HydroICE project developing a solar-powered combustion engine

A cut-away view of the prototype HydroICE engine, with cotton batten indicating how steam would be used to drive the piston down

OK, first things first – stop picturing a car with solar panels connected to its engine. What Missouri-based inventors Matt Bellue and Ben Cooper are working on is something a little different than that. They want to take an internal combustion engine, and run it on water and solar-heated oil insteadof gasoline. That engine could then be hooked up to a generator, to provide clean electricity. While that may sound a little iffy to some, Bellue and Cooper have already built a small-scale prototype.

The duo have labelled the system HydroICE, which is short for Hydro Internal Clean Engine. Here’s how they envision it working ...

To begin, mirrored parabolic solar collectors would be used to heat oil to a temperature of at least 400 to 700ºF (204 to 371ºC). This hot oil would then be injected into the cylinder chamber of the engine, just like gasoline ordinarily is. A few microdroplets of water would then also be introduced, which would turn to steam immediately upon contact with the hot oil.

The rapidly-expanding steam would serve the same purpose as exploding gas, driving the piston downward and turning the driveshaft. As the piston reached the bottom of its stroke, the spent steam and oil would exit the cylinder and be run through an oil/steam separator. They could then each be returned to their respective reservoirs, for re-use within the closed-loop system.

Hot oil would be injected into the cylinder (Fig 1/Port A), water droplets would then be introduced to that oil (Fig 2/Port B), then the resulting steam would force the piston down (Fig 3)

In order to test the technology, Bellue and Cooper have converted a 31cc 2-stroke gas engine to run as a HydroICE engine. While it isn’t clear if they’ve actually had the thing running yet, they have partnered with Missouri State University and the Missouri University of Science and Technology to develop all the necessary peripheral hardware (such as the solar collectors), and to test the engine’s efficiency.

That efficiency is currently estimated at being at least 15 percent – about the same as the maximum efficiency of existing photovoltaic panels. The technology's big advantage, however, would be price. They’re projecting that a HydroICE system would cost about a quarter of what an equivalent-output photovoltaic system would go for ... obviously, though, that’s still looking some distance down the road.

For now, they’re trying to raise research and development funds viaIndiegogo. More information is available in their pitch video below.

Source: HydroICE , Gizmag

Disney Research robot can juggle, play catch

With the aim of providing some physical interaction between entertainment robots and guests at its theme parks, while still maintaining a safe distance between the two, Disney Research has created an animatronic robot that can play catch and juggle balls with a human partner.

A Kalman filter algorithm is used to analyze video captured on an external camera system consisting of a Kinect-like ASUS Xtion PRO LIVE to track a colored ball in three-dimensional space and predict its destination and timing. The ball's predicted location is then relayed to the robot, which moves its hand accordingly.

The balls need to be thrown in the general vicinity of the robot’s hand, which has been modified with a cup-like shape to boost its catching ability. The camera system also tracks the human thrower’s head to orientate the robot towards them and the robot’s head will move to give the impression it is tracking the ball through the air with its eyes.

Caught balls are thrown back 2.5 meters (8 ft) to the thrower, while the developers have given the robot several different animations that play out when it drops a ball. These include a shaking of the head, looking behind, looking down, or a shrug of the shoulders.

The developers were also able to speed up the throw/catch cycle to give the robot the ability to juggle three balls with a human partner. While not quite on a par with the three-fingered robotic hand developed at the Ishikawa Komuro laboratory at the University of Tokyo, it's still pretty impressive.

There’s no word on when visitors to Disney theme parks can expect to enjoy a game of catch with a robot, but we don't imagine the technology will be used in Disney World’s Hall of Presidents.

The video below shows the Disney Research robot's catching and juggling ability.

Source: Disney Research (YouTube channel) via Popular Science

Archos FamilyPad , 13.3 inch tablet to release in UK next month

Remember those days when families sat around together and played Monopoly or Guess Who? instead of embarking on solo missions to destroy sniggering, helmet-clad pigs?

Archos does and with its newly-announced FamilyPad tablet, the manufacturer wants to spark a return to those halcyon days when "family time" meant just that.

The large 13.3-inch FamilyPad will go on sale in the U.K. in December for £274.99, while a recent trip through the U.S. Federal Trade Commission suggests an international announcement is also imminent.

