SmartSynch offers universal router for smart grids

(Credit: SmartSynch)

by Candace Lombardi

SmartSynch announced Wednesday night that it has a plan for allowing universal communications between appliances, smart grids, and utilities, regardless of which communication protocol is used.

In May 2008, the Jackson, Miss.-company garnered $20 million in a funding round led by Credit Suisse to develop its communications devices and software for smart meters.

What has emerged is the GridRouter, an Internet Protocol-based universal router with an open platform that can communicate with public and private networks whether they be using WiMax, municipal Wi-Fi, or a proprietary network system.

The GridRouter device could become a darling of utilities by enabling them to connect existing proprietary networks to the GridRouter without having to upgrade their entire system, and using existing off-the-self IT management tools to do it.

The company’s public relations team has been telling the press that “SmartSynch sees this product doing for the smart grid what Cisco did for the Internet.”

While such grid and appliance interoperability claims might only catch the eye of industry wonks, average consumers should also perk up their ears and listen. Progress on that front could mean the difference between paying a premium for a smart-grid-enabled appliance, or having it come standard on most mass-produced appliances within the next half-dozen years.

SmartSynch’s upgradable GridRouter is built to allow utilities to add multiple communications technologies from difference companies and make them all interoperable.  (Credit: SmartSynch)

Currently, companies and organizations are jockeying to back what they hope will be the standard of choice for smart-grid interaction when it comes to software and communications tools. The Wi-Fi Alliance announced in November, for instance, that it has a smart-grid task force reviewing how its standards might be modified to become the best choice for smart grids. Google’s PowerMeter, while using its existing Web-based portal to provide a platform for smart-grid home data, has partnered with AlertMe, which uses ZigBee instead of Wi-Fi for home devices to communicate with a central hub and smart meter.

Appliance manufacturers like GE and Whirlpool have publicly expressed enthusiasm about incorporating smart technology into their products.

GE announced in July that it’s testing Tendril as possible smart appliance software and started several pilot projects in places like Masdar City and Hawaii.

But there has also been some hesitation. Whirlpool said it would like to phase out all “dumb” appliances by 2015, but won’t do so until a clear standard communications winner emerges.

Who could blame them? No one wants to be the one left with noncompliant technology once clear winners begin to emerge. But because of this, standardization squabbles could become a hold-up in the smart-grid evolution.

If SmartSynch’s GridRouter can provide an easy an out-of-the-box solution to syncing everyone up, as the company claims, it could be the grease needed to quicken the smart-grid build-out.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17912_3-10408501-72.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0

Shape Shifters: Researchers Create New Breed of Antennas

The antenna consists of liquid metal injected into elastomeric microchannels. The antennas can be deformed (twisted and bent) since the mechanical properties are dictated by the elastomer and not the metal. (Credit: Image courtesy of North Carolina State University)

Antennas aren’t just for listening to the radio anymore. They’re used in everything from cell phones to GPS devices. Research from North Carolina State University is revolutionizing the field of antenna design — creating shape-shifting antennas that open the door to a host of new uses in fields ranging from public safety to military deployment.

Modern antennas are made from copper or other metals, but there are limitations to how far they can be bent — and how often — before they break completely. NC State scientists have created antennas using an alloy that “can be bent, stretched, cut and twisted — and will return to its original shape,” says Dr. Michael Dickey, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at NC State and co-author of the research.

The researchers make the new antennas by injecting an alloy made up of the metals gallium and indium, which remains in liquid form at room temperature, into very small channels the width of a human hair. The channels are hollow, like a straw, with openings at either end — but can be any shape. Once the alloy has filled the channel, the surface of the alloy oxidizes, creating a “skin” that holds the alloy in place while allowing it to retain its liquid properties.

“Because the alloy remains a liquid,” Dickey says, “it takes on the mechanical properties of the material encasing it.” For example, the researchers injected the alloy into elastic silicone channels, creating wirelike antennas that are incredibly resilient and that can be manipulated into a variety of shapes. “This flexibility is particularly attractive for antennas because the frequency of an antenna is determined by its shape,” says Dickey. “So you can tune these antennas by stretching them.”

While the alloy makes an effective antenna that could be used in a variety of existing electronic devices, its durability and flexibility also open the door to a host of new applications. For example, an antenna in a flexible silicone shell could be used to monitor civil construction, such as bridges. As the bridge expands and contracts, it would stretch the antenna — changing the frequency of the antenna, and providing civil engineers information wirelessly about the condition of the bridge.

