KNIGHT WATCH

WHAT HAS TECHNOLOGY DONE FOR US LATELY?

The various technologies used to study weather have shown that the increase in precipitation can’t be explained just by natural fluctuations in the climate system. Studies published in the journal Nature took all the information showing increases in extreme rain and snow from the 1950’s through the 1990’s and ran dozens of computer models. Only when greenhouse gases were factored in did the models show increases in precipitation similar to what occurred. Because warmer air holds more water, significant rains and snows were 7% wetter in the 1990’s than in the 1950’s – leaving global warming doubters “all wet”.

The technology involved in red light cameras saves lives. That was the result of a 2011 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In 14 large cities that installed cameras between 1996 and 2004, fatal crashes decreased 24%. Interestingly, those same cities also had a decrease in fatalities at intersections with basic traffic lights. According to the Institute, the reduction translated into 159 lives saved over 5 years. Supposedly, if all large cities had red light cameras, 815 lives could have been saved. However, for those continuing to go through red lights, a “red-letter” day could be in their near future.

Nevertheless, in spite of all the good things technology does for us, it’s hazardous to our health because it interferes with our sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation’s 2011 poll, 95% of the 1,508 people polled used some type of electronic device – television, computer, video game, cell phone – within an hour of bedtime a few nights a week. Unfortunately, those devices tend to take time away from sleep; they over-stimulate us; and when we’re in bed, the light the devices emit suppresses the sleep-promoting hormone, melatonin. In fact, it’s probably not good to have a “bright” idea when we are in bed.

Also, technology can be used against us. In Pennsylvania narcotics were smuggled into prisons concealed under postage stamps. In New Jersey a children’s coloring book dedicated “to daddy” was mailed to an inmate. The crayon-colored scribbling contained drugs. On a larger scale, millions of dollars of cocaine were converted into liquid and gel and transported from Peru to New Jersey disguised as shampoos and creams. The cardboard boxes containing fresh flowers sent from South America to New Jersey turned into liquid heroin when shredded and mixed with a special solution. In 2011 these are examples of “techNOlogy”.

 

IS THERE NEW "DRIVE" IN TECHNOLOGY?

On July 16, 2010 the Zephyr, an unmanned solar aircraft, smashed the world record for continuous flight. The plane had already been airborne 7 days and was expected to double that time. Developed by a UK defense technology company, the plane weighs 117 pounds and has a wingspan of 74 feet. The top of the 323 square feet wing area is covered with solar panels thinner than a sheet of paper which power the plane at night. Predicting both military and civilian uses, the developers hope that future testing will live up to the definition of zephyr and be a “breeze”. In 2010 Gordon Murray unveiled the T25. The gasoline-powered eco car is 7.8 feet long and 4.2 feet wide. It gets 74 mpg and costs approximately $9,000. The car’s modular interior has 6 configurations to accommodate passengers and cargo. Its assembly-line production allows all major components to be fitted on the chassis before the pre-painted body panels are put on. This results in a smaller auto plant, which will reduce the car’s overall carbon footprint. Murray also designed the McLaren F1 supercar, which has a speed of 240 mph. At 80 mph, the T25 has more green power. In 1997 the present land/speed record of a sound-barrier-breaking 763 mph was set. “Bloodhound” is a supersonic car being designed to break that record. The car is approximately 42 feet long, 9 feet high and 2 feet wide. Fully fueled it will have a mass of more than 14,100 pounds and be powered by both a jet and a rocket engine, generating a thrust of 47,500 pounds. Bloodhound is predicted to reach 800 mph at a 2011 preliminary run and reach 1,050 mph in 42 seconds by 2012 – unless that’s just a lot of “fast-talk”. Further into the future Italian engineers plan to develop a driverless car. The car will be equipped with 4 laser scanners and 7 video cameras to detect and help avoid obstacles. The driverless car will follow a lead vehicle from which it takes its cues, but it will respond on its own to ordinary obstacles and dangers. The car will travel at 30-37 mph and require an 8-hour charge after every 2-3 hours of driving. Practical uses for this technology include military caravans, nighttime plowing and seeding of fields and – my favorite – being able to allow drivers to read the newspaper while stuck in traffic – legally.

