Tuesday, 21 October 2014

Catch up





Reaching space in a balloon may sound like something out of a children’s book, but Spain’s zero2infinity company doesn't think so. The Barcelona-based company specializes in near-space balloon flights for scientific and engineering clients, and is working on a nanosatellite launch vehicle called bloostar, which uses a high-altitude balloon as a first stage and rockets for reaching orbit... Continue Reading zero2infinity mixes balloons and rockets to launch nanosats

Section: Space

Tags: Balloon, Launch, Rocket, Satellite, Spain

Related Articles:
Space tourism balloon aces first test, on track to begin operations in 2016
Teddy Bears in space
Wind-prospecting balloon could seek out locations for turbines
Tandem high-flying airships reach up to 140,000ft
Firefly Space Systems unveils Alpha launch vehicle design with aerospike engine
Atmospheric photos from Project Icarus


SpaceX founder Elon Musk has made it no secret that he plans to go to Mars, and it looks like he’s giving NASA’s ambitions about the Red Planet a bit of a boost along the way. During a Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in September, the space agency sent a pair of chase planes up to take high-resolution images of the booster as it made a powered test landing on the surface of the Atlantic Ocean as a way of gather critical engineering information for future Mars missions... Continue Reading NASA looks to SpaceX for Mars landing tips

Section: Space

Tags: Falcon, Mars, NASA, Spacecraft, SpaceX

Related Articles:
SpaceX moves toward manned flight
SpaceX's manned Dragon/Falcon 9 combo passes milestone safety review
SpaceX Grasshopper vertical takeoff and landing vehicle goes for a little hop
Inflatable flying saucers could help spacecraft land on Mars
Dragon spacecraft splashes down marking successful completion of historic mission
SpaceX releases video of powered booster landing


After completing its 10 month-long voyage, NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft is taking its first look at the Martian atmosphere. Part of the unmanned orbiter’s commissioning phase, it limbered up its sensors by observing the effect of a massive solar event and returned its first images of the fountain-like coronas that are slowly peeling away the Red Planet's atmosphere... Continue Reading MAVEN spacecraft provides first look at Martian upper atmosphere

Section: Space

Tags: Atmosphere, Mars, MAVEN, NASA, Spacecraft

Related Articles:
MAVEN heads for Mars
NASA wants public to send haikus to Mars
NASA'S MAVEN spacecraft succesfully arrives at Mars
MAVEN: NASA's post-Phoenix Mars probe
MAVEN Mars orbiter to make launch window to study Martian atmosphere
NASA's MAVEN spacecraft prepares for orbital insertion


A secret mission came to a public end this morning as the US Air Force’s top secret X-37Bspaceplane landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The unmanned reusable spacecraft touched down on the runway like a conventional aircraft this morning at 9:24 am EDT after a record-breaking 674 days in orbit. According to the Air Force, the automatic landing was monitored by the 30th Space Wing and occurred without incident... Continue Reading Top secret X-37B spaceplane breaks orbital endurance record

Section: Space

Tags: Boeing, Reconnaissance, Record-breaking, Spacecraft, Unmanned, US Air Force,Vandenberg AFB, X-37B

Related Articles:
US Air Force awaiting landing of X-37B after top-secret space mission
Second X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle touches down
Boeing X-37B unmanned spacecraft successfully completes first flight
X-37B returns to orbit
Manned version of X-37 space plane in the works?
SpaceX Dragon launches, but thrusters malfunctioning


A team of MIT researchers has completed an analysis of the Mars One mission to colonize the Red Planet that throws the feasibility of the non-profit project into question. By analyzing the mission’s details, the team found that as the plan stands, there are a number of hurdles that must be overcome if the colonists aren't to end up dead within 10 weeks of landing. .. Continue Reading MIT team throws feasibility of Mars One mission into question

Section: Space

Tags: International Space Station, Mars, Mars One, MIT

Related Articles:
Mars One outlines plans to put unmanned lander on Mars in 2018
ZA architects designs buildings for Mars
NASA announces new rover mission for Mars
Google Earth goes to Mars
Mars One reduces applicant pool for colonists to 1058
NASA wants public to send haikus to Mars


The US Air Force’s reusable unmanned spacecraft, the X-37B, is scheduled to return to Earth this week. Although the exact day and time remains undetermined, preparations are underway at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in anticipation of the arrival of the mini-shuttle as it ends its classified Orbital Test Vehicle mission 3 (OTV-3)... Continue Reading US Air Force awaiting landing of X-37B after top-secret space mission

Section: Space

Tags: Boeing, California, Spacecraft, Unmanned, US Air Force, X-37B

Related Articles:
Second X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle touches down
Boeing X-37B unmanned spacecraft successfully completes first flight
X-37B returns to orbit
SpaceX test-fires launch vehicle's engines for upcoming mission
Falcon 9 puts its legs up a little longer after SpaceX delays launch
SpaceX Dragon to be first private spacecraft to dock at ISS


