Friday, February 12, 2010
Blog #3 - Unplugged Life
I have just read an interesting article. It talks about the relatively new research on wireless power transmission and its possible applications. The article deals with the latest advancements and presents the different innovative technologies that are being developed, some of them already in use by the general public.
The article explains how in the “wire-free minimalist culture” that we live in, everyday use devices tend to become wireless. Some (such as PC’s, TV’s, or radio and music players) are starting to be implemented to work with no need of cables. Others (like cell phones, laptops, or mp3 players) already function almost completely wirelessly. However, all of these devices still need to be physically connected, either permanently or at least each certain time, to the power supply. For many people, this is a big inconvenient that should be eliminated. The fact of simply having to manually connect our devices to recharge batteries is seen as something uncomfortable and old-fashioned.
Engineers have in mind different solutions to this problem. There are essentially three different approaches, each of them with its advantages and its disadvantages. The first and probably the most obvious and simplest solution would come with the transmission of electricity through radio waves. The article explains how this system would be implemented by simply adjusting the Wi-Fi technology for the transmission of electrical signals “using the same kinds of transmitters and receivers used in Wi-Fi communication”, thus with no need to create new maybe complicated and costly infrastructures. However, it is not clear whether this system could power any kind of device (researchers see this option more as a wireless power supply just possible in short distances and only feeding small electronic devices or those which don’t require much power to function).
A second approach consists of emitting infrared lasers and capturing them with photovoltaic cells (similar to solar panels) that convert the beam into electrical energy. Again, this technology has its pros and cons. On one hand, it allows for transmitting relatively big amounts of power (at least more than in the case of the system previously mentioned). On the other hand, it requires a line free of any obstacles from the emitter to the receiver, which doesn’t sound very functional.
The last option that the article talks about has to do with the use of magnetic induction, phenomenon by which common electrical motors or transformers that we all have in our houses work (essentially a varying magnetic field generated through a coil induces electricity into another proximate coil). This could be used as a wireless power system. Recent research has actually shown this as a real possibility. Lately, the key has been the development of a resonant system of induction, making the frequencies at the emitter equal to those at the receiver to make sure the energy is transmitted in phase with the one that has already been sent before, so that the new transferred energy completely ads to the one already sent. This is just a way of gaining in efficiency; without using this technique, each time there was an emission of energy, most likely, part of it would be lost.
From my point of view, this article presents a relevant issue, considering that wireless transmission, experts say these days, is the way in which all power will be transmitted in the near future. Indeed, I believe that implementing any of these systems successfully would be useful for us or, at least, make our lives easier. It would save us a lot of time and, without doubt, avoid us many upsets. How many times were we unable to make an important phone call because our cell phone simply ran out of battery? With this invention we wouldn’t have to worry about manually charging our electronic devices because it would simply be done automatically, not to mention the improvement in aesthetics it would involve (our homes look better with no wires). The important thing will be, as always, to develop a system not harmful for people. We all know that for instance lasers or electromagnetic fields can have negative effects in our bodies. It is the responsibility of the engineers involved in this research to preserve and protect the security of the future users of the device.
Here's a link to the article in question
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527461.300-unplugged-goodbye-cables-hello-energy-beams.html?full=true
The article explains how in the “wire-free minimalist culture” that we live in, everyday use devices tend to become wireless. Some (such as PC’s, TV’s, or radio and music players) are starting to be implemented to work with no need of cables. Others (like cell phones, laptops, or mp3 players) already function almost completely wirelessly. However, all of these devices still need to be physically connected, either permanently or at least each certain time, to the power supply. For many people, this is a big inconvenient that should be eliminated. The fact of simply having to manually connect our devices to recharge batteries is seen as something uncomfortable and old-fashioned.
