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Your next colored bracelet can detect environmental pollution
Turns out your collection of neon-colored silicone bracelets have a use beyond showing support for a fallen-from-grace cyclist's non-profit after all. The material can actually trap pollutants you might be exposed to during the course of your day, according to a study by Oregon State University. Specifically, OSU was looking for how present fire retardant chemicals were in the households of 92 pre-school children. What'd the researchers find? That somehow, over the course of a week, these kids were exposed to polybrominated diphenyl ethers that aren't being produced domestically anymore.
Oregon State University's ATRIAS robot takes a walk in the park
We've seen Oregon State University's ATRIAS robot prove its mettle in a controlled environment, sure, but what changes when it goes for a stroll in the great outdoors? Perhaps unsurprisingly, not a whole lot. The biped doesn't have a problem going uphill, downhill, maintaining balance when dodgeballs hit it and even handles variations in terrain with aplomb. It doesn't seem to have any issues changing speed, either. Basically, this proves that the ATRIAS doesn't need perfect conditions to operate, which is important because let's face it: the real world is far from perfect.The upside to all of this is that unlike humans, robots don't quite get stage-fright so replicating these actions in front of a crowd at the DARPA Robotics Challenge come June likely won't be an issue.
Optical nanotech sensor can sniff out bad food and explosives
The days of having to rely on pricey lab sensors (or carefully trained canines) to detect bad food and bombs may soon come to an end. Oregon State University researchers have developed a hybrid optical and nanotechnology sensor that's at once super-sensitive to gas, but won't weigh a ton or cost a fortune. It uses a super-thin, metal-organic film to absorb the gas, and magnifies the telltale chemical signals using low-cost plasmonic nanocrystals that act like miniature optical lenses. It's best-suited to watching out for carbon dioxide (helpful for businesses that want to fight greenhouse gases), but it can detect a "wide range" of materials.
Watch this biped robot endure kicks and a barrage of dodgeballs
For a biped robot to be able to do its job, it needs to be stable -- it can't topple at the gentlest touch or gust of wind. That's why Oregon State University's Dynamic Robotics Laboratory designed its prototype robot called ATRIAS to be extra stable, as you'll see in the videos below the fold. It easily neutralized human kicks during one test in early March, and it barely even registered that it was being pelted with dodgeballs on another test just a few days ago. Don't let those spindly legs above fool you either: those springy, pogo-like carbon fiber limbs are the reason why the robot's such an agile runner. ATRIAS is scheduled to demonstrate its skills onstage at the DARPA Robotics Challenge finale in June. Despite its ability to withstand abuse, its developers still have a lot to do before it can walk and run around the stage while maneuvering over obstacles for its performance.
Researchers claim 'almost instantaneous' quantum computing breakthrough
Silicon is great, but we're tickling the edges of its speed limit. As a result, researchers at Oregon State University have been plugging away at a low-cost, faster alternative for the past three years: tiny quantum devices called metal-insulator-metal diodes, or MIM diodes for short. Silicon chips involve electrons traveling through a transistor, but MIM diodes send electrons "tunneling" through the insulator in a quantum manner, such that they appear "almost instantaneously" on the other side. The tech's latest development doubles the insulator fun -- transforming the MIM into a MIIM (pictured above) -- giving the scientists another method for engineering quantum mechanical tunneling. With MIIMs, super fast transistor-less computers could be around the corner. The Oregon researchers aren't bold enough to put a date on making any of this happen outside of the lab, but they promise entire new industries may "ultimately emerge" from their work, and we're far too under-qualified to doubt them.
