Electronics article

An Overview of Global Industrial Robotics Market

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 07:22:36 +0000

The demand of industrial robots is growing at a rapid pace. The industrial robots are being used for a wide variety of applications in different industries, such as automotive, food industry, pharmaceutical industry, packaging industry, etc. They are specially useful for the applications where high precision and accuracy is required. In the following sections we will see the various application areas, an overview of market in Asia, America and Europe, and the forecast of industrial robots market.

Application Areas of Industrial Robots

The primary application areas of industrial robots are as following:

Welding: According to IFR, one-fourth of all the industrial robots are used in different welding applications. Robot welding enhances safety. Robots never miss a spot and work with same efficiency and accuracy all day.
Assembling: Almost 33% of all industrial robots are engaged in varieties of assembly applications. A major chunk of these robots can be found in the automotive and electronics industries.
Packaging /Palletizing: The number of industrial robots involved in packaging applications is still in nascent stage but it is expected to grow as robots become easier to handle.
Food Industry: Robots are expected to play a major role in the food industry.

As per the data provided by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), currently the worldwide market for industrial robots is 4B Euro and it is forecast to grow by 4.2 per cent per year till 2010. The worldwide stock of operational industrial robots are estimated to approach 1,173,300 units at the end of 2010. From now on the industrial robot market will grow with an average annual growth rate of 5.5%. China saw a 29% surge in the demand of industrial robots.

Market Overview

Asia: Among Asian countries Japan continues to dominate other countries in terms of use and purchase of industrial robots. At second and third spots are the republican of Korea and China. Robot investment in Asia stagnated at about 60,900 units in 2007.

Japan remain the largest robot market in the world, selling 38,100 units in 2007. The sales increased slightly by 2%.
The Robot supplies to Republic of Korea fell by 4% in 2007, to 10,300 units. Almost all the industries reduced their orders, especially motor vehicle suppliers.
6,600 units of industrial robots were sold in China, an increment of 14%.
India's consumption of industrial robot reached 830 units. In spite of the modernization of production sites in most of the industries, the stagnating number of robot sales is astonishing.

Supplies to Taiwan (Province of China) were reduced by 34%.
Total supplies to all other Asian markets, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, surged by 21%.

Supply of industrial robots to motor vehicle industry was dipped in Asian market but it was compensated by the increasing supplies to the other industries like metal products industry, the electrical/electronics industry, the rubber and plastics industry and the pharmaceutical and medical devices industry.

America: In 2007 around 21,000 industrial robots were supplied to the American countries, 17% more than in 2006. It was primarily due to the surge in the demand of the motor vehicle industry in the United States and in Canada.

Supplies to United States grew by 12% to 16,600 units, Canada by 67% to 2,900 units, Brazil by 62% with 700 units, as compared to 2006.
Demand in Argentina grew remarkably but Mexico was down by 33%.

The supplies of welding industrial robots were increased by 42%.
Assembly industrial robots supply declined sharply by 42 %.
52% growth is recorded in motor vehicle supplies of robots.

However the total number of 6,200 units still did not reach the record number achieved in 2005 (8,200

units). The electrical/electronics industry especially the semiconductor industry was prominent in purchasing robot purchases. The pharmaceutical industry and the food and beverage industry ordered more number of industrial robots. A slight decrement is noticed in sales to the metal and engineering industries, the rubber and plastics industry.

Europe: One-third of the world's industrial robots are produced in Europe. The European Commission have already announced to invest 400 million Euro ( about $620 million) in European robotics research. This investment between 2007 and 2010 will be twice as much of the previous four-year investment. This program is aimed at forging stronger links between academia and industry, and planned to fund a widespread experimentation by academic researchers and industry.

The sales of industrial robots were reported to show a 10% increase during 2007. 34,600 units, the highest number of robots ever recorded in one year, were sold in 2007. It was due to surging investments in the non-automotive sector as well as in the motor vehicle industry.

Germany:The largest market for industrial robots in Europe, showed 29% increase to about 14,800 units in its supply of industrial robots. All the industries especially of the motor vehicle industry, the medical devices industry, the electrical/electronics industry, the metal and engineering industry and the food and beverage industry were reported to have surging investments.
Italy: The second largest European market was however low by 10% to about 5,600 units. The automotive industry, the metal industry and the food and beverage industry invested heavily but the rubber and plastics industries cut their robot investment sharply in 2007.
France: The supply of industrial robots in France decreased by 10% to about 2,800 units. All industries cut down their robot investment. This has been due to the largely stagnant investment climate in France.
Supplies to Central/Eastern European countries surged by 56%. Sales to Spain and the United Kingdom were down.

Market Forecast in 2008

As per the reports collected yet the robot market continues to grow in the current year. We will see investment in industrial robots segment in the growing markets such as China, India, Southeast Asia, Russia, Eastern Europe and South America. The non-automotive sector especially the metal and machinery industry, the semiconductor industry, the glass/ceramics industry, the furniture industry will continue to increase their robot investments.

The development of the robot sales will again be different in the three big regions.