Having a 21st century robot doesn't help if the control is like something designed to handle a model plane circa 1965, so iRobot has come up with something that is not only up to date, but also more intuitive, so operators can worry more about the job at hand than the robot used to complete it. The iRobot uPoint Multi-Robot Control (MRC) system is a universal control system for the company’sdefense and security robots that uses combines a touchscreen interface with a mobile robotic radio relay... Continue Reading iRobot unveils one tablet-based control system to rule them all

Section: Robotics

Tags: iRobot, Remote Control, Tablet

Related Articles:
iRobot to develop new communications relay robot
iRobot unveils US$130 programmable robot for developers and students
iRobot launches new 710 Warrior robot
iRobot Negotiator civil response robot
iRobot introduces NexGen Explosive Ordnance Disposal Robot
New Roomba robo-vac features a wireless command center


BAE Systems has begun construction of the first of the Royal Navy’s three new River class Batch 3 Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV). During a ceremony at BAE Systems Surface Ships’ Govan facility in Glasgow, Bernard Gray, the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Chief of Defence Material, activated a plasma cutting machine, which sliced through first plate of steel for HMS Forth. The ship will be the first in the Royal Navy to incorporate the state-of-the-art Shared Infrastructure operating system in its construction. .. Continue Reading Construction of Royal Navy's new River class OPVs gets underway

Section: Military

Tags: BAE Systems, Marine, Royal Navy, Ships

Related Articles:
HMS Ocean receives all-in-one computer system
AeroVironment Aqua Puma UAV completes Royal Australian Navy Sea trials
Royal Navy’s T26 GCS next-gen warship unveiled
Construction of first-of-class Mobile Landing Platform gets underway
First Littoral Combat Ship deployed
New water jets to give U.S. Navy littoral combat ships extra punch


Driver assistance technologies are becoming more common and more sophisticated with each passing year, but despite this, their function is still to reduce accidents rather than eliminate them – at least, for now. Volvo's project 360° is going the whole hog with a new technology that the Swedish car maker believes has the potential to eliminate deaths and injuries by a Volvo car or truck by 2020... Continue Reading Volvo's 360° view technology aimed at making accidents a thing of the past

Section: Automotive

Tags: Accidents, Driver Assistance, Prototype, Safety, Sensors, Volvo

Related Articles:
Volvo starts project with hybrid-drive garbage vehicles
Volvo testing “birds-eye-view” awareness system for truck drivers
World's first hybrid refuse truck launched in Sweden
Wide-angle driver visibility and safety innovations distinguish Volvo BeeVan Truck Concept
Volvo smooths out heavy vehicle gear changes with I-Shift Dual Clutch
Virtual co-drivers will make trucks of the future safer


HMS Ocean is already the largest vessel in the British Royal Navy, so to help lighten ship, BAE Systems and Ministry of Defence is deploying a new system on the helicopter carrier that hosts software across multiple systems from a single console... Continue Reading HMS Ocean receives all-in-one computer system

Section: Military

Tags: BAE Systems, Computer, Royal Navy

Related Articles:
Royal Navy’s T26 GCS next-gen warship unveiled
Largest ship ever built for the Royal Australian Navy begins final sea trials
New water jets to give U.S. Navy littoral combat ships extra punch
The first fully electronic helicopter fly-by-wire system
U.S. Navy orders a second Trimaran Littoral Combat Ship


In the 21st century, the world lives with two futures ahead of it – one of looming energy shortages, and another of godlike energy abundance. The key to this whether it’s possible to turn fusion reactor technology from a laboratory exercise into a real-world application. Engineers that the University of Washington are working on a fusion reactor that, when scaled up, could produce energy on a practical scale, yet at a cost rivaling that of a conventional coal-powered plant... Continue ReadingUniversity of Washington fusion reactor promises "cheaper than coal" energy

Section: Science

Tags: Coal, Energy, Fusion, University of Washington

Related Articles:
Can crowdfunding give us safe fusion power by 2020?
Canadian startup proposes nuclear fusion power plant at a bargain price
Scientists announce breakthrough in quest for fusion power
ITER, the Fusion Device and the Remote Operation and Virtual Reality Centre
HiPER nuclear fusion project underway
New theory could help clear fusion power hurdle


Digital gadgetry for cars is progressing by leaps and bounds, which is great – except when they your car doesn't have them. Japan's Pioneer Corporation has developed one way to keep up with the high-tech motoring Joneses in the form of its rearview mirror telematics unit – a wireless information module that fits over a car's original rearview mirror. .. Continue Reading Pioneer packs latest in-car tech into rearview mirror telematics module

Section: Automotive

Tags: Cars, Driving, Japan, Navigation, NTT Docomo, Pioneer, Touchscreen, Wireless

Related Articles:
Mazda's clever multifunction rearview mirror
Rearview mirror kit adds Bluetooth, GPS, multimedia playback and touchscreen gaming
Owl 360 serves as a third eye for cyclists
Ford Fiesta gets mirror-mounted rearview camera
Backtracker radar system warns cyclists of approaching cars
Toyota Corolla Verso first Euro vehicle with Gentex rearview camera mirror


