Air Force Blue Devil Airship

Another day and another tech news worthy of mentioning. The Air Force’s Blue Devil airship is getting yet another high-tech upgrade. Via a federal announcement put out last week, The Register reports that DARPA will outfit the Blue Devil Block 2 ISR airship with up to two Free-space Optical Experimental Network Experiment (FOENEX) systems. Think of them like optical lasers that move through the air with the fidelity of a fiber optic cable.

FOENEX taps adaptive optics technology--the same technology that lets terrestrial telescopes filter out visual noise from Earth’s atmosphere--to correct for distortions in the light caused by things like moisture and particulate matter in the air. They do so by measuring the distortions in a guide laser, then adjusting the receiver to compensate--down to one fifty-thousandth of a millimeter every millisecond. This basically gets rid of all airborne noise that can alter the stream of incoming photons in any way.

As such, FOENEX broadcasts via line-of-sight, through-the-air streams of photons with nearly the same transmission fidelity and reception as optical cable. It’s basically like this floating airship is plugged right into the fiber network, boosting transmission speeds. With resolution right down to the individual photon, FOENEX even opens the door to quantum cryptography.

If you aren’t up to speed on Blue Devil and the military’s ISR (that’s intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) conundrum, here’s why that’s important: Blue Devil Block 2 is what’s known as a C4ISR aircraft. That’s Command, Control, Computers, Communication, Intelligence Surveillance, and Reconnaissance. Unlike the Predators and Reapers that are already in the air streaming buckets of raw, uncatalogued data back to intelligence analysts on the ground, Blue Devil is more like an aerial intel hub. It doesn’t just stream back raw data for human analysts to deal with like Predator and Reaper, but rather it crunches and catalogs the data via a supercomputer in real time on board the aircraft.

The optionally-manned Blue Devil carries its own suite of sensors, and it can also handle incoming feeds from Reapers, Predators, and other ISR assets in the area. It processes that data and stores it onboard, and analysts on the ground can then remotely access it via data link, downlinking only the data they need (and leaving all that meaningless data they don’t need aboard the airship). This should streamline the whole ISR process tremendously and get meaningful information in the right hands faster.

And now, with a super-fast FOENEX downlink (or two), Blue Devil should be able to put that actionable intel in the hands of analysts at an even faster rate, cutting the lag between ISR collection and actual human decision-making on the ground.

Sources: Popsci, Daarpa, US Airforce 

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MIT X-ray Vision Now possible

There is no question the United States ambition to create super soldiers is an ongoing process that has given rise to crazy and incredible discoveries in various technology departments. From flying Humvees, to micro drones, MIT University researchers at Lincoln center have announced they have created a radar array that provides real-time images of whats happening on the other side of solid structures, even if its an 8 inch thick solid concrete wall 60 feet away.
If this isn't impressive take note that 99 percent of radar signals are lost when penetrating a wall and another 99 is lost when the signals are reflected back. Using a leverage method on signal amplifiers, MIT University Researchers have created a powerful digital processing "new radar system" that basically amounts to a real-time video of movements on the other side of solid structures walls at 10.8 fps(Frames per second). The US military is taking a good look at this technology and we can all bet they will use it in some degree to further spur the almighty "Future Super Soldier Program". Giving soldiers this type of tech will give them a ten fold advantage during dangerous urban conflict areas and more than likely save lives on both ends, soldiers and innocent civilians alike. I was thinking that it wont be long till DARPA gets involved in this project and further expand the capabilities of such a system. All will be be seen in due time and lets hope for the best.

Check out this Youtube video and hear the MIT Lincoln Lab's Radar breakdown on this tech

Sources: MIT Lincoln Lab Reports, popsci, Science Journal

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Modern Banking and Future

This is an interesting info-graph depicting the many banking methods used currently. In some way it basically demonstrates the form on baking technology currently present in our society and go we go about using banks to get money. Just notice the great percentage of online banking and its astronomical rise from 2010 into 2011, showing we are in fact moving more and more away physically and going "cyber" or as some others call it "Online connected".

You can also check out the other post I made on future credit card called "Credit Card 2.0" at
"link" and make connections into the future of the banking industry.

Big thanks to LiveScience for making it publicly available and allowing use of such info graphic.



