Fuel Efficency Revisited

Over the weekend I asked an engineer friend of mine about aluminum, relative strength to weight ratio vs. steel, issues with regards to forming/machining it etc. Basically, the more you owrk aluminum, the weaker it gets, and you need moe of it to have the same strength you would get from steel. So, while it can be done win a sedan or sports car, and SUV is probably too large and unweildy to use aluminum effectively. Add in the costs of retooling factories and Aluminum is out.

Hey, at least I learned something!

6:48:42 PM    

Shuttle SS50 Mini-system [Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters]

Sexy, small systems are the next thing. Apple had the right idea with the cube, they just overcharged and underpowered it. Like they say at the end of the article, use this as a small windows based server for games in your house, or as an entertainment hub, with a PVR card, or just ot have a set of small machines all on one deskop controlled with a KVM switch.

4:33:34 PM    

Fish fillets grow in tank. Scientists trying to create alternative food sources for astronauts believe we could create meat on demand [New Scientist]

NASA researcher is charged with developing vat grown fish steaks for space flight food program. A part of the problem is that while having live fish would be nice, they produce excrement that gets to be a bit of hassle on long voyages.

The food does not have FDA approval yet, and is grown in a vat of fetal bovine serum. Ick.

4:24:08 PM    

Roving reporter on battlefields could be a robot. MIT builds a robot news hound known as the Afghan Explorer. [USA Today : Front Page]

This is little more than a remote control car with a camera and monitor attached. Still, it is an interesting hybrid of technology.

Telepresence is a good idea, be it for hostage negotiation, reporting in areas that are hazardous to normal humans, or as a means of holding a meeting in hostile locations where a telephone or videophone are impractical to use.

Questions:

• What is to keep the person on the other end of the 'bot from simply trashing the unit?
• How do you insure that the unit gets back to you safely?
• Is it possible to guarantee that the GPS and Cell phone data won't be used to track the location of the person on the other end? If not, why not use these bots as disposable scouts for rooting out enemy troops? Of course, they then cease to be robots if they are used for harming people.

2:19:35 PM    

Drink-drive detector radios police. A tiny fuel cell that detects alcoholic fumes in cars and calls the police is developed - automakers are very interested [New Scientist]

Texas Christian university researchers have developed a $100 USD detector that  can sense the presence of alcohol on a drivers breath. The sensor is mounted in the steering wheel or the sun visor so that is within 50 cm of the drivers mouth.

Some Questions:

• What is to keep the user from taping over the hole?
• Or opening the window to dilute the presence of alcohol in the air?
• What if I just took a hit of Listerine before going on a date? Now I'm going to get flagged for a DUI, especially given Law Enforcement's zero tolerance policies of late.
• The device only alerts police that the car is being driven by someone with alcohol on their breath, the police still have to pull them over. Ever seen World's Wildest Police Chases?

This could be a bad thing given it's potential for abuse and misuse, should it become commonplace.

1:14:11 PM    

Furrybot to Watch Over You. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a cute, furry robot, and it's the latest in retirement home technology. By Daithí Ó hAnluain. [Wired News]

(Cough) Nice scoop.

10:01:40 AM    

In Aircraft Safety Effort, New Technology Tests Its Wings. Boeing is introducing several new electronic products that will attempt to further the precision of computer navigation and data presentation in the cockpit. [New York Times: Technology]

This system alerts pilots to when they are flying too low, as well as providing guidelines for moving around once they are on the ground. Boxes or rings appear on displays to show obstacles, which are fed to the displays based off of their position as determined by GPS.

Future Use: systems that prevent the planes from going where they should not (into skyscrapers, along restricted flight paths) and to allow for quick redirection of planes away from emergency areas.

9:51:58 AM