Mono - Tech

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Tech Concepts in 2006

Pedestrian Protection System (PPS)
Radar sensors and computer-controlled braking will keep drivers safer than ever, but what about pedestrians? In case your adaptive cruise control fails to spot someone darting into the road, TRW Automotive is introducing the PPS system: if you smack a pedestrian, the hood is automatically raised to cushion his landing on the engine block. The system is already being tested, part of a drive to meet new European and Japanese regulations on pedestrian safety which are being phased in, starting with 2006 models.

Ajax
When you use Google Maps, the Web site doesn't pause to reload the page each time you zoom in or pan to the side, and the URL remains "maps.google.com" instead of the meaningless string of letters and numbers you see at older sites like MapQuest. Google Maps is using a new technique that Web-watcher Jesse James Garrett has dubbed Ajax, for Asynchronous JavaScript + XML. Weaving together existing technologies, Ajax will help make Web services feel more like programs that run on the user's own computer, Garrett says, releasing Internet content from the limitations of conventional Web design by reimagining the browser as an operating system.

Mobile VoIP
Both cellular and VoIP technology have revolutionized telecommunications, but the two technologies have not yet learned to work together for the common good--but that may change soon. "The biggest trend for 2006 is the idea of hand-off between wireless VoIP at home or in the office and wide-area cell networks in the real world," says Peter Jarich of Virginia-based Current Analysis. Companies like Bridgeport Networks are leading the charge to have single handsets that can carry a call seamlessly between VoIP and cell services. The technology is ready, Jarich says--now operators just need to figure out how they want to offer the service.

Modular Pebble-Bed Reactor
The energy bill passed last summer earmarks $1.25 billion for the development of a next-generation nuclear plant at Idaho National Laboratory, starting with $65 million this year. The first step is picking which design to pursue, and one of the favorites is the pebble-bed reactor, which uses spherical pebbles of radioactive fuel encased in graphite to heat up a gas that runs a generator. "You're definitely going to be reading about it this year," says MIT professor Andrew Kadak. The modular design Kadak and others are working on keeps the initial capital cost low, and the core is incapable of getting hot enough to melt down, he says.

Mobile WiMAX
WiMax--the wireless broadband standard with a range of 30 miles--is a nice way to get high-speed Internet access to remote locations, but the next generation mobile WiMAX will be an even better solution, bringing that high-bandwidth connection on the road. Mobile WiMax can hand off your connection between base stations like a cellphone at speeds up to 75 mph, giving high-speed train and car passengers the opportunity to surf the Web while traveling between locations. Samsung will introduce the first commercial mobile WiMax service, dubbed WiBro, in April in South Korea. The infrastructure in the United States, however, still has a way to go.

Mobile Satellite Video
Now that satellite radio is catching on--Sirius and XM expect to start the year with about 9 million customers between them--the question is: How else can we use that data transmission capability? Sirius is betting on the automobile back seat, with a planned offering of two or three video channels aimed at bored kids on their way to grandma's. Sent through a modified sat radio receiver, the service is due out at the end of the year.

Driver-Monitoring System
Instead of just watching for hazards on the road, Toyota's latest precrash safety system is turning its attention to the most likely cause of an accident: you. This spring, Lexus models in Japan will be available with a camera mounted on the steering column that uses facial-recognition software to determine whether you're watching the road. If not, and the front-mounted radar sees you're getting too close to something, it will flash a light, then beep and tap the brakes if you persist in rubbernecking.

Body Area Network (BAN)
Like everything else, implantable medical devices are going wireless. A new in-body antenna chip from Zarlink Semiconductor is in preproduction, and should appear in pacemakers and hearing implants this year. By transmitting data to and receiving instructions from nearby base stations, BAN chips can reprogram your heartbeat at your doctor's office or make a diagnosis from a bedside wireless monitor at home.

Internet Protocol Television (IPTV)
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) already lets us make phone calls over the Internet. Now, IPTV is doing something similar for video. The advantage? Convergence. If your TV is tapped into the Internet, you can program your DVR to record over the Web from your office. Future applications may add interactivity to standard TV broadcasts. For example: multiple viewing angles for sports events. Telco SBC is betting an estimated $4 billion on its Project Lightspeed, which will roll out IPTV across the country this year.

Metadata
It used to be that a file was just a file, identified by a name and a three-letter extension. But computer storage has exponentially increased the number of files a PC can access. Programs such as word processors currently collect metadata--literally "data about data"--detailing who wrote each file; music programs such as iTunes automatically tag song files with album details from online databases. Apple's Tiger operating system automates the process of metadata collection and uses it to help you quickly search through huge amounts of data to find files on your computer. Likewise, Microsoft says metadata searches will be integrated into its Vista OS, which ships later this year.

NAND Flash Memory
Compared to the mini hard drives used in portable electronics, flash memory is smaller, has fewer moving parts and uses less power. But until recently, flash hasn't had the storage capacity to find its way into multigigabyte devices. NAND flash memory, however, can store huge amounts of data on tiny chips. (The NAND refers to the logic gate used in the circuits.) Last fall, Apple brought NAND chips into the hands of the public with the 2GB and 4GB iPod nano music players. Capacities will only increase. Samsung has announced that its 16GB NAND chip will be on the market before the end of 2006.

Nanoparticle Batteries

Even if your batteries lasted 10 times longer, they would still die at the wrong time. Toshiba is developing batteries that use nanoparticles to improve lithium-ion absorption during recharging--going from zero to 80 percent charge in 1 minute. This year, the batteries will appear in cars and factories, but they should eventually find their way to laptops and cellular phones.

SPIT (SPam over Internet Telephony)
The spread of VoIP has been relatively peaceful--so far. But as its popularity has grown, hackers have developed an interest. One company, Internet Security Systems (ISS), found a security flaw in Cisco's VoIP technology last summer. In addition to hacking worries, VoIP can be used like e-mail to send a single voice message to thousands of recipients simultaneously, creating a telemarketer from hell. ISS's software already has some SPIT protection, but more will be needed when the problem explodes this year.

Micro Fuel Cells
We've been promised a fuel cell revolution for years, but now fuel cells small enough for portable electronics are making their way to market. Coming this year, UltraCell's paperback-size "reformed methanol" unit has twice the energy density of lithium-ion batteries and can power a laptop computer. Fuel cells for cellphones will have to wait for another year, but Toshiba recently demonstrated "direct methanol" prototypes, the size of a pack of gum, powering MP3 players.

Electronic Medical Records (EMR)
A recent CDC study shows that less than a third of U.S. hospitals use electronic medical records, a situation that had dangerous repercussions in the chaos following Hurricane Katrina. It won't be easy--or cheap--to establish a secure, nationwide network that puts test results and prescriptions online, and allows national disease trends to be tracked. President Bush has proposed a $125 million budget for 2006 to develop EMR programs.

Coal Gasification
This technology turns coal into its gaseous elements, allowing pollutants like sulfur to be stripped from the gas before it's burned--turning "dirty coal" into a cleaner fuel. The basic technique has been around for a century, but pollution concerns and rising energy costs are spurring new development. Power plants in Illinois, Ohio and Indiana have started the engineering design process, which should be complete by this fall.

Perpendicular Storage
Current hard drives use longitudinal storage, with magnetic bits laid out end to end. If the bits are packed perpendicularly, you save space--like dominoes standing on end rather than lying flat. Hitachi estimates that by the end of the decade, perpendicular drives could store 10 times more data than today's drives.

PRESOLAR INTERSTELLAR GRAINS Call it comet dust for short. Scientists will see the stuff up close for the first time when NASA's Stardust