piezoresistive
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Turing machine built from artificial muscles may lead to smart prosthetics
In the hierarchy of computing hardware, artificial muscle doesn't really even register: it's usually a target for action, not the perpetrator. The University of Auckland has figured out a way to let those muscles play a more active role. Its prototype Turing machine uses a set of electroactive polymer muscles to push memory elements into place and squeeze piezoresistive switches, performing virtually any calculation through flexing. The proof-of-concept computer won't give silicon circuits any threat when it's running at just 0.15Hz and takes up as much space as a mini fridge, but the hope is to dramatically speed up and shrink down future iterations to where there are advanced computers that occupy the same size as real muscles. Researchers ultimately envision smart prosthetic limbs with near-natural reflexes, completely soft robots with complex gestures and even a switch from digital to analog computing for some tasks. Although we're quite a distance away from any of those muscle-bound ideas becoming everyday realities, it's good to at least see them on the horizon.
DiaForce film captures your virtuoso performance, could replace guitar pickups
Do you shred it up on the guitar and wish there were a way to capture your one-of-a-kind technique -- every bend, hammer and slide? Well then, get thee to the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering where a few musically-inclined scientists -- closet Hendrix fans, we assume -- have managed to translate every pluck of the string into a laptop-processed digital control signal. To do this the team layered guitar tailpieces with a ten-micrometer piece of the powerfully named, piezoresistive DiaForce film and recorded string tension with absolute precision. The project, developed in conjunction with M3i Technologies and Thin Films IST, will eventually port its pressure-sensitive tech to other stringed instruments -- once engineers can figure out how to mass produce the stuff, that is. Research is also underway to replace the clunky, old world pickup cramping your electric axe's style with an extra-sensitive coating of this resistive film. While you wah-wah wait for this tech to make its way to a Guitar Center near you, make sure to check the full release after the break.
