Want to print in 3 dimensions?

• The process is similar to an inkjet printer, however, the "ink" is powder and a bonding agent.

 

•  Printing in layers, the machine builds up the object in three dimensions.

 Some of the gadgets engineers come up with are just cool. We’re going to check out one of them. Printing in three-dimensions. Today, on Engineering Works!

 
Most of us have home computers these days, and they’re all connected to desktop printers. Hit the print key and out comes that report you needed for work or a barbecue sauce recipe from the web. Easy.

 
That was then. "Now, a new kind of printer is taking printing into three-dimensions, not just flat on a piece of paper. These printers print out solid objects, usually in plastic. There aren’t many of the printers around yet. Technology geeks and hobbyists own most of them. They use them to make stuff like jewelry, toys, tools or kitchen appliances."

Tonight Show host and classic car collector Jay Leno even has one. His mechanics use it to print out car parts that they can’t buy any longer. They send the plastic models to machine shops to get real metal parts made, cheaper and faster than custom-designed parts.

 
The 3-D printers are starting to catch on. You can buy them in some electronics stores or directly from the manufacturers. Prices run from $750 for a desktop kit model to $27,000 for Leno’s refrigerator-sized unit. So far, it’s definitely a niche device, but enthusiasts are sure that someday we’ll be printing out things we need, not just fun stuff.

 
We can’t print out a ride home, but we’re still done. See you next time.

Engineering Works! is made possible by Texas A&M Engineering and produced by KAMU-FM in College Station. Learn more about engineering. Visit us on the World Wide Web. http://engineeringworks.tamu.edu    

advanced helicopter : Draganflyer X6

Draganflyer X6 is an advanced helicopter that can be operated remotely without any pilot. It is designed mainly to carry wireless video cameras and still cameras. The Draganflyer X6 helicopter can be operated very easily with its hand held controller.

The Draganflyer X6 helicopter is based on a unique 6-rotor design that has been under development since early 2006. It uses 11 sensors and thousands of lines of code to self-stabilize during flight which makes it easier to fly than any other helicopter in its class. The on-board software of Draganflyer X6 is developed after extensive testing and development. Draganflyer X6 helicopter is a revolution in the field of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).

It can be used very efficiently for various applications and it is ideal for spying on the enemy in a safe and reliable manner.

MAJOR FIELDS OF APPLICATIONS

The new Draganflyer X6 can be used in various field such as Industrial Constructions, Government Applications and Educational needs.

1)Industrial Use:

Draganflyer X6 can be used very efficiently in Bridge Constructions, Building Construction, Pipeline / Hydro-Transmission Line Inspection, Road Construction. With the help of this aircraft you can get videos and images of any site from various angels.

Equipped with a high resolution still camera (with remote zoom, shutter control and tilt) it can capture great images. And its high definition video recorder can record videos very efficiently. It has a range of 500 meters and have a flight time of 20 to 30 minutes.

It is designed specifically with easy controlling system for ease of use it. So, it is easy to fly, needs very minimal training, and provides an extremely stable aerial platform from where you can get photographs and video. It's small size and portability makes it suitable to carry it to any construction site and have it ready to fly in minutes.
2)Government Applications:

Draganflyer X6 can be used in many government applications such as Law Enforcement,Fire, Emergency Measures, Wildlife Management, Environment and Transportation. You can use this advanced machine for Disaster Response, Conservation Enforcement, Crime Scene Investigation, Crowd Control, Explosive Disposal Unit, Search and Rescue Missions, Traffic Congestion Control, Criminal Intelligence Applications, Fire Damage Assessment, Fire Scene Management any many more.

3)Educational Applications:

Draganflyer X6 is very useful in educational applications such as Advanced RC Flight Research, Aerial Archeology, Environmental Assessment, and Geological Exploration.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE:

Draganflyer X6 is unique in many terms. It has some very advanced features that make it different and more efficient then other remote controlled helicopters. Some of these features are:

1)Six Rotor Co-Axial Configuration

2)GPS Facility

3)Carbon Fiber Folding Frame

4)Handheld Flight Controller

5)Advanced Power System

6)High Damage Tolerance

7)Specially manufactured Cases

8)Engineered for Safety

9)Electronic Flight Stability

10)Telemetry Software

11)Wireless Video System

12)Anti-Vibration Camera Mount

13)HD Digital Video Camera

14)Low Light Camera

15)Thermal Infrared Camera
These various features of Draganflyer X6 makes it very useful and efficient in its work.

Next after 3G: 4G Technology

Fourth Generation (4G) mobiles

4G also called as Fourth-Generation Communications System, is a term used to describe the next step in wireless communications. A 4G system can provide a comprehensive IP solution where voice, data and streamed multimedia can be provided to users on an "Anytime, Anywhere" basis. The data transfer rates are also much higher than previous generations.

The main objectives of 4G are:

1)4G will be a fully IP-based integrated system.

2)This will be capable of providing 100 Mbit/s and 1 Gbit/s speeds both indoors and outdoors.

3)It can provide premium quality and high security.

4)4G offer all types of services at an affordable cost.

4G is developed to provide high quality of service (QoS) and rate requirements set by forthcoming applications such as wireless broadband access, Multimedia Messaging, Video Chat, Mobile TV, High definition TV content, DVB, minimal service like voice and data, and other streaming services.

