For good or ill, perceiving itself dependent on technology for cultural advancement, humanity in general abhors the status quo. Having already achieved printer and computer display resolutions of high-quality photographic levels, we face a never-ending status quo of picture-perfect two dimensional images. We can of course always tinker with the form factor of displays, such as reducing their thickness to 0.3mm and creating displays out of “smart paper,” but the only real way forward (unless we tinker to improve our own visual acuity*) is by going deeper, into the third dimension. And we are almost there. The 3-D printer and the 3-D computer display are here in prototype form. A 3-D video camera is about two years away.

Other interesting advances to report this month include: “Smart dust” sensors which, among many other applications, will help monitor the environment to protect public health; loudspeakers that beam sound over long distances as a flashlight beams light; T-rays that deliver better images than x-rays and without the radiation dangers; microscopic devices that could one day deliver precise amounts of medicine at precise locations inside the body; “Quantum dots” that enable ultra-fine images of the inner walls of capillaries; a nanoscale transistor made from a DNA chemical; and a hand-held mind reader.

* In fact, we are. Watch for the August issue.

Wearable Video Screen

A new ultra-thin (0.3 millimeter) experimental electronic-ink display screen has a resolution better than most PC monitors and can be viewed from almost any angle. Screen refresh takes a quarter of a second–too slow for video, but the scientists are working on it. When they succeed, clothing made from the material could be turned into video screens.

Reference: Hopkins, Michael (2003). “Ultra-thin display brings e-newspapers a step closer.” Nature, May 8.

Smart Paper

A prototype reflective display combining SmartPaper (a reusable display material similar to regular paper, but electronically writeable and erasable) and inkjet-printed plastic electronics can display 3,000 pixels (63×48) at 50-dpi on a glass substrate. Future developments will increase display size and resolution, and will migrate to flexible plastic substrates.

Reference: Gyricon Media (2003). “Plastic Logic and Gyricon Media showcase world’s first bistable reflective display driven by an inkjet printed active matrix backplane at SID ’03.” Press release, May 20.

3-D Printer Update

The replicator device in the TV sci-fi series Star Trek produces anything from spare parts for the warp drive to cups of coffee for the captain, by assembling the necessary molecules. We are almost there, with three-dimensional printing becoming commonplace for industrial prototyping. Current machines are slow, expensive, and require heavy maintenance, but lower-priced, mass-produced versions for home use are on the horizon.

Reference: Wayner, Peter (2003). “If You Behave Yourself, I’ll Print You a Toy.” New York Times, May 29. See also Replicator mark I in the Martch issue of HFD.

3-D Screens

Korean researchers have made a three-dimensional (3-D) display that allows viewers to see images from a wider angle than current 3-D screens allow. 3-D billboards and 3-DTV incorporating this technology could be available within ten years.

Iraeli inventors have also developed a flicker-free, high-resolution, flat-screen 3-D display. Each pixel on the display contains left-eye and right-eye image information. Lightweight polarizing glasses are needed to view the image in 3-D, however. The company hopes to take the displays to market by 2005.

References: (1) Unknown (2003). “3-D Display Widens View.” Technology Research News May 30, 2003; (2) Unknown (2003). “Flat-Screen 3-D.” In “Prototype” section of Technology Review, June.

3-D Video

A practical and inexpensive 3-D video camera is possible within two years, based on technology developed from off-the-shelf components by University of Kentucky researchers whose prototype shines multiple light patterns onto an object and computes depth information from the way the object distorts the patterns. Depth-perception helps computer and robotic vision systems locate people and objects, and sense gestures, but is currently expensive. The Kentucky system might also be used to make 3-D movies, though a 3-D projection method would first need to be developed.

Reference: Unknown (2003). “Light Show Makes 3-D Camera.” Technology Research News, May 6. URL not captured.

Smart Dust

“Smart dust” is formed from a network of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) machines which, together, can detect people, vehicles, temperature changes, humidity levels, airborne biowarfare agents, and much besides. Each dust mote contains a computer (complete with operating system and application software), radio transceiver, and sensors such as a magnetometer for detecting variations in the Earth’s magnetic field (such as when a large metal tank rolls by.)

UC San Diego is developing motes containing chemicals that change color when in contact with chemical or biological bioterror agents. Other potential applications include monitoring home energy use, merchandise tagging, and planetary exploration.

A UC Berkeley-spawned company plans to commercialize sensor motes within a year for customers to test. A NASA expert has called that device a “technical tour de force.”

UCLA is not far behind, with a hair-thin, 1.5-centimeter-long sensor that could improve soil monitoring of nitrates, which can leak into ground water and cause health problems. Arrays of the cheap, reliable sensors could be available within five years.

References: (1) Koerner, Brendan I. (2003). “What Is Smart Dust, Anyway?” Wired, Issue 11.06, June; (2) Huang, Gregory T. (2003). “Smart Specks.” Innovation, June; (3) Unknown (2003). “Safer Soil.” In “Prototype” section of Technology Review, June.

