Hövding is a collar for bicyclists, worn around the neck. The collar contains a folded up airbag that you’ll only see if you happen to have an accident. The airbag is shaped like a hood, surrounding and protecting the bicyclist’s head. The trigger mechanism is controlled by sensors which pick up the abnormal movements of a bicyclist in an accident.
Ramesh Raskar presents femto-photography, a new type of imaging so fast it visualizes the world one trillion frames per second, so detailed it shows light itself in motion. This technology may someday be used to build cameras that can look “around” corners or see inside the body without X-rays.
The current state of technology, coupled with our enhanced access to knowledge, has provided new, unrestricted capabilities for people interested in particular fields of study, like biology. This access has resulted in the formation of a new group of do-it-yourself biologists, known as “BioHackers.” BioHackers conduct their research independently of universities and other scientific institutions, and have still been able to contribute significant findings to the world of science. As technology improves and becomes cheaper, it is likely the trend of BioHackers will only grow, signaling a new direction in scientific research, and opening the field to many others.
In his lab at Penn, Vijay Kumar and his team build flying quadrotors, small, agile robots that swarm, sense each other, and form ad hoc teams — for construction, surveying disasters and far more.
The Actroid androids are part of a new generation of robots, artificial beings designed to function not as programmed industrial machines but as increasingly autonomous agents capable of taking on roles in our homes, schools, and offices previously carried out only by humans. More sophisticated bots may soon be available that cook for us, fold the laundry, even babysit our children or tend to our elderly parents, while we watch and assist from a computer miles away.
After re-purposing CAPTCHA so each human-typed response helps digitize books, Luis von Ahn wondered how else to use small contributions by many on the Internet for greater good. At TEDxCMU, he shares how his ambitious new project, Duolingo, will help millions learn a new language while translating the Web quickly and accurately — all for free.
The information produced and consumed by humankind used to vanish—that was the norm, the default. The sights, the sounds, the songs, the spoken word just melted away. Marks on stone, parchment, and paper were the special case … Now expectations have inverted. Everything may be recorded and preserved, at least potentially: every musical performance; every crime in a shop, elevator, or city street; every volcano or tsunami on the remotest shore; every card played or piece moved in an online game; every rugby scrum and cricket match.
Lead by Prof. Guy Deutscher, a leading physicist in the field of superconductivity. We are studying the, yet unknown, mechanism of superconductivity in high temperature superconductors. We are also dedicated to making the amazing physics of superconductors accessible and exciting for young and adults through the unique and counter-intuitive phenomena of ‘quantum trapping’ and ‘quantum levitation’
If the tool is there, we shouldn’t hide it from our students. New tools offer opportunities, and it’s up to educators to design meaningful activities which allow us to utilize the capabilities of our digital age, while educating our students on the process of how these tools work and what their limitations are. I agree with Brabazon in her belief that digital tools such as Google and Wikipedia should represent “the start of learning, not the end.” It’s up to us educators to acknowledge this, adapt to the 21st century, and not fear the massive changes we’re experiencing in the ways we consume media.
It is commonly accepted that hands-on experiences increase both learning and enjoyment during coursework. Mechatronics projects provide both interesting and relevant hands-on experiences for a wide range of topics including design processes, basic mechatronics concepts, technical communication, and working in a group environment. ME2110: Creative Decisions and Design at Georgia Tech integrates mechatronics and technical communication into a sophomore level mechanical design class. This paper describes the course in detail, highlighting the course goals and layout, tools provided to the students, industry involvement, and the main challenges of administering such a course.
