Communication Through Power Of Thought now possible,with the help of electrodes, a PC and Internet connection.

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ScienceDaily (Oct. 6, 2009) — New research from the University of Southampton has demonstrated that it is possible for communication from person to person through the power of thought -- with the help of electrodes, a computer and Internet connection.

Brain-Computer Interfacing (BCI) can be used for capturing brain signals and translating them into commands that allow humans to control (just by thinking) devices such as computers, robots, rehabilitation technology and virtual reality environments.
This experiment goes a step further and was conducted by Dr Christopher James from the University's Institute of Sound and Vibration Research. The aim was to expand the current limits of this technology and show that brain-to-brain (B2B) communication is possible.
Dr James comments: "Whilst BCI is no longer a new thing and person to person communication via the nervous system was shown previously in work by Professor Kevin Warwick from the University of Reading, here we show, for the first time, true brain to brain interfacing. We have yet to grasp the full implications of this but there are various scenarios where B2B could be of benefit such as helping people with severe debilitating muscle wasting diseases, or with the so-called 'locked-in' syndrome, to communicate and it also has applications for gaming."
His experiment had one person using BCI to transmit thoughts, translated as a series of binary digits, over the internet to another person whose computer receives the digits and transmits them to the second user's brain through flashing an LED lamp.
While attached to an EEG amplifier, the first person would generate and transmit a series of binary digits, imagining moving their left arm for zero and their right arm for one. The second person was also attached to an EEG amplifier and their PC would pick up the stream of binary digits and flash an LED lamp at two different frequencies, one for zero and the other one for one. The pattern of the flashing LEDs is too subtle to be picked by the second person, but it is picked up by electrodes measuring the visual cortex of the recipient.
The encoded information is then extracted from the brain activity of the second user and the PC can decipher whether a zero or a one was transmitted. This shows true brain-to-brain activity.
You can watch Dr James' BCI experiment at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93p7oDkA5WA&feature=email
Dr James is part of the University of Southampton's Brain-Computer Interfacing Research Programme, which brings together biomedical engineering and the clinical sciences and provides a cohesive scientific basis for rehabilitation research and management. Projects are driven by clinical problems, using cutting-edge signal processing research to produce an investigative tool for advancing knowledge of neurophysiological mechanisms, as well as providing a practical therapeutic system to be used outside a specialised BCI laboratory.
Dr James also appeared on BBC2's 'James May's Big Ideas' last year, talking about thought controlled wheelchairs and introducing the field of BCI. You can view the segment here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyrd0uOuyms&feature=related
Adapted from materials provided by University of Southampton, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

New Multi-use Device Can Shed Light On Oxygen Intake.

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ScienceDaily (Oct. 5, 2009) — A fiber-optic sensor created by a team of Purdue University researchers that is capable of measuring oxygen intake rates could have broad applications ranging from plant root development to assessing the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs.

The self-referencing optrode, developed in the lab of Marshall Porterfield, an associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering, is non-invasive, can deliver real-time data, holds a calibration for the sensor's lifetime and doesn't consume oxygen like traditional sensors that can compete with the sample being measured. A paper on the device was released on the early online version of the journal The Analyst this week.
"It's very sensitive in terms of the biological specimens we can monitor," Porterfield said. "We don't only measure oxygen concentration, we measure the flux. That's what's important for biologists."
Mohammad Rameez Chatni, a doctoral student in Porterfield's lab, said the sensor could be used broadly across disciplines. Testing included tumor cells, fish eggs, spinal cord material and plant roots.
Cancerous cells typically intake oxygen at higher rates than healthy cells, Chatni said. Measuring how a chemotherapy drug affects oxygen intake in both kinds of cells would tell a researcher whether the treatment was effective in killing tumors while leaving healthy cells unaffected.
Plant biologists might be interested in the sensor to measure oxygen intake of a genetically engineered plant's roots to determine its ability to survive in different types of soil.
"This tool could have applications in biomedical science, agriculture, material science. It's going across all disciplines," Chatni said.
The sensor is created by heating an optical fiber and pulling it apart to create two pointed optrodes about 15 microns in diameter, about one-tenth the size of a human hair. A membrane containing a fluorescent dye is placed on the tip of an optrode.
Oxygen binds to the fluorescent dye. When a blue light is passed through the optrode, the dye emits red light back. The complex analysis of that red light reveals the concentration of oxygen present at the tip of the optrode.
The optrode is oscillated between two points, one just above the surface of the sample and another a short distance away. Based on the difference in the oxygen concentrations, called flux, the amount of oxygen being taken in by the sample is calculated.
It's the intake, or oxygen transportation, that Porterfield said is important to understand.
"Just knowing the oxygen concentration in or around a sample will not necessarily correlate to the underlying biological processes going on," he said.
Porterfield said future work will focus on altering the device to measure things such as sodium and potassium intake as well. The National Science Foundation funded the research.
Adapted from materials provided by Purdue University. Original article written by Brian Wallheimer.

