Centimeter-accurate positioning systems are already used in surveying and mapping, but the antennas these systems employ are too large and costly for use in mobile devices. Now, however, University of Texas scientists have devised a powerful and sensitive software-defined GPS receiver that can extract centimeter accuracies from the inexpensive antennas found in mobile devices. The […]
Archive | Computing & Electronics
Prototype video camera requires no power
Columbia University researchers led by Shree K. Nayar have developed the first video camera to be fully self-powered – its pixels not only measuring the incident light, but also converting it into electric power. The team is presenting its work next week at the International Conference on Computational Photography at Rice University in Houston. “We […]
Mis-synced music proves to be a powerful enhancement for TV ads
It turns out that offsetting the music soundtrack of TV adverts by an imperceptible amount makes the adverts significantly more memorable in viewers’ minds. Researcher Andy Rogers, from the University of Huddersfield (UK), detailed his discovery at the International Computer Music Association’s 2014 conference, held in Athens. “The audience at the conference were very interested […]
Laser sensor busts drunk drivers from outside car
Most health and law enforcement agencies would agree that the effective early detection of drivers under the influence of alcohol would significantly reduce the number of fatal car accidents. To date, this has been only been possible by stopping individual vehicles and requiring the driver to breath into a device that measures the alcohol content […]
Stock prices can be predicted, say math researchers
A new mathematical model developed by researchers from the University of Iowa challenges the generally held belief that stock prices cannot be predicted. The authors of the new study, published in the journalPhysica A, say that that there is a window of predictability once a stock price escapes the confines of the bid-ask spread. “Price […]
Eye reflections can identify criminals
A new study published in PLOS ONE shows that the high resolution images produced by modern digital cameras can be used to identify the photographer and other individuals positioned behind the camera. The researchers, from the University of York (U.K.), say that images retrieved from subjects’ corneal reflections could be especially important when the images […]
Radical new data compression method delivers significant gains in quality and speed over existing techniques
To create an entirely new way to compress data, UCLA researchers drew inspiration from physics and the arts. The technique, dubbed “anamorphic stretch transform,” (AST) works by stretching and warping the data using a newly developed mathematical function that the researchers say operates in both the analog and digital domains. Reporting their work in the […]
Hipster or Goth? Software algorithm identifies your urban tribe
Social networks like Facebook may soon be able to tell which urban tribe you belong to. University of California, San Diego computer scientists are developing an algorithm that uses group pictures to determine whether you’re a hipster, Goth, biker, or surfer. So far, the algorithm is about 5 times more accurate than chance, but the […]
Anomalous ferroelectric behavior could point way to brain-like computing
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) say their observations of unexpected behaviors in ferroelectric materials lend support to the concept of “memcomputing,” an emergent computing paradigm in which information storage and processing occur on the same physical platform. The discovery was made while the ORNL team were using a scanning probe microscope to draw […]
Decoded smartphone movements reveal transport mode
Planes trains, and automobiles – scientists in Finland have worked out how to use accelerometer data from smartphones to reveal which mode of transport a subject is using. As well as applications in surveillance, the new technique could be used to reveal information about the user’s physical activity, personal CO2 -footprint and preferred transit type. […]