Why Your Electric Vehicle 'Fuel' Will Be Free

How can EVs become more attractive to consumers price-wise? One of the ways can be from the realistic prospect of free 'fuel.' Imagine this scenario happening in the not so distant future: You get in your EV for a day of errands and your display screen notifies you that your battery is low. A quick scan on the navigation system says there is an available charge spot at a nearby grocery store where, best of all, charging is free to customers. With a few touches to the navigation screen, your vehicle automatically routes you to the location and you're able to refuel while grocery shopping is checked off your list.

Pie in the sky you ask? Not at all and here's why: depending on battery size, the cost of the total electricity needed to charge your vehicle should be around $1.00 - $1.50. Retailers will likely see this as good business: spending a $1.00 per customer in exchange for the $100 you'll spend at the grocery store is a high return; especially when considering the amount they normally spend on advertisements and reward programs to get you in the door. Essentially, electricity as fuel will be much more than a commodity—it will be a retailer's bargaining chip.

Read more at Free Fuel

Feds Plot ‘Near Human’ Robot Docs, Farmers, Troops

Robots are already vacuuming our carpets, heading into combat and assisting docs on medical procedures. Get ready for a next generation of "near human" bots that'll do a lot more: independently perform surgeries, harvest our crops and herd our livestock, and even administer drugs from within our own bodies.

Those are only a few of the suggested applications for robots in a massive new federal research program. The military's blue-sky research arm, Darpa, is pairing up with four other agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Homeland Security, to launch a major push that'd revolutionize robotic capabilities and put bots pretty much everywhere, from hospitals to dude ranches to "explosive atmospheres."

Read more at Push-for-near-human-robot-doctors-farmers-troops

Computerized Grenade Launcher Heads to Afghanistan

It looks like a piece of riot-control gear. It's got a computerized in-board targeting system. It can kill someone from 2,300 feet away, while he takes cover. And it's on its way to the 101st Airborne Division and Special Forces units in the Afghanistan war.

The XM-25 grenade launcher shoots a 25 mm high-explosive round that's basically a "smart" grenade. What makes it smart? Sensors and microchips inside the round talks to the gun's guidance system, known as the Target Acquisition Fire Control unit, to learn where and when to explode, minimizing the likelihood of collateral damage.

Need to take out an insurgent who's popping out from behind a clay wall? Set the guidance for the distance to the wall and adjust a bit more for his body's position and fire — actually using Plus and Minus buttons on the side of the gun. Watch the round release bursts of shrapnel right over him. You can't do that with a regular mortar tube, even if you were able to shoot the mortar like a gun.

Read more at Computerized-grenade-launcher-heads-to-afghanistan

Comments on my blog

You can now comment on my blog posts if you like. I didn't know until recently that Blogspot was changed so that blogs were set to a default of "no comments". To comment on a post click on "comments" at the end. A new window will be opened to allow you to leave comments. You can choose an identity such as your Google Account or just click on "Anonymous".

Darpa's Self-Aiming "One Shot" Sniper Rifle Scheduled for Next Year

A sniper crouches near an open window and zooms in on his target, who sits a half-mile away. He peers through a scope and holds his breath, preparing to squeeze the trigger. But it's windy outside, and he can't afford a miss. What to do?

A new DARPA-funded electro-optical system will calculate the ballistics for him, telling him where to aim and ensuring a perfect shot, no matter the weather conditions.

Read more at Self-Aiming Sniper Rifle

Darpa Moves a Step Closer to Its Flying Humvee

In the spring, the futurists at Darpa rethought troop transport. Instead of adding armor or changing the shape to deflect bomb blasts, the agency reasoned, why not let it leap into the sky at the first sign of danger or inconvenience? That's exactly what Darpa's "Transformer" project is supposed to be: a mashup of a helicopter, plane and armored truck.

Read more at Flying Humvee

Cyber Thieves Steal Nearly $1,000,000 from University of Virginia College

Cyber crooks stole just shy of $1 million from a satellite campus of The University of Virginia last week, KrebsOnSecurity.com has learned.

The attackers stole the money from The University of Virginia's College at Wise, a 4-year public liberal arts college located in the town of Wise in southwestern Virginia.

Read more at Cyber Thieves Steal Nearly $1M From University of Virginia College

Attackers Exploiting New Acrobat/Reader Flaw

Adobe warned today that hackers appear to be exploiting a previously unknown security hole in its PDF Reader and Acrobat programs.

In an advisory published Wednesday, Adobe said a critical vulnerability exists in Acrobat and Reader versions 9.3.4 and earlier, and that there are reports that this critical vulnerability is being actively exploited in the wild. The company says its in the process of evaluating the schedule for an update to plug the security hole.

WARNING: Since the latest Adobe Reader available as of today 10 September 2010 is vulnerable, it is CRITICAL THAT YOUR ANTIVIRUS PROGRAM BE KEPT UP TO DATE.

Read more at New Acrobat/Reader Flaw

DHS Cybersecurity Watchdogs Miss Hundreds of Vulnerabilities on Their Own Network

The federal agency in charge of protecting other agencies from computer intruders was found riddled with hundreds of high-risk security holes on its own systems, according to the results of an audit released Wednesday.

