The Future of Aviation

With governments passing laws and engineers creating new technologies, aviation is undergoing some major changes indeed. Check out these three hot topics in flight for an idea of what air travel might look like in a few years.

As businesses grow increasingly global, so too does demand for international travel. Recently, Smarter Technology brought you the latest in flight innovation, from flying cars topaint that makes any aircraft stealth. Here are our picks for the top three trends that we think will have a profound impact on the aviation industry.

Green Flight

Several weeks ago, a Swiss pilot completed the longest manned solar-powered flight ever. André Borschberg flew the aircraft, called the Solar Impulse HB-SIA, for 26 hours—an entire day and night. The flight was an important milestone for green aviation, since it demonstrated that a lithium battery can hold enough charge for the plane to remain in-air at night, when no solar energy is available.

After his flight, the pilot told the press, "I've been a pilot for 40 years now, but this flight has been the most incredible one of my flying career. Just sitting there and watching the battery charge level rise and rise thanks to the sun. … And then that suspense, not knowing whether we were going to manage to stay up in the air the whole night. And finally the joy of seeing the sun rise and feeling the energy beginning to circulate in the solar panels again! I have just flown more than 26 hours without using a drop of fuel and without causing any pollution!"

The HB-SIA is able to store solar energy for nighttime flight (source: Solar Impulse).

To minimize drag and provide ample space for fuel cells, the HB-SIA has a 200-foot wingspan—that's as big as an Airbus A340. Despite its massive width, the plane is incredibly light, weighing about as much as a family car. The craft has more than 11,000 monocrystalline silicon cells, whose thinness contributes to the airplane's light weight.

While solar planes are promising, they will need to be greatly improved before commercial flight becomes an option. The HB-SIA holds only one passenger in its tiny 4.2-cubic-foot cockpit.

Other advancements in green aviation are also being made. For example, Sikorsky Aircraft recently revealed its Firefly helicopter, an all-electric aircraft. Like solar planes, the Firefly features a high-capacity battery to store energy in-flight. Electric crafts inherently require less energy, since they lack the many extra moving parts required to use fuel.

How to Discover a Neutron Star with Your Home Computer

Three users in Iowa and Germany have discovered a new radio pulsar by using a distributed computing program called Einstein@Home, which analyzes astronomical data while a computer is idle.

When the Colvins, a couple from Iowa, received several e-mails about how their computer had made a major scientific discovery, they deleted them.

"It turns out that they thought the e-mails were spam," Bruce Allen, director of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, told MSNBC. But when the Colvins were sent a registered letter by FedEx, they realized the e-mails were, in fact, authentic. On June 11, the home computer of the husband and wife, who are both IT professionals, discovered a radio pulsar 17,000 light years away.

The Colvins had installed a program called Einstein@Home onto their personal computer. Einstein@Home uses home computers to process data from two major astronomical sensors, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) in the United States andGEO 600 in Germany. These two detectors search the sky for pulsars and gravitational waves, which Einstein predicted would indicate the presence of exploding stars, black holes, and other violent events.

 

The Einstein@Home screensaver processes data from major astronomical detectors (source: Einstein@Home).
  

Because a vast amount of data is collected by the detectors, LIGO created Einstein@Home to help process the information. Computer owners can download the program, which receives data from a central server, onto their home machines. When computers are idling, the software processes data from LIGO, returns it to the server, and receives more to analyze. Einstein@Home, which is currently being used by nearly 300,000 computer owners worldwide, only downloads two megabytes of astronomical data at a time, so it does not affect a machine’s performance.

On Aug. 12, the journal Science announced the discovery of the pulsar by Einstein@Home. This marks the first finding the program has made, but it will not likely be the last.

"It was a bit like winning the lottery," Helen Colvin told Nature. "The odds aren't in your favor.”

A pulsar is a neutron star that spins rapidly and regularly emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation. When the first pulsar was discovered in 1967, some scientists thought it wasevidence of extraterrestrial life, since its radiation was so unnaturally regular. It was even named LGM-1, standing for “little green men.” Soon, however, scientists realized the origins of pulsars, which have since played a key role in theories like gravitational radiation, general relativity, and the existence of other planetary systems.
 

 
Pulsars regularly emit beams of electromagnetic radiation (source: NASA). 

The pulsar discovered by Einstein@Home, now named PSR J2007+2722, was first observed three years ago by the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Three days after the Colvins’ computer discovered the star, the finding was confirmed by the computer of Daniel Gebhardt in Mainz, Germany.

"This is a thrilling moment for Einstein@Home and our volunteers," Allen said in a news release. "It proves that public participation can discover new things in our universe. I hope it inspires more people to join us to help find other secrets hidden in the data."

The discovery brings hope to other distributed computing efforts. SETI@Home, for example, uses home computers to search for extraterrestrial life.

By installing Einstein@Home on your personal computer, you too could be the discoverer of an unusual astronomical body. Find out more here.