'Visual Walkman' Offers Augmented Reality.

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ScienceDaily (Sep. 30, 2009) — "Augmented reality" involves mixing the real world with computer-generated images. The result is a kind of visual Walkman. Jurjen Caarls developed a prototype, which is the subject of a doctoral dissertation that he recently defended at Delft Univesity of Technology (The Netherlands).

One example of augmented reality is a special helmet, in which images are projected into the wearer’s eyes, thereby creating the illusion that these images are part of reality. It is as if extra elements are being added to reality.
Football advertising
A simpler form of real-time augmented reality is already being used during televised football matches. This technology is used to create virtual billboards on either side of the goals, as an additional option for advertisers. Whatever the camera angle, these virtual billboards seem to be perfectly aligned with real on-screen objects. This is made possible by adjusting the projection of these images using information on the current ‘state’ of the live camera.
Sensors
However, things get considerably more complicated when people start moving around within an augmented reality environment. In these situations, of course, the only way to achieve acceptable results is to have accurate, moment-by-moment information on the position and orientation of the individual in question (and especially that of their eyes) relative to the real space around them. This information is fed into the system by various sensors. The equipment built into the augmented reality helmet includes a camera, angular velocity sensors, and accelerometers.
Prototype
Jurjen Caarls’ main focus was on achieving accurate, real-time measurements of position and orientation. To this end, he has developed specific image processing techniques, as well as methods for mixing and filtering the information from various sensors. In partnership with the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague, he has successfully created a working prototype. Those using the system can simply observe the real world, or they can supplement reality with virtual objects. This effect is achieved using two small screens and two semi-transparent mirrors, which are built into the helmet.
Walkman
Caarls feels that the further development of augmented reality could lead to an entirely novel interaction between man and computer. "I can imagine a future in which people experience augmented reality by wearing glasses with integrated displays that project images on their retinas. These images will seem to be just another part of reality. Think of it as a visual Walkman," he said.
In the future, augmented reality applications could have a wide range of uses, in museums and games for example. They could also be a valuable tool for architects and industrial maintenance workers.
Adapted from materials provided by Delft University of Technology.

Swimming Robot Makes Waves At Bath.

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ScienceDaily (Sep. 25, 2009) — Researchers at the University of Bath have used nature for inspiration in designing a new type of swimming robot which could bring a breakthrough in submersible technology.

Conventional submarine robots are powered by propellers that are heavy, inefficient and can get tangled in weeds.
In contrast ‘Gymnobot', created by researchers from the Ocean Technologies Lab in the University's Department of Mechanical Engineering, is powered by a fin that runs the length of the underside of its rigid body; this undulates to make a wave in the water which propels the robot forwards.
The design, inspired by the Amazonian knifefish, is thought to be more energy efficient than conventional propellers and allows the robot to navigate shallow water near the sea shore.
Gymnobot could be used to film and study the diverse marine life near the seashore, where conventional submersible robots would have difficulty manoeuvring due to the shallow water with its complex rocky environment and plants that can tangle a propeller.
Dr William Megill, Lecturer in Biomimetics at the University of Bath, explained: "The knifefish has a ventral fin that runs the length of its body and makes a wave in the water that enables it to easily swim backwards or forwards in the water.
"Gymnobot mimics this fin and creates a wave in the water that drives it forwards. This form of propulsion is potentially much more efficient than a conventional propeller and is easier to control in shallow water near the shore."
Keri Collins, a postgraduate student who developed the Gymnobot as part of her PhD, added: "We hope to observe how the water flows around the fin in later stages of the project. In particular we want to look at the creation and development of vortices around the fin.
"Some fish create vortices when flicking their tails one way but then destroy them when their tails flick back the other way. By destroying the vortex they are effectively re-using the energy in that swirling bit of water. The less energy left in the wake when the fish has passed, the less energy is wasted.
"It will be particularly interesting to see how thrust is affected by changing the wave of the fin from a constant amplitude to one that is tapered at one end."
The lab was recently awarded a grant to work with six other European institutions to create a similar robot that reacts to water flow and is able to swim against currents.
In addition to studying biodiversity near the shore and in fast-flowing rivers, robots like Gymnobot could also be used for detecting pollution in the environment or for inspecting structures such as oil rigs.
The project was funded by BMT Defence Services and the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council.
Adapted from materials provided by University of Bath, via AlphaGalileo.

