3D Metal Printing

Up until now, 3D printing that involves materials that's not plastic has been really tedious and time consuming. However, it's becoming more efficient and accessible. The advancement in 3D metal printing can change the way our society produces manufacturing parts. It wouldn't be necessary to have a large storage for big parts because they would be able to print an object when they need it. This can help for replacing parts on an old car. The advancement in this technology can change the conventional metal fabrication methods. It can result in a more in depth knowledge of the structure of metals. 

Some examples of this advancement today is the creation of a 3D printing method by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that can create stainless-steel parts two times as strong as the traditional parts in 2017. There was also a 3D printing company called Markforged that released the first 3D metal printer for just under $100,000 in 2017. Desktop Metal, a company in Boston, began to sell the metal prototyping machines in December 2017, and they are looking to sell machines that are 100 times faster than the slow metal printing methods of the past. 

Link: https://www.technologyreview.com/lists/technologies/2018/ 

A monkey with three loving parents

In the past years, there have been many experiments that have been conducted to create a species with more than two parents to create the offspring. Time and time again this has failed with animals such as mice, and previously monkeys. After seeing that the insertion of the stem cels seemed to be ineffective and perhaps may have died in the animal, the scientists at Oregon National Primate Research Center decided to take a different approach. Since this insertion did nothing, they decided to try even younger embryos which makes it even more flexible and allows it to develop into any type of cell. By having this insertion, they deemed to be successful and the result: three male rhesus macaques—twins Roku and Hex, and the singleton, Chimero. By having this experiment succeed and have three parents for the offspring, it gives hop for scientist to now get this done with humans and other species. Nobody knows how this will turn out to be if it does work with a human. They will have traits from not only two, but now three parents and potentially could work out in their favor.

http://discovermagazine.com/2013/april/1-more-than-two-parents

Placenta Stem Cell Extraction

Stem cells derived from a human placenta hold the key to unlocking a myriad of potentials in regenerative medicine and are the focus of X-Prize and Singularity University founder Peter Diamandis’ new endeavor.

Called Celularity, the startup is a spinout from Celgene, a global biopharmaceutical company creating gene therapies. Diamandis teamed up with Dr. Robert Hariri, the founder of Celgene Cellular Therapeutics, to create Celularity in the hopes of using stem cells found in the human placenta to quickly regenerate tissue and organs needed to treat cancer and other diseases. The idea is these types of cells can do a better job of helping us live longer, fuller, healthier lives.

It’s a wild proposal and, seemingly, the stuff of science fiction often tossed around in certain Silicon Valley circles — create a startup focused on a medical breakthrough to make us live forever — or at least much, much longer than we currently do. But stem cell technology has been around for some time.
https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/15/peter-diamandis-new-startup-is-all-about-taking-stem-cells-from-placentas-so-we-can-live-forever/

Robots in the Future of the Mining Industry.

The floor of the ocean is rich with ore, much more than the surface is. This makes underwater mining very valuable. The issue with this is that at deeper points, it is difficult for human operators to mine effectively using the usual machinery. That is why a lot of research and development has gone into robotic vehicles to make this kind of mining possible. The Canadian company, Nautilus Minerals, has created three different robots for this. They are operated from a ship using feedback from the numerous cameras and sensors aboard the mining vehicles. They each serve different purposes too. One clears away the mining site since the bottom of the ocean is often rough. Another digs up the ground and loosens the ore from the rock. The last then sucks up a combination of ore, rock, and sea water, which will be sorted later. This new technology could prove to open up massive new potential for mining companies. Not only this, but technology like this can be applied to other industries besides mining, such as oil companies.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/robots/a16674275/underwater-robot-mining-nautilus-solwara-1-papua-new-guinea/

AI and Earthquakes

You'd think that the abilities of seismologists to detect earthquakes are already quite advanced; however, they are still unable to detect smaller earthquakes, much less predict them. The idea of using artificial intelligence to amplify the sensitivity of seismographs was proposed by Thibaut Perol and his colleagues when they were investigating the cause of a spike in the number of earthquakes in Oklahoma. Their idea proved to be effective since it is capable of detecting 17 times more earthquakes than older methods in only a fraction of the time. This technique is similar to the voice detection software used by digital assistants, like Alexa or Siri, that ignores background noise to listen to voice commands. The seismograph cancels out the natural rumbling of Earth to spot small or far away earthquakes. Perol says that "with this method, we are able to detect earthquakes of magnitude zero or minus one, and these are signals you wouldn't be able to see with a human eye." This is a huge step for seismologists because it increases the possibility of using AI to predict earthquakes by looking for patterns in data.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/14/17011396/ai-earthquake-detection-oklahoma-neural-network

Something is missing...

