PETMAN robot to closely simulate soldiers

A freely walking biped robot the size and shape of a human being is being developed to realistically simulate a soldier wearing protective clothing. The robot, PETMAN (from Protection Ensemble Test Mannequin), is being developed by Boston Dynamics for the US Army for testing chemical protection clothing. The anthropomorphic robot will be able to balance itself while walking, crawling, doing calisthenics, and generally moving freely like a human while being exposed to chemical warfare agents.

At its current stage the robot resembles a box on legs, but in its final form it will closely resemble a person, having “the shape and size of a standard human,” according to VP of Engineering at Boston Dynamics, Robert Playter. When completed, PETMAN will be the first anthropomorphic robot to move dynamically like a real person, Playter said. The army also wanted the robot to simulate physiological responses inside the suit, such as sweating, temperature and humidity control, and even breathing, to even more realistically simulate a soldier wearing a protective suit.The prototype robot walks heel-to-toe just like a human, and remains balanced even when pushed. In tests it has achieved a fast walking speed of 4.4 mph walking on a moving conveyor belt. PETMAN’s walking algorithm and the mechanical design are based on a previous Boston Dynamics robot known as Big Dog, which is designed for carrying supplies over almost any terrain.

Like its predecessor, the PETMAN robot has a hydraulic actuation system and articulated legs with shock-absorbing elements. The robot is under the control of an on-board computer and an array of sensors and internal monitoring systems.

The 13-month developmental period will be followed by 17 months of building, installation, and validation. Delivery of the completed and tested robot is expected some time in 2011. Boston Dynamics is a small company that spun off MIT in 1992. It specializes in robotics, with many of its projects being for military applications. Measurement Technology Northwest, Midwest Research Institute (MRI), Smith Carter CUH2A (SCC) and HHI Corporation are all partners in the PETMAN project.

Apple's iPad Wi-Fi with 3G: Is anytime access worth it?

In the five weeks I've spent with an iPad, little has made me back off my initial impressions: While not for everybody, Apple's freshly conceived tablet is indeed a stunning game-changer. But the Wi-Fi-only iPad model I've been using has at least one big drawback: Wi-Fi still isn't ubiquitous. Over the weekend, I've been trying out the model that aims to address this void, the iPad Wi-Fi "plus" 3G that went on sale Friday. Thanks to AT&T's wireless 3G cellular service, I browsed the Web and streamed video sans Wi-Fi in a suburban New Jersey park, sitting in the grandstand at Yankee Stadium and in my car.

The price for this extra wireless freedom is $629 for a 16-gigabyte model, $729 for 32GB and $829 for 64GB. That compares with $499, $599 and $699 for the Wi-Fi-only versions.

Meanwhile, AT&T charges $14.99 a month for 250 megabytes of wireless data and $29.99 for unlimited data. No contract is required, but you do have to tell AT&T if you don't want to continue. The prepay plans automatically renew. It's all easily managed on the iPad itself.

You have flexibility to switch plans on the go. I easily burned past 250MB. The San Francisco Chronicle estimates that 250MB will give you about 35 minutes of YouTube video, or a few thousand Web pages and typical e-mail use.

Is anytime Internet access worth the premium? It boils down to how often you'll be out and about without Wi-Fi access.

Proving as always that cellular service varies by location, I found browsing the Web poky in the upper deck of Yankee Stadium but reasonably fast in the suburban park and in my house.

I had no hiccups streaming the movie "Julie & Julia" through the free Netflix app. Video on Netflix displays in lower resolution when using 3G compared with Wi-Fi, but the difference wasn't stark.

I could not make the same statement concerning videos on YouTube. In 3G, the quality was dramatically inferior (read: lousy). Moreover, ABC's iPad app wouldn't play 3G videos at all. Instead, a warning appears: "Cellular networks are not supported at this time."