The Interoperable Telesurgical Protocol.

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ScienceDaily (Sep. 18, 2009) — Using a new software protocol called the Interoperable Telesurgical Protocol, nine research teams from universities and research institutes around the world recently collaborated on the first successful demonstration of multiple biomedical robots operated from different locations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. SRI International operated its M7 surgical robot for this demonstration.

In a 24-hour period, each participating group connected over the Internet and controlled robots at different locations. The tests performed demonstrated how a wide variety of robot and controller designs can seamlessly interoperate, allowing researchers to work together easily and more efficiently. In addition, the demonstration evaluated the feasibility of robotic manipulation from multiple sites, and was conducted to measure time and performance for evaluating laparoscopic surgical skills.
New Interoperable Telesurgical Protocol The new protocol was cooperatively developed by the University of Washington and SRI International, to standardize the way remotely operated robots are managed over the Internet.
"Although many telemanipulation systems have common features, there is currently no accepted protocol for connecting these systems," said SRI's Tom Low. "We hope this new protocol serves as a starting point for the discussion and development of a robust and practical Internet-type standard that supports the interoperability of future robotic systems."
The protocol will allow engineers and designers that usually develop technologies independently, to work collaboratively, determine which designs work best, encourage widespread adoption of the new communications protocol, and help robotics research to evolve more rapidly. Early adoption of this protocol internationally will encourage robotic systems to be developed with interoperability in mind, and avoid future incompatibilities.
"We're very pleased with the success of the event in which almost all of the possible connections between operator stations and remote robots were successful. We were particularly excited that novel elements such as a simulated robot and an exoskeleton controller worked smoothly with the other remote manipulation systems," said Professor Blake Hannaford of the University of Washington.
The demonstration included the following organizations:
SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif., USA
University of Washington Biorobotics Lab (BRL), Seattle, Washington, USA
University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC), Bionics Lab, Santa Cruz, Calif., USA
iMedSim, Interactive Medical Simulation Laboratory, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, USA
Korea University of Technology (KUT) BioRobotics Lab, Cheonan, South Chungcheong, South Korea
Imperial College London (ICL), London, England
Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Technische Universität München (TUM), Munich, Germany
Tokyo Institute of Technology (TOK), Tokyo, Japan
For more information regarding availability of the Interoperable Telesurgical Protocol, please visit: http://brl.ee.washington.edu/Research_Active/Interoperability/index.php/Main_Page
Adapted from materials provided by SRI International.

Silicon With Afterburners: New Process Could Be Boon To Electronics Manufacturer

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ScienceDaily (July 24, 2009) — Scientists at Rice University and North Carolina State University have found a method of attaching molecules to semiconducting silicon that may help manufacturers reach beyond the current limits of Moore's Law as they make microprocessors both smaller and more powerful.

