The New York Times published an article today about Intel's drive to push mobile computing to a new level. Dubbed Ultra Mobile Computing (UMC) or as Intel prefers to call it "Mobile Internet Device" (boring.) Qualcomm's chief operating officer, Sanjay Jha used the even less imaginative term "pocketable computers" all of which to describe a class of mobile computers that promises to do everything.
I personally would love to see real UMC's on the market...the only catch is it needs the following and should be almost small enough to fit in my pocket.
My UMC Most Wanted:
1. Ultra high resolution OLED touch screen
2. Fully integrated GPS (antenna inside device)
3. Mobile Phone (2G and 3G fully supported)
4. Digital Camera
5. Digital Video Recorder
6. Analog and Digital HD T.V Tuner
7. Digital FM, FM, AM and Satillite receivers
7. Wi-Max, Wi-Fi (802.11a - 802.11n), Bluetooth and IR
8. BlueRay and HD DVD RW drive
9. 1TB HDD or SSD
10. Supports all standard multimedia formats and document formats
11. Live synch capbailities
12. microphone
The device I envision should be able verify the owner by voice and retinal scan and then obey commands via voice recognition to produce live video that includes current location information and have GIS data superimposed that can then be uploaded as a live stream to a Web page regardless of my location in the world.
Things to add in ver 2.0
Personal Area Network Connectivity
acceleration/force sensors
gyroscope
With all of the integrated devices this thing has got to be completely programmable.
What's on your wish list? Did I leave anything off the list besides price
Discovered through Kurzweil.AI.net
20070809
Organic Solar Cell Technology Breaks World Record:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory Certifies Cell Efficiency
PITTSBURGH, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Plextronics, Inc. announced today that its organic photovoltaic technology achieved a world record in the conversion of solar light to power efficiency. The company's result of 5.4 percent establishes a new world record for single layer organic solar cells as certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in Golden, Colorado.
Troy Hammond, vice president of products for Plextronics, said that the company began its organic photovoltaic development program less than two years ago, with the support of the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority.
"Today's world-record performance demonstrates the rapid pace at which our technology is progressing," said Hammond. "We look forward to continuing this advancement until we have enabled low-cost solar cell products with our Plexcore(R) ink system."
According to Shawn Williams, vice president of technology at Plextronics, "NREL is the nation's primary laboratory for renewable energy R&D, and to have their certification of our technology is absolutely vital. Most importantly, in the course of setting the world record, we've also identified clear pathways to further improve our technology."
Plexcore(R) ink systems for organic photovoltaic cells enable the low-cost printing of photo-active and charge carrier layers, which together convert light to power in the organic photovoltaic cell. The ability to print organic photovoltaic cells on glass or plastic drastically reduces the cost of energy compared to silicon solar cell technology. Specifically, Plextronics' technology has the potential to reduce the cost of solar cells below the commercially important threshold of $1 per watt, which is a reduction of up to five times that of crystalline silicon-based solar energy systems.
Source: Plextronics, Inc.
Seeing Inside the Lungs With the Sound of Your Breath
FDA Clears Unique Non-Invasive, Radiation-Free Pulmonary Imaging System
Deep Breeze(TM) VRIXP(TM) Pulmonary Imaging System Records & Monitors Lung Sounds
OR-AKIVA, Israel, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Deep Breeze(TM), the leader in vibration response imaging (VRI(TM)) technology, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted 510K marketing clearance for the VRIXP(TM), a non-invasive, radiation-free pulmonary imaging system to use lung sounds to create dynamic images of the lungs.
"Vibration response imaging enables physicians to effectively record and monitor lung sounds with the ultimate goal of improving the detection and assessment of lung disorders in the future," said Igal Kushnir, MD, President and CEO of Deep Breeze(TM). "FDA clearance represents a significant milestone for the Company and we plan to work closely with U.S. interventional pulmonologists to bring this advanced pulmonary imaging system to patients suffering from lung disorders."
Deep Breeze plans to launch VRIXP(TM) in the U.S. at the 2007 CHEST meeting in Chicago, October 20 to 25. The Company currently markets the technology in Europe and Asia.
