When is an eBook reader not merely an eBook reader? When it’s an enTourage eDGE reader. Unveiled this week at CES the clamshell designed reader is billed as the world’s first dualbook, with a 9.7” black and white E-ink screen on the one side and 10.1” LCD color touchscreen on the other. Along with 4GB of internal memory and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capability, the unit functions as a mini-netbook, notepad and audio/video recorder.

The dual displays of the enTourage eDGe reader can be flipped to be used tablet style, and the included stylus enables the user to not only scribble notes in the margin of the E-ink side but also to highlight text to send to an index. The LCD side runs on Android software, and features a large onscreen USB keyboard, as well as the option of an external USB or Bluetooth keyboard.

Measuring around 1” when closed and weighing a fairly hefty 3lbs., the eDGE reader features 4GB of internal memory, expandable through an SD slot and twin USB ports, as well as ePub and PDF support. While the unit doesn’t have 3G capability, this is expected to be included in future models.

As well as an internal microphone and speakers, the eDGE also has audio / video input and output by way of a 3.5mm headphone and microphone jack. Several media playback features are included, such as being able to launch a link from the eBook screen that can be played on the LCD side.

With a slant towards aiming the eDGe eBook at students, enTourage is expected to initially release the reader in February in North America for US$490 with an international release to follow.

About a year ago, HP began working on a ginormous touchscreen display for their PR firm’s Manhattan offices. The resulting product, called the Wall of Touch, was such a hit that it has found its way into the workplaces of other select clients, with more on the way. Ironically, despite its name, one of the things that makes the Wall unique is that users don’t have to actually touch it.

The Wall of Touch is made up of as many as nine 43 to 46-inch, 1080p panels. HP decided not to go with one big panel, as it would require rear projection and a translucent screen material that would compromise resolution. The Wall is driven by an HP Z800 workstation, essentially making it a huge HP TouchSmart computer. Built-in optical cameras and a magnetic strip detect when users are nearing it, thus the lack of needing to actually touch the screen. If users can’t reach the corners, it still works with a mouse or keyboard.

Versions of the Wall are currently in use at the headquarters of the National Basketball Association, as well as the Continental Airlines counter in the Houston airport.

So will a Touchless Touchscreen be arriving at a location near you soon? “We’re in the process of building out the next handful of walls as part of supporting our customer base, with the intent that, if there’s enough interest, HP will turn it into a mainstream product,” HP’s Personal Systems Group VP Philip McKinney told the Wall Street Journal.

It won’t come cheap, though. Prices are expected to range from $US2,000 up to $100,000 for systems with features such as HD video conferencing.

Via Wall Street Journal

Engineers from Princeton University have developed power-generating rubber films that could be used to harness natural body movements such as breathing or walking in order to power electronic devices such as pacemakers or mobile phones. The material, which is composed of ceramic nanoribbons embedded onto silicone rubber sheets, generates electricity when flexed and is highly efficient at converting mechanical energy into electrical energy.

Its developers say shoes made of the material could harvest the pounding of walking or running to power mobile electrical devices and, when placed against the lungs, sheets of the material could use the raising and falling breathing motions of the chest to power pacemakers. This would negate the current need for surgical replacement of the batteries which power the devices.

Plus, because the silicone is biocompatible and is already used for cosmetic implants and medical devices, “the new electricity-harvesting devices could be implanted in the body to perpetually power medical devices, and the body wouldn’t reject them,” said Michael McAlpine, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, at Princeton, who led the project to develop the material.

To produce the material the researchers first fabricated lead zirconate titanate (PZT) nanoribbons in strips so narrow that 100 fit side by side in a space of a millimeter. PZT is a ceramic material that is piezoelectric, meaning it generates an electrical voltage when pressure is applied to it. Of all piezoelectric materials, PZT is the most efficient, able to convert 80% of the mechanical energy applied to it into electrical energy.

“PZT is 100 times more efficient than quartz, another piezoelectric material,” said McAlpine. “You don’t generate that much power from walking or breathing, so you want to harness it as efficiently as possible.”

In a separate process, the team then embedded these ribbons into clear sheets of silicone rubber, creating what they call “piezo-rubber chips.” The Princeton team is the first to successfully combine silicone and nanoribbons of PZT.

