Product Management needs to tackle objections before they are raised at steering group meetings. Solar storms can destabilize power grids at midlatitudes. 1ms pan-tilt camera system tracks the flying balls (w/ Video) Consumer product giants' eye-trackers size up shoppers. (Phys.org) -- Consumer product giants whose supply chains, profit margins, and boardroom reports depend on how fast the paper towels, shampoo, and diapers can fly off the shelves no longer dare to rely on just focus groups or survey handouts for consumer data.
Technology is supporting retailers and marketers with sophisticated ways. “Neuromarketing” has become a frequently used term to describe a shopping environment where advanced technologies s including eye tracking reveal consumer wants and shopping behavior. CENS: Center for Embedded Networked Sensing. Remapping gang turf: Math model shows crimes cluster on borders between rivals. IDair has a fingerprint scanner from standoff distance. Researchers are exploring better designs in biometrics to meet business and government demands for reliable identification and verification tools.
Out of the many biometric technologies that continue to be works in progress, fingerprinting continues to be an accepted technique. Fingerprint-matching has been a mainstay in law enforcement but businesses now look toward fingerprinting systems for security management and access control. Other solutions such as flashing photo ID cards or licenses to confirm true identities of people passing in and out the doors have not been entirely reliable.
Researchers amplify variations in video, making the invisible visible. At this summer's Siggraph — the premier computer-graphics conference — researchers from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) will present new software that amplifies variations in successive frames of video that are imperceptible to the naked eye.
So, for instance, the software makes it possible to actually "see" someone's pulse, as the skin reddens and pales with the flow of blood, and it can exaggerate tiny motions, making visible the vibrations of individual guitar strings or the breathing of a swaddled infant in a neonatal intensive care unit. The system is somewhat akin to the equalizer in a stereo sound system, which boosts some frequencies and cuts others, except that the pertinent frequency is the frequency of color changes in a sequence of video frames, not the frequency of an audio signal. The prototype of the software allows the user to specify the frequency range of interest and the degree of amplification. Maths tells when to be more alert on the roads. Technicians from Madrid City Council and a team of Pole and Spanish researchers have analysed the density and intensity of traffic on Madrid's M30 motorway (Spain) throughout the day.
By applying mathematical algorithms, they have verified that drivers should pay more attention to the road between 6pm and 8pm to avoid accidents. Detection devices installed by the Department of Traffic Technologies of Madrid City Council on the M30 motorway and its access roads were used to conduct a scientific study. Grid4EU: Key players across Europe collaborate on smart grid innovation. By Alicia Carrasco | May 15 2012 The Grid4EU program helps six major European smart grid projects collaborate to spur innovation and enhance results.
A major new European Union program aims to enhance several major smart grid pilot projects happening around Europe. Grid4EU — a four-year, multi-national project — comprises six smart grid projects by utilities in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Sweden, and the Czech Republic. Together these projects cover more than half of Europe’s electricity supply. Also participating are more than 25 partners from several countries representing industry, system integrators, research centers and universities. This is the largest smart grid project backed by the European Union. The Smart Grids Forum- First Year Report and Publication of Smart Grid Evaluation Framework Final Report - More Document Information. Frontier%20Final%20Report%20-%20Cover%20letter%20-%20Final. Meter Data Management in the Cloud. As utilities seek to employ advanced smart grid solutions with built-in security, reliability and new capabilities, eMeter and Verizon are teaming to deliver eMeter’s data management software to utilities as a managed, cloud-based service.
The two companies have entered into an agreement to develop and deliver one of the first cloud-based meter data management offerings for the utility industry. The new service delivers eMeter EnergyIP, the industry-leading meter data management software, to utilities as a managed service in a scalable cloud-based environment via the world’s most connected IP network integrated with more than 200 data centers around the globe. This collaboration will enable reliable and innovative meter data management solution that can address the utility industry’s need for new business applications, enhanced billing capabilities and faster customer response. Researchers develop prototype automated pavement crack detection and sealing system. Sealing cracks in roadways ensures a road's structural integrity and extends the time between major repaving projects, but conventional manual crack sealing operations expose workers to dangerous traffic and cover a limited amount of roadway each day.
To address these challenges, the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) developed a prototype automated pavement crack detection and sealing system with funding from the Georgia Department of Transportation. Put a seismometer in your living room. Back in the 1960s, Charlie Richter (PhD '28) installed a seismometer in his living room.
It was bigger than his TV set, and it didn't go with the sofa, but it saved him a lot of late-night drives into the Seismo Lab and was a great conversation piece. Now, if you live in the Pasadena area, you can have one, too. Community for development of machine-to-machine (M2M), embedded wireless, embedded mobile and connected consumer devices. Jasper Wireless - Operator Platform Enables Operators to Optimize M2M Revenue.
Skyhook Wireless. "Skyhook Wireless" is a global location network with more than a billion Wi-Fi access points and millions of venues.
Founded in 2003, the company originally began by working on Wi-Fi location and evolved with the idea that hybrid positioning technology,which incorporates Wi-Fi, GPS, cell towers, IP address and device sensors, could improve their location services. Skyhook's database was initially gathered through wardriving,[1] including more than a billion wi-fi access points and 70 percent coverage of population centers in the United States, Canada, Western Europe and selected Asian countries.[2] Skyhook's database now uses organic data collection, enhancing and building coverage through deployments on mobile devices.
Precision Location SDK[edit] Skyhook offers a software development kit (SDK), which allows developers to create location-enabled applications. LBS - Location Based Services. The Mobile Arts Mobile Location Centre (MLC) Solution provides Mobile Operators with the ability to locate mobile devices.
Knowing the location of a mobile device makes it possible to offer commercial Location Based Services (LBS), sometimes known as Location Services (LCS), and to comply with Emergency Call Location (E112) requirements. The Mobile Arts MLC Solution provides turnkey support for the following location methods: Researchers use flexible channel width to improve user experience on wireless systems. June 4th, 2012 in Technology / Telecom Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a technique to efficiently divide the bandwidth of the wireless spectrum in multi-hop wireless networks to improve operation and provide all users in the network with the best possible performance.
Winds of change for pollution sensing.