photodiode
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This video camera is powered by light
No, you haven't stumbled across an internet video from 1997 -- that's the output of one of the cleverest cameras you'll see in a while. Columbia University researchers have developed a self-powered camera whose pixels both record light and turn it into electricity. The trick is the use of photodiodes (which are common in both cameras and solar panels) that are permanently set to collect energy, not simply conduct it.
Penn State's optical wireless tech does gigabit, bounces off walls
We love our WiFi, but it's far from perfect. Speed depends greatly on conditions, magnetic waves don't always play nicely with sensitive equipment, and the ability for someone to drive by and steal your precious infos is always disconcerting. Researchers at Penn State have what they believe is a better solution: light. The team uses laser diodes to convert data signals to light, then photo diodes on the other end to convert it back to data, a system that (unlike others we've seen) doesn't require direct line of sight as the light will bounce off of walls -- except those painted black (sorry goths). Data access could easily be constrained within a single room or, if it was needed elsewhere, wired relays could bring it through walls. Speeds at this point are already at the 1Gb/sec range, twice what Siemens was able to manage a few weeks ago, and enough for wireless transmission of high-definition video. Someday your Wiimote and remote might not be the only things beaming back at ya in the living room.
Cornell gurus look to carbon nanotubes for efficient solar cells
You know what we love? Solar-powered gadgets, and carbon nanotubes. Oh, and Ivy League schools. Boffins from Cornell University are now looking to use the multifaceted carbon nanotube instead of silicon to develop efficient solar cells, and judging by the glacial pace at which solar cell efficiency is improving, we'd say the sector could use the boost. The researchers have already fabricated, tested and measured a simple solar cell (called a photodiode, just so you know) that was formed from an individual carbon nanotube. The tube was essentially a rolled-up sheet of graphene, and while the inner workings would take days to explain, the gist of it is this: "The nanotube may be a nearly ideal photovoltaic cell because it allowed electrons to create more electrons by utilizing the spare energy from the light."So, solar-powered F-350 trucks are now a possibility for next year, right?[Via Graphene-Info]
Sharp's latest 2.6-inch LCD touts integrated touch sensor
We know you were probably delighted by Asahi Kasei's Rain Sensor, but Sharp is taking its sensors to a more sophisticated realm with its latest LCD. The 2.6-inch panel has been primarily designed for use in mobile / portable applications, and aside from sporting a 640 x 480 resolution, it also "incorporates an image sensor in the drive circuit." The sensor, which boasts a frame rate output of 30Hz, would allow companies to offer up "touchscreen input and biometric capabilities" in mobile devices, and although other firm's have offered up somewhat similar offerings -- not to mention thrown down a eerily similar patent application -- Sharp's rendition claims uniqueness by integrating the image sensor with the drive circuit of the panel and by using a "one transistor, one capacitor (1T1C) circuit structure" to boot. No word on when we'll see these fingerprint reading screens in cellphones or PMPs, but there's always the vibrating kind for those who just can't get enough functionality out of their mobile display.
