Are You Still Searching for a Parking Spot?

Not sure about you, but Dino clearly remembers the days when he used to circle the city or large parking lots for a spot close to his destination. At every turn into a new lane, he would pray “Please God, may there be a parking spot here…” Eventually, his good karma would kick-in and he would find a spot.

Thanks to high-tech, finding a parking spot is going to get a lot easier. According to a recent article in the NYTimes, “This fall, San Francisco will test 6,000 of its 24,000 metered parking spaces in the nation’s most ambitious trial of a wireless sensor network that will announce which of the spaces are free at any moment.”

A 4x4” inch sensor, called a “Bump” is glued to the ground and senses once a car has arrived and departed. It then sends a signal to a central database that notifies drivers through the web or a smartphone about empty spots in the area. The “Bump” is battery operated and expected to last from 5 to 10 years without service – assuming that it has been run-over more than a hundred times by the cars trying to park.

The technology behind this innovation is called ‘Smart Dust’. Basically, it’s a tiny, low-powered wireless sensor that detects other sensors within its distribution network, and sends the data back to the centralized server for analysis. Smart Dust can detect motion, humidity, light, CO2 levels, or anything thing else worth sensing. Imagine the possibilities of this – detection of bio-hazards, forest fires, parking spots, or even detecting your vital signs such as your temperature, heart-beat or blood pressure.

Fascinating? Yes, and this is just the beginning!

Boxers or Briefs?

Have you tried out one of those automatic blood pressure monitoring machines? The ones in which you insert you entire arm and it starts squeezing until your hand goes numb. Well, it seems as though the life of those machines will soon come to an end.

Philips has just applied for a patent to develop blood-pressure sensing underpants – yes, you read that correctly, underpants!

The underpants come equipped with sensors that measure the electrical impedance of the tissue beneath it. A pair of such sensors can calculate the speed of the pulse wave by timing how long it takes to travel from one sensor to the other.

Dino wasn’t able to obtain too much information about this, but assumes that the sensors will also include a wireless feature that would allow you to transfer the readings to an online log (for monitoring and analysis) or directly to your doctor, keeping you safe at all times. It may even have an alarm that sounds if your blood pressure rises too rapidly.

It’s quite an odd invention – Dino wonders if Philips would collaborate with a garment company such as CK to distribute this, and the different colors that would be available. What about laundry, would the sensors be water resistant? Would it be safe to have a wireless transmitter so close to your…you know what.

Dino will keep you posted once more information is available. Meanwhile, you may want to check out a previous post about an ice shirt that helps you cool down in the summer.

Are you free for the next 17 months?

Just in case you don't have anything planned for the next 17 months, it may be quite adventurous to sign up with the European Space Agency for a simulated trip to Mars. Volunteers will be isolated in a space craft (located in Moscow) for 17 months, and the only link to the outside world would be through a radio – with a realistic time delay such as the real astronauts would face.

The goal is to gain insight into human behavior and group dynamics under such conditions. The volunteers would experience weightlessness, radiation, a high workload in cramped conditions, lack of privacy, and limited supplies. Besides that, the volunteers can enjoy a simulated launch, outward journey of up to 250 days, and a return home.

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, here are the details: In all, 12 European volunteers will be needed. They must be aged 25-50, be in good health, have "high motivation" and stand up to 185cm tall. Smokers, or those with other addictions, to alcohol or illicit drugs, for example, will be rejected. Knowledge of both English and Russian is required and volunteers will be paid 120 Euros (US$ 158) per day.

Unfortunately, Dino does not qualify, but if you don’t have anything planned for the next 17 months, and enjoy working in cramped environments while being exposed to large amounts of radiation, then go ahead and apply. How could you reject such an offer at 120 Euros a day?

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Yesterday, Dino considered purchasing the Asus Eee PC . This notebook is incredibly small, with a 7” screen and weighing a mere 0.92kg. Runs linux or WinXP, includes an Ethernet interface, WLAN, up to 1GB of memory, 8GB solid state drive, and a built in camera for about US$ 499.

Today, HP is offering the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC at the same price and includes half the amount of memory and disk capacity as compared to the Asus Eee. However, for $100 more, it can be upgraded to 1GB of memory, a 120GB hard disk, and Windows Vista OS. Oh, and the screen size is almost two inches wider.

Dino is wondering if he should wait a while to see if another company releases something BFC (better, faster, and cheaper) or go ahead and order the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Now, where’s the credit card?

Dino’s planning a trip NASA

Imagine a day when all our electronics are switched off. No access to the Internet, no signal on our cell phones, microwaves, watches, elevators – all powered off. Hard to imagine isn’t it? Do we really appreciate or wonder how much time, effort, and intelligence is poured into developing such electronics that we take for granted everyday?

Dino has already admitted that he is a tiny bit of a geek, and one thing that always fascinates him is Space exploration. Understanding how computers, cell phones, TVs, home appliances, etc are designed is quite simple, but a Space Shuttle?

Take a look at the pictures of a space shuttle being assembled.

Dino is speechless.

ApriPoko the Robot

Dino is anxiously waiting for ApriPoko to hit the market and then his living room. Developed by Toshiba, this robot is designed to be used as a voice activated universal remote control, thus eliminating the need for pushing any buttons. The most interesting part is the way it learns – it watches your activities by capturing the infrared signals, and then asks you a question like “What did you do?”

Simply say “I turned on the stereo or TV or microwave” and it will store your response, so that the next time you can command it by voice. This product is still in its early stages, but just imagine if you can some how integrate it with Zigbee or another wireless interface to automate the other tedious activities of your life. Dino is confident that Toshiba has already figured that out.

Voicing opinions through your thoughts?

Imagine a phone conversation without actually speaking. Ambient Corporation which developed a device called Audeo recently demonstrated a public voiceless phone call at a conference. It uses a neckband that translates thoughts into speech by relaying signals wirelessly to a computer that converts them into words spoken by a computerized voice.

What if you don’t want to voice exactly what you’re thinking? Well, according to the developer, producing signals for the Audeo to decipher requires "a level above thinking". Users must think specifically about voicing words for them to be picked up by the equipment.

Now there’s no need to fear people eavesdropping in on your phone conversations or being disturbed during a movie or while studying at a library. The overall benefits, however, would be best utilized by patients suffering from a form of neurological or speech impairment.

Check out the full article and video on New Scientist.

Dino’s next challenge

Life is too boring when there’s nothing to strive for. A jolt of inspiration struck Dino earlier this month and guided him to create this Blog. So far, Dino has published a short note everyday, and hopefully this will continue.

Dino’s next challenge is to pass the CWSP (Certified Wireless Security Professional) exam. It’s been almost a year since his last certification, the CompTIA Project+, and feels that it’s the right time to add another certification to his list of achievements.

The next 30-40 days will include long hours of focused studying, and without a doubt, this preparation, persistence, and perspiration will lead to the fulfillment of this desire.

Stay tuned for the results!