For almost forever, HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) has been the standard that allows Web servers and computer browsers to understand each other, transforming the bits and bytes served up from a Web publisher into a Web page in your browser. But Google announced Thursday that it's working on project called SPDY (pronounced, of course, "speedy") that it feels could make everything faster than HTTP currently allows.
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Thursday, November 12, 2009
Seeing Stars, Proba-2 Platform Passes its 1st Health Check
Into its second week in orbit, Proba-2's spacecraft platform has proven to be in excellent health. This leaves the way clear for commissioning the many new technology payloads aboard the mini-satellite, among the smallest ever flown by ESA.
Boeing Receives Study Contract for Submarine-Tracking UAS
The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] on Sept. 28 received a $275,000 contract from the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) for a study of the magnetic noise associated with the heavy-fuel propulsion system on Boeing's MagEagle Compressed Carriage (MECC) Unmanned Aerial System (UAS).
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LM's JASSM-ER Missile Maintains Perfect Success Rate with Latest Flight Test
The Lockheed Martin Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER) successfully completed its sixth flight demonstration in a recent test at White Sands Missile Range, NM. The JASSM-ER program is now six for six flight test successes.
Underwater Glider Hunts, Records Cryptic Whales
The mysterious beaked whale is the target of a new undersea glider trying to track the deep-diving mammals by their high-frequency clicks and squeals.
A Seaglider unmanned underwater vehicle with an underwater microphone began patrolling the coast of Hawaii on October 27 and will finish up its initial mission on November 17. By then, it will have collected half a terabyte of data.
A Seaglider unmanned underwater vehicle with an underwater microphone began patrolling the coast of Hawaii on October 27 and will finish up its initial mission on November 17. By then, it will have collected half a terabyte of data.
Real-time 3D modelling
A group of researchers at the Department of Engineering at Cambridge University have created a program that is able to build 3D models of textured objects in real time, using only a standard computer and webcam.
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Luxtera optical transceiver mounts on a computer motherboard
Luxtera (Carlsbad, CA) has launched a single-chip optical transceiver that can be mounted directly on a computer motherboard; the aim is for the 10 Gbit/s per channel device to dip below the one dollar per Gbit/s barrier.
Robotic Tightrope Walkers for High-Voltage Lines
High-voltage power-line inspection has always been a dangerous job for humans, so a handful of companies are sending in the robots. One such company, the Tokyo-based HiBot, is working with western Japan's Kansai Electric Power Co. to field a new robot next year that can inspect several power cables at once, a first for such daredevil bots.
Huge $10 billion collider resumes hunt for 'God particle'
Excitement and mysticism are building again around the $10 billion machine as the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) gears up to circulate a high-energy proton beam around the collider's 17-mile tunnel.
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Russian military to get 30 new ICBMs, 3 nuclear subs in 2010
Russia's Armed Forces are to receive 30 new ground and sea-launched ballistic missiles, three nuclear submarines, and an assortment of other weapons, the Russian president said on Thursday.
OEwaves Contributes To Advanced Missile System Technology RDECOM
OEwaves opto-electronic oscillator (OEO) capability was highlighted in a recent significant event by Army RDECOM: "The Research and Development Engineering Command (RDECOM) Aviation and Missile Research and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) in Huntsville, AL working in collaboration with Lockheed Martin is developing advanced technologies for future missile systems.
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Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Turn a Cellphone Into a Microscope
An engineer, using software that he developed and about $10 worth of off-the-shelf hardware, has adapted cellphones to substitute for microscopes.
A fresh way to take the salt out of seawater
A pair of Canadian engineers have come up with an ingenious way of using the heat of the sun to drive the process. Such heat, in many places that have a shortage of fresh water, is one thing that is in abundant supply.
Building A Better Lightbulb
The U.S. Department of Energy is offering $10 million to the first individual or company to develop an energy-efficient LED replacement for the standard 60-watt incandescent bulb.
Race to develop long-range UAV enters second lap
The race to develop an unmanned aircraft that can stay aloft for five years at a stretch has entered its second phase, where the prize is a $155 millionDARPA contract to build a small-scale demonstrator model.
