Bionic Fingertip' Offers Feeling

Artificial Fingertip Provides Physical Feedback

An artificial fingertip providing physical feedback to the user had been developed by European researchers. Amputee Dennis Aabo Sorensen had taken part in a clinical trial that had his nerves surgically linked to the bionic fingertip enabling him to experience feeling as well as distinguish between the different surfaces. The new bionic fingertip helped the amputee to feel smooth and the rough textures.

Developed by scientist at Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne –EPFL, Switzerland and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Italy, the artificial fingertip had been connected to the nerves in the upper arm of amputee. The device provided Sorensen the ability of distinguishing between rough and smooth surfaces with 96% accuracy according to the report.

Sorensen mentioned that the stimulation felt almost like what he felt with his hand. For the success of this, the nerves in the arm of the amputee had to be connected to the artificial fingertip and a machine controlled the movement of the device as it felt the textured plastic. While the fingertip moved along the plastic, the sensor generated an electrical signal which was translated in a series of electrical spikes to replicate the nervous system, before delivering to Sorensen’s nerves.

Tactile Information Delivered Through Fine Needles

According to the team behind the study, they state that they compared the results of the bionic finger with those of non-amputees. They mentioned in a press release that `the tactile information was delivered through fine needles which were temporarily attached to the arm’s median nerve through the skin. The non-amputees were in a position to distinguish roughness in textures 77% of the time’.

The research is said to be the latest in growing cannon of global work involving improved functions of artificial limbs and the work comprises of prosthetic which tend to operate with brain machine interfaces. A separate mind controlled limb, in February had enabled a person to wiggle individual fingers of bionic hand for the first time, where the researchers at Johns Hopkins University had tested the prosthetic on a non-amputee.

However they already had 128 electrodes implanted surgically in the brain to help in monitoring epilepsy. With the use of the pre-developed system, the researchers mapped the person’s brain, taking control of the arm.

Cybathlon- Swiss Hosted Olympics for Bionic Athletes

BrainGate, a company creating brain-machine interfaces, had individually developed a chip which could be inserted into the brain in order to control a robotic arm. The work from BrainGate enabled users to be capable of moving the arm, for instance to raise a glass to their mouth.

In order to encourage the research of bionic limbs as well as brain controlled devices, it is said that October would be seeing the first Cybathlon, which is a Swiss hosted Olympics for bionic athletes and their robotic technologies. Working on the project, Calogero Oddo stated that enabling an amputee to be able in differentiating between textures would be utilised over numerous industries.

 He adds that `it would also be translated to other applications like artificial touch in robotic for surgery, rescue as well as manufacturing. From the earlier work of EPFL, Sorensen was able to feel sensory information using a complete artificial hand.. Conducted in 2014, the work enabled him to grasp objects as well as able to identify what he had been touching on being blindfolded.

'Meta-Skin' Truly Cloaks Objects From Radar

Meta-Skin – Manipulate Electromagnetic Waves

A team at Iowa State University led by electrical and computer engineering professor Jiming Song together with associate professor Liang Dong have developed a meta-material known as `meta-skin’. Co-authors are Iowa State graduate students Siming Yang, Peng Liu and Qiugu Wang and the former Iowa State undergraduate Mingda Yang.Meta-materials are manmade materials which tend to have the potentials greater than the sum of their single components.

The meta-skin takes its name from meta-materials that are composites having properties which are not found in nature and can manipulate electromagnetic waves. They came up with rows of split ring resonators that were embedded in layers of silicone sheets and the electric resonators were filled with galinstan, a metal alloy which is liquid at room temperature with less toxic than the other liquid metals like mercury.

These resonators are small rings having an outer radius of 2.5 millimetres with a thickness of half a millimetre and have a 1 millimetre gap. This is required to create a small curved segment of liquid wire.The rings tend to create electric inductors while the gap creates electric capacitors.

Meta-material – Low Toxicity- Used Commercially

Together they tend to create a resonator which can trap and suppress specific radar waves at a particular frequency, according to the university, on stretching and flexing the polymer meta-skin, the same can be tuned in reducing the reflection of an extensive range of radar frequencies.

The engineers have created their meta-material after embedding rows of minute split-ring resonators within silicone sheets and these resonators comprise of liquid metal alloy galinstan that is gallium, indium and tin. It is used commercially having low toxicity when compared to the other liquid metals.

The meta-material when tested by the team on wrapping it round a dielectric cylindrical rod at various angles, it was observed that it did well and reached a radar suppression of around 75% in the 8 to 10 gigahertz range.