Something Missing

It may seem foreign, but today I learned that there are people in the world with such diseases whom do not have fingerprints. There are two diseases that result in the persons lacking of fingerprints. Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Thomas Jefferson University report that defects in the protein keratin 14 may be responsible for both diseases, known as Naegeli syndrome and dermatopathia pigmentosa reticularis (DPR). Other symptoms include thickening of palms and soles of feet. Patients suffer from anomalies in the development of their teeth, hair, and skin, where pigmentation can appear patchy and uneven. This often causes abnormalities in the ability to sweat, which can lead to heat strokes as well as general overheating which is considered to be very dangerous to the carrier of these diseases.

In terms of our project and the field as a whole, this leaves scientists and analysts with no way to identify such persons other than DNA testing. In the police and investigation field, this could prohibit or at the very least, slow the process. There are other ways to identify criminals, however, because there are some criminals who burn their fingerprints in order to prevent authorities from identifying them.

Source: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060922-fingerprints_2.html

Are Fingerprint Patterns Inherited?

Yes, there is an inheritable quality to fingerprints. Pattern types are often genetically inherited, but the individual details that make a fingerprint unique are not. Humans, as well as apes and monkeys, have friction-ridge skin (FRS) covering the surfaces of their hands and feet. FRS comprises a series of ridges and furrows that provide friction to help in grasping and preventing slippage. FRS is unique and permanent. No 2 individuals (including identical twins) will have the exact same FRS arrangement. Also, the arrangement of the features do not change throughout our lifetimes. The term fingerprints refer to the FRS on the ends of our fingers.

Fingerprints translates into 3 major pattern types-- whirl, loop, or arch. It is possible to have just 1, 2, or all 3 of the patterns among your fingers. However, an individual cannot be identified from fingerprints by pattern type alone. An examiner must look for a specific path of ridges and the breaks or forms in the ridges (minutiae.)

Asteroid mining

Deep space industry is using The Comet-1™ electrothermal thruster uses the most abundant resource in the solar system—water—as propellant. It is intrinsically inert, launch safe, and cost-effective. This low-power, low-profile, high total impulse micropropulsion system is CubeSat-compatible but incorporates a highly-flexible interface suitable for a wide range of spacecraft sizes. they are using this to try to start mining materials from asteroid belts.

Pill that can be used to detect Certain Types of Cancer

Recent advancements in the Biomedical field have included a pill that can be swallowed to detect cancer. Inside this pill, there is a sponge-like object that expands as it goes inside your body. As it expands, it collects cells from inside your esophagus/gullet and when the sample is collected, a string attached to the sponge is used to pull it out. This method is more effective than other methods of detecting esophageal cancer, because it is able to collect more cells in a larger area in your esophagus. A biopsy (a type of procedure used to detect cancer), only uses a small area to detect cancer, and may not be as accurate. In addition, because this pill method is more effective at detecting cancer, it can help catch oesophageal cancer earlier so that treatment can start sooner. Oesophageal cancer is difficult to treat if not caught early enough, and it begins when cells in your esophagus begins to multiply and change shape, which can eventually spread to your stomach. Thus, this new treatment can help catch signs of cancer earlier, especially in those with Barrett's oesophagus (a condition that makes people more prone to Oesophageal cancer).

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11751447/Pill-on-a-string-can-detect-cancer-without-need-for-biopsy.html

Self-Healing Fungi for Construction Use

As many buildings start to show their age and need to be repaired a new solution has been proposed by many scientists, specifically mycologists who study fungi, which is to use fungi for building material. Mycelium, which is a network of germinated fungal spores, can be used as a building material and can be grown. It's like growing bricks and then having them expand to the environment you want. The process would begin with germinated spores which act like eggs for a fungus, and then optimizing the growing environment for the hyphae (one germinated spore) which then in turn form mycelia which acts like sturdy foam.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180117152511.htm

Using Face-Detecting Systems to Authorize Payments

In an article by Will Night, he talks about the new use of technology at the Face++ company in China. When he walked into the company building, his face was added to their database through their face-detecting system. The addition of his face in their data system allows them to track his movements within the building. Night says that this technology used by Face++ can transform the way people go about in their everyday lives; how they interact with workers at banks and stores, and even transportation.

