A Leuven, Belgium-based R&D lab for nanoelectronics has come up with a process that might bring holographic to everyday

life.Scientists at Imec believe, as do other researchers, that holographic images are the answer toward resolving the eye strain and headaches that go along with present-day 3-D viewing. Their work involves creating moving pixels. They are constructing holographic displays by shining lasers on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) platforms that can move up and down like small, reflective pistons. Holographic visualization promises to offer a natural 3-D experience for multiple viewers, without the undesirable side-effects of current 3D stereoscopic visualization (uncomfortable glasses, strained eyes, fatiguing experience), the company states.

Click on the image to see the video In their nanoscale system, they work with chips made by growing a layer of silicon oxide on to silicon wafer. They etch square patches of the silicon oxide. The result is a checkerboard-like pattern where etched-away pixels arenanometers lower than their neighbors. A reflective aluminum coating tops the chip. When laser light shines on the chip, it bounces off of the boundary between adjacent pixels at an angle. Diffracted light interferes constructively and destructively to create a 3-D picturewhere small mirrored platforms are moving up and down, many times a second, to create a moving projection. The process can also be described as the pixels closer to the light interfering with it one way and those further off, in another. The small distances between them generate the image that the eye sees. Imec hopes to construct the first, proof-of-concept moving structures by mid-2012. . Source: http://www2.imec.be/be_en/research/imaging-systems/holographic-displays.html

Categories: Materials, nanocomputer |

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Microsoft and the University of Washington are in the final stages of development for a new augmented reality project that may change the way people see the world. Early last year, the duo announced that they were working on an augmented reality contact lens. The lens could be used to enhance human vision like normal contact lenses, but it could also augment a persons vision with digital information. Microsoft claims that the project will show just how practical augmented reality really is.

Augmented reality is commonly used in the marketingand gaming fields. The technology has, thus far, been considered little more than a novelty. Most mobile devices equipped with AR browsers are used to find directions to certain locations or to find deals at local retail stores. Microsoft says that their AR lens will be much more practical, as it will give wearers tools that are not found in mobile devices. The lens is equipped with facial recognition technology, which allows users to find information on a specific person, such asname and age. The lens will also be able to interface with Windows platforms and other mobile devices, allowing users to access information stored in computersin, literally, the blink of an eye.

The project is in its final stages. The lens has been tested on rabbits and is expected to move to human testing within the next few months. Source: http://www.hitl.washington.edu/artoolkit/
Let's remind that APPLE has last year produced already a first prototype ofNanocomputer iLens : http://www.nanocomputer.com/?page_id=563

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Tags: augmented reality, ilens, lens,nanocomputer, what is

A 5 Millions Times Smaller Hard Drive

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January 23, 2012 | Posted by admin

Scientists from IBM and the German Center for Free-Electron Laser Science(CFEL) have built the world's smallest magnetic data storage unit. It uses just twelve atoms per bit, the basic unit of information, and squeezes a whole byte (8 bit) into as few as 96 atoms. A modern hard drive, for comparison, still needs more than half a billion atoms per byte. The team present their work in the weekly journal Science (13 January 2012). CFEL is a joint venture of the research centre Deutsches ElektronenSynchrotron DESY in Hamburg, the Max-Planck-Society (MPG) and the University of Hamburg. "With CFEL the partners have established an innovative institution on the DESY campus, delivering top-level research across a broad spectrum of disciplines," says DESY research director Edgar Weckert.

An illustration of I.B.M.'s technique for storing data on a single atom. An iron atom on a copper surface could store a single bit of binary data, with "0" or "1" indicated by the orientation of the atom's magnetic field.

Source: http://www.desy.de/information__services/press/pressreleases/@@newsview?id=2141&lang=eng

Dreamweaver International Inc, an US company based in Greenville, South Carolina, has developed a new non woven battery separator made from a combination of nanofibers that provides 300% higher power. The technology allows higher transmission of electricity in the battery, improving the power available in electric vehicles, power tools and other high power applications.

The job of a battery separator is to be a perfect barrierbetween the electrodes, while also acting as a perfect window to the electrolyte. Because of the above attributes, the technology allows for thinner, lighter and smaller batteries. Source: http://www.dreamweaverintl.com/

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Quantum Dots to Protect Satellites From Missile Attacks

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February 2, 2012 | Posted by admin

Raytheon Company has developed a counter measure system usingquantum dots to protect space assets such as satellites from missile attacks. They have developed a decoy consisting of quantum dots of different sizes and shapes that are engineered to emit radiation having a radiation profile similar to that of the asset.

