November 2009 issue
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World Watch
Robo-Care is On its Way
BY GAIL HELGASON
Freelance Writer
Worried about whether you’ll have anyone to care for you when you’re old and feeble? Relax — robotic caregivers are on the way, reports the Chicago Tribune.
Researchers at the University of Illinois in Chicago say a basic prototype for use by the elderly could be as little as three years away. Developing a robotic caregiver that would understand gestures and bring objects to a patient is ambitious but possible, the researchers say.
But will these robots listen? Perhaps. Research is also planned to enable the caregiver to understand spoken words.
Spacecraft May
Deflect Asteroids
Another worry off our minds — a team of British scientists is developing a spacecraft that could stop large asteroids from destroying the Earth, BBC News reports. After studying engineering issues, including spacecraft size and long-term propulsion, the team concluded the project is potentially feasible.
EADS Astrium, a large European space transportation company, is spearheading the project.
Good News
For Procrastinating
Beer Drinkers
Researchers at the Technical University of Dortmund in Dortmund, Germany, have designed a polymer that could result in longer-lasting beer. But there’s a flip-side — beer drinkers concerned about nutrition will need to look elsewhere for their riboflavin.
When dipped in brew, the Dortmund polymer traps and removes riboflavin molecules by luring them into crevices similar in shape to the micronutrient. Exposed to light, riboflavin causes a chemical reaction that affects flavour and shelf-life, so its removal helps maintain freshness, an article in Popular Science (New York) explains.
Smart Spiders
Study Volcanoes
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Ready For Work |
The first network of volcano sensors, called “spiderbots,” is hard at work inside Washington’s Mount St. Helens. The spiderbots, says New Scientist (United Kingdom), are the first sensors able to automatically communicate with each other and satellites, instead of first sending data to a home base.
As well, these bots are more robust than previous systems. They can be dropped into volcanoes rather than carefully set up by hand, and they can route data around broken sensors.
Researchers with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who developed the system, envision using similar networks “to study geological activity elsewhere in the solar system.”
Beam Me Some
Electricity, Scottie
Japan plans to spend $21 billion to build a giant generator of solar power in space within three decades — and then beam electricity to Earth, Bloomberg News (New York) reports. A research group representing 16 companies, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., plans to spend four years developing the technology to transmit electricity from space.
And don’t watch for unsightly cables dangling from the cosmos. It is micro-waves that will bring the electricity home.
Childhood Retinal Diseases
Face Brand New Foe
Biomedical engineers at Duke University Medical Centre in Durham, N.C., are developing a hand-held device that could help reduce retinal diseases in children. The device uses a technique called spectral domain optical coherence tomography to create a 3-D image of the back of the eye, reports CNET News (San Francisco).
The probe can take photos more than 40 times faster than previous devices. As well, it’s so portable it can be used on infants in neonatal intensive care units, where vision loss from problems with retinal blood vessels is often a concern.
3-D Fingerprinting
Faster and More Accurate
A new non-contact, 3-D fingerprinting system could be on its way, thanks to researchers at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky. The system works by projecting light patterns onto a finger and analyzing the image, resulting in a more accurate print than those made with ink or sensor plates.
Technology Review (Cambridge, Mass.) reports that the process, called structured light illumination, is more efficient than the old way and significantly reduces mismatches.
Stick With
The Gecko
Mechanical engineers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh are in the first stage of commercializing the use of artificial gecko hairs as an adhesive.
The small tropical lizards have “billions of hairs” on their toes, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes. Each hair has hundreds of saucer-like structures called spatula on its end, which allow the gecko to stick to almost anything.
Engineers are mimicking this structure through the use of micro-fabrication, creating ultra-small mould templates. The templates will be filled with polymers to create artificial gecko hairs.
Worldwide
Water Pollution
Polls Big Numbers
When it comes to environmental matters, most people around the world consider water pollution a serious issue, Mechanical Engineering (New York) reports.
A recent international public opinion survey polled people in 15 countries, asking them how serious they consider water pollution, air pollution, climate change, depletion of natural resources, automobile exhaust, loss of animal and plant species, and shortages of fresh water. A total of 93 per cent placed water pollution in the serious category, with 72 per cent calling it “very serious.”