WHAT IF COMPUTERS HAD GLASSES, WE USE OUR SMARTPHONE ,TABLETS AS LENSES

What if computer screens had glasses instead of the people staring at the monitors? That concept is not too far afield from technology being developed by UC Berkeley computer and vision scientists.

The researchers are developing computer algorithms to compensate for an individual's visual impairment, and creating vision-correcting displays that enable users to see text and images clearly without wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses. The technology could potentially help hundreds of millions of people who currently need corrective lenses to use their smartphones, tablets and computers. One common problem, for example, is presbyopia, a type of farsightedness in which the ability to focus on nearby objects is gradually diminished as the aging eyes' lenses lose elasticity.
More importantly, the displays could one day aid people with more complex visual problems, known as high order aberrations, which cannot be corrected by eyeglasses, said Brian Barsky, UC Berkeley professor of computer science and vision science, and affiliate professor of optometry.
"We now live in a world where displays are ubiquitous, and being able to interact with displays is taken for granted," said Barsky, who is leading this project. "People with higher order aberrations often have irregularities in the shape of the cornea, and this irregular shape makes it very difficult to have a contact lens that will fit. In some cases, this can be a barrier to holding certain jobs because many workers need to look at a screen as part of their work. This research could transform their lives, and I am passionate about that potential."
Using computation to correct vision
The UC Berkeley researchers teamed up with Gordon Wetzstein and Ramesh Raskar, colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to develop their latest prototype of a vision-correcting display. The setup adds a printed pinhole screen sandwiched between two layers of clear plastic to an iPod display to enhance image sharpness. The tiny pinholes are 75 micrometers each and spaced 390 micrometers apart.
The research team will present this computational light field display on Aug. 12 at the International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, or SIGGRAPH, in Vancouver, Canada.
"The significance of this project is that, instead of relying on optics to correct your vision, we use computation," said lead author Fu-Chung Huang, who worked on this project as part of his computer science Ph.D. dissertation at UC Berkeley. "This is a very different class of correction, and it is non-intrusive."
The algorithm, which was developed at UC Berkeley, works by adjusting the intensity of each direction of light that emanates from a single pixel in an image based upon a user's specific visual impairment. In a process called deconvolution, the light passes through the pinhole array in such a way that the user will perceive a sharp image.
"Our technique distorts the image such that, when the intended user looks at the screen, the image will appear sharp to that particular viewer," said Barsky. "But if someone else were to look at the image, it would look bad."
In the experiment, the researchers displayed images that appeared blurred to a camera, which was set to simulate a person who is farsighted. When using the new prototype display, the blurred images appeared sharp through the camera lens.
This latest approach improves upon earlier versions of vision-correcting displays that resulted in low-contrast images. The new display combines light field display optics with novel algorithms.
Huang, now a software engineer at Microsoft Corp. in Seattle, noted that the research prototype could easily be developed into a thin screen protector, and that continued improvements in eye-tracking technology would make it easier for the displays to adapt to the position of the user's head position.