The FamilyPad, which runs on Android Ice Cream Sandwich, has a 1200 x 800, 10-point multi-touch screen which, according to Archos, "recreates the traditional board game" experience.

Complete interactive experience

The 8GB device will feature a host of built-in games, with "thousands" more to download, the company said.

"The FamilyPad brings a new meaning to family game night and recreates the traditional board game into a digital game that provides a complete interactive experience for the entire family," Archos said in its press release.

"With its 10x multitouch screen, families can play games with up to four people at time for a real game board experience.

"The FamilyPad features thousands of various games to choose from including a range of pre-installed games selected by Archos for an instant out of the box gaming experience."

Organising the troops

Beyond gaming, the tablet is also being pitched as a family organiser, largely due to the bundled-in stand and the ability to configure a calendar app and multiple email accounts.

The FamilyPad also features a "special embedded animated slide show feature" to turn the tablet into a photo album, while it's touted as being large enough for everyone to gather around and watch movies.

Do you think the Archos FamilyPad can carve out a niche in the densely-populated tablet market? Let us know in the comments section below.

Source : Techradar

New type of electrotherapy makes implantable defibrillators less shocking

Regular implantable defibrillators (like this one) may save patients' lives, but also inflict a lot of pain and trauma (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

While regular pacemakers attempt to rectify arrhythmias (irregular heart beat rhythms) using constantly-delivered electric pulses, implantable cardioverter defibrillators do something a bit different. As long as everything stays normal, they don’t do any shocking – when they detect a dangerously fast heart beat, however, they respond by delivering a massive jolt of electricity to the heart. While this may save the patient’s life, it’s also very traumatic and painful. Now, a team of scientists from Washington University in St. Louis may have come up with a solution to that problem.

Ordinarily, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) deliver shocks measuring between 600 and 900 volts. Not only is that highly unpleasant for the patient, but it’s enough to damage the heart muscle and may even ultimately be linked to increased mortality. Some patients reportedly go so far as to request that the device be removed, even though they realize that it has previously saved their life.

ICDs work by monitoring the heart beat, specifically looking for a potentially lethal type of arrhythmia known as ventricular tachycardia, in which the heart beats too quickly. When this occurs, they attempt to “reset” the heart by applying a carefully-timed electric shock, with the idea that the heart’s natural built-in pacemaker node will then have a chance to get it beating again at the proper rate.

What the St. Louis scientists discovered was that a series of closely-timed low-voltage shocks actually worked better. Not only did the shocks’ initial application not depend so much on exact timing, but the peak shock voltage could be reduced to just 20 volts. Even when the total energy of all the shocks was added together, the sum was still a fraction of the 600 or more volts that would be delivered by a conventional ICD.

Additionally, it was found that the peak shock voltage could be reduced by a further 50 percent if the ICD’s current was applied in a different locationthan is currently standard. Presently, the electricity must travel through the chest wall muscles and associated sensory nerves. By placing the ICD’s electrodes on the right ventricle and a nearby blood vessel known as the coronary sinus, however, the current could get straight to the heart. Not only does this require less voltage, but it should also reduce patient discomfort. In fact, the researchers hope that the technology may eventually reach the point that the shocks are small enough to fall below patients’ threshold of pain.

The team, led by Drs. Ajit H. Janardhan and Igor Efimov, have recently received a National Institutes of Health grant to develop a prototype for use in humans. They hope to begin clinical trials soon.

Source: Washington University in St. Louis , Gizmag

Dog-inspired scent detector sniffs out explosives and narcotics

A team of UCSB researchers have mimicked the anatomy of a dog's nose to build a highly effective scent detector that could be used to sniff out explosives and narcotics (Image: Peter Allen/UCSB)

Combining nanotechnology and microfluidics, researchers at UC Santa Barbara have created a high-performance detector that draws inspiration from the anatomy of a dog's nose to accurately identify substances – including explosives and narcotics – from very small concentrations of airborne molecules.

Able to detect smells ten thousand times as faint as humans can, a dog's nose is an invaluable asset to police forces around the globe. So, when UCSB researchers set out to build an effective electronic nose that could assist homeland security, they already knew where they could find the perfect design.

By modeling the way in which a dog's nose efficiently absorbs and then concentrates airborne molecules, the researchers were able to produce a device with remarkable performance, capable of capturing and identifying molecules in concentrations as low as one part per billion – as well, or better, than their furry counterparts.

