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09.10

Tech News Digest

Compiled By IEEE-USA Staff

The following is a roundup of news and notable developments in electrical engineering and computer or information technology reported during late July and August 2010. Items are excerpted from news releases generated by universities, government agencies and other research institutions. Highlighted topics include:

1. DARPA Unveils New Robotics Program

2. DARPA Developing ExtremeScale Supercomputer System

3. System F6 Free-Flying Spacecraft To Be Developed With Open Architecture

4. NIST Publishes Testing Procedures for Electronic Health Records

5. Green Laser Pointers Tested for Excessive Infrared Leakage

6. Wireless Auto Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems May Compromise Privacy and Security

7. Comments Sought on Cybersecurity and Its Implications for Innovation

8. MEMs Self-Calibration Technology Could Enable Super-Accurate Sensors

9. Plastic Computer Memory Device Successfully Tested

10. New Solar Energy Conversion Process Offers Boost in Efficiency

11. Generating Energy From Hawaiian Waters

12. Power Plant Waste To Help Clean up Gulf Oil Spill

13. Notable Research Funded

1. DARPA Unveils New Robotics Program

On 19 August, DARPA announced it would embark on a four-year Autonomous Robotic Manipulation (ARM) program to develop software and hardware that enables a robot to autonomously grasp and manipulate to perform complicated tasks with a human providing only high-level direction.

Early investments in mobile manipulators, or robots, have led to a family of ground platforms now used in military operations for many missions, including countering improvised explosive devices. Most require significant human interaction, which increases the time required to complete tasks, and performance is limited by the video fields of view, perspective and communications bandwidth. DARPA’s effort envisions robots with a high degree of autonomy requiring only high-level supervision by an operator. This simplifies human control and could drastically improve execution of tasks. If successful, these future robots could perform multiple military missions.

For more information, see: http://www.darpa.mil/news/2010/ARMAug2010.pdf

2. DARPA Developing ExtremeScale Supercomputer System

To meet the escalating demands for greater processing performance to support the next generations of advanced DoD systems, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has initiated the Ubiquitous High Performance Computing (UHPC) program to create an innovative, revolutionary new generation of computing systems that overcomes the limitations of current evolutionary approach. The goal of DARPA’s UHPC program is to re-invent computing. It plans to develop radically new computer architectures and programming models that deliver 100 to 1,000 times more performance, and that are easier to program than current systems

For more information, see: http://www.darpa.mil/news/2010/UHPCNewsRelease.pdf

3. System F6 Free-Flying Spacecraft To Be Developed With Open Architecture

DARPA is refocusing its System F6 (Future, Fast, Flexible, Fractionated, Free-Flying Spacecraft United by Information Exchange) fractionated spacecraft demonstrator program to emphasize development of an open and ubiquitous space architecture and an associated set of open standards. The fractionated spacecraft concept replaces large, monolithic space assets with clusters of smaller, wirelessly-interconnected modules that share resources to create, in effect, a “virtual satellite.”

“Democratization of the innovation process for System F6 promotes the emergence of an open community of researchers and developers around the fractionated architecture construct,” said Kaigham Gabriel, DARPA deputy director. It is hoped this approach will energize academic, small business and non-traditional performer communities.

For more information, see: http://www.darpa.mil/news/2010/SystemF6NewsRelease.pdf

4. NIST Publishes Testing Procedures for Electronic Health Records

In efforts to help the nation's health care industry make the transition to the digital age in an effective and meaningful fashion, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published a set of approved procedures for testing information technology systems that work with electronic health records (EHRs). Released in draft form earlier this year, the approved and finalized testing procedures are now available for use.

For more information, see: http://www.nist.gov/itl/ssd/hit_20100817.cfm

5. Green Laser Pointers Tested for Excessive Infrared Leakage

Green laser pointers have become a popular consumer item, delivering light that’s brighter to the eye than red lasers, but stories have circulated on the Web about the potential hazards of inexpensive models. A NIST research team found that a green laser pointer emitted almost twice its rated power level of light—but at invisible and potentially dangerous infrared wavelengths rather than green. A new NIST technical note describes the nature of the problem as well as a home test using an inexpensive webcam that can detect excess infrared light from green lasers.