Apple says it made the decision to downgrade resolution on YouTube so you get continuous playback in more places as opposed to stops and starts. ABC made the call to restrict cellular usage through its app.

In most other respects the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi "plus" 3G models look and behave similarly. The 3G machine has a plastic back strip on the top and rear that covers the 3G and GPS antennas.

There's a slot on the side for a micro SIM card. Having GPS means locations through Maps and other apps are more accurate.

I didn't run a scientific test, but based on my usage, expect Apple's claim of some nine hours of battery life to be on the mark, about an hour less than you'll get on the Wi-Fi-only model.

Samsung Introduces Corby -- Touchscreen Mobile Phone for Youth

Samsung Electronics today announced the availability of Samsung Corby (model: S3650), a mobile phone designed to support the digitally connected lifestyles of today’s young mobile users. The Samsung Corby, available across Europe later this month, is a full-touch handset that places users at the center of the social media revolution with a wide range of social networks support, such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. The new mobile complements the company’s touch screen strategy, “touch for every lifestyle,” by targeting the youth market.

“We see strong growth opportunities in this sector and will continue to pioneer new markets with innovative technology. The Corby is consistent with Samsung’s legacy of developing new products and technologies designed for specific audiences and bringing new devices quickly to market,” explained JK Shin, Executive Vice President and Head of Samsung Electronics’ Mobile Communications Division. 

The device represents a complete makeover for the youth segment, with its eye-catching profile featuring two-tone diagonal contours. The Samsung Corby is notable for both its body design and colors - which mark a significant break from the way full touch phones are usually designed. It is available in bold color options such as Jamaican Yellow, Cupid Pink, Minimal White, and Festival Orange so that users can choose their favorite colors.

“Globally, we are number one for full-screen touch phones and recognize the importance of social networks in the modern mobile industry. Samsung’s target audiences are at the heart of its business strategy and the design and functionality of Samsung Corby meets the needs of a highly digitally connected and style conscious youth audience - as does the affordable price point,” continued JK Shin.

The best social networking services are combined with enhanced multimedia capabilities in a compact form factor. Corby’s 2.8-inch QVGA screen delivers a quality online video experience and its quad band connectivity and support for EDGE networks means that Samsung Corby users can stay in touch regardless of their location.

Samsung Corby will be available in European countries starting from mid September at approximately 150 EUR.

Samsung Launches M5650 Music Phone

Following on the launch of the Corby(S3650), the Samsung M5650 further strengthens Samsung’s offering for digitally savvy young users who seek colorful and bold designs, easy connectivity and great functionality.

Tailored for music lovers, the Samsung M5650 is equipped with a one-touch key for listening to your favorite tunes on top of all the diverse features of the Corby, which swept the global market with sales of 3.5 million units within two months of its launch in September.

The Samsung M5650’s bold design emphasizes the same contoured exterior as seen in the Corby, adding curved edges on its reverse side to maximizing its smooth and sophisticated feel.

In addition, the Samsung M5650 offers enhanced social networking features for those who are actively digitally connected through means such as e-mail, instant messaging and blogs. Additionally, the Samsung M5650 allows quick access to MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, and the ability to easily upload photos and videos.

Offering 3G connectivity, the Samsung M5650 comes with a full range of features such as WiFi, a 3-megapixel camera, FM radio, MP3 player, USB 2.0, Bluetooth, One Finger Zoom and a Cartoon UI.

“We are always looking for ways to satisfy the next generation of mobile phone users,” said Younghee Lee, Vice President of Marketing for the Mobile Communications Division of Samsung Electronics. “The Samsung M5650 builds on the appeal of our popular Corby with exciting new music functions and speedy 3G connectivity, expanding our product lineup of hip and trendy mobile phones for young consumers.”

Samsung M5650 is currently available in Portugal and soon expand to other Europe markets, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, India and China. The battery cover is available in blue or black.