Within the paperclip-sized chip, a network of microscale channels twenty times thinner than a human hair picks up the molecules and increases their concentration by a factor of up to a million. The molecules then interact with nanoparticles that amplify their spectral signature, and a miniature spectrometer detects their composition. The results from this analysis are then compared to a comprehensive database to find the closest match, identifying the molecule with a high degree of accuracy.

Even though it was first intended for use in explosives detection (the design will soon be commercialized for homeland security applications) this technology has much more far-reaching applications. Because it can be used to identify a very wide variety of molecules, the researchers say it could be easily adapted to detect narcotic substances, food that has spoiled, or even as a diagnostic tool that can identify disease, includingcertain forms of cancer.

A paper detailing the results was published this month in the journalAnalytical Chemistry.

In the video below, UCSB researchers Carl Meinhart and Martin Moskovits discuss their device and some of its possible uses.

Source: UC Santa Barbara , GIzmag

Turn Your IPad into mini foosball table!!!

As many bar game aficionados are aware, little compares to a good foosball match, and while owning a table of your own has typically required sacrificing a sizable portion of your house, Classic Match Foosball by New Potato Technology promises to bring the iconic game to the iPad's smaller form, complete with physical controls.

New Potato Technology is the company previously responsible for Pinball Magic, and like that device, Classic Match Foosball is a full physical accessory which cradles the iPad. The unit contains real controls to lend that all-important tactile feedback, with eight 2-axis control rods which are accompanied by score counter sliders.

Classic Match Foosball is powered by the iPad's on-board batteries and sports four folding removable legs for easier storage. The unit can also act as a charging dock, and comes with a complimentary iOS app, which offers a 3D instant replay of every goal to recap your glory.

The foosball table is compatible with all full-size iPads except the most recent model, presumably due to Apple's introduction of the Lightning port. However, the device in question must be running iOS 5 or later. The company states that the game supports up to four players, though in reality, one imagines that two players would be a much better fit for the iPad's 10-inch form.

Classic Match Foosball is will set you back US$99.99.

Source: New Potato Technology via Gizmodo UK

2012 eReader Comparison Guide

Five years ago, Amazon released one of the most important mobile gadgets of the decade. E-books had been around for years, but few cared until the arrival of the Kindle. Today Amazon's digital reader is now an entire product line.

Like any revolutionary product, the Kindle spawned rivals. The most prominent is Barnes & Noble's Nook. The competing products have evolved in sync with one another: getting smaller and cheaper, adding touch screens, and expanding into subsidized tablets.

As we compare the best eReaders on the market, we're focusing on the dominant players:

• Amazon Kindle Paperwhite
• Amazon Kindle
• Amazon Kindle Keyboard
• Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight
• Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch
• Kobo Glo

We could have easily included Sony's Reader, but we narrowed it to these top six. Our list is dominated by the Kindle and Nook, but they've proven themselves to be the undisputed market leaders.

So, without further ado, let's break down the top eReaders of the 2012 holiday season …

Size

Sizes are all in the same ballpark. In terms of surface area, the standard Kindle is the smallest, and the Kindle Keyboard is the largest. The Kindle Keyboard is also the thinnest, with the beefy Nook Simple Touches measuring the thickest.

Weight

All of these readers are relatively light. The standard Kindle takes the crown for lightest, with the Kindle Keyboard weighing the heaviest.

Display

Notice a pattern? Manufacturers have settled on six inches as the standard for e-ink readers. The Kindle Paperwhite, both Nook Simple Touches, and the Kobo Glo all have touch screens. The rest rely on physical controls.

Though text looks great on all of them, the Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Glo have the highest resolution. The Paperwhite, Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight, and Kobo Glo offer backlit displays for low-light reading.

Storage

E-books don't take up much space, so the numbers you see above should suffice for most customers. Purchases are also stored in the cloud, so you can remove books from your device without losing your purchases.

Wireless

All but the Kindle Keyboard are sold in Wi-Fi only models. Only the Paperwhite and Keyboard Kindles are sold with free 3G data. Frequent travelers may find these models to be worth the extra money.

Battery life

Low-powered e-ink screens always delivered great battery life, and this batch is no exception. The Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Keyboard, and Nook Simple Touch win the race at an absurd two months without a charge.

Charging time

For those times when you do need to charge your reader, the standard Kindle is the quickest. Its battery can go from dead to full in three hours.