Read More DHS Network Vulnerabilities

New Audio Teen-Repellent

Gallery Place business owners in the Chinatown area of Washington DC are using a new approach to chasing away loitering teenagers: zapping them with a device that emits a high-pitched, headache-inducing sound that only young ears can hear.

The Mosquito, as the $1,000 device is called, is apparently annoying not only its intended targets, but also some of their sharp-hearing elders.

To read more and see if it would bother you go to Gallery Place's New Audio Teen-Repellent

Tiny Thorium Reactors Could Wean World Off Oil

An abundant metal with vast energy potential could quickly wean the world off oil, if only Western political leaders would muster the will to do it, a UK newspaper says today. The Telegraph makes the case for thorium reactors as the key to a fossil-fuel-free world within five years, and puts the ball firmly in President Barack Obama's court.

Read more at Thorium Reactors Could Wean World Off Oil In Just Five Years

My New Home in Far North Dallas

I have been on the waiting list for two terrific apartments for several months. It took so long for me to find an apartment because I'm picky. I demanded a top floor apartment, preferably a corner unit, with a good view in a vibrant neighborhood. My favorites were the Ravello in Uptown near the Dallas arts and entertainment center and Turnberry Isle located beside the Prestonwood Country Club golf course.

I am now a Turnberry Isle resident. Turnberry is less than 10 minutes from the Galleria and even closer to Addison's nightlife. There are DOZENS of great restaurants nearby. And I'm only 20 minutes to my options classes in Uptown. The rent on my 2-bedroom top floor corner unit apartment costs 60% less than my Fairfax VA 1-bedroom apartment.

The photos below were taken from my balcony that overlooks the 11^th hole of the golf course.
This is my living room. The living room and master bedroom also overlook the golf course. I'm going to turn the master bedroom into a large office as soon as I buy a desk and some bookshelves.

Spinal-Fluid Test Confirmed to Predict Alzheimer's

The New York Times reports that researchers have found a spinal-fluid test can be 100 percent accurate in identifying patients with significant memory loss who are on their way to developing Alzheimer's disease.

Read more at Spinal-Fluid Test Confirmed to Predict Alzheimer's

Download a Movie from iTunes in Less than 1 Second

That's the promise of a research breakthrough from Intel that combines silicon chips and lasers to transmit data at 50 gigabits per second — and someday, maybe as fast as a terabit per second.

The 50-Gbps speed is enough to download an HD movie from iTunes, or up to 100 hours of digital music, in less than a second.

The technology, known as silicon photonics, can be used as a replacement for copper wires to connect components within computers, or between computers in data centers. Over the next two years, Intel hopes to perfect the technology by improving the efficiency of the lasers, as well as the packaging and assembly of the silicon chips and the manufacturing techniques needed to churn out millions of these modules.

Read more at High-Speed Laser Chips Move Data at 50 Gbps

Telemedicine Comes Into Its Own

"Telemedicine — providing care using advanced communications technology may be coming into its own with a little help from Uncle Sam. The Obama administration recently awarded $795 million in grants and loans for 66 new broadband projects. Most of these projects will involve using videoconferencing equipment to allow doctors to consult on medical procedures or examinations remotely."

Read more at Telemedicine Comes Into Its Own

NOAA interactive map tracks Gulf oil spill

Geoplatform.gov/gulfresponse employs the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMAR) a web-based GIS platform developed by NOAA and the University of New Hampshire's Coastal Response Research Center. ERMA was designed to facilitate communication and coordination among a variety of users - from federal, state and local responders to local community leaders and the public.

The mapping tool includes only those vessels equipped with the automatic identification system and therefore is not representative of all the vessels supporting the largest oil spill response and recovery operation in U.S. history.

Thanks to Joe Machado for this information.

Army’s Self-Driving Trucks Let Humans Watch for Bombs

As insurgents in Afghanistan target the U.S. military's soft underbelly — its long logistics lines — trucking materiel through war zones has become an increasingly dangerous mission. One U.S. Army solution? Self-driving trucks that let the humans behind the wheel look out for bombs, instead.
Read more at Self Driving Trucks

Computer Mouse Turns Invisible

In a magic trick that only geeks can pull off, researchers at MIT have found a method to let users click and scroll exactly the same way they would with a computer mouse, without the device actually being there.
Read more at Invisible Mouse

3-D Printers Make Real Items From Design Downloads

Home computer printers gave people the ability to produce bank statements, concert tickets, holiday cards and party invitations at the touch of a button.

But what if you wanted to "print out" a dinner plate, the leg of an armchair or an eyeglass frame? It may sound far-fetched and futuristic, but machines that can do this -- popularly known as 3-D printers -- are poised to enter the home electronics market.

To read more click on 3-D Printers Go Beyond Paper and Ink

PERSONAL NOTE: These devices remind me of the "3D printer" that my old Army agency has that can produce solid 3-D color models from digital geospatial information. The 3D printer is used to create color models of cities, mountainous areas and other complex terrain around the world in support of military operations and other applications. Some visiting Congressmen have requested models of cities or other areas in their home districts.

New blood test speeds up cancer detection

The detection and treatment of solid cancers such as lung, breast, ovarian, colon, and prostate cancers could be on the verge of a major makeover, thanks to a new blood test developed at the University of Nottingham and spinoff company Oncimmune.

Read more at New Blood TEST Speeds Up Cancer Detection