Technology, features and articles | Educational Science

Feb 28, 2007

Robots Might Benefit from Sleep, Too

In his recent paper What Do Robots Dream Of, Dr. Adami, Professor of Applied Life Sciences at the Keck Graduate Institute, speculates that a robot might benefit from some down time just like people do. Recent work in the study of dreaming indicates that more than just subconscious entertainment is...

Jan 31, 2007

Origami Optics Promise Better Spy Cameras

The cameras in cell phones and robot spy planes could become more powerful by using optics folded like origami, researchers report. To zoom in on distant objects, professional cameras use telephoto lenses. These conventionally must be super long ?to bend and focus light. Since cell phones are small, they can...

Jan 31, 2007

Stealthy Iris Scanner in the Works

A public iris scanning device has been proposed in a patent from Samoff Labs in New Jersey. The device is able to scan the iris of the eye without the knowledge or consent of the person being scanned. The device uses multiple cameras, and then combines images to create a...

Jan 31, 2007

Hackers Attack Every 39 Seconds

Hackers attack computers every 39 seconds, according to new research. The study, which investigated how exactly hackers crack computers, confirms those regularly issued warnings about password vulnerability. Experts advise longer passwords, regularly changed and not based on users' biographies, that mix letters and numerals and are hard to guess. “Our...

Jan 31, 2007

Incredible Robots Walk, Roll, Climb and Cooperate

They’re not quite Transformers, but new robots created by researchers at the University of Southern California are definitely more than meets the eye. Called “superbots,” they are made up of identical modular units that plug into each other to create robots that can walk on four legs like an animal...

Dec 31, 2006

Invisible 'Radio' Tattoos Could Identify Soldiers

Somark Innovations announced biocompatible RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) ink, which can be used to tattoo cattle and laboratory rats and can be read through animal hair. It might even be used on humans eventually. This is a passive RFID technology that contains no metals; the tattoos themselves can be colored...

Dec 31, 2006

Robots of the Future: Soft and Flexible

Unlike C-3PO's hard, metallic body or the Terminator's living tissue over a metal endoskeleton, robots of the future may be entirely soft-bodied. A new research initiative is aiming to make robots mushier and more like animals in order to improve their flexibility and usefulness in areas ranging from medicine to...

Dec 31, 2006

Nosy Robots Smell Like Moths

Is it possible for a robot to follow a scent? Massimo Vergassola and his colleagues at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France think so. They have derived a new algorithm using a method they call infotaxis that is similar to the strategy employed by moths. The simplest approach to locating...

Oct 31, 2008

Was That a Real Hologram on CNN?

A live hologram-like presentation of reporter Jessica Yellin was used in election coverage on CNN. Yellin was in Chicago covering the Obama campaign, and CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer was back in the studio. Yellin describes her 'hologram' experience: There are thirty-five high-definition cameras ringing me, in a ring around me,...

Jul 31, 2008

Scientists Create World's Thinnest Balloon

Scientists have created the world's thinnest balloon, made of a single layer of carbon just one atom thick. The fabric that the balloon is made of is leakproof to even the tiniest airborne molecules. It could find use in aquariums smaller than a red blood cell, through which scientists could...

Jun 30, 2008

Robot Caddy Packs Clubs, Stays Quiet

The Shadow Caddy robot is a remarkably simple technological answer to the problem of hauling your golf bag for eighteen (seemingly endless) holes. The new golf robot is operated using a transmitter; once you start it up, the robot will follow you as long as you have the transmitter clipped...

Jun 30, 2008

The Flaws of Human Flight

Man has dreamed of flying probably for as long as he could dream. Early attempts to get off the ground were frequently based on the flapping action of birds, and they were often hilariously flawed. Even today, after breaking the sound barrier and putting men on the moon, human flight...

Jun 30, 2008

New Cookware Speeds Microwaving Time

A new material designed for use in microwaves heats foods and beverages more quickly and saves energy, its inventors say. A microwave oven bombards food with microwave radiation, which is absorbed by certain molecules, including water, fats and sugars. The microwaves, powerful enough to kill viruses and bacteria, vibrate those...

May 31, 2008

New Math Tricks: Knitting and Crocheting

Coral reefs can be crocheted. The atmosphere can be knit. And a stop sign can be folded into a pair of pants. Welcome to the intersection of math and handicraft. Unexpectedly, handicraft in general, and yarn work in particular, has started to help provide answers to a wide range of...

May 31, 2008

Sea Creature Inspires Flexible Fabric

A biopolymer that switches from rigid to flexible has been created by Case Western University researchers. It mimics the structure of sea cucumbers, which are able to change their skin from soft and flexible (for getting through narrow spots) to hard and rigid (armor to protect them from predators). It...