Category Archives: Technology

Future Of Avation: “Safe Return” Emergency Autolanding In A Cirrus G2 Vision Jet (Video)

From a New Atlas online review:

An important step towards autonomous aviation was taken today, as Cirrus Aviation announced “Safe Return” functionality for its G2 Vision jet, which will find the nearest airstrip, alert authorities and land itself in an emergency.

The Vision is a small private jet capable of seating seven people, cruising at over 300 knots at 31,000 feet. Small, quick and user-friendly, it’s good for those that wish to fly themselves, as well as being flown. It’s been a successful product for Cirrus, but its new functionality could represent something bigger. CEO Zean Nielsen calls it “a product that we believe is going to change personal aviation forever.”

Safe Return Autonomous Autoland, developed in conjunction with Garmin, manifests as a button on the roof of the Vision jet that is accessible to passengers. If something happens to the pilot, a passenger can hit the button and request an autoland.

To read more: https://newatlas.com/aircraft/cirrus-vision-g2-automatic-emergency-landing/

Halloween 2019: “Galaxy Of Horrors!” Video And Posters From NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Dubbed Galaxy of Horrors, the fun but informative series resulted from a collaboration of scientists and artists and was produced by NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program Office, located at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The same program is behind the popular Exoplanet Travel Bureau poster series, which imagines humans visiting some of the thousands of known worlds outside our solar system.

Rains of Terror NASA Exoplanet Posters Halloween 2019

To read more: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7527&utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nasajpl&utm_content=exoplanet20191029-1

Science Podcasts: Quest To Detect Gravitational Waves, First Hypothesised By Einstein (Nature)

Nature PodcastIn 2015, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) facilities in the US directly detected ripples in space-time known as gravitational waves. These waves were produced by the final spiral of two oribiting black holes that smashed into each other, sending ripples across the universe.

In this Podcast Extra, Benjamin Thompson speaks to Cole Miller from the University of Maryland about the quest to detect gravitational waves, which were first hypothesised by Albert Einstein back in 1916.

Transportation: Cambridge University Builds Ultra-Efficient, 560-Mile Range Electric Car

From a Dezeen.com online review:

On a single charge, Helia can cover a range of 900 kilometres – the distance from London to Edinburgh. Again, compared to the Tesla 3, the Cambridge University team’s car has double the range on a battery a quarter of the size.

Helia Cambridge Electric CarThe ability to cover this distance is aided by Helia’s chassis and body panels made from carbon fibre, which grant it a kerb weight of 550 kilograms.

Students from Cambridge University have built an ultra-efficient electric car that drives using only as much power as it takes to boil a kettle.

The Cambridge University Eco Racing (CUER) student society built the four-seater car, named Helia, with efficiency as the main goal.

Their achievement has been to produce a car that can travel 80 kilometres-per-hour using only 2500 watts, or as much power as it takes to boil a single kettle, which is equivalent to 31 watt-hours-per-kilometre.

To read more: https://www.dezeen.com/2019/10/30/cambridge-university-helia-electric-car/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Dezeen&utm_content=Daily%20Dezeen+CID_cac4a0d212b07ca5d52c59f6478666b2&utm_source=Dezeen%20Mail&utm_term=Cambridge%20University%20team%20build%20UKs%20most%20efficient%20electric%20car

Health Care Technology: Facebook Unveils Tool For “Preventative Health”

From a The Verge online article:

Facebook Preventative HealthThe tool is simply called Preventive Health, and is now available to Facebook users in the United States. It takes a user’s age and sex from their Facebook profile and provides them with a list of recommended screenings based on those two data points.

“Let’s say you’re 52 years old,” Freddy Abnousi, Facebook’s head of health care research, tells The Verge. “One of the things that will come to you — based on the American Cancer Society’s recommendations — is that you should have a colorectal cancer screening.” Abnousi says that the app will then give you more information about what kinds of tests are available, from a colonoscopy to a stool test or a CT scan. Abnousi hopes that users will then take what they’ve learned and talk to their primary care physician about what would be best for them. Users can also adjust the age and sex in the tool to get different screening recommendations without having it affect anything on their profile.

To read more: https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/28/20936541/facebook-preventative-health-cancer-heart-disease-flu-tool

Dementia Care: “MapHabit” Wins Top Technology Award From National Institute On Aging

From a National Institute on Aging online release:

Improving Care for People with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Using Technology (iCareAD ADRD) ChallengeFirst place prize awarded to MapHabit: This mobile software provides behavior prompts with customizable picture and keyword visual maps to assist memory-impaired people with accomplishing activities of daily living. The care management platform employs different interfaces depending on whether the user is a person with impaired memory, caregiver or long-term care community manager. Caregivers can monitor adherence to medication schedules or track other activities.

MapHabit, Inc., is the first place winner of the Improving Care for People with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Using Technology (iCare-AD/ADRD) Challenge, sponsored by the National Institute on Aging (NIA). The Atlanta-based MapHabit team, led by Stuart Zola, Ph.D., will receive the $250,000 first prize for their mobile device application that helps people with dementia follow simple commands to perform daily tasks, such as taking pills and brushing teeth, and also provides feedback to caregivers. NIA is part of the National Institutes of Health.