Engineers have in mind different solutions to this problem. There are essentially three different approaches, each of them with its advantages and its disadvantages. The first and probably the most obvious and simplest solution would come with the transmission of electricity through radio waves. The article explains how this system would be implemented by simply adjusting the Wi-Fi technology for the transmission of electrical signals “using the same kinds of transmitters and receivers used in Wi-Fi communication”, thus with no need to create new maybe complicated and costly infrastructures. However, it is not clear whether this system could power any kind of device (researchers see this option more as a wireless power supply just possible in short distances and only feeding small electronic devices or those which don’t require much power to function).
A second approach consists of emitting infrared lasers and capturing them with photovoltaic cells (similar to solar panels) that convert the beam into electrical energy. Again, this technology has its pros and cons. On one hand, it allows for transmitting relatively big amounts of power (at least more than in the case of the system previously mentioned). On the other hand, it requires a line free of any obstacles from the emitter to the receiver, which doesn’t sound very functional.
The last option that the article talks about has to do with the use of magnetic induction, phenomenon by which common electrical motors or transformers that we all have in our houses work (essentially a varying magnetic field generated through a coil induces electricity into another proximate coil). This could be used as a wireless power system. Recent research has actually shown this as a real possibility. Lately, the key has been the development of a resonant system of induction, making the frequencies at the emitter equal to those at the receiver to make sure the energy is transmitted in phase with the one that has already been sent before, so that the new transferred energy completely ads to the one already sent. This is just a way of gaining in efficiency; without using this technique, each time there was an emission of energy, most likely, part of it would be lost.
From my point of view, this article presents a relevant issue, considering that wireless transmission, experts say these days, is the way in which all power will be transmitted in the near future. Indeed, I believe that implementing any of these systems successfully would be useful for us or, at least, make our lives easier. It would save us a lot of time and, without doubt, avoid us many upsets. How many times were we unable to make an important phone call because our cell phone simply ran out of battery? With this invention we wouldn’t have to worry about manually charging our electronic devices because it would simply be done automatically, not to mention the improvement in aesthetics it would involve (our homes look better with no wires). The important thing will be, as always, to develop a system not harmful for people. We all know that for instance lasers or electromagnetic fields can have negative effects in our bodies. It is the responsibility of the engineers involved in this research to preserve and protect the security of the future users of the device.
Here's a link to the article in question
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527461.300-unplugged-goodbye-cables-hello-energy-beams.html?full=true
Friday, February 5, 2010
Blog #2 - Electronic Contact Lenses
History has demonstrated that our goals are achievable. What at the beginning appears to be crazy and unreachable, eventually becomes a reality. Once ideas emerge, it only takes more or less time for new devices or inventions to develop successfully. However, the promise of bionic eyesight with the use of contact lenses sounds as something particularly complicated to achieve.
Augmented Reality in a Contact Lens is the title of the article that deals with the investigations that are being carried regarding this possible new invention. The article explains how this idea of building electronic circuits small enough to be integrated into contact lenses is currently under research. Plenty of new achievements that are being attained in the nanotechnology field make scientists and engineers think of the “electronic contacts” as a possible device that will revolutionize the world of information and our future lives.
Assuming that goals are attainable, one must ask himself if this new device would meet real needs in our lives. This is arguable. I don’t think it would be correct to say that this is something we need. It is something that could serve us and perhaps make our lives easier, but I don’t think it is something that we need. However, it does meet real needs in the sense that it sounds exactly like the kind of device that one depends on, once he gets used to it.
In my opinion, this is a clear example of a possible invention that cuts both ways. On one hand, the idea sounds good and developing such a device could be very useful. It could help as a means for better connectivity to the world through virtual reality. The possible applications are innumerable; the only limit is our imagination. It could detect and interpret information about our environment. It could offer “conversation-mode” information capture: subtitles of what a person talking to us is saying, including translation subtitles to be able to communicate with anyone and anywhere; and all kinds of information about the person in front (information downloaded from databases as well as some kind of real-time sensorial information system). The idea of a way of advertising directed to the eye and adapted to each person could call the attention of advertising executives and probably give rise to a new advertising and information (internet in front of the eyes) era.