As per the Physics Factbook, the band is utilised for civil marine radar, tracking radar, airborne weather avoidance radar system to detect mortar as well as artillery projectile and police speed meters. The team reported in the journal Scientific Reports that inspite of constant measurements, the meta-skin did not show any signs of exhaustion.

Meta-material – Next-Gen Stealth Aircraft

The engineers are of the belief that their stretchy meta-material would one day cover next-gen stealth aircraft. Dong mentioned in a university press release that the long term goal is to shrink the size of these devices and then they could do it with higher frequency electromagnetic waves like visible or infrared light – the visible light, the holy grail for cloaking materials.

The engineer mentioned in their paper that the present meta-skin technology would find several applications in electromagnetic frequency tuning, scattering suppression and shielding. Doug who has a background in fabricating micro and nanoscale devices has been working with liquids and polymers while Song has expertise in looking for new applications of electromagnetic waves. Working together, they expect to prove an idea that the electromagnetic waves, the shorter wavelengths of visible light could be curbed with flexible, tuneable liquid-metal technologies.

Web Browser Introduces Built-in Ad-Blocker

Opera Presented Built-in Ad-blocking Feature

Opera, a software company has presented a built-in ad-blocking feature in its internet browser that would enable users to surf the web without viewing ads that would be depriving websites of its revenue. The software company had announced the feature recently stating that the tool would enable users the option of choosing to block ads from a particular website or not, at the time of browsing the internet. The company also states that utilising the ad blocker on its browsers would load web pages 90% quicker than using Internet Explorer and 45% faster than using Google Chrome with ad-blocker extension.

According to web analytics service StatCounter, about 5% of the internet browsing is done by using Opera. Google Chrome in comparison seems to be the most used browser with 45% of action. The company had explained in a blog post, the reasons for the introduction of the tool was to progress the consumer experience and send messages to advertisers that the internet ads seem to be too big and disturbing. Krystian Kolondra, senior vice president of global engineering for Opera had mentioned in a blog post that `presently bloated online ads use more download bandwidth causing webpages to load slowly, at time covering the content that one is trying to see or trying to trick into clicking `fake download buttons’.

NY Times Tested System due to Rising Response of Ad-Blocking

He added that another rising concern was privacy and tracking of online behaviour. Though ad-free browsing tends to be faster and much more convenient for web users, websites seem to end up paying a price.By default, ad-blocker is activated but when a page with adverts tends to get loaded, a pop-up seems to appear prompting if one would like to block ads and surf the web faster.

If the blocking is turned on, users will be able to view how much load time has been saved. They could also add some sites to an exception list enabling adverts to run if they choose to support. As per a report by PageFair and Adobe, ad-blocking charge digital publishers an estimated $22 billion by way of revenue in 2015 with about 198 million people all over the world utilising the software. Due to the rising response of ad-blocking, the New York Times had started testing a system recently which identified visitors to the news site utilising ad-blocker, asking them to buy a subscription or whitelist the site.

Opera had followed Samsung and mobile phone Company `Three’ in employing ad-blocking services. Earlier, users had to download and install ad-blocking software. As per Eleni Marouli, senior analysts at HIS Technology, a trend of telecom companies are attempting to be included in the mobile advertising ecosystem.Marouli mentioned in a report that `Telcos have traditionally been just data `pipes’ that provided the infrastructure for mobile internet and hence mobile advertising.

They had attempted to monetise content through advertising but had made little progress in claiming significant market share’. She further added that the ad blocking announcement by `Three’ had been a pleas to companies such as Facebook and Google to include Three and other mobile operators in the mobile advertising value chain. The feature is said to be available in the latest version of the developer browser and if the test tends to be successful, it would make it to the regular version.

Incredible 'Cobra' Skyscraper Concept Unveiled

Unbelievable Unusual Building - `Asian Cobra Tower’

The development of skyscrapers seem to be getting more creative, taller and amazing with enhancement in its construction and if Russian and futuristic Vasily Klyukin tends to get his way we will find more appealing structures coming up. Klyukin has released a concept design which portrays an unbelievable unusual building which has been dubbed `Asian Cobra Tower’.

According to Klyukin’s website, the structure would comprise of offices or apartments and though the precise size of the concept building in not disclosed, the website has stated that the snake’s open jaws would serve as a restaurant or nightclub which would overlook the city. As per Klyukin, the lights of the building would tend to change colours just the way a snake would shed its skin. In widely accepted folklore and local legends, snakes are generally seen as symbols of protection, wisdom and eternal life.