In the American countries, the non-automotive sectors will grow remarkably in 2008. But this increases will not be enough to offset the expected decline in sales to the automotive sector. Finally robot sales will decrease in 2008 in this region.
InEurope it will continue to grow. In Germany, the order intakes of the first quarter in 2008 are still at double-digit rates. Italy is expected to show growth between 5 to 10% in robot installations. Strong robot investment will be seen in the Eastern European countries.
After the stagnation in 2007, the robot supplies to Asia will increase in 2008. Average growth in Japan and the Republic of Korea will be seen. According to first estimates, in 2008, the total increase of the robot shipments in the world will be between 8% and 12% higher than 2007.

Things to Consider Before Buying a Home Theater System

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 07:18:34 +0000

All of us dream a good home theater system in our home. We are always ready to spend how much it needs to buy a good system. But spending quite a handful of money and buying branded products can't ensure a quality home theater system. You would have read a lot of articles and suggestions on this. But this article will draw your attention only to the most neglected problems that pose serious problems in long term.

Estimate system components according to the room size

At first you must decide in which room you are going to place your home theater system. Whether that particular room will be used solely for your system or for other purposes too. It will help you decide the size of your system components, like that of speakers. The most important but perhaps most neglected factor before buying a home theater system is to estimate the size of home theater system. The room shouldn't be considered as the place only for keeping the set but it is entirely a component of the home theater system, like any other electronics product.

It would be better to draw a map of the room on a sheet of paper and sketch the likely placement of the furniture and other room components. Measure the dimension of room and make a list of all the current commodities and also the inputs you are going to buy. You should also approximately estimate the size of cables and wires needed to connect the items. After finalizing all these info, you should take this map with you when you go out to buy new system.

A room with too many windows doesn't seem proper for fitting home theater system. Most of the televisions provide best picture quality in semi-lit room or in darker rooms. It is strongly suggested not to place the TV in the direction opposite to window. However you might use curtains to block the light but make it sure they are effective.

Don't neglect speakers

Most of us do a common mistake that we spend the maximum portion of our budget on video/audio components but neglect the speakers and sub-woofers. It ultimately led us to experience poor sound quality. You should give the speakers the same priority as to other parts. It is not required to spend a lot on speakers and woofers but go for those which can do well for you. A lot of choice available in the market can led you to confusion. What you should do that listen to speakers at the dealers shop before you buy. You can take your own CDs and listen to make a comparison in the sound quality.

Appropriate Size of TV

Though all of us desire to have a larger TV but its size should be proportional to the size of room. Buying a wrong size television that doesn't fit the room size tells your under-preparation. As mentioned earlier you must buy the components keeping the size of room in the mind. Viewing distance also make a difference and according to a general rule the minimum optimum viewing distance from the viewer to the TV screen should be about 2 - 2 1/2 times the width of the television screen.

Read the user manual properly

Again one of the most neglected factor is the avoidance of user manuals. Most of us start setting up the components without reading the user manual given with the system. We think we can do it and finally led to an array of problems. So it would always be nice to read all the instructions and suggestions before you start up.

Before buying a Fitness Equipment!

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:18:27 +0000

Buying a fitness equipment mightnot be a cause of concern for most people. The main problem is the usability of these fitness equipment in the long term. A major chunk of consumers say they would exercise more if they had exercise equipment in their home. But it isn't true. According to a survey by Consumer Reports, 37% of consumers who do purchase home equipment exercise less than anticipated. At the end the fitness equipment they buy remain no more useful.

Exercising in the privacy of your home can be comfortable and more accessible than in a gym. So investment in home fitness equipment can be great if done wisely and smartly. Afterall it can represent a sizable financial commitment as well as a lifestyle change.

What mistakes we commonly do?

The first and the very common mistake the fitness equipment buyers do is to purchase a machine with too many features. More features mean more money but more money does not ensure better quality, especially in the case of fitness equipment. Most of the fitness equipment equipped with electronic features are used very rarely. It is mainly due to the lack of knowledge to use the computer and later they give up. So it will be better not to go after the features, rather you should choose the equipment that offers a total workout.

At first try out!

It is very important for you to be well aquaint of all the features, benefits and drawbacks of the equipment you are going to purchase. So at first try it out! The best place to start with is a gym. Get a monthly membership and try out the equipment you wish to buy. Once you find out the equipment needed for your purpose, look for the features and see what is good and what isn't. Then go out to different stores and try their machines. Here the point to be remembered is that you should wear your exercise clothes and exercise shoes while checking these equipment. It will give you the same feeling as in gym. All fitness machines look great, just turn it on and use for a good fifteen-twenty minutes. The weighing machines should be used for at least 20 repetitions. It will give you a great idea of the equipment and you will be more comfortable with the equipment before buying.

Tips for beginners

The beginners in the exercise world must be careful with the selection of the fitness equipment. They shouldn't buy anything complicated or hard to use or setup. The high end fitness equipment looks for the coordination of upper and lower bodies and that can be quite overwhelming for the people having less experienc with exercise routines. You should ask more questions like information sheet and inquire about all costs. Look for discounts and sales. Some equipment sellers will offer to put together your new fitness equipment. Ask your seller to fit those equipments in your home which are quite cubsersome and difficlut to setup.