Source: Samsung


Tailored for music lovers, the Samsung M5650 is equipped with a one-touch key for listening to your favorite tunes on top of all the diverse features of the Corby, which swept the global market with sales of 3.5 million units within two months of its launch in September.

The Samsung M5650’s bold design emphasizes the same contoured exterior as seen in the Corby, adding curved edges on its reverse side to maximizing its smooth and sophisticated feel.

In addition, the Samsung M5650 offers enhanced social networking features for those who are actively digitally connected through means such as e-mail, instant messaging and blogs. Additionally, the Samsung M5650 allows quick access to MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, and the ability to easily upload photos and videos.

Offering 3G connectivity, the Samsung M5650 comes with a full range of features such as WiFi, a 3-megapixel camera, FM radio, MP3 player, USB 2.0, Bluetooth, One Finger Zoom and a Cartoon UI.

“We are always looking for ways to satisfy the next generation of mobile phone users,” said Younghee Lee, Vice President of Marketing for the Mobile Communications Division of Samsung Electronics. “The Samsung M5650 builds on the appeal of our popular Corby with exciting new music functions and speedy 3G connectivity, expanding our product lineup of hip and trendy mobile phones for young consumers.”

Samsung M5650 is currently available in Portugal and soon expand to other Europe markets, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, India and China. The battery cover is available in blue or black.

Source: Samsung

Taiwan notebook maker Inventec plans China plant

Notebook computers seen on display at the World Congress on Information Technology in Kuala Lumpur. Taiwan's Inventec Corp, the world's fourth largest contract notebook computer maker, has said it will spend 800 million US dollars to build a plant in southwestern China.Taiwan's Inventec Corp, the world's fourth largest contract notebook computer maker, said Monday it will spend 800 million US dollars to build a plant in southwestern China. Inventec said in a statement it had signed an agreement for the five-year investment project with the government of Chongqing over the weekend.

Inventec said the Chongqing plant will become its second China manufacturing base after an existing plant in Shanghai.

In the initial phase of the investment, the Chongqing facility will focus on notebook computer manufacturing and then expand to servers, mobile communications and software production, Inventec said.

The Taiwanese company said it expects the Chongqing plant will create 10 billion dollars' worth of annual output five years after the investment is completed.

It was not clear from the statement when the plant would become operational, or whether it would be a joint venture. Inventec officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Five Dutch operators buy into 2.6 GHz band

Visitors walk past Vodafone exhibition stand walls at the CeBIT fair on March 2010 in Germany. Five mobile operators, including Vodafone, now own portions of the Netherlands' new 2.6 Gigahertz frequency band, which allows for super-fast broadband, the Dutch telecommunications agency announced Monday.Five mobile operators now own portions of the Netherlands' new 2.6 Gigahertz frequency band, which allows for super-fast broadband, the DuAn online auction closed Monday with operators Ziggo, Tele 2, KPN, Vodafone and T-Mobile, acquiring frequency space for a total amount of 2.6 million euros (3.5 million dollars), it said in a statement.

"An important aim in issuing these licences is for the consumer to have as wide a choice as possible in (broadband) mobile communications," the agency, an entity of the economic ministry, said in a statement.

With the licences, valid until 2030, the agency said operators obtained frequencies in the 2.6 GHz band, "which is suitable for 4G" transmission, up to 10 times faster than existing options.

The newly licenced operators are obliged to roll out a network within two years, the statement said.

4G will allow users to receive multimedia such as TV broadcasts, web conferencing and online games at rates much faster then the current generation of networks.

Nordic telecom operator TeliaSonera in December announced the launch in Stockholm and Oslo of the world's first commercial 4G/LTE mobile network. tch telecommunications agency announced Monday.