Night says that this technology is already being used in China by a mobile payment app called Alipay, where you can pay for anything online with just your face. A ride-hailing company called Didi also uses the face-detecting software of Face++ to check that the driver is legitimate. This can prevent robbery cases.

The use of this technology can change society completely; many jobs will be replaced, and overall, there would be a lot less interaction in our everyday lives. It's not a sure fact that this technology will be used in America because it is functioning in China because they have different attitudes towards their right to privacy.

Link: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603494/10-breakthrough-technologies-2017-paying-with-your-face/

Normal-Looking Smart Glasses

On February 5th, 2018, Intel released their new Vaunt smart glasses. Unlike the Google Glass, the Vaunt smart glasses actually look normal and is almost indistinguishable from traditional glasses. The Vaunt team's primary design goal was wearability-- the smart glasses didn't only needed to look like normal glasses, but they had to feel like them. Hence, the electronics and battery were carefully placed so the weight was evenly distributed.

So what can a smart glasses do for you? The Vaunt smart glasses shines a monochrome image onto a holographic reflector, which is then reflected directly into the retina. But worry not! The laser is so low-power that it falls in the bottom end of class-one lasers. Thus, everyday use of the smart glasses would be danger-free. The use of a smart glasses would decrease most of the work on the phone, like a smart watch but better because you can see the notifications without having to raise a single finger. By linking the smart glasses to your iPhone or Android via Bluetooth, you can get directions or notifications. The notifications will not pop up directly in your line of sight, but almost in your peripheral vision so that it is noticeable but not annoying. 

Intel is thinking of improving the smart glasses by including a microphone so the consumer can easily communicate with their smart glasses, much like how they communicate to Alexa or Siri. They also want to include cool features such as walking down the street and seeing restaurant information from Yelp as you look at a restaurant. Your phone tracks your location, and the glasses track the direction you look in, so this is a very possible feature for the future. \

https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/5/16966530/intel-vaunt-smart-glasses-announced-ar-video

Falcon Heavy Launch

Falcon Heavy is the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two. With the ability to lift into orbit nearly 64 metric tons (141,000 lb)---a mass greater than a 737 jetliner loaded with passengers, crew, luggage and fuel--Falcon Heavy can lift more than twice the payload of the next closest operational vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, at one-third the cost. Falcon Heavy draws upon the proven heritage and reliability of Falcon 9.

Its first stage is composed of three Falcon 9 nine-engine cores whose 27 Merlin engines together generate more than 5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, equal to approximately eighteen 747 aircraft. Only the Saturn V moon rocket, last flown in 1973, delivered more payload to orbit. Falcon Heavy was designed from the outset to carry humans into space and restores the possibility of flying missions with crew to the Moon or Mars.

Fingerprint Ridge Thinning

Ridge thinning is to eliminate the redundant pixels of ridges till the ridges are just one pixel wide.  In each scan of the full fingerprint image, the algorithm marks down redundant pixels in each small image window (3x3) and finally removes all those marked pixels after several scans. The thinned ridge map is then filtered by other Morphological operations to remove some H breaks, isolated points and spikes. In this step, any single points, whether they are single-point ridges or single-point breaks in a ridge are eliminated and considered processing noise. In previous testing, the parallel thinning algorithm had bad efficiency, but it got an ideal thinned ridge map after enough scans.
Below is an image of a thinned version of a fingerprint image:

Reversing Paralysis

People usually don't have to think about reaching their hand up to scratch their nose, or moving their legs as they walk, but those of us who can do this are very privileged. There are many people who suffer from paralysis, which can range from minor, such as not being able to move a finger, to not having control over anything below the neck. Thanks to recent discoveries though, scientists think that they may have discovered a way to restore muscle control to patients. Using neural implants and electrodes connected to muscles, the chip can read brain signals and then send electrical pulses to the muscles through the electrodes, imitating the neural system. The results are there to back it up as well. A test performed by neurological scientist Grégoire Courtine on a monkey with paralysis of its right leg showed that the system worked. After the chip was implanted and the electrodes connected, the monkey was able to flex its leg and even walk. In another experiment, a man that had no control below his shoulders was given full control over one of his arms after the chip was connected to his brain. This type of technology has been used in other areas as well, such as curing deafness. There is even hope to cure blindness with this technology, and even returning lost memories for people with Alzheimer's disease. This is the first time that scientists have looked to cure paralysis with this technology though, and the results so far are extremely promising. Hopefully, in the near future, paralysis will be an ailment of a world long forgotten.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603492/10-breakthrough-technologies-2017-reversing-paralysis/