In addition to generating electricity when it is flexed, the opposite is true: the material flexes when electrical current is applied to it. This opens the door to other kinds of applications, such as use for microsurgical devices, McAlpine said.

“The beauty of this is that it’s scalable,” said Yi Qi, a postdoctoral researcher who works with McAlpine. “As we get better at making these chips, we’ll be able to make larger and larger sheets of them that will harvest more energy.”

One doesn’t have to look very far these days to see the ever increasing prevalence and popularity of multi-touch technology and the additional interaction it offers the consumer. Opening up an even bigger world of potential interactive possibilities is Portuguese company Displax, which has announced the development of a “skin” that can turn virtually any surface into a multi-touch display.

Based on capacitive technology, the “skin” is developed on a thinner-than-paper polymer film that turns a surface, be it glass, plastic or wood, curved or flat, into an interactive touch screen display.

The technology works by a grid of nanowires placed throughout the film recognizing touch screen interactivity. These input signals are then passed to a microprocessor controller that analyzes the data and determines the exact location where the contact took place.

The hypersensitive lightweight “skin” features air movement detection as well as touch sensitivity, so will, for what is thought to be the first time, react to a user blowing on it, registering both the intensity and direction of the air flow.

So far the “skin” has a size dimension ranging from anywhere between seven inches and three full meters diagonally, and with a transparency rate of 98%, you can still see the surface underneath. At present a 50-inch display is able to detect up to sixteen fingers simultaneously.

While Displax initially began developing the multi-touch technology for use by manufacturers of LCD screens, the future potential uses are many and varied. Aside from audio visual integration through projection displays and enhanced gaming possibilities, the ability to cover bigger areas could see the technology used in a host of commercial environments, both in and outdoors.

Displax is expected to start shipping the multi-touch “skin” towards the middle of the year.

Airbus Military’s all-new A400M four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft has taken to the air for the first time. The aircraft’s first test flight in the skies above Seville, Spain, comes after many delays – it was originally scheduled for Q1 2008 – but was successfully completed when the A400 landed safely at 14.02, December 11, after a flight lasting three hours and forty-seven minutes.

When it goes into service the A400M will be able to carry payloads up to 37 tonnes and boast a maximum take-off weight of 141 tonnes. The aircraft’s maiden flight saw it equipped with 15 tonnes of flight-test equipment including two tones of water ballast, which contributed to its take-off weight of 127 tonnes.

The crew confirmed that the aircraft, known as MSN 1, and its four Europrop International TP400D turboprop engines performed as expected. The all-new TP400D turboprop powerplants produce 11,000shp (8,200kW) each and are the most powerful propeller engines ever fitted to a Western aircraft.

As planned, the six-man crew extensively explored the aircraft’s flight envelope, including a wide speed-range, and tested lowering and raising of the landing gear and high-lift devices at altitude.

In the four weeks leading up to the flight the aircraft was extensively tested on the ground. The engines were run at full power, the electrical systems and on-board data network were exhaustively tested, and numerous taxiing runs at progressively higher speeds were performed culminating in a rejected take-off test at a speed of 123kt (227km/hr) on 8th December.

The first flight marks the beginning of a test campaign that will see some 3,700 hours of flying by an eventual five aircraft conducted between now and entry-into-service at the end of 2012. In the first half of 2010 MSN 1 will be joined by two sister aircraft, MSN 2 and MSN 3, followed by MSN 4 by the end of the year. A fifth aircraft will join the program during 2011.

This fleet will be used for some 3,700 hours of test-flying between now and first delivery to the French Air Force at the end of 2012. This will be followed by additional military development flying. The A400M will receive both civil certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and military certification and qualification.

The A400M will increase the airlift capacity and range of the aircraft it was designed to replace – the C-130 Hercules and Transall C-160. With a typical payload of 20 tonnes it boasts an operating range of 3,450nm (6,390km). Like its predecessors it will operate in many configurations including cargo transport, troop transport, medical evacuation, and electronic surveillance. Boasting high-level cruise speeds of between 0.68 and 0.72 Mach and low-level airspeeds of up to 300 knots for tactical operation, it was designed from the outset as an aerial refueller and can offload fuel to both fighters and helicopters at their preferred speeds and heights.