Source:LiveScience

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Ground Based Laser Cannon

Coming with another grand technology news update; a land based laser canon to fry those pesky debris coming from space. READ NOWWW

Space debris is becoming a widespread problem for many nations as more and more countries are sending satellites and such. They are clogging up the atmosphere and posing up a risk to everything that leaves and enters earth..... 

But with every problem there is a solution and this time, a land based laser canon is that solution. The idea is that the canon would shoot put a laser much like those US Army projects, and fry the pesky space junk into nothing. Couple weeks ago the remains of a non functioning satellite came crashing down on earth and no one or anything could do a thing about it. The pieces fell into unguided lands and whatever it decided to crash into was in tough luck. Obviously this this sort of stuff can be left alone and something must be done about it. If it only keeps on increasing and piling on into our atmosphere then what of the future.


The way this would work is the heat from the laser would aim at the junk hurling down at thousands of mile per hour and vaporize it on contact while in trajectory. The basic process would be a chemical -plasma like combustion formed by the laser allowing it to create enough power to completely vaporize any space debris.The Authors of this proposal argue there are some set backs to this program mainly due to the other uses this could be set to complete. Mainly it is that if during a time on conflict, they may be used as weapons to target enemy satellites and such. The plan is to use this as a benefit for all not as a weapon therefor this is causing some issues to get it completely approved. 
Overall it is a great proposal to secure our atmosphere that poses a risk to our space advancement and many nations alike. I mean if the US Military already has such laser weapons in their disposal, I'm sure they have something much more powerful that what this laser could so about the claim of this being as weapon cant really hold up. Lets see how this prosal ends up as in the near future. 


Sources : Wired, Popsci, NASA

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RP 360-Degree Flight Simulation System

Flight simulation has come a long way but has been limited to just traditional screen projections, though 3D will likely be included at some point during the future. Conventional and traditional ways haven't really changed much, one sits in front of a screen, loads up the flight simulator and away you go. One company Barco, maker of of large format projection technologies hopes to change that and make their addition all for the better. A new flight simulator dome, although its more of a sphere, offers high resolution visuals and a full 360-degree view of the virtual simulation. With it; training- pilots can identify and spot other aircraft from 12 miles away. This is much better than what you used to do on yours mom's PC when you were up and running flight simulators and such. Fourteen 10 megapixel projectors bathe this Oval Simulation system in awe, they are calibrated by laser so ensure maximum accuracy and calibration. Barco states it wants to provide the most accurate and best possible experience when it comes to flight simulation as they want to insure pilot trainees are best prepared.

The insurance of aviation rests on the hands of those best prepared to take on tasks to fly future aircraft. Why not offer them the best simulation possible. RP-360 Simulation Sphere does just that and makes it look awesome at the same time.


(Sources: Barco, Popsci, Physicx)

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Universal Electric Car Charger- Big Auto 7 Agreement

The 7 major car brands in the world have come to an agreement for a Universal Electric Car charger to be available in the US and Europe. Being announced Tuesday, this is major news and a giant step into the green initiative as convenience will make it far more accessible for the worlds major markets. This approach integrates all charging scenarios that drivers would face and require. Putting everything under single connector and communication system, changing the infrastructure to accommodate these chargers far more easier and speed up the process. They would even be backwards compatible with both US and European systems, all cars would be able to benefit domestically and abroad. They'll be using a single-port charging system for all configurations, from small home chargers to bigger public rigs on the sides of highways and roads. Also announced was the support for HomePlug Green PHY, which despite its silly name is a pretty sweet idea: it would allow everyone to link their car's to the smart grid using Powerline, which allows all kinds of useful goodies like diagnostic system checks.  

   (Prepare to see these in the nearest charging station to you)


Although an idea that most say was logical and similar to what gas stations are now, it is only possible due to the worlds biggest automakers coming to an agreement: Audi, Ford, GM, Porsche, Daimler Chrysler, BMW, and Volkswagen respectively. 