Flexibility and durability are also ideal characteristics for military equipment, since the antenna could be folded or rolled up into a small package for deployment and then unfolded again without any impact on its function. Dickey thinks these new applications are the most likely uses for the new antennas, since the alloy is more expensive than the copper typically used in most consumer electronics that contain antennas.

Dickey’s lab is performing further research under a National Science Foundation grant to better understand the alloy’s properties and means of utilizing it to create useful devices.

The research is co-authored by Dickey, NC State doctoral students Ju-Hee So, Amit Qusba and Gerard Hayes, NC State undergraduate student Jacob Thelen, and University of Utah professor Dr. Gianluca Lazzi, who participated in the research while a professor at NC State. The research is published in Advanced Functional Materials.

Story Source:

Adapted from materials provided by North Carolina State University.

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Journal Reference:

1. Ju-Hee So, Jacob Thelen, Amit Qusba, Gerard J. Hayes, Gianluca Lazzi, Michael D. Dickey. Reversibly Deformable and Mechanically Tunable Fluidic Antennas. Advanced Functional Materials, 2009; 19 (22): 3632 DOI: 10.1002/adfm.200900604

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091201100545.htm

RFID Chips: Intelligence Inside Metal Components

Whether it’s CD packaging, containers or identification cards: RFID tags (Radio Frequency Identification) are increasingly finding their way into everyday life. They make it possible to label objects or goods and identify them automatically by radio frequency. The appropriate scanner can read and process the data contained in the label.

“Smart labels” can be affixed to goods under production conditions of up to 100 degrees Celsius. But at higher temperatures — such as with laser fusion — they fall apart: the metal components are being manufactured out of stainless steel powder, using a laser at temperatures in excess of 1400 degrees Celsius. Such production conditions precluded the use of radio-based identification — until now.

Recently, researchers from the Fraunhofer-Institute for Manufacturing and Advanced Materials IFAM in Bremen developed a new, non-destructive process. They use the »Rapid Manufacturing« method: A machine produces a component based on a three-dimensional CAD model, building it layer-by-layer directly from the computer. The laser melts off the areas of each metal powder layer that are intended to be solid. Next, the building platform is lowered and the process restarts until the component is completed. Fraunhofer scientists can control this process in a manner that allows the RFID to be installed and completely encased by the material.

“This new process finally puts the intelligence into the metal component. You can store critical information in the radio tags, like the serial number or the manufacture date. So, for example, companies now can make their top-grade replacement parts tamper-proof and resistant to fraud,” explains project manager Claus Aumund-Kopp. If someone tries to remove the chip, they will wind up destroying it in the attempt. And soon, it will be possible to do more than just reading the identification code. Conceivably, it might even be possible to store information during the period of usage. Experts also envision the potential of this process as it relates to sensors or actuators: With the aid of temperature or expansion sensors, it may be possible to record data on thermal or mechanical stresses on the components.

In addition, the new Fraunhofer Additive Manufacturing Alliance will present technologies and services along the entire value creation chain. This includes everything from additive manufacturing technologies and tools manufacturing through to tooling, repair and maintenance. Ten institutes have joined together under the aegis of the alliance.

Story Source:

Adapted from materials provided by Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124103613.htm

Music library disaster? How to rip songs from your iPod

Admit it: you or someone you know has had at least one disaster in which you have lost your entire music library, didn’t have backups, and needed to rip it back off of your iPod. Here, we look at our favorite solution for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux users that let you do just that.

By Jacqui Cheng

Despite the fact that Apple constantly “encourages” users to back up their music, people still often find themselves in the awkward predicament of needing to download their entire libraries back off of their iPods. Maybe they suffered a catastrophic hard drive crash, or perhaps their laptop was stolen and they no longer have access to their home libraries. Either way, people want to get their media off of their iPods and—through Apple-provided methods, anyway—they can’t.

(Apple now allows you to transfer your purchased music from iTunes off of an iPod onto a new machine, but this only works for music you have bought from Apple. Any MP3s that you have ripped yourself or bought from other online retailers are not transferred.)

That’s why third parties have swooped in to rescue aggravated iPod users on every platform. On the Mac, Windows, and even Linux, there are tools that allow users to grab their media—and some even work with newer devices, like the iPhone and iPod touch. Since the holiday season is nearly upon us and family members are starting to ask us questions about how to get music off of their devices, we thought we would do a rundown of software to use for this purpose.