Fiber-optic speeds achieved over copper lines

(PhysOrg.com) -- Bell Labs, Alcatel-Lucent's research arm, has demonstrated industry record broadband download speeds of up to 300 Megabits per second using two traditional twisted pair copper telephone lines. The achievement could extend the use of copper-based broadband networks, which are in wide use around the world, and it could provide another means of providing faster broadband in areFrench telecommunications giant Alcatel-Lucent said the speeds achieved would enable service providers to use the existing copper-based infrastructure to satisfy demand for fast broadband for home and business users for many years to come. Achieving faster speeds is important for Internet service providers who want to compete with the fundamentally different technology used by cable companies.

The demonstration used DSL (digital subscriber line) phantom mode, which was developed in 1986 as an analog telephony technique. This adds a “phantom” channel in addition to the two channels transmitted over a twisted pair copper telephone line. The positive half of the phantom is sent down one wire, and the negative half is sent down the other. Analog processors at the receiving end extract the two real signals and the phantom.

Phantom mode adds to the bandwidth but also introduces noise or “crosstalk” into the signal, and to cancel out this effect they used a “vectoring” technique. Bandwidth was also increased by a third technique called “bonding,” which treats the two lines in the twisted pair as if they were a single cable. Vectoring and bonding are standard means of increasing DSL broadband speed, but neither is widely used in the US.

The prototype technology achieved transmissions of 300 Megabits per second (Mbps) over 400 meters and up to 100 Mbps at up to one kilometer. Standard download speeds over ADSL using copper infrastructure are generally around 20 Mbps.

Head of Bell Labs research, Gee Rittenhouse, said in a company statement that DSL phantom mode is an important breakthrough because it “combines cutting-edge technology” with a business model that will enable service providers to offer the latest broadband services using the existing network infrastructure.

To use the new technique, the user must have two telephone lines already installed, and a modem designed to use the two lines.

Fast broadband speeds over copper lines were also demonstrated last year by Ericsson, who achieved transmission speeds of 500 Mbps, but their system used six bonded telephone lines, rather than the two in Alcatel-Lucent's prototype.as where fiber-optic and other cable technologies are unavailable.

* Internet * Software * Business * Engineering * Semiconductors * Other * Telecom * Energy * Computer Sciences * Hi Tech & Innovation India restricting Chinese telecom purchases: operator

An Indian farmer talks on his mobile phone as he discusses pricing of oranges at the Kothapeta fruit market. India has blocked its fast-growing telecom sector from buying some Chinese-made equipment, an Indian mobile operator said Friday, in a move set to stoke trade tensions between the emerging giants.India has blocked its fast-growing telecom sector from buying some Chinese-made equipment, an Indian mobile operator said Friday, in a move set to stoke trade tensions between the emerging giants.An executive of a Indian mobile operator said his company had received a letter from the Indian government saying it could not buy equipment from UTStarcom, a US-based company that manufactures in China.

"We were told we could not buy equipment from UTStarcom. I believe most operators have received such letters," the executive of one of India's larger mobile operators, who asked not to be identified, told AFP.

A manager at UTStarcom, the leading provider of hardware for Internet television services in Asia, said he could not immediately comment.

Earlier Friday, a Chinese trade body complained telecom equipment makers in the country were being prevented from selling to Indian telecom companies on security grounds.

Last December, India said it was probing whether the use of Chinese-made telecom equipment in sensitive border and insurgency-hit areas could hurt national security.

A spokeswoman for the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products Chinese industry group declined to identify the companies affected by New Delhi's restrictions.

But India's Business Line newspaper reported earlier in the week New Delhi had also told mobile operators not to import any equipment made by such Chinese vendors as Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp.

Huawei on Friday expressed concern over the reports and called for "a fair and non-discriminatory policy" to address the issue of security clearance for its products.

The company, present in India for a decade 10 years, said it had received no official communication from the government and said it was "seeking clarifications from the concerned authorities".

Trade relations are already tense between the neighbours, with Indian firms complaining the country's market is being flooded with cheaper Chinese-made products.

India's mobile sector, the fastest-growing in the world with 15-20 million new subscribers each month, has become an important source of revenue for Chinese companies.

