Posted on January 20th, 2011 by axb
With the aid of supercomputers, we may soon have a new, extraordinary understanding of the human brain
Imagine a football stadium filled with 100,000 people on laptops, all networked together and working to solve the same computing problem. Now triple that number, and you’ll have the approximate computing power of some of the world’s most advanced supercomputers.
Machines like Jaguar and Kraken, both at the University of Tennessee, have a processing speed of about two petaflops, which means they can perform about 1015 calculations per second. Researchers are currently working towards exascale computing (that is, crunching over 1018 calculations per second), and some predict this may even be possible by the year 2020.
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Filed under: Biomedical, Computer, e-News, Explore Engineering | 6 Comments »
Tags: Biomedical, Computer
Posted on January 19th, 2011 by jxh
We all brush our teeth in the morning, but what if our toothpaste did more than just fight cavities?
Engineers at MIT’s Media Lab are working on a prototype toothpaste called “Tastes Like Rain” that will tell you what the weather is like outside. They came up with the idea while working on super-mechanicals, the process of taking a basic object, such as toothpaste, and giving it dynamic properties.
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Filed under: Chemical, Computer, e-News, Mechanical | 5 Comments »
Tags: Chemical, Computer, Mechanical
Posted on January 18th, 2011 by jxh
Thanks to a revolutionary new helmet, fighter pilots will be able to shoot down planes simply by looking at their enemies.
The Helmet Mounted Display (HMD), designed by BAE Systems for the Eurofighter Typhoon, has the ability to look at multiple targets, lock-on to them, and then prioritize them by voice-command. The pilot can even do this when looking at targets over the shoulder, or when an aircraft is directly underneath the Typhoon.
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Filed under: Aerospace, e-News, Electrical, Transportation | 1 Comment »
Tags: Aerospace, Electrical, Military, Transportation
Posted on January 12th, 2011 by axb
Even though the laser is now over 50 years old, its technology and applications continue to advance and grow. Now we can add a new item to the laser’s already impressive list of accomplishments: warding off pirates.
Over the past few years piracy has been on the rise, with 430 attacks reported in 2010. These attacks, which mostly happen between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, as well as off the coast of Somalia, cost the United States an estimated $13-$16 billion annually.
To combat the growing piracy threat, defense technology company BAE Systems has developed a system to help ships detect and deter potential attacks. A laser is mounted to the side of the vessel, allowing crew members to shine a three-foot-wide bright green beam over dangerous waters, temporarily blinding and disorienting pirates up to a mile away.
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Filed under: Computer, e-News, Electrical, Ocean | 8 Comments »
Tags: Computer, Electrical, Ocean
Posted on January 10th, 2011 by axb
Want to know more about how green design works, from an initial idea to a finished product? Are you curious as to why modern bicycles look so different from those built 200 years ago?
If so, we invite you to check out the Sustainability Workshop video series from Autodesk, an eGFI sponsor. Using animated drawings and real-world examples, these films explain essential concepts for every budding engineer.
Watch the complete series after the jump.
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Filed under: e-News, Environmental, Industrial / Manufacturing | 2 Comments »
Tags: Environmental, Green Technology, Industrial / Manufacturing
