ThinFilm and the legendary PARC (of mouse and GUI fame) announced they have produced a working prototype of a printable circuit that incorporated organic, rewritable memory and transistors. The resulting integrated circuits are essentially CMOS “chips” that can be printed on large rolls at extremely low cost. The most obvious application of the technology is in NFC chips, but the small price and size could find the printable circuits turning up as everything from price tags to freshness sensors on food packaging. Sure, the idea of an “internet of things” sounds a bit cheesy, but there’s no denying the allure of a world where practically everything is “smart.” Check out the full PR after the break for a few more details.
Continue reading ThinFilm and PARC demo printable, organic CMOS circuit, inch us closer to an ‘internet of things’
ThinFilm and PARC demo printable, organic CMOS circuit, inch us closer to an ‘internet of things’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Samsung’s quest for transparency won’t end with laptops, apparently. Today, the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology announced that its engineers have successfully created “single crystalline Gallium Nitride on amorphous glass substrates” — an achievement that would allow the manufacturer to produce jumbo-sized LEDs from normal glass, including window panes. Samsung says this scaled-up approach will allow them to lower production costs relative to most LED manufacturers, which rely on sapphire, rather than glass substrates. And, whereas most Gallium Nitride (GaN) LEDs on the market measure just two inches in size, Sammy’s technique could result in displays about 400 times larger. “In ten years, window panes will double as lighting and display screens, giving personality to buildings,” a Samsung spokesperson told the Korea Herald. Unfortunately, however, it will likely be another ten years before the technology is ready to hit the market. Until then, we’ll just have to do our late night window coding the old fashioned way.
[Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures / The New York Times]
Samsung breakthrough could turn your window pane into a big ol’ LED originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 09:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Eager to get your hands on a big-screen OLED TV? Then it looks like you may still have to wait a few more years — at least according to Paul Peng, the executive vice president of display manufacturer AU Optronics (otherwise known as AUO). While the technology has been getting cheaper and more efficient as of late, he says that the production costs are still too high and yield rates too low for large OLED TVs to be feasible for commercial use any time before 2014. Of course, we suppose that all depends on your definition of “feasible.” Last we heard, LG was still planning on releasing a 55-inch OLED TV by mid-2012 — for a yet-to-be-disclosed price.
AUO VP says large OLED TVs won’t be feasible for commercial use until 2014 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 15:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Credit card applications via automated teller are all the rage abroad these days. That’s why Russia’s Sberbank is using Speech Technology Center’s voice recognition system in its new ATM to tell when you fudge your financials to get approved. Like a polygraph, the technology senses involuntary stress cues to ferret out fib-filled statements — only instead of using wired sensors, it listens to your angst-ridden voice. Designed using samples from Russian police interrogation recordings where subjects were found to be lying, the system is able to detect the changes in speech patterns when a person isn’t telling the truth. Of course, it’s not completely accurate, so the biometric voice data is combined with credit history and other info before the ATM can crush an applicant’s credit dreams. And to assuage the public’s privacy concerns, patrons’ voice prints will be kept on chips in their credit cards instead of a bank database. So, we don’t have to worry about hackers stealing our biometric info, but we’re slightly concerned that we’ll no longer be able to deceive our robot overlords should the need arise.
Russian ATM uses voice analysis to tell when you’re lying originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Jun 2011 20:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Are you nostalgic for a time when the word “zeppelin” stood for leisurely intercontinental travel for the rich and famous, rather than
bass-heavy portable sound and
MotoBlur phones? Take heart, as Ukrainian entrepreneur Igor Pasternak claims to have solved the “buoyancy problem” that has long limited the usefulness of airships. The problem is that burning fuel or dropping cargo lightens the ship, which then needs to vent costly helium to return to earth; without a way to control buoyancy, take-offs and landings become complicated to the point of uselessness. Pasternak claims to have solved this sticking point by compressing the pricey gas, thereby conserving it for later use. The Defense Department (which loves its
warblimps) has contracted his company, Aeros, to provide a working demonstration by 2012-13. Dubbed Pelican, it will only fly without a payload at first — but if the technology proves feasible, we might just see a new Era of Airships.
