German Rail Network Fight Graffiti With Drones

Yes you guessed it the German rail network have deployed a fleet of miniature helicopter drones mounted with thermal imaging cameras in order to combat the graffiti spraying gangs who are operating on the German railway network.

Each of the remote drones will fly at an altitude of 150 yards over what is deemed graffiti hotspot or where graffiti is most strife. This will be in the big German cities of Berlin such as Leipzig Hamburg and Cologne a representative from Deutsche Bahn confirmed.

Deploying Drones in such a manner to combat street vandals is an early indicator of the civilian sector using unmanned Arial reconnaissance. It has been reported based on an EU report that over 400 new drone systems are in development by firms based in Europe.

The drones in question cost about 60.000 Euros each and are manufactured by the German firm Microdrones who also sells the machines for photography purposes and analysing traffic accidents to name but two. The Drones are a metre wide and in this case will be painted in Deutsche bahns Red livery.

The Drones however will not be used near the actual railway stations or other immediate areas where members of the public might get caught on film, due to privacy laws, they will be deployed at places such as depots which are very large and time consuming to patrol on foot. Privacy is a sensitive issue in Germany where Google Street view cameras sparked a lawsuit. Other places will include rail yards where trains such as Deutsche Bahns high speed class 411 ICE T are kept will be another are of drone deployment.

The idea is that the drones will work in partnership with security guards to identify and locate graffiti sprayers so they can be apprehended by security forces who will then hand them over to the police, this is due to the actual graffiti removal costing the capital of Berlin around 7.6 Million Euros a year.

Each Drone can travel at a speed of 33 mph and have an 80 minute fly time, interestingly the drones can fly autonomously or by remote control via a human operator, they also hardly emit any noise making them perfect for surveillance. Each drone as well as having infrared will also have GPS tracking systems to establish evidence for criminal prosecution.

Closer to home it was around 3 years ago when Police in Merseyside made their first arrest using a drone, which was able to track a suspected car thief who tried to hide in an undergrowth.

Mostly seen in the newspapers in military campaigns and usually in movies as unmanned killing machines able to deploy missile strikes it seems that drones are becoming more common place in society one has to say their possible application for use is very high. Will we be more likely to see a wider inclusion of drone related activity in the future, from this it's looking quite possible.

3D Made Handguns actually work!

It is now possible to print a working 3D made Hand Gun as proven by a recent video demonstrating such a weapon by a Texas based company, the gun fires just like a normal gun.

You are probably wondering what 3D printing actually means especially with regards to a firearm. 3D printing involves a laser sintering process which uses a high powered laser to fuse small particles of different periodic elements. These elements include plastic, metal and glass powders which are fused into a mass that has a desired three-dimensional shape.

The laser selectively fuses powdered materials by scanning cross-sections which are generated from a 3D digital description of a part on the surface of a powder bed. Once each cross-section has been scanned, the powder bed is lowered by one layer so that a new layer of material can be applied on top. This process is then repeated until the part is complete. Every part of the gun except for the springs are made with a direct metal laser sintering process, which create metal parts based on a 3D design by blasting powdered metal with a laser. The main body of the gun consists of 30 separate components made from stainless steel and an alloy called inconel in addition to carbon fibre and a nylon hand grip.

The 3D printed gun was created by a Texas based 3D-Printing services company Solid Concepts, they claim that the metal laser sintering process they used is by far one of the most accurate additive manufacturing processes available with the 3D printed parts having more detail.

There have been attempts to re-create a handgun using this method before but they have usually been dismissed due to the fact they aren't reliable to shoot and are potentially dangerous to attempt to fire. Quite worrying in a way then that Solid Concepts have not only re-created a 3D printed handgun but it actually works, during testing the gun Solid Concepts created managed to fire 50 rounds successfully.

The gun created by Solid Concepts is a re-production of the 1911 handgun, the successful production as well as the incredible functionality form such a re-production of the 1911 3D metal printed gun proves the viability of 3D Printing for commercial applications not just solely for things such as Hand guns.