Another clear advantage, and one of the most positive things that could come with this device, would be the benefits for better health care. Doctor’s could receive information, for instance, about the patient’s levels of cholesterol, sodium, and potassium, and the user himself could monitor these levels as well as other measurements such as the level of glucose, in the case of diabetic persons. All of this, with no need to carry out slow, and sometimes difficult, tests. In this sense, it would speed up, and therefore make more efficient, the intervention of doctors, making, at the same time, life easier to patients.
On the other hand, one could argue that it has important disadvantages. It could be harmful for people. It could be a device uncomfortable to wear. Some people could find this idea of virtual reality as a way of distorting reality. Others would see problems arising from privacy issues. I personally think that it could have a negative impact in our lives, if we let something like this make us less human and more machined-driven. The questions that arise are many. Could we be able to control the system? How and up to what point? Could it result in a useful tool for our relationships with others or would it make people more introverted? Would it show people, especially children, a wrong picture of reality? Scientists and engineers involved in this project have the last word and are responsible of making sure this invention benefits us, the future users of the device.
Here's a link to the article
http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/bionics/augmented-reality-in-a-contact-lens/0
Augmented Reality in a Contact Lens is the title of the article that deals with the investigations that are being carried regarding this possible new invention. The article explains how this idea of building electronic circuits small enough to be integrated into contact lenses is currently under research. Plenty of new achievements that are being attained in the nanotechnology field make scientists and engineers think of the “electronic contacts” as a possible device that will revolutionize the world of information and our future lives.
Assuming that goals are attainable, one must ask himself if this new device would meet real needs in our lives. This is arguable. I don’t think it would be correct to say that this is something we need. It is something that could serve us and perhaps make our lives easier, but I don’t think it is something that we need. However, it does meet real needs in the sense that it sounds exactly like the kind of device that one depends on, once he gets used to it.
In my opinion, this is a clear example of a possible invention that cuts both ways. On one hand, the idea sounds good and developing such a device could be very useful. It could help as a means for better connectivity to the world through virtual reality. The possible applications are innumerable; the only limit is our imagination. It could detect and interpret information about our environment. It could offer “conversation-mode” information capture: subtitles of what a person talking to us is saying, including translation subtitles to be able to communicate with anyone and anywhere; and all kinds of information about the person in front (information downloaded from databases as well as some kind of real-time sensorial information system). The idea of a way of advertising directed to the eye and adapted to each person could call the attention of advertising executives and probably give rise to a new advertising and information (internet in front of the eyes) era.
Another clear advantage, and one of the most positive things that could come with this device, would be the benefits for better health care. Doctor’s could receive information, for instance, about the patient’s levels of cholesterol, sodium, and potassium, and the user himself could monitor these levels as well as other measurements such as the level of glucose, in the case of diabetic persons. All of this, with no need to carry out slow, and sometimes difficult, tests. In this sense, it would speed up, and therefore make more efficient, the intervention of doctors, making, at the same time, life easier to patients.
On the other hand, one could argue that it has important disadvantages. It could be harmful for people. It could be a device uncomfortable to wear. Some people could find this idea of virtual reality as a way of distorting reality. Others would see problems arising from privacy issues. I personally think that it could have a negative impact in our lives, if we let something like this make us less human and more machined-driven. The questions that arise are many. Could we be able to control the system? How and up to what point? Could it result in a useful tool for our relationships with others or would it make people more introverted? Would it show people, especially children, a wrong picture of reality? Scientists and engineers involved in this project have the last word and are responsible of making sure this invention benefits us, the future users of the device.
Here's a link to the article
http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/bionics/augmented-reality-in-a-contact-lens/0
Monday, January 25, 2010
Blog #1 - How I became interested in Engineering
I was never really interested in math. It might be “the perfect science”, as everyone apparently called it, but it was certainly not “my perfect science”. Although I was always pretty good at it and I quickly became able to solve many basic problems already in secondary school, I was never too enthusiastic about it. In many occasions, all those numbers and Greek letters would run through my mind with an unclear meaning; they were empty. I remember a typical question in a math class: “What is that for?” The teacher’s answers would usually not please me. I was looking for something else. I wanted more.
