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Man, MIT is making all of these other places of higher learning look silly. For what seems like the fortieth time this month, scientists at the university have revealed yet another breakthrough that might just change the way we compute in the future. Polyethylene, which is about as common a polymer as they come, could very well become a vital part of the way your next processor is cooled, as MIT boffins have figured out how to cause said polymer to “conduct heat very efficiently in just one direction, unlike metals, which conduct equally well in all directions.” If you’re still struggling to figure out why this matters, have a listen at this: “this may make the new material especially useful for applications where it is important to draw heat away from an object, such as a computer processor chip.” In fact, even Intel is taking notice of the development, though no one’s saying outright when exactly this stuff will leave the lab and hit Dell’s supply chain. There’s no time like the present, guys.

[Thanks, Kevin]

MIT gurus use polyethylene to suck heat away from your next CPU originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Researchers up at the University of Edinburgh have determined that the male voice is harder for voice recognition software to pick up and understand than its female counterpart. This conclusion was reached after telephone conversation recordings were run through a battery of tests, which revealed that men seem to say “umm” and “err” more often, while also identifying that the greatest difficulties arise with words that sound similar and can arise in the same context, such as “him” and “them.” Equally troubling is the first word in a sentence, as it comes without context and therefore doesn’t benefit from any predictive assistance. Done in partnership with Stanford, the study was aimed at identifying and overcoming the major hurdles to producing usable and reliable voice recognition — something Google’s universal voice translator phone is also aiming to achieve. Let’s hope somebody figures out how to get around all our hemming and hawing, eh?

Sexist computers: male voices are apparently harder to recognize than female ones originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You’ve probably seen sketches like the one above promising you complete cable independence since what, 1996? We’re not about to tell you this is the one technology that finally delivers on that utopian dream, but it’s surely one of the zanier attempts at it. By converting “ultra fast laser pulses” into radio frequency waves, the researchers claim they’ve overcome a significant hurdle to making wireless communications ubiquitous — signal interference. The rapid (each laser burst lasts a mere 100 femtoseconds), pulsing nature of their approach purportedly makes their signal extremely robust, while intended operation at around 60GHz means their microring transmitters (diagram after the break) will be able to operate within spectrum space that does not require a license — neither from the FCC nor internationally. Applications for the microrings would include things like HDTV broadcasts and piping data into vehicles, although we won’t be seeing anything happening on the commercial front for at least another five years. Typical. If you just can’t wait that long, a few Japanese companies you may have heard of are preparing their own 60GHz wireless devices for the second half of this year.

Continue reading Microring transmissions are sure to resonate with people who hate wires

Microring transmissions are sure to resonate with people who hate wires originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft looks to be on a bit of a hot streak with innovations lately, and though this here project hasn’t received much hype (yet), we’d say it’s one of the most ingenious user interface concepts we’ve come across. Skinput is based on an armband straddling the wearer’s biceps and detecting the small vibrations generated when the user taps the skin of his arm. Due to different bone densities, tissue mass and muscle size, unique acoustic signatures can be identified for particular parts of the arm or hand (including fingers), allowing people to literally control their gear by touching themselves. The added pico projector is there just for convenience, and we can totally see ourselves using this by simply memorizing the five input points (current maximum, 95.5 percent accuracy), particularly since the band works even if you’re running. Make your way past the break to see Tetris played in a whole new way.

Continue reading Skinput: because touchscreens never felt right anyway (video)

Skinput: because touchscreens never felt right anyway (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft looks to be on a bit of a hot streak with innovations lately, and though this here project hasn’t received much hype (yet), we’d say it’s one of the most ingenious user interface concepts we’ve come across. Skinput is based on an armband straddling the wearer’s biceps and detecting the small vibrations generated when the user taps the skin of his arm. Due to different bone densities, tissue mass and muscle size, unique acoustic signatures can be identified for particular parts of the arm or hand (including fingers), allowing people to literally control their gear by touching themselves. The added pico projector is there just for convenience, and we can totally see ourselves using this by simply memorizing the five input points (current maximum, 95.5 percent accuracy), particularly since the band works even if you’re running. Make your way past the break to see Tetris played in a whole new way.

Continue reading Skinput: because touchscreens never felt right anyway (video)

Skinput: because touchscreens never felt right anyway (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PhysOrg  |  New Scientist  | Email this | Comments

Solar cells are cute and all, but let’s be real — these things are far too inefficient for mainstream use. Scientists at the California Institute of Technology are working hard to remedy that very issue, and they’ve recently concocted a “new type of flexible solar cell that enhances the absorption of sunlight and efficiently converts its photons into electrons.” The solution relies on arrays of long, thin silicon wires embedded onto a polymer substrate, which uses just a fraction of the expensive semiconductor materials required by conventional solar cells. According to professor Harry Atwater, these cells have “surpassed the conventional light-trapping limit for absorbing materials” for the first time, and we’re told that the arrays can convert between 90 and 100 percent of the photons they absorb into electrons, and yes, that does mean that they have a near-perfect internal quantum efficiency. Hit the source link for all the technobabble, and cross your fingers for this stuff to get the honored approval of the Governator.

Caltech gurus whip up highly efficient, low cost flexible solar cell originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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