HOME OF TECHNOLOGY

4 stroke Engine With Rotary Valve

noreply@blogger.com (M.A.K.A) — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 04:05:00 -0500

4 stroke engine has decades adopt valve / Valve umbrella models for use, either on a motorcycle or a car engine, because until now the valve is still considered effective for most industrial otomootif. But not for Coates International company that stood since December 1987 in the USA an industrial machine that had made the different types of engine turbine engines, rocket Until combustion engine / 4 steps. Development is not satisfied on engine technologies that already exist for that they made a breakthrough technology that has been in part a mechanical engineer becomes a constraint to be maximized, one of which is a valve or valve for 4 stroke engines.

valve performance for most designers still machine performance can be maximized in order to achieve the engine rev and torque are greater, because the valve with the application per impeded the performance of a machine, because it requires more energy than not using a kelp for menggerakanya per one rotation crankshaft, imagine if at times up to thousands of machines Puran how many% (percent) of the energy being sucked out of the engine power only to move a valve that uses a not to mention the added friction of the valve stem, in addition to the small diameter of the valve with a higher assessed improve heat in the combustion chamber until it reaches 2500 degrees F, which can damage the valve itself.

Simple example comrades could see 2-stroke engine, can say the 2-stroke engine power is obtained pure without much constraint on the overall performance of the engine, that's why the 2-stroke engine with a capacity equal to cc 4 stroke engine has power 1, 6 is greater than 4 stroke engines. That's why as much as possible Coates International makes the engine in a different way, creating Coates Spherical Rotary Valve (CSRV) System, where the system is not only relieve the engine turns, but also assessed efficiently in low-emission combustion process

Coates Spherical Rotary Valve (CSRV) System.tidak use application valve spring to move it so that it can spin the lighter open and shut the valve In and Out, spigot shape like a ball with a hollow design to accommodate gas inlet and exhaust gas, in addition to the hole in the valve and her ex was great to follow the shape of the valve rotarynya desian, this is what the data according to claim they can menerunkan temperature in the combustion chamber, the exhaust gases from the burning of waste to the maximum, thus reducing carbon deposits in the combustion chamber that affect defective in pembakaran- the next thing that's burning in the end lead to emissions that are not perfect.

How to Make a Crankshaft

noreply@blogger.com (M.A.K.A) — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 03:28:00 -0500

Lathe workshop in Indonesia to make the crankshaft of zero so far had limited means and constraints that must be mastered problems of mechanical engineering theory in depth not only that but also mathematics and physics, from the shape looks normal, but it turns out the formula attached to the object to form crankshaft, and no objects are created in such a way without a reason of said crankshaft which sometimes forms vary, the problem is not much engineer-engineer of mechanical engineering who want to share knowledge freely Theory about the making of this crankshaft if not in college, for a moment, let us see the video how to make crankshaft with a lathe.

Crazy Innovation Decade Penetrators Honda NR750

noreply@blogger.com (M.A.K.A) — Tue, 7 Oct 2014 13:36:00 -0500

Honda NR750 is a Motor Sport output in 1992, which reportedly produced only about 300 units. Seeing him when his motorcycle was first introduced to the public, of course Bikers admiration of the whole world we will easily meet. Her Sexy Body Design, Exotic and able to penetrate the Age as the main attraction for Besutan Honda Motor Racing Replica this. No doubt many who call NR750 Like a Ferrari 2 Wheels.

Not only the design is able to invite admiration the Bikers, It turns out there are other parts that are capable mengenyitkan the Bikers World forehead. Materials, Machinery & Frame NR750 is part of it! Yup machine NR750 uses V4-Engine Platform, OVAL-PISTON, DOHC (Or QOHC huh?), 32 Valve + Frame Exotic Twin-Spar Aluminum Alloy Beam Titanium wrapped to protect scratch (crazy motorcycle).

Wait a minute .......
Valve 32 in Configuration V4 Engine? ?
Oval-Piston ?? Round piston right? ?

Since 1978 with the genius of Honda Soichiro Honda, who wants to Reduce Production of motor 2-Not as bad Emissions and Replace it with a 4-Stroke motors,, Oval-Piston started was developed for Pursuing Mid-End Performance Ability Power Typical Motor 2-Tak (Salute, Aplause, 4 thumb. philosophy 4-Stroke Honda Able to Penetrate Age, Era and Decade). Not Making the Difficult cylinder block, piston Not Make the Hard, Or Make The engine configuration is difficult, but crafted it into a single unit that Whole is a Very Complex Problems when Making this technology

Even more surprising turns NR750 Not only able to invite the admiration of the whole world Bikers, But NR750 NR Along Series is also able to receive and Sense Aplause high Respect of Other Manufacturers Compete true in the motorcycle market

NR750 is a development of its Race Version NR500 namely that the 80s used to duel with 2-stroke Racing in the event WorldGP, Racing International and All Japan Champiosnship (AJC). Other manufacturers at that time "only" able to make 2-stroke engine, while Honda Decides to join the same class, but with 4-Stroke Motor Base.
As we all know the 4-Stroke Motor Capacity, Configuration & Technology same machine might Could not resist especially Offsetting Typical Performance Motor 2-stroke. Honda also began research and development including the massive use Configuration Engine 500cc 4-Stroke V8 when the first try. The result was satisfactory, but given the hostile Regulation (When the racing regulations using Maximum 4 Cylinder / Space Combustion), then Honda had to go through a long research.

