FIRE EXIT: Firefighters can easily get disoriented and lost inside
smoke-filled buildings, sometimes with fatal results. The 225 gram wearable TRX Tracking Unit is intended to help them. It includes an accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, altimeter and ranging sensors. The tracker obtains an initial GPS reading while the firefighter is still outside then the sensors feed in data to create a map of the inside space in real time.
The tracker sends the data back to base via the firefighter's radio so it's easy to locate and guide the firefighter at all times. That kind of tracker could be very handy for regular use in places like hospitals too with their endless and complex corridors.
Discovery News.
OLD SARNIES: Yesterday's sandwich may be unappealing, but a sandwich from last year would just turn the stomach. Usually. But the US Army
has found a way to make sandwiches that keep up to 3 years and still taste good in ration packs. By locking away moisture inside the ingredients and keeping oxygen out they can keep bacteria from growing and ingredients from oxidising. I'm sure astronauts wouldn't mind a sandwich sometimes either. BBC.
SLOW SARNIES: Rosie's been making sandwiches - the normal kind. Which might not be anything too special, except that Rosie's a robot at the Technical University in Munich. The steps aren't explicitly programmed, rather the robot knows what's required and carries out the right actions. The only thing is the process is a bit slow - the 2 minute video shows the action at 10x speed. Technische UniversitätMünchen.
Video here.
PLASTIC WRAP: Current solar cells use expensive silicon semiconductors or less-efficient thin films to trap photons, raise the energy levels
of electrons and create electricity. Scientists at Tel Aviv University aim to do things a little differently by creating a variety of microscopic antennas in simple plastic films. Their antennas are designed to capture the sun's emissions across a wide range of the
electromagnetic spectrum, even including radio waves.
Then they convert the captured emissions into electricity. If successful, it could be possible to efficiently generate power at low cost by adding a simple plastic film to any surface. And just think of recapturing
all the waste emissions we generate with all our electronics too. American Friends of Tel Aviv University.
THE SPIN: Why would you want to fill a giant steel sphere with 13,000
Kg of molten sodium heated to around 105 °C? Well, the University of Maryland did it to create a miniature model of Planet Earth, or at least, its molten outer core. Soon they'll set the Geodynamo spinning and expect it to generate a self-sustaining electromagnetic field they can study. The larger sphere encloses a smaller inner sphere that mimics the Earth's solid inner core. The spheres will spin separately. That's music to the ears. Nature.
Video here.
- Miraz Jordan knowit.co.nz