NASA to Send Craft to the Sun

NASA is preparing for an unprecedented mission to visit and study the sun closer than ever before.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about several past and future missions for space probes. One probe, Juno, is gearing up for a trip to Jupiter, where it will be exposed to extreme heat and radiation. But those conditions are nothing compared with the conditions of the sun. NASA recently announced its Solar Probe Plus mission, an unprecedented project to send a spacecraft to the sun by 2018.

The Solar Probe Plus will mark mankind's first visit to a star. Despite decades of careful research about the sun, many mysteries still exist about aspects like its atmosphere (the corona) and winds. Unfortunately for Earth-bound astronomers and scientists, these mysteries can only be unlocked through up-close measurements and observations. The Solar Probe Plus is being designed to undertake these experiments.

The Solar Probe Plus probe will get closer to the sun than any spacecraft before it (source: NASA).

"The experiments selected for Solar Probe Plus are specifically designed to solve two key questions of solar physics—why is the sun's outer atmosphere so much hotter than the sun's visible surface, and what propels the solar wind that affects Earth and our solar system?" says Dick Fisher, director of NASA's Heliophysics Division in Washington, D.C., in a NASA press release. "We've been struggling with these questions for decades, and this mission should finally provide those answers."

The spacecraft will enter into the sun's atmosphere at a distance of about 6.4 million kilometers (4 million miles) from the star's surface. No other craft has ever visited this region of space, where temperatures exceed 1,400 degrees Celsius (2,550 degrees Fahrenheit). The car-sized machine has a revolutionary carbon-composite heat shield to protect it from this heat and frequent blasts of intense radiation.

In 2009, NASA invited research proposals for the craft's objectives. Among a total of 13, five proposals were chosen by a team of NASA researchers and outside scientists. Total funding of approximately $180 million will be awarded to the projects for preliminary analysis, design, development and tests.

The craft will count and capture the most abundant particles in solar winds—electrons, protons and helium ions. Measurements and analysis of these particles will provide keys to the structure and origins of the sun. A wide-field telescope will take 3D pictures of the sun's corona, including winds, clouds and solar shocks. The images will allow scientists to take measurements of solar qualities like plasma.

The probe will measure electric and magnetic fields, radio emissions, and shock waves that pulse throughout the sun's atmospheric plasma. It will also detect any dust particles passing by its antennae.

Using mass spectrometry, two separate instruments will weigh and sort ions in the vicinity of the spacecraft. This will allow scientists to take an inventory of the specific elements in the sun's atmosphere.

All data collected by the probe will be transmitted back to scientists on Earth, where it can be processed and analyzed.

"This project allows humanity's ingenuity to go where no spacecraft has ever gone before," says Lika Guhathakurta, Solar Probe Plus program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. "For the very first time, we'll be able to touch, taste and smell our sun."

The mission is part of NASA's Living with a Star Program, which aims to understand the sun and Earth's space environment. NASA'S Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the program, with supervision from NASA's Science Mission Directorate's Heliophysics Division. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, in Laurel, Md., is the prime contractor for the space probe.

ECG-Equipped Smartphone Could Save Lives, Minimize Hospital Visits

A new smartphone lets you do a lot more than just check your e-mail. The H'andy Sana 210 contains hi-tech sensors that measure cardiovascular health and report data directly to doctors.

Although the latest smartphones might help you get in shape or cut your carbon footprint, a new German smartphone is equipped with technology to monitor a patient's heart and send information directly to doctors, thereby decreasing cardiovascular risks and reducing health care costs.

Heart disease is currently the leading cause of death in the United States, and is to blame for more than 30 percent of deaths worldwide. Patients must carefully monitor their heart health with frequent trips to the doctor. The most important test for people suffering from cardiovascular disease is the electrocardiogram (ECG), a diagnostic tool that measures the electrical activity of the heart. Unfortunately for most patients, ECGs are expensive and, since they are taken sporadically, provide only a small snapshot of cardiovascular health.

The new smartphone, called H'andy Sana 201, contains a rapid ECG tool that measures and records heart activity. The phone text messages data directly to patients' doctors, who can quickly respond to any concerns.

The smartphone measures and records the heart's electrical impulses using three sensors beneath its steel frame (source: John B. Carnett).

Just like a hospital's ECG test, the H'andy Sana 201 measures the electric pulses sent through the body by the heart. To use, a patient presses his/her fingertips to the phone's steel frame, which contains three sensors. The phone has calibration barriers to prevent the sensors from picking up movements from the arms and shoulders. It's also designed to ignore frequencies above the heart's estimated 150 hertz. The phone's processor uses algorithms to extract the heart's rhythm, which the patient can then transmit directly to the doctor.

Although the phone is not as accurate as a traditional ECG test, it provides enough data for doctors to monitor high-risk patients.

"The typical profile of a patient using the H'andy Sana is above the age of 45 years," the H'andy Website notes. "They have a risk profile for cardiovascular diseases or heart rhythm disorders. Furthermore, people that have had a heart attack (e.g. myocardial infarction) or heart surgery in the past would be appropriate patients."