Finally in 1978, Honda is able to solve the solution by combining the two into one Piston Piston shaped ellipse, then link the two piston into the piston which combined earlier, Plus 8 and 2 injector FI Valve that regulates air and fuel mixture to the combustion space V4 Engine have "Taste" V8. Very Complex, Complicated and Brain drain does, but Honda continues to work hard, show creativity and finally realize the dream. That was the beginning Oval-Piston Technology created or can be known as "A Taste of Two Piston Piston"

Although only able to finish in the Top 13 in WorldGP Position, Position 5 AJC (All-Japan Championship) and the International Race Champion Once in Italy, but technology-Piston Oval NR Series is able to prove and realize that the whole world as NR Series 4-Stroke Motor with Capacity, Configuration & Technology the same engine is also able to compensate for Motor 2-stroke (Motor 2-stroke is also specifications Crazy aka Pure Racing, MotoGP. difference NR500 with 2-stroke Racing at the time was Creativity & Innovations. again this prove Creativity, genius, Innovation & Hard Work of the Honda engineers maintain Philosophy principle 4-stroke Incredible very very very, good job Honda !!

Metallurgical Raw Materials Motorcycles #3

noreply@blogger.com (M.A.K.A) — Mon, 6 Oct 2014 13:05:00 -0500

3. aluminium

Aluminum Metal Lightweight true is now widely used in industry, especially following Motorcycles All Decorations her. In the past, it is not as famous as Iron Aluminum or Steel !! That's because aluminum is a material that is rare and hard to obtain. . . However, after the discoveries that had been Home Of Techno blog describe above, aluminum is becoming increasingly recognized by the World Wide.

In the early development of the world Motorcycles, Aluminum will not necessarily be the first choice for building a Vehicle Wheels 2 Section, Pure Aluminum Despite having characters are Lightweight and Easy to set up (Aluminum Metal Both are about the easiest Formation), however is extremely Soft & Pure Aluminum not strong enough to sustain the weight of the Motorcycle and Power were increasingly shows Brushing

There are several world famous figures who managed to find and develop aluminum as we can see at this point are:

1 In 1782, a French scientist named Lavoiser have suspected that aluminum is a metal that is contained in the . Alumina.

2 In 1807, an English chemist named Humphrey Davy succeeded in separating Alumina electrochemically. Well, Metals obtained from this separation is Aluminium.

3 In 1825, a Danish chemist, Orsted successfully separated Pure Aluminum

4 In 1886, A student from Oberlin College in Ohio USA, is named Charles Martin Hall discovered that aluminum can be produced by dissolving Alumina (Al203) in a solution of cryolite (Na3AlF6) at a temperature in the form of a box 960ºC metal coated carbon and then passing a current through the space. In the same year, a French chemist named Paul Heroult find the same process with the invention of Charles Martin Hall, So how to produce aluminum which is called the Hall-Heroult Process

see: Metallurgical Raw Materials Motorcycles #3
see: Metallurgical Raw Materials Motorcycles #2

see: Metallurgical Raw Materials Motorcycles #1

5. In 1888, a German chemist named Karlf Josept Bayern to find a way of producing alumina from bauxite by means of a chemical dissolution, How to produce alumina sepertiini called the Bayer Process

Once familiar Mixing Aluminum (Aluminum Alloy) with a variety of other metals such as copper element, Magnesium, Silicon, Manganese, Zinc, and other elements, aluminum was only becomes Main Ingredients in the manufacture of motor bikes, even up to the Speedway !!

Examples of Mixing in the Process of Aluminum Casting is Between Aluminum and Copper (Al-Cu), which produces aluminum which has a Strong and Resilient Properties. Or mixture (Alloy) Between Aluminum, Silicon and Copper (Al-Si-Cu) are now widely used because of nature of copper which strengthens the character of aluminum, and silicon that Facilitate the Process of Casting / Formation of the desired model.

After the process of the Popular Aluminum Alloy Casting, Finally In the 1980s successfully replaced aluminum Role Steel (Steel), which has always believed in making Frame, Suspension, and Other Motorcycle Parts. Type motorcycle when it is packed with Part Aluminum Sport-Bike with High Performance and Racing. Where aluminum frames can be utilized to create a more appropriate desire Easily molded, rigid, and lightweight to support Performance that while in tow

Metallurgical Raw Materials Motorcycles #2

noreply@blogger.com (M.A.K.A) — Sun, 5 Oct 2014 19:31:00 -0500

2. Steel

Metal mixture is composed of iron and carbon, can also be mixed well as other metals. Though steel had previously been produced by blacksmiths for thousands of year, but when it's use is still not up, Casting Process Because of her difficult and requires greater costs than iron.

Their use is becoming increasingly more and phenomenal, when more efficient methods of production that are found in the 17th century. With the discovery of Bessemer process in the mid-19th century, steel became the material of mass production which makes production becomes cheaper price.

The beginning of the 20th century was the beginning of the use of Steel Moment Frames for Motorcycles materials and other Part. Steel has many advantages than Iron. Some of them are more easily formed when the steel casting process, can be mixed with various concentrations of Materials Materials with larger mix, Lighter, Stronger, And can be much cheaper than the Iron.