To read more: https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/winners-announced-national-institute-aging-dementia-care-coordination-challenge?utm_source=NIA+Main&utm_campaign=b46d6fd641-20191028_news&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ffe42fdac3-b46d6fd641-18472035

Technology: “PrinCube” Is The World’s Smallest Mobile Color Printer

From a YankoDesign.com online review:

Princube Printer Smallest Mobile Color PrinterThe PrinCube sits on the throne of being the smallest (and the lightest) handheld color-printer. With a swift motion of your hand, the printer rapidly prints out one line at a time, measuring up to 0.56 inches in thickness. PrinCube’s multi-line feature lets you extend your prints by printing up to nearly 10 feet of content line after line. The wireless printer conveniently pairs with any device like your phone, tablet, or even laptop over a Wi-Fi connection, and each individual ink cartridge can handle approximately 415 A4 pages worth of printing before replacing. The battery on PrinCube’s pretty remarkable too, with the ability to print for 6 continuous hours before needing a recharge via the Type-C port in the PrinCube’s size.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/princube-the-world-s-smallest-mobile-color-printer#/

It looks like a block roughly half the size of a spray-paint can. In fact, that’s how you would hold the PrinCube too. Grab it with one hand and run it across any surface and the PrinCube performs a neat, seamless, colored inkjet-print on it. The PrinCube isn’t just small, it’s hand-held, wireless, and incredibly versatile. It can print on materials your desktop printer doesn’t even dream of. Paper, cardboard, wood, metal, cloth, working on flat, textured, and even curved surfaces. You could literally give yourself temporary tattoos too because the PrinCube even prints on the skin (it’s safe, if I may add).

To read more: https://www.yankodesign.com/2019/10/24/this-handheld-color-printer-is-literally-the-size-of-a-regular-printers-ink-cartridge/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+yankodesign+%28Yanko+Design+-+Form+Beyond+Function%29

New Electric Cars: “2019 Mazda MX-30” Is An “Everyday” Vehicle With “Freestyle” Doors

From a DesignBoom online review:

the mazda MX-30 delivers 141bhp and 195lb ft from an electric motor powered by a 35.5kwh battery, offering a range of 130 miles. it is capable of 6.6kW domestic charging and and 50kW rapid charging via a ccs connection, the latter of which will give 80% charge in 30 to 40 minutes, claimed mazda.

Mazda MX-30 Electric Car doors.JPG

the MX-30’s freestyle doors use custom-designed hinges that allow the front doors to open to 82° and rear doors to open to 80°, giving the car a distinctive and elegant cabin silhouette. this should make loading and unloading cargo easier as well as providing easier access for strollers and wheelchairs.

japanese automaker mazda has unveiled it’s first mass-production electric car. unveiled at the 2019 tokyo motor show, the mazda MX-30 features unique freestyle doors, ecological materials and the automaker’s new fuel-efficient skyactiv-x engine, marking a positive step in mazda’s multi-solution approach to reducing emissions.

To read more: https://www.designboom.com/technology/mazda-mx-30-first-electric-car-rear-hinged-freestyle-doors-10-23-2019/?utm_source=designboom+daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mazda+unveils+first

Future Of Health Care: New Machine Learning System Detects Infections 48 Hours In Advance

From a Health IT Analytics online release:

Philips Machine Learning SystemThe prototype revealed that using artificial intelligence and machine learning to examine certain combinations of vital signs and other biomarkers could strongly predict the likelihood of infection up to 48 hours in advance of clinical suspicion, including observable symptoms.

Royal Philips, in collaboration with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) of the US Department of Defense (DoD), are building a machine learning algorithm that will be able to detect an infection before a patient shows signs or symptoms.

The partnering organizations recently announced results from an 18-month project, called Rapid Analysis of Threat Exposure (RATE), the first large-scale exploration of pre-symptomatic infection in humans. The project aims to develop an early warning system that accelerates diagnosis and treatment of infection, containing the spread of communicable disease.

To read more: https://healthitanalytics.com/news/philips-dod-build-machine-learning-system-to-detect-infection

Technology: Cowboy Electric Bike Is Lightweight, With Integrated Lights & Removable Battery

From a TechCrunch online review:

Cowboy Electric Bike integrated lightsFrom the outside, the Cowboy e-bike is a sleek bike. It features a seamless triangle-shaped aluminum frame, integrated lights and a low-key Cowboy logo near the saddle. The handlebar is perfectly straight like on a mountain bike. The only sign that this is an e-bike is that the frame is much larger below the saddle.

The e-bike is relatively light at 16kg (35lbs). Most of the weight is at the back of the Cowboy e-bike because of the battery. But an investor in the startup told me that it wasn’t a problem and that he was even able to attach a baby seat at the back.

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https://cowboy.com/

The two things you’re going to notice quite quickly is that there’s no gear and there’s a rubber and glass fiber belt. Cowboy has opted for an automatic transmission — motor assistance kicks in automatically when you need it the most, such as when you start pedaling, you accelerate or you go uphill.

To read more: https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/23/a-bike-lovers-take-on-the-cowboy-e-bike/