For more information, see: http://www.nist.gov/physlab/div841/laser_080310.cfm

6. Wireless Auto Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems May Compromise Privacy and Security

According to research funded by the National Science Foundation and U.S. Army Research Office, new wireless technologies in cars may compromise a driver's privacy and pose a security threat, warn researchers at Rutgers University. Modern automobiles are increasingly equipped with wireless sensors and devices, such as systems that monitor air pressure inside tires and trigger dashboard warnings if a tire's pressure drops. These wireless signals can be intercepted 120 feet away from the car using a simple receiver despite the shielding provided by the metal car body.

7. Comments Sought on Cybersecurity and Its Implications for Innovation

The Commerce Department has published a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) on "Cybersecurity, Innovation, and Internet Policy." The department seeks comments from all stakeholders, including the commercial, academic and civil society sectors, on measures to improve cyber security while sustaining innovation. This Notice of Inquiry is one in a series of inquiries from the Internet Policy Task Force. Other reviews examine information privacy, global free flow of information on the Internet, and online copyright protection issues. After analyzing comments on this notice, the department intends to issue a report that will contribute to the Administration's domestic and international policies and activities in advancing both cyber security and the Internet economy.

For more information, see: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/internetpolicytaskforce/

8. MEMs Self-Calibration Technology Could Enable Super-Accurate Sensors

A new technology enabling tiny machines called micro electromechanical systems (MEMs) to "self-calibrate" could make possible super-accurate and precise sensors for crime-scene forensics, environmental testing and medical diagnostics. The innovation might enable researchers to create a "nose-on-a-chip" for tracking criminal suspects, sensors for identifying hazardous solid or gaseous substances, as well as a new class of laboratory tools for specialists working in nanotechnology and biotechnology.

For more information, see: http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/research/2010/100810ClarkMEMS.html

9. Plastic Computer Memory Device Successfully Tested
Researchers at Ohio State University have demonstrated the first plastic computer memory device that utilizes the spin of electrons to read and write data. An alternative to traditional microelectronics, so-called "spintronics" could store more data in less space, process data faster, and consume less power.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/osu-rst080910.php

10. New Solar Energy Conversion Process Offers Boost in Efficiency

A new process that simultaneously combines the light and heat of solar radiation to generate electricity could offer more than double the efficiency of existing solar cell technology, according to Stanford engineers. The process, called "photon enhanced thermionic emission," or PETE, could reduce the costs of solar energy production enough for it to compete with oil as an energy source.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/su-nse080210.php

11. Generating Energy From Hawaiian Waters

Researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa say that the Leeward side of Hawaiian Islands may be ideal for future ocean-based renewable energy plants that would use seawater from the oceans' depths to drive massive heat engines and produce steady amounts of renewable energy. The technology, referred to as Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), involves placing a heat engine between warm water collected at the ocean's surface and cold water pumped from the deep ocean. Like a ball rolling downhill, heat flows from the warm reservoir to the cool one. The greater the temperature difference, the stronger the flow of heat that can be used to do useful work such as spinning a turbine and generating electricity.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/aiop-gef080310.php

12. Power Plant Waste To Help Clean up Gulf Oil Spill

Specially treated waste material from electric power plants will soon be used to clean up oil in the Gulf thanks to the ingenuity of a University of Central Florida professor. The flyash will be modified into a cleaning agent that absorbs oil and can be delivered to a coal-burning facility for re-use.

For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/uocf-ppw080510.php

13. Notable Research Funded

Software for Efficient Computing in the Age of Nanoscale Devices: The National Science Foundation has awarded a $10M, five-year grant to researchers at six universities who will explore "Variability-Aware Software for Efficient Computing with Nanoscale Devices." For more information, see: http://www.calit2.net/newsroom/release.php?id=1728

Computing Techniques fo Analyzing Child Behavior: A Georgia Tech-led team received $10M from National Science Foundation to develop novel computing techniques for measuring and analyzing children's behavior. The technologies will be used to enable new approaches for identifying children at risk for developmental disorders and may potentially improve their treatment. For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/giot-na081910.php

Global Networking: Indiana University has been awarded $9.2 million from the National Science Foundation to lead two high-speed international network services. The awards provide IU with $4.6 million to continue the TransPAC3 network connection to Asia, and an additional $4.6 million for a new connection to Europe, named ACE — America Connects to Europe. For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/iu-ir080210.php

Membrane System for Coal Gas Power Plants: Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute has received a $1.5 million, 15-month award from DOE to advance patented technology using palladium membranes that can separate hydrogen from various gases. The project will seek to demonstrate that the membranes can lower the cost of generating electricity with advanced coal gasification systems while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions by isolating the carbon dioxide produced by coal gas combustion. For more information, see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/wpi-wr080510.php

Comments may be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.