Mac OS X

There are several tools that work on the Mac (not surprising since the iPod and iPhone are so popular among Mac users), but the longtime champion has always been PodWorks by Sci-Fi Hi-Fi. The most current version, PodWorks 2.9.6, not only works with traditional iPods, it also now supports the file system that comes as part of iPhone OS 3.0 (so recent iPhones and iPod touches as well). And, not only can it copy your music back to your hard drive, it can also grab videos, and even keep your playlists intact.

The last time we used PodWorks, we came away impressed with its capabilities and swore to recommend it to anyone who would listen. That remains true, and although the price has gone up since then (it’s now a whopping $8 for a license instead of $6), we still believe in PodWorks for all of our media-related emergencies. There’s even a free trial available, but once you use it, you’ll be glad to drop the $8 and keep it around for emergency purposes.

Windows

A good option for Windows users is iRip (previously known as iPodRip) a software package that works under Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 (as well as Mac OS X). Like PodWorks, iRip can rip both music and video and can save it either into iTunes or another spot of your choosing. (It does, however, require iTunes to be installed for it to work, which could be viewed as a potential downside for those of you who are iTunes-averse.)

iRip supports older iPods as well as iPhones and iPod touches, and allows you to automatically rip everything from the device or manually choose from the available media. The software is a bit more expensive than PodWorks on the Mac at $19.95 for a full license, though the free trial allows you to transfer up to 100 tracks.

Linux

Though gtkpod doesn’t officially support the iPhone or iPod touch, it’s one of the simplest solutions available for Linux users. The most recent version, V0.99.14, supports classic iPods (including the iPod nano, iPod shuffle, iPod mini, and iPod video models) and makes use of the shared libgpod library in order to access the iPod’s music database. (iPhone and iPod touch are experimentally supported, but only if they are jailbroken first.)

Not only does gtkpod allow you to get media off of your iPod, you can also put media onto it (since Linux distros don’t have any official version of iTunes, you have to use something). Transfer MP3, WAV, M4A, M4B, podcasts, and videos to and from your iPod and, true to the open source philosophy, gtkpod is free.

If you have had a disaster and employed other recovery tactics, let us know in the comments!

http://arstechnica.com/apple/guides/2009/11/music-library-disaster-rip-songs-from-your-ipod.ars

‘Smart’ armor learns more with every bullet

Intelligent armor generates a small voltage when bent, such as when it is hit by a bullet.

State-of-the-art armor can evaluate its own condition, relay info to soldiers

By Eric Bland

updated 2 hours, 56 minutes ago//

Smart armor being developed by scientists and engineers at U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center in Michigan can not only predict its own failure, but also identify the size of bullets shot at it and even generate electrical power upon impact.

“As a kid, everyone played those video games that showed you how much armor you had left as a percentage bar,” said John Wray, a TARDEC contractor. “That’s exactly what we’re working on here and more.”

Intelligent armor is based on piezoelectrics, or materials that generate a small voltage when bent. The reverse is also true: Apply a small voltage, and a piezoelectric material will bend.

The sensors TARDEC scientists are installing on armor plates use both features. The armor itself isn’t new, but the sensors are.

Each plate of armor, whether its wrapped around a soldier’s body or a vehicle’s chassis, has two piezeoelectric sensors attached to it.

An electric current flows into one sensor and turns it into mechanical energy in the form of a tiny vibration that ripples through the armor plate. The other piezoelectric device takes that mechanical vibration and turns it back into electrical energy.

Anywhere from five to 15 volts of electricity is pumped into, and out of, an intact plate of armor. If the armor has been damaged by bullets, shrapnel or anything else, some of the current released into the armor won’t be picked up on the other end.

By measuring just how much energy is lost, the TARDEC scientists can determine how damaged the armor is.

The research into intelligent armor began several years ago, says Thomas Meitzler, a research scientist at TARDEC developing the intelligent armor. The Army approached TARDEC about finding a way to measure armor’s integrity in the field.

“Right now, there are really only two ways to evaluate the health of a vehicle’s armor,” said Meitzler. “One is to get out and manually inspect the armor. The other is to bring it to a vehicle depot for an ultrasound.” Neither option is ideal when soldiers are in the middle of a battle.