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SASSA, The US Military's (Future) Space Toy

SASSA,short for "Self Awareness Space Situation Awareness" system is a newly minted US Military projected slated to go in test mode and show the world what it can do. The US Air-force confirmed a classified satellite carrying s special system was launching sometime in the near future and it can no doubt be concluded it is the SASSA. So what makes this space based Military system so amazing? In short terms acting like a radar for satellites, the system will alert operators of potential space-borne threats such as missiles to itself in which it will be able to even perhaps take kinetic action towards its own protection. This is a giant step into Space based defense systems. The US Military is heavily reliant on GPS, reconnaissance, and many other satellites already in orbit. They have no protection on that realm and in a worst case scenario are left unprotected during a time of war. This is where the SASSA comes into play. It will be able to defend such systems or for starters warm the systems operators of incoming threats and take appropriate action. The level of security and insurance by SASSA will be unprecedented. The biggest threats for space satellites are poised by ASAT  missiles (air missiles shot by warplanes into space) which are able to reach orbit and take down an intended target. Remember China's shooting down of a satellite they claimed was a simple test and such, well America isn't going to sit by idle and watch this. They have a system ready to neutralize all threats and retain air superiority, or better space superiority now. What better way to provide insurance to America than with a system orbiting earth and at hand able to counter-strike on command.

     (Source: PopSci, ASAT missile launch; biggest threat to our satellites)

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Nissan Developing Mind-Reading Cars

Researchers in Switzerland are developing cars with an ultimate ability in the realm of intelligence and technology, ability to read our minds.Over at EFPL they have been creating and developing a wheelchair  thought controlled system in which the cars can anticipate a driver's next move.With the help on environmental and bio-metric indicators, cars will be able to get ready for an upcoming task the driver has already thought off beforehand. According to one researcher, "People will soon be able to wake up and get behind one of these cars. They will only need to think of the commands and the car will do all the work. That is our goal so get ready to donate your car, get ready to drop everything with your current car, registration, insurance and prepare to get a car of the future".-Jose Del R Millan. These tasks for example can be anything from changing lanes, slowing down, to even get ready for a turn. Using brain censors well as brain activity and eye movement patterns to make these predictions. There are other methods to achieve the same method of reading a persons mind and predict what there next move is but the way to do that requires a lot pf testing and the person to be in deep thought for instance to avoid mixed signals.  Nissan and its researchers want to change that and implement it onto a vehicle and make a a wonderful change in the way we drive. Now this may be in a way later down the road connected to an auto-driving system such as those you may have seen on films. For now we will still use our own to hands to make those left and right turns but who knows, Jose Millan said we will donate our cars and open our driveways to future cars  that will change everything. I cant anything else other than elt it happen, technology is always good. (Nissan, Popsci, Swizz Research)

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Every Device That Connects Us( Info Graphic)

Whether you are reading this on your cell phone, laptop, desktop or whatever other device you are using, it’s still a technology gadget that will connect you to the millions of people if you want it to. The ways we can connect with each other has skyrocketed beyond comparison the last 20 years, and it’s unlikely it will stop increasing in speed. The ways that we communicate are becoming easier, shorter and even more intuitive (sometimes), and I am sure that we will find that email will soon be obsolete to whatever is the new way of making business friendships. Web conferencing and conference call services for example were supposed to completely change the field of face to face transactions but that hasnt exactly scattered into our every say routines. For now, email remains as the main way of communicating longer conversations, especially business conversations.

For the first time (I guess), we can get a clear view of how the technological infrastructure was built and to what extent it reaches out. As you can see, the numbers represented get multiplied with each major technological milestone, and it’s easy to see that we’re heading for something really interesting in the future. Whatever it will be that will beat the Internet will be major, and even though I can’t imagine what that will be right now, it’s still exciting to know that we always come up with something to beat the previous technology. What do you think will be the next big thing in technology that will top the Internet?   Will we become a civilization that will value web conferencing services over face to face discussions? Slowly but surely we as a society have the key to our future and what we decide what will become of us. 