Moore's Law, suggested by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore in 1965, said the number of transistors that can be placed on an integrated circuit doubles about every two years. But even Moore has said the law cannot be sustained indefinitely.
The challenge is to get past the limits of doping, a process that has been essential to creating the silicon substrate that is at the heart of all modern integrated circuits, said James Tour, Rice's Chao Professor of Chemistry and professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and of computer science.
Doping introduces impurities into pure crystalline silicon as a way of tuning microscopic circuits to a particular need, and it's been effective so far even in concentrations as small as one atom of boron, arsenic or phosphorus per 100 million of silicon.
But as manufacturers pack more transistors onto integrated circuits by making the circuits ever smaller, doping gets problematic.
"When silicon gets really small, down to the nanoscale, you get structures that essentially have very little volume," Tour said. "You have to put dopant atoms in silicon for it to work as a semiconductor, but now, devices are so small you get inhomogeneities. You may have a few more dopant atoms in this device than in that one, so the irregularities between them become profound."
Manufacturers who put billions of devices on a single chip need them all to work the same way, but that becomes more difficult with the size of a state-of-the-art circuit at 45 nanometers wide -- a human hair is about 100,000 nanometers wide -- and smaller ones on the way.
The paper suggests that monolayer molecular grafting -- basically, attaching molecules to the surface of the silicon rather than mixing them in -- essentially serves the same function as doping, but works better at the nanometer scale. "We call it silicon with afterburners," Tour said. "We're putting an even layer of molecules on the surface. These are not doping in the same way traditional dopants do, but they're effectively doing the same thing."
Tour said years of research into molecular computing with an eye toward replacing silicon has yielded little fruit. "It's hard to compete with something that has trillions of dollars and millions of person-years invested into it. So we decided it would be good to complement silicon, rather than try to supplant it."
He anticipates wide industry interest in the process, in which carbon molecules could be bonded with silicon either through a chemical bath or evaporation. "This is a nice entry point for molecules into the silicon industry. We can go to a manufacturer and say, 'Let us make your fabrication line work for you longer. Let us complement what you have.'
"This gives the Intels and the Microns and the Samsungs of the world another tool to try, and I guarantee you they'll be trying this."
Journal reference:
He et al. Controllable Molecular Modulation of Conductivity in Silicon-Based Devices. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2009; 131 (29): 10023 DOI: 10.1021/ja9002537
Adapted from materials provided by Rice University.

Music Is The Engine Of New Lab-on-a-chip Device

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ScienceDaily (July 23, 2009) — Music, rather than electromechanical valves, can drive experimental samples through a lab-on-a-chip in a new system developed at the University of Michigan. This development could significantly simplify the process of conducting experiments in microfluidic devices.

A paper on the research will be published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of July 20.
A lab-on-a-chip, or microfluidic device, integrates multiple laboratory functions onto one chip just millimeters or centimeters in size. The devices allow researchers to experiment on tiny sample sizes, and also to simultaneously perform multiple experiments on the same material. There is hope that they could lead to instant home tests for illnesses, food contaminants and toxic gases, among other advances.
To do an experiment in a microfluidic device today, researchers often use dozens of air hoses, valves and electrical connections between the chip and a computer to move, mix and split pin-prick drops of fluid in the device's microscopic channels and divots.
"You quickly lose the advantage of a small microfluidic system," said Mark Burns, professor and chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering and a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
"You'd really like to see something the size of an iPhone that you could sneeze onto and it would tell you if you have the flu. What hasn't been developed for such a small system is the pneumatics—the mechanisms for moving chemicals and samples around on the device."
The U-M researchers use sound waves to drive a unique pneumatic system that does not require electromechanical valves. Instead, musical notes produce the air pressure to control droplets in the device. The U-M system requires only one "off-chip" connection.
"This system is a lot like fiberoptics, or cable television. Nobody's dragging 200 separate wires all over your house to power all those channels," Burns said. "There's one cable signal that gets decoded."
The system developed by Burns, chemical engineering doctoral student Sean Langelier, and their collaborators replaces these air hoses, valves and electrical connections with what are called resonance cavities. The resonance cavities are tubes of specific lengths that amplify particular musical notes.
These cavities are connected on one end to channels in the microfluidic device, and on the other end to a speaker, which is connected to a computer. The computer generates the notes, or chords. The resonance cavities amplify those notes and the sound waves push air through a hole in the resonance cavity to their assigned channel. The air then nudges the droplets in the microfluidic device along.
"Each resonance cavity on the device is designed to amplify a specific tone and turn it into a useful pressure," Langelier said. "If I play one note, one droplet moves. If I play a three-note chord, three move, and so on. And because the cavities don't communicate with each other, I can vary the strength of the individual notes within the chords to move a given drop faster or slower."
Burns describes the set-up as the reverse of a bell choir. Rather than ringing a bell to create sound waves in the air, which are heard as music, this system uses music to create sound waves in the device, which in turn, move the experimental droplets.
"I think this is a very clever system," Burns said. "It's a way to make the connections between the microfluidic world and the real world much simpler."
The new system is still external to the chip, but the researchers are working to make it smaller and incorporate it on a microfluidic device. That would be a step closer to a smartphone-sized home flu test.
The paper is called, "Acoustically-driven programmable liquid motion using resonance cavities." Other authors are U-M chemical engineering graduate students Dustin Chang and Ramsey Zeitoun. The research is funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. The University is pursuing patent protection for the intellectual property.
Adapted from materials provided by University of Michigan.