One of the first motor that uses Alloy Steel Technology is the Hilderbrand-Wolfmüller, which until now was known as the first Mass Production Motorcycle in the World

see: Metallurgical Raw Materials Motorcycles #3
see: Metallurgical Raw Materials Motorcycles #2
see: Metallurgical Raw Materials Motorcycles #1

In the mid-modern era, use of steel began to evolve toward a much more advanced. Manufacturers are competing to make Construction Chassis (frame, swingarm, legs) are Rigid, Exotic, and able to sustain the performance of a machine that has a much greater power.

Some of which we've discussed in the article Historical Bike EA's Blog is Twinspar-Steel Frame (Yamaha RZV500R, which Racy & Exotic yet Cost-Effective Production, Steel Trellis Frame (Suzuki Bandit, Ducati 916, etc.), Or Twin-Tube / Diamond Steel Frame (Honda Hornet, Kawasaki Balius, etc.) are classic and certainly much more efficient

Various alloys of steel, a mixture of more advanced (In a technological sense) began to be used. Her simple example is the combination / mixture between Steel (Steel) with Chromium (Chromium), which produces Stainless-Steel (Stainless Steel). Others there are a mixture of steel plus Nickel (Nickel) & Zinc (Manganese) which produces steel with High Strength and Durability, And there is a plus Vanadium Steel to reduce stress and increase the violence in Alloy Steel (Steel mixture) is. . .

The use of steel as a material constituent Motor Feel also we can still to this day. . . A simple example is Spoke wheels, and other Motorcycle Part that uses Stainless Steel (Stainless Iron)

Today, steel is one of the most common materials in the world, with a production of more than 1.3 billion tonnes per year (Source: Wikipedia)

Metallurgical Raw Materials Motorcycles #1

noreply@blogger.com (M.A.K.A) — Sat, 4 Oct 2014 19:16:00 -0500

1. Iron

Metal which is one of the basic elements of the Chemistry of Iron, Iron is the only option that could be developed in the early era begins Motorcycles, Namely 19th century ago. . . Not that there was no option other metals, other metals just not as popular as it is now, What existing technology was not support for the application of die-casting (metal printing) advanced as it is today.

One example of the use of iron as a Motorcycle Metal Material is a major constituent Michaux-Perreaux Steam Velocipede, Motor "Hyper" Steam-engine alerts 186.

At the beginning of its use, the Engineer vying for sketching the layout design of the frame (chassis), Machinery, Iron And Petrol tank use. Furthermore, growing up to the "Machine Engineer" is able to create a Multi Cylinder Engine, Plus vying to make Motor (Made Raw Iron) which has a very high level of resistance machines

see: Metallurgical Raw Materials Motorcycles #3
see: Metallurgical Raw Materials Motorcycles #2
see: Metallurgical Raw Materials Motorcycles #1

Iron yore not only used as a main ingredient manufacture of frame and chassis, but also up to the engine. Abundant amount of metal (especially in Indonesia), Ease in the process of casting, As well as supporting technology is the reason why Motor Antiquity still using iron as the principal material.

The use of mixed steel manifold Technology Metals (Steel-Alloy) in motorcycling in the early 20th century era, As well as marking the beginning of the use of steel in the motorcycle industry is more advanced, Leaving Iron which has a much heavier weight

Well-Armed Design: 8 Octopus-Inspired Technologies

noreply@blogger.com (M.A.K.A) — Thu, 2 Oct 2014 10:05:00 -0500

The octopus has inspired much technological innovation, and with good reason. This cephalopod is dexterous underwater, can camouflage itself, has well-developed vision, muscular arms, sensory suction cups and a soft body.

"The octopus is a fascinating animal, very special indeed, given its muscular structure that works like a modifiable skeleton," said Cecilia Laschi, a biorobotics professor at the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, Italy.

Laschi is currently editing a special issue of the journal Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, slated to be published this fall, about octopus-inspired robotics.

Here are some novel technologies that researchers, like Laschi herself, have created based on the sea creature:

Camouflage material

Octopuses have specialized cells that allow the animals to change the color and pattern of their skin, effectively camouflaging themselves from predators. A team of researchers led by Cunjiang Yu, an assistant professor of engineering at the University of Houston, and John Rogers, a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, developed their own version of that camouflage.

The team's flexible camouflage system contains layers of heat-sensitive dye and light sensors. "We were part of an interdisciplinary team of researchers funded by the Office of Naval Research to look into the engineering science of how to reproduce the color-changing capabilities of cephalopods in manmade systems," Rogers told Live Science.

Suction cups

Last year, scientists from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center and the University of Maryland created 3D-printed self-sealing suction cups. These devices could help robots grasp objects, particularly in disaster relief environments that are too dangerous for humans to enter.

The researchers tested four fingertip-size prototype suction cups made from a type of polymer that solidifies under UV light. Results showed that the cups were strong enough to hold up a wine bottle, according to the U.S. Army Research Lab.

Color-changing robot

Harvard University scientists led by chemist George Whitesides created a soft, color-changing robot two years ago that was inspired by octopuses and squid.

The four-limbed robot has a separate layer of tiny channels through which liquid dyes can be pumped in and out. The color of the dyes can be combined to help the robot blend into its surroundings.