‘Miraculous’ Aeros airship set to fly by 2013, thanks to DOD funding originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 May 2011 05:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Ah, the beloved “electronic bomb,” able to disable all technology in its vicinity: variations on the concept go
way back, but useful prototypes remain tantalizingly out of reach.
Into the breach steps defense contractor BAE Systems, taking a fresh crack with a High-Powered Microwave (HPM) gun intended to
disable small boat engines – if successful, the technology may also target ships, UAVs, and missile payloads. The secret-shrouded weapon sounds similar to Boeing’s planned
airborne EMP weapon, but lacking the missile delivery systems. BAE seems to be betting big on electromagnetic warfare as a future battlefield tactic, with a manager pitching the sci-fi scene to
Aviation Week:
“Unlike lasers, HPM beams don’t need a lot of accuracy. With a fan [of HPM energy] you can target 10-30 small boats. If you can knock out 50-75% of the engines in a swarm, you can then concentrate on the remainder with lasers or kinetic [cannons].”
To develop better defenses against such attacks, the contractor received $150,000 from the Air Force to test-fire microwaves at military computers. No word on whether said defenses involve generous use of tin foil.
US government contractor developing ‘microwave gun,’ Hot Pockets tremble originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Apr 2011 16:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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This particular “journey” may not involve any humans descending into the Earth, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still plenty ambitious — a pair of scientists are now proposing to drill to the Earth’s mantle and bring back some samples, effectively picking up where the first attempt to do so left off some fifty years ago. Of course, the key word here is “proposing,” but the scientists, Damon Teagle and Beno
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Cyberdyne’s HAL (Hybrid Assistive limb) robotic suit has been kicking (stumbling?) around for years now, and at this year’s Cybernics International Forum, the company demoed a couple of new iterations of the technology. We’ve seen the heavy-duty version of the technology scale a Swiss peak, but the new demo showcased a lighter and leaner lower-body suit (not unlike Lockheed’s HULC system) meant for helping those with muscle diseases remain ambulatory. The differences between the new rig and previously seen full-body exoskeleton — meant for use by health care professionals and factory workers to aid in heavy lifting — are less robust servos and a slimmer profile allowing wearers to worry less over their looks and more over living their lives. Peep the bipedal bionics in action after the break.
Continue reading Cyberdyne demos lower-body HAL exoskeleton for helping the disabled, not eradicating mankind (video)
Cyberdyne demos lower-body HAL exoskeleton for helping the disabled, not eradicating mankind (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 07:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Cyberdyne’s HAL (Hybrid Assistive limb) robotic suit has been kicking (stumbling?) around for years now, and at this year’s Cybernics International Forum, the company demoed a couple of new iterations of the technology. We’ve seen the heavy-duty version of the technology scale a Swiss peak, but the new demo showcased a lighter and leaner lower-body suit (not unlike Lockheed’s HULC system) meant for helping those with muscle diseases remain ambulatory. The differences between the new rig and previously seen full-body exoskeleton — meant for use by health care professionals and factory workers to aid in heavy lifting — are less robust servos and a slimmer profile allowing wearers to worry less over their looks and more over living their lives. Peep the bipedal bionics in action after the break.
Continue reading Cyberdyne demos lower-body HAL exoskeleton for helping the disabled, not eradicating mankind (video)
Cyberdyne demos lower-body HAL exoskeleton for helping the disabled, not eradicating mankind (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 07:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Cyberdyne’s HAL (Hybrid Assistive limb) robotic suit has been kicking (stumbling?) around for years now, and at this year’s Cybernics International Forum, the company demoed a couple of new iterations of the technology. We’ve seen the heavy-duty version of the technology scale a Swiss peak, but the new demo showcased a lighter and leaner lower-body suit (not unlike Lockheed’s HULC system) meant for helping those with muscle diseases remain ambulatory. The differences between the new rig and previously seen full-body exoskeleton — meant for use by health care professionals and factory workers to aid in heavy lifting — are less robust servos and a slimmer profile allowing wearers to worry less over their looks and more over living their lives. Peep the bipedal bionics in action after the break.
Continue reading Cyberdyne demos lower-body HAL exoskeleton for helping the disabled, not eradicating mankind (video)
Cyberdyne demos lower-body HAL exoskeleton for helping the disabled, not eradicating mankind (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 07:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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