Army shows more than one way to look under a car
Researchers and scientists at the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (aka TARDEC) have focused on semi-autonomous robotic systems capable of remotely inspecting a vehicle's undercarriage for explosives or roam the line looking for suspicious activity.
Powering cell phone towers with wind
Helix Wind announced Wednesday that it's beginning a trial run in Southern California to see if its wind turbines might be useful for powering cell phone towers.
Soccer-Ball-Sized Submersible Robots Will Track Ocean Currents and Disasters at Sea
Hundreds of soccer-ball-sized robot drones could soon ply the friendly waves to help scientists track ocean currents and harmful algae blooms, or even swarm to disaster sites such as oil spills and airplane crashes.
Pranalytica wins contract to improve quantum cascade laser
The U.S. Army has awarded a Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) contract to Pranalytica, Inc (Santa Monica, CA) aimed at radically improving that company's quantum cascade laser (QCL) performance.
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Push-Button Books
This summer, the company, called On Demand Books, released the latest version of the Espresso Book Machine, which can turn out a factory-quality softcover book in the time it takes a barista at Starbucks to whip up your favorite fancy coffee drink.
While the pages are printing, a separate full-color inkjet printer processes the cover on thick paper stock. The machine then glues the pages together.
Reports On Nonkinetic Weapons Mixed
The report card is mixed regarding next-generation nonkinetic, or limited effects, weaponry developed by the U.S. and its allies.
Defenses against cyber-attack have begun attracting support because of persistent adversaries who flourish in the Wild West atmosphere of the Russian and Chinese cyber-worlds.
Boeing Receives Study Contract for Submarine-Tracking Unmanned Aerial System
The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] on Sept. 28 received a $275,000 contract from the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) for a study of the magnetic noise associated with the heavy-fuel propulsion system on Boeing's MagEagle Compressed Carriage (MECC) Unmanned Aerial System (UAS). The MECC, designed and built to be magnetically quiet, is a special-mission variant of the company's ScanEagle Compressed Carriage UAS.
Speech Gene Shows Its Bossy Nature
All animals have an FOXP2 gene, but the human version’s product differs at just 2 of its 740 units from that of chimpanzees, suggesting that this tiny evolutionary fix may hold the key to why people can speak and chimps cannot.
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Efforts underway to extend satellites' lifespan
Spacecraft have used ion drives to explore the moon and deep space, but a new study aims to boost the electric propulsion idea to keep satellites around Earth alive longer.
Guided MLRS Reaches New Distance Record
Lockheed Martin successfully fired a U.S. Army Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rocket 92 kilometers in a recent test at White Sands Missile Range, NM.
ATK Awarded Contract To Develop Alternative Warhead For GMLRS
Alliant Techsystems was awarded a $4 million Integration and Demonstration (I and D) contract by the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command. ATK was one of three companies awarded an I and D contract to develop an alternative warhead for the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS).
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Liquid Crystals that Light Up
A material containing electroluminescent liquid crystals could be used to make new kinds of OLED and LCD displays.
Research by Stephen Kelly, head of chemistry at the University of Hull, in the UK, and physicist Mary O'Neill, also at the University of Hull, has shown that it is possible to make liquid crystals that emit light when electrically stimulated.
Research by Stephen Kelly, head of chemistry at the University of Hull, in the UK, and physicist Mary O'Neill, also at the University of Hull, has shown that it is possible to make liquid crystals that emit light when electrically stimulated.
Head-mounted microscope sees brain beneath the skull
A small microscope that can be mounted on an animal's head should offer a front-row view of how its brain processes visual and other stimuli on the move.
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Making Carbon Nanotubes into Long Fibers
A new method for assembling carbon nanotubes has been used to create fibers hundreds of meters long. Individual carbon nanotubes are strong, lightweight, and electrically conductive, and could be valuable as, among other things, electrical transmission wires.
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A Personal Power Generator
A start-up will sell a gadget that uses springs and a magnet to recharge personal electronics.
According to NPR, a Cleveland startup called Tremont Electric will make a flashlight-sized device that converts energy from walking into electrical current for recharging the batteries in personal electronics.
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