Intangibles

Backlit displays are the biggest step forward for eReaders in years. The Kindle Paperwhite, Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, and Kobo Glo all let you read in the dark. The biggest concern is keeping that display evenly-lit, and the Paperwhite and Kobo achieve this better than the Nook.

The biggest reason to choose the standard Kindle is for its rock-bottom price (see below). The Kindle Keyboard, meanwhile, is for … well, those who want a keyboard. It features a rudimentary web browser, so you could hypothetically tap out emails in a pinch.

The standard Nook Simple Touch is a great reader, but with a higher price tag than the Kindle, it's primarily for those who prefer the Nook's content and design.

The Paperwhite and standard Kindles don't include a charger, so you may need to spend a few extra bucks on that.

Starting price

If you want cheap, the standard Kindle is affordable for almost anyone at US$69. All of the Kindles ship by default with "Special Offers." These advertisements are mostly non-intrusive, but if they bug you, you can turn them off for a one-time payment of $20.

Summing up

As much as smartphones and tablets have become integral parts of our lives, there's something to be said for eReaders. They're lighter, easier on the eyes, and better recreate the feeling of reading a book. Not to mention, they contain fewer distractions (Steinbeck or Angry Birds?).

Still, if you dare cross onto the other side of the fence, Amazon and Barnes & Noble will be happy to sell you a tablet

Source : Gizmag

Firefox 17.0 launches with integrated Facebook Messenger

Mozilla has released the latest Firefox update, version 17 by its count, which adds a new social API.

The social API allows for a persistent social sidebar that gives users direct access to chatting with their social networks while surfing the web.

As a partnership between Mozilla and Facebook, the first social feature for Firefox 17.0 is Facebook Messenger.

Turning the Facebook Messenger feature on opens up the Facebook chat sidebar on the right side of the browser along with notifications at the top for incoming comments, photo tags, and other notifications.

What's new in Firefox 17?

While Facebook Messenger is the only social sidebar out for Firefox 17 right now, the social API will make it possible for other social networks to build their own similarly integrated tools.

Also new in Firefox 17 is the click-to-play blocklisting feature for plug-ins. With the feature, Firefox will no longer automatically run web content that uses an out-of-date plug-in, such as if the computer's version of Flash needs to be updated.

Users can still manually click on content to run using older plug-ins, or allow Firefox to try and install a newer version of the plug-in.

The other big change in the new version of Firefox is that Mozilla has finally cut off support for Mac OS X 10.5. Safari dropped Leopard support last year, and Chrome followed suit a few weeks ago, making Opera the only major browser to still support the legacy Apple OS.

Mozilla also recently overhauled Firefox for Android, making its mobile browser compatible with nearly 250 million more Android smartphones on the market.

Mozilla is banking on social features to make Firefox fit more easily into its users' lives. Facebook Messenger is a good start, while Twitter and Reddit sidebars can't be too far behind.

UK's first 4G SIM-only plans finally appear

EE, the UK's first network to offer 4G has finally launched its SIM-only tariffs, almost a month after the superfast network strode onto the scene in Britain.

Plans start at £21 per month on a 12-month contract – no rolling 30-day deals here – which gives you unlimited texts and calls but just 500MB of data.

If you need more data each month, EE offers 1GB, 3GB and 5GB tariffs, priced at £26, £31 and £36 respectively.

Worth it?

While EE will argue that you'll be getting superfast speeds, allowing you to download apps and videos in a flash while you stroll down the street, it's hard to ignore offers elsewhere for the data hungry among us.

Over at giffgaff, for example, you can pick up 250 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited internet for £12 a month – there's no 4G, but at almost half the price of EE's cheapest offering it's well worth considering.

The good news is EE does provide nano-SIMs if you fancy picking up a newiPhone 5 SIM-free and then going down the 4G SIM-only route for a year.

Plus you can use your handset to tether your web connection to other devices - although this will likely see you chomp through your allowance in double quick time. 

Source ; techradar

Brutal Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS Black Series revealed

Due for its public debut at the upcoming Los Angeles motor show, Mercedes-Benz AMG has finally revealed images and details of the SLS Black Series. Ever since the gull-winged wonder was first released in 2010, enthusiasts and schoolboys have been anticipating the inevitable ultimate (road-going) version. It'll come as no surprise that the beast in question is wider, harder, faster, and completely awesome.

