Korean researchers develop flexible battery

Researchers in South Korea have developed a flexible battery that could be a step towards the development of flexible smartphones.

The team, from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, say they have developed a "fluid-like" polymer electrolyte that is more flexible than a traditional battery.

The new system is, according to the researchers, more stable than conventional batteries.

A spokesman for the Korean science ministry told the Korean Joongang Daily: "Conventional lithium-ion batteries that use liquefied electrolytes had safety problems as the film that separates the electrolytes may melt under heat, in which case the positive and negative elements may come in contact, causing an explosion."

Last week, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Samsung showed off a prototype for a flexible smartphone, which it calls Youm.

On stage at CES the prototype phone was shown being flexed and bent without any conspicuous colour distortion, with other pre-recorded demonstrations shown on film.

source 

 

Related articles

• World's First Imprintable And Flexible Li-ion Battery Unveiled (video)
• South Korean Scientists Develop World's First Bendable Lithium-Ion Battery
• Korean researchers develop new flexible, more stable lithium-ion battery

Control your laptop by moving your hand - for $70

Control your computer without touching it

 Computer mouse, your days are numbered. Mouse-less computing is the hot new tech frontier: laptops and tablets controlled by touch, voice, eye-tracking and hand movements.

Gesture control is particularly hot, with smart TVs and lots of experimental startups emerging on the scene. One of those startups, Leap Motion, aims to bring the technology to the mass market with a new Best Buy retail partnership.

Leap Motion, which has several Apple veterans in executive ranks, will sell a $70 controller at Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) starting in the spring. Pre-orders begin in February.

CNNMoney checked out the Leap Motion Controller during a demo at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week. A long list of gesture-control companies were showing off their inventions at CES, but Leap Motion's sophisticated system stood out.

The controller itself is an unassuming 3-inch-by-1-inch-by-0.5-inch black box. Leap Motion can track the movements of all 10 fingers on your hand down to 1/100th of a millimeter, which is smaller than the tip of a pin. CNNMoney tried the system on a laptop, and the response was lightning-fast, tracking movements at 290 frames per second.

That lack of delay was a major priority in development, says Leap Motion co-founder and CEO Mike Buckwald -- especially because the company wants its technology to be in more than just your PC.

"Precision is important, but it's also the lack of latency. Your brain gets confused if what's on the screen isn't moving at essentially the same exact time as your hand," Buckwald says. "If you want to use this on something like robotic surgery, you need zero latency."

Robotic surgery could well be in Leap Motion's future, says company president and COO Andy Miller.

"We've had licensing talks in a lot of fields: autos, health care, even fast food," Miller says. "We've been contacted by pretty much everyone you can think of."

The rise of mouse-less computing -- or as Miller puts it, a "disappearing user interface" -- comes as consumers are getting used to device features triggered by voice and gestures.

 source

 

 

Related articles

• Control your laptop by moving your hand
• Ready to grab the air with Leap Motion?
• CES 2013: computer motion firm takes giant leap into the future

Audi debuts self-driving car at CES 2013

English: Audi A7 Deutsch: Audi A7 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Self-driving cars have proved a hit at this year's CES and Audi has been one of the manufacturers showing off the next gen tech.

Audi's autonomous A7 successfully negotiated a multi-story car park and managed to park itself, all without a human touching the wheel.

The A7 doesn't have the same sensors and cameras strapped to it that Toyotya's Lexus AASRV has but instead relies on a laser grid map of the car park relayed to it over Wi-Fi from sensors placed around the structure.

This does mean that in order to make like Knight Rider, you'll need to be in a place that has already been fitted with these sensors. According to Audi, we're still a decade or so away from this being an everyday feature. But the idea of pulling up to the car park and letting the car find a spot itself while you head off to the shops has its appeal.

Unsurprisngly the Audi A7 doesn't bolt around the multi-story like the opening of Driver but instead keeps things to a sedate five miles per hour.

“At Audi you’d be hard pushed to find an innovation that isn’t related to electronics nowadays,” said Ricky Hudi, head of Audi electrics/electronics development.

“These enable us to implement full networking. A defining feature of the last decade was that we integrated all the functions in the car. This decade will see us network the car seamlessly with the environment, under the Audi connect banner – with the driver, the Internet, the infrastructure, and with other vehicles.”

All sounds very promising in our opinion. And while a car that parks itself is an exciting prospect, we're waiting for the one that'll safely deliver us home from the pub after a few too many.

source 

Related articles

• Audi Debuts Laser Taillights, In-Car LTE Connectivity, 3-D Displays at 2013 CES
• Watch: CES in 60: Audi Piloted Parking
• Video: Audi takes cars that park themselves to a whole new level
• Audi A2 Takes Aim at BMW i3

Trakdot uses GPS tracking to ease luggage carousel stresses

Travelling with kids is not the easiest thing in the world. Technology can make a big difference in easing our longer journeys. However, more than entertaining children with iPads strapped to headrests or even new fangled airplane sleeping arrangements, it's often the simplest gadgets that make the difference.

With a family trip around the world planned for later this year one of my biggest concerns is losing our luggage. Travelling alone, or with other adults, lost luggage is a pain. Travelling with children, essential items stowed away in their suitcases, lost luggage is a potential nightmare. 

Then there's the issue of keeping them occupied while waiting for the luggage to appear on the carousel. It's become something of a game for our kids to spot our luggage first, but even this doesn't always work with long flights and tired toddlers.

With this in mind I was more than a little interested about the Trakdot device just announced at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. The orange and black gadget contains a GSM chip to enable you to track its location. It's intended to be packed in your suitcase before you check it in -- don't worry it's Federal Aviation Administration approved -- so that before and after the flight you can see the location of your bags via the website of app.

It's powered by a AA batteries and is designed to automatically shut down when the aircraft hits takeoff speed. Once back on the ground it powers up so you can watch as your bags head for collection -- or potentially get forwarded to a mystery destination. The service will even text message or email you when the luggage is nearby.

Perhaps the only Achilles heel here is that knowing whether your luggage has made it is all very well, but if it does go astray there's not a huge comfort in being notified that it's just landed in Frankfurt. Perhaps a future version could also sound an alarm if it is heading towards an errant cargo hold.

The Trakdot will retail at $50 (£31) with a $9 (£5.59) activation and $12.99 (£8) annual subscription fee and. It is made by Los Angeles based GlobaTrac and should hit stores in the spring.

Of course the device could also be used for tracking other things. Maybe sure I'd get more piece of mind from knowing where my children were at all times. Perhaps I'll sneak one into their backpack on our upcoming trip.

source 

Related articles

• Trakdot Luggage Tracker is LoJack for your checked baggage
• Lost Luggage? Suitcase Tracker Lets You Find Them Anywhere