More recently, the team developed a new soft robot. While this one doesn’t change color, it has the same shape as the original and can move around autonomously. Made from silicone, hollow glass microspheres and specialized synthetic fabric, it is resilient enough to withstand flames, water and being run over by a car. The new journal Soft Robotics featured the robot design in the publication's first issue.

Swimming

Last year, scientists from the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas in Greece tested an eight-armed robot prototype underwater. The machine not only looked like an octopus, but also mimicked that creature's movements.

The project's goal is to investigate new types of propulsion to make it easier and more efficient for robots to transport heavy loads underwater.

Experiments inside a water tank with the eight-arm robotic prototype successfully demonstrated an oar-like motion called sculling, and attained a speed of 0.2 body lengths per second according to the researchers' paper for the 2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

Soft sensing

The octopus's highly distributed body control prompted researchers from the University of Zurich, in Switzerland, and Kyoto University, in Japan, to create and study a sensor-laden silicone arm. The sensors detect the arm’s position as it rotates, allowing the researchers to track and analyze the dynamics at play.

Nonrigid materials are typically difficult to control, so the scientists hope their calculations will lead to more-intelligent soft-robot interfaces.

"Many living things have very soft bodies, and the octopus serves as the extreme case," said Kohei Nakajima, an assistant professor at Kyoto University in the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, who is working on the arm. "This is why many researchers, especially from bioinspired robotics, are interested in it."

Wearable robotic arms

A recent prototype for wearable robotic arms may resemble the Spider Man supervillain Doctor Octopus but the device, created by a team from MIT’s d'Arbeloff Laboratory, was created with good intentions.

Giving people extra arms could one day help prevent injury for workers who perform repetitive, difficult tasks. The lab's conceptual images show these "supernumerary robotic limbs," or SRLs, mounted either on the shoulders or at the waist. In tests this summer, a shoulder-mounted prototype demonstrated how the arms can mimic the wearer's actual arm movements.

Marine operations

The PoseiDRONE is a spinoff from the European Octopus Integrating Project, which worked on novel design principles and tech for next-generation soft robots based on the behavior and characteristics of octopuses.

Cecilia Laschi and her colleagues are working to build a new robot made from up to 90 percent soft materials that can survive rough underwater conditions while doing risky work. The goal is for the PoseiDRONE robot to swim, crawl and manipulate tools underwater.

In the future, soft robots like this could perform such tasks as underwater maintenance on offshore wind turbines, or they could assist with oil-drilling operations. An updated prototype is being tested now.

Soft endoscope

Another European Octopus Project spinoff that Laschi and her team started is the STIFF-FLOP project focused on cognitive systems and robotics for surgical operations. The project aims to create a soft, flexible endoscope for minimally invasive surgery. So far, the design is drawing inspiration from elephant trunks and octopus arms.

Laschi said her lab used to keep live octopuses for measurements and observation to inform the endoscope and other projects. This helped the researchers better get to know the animals. "They are unexpectedly interactive with human beings," she said. "Impressively, all our animals showed pretty different behaviors and attitudes, one from another."

o riginal source by : http://www.livescience. com/48054-octopus-inspired-technology.html

Underwater Robots Could Sniff Out Smuggled Drugs, Weapons

noreply@blogger.com (M.A.K.A) — Wed, 1 Oct 2014 09:53:00 -0500

A warning to all smugglers: A new underwater robot could be used to sniff out contraband — including weapons and drugs — hidden aboard ships.

Developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the new, oval-shaped robot may be small (it's slightly smaller than a football), but it features some big crime-stopping abilities. One side of the bot is flat, which enables it to slide along the bottom of a ship to perform ultrasound scans of the vessel's hull.

This ultrasound capability not only lets the robot monitor what's inside a ship, but it also enables it to detect false hulls and propeller shafts, which are commonly used by smugglers to hide contraband, according to the researchers. And best of all, the bot's propulsion system is specially designed to minimize visible wake, making the bot a good fit for jobs that require stealth, such as underwater patrolling.

"It's very expensive for port security to use traditional robots for every small boat coming into the port," Sampriti Bhattacharyya, the robot's co-designer and a graduate student in mechanical engineering at MIT, said in a statement. But the MIT robot is relatively inexpensive because it uses 3D printing to make the main structural components for each robot, Bhattacharyya said.

“If this is cheap enough — if I can get this out for $600, say — why not just have 20 of them doing collaborative inspection? And if it breaks, it's not a big deal. It's very easy to make," Bhattacharyya said.

The part of the bot that houses the ultrasound panel, as well as other electronic components, is waterproof. This half of the bot contains a lithium-ion battery that can keep its charge for about 40 minutes, the researchers said. But by making the propulsion system more efficient, the researchers think they can increase the amount of time the robot can spend underwater(before it needs to be recharged) to 100 minutes.

The propulsion system is housed on the other, permeable side of the swimming bot. This half of the robot is made up of six pumps, each of which expels water through rubber tubes.

Some of these tubes are vented at the rounded side of the bot (the side opposite from the flat, ultrasound-emitting part of the bot). This keeps the device pressed up against the side of whatever ship it is trying to inspect. The other pumps vent out at either end of the robot, allowing it to move both forward and backward in the water. Initial tests of the underwater robot showed that it can propel itself in a straight line while scanning the hull of a ship, the researchers said.