Solid State Drive : Time to change your storage technology

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 06:55:51 +0000

In this digitized world we usually spend more time with computers than with our friends and families. And when your best companion slows down and refuses talking to you, you might feel irritated, tormented, and hostile. So how can you speed up your computer's performance so that it might not pose any problems in smooth functioning. Adding more memory to your PC might be a solution but there are practical limitations to it. A new technology in the storage device, SSD can help improve the speed and performance. Let's see how?

About Solid State Drive

Solid state is an electrical term refering to electronic circuitry, totally built of semiconductors. Initially this term was used to define those electronics items that were constructed from semiconductors rather than vacuum tubes. In a solid state drive, the primary storage medium is semiconductors unlike the magnetic media in a hard drive. It uses solid-state memory to store persistent data.

Why Solid State Drive?

So what are the advantages of using solid state drives. Let's see how can you be more benefitted by using SSD than hard drive. The foremost advantage of SSD is that it does not have any moving parts. The traditional drives have drive motors to spin the drive heads and the magnetic platters. All the data in flash memory chips are stored on a solid state drive.

Faster Data Access: This can be the most attracting feature of SSDs. Neither the drive have to spin the platter nor to move the drive heads, data can be instantly read. It can roughly speed up the process to 20%.

Less Power Usage: Since there are no motors in the solid state drives, they don't draw power. Due to that it use less energy than the regualr hard drives. Power factor has a key in portable computers.

Higher Reliability: The SSDs add to the relaibility of portable drives. Hard drives are very sensitive and fragile. They are prone to damage even in the case of small collision, finally resulting in complete data loss. In SSD data is stored in memory chips, so there are fewer chances to be damaged in any sort of impact.

Limitations On Its Use

Solid state drives have been available for quite some time. The cost of a SSD is roughly equal to one entire notebook. That is the main limiting factor, which has checked its usage in wide number of PCs. But gradually this scenario is changing as more and more companies are producing the drives. The capacity for producing the flash memory chips also continues to grow. The cost of SS drives have been reduced to less than half compared to its price one year ago.

Capacity of the SSDs is also another problem in its adoption. The hard drive technologies allows for over 200 GB of data in a small 2,5 inch notebook hard drive. But most of the SSD drives are of the 64GB capacity. Thus the higher price of SSDs are even providing a fraction of data.

Possibilities Lies Ahead

In near future you will get SSDs closer to the capacities of hard drives and at prices comparable to hard drives. A number of companies specialized in flash memory are coming up with the products that look set to the push the capapcities of SSDs. The market for solid state drive disks is set to increase at a 70 per cent compound annual growth rate from 2007-2012 with enterprise storage expected to provide a steady base.

OLEDs are the future of screens

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:41:45 +0000

Have you ever imagined of having a display monitor built into your clothing that can be rolled up? Have you conceived of having a high-definition TV, 80 inches wide but less than a quarter-inch thick, and that consumes less power than most TVs. These devices are not just an artist's speculation, they might be possible in the near future with the help of OLEDs.

OLED or Organic Light-Emitting Diodes, a type of solid state lighting, are plastic-based materials capable of emitting light. It can be used to make screens by spraying the materials on a surface. OLED displays have the potential to offer a cheaper, brighter, less power-hungry alternative to LCDs.

OLED screens in consumer appliances

The OLED screens have forayed into the display screen market, whether it is the mobile screen, laptop or your watch screen. Applications of OLED can be seen in electronic prodcuts as some of the top most companies have already taken initivatives towards this direction. General Electric along with Osram Opto Semiconductors, The Ewing and others have come up with the idea of transforming organic light-emitting diodes into a source of room lighting. Samsung and Pioneer Electronics are using OLEDs for screens on consumer electronics products.

At present OLED screens are being used in small-screen devices like cell phones, PDAs and digital cameras. The likes of Sony and Samsung are determied to use the OLEd technology in their future products. Sony Corporation announced that it was beginning mass production of OLED screens for various personal entertainment handhelds. In October 2007 they announced that they would be the first to market with an OLED television. Kodak released a digital camera, the EasyShare LS633, with an OLED display in March 2003.

Future applications

One of the most interesting aspects of OLED is that it can be used to build transparent and flexible screens. One of its applications can be "transparent window." By day, it would work like a common transparent plastic window. As light fade, flick a switch and it becomes a light fixture. It could cut energy costs by switching dynamically when sunlight will suffice. The government of USA is currently funding OLED research to produce a HUD, with which soldiers will be able to view through their helmets while receiving orders.

A good energy efficient alternative

OLED could be the energy efficient alternative for the power soaking incandescent bulbs. It can be done by increasing the size of the sheets and the brightness. In the wake of the rising importance of environment friendliness and energy savings, OLED is rapidly emerging as a highly competent and feaisble alternative to existing lighting technologies. The energy savings provided by the use of LEDs has attracted countries, like Europe, America, Japan, China, South Korea, etc to establish solid-state lighting.

