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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Inside Microsoft: The Kinect Frontier
July 6, 2011 8:26 am | CommentsJaron Lanier, the "father" of virtual-reality, says the Kinect was the riskiest and one of the most successful product developments of 2010 while Google executive Eric Schmidt criticized Microsoft's ability to innovate. Lanier says Microsoft's Kinect is just the first step, and some say it could be the gateway to a new form of computing.
Do Americans Lack Necessary Trade Skills?
July 6, 2011 8:09 am | CommentsChandrakant Patel, HP Fellow and Director, discusses U.S. sustainability, how to make today's wireless hyper-connectivity more efficient, the data centers of the future, and the importance of learning trade skills, not just computer science, for the next generation of American workers. If you're having trouble watching this video, try downloading the latest version of Flash Player or contacting your IT department.
The Flying Car Is Ready
July 6, 2011 7:34 am | CommentsThe new Transition, dubbed "the flying car," is really an airplane that can legally and safely be driven on the road. It can also be parked in a single car garage and parked in a home's driveway--perfect for for your personal aviation adventure. If you're having trouble watching this video, try downloading the latest version of Flash Player or contacting your IT department.
The Tech-Dependent Future Of Automotives
June 27, 2011 5:55 am | CommentsThe automotive industry is a little more than 100 years old, and one can't help but wonder how advancements in technology will allow automotive leaders to address the negative effects and leverage the positive effects that cars and trucks have on our world. Bill Ford is a car guy — his great-grandfather was Henry Ford, and he grew up inside the massive Ford Motor Co.
The Spirit Of Solar Power
June 27, 2011 5:53 am | CommentsThe Solar Impulse is a solar-powered aircraft with the wingspan of a passenger plane and the power of something much smaller, like a scooter. While it might appear to be useless technology right now — it’s only able to hold a pilot and a large pack of batteries — Bertrand Piccard, the President of Solar Impulse, says that his product is exactly like Charles Lindburgh’s Spirit of St.
Man Controls Robotic Hand With Mind
June 23, 2011 5:23 am | CommentsPierpaolo Petruzziello lost his left forearm and hand in a car accident with a drunk driver, but his situation wasn't without hope. A project at Rome's Università Campus Bio-Medico, a campus and university that was developing a prosthetic arm that could be controlled by thought alone.
The Risks And Rewards Of Nanotechnology
June 22, 2011 7:33 am | CommentsAndrew Maynard, chief science advisor for the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, talks to Jorge Ribas about the technology's risks and benefits. As with any new technology, it could be revolutionary. According to Maynard, it could make just about every one of our current technologies better. At the same time, there is the potential for major pollution issues, and the use of nano silver to kill microbes could cause untold damage in our oceans and our bodies.
Hacktivists: What Are They After?
June 22, 2011 7:02 am | CommentsCNN 's Errol Barnett talks to The New Yorker senior editor Nicholas Thompson about an online plot called "Anti-Security," which aims to take down government and banking institutions. Thompson says that it's better these groups, which include LulzSec and Anonymous, are taking on big websites, and not the credit cards of everyday people.
Bob Lutz Picks His Favorite Cars
June 22, 2011 7:01 am | CommentsBob Lutz, the author of “Car Guys vs. Bean Counters,” recounts some of his favorite cars over the years. To give him credit, he has a wide range of tastes, from the orginal BMW 3-Series, all the way through the current Chevy Malibu. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to mention that he helped design these cars as well.
Chatting At The Speed Of Light
June 22, 2011 6:58 am | CommentsHere, the Engineer Guy uses propylene glycol to show how a fiber optic cable works when sending signals across the ocean. They rely on a phenomenon called “total internal reflection,” which allows the beam of light to continuously reflect on the interior of the cable. This small discovery, combined with some engineering prowess, allows telecoms to lay these tiny lines under the ocean to enable hyper-speed global communications.
What's The Deal With Graphic Cigarette Labels?
June 22, 2011 6:52 am | CommentsAs you've likely heard, the FDA has unveiled nine new graphic warning labels that hope to stop current smokers from partaking in their next pack, and discourage potential new smokers. So far, the response to the labels seems to be mixed. What are your thoughts? Are they overbearing, or will they keep people from taking up smoking? Feel free to comment below.
Dicing Up Chickens At Warp-Speed
June 21, 2011 8:21 am | CommentsMayekawa Mfg. has developed an automated chicken de-boning system that is able to accurately and repeatedly strip breast meat from carcasses that are fed into the machine. According to the company, it’s ten times faster than doing the work manually. Putting aside the debate between robotic and human work, it’s sort of mesmerizing to see the machinery in action.
Will The Electric Car Revolution Stick?
June 20, 2011 7:05 am | CommentsCBS News national correspondent Ben Tracy reports on how consumers are reacting to the numerous elecric car choices that are current on, or coming soon, to the markeplace. It turns out that 57 percent of Americans won't seriously consider an EV purchase, mostly because of the short ranges. The hope is that with more early adopters, the technology will finally get pushed forward, despite similar surges in both 1890 and 1990.
Gauging The War On NASA, Science
June 17, 2011 7:30 am | CommentsRepublican presidential candidates are certainly showing their disdain toward NASA, so MSNBC sat down with Neil deGrasse Tyson, legendary astrophysicist, to talk about the larger implications of cutting science funding, even in troubling economic times. Tyson says that abandoning all big science projects will prevent our country from achieving the kind of “zeitgeist” that swept America up in the 1960’s, which will in turn prevent future innovation.
Did You Know IBM Invented That?
June 16, 2011 5:29 am | CommentsIBM has been around since 1911, and in that time, they’ve made some pretty fantastic innovations, like the orginal punch card counting machines, digital calculators, or solid-state memory. Bernie Meyerson, VP of innovation at IBM, walks through some of the company’s best products over the years.
