[Edisi Teknologi] State-of-the-art

Dzulqarnain

Salam warga forum!

Elok kiranya kita bersama2 ikuti perkembangan teknologi2 terkini lg semasa
utk mengemaskini pengetahuan beserta pembangunan/perbaikan teknik-kemahiran.
- Benang ni saya cuma nk ketengahkan end-produk nye je ye...

Jika yg lain nk tambah, silakan. Tp, elok le kiranya disertakan tahun dikeluarkannya bila.
krn takut mgkin dh bertahun2 ada, cuma kita je yg x tahu.
'State of the art' juga termasuk idea, alatan, senibina, sistem, method, prosedur, etc.
yg mana ia adalah sesuatu yg unique lg baru (fresh)...

p/s: Jika ada yg nk tepek yg lama2 pn bole, asalkan disertakan juga tahunnya. Tq.

Dzulqarnain

FlyKly 2013

FlyKly 2011

FlyKly's Smart Wheel snaps onto your bike for 20MPH pedal assist...

In retrospect, lower Manhattan probably wasn't the safest place to try the Smart Wheel for the first time. Thankfully, the prototype wasn't operating at top speed when I hopped on, for that very reason. The sensation's a bit weird for those unaccustomed to riding with a pedal assist, kicking in only when you actually start pedaling and gradually reaching the speed you've entered in the app. In its final version, that speed will max out at 20 miles an hour, for up to a 30-mile range. The motor weighs about nine pounds, snapping onto the rear wheel of most bikes without much in the way of installation. Also of note is the ability to remotely lock the wheel using the app to prevent someone from riding off with the bike -- and if they do, you can track the thief on your phone.

All of this is still early stages. The motor you see above is still a prototype. The final version will be offered in a number of different sizes and colors, assuming the company is able to hit its $100,000 Kickstarter goal. A $550 pledge will get you the Smart Wheel, along with FlyKly's Smart Light (which you can get as a standalone for $49). The light holds and charges your phone (via USB), while leading the way in the dark with an LED bulb. The company will also be opening up the app's SDK for use with additional hardware like the Pebble smartwatch. Check out a quick video of the above after the break.

Demo:

Dzulqarnain

An optical switch based on a single nano-diamond

ICFO scientists have shown that a nano-size diamond
at room temperature can act as an efficient optical switch
controllable with light

                                                                                       
               
  
                        
This shows the nanomanipulation of an artificial atom.
Credit: Institute of Photonic Sciences



  A recent study led by researchers of the ICFO (Institute of Photonic Sciences) demonstrates that a single nano-diamond can be operated as an ultrafast single-emitter optical switch operating at room temperature. The scientific results of this study have been published in Nature Physics.
Electronic transistors have become a key component to modern electronics, drastically improving the speed of information processing of current technologies. An electronic transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals. The much sought after optical transistor (the photonic counterpart of the electronic transistor) is poised to become a central ingredient in the development of optical signal processing. The motivation for using photons rather than electrons not only comes from their faster dynamics but also from their weaker interaction with the environment, which enable a high degree of integration and the realization of quantum operations.


Prior studies have demonstrated that single dye molecules can be operated as optical transistors with the disadvantage that they worked exclusively at extremely low temperatures. Such restrictions on the temperature made these optical transistors cumbersome for application to quantum computing.


However in this recent ICFO study, scientists have shown that a nano-size diamond at room temperature can act as an efficient optical switch controllable with light. A Nano-diamond containing a nitrogen impurity behaves like an artificial atom although much more stable at room temperature than a real atom due to its encapsulation. The ICFO scientists discovered a novel physical mechanism that enables the control of the way the nano-diamond interacts with light. While excited to its ON state by a green laser, a suitable near infrared illumination was found to act as an efficient and fast way to switch it OFF. Based on this simple concept, they were able to modulate the optical nano-diamond ON and OFF at extremely high speeds, demonstrating its robustness and viability for very fast information processing and quantum computer operations.
Quidant remarks that "what is really attractive about our discovery is that our nano-switch combines very small dimensions (compatible with integrating a large number of them in a small area) with very fast response time (meaning lots of operations in a short time) and operation at room temperature".


