Communications
Researchers improve fast-moving mobile networks
May 21, 2012 7:46 am | News | CommentsMobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) allow people in multiple, rapidly moving vehicles to communicate with each other—such as in military or emergency-response situations. Researchers from North Carolina State University have devised a method to improve the quality and efficiency of data transmission in these networks.
Google strives to enlighten with new search tool
May 18, 2012 6:36 am | by Michael Liedtke, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsThe search engine giant has spent the past two years poring through online encyclopedia Wikipedia, the CIA Factbook and other sources to expand a database of 12 million items that it picked up as part of its 2010 acquisition of Metaweb. On Wednesday it used this massive database to launch a new feature that provides a summary of vital information alongside main search results.
More doctors are ditching the old prescription pad
May 18, 2012 6:33 am | by Lauran Neergaard, AP Medical Writer | News | CommentsThe U.S. government has been pushing doctors to e-prescribe, in part because it can be safer for patients. Now, more than a third of the nation's prescriptions now are electronic, and starting this year, holdouts will start to see cuts in their Medicare payments.
Paralyzed woman uses her mind to control robot arm
May 17, 2012 6:33 am | by Malcolm Ritter, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsNot long after a partially paralyzed man in Switzerland used his mind to remotely control a small robot, a Massachusetts woman paralyzed for 15 years used only her thoughts to direct a robotic arm to pick up a bottle of coffee and bring it to her lips But will the experimental brain-controlled technology ever help paralyzed people in everyday life?
Technology convergence may widen the digital divide
May 17, 2012 5:35 am | News | CommentsTechnology is helping communication companies merge telephone, television, and Internet services, but a push to deregulate may leave some customers on the wrong side of the digital divide during this convergence, according to a Penn State University telecommunications researcher.
Study: Texting ups truthfulness
May 16, 2012 12:06 pm | News | CommentsText messaging is a surprisingly good way to get candid responses to sensitive questions, according to a new study to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Public Opinion Research.
Rover on the move after surviving Martian winter
May 10, 2012 6:28 pm | News | CommentsAfter spending nearly five months conducting experiments in one spot, the NASA rover moved for the first time this week, rolling off the rock outcrop where it hunkered down for the Martian winter. Engineers will check its power supply before directing it north to study dust and bedrock.
ICANN offers refunds to domain name applicants
May 9, 2012 6:03 am | News | CommentsThe organization behind a major expansion of Internet address suffixes is offering full refunds to companies and organizations affected by a weeks-long delay in taking proposals.
Cafe conquerors use high-tech gadgets to take over public spaces
May 9, 2012 5:59 am | News | CommentsIt’s a situation we’ve all probably encountered: a coffee shop full of laptop users and no place to sit. According to recent studies at Boston College, “plugged-in” customers are increasingly grabbing extra seats counter space and table tops by using cell phones, laptops, and cups of steaming hot coffee to shield others from seemingly public spaces
Study: Bandwidth caps create uncertainty, risky decisions
May 7, 2012 7:26 am | News | CommentsMany U.S. Internet service providers have fallen in line with their international counterparts in capping monthly residential broadband usage. But according to a recent study conducted with the help of Microsoft Research, these pricing models offer few tools for consumers to manage their data usage, and lead to uninformed decisions.
Life-size, 3D hologram-like telepods may change videoconferencing
May 4, 2012 5:37 am | News | CommentsUsing off-the-shelf parts, a researcher in Canada has created a Star Trek-like human-scale 3D videoconferencing pod that allows people in different locations to video conference as if they are standing in front of each other. Called TeleHuman, the device projects a full body image that is viewable from 360 degrees.
Imec, Panasonic develop low-power radio transceiver
May 2, 2012 7:41 am | News | CommentsImec, in collaboration with Panasonic, has developed a prototype of a 60 GHz radio transceiver allowing to reach data rates of 7 Gbps over short distances at very low power consumption. The chip achieves this performance over the four channels specified by the IEEE802.11ad standard.
Graphene-based terahertz devices: The wave of the future
May 2, 2012 3:18 am | News | CommentsResearchers at the University of Notre Dame have shown that it is possible to efficiently manipulate terahertz electromagnetic waves with atomically thin graphene layers. This achievement sets the stage for development of compact, efficient, and cost-effective devices and systems operating in the terahertz band.