(Intel Infograph)

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IBM Watson to work for Insurer Wellpoint

IBM news making supercomputer Watson, known famously for beating the best Jeopardy players in the world and taking home the games prize money, has now been tasked  to work for the health insurance industry for the company Wellpoint.  According to the Wall Street Journal the  expectations of the tasks Watson has been given are that of "helping suggest treatment options and diagnoses to doctors". WellPoint and IBM reached the deal Monday allowing  the health insurer to use Watson's toptier technology for a range of applications. As mentioned on the WSJ, "It is part of a far broader push in the health industry to incorporate computerized guidance into care, as doctors and hospitals adopt electronic medical records and other digital tools that can record, track and check their work." Basically this supercomputer will use its computing power to run health applications, such as health insurance records of patients and set appropriate diagnosis with each one at a far better and more accurate range. It will basically be a data center computer will patients info in which many applications can be used simultaneously within each patient. If anyone watched the Jeopardy match up against the best players, Watson proved  to be and lived up to its much anticipated computing power. It has the ability to learn and improve upon itself so one could see it's use in the health industry. WellPoint Insurer has  seen the potential Watson can offer so many suppose a health insurance company using it for medical purposes is a fitting job for such a powerful computer.  



                    Watson- Super-computing power of the Future 

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BMW Laser Headlights

BMW's concept car of the future, the BMW i8, will receive some unique headlights that are the first its kind. BMW is calling it "laser based illumination" and will first make use of it on the i8 and then expand on all other models. Why use laser headlights? Simple, it will save fuel. Plus, what could be cooler than to have laser headlights on a BMW. It should be noted that no it wont be those lasers like in those movies, means no super ultra cool lights firing away at enemies or other cars in your way. Instead the light emitted from the laser diodes will be a "phosphor material" inside the headlight that will convert it into a diffused white light that will be bright and luminous but be appealing and pleasant to the human eye. Laser diodes emit 170 lumens per watt whereas LED's only give out 100. BMW says with that statistic alone makes for a much better and efficient car. Car companies are constantly finding ways to improve efficiency now with higher governmental standards and BMW is starting out with the headlights and building from then on. Car companies shoukd look into changing new tech that they otherwise might've thought wasn't a necessity. If changing a headlight will save fuel then why not. Now one starts to think, how much will this cost the consumer using this fancy new tech on automobiles. Well the answer isn't always easy as so many points have to be considered. Auto quotes may go up and such but companies will obviously have to form some kind of idea to keep costs down  while using fancy technology. Finding cheap auto insurance is hard already and getting lasers on your new BMW may come at a higher auto insurance rate. Well it can be said that of you can afford this  type of car in the first place then car insurance you get will be no problem. So people looking to get that new fancy future car, start saving and check out those future auto quotes online and see when you can be the lucky ones to first drive such a bad-ass car. 

(Source: BMW Efficiency, Laserforum, Popsci)

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Dominos Thinks Space

Japan's Dominos Pizza division has announced plans to open up shop in space; or more specifically on the moon. Many see this as a publicity war most directly linked to rival Pizza Hut as they set a high standard by delivering a pizza to astronauts at the International Space Station in 2001. To fight back at that stunt Dominos paid one person 2.5 Million Yen (£20,046 ) to deliver pizzas for an hour. The competition just has gotten higher as the construction company, Maeda Corp, coming up with a dome-shaped Domino's restaurant in the lunar surface. With the company estimating the whole project to cost 1.67 Trillion yen and of which 560Y Billion (£4.5 billion) will be used to transport 70 tons of construction materials and pizza related equipment on 15 rockets. This project is completely insane as if it even actually goes through, why would a restaurant be required on the moon and or even space for that matter. Would people have to do web conferencing calls to that base to order.  Although the future is expected to be home to people living on bases just as they would at home, wouldn't it be better to wait for that to happen rather than open up shop at such an expensive price tag. Unless Astronauts use web conferencing to place orders from the Space Station, who would exactly be ordering. It could just be a total publicity stunt to spread word of mouth around but having a construction company already in talks shows how serious Dominos Pizza actually is. (Sources: The Telegraph, Popsci, Dominoes News, Maeda Corp

)

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Credit Card of the Future( Credit Card 2.0)

There has been an upwards trend on gadgets and peripherals implementing credit cards that are making transactions as easy as a swipe and click anywhere. Well credit cards are about to get even more fancy due to some awesome futuristic tech, call it the credit card 2.0.
Major banks such as Chase, Capital One, Wells Fargo and Citi Bank in the near future could offer these type of credit card to its customers. This concept card allows users to simultaneously link all their accounts in one card, hide their account number digitally, and deactivate the magnetic strip until it needs to be used again.  Talk about secure and insurance all under one plastic card. Whats great is this card works just like any other credit card. Works will  all magnetic readers, so its not necessary to go and replace current credit supporting applications. Would have same 0 apr card credit fee as any other card depending on bank, and rules and eligibility requirements.
The card makes use of a pin to show the credit card number, much like a smartphone lock screen requiring a code to get inside the smartphone, etc. Several banks are in talks with the company Dynamics, maker of this awesome tech, to make use of such cards. Your future Chase, Bank of America, Citi Bank, and Capital One credit card could very well be one of these awesome 2.0 Cards. I personally would like having one of these. What's not to like about a futuristic looking card offering security ,insurance, and easy of personal convenience all in one card.





