The Design Technology Blog

Category: Technology

  • Genibo the robotic dog

    The Genibo was produced by the Korean company Dasarobot of Dasatech. It is an autonomous pet robot. It was created to be much like a real life dog in appearance and behavior. It was modeled to resemble a Bull terrier. It can identify itself and the surroundings using its sensors, camera, and voice commands and share feelings with the user. With input information, it forms ‘Emotion/Mood/Intelligence/Character/Intimacy’ to feature unique character. It is capable of understanding over 100 voice commands (such as “sit”, “come here” and “do a headstand”) and has the ability to praise or scold the dog using the touch sensors located on its head, back and flank. The dogs mood will change according to user interaction and can express happiness, pleasure, sadness, surprise, anger, boredom and sleepiness. To control the robot, it comes with a PC Control Manager software that allows you to see a live view of what the dog is seeing, take photos, create skits/dance routines, record voice memos, MP3 playback, and set alarms.
    It functions with batteries that can be charged. Its width is 192 mm, length 334mm and its height is 330mm. The robot weighs 1.6 kgs. The cost of this product is 1500$.

    (As you can see, there are a variety of colors to choose from, including black, white, pink and blue.)

  • Fly Spy

      This is Harvards newly developed robot bee.It is about 1.5 cm long and was built with the intelligence community in mind. The Bee is equipped with a small camera or recording device that can be used to gather information completely unnoticed. This eliminates the need for traditional information gathering techniques used by organisations such as the CIA or MI6 in foreign countries keeping actual spies out of danger. This has raised some controversy however, due to this new robots ability to go unnoticed people are worried that the governments in control of these Bees would use them to watch and listen to regular people.
    While a disturbing thought it will be a while before any of this could happen. The robot is currently flawed, as it is unbalanced during flight and has a need to be connected to a external power source for any flight longer than a couple of minutes. Harvard students and scientists are currently working on a new and improved version of the Bee robot to fix all of these flaws and when they’re finished I believe that these robots could be very useful in the field of intelligence and attain information useful to national security.

  • Food Industry

    The food industry is a complex, global collective of diverse businesses that together supply much of the food consumed by the world population. Only subsistence farmers, those who survive on what they grow, can be considered outside of the scope of the modern food industry.

    Processed food sales worldwide are approximately US$3.2 trillion. In the U.S., consumers spend approximately US$1 trillion annually on food, or nearly 10 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. Over 16.5 million people are employed in the food industry.

    In the United Kingdom, the food industry is extensive. It employs over half a million people and has a turnover of £70bn. It is the largest manufacturing sector in the UK and represents around 15% of the total manufacturing sector in the UK. Around 13% of the people working in manufacturing in the UK work in the food and drink industry.

    A vast global transportation network is required by the food industry in order to connect its numerous parts. These include suppliers, manufacturers, warehousing, retailers and the end consumers. There are also companies that add vitamins, minerals, and other necessary requirements during processing to make up for those lost during preparation. Wholesale markets for fresh food products have tended to decline in importance in OECD countries as well as in Latin America and some Asian countries as a result of the growth of supermarkets, which procure directly from farmers or through preferred suppliers, rather than going through markets.

    The constant and uninterrupted flow of food products from distribution centers to store locations is a important link in food industry operations. Distribution centers run more efficiently, output can be increased, costs can be lowered, and manpower better utilized if the proper steps are taken when setting up a material handling system in a warehouse.

    With populations around the world concentrating in urban areas, food buying is increasingly removed from all aspects of food production. This is a relatively recent development, having taken place mainly over the last 50 years. The supermarket is the defining retail element of the food industry, where tens of thousands of products are gathered in one location, in continuous, year-round supply. Restaurants, Cafes, Bakeries and Mobile trucks are also ways consumers can purchase food.

    Food preparation is another area where change in recent decades has been evident. Today, two food industry sectors are in apparent competition to top the food industry. The grocery industry sells fresh and largely raw products for consumers to use as ingredients in home cooking. The food service industry by contrast offers prepared food, either as finished products, or as partially prepared components for final . “assembly”.

