MC²

October 7, 2009
It’s often the little things that count in industrial manufacturing processes. Particles less than half the diameter of a hair in size can significantly impair quality in production. For example, there should be no particles larger than five micrometers on the packaging film of food and medicines, as these could contaminate the contents.
Tiny [...]

October 6, 2009
New research from the University of Southampton has demonstrated that it is possible for communication from person to person through the power of thought — with the help of electrodes, a computer and Internet connection.
Brain-Computer Interfacing (BCI) can be used for capturing brain signals and translating them into commands that allow humans to [...]

October 4, 2009
CMOS image sensors in special cameras – as used for driver assistance systems – mostly only provide monochrome images and have a limited sensitivity to light. Thanks to a new production process these sensors can now distinguish color and are much more sensitive to light.
The car of the future will have lots of [...]

September 30, 2009
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is starting to come together. A major component of the telescope, the Integrated Science Instrument Module structure, recently arrived at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. for testing in the Spacecraft Systems Development and Integration Facility.
The Integrated Science Instrument Module, or ISIM, is an important component [...]

September 29, 2009
A team of Université de Montréal researchers, led by physics PhD student Olivier Daigle, has developed the world’s most sensitive astronomical camera. Marketed by Photon etc., a young Quebec firm, the camera will be used by the Mont-Mégantic Observatory and NASA, which purchased the first unit.
The camera is made up of a CCD [...]

September 29, 2009
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center is testing a new robotic lunar lander test bed that will aid in the development of a new generation of multi-use landers for future robotic space exploration.
The test article is equipped with thrusters which function to guide the lander via closed- loop, autonomous flight algorithms.
One set of [...]

September 25, 2009
Researchers at the University of Bath have used nature for inspiration in designing a new type of swimming robot which could bring a breakthrough in submersible technology.
Conventional submarine robots are powered by propellers that are heavy, inefficient and can get tangled in weeds.
In contrast ‘Gymnobot’, created by researchers from the Ocean Technologies Lab [...]

September 22, 2009
A research project 10 years in the making is now orbiting the Earth, much to the delight of its creator Rohit Trivedi, a senior metallurgist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory. Equipment recently delivered to the International Space Station by the Space Shuttle Discovery will allow the Earth-bound Trivedi to conduct [...]

September 22, 2009
At the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference (Hamburg, Germany), IMEC presents a large-area solar with a conversion efficiency of 18.4%. Compared to the standard i-PERC cell process, IMEC’s solar cell features a shallow emitter and advanced front metallization using copper plating.
The results were obtained on large-area cells (125 cm2), proving the industrial viability [...]

September 22, 2009
Scientists from six European countries have developed a new computer system, called DRIVSCO, that allows vehicles to learn from the behaviour of their drivers at the wheel, in such a way that they can detect if a driver presents an “unusual behaviour” in a curve or an obstacle on the road and generates [...]