OLED Benefits

OLEDs have a significantly lesser price than LCDs or plasma displays. It is due to the fact that they can be printed onto any suitable substrate using an inkjet printer or even screen printing technologies.

Since the OLEDs can be printed onto flexible substrates, it has opened the gate to several new applications, like roll-up displays and displays embedded in fabrics.

OLED pixels directly emit light, thus provides a greater range of colors, brightness, and viewing angle than LCDs.

OLEDs have a faster response time than standard LCD screens.

WiMax: Enabling the wireless connection to be omnipresent

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 06:57:00 +0000

Hey guys! Do you face problems connecting to Internet while travelling? Or your connection is too slow to work. You don't have your PC with you and you just have your iPod, and want to be connected to net. No need to worry! Here is the WiMax for solving all your problems. WiMax technology will provide a faster mean to connect to the Internet with your laptops or mobile devices while you are on the go. It will give you a feeling like having an Internet connection in your pocket.

WiMax is a giant leap in the field of wireless communication technology. It is similar to the WiFi service found in airports, coffee shops, and other places but more powerful. It is capable of covering entire cities. It provides faster connection for movies, games and other data services than the latest cellular networks. This technology will allow consumers to use a new range of Internet devices. It has the potential to serve from low density residential applications to enterprise customers.

Peeping into WiMax basics

WiMax stand for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. This name was given by the WiMAX Forum, which was formed in June 2001 to promote conformance and interoperability of the standard. Wi-Max is a standards based telecommunications technology aimed at providing wireless data over larger distances in different ways. It is based on the IEEE 802.16 standard. Its broader range and bandwidth efficiency are the advantages over Wi-Fi. At every station it can provide speed upto 75 Mbps.

WiMAX offers nomadic, portable, and fast mobile wireless broadband connectivity without the requirement of being in direct line-of-sight with a base station. WiMAX Forum Certified systems possess the capacity to deliver up to 40 Mbps per channel, for fixed and portable access applications, in a typical cell radius deployment of three to ten kilometers.

Benefits over DSL and cable modems

The two most prominent drawbacks with DSL and Cabel Modems are lot of wiring and their low speed. Every few kilometers they require to boost up the speed and hence end up with a mess of wires.

WiMax overcomes these disadvantages.

No cluttering of wires.
The high download speed of 75MBps from each station can cover the entire city easy.
No problems of maintaining the wires and their connection which has definite shortcomings when it gets damaged somewhere.

The future lies ahead

America's Sprint Nextel and Clearwire have started a joint venture for developing a high-speed mobile network based on WiMax. At the start they are aimed to cover 10 to 15 million people in the United States. In Canada, Bell Canada and Rogers Communications Inc. have invested in Inukshuk Wireless Inc., providing wireless broadband network service based on pre-WiMax standards in about 20 centres across Canada.

IT companies have recognized the potential of WiMax and are working in the direction to provide the customers a fast and omnipresent connection.
It shows a promising future in terms of cost effectiveness and benefits to the consumers. The technology can be combined with multitusde of consumer electronic products. However Wi-Max needs to be integrated with technologies like bluetooth, Wi-Fi and others. Issues like spectrum allocation also needs to be resolved. According to Mr. Wickware, vice-president of Nortel's Carrier Network, "Anything that could or should be connected to the network, will be connected to the network, game consoles, obviously smartphones, digital camera, appliances, vehicles, you name it,".

Green IT: The Solution for Gen-next Business

Wed, 28 May 2008 07:19:22 +0000

Business is not only meant for making profit rather it must have some social and environmental obligations too. If your business is contributing to make the environment unsustainable, causing irrepairable loss to the society, country and this planet then making money is just not worthy. All businesses need to act in an environmentally responsible manner, not only to fulfil their legal and moral duties but also to raise the brand and to ameliorate their corporate image. In a competitive market where companies are progressively sensible to the ‘green’ market, they must avoid the increasing financial penalties that are being levied against carbon production.

In the wake of rising energy costs and goverment's imposition on carbon production, the survival for the businesses has become quite unmanageable. And the impact is mainly not on the power hungry businesses but it is the least expexted IT sector that is going to suffer the most. After all in future all businesses will progressively be judged according to their environmental credentials, by their shareholders, legislators, and customers.

Why the IT sector is most Vulnerable?

IT has been a profligate consumer of energy. The IT function of all businesses is driving an exponential rise in need for energy, and, along with it, is having to bear the associated cost increments. A typical computer consumes about 0.65 kilowatts perhour when in use, or 0.35 kWh in stand-by mode and 0.03kWh in hibernate mode. According to an approximation 1kWh produces 0.51kg of carbon dioxide (CO2). Though the figures look meagre but when added for one entire year and summed for the number of computers used in a single organization, the data looks enormous and gigantic. According to an estimation a single PC in office mode costs a peanut amount of £16.00 per annum to run, but generates 1.094 tonnes of CO2 per annum equivalent to the CO2 produced by a single passenger flying from London to Cairo.

What led to this situation?