    Sophisticated technologies define modern food production. They include many areas. Agricultural machinery, originally led by the tractor, has practically eliminated human labor in many areas of production. Biotechnology is driving much change, in areas as diverse as agrochemicals, plant breeding and food processing. Many other areas of technology are also involved, to the point where it is hard to find an area that does not have a direct impact on the food industry. Computer technology is also a central force, with computer networks and specialized software providing the support infrastructure to allow global movement of the myriad components involved.

    www.ibef.org/industry/foodindustry.aspx

    www.indianfoodindustry.net/

    www.food.gov.uk/foodindustry/

  • Processing

    CPUs or central processing units play a large role in the speed at which computers deal with information and give meaningful output. Today, the fastest running processor on the market is the Intel Core I7 Extreme Edition at 3.47 GHz. Giga Hertz (GHz) are used to measure the performance of a computer in terms of cycles per second. By comparison with past processors such the 486DX/2 66, the fastest desktop processor on the market in the late 1980s which ran at 33 MHz, and the fastest super computer of the late 1980s the Cray Y-MP C90, a modern day low end laptop out performs both at only a fraction of the price. Innovation allows the processing speed of computers to continue increasing while at the same time making faster processors cheaper. Every few years, a new high end processor hits the market that has a higher cycle rate than previous models.

    An interesting development in processors is the rate at which improvements are made. Computers are becoming faster at an increasing rate. The time between each improvement in computer speed is becoming increasingly less. Following data patterns from the 1980s, the difference in processing speed of a top quality desktop to a top quality super computer was about 1:30. Although now the difference is greater, using those trends it is  possible to predict that in 20 years desktop computers will also perform better than today’s fastest supercomputers made by IBM.

    Fastest Processor 2011 on the Market

    Fastest Super COmputer of the late 1980s

    Source:

    http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/classic-tech/the-80s-supercomputer-thats-sitting-in-your-lap/189

    “central processing unit (CPU).” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 30 May. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/102611/central-processing-unit>.

    http://www.inetdaemon.com/tutorials/computers/hardware/cpu/

    http://www.howstuffworks.com/microprocessor.htm

  • Steve Jobs

    Steve Jobs, born in San Fransisco on 1955, is well know for his original and innovative products. After attending the Cupertino Junior High School, Jobs joined Reed College, but dropped out after only one semester. He continued auditing certain classes, of which one is calligraphy. This calligraphy class soon changed his life dramatically.

    After meeting Steve Wozniak while working for HP in a summer job, Jobs  joined Atari, a manufacturer of popular video games. After acquiring some experience there, Steve Jobs, together with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne founded Apple in 1976. Having been friends with Steve Wozniak for several years now, Steve Jobs was able to convince Steve Wozniak to assemble and sell computers.

    Steve Jobs release the Macintosh in 1984, it was the first commercially successful computer with a graphic user interface (GUI). Not long after, however, an internal power struggle caused the recently hired CEO John Sculley to relieve Steve Jobs of his duties as the head of the Macintosh division.

    Around the same time, Steve Jobs founded another company, NeXT Computer. The company’s focus was to develop high-end computers, and those who could afford it developed a  strong following due to its technical strengths. Just two years later, Steve Jobs bough The Graphics Group, which is a company that is now known as Pixar.

    Several years later, in 1998, Apple bought then NeXT Computer company, bringing Steve Jobs back to the company. He soon became CEO after the board of directors lost confidence in the CEO of that time. Steve Jobs straight away terminated several projects

    such as the Newton project. He also assigned new project leaders and fired several employees. During this time employees developed a fear of encountering Steve

    Jobs while riding in the elevator “afraid that they might not have a job when the doors opened”.

    Since the return of Steve Jobs, Apple has entered several new markets, under which the portable music player market with the iPod in 2001, the phone market with the iPhone in

    2007, and recently the tablet market, with the iPad. Ever since, Steve Jobs has been considered one of the greatest innovators in modern history.

    Fun Fact: Steve Jobs officially earns one dollar a year.

    Sources:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs

    http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/06/03/24/apples_jobs_pays_295m_in_taxes_on_10m_vested_shares.html

  • Concentrated Solar Power

    Solar power has been around for a good amount of time now.  Solar panels are effective green sources of energy, but they don’t harness much power and they are very expensive.  The average house uses around 3.85 kw a day (http://www.solarpoweristhefuture.com/how-many-solar-panels-does-it-take-to-make-one-kilowatt.shtml) and you need around 5 panels to generate this power which cost around 280 dollars each according to (http://www.dmsolar.com/solar-module-1.html).  This may not seem too expensive, but if you consider powering thousands of houses through one solar plant then the space needed and the amount of panels needed increases.  With the increased panels comes an increased cost and it just isn’t practical considering the amount of power that comes from other sources of power.  However, concentrated sun power does require space, but cuts costs because it uses mirriors instead of a vast amount of panels to direct beams of sunlight to a central sun tower.  This slashes costs and utilizes the power of the sun more efficiently.