4G technology allow high-quality smooth video transmission. It will enable fast downloading of full-length songs or music pieces in real time.

The business and popularity of 4Gmobiles is predicted to be very vast. On an average, by 2009, this 4Gmobile market will be over $400B and it will dominate the wireless communications, and its converged system will replace most conventional wireless infrastructure.

Data Rates For 4G:

The downloading speed for mobile Internet connections is from 9.6 kbit/s for 2G cellular at present. However, in actual use the data rates are usually slower, especially in crowded areas, or when there is congestion in network.

4G mobile data transmission rates are planned to be up to 20 megabits per second which means that it will be about 10-20 times faster than standard ASDL services.

In terms of connection seeds, 4G will be about 200 times faster than present 2G mobile data rates, and about 10 times faster than 3G broadband mobile. 3G data rates are currently 2Mbit/sec, which is very fast compared to 2G's 9.6Kbit/sec.

An electric fuel cell powered by your own body:CHANNEL YOUR PERSONAL POWER

Here’s a new one. An electric fuel cell 

powered by your own body. We’ll take a look, today on 

Engineering Works!

•  Lightweight, compact devices could power medical devices. 

• Eat a Snickers bar to power up.

                                                         These days, everybody’s looking for new sources of electricity. All our portable electronics  -- iPods, cell phones, laptops -- they all need good batteries to keep playing or talking or 

 calculating. The batteries we have really aren’t that good. They’re not much better than the voltaic pile battery Alessandro Volta invented more than 200 years ago.

Engineering researchers are looking into a new power source. They’re looking, well, into themselves. 

 

It’s pretty simple – and complicated, all at the same time. Imagine a small chip – called a biofuel cell – that uses sugar and oxygen to generate electricity. Now, imagine that biofuel cell is implanted in your arm. The oxygen and sugar is in your blood. Can you see it now? Electricity. It’s always there and always being recharged. Running low on power? Grab a Coke or a candy bar. 

The engineers really aren’t interested in a new way for you to power your iPod. Not yet, anyway. They’re looking for lightweight, compact, dependable ways for astronauts to power things like medical sensors in space. Now, they’re getting ready to send one up in a satellite to see how well it does in orbit. No people. Just tiny tanks of sugar and oxygen. The people will come later, they hope.

Well, our iPod sounds like it’s going flat. Guess we need to grab a Snickers bar. See you next time.  

from Australia's largest technology trade show: EO ultra mobile personal computer

Lia Timson rounds up the coolest gadgets at the latest technology trade show.

                                                                    Tech heads and early adopters must have had a field day at CeBIT, Australia's largest technology trade show. It wrapped up this week, clearing the way for the latest hardware and software to be embraced by consumers and businesses. Some of the gear is already available, other devices will arrive later this year. Much of it capitalises on the trend toward mobile work.

Among the stars of the show was the ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC) - between a tablet PC and a personal digital assistant (PDA) - with full PC capabilities at half of the price of a tablet. The new $1650 EO from TabletKiosk is 50 per cent bigger than the average PDA, runs Windows XP and ditches Pocket PC applications in favour of full Windows software versions.

It's handier and lighter than a tablet or laptop and more useful than a PDA, primarily because of its 17cm touch screen. The UMPC will come with hard drives from 30GB to 160GB, and with memory up to 1GB. It is Wi-Fi and internet enabled, but does not have a mobile phone, although we are told one can be connected via Bluetooth.

Hugo Ortega, the principal of Tegatech Australia , distributors of the EO, says demand has already outstripped initial estimates, with 250 units sold in the first two hours of orders opening. It arrives in June.

"From what we've seen, there is demand for digital ink to take notes on the screen and have it transcribed to Word or other [program]," Ortega says. He says it will finally do away with paper notebooks carried around by students and note-taking professionals.

Samsung and Asus also have ultra-mobile PCs on the way soon.

Still on the portable stakes, a new credit card-size USB flash drive has arrived.

The compact Wallet Flash  has a double-sided USB port that sticks out and is small enough to fit snugly with other cards in your wallet.

Gilad Grinbaum, the director of G-Innovations , distributors of the Israeli-developed device, says it is waterproof, and starts from $30 for 128MB of storage.

If you're a mobile worker in tough and secret conditions, Panasonic's Toughbook CF-51 arrives in September. It is water and shock resistant and comes in a magnesium-alloy case. The 80GB hard drive is removable for security, and fingerprint and smart-card readers are optional. The series was designed to meet US military durability requirements.

Will they able to get success ?

NASA planning mission to visit the sun

We know it's hot up there, but NASA wants to know a bit more about the sun and its atmosphere. And so sometime before 2018, the agency intends to send a spacecraft into the solar atmosphere.

This will mark the first time that a spacecraft from Earth will actually visit a star.

The decision to chart a mission to the sun also realizes a dream that astronomers almost realized a half century ago, when the National Academy of Science's "Simpson Committee" in 1958 recommended a probe to investigate. Several studies were subsequently carried out to test the feasibility of the project, but nothing came of them.

Since NASA has never sent any vehicle this close to Earth's sun, the craft will have to be outfitted with a special shield designed to withstand radiation and temperatures exceeding 2,550 degrees Fahrenheit. A spokesman for NASA said scientists will depend on simulations to guarantee that the probe can cope with that sort of intense heat.