Composite Metal Foams (CMFs) can improve the armor strength drastically and also enhance shielding from high-speed kinetic, radiation, and heat impacts. Just like all other foam metals, CMFs are created by infusing gas bubbles into molten metal, it then creates a mixture that settles into a matrix. The resulting materials has the robustness of original metal, but is lighter comparatively/ As compared with other kinds of metal foams, CMFs have 5-6 times better ratio of strength-to-density and has seven times better energy absorption. A professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering department at the North Carolina State University, Afsaneh Rabiei, tested the strength of CMF by applying them as an absorber layer between Kevlar panels and boron carbide ceramic plate. The CMF-based body armor could withstand a 7.62-mm x 63-mm M2 armor-cutting projectile and a 7.62-mm x 51-mm battle rifle.
Learning About a Liquid Fuel from Seawater – A Foghorn
When a team of Google engineers read a paper on extraction of CO2 from seawater with bipolar membrane electrodialysis, they were interested in it instantly. To move ahead, they invited, Matthew Eisaman, the prime author to explain them about the work and finally brought him on their team for a new project – Foghorn. The main aim for Foghorn was to help in development of fuel from seawater. Following a moonlight methodology, the Foghorn was trying to solve the big problem related with climate change. Considering the fact that transportation is responsible for 14 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, they choose to counter this problem with their latest technology. The breakthrough technique used in Eisaman’s process that can create hydrocarbons from seawater. A carbon neutral alternative fuel was their radical solution that was known as ‘Sea Fuel’.
Using Magnetic Fields for Controlling Soft Robots
A team of research engineers recently made a notable advance in fundamentals related to control of soft robots with magnetic field. This would really help in manipulation of micro particle chains located in soft robotic devices remotely. The team had already created multiple devices that can use this new technology. An associate professor of engineering and material science at the North Carolina State University and also a corresponding author of paper on this research, Joe Tracy adds, “By putting these self-assembling chains into soft robots, we are able to have them perform more complex functions while still retaining relatively simple designs. Possible applications for these devices range from remotely triggered pumps for drug delivery to the development of remotely deployable structures.”
Introducing Transformational Drones That Can Float Like a Helicopter and Cruises Down Like a Plane
A pair of PhD students from Unmanned System Research Group from University of Singapore were busy in development of novel hybrid unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) known as U-Lion. U-Lion can actually take off as well as land in vertical direction such as helicopter and can also transition to cruise flight in form of an airplane. It can expand and retract its wings, and favors stability in VTOL mode or offer an efficient lift to cruise flight. U-Lion can easily transform and fly automatically. The research was recently published in a famous journal.
An Upright GO Device That Corrects Your Posture by Getting On Your Back
Oden Cohen was quite frustrated for his mother as he wanted to find a right way to help her with her back pain problem. He turned every stone right from prescriptions, tests, massage devices, strap support and so forth, but nothing seem to be helping in alleviating her agony. He was looking for something, perhaps a way, that wouldn’t interfere with her schedule and also help her develop healthy habits for strengthening her back bone in a course of time. Finally, he came up with a simple idea for the Upright Pro, a posture rectifying device that could help with ‘screen slouch’. He recently developed a smaller version of its which is now a wearable and can be easily tucked over your back. He is currently running a crowd funding campaign of the UPRIGHT GO.
Ions Coupling Perform Enhanced Spooky Action, Disclose Physicists
Adding to robust recent illustrations that particles of light perform what Einstein called as spooky action at a distance, wherein two separated objects can have a link that exceeds everyday experience, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have confirmed that particles of matter can act really spooky too.
Researcher Pioneers Novel Technology, Witnesses Giant Samba Virus
In an American lab, researchers took a DIY method to construct a retrofitted cryo-electron microscope that enabled them to map a giant Samba virus, one of the largest viruses of the world.
Discovery of a Novel Regulatory Protein Offers a Novel Tool for Engineering of Stem Cell
Bioengineers have identified a protein that controls the switch of embryonic stem cells from the least developed ‘naïve’ state to the more developed primed state. This discovery sheds light on the stem cell development at a great molecular level.
What Do You Know About The First Artificially Intelligent Carton Sorting Robot In The World?
One of the firsts in the world, the Carton Concil of North America recently came up with a recyclable-sorting robot in association with Alpine Waste & Recycling and AMP Robotics. The Carton Council was carrying out a pilot program that makes use of AMP Cortex which is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) framework, this permits the robot to learn how to adapt with identification, grabbing, and separation between several beverages and several cartons of food. It has been nicknamed as “Clarke”, this system works over a container line with arms like a spider with a few special grippers to browse through the stream of recycling things and then grabbing cartons.
Psychologists Use Machine Learning to Help Identify Depression
More than 15 million American adults are affected by depression, each year. It is even the leading cause of disability for those between ages of 15 and 44. According to David Schnyer, a cognitive neuroscientist and lecturer of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, consider it is possible to identify people suffering from illness before its onset.