In the preliminary age of IT industry, the emphasis was on processing power and storage capacity, and power consumption has been ignored. Energy consumption was regarded much less important

than performance. Smaller transistors and faster processors, which consume more electricity and become hot frequently, were used to form the basis of each new generation of processors. The alleviated operating temperatures enhanced the consumption of power, requiring more number of cooling fans. Though the advent of faster, smaller chips has provided smaller and stackable servers facilitating greater computing power but with no exemption in overall energy consumption, and often with an increased requirement for cooling.

Need for change in strategies

Keeping all the points in mind, it has become prevalent to make some changes in the strategies in the businesses. The ultimate aim of IT is to make businesses more efficient and productive, and to save money. Businesses are used to having to ‘do more with less’ to remain competitive. They must learn to use less electricity in the same way, using green (sustainable) computing to save money. This will take major changes in IT policies and user behaviours.

There is a dire need for a power-based IT optimisation strategy, bringing power right to the fore of IT policy. The companies will have to take modest steps, making sure that desktop PCs, computer monitors and printers are turned off at night, and/or using more effective power-saving modes on unused equipment. Switch to more energy-efficient equipment, such as LCDs rather than CRT monitors when buying new hardware. The dual-core processors are faster and consume less energy than traditional chips. The latest generation of dual-core processors consume about one third less power than their predecessors while offering up to 80% better performance.

A look at the future

The issues of growing environmental damage and rising energy costs will become more significant in future, economically and politically. They would keep driving the cost of living as well as the cost of doing business. An environment comprised of hazardous gases would throw all the living species in an endangered state. Ultimately it is the people and the society who is going to suffer the most. It is the right time for the businesses to take the right steps towards making them green and specially for the IT sector.

New Small Thing In Mobile Technology: Femtocells

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 08:28:02 +0000

In a recently conducted survey, it was revealed that most people switch their cellular phone providers not because of high priced call plans or poor customer services but because of poor network coverage inside their homes where 27% to 47% of all wireless minutes are spent.

New technologies like Wi-Fi to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) have been introduced to tackle poor network coverage inside homes. The most effective technology for improvement of cell coverage is “FEMTOCELL”. The word “femto” denotes something one-quadrillionth the size of a given unit, and is derived from Danish or Norwegian word “femten”.

Femtocells are small cellular phone base stations designed to be located inside offices or homes. They act as in-home wireless access points and use high speed internet connection rather than wireless network to route a call from a headset to the carrier’s switching station from where it is directed to its destination.

In simple language, Femtocell is a handy device, which looks like a router or modem capable of sidestepping nearby towers and the weak coverage they sometimes provide. They use a DSL/Cable connection to backhaul traffic or in simple words they connect cellular networks through broadband lines such as digital subscriber line (DSL) or fiber to the home (FTTH).

Therefore, the purpose of FEMTOCELL is to provide mobile phone users a good and effective network in areas away from existing base stations. Carriers are busy looking for new methods to find a solution to the ever increasing demands of the users for greater and extended coverages.

In comparison to better-established technologies like Wi-Fi and WiMax which deliver high speed internet access. Ray Smets, Vice-President marketing in the broadband solution group at Motorola said that femtocells were getting an equal amount of energy in terms of importance and they were being considered just as significant as other wireless technologies that were being developed.

Search giant Google, invested $20 million on Britain based femtocell startup Ubiquisys. Thomson, world’s largest producer of DSL modems, collaborated with infrastructure maker Nokia Siemens Networks to develop femtocell gear. Netgear which makes Wi- Fi routers, co-founded Femto Forum primarily to promote femtocell standards and applications.

World leaders in technology, Motorola and world web search leader Google are the first companies to sincerely work on the improvement of mobile coverage inside houses/buildings. They are investing tremendous resources for speedy development of femtocells. Recently, Motorola bought Startup Netopia to add to its femtocell efforts.

The main question is why there is a sudden flurry of interest on wireless technology like femtocell? According to a consultancy ABI Research, by 2012, there will be more than 150 million users of femtocell products on 70 million access points worldwide. That’s a huge advancement of a technology which is in trails now. Femtocell technology can give newcomers such as Google, a big launch in the wireless market while offering competition to existing telecom providers such as AT&T and Vonage.

EPOC : Next Generation Gaming

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:37:24 +0000

Good news for the gamer community, Australian neuro- engineering company has created a brain computer interface 'Epoc', that is capable of reading electrical pulses in the brain and converts them into commands of a video game. By using thoughts and emotions, gamers will now be able to interact with the virtual world.

Relation between human brain and machine has always been limited to conscious interaction, with no linking of expression, communication, perception – reserved solely for the human domain.

Human brain is made up of hundred billion nerve cells, which emit electrical impulse when interacting. The headset uses non- invasive electroncephalograpy, a technology in which electrical activity produced by brain is recorded through electrodes placed at the scalp.

Australian government has funded Epoc million dollars for project Epoc. Emotiv, the company making it has raised $ 6.3 million in funding till date. With staff of Randy Breen, former vice- president and head of department of Lucas Arts, Emotiv’s new gameplay will be like nothing ever seen before. This mind reading game controller prototype is available for $299, and has a gyroscope to detect movements. Epic is not available to consumers at the moment. Consumer version will be announced at a later.