A third, real-time option was needed. Piezoelectric sensors were the answer.

The piezoelectric sensors don’t just monitor armor’s integrity. They also could help to make it stronger.

Each bullet striking the armor would create an electricity generating shock wave. It wouldn’t be much electricity, says Meitzler, certainly not enough to power the vehicle, but it would be enough to run a small sensor if enough bullets hit the armor plating.

Each bullet would create a slightly different amount of electricity as well. Complex mathematical algorithms, also being developed at TARDEC, would analyze the amount of electricity generated by a bullet’s impact and discover what kind of round was used.

A .22 caliber bullet, for example, will generate less electricity compared with a .45 caliber bullet.

The combination of knowing your opponent’s weaponry and having real-time information about the integrity of the armor could save the soldiers’ lives. “If you know that one side of the armor is weakening, you could turn the vehicle to protect that side,” said Meitzler.

Other scientists are enthusiastic about the research.

John Ohab, the Department of Defense’s new technology strategist, thought of Star Trek when he heard of the new armor sensors. “There was always damage to a certain part of the ship and a graphic that displayed what part was injured,” he said.

Armored vehicles and soldiers could be just the start, says Ohab, adding that he doesn’t see any reason why the sensors couldn’t eventually be deployed on ships or aircraft.

Vladimir Genis, a professor of applied engineering technology who also develops piezoelectric devices at Drexel University, was also impressed with the research.

“This is an absolutely excellent idea,” said Genis. “There is so much energy that simply disappears. If we can even capture a portion of that energy, we could power a multitude of electrical devices.”

© 2009 Discovery Channel

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34132832/ns/technology_and_science-innovation/

Seiko Ocean Theater alarm clock brings the life aquatic to your bedroom

For this price I would hope for a nicer image, but the idea is cute.

Article by Laura June

If you’re anything like us, you’re terrified of whales for pretty much no reason. Seiko’s newest alarm clock — the Ocean Theater — probably isn’t for you then. Fair enough, but plenty of people are not maladjusted, and we’re willing to admit that it’s pretty cool, even if it’s terrifying. The clock, which responds to touch, can project various marine life upon your walls, and we imagine it’ll be a huge hit with children. As you’ll see in the video after the break, if this thing works as advertised, it’s really rather impressive. The Ocean Theater also doubles as an iPod dock, and will be available from Japan Trends; it’s up for pre-order now and runs $235. Like we said, definitely check out the video after the break.

[Via Uber Gizmo]

Follow the link for a video – http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/12/seiko-ocean-theater-alarm-clock-brings-the-life-aquatic-to-your/

Contact lenses to get built-in virtual graphics

by Vijaysree Venkatraman

A contact lens that harvests radio waves to power an LED is paving the way for a new kind of display. The lens is a prototype of a device that could display information beamed from a mobile device.

Realising that display size is increasingly a constraint in mobile devices, Babak Parviz at the University of Washington, in Seattle, hit on the idea of projecting images into the eye from a contact lens.

One of the limitations of current head-up displays is their limited field of view. A contact lens display can have a much wider field of view. “Our hope is to create images that effectively float in front of the user perhaps 50 cm to 1 m away,” says Parviz.

His research involves embedding nanoscale and microscale electronic devices in substrates like paper or plastic. He also wears contact lenses. “It was a matter of putting the two together,” he says.

Fitting a contact lens with circuitry is challenging. The polymer cannot withstand the temperatures or chemicals used in large-scale microfabrication, Parviz explains. So, some components – the power-harvesting circuitry and the micro light-emitting diode – had to be made separately, encased in a biocompatible material and then placed into crevices carved into the lens.

One obvious problem is powering such a device. The circuitry requires 330 microwatts but doesn’t need a battery. Instead, a loop antenna picks up power beamed from a nearby radio source. The team has tested the lens by fitting it to a rabbit.

Parviz says that future versions will be able to harvest power from a user’s cell phone, perhaps as it beams information to the lens. They will also have more pixels and an array of microlenses to focus the image so that it appears suspended in front of the wearer’s eyes.

Despite the limited space available, each component can be integrated into the lens without obscuring the wearer’s view, the researchers claim. As to what kinds of images can be viewed on this screen, the possibilities seem endless. Examples include subtitles when conversing with a foreign-language speaker, directions in unfamiliar territory and captioned photographs. The lens could also serve as a head-up display for pilots or gamers.