WHAT'S TECHNOLOGY DONE FOR YOU LATELY?

Stanford University is at the forefront of bookless libraries. The periodical shelves of the Engineering Library are almost bare. Starting in 2005 most engineering periodicals went online. Students now read them from laptops and mobile devices. Because engineering is a fast changing field - particularly in specialties like software and bioengineering - traditional textbooks are soon outdated. When the new Engineering Library opened in August 2010, there were 85% fewer books. According to a survey by the Association of Research Libraries, American libraries are spending more on electronic resources and less on books. It's 21st century "resourcefulness".

The resourcefulness shown by e-mailing doctors helps people stay healthy. According to a study published in Health Affairs, patients with diabetes or hypertension who were in e-mail contact with their doctors experienced better health outcomes. The 2-month study looked at over 35,000 patients and about 500,000 e-mail conversations stripped of identification information. Most e-mails were initiated by patients to discuss changed health conditions or lab tests. Patients who e-mailed scored better on cholesterol and blood pressure tests. According to a Harris poll, in 2010 only 9% of Americans communicate with doctors via e-mail. That's an "unhealthy" percent.

Vibrating car seats are healthy. They prevent car accidents by alerting drivers to cars in their blind spots. Unlike visual or audio warnings, touch transmits the location of cars without drivers having to turn their head. Vibrating cell phone motors embedded in the driver's seat create continual soft vibrations. When another vehicle moves behind or beside the car, the vibrations against the driver's back increase in pressure and correspond to the position of the approaching vehicle. However, by continually vibrating instead of activating only in emergencies, the touch system increases driver awareness of all surrounding cars. - creating more "carful" driving".

For more careful flying there's the Solar Impulse. The experimental solar-powered plane completed its 24-hour test flight July 7, 2010. The single-seat plane with a wingspan of a Boeing 777 climbed to 28,000 feet and had a top speed of over 75 mph. The Solar Impulse flew at night by recharging its batteries using 12,000 solar cells. By day it was powered by the sun. However, the Swiss-led project's goal isn't to replace jet propulsion. It's to circle the globe in 2013 making only 5 stops to prove new technologies can break dependence on fossil fuels - to give us "higher hopes" for the future.

WHO PUTS THE TECH IN TECHNOLOGY?

A Harvard University professor developed a fingerprint-size medical lab that costs only one cent. The chip's water-repellent comic-book ink saturates several layers of paper, funneling the patient's drop of blood into tree-like channels, where the blood reacts with treated paper, creating diagnostic colors. Several diseases - as well as their severity - can be diagnosed simultaneously. Patients in third world countries could take a picture of the chip with a cell phone and send it to the nearest doctor. Because more complicated and expensive lab-on-a-chip technology exists, paper chips are "chips off the old block".

A 30-year-old graduate student at Harvard and MIT invented a high-tech shoe insole to help older people improve their balance, thus decreasing their risk of falling. Because the key to balance is how well a person can stand still, the "iShoe" tracks weight-shifting when standing. Well-balanced people shift their weight about every 40 seconds, but people who have dangerous balance problems shift their weight every second or continually. Using digital sensors, the battery-powered insole transmits data to a computer to be interpreted by doctors for treatment. However, until the iShoe is on the market, help is "in the balance".

A science fair student invented an instrument to measure reaction time. His invention consisted of a hockey puck attached to a stick, which he had marked in centimeters. The subject whose reaction time is being measured sits with his forearm on a table and his fingers loosely around the stick. When the stick is dropped, the subject grabs it as fast as possible. Where the stick is grabbed shows the reaction time. The student's doctor/father saw the instrument as a tool for immediately screening athletes for concussions and found that reaction times for such athletes were 15% slower. Although a patentable model is being developed, the diagnostic reliability of the puck-on-a-stick sticks.

And then there's the technology to make daily life easier. - like the Automower 260ACX made by Husqvarna. It's a remote controlled lawnmower that supposedly needs no supervision. Ultrasonic sensors prevent the machine from hitting anything and it automatically returns to its charging station when necessary. If anything does go wrong, the mower is able to send a text message to its owner requesting help. The 260ACX is basically a $5,300 Roomba for lawns that's available only in Europe. What's needed to bring it to the U.S. in 2010 is a "grass roots movement".

