Tech Readers » Research

This Article will Self-Destruct

Zaheer Ahmed Khan — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 12:32:12 +0000

Nobody can run away from the past. In today’s massively online network through computer, it is literally impossible to dump the past behind anymore. Social networking sites like Facebook where people posts pictures can pop up during a job interview and can make a difference overall changing one’s perspective. And that is not all; a legal investigation can dig the whole contents that are in computers from home or office which leads to uncover many details which may be incrimination and very inconvenient which could be very embarrassing sometime when someone gets those private information from the computers.

Now to avoid those unexpected encounter, the University of Washington has created a solution which can help such information to expire after putting up a certain period of time. Private details like emails, Facebook posts and chat messages do not exist because now they are automatically self destructed and totally impossible to retrieve from any websites including inboxes, outboxes and from personal computers. This is very impressive as even senders could retrieve that information if they want to.

Internet can be a very scary place, and if you are talking about the privacy, it could be like hell. A Scientist Tadayoshi Kohno, explains how internet is not very safe when we are dealing with private information. He continues how it is needed for people to understand the how and where emails are stored just because they will become more careful or maybe use very less than before.

So in order to feel safe in the internet, the researchers at UW computer have developed a system called Vanish. When anyone puts up private files through websites, that prototype can set a time limit which will destroy those information erasing the possibility of invasion from the bad guys. This project goes public today and the researcher will have a presentation at Usenix Security Symposium from August 10^th to 14^th in Montreal.

Research on Computer-Related Injuries

Zaheer Ahmed Khan — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:02:10 +0000

Anyone who uses computer long term, they are always under the hazards of back pain, blurred vision and mouse related injuries. This is increasing very rapidly and there has been lots of research. A recent study which was published in July 2009 from American Journal or Preventive Medicine, where many researchers from Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University College of Medicine, have concluded that they have found many case related to computer injuries like head injuries die to computer monitor falls, tripping over computer wires, components and many other physical accidents which case minor to serious injuries.

Data collected from National Electronic Injury Surveillance System shows that there were more than 78, 000 cases related to computer related injuries. These injuries took place between 1994 and 2006 and were treated in U.S. emergency departments. The study showed that such injuries (Approximately 93%) were occurred mostly at home which is very hard to believe. And over the period of 13 years, the research shows that such injuries have increased by 732%. And it is very shocking because that figure is two times the increase of computers in household which is just 309%.

Many injuries like hitting against computer equipments, tripping through wires or falling over computer equipment, computer falling and hitting the patient on the top, straining muscles and joints, and many others. Out of those injuries cases, the most injuries came from monitor related. A record shows that such injuries have increased notably. It was just 11.6% back in 2004 but in 2003 it increased to 37.1%. But in 2006, the rate of monitor related injuries have decreased to 25.1%, and it is due o replacement of CRT monitors by LCD monitors.

Lab-On-A-Tube Monitors Human Brain

Zaheer Ahmed Khan — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:00:08 +0000

Scientists at the University of Cincinnati are developing a new invention nicknamed the “lab-on-a-tube” which measures several parameters of the brain simultaneously. It is being developed by Chunyan Li, PhD a student of Chong Ahn, PhD, in the electrical and computer engineering department.

This is a “smart sensor” that measures various changes in the human brain. It has the potential to be used for patients who have undergone accidents and traumatic incidents to the brain. The scientists at UC felt the need for an all-in-one multifunctional tube which measured parameters such as intracranial glucose, oxygen, temperature and pressure.

This tube initially removes excess cerebrospinal fluid from the brain of the accident victim and begins to accurately measure changes. This device is being considered to be a ground breaking invention by the UC scientists and they say it will definitely break major barriers to quick administration of medicines to the affected patient.

Being developed at the BioMEMS Laboratory, this device can prevent secondary and traumatic injury to the brain caused by a fall incident. Increased pressure in the cranium, lessening of oxygen levels and sudden changes in the sugar (glucose) levels and temperature changes can be accurately kept track of using this. Animal testing is the next stage for the lab on a tube. Details about this device were published on the official website and scientific journals.

Even so soon further modification are being done on the 11 centimeters length by 1.7 millimeters diameter tube whose size is further being reduced and more detectable parameters are being added to the list making it much more sophisticated.
Physicians at the Neurotrauma Center at the UC Neuroscience Institute hope for the success of the lab-on-a-tube device that could change the way treatments are being performed on future victims of brain damage.

Simulation of Water Sounds by Computer Scientists

Zaheer Ahmed Khan — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 17:52:59 +0000

Scientists at Cornell University in the Department of Computer Science have discovered an algorithm which can synthesize the sound of water flowing. Until now the methods used to accurately reproduce the sounds made by water have been incomplete since there are situations where the complexity of predicting the sounds which would occur for a particular event is extremely computationally intensive and hence inefficient as a result

But now, Doug James an associate professor of computer science along with Changxi Zhen who is a research student in the area of sound synthesis contained in the Human Centered Computing Program are filling up sounds which were previously missing in the sound synthesis of water. This program is headed by Associate professor James, Kavita Bala and Steve Marschner who is the assistant professor and associate professor respectively at Cornell University. It is funded by a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). This is considered the first step to matching the images to their appropriate sounds.

The Foley artists who have the job of adding the sounds to the movie sets later on after the filming is done will find this technique being developed very useful. The major focus is Computer animated movies, but almost any movie will need these effects added on. Nowadays not many variations of sound are available due the limitations of current sound production facilities but with this technology records can be cued to fit the event shown on screen.

Sounds which are natural such as clapping hands, sound of the wind in trees and glass smashing on the floor need such an intricate algorithm to compute the sounds without much difference from the actual sound.

Not only such sounds, even random sounds like breaking glass, egg shells breaking, cracking objects, etc can be more accurately produced in the sound labs hence creating the ground work for more immersive virtual reality systems, movies and games.

Tech Readers » Research

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