The new bot is of particular interest to military officials, who would like to use it for a range of underwater operations, including detecting smuggled weapons or drugs, or finding stress fractures in the hulls of ships and other vessels, said Nathan Betcher, a special-tactics officer in the U.S. Air Force.

The robot could also be used to speed up the processing and routing of regular maritime traffic, Betcher said in a statement.

original source by : http://www.livescience. com/48117-underwater-robots-stop-smugglers.html

'Second-Skin' Sensor Could Track Your Health

noreply@blogger.com (M.A.K.A) — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 09:39:00 -0500

Imagine sticking a patch made of flexible electronics on your skin that could read your body temperature, monitor your blood circulation, even tell you when you need to put on sunscreen — and that wouldn't leave the skin underneath it clammy the way Band-Aids do.

A team of researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign say they have built such a patch, and it's about the size of a bandage. It's made of plastic and thousands of tiny liquid crystals, not unlike the ones that light up computer and smartphone screens. It's so flexible that it molds to the body like a second skin.

The device was made to detect changes in the temperature of the skin beneath it; the liquid crystals change color in response to body heat. There are so many crystals, some 3,600 of them, that they can actually depict a heat map, or a picture of what lies below the skin. "It's like the stuff they used to have in mood rings," said John A. Rogers, a professor of materials science at the University of Illinois whose lab collaborated on the project.

This device, however, is sophisticated enough to diagnose very real problems. The device reveals the temperature of the skin beneath it with with high precision, which is important because skin temperature reflects underlying characteristics, such as blood flow, he said. And the device presents the data in a useable format. "We can get a readout using color," Rogers told Live Science.

A temperature-sensing device that could be attached to a person's skin, and that is so unobtrusive that people forget they are wearing it, would be a great help to physicians, Rogers said.

The sensor's flexibility is demonstrated in this photo, where a glass rod is pushing the sensor against the skin.
Credit: Nature Communications. Photo courtesy of John A. Rogers

View full size image

For example, the device could reveal problems such as poor circulation in the extremities, which can be a symptom of diabetes, or an early sign of heart disease.

The device could also be used to detect some types of injuries in the skin and tissue just underneath the sensor. This is because the tissue near an injury site generally warms up, in a sign that inflammation or infection might be on the way. The sensor could also yield information such as how hydrated the skin is, the researchers said.

To test their device, the researchers attached a small antenna with the sensor, as well as a heating element. They sent a signal to the antenna to turn on the heating element, and found they could measure the distribution and diffusion of that heat through the skin and tissue.

It's possible that researchers could add other kinds of sensors to the device, too. For example, an ultraviolet light sensor combined with a sensor for moisture could alert the wearer that they are in danger of getting sunburned, for instance if the UV levels are high and the skin is becoming dry and hot.

And because the device allows air to pass through it, the skin beneath the sensor can "breathe." That means users would not get the clammy sweat that accumulates under bandages, which can cause irritation, Rogers said.

The device is so small that it doesn't need a battery. There's a wireless and flexible power system on the back, which can run on power from a remote source, said Yihui Zhang, an assistant professor of civil engineering at Northwestern and one of the leaders of the research effort.

Rogers said the cost of the device should be relatively low, since the sensor doesn't use any exotic materials or parts. "We're talking about a few dollars," he said.

The scientists are working with a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company called MC10 Inc. to commercialize the technology.

A paper outlining the research appeared in the Sept. 19 issue of the journal Nature Communications.

original source by: http://www.livescience. com/48109-flexible-skin-sensor-track-health.html

Corvette Stingray Valet Mode PDR May Violate Wiretapping Laws, GM Working On Update

noreply@blogger.com (M.A.K.A) — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 20:54:00 -0500

Aside from testing for top speed, it’s not often that using a new car’s features could land you with a hefty fine or a stint in jail—but that could be the case with the 2015 Chevy Corvette Stingray’s new Valet Mode for its Performance Data Recorder system.

The issue with the system revolves around the legality of recording audio of someone without their knowledge. While it might seem common sense that a valet shouldn’t expect privacy while driving a customer’s car, the law is, or at least can be, a bit more picky.
In a letter to dealers, published by Corvette Blogger, GM has issued a notice about the matter, indicating a software update is on the way—one that will presumably disable audio recording in Valet Mode. Video recording the occupants of the car shouldn’t cross any laws in the U.S., nor should the other advantageous features of the Valet Mode system, intended to limit speeds and restrict access to interior storage among other functions.

Chevy has also asked existing owners of cars with the new PDR system to refrain from use until the vehicle can be updated with the new software. Currently, about a dozen states require two-party (or all-party) consent for audio recording. The other states require only one-party consent, which effectively makes the Valet Mode PDR system legal to use as currently implemented. The states requiring two-party or all-party consent are: California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington (state); in Illinois, Michigan, and Nevada the matter can be complicated, depending on the context or circumstances.

Atom-Sized Construction Could Shrink Future Gadgets

noreply@blogger.com (M.A.K.A) — Sat, 27 Sep 2014 19:44:00 -0500

The U.S. military doesn't just build big, scary tanks and giant warplanes; it's also interested in teeny, tiny stuff. The Pentagon's latest research project aims to improve today's technologies by shrinking them down to microscopic size.