    CSP (Concentrated Solar Power) creates power from a steam turbine usually.  The directed sunlight is converted to heat energy which allows a heat engine to spin a steam turbine.  According to wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentrated_solar_power) a typical concentrated solar plant can produce power at about $2.50-$4.00 per watt.  Therefore a typical plant producing around 250 megawatts costs around $600 million to $1 billion dollars to manufacture.  This for of power is a competitor for the transition from fossil fuel for multiple reasons.  One is that the power from the sun is free and unlimited if the plant is placed in strategic areas.  Another comparison that wikipedia mentions is that CSP plants can produce “12 to 18 cents per kilowatt-hour” which can be compared to a nuclear plant in Arizona which produce “1.65 cents per kilowatt-hour.”  The nuclear plant still more efficiently produces power, but the solar plant can be judged as a competitor in the green power category.  With continued advancement in CSP it could be possible to make them even more efficient and less expensive, but they are still much more valuable than the typical solar plant that doesn’t concentrate the sun’s power.

    Concentrated Solar power can be the wave of the future in the power industry.  All that need to be done is that it must become cheaper and more cost effect.  CSP is starting to pave the way to this much needed improvement to allow for the complete harnessing of the suns power and true renewable energy.

    Sources:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentrated_solar_power

    http://www.dmsolar.com/solar-module-1.html

    http://www.solarpoweristhefuture.com/how-many-solar-panels-does-it-take-to-make-one-kilowatt.shtml

    Image soure: http://blog.hasslberger.com/img/concentrated-solar-power.jpg

  • Touchscreen

    A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus. Touchscreen is common in devices such as all-in-one computers, tablet computers, and smartphones.

    The touchscreen has two main attributes. First, it enables one to interact directly with what is displayed, rather than indirectly with a cursor controlled by a mouse or touchpad. Secondly, it lets one do so without requiring any intermediate device that would need to be held in the hand. Such displays can be attached to computers, or to networks as terminals. They also play a prominent role in the design of digital appliances such as the personal digital assistant (PDA), satellite navigation devices, mobile phones, and video games.

    The first touch screen was a capacitive touch screen developed by E.A. Johnson at the Royal Radar Establishment, Malvern, UK. The inventor briefly described his work in a short article published in 1965 and then more fully – along with photographs and diagrams – in an article published in 1967. A description of the applicability of the touch technology for air traffic control was described in an article published in 1968.

    Technologies

    Resistive

    A resistive touchscreen panel is composed of several layers, the most important of which are two thin, electrically conductive layers separated by a narrow gap. When an object, such as a finger, presses down on a point on the panel’s outer surface the two metallic layers become connected at that point: the panel then behaves as a pair of voltage dividers with connected outputs. This causes a change in the electrical current, which is registered as a touch event and sent to the controller for processing.

    Surface acoustic wave

    Surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology uses ultrasonic waves that pass over the touchscreen panel. When the panel is touched, a portion of the wave is absorbed. This change in the ultrasonic waves registers the position of the touch event and sends this information to the controller for processing. Surface wave touchscreen panels can be damaged by outside elements. Contaminants on the surface can also interfere with the functionality of the touchscreen.

    Infrared

    An infrared touchscreen uses an array of X-Y infrared LED and photodetector pairs around the edges of the screen to detect a disruption in the pattern of LED beams. These LED beams cross each other in vertical and horizontal patterns. This helps the sensors pick up the exact location of the touch. A major benefit of such a system is that it can detect essentially any input including a finger, gloved finger, stylus or pen. It is generally used in outdoor applications and point of sale systems which can’t rely on a conductor (such as a bare finger) to activate the touchscreen. Unlike capacitive touchscreens, infrared touchscreens do not require any patterning on the glass which increases durability and optical clarity of the overall system.