Project Epoc is a headset that detects player’s thoughts, feelings and expression with the use of sensors, placed in the headset. A set of sensors collect the electric signals emitted by the neurons in the brains. Sensors are placed at specific locations in order to capture all the electric signals. The Emotiv said the headset could detect more than thirty different expressions, emotions and actions. Project Epoc can be used wirelessly. This freedom is achieved with use wifi technology. It can be connected with all the game platforms from computers to consoles. USB dongle is plugged into a computer, which offers wireless capabilities to the headset.

Authentic facial expression of avatars of gamers of virtual world can be given with the use of Epoc technology. For example headset can translate the players expressions like smile, wink grimaces into the avatar expression to the avatar in the game.

"If you laughed or felt happy after killing a character in a game then your virtual buddy could admonish you for being callous," said Tan Le, president of US/Australian firm Emotiv.

Usage of Project Epoc headset is simple and hassle free. There is no need to put any kind of gel on the scalp for the headset to function. There are no cables and no large net of electrodes. You don’t need too much of technical knowledge to operate it.

Hundreds or thousands of thoughts go through our mind every minute. Even when we are focusing, many times we think of something else even if for just a split of second. This gadget should be able to isolate those thoughts and ignore them, so that it does not misinterpret any of those thoughts as commands of the game.

Motion controller and wireless gaming have taken gaming to a different level. Using electrical signals produced inside the brain to play games has given gaming a new definition. Some believe that Project Epoc won't be a successful project. Nintendo Wii introduced Wii controller in 2006, which used motion sensor technology. Some people think they looked goofy while playing with the controller, imagine, sitting still and playing "Emotiv Baseball" without even moving your head!

Doubts have been raised, as some people think that the games, which we play, are not tailored for our brain-button-pushing. If all the latest games are tailored for this gadget, it could revolutionize the game play experience.

Living With a Zombie

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 07:46:24 +0000

In a survey, conducted on different computers all around the globe, it was found that 50 - 80% spam worldwide was sent by zombie computers. Microsoft used a computer with low protection to check the strength of phishing attacks on a computer. Microsoft's computer received 5 million requests in three weeks and 18 million spam e-mails. Computer turning into 'Zombies' has become a problem for online internet securities. Online criminals target home users with high speed internet connections as home computers are less protected.

A zombie computer is mostly a home computer which is infected with a virus/trojan horse. Unlike the zombies of any Hollywood movie, zombie computers are not easily identifiable, they are silent workers.

Zombies in movies have a strange appearance and they make groaning sounds but computer zombies are different, they send spam and gives their control to malicious users. Zombie computer allows online criminals to send remote commands, which are processed by the infected computer.

A computer turns into a zombie when an internet user gets tricked, and downloads malicious code hidden in an attachment in video, music, image or any other downloadable file. Once the malicious code is downloaded, it sends an alert to distant server where the online criminal (master of the computer) is sitting. In that alert message, infected computer informs about its Internet Address (IP location) and hijack status.

Online criminals take control over many zombie computers at a time. All the Zombie computer are then used together for malicious tasks. A group of Zombie computers are known as 'botnets'. Botnets can include thousands of computers. All these computers, if used together, can block a server by repeatedly sending messages to a same server. They are also responsible for almost 80% of the e-mail spam all over the world.

When a user leaves an infected computer having high speed internet connection on standby, the computer starts sending malicious content to other computers and networks. Online spies command their zombie computers to record and send online transactions, credit card numbers,bank accounts and other personal details.

Most spammers protect their identity by sending mails through zombie computers or by creating fake e-mails, thus, making it difficult for online internet securities to track down the spammer on the baises of information provided in the spam email.

To aware internet users about phishing attacks and encourage internet service providers to take zombie preventive measures a website was launched by Federal Consumer Protection focusing on "Operation Spam Zombie", this was done along with more than twenty countries and thirty five government partners.

To check if you are working with a zombie look out for these signs: computer working too slow, displays mysterious messages or responds in an unexpected manner If , you find these signs in your computer, time for you to update your antivirus and run a system scan. Also download latest malware and adware software removers on your computer.

Industrial Robots - A Marvel Of Engineering

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 09:49:04 +0000

Invention of Robots has brought about revolutionary changes in the field of industrial manufacturing. In the earlier part of the century humans were engaged in jobs, which were very dangerous and involved serious health hazards, but in 1956, Unimation a company founded by George Devol and Joseph F. Engelberger invented the first robot. These were initially used in industries where it was required that dangers involved in working should be reduced like in spot welding, die casting and forging and then gradually they were employed in areas requiring greater strength and accuracy than human beings.

Industrial Robots are automatic devices, which to an extent simulate the human behavior or more specifically human activity. Robots are important part of the science of Automation. Automation involves machines and computers that are capable of learning and performing various types of operations. The word robot has been derived from the Czech word “robota” meaning compulsory labor. The robots are used in industries to perform various functions like material handling, spot welding, spray painting, die casting, ironing, forging, assembly operations, palletizing, dispensing, testing, water jet cutting, picking and placing heavy goods etc.