In addition to its heart-monitoring functions, the H'andy phone contains all components of the modern smartphone. It can place calls and browse the Internet, and is equipped with a 1.2-megapixel camera.

Currently, the phone is available only in Europe for about 600 € (U.S. $832)—relatively inexpensive compared with the cost of frequent trips to the hospital. The researchers are currently updating the phone's medical features with the ability to read blood pressure and measure temperature. They hope to present the device to the FDA sometime next year. 

Nanotech Bomb Detector More Effective Than Trained Dogs

• A highly sensitive bomb-detecting device uses nanotechnology to identify different types of dangerous explosives. More reliable than bomb-sniffing dogs, the device is already attracting significant attention from security companies.
• We recently wrote about an electromagnetic system that could someday be used to detect dangerous substances from a distance. Now, a similar device that uses nanotechnology could soon be available for the commercial market.
  Current explosive-detecting technologies lack speed, require expert analysis and are too expensive for frequent application. "There is a need for a small, inexpensive, handheld instrument capable of detecting explosives quickly, reliably and efficiently," said Fernando Patolsky, a professor at Tel Aviv University.
  Researchers at Tel Aviv University's Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Chemistry have built the device, which is made from an array of silicon nanowires. The tiny wires are coated with a compound that bonds to explosive devices. Together, these elements form a nanotransistor.
  Each device is equipped with 200 individual nanosensors, and each unique sensor is able to detect different types of explosives. The different sensors work together to identify a large range of dangerous substances with high reliability and speed.
  The small, portable device is capable of accurately detecting different types of explosives at long distances (source: Tel Aviv University). 
  Particularly adept at detecting TNT, the sensor is more reliable than the bomb-sniffing dogs standard in any airport.
  The new detector is especially promising because of its portability and small size. It can be carried around by hand without compromising its sensitivity. Because it is capable of identification from a distance, it could also be mounted on walls. The sensor is more accurate than any bomb detector ever created, say the device's inventors. Amazingly, it has not had a single detection error to date.
  Security companies already have the low-cost device on their radar. U.S.-based Nanergy has developed a prototype of the researchers' patent and is working with potential partners to ready the device for the commercial market.
  The researchers, whose work was recently published in the journal Angewandte Chemie, hope their sensor could someday be tweaked to detect biological toxins such as anthrax and cholera. In addition to national security applications, the device could also be used for medical purposes.

Coming soon: Control car functions from smartphone with AutoBot

Mavizon Technologies just introduced AutoBot, a smartphone application that allows drivers to control several car functions with the push of a few buttons.

The new app will be available in 2012, but you don't need a brand-new car to use it. According to Amy Gilroy at CEOutlook, it will work in all vehicles with an OBD-ll port (1996 or later). Drivers can sync information with a their home computer using a cloud-based account.

AutoBot functions will allow the driver to lock and unlock doors, control window settings, start the car, and even locate the car if it gets stolen.

There are other features that will allow drivers to check engine functions and get tips on saving money.

Mavizon will show AutoBot at CES 2011. When it launches, it will be available for a fee with some free services.

Toyota integrating Internet radio app

Toyota announced that it is working with Clear Channel to integrate the latter's mobile app, iheart radio, into some of its vehicles next year.

The iheart radio app is currently available for iPhone, Blackberry, Android, and Windows Phone 7. It lets you listen to more than 750 Clear Channel radio stations, the majority from specific cities with a few genre-oriented stations not tied to a particular market. Music streams over the phone's data connection.

Toyota offered no details on exactly how it will integrate the app. If it takes a similar route as Ford's Sync Applink, an interface in the car will let you control the app on a phone. This model opens up the possibility for Toyota to include interfaces or other apps.

If the app will be installed in the car, it will require a data connection. This route could point toward a strategy by Toyota to build data modems into its cars. Or the app could rely on a data connection provided by a phone brought into the car.

Toyota will reveal further details in January during CES 2011.

GM to show EN-V mobility device at CES 2011

The next stop for GM's Electric Networked Vehicle(EN-V) concept is the upcoming 2011 Consumer 

A cutaway of GM's Electric Networked-Vehicle.

(Credit: GM)Electronics Show in January. In addition to its next-generation infotainment system, the carmaker will be showing off the three electric two-seater concepts it debuted at the 2010 Expo in Shanghai last March.

The personal mobility vehicles are one-third the size of typical cars, offer a 25-mile electric range, and are built on Segway's self-balancing two-wheeled PUMA platform. But the EN-V is more than just an upgraded Segway: it's equipped with drive-by-wire technology, and its carbon-fiber body is outfitted with GPS, distancing-sensing, vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-grid communications technology that enables the EN-V to be driven either manually or autonomously.

While autonomous drive will free occupants' hands for whatever time-wasting social media is popular in the future, the feature is designed to ease traffic congestion in dense urban environments, which will house the majority of the world's population by 2030, according to estimates. The following video shows one of the EN-V concepts in motion.

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