IS TECHNOLOGY GOING TOO FAR?

Cablevision in New York is using interactive technology. Starting in October 2009 approximately 3 million digital subscribers will be offered "Optimum Select". When Optimum Select commercials are shown, viewers can use the select button on their remote controls to request more information, coupons or a free sample of the product in the ad. Benjamin Moore paint is one of the national brands that will air interactive ads. When the technology is more developed, viewers will be able to buy products with their remotes. This is an "ad-vancement" in technology for "ad-dicted" shoppers.

Due to a partnership between Phillips Electronics and a Dutch bank, there is now technology to help individual investors buy stocks. The "'Rationalizer" is basically a mood bracelet that warns home traders when they're feeling overly emotional. In addition to the science-fiction-looking "EmoBracelet", there's a light emitting "EmoBowl" that is placed near the trader's computer. As the trader's feelings intensify, the bowl's glow changes from yellow to orange to red due to galvanic skin response sensors that measure sweat. Because males are supposedly more emotional as investors than females, this product would be helpful to male investors who want to take stock of themselves.

For $99 some companies are offering genetic testing technology to match couples by DNA. They claim biological compatibility improves sex, reduces cheating and provides longer-lasting love. Supposedly people are attracted to people with different immune system genes - more specifically, to body odor "fingerprints" determined by different HLA genes in the immune system. However, when a random sample of married couples was tested, their immune systems were not notably different. Also hundreds of studies have shown the importance of personality and appearance in attraction. One company has tested more than 1,000 people, but "gene partnering" doesn't seem to be the work of "geniuses".

Technology has also given us sperm banks, but a Southern California sperm bank has taken this one step farther. Instead of having clients select a donor from descriptions covering everything from ethnicity to eye color, Cryobank matches its donors to the celebrity the donors most resemble. However, this resemblance is decided by the sperm bank - not by computerized, face-recognition technology. The sperm bank's Web site also states "No celebrity is meant as an exact match for any donor nor should you assume that your future children will look like any celebrity listed" - obviously, a disclaimer for starry-eyed, prospective clients.

DOES TECHNOLOGY HAVE TO BE TECHNICAL?

Nike and several other shoe companies are making shoes that look like gloves for feet with a pocket for each toe. This new trend in running shoes is designed for wannabe barefoot runners, runners who are “efficient and biomechanically gifted runners” that want to protect the soles of their feet. Those are runners who don’t need features for stability and motion control that are built into more traditional running shoes. Running shoes were invented in the 70’s by then Oregon University track coach Bill Bowerman, who poured rubber compounds into his wife’s waffle iron. Bowerman later became co-founder of Nike and a “shoeper” success.

Scientists at Missouri University have developed a blast-resistant glass that’s both thinner and lighter and can withstand hand-grenade-strength explosions. Because it is less than ½ inch thick, it’s less expensive to manufacture. Because there is a composite of glass fibers embedded in plastic between two sheets of laminated glass – instead of a strong layer of plastic - the composite layer doesn’t puncture even if the glass cracks. This new glass could be used to protect federal buildings from terrorist attacks, as well as protect homes from hurricanes and earthquakes. This glass is a breakthrough that doesn’t break.

Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway, has invented the "Slingshot" – a portable water purifier for use in remote villages. The machine boils, distills and vaporizes contaminated liquid in one tank, delivering pure water to another tank. Using less electricity than a hair dryer, it’s turned river and ocean water, as well as raw sewage, into pure drinking water. One machine can supply 250 gallons a day – enough for 100 people. Presently a Slingshot costs several hundred thousand dollars, but further engineering could reduce the price of this mini water purifier to $2000 – which would be much easier to swallow.

Missouri’s James River Power Station is one of hundreds of U.S. coal-burning power plants. However, in 2009 the plant experimented with burning torrefied wood – roasted wood chips that look like dark sawdust. Some think torrefied wood is a cleaner alternative to coal – which is responsible for more than one-third of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. Both give off carbon dioxide when burned, but burning wood basically returns previously absorbed carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Although the wood that’s used will supposedly be only cleared wood, the fuel will still be 90% coal; and torrefaction will still be a dirty word.