http://www.physorg.com/technology-news/engineering/ en-us PhysOrg.com provides the latest news on engineering technology, engineering science, computer engineering , civil engineering, chemical engineering, aerospace engineering and environmental engineering. (PhysOrg.com) -- Photo-realistic 3D mapping and digital reconstruction of an ancient underwater city in Greece have earned a team from the University of Sydney's Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies top honours in Canon Australia's Extreme Imaging competition. http://www.physorg.com/news248085717.html Technology - Engineering Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:10:02 EST news248085717 Today's "locavore" movement with its emphasis on eating more locally-produced food is a natural fit for fruits and vegetables in nearly every region, but few entrepreneurs have dared to apply the concept to fish farming. Those who have ventured to turn a vacant barn or garage into an aquaculture business have too often been defeated by high energy and feed costs, building-related woes and serious environmental problems, says aquaculture researcher Andy Danylchuk at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. http://www.physorg.com/news248031336.html Technology - Engineering Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:37:12 EST news248031336 Recent earthquake damage has exposed the vulnerability of existing structures to strong ground movement. At the Georgia Institute of Technology, researchers are analyzing shape-memory alloys for their potential use in constructing seismic-resistant structures. http://www.physorg.com/news248009758.html Technology - Engineering Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:36:35 EST news248009758 As the proportion of senior citizens grows, their special needs are gaining momentum. Human eyesight, for example, weakens with age. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has been developing new NFC-based applications that make life easier for the visually impaired. A group of affected persons recently tested an innovative, speech-based item identification system and new "talking" packaging for medicine and food. Solutions that link products and digital product info are becoming ever more common. They offer a range of possibilities for both the normal-sighted and the visually impaired. Food packaging, for example, can include links to information relevant to the individual customer, from the origins of the product to ecological aspects and possible allergy risks. http://www.physorg.com/news248005723.html Technology - Engineering Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:28:59 EST news248005723 You often hear about the Framers of the Constitution, but not so much the framers of the Magna Carta. They work for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). http://www.physorg.com/news247921582.html Technology - Engineering Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:06:29 EST news247921582 Today’s dismounted warfighter can be saddled with more than 100 pounds of gear, resulting in physical strain, fatigue and degraded performance. Reducing the load on dismounted warfighters has become a major point of emphasis for defense research and development, because the increasing weight of individual equipment has a negative impact on warfighter readiness. The Army has identified physical overburden as one of its top five science and technology challenges. To help alleviate physical weight on troops, DARPA is developing a highly mobile, semi-autonomous legged robot, the Legged Squad Support System (LS3), to integrate with a squad of Marines or Soldiers. http://www.physorg.com/news247913532.html Technology - Engineering Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:52:24 EST news247913532 On a recent blustery afternoon, scientists gathered on a rooftop at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) to observe two atmospheric electric field-mill devices monitor the buildup of electrical charge in nearby clouds. The larger device was a commercial model costing about $5,000. The smaller one, built by five Georgia high-school students using a coffee can, electrical components and a motorcycle battery, cost about $200. http://www.physorg.com/news247912894.html Technology - Engineering Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:42:07 EST news247912894 A student entrepreneurial team at the University of Utah believes it has come up with a winning business plan for a virtual ID badge that operates off of any mobile device. The team, calling itself EMRID Technologies, developed a product that could be used in place of other common electronic ID badges used by hospitals, defense companies or other firms where securing data is of the utmost importance. http://www.physorg.com/news247898935.html Technology - Engineering Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:49:09 EST news247898935 Researchers have learned how to improve the performance of sensors that use tiny vibrating microcantilevers to detect chemical and biological agents for applications from national security to food processing. http://www.physorg.com/news247838857.html Technology - Engineering Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:08:42 EST news247838857 Inventions can help physically-challenged people lead life with fewer difficulties. Mohd Thamrin, Rosman R. and Sarmawi D. S. of UiTM Shah Alam Malaysia studied the use of inexpensive RF transmitters and receiver modules for wireless transmission to improve the functionality and efficiency of the manual controlled wheelchair. http://www.physorg.com/news247815523.html Technology - Engineering Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:38:52 EST news247815523 The Office of Naval Research (ONR)'s Electromagnetic (EM) Railgun program will take an important step forward in the coming weeks when the first industry railgun prototype launcher is tested at a facility in Dahlgren, Va., officials said Feb. 6. http://www.physorg.com/news247768133.html Technology - Engineering Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:29:03 EST news247768133 A free, easily customizable software program for automating test equipment via GPIB or RS232 bus may sound too good to be true, especially for smaller companies, graduate students, and hobbyists or for day-to-day laboratory work. But that's exactly what Kurt Pernstich of the PML's Semiconductor and Dimensional Metrology Division has created. http://www.physorg.com/news247745669.html Technology - Engineering Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:14:46 EST news247745669 Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are an essential component of modern shopping, logistics, warehouse, and stock control for toll roads, casino chips and much more. They provide a simple way to track the item to which the tag is attached. Now, researchers in France have developed a way to deposit a thin aluminum RFID tag on to paper that not only reduces the amount of metal needed for the tag, and so the cost, but could open up RFID tagging to many more systems, even allowing a single printed sheet or flyer to be tagged. http://www.physorg.com/news247745029.html Technology - Engineering Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:03:56 EST news247745029 (PhysOrg.com) -- There’s no such thing as a free lunch, according to the old adage. And there’s no such thing as free parking, either. http://www.physorg.com/news247478281.html Technology - Engineering Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:10:01 EST news247478281 A team of German researchers, with the help of a lecturer at the University of Alcalá (UAH, Spain), has developed a system that