Ever since Antonie van Leeuwenhoek turned his simple microscope on a bit of pond water in the 17th century, optical microscopes have been a key tool for biologists. Unfortunately, they’re rather limited as to the smallness of what they can see – or at least, they were. This year's winners of theNobel Laureates in Chemistry, Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell and William E. Moerner, changed all that. Their discovery of two methods to bypass the physical limits of optical microscopes led to the creation of the field of nanomicroscopy. .. Continue Reading Super-resolved fluorescence microscopy pioneers awarded 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Chemistry, Fluorescent, Microscopes, Nanoscale, Nobel prizes, Optical

Related Articles:
New microscope captures 3D movies of living cells
University of Manchester unveils world's most powerful optical microscope
An electron microscope that won't destroy living cells
New fluorescence correlation spectroscopy technique offers real-time view of human chemical messenger system
Scientists capture the shadow cast by a single atom
Bee venom used to create ultra-sensitive explosives sensor


With the Royal Navy (RN) working hard to cast off the "Jonah" reputation of its Astute class nuclear attack submarines, BAE Systems has successfully completed the latest RN boat Artful’s maiden dive. The third of the British A boats, which are billed as the most advanced submarine in the world, Artful submerged while tied to the BAE dock at Barrow in Furness, Cumbria as part of its commissioning process... Continue Reading HMS Artful completes maiden dive

Section: Military

Tags: BAE Systems, Nuclear, Royal Navy, Submarine

Related Articles:
Britain's most advanced attack sub ever on sea trials
A modern engineering masterpiece - the nuclear sub that will go 25 years without refuelling
US Navy launches drone from submerged submarine
Taking a peek at the Royal Navy's next nuclear-powered ballistic missile sub
Compact mortar-based launcher developed for small UAVs
U-boat Worx personal submarines go deep water


Thomas Edison may have invented the lightbulb, but he never received the Nobel Prize for it. Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano at the University of Nagoya, and Shuji Nakamura working at Nichia Chemicals in Tokushima, Japan have proven more successful, being awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics for their invention of the blue LED, which is the key to modern energy-efficient lighting... Continue Reading 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to inventors of blue LEDs

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Energy-efficient, Inventors, Japan, LED, Light, Nobel prizes

Related Articles:
Shuji Nakamura wins the 2006 Millennium Technology Prize
White laser light found to be just as easy on the eyes as LEDs
LED street lamps deliver 88% power saving in Japan
First green LED means a lighting revolution is fast approaching
US$3 LED light bulb lasts 60 years, could end battle of the bulbs
Ikea buys into flexible LED light tiles


Last month, the US MAVEN space probe and the Indian MOM orbiter arrived at the planet Mars within days of one another. As part of a welcome to India as the newest interplanetary spacefaring nation, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and K. Radhakrishnan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), signed a pair of documents formally sealing agreements between the US and India for greater cooperation in the exploration of Mars and for a joint NASA-ISRO Earth observation mission later this decade... Continue Reading India and the US to team up for Mars exploration and Earth-observing missions

Section: Space

Tags: India, ISRO, Mars, Mars Orbiter Mission, MAVEN, NASA, Spacecraft

Related Articles:
India's MOM Mars probe sent on its way
Now we are eight: India's Mars Orbiter Mission reaches Mars
India starts countdown for Mars mission
India's Mars Orbiter Mission launches successfully
NASA announces new rover mission for Mars
NASA seeks public input for future Mars exploration missions


The sinking feeling of calling a help line and discovering that there’s a robot at the other end may not be as sinky in the future. IPsoft’s "virtual service-desk employee" Amelia is designed to bring advanced artificial intelligence (AI) to help desks and other interactive operations by engaging callers in more intuitive and natural conversations... Continue Reading IPsoft’s Amelia AI platform making its way to work

Section: Computers

Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Business, Interactive

Related Articles:
1937 Delahaye Roadster sets new auction record for Amelia Island
1930 Duesenberg Model J sells for $1.7 million
Hispano-Suiza's Type Alfonso XIII antique sports car up for sale
Bosign accessories make living with tech stylish and comfortable
The Delahaye Saoutchik Roadster - is this the world's most beautiful car?
Prioritizing system measures stress in emergency services callers' voices


One of nature’s most notorious psychopaths may be giving cancer patients new hope. The mantis shrimp is famous for having a punch like a .22 bullet and a perpetual bad attitude, but is also has the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom, which are excellent at detecting polarized light. With this in mind, the University of Queensland is developing new cameras based on the mantis shrimp’s eyes that can detect a variety of cancer tissues... Continue Reading Mantis shrimp's eyes inspire new cancer-detecting camera

Section: Science

Tags: Animals, Cameras, Cancer, Cancer Tissue, Diagnosis, Imaging, Neuroscience, Non-invasive, University of Queensland

Related Articles:
Mantis shrimp may hold the secret to lighter, tougher body armors
Punching mantis shrimp inspires super-tough composites
Mantis Stand for iPad - pricey if not deadly
Mantis – a two ton turbo diesel hexapod you can drive
Mantis takes flight - the UK’s largest ever fully-autonomous UAV
Your very own self-sustained micro-ecosystem

No comments: