文章资讯
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- 2015-06-16 Ordinary paper and pencil used to create primitive sensor
- A team of researchers at China's University of Science and Technology has found that lines drawn on paper by an ordinary pencil can be used as a simple sensor. In their paper published in Advanced Functional Materials, the team describes how they tested the paper and pencil sensor idea and suggest applications for which it might be useful. Newscientist offers some background on the work done by the team.
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- 2015-06-15 HAWC Observatory to study universe's most energetic phenomena
- Supernovae, neutron star collisions and active galactic nuclei are among the most energetic phenomena in the known universe. These violent explosions produce high-energy gamma rays and cosmic rays, which can easily travel large distances—making it possible to see objects and events far outside our own galaxy.
The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Gamma-Ray Observatory, located 13,500 feet above sea level on the slopes of Mexico's Volcán Sierra Negra, is the newest tool available to visualize these explosive events and learn more about the nature of high-energy radiation. - See Details
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- 2015-06-15 BitWhisper turns up heat on air-gap security
- Ben Gurion University reported Monday that researcher Mordechai Guri, assisted by Matan Munitz and guided by Prof. Yuval Elovici, uncovered a way to breach air-gapped systems—that's quite something considering that air-gapped systems, said the Daily Mail, are among the most secure computers on the planet, used in high security settings such as classified military networks, payment networks processing credit and debit card transactions for retailers, and industrial control systems for critical infrastructure.
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- 2015-06-15 Tiny bio-robot is a germ suited-up with graphene quantum dots
- As nanotechnology makes possible a world of machines too tiny to see, researchers are finding ways to combine living organisms with nonliving machinery to solve a variety of problems.
Like other first-generation bio-robots, the new nanobot engineered at the University of Illinois at Chicago is a far cry from Robocop. It's a robotic germ. - See Details
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- 2015-06-15 Sensor cable monitors fences of all kinds and can even detect low-level drone fly-bys
- Fenced-in areas, such as airports, nuclear power stations, industrial sites, or private plots of land, can now be monitored thanks to novel sensor technology that has been developed by a team of experimental physicists, led by Professor Uwe Hartmann at Saarland University. The sensors respond immediately as soon as someone tries to climb over or cut through the fence, providing information on the precise location of the security breach.
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- 2015-06-15 Applications of optical fibre for sensors
- Mikel Bravo-Acha's PhD thesis has focused on the applications of optical fibre as a sensor. In the course of his research, conducted at the NUP/UPNA-Public University of Navarre, he monitored a sensor fitted to optical fibre 253 kilometres away. "What is interesting is that the measurement was remote, all the information arrived through the fibre and we didn't need to fit any sockets to power the sensor. This would be very useful, for example, to monitor an oil pipeline crossing the desert where fitting electrical power supply systems for the sensors is not feasible."
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- 2015-06-15 New sensor design reveals path to innovative imaging technologies
- Researchers at The University of Queensland are a step closer to designing a seamlessly-integrated and more affordable image sensor that would recognise colours much like the human eye does.
Their innovative approach has opened the field of image sensing to a number of potential new-generation applications in technologies such as medical imaging, robotics and intelligent surveillance. - See Details
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- 2015-06-15 Precocious GEM: Shape-shifting sensor can report conditions from deep in the body
- Scientists working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Institutes of Health have devised and demonstrated a new, shape-shifting probe, about one-hundredth as wide as a human hair, which is capable of sensitive, high-resolution remote biological sensing that is not possible with current technology. If eventually put into widespread use, the design could have a major impact on research in medicine, chemistry, biology and engineering. Ultimately, it might be used in clinical diagnostics.
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- 2015-06-15 From tobacco to cyberwood
- Swiss scientists from ETH Zurich have developed a thermometer that is at least 100 times more sensitive than previous temperature sensors. It consists of a bio-synthetic hybrid material of tobacco cells and nanotubes.
Humans have been inspired by nature since the beginning of time. We mimic nature to develop new technologies, with examples ranging from machinery to pharmaceuticals to new materials. Planes are modelled on birds and many drugs have their origins in plants. Researchers at the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering have taken it a step further: in order to develop an extremely sensitive temperature sensor they took a close look at temperature-sensitive plants. - See Details
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- 2015-06-15 Video: Wearable sensors to monitor triggers for asthma, and more
- What if you could wear something that would alert you when pollution, such as smog, is about to take its toll on your heart or lungs? That is what's "in the air" at the National Science Foundation- (NSF) supported Nanosystems Engineering Research Center (NERC) for Advanced Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies (ASSIST) at North Carolina State University.