New software matches more kidney donations, faster
May 1, 2012 6:59 am | by Miles O'Brien and Ann Kellan, Science Nation | News | CommentsUsing game theory and market dynamices, Harvard University economist Alvin Roth has helped develop a suite of computer programs that match living kidney donors with recipients. The software comprehensively addresses the common limitations of this complicated process, matching participants with compatible blood types and antibodies.
Optical clock signal transmission helps redefine time
April 30, 2012 9:42 am | News | CommentsThe title of world’s most accurate clock has been transferred from devices based on the steady oscillations of the cesium atom to clocks based on optical transitions. Before this newfound precision can redefine the second, or lead to new applications like ultra-precise navigation, the system used to communicate time around the globe will need an upgrade. Researchers have recently demonstrated how this could be accomplished.
Swiss scientists demonstrate mind-controlled robot
April 24, 2012 12:00 pm | by Frank Jordans, Associated Press | News | CommentsOn Tuesday, a team at Switzerland's Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne used a simple head cap to record the brain signals of Mark-Andre Duc, a partial quadriplegic at a hospital about 100 km away. Duc's thoughts, or electrical signals, were decoded almost instantly by a laptop at the hospital, which then relayed them to a foot-tall robot that scooted around the laboratory.
A divided Congress confronts a rising cyberthreat
April 23, 2012 8:44 am | by Donna Cassata and Richard Lardner, Associated Press | News | CommentsAs cyber attacks worsen and the tactics employed by hackers grow more nefarious, Congress is being asked to consider legislation to improve defenses for government, municipal, and corporate networks. However, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups are applying pressure from the other side, saying the rules would cost money without improving risk.
Researchers boost efficiency of multi-hop wireless networks
April 19, 2012 6:50 am | News | CommentsMulti-hop wireless networks can provide data access for large and unconventional spaces, but they have long faced significant limits on the amount of data they can transmit. Now researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a more efficient data transmission approach that can boost the amount of data the networks can transmit by 20% to 80%.
Verizon to auction spectrum worth billions
April 19, 2012 5:57 am | by Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsSpectrum rights are the lifeblood of the wireless industry, since they're necessary to operate wireless networks. On Wednesday, Verizon Wireless said it will auction a parcel of radio frequencies potentially worth billions of dollars in an industry scrambling to offer consumers more cellular broadband.
Xerox unveils research projects to make healthcare less of a pain
April 12, 2012 3:42 am | News | CommentsThis week at TEDMED 2012, Xerox pulled back the curtain on some of the healthcare-related research occurring in its labs around the world. The company’s innovations include LiveKey, which captures and shares paper-based information in seconds, and predictive clinical analytics solutions enabled by mobile device technology.
First message transmitted via neutrinos
April 11, 2012 11:30 am | by Kurt Riesselmann | News | CommentsScientists have for decades contemplated communicating via neutrinos when other methods won’t do. For the first time, physicists and engineers at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory’s MINERvA detector have successfully transmitted a message through 240 m of rock using these ghost-like particles.
Google creates a spectacle with project
April 6, 2012 5:55 am | by Barbara Ortutay, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsEarlier this week, Google gave a glimpse of "Project Glass", an effort to bring the features of a smartphone or tablet computer to a pair of glasses. While wearing a pair, a user can see directions to a destination appear before her eyes, can talk to friends over video chat, can take a photo, or even buy a few things online.
Students develop app to help children with severe autism
March 29, 2012 9:09 am | News | CommentsStudents in a Purdue University service-learning program have developed an application for Apple's iPad that helps children with severe autism learn how to communicate. The app, called SPEAKall!, allows the children to construct sentences by choosing photos and graphic symbols.
Researchers send wireless message using elusive particles
March 14, 2012 11:05 am | News | CommentsA group of scientists led by researchers from the University of Rochester and North Carolina State University have, for the first time, sent a message using a beam of neutrinos—nearly massless particles that travel at almost the speed of light. The message was sent through 240 m of stone and said simply, "Neutrino."
Holey Optochip first to transfer one terabit of information per second
March 8, 2012 3:56 am | News | CommentsIBM scientists report on a prototype optical chipset, dubbed Holey Optochip, that is the first parallel optical transceiver to transfer one trillion bits, or one terabit, of information per second, the equivalent of downloading 500 high-definition movies. With the ability to move information at high speeds, the breakthrough could transform how data is accessed, shared, and used for a new era of communications and computing technologies.