The non-invasive and radiation-free lung imaging system records lung sounds from sensors applied to a patient's back while he or she breathes. The system then uses an algorithm to convert these data into images. Changes in tissue composition or alteration in airflow impact how sounds within the lungs vibrate, and subsequently how the VRIXP(TM) images appear on the system's computer screen.
The VRIXP(TM) procedure takes only minutes in a physician's office and may be performed repeatedly for continuous monitoring. Results are delivered to the physician immediately and can be stored in a system database for future use. The radiation-free technology has been used in more than 3,500 patients worldwide without any single adverse event.
"The VRIXP(TM) system is a breakthrough technology that may allow us to improve patient care by providing more detailed and rapid assessment of lung status without exposing the patient to radiation," said Kalpalatha K. Guntupalli, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Chief, Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine.
"This technology shows great promise for assisting in the care and management of critically ill patients as well as patients with a wide variety of acute cardiopulmonary problems," Dr. R. Phillip Dellinger, professor of medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Director of the Critical Care Division, Department of Medicine, Cooper University Hospital, said.
About Deep Breeze(TM)
Founded in 2001, Israel-based Deep Breeze(TM) (www.deepbreeze.com) is a privately-held medical device company that is providing advanced pulmonary imaging with its proprietary patented technology, Vibration Response Imaging (VRI(TM)). The Company is currently conducting clinical studies globally to evaluate VRI(TM) efficacy in fields such as: general pulmonology, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, congestive heart failure, interventional pulmonology, lung cancer, lung transplant and critical care patient management. Deep Breeze(TM) is researching and developing the VRI(TM) technology to be applied in other organs of the human body.
Source: Deep Breeze (TM)
DARPA Ubran Grand Challenge-36 Semi-Finalist Make the Cut
During a morning press conference today, DARPA announced that not only do they have a good size group for the Semi Final round but that DARPA organizers believe that they will actually be paying the prize money come November.
Here are some autonomous contestants:
To understand what this success means, just take a look at some of the more difficult trials the autonomous vehicles must perform to be considered as meeting the grand challenge.
Autonomous vehicles will be graded on the following abilities:
Staying in lane/Road following
Obeying speed limits.
Avoiding excess delays, particularly at traffic stops.
Avoiding collisions with objects and other autonomous vehicles
Stopping appropriately at stop lines
Appropriate vehicle separation for a particular speed
Performs lane change passing maneuver
3-point turn (U-Turn)
Intersection Precedence (Right-of-way)
Minimum following distance
Queuing/Merging
Obstacle avoidance including oncoming vehicles in same lane
Parking lot (ability to park with cars already in the parking lot.)
Dynamic re planing (ability to reroute around obstacles)
Can cope with GPS Outage
Left turn across incoming traffic.
I think we are actually going to get our autopilot cars during the next decade.
Also announced was the location of both the national qualifier round and the finals:
The DARPA Urban Challenge will take place in Victorville, California at the site of the former George Air Force Base on November 3, 2007. The National Qualification Event will take place at the same location, October 26-31, 2007.
Here are some autonomous contestants:
To understand what this success means, just take a look at some of the more difficult trials the autonomous vehicles must perform to be considered as meeting the grand challenge.
Autonomous vehicles will be graded on the following abilities:
Staying in lane/Road following
Obeying speed limits.
Avoiding excess delays, particularly at traffic stops.
Avoiding collisions with objects and other autonomous vehicles
Stopping appropriately at stop lines
Appropriate vehicle separation for a particular speed
Performs lane change passing maneuver
3-point turn (U-Turn)
Intersection Precedence (Right-of-way)
Minimum following distance
Queuing/Merging
Obstacle avoidance including oncoming vehicles in same lane
Parking lot (ability to park with cars already in the parking lot.)
Dynamic re planing (ability to reroute around obstacles)
Can cope with GPS Outage
Left turn across incoming traffic.
I think we are actually going to get our autopilot cars during the next decade.
Also announced was the location of both the national qualifier round and the finals:
The DARPA Urban Challenge will take place in Victorville, California at the site of the former George Air Force Base on November 3, 2007. The National Qualification Event will take place at the same location, October 26-31, 2007.
20070122
Robot or Next Gen Tank for DARPA
This little robot seriously can go anywhere. Now imagine it scaled up to tank size.
Yaa, that's what I was thinking.
Yaa, that's what I was thinking.
a dragon fly remote control from Wowee.
