• An intelligent, sensor-studded moving floor adds a full range of
  locomotion to virtual reality environments, and opens up the possibility of
  never having to leave home to travel the globe. 

   

• A handheld foreign language
  interpreter in use in Iraq could have a place in hospitals that lack human
  interpreters. 

   

• A nuclear scanner may do for
  homeland security what MRI did for medicine, including raise costs without
  necessarily preventing a catastrophe. 

   

• A Japanese breakthrough in materials science–making tougher silicon–could lead to better
  and safer space ships, jet engines, nuclear power reactors, and any other
  equipment operating in extreme environments. 

Japanese researchers have constructed a moving floor that allows the user to
stay in place while walking in a virtual environment. Applications, possible
within five years, include simulating a disaster environment. Perhaps it could
also be used to train new staff in the geography of a complex building, such as
a hospital. Eventually, the technology will probably find its way into fitness
and sports clubs, and computer games, as a way of running a marathon or playing
18 holes of golf at St. Andrews, or running through the streets committing
murder and mayhem�without leaving the room.

The floor moves in the opposite direction from the user so that the motion of
each step is canceled and the user�s position remains fixed in the real world.
It can move in all directions, so a walker can freely change direction. The
prototype is flat, but the researchers are working on a version that will
simulate uneven terrain.

Reference: Unknown (2004). �Shifty
Tiles Bring Walking to VR.� Technology Research News, August 19.

Handheld Interpreter

The Phraselator is a US$2,300 palm-held electronic interpreter
�popular with coalition troops in Iraq� and seed-funded by the US Defense
Department, says the Economist. For now, the device is best at
translating phrases �commonly used by soldiers,� but its maker is also looking
for buyers in tourism and other industries. It cannot translate replies�it only
translates one way, from English to the foreign language�so the user has to rely
on the respondent�s facial expressions, nods, and other body movements to have a
question answered.

Reference: Unknown (2004). �A
robot interpreter: Elevate your hands or I ignite.� Economist, August 26.

Nuclear Scanner

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) service has begun a 90-day test of
a US$10 million �Pulsed Fast Neutron Analysis� scanner that analyzes the
molecular construction of goods inside a cargo truck without a customs agent
having to open the truck. Items hit by the scanner�s pulsed neutrons emit gamma
rays, which a computer reconstitutes as a three-dimensional rendering,
recognizes, and even labels. �Thus,� writes Ryan Singel in Wired News,
�the system can . . . tell CBP officers that there are 100 kilos of cocaine
hidden in a boxful of cheap DVDs or whether a barrel labeled �bleach� actually
contains radioactive material.� (We�re not sure how the scanner would know the
DVDs were cheap, but you get the picture.)

A nuclear physicist who works for the manufacturer compared it to an MRI vs.
an X ray machine, and said �An X-ray of a barrel would simply show a full barrel
but wouldn�t tell you it was full of water, oil or explosives, [whereas] PFNA
can determine what is in barrels.� A congressional staffer said �This could be
the most powerful technology in our war on terrorism. It really is incredible.�
However, placing one $10-million machine at every border crossing, seaport, and
airport in the country would break the homeland security budget, and in addition
pose a radiation risk for nearby workers and residents. And, writes Singel,
�Even if every border-crossing station had the neutron scanner, the sheer amount
of commercial traffic crossing the border would prohibit border agents from
inspecting every truck.�

Reference: Singel, Ryan (2004). �New Nukes at
U.S. Border.� Wired News, August 27.

Tougher Silicon = Tougher Computers

Japanese researchers have developed and demonstrated a method of producing
high-quality, lightweight, non-bulky, silicon carbide semiconductor material
that is resistant to extreme conditions such as those in which power systems,
jet engines, space rockets, wireless transmitters, and other equipment operate.
A French scientist described the results as �spectacular: The … process is a
major innovation in materials science,� adding that �Silicon carbide has become,
at last, a contender for silicon�s crown.� The Japanese researchers, writes
Matthew Fordahl for the Associated Press, believe practical uses are at least
six years away.

Silicon becomes unreliable and inefficient when exposed to high temperatures
or radiation, whereas silicon carbide is �so resistant to heat that it�s used to
protect the space shuttles.� It is also a semiconductor, but nearly as hard as
diamond and does not liquefy, making it difficult to work with. Silicon carbide
crystals are formed by the condensation of supersaturated vapor, but that
process results in structural defects. The Japanese researchers developed a
multi-step process in which the crystal is grown in stages, producing
near-perfect wafers of up to 3 inches in diameter (the semiconductor industry
currently uses silicon wafers of up to 12 inches in diameter, so the new
technique has a way to go before it will be competitive outside of niche
applications.)

Reference: Fordahl, Matthew (2004). �New
Technique to Enable More Resilient Semiconductors.� AP via Technology
Review, August 26.