The recently launched Atoms to Product (A2P) program aims to develop atom-size materials to build state-of-the-art military and consumer products. These tiny manufacturing methods would work at scales 100,000 times smaller than those currently being used to build new technologies, according to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA.

The tiny, high-tech materials of the future could be used to build things like hummingbird-size drones and super-accurate (and super-small) atomic clocks — two projects already spearheaded by DARPA. [Humanoid Robots to Flying Cars: 10 Coolest DARPA Projects]

"If successful, A2P could help enable [the] creation of entirely new classes of materials that exhibit nanoscale properties at all scales," John Main, a program manager in DARPA's defense sciences office, said in a statement.

When materials are created with dimensions of about 1 to 100 nanometers (that's between one and 100 billionths of a meter), the materials' properties change significantly. At nanoscales, materials may have different melting points, electric conductivity, magnetic properties and different reactions with certain chemicals, according to the National Nanotechnology Initiative, a U.S. government program.

Those nanoscale properties also offer advantages for larger materials, according to DARPA researchers.

And these atomic-scale properties can lead to certain advantages when it comes to building both military and civilian technology, DARPA said. The agency said it believes it can use tiny materials to make products whose parts stick together without glue or other adhesion methods. These materials could be used to build armorthat can withstand rapid changes in temperature.

DARPA also wants to explore what it calls "tunable" light absorption and scattering. "Tunability" refers to another quality of nanomaterials: By changing the size of the particles in a material, scientists can literally fine-tune certain properties of that material to better suit the researchers' purposes, according to the National Nanotechnology Initiative. DARPA has shown interest in using tunability to create technology, perhaps sensors or microchips,that only absorb or reflect certain wavelengths of light.

Tunability could also help researchers miniaturize materials, processes and devices that can't be miniaturized with current technology, Main said.

the original source by : http://www.livescience.com/47694-darpa-nanomaterials-program.html

US Military's New Laser Gun Zaps Drones

noreply@blogger.com (M.A.K.A) — Sat, 27 Sep 2014 19:25:00 -0500

The U.S. military is now one step closer to having a laser gun that can shoot down enemy drones in the blink of an eye.
Boeing recently announced that its mobile laser weapon, dubbed the High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD), successfully shot down more than 150 drones, rockets and other mock enemy targets in a third round of tests. The trials prove that the laser weapon is reliable and capable of consistently "acquiring, tracking and engaging a variety of targets in different environments," according to Boeing.

The most recent demonstration of the 10-kilowatt, high-energy laser took place at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. The laser was installed on a military vehicle, making it the first mobile, high-energy laser built and demonstrated by the U.S. Army, according to Boeing. [7 Technologies That Transformed Warfare]

Directed-energy technologies like the HEL MD could soon be used by the military to augment what are known as kinetic strike weapons, such as missile interceptors, that don't contain explosives but destroy targets by colliding with them at extreme speeds.
Kinetic strike weapons are expensive, and the HEL MD could offer "a significant reduction in cost per engagement," Dave DeYoung, Boeing's directed-energy systems director, said in a statement.
This push for laser weaponryis part of the U.S. military's Ground-Based Air Defense Directed Energy On-the-Move (GBAD) program. The goal of the program is to provide what officials from the Office of Naval Research call an "affordable alternative to traditional firepower," to guard against drones and other enemy threats.
The recent demonstration of Boeing's mobile laser weapon is just a prelude of things to come. By 2016, the military plans to have a 30-kilowatt laser gun ready for testing, according to the Office of Naval Research.
And Boeing isn't the only defense contractor working with the military to develop high-powered laser weapons. In August, the Office of Naval Research awarded Raytheon an $11 million contract to build a vehicle-mounted laser device capable of shooting down low-flying enemy targets. The system will reportedly generate at least 25 kilowatts of energy, which will make it more than twice as powerful as the laser recently tested by Boeing.

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Boeing 'Recreates Outer Space' to Fix Missile Defense System

noreply@blogger.com (M.A.K.A) — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 19:15:00 -0500

Last month, the U.S. military's missile defense system successfully destroyed a mock enemy target high above the Pacific Ocean. The triumphant test was a much-needed win for the nation's Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, and a huge relief for Boeing, the aerospace defense contractor behind the $40 billion project.

But the successful test comes on the heels of three failed tests of the Boeing-designed system. The most recent of these unsuccessful tests was due to what engineers with the company called an "impossible" problem. It was impossible, they said, because it required them to recreate a spacelike environment here on Earth.
The need to recreate spacelike conditions is a result of the very nature of Boeing's missile defense system. It's designed to intercept ballistic missiles at the height of their trajectory, when they're outside Earth's atmosphere, more than 62 miles (100 kilometers) above the planet's surface. [7 Technologies That Transformed Warfare]

