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Simulated brain cells give robot instinctive navigation skills
A team of researchers at Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) announced on Wednesday that they had taught a robot how to navigate on its own, in much the same way that humans and other animals do. They reportedly accomplished this feat by digitally replicating two types of neurons that help animals geolocate naturally.
Nano 'missiles' help kill cancer through the power of green tea
Many will tell you that green tea is good for your health, but researchers at Singapore's A*STAR might just make it a literal life-saver. They've developed nanoscale drug delivery "missiles" that use a key ingredient from green tea, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), to kill cancer tumors more effectively. Compounds based on EGCG both shield the drug carriers from your immune system and provide some therapy of their own; in other words, these hunters are more likely to reach tumors and do a better job of healing your body when they arrive. They're also less prone to accumulating in organs where they aren't wanted, so there are fewer chances of nasty side effects. It's not certain when these tea-based transporters will be available to your doctor, but A*STAR's team is determined to make them a practical reality before long. [Top image credit: Shutterstock / Africa Studio]
Lenovo A586 touts voice unlock through Baidu, A*STAR verification tech
Attempts to get away from unlocking our smartphones through codes and finger swipes have mostly centered on camera tricks like Android's Face Unlock. If you happen to pick up a Lenovo IdeaPhone A586 when it reaches China on December 12th, you'll have the option to use some dulcet tones instead. The Android smartphone builds in a new speaker verification system from Baidu and A*STAR's Institute for Infocomm Research that looks for a specific voice signature: speak a distinct passphrase and the phone unlocks without gestures or a longing stare. Few will be especially smitten with the 4.5-inch, 854 x 480 display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 5-megapixel camera or 4GB of storage, but they'll be glad to get access to their A586 in a more hands-off (and hopefully spoof-resistant) way. We'd only be worried about choosing a passphrase that won't trigger odd looks from passers-by.
A*STAR unveils 5mm-thick hybrid hard drive, touts affordability and improved energy efficiency
Move over, Western Digital. A*STAR's Data Storage Institute (DSI) has developed its own 5mm-thick hybrid hard drive, and it could pack up to a 1TB HDD and a 32GB SSD within its 2.5-inch confines. Aptly dubbed A-Drive, the firm's razor-thin hardware relies on a new proprietary motor and 30 additional design patents to lower power consumption and achieve its diminutive form factor. The outfit envisions the drive being put to work in tablets, where it could stretch battery life by up to 30 percent, and in ultrabooks or business-centric storage solutions. To top things off, A*STAR says its hybrid drive will be cheaper than SSDs currently used in ultrabooks, and Yahoo! News reports the device could ring up at roughly $73. Can't wait to have the hardware in a machine of your own? Hold your horses, vaquero. According to DSI Executive Director Pantelis Alexopoulos, it might take six to eight months to kick off production after they strike a deal with a manufacturing partner, which hasn't happened quite yet. Update: After some discussion in the comments, the post has been updated to clarify that the drive's HDD could have a 1TB capacity. [Image Credit: Yahoo! photo/ Deborah Choo]
Seed-sized A*STAR antenna could open the door to 20Gbps wireless
Antennas have often capped the potential speed of a wireless link -- the 450Mbps in modern 802.11n WiFi routers is directly linked to the use of a MIMO antenna array to catch signals more effectively, for example. That ceiling is about to get much higher, if A*STAR has anything to say about it. The use of a polymer filling for the gaps instead of air lets the Singapore agency create a 3D, cavity-backed silicon antenna that measures just 0.06 by 0.04 inches, roughly the size of a seed on your hamburger bun, even as it increases the breakneck pace. The new antenna generates a signal 30 times stronger than on-chip rivals at an ultrawideband-grade 135GHz, and musters a theoretical peak speed of 20Gbps -- enough that 802.11ac WiFi's 1.3Gbps drags its heels by comparison. Before we get ahead of ourselves on expecting instant file transfers at short distances, there's the small matter of getting a chip that can use all that bandwidth. Even the 7Gbps of WiGig wouldn't saturate the antenna, after all. Still, knowing that A*STAR sees "immense commercial potential" in its tiny device hints that wireless data might eventually blow past faster wired standards like Thunderbolt.