locates pedestrians in front of the vehicle using artificial vision. Soon to be integrated into the top-of-the-range Mercedes vehicles, the device includes two cameras and a unit that process information supplied in real time by all image points. http://www.physorg.com/news247322148.html Technology - Engineering Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:36:05 EST news247322148 If sensors are supposed to communicate with each other to compare the measured data and to secure them, then, in the future, a network of distributed sensor nodes will aid in that: the network ensures a problem-free communication between the sensors. For example, they can be used to reliably monitor the watering of plants. At the 'embedded world' trade fair, taking place from 2/28 - 3/1 in Nuremberg (Germany), the researchers are showcasing a technological demonstration. http://www.physorg.com/news247319940.html Technology - Engineering Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:59:07 EST news247319940 Scientists from EPFL's Laboratory of Movement Analysis and Measurement have developed inertial systems, worn in a full-body swimming suit, which can analyse the strengths and weaknesses of elite-level swimmers during workout sessions. It’s a revolutionary new tool for coaches. http://www.physorg.com/news247317833.html Technology - Engineering Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:24:03 EST news247317833 (PhysOrg.com) -- Whale researchers have known for some time that humpback whales are able to perform feats of underwater acrobatics that belie their huge size and that some of that ability is partly due to the bumps they have on the leading edge of their dorsal fins. Now, engineers at the DLR Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology in Germany have applied the same idea to the leading edges of helicopter rotors and have found that doing so allows for greater stability and faster flight. http://www.physorg.com/news247316797.html Technology - Engineering Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:07:00 EST news247316797 Engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas are developing an emergency communications network that will maintain operation during natural disasters and provide critical warnings and geographic information to people affected by the disasters. The researchers are honing and testing the system now and expect to deploy a pilot network at the end of 2012.  http://www.physorg.com/news247316412.html Technology - Engineering Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:17 EST news247316412 Thanks to lightning-fast software from the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), if a truck bomb was discovered in Lower Manhattan we will now be able to predict the likely damage patterns in the surrounding areas, and prioritize the first responders' activities long before the bomb's acoustic shockwave ricocheted out at the speed of sound. http://www.physorg.com/news247314472.html Technology - Engineering Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:28:08 EST news247314472 Spacecraft must operate with utmost precision when conducting landing maneuvers on other planets, or docking to a space station. To ensure they do not drift off course, imaging sensors collect a fl ood of data that are analyzed in real time. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Architecture and Software Technology FIRST have engineered a system based on multicore technologies that allow spacecraft to be piloted and positioned with pinpoint accuracy. It can be seen at the embedded world trade show in Nuremberg from February 28 to March 1, 2012. http://www.physorg.com/news247306078.html Technology - Engineering Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:20:01 EST news247306078 A publicly displayed object of art experiences a lot: Dazzling light, unfavorable temperatures or too much moisture. With 'Artguardian' Fraunhofer researchers have developed a fully automated, intelligent monitoring system helping art lovers to optimally preserve their objects of art. Thanks to sensitive sensors they can be exhibited under the best conditions. The solution will be presented from 6th to 10th March at the CeBIT 2012. http://www.physorg.com/news247228725.html Technology - Engineering Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:38:54 EST news247228725 You might say they “zeroed” in on a groundbreaking idea. http://www.physorg.com/news247219947.html Technology - Engineering Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:12:45 EST news247219947 An innovative low-cost smart paint that can detect microscopic faults in wind turbines, mines and bridges before structural damage occurs is being developed by researchers at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. http://www.physorg.com/news247149158.html Technology - Engineering Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:32:51 EST news247149158 Take two Sandia National Laboratories engineers who are hunters, get them talking about the sport and it shouldn’t be surprising when the conversation leads to a patented design for a self-guided bullet that could help war fighters. (Click here for a video showing the prototype’s flight.) http://www.physorg.com/news247146577.html Technology - Engineering Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:49:48 EST news247146577 Imagine if there were electronics able to prevent epileptic seizures before they happen. Or electronics that could be placed on the surface of a beating heart to monitor its functions. The problem is that such devices are a tough fit. Body tissue is soft and pliable while conventional circuits can be hard and brittle--at least until now. http://www.physorg.com/news247133561.html Technology - Engineering Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:50:07 EST news247133561 SynchroPET, a Long Island startup company, has entered into an option agreement to commercialize a new small-scale, portable brain-imaging device invented by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory. The miniaturization of a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner allows for a dynamic range of new applications, including integration with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and compact scanners that can be “worn” by fully conscious, active rats. These new ways to “see” inside the body offer the promise of a deeper understanding of the brain and the diseases that affect it and other organs. http://www.physorg.com/news246876352.html Technology - Engineering Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:46:06 EST news246876352 (PhysOrg.com) -- The driving bass rhythm of rap music can be harnessed to power a new type of miniature medical sensor designed to be implanted in the body. http://www.physorg.com/news246812650.html Technology - Engineering Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:04:25 EST news246812650 Looking for an item in a large department store or mall can be like searching for a needle in a haystack, but that could change thanks to a hybrid location-identification system that uses radio frequency transmitters and overhead LED lights, suggested by a team of researchers from Penn State and Hallym University in South Korea. http://www.physorg.com/news246801097.html Technology - Engineering Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:51:47 EST news246801097 A new project has shown that by using existing sources of information about traffic flow it is possible to create a minute-by-minute image of congestion in cities. http://www.physorg.com/news246786002.html Technology - Engineering Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:40:07 EST news246786002