The A400M features the same fly-by-wire controls technology found in Airbus’ airliner family and an advanced cockpit that has evolved from that of the A380. Carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) wings and other large structures bring weight and strength advantages and cut the risk of corrosion, while the eight-bladed Scimitar propeller is also made from a woven composite material.

A total of 184 aircraft have so far been ordered by Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom. However, Airbus has acknowledged that the program is expected to lose at least 2.4 billion euros and cannot break even without sales outside NATO countries. It’s unlikely that the four ordered by Malaysia will fill this shortfall so Airbus Military will be keen to make sales to other non-NATO countries.

If one rotor is good, four must be better. That’s the general idea behind the CyberQuad, a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from Australian manufacturer Cyber Technology. The CyberQuad is an electric, remote-controlled reconnaissance platform that features four ducted rotors to provide lift and maneuverability, allowing the remote-control UAV to be used in urban and enclosed environments. The four rotors give the CyberQuad the payload capacity and stability of a helicopter-type UAV, while the ducted design avoids the dangers associated with exposed propellers.

According to the manufacturer, open propeller helicopters typically cannot fly through doorways or near people because of the risk of snagging their large exposed rotors. Ducted fan designs eliminate this danger, but require additional stabilization and generally cannot carry as much payload or provide as much endurance. The CyberQuad’s ducted quadrotor chassis is designed to take advantage of the best of both types of platforms. It features the simple mechanics, stability, and agility of a helicopter, plus the safety, compact size, and efficiency of ducted fans.

Cyber Technology, which produces several different types of UAVs, believes their CyberQuad is well-suited to the emerging market for urban aerial reconnaissance. With a payload capacity up to 1.5kg (3.3lbs) the Cyber Quad can carry a high-definition video camera or sensors for detecting gases, industrial pollutants, chemical warfare agents, or other materials. The brushless electric motors do not produce sparks so the UAV can be deployed in volatile atmospheres. In fact in November, the CyberQuad was successfully used to investigate a fire on an oil platform. The UAV was able to maneuver throughout the superstructure and transmit back high-definition video to operators located a safe distance away.

The UAV features vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and hovering capabilities like a helicopter. It measures just 53 x 53 x 16cm (21 x 21 x 6.3in.) so it is easy to transport and can be deployed rapidly.

The manufacturer claims the CyberQuad’s top speed is around 40mph (65kph) and the run time is 25 to 40 minutes. The CyberQuad’s mission time can be extended, however, because the UAV is able to “perch” on a suitable landing spot and observe without flying.

Cyber Technology designed the CyberQuad for “stealth” operations by reducing the rotor noise. The four modular rotors do not use noisy gearboxes, and noise from the propeller tips is reduced by the duct walls. The fans are arranged in counter-rotating pairs to reduce gyroscopic issues and provide better stability. Each fan is independently controlled, allowing maneuverability without the need for additional control surfaces. In addition, the CyberQuad uses inertial sensors and high-frequency speed controllers to actively stabilize the UAV’s attitude and heading.

There is no word on availability or pricing. For more information visit Cyber Technology.

The age of UAVs has well and truly dawned but designers aren’t resting on their laurels when it comes to improving the capabilities of these multi-talented aircraft. One innovation that’s come to the fore recently is the use of an enclosed four rotor platform (see our recent look at the CyberQuad) which offers a number of advantages including greater stability, agility, hovering ability and a smaller footprint. This unique new design from Britain’s VTOL Technologies takes this idea a step further, adding four movable rotors to a single “flying-wing” to create an aircraft that claims to deliver a higher payload capacity for its size and up to four times the endurance of current vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAV designs.

The company describes the concept as a “superb piece of minimal ‘systems-engineering’ based design, eliminating redundant aircraft features that add weight, overcomplicate flight control, increase drag and reduce endurance.” The idea is that less can go wrong with this simplified platform, primarily because the fixed wing requires no control surface actuators. In the event that something does come unstuck, namely the loss of power to one or more of the motors, the UAV can still operate at close to cruising speed with three or even just two rotors operational. The design also boasts resistance to wind gusts, fast stall recovery and in the event of a total loss of power, the shallow glide angle offered by the flying wing design means there’s a greater chance of fixing the issue in the air or bringing the craft to ground safely compared to other fixed rotor VTOL designs.