Robots are made in various shapes and sizes and generally their load carrying capacity depends up on their size and strength. An average human sized robot is capable of carrying a load of more than 100 pounds and can also move it very quickly at the rate of +/-0.006 inches. One of their major advantages is that they can work continuously for days and years at a stretch without developing any fault. Due to this persistent accuracy robots are fast becoming indispensable part of various industrial set-ups. Most often these robots are used for repetitive painting, welding and operations like picking up and placing products into the machines.

The industrial robots can be programmed for performing a single function at a time and can only perform that particular function till they are reprogrammed. The cost of a robot is not very huge, but generally the cost of programming the robot is so high that instead of reprogramming it the manufacturers find it more economical to buy a new one for a different task. In simpler terms we can say that usually the cost of the robot is just a fraction of the cost of programming it.

Robots are made up of easily available materials. Steel, cast iron and aluminum are commonly used for making the arms and bases of robots. In mobile robots, rubber tires are fixed for smooth and quiet operation. Robots may be electronically operated and also laser or radio controlled. The exposed parts of the robot are enveloped with flexible neoprene sheaths and bellows.

The importance of robots in industries is increasing day by day and they constitute a very important part of the modern industries. Robots have made so many things possible, which could not be even thought of around 6 decades ago. They have taken the place of manual labor, especially in places where people worked in very dangerous and hazardous conditions like welding, die casting and forging. They have brought about revolutionary changes in the field of industrial manufacturing. According to a research conducted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe the worldwide purchase for robots is increasing at the rate of approximately 19% every year.

In recent years Robots are also being used in industries like consumer electronics and food packaging where robots outweigh the precision and quality of assembling the products as compared to work done by human hands. Earlier on some people protested the inclusion of robots in industries on the account that this will render many people unemployed. But these fears have also been allayed and the best argument in this regard has been given by economist James Miller. He says “True, the existence of automation might depress workers' wages but it shouldn't ever leave them unemployable.”

Say Goodbye to Darkness, Let the LIGHT of Future Shine !!

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:13:20 +0000

Lighting is the basic need of human beings and in present times it is as important as food, shelter and clean drinking water. Still two billion people, which accounts for one third of the human population do not have access to electricity and are dependent on fuel based lighting. In this era when people are going for space walks and scientists are unraveling the mysteries of the universe, electricity should be considered as a human right as it is directly linked to literacy and education.

The problem of electricity is largely faced by the people living in under developed or developing nations of the world like the African and Asian countries. Besides the problem of no access to electricity (especially in remote rural areas) there is also a problem of frequent power cuts, which is hugely affecting the industries in most of these countries. This is because of greater demand as compared to the supply of electricity. According to an estimate lighting consumes 25 to 30 % of the world’s total electricity production and if this percentage is reduced, much electricity can be saved. Thus there is a need to develop a lighting technology that can illuminate the lives of billions without draining their pockets and Solid - State Lighting seems to be an ideal technology to realize this dream.

Solid – State Lighting is a term used for light emitting sources that use semiconductor materials for emission of light. The two important technologies of solid – state lighting are light emitting diodes (LED’s) and organic light emitting diodes (OLED’s). This technology promises to surpass the energy efficiencies of incandescent bulbs and fluorescent lights. Though LED’s were developed around 40 years ago, but they were generally used in electronic devices like indicator lamps. But due to the recent technological advances they are now widely used in traffic lights, exit signs, cell phones, flashlights, large area outdoor displays (as in Times Square and Las Vegas), etc.

Researches have also indicated that in the near future these lights will be used for illuminating homes and commercial complexes. There are myriad advantages of Solid – State Lighting over conventional lighting systems. LED’s have longer life span than a normal incandescent bulb. They can provide approximately 50,000 hours of life where as an incandescent bulb can last for around 1,000 hours. LED’s are also very energy efficient. The efficiency of lighting is calculated in lumens/watt (light output produced per unit of input electrical power). The lighting efficiency of incandescent bulb is 16 lumen/watt, that of a fluorescent lamp is 85 lumens/watt and of LED’s is 30 lumens/watt. This shows that the luminous efficiency of LED’s is greater than that of incandescent bulbs but less than a fluorescent lamp. The researches going on give a clear indication that in the future the luminous efficiency of LED’s will rise to 150 – 200 lumens/watt.

Besides having longer life and being energy efficient these lighting systems give better quality of light as they have very low ultraviolet and infrared emissions, they are small in size, cool to touch and can easily bear vibrations.

SSL is the future of lighting technology and is an incredible alternative to other lighting systems like incandescent bulbs and fluorescent lamps. This technology is environment friendly, economical and will help people who are still devoid of the most basic needs of livelihood. We can only hope that in days to come whole humanity would benefit from the technological and scientific advancements taking place all over the world.

