Laboratories: looks like the high-tech of the future - IV

Touchscreen TapSense

Here is a project to improve the use of touch screens. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have found a way to make the most of the anatomy of the finger and dexterity. By combining a microphone a touchscreen, the researchers showed that it could make the difference between the tip of the finger, the finger nail or joint.

The technology, called TapSense, allows a wide variety of interactions with the touch screen. When typing on a keyboard, users could, for example, uppercase or activate the keypad by simply giving a fingernail. It's the same for drawing applications that could provide more input modes to control a color palette, or that would switch between the pencil and eraser without having to press a button.

Fast data transfer

Researchers have a new record for speed in terms of data transfers. At SuperComputing 2011 conference held in Seattle in November, an international team of data transferred in opposite directions at speeds of 186 Gbit / s in a WAN. This compares to 100 Mbit / s offered by a cable connection (ie 1860 times less).

This amounts to around 2 million gigabytes a day is a speed fast enough to transfer in one day, about 100,000 Blu-rays that contain movies and bonus. Professionals in the field say that transfers the heaviest will be easier to do and a new technological era begins.

Fibers of memory to store

Researchers at NASA are creating textiles have a new function. The integration of electronics into textiles is a burgeoning area of ​​research that could lead to smart clothes and electronics ready-to-wear. Researchers at NASA have developed a new flexible fabric incorporating the son of copper and copper oxide. The electronics that pervades your clothes could become a medium for storing computer data information. This e-textile can also detect various diseases, monitor vital signs of people in a hostile environment and transmit the information to their doctor.