Greater endurance

VTOL Technologies says that the patent-pending design offers three to four times the endurance of current VTOL UAV’s using an equivalent power source as well as faster cruise speeds. When compare to fixed-wing UAVs, the Flying-Wing is said to achieve twice the endurance.

Thrust-vectoring for greater versatility

Controlling flight through the use of thrust-vectoring rather than ailerons gives the concept a number of clear advantages over fixed-wing designs – it can hover, operate in tighter spaces such as urban environments, launch from moving vehicles and using reverse thrust, land on the deck of a ship in rough seas

Roles beyond the battlefield

After spending eight years developing the Flying-Wing, VTOL Technologies has recently submitted a concept study to the UK MoD and hopes to fast track the development of the vehicle for deployment in military operations like Afghanistan as well as in counter piracy operations for the London 2012 Olympics.

The Flying-Wing design could also have applications on fields as diverse as traffic monitoring, crime and border surveillance, humanitarian relief and pollution monitoring

The current specs for the concept (see below), show a maximum endurance of two hours, a hover time of 0.5 hours and a range of 37 miles (60km)using lithium polymer cells as the power source, but the company says that ongoing work into green fuel-cell technologies could quadruple this figure within the next couple of years.

According to NASA, the way to make a helicopter safer is to crash it – under strict guidance, of course. In order to test the effectiveness of a new “airbag” system – which is actually an expandable honeycomb cushion called a deployable energy absorber – NASA aeronautics researchers at Langley loaded four crash test dummies into a small chopper and, well, dropped it.

The helicopter fell from a height of 35ft (10.7m) and to ensure it reacted like it would in a real accident, pyrotechnics were used to remove the attached cables just before it hit terra firma.

Aside from damage to the landing skids the damage was minimal with the cushion protecting the cockpit. The crash test dummies emerged shaken but uninjured, one of which was fitted with a special torso with simulated internal organs.

In all, instruments aboard the crash chopper collected 160 channels of data. Researchers are yet to fully analyze the test results before they categorically can say whether the deployable energy absorber worked as designed.

To test the airbags, a 240ft tall structure once used to teach astronauts how to land on the moon was used in conjunction with a MD-500 helicopter donated by the Army.

“I’d like to think the research we’re doing is going to end up in airframes and will potentially save lives,” said Karen Jackson, an aerospace engineer who oversaw the test at NASA’s Langley Research Center.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, more than 200 people are injured in helicopter accidents in the United States each year, in part because helicopters fly in riskier conditions than most other aircraft. A helicopter passenger death in Australia just days ago highlights the dangers of this type of flight, often caused because these craft fly close to the ground, not far from power lines and other obstacles, and often are used for emergencies, including search and rescue and medical evacuations.

Created by engineer Sotiris Kellas at Langley, the airbag system is made of Kevlar and has a unique flexible hinge design that allows the honeycomb to be packaged and remain flat until needed.

The test conditions imitated what would be a relatively severe helicopter crash. The flight path angle was about 33° and the combined forward and vertical speeds were 33mph (53kph).

“We got data to validate our integrated computer models that predict how all parts of the helicopter and the occupants react in a crash. Plus the torso model test dummy will help us assess internal injuries to occupants during a helicopter crash,” she said.

Imagine you’re a competitive sailboat racer, about to go into the richest and most storied of all sailing races with a squillion-dollar boat and a razor-sharp crew. Now imagine somebody hands you a device that can quite literally map out the wind activity up to a kilometer out in front of you, showing wind speed, direction and turbulence – and giving you the almost superatural ability to adjust your sails and take maximal advantage of a wind pattern before you even reach it. It’s almost an unfair advantage, isn’t it? Well, this is the situation that BMW Oracle Racing’s Russell Coutts finds himself in as the team gears up to take on defending champions Alinghi in the 2010 America’s Cup. The device is called a Racer’s Edge laser wind sensor, and it’s built around a technology base that’s being used to optimize wind power generators. We caught up with Phil Rogers, CEO of Catch the Wind, Inc, to find out more.

Laser wind sensor – how it works

Catch the Wind’s core technology is a laser system that can read wind speed and direction from up to a kilometer from the point at which it’s measured. Put simply, here’s how it works: a pure colored laser is fired into the atmosphere, where it starts to bounce off all sorts of particulate matter floating around in the air. These particles are moving in a particular direction and with a certain velocity that is an excellent approximation of the wind speed at that point – and when they bounce the laser waves back at the device, the doppler effect causes a slight wavelength shift in the returned light. This doppler shift is enough to calculate wind speed and direction at any given point.