Just watch the video. From the creators of Robosapien and that monkey head thing you'll now be able to have your very own remote control dragonfly. It's actually pretty cool looking. You know DARPA is wondering if they can mount a camera and some missles on this little thing.
Cute Personal Robot Controlled By Cellphone
I'm not gay but that's a cute little robot and it can be yours (if you live in Japan) for only $2,206. It's not clear from the video but I think the bot is probably controlled through a bluetooth enabled phone. I'm thinking the cost per minute to run this thing is...oh, about....$367.00 because that's about how long it'll hold my attention once I get it to skate backward and forwards a few times. You can program it using your PC so maybe the truely geeky can get it down to $100.00/min.
YT Vid. Below:
YT Vid. Below:
20070105
Transhumanist-You Are Mighty
A link to a website with a somewhat inspiring and dramatic (flash media ?) perspective of the empowering abilities of transhumanism. Includes catchy music (lyrics anyone?) The title makes it seem like we are superhero wannabes but like I said, catchy.
20070101
Detailed Roadmap of the 21st Century
Peter Pesti posted a year by year roadmap of the changes (especially technological) that were predicted by government reports and futurists. Peter intends to keep the list updated as new reports and updated predictions become available as well as by highlighting missed predictions in red and made predictions in green.
Interestingly, to myself anyway, there is no prediction of laboratory produced gravitomagnetic energy being confirmed, controlled and harnessed so I will make one here in the hopes that Peter will decide to use it in his next update.
I predict that lab produced gravitomagnetic energy will be confirmed by 2008 and that by 2010 scientists will have learned how to control and amplify the energy causing a paradigm shift in technology. Within the span of only a couple of years, engineers will have scaled a system for mass production and integration. By 2015 the first car will be driven, the first satellite launched, the first lifting system, the first large scale and personal defense systems and the first power system using the technology will have been developed.
Interestingly, to myself anyway, there is no prediction of laboratory produced gravitomagnetic energy being confirmed, controlled and harnessed so I will make one here in the hopes that Peter will decide to use it in his next update.
I predict that lab produced gravitomagnetic energy will be confirmed by 2008 and that by 2010 scientists will have learned how to control and amplify the energy causing a paradigm shift in technology. Within the span of only a couple of years, engineers will have scaled a system for mass production and integration. By 2015 the first car will be driven, the first satellite launched, the first lifting system, the first large scale and personal defense systems and the first power system using the technology will have been developed.
20061231
2007 -The Year We Loose Our Wires?
Over these past few months I've been watching the technologies come online which will finally help us get rid of all of the unsightly cables and wires that have been piling up, connecting each device to another device and each of those devices to a power source.
Here's a quick breakdown of the technologies that will save copper:
Wireless USB
With Wireless USB you can toss all the USB cables.
Skin Transmitting Wireless Headphones
With skin conduction earphones you can reduce the amount of RF radiation in close contact with your body.
Wireless Power
New wireless power schemes correct many of the problems of earlier designs and promise to radically change our homes and offices. One method allows devices to be place on a surface but there is also a method that will charge a device within 10 feet of a transmitter.
Okay, so maybe it'll take until 2009 for the products to hit mainstream but at least it's not about the technology anymore it's about product development, manufacturing and marketing.
Here's a quick breakdown of the technologies that will save copper:
Wireless USB
With Wireless USB you can toss all the USB cables.
Skin Transmitting Wireless Headphones
With skin conduction earphones you can reduce the amount of RF radiation in close contact with your body.
Wireless Power
New wireless power schemes correct many of the problems of earlier designs and promise to radically change our homes and offices. One method allows devices to be place on a surface but there is also a method that will charge a device within 10 feet of a transmitter.
Okay, so maybe it'll take until 2009 for the products to hit mainstream but at least it's not about the technology anymore it's about product development, manufacturing and marketing.
20061230
The Future and You -Award Winning Monthly Podcast
"The Future and You" is an award winning monthly podcast that brings futurists together to speculate on what the future has in store for us.
Finally I have something worth listening to during my afternoon drive home. Mornings I have Armstrong and Ghetty. :-)
Here's the link to download December's podcast
Finally I have something worth listening to during my afternoon drive home. Mornings I have Armstrong and Ghetty. :-)
Here's the link to download December's podcast
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