It was a little bit later, as a junior in high school, that I began to become interested in what I like to call “practical math”. I blame it on the physics class I took back then. For the first time, I was able to see how mathematical calculus and algebra could be used as a means to analyze and solve situations and problems of the “real world”. I found in physics the application of math to the explanation and understanding of how things physically work in real life. It was the theory put into practice. At that point, I was happy with my new find, but still not completely satisfied.
I soon learnt that there was something even greater than physics; professionals called engineers were in charge of applying math, physics, chemistry and other sciences’ knowledge to the development of new devices or innovative techniques to satisfy the emergence of new human needs, solve different rising problems and deal with contemporary issues, or simply make our lives easier. It was this ingenuity which seemed to characterize the work of engineers that called my attention. This is how I became curious about engineering.
Later, I found out how engineers were very well socially respected and highly valuable workers, extremely useful for almost any kind of company. From directly engineering-related positions (engineering implementation, engineering design, engineering consulting …), to responsibilities in other areas or businesses (financial analysis, investment banking, financial consulting…), everyone seemed to want engineers “by their side”. Job opportunities were without any doubt (at least back then) many. This way, I began to seriously consider developing a career in this field and finally made the decision to embark on the studying of engineering.
Once in college, I opted for, what I thought was (and I continue to think), a promising branch of engineering; electronics. This is a field that is being greatly developed nowadays. Innovations are being conceived and implemented at a very high rate. Telephones, watches, tiny mp3 players, and many other kinds of devices have already become fully electronic. Others such as cars and airplanes, or even our houses, are becoming electronically automated. We find new developments every day. However, the big revolution of technology in general, and in electronics in particular, is yet to come.
With the many problems and questions that will then inevitably arise (most importantly ethical and morality issues), the work of engineers appears as key for the future of humanity. I will definitely not be in control of these dramatic changes and the whole new situation, but at least I will understand what is going on “out there”, just as I always wanted.
It was a little bit later, as a junior in high school, that I began to become interested in what I like to call “practical math”. I blame it on the physics class I took back then. For the first time, I was able to see how mathematical calculus and algebra could be used as a means to analyze and solve situations and problems of the “real world”. I found in physics the application of math to the explanation and understanding of how things physically work in real life. It was the theory put into practice. At that point, I was happy with my new find, but still not completely satisfied.
I soon learnt that there was something even greater than physics; professionals called engineers were in charge of applying math, physics, chemistry and other sciences’ knowledge to the development of new devices or innovative techniques to satisfy the emergence of new human needs, solve different rising problems and deal with contemporary issues, or simply make our lives easier. It was this ingenuity which seemed to characterize the work of engineers that called my attention. This is how I became curious about engineering.
Later, I found out how engineers were very well socially respected and highly valuable workers, extremely useful for almost any kind of company. From directly engineering-related positions (engineering implementation, engineering design, engineering consulting …), to responsibilities in other areas or businesses (financial analysis, investment banking, financial consulting…), everyone seemed to want engineers “by their side”. Job opportunities were without any doubt (at least back then) many. This way, I began to seriously consider developing a career in this field and finally made the decision to embark on the studying of engineering.
Once in college, I opted for, what I thought was (and I continue to think), a promising branch of engineering; electronics. This is a field that is being greatly developed nowadays. Innovations are being conceived and implemented at a very high rate. Telephones, watches, tiny mp3 players, and many other kinds of devices have already become fully electronic. Others such as cars and airplanes, or even our houses, are becoming electronically automated. We find new developments every day. However, the big revolution of technology in general, and in electronics in particular, is yet to come.
With the many problems and questions that will then inevitably arise (most importantly ethical and morality issues), the work of engineers appears as key for the future of humanity. I will definitely not be in control of these dramatic changes and the whole new situation, but at least I will understand what is going on “out there”, just as I always wanted.
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