The technology isn’t new – in fact, Catch the Wind CEO Phil Rogers points out that “it was one of the first practical uses of lasers back in the sixties. But what we’ve done is to implement that technique in an all-fiber optic implementation which has resulted in a very lightweight, compact, rugged and affordable system that can survive a harsh environment.”

Catch the Wind for green power

The technology’s primary commercial use is for wind farms – Catch the Wind sells a unit called the Vindicator with a 300-meter range. With incoming wind direction and strength data, the turbines can be tuned for best effect for each gust. The direction the turbine is facing, as well of the pitch of the blades, can be altered to get the best results – high energy yield without excessive flex or vibration in the blades.

But laser wind speed measurement is also handy in a number of other areas – firefighting, for example, where advance knowledge of a change in the wind could save firefighters’ lives. Air traffic controllers, with advance knowledge of what wind conditions are moving in, can time takeoffs and landings better.

And you can imagine what an effect this kind of advance knowledge would have for a competitive sailor – knowing what the wind’s doing out in front of the boat would give you the ability to tune your sails in advance to get the most out of the wind conditions – and even help you select a better course to take.

Catch the Wind at this year’s America’s Cup

All of which probably helps to suggest why the betting odds are shortening for BMW Oracle Racing to win this year’s America’s Cup, which is just about to get underway in Spain – as Catch the Wind has just been named as an official supplier to the team.

As if the BOR 90 trimaran’s massive carbon-fiber wing sail isn’t enough of a technological leap, the crew will now have access to a wind activity map showing up to a kilometer in advance where the best wind is and what it’s doing. The US$149,500 Racer’s Edge laser wind sensor is hand-held, and roughly the size of a pair of binoculars.

“This device is wireless… It can [send] the data to the onboard computer should the user so desire. It also has its own display, a wireless linked display that can be wrist-worn, or mounted to a display, or on your belt, or whatever,” Rogers explains. “What the display would show is the wind vectors and speeds around the boat. And it remembers those, so it can produce a wind map.”

Wind speed and vector mapping is a heck of a step forwards from the traditional ‘get up high and look at what the tips of the waves are doing’ method. It’s likely to be an important tool in the BMW Oracle Racing team’s arsenal in this race, and it’s hard to imagine such a system not being a must-have – or being banned – from future events.

A consumer version not too far away

While the Racer’s Edge system is currently extremely expensive, it’s set to become part of a family of ‘Windseeker’ devices with similar abilities, targeted less towards high-stakes sailboat racers and more to recreational sailors, firefighters, pollution control, sports teams and the like.

“Obviously, as time goes by and in the not-too-distant future, we would hope to come out with a less expensive version of it, maybe without all the bells and whistles,” says Rogers, “When we release a recreational or regular model, we hope to have that price down to several thousand dollars.”

It will be fascinating to see the results of the America’s Cup this year and hear skipper Russell Coutts’ assessment of the Racer’s Edge technology and the effect it might have on the contest. The 2010 33rd America’s Cup starts next week in Valencia, Spain.

To some, golf is a good walk ruined. But why walk when you can ride … get on board the latest mobility offering from Leev – the Mantys. It’s a bit like a four-wheel version of a Segwey/scooter that holds your golf clubs up front and can go for 36 holes before it needs recharging. Weighing just 88lbs, it folds down to fit in your trunk next to your golf bag. It steers by transferring your weight either left or right, has a top speed of 11mph and can climb most inclines found on a golf course.

Besides golf, Leev says the Mantys can be put to use in various other applications like warehouses, resorts, terrain inspection, final mile delivery, etc, but we expect to see it predominantly on the golf course.

It has two 500W geared electric motors on the rear wheels and is powered by two 24V Li-ion 20Ah batteries. Comfort, stability and safety are delivered through oil-damped shock absorbers and hydraulic disc brakes, and the wheels have a turf-saver profile. Overall, the Mantys measures 1300 x 700 x 1400mm (LxWxH).

Other features include a score cardholder, ball and tee-holder and (the mandatory) cup-holder.

If you’re fit enough to get one in and out of your trunk, we believe it will set you back around US$3,250.