The system works by launching aso-called interceptor (similar to a high-speed rocket, but without the explosives) into space. The interceptor locates and tracks missile targets using complex radar, sensor and tracking systems, according to Boeing. Once it reaches the outer limits of Earth's atmosphere, the interceptor deploys a small device located inside its tip — called an Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) — that can destroy a missile by colliding with it at hypersonic speed.
At least that's how the missile defense system is supposed to work. But as Boeing has learned the hard way over the past decade and a half, getting both the interceptor and EKV to work properly at such high altitudes is a challenge. A July 2013 test of the GMD system failed because of what Boeing engineers called "conditions outside of Earth's atmosphere."
Exactly what those conditions are is hard to say, said Cindy Belliveau, a structural dynamics engineer at Boeing. To determine the cause of the problem, engineers had to sift through mounds of data and then make their best guesses as to what might be causing the issues.
"It's hard to reproduce [spacelike conditions]. You're not up there, so you don't know what happens," Belliveau said in a video posted on Boeing's website. "You have lots of different stories, and you pick the one that makes the most sense or is the most likely."
In the case of the most recent failed intercept test, Boeing engineers determined that the likely cause of the failure was the presence of high-frequency noises that occur in space. These frequencies, or pitches, can interfere with the interceptor's radar and tracking system, which it uses to pinpoint its target in space, according to the engineers.
To test this hypothesis, researchers at Boeing recreated these high-frequency pitches in a laboratory. They then bombarded the interceptor's tracking system with these spacelike noises, isolating — and ultimately fixing — the "impossible" problem.
The result of all this hard work was the successful test of the GMD system on June 22. However, this recent success might not mean that the U.S.' missile defense system is ready just yet.
Whereas the failed test in July 2013 resulted from a problem with Boeing's interceptor, previous failed tests resulted from issues with the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle, designed by defense contractor Raytheon, according to the Missile Defense Agency.
Each of Raytheon's EKVs is handmade and contains over 1,000 component parts, the LA Times reported. This means that no two of these devices are the same. Engineers who have worked on the kill vehicles acknowledge that a successful test of one of these devices doesn't predict the performance of EKVs used in future tests, according to the LA Times.

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US Troops Beat the Heat with New Personal AC Units

noreply@blogger.com (M.A.K.A) — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 19:39:00 -0500

Military aircrews may no longer have to choose between staying safe and staying cool. The U.S. Army's new personal cooling systems, worn underneath body armor, can help troops beat the heat, without removing their protective gear.
Soldiers can wear the Light-Weight Environmental Control System, or LWECS, directly against their bodies. A small battery that fits inside body armor powers the system, according to the U.S. Defense Department (DoD).

"It's the same technology that's in your air conditioner or in your refrigerator, except instead of conditioning air, it chills a fluid. And then it pumps that fluid through a tube-lined cooling vest," Brad Laprise, a mechanical engineer at the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) in Natick, Massachusetts, told Armed with Science, the DoD's science blog. [7 Technologies That Transformed Warfare]

The cooled fluid travels through approximately 110 feet (34 meters) of tubing coiled inside the vest, which is worn against the skin. Though the unit that cools the fluid is small, measuring only 3.5 inches (9 centimeters) across, it provides 120 watts of cooling power, about the same as a small refrigerator, according to Laprise.
Helicopter pilots and their crews already use aircraft-mounted cooling systems to beat the heat. But while these systems have been shown to improve endurance and performance levels in hot climates, many crewmembers avoid using them because they tend to be inconvenient.
Such onboard cooling devices are equipped with tethers that soldiers need to attach themselves to in order to cool down. But moving around the back of a cramped helicopter on a tether is no easy feat, the researchers said. The new, tether-free system is expected to resolve this and other issues associated with staying cool mid-flight.
To gauge the effectiveness of the new system, researchers from the NSRDEC and the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine recruited five volunteers to try out the cooling devices at NSDREC's climate chambers.
The volunteers were outfitted in full protective gear, including an over-garment, a mask, a hood, footwear covers and gloves, in addition to the soldiers' standard field gear, or uniform.
Inside the climate chamber, the five participants paired up to simulate air missions in desert and jungle conditions. One soldier in each pair wore the LWECS system during the trials.
To simulate typical air missions, in which crew members repeatedly exit and board the aircraft, the participants sat for 50 minutes and walked for 10 minutes each hour. Each session lasted 11 hours.
During this time, researchers monitored the participants' core and skin temperatures and heart rate, as well as fluid intake and bodily excretions. While researchers are still shifting through the data from the tests, early results indicate that the cooling system works well.
"Physiologically, we're seeing that their body core temperatures are lower, their heart rates are lower," said Bruce Cadarette, a research psychologist at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine. The results suggest that the cooling system does what it was designed to do, he said.
The researchers created the new system with specific military personnel in mind, particularly aircrew chiefs, who are responsible for loading and unloading cargo, Cadarette said. These men and women need a cooling system that lets them do their job without being hampered by tethers.
"The other people that we're concentrating on are the medics, who have to fly out in the back of helicopters, and who have to go out and treat wounded in the field, load them onto stretchers [and] get them onto the back of the helicopter," Cadarette said. He said he expects U.S. air troops in both desert environments and tropical climates will eventually use the lightweight system.