Hypersonic Loudspeakers

HyperSonic Sound (HSS) “does for sound what the laser did for light”–it focuses sound so it can travel long distances without dispersing, reports USA Today‘s Kevin Maney. In a demonstration, a person standing next to a busy freeway could hear the sound of ice cubes clinking into a glass as though the glass were next to him, when in fact the sound was coming from a small HSS loudspeaker a hundred yards away. Yet a couple of feet to either side of the sound beam, the sound is literally not there to be heard. Beamed at a solid object like a wall or door, an HSS-generated sound seems to come from the wall or door itself.

The potential for HSS is fascinating: radios heard only by the person directly in front of the speaker, audio advertisements that pop out from a product as you stand directly in front of it, a different piece of music for each occupant of an automobile or airplane, a prompter–inaudible to the audience–for actors who forget their lines . . . . The possibilities–and the potential for abuse–seem limitless. HSS beat the famous Segway personal transporter to win Popular Science magazine’s grand prize for inventions in 2002.

The military (and doubtless the police) are very interested in a derivative technology called High Intensity Directed Acoustic (HIDA), that generates sound waves so intense they incapacitate the targeted individual. (It seems a rather more civilized solution than bullets.)

Though decades in development and still in its infancy, HSS technology could have revolutionary impacts. A prototype HSS speaker now going into production for niche industrial applications will cost about $600 initially.

Reference: Maney, Kevin (2003). “Sound technology turns the way you hear on its ear.” USA Today, May 19.

T-rays

Terahertz or “t” rays can see through most materials but appear to be less harmful than x-rays. They can also discern a hidden object’s chemical composition. Potential applications range from detecting tumors and hidden weapons to detecting biological and biochemical warfare agents.
One company has created a t-ray device that can observe biomolecular interactions, since biomolecules naturally vibrate at distinctive terahertz frequencies, and would find an obvious application in drug discovery, which is ultimately all about molecular interactions. Another has used t-rays to detect and image skin cancers that form invisibly beneath the surface of the skin.

Preliminary results from a European Union study show no evidence of irreversible, x-ray-like tissue damage from the level of t-ray dosage that would be necessary for bodily imaging.

Reference: Brody, Herb (2003). “Taming the Terahertz: T-rays could be more versatile than x-rays.” Innovation, June.
See also “X-rays Meet Their Match” in HFD April 2003.

Microfluidic Medicine Dispenser

Microfluidic circuits that control the flow of fluid through microscopic chambers, rather like a logic circuit controls the flow of electricity through a solid, could be used to deliver constant flows of medicine to specific points in the human body. One prototype switches between two fluid output channels without using valves. The output channels can represent a 1 and a 0, respectively, and a string of the devices can store the binary numbers used in computing.

Reference: Unknown (2003). “Microfluidics Go Nonlinear.” Technology Research News, May 29; citing the May 9, 2003 issue of Science magazine.

Qdots & Tissue Imaging

Quantum dots made of brightly fluorescing nanocrystals have been used in conjunction with “two-photon microscopy” to image the inner walls of capillaries in fine detail. The ultimate goal is to image the brain and cancerous cells. Specific cells, including cancer cells, can be targeted by adding antibodies to quantum dots, which then act as homing devices, enabling tumor cells to be followed as they migrate.

The technique is so sensitive that researchers could see capillaries undulate in response to the beating of the heart in mice. The quantum dots produced a thousand-fold increase in resolution compared to conventional dyes used with two-photon microscopy. There remain some toxicity issues to be resolved before the technique could be tried in humans.

Reference: Zandonella Catherine 2003). “Quantum dots boost tissue imaging.” New Scientist, May 3 (citing Science vol. 300, p 1434.)

DNA Transistor

Italian researchers have made a field-effect transistor from a derivative of one of the four bases that make up DNA, by sandwiching molecules of the derivative between metal electrodes 20 nanometers apart. Though low in voltage gain compared to standard transistors, it worked well at room temperature, and its partial self-assembly could facilitate high-volume, low cost production. The researchers are now seeking to improve its electrical properties and long-term stability.

Reference: Unknown (2003). “DNA Part Makes Transistor.” Technology Research News, June 2.

Reading the Palm to Read the Mind

The National Space Biomedical Research Institute’s new MiniCog Palm PDA application can assess a user’s level of cognitive function — i.e., whether s/he is up to a task at hand or needs to recharge batteries. Originally designed for astronauts, it is being made available to the public.

The application consists of nine quick and easy standard cognitive function tests that assess attention, motor control, verbal and spatial working memory, and verbal and spatial reasoning. Some experts are skeptical of the device’s abilities, given human propensities for lying or simply making mistakes. If the device could be linked to actual measures of brain activity such as an EEG in real-time–which it probably will–then the validity and accuracy of its results will be enhanced.

Reference: Borin, Elliot (2003). “This Palm Reads Your Mind.” Wired News, May 26.