(Sources: Dynamics Corp owner images, Banking Future Wiki)

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Almost 1000 Followers

Well closing in on 1000 followers soon :) and its exciting how far it has come. Looking forward to reaching that long milestone and as-usual will be glad to keep bringing awesome stuff to post.

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Future of Glass (Day Made of Glasss)

Corning Inc's video of what they envision for the future, as portrayed by making everything inside a household made of glass and function digitally. The video really speaks for itself as to what could be the future of the common household in a few years from now. Some questions asked by experts on this field are; will the regular rates applied to the common household remain the same. Benchmark lending, Insurance options, and credit mortgages just to name a few. Since for many these things are modeled on current structuring in a household, would making giant technological advances change the norm? Do these things simply improve upon itself or are completely rebuilt from the ground up. Just as auto insurance could change with the future cars on the road, home insurance can head towards non massive changes in a system or it can change to a completely new set up. Will insurance become expensive and even too much for the normal person that can afford such a home, one of the many questions that could be raised. It is still a far fetched thing to guess insurance rates, and only thing that can happen is to let the future get here and well see for ourselves.





(Sources: Youtube, Wiki, Insurance google infographics, future house)

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IBM New Chip "Living Brain"

IBM along side DARPA, have created the worlds first two working prototypes of a "neurosynaptic chip", based on the synapses and neurons of the human brain. What does this mean? Simple, means these first generation computing cores represent a major leap in speed, power, and efficiency in the computing world. Built on "45 nanometer silicon/metal oxide semiconductor platform, both chips have 256 neurons." Each unique chip has the ability to learn form its own actions, proving a leap forward into A.I. They were modeled of the pattern from the "brain" as a unique chip system that would is the first of its kind to ever exist. IBM's goal is to build a chip system with 10 billion neurons and 100 trillion synapses that would consume only 1-kilowatt-hour of electricity and fit inside a shoe-sized box. That is the clear goal and with these new chip much progress has been made. Although these current chips are still  billions and trillions of numbers away from what IBM wants, working along side DARPA and being funded by the SyNAPSE program could yield much faster results. Still, this new chips are already being called the rise of true A.I as the computing components are modeled by that of  a human mind; it allows them to learn by itself by their own actions.
Whether or not these will benefit humanity are a no brainer. They will allow us to get into new fields of technology not possible years ago, but the question is whether or not these chips  may become "too smart" even for us humans to understand.




(Sources, DARPA.mil, IBM.com, Globalpost, human mind wiki)

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Saudi Arabia to build Tallest Building Ever

Kingdom Tower

Saudi Arabia, already home to the world's tallest building has just set course to build an even bigger behemoth; The Kingdom Tower. By 2016-ish the world will see the extreme magnitude of this tower which will stand at over 3,281 feet tall on the streets of Jeddah. The Burj Khalifa, currently the tallest building peeks out at over 2,700 feet tall, this tower will eclipse that amount by a long run. The Kingdom Tower was designed by Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gil, Smith also designed the Burj Khalifa and one can see why he would be tasked with this building as well.

The tower itself will have over 5.38  million square feet of interior space and with the biggest attraction begin an observation deck on the 157th floor. It's design has a unique futuristic look and feel to it and certainly size to go along with it. Its three-petal shape comes from the local desert flower of which also serves as a visual metaphor for "growth". Total cost is estimated at 1.23$ Billion, a fraction of the $20 billion being used for development by the Saudi Government for development in Jeddah. This tower will be the crown jewel of that part in the world and certainly be a hot spot for tourists and other major events. Stick around by 2016 and see one of the many buildings of the future.

