Items tagged with Technology
When it comes to electronics, semiconductors make the world go round. This has been true for many decades, though future generations will own devices with different physical makeups than those that are in use today. That includes a potential move away from silicon. In what could be a glimpse into the future, electrical engineers at Stanford have identified a pair of ultrathin semiconductor materials that are every bit as good (and perhaps better) than silicon. Those materials are called hafnium diselenide and zirconium diselenide. Like silicon, these materials can "rust" in a way that is conducive...
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The world is a rapidly changing place and that will always be the case. Unfortunately for our friends in the U.K. who might be working in a public sector job, change could precede unemployment. That's because there is a push to replace nearly 250,000 public sector workers in the U.K. with robots over the next 15 years, according to a new report by Reform, a thinktank focused on improving public performance within affordable budgets. While the concept of robotic workers and automated services is not new, Reform is pretty harsh on the downsides of human workers. It points out that "public services...
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Samsung on Thursday formally welcomed visitors to its brand new $300 million campus in San Jose, California. The 1.1-million square-foot site is located on the same corner in San Jose's tech corridor where Samsung's original campus was first built over three decades ago, though this is quite a different facility. The creation of a new Device Solutions America headquarters brings more than 700 employees together into a state-of-the-art building with various amenities, including "chill zones," one of many perks to attract top engineers. There's room for up to 2,000 employees at the facility, which...
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Foxconn is one of the biggest manufacturers of Apple's iPhone handsets, along with electronic gadgets and gizmos from various other well known companies, and for now, all those devices still require a human element. However, that might not always be the case as Foxconn dives deeper in robotics. What you may not realize is that Foxconn has been developing robotics technology for over a decade. The company's efforts have mostly flown under the radar, though it gained attention when its Japanese partner SoftBank trotted out a humanoid service robot called Pepper. That was in 2014. Foxconn's...
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Oftentimes it's the more simple ideas that are the most brilliant, one of which belongs to Anthony F. Verna, a television director and producer who died on January 18, 2015, in Palm Desert, California. While it would be unfair to reduce a person of Verna's accomplishments to a single memory, he will forever be remembered as the inventor of the instant replay.That's right, the feature we take for granted in every sports game was invented by Verna, who debuted his idea during a CBS telecast of the Army-Navy college football game in Philadelphia on December 7, 1963. He had come up with a method to...
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All the talk in the display sector seems to revolve around 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) these days, but that's not the only thing going on in the industry. If you focus your attention over at Sharp, you'll see the company is pretty excited about its new "Free-Form Display," a new type of technology that allows for the creation of varied display designs. Using IGZO technology combined with proprietary circuit design methods, Sharp is able to build displays that take on funky shapes and curves rather than stick with a traditional rectangular or square design. Here's a look at Sharp's prototype:...
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Perhaps some day in the far off future, we'll all own self-driving cars that get us from Point A to Point B with no fuss. We're nowhere near that point yet, but we are at the beginning stages. Google is especially pushing the concept and more recently began exploring what fully self-driving vehicles would look like by building some prototypes. What they've come up with is a small, half bubble-shaped car with no steering wheel, no accelerator pedal, and no brake pedal. Why would Google leave such essentials out of the equation? Simply put, "they don't need them," Google explains. "Our software and...
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Technology isn't just about improving the speed of graphics cards to push more pixels on a display, nor is it limited to the pursuit of bigger and faster storage devices, though we're fans of such advancements. More than that, we're passionate about technology because of the wonderful things it can accomplish. Case in point, at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil this year, the first kick will be made by a teenager who is paralyzed from the waist down. Say what? There's no voodoo magic involved, just awesome technology. The teen will use a mechanical exoskeleton that he'll control with his brain....
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Florida will be home to the first Microsoft Innovation Center (MIC) in the U.S. when Microsoft cuts the ribbon later this spring, the Redmond outfit announced. There already exist over 100 MIC locations scattered throughout the world in places ranging from Brazil to Uganda and everywhere in between. The facility being opened up in Miami, Florida will sport the latest technology and tools to help drive job creation, increase the number of high skilled technology specialists, and to spur collaboration among diverse groups in the area. "The opening of the Microsoft Innovation Center in Miami signals...
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It might not be every day that you find yourself strolling around Suwon, South Korea, but should you be in the area, there's a new place to check out. To celebrate its 45th anniversary -- and love of technology -- Samsung today opened the doors to the Samsung Innovation Museum to the public. Inside you'll find all kinds of modern wonders, including several of Samsung's own products, such as its line of smartphones and curved televisions. It's a five-story museum that takes up around 118,000 square feet at Samsung Digital City. In addition to its own products and technologies, visitors will see...
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You're a unique individual. Not just in the way you look, dress, and act, but also in the way you smell. Don't be offended, we're not saying you smell bad, we're just having a little talk about science. If you didn't have a unique scent, it would be difficult for dogs to track you using their noses, but part of the reason they can do that without getting confused is because of your unique scent. This has prompted researchers at the Polytechnic University of Madrid to focus their attention on a biometric authentication system that can analyze your "personal odor." According to the researchers, there...
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Have you ever wondered what your dog is trying to say when he gives you a funny look? A unique Indiegogo campaign for "No More Woof" seeks to solve that problem by translating your dog's thought patterns into English so you know exactly what Fido is thinking. The way it goes about this is by using Electroencephalogram (EEG) to analyze animal thought patterns, which are then spelled out in human language using a loudspeaker. Campaign details are a little fuzzy and the developers are very upfront about the fact that this isn't a finished product, but a work in progress that it hopes to finish with...
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Google is now the proud owner of Boston Dynamics, an engineering company that specializes in building dynamic robots and software for human simulation. You may have seen some of Boston Dynamics' creations already, especially if you've spent any amount of time browsing YouTube videos -- a 2 minute demonstration of the company's WildCat robot has over 15 million views since being uploaded in the beginning of October. The technology here is very cool. Boston Dynamics has a stable of robots that always seem to defy expectations. They have an incredible sense of balance and, in some cases, absurd speed,...
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"Would you like a 3D printed toy with that?" That's a question that doesn't yet exist inside any McDonald's fast food restaurants, but give it time and it may become a mandatory query, at least when ordering a Happy Meal. In this day and age of the Internet of Things, society is becoming increasingly connected, and companies are harnessing technology in unique ways. What does this have to do with the golden arches? Mark Fabes, director of IT for McDonald's in the U.K., recently spoke at the Fujitsu Forum in Germany on the topic of the "disruptive customer" and his/her push for digital toys. McDonald's...
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