Verifying passwords by the way they're typed. Researchers in Beirut are working to improve upon past attempts at linking password authentication to the the speed and rhythm of the user's keystrokes There are good passwords and bad passwords, but none of them are totally secure. Researchers at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, are working on strengthening an approach to password security that's not just about what you type, but how you type it.
Ravel Jabbour, Wes Masri and Ali El-Hajj of the American University of Beirut have developed software that aims to improve upon past attempts at linking password authentication to the the speed and rhythm of the user's keystrokes, a method called key-pattern analysis (KPA). Instead of just measuring the time-lapse between keystrokes, the researchers also measure how long each key remains depressed. Modified keyboards that measure keystroke pressure represent another avenue for, but this approach works on a standard keyboard. About the Author Post a CommentRelated Articles. Student-designed Solarball creates drinkable water. The Solarball is a student-designed device that creates clean drinking water through evaporation and condensation (All photos courtesy Monash University) Image Gallery (3 images) When he set out on a trip to Cambodia in 2008, Industrial Design student Jonathan Liow had no idea it was going to be a life-changing experience.
Upon seeing the poverty and poor living conditions in that country, however, he decided that he wanted to build things that could help people. After hearing about the need for cheap and effective water purification in Africa, he proceeded to create the Solarball for his graduate project at Australia's Monash University. Users start by pouring dirty water into the Solarball. Liow – who has since graduated from Monash – said that one of the main challenges in the design was "to make the device more efficient than other products available, without making it too complicated, expensive, or technical. " Via Inhabitat About the Author Post a CommentRelated Articles. 'First-ever' permanent anti-fog coating developed.
Researchers have developed what they say is the world's first-ever permanent anti-fog coating (Photo: mhofstrand, Flickr) Tired of your glasses fogging up on cold days, or of having to spit in your dive mask before putting it on? Those hassles may become a thing of the past, as researchers from Quebec City's Université Laval have developed what they claim is the world's first permanent anti-fog coating.
Just one application is said to work indefinitely on eyeglasses, windshields, camera lenses, or any other transparent glass or plastic surface. The actual anti-fog coating itself is composed of polyvinyl alcohol, which is a hydrophilic compound that causes the individual droplets of condensation to disperse. Before it can go on to a surface, however, a base of four successive layers of silicon molecules are first applied via an atmospheric plasma process. Prof. About the Author Post a CommentRelated Articles Just enter your friends and your email address into the form below.
'Invisibility cloak' hides objects without using metamaterials. The quest to build a working “invisibility cloak” generally focuses on the use of metamaterials – artificially engineered materials with a negative refractive index that have already been used to render microscopic objects invisible in specific wavelengths of light. Now, using naturally occurring crystals rather than metamaterials, two research teams working independently have demonstrated technology that can cloak larger objects in the broad range of wavelengths visible to the human eye.
Both teams, one from the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART Centre) and the other comprised of researchers from the University of Birmingham, Imperial College, London and Technical University of Denmark, made the breakthrough using a natural crystal called calcite. This transparent mineral boasts an optical property known as birefringence, or double-refraction.
Meanwhile, the SMART Centre team used a similar method. Graphene coatings used to repel, attract water, could make Rain-X decidedly obsolete. Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world. Scientists Discover How To Store Data In Bacteria. Researchers at Hong Kong's Chinese University have found what might be the safest way to store data: not in a safe, not in the cloud, but in bacteria.
Biostorage, the term for storing and encrypting information in organisms, has only existed for close to a decade, but scientists say the method could soon allow for text, images, music, or even video to be "recorded" in E. Coli, according to Discovery. By encoding data in bacterial DNA, the information has a virtually limitless lifespan. As each bacteria reproduces, the data could be copied thousands of times. By mapping E. Coli's DNA, that data can be easily found and isolated. Perhaps more importantly however, bacteria isn't susceptible to intrusion. "Bacteria can't be hacked," Allen Yu, a student instructor, told Discovery. "All kinds of computers are vulnerable to electrical failures or data theft.