(Sources: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill images and data, skyscrapercity forums, buildingwiki)

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Google+ 25 Million Strong

Google+ has captured 25 Million users in less than one month, never has any site achieved such a feat. If you think Facebook was better, it took them 3 years to have 25 Million users followed by Twitter with 3 years. What's even more amazing is that this 25 Million number was through July 24, it has been capturing a million new users daily. Google+ is currently outshining Facebook in the number of users in all areas through its early rise.

Facebook still holds a major lead over Google+ obviously but at the pace Google+ is racking up new daily users and still not even out in the open, don't be surprised if it does in a few years from now.   (Source google.com, wiki, infographs)

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Facebook like Face Recognition?

Apparently the worrisome news of online privacy haven't stopped proposals and research for a facial recognition system unlike any other. A system which was able to match webcam images and Facebook profiles 31% of the time. Though 31% isn't much; it is clear that maintaining anonymity is becoming harder and harder. Carnegie Melon University Researches demonstrated that system and findings at the Black Hat computer security conference in Las Vegas. Google engineers have had talks about the possibility of using their technology for such a purpose but claim they don't have any actual plans.

CMU students volunteered for an experiment in which their images were successfully identified  with their Facebook profiles about 30% of the time. Over "278,000 thousand Facebook pictures and 6,000 dating profiles" were also tested and 1-in10 were able to be identified.
For now these type of systems work only with front facing photos but as technology gets better and better, wont be long till a single photograph will be able to bring up a persons complete information.



(Sources: Popsci, Carnegie Melon, CMU, Google)

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The Self Repairable Vehicle for the Future (Concept)

Audi A9 (Future Concept)
Audi, the great manufacturer of luxury and amazing cars has proposed a plan for a unique car unlike the world has ever seen before. Though this concept has been floating around for sometime now, the jaw dropping effects still remains when one hears "being able to fix itself automatically". The Audi A9 is a concept car from reputed Spanish designer; Daniel Garcia. The car is a low emission hybrid for the future. It Features a single-piece widescreen windshield and a roof formed by nanotechnology material which in a funny way has yet to be discovered that has a unique "automatic-system" that repairs damage and can be adjusted for colors and opacity.

Another amazing feature is the "electronic painting" system that would allow the owner to change color by pressing a single button. Any color desired can be applied to the vehicle in a simple one-step process. Only time will tell if this car will ever see the light of day.
(Source: Audi Concepts, Future Concepts)

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Proposed "Real Life Death Star"

The proposed Ras al Khaimah Convention and Exhibition Centre in the UAE has a very similar resemblance to the famous  Death Star. It was designed by Rem Koolhaas and Reinier de Graaf as part of their collaboration with OMA. The sphere plans to hold a convention center, hotel rooms, apartments, offices and retail space all under its magnificent roof and make the people inside have a one of a kind experience.

I can’t imagine this building being accepted or even being considered for construction but there is always that one possibility. Personally I think it looks amazing and is truly unique. It offers both a dark yet light filling surrounding that would truly make this single place be the only kind of it in the world.


Sources: Skycrapercity, Wired, Nakheel

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Transparent Battery for the Future

A Standford researcher has undertaken the incredible task of looking into the field of transparency for the next power source. While looking at other major electronic components and noticing displays, transistors, and other circuitry, he noticed the lack-off a transparency power source.

So researcher Yi Cui along with his team, took the novelty of implanting an electrode pattern into  a superfine mesh, which in turn allowed an energy dense battery. Building a new frame work for the soft mesh material, they build a complete battery only needing two layers filled with electric material. They used that standard lithium-ion battery with a gel electrolyte (also clear) and made the whole battery see through. So with this new research the possibility of see through batteries in our future gadgets has become a possibility and they could become commercialized in four years time.



Sources: Standford University, Popsci, MSN

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Lockheed Martin Laser Tech (Prism)

The United States continued dominance for new and bigger weapons has led to the many companies that create such things to get into the Laser Field. One of them is Lockheed Martin; most widely known as the company that built the F-22 Raptor, SR-Blackbird and an array of other incredible weapon systems. Trying to fulfill the call for a new generation of weapons based on Lasers and light energy, Lockheed Martin has inverted a prism as a way to build a more practical Military Weapon.

It works by combining multiple wavelengths into a single line of laser generating much more power and energy into that single line. It won 14$ Million as a contract to build a working weapons based laser system from the United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command. In five years time they must demonstrate a capable weapon but by the looks of things it appears Lockheed is going in the right direction.