Mark Billinghurst, director of the Human Interface Technology Laboratory, in Christchurch, New Zealand, is impressed with the work. “A contact lens that allows virtual graphics to be seamlessly overlaid on the real world could provide a compelling augmented reality experience,” he says. This prototype is an important first step in that direction, though it may be years before the lens becomes commercially available, he adds.

The University of Washington team will present their prototype at the Biomedical Circuits and Systems (BioCas 2009) conference at Beijing later this month.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18146-contact-lenses-to-get-builtin-virtual-graphics.html

One Day, This Will Be Remembered as the First Real Tricorder

Leave it to a NASA scientist to create the first Star Trek Tricorder using a stamp-sized sensor chip, an iPhone, and some spiffy programing. What does it do? It can detect killer gasses in the air.

Chemical Sensor

While the concept is not new, this prototype is fully working and operational. Created by Jing Li and a team of researches at NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, the sensor is a multiple-channel silicon-based sensing chip integrated in micro-board with 64 nanosensors.

The low-cost, low-power system can detect minimal concentrations of ammonia, chlorine gas, and methane, showing the values in an iPhone application. It can automatically communicate the results with other cellphones or the Enterprise’s computer using Wi-Fi or 3G, and order massive teleportation evacuations if needed. OK, not true. No teleportation yet, but we are getting there. [NASA]

Send an email to Jesus Diaz, the author of this post, at jesus@gizmodo.com.

http://gizmodo.com/5403126/one-day-this-will-be-remembered-as-the-first-real-tricorder

DocuPen X hits earth for all your pen scanner needs

by Laura June

Thinking maybe you can’t live another day without finally breaking down and purchasing a pen scanner? We can sympathize. There are plenty on the market, but the newly hatched DocuPen X Series is mildly more interesting than most out there. They’ve managed to cram 64MB of memory, Bluetooth, a tiny OLED screen and a lithium ion battery all in that tiny package, and if you’re the sunflower seed-eating, alien-hunting type, you probably want one of these for scanning your files at up to 600 dots per inch. DocuPen’s teensy X Series scanners start at $370.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/08/docupen-x-hits-earth-for-all-your-pen-scanner-needs/

Networked ’smart plug’ gets energy info flowing

Zerofooprint’s wireless plug, coupled with hosted software, is designed to let people view energy use and program appliances. (Credit: Zerofootprint)

by Martin LaMonica

What if you could better control home appliance energy use by making your wall socket more clever?

That’s the idea behind TalkingPlug from Toronto-based Zerofootprint, a company that makes software for measuring and monitoring corporate carbon emissions.

TalkingPlug is a plug that fits on top of existing electrical outlets. But it’s equipped with componentry to make it a controllable node on a network, including an RFID chip, microprocessor, and wireless networking. The company plans to introduce the product next week.

The “smart plugs” will be able to give detailed information on how much electricity individual appliances are using. Because it’s programmable, people can also control appliances. For example, a person could have a TV set-top box turn off at midnight and turn on again at 7 in the morning.

A set of plugs create a mesh network and can send information via a home or office building router to Zerofootprint. The company’s software processes and analyzes the data, showing people how the energy use compares to others.

“It will completely transform our world when plugs talk to each and interact with each,” said Ron Dembo, the CEO of Zerofootprint.

For residential customers, it makes most sense to use plugs for areas that draw a lot of power, such entertainment centers and home computers, Dembo said. He estimated the cost is about $50 now but he expects that price would drop significantly if made at larger scale.

The company has built early versions of the product and is seeking companies willing to test it out, such as utilities or appliance makers looking for a way to get information on products.

There are many companies developing energy-management software and devices aimed at helping people reduce wasted electricity use. One of the main technical challenges is getting information from appliances.

For example, IBM and utility Consert are running a trial smart-grid program where large appliances, such as HVAC systems and hot water heaters, are equipped with controllers that can feed data to a meter with two-way communications. Data is collected using a home’s Internet connection, and the consumer can view energy data and control appliances from a Web page.

Google’s energy-monitoring application PowerMeter can get detailed data using either a smart meter or a home energy display, typically installed by an electrician. Zerofootprint’s Dembo said that the TalkingPlug approach, where monitoring and control is placed at the point of use, can be cheaper than existing methods once products are made at large scale.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10391736-54.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0