A REAL INVISIBILITY CLOAK SPOCK I CAPTAIN IT LOGICAL IT'S 2014

A real invisibility cloak may still be the stuff of fantasy, but scientists have figured out a way to hide objects from touch. While Klingon vessels in the television series set after The Original Series possess cloaking devices, the Klingon D7-class does not at first. This is changed after "The Enterprise Incident", several D7-class battlecruisers are shown under Romulan control as the result of a technology exchange between the Romulans and the Klingons; these vessels do utilize a cloaking device. .Two years ago, researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany successfully created pentamodes, or mechanical metamaterials. Now, researchers have found a fascinating property in the metamaterial: the ability to hide or "cloak" the existence of foreign objects hidden within it. It's a discovery that could lead to making everything from more comfortable camping gear to shoes that make you feel like you're walking on air.  millimeter scale, this polymer-based, scaffold-like structure can shape itself around a object — say, a tiny hard tube — and disperse pressure in such a way that human touch can't detect its existence. Put another way, if all the mattresses from the Hans Christen Anderson classic fable "The Princess and the Pea" were made out of this mechanical metamaterial, the princess would never have felt the pea, even if she were sleeping on just one thin sheet of the nanomaterial. This is how the metamaterial works Courtesy Karlsruhe Institute of Technology This trick wouldn't work in an everyday material.                                                                                                                                                                                                        The KIT researchers describe its mechanical metamaterial as such: It is a crystalline material structured with sub-micrometer accuracy. It consists of needle-shaped cones, whose tips meet. The size of the contact points is calculated precisely to reach the mechanical properties desired. In this way, a structure results, through which a finger or a measurement instrument cannot feel its way."                                                                                                                                                                                              This mechanical metamaterial is quite pleasing to the eye, and thanks to its nano design, is also incredibly light. Its unique structure is produced by using Nanoscribe's 3D laser lithography. While this is purely a research project, the results of which are published in the "Nature Communications" journal, the KIT researchers do envision an interesting nanomaterial future. The discovery could, for example, eventually be used to make more comfortable sleeping bags that shield the user from feeling rocks or pebbles on the ground or rugs that hide the bumps of bad flooring and cables. There's no word yet if this nanomaterial could someday be used for more nefarious purposes, like hiding a weapon or contraband from a pat-down.                                                                         

CITIES AND STATES BUILD THEIR OWN MICROGRIDS FUEL CELLS ELIMINATE POWER OUTAGES

General Electric has a bright idea for keeping the lights on even when the electrical grid short-circuits. The 122-year-old company wants to bring clean, reliable, affordable energy to the masses with hyper-efficient fuel cells , and in a rare move, is launching a startup to do it.
On Tuesday, the energy and electronics conglomerate unveiled GE Fuel Cells, an internal startup that’s working to commercialize fuel cell technology that runs on natural gas, creating energy that’s not only cleaner than dirty power plants, but more energy efficient, too. In the race to create a more environmentally sound alternative to power plants, fuel cells have emerged as a viable option, alongside solar and wind power. But unlike solar and wind power, fuel cells can provide steady, nonstop energy that doesn’t fade when the sun goes down or when the wind stops blowing.

Since Hurricane Sandy, there’s been a widespread movement to “unplug” from the grid’s vulnerable infrastructure.

Instead, they’re similar to batteries and use a chemical reaction, rather than combustion, to generate energy. The problem is, fuel cell technology has been prohibitively expensive, because it often requires costly materials like platinum, to trigger the chemical reaction. But GE is working on making advances in technology known as “hybrid solid oxide fuel cells,” which use less expensive materials like ceramic and stainless steel to deliver 65 percent energy efficiency—5 percent higher than anything else on the market today. And while GE might not be alone in this field—Bloom Energy, a NASA spinoff, has had some success with a similar concept—experts say that GE’s entry into the space could turn what has been a fringe industry into a mainstream success.
“Having the GE logo on the side of the unit will, I think, lend quite a bit of credibility, as a known name in the field,” says Scott Samuelsen, director of the National Fuel Cell Research Center at UC Irvine.

