Researchers at the University of Michigan College of Engineering have developed an elegantly simple technique that dramatically reduces the interference microwave ovens create in telephones and wireless computer networks.
Worldwide, there are hundreds of millions of microwave ovens in kitchens, offices and laboratories, each with a magnetron that creates communications problems ranging from an aggravating crackle during a friendly telephone call, to the disruption of 911 calls and the flow
The Thermal Engineering group of researchers at the Public University of Navarre is working on the design of a domestic thermoelectric refrigerator. Unlike the conventional system of producing a cold environment – by vapour compression – the thermoelectricity used in the design of this refrigerator allows the manufacture of more compact and quieter units which respect the environment more.
This first prototype of the thermoelectric domestic refrigerator, commissioned by the multinational BSH
Two new technologies for removing heat from electronic devices could help future generations of laptops, PDAs, mobile phones, telecom switches and high-powered military equipment keep their cool in the face of growing power demands.
The patented technologies – synthetic jets that rely on trains of turbulent air puffs and a system that uses vibration to atomize cooling liquids such as water – were developed by Professor Ari Glezer and co-workers at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Schoo
Australia’s breakthrough low-cost, thin magnesium sheet technology will be made fully production-ready during the next twelve months.
This follows the successful development by CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation) of an industrial-scale pilot plant now producing near-net-shape, or close to production thickness, low-cost magnesium sheet.
Ms Vicki Tutungi, the Head of Commercial Development at CSIRO Manufacturing & Infrastructure Technology, says, “
The perfect bun: That’s one of the goals of an automated product-inspection prototype under development by Georgia Tech researchers working with Flowers Bakery in Villa Rica, Ga.
An automated product-inspection prototype is under development by Georgia Tech researchers working with Flowers Bakery in Villa Rica, Ga. Researchers are introducing continuous imaging technology to the large-scale production of sandwich buns.
Georgia Tech Photo 300 dpi version
The first phase
Desktop manufacturing for home desks seen
A University of Southern California inventor has created a machine that can produce 3-dimensional “printouts” in plastic and even metal more quickly and cheaply than widely-used existing systems.
The new machine is a significant improvement on the laser sintering machines now widely used around the world to build complex 3D forms from computer files, according to its creator, Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis of the USC School of Enginee
The building community soon may have radio vision—a new way to “see” moisture inside walls. Building researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have joined forces with Intelligent Automation Inc. in Rockville, Md., to develop a way to use ultra wide-band radio waves to non-destructively detect moisture within the walls of a building. As any homeowner who’s suffered with leaky plumbing or mold problems will tell you, the current state of the art for pinpointing moi
New technology from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm is teaching a household robot a more efficient way to get around a house, for example. The method was recently awarded a prize for the best contribution among 500 others at IROS, one of the world’s largest robot conferences.
Philipp Althaus describes the concept in his dissertation, to be defended on November 21. Robots are making their way into our homes, toy robots and simple household robots. This is a clear trend, a
Backhoes are widely used machines with hydraulic shovels and buckets operated by mechanical controls. That combination can give rise to some unexpected vibration problems, according to a recent study by UC Davis mechanical engineering professor Don Margolis and Taehyun Shim, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan.
In some backhoe designs, a small movement of the mechanical controls leads to a rapid vibration that shakes the vehicle so hard the operator c
New fabrication results
The paper describes research at the Georgia Institute of Technology on fabricating hollow and solid microneedles in a variety of sizes and shapes from metals, biodegradable polymers, silicon and glass. It also reports on testing with cadaver skin and animals that demonstrates the ability of the micron-scale needles to deliver proteins, nanoparticles, and both small and large molecules through the skin.
“We’ve opened up the potential use of micron
One of the largest robots ever constructed will also be one of the most agile, thanks to technology derived from ESA space missions. Known as Roboclimber, this new climbing machine is designed to prevent landslides without endangering human lives.
Expertise from manoeuvring satellites into correct orbit has been used to develop the Roboclimber, which will be remotely controlled by a system originally built for ESA to control space robots and a robotic satellite arm.
Landslides are
It’s no secret that radiation is a great danger to astronauts. Most of the research to date concerns the effects of galactic cosmic rays, but what happens to those particles when they pass into a spacecraft?
A device currently being tested will reveal what kind of neutron energy spectrum astronauts are exposed to from neutrons inside a spacecraft, alerting the occupants when dangerous levels occur.
“When spacecraft travel through a variety of primary high-energy cosmic rays, large
What is the next best thing to humans landing on Mars and exploring the wonders of the Red Planet? The answer: touching, imaging and analysing carefully preserved samples of Martian rock in a state-of-the-art laboratory on Earth.
If all goes according to plan, this is exactly what ESA’s long-term Aurora programme of Solar System exploration will achieve a decade from now, when the first samples of Mars material will be sealed in a special capsule and returned to Earth for analysis.
The
Air safety will be boosted and the world aviation industry is set to save millions of dollars with the development by Australian company Tenix and CSIRO of an airborne volcanic gas and ash detector.
Costs in excess of $250 million have been borne by airlines worldwide as a result of undetected volcanic ash in flightpaths. Silicate particles in the ash can enter the engines and melt, leading to serious engine damage.
Volcanic ash also causes windscreen scouring, instrument damage a
A novel method of genetic fingerprinting, analysed and tested by more than 200 European laboratories, has been developed in conjunction with the Gaiker Technological Centre and enables the avoidance of fraud, thus guaranteeing safe foods for the consumer.
For their brand products the Eroski Group has developed and introduced a series of Food Safety control techniques and guarantees which are pioneer in Europe. This initiative started to be developed five years under the auspices of th
A unique device has been designed by the Moscow scientists – specialists of the Institute of General Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, supported by funding from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research. The device not only helps to discover in a few seconds the minute quantities of narcotics and explosives in the air, but to identify and even count every single molecule of these dangerous substances. For the first time has the man managed to approach the creation of device more sensitive than th
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