    Acoustic pulse recognition

    This system, introduced by Tyco International’s Elo division in 2006, uses piezoelectric transducers located at various positions around the screen to turn the mechanical energy of a touch (vibration) into an electronic signal. The screen hardware then uses an algorithm to determine the location of the touch based on the transducer signals. The touchscreen itself is made of ordinary glass, giving it good durability and optical clarity. It is usually able to function with scratches and dust on the screen with good accuracy. The technology is also well suited to displays that are physically larger. As with the Dispersive Signal Technology system, after the initial touch, a motionless finger cannot be detected. However, for the same reason, the touch recognition is not disrupted by any resting objects.

    Construction

    There are several principal ways to build a touchscreen. The key goals are to recognize one or more fingers touching a display, to interpret the command that this represents, and to communicate the command to the appropriate application.

    In the most popular techniques, the capacitive or resistive approach, there are typically four layers;

    1. Top polyester coated with a transparent metallic conductive coating on the bottom
    2. Adhesive spacer
    3. Glass layer coated with a transparent metallic conductive coating on the top
    4. Adhesive layer on the backside of the glass for mounting.

    When a user touches the surface, the system records the change in the electrical current that flows through the display.

    http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question716.htm

    http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/iphone1.htm

    http://www.scholarshipsinindia.com/answer/touch_screens.html

  • Jabulani Ball

    Jabulani Ball

    History

    Throughout the history of football, people have been searching year after year for the perfect ball. It has been a quest to improve and improve a ball that is used in the most widespread sport in the world. World Cup after World Cup has seen new footballs with incremental changes in material between each one. In 1836, Charles Goodyear patented vulcanized rubber, he spent nearly 20 years in attempting to create a ball for football and finally he invented the first vulcanized rubber football in 1855. In 1862, H.J. Lindon developed one of the first inflatable rubber bladders for balls. “By the 1900’s bladders were made with stronger rubber and could withstand heavier pressure.  Most balls produced by that time used rubber bladders. The balls were made from inner tubes covered with heavy brown leather.  These balls would bounce easier and yet could be kicked. Most balls had a tanned leather cover with eighteen sections stitched together arranged in six panels of three strips each.” (soccerballworld.com). Throughout the next 70 years, leather balls were the only ones in the game and then in the 1970 world cup in Mexico, a revolutionary ball was introduced to the 32-Panel Adidas Telstar ball.

    The 2006 World Cup Ball, Teamgeist Ball

    This football was made from synthetic leather patches sewn together in a design based on the ‘Buckminster Ball’ or known as the Buckyball. For the next 36 years Footballs were made in this style with minimal change. In 2006, the Teamgeist. The introduction of a 14-panel construction method means that the number of three-panel touch points is reduced by 60% (60 to 24) and the total length of the panel lines falls by over 15% (400.5 cm to 339.3 cm). Building on the introduction of thermal bonding technology in 2004.

    Introduction Of Jabulani

    The ball is made from eight spherically molded panels and has a textured surface intended to improve aerodynamics. Nevertheless, the ball received extensive criticism from players and coaches before and during the World Cup who said that the path of the ball through the air was unpredictable.

    “The ball was constructed using a new design, consisting of eight (down from 14 in the last World Cup) thermally bonded, three-dimensional panels.

    The 2010 World Cup Ball, Jabulani

    These then are spherically molded from ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU). The surface of the ball was textured with grooves, a technology developed by Adidas called “Grip ‘n’ Groove” that is intended to improve the ball’s aerodynamics. The design has received considerable academic input, being developed in partnership with researchers from Loughborough University, United Kingdom.” (Wikipedia). This table shows that the moulding technique means the ball retains its shape, and the lack of seaming means there is essentially zero water retention, which will reduce sluggishness of the ball.

    Personal Experience

    Through personal experiences I have been able to conclude that the unpredictability of the ball is both a good and a bad thing. As the unexpected behavior can trick a goal keeper, whilst at the same time, the speed makes control of the ball quite difficult.

    Resources

    http://www.jabulaniball.com/

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adidas_Jabulani

    http://www.soccerballworld.com/Jabulani_2010.htm

    http://www.adidas.com/campaigns/football/content/products.aspx?collection=OMB

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adidas_Teamgeist

    http://www.soccerballworld.com/History.htm

  • Materials Blog- Super Conductors

    —Super Conductors—

    Have you ever been annoyed by the speed of your internet connection or the processing power of your computer? Did you ever consider what could be done to improve the quality of both? Well, a possibility lies in the development of superconductors.