Bluetooth: Redefining the Future of Wireless Communication

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 08:09:51 +0000

Conceive a situation where you are really angry and want to vent out that anger on the person responsible for it, be it your spouse, sibling or perhaps your friend who has just cheated upon you.

So no need to control your nerves, invite them to fight with you through bluetooth, using your N-gage (a mobile telephone and handheld gaming system) and beat them just by moving your fingers and hands. Interesting no? This is one of the many benefits of the bluetooth technology. Bluetooth is a wireless and automatic technology having wonderful features that can ameliorate your lifestyle and the best part is that it liberates you from the tedious network of cables. Bluetooth network enables transmission of data through low-frequency radio waves. It is a short-range technology that can operate in the ambit of around 10 meters. This technology works between 2.402 GHz and 2.480 GHz.

You can find innumerable products that are Bluetooth enabled like mobile phones, personal computers, video games, headsets etc. This technology is named after a Danish king Harold Bluetooth, whose important achievement was to unite Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The idea behind naming this technology after him was that Bluetooth would also synchronize different industries like mobile phones, computing and automobiles. It was launched by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) in the year1998. The promoting members of this group are Ericsson, Nokia, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft, Motorola and Toshiba.

Bluetooth devices can be operated all over the world without a network by using Industrial-Scientific Medical (ISM) band and they make use of frequency hopping for securing great quality link. Bluetooth enabled devices offer their users options of point to point and point to multi point links through which connection can be set up between a minimum of two and maximum of eight devices. The communicating devices are known as pinochets and one of the two devices is named as master unit whereas the other is designated as slave unit. The device initiating the connection is known as master unit.

The Bluetooth technology has multifarious advantages like usage of radio frequency, affordable price of the device, low power consumption, doing away with cable connections and assured security measures. You even do not require a license to use this technology as it employs unlicensed radio frequency. As this technology consumes less power, its use in battery driven devices like mobile phones won’t drain the whole battery in a short span of time. One of the major advantages of a Bluetooth device is that it eliminates the risk of harmful radiation in the brain region. Another benefit provided to the users is proper security and privacy through security tools like frequency hopping (change of radio frequency 1600 times per second.), encryption and authentication.

Bluetooth has wide ranging applications in many industries including automotive, medical, industrial equipment, communication equipment, digital cameras and computers. Some latest devices are also incorporating the Bluetooth technology like PS3 and Nintendo Revolution. This is a spectacular technology that is expected to be around in years to come. Its wide appeal can be analyzed by the fact that most of the European and Asian countries offer electronic newspapers, subway tickets and car parking charges through this wireless medium.

100 Years from Now – Man Struggling for Survival Against his Own Creation

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 08:08:52 +0000

Can humans be ever enslaved by machines that are capable enough to take over the world and rule over it or Is it possible that after a few hundred years we might become extinct and the whole world is taken over by robots?

Many science fiction movies have tried to show a picture of our planet where we are fighting for our existence from our own creations. Famous among these are ‘Artificial Intelligence’ directed, produced and written by Steven Spielberg and I, Robot directed by Alex Proyas. Both these movies are based on the technology of artificial intelligence. We still do not know what future has in store for us but it is quite possible that perhaps with the help of artificial intelligence, such machines are created that can understand emotions, can love, hate, kill or do anything that a human being is capable of doing. We might bring a dead man to life by using a strand of DNA or treat most deadly diseases infecting us. These wild imaginations might turn out to be true, who knows, just wait for time and see.

Artificial Intelligence can be described as science of intelligence and exploration primarily involving hypotheses that can be tested. It is concerned basically with performing tasks that when carried out by human beings require intelligence like story writing, music composition, diagnosis of various diseases, proving difficult mathematical theorems, planning trips, designing computers, playing chess, negotiating contracts and giving legal advises.

Developed around 50 years ago, this computer software has transformed our lifestyles and provided solutions to many real life problems. While calling through a cell phone or sending an email, have you ever wondered from where this information is coming from? The answer is Artificial Intelligence software programs. AI has wide applications in many fields like in banks to track fraud transactions, in cell phone companies for voice recognition, in medical industry for diagnosis and treatment of various diseases, by different search engines to organize data and enhance the search results. The other important areas where AI is being used widely are bionics, cybernetics, syntactic pattern recognition, computer vision, statistical pattern recognition, cognitive psychology and neuroscience.

The future of AI seems to be very bright especially if we go by the predictions of Artificial Intelligence researchers. The AI experts are claiming that by the middle of the century we will see intelligent machines all around us. Some scientists even say that in the coming 30 years the working of the human brain will be decoded and this will lead to the development of hi-tech artificial intelligence systems. Latest researches are trying to build robots that behave like human beings. If this thought is transformed in to a reality then who knows, our role will be changed completely. Robots have already taken the place of factory workers and are even acting as surgeons, pilots and astronauts.

By the turn of the century we might see robots performing all the work and human beings getting more and more time for leisure and relaxation. On the other hand they can also render humans jobless and perhaps the story of movies like Artificial Intelligence and I, Robots may become a reality. Thus Artificial Intelligence can be considered as one of the most fascinating and challenging intellectual development of this century.