlucoReader's patch also holds a Bluetooth device that transmits the blood test data wirelessly to a mobile device such as the iPhone or Android smartphone. That could replace the wired-up monitor system that some diabetic patients must wear at all times.

The price is right

Accurate readings also matter in terms of expenses for Type 1 diabetics who require constant monitoring. Insurance companies don't cover continuous glucose-monitoring devices because they are not considered reliable replacements for the usual finger-stick tests. That makes such devices a pricey proposition with costs ranging from $1,000 to $3,000.

The MobiLIFE co-founders estimate that GlucoReader will cost about $500 or $600. The device would also be covered by insurance, as long as the startup can show that its results are accurate enough to replace the finger-stick method.

MobiLIFE continues to tackle engineering challenges such as reducing the power consumption of the Bluetooth transmitter in the patch. It is also refining the ideal size and shape of the microneedles as it moves from blood tests to animal tests in the next six months.

The startup has also begun looking for angel investors as well as applying for grant funding from various government, academic and nonprofit organizations. If it all comes together, MobiLIFE stands to do well by everyone.

"As a small company, we're able to use recent technology to scale down and reduce the cost and footprint of our device," Chan explained. "The cost savings go back to the consumer."

Edinburgh bright sparks solve our internet problems ... with the flick of a light switch

Edinburgh bright sparks solve our internet problems ... with the flick of a light switch - Herald Scotland

For what a world it would be if we could all access the internet not through clunky wireless routers and the millions of miles of spaghetti-like cables buried under our streets and fields, but through the golden rays of the electric light bulbs that are in every room in every one of our homes.

Scientists working at Edinburgh University have discovered a way of transmitting wireless data through lightbulbs, an invention that could revolutionise the way we receive the internet.

The discovery is called D-Light (data light) and uses the new light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs that are expected to replace the incandescent models in use. The traditional bulb is banned in parts of the EU due to its wasteful use of energy.

As well as revolutionising internet reception, it would put an end to the potentially harmful electromagnetic pollution emitted by wireless internet routers and has raised the prospect of ubiquitous wireless access, transmitted through streetlights.

The idea is so significant that a Nobel prize-winning physicist has named it among the 100 inventions likely to change everyday life in the next century.

Dr Harald Haas, reader in wireless communications at Edinburgh University, is leading the project.

He claimed the invention could soon be in use all over the world, bringing significant economic benefits to Scotland – and reaffirming the country’s position as one of the world’s leading nations when it comes to scientific innovation.

Dr Haas said: “Engineering and development have, in my opinion, been left out in this country for too long. Lord Mandelson has recently put forward his idea for the digital economy but it needs to be filled with life. This could be one pillar to that economy.

“It should be so cheap that it’s everywhere. Using the visible light spectrum, which comes for free, you can piggy-back existing wireless services on the back of lighting equipment. Power lines are there, which can transmit data, so all you need is a central modem, which would then distribute data into the lightbulbs and then to mobile devices in the home.”

The invention allows data to be transmitted through light, using flickering – imperceptible to the human eye – to send 100 megabits of data a second. That is twice as fast as current wireless routers and matches the speed of the broadband network which could get up to 100 megabits per second by 2017.

At that speed a file of an entire movie could be sent through a lightbulb in only a few minutes. But Dr Haas hopes to be able to send one gigabit a second, which is more than 10 times the speed the network can currently manage.

Wireless communication is a sector growing at an exponential rate, but the infrastructure is struggling to keep up

New Dell Latitude Z Laptop Charges Wirelessly - CIO.com - Business Technology Leadership

New Dell Latitude Z Laptop Charges Wirelessly - CIO.com - Business Technology Leadership

Starting at $1,999, the Latitude Z can be recharged by placing it on a special notebook stand that creates an "inductive charging" field similar to cordless toothbrush or electric shaver chargers, said Steve Belt, vice-president of engineering for Dell's business client hardware group.

The induction charger works with an induction coil on the Latitude Z to refill its battery as fast as a conventional wired charger, Belt said. It is also 70% efficient, making it better than typical inductive charging systems that waste 50% of the electricity sent through them. Despite the power surging within its field, Belt said the charger won't affect any nearby devices.

Besides the inductive charging, Dell is also offering an optional wireless docking station based on Ultrawideband technology . Placed near the user's desk, the docking station includes several USB connectors, a DVI video connector, and audio jacks, which are connected via wired connections.

The Latitude Z needs to be brought only within about 9 feet of the docking station for it to be connected wirelessly to those ports and devices, Belt said.

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