    The definition of a super conductor comes from the term “superconductivity” which relates to the electrical resistance a material exhibits. In a superconductor, or a material with superconductivity, this resistance is zero ohms or very near zero.  Generally, this involves the cooling of a material to ultra low temperatures, such as below 20°K (-253°C). The cooling temperature varies between materials and is known as the transition temperature.

    The extremely low electrical resistance of super conductors allow for several unusual, yet useful, properties unique to or exemplified by the super conductor. Among these are the Meissner effect, or the property of materials, when cooled to become super conductors, to gain influence on a magnetic field and repel the field, the flux trapping effect, or the establishment of attraction between a powerful magnet and a super conductor, and the resulting magnetic levitation/suspension effect. The simultaneous attraction and repulsion of a super conductor and a magnet allow for the magnet and super conductor to maintain a fixed distance away from each other in a very stable manner. In other words, the magnet, or in turn the superconductor, can float above the other while staying in place with very little friction. This is especially useful in the development of transportation; minimal friction levitation allows trains, or other  modes of transportation, to move at maximum speeds in a noiseless manner. See the video below for more information. Other useful applications of the properties of super conductors include extremely efficient electrical wiring. Super conductors quickly and without resistance transport electricity, even if carrying only a minimal voltage. This allows for very sensitive equipment to be manufactured which can measure the most minute of electrical or magnetic discharges, changes, or disruption. Such machines are needed in the field of medicine for uses including brain examination and magnetic imaging. Super conductors, therefore, are useful in the manufacturing of more efficient and powerful motors, transformers, computer parts, and generators. A further suggested use is in a new energy storage medium: the magnetic energy-storage.

    How Superconducting Levitation Works

    The first documented research of super conductors came with the experiments done by in 1911 by the Dutch physicist Keike Kamerlingh Onnes with mercury wires. He discovered that mercury loses its electrical resistivity at below (4°K). Ensuing research made by scientists led to the development of higher and higher temperature super conductors. Super conductors were developed that consisted of multiple elements or were even metallic. The majority of super conductors in existence today are either alloys or ceramics. The highest temperature super conductors are actually ceramics with Hg2Ba2Ca2Cu3O8 at just above 130 degrees Kelvin. Today, multiple universities and companies around the world, work to produce cheaper and higher temperature super conductors. Unfortunately, most superconductors are expensive to produce, utilizing rare elements.

    Sources:

    “superconductivity.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 06 Mar. 2011.

    qwest.net

  • Kevlar

    Kevlar is a material developed by DuPont in 1965 but it was only used in 1970 for commercial use. Kevlar is used in body armor and armored vehicles, it is also applied in clothing to protect the user from cuts. Sports equipment such as bicycle tires to stop punctures, it is applied to table tennis paddles, motor cycle clothing, and racing sails. Kevlar has even been used in audio equipment since it has acoustic properties, drumheads, woodwind reeds, rope, cable, brakes, electricity generation, construction of buildings, and expansion hoses and joints.

    Kevlar is strong because of the weave which is very similar to small spider webs. It was invented by Stephanie Kwolek and Herbert Blades. The weave consists of a liquid and a solid also known as an aramid weave. These weaves corrode in exposed to chlorine but is resistant to heat.

    There are different types of Kevlar, they are all numbered and have their own use. Kevlar K-29 for example is used industrially for cables and brakes and armor while Kevlar K-49 is used in tires to replace rubber and bicycle frames but also in the hull of a boat because it is incredibly strong.

    The chemical composition of Kevlar is poly para-phenyleneterephthalamide (composite.about.com). Aramids belong in the nylon family.

    Kevlar is also very light and extremely strong of course and the tensile strength is high. However it does absorb moisture which makes it more sensitive to environments it is also harder to cut because you will need special scissors.

    The material is rather expensive to get and can get to about 33 dollars per yard but you have to buy in great amounts.

    This is a table of the three main Kevlar types 29, 49, and 149. (composite.about.com)

    Grade Density
    g/cm^3    		 Tensile
    Modulus
    GPa    		 Tensile
    Strength
    GPa    		 Tensile
    Elongation
    %
    29 1.44 83 3.6 4.0
    49 1.44 131 3.6–4.1 2.8
    149 1.47 186 3.4 2.0

    Sources:

    http://composite.about.com/od/aboutcompositesplastics/l/aa050597.htm

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevlar#Production

    http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-kevlar.htm