Researchers create super-efficient microbial fuel cell, dream of selling excess electricity
Recycling wastewater to generate energy has turned up noses before, but researchers at Oregon State University have developed a microbial fuel cell that can create 10 to 50, or even 100 times more electricity per volume than similar technologies. After refining the tech for several years using new materials, techniques and selecting better microbes, the team can now extract two kilowatts per cubic meter of refuse. As bacteria oxidizes organic matter, electrons -- rather than the hydrogen or methane that other methods rely upon -- are produced and run from an anode to a cathode within the device to create an electric current. Once implementation costs are cut down, the technology could power waste treatment plants and enable them to sell excess electricity. The contraption isn't just for processing what comes out of the porcelain throne -- it can also utilize materials ranging from grass straw to beer brewing byproducts. For now, however, the cell will tackle a pilot study before it inches closer to your local brewery or water treatment facility.
Ultrawideband tech could connect your body to doctors, bring Tricorders to the mainstream
The academic paper 'Experimental Characterization of a UWB Channel for Body Area Networks' won't reshape your mental state, but that's because academic papers are rarely titled 'OMG. Tricorders!'. A team of scientists at Oregon State University have examined ultrawideband tech to see if it's capable of transmitting the enormous load of data required to monitor a human body. Imagine it; your heart rate is monitored on your watch, smart bandages examine your blood insulin levels and feedback-pants measure your muscle responses, all viewed online by a doctor. Sadly you can't rush to your nearest hospital and demand to be wired with some X Prize - winning kit -- there's a couple of hurdles to overcome before you can more efficiently post your bodily functions to Twitter. Transmission had to be line-of-sight and the energy needs are too vast for a handheld device. Still, given how sophisticated the network technology will be when it's perfected, don't be surprised if civilization grinds to a halt when Quake is ported to your temporal lobe.
Oregon engineers roll out cheaper, less wasteful solar cells with inkjet printer
It looks like the push to turn the inkjet printer into the next great manufacturer of solar cells has found another proponent in a team of engineers at Oregon State University. That group of resourceful researchers claims to have created the world's first "CIGS solar devices with inkjet printing," thus giving birth to a new production process that reduces raw material waste by 90 percent. CIGS (an acronym for copper, indium, gallium, and selenium) is a highly absorbent and efficient compound, especially suited to creating thin-film solar cells. The team has used inkjet technology to pump out a CIGS ink with an efficiency of five percent, and a potential efficiency of 12 percent; apparently enough to produce a "commercially viable solar cell." Unfortunately, the group has yet to announce plans to bring the ink to our desktop printer -- so much for that backyard solar farm. Full PR after the break.
Six-rotor drone counts trees, not kills
Relax everybody, unlike its antonymous quadrocopter cousins, this six-rotor drone isn't here to kill, only to count plants. Researchers from Oregon State University are hanging cameras from reasonably-priced RC aircraft to help nurseries track inventory -- a task often performed by workers wandering the orchards and keeping tally by hand. Image analysis software automates the process and, with the addition of other sensors (such as infrared), it could one day be used to spot irrigation problems, identify diseased trees, and estimate crop yield. The machines themselves can climb to over 80 feet and stay aloft for up to 40 minutes while hauling 5-pounds of photo gear. At around $10,000 it's a safe bet that no one will be shooting bottle rockets at balloons with this thing, but it should be well within the reach of farmers who spend that much in money and manpower to track their trees anyway. Two more photos after the break.
New robot leg design becomes more human, more deadly
Your regular, inefficient robot legs getting you down? Maybe you should check in with researcher Jonathan Hurst and his robo-leg project under development at Oregon State University. Apparently most jointed legs driven by motors have a tough time recycling energy due to a lack of snapback from proper tendons, but Hurst's work hopes to clear all that noise up. By utilizing a new design powered by steel cable tendons with built-in springs, roboticists want to get closer to the 40 percent retention of energy our fancy human legs get up to. While a student at CMU, Hurst created "Thumper," a single leg attached to a boom that puts his theories in motion, and he's collaborated on bi-pedal models more recently. The hope is to eventually create robots with more natural, animal-like gaits, which will allow them to run towards or chase their human victims and terminate them with a more ruthless intensity. Check the video after the break to see exactly what we mean.[Via Medgadget]
