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May. 29th, 2008
Tech stories
May. 29th, 2008 01:01 pmSweden recovers methane from sewage - Biogas is methane derived from the bacterial decomposition of fecal matter, with a by-product of carbon dioxide and a nutrient-rich residue. A Swedish company is augmenting other sources of natural gas with biogas, specifically for cars designed to run on methane. They estimate that the sewage produced in a single flush of a toilet can fuel a car for 120 kilometres. Found on Rick Mercer's blog.
Monkeys demonstrate dextrous control of robot arms - two monkeys have demonstrated that they can grasp food, compensating for morsel size and texture, and feed themselves using robot arms controlled by sensors implanted in their motor cortex. The system consisted of 100 electrodes, each driven by a single neuron, demonstrating that complex behaviour can be controlled by relatively few neurons. It is interesting to note that the monkeys also had full use of their real limbs, but they were restrained for this experiment.
Nations agree to let UN divide the Arctic - Canada, Russia, US, Denmark, and Norway all agreed to abide by the decision of a a UN panel that will examine each country's claim to the Arctic. The region in question is believed to have up to 1/4 of the world's remaining undiscovered oil reserves. This has prompted the US Secretary of state to push the US Senate to finally ratify the UN's Law of the Sea Convention. All the other countries had ratified the convention soon after it was instituted in 1982.
New motion-capture makes 3D viable for small-time film-makers - the new technique starts with an initial scan of the actor's body, then fits the model to subsequent scans. The approach means that the actor can wear regular clothing instead of the skin-tight suits now required because the software can compensate for material and obstructions, even include it in the scans as a separate model.
Monkeys demonstrate dextrous control of robot arms - two monkeys have demonstrated that they can grasp food, compensating for morsel size and texture, and feed themselves using robot arms controlled by sensors implanted in their motor cortex. The system consisted of 100 electrodes, each driven by a single neuron, demonstrating that complex behaviour can be controlled by relatively few neurons. It is interesting to note that the monkeys also had full use of their real limbs, but they were restrained for this experiment.
Nations agree to let UN divide the Arctic - Canada, Russia, US, Denmark, and Norway all agreed to abide by the decision of a a UN panel that will examine each country's claim to the Arctic. The region in question is believed to have up to 1/4 of the world's remaining undiscovered oil reserves. This has prompted the US Secretary of state to push the US Senate to finally ratify the UN's Law of the Sea Convention. All the other countries had ratified the convention soon after it was instituted in 1982.
New motion-capture makes 3D viable for small-time film-makers - the new technique starts with an initial scan of the actor's body, then fits the model to subsequent scans. The approach means that the actor can wear regular clothing instead of the skin-tight suits now required because the software can compensate for material and obstructions, even include it in the scans as a separate model.