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Stealth Cheetah Robot

noreply@blogger.com (M.A.K.A) — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 18:59:00 -0500

Robots are likely not the first thing you think of when you hear the word "speed," but one group of researchers is trying to quell the stereotype of a lumbering robot with a machine built to move more like one of nature's quickest creatures — the cheetah.
Clocking in at a maximum speed of 10 miles per hour (16 km/h), the robotic cheetah isn't quite ready to compete with its wild cousins, who can accelerate to 60 mph (96 km/h) in just a few seconds. But this four-legged robot could eventually reach speeds of 30 mph (48 km/h), according to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Like a real cheetah, the robot is designed to build up to a full sprint quickly by moving its legs in tandem (i.e., its back legs move together, as do its front legs) — a pattern of movement known as bounding.
To get the four-legged machine to run like its big-cat inspiration, researchers created an algorithm that controls the amount of force exerted by each of the robot's legs as it hits the ground. Having a high degree of control over force is important because it allows the researchers to manage the robot's speed, said Sangbae Kim, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, who helped develop the cheetah bot.
"Many sprinters, like Usain Bolt, don't cycle their legs really fast. They actually increase their stride by pushing downward harder and increasing their ground force," Kim said in a statement.
By adopting this force-based approach to building speed, the researchers were able to build a bot that can handle rough terrain, Kim said. In the same way that a cheetah can bound over a rock that sticks out of the savannah, the robot cheetah can jump over obstacles in its path. In treadmill experiments, the researchers found that the bot could jump over foam obstacles that are more than a foot (30 centimeters) tall.
But perhaps the coolest (and most catlike) thing about this bot is its stealth abilities. Propelled forward by battery-powered electric motors, the new cheetah bot is quiet compared to other four-legged robots, most of which are powered by gasoline engines, according to Kim.

Credit: Jose-Luis Olivares/MIT

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"Our robot can be [as] silent and as efficient as animals," Kim said. "The only things you hear are the feet hitting the ground. This is kind of a new paradigm where we're controlling force in a highly dynamic situation. Any legged robot should be able to do this in the future."
The U.S. military has been trying for several years to develop a robot that is as quiet as it is quick. In 2012, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the branch of the military tasked with developing new technologies, introduced its Maximum Mobility and Manipulation (M3) program, which aims to develop robots that behave more like animals and humans.
One of the most successful designs to come out of the M3 program so far is a robot known simply as Cheetah. Designed by engineers at Boston Dynamics, this machine is allegedly the fastest robot in the world, clocking in at 28.3 mph (45.5 km/h) in treadmill tests. However, an off-board hydraulic pump powers the bot, which makes the machine very loud and not very mobile.
Boston Dynamics is still working on a quadruped bot, the WildCat, that's less noisy and that can be used outside of the lab. MIT's cheetah robot, also funded by DARPA, may offer some insight into how to build a stealthier bot.

The original source: http://www.livescience.com/47845-cheetah-robot-running-jumping.html

'Coyote' Drone Launches

noreply@blogger.com (M.A.K.A) — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 19:06:00 -0500

One U.S. government agency is taking the drone craze to new extremes: Researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently flew a drone directly into a hurricane.
By launching the drone right into the eye of the storm, the scientists hope to collect data — including temperature, pressure and wind speed — that normally would be impossible to gather in a manned aircraft.

The so-called Coyote drone measures 3 feet (1 meter) long and is electrically powered. The researchers flew the Coyote drone Monday (Sept. 15) into Hurricane Edouard, which has since weakened from a Category 3 to a Category 1 storm, but is maintaining its strength over the North Atlantic Ocean, according to the National Hurricane Center. [Hurricanes from Above: See Nature's Biggest Storms]

Although Edouard is not expected to be a major threat to the U.S., it was the Atlantic Ocean's first major hurricane of the year, and the first to reach Category 3 status since Hurricane Sandy ravaged the U.S. East Coast in 2012.
The Coyote drone can fly below 3,000 feet (914 meters), which is much lower than the altitude at which piloted aircraft can safely fly, NOAA officials said in a statement. This means the drone can gather information close to the surface of the ocean, including water-temperature data that may help NOAA scientists predict how intense a hurricane is likely to get.
Traditionally, NOAA has used weather instruments known as dropsondes to collect data this close to the ocean's surface. A dropsonde is a device that is dropped from an aircraft and falls through a storm to measure winds, temperatures and humidity. But these instruments are fairly flimsy and don't power themselves — they simply float around with a parachute — according to NASA.
The Coyote drone can fly for up to 2 hours, and NOAA thinks these longer flights will allow for more complete data collection than what's currently possible with dropsondes.
NOAA's first test flight of the drone, conducted earlier this month, was a success. The flight tested the drone's ability to launch from the agency's P-3 aircraft, which involves dropping the drone from a free-fall chute in the belly of the plane. Once deployed, the droneis designed to open its wings (which stretch 6 feet, or 1.8 m, across) and respond to flight commands from a pilot aboard the P-3. The drone can also be controlled from several miles away, according to NOAA.
At 7 lbs. (3.2 kilograms), the drone naturally flies with the wind current, but it can be directed up, down and sideways in order to measure different areas of a storm, including the inner core of a hurricane.
Originally developed for use by the U.S. Navy, the Coyote drone was made available to NOAA through the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, which went into effect after Hurricane Sandy. NOAA says the drone is just one of several technologies and research projects funded through the act that could help improve weather forecasting, especially for large storms.

noreply@blogger.com (M.A.K.A) — Sat, 20 Sep 2014 08:44:00 -0500

welcome to my world, and keep your smile guys,