 Klyukin has mentioned on his website that `snakes and dragons are guardians of threshold, temples, treasure, esoteric knowledge and all lunar gods’. He adds that the diamond shaped pattern towards the back of the snake is the symbol of Yang and Yin, duality as well as reunification of the Sun and the Moon, male and female principles, conciliation of opposites and androgyny.

Designing Legends – Book of 50 Concept Building

The other concept designs by Klyukin, the author of the novel `Collective Mind’ comprises of a woman-shaped skyscraper called `Venus’ and a massive jaguar shaped building. Klyukin seems to have a skill of dreaming up out-of-this-world skyscraper designs and in 2014, the former banker and billionaire had released Designing Legends, which is a book of 50 concept building including a rocket shaped skyscraper together with a tower modelled after the Venus de Milo sculpture.

 His recent design is a futuristic structure which tends to rise from a circular base and steadily widening to a cobra head shaped pinnacle which is complete with red eyes accompanied with a fanged scorn. The open jaws could be utilised as a terraced restaurants or a nightclub and the vipers’ body could be housing the offices or residential units. The concept art portrays the tower lighting up in various colours at night from red to gold to electric blue. Klyukin envisages the skyscraper going up in bigger city in the Eastern area of the world since most of his creativeness has been drawn from the culture of the region.

Skyscrapers – Command Style of Business Regions

He is of the belief that his snake tower would enhance any city in the eastern world since they are seen as a sign of wisdom. Included in the designs for the black and gold snake are changeable lights which tend to go up the structure as well as a diamond pattern on the back to back reflecting Ying and Yang. Vasily states that these buildings upsurge proudly in columns viewing the cities or stand alone in the landscape. Skyscrapers tend to draw our attention and may inspire some or irritate others.

The rising towers seem to change the cityscapes across the world and have been the clearest reflection of cultural as well as economic progress in the 20th century. Skyscrapers also command the style of business regions as well as the entire cities. Fascinated tourist would view this huge cobra, with its jaws serving a terrace as a dining area of a nightclub with offices and apartment placed in its body.

Adobe Chief- Mobile a Huge Positive for Us

Chief executive of Adobe System informed CNBC that the shift from personal computers to smartphones and tablets has been a big positive for the company. Though the company tends to attract an excess of photographers, illustrators, videographers and animators, Adobe has been well known for its image editing software, Photoshop as well as for introducing the portable document form – PDF that has been an internationally accepted medium of sharing electronic documents. Photoshop together with the other provisions from the California-based company is also available on Apple’s iOS as well as Google’s Android systems.

In an interview with `Squawk Box’ of CNBC, the CEO of Adobe, Shantanu Narayen had commented that the whole mobility phenomenon is a tailwind for their business. Being in the front of the pack in mobile setting together with millions of applications available as well as new one created daily, could be a tall order. The image editing offerings of Adobe, like Photoshop and Lightroom tends to compete with hundreds of other identical applications on iOS and Android operating system, comprising of Instagram, VSCO and Camera360. News site CNET and RBC Capital Markets had carried out a non-scientific survey and had observed that Adobe’s PC-based users were not always quick in adopting its mobile apps.

Adobe’s Creative Cloud – Collection of Multimedia Software

The data release last month indicated that among the respondents who had subscribed to Adobe’s Creative Cloud, 43% do not tend to utilise any of the mobile apps of Adobe. CNET had mentioned in a report that only around one in four seem to use the Photoshop Fix app to touch images and one in five seems to use the Photoshop Mix app for combining photos. Adobe’s Creative Cloud is said to a collection of multimedia software which is available for download through the internet on the basis of subscription. However, Narayen stated that the survey findings were more nuanced. He commented that he was of the belief that there is the half empty, half full scenario there. The half full scenario is that the number of people who have now downloaded the application and are using it as part of the workflow over the last year and a half, has absolutely exploded.

Photoshop Fix/Photoshop Mix – De-Facto Standard

He further added that for anyone who would prefer to do a serious content creation there is still the only game in town. Lightroom Mobile products which the survey spoke about together with Photoshop Fix and Photoshop Mix were rapidly becoming the de-facto standard for high-end image editing. Narayen had estimated around 60 million downloads for Adobe’s mobile apps in the iOS and Android ecosystems.

He had stated that another area of growth for Adobe was in its marketing cloud business which is a sequence of internet-based software for the marketers. He mentioned that every individual business needs to have a digital experience which they could then provide to their customers, irrespective of being in hospitality or financial service. He added that the market cloud business enables to deliver those experiences.