The data can be split into chunks and distributed between different bacterial cells, which helps overcome any storage space issues. State_of_the_Internet_2010.png (PNG Image, 960x2800 pixels) Take a trip around the human body with Body Browser. Google has answered the call of students of anatomy who would find something like the Autopsy Table or the Visualization Table a useful addition to the educational arsenal, but who can't afford the huge price tag.
Although still very much in the experimental stage, the Body Browser allows users to slice through layers of skin and tissue of a three dimensional model of a human body using virtual knives, and explore the various systems that make us tick. Offered as a showcase for WebGL technology, which allows a browser to render 3D graphics without the need for plugins, the Body Browser currently resides with Google Labs. Anyone who has a WebGL-enabled browser – such as the very latest builds of Chrome and Firefox for Windows and Safari for Mac – should be able to peel back various layers, zoom in and out, and search for specific body parts in much the same way as you would look for a town or region in Google Maps. 'Road Train' Automobile Convoying Tech Takes a Successful First Test Drive. Technology that links a chain of semi-autonomous vehicles to a lead car has undergone its first trials at a Volvo test track in Sweden.
The "road train" system, which allows cars to link into "trains" in which the lead car sets the pace and direction for the cars linked behind it, could be deployed on European roadways by the end of the decade. The idea is to cut fuel use, cut congestion, and make highways safer by allowing those traveling long distance on highways to link up with other drivers going the same way. Once a driver falls in line behind the lead vehicle and establishes a wireless link, an adaptive cruise control system kicks in to match the leader's speed while a battery of sensors ensure all vehicles in the train maintain a safe distance from each other.
Microsoft announces InstaLoad battery technology: never insert a battery the wrong way again. Microsoft Unveils InstaLoad Battery Installation Technology That Allows Batteries to Be Inserted in Either Direction: New ease-of-use feature now available for third-party licensing. REDMOND, Wash. July 1, 2010 Microsoft Corp. today announced a new technology aimed at improving the battery installation process called InstaLoad battery installation technology, which allows users to easily install a battery without regard to positive and negative polarity.
Never again will people have to squint to see battery installation diagrams - the device simply works regardless if the battery is installed positive-side-up or positive-side-down. InstaLoad is a patented battery contact design now available for license by third-party device suppliers, with companies like Duracell already lining up to endorse the technology for use in their own products. Product Applications and Differentiators Royalty-Free License Program for Accessibility Products Microsoft Licensing Program Technology Partner Quotes. Japanese saw handle puffs away sawdust @Makezine.com blog. ZScape 3D holographic prints take maps to the next dimension, sans spectacles. Reevu rear-vision motorcycle helmet goes into production. Eyes in the back of your head: the Reevu MX1 motorcycle helmet Image Gallery (2 images) We first covered the Reevu helmet, with its built-in rear view mirror for motorcyclists, back in 2005.
It's an excellent idea - a rider's vision and situational awareness are huge components of road safety. The more you know about what's happening around and behind you, the more options you've got in an emergency or a simple lane change situation. Well, it's been a long road to the market, but Reevu has finally announced that its RV MSX1 helmet has passed European standards testing, and is now available for distribution.
It should be homologated for use worldwide in the near future, and if the final price is right, we're sure these guys are onto a real winner. The idea behind the Reevu is as simple as the brand name - a helmet with a built-in rear view mirror panel that delivers the rider a constant view of the road behind. Yeah, the above looks like a Photoshop to us too. About the Author. The World's Smallest Radio. Nanotechnology is arguably one of the most overhyped “next big things” in the recent history of applied science. According to its most radical advocates, nanotechnology is a molecular manufacturing system that will allow us to fabricate objects of practically any arbitrary complexity by mechanically joining molecule to molecule, one after another, until the final, atomically correct product emerges before our eyes.
The reality has been somewhat different: today the word “nano” has been diluted to the point that it applies to essentially anything small, even down to the “nanoparticles” in commodities as diverse as motor oil, sunscreen, lipstick and ski wax. Who, then, would have expected that one of the first truly functional nanoscale devices—one that would have a measurable effect on the larger, macroscale world—would prove to be ... a radio? Select an option below: Customer Sign In *You must have purchased this issue or have a qualifying subscription to access this content.