ASSIST Director Veena Misra and her multidisciplinary team are using nanotechnology to develop small, wearable sensors that monitor a person's immediate environment, as well as the wearer's vital signs. - See Details
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- 2015-06-15 Cost-effective production of magnetic sensors
- They are found wherever other measurement methods fail: magnetic sensors. They defy harsh environmental conditions and also function in fluids. A new procedure is now revolutionizing the production of two-dimensional magnetic sensors: They now only cost half, and production time is reduced by 50 percent.
Where did you have to go? Turn right here – or was it the next turn? A glance at the smart-phone helps: Various apps provide maps and turn them in the right direction, adjusting them to north. Navigation devices are equally "clever": They too show the right direction even before the car sets off. This is made possible by a magnetic sensor. - See Details
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- 2015-06-13 How can we really get to a trillion sensors to power the Internet of Things?
- Benton N. Calhoun, Commonwealth Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been selected as the co-winner of the 2015 Edlich-Henderson Innovator of the Year Award, given by the University of Virginia's Licensing & Ventures Group.
He is the co-founder of one of the most talked about start-ups in Charlottesville, PsiKick. The company focuses on ultra-low-power wireless sensors, developed by Calhoun and his team at U.Va., and has been regarded by industry experts at the forefront of the generational phenomenon called "The Internet of Things." - See Details
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- 2015-06-13 Engineers develop next-gen temperature sensor
- UNL engineers and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory have designed a next-generation temperature sensor set to improve the measurement of oceanic dynamics that shape marine biology, climate patterns and military operations.
The fiber-optic sensor can register significantly smaller temperature changes at roughly 30 times the speed of existing commercial counterparts, said co-designer Ming Han, associate professor of electrical engineering. - See Details
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- 2015-06-13 A compact image sensor providing image quality on par with larger sensors
- Toshiba has developed a super high quality image processing technology that achieves image quality comparable to that of larger image sensors. This new technology is able to apply a compact image sensor like the ones in smartphones and in-vehicle cameras. Our technology sequentially processes a continuous series of captured images to realize a high image quality previously attainable with only larger image sensors.
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- 2015-06-13 Program envisions "asleep-yet-aware" electronics that could revolutionize remote wireless sensors
- State-of-the-art military sensors today rely on "active electronics" to detect vibration, light, sound or other signals. That means they constantly consume power, with much of that power and time spent processing what often turns out to be irrelevant data. This power consumption limits sensors' useful lifetimes to a few weeks or months when operating from state-of-the-art batteries, and has slowed the development of new sensor technologies and capabilities. Moreover, the chronic need to redeploy power-depleted sensors is not only costly and time-consuming but also increases warfighter exposure to danger.
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- 2015-06-13 Sensor detects spoiled meat
- MIT chemists have devised an inexpensive, portable sensor that can detect gases emitted by rotting meat, allowing consumers to determine whether the meat in their grocery store or refrigerator is safe to eat.
The sensor, which consists of chemically modified carbon nanotubes, could be deployed in "smart packaging" that would offer much more accurate safety information than the expiration date on the package, says Timothy Swager, the John D. MacArthur Professor of Chemistry at MIT. - See Details
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- 2015-06-13 Engineering team invents a camera that powers itself
- A research team led by Shree K. Nayar, T.C. Chang Professor of Computer Science at Columbia Engineering, has invented a prototype video camera that is the first to be fully self-powered—it can produce an image each second, indefinitely, of a well-lit indoor scene. They designed a pixel that can not only measure incident light but also convert the incident light into electric power. The team is presenting its work at the International Conference on Computational Photography at Rice University in Houston, April 24 to 26.
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- 2015-06-13 Thumbnail track pad: Unobtrusive wearable sensor could operate digital devices
- Researchers at the MIT Media Lab are developing a new wearable device that turns the user's thumbnail into a miniature wireless track pad.
They envision that the technology could let users control wireless devices when their hands are full—answering the phone while cooking, for instance. It could also augment other interfaces, allowing someone texting on a cellphone, say, to toggle between symbol sets without interrupting his or her typing. Finally, it could enable subtle communication in circumstances that require it, such as sending a quick text to a child while attending an important meeting. - See Details
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- 2015-06-13 Tagging and scanning for feral pigs
- Innovative research using GPS tracking and thermal imagery is being used in an attempt to manage the destructive behaviour of feral pigs in the south-west.
Feral pigs pose a threat to Australia's natural ecosystems, landscapes and biodiversity values, impacting on the environment and agricultural resources through predation, competition, habitat degradation and disease transmission. - See Details
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- 2015-06-13 Optical resonance-based biosensors designed for medical applications
- Abián Bentor Socorro-Leránoz, a telecommunications engineer of the NUP/UPNA-Public University of Navarre, has designed optical resonance-based biosensors for use in medical applications like the detection of coeliac disease. Besides achieving greater resolution and sensitivity, the materials used in these devices are much cheaper and more versatile than the ones used in current technologies (mainly gold and noble metals), so they could offer a potential alternative in the design of biomedical sensors.
