Invention of the Day: Epidermal Electronics

Science Magazine reports on research that found an invisible way to attach electronics to the skin:

Known as epidermal electronics, they can be applied in a similar way to a temporary tattoo: you simply place it on your skin and rub it on with water (see video). The devices can even be hidden under actual temporary tattoos to keep the electronics concealed. Rogers and his colleagues have separately demonstrated that they can add other useful features to epidermal electronics. Solar cells could one day power the devices without an external source; meanwhile, signals recorded by the devices could be transmitted to a base station wirelessly with antennas. In the long term, Rogers believes the technology could provide an electronic link to the body's most subtle processes, including the movement of enzymes and antibodies, to track the path of disease. "

On one hand it's a more or less traditional patch, though an ultra-thin one. On the other, they have figured out a way to customize electronic circuits according to a particular behavior of body surface:

Place the components and wires too close and they will stiffen the device, making it liable to tear. So Rogers's group uses a computer program to predict all the stresses and strains that arise with different designs and then picks the one that keeps elasticity at a maximum.

All together, should probably help in longitudinal studies by making patches less cumbersome to wear.
 
tags: trade-off, 10x, control, dynamic, medicine, information, detection

Viral innovation: PC flu.

The first PC virus, called Brain, was discovered in 1986; it was made in Pakistan, of all places, and caused no harm.
Fizzer, the first virus designed to make money, was released in 2003. It spread itself as an e-mail attachment and forced infected machines to send out spam.

Brain, circa 1986, also had commercial value because it demonstrated its authors' software skills and could get them new customers. In essence, it was a demo-based ad. In contrast, Fizzer, circa 2003, provided ad opportunities to third parties. Its "value proposition" targeted a new market: networked computers with internet commerce capabilities. In some ways, that was the first viral marketing application.

http://mashable.com/2011/03/16/history-of-computer-viruses/

tags: distribution, business, model, dynamic, payload, push, control, evolution

Ultimate cloud computing

Wired writes about a new supercomputing intelligence device in the skies above Afghanistan:

It’ll be floating 20,000 feet above the warzone, aboard a giant spy blimp that watches and listens to everything for miles around.

The idea behind the Blue Devil is to have up to a dozen different sensors, all flying on the same airship and talking to each other constantly. The supercomputer will crunch the data, and automatically slew the sensors in the right direction: pointing a camera at, say, the guy yapping about an upcoming ambush.

The goal is to get that coordinated information down to ground troops in less than 15 seconds.

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Besides military and law enforcement applications, can we use this technology for improving wireless data communications for mobile devices, e.g. during large public events? Probably, yes. Unlike drones, a blimp in the sky would work better as a local network hub than a communications satellite, just hang a bunch of antennas and solar panels on it. Even better, make the whole thing out of a solar power-generating fabric.

tags: cloud, computers, communications, military, privacy, video, mobile, dynamic, system, control, drones, energy

Living books

Here's how illustrations in books, especially on science, technology, and invention, should look like:


DaVinci prototype on Xbox Kinect from Razorfish - Emerging Experiences on Vimeo.

The technology is built using Microsoft Kinect. I wish my book had illustrations like that. Instead of telling about an invention I could just show how it works and the concepts behind it.

tags: information, dynamic, payload, interaction, creativity, education

A background video for the follow-up class discussion about the future of books:



tags: payload, dynamic, control, information, computers, book, evolution