Similarly works just like the famous Pink Floyd Symbol.

(Sources: Lockheedmartin.com, DARPA.mil, smdc.army)

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Invisibility Cloak

Scientists and researches in recent times have been putting an extraneous amount of time  and effort into successfully achieving the impossible; Creating an invisibility cloak. The technology is very tricky to handle and incredibly difficult, it is like trying to create something in real life using a guide from a science fiction novel. One thing for certain is that many advances in this field have been made particularly with the U.S DAARPA branch, aligning a great deal of funds to research this technology. Several Universities around the world have been also taking part into this research but recently the people over at Cornell have actually created an invisibly cloak even though it only lasted for 110 nanoseconds. Called "Space Time Invisibly Cloak", what has been theoretically possible for a couple of years has been achieved for an instant, but this means the technology is there, just a matter of mastering it and extending for vast amounts of time. It requires researchers/scientists to play with space itself to hide an event from the average person and upon doing so an invisibility cloak is being created.

                                          (Paul Kinsler, Imperial College of London)

This graph from Paul Kinsler, Imperial College of London, demonstrates the main overview of how this works. Light continues in sort of a highway pattern and the invisibly cloak happens when that break separates its path thus making it invisible.

Source: DAARPA, NIS.gov.




Ignore this
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DNA and Quantum Dots?

Well it appears researchers, this time form the university of Toronto, have engineered what they call an "artificial molecule" that can be assembled into a whole new range of nano-materials. This is big, especially when one of those nano-materials can be turned into one that controls and directs energy it absorbs from light. In other words, it is basically a self-assembling antenna for "light" out of quantum dots that can lead to new ways to harvest energy from light.

                                                  (University of Toronto Engineering)

Quantum Dots are like small semi conductors which can be customized to absorb energy efficiently and emit light in finely-tuned ways. Using DNA allows for a high degree of specificity and coaxing them with Quantum dots allows for a new generation of materials that are composed of completely new applications.

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Silver Ballpoint Pen Can Draw Functional Electronic Circuits on Paper

[Found this recently new invention that is just amazing. You gotta read this.]

["A plain rollerball pen filled with a conductive ink can draw circuits on a sheet of paper, where they can provide power to an LED display and an antenna, among other potential uses.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign made a new type of liquid metal ink that stays liquid in a pen, but dries after being applied to paper, wood or another surface. The liquid consists of silver nanoparticles that were reduced in size using acid, and then modified with cellulose so the fluid has a more inky viscosity. Draw a line, and when it dries, the result is a silver wire that can conduct electricity. Researchers built an LED display with their school’s initials, UIUC, and the lovely sketch below depicting a house and trees. The ink serves as wiring for the LED mounted on the roof of the house, and it’s powered by a five-volt battery connected to the edge of the painting, according to a UI press release."
"While 3-D printers can also create customized circuitry, a handheld pen is a cheaper, more portable method, materials scientist Jennifer Lewis said. There’s no software required — just a steady hand. The pen would enable circuits to be drawn on small, oddly shaped surfaces, and it can work as fast as someone can move his or her hand."]

The ink research, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, was described in an early online version of the journal Advanced Materials.

Source: All sources POPSCI, US Department of Energy,

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Next-Gen NASA Helmet Display

 Recon Instruments, maker of GPS-enabled ski goggles with in-goggle displays is sending its technology to NASA for potential inclusion in the next generation of spacesuit helmets in which mission critical information and checklists could appear right before astronauts eyes. NASA’s spacesuit designers have been toying with the idea of an in-helmet displays for a while now, and considering that spacewalking astronauts currently rely on paper checklists taped to their arms, such a display represents a pretty big technological leap forward.