Latest 3D TV Technology Offers Interactive Control

The live 3D TV system consists of (left) an array of 64 cameras that captures multi-view videos of a live scene and (right) an integral photography display with 60 viewing directions that reproduces an autostereoscopic 3D video of the scene. 

(PhysOrg.com) -- Three-dimensional TV is now closer than ever to becoming a reality for consumers, and the latest research is investigating the full extent of 3D TV’s possibilities. In a recent study, researchers at the University of Tokyo and Hitachi, Ltd., have presented a 3D TV system that captures a live scene in real time and reproduces it on an autostereoscopic display. The system also offers interactive control, allowing viewers to adjust viewing parameters such as cropping a scene and reproducing an appropriate amount of depth.
“The greatest advantage of our system is to provide interactive control of the viewing parameters,” lead author of the study Yuichi Taguchi, a Ph.D. student at the University of Tokyo, told PhysOrg.com. “The interactive control is essential for reproducing a dynamic 3D scene with desirable conditions, which depend on the contents of the scene, the viewer's preference, and the display  specifications.”

The 3D TV system, called TransCAIP, captures a live scene using an array of 64 video cameras that are all connected via Ethernet cables to one PC, which converts images from all the video cameras into images for the display. Each video camera contains a built-in HTTP server, which sends motion JPEG sequences to the PC.

The PC then converts the 64 input views captured by the cameras to an “integral photography image” made of 60 views, which correspond to the viewing directions of the display. Using an image-based rendering technique, the PC converts the images in real-time, and then arranges the pixels to produce the integral photography image. The entire process, called light field conversion, is implemented on the single PC in real-time, requiring a few hundred milliseconds per frame.

Like all autostereoscopic displays, the new 3D TV system doesn’t require viewers to wear special glasses. Instead, the display reproduces various viewpoint images, allowing viewers to see a different image in each eye or by moving their head (the parallax effect). Although the basic principles of autostereoscopic 3D displays were developed more than a century ago, only with recent technological advances has it been possible to actually build autostereoscopic displays since they require such a large number of light rays (the resolution of a view times the number of viewpoints). 

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Sloping Agriculture Land Technology Solves Soil Erosion Issues

Davao, 20 August 2009. His family left Manila when Buencamino “Boy” Talabucon was only three years old to settle in Davao del Sur. They were poor and so after graduating from high school, he started working by driving a passenger’s vehicle.

After more than a decade of driving daily for twelve hours along bumpy roads, he quit and decided to become a farmer. A distant relative allowed him to till his 1.5-hectare land on the slope of a mountain on the condition that Boy remitted 25% of his produce.

With minimal knowledge on farming, Boy cleared one-fourth hectare of the farm, where he planted corn. Initially, the harvest was good. But the production of his farm significantly reduced as years went by. He observed this as the soil on his hillside “was always washing away.”

Ready to give up farming, Boy learned about a simple technology that would help increase his farm income while attending a meeting conducted by a European-funded organization. There, he learned that the primary culprit of his low production was soil erosion.

Thousands of Filipino farmers and elsewhere in Asia face the same dilemma. Three out of four farmers in developing countries farm in the hills, American agriculturist Harold R. Watson estimated. When they hold a fistful of exhausted soil and let it fall to the ground, said the man who has traveled all over the region for more than three decades, “they feel their livelihood slipping through their fingers.”

Topsoil – that thin layer of earth -- is one of the most vital of our natural resources. Together with water and air, it forms the very basis of life. Typically, only some 15 centimeters deep, topsoil is a rich medium containing organic matter, minerals, nutrients, insects, microbes, worms and other elements needed to provide a nurturing environment for plants.

Gary Gardner, a researcher of the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute, said that in the past, civilizations could simply leave one piece of land for another when the soil nutrient’s had been depleted. Today, we no longer have this luxury.