"The new SLS AMG Black Series is a perfect study in the one hundred percent transfer of technology and engineering from motorsport to road," says Ola Källenius, Chairman of Mercedes-AMG. "We have drawn inspiration from the worldwide success of the SLS AMG GT3 customer sport racing car on both a conceptual and a technological level. Boasting numerous lightweight components and fascinating dynamics, our fifth Black Series model guarantees pure, unadulterated 'Driving Performance.' The SLS AMG Black Series is the ultimate choice for fast laps and a highly emotional driving experience."

Fair enough Ola. The uprated AMG 6.3-liter V8 engine generates a power output of 622 hp and 468 lb-ft of torque making the SLS AMG Black Series the most powerful AMG high-performance automobile with a combustion engine. Only the planned SLS AMG Electric Drive with a maximum output of 740 hp has more power.

The vehicle accelerates to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds, and onward to a top speed of 196 mph (315 km/h). The additional 39 hp of power compared to the 583 hp delivered by the SLS AMG GT is courtesy of the following enhancements:

• Increase in maximum engine speed from 7,200 to 8,000 rpm
• Fully revised high-speed valve train with modified camshafts, adapted cam geometry and optimized bucket tappets featuring a special coating that is typically used on race vehicles
• Modification of the intake air ducting: de-throttling and adaptation to match the new maximum engine speed
• Adaptation of the engine mapping and increase in peak pressure

The AMG V8 engine in the SLS AMG Black Series also has an additional specialized mounting system. A gas-filled strut braces the eight-cylinder engine against the body, effectively eliminating undesired load shifts during highly-dynamic race-track driving (i.e. behaving like a loony).

With a curb weight of 3,417 pounds (1550 kg), the Black Series is not only 154 pounds lighter than the regular SLS, but unsurprisingly also attains the best power/weight ratio by far of all AMG Black Series vehicles to date. Numerous body parts, such as the hood, the rear panel behind the AMG sports bucket seats, the diagonal braces on the underbody and the torque tube between engine and transmission are made entirely from carbon-fiber. In contrast to its 58.6-pound counterpart with a sand-cast aluminum housing, the carbon-fiber torque tube weighs just 29.3 pounds. Carbon fiber components also replace a number of parts of the aluminum spaceframe, while a lithium-ion battery takes on the role of the conventional starter battery, saving an amazing 17.6 pounds – why don’t all cars have them?

The regular 7-speed transmission has of course been breathed on to provide faster shifts and a more pronounced "blip" on downchanges – which should sound hilarious through the the new, even louder, exhaust. The gearbox has actually been mounted slightly lower and, like the engine, is held in place with gas struts to help contain the violence.

Naturally the suspension has been modified for greater rigidity and a new lighter wheel design saves another 8.8 pounds of unsprung weight per corner.

Of course none of this engineering is of any use if the machine doesn’t look the part. The aforementioned wheels now carry 10.8 inch (front) and 12.8 inch (rear) wide sports tires that fill the widened arches. Front, rear and side skirts and a rear diffuser, all in a signature Black Series design style signal the vehicles intent. The package features extensive use of carbon fiber on the front splitter, side sills and rear skirt. The enlarged air intakes with carbon fiber “flics” also ensure optimum airflow into the cooling modules at the front. The rear wheel arches feature massive air-flow oulets.

As on the SLS AMG GT3 racer, the carbon-fiber hood features a central air outlet. Aside from effectively dissipating engine heat, this outlet also increases downforce at the front axle. The wing-like cross-fin and the star recessed into the radiator grille are finished in high-gloss black to match the exterior mirrors and the fins on the hood. The carbon-fiber insert on the sides with air outlet and a black fin is also reminiscent of the GT3; this feature helps reduce the temperature in the engine compartment.

If all of this isn’t quite extreme enough for you then you can option a massive carbon rear wing plus additional carbon flics at the front fro increased downforce, as the cars in the photos are wearing. Just the thing for the weekly shop.

It’s clear that a huge amount of real engineering development has been carried out over the past year to create what will be AMG’s flagship vehicle. It’s quite likely that many of these cars will be purchased simply as toys for posing, but its nice to know that you really are purchasing the closest thing to a GT3 racer for the road that will undoubtedly be a complete hoot on a track.

Available Mid-2013, the price is likely to be north of US$400,000

Source: Mercedes Benz , Gizmag