This new technique will contribute to the development of future integrated optical circuits as well as quantum information processing for quantum computing.

- LINK

Dzulqarnain

Researchers find rust can power up artificial photosynthesis

Boston College chemists produce power boost
critical to novel energy harvesting applications


               
  
                                
Taking Mother Nature's lead, researchers have sought new methods
and materials capable of mimicking photosynthesis.
Researchers at Boston College report that modifying the surface of
hematite with a nickel iron oxide coating produces an increase
in cathode photovoltage of nearly four-tenths of a volt.
That's nearly enough energy to put an economical method of
artificial photosynthesis within reach.
(Credit: Angewandte Chemie. Boston College)

                        
        
Chemists at Boston College have achieved a series of breakthroughs in their efforts to develop an economical means of harnessing artificial photosynthesis by narrowing the voltage gap between the two crucial processes of oxidation and reduction, according to their latest research, published this week in the journal Angewandte Chemie.


The team reports it has come within two-tenths of the photovoltage required to mimic oxidation and reduction respectively using unique photoanodes and photocathodes the team developed using novel nanowire components and coatings. Narrowing the gap using economical chemical components, the group moves researchers closer to using the man-made reaction for unique applications such as solar energy harvesting and storage.


"Many researchers have been trying to harvest solar energy and directly store it in chemical bonds," said lead author Dunwei Wang, an associate professor of chemistry at Boston College. "Solar panels can harvest energy, but economical storage has remained elusive. We are trying to borrow a page from Mother Nature whereby photosynthesis produces energy from the sun and stores it."


But copying Mother Nature is a tall order and this particular quest "requires materials that can absorb sunlight broadly, transfer the energy to excited charges at high efficiencies and catalyze specific reduction and oxidation reactions," the team writes in the article "Hematite-Based Water Splitting with Low Turn-on Voltage."


Natural photosynthesis consists of two important processes. Oxidation produces oxygen gas. Reduction produces organic molecules. Wang said artificial photosynthesis, also known as water splitting, tries to copy these two reactions using a photoanode to oxidize water and a photocathode to either reduce water for hydrogen production or to reduce carbon dioxide for organic molecules.


But in an artificial environment, a gap has persisted in the voltage required on either side of the reaction in order achieve these results, Wang said. In essence, oxidation and reduction require 1.2 to 1.3 volts combined to achieve the charge required to power artificial photosynthesis.
Previously, only rare materials allowed researchers bridge the gap, but those efforts are prohibitively expensive for widespread application. Wang and his lab have spent the past two years searching for inexpensive alternatives to bridge the voltage gap.


Earlier this year, the lab reported it had developed a new cathode preparation technique to improve hydrogen production. The findings removed most of the barriers to constructing an inexpensive, yet highly efficient photocathode, Wang said.


The team's latest research produced advances in photoanode development, where their engineered nanowire structures enabled the team to achieve a photovoltage of .6 volts using an iron oxide material. The voltage represents a 50 percent increase above the best prior results, which were reported last year. The results put Wang and his team within two-tenths of a volt of the necessary photovoltage.
The team achieved the gains by coating hematite, an iron oxide similar to rust, with nickel iron oxide.


Already, the team has yielded more than 1 volt of power when combined with the photocathode they developed earlier this year, said Wang, whose team included post-doctoral researcher Xiaogang Yang, graduate students Chun Du, Matthew T. Mayer and Jin Xie, undergraduates Henry Hoyt and Gregory Bischoping and Gregory McMahon, a nanolithography and electron microscopy manager at BC's Nanofabrication Clean Room.


"Our system, made of oxygen, silicon and iron – three of the four most abundant elements on earth – can now provide more than 1 volt of power together," said Wang. "Now we are just two-tenths of a volt short on the photoanode. That's a significant narrowing of the gap."


He says closing the gap completely is entirely within reach, particularly since other researchers have used different systems to do so. He said his lab might partner with other researchers in an effort to close the gap.


"With our innovations on the photocathode alone, this two-tenths of a volt is within reach," said Wang. "The real exciting part is that we were able to achieve six tenths of a volt using rust. That has never been done before."