Moving Wave-Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry Reveals Structures of Gold Fingers
Drugs comprising gold have been employed for centuries to treat situations, such as rheumatoid arthritis. Moreover, they might be efficient against HIV and cancer. One procedure by which they work could occur as gold ions force the zinc ions out of zinc fingers – nucleic acid, looped binding protein domains.
Know About a 3-D Printed Device That Changes Color With Change in Mechanical Stresses
In the age where tablet computers and smartphones are defining way of life, you cannot overlook the significance of a touch-sensitive surface. These are also very brittle which is one of the reasons why many people prefer to carry the older tougher version of cell phones (like Nokia 1100) along with their phones. So, if we need robots or bridges or airplanes with touch sensitive surfaces we will need to devise better technologies than the existing ones. At the same time, it needs to be cost-effective and a flexible one and manufacturing in bulk should not be an issue. The solution was recently discovered by a team of researchers working at the computer science and artificial intelligence laboratory at MIT, they believe that 3-D printing could give a simple answer to this problem.
Purest and Most Massive Brown Dwarf Identified By Astronomers
An international researchers team was recently had a breakthrough when they identified a brown dwarf, a star not big enough for nuclear fusion, with the most possible purity and highest mass known to human brain. The object has been named as SDSS J0104+1535 and is now a member of halo, the most external reaches of our galaxy that is constituted by the oldest stars. Brown dwarfs are known for being an intermediate between fully-fledged stars and planets. The mass is also very less for hydrogen nuclear fusion with helium, but these are little more massive as compared with planets.
A New Security Procedure That Prevents Multi-Robot Systems from Spoofing
A team of researchers working at MIT recently developed a new technology to keep multi-robot systems safe from hostile takeovers. This technique keeps the systems safe from a security threat called Sybil attack under which robots gets spoofed for influencing the authentic robots coordination from the network. There are a number of multi-robot systems coordinate through algorithms and make use of local observations to make a few new recommendations for the frameworks. When recommendations from all robots from the network are combined together, a single decision can be made.
Introducing a New Kind of Electrocatalyst That Uses 99% Less Platinum than Regular Designs
Mostly platinum is used as a catalyst in the process of electrolysers that store electric energy in form of chemical compounds. It is also known for playing a crucial role in formation of fuel cells, multiple chemical processes, and catalytic converters. A team of researchers from the Aalto University led by Kari Laasonen and Tanja Kallio developed a new manufacturing procedure for electrocatalysts that consume just 1/100th amount of platinum used in production of commercial products.Platinum is known for being a very costly material and is thus one of the biggest obstacles in renewable energy development. The process accomplished with use of new material is very much similar with that to commercial products. Platinum happens to be a very expensive metal that this smaller its requirement more cost-effective is the process of manufacturing and production.
US Army Vehicles To Welcome Laser Weapons
The United States army recently showcased how close they are to deployment of laser weapons on their ground-based vehicles fleet. While the Army’s Space and Missile Defence Command (SMDC) was carrying out tests on the same they were able to load a Stryker assault vehicle with a 5kW laser. For this purpose the y worked in association with Army Forces Strategic Command. They tested an upgraded version of the original 2kW, MEHEL armament that was tested last October. The new version of it is known as Mobile Expeditionary High Energy Laser (MEHEL) 2.0 and its first assignment was interception pf a downing signal 20lb dorne.
Plastic Sheet Curvature Can Now Be Controlled With Light
A team of researchers recently came up with a technique that makes use of light to curve 2-D plastic sheets into 3-D structures such as bowls, tubes, or spheres. The new development takes place over some previous accomplishments that focused on automatic folding of three-dimensional structures.The primary advancement here is that in place of having the plastic sheets being folded along sharp lines for formation of a polygon, the plastics now bend directly into curves. So no sharp edges now. The research was led by a professor of biomolecular and chemical engineering, Michael Dickey, at the North Carolina State University. He worked in association with Jan Genzer who is also a professor from the same department.
Smartphones Get a Viewing Boost With Superscreens
A team of technicians working under Brent Morgan was quite frustrated with the fact that how small were their viewing screen as compared with the scope of information they presented. The larger tablets, on the other hand, lacked in terms of power and functionality. To resolve this issue, the team worked to create a larger sized screen that had ability to mimic phone and carry a more advanced Superscreen. The Superscreen came with a 10.1 inches display range that permitted large scale viewing as well as better control. To produce it further, the team is now carrying out a Kickstarter campaign.
Tarnish – Proof Films for Flexible Displays, Touch Screens
The thinnest, softest layer of silver that can withstand air exposure has been laid down at the Michigan’s University, and it could alter the way touchscreens and flexible or flat displays are prepared.
Disclosing the Microscopic Procedures in Perovskite Solar Cells
A substance with the perovskite crystal structure has become highly famous for solar cells. While numerous perovskites are inorganic compounds, this novel substance is a hybrid of relatively cost-effective organic and inorganic substances.In just a couple of years, scientists have accomplished remarkable power conversion efficacy with such perovskites, comparable with the finest photovoltaic substances available. Now, scientists from Japan have disclosed the physics for how a vital component of a perovskite solar cell works, a study that could result in enhanced solar cells or even newer and better substances.