GE’s timing couldn’t be better. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the second costliest hurricane in United States history, “resilience” has become a buzzy idea. The storm, which caused 8.1 million people across 17 states to lose power, called attention to the country’s aging power grid. Since then, there’s been a widespread movement to “unplug” from the grid’s vulnerable infrastructure. According to  the number of standalone electricity-generation units at commercial and industrial sites has more than quadrupled since 2006.
Meanwhile, cities and states are attempting to build their own “microgrids,” or self-sustaining energy systems that operate independently of the broader grid. In the ensuing years, the call from businesses, municipalities, and even the Obama administration for more reliable forms of energy has grown deafening, and GE, which has been working on fuel cell technology in its global research center for decades, finally decided to answer it.
According to Johanna Wellington, who runs GE Fuel Cells as general manager, the company stumbled upon two major breakthroughs in recent years that convinced the higher ups at GE to invest more heavily in fuel cells. Traditionally, solid oxide fuel cells require a very thin layer of ceramic that can withstand the extreme heat—1,500°F—needed to turn natural gas into energy. But the ceramic is delicate, and when hundreds of these cells are stacked on top of one another, they’re susceptible to breakage. As a result, existing solid oxide fuel cells are small, making the materials more manageable, but the technology less scalable.
GE took a different approach. Using technology similar to what it uses to coat its jet engines, GE figured out how to spray the ceramic, almost like spray paint, in layers. “There are huge advantages to this in terms of the ability to scale,” Wellington says. It means the cells can cover a larger surface area, the ceramic will always lay flat, and it can act as its own sealant, reducing many of the common risks involved in manufacturing this technology.

Because these fuel cells would be stored locally, rather than at a central plant, they’re less vulnerable to outages when severe weather strikes.

Having crossed that hurdle, GE began considering how to make its fuel cells more energy efficient than the competition. To do that, a team of researchers decided to marry the fuel cell technology with a traditional gas engine. Whatever exhaust the fuel cell gives off, which is mostly steam and carbon dioxide, is processed by a gas engine, giving an added oomph to the energy output.
According to Samuelsen, that last part is key, because it will enable the fuel cell to increase and decrease its output as needed, something that most existing fuel cells can’t do. Plus, he says, the fact that the gas engine helps make the system more efficient than any alternative “will be very popular in the marketplace.”

The fuel cells are still in the prototyping phase, and GE is currently developing a pilot manufacturing facility, where it can test the technology at commercial scale. Though Wellington says GE won’t begin selling the technology for another couple of years, she already has plenty of potential applications in mind.
Tech companies, for one, are beginning to do something about their massive energy hogging data centers. Bloom Energy, GE’s main competitor, has already sold its fuel cells to the likes of eBay and Google to make their data centers cleaner. Wellington says GE, too, could easily enter this space.
Cities working on resilience efforts will also be a key market for GE’s fuel cells. Because these fuel cells would be stored locally, rather than at a central plant, they’re less vulnerable to outages when severe weather strikes. Plus, they’re more efficient and environmentally sound than traditional diesel backup generators. Meanwhile, Wellington also sees opportunities in parts of the developing world, where there is no grid infrastructure yet and demand for it is still limited. Rather than building their own power lines and transmission networks, she says, “This gives developing countries an option to build out efficient power in increments, as they need it.”
Still, Wellington says she can’t imagine this technology completely replacing the grid in the U.S. any time soon. “When you’re looking for very large chunks of power, there’s always going to be some need for centralized power,” she says.
Instead, fuel cells will, like solar and wind power, be added to the menu of options for cutting down on our energy use and exclusive reliance on the grid. “Historically, you had gas, steam and coal,” she says. “This breaks that paradigm. Now, you can have efficient energy that’s just as good. To me, that’s very exciting.”

EXOPLANETS THAT WE HOST ALIEN LIFE

 The planet candidate Tau Ceti e, which was detected in December 2012, is found just 11.9 light-years from Earth. This world is a "super-Earth" at least 4.3 times as massive as Earth. Depending on its atmosphere, Tau Ceti e could be a mildly hot planet suitable for simple life, or a scorching world like Venus.                                                                                                                                           

Credit: Lynette CookThis planet is a controversial find. It was discovered in 2010, but there has been difficulty in getting it confirmed. Still, the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo calls Gliese 581 the top candidate for alien life. If confirmed, this rocky world is about 20 light-years away from Earth's sun, and is two to three times as massive as Earth. It orbits its parent star, Gliese 581, about every 30 days in the constellation Libra.