The reason: topsoil are being washed or blown away. “Soil is made by God and put here for man to use, not for one generation but forever,” said Watson, who once directed the Davao-based Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC). “It takes thousands of years to build one inch of topsoil but only good strong rain to remove one inch from unprotected soil on the slopes of mountains.”

Erosion is the most pervasive form of soil degradation. “In the developing world, erosion and poverty interact in a destructive cycle: erosion is often rooted in poverty and crowding, while poverty and crowding are often the harvest of erosion,” wrote Gardner in a Worldwatch paper.

Humans cause erosion at a rate 10 to 15 times faster than any natural process, according to Bruce Wilkinson, a sedimentary geologist working with the Syracuse University in New York City. Global erosion, he pointed out, is occurring at a rate of about 75 gigatons a year – a gigaton is equal to a billion tons.

“To put that into context,” Wilkinson explained, “current annual amounts of rock and soil moved over the Earth’s surface in response to human activities are an amount of material that would fill the Grand Canyon of Arizona in about 50 years.”

“Soil erosion is an enemy to any nation – far worse than any outside enemy coming into a country and conquering it because it is an enemy you cannot see vividly,” said Watson, who received the 1985 Ramon Magsaysay Award for peace and international understanding. “It’s a slow creeping enemy that soon possesses the land. We must consider ourselves in a state of emergency; our topsoil is all going...”

That was the main reason why Watson and his colleagues at MBRLC developed the Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT), a system patterned after the famous rice terraces of Banaue in up north. But unlike the terraces, which use physical barriers and contour ditches, SALT employs live hedgerows.

Examples of hedgerows planted along contour lines are Leucaena leucocephala, Flemingia macrophylla, Desmodium rensonii, Gliricidia sepium, and Indigofera anil. All these help enrich soil and aid neighboring plants because of its foliage rivals manure in nitrogen content.

The technology is very simple. The hedgerows are planted in very dense double rows to serve as erosion barriers. When the hedgerows attain the height of two meters, they are cut back to about 40 centimeters and the cuttings are placed in the 3-5 meter alleys where crops are growing.

SALT is considered a diversified farming system. Aside from the hedgerows, rows of perennial crops such as coffee, bananas, and citrus may be grown in areas occupied by corn. The annual crops are rotated: corn is followed by soybeans or peanuts and then followed again by corn or another cereal crop. “In this way, a farmer has something to harvest every month throughout the year,” says Roy C. Alimoane, the current MBRLC director.

SALT started to change thousands of lives in Mindanao and attract national notice after its introduction in 1978. “The response was overwhelming,” said Warlito A. Laquihon, the former associate director of the center. “People come to the center not only to get a glimpse of the system but to undergo training as well.”

After the one-week training, Buencamino Talabucon returned home and adapted the technology he learned from the MBRLC. He also adopted other livelihood technologies in his farm. Now, his farm is teeming with various crops. “I am now happy harvesting the fruits of my labor,” he said.

The success of SALT ushered to the birth of three more variants, each one addressing a certain niche for the hilly land farmer. Simple Agro-Livestock Technology (SALT 2) utilizes small animals, particularly goats, to create a sustainable upland farming system. Sustainable Agroforest Land Technology (SALT 3) integrates forestry and food production in one setting. Small Agrofruit Livelihood Technology (SALT 4) centers on high value fruit trees for high income generation.

Despite its growing international reputation, the center still doesn’t look like much. No fancy buildings or large land tracts – just 19 hectares of small fields and barns, offices, bunkhouses and dormitories for guests and trainees, and a few houses for its staff.

“We don’t want to look like a big institution,” Alimoane said. “We want farmers to see what goes on here as something they can do.”


Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC) is located 10 kilometers away from the town of Bansalan. To get there, you have to take a bus going to Cotabato City. The travel time is about two hours from the Ecoland Terminal. Outside of the center is a signage so visitors won’t miss it.