Sony has developed integrated Augmented Reality (AR) technology which enables additional information to be displayed on the device’s screens such as virtual objects, or images and texts that cannot be identified by visual perception alone. Smart AR uses the markerless approach, and enables quick recognition of objects and can be tracked at high-speed along with… »
We already wrote about several 3D printers, capable to help in rapid prototyping, however, researchers at the Vienna University of Technology have developed a much smaller, lighter and cheaper 3D printer. With this kind of printer, everyone could produce small, custom-made 3D-objects at home, using building plans from the internet – and this could save… »
The Program of Excellence in Natural Rubber Alternatives (PENRA) was created to focus on research and commercialization of a viable natural rubber alternative, in order to counter the natural rubber supply shortage. Continuing the research, scientists at Ford and the Ohio State University see a species of dandelion as a new sustainable resource for rubber…. »
A technology used to measure oxygen atoms outside space vehicles is now being used in the glass industry to produce super-efficient energy-saving windows. Although it might not seem too important, modern architecture features large glass facades which need to be tough and have good insulating characteristics in order to counter heat loss during cold weather… »
An advanced “thin-film” flexible paper computer has been developed in collaboration between the researchers of Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, and Arizona State University, USA. Two variations of the flexible paper computer are going to be unveiled on May 10 at the Association of Computing Machinery’s CHI 2011 (Computer- Human Interaction) conference in Vancouver, Canada…. »
Researchers at MIT’s Media Lab have developed a new approach to glasses-free 3D displays, called High-Rank 3D (HR3D) Display, and they claim it could double the battery life of devices like the Nintendo 3DS without compromising screen brightness or resolution, expand the viewing angle of a 3D screen, and it would maintain the 3D effect… »
Sound absorbing surfaces in rooms where people work, talk to each other or are trying to relax are gaining more importance in modern societies. So far, lightweight and transparent curtains are acoustically almost useless, but the cooperation between researchers at Empa, textile designer Annette Douglas and silk weavers Weisbrod-Zürrer AG, resulted with a lightweight, translucent… »
A team of researchers, led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL’s) Jun Xu, created a 3D nanocone-based solar cell platform which boosts the light-to-power conversion efficiency of photovoltaics by nearly 80 percent. The technology substantially overcomes the problem of poor transport of charges generated by solar photons, which occur due to defects in bulk materials… »
