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Shape-memory polymer knows when it's hurt, fixes itself
We're no strangers to the futuristic catch-all idea of 'self-healing' -- it's one of the basic tent poles of many conceptions of tomorrow. That said, researchers are currently hard at work at Arizona State on a material that -- you guessed it -- can detect when it is damaged and, of course, heal itself. Though we sound a bit incredulous, the science is pretty simple here, and the progress on the project is very real. The material uses what the researchers are calling 'shape-memory' polymers and have a fiber optic network embedded within them which acts as the damage sensor as well as the heat delivery system. The polymers return to a pre-defined shape when heated to a certain temperature, and, when damage is detected, an infrared laser sends light through the network to the damaged area, triggers the shape-memory, and commands the area to repair the crack or tear -- regaining up to 96 percent of its original strength. The so-called autonomous adaptive structures are part of a long-term research into shape-memory healing which could impact long-term developments of implantable medical devices, for instance. A video of the shape recovery process is after the break.
Intel's smart TV remote will recognize you, tailor content to your wishes
It's all about how you hold it, apparently. Intel's Labs have churned out a proposal for a new user-identifying system to be embedded into remote controls. Given a bit of time to familiarize itself with particular users, this new motion sensor-equipped channel switcher is capable of correctly recognizing its holder just by the way he operates it. Taking accelerometer readings every 100 nanoseconds, the researchers were able to build a data set of idiosyncrasies about each person, which would then be applied the next time he picked up the remote. Alas, accuracy rates are still well short of 100 percent, but there's always hope for improving things and for now it's being suggested that the system could be employed to help with targeted advertising -- which is annoying anyway, whoever it may think you are.
Biosensing nanodevice could hasten security checks, health screenings
We'll go ahead and warn you: if you're hoping to purge your mind of all things science this weekend, this post isn't the one to be reading. For the rest of you knowledge seekers, Arizona State University researcher Wayne Frasch has developed a biosensing nanodevice that could possibly revolutionize health screenings and speed up that grueling airport security process. Put simply (well, as simply as possible), he discovered that the enzyme F1– ATPase can be equipped with an optical probe and "manipulated to emit a signal when it detects a single molecule of target DNA." Currently, a prototype of the DNA detector is already being worked up, but there's no word on when (or if) the device will escape the lab and hit the commercial realm. Still not geeked out? Hit the read link and hold on for dear life.[Via Physorg]
Robot shortstop in development at Arizona State
Robots have taken yet another step toward their goal of dominating humans in just about every sport, this time setting their digital sites on America's favorite pastime, baseball. Thomas G. Sugar, a robotics engineer from Arizona State University, has been developing robots designed to play the field for more than six years, and his latest model is pretty impressive. The yet-unnamed (might we suggest eRod?) bot uses a motion-sensing camera to determine when a ball is put into play, and an on-board computer system that calculates trajectory. Using that information, the cyber-fielder hurries to gather the ball with a foam pad -- a glove is a feature to be added in the future. Its four-wheel drive transmission allows it to reach speeds of about 30 feet per second, which is almost as impressive as its estimated .750 fielding percentage. Sadly, it can't swing a bat, but luckily there are other robots for that.
