Category Archives: Technology

Medical Research Video: “Synthesizing Speech From Brain Signals” (JAMA)

Imagine you’re paralyzed and can’t move or speak. How would you communicate with the world? This video describes the principles of early brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) designed to read electrical brain signals, analyze how brain activity patterns contribute to vocal tract movements, and reproduce the sound patterns as speech. The model is a first step toward one day restoring paralyzed individuals’ natural rate of communication and quality of life.

For more information see https://ja.ma/37dfVSx and https://www.nature.com/articles/s4158….

Technology: VW’s New “Mobile Charging Robot” Turns Every Carpark Into EV Charging Stations

From a VW media online news release December 26, 2019:

“The mobile charging robot will spark a revolution when it comes to charging in different parking facilities, such as multistorey car parks, parking spaces and underground car parks because we bring the charging infrastructure to the car Revolution_in_the_underground_car_park__Volkswagen_lets_its_charging_robots_loose-Small-10821and not the other way around. With this, we are making almost every car park electric, without any complex individual infrastructural measures”, summarises Mark Möller, Head of Development at Volkswagen Group Components.

“It’s a visionary prototype, which can be made into reality quite quickly, if the general conditions are right”, Möller continues. Volkswagen Group Components is researching different approaches to the assembly of charging infrastructure and has already developed several successful products. The flexible quick charging station and DC wall boxes are already part of a future charging family. Customer-oriented, intelligent and flexible approaches to charging are at the centre of the research. Other innovative products such as the charging robot are currently being developed.

  • Volkswagen Group Components presents a new and visionary charging concept
  • Mobile robots will charge electric vehicles completely autonomously in future
  • Every parking space can become a charging point

Volkswagen provides a glimpse into the future in which the search for charging stations for electric cars comes to an end. Volkswagen Group Components’ mobile charging robot takes over this task – and drives to the electric car completely autonomously.

Read VW news release

Urban Trends: “Avant2Go” Electric Car Sharing In Slovenia (Podcast)

From the Avant2Go.com website:

Monocle 24 The Urbanist Podcast logoAvant2Go car sharing is an effective way to cut and manage your mobility expenses. Find an available car and reserve it using the Avant2Go mobile app. The first reservation (15 min) is free. Use the app to end your rental and settle the final cost. The rental price includes car registration, insurance, fuel*, running costs, vignette, loss of value, free parking at Avant2Go spots and more.

 

  •   Pay only for when you actually use the vehicle.Avant2Go Electric Car Sharing Slovenia
  •    Electricity and insurance are already included.
  •    In your neighbourhood and city, driving to the airport …
  •    State-of-the-art electric vehicles for any rental period.
  •    No vehicle ownership or running costs.
  •    A mobile app for using the service.

Website

Mobility In The 2020’s: Top 15 Electric Bikes (Video)

If you haven’t been up on the world of electric bikes you may think that bikes with motors are bulky, ugly contraptions with little power. But electric bikes are quietly revolutionizing commuting and fitness around the world, setting a newer, higher standard for versatility and strength for today’s riders. In this video, we’re bringing you 15 Electric Bikes Changing the Way We Travel in 2019-2020.

Future Of Homebuilding: World’s First 3D-Printed Community Being Built

The Vulcan 2 3D printer can print a house in just 24 hours of print time. This technology is currently being put to the test in rural Mexico, where it’s being used to build the world’s first 3D-printed community, designed for residents living on less than $3 a day.

Top New Innovations: “Freflow” Water And Wind Powered Portable Generator (Worthington)

The Blades

The conical 3 blade Archimedes turbine channels air or water from up to 60 degrees of the central axis, making it far more efficient than traditional turbine designs, ideal for natural power generation when out in the wilderness.

To read and see more: https://www.behance.net/alexworthington

 

 

Homebuilding: World’s Biggest “3D Printed” Building Completed

World's Biggest 3D Printed Buiding in Dubai Dezeen video December 20 2019Robotic construction company Apis Cor has used its technology to build the world’s largest 3D-printed building, a two-storey administrative office in Dubai. 

Measuring 9.5 metres high with a floor area of 640 square metres, Apis Cor built the record-breaking structure for the Dubai Municipality. Apis Cor developed a gypsum-based material to run through the printer and sourced a local producer. The printing took place out in the open, to prove that the technology could handle a harsh environment without humidity and temperature control.

Science & Technology: Reviewing Caltech’s “Decade Of Discovery”

From a Caltech online article:

Caltech LogoDuring this decade, as in previous decades, Caltech scientists and engineers reinvented the landscape of scientific endeavor: from the first detection of gravitational waves and the discovery of evidence for a ninth planet in the solar system; to bold missions to explore and understand the solar system; to the development of new methods to see inside the body and the brain and understand the universe around us; to the invention of devices to improve human health, some taking inspiration from nature; to the initiation of a transformative new effort to support research into the most pressing challenges in environmental sustainability.

Caltech's Decade of Discovery Understanding the Brain December 19 2019Though the brain orchestrates how we experience the world, many questions remain about its complex workings. During the past 10 years, Caltech scientists have discovered how the brain recognizes faces and drives and quenches thirst, and learned about the pathways that govern sleep. A major focus has been on understanding the experience of non-neurotypical individuals, such as those who have autism or those who are missing a brain hemisphere. New realms of neuroscience research were made possible in 2016, when philanthropists Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen announced a gift to establish the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience at Caltech.

 

Caltech's Decade of Discovery Advancing Medicin December 19 2019As modern technology advances, so do the possibilities for treating medical conditions that were previously considered untreatable. Caltech researchers used an electrode array to help a paralyzed patient stand and move his legs voluntarily and developed a novel method for preventing the spread of diseases, contact lenses for preventing blindness in diabetic patients, an app that monitors heart health, gene therapy for repairing nerves in the brain, and a robotic arm controlled by a paralyzed patient’s intent to move. The decade also saw the establishment of the Merkin Institute for Translational Research, which aims to advance medical technologies, and a continued commitment to the Donna and Benjamin M. Rosen Bioengineering Center.

To read more: https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/decade-of-discovery