Another "super-Earth", Gliese 667Cc is also close by Earth: about 22 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius. The planet is at least 4.5 times bigger than Earth, and takes 28 days to make an orbit around its parent star. GJ 667C – the parent star – is actually part of a triple-star system. The star is an M-class dwarf star that is about a third of the mass of Earth's sun. "Super-Earth" HD 40307g orbits comfortably inside the habitable zone of its parent star. It lies about 42 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Pictor. It is so close by that future telescopes may be able to peer at its surface. It orbits its parent star about 56 million miles (90 million kilometers) away, which is just over half of the Earth-sun distance of 93 million miles (150 million kilometers.)      
The mass of Gliese 163c puts the planet in a gray zone. The planet is seven times the mass of Earth, which could make it a very large rocky planet or a dwarf gas giant. Gliese 163c whirls around its dim planet star every 26 days, at a distance of 50 light-years away from Earth. Its parent star is in the constellation Dorado.                                                                                                                                                           At least one study supposes that Gliese 581d might have a thick, carbon dioxide atmosphere. It is about seven times more massive than Earth, orbits a red dwarf star, and is a sister planet to the also-potentially-habitable Gliese 581g. At just 20 light-years away from the sun, Gliese 581d is essentially in Earth's backyard.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Tau Ceti f is a super-Earth candidate like its sibling Tau Ceti e, but it orbits close to the outer edge of Tau Ceti's habitable zone. Tau Ceti f is at least 6.6 times as massive as Earth and could be suitable for life, if its atmosphere traps significant amounts of heat                               

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN ROCK ROLL LEGEND

Rock and Roll legend Bruce Springsteen released a limited edition, four-song vinyl EP to commemorate Record Store Day on April 19th.  The EP, entitled American Beauty, is made up of leftover tracks that did not make the final cut on the Boss’ previous two releases.  With Springsteen back in the public eye in support of old-school vinyl records and the hardworking store owners who sell them, now would be a good time to take a look back at Bruce’s long and storied career.

Springsteen is the working man’s rock star.  His music, from 1984’s “Born in the USA” to this week’s release of “Hurry Up Sundown”, strikes a chord with the blue jeans-wearing, pickup trick-driving, blue collar crowd that is more commonly associated with Country music.  Springsteen’s enduring popularity shows that there is a significant rock contingent among the working class of America.

The 64-year-old Springsteen has 20 Grammy Awards to his credit, as well as a couple of Golden Globes and even an Oscar.  He was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the lesser-known Songwriters Hall of Fame.  The New Jersey native oozes the New Jersey working class pathos and his works resonate with generation after generation.

It is an odd footnote to Springsteen’s long career that his biggest hit was one of the most misunderstood songs ever recorded.  “Born in the USA” was often thought to be a patriotic hymn or an ode to the greatness of the United States of America despite that fact that even a cursory examination of the lyrics tells a very different story.  The lyrics to “Born in the USA” tell a sad tale of a military veteran who is rewarded for his service with apathy upon his return.  The rocking melody and cheerful refrain somehow overwhelmed the true nature of the song in the public perception.  Springsteen would address that perception with a remarkable acoustic version of the song that resonates musically in line with the somber tone of the lyrics.

In recent years, Springsteen’s E-Street Band lost two members.  Journeyman Danny Federici passed away from cancer in 2008.  Saxophonist Clarence Clemons died of complications after a stroke in 2011.  Despite these tragic losses, Springsteen has continued to release albums and travel the world performing live.  Springsteen’s eighteenth album, High Hopes, was released in January 2014.  A mishmash of old, new, and repurposed music, High Hopes still sparkles with the old magic that made Springsteen a household name.

The mere three-month span separating High Hopes from American Beauty makes 2014 the Year of the Boss, with a total of 16 “new” songs available for consumption.  Whether the songs are newly-minted or updated classics or simply newly-released, the body of work coming out this year resonates with the three generations of Springsteen fans and may well serve to introduce the next group of fans to one of America’s greatest Rock and Roll legends.