 (These Images are not what the helmet will look like but merely serve to give a glance at what Recon makes and the awesomeness it can create alongside NASA)

Say an astronaut is performing repairs on the outside of the international space station or on an orbiting satellite. The astronaut could call up his mission checklists when needed (voice commands? Yeah, let’s see if we can integrate some voice commands in there) and put them out of sight when they aren’t necessary. But crew inside the ship/station could also beam him or her diagrams, schematics, and detailed instructions on how to perform repairs on the fly, making missions more nimble.
It’s conceivable that a full heads-up display and even augmented reality might at some point be integrated into the helmet, making it easier for astronauts to identify mission targets and components and quickly find things they are looking for. Engineers could even upload a demo to an astronauts HUD talking him or her through an unexpected repair that wasn’t covered in training.
But one step at a time. Desert RATS takes place every year in Arizona and gives NASA engineers the opportunity to work alongside researchers and scientists from around the country on technology development and to field test technologies that NASA might potentially want to tap. If Recon’s HUD technology makes the cut, those paper checklists might soon (finally) get a space-age upgrade.

Sources:
POPsci.com
Nasa.gov
Techinfo

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MORE Laser Guns

Dead Space 2 is an amazing game, period.  Just look at their advertising tactic – show their target audience that parents hate Dead Space 2.  In my opinion, there’s no better way to ensure that people buy your game.  I don’t know about other Dead Space 2 players, but I’m tired of being confined to the game.  That’s why I was pumped when I found the Dead Space 2 DIY plasma gun, which can pop balloons and light matches.

To make this gun, you need two laser diodes, probably from a Blu-ray player, and a replica Dead Space 2 gun.  Open up the case, replace two of the LEDs with laser diodes, and boom!  Dead Space 2 awesomeness.  This DIY weapon was created by KipKay.

Star Trek Gun

This awesome laser gun was made from a plastic Star Trek phaser, a 12x magnified blu-ray burner diode, and Energizer Lithium primaries.  The laser phaser is not as powerful as some modded ray guns, but can still pop balloons and light flash paper.  The designer included an optional safety switch to ensure that children don’t blind themselves or others, which is probably a smart idea.
The Star Trek phaser gun can shoot for 3 hours on full batteries, so a single set of Lithiums will last you qutie a long time.

Portal 2 Gun

Unfortunately, the portal gun does not shoot lasers or portals. This cool light gun does light up in dual colors, blue and orange, and is full size 22 inches long and 15 pounds. An unnamed designer created this awesome portal gun from wood filler, mat foam, paint, and chicken wire.  That’s a pretty impressive feat, if you ask me. (The only thing that would have made it cooler, and made it more in line with the rest of the post, is if it shot lasers.)

Walyou

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ZeroTouch Interface

 A team from Texas A&M University unveiled a touch screen technology they’ve been keeping in secret for a couple of years that isn’t really a screen at all. ZeroTouch is more like an empty picture frame lined with LEDs and filled with criss-crossing beams of infrared light. Like a mashup of traditional 2-D touch interface with the 3-D applications of, say, Microsoft’s Kinect, its applications are many.
The design seems so simple that it’s almost surprising we haven’t seen something like this until now. ZeroTouch is basically an empty window pane, and the LEDs and IR sensors mounted around its edges detect anything that crosses the plane of that frame (it can recognize up to 20 independent touch points at a time).

 

Since ZeroTouch allows a user not only to touch but to reach through the “screen,” it opens itself to a huge variety of applications. Laid on a flat surface, it can be used as a drawing board or a drafting stylus. Placed over any conventional screen, it instantly and inexpensively turns it into a touch screen. Or it can be suspended in space so the user can actually reach through it, offering it a 3-D capability that other touch screen interfaces lack. So far, 3D applications haven’t really been exploited beyond a pretty straightforward painting program, but the possibilities are there. The experts behind ZeroTouch next plan to create a layered device where multiple screens are stacked atop one another, giving it a greater degree of depth of control.

Source. PopSCI

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Unique USB and Projector Iphone

Color Display USB
I wanna start off with an amazing proposal for a USB drive that is unlike any out there. Getting straight to he point, this USB lights up and according to the information stored inside it changes to different colors. Such as red meaning its empty or blue for files, pink for pictures... etc. Of course you can customize the colors to your liking and overall I think its just plain cool to see these release sometime in the future.

 

 Iphone projector Concept

This is just a solo image of a so called Iphone projector "Phone." Basically it will render physical hardware obsolete and will just use a small wrist projector to display your virtual phone. It is a really cool looking idea and something truly unique and new, but I don't think the masses will like not having a fancy gadget to show off around. I like the idea and wrist projector for the phone and if it ever does see the light of day Ill be sure to give it a try.

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