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- 2015-06-13 Researchers uncover pain-relief secrets in hot chili peppers
- Anyone who has ever bitten unknowingly into a red hot chili pepper remembers the unhappy result – burning, painful sensations that make one's mouth feel as though it has caught on fire. Yet the very chemical that causes that pain, capsaicin, has also become a popular pain-reliever found in over-the-counter and prescription medications.
This irony about the calming effects of hot chili peppers is old news for capsaicinpros like Tibor Rohacs, an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. What's new are Rohacs' research findings as to how capsaicin works to calm painful nerves, muscles and joints. - See Details
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- 2015-06-12 Zensors: Making sense with live question feeds
- Getting answers to what you really want to ask, beyond if the door is open or shut, could be rather easy. A video on YouTube demonstrates something called Zensors. Started at Carnegie Mellon last year and worked on by a team of faculty and graduate students from the school's Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Zensors is promoted as sensing made easy.
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- 2015-06-12 Ears, grips and fists take on mobile phone user ID
- A research project has been under way to explore a biometric authentication system dubbed Bodyprint, with interesting test results. Bodyprint has been designed to detect users' biometric features using the capacitive touchscreen as an image scanner. As such, one would use Bodyprint as a convenient replacement for PIN codes for smartphones. The biometric scanner can scan body parts such as ears, palm grips and fists when pressed against the display, to identify the user biometrically.
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- 2015-06-12 Direct visualization of magnetoelectric domains
- A novel microscopy technique called magnetoelectric force microscopy (MeFM) was developed to detect the local cross-coupling between magnetic and electric dipoles. Combined experimental observation and theoretical modeling provide understanding on how a bulk linear magnetoelectric effect can be realized in a new family of materials.
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- 2015-06-12 A mouse that plays off gamers' super-quick motions
- An EPFL post-doctoral student at Logitech has developed an algorithm that gives a mouse a nearly-unlimited reaction rate. It facilitates the combining of optical sensors with a system based on accelerometers and gyroscopes. Already on the market, this device is a successful example of collaboration between research and industry.
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- 2015-06-12 Making robots more human
- Most people are naturally adept at reading facial expressions—from smiling and frowning to brow-furrowing and eye-rolling—to tell what others are feeling. Now scientists have developed ultra-sensitive, wearable sensors that can do the same thing. Their technology, reported in the journal ACS Nano, could help robot developers make their machines more human.
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- 2015-06-12 Sony plays to strengths in games, sensors as it vows revival
- Once at the leading edge of consumer electronics, Sony Corp. is now more lumbering giant than trend-setter after falling behind competitors such as Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc.
Sony watchers are urging the down-on-its-luck company to rediscover its pioneering ethos. Founded in 1946, Sony symbolized Japan's rebirth after its World War II defeat, rising from humble beginnings. It had little else besides the smarts of founders Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, to come up with hit after hit: the transistor radio, home tape recorders, the Walkman portable recorder-and-player. - See Details
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- 2015-06-12 Blueberry research focuses on gentler methods of harvesting tiny fruit
- Getting more blueberries from the field to the grocery store, without hurting their quality, is the focus of a new nationwide research project led by a faculty member in the University of Georgia College of Engineering.
Changying "Charlie" Li, an associate professor who specializes in sensor technology, is leading a four-year study designed to identify ways to improve the efficiency of the nation's blueberry harvest. Last fall, the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded a $2.37 million grant to Li and his colleagues at 10 universities across the nation for the project. - See Details
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- 2015-06-12 Cellular sensing platform supports next-generation bioscience and biotech applications
- Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a novel cellular sensing platform that promises to expand the use of semiconductor technology in the development of next-generation bioscience and biotech applications.
The research proposes and demonstrates the world's first multi-modality cellular sensor arranged in a standard low-cost CMOS process. Each sensor pixel can concurrently monitor multiple different physiological parameters of the same cell and tissue samples to achieve holistic and real-time physiological characterizations. - See Details
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- 2015-06-12 Dark tattoos daunt Apple Watch
- Apple aficionados who are also fans of body art are finding out that dark tattoos can daunt the iconic company's hot new smartwatch.
An online Apple support page on Thursday warned that "ink, pattern, and saturation of some tattoos can block light from the sensor, making it difficult to get reliable readings."
Sensors on the back of Apple Watch wrist wear use LED light to detect blood flow and track heart rates of wearers to provide information such as calories burned or workout intensity. - See Details