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Flying personal vehicles The European Union has begun funding a major programme to develop flying personal cars in order to solve the problems of road congestions in major European cities. The Personal Aerial Vehicles (PAVs) programme will receive US $6.2 million this year towards the development costs. The PAVs will initially be used to fly small distances between homes and offices. They may be required to fly below 2,000 feet so that they do not interfere with the normal air traffic.
According to Prof Heinrich Bülthoff of the Max Plank Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany, the EU grant will be used for developing new technologies to make such systems viable. Some air spaces may need to be completely protected from civilian traffic for security purposes. Proper “air lane” systems will need to be developed so that the air cars travel according to certain predefined paths, and do not collide with one another.
What was science fiction is now in the process of becoming a reality.
Indian-made tablet computers—for $35 each! Tata India made history a couple of years ago by producing the cheapest car in the world, the “Nano”, for only $2,500. It is about to do the same now in tablet computers that will cost $35 for schools and colleges, and may eventually cost under $10! The laptop has 2Gb RAM, wireless connectivity and a resistive touch screen. It was launched by Kapil Sibal, India’s minister of human resources development (whose portfolio includes education), last year.
The computer has been designed by the Vellore Institute of Technology, the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras and the state-controlled Semiconductor Complex. It is India’s response to the much publicised One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project launched by Nicholas Negroponte of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab in 2005 at a claimed cost of $100 per computer. The MIT project failed due to high manufacturing costs. The success of the Indian computer still remains to be demonstrated.
Printed solar cells An exciting recent development in solar technologies is that of printed solar cells—that can be printed on a standard ink jet printer! Although the efficiency of these printed cells is only about five per cent, the very low cost of production make them highly cost-effective. The researchers at Oregon State University, who developed this printing technology, hope to increase the efficiency of the cells to 12 per cent soon. The cells are “CIGS” solar cells, so called because they contain copper, indium, gallium and selenium. The ultra thin film solar cells can even be built into roofing materials to convert the sunlight into heat and electricity for house lighting/heating and water heating.
Solar cell technologies are expanding by leaps and bounds. Spectrolab, a subsidiary of The Boeing Company, announced that it had started production of the most efficient solar cell in the world with a conversion efficiency of 39.2 per cent about seven months ago. These cells have more than double the energy conversion efficiency than the normal commercially available solar cells. About 60 per cent of the world’s satellites are powered by solar cells manufactured by Spectrolab, and the International Space Station is also powered by them.
The US military might owe its technological leadership to the high quality research that it funds in universities and government research establishments. The related company has an annual budget of $34 billion and some 68,000 employees. It is through such gigantic efforts in sophisticated research and manufacturing that USA continues to remain a major world power.
Software for active reading As examination time approaches, students are found concentrating in various ways so that they can remember the passages that they are reading, a process known as “active reading”.
Active reading techniques may involve highlighting important sections, making brief notes on the side, setting aside pieces of important information, making flow charts/diagrams and reading passages out aloud. The brain seems to retain information better if “memory points” are created in this manner. Now researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have created special software called “Liquid Text” that assists in active reading.
The software is based on touch screen technology on a computer screen where the text is on one side while the other side is empty work space. One can highlight materials using finger tip gestures and drag important materials to the work area. One can also expand certain sections by panning and zooming. Sections can be collapsed by pinching them. The software is planned to be marketed later this year by a new start up company.
