Technology Up To Date

?Helicopter Eurocopter X3 has overcome one more speed barrier last week – up to 232 (450 km / h). It’s created on a “hybrid” principle – with 2 horizontal turbo engines on the wings. As a result, Helicopter is able to achieve the level of speed which is more typical for propeller style ones. After all it’s beautiful Just loot at

Among the possible applications: border control, coast guard, rescue, medical evacuation, transportation of passengers and, of course, tourism.

The University of Toronto, a world-leading research university, announces a breakthrough development in video camera design. The Omni-focus Video Camera, based on an entirely new distance-mapping principle, delivers automatic real-time focus of both near and far field images, simultaneously, in high resolution. This unprecedented capability can be broadly applied in industry, including manufacturing, medicine, defence, security — and for the consumer market.

Inventor and principal investigator of the Omni-focus Video Camera, Professor Keigo Iizuka of electrical and computer engineering, explained that “the intensity of a point source decays with the inverse square of the distance of propagation. This variation with distance has proven to be large enough to provide depth mapping with high resolution. What’s more, by using two point sources at different locations, the distance of the object can be determined without the influence of its surface texture.” This principle led Iizuka to invent a novel distance-mapping camera, the Divergence-ratio Axi-vision Camera, abbreviated “Divcam,” which is a key component of the new Omni-focus Video Camera.

The Omni-focus Video Camera is produced in collaboration with consulting investigator David Wilkes, president of Wilkes Associates, a Canadian high-tech product development company. It contains an array of colour video cameras, each focused at a different distance, and an integrated Divcam. The Divcam maps distance information for every pixel in the scene in real time. A software-based pixel correspondence utility, using prior intellectual property invented by Wilkes, then uses the distance information to select individual pixels from the ensemble of outputs of the colour video cameras and generates the final “omni-focused” single-video image.

“The Omni-focus Video Camera’s unique ability to achieve simultaneous focus of all of the objects in a scene, near or far, multiple or single, without the usual physical movement of the camera’s optics represents a true advancement that is further distinguished in terms of high-resolution, distance mapping, real-time operation, simplicity, compactness, lightweight portability and a projected low manufacturing cost,” said Wilkes.

The camera is still in the research phase. But it’s not difficult to imagine how far-reaching an impact the Omni-focus Video Camera could have on several industries. As for the future direction of his research, Iizuka sees the following possibilities:

(1) Application of the Omni-focus Video Camera to TV studio cameras. Consider the example of a musical concert being televised by a major network. Even though the singer is in sharp focus, band members in the background are invariably out of focus. Conventional video cameras are unable to focus simultaneously on both the singer and band members in the background. The Omni-focus Video Camera removes this limitation to deliver higher-quality video images and improved quality of experience to potentially millions of TV viewers worldwide.

(2) Application of the Omni-focus Video Camera to medicine. “I’d like to apply the principle of the Omni-focus Video Camera to the design of a laparoscope. It would help doctors at the operating table if they can see the entire view without touching optics of the laparoscope, especially if dealing with a large lesion,” said Iizuka.

via http://www.news.utoronto.ca/

Can technology lead us out of economic turmoil? According weforum.org Denmark and Sweden once again lead the rankings of The Global Information Technology Report 2008-2009, released for the eighth consecutive year by the World Economic Forum.

The United States follows suit, up one position from last year, thus confirming its pre-eminence in networked readiness in the current times of economic slowdown. Singapore (4), Switzerland (5) and the other Nordic countries together with the Netherlands and Canada complete the top 10.

The Report underlines that good education fundamentals and high levels of technological readiness and innovation are essential engines of growth needed to overcome the current economic crisis. Under the theme “Mobility in a Networked World”, this year’s Report places a particular focus on the relationship and interrelations between mobility and ICT.

With record coverage of 134 economies worldwide, the Report remains the world’s most comprehensive and authoritative international assessment of the impact of ICT on the development process and the competitiveness of nations.

The Report is produced by the World Economic Forum in cooperation with INSEAD, the leading international business school, and is sponsored by Cisco Systems.

The list of top 30 Innovations in the Last 30 Years selected by The Wharton School looks like that:
1. Internet/broadband/WWW (browser and HTML)
2. PC/laptop computers
3. Mobile phones
4. E-mail
5. DNA testing
6. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
7. Microprocessors
8. Fiber optics
9. Office software
10. Non-invasive laser/robotic surgery
11. Open source software and services (e.g., Linux,)
12. Light emitting diodes (first real devices in 1960s)
13. Liquid Crystal Displays
14. GPS Systems
15. Online shopping/ecommerce/auctions
16. Media file compression
17. Microfinance
18. Photovoltaic Solar Energy
19. Large scale wind turbines
20. Social networking via internet
21. Graphic user interface (GUI)
22. Digital photography/videography
23. RFID and applications (e.g. EZpass)
24. Genetically modified plants
25. Bio fuels
26. Bar codes and scanners
27. ATMs
28. Stents
29. SRAM flash memory
30. Anti retroviral treatment for AIDS

It goes without saying that the importance of the science and technology achievements and their impact on our day by day life can scarcely be exaggerated. High-Tech fair innovative factor plays a great role and find in use practically everywhere though it were electronics, equipment manufacturing, information, biotechnology, medicine, materials, food processing or entertainment sphere. One can hard imagine a music show, concert or festival without using of high tech equipment to say nothing of sound, light and other aspects drawing up a quality show.

By the way about quality show, it is precisely this fact explains Reading Festival has a high quality show reputation with its both live music and arranging. Besides that friendly atmosphere, camping, perfect food, the possibility of getting detailed Reading Festival Information and ordering Festival Tickets online make this experience pleasing and unforgettable.

“Can’t stop, won’t stop, never gonna let it go
See that, now I know, nothing is impossible”

Sometimes we are struggling with ever growing electronic information volume and content but there are things – Computer Software, new computer programs, new devices and more – we have to know.