3D Printed Bones and Implants

When we think of 3D printing, we often imagine a machine that uses hot plastic to form shapes and objects used in everyday life. However, with new technology, 3D printing is being redefined. 3D printing is stil used to make objects used in everyday life, but these objects are usually not seen. Bone replacements printed using a mix of hydroxyapatite (a natural calcium found in bones) and polymer are flexible and durable. In addition, due to its synthetic nature, this "hyperelastic bone" is cheaper than normal procedures used for accommodating missing bones.
In addition to "hyperelastic bone," a new material was created to hold bones together after surgery, that was ceramic initially, but would turn into bone over time as the wound from the surgery heals. This procedure is considered more effective than normal procedures, because it is able to dissolve in the human body as it heals, unlike bone transplants, in which the immune system of the patient needs to be considered and there is a chance that the patient's body will reject the "foreign" object.
In both "hyperelastic bone" and "Ceramic Implant," the experiments done so far were few but successful. Hopefully as time goes on, these procedures will be used on humans in order to improve and make more effective the healing process and aftermath of surgery of individuals in need of orthopedic surgery.


https://www.naturalnews.com/2018-02-07-3d-printed-ceramic-implant-holds-bones-together.html
https://www.designnews.com/materials-assembly/3d-printed-artificial-bones-aimed-replacing-surgery/68974044057381
https://www.theverge.com/2016/9/28/13094642/hyperelastic-bone-graft-substance-unveiled

The Amazing Race

While growing up, kids have an incredible imagination and dream so big in the area they want to work in. Most children dream of becoming an astronaut or a race car driver since it seems so thrilling and cool. By having so man generations dreaming of the same thing, it becomes boring and a change is needed which is why these "dreams" are actually the most crucial part to the process of advancement. Every single person has different thoughts which allows the inventions of many different advancements. The future of our world seems to be technology in any size, shape, or form. Because of this, Computers have been the most complex and competitive industry to go into because everyone seems to know so much about the way these machines work.

Throughout life, I have grown to learn so many important ideas, but one of the most important is to keep to yourself and keep pushing yourself grow. You can't trust other people and there is a reason that everything happens. This being said, it is important to go through with dreams an experiment because you don't know if your right until you've been wrong many, many times before. Just by assembling robots, I have learned to critique every situation in different perspectives and allows me to try to understand how things function. There are many aspects to every situation which is why research and preparation is needed. It is nobodies duty but our own to complete tasks and understand the situation.

Augmented reality

Some of the newest augmented-reality work is SixthSense. In February 2009, at the TED
conference, Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry presented their augmented-reality system,
which they developed as part of MIT Media Lab's Fluid Interfaces Group. It relies on
some basic components that are found in many augmented reality systems.

SixthSense is remarkable because it uses very simple, off-the-shelf components that
totals up to cost about $350. It is also notable because the projector essentially turns any
surface into an interactive screen. The device works by using the camera and mirror to
examine the surrounding world, feeding that image to the phone and then projecting
information from the projector onto the surface in front of the user, whether it's a wrist, a
wall, or even a person. Because the user is wearing the camera on his chest, SixthSense
will augment whatever he looks at; for example, if he picks up a can of soup in a grocery
store, SixthSense can find and project onto the soup information about its ingredients,
price, nutritional value -- even customer reviews.

mandyLOVESrobots

Last week, we added construction paper to our structure, which helped build the contrast between the white fingerprint ridges and the background. We put it on the opposite side of the camera so it would not be in the reflection within the prism.

Hey THERE! 2/9/18
This is an updated post for this week!
This week we scanned many fingerprints of the class, during which we adjusted our camera a few times to focus it to what we needed exactly. For some prints, we decided to turn the light off to make the print clearer and reduce the light spots within the fingerprint. 
 This is an example of a fingerprint that needed heavy adjusting on the scanner. We are still unsure of how exactly to fix this problem, but we struggled with capturing some prints that had light spots like the one on the bottom left side of this one. 

HEY - this week we are working on our code. Using MATLAB, we are testing different ways to enhance our fingerprint images using code ideas found on the online MATLAB File Exchange.

2/15/18
HEYY
I'm back
It's not really Friday, but there's no school tomorrow so its FAKE FRIDAY. Over this past week, our team worked on our Matlab code, which simultaneously scanning more of the classes' prints.