The decoy is found to be more accurate inmimicking the radiation profile of the asset from the target diverting the anti-satellite weapons more efficiently than the existing conventional counter measure systems. Let's remember that In January 2007, Chinasuccessfully tested an Anti-satellite (ASAT) missile system by destroying their own defunct LEO satellite, which generated huge amounts of space debris. This ASAT test raised worldwide concerns about thevulnerability of satellites and other space assets and possibility of triggering an arms race in space. In order to meet emerging challenges posed by such ASAT missile systems,military strategists and researchers are developing novel technologies to protect their space assets. Source: http://nanolity.com/index.php/nanomaterials/nanomaterials-news/quantum-dots

Invisibility Cloak Could Protect Buildings From Earthquakes

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February 23, 2012 | Posted by admin

Dr William Parnells team from the School of Mathematics at theUniversity of Manchester, England, have been working on thetheory of invisibility cloaks which, until recently, have been merely the subject of science fiction. In recent times, however, scientists have been getting close to achieving cloaking in avariety of contexts. The work from the team at Manchester focuses on the theory of cloaking devices which could eventually help to protect buildings and structures from vibrations and natural disasters such as earthquakes.

According to the mathematician, This research has shown that we really do have the potential to control the direction and speed of elasticwaves. This is important because

we want to guide such waves in many contexts, especially in nano-applications such as in electronicsfor example. If the theory can be scaled up to larger objects then it could be used to create cloaks to protect buildings and structures, or perhaps more realistically to protect very important specific parts of those structures., he added. This invisibility could prove to be of great significance in safeguarding key structures such as nuclear power plants, electric pylons and government offices from destruction from natural orterrorist attacks.You can read old posts from nanocomputer.com, relating researches about 'invisble sounds' and objects.
http://www.nanocomputer.com/?p=1464 http://www.nanocomputer.com/?p=716 http://www.nanocomputer.com/?p=1168

Source: http://www.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/news/display/?id=7968

Nanotechnology to Fight Cancer

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March 15, 2012 | Posted by admin

Nanotechnologies could be game changers in how we diagnose,monitor and treat cancer, according to Mark Davis, Professor of Chemical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology, and a member of the Experimental Therapeutics Program of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the City of Hope. Focusing onnanoparticles, Davis said, "We're trying to create these nanoscale particles for solid tumors [and] there really is, in my opinion, a very high potential to create new types of therapies."

Davis elaborated, saying, "What's really exciting to me is the patient evidence that reveal nanoparticles are actually going into tumor cells and releasing their payloads

According to Michael Phelps, Norton Simon Professor, and Chair of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology at the University of California Los Angeles, another promising technology is PET molecular imaging probes, which can rapidly search for cancerthroughout all tissues of the body, as well as characterize each cancer lesion it detects within an individual patient. "All cancer treatments are in need of better molecular diagnostics to better characterize the biology of cancer," said Phelps. Anna Barkerf, former Deputy Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)and current Director of Arizona State University's Transformative Healthcare Networks, she said, "The nanotechnologies that are currently in use in the cancer community are actually making cancer therapies safer. They are uniformly increasing theefficiency, while reducing the toxicity for patients."

Molecular Switch

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December 16, 2011 | Posted by admin

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have invented a new type of electronic switch that performs electronic logic functions within a single molecule. The incorporation of such single-molecule elements could enablesmaller, , faster and more energy-efficient electronics.

"This new switch is superior to existing single-molecule concepts," said Hrvoje Petek, principal investigator and professor of physics and chemistry inthe Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and codirector of thePetersen Institute for NanoScience and Engineering (PINSE) at Pitt. "We are learning how to reduce electronic circuit elements to single moleculesfor a new generation of enhanced and more sustainable technologies." The research findings, supported by a $1 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation, were published online in the Nov. 14 issue of Nano Letters. Source: http://www.news.pitt.edu/molecularswitch

Categories: Materials, nanocomputer |

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DNA Nanotechnology

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January 13, 2012 | Posted by admin

As a supramolecular chemist, Hanadi Sleiman found herself strongly drawn to manmade DNA structures. 'We think of DNA as the most programmable structure there is. 'What is really beautiful about DNA structures is the fact that you can control every single aspect of them,' she exclaims. I thought if it is let me try to incorporate it into regular supramolecular structures,' says the professor at McGill University,Montreal, Canada.

Sleiman is one of an increasing number of chemists who have turned to DNA nanotechnology. Some pin their hopes on using DNA in nanoelectronics or for drug delivery, while others are excited about its potential as an analytical tool. Source: http://aoc.mcgill.ca/news/channels/2010/march/3/dna-nanotechnology-breakthrough-offers-promising-applicationsmedicine