You may be among the many who may find such a concept pretty scary being able to literally print guns, however as the firm states what they are doing is perfectly legal, not that you can rush out and start doing this yourself mind. It should also be noted at this point that Solid Concepts is a 3D Printing service provider and that it does have a Federal Firearms License.

As you can see from the following screenshots the 1911 is showed being fired first from a safe distance with the spent bullet being seen flying from the open chamber ion addition to the recoil of the gun.




The second image shows the gun being fired from the perspective of a human tester with the spent bullet seen to be whizzing towards the camera, with the bullet hitting its target as seen in the video demonstration.


This is in contrast to the previous 3D handguns that have been printed in plastic in its entirety except for a nail which acts as a firing pin, as well as a six-ounce piece of steel which allows the weapon to be detected by metal detectors. Yet one wonders where this is all going how hard would it be to field strip this weapon remove the metal pieces and safely pass through detectors, now that is frightening. The German police were also creating 3-D printed guns in order to detect their effectiveness to establish if they are a real threat, this was done before the success of the 1911 by Solid Concepts.

What s worse with the plastic models titled the liberator it can be instantly downloaded and anonymously printed by anyone who has access to 3-D printing technology. One of the drawbacks to this is that you would first need an expensive high end 3-D printer, which according to Solid Concepts costs more than a private college tuition, so at least your low entry criminals won't be able to mass produce this at least.

The 3-D printed 1911 has been said to be successful by its creators because the guns barrel is capable of seeing chamber pressures higher than 20,000 psi every time it is fired, quoting from Solid Concepts "it's a common misconception that 3-D printing isn't accurate or strong enough, and we're working to change people's perspectives" Well with this little revelation they certainly have our attention now.

360TB disc that holds data for more than 1 million years

As the title states it is in fact true that a team from University of Southampton's Optoelectronics Research Centre are making a breakthrough in terms of storage capacity. Namely a 360TB (TeraByte Disc) which can theoretically hold data contents for more than a million years. I have to admit that even I think I'm at the point where I'm no longer reporting on technical marvels but instead writing up a science fiction blog. Incredibly this is actually possible so it seems.

The disc will be a glass storage medium that could potentially outlive mankind, this new type of memory also touts incredible specifications such as the 360Tb per disc capacity and get this the ability to withstand extreme temperatures of up to 1,832 Fahrenheit. All of this is achieved by harnessing the power of a speedy femtosecond laser, during tests researchers successfully wrote 300kb of data to an everlasting medium which consist of self-assembled nano-structures within fused quartz.

The femtosecond laser emits short but powerful pulses of light which then encode data to three separate layers of Nano-structured dots within the glass only 5 micro-metres apart. According to the researchers the laser writes in five dimensions this is based on orientation, size and three-dimensional position of the Nano-structures. This type of storage medium will more likely use W-O-R-M data format (Write Once Read Many).

The team at the University was led by Jingyu Zhang, with his team now seek to bring this technology to the commercial level. If you're really interested you can read the more scientific "5D Data Storage by Ultra-fast Laser Nano-structuring In Glass" white paper, which was submitted to the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics in San Jose California.

Netflix follows the Pirates.

Netflix the ever popular on line movie streaming service have been noted as saying that they are helping to limit the amount of illegal downloading by offering the same content that is popular with pirates. I am of course referring to pirates in the illegal download sense and not the buccaneer version of pirates.

While trying to entice users away from free downloading video content Netflix apparently acquires valuable information about what content it should be giving to its customer base, a sort of analytical breakdown of what shows are current and getting the most downloads.

Netflix have not long released their service to the Netherlands and Kelly Merryman the company's vice president of content acquisition in Europe stated that piracy sites found on the Internet help with the company's decision making.  Quoting "with the purchase of series, we look at what does well on Piracy sites" Merryman also went on to say that such sites had contributed to its decision to release "Prison Break" onto its service as that is very popular on piracy sites.

Watching on multiple platforms as well as picking up where you left off, you can enjoy Netflix on the go.

This seems like a very interesting way of combating a problem that has dogged the authorities for some time now, sure it may not stamp out the problem but it will help Netflix build its customer base and may sway some people from visiting piracy sites. Netflix has the advantages of being fairly low proceed and affordable with no hidden charges to incur, it also streams content quickly and seamlessly in HD. This is in contest to piracy sites where you have to find a good quality genuine copy of such content then download that content.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings revealed that the company is attempting to be an alternative to piracy sites which he went on to say actually create demand for his company's paying service. Hastings believes that ease of use, speed of actually streaming content on demand will help convert some illegal down-loaders. After all with Netflix  you don't have to deal with files, there is no need to download them and move them about, or rename them or convert them to a playable standard there is none of that, "you just click and watch".

New movies and TV shows are updated very month, your bound to find something to watch.

Hastings also claims in an interview that during May the use of a popular file sharing client "Bit-Torrent" was declining in use through Canada since the streaming service launched there in that country three years ago.

So could the recent influx of movie streaming services combined with the analytical tactics actuality bring down illegal downloading? I think it will help, it won't choke the life out of illegal downloading but it certainty a great incentive and practical way of combating the problem.

Netflix.co.uk Watch what you want, as much as you want, when you want on multiple devices and with integrated social functions, only £5.99 a month, no hidden fees and no set subscription period.

South Korea Get Permit to Build Worlds First Invisible Building!

Like me you have probably dreamt of owning an invisibility cloak or cloaking device of some-sort at one point in time or another, such as the one in the recent Harry-Potter movies that dream could be soon to be reality it seems. Would you believe me then if I told you that a certain skyscraper in South Korea is actually attempting to cloak the entire building, surely this really is the stuff of Sci-Fi movies you say. 

Photo by GDS Architects

Well maybe not, it appears that an International Architectural company named GDS Architects have received a construction permit to commence building "The world's first invisible tower" It is further reported that the plans reveal a tower that will stand 450 meters from the ground that's about 1,400 feet and is to be situated in Cheongna near South Korea's Incheon Airport outsider of Seoul.

There isn't a secret formula or paint though so don't expect that invisibility cloak to be stocked at your local retail store any-time soon, instead this invisibility cloak relies on an optical illusion. The tower titled "City Tower" which is also glass encased will if plans go ahead be fitted with high-tech LED façade which integrates projectors and around 18 strategically placed weatherproof cameras. The cameras will take multiple  images in real-time of the area which is directly facing behind the building (on whichever side your current viewpoint is). The images will then be digitally stitched into a panorama and then projects the images back onto the buildings reflective surface. 

So some pretty ingenious ways of utilising current technology in order to create a virtual invisible building and from what is known about this type of technology the idea is pretty much sound. What this does by projecting the images back at the building is that to the naked eye it will be as though you are looking straight through the building as you are seeing a projected image  making it blend into the skyline at certain times of day so a sort of active camouflage. 

Above: Here is a diagram of the principle behind the cloaking technique, image 1 shows the building left to right elevation indicating the camera capture zone , image 2 shows the front camera capture zone, images 3 and 4 show the building with the camera system activated first at 30% power and the last at 100% power. 

Now the obvious safety concerns of such a tower especially with respect to having a building situated so close to a major capital airport (yea you get the picture) is a scary thought, also why would anyone want to cloak an entire building in the first place, especially when you consider both of the country's regions recent turbulent times. 

I mean if you can apply this technique to a massive skyscraper then there will be that person that will say well why can't you apply this to a tank or better still an aircraft, true those types of objects will have motion to deal with but it doesn't seem impossible, which is why I'm genuinely worried about this type of technology seeing the light of day.

The GDS site quoted on the tower by posting the following statement "The tower subtly demonstrates Korea's rising position in the world by establishing its powerful presence through diminishing its presence," "Korea will have the unique position of having the 'best' tower by having an 'anti-tower."

You would think that an invisible tower was enough for most people but not for the people behind this concept as it seems there will also be a 4D theatre, landscaped gardens, a water park and the third highest observation platform in the world.

No word yet however on the completion date for this tower apart form a source indicating a 2014 completion date, so some pretty fascinating if not scary news then, what do you make of South Korea building an invisible tower?

ITRA Glass Technology, see the Future!

It really is incredible how many hours we each spend in front of a digital display these days  whether it be in the home, in the office, on holiday even at school, now it seems the race is on to bring us even more digital content while on the go! I myself spend a lot of time in front of some sort of digital screen so much so that people used to warn me (some still do) I would need glasses one day, they were probably right… but for the wrong reasons.

You will have by now heard of the infamous Google Glasses simply titled Google Glass, the pair of glasses designed to allow you to walk around with a pair of glasses that allow you to capture image and video of your life are a much talked of technology at the moment.

Now it seems that is not enough well at least that’s what the clever researchers at ITRA are attempting to say anyway, the Tiawan based company  have been busy developing  a pair of glasses themselves. Now if you cast your minds back to a well known movie “Minority Report” where Tom Cruise wore a pair of glasses which he used with a specialised glove to see a and interact with digital content by moving his hand to select things, well thats what ITRA have practically developed.

The system is called a floating augmented-reality touchscreen system (iAT, to the uninitiated) that would it say’s improve upon “Minority Report” Technology. I have heard it joked so many times about the skynet theories and jokes surrounding the scary new technology we keep dreaming up but I have to admit when things from Sci Fi movies start appearing in real life shouldn't we be?

Credit 20th Century Fox

The ITRA (Industrial technology Research Institute) have released a demo video of the aforementioned technology in action and I have to say it does look pretty sweet. In essence what it is is an augmented reality system which responds to touch user input.  As we know Google Glass uses voice commands generated by the user in order to perform functions, whereas the iTIA system projects a virtual touch based interface in front of the users field of vision which gives the appearance of floating in the air.

I can only do so much in describing the new innovation to you but you really do need to see what it looks like in action, check out the video demo from ITRA below.

See a live demo Video

i Touch In Air

The system on display in the initial demo stage of the video shows a bulky looking pair of goggles which is only natural from a testing perspective, but in the closing part of the video you can see a standard pair of glasses which could utilise this new technology medium. So not just a leap forward in terms of motion technology but also a wearable virtual computer system you can take on the go.

The commercial value of the product will no doubt be high, not just for the average consumer though but it has been mentioned that it could be used in other critical areas such as endoscopic surgery and military application undoubtedly which would benefit from hands free input.

The iTIA features a camera which is stated as being activated only when it detects a user's fingertip within a predetermined input distance range around about a foot away, this not only conserves battery power but also lets you access the system when you need it otherwise reverting the system to a simple stylish piece of eye-wear.

If you really want to get more technical Air Touches as they are being called when a user activates the system are sent to a host device such as a Laptop or Smartphone are linked to.

iTIA was officially introduced last week and will receive a 2013 R&D (Research and Development) 100 award this November, in addition to this ITRI also state that the technology is now being made available for licensing by mobile companies and anyone else interested in the technology. (you can bet Google will no doubt take a look at this)

iTIA was officially introduced last week and will receive a 2013 R&D (Research and Development) 100 award this November, in addition to this ITRI also state that the technology is now being made available for licensing by mobile companies and anyone else interested in the technology. (you can bet Google will no doubt take a look at this)

PS4 Red Light Of Detah or Is it?

Yes the PS4 has a red light and the new nickname "The Red Light Of Death", as we know the PS4 has a blue led to indicate when it is on etc, however at a recent Spanish showing of the console the ominous red light appeared.

Relax though folks as it's nothing serious, the PS4 in question was inside its display box and had been running on display all day, the obvious build up of heat and little room for it to escape in its display box caused the blue LED to turn Red, now here's the wow bit.

After seeing this occur a representative from Sony opened the case and the PS4 returned to normal Blue status, Shuhei Yoshida President  Of Worldwide Studios, Sony Computer Entertainment" stated  that the Red light is not a death indicator but just an overheating warning.

That's right now you know if your PS4 is getting a little hot under the bonnet as it will light up Red to tell you, which is a welcome addition to the console over previous ones hopefully giving you a heads up on potential problems you can deter from.

For the latest don't forget you can follow the official Yoshida twitter feed  (@yosp), looks like we can rest easy with PS4