Engineering news

This smart wheelchair has laser vision

Technology / Engineering

Nov 10, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Disability, John Spletzer believes, should no longer pose any obstacle to mobility. A blind person may not be able to see or a paraplegic to walk, but each can access the technology available ...

Inventing language

Technology / Engineering

Nov 10, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Last Thursday, the day after the New York Yankees won their first World Series of the 21st century, MIT Institute Professor Barbara Liskov, the 2008 recipient of the Turing Award — frequently ...

Ford to put air bags into back seat belts of SUV (w/ Video)

Technology / Engineering

Nov 05, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

(AP) -- Air bags have long been mounted in the steering wheel, dashboard and sides of vehicles. Now, they're in the seat belts. Ford Motor Co. plans to introduce seat belt-mounted air bags in the back seat ...

Lasers put a shine on metals

Technology / Engineering

Nov 03, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (8) | 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Polishing metal surfaces is a demanding but monotonous task, and it is difficult to find qualified young specialists. Polishing machines do not represent an adequate alternative because they ...

Perfectly proportioned: Working to improve dry compaction and sintering

Technology / Engineering

Nov 03, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The manufacture of parts by compaction and sintering involves filling a die with metal powder. Research scientists have simulated this process for the first time to achieve an evenly distributed ...

Flying MAV Navigates Without GPS (w/ Video)

Technology / Engineering

Nov 02, 2009 | 4.7 / 5 (12) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- During the last several years, researchers have been building micro air vehicles (MAVs) that can autonomously fly through different environments by relying on GPS for navigation. Recently, ...

Driver-less car in high-speed rally assault

Technology / Engineering

Nov 02, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (16) | 3

Imagine driving at top speed on a steep, winding mountain pass in the Alps, or the Himalayas, or the Rocky Mountains.

Modified Bluetooth speeds up telemedicine

Technology / Engineering

Nov 02, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

A telemedicine system based on a modified version of the Bluetooth wireless protocol can transfer patient data, such as medical images from patient to the healthcare provider's mobile device for patient assessment almost ...

Micro Sparky: Engineering the tiniest Sun Devil

Technology / Engineering

Oct 30, 2009 | 2 / 5 (1) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- An Arizona State University engineering student may have found the tiniest - yet most cleverly inventive - way to show school spirit.

Underground mission to Mars

Technology / Engineering

Oct 29, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 1

The Netherlands is home to around 120,000 kilometres of underground gas pipelines. Researcher Edwin Dertien of Dutch University of Twente is working on a robot which can inspect the gas pipelines independently. ...

New methods are changing old materials

Technology / Engineering

Oct 28, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (10) | 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- A company that makes steel for bearings used in heavy trucks had a big problem. The trucks travel through harsh, perilous environments such as Siberia, and an unexpected bearing failure on ...

Embedded systems -- the whole picture

Technology / Engineering

Oct 28, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Embedded computer systems must be fast and efficient. A European consortium has created a new modelling framework that lets designers strike the best balance between static, reconfigurable ...

Xerox Develops Silver Ink for Cheap Printable Electronics

Technology / Engineering

Oct 27, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (11) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Xerox has developed an ink which can be used to print circuits onto plastics, films, and textiles. Although circuits printed on flexible materials aren't new, Xerox's method may be cheap and ...

Research continues on secure, mobile, quantum communications

Technology / Engineering

Oct 27, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

Researcher Dr. David H. Hughes of the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, N.Y. is leading a team investigating long-distance, mobile optical links imperative for secure quantum communications capabilities in theater.

Tiny Train Model May be World's Smallest (w/ Video)

Technology / Engineering

Oct 26, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (13) | 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- David Smith, who has been building model railroads since 1965, has always had a preference for the smaller scale train models. His most recent project is a five-car train that runs through ...

Fingerprint technology beats world's toughest tests... including 100s of builders' thumbs

Technology / Engineering

Oct 26, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (4) | 1

Technology developed by the University of Warwick that can identify partial, distorted, scratched, smudged, or otherwise warped fingerprints in just a few seconds has just scored top marks in the world's two ...

Scientists discover, patent, sell waste-water tech

Technology / Engineering

Oct 26, 2009 | 3.8 / 5 (6) | 0

Sam Houston State University has applied for six federal patents, three of which have already been awarded, to protect the technology and engineering associated with a "revolutionary" packaged wastewater treatment system ...

Watching me, watching you

Technology / Engineering

Oct 21, 2009 | 3.5 / 5 (2) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Software that tracks shoppers' eye movements as they browse supermarket shelves may seem a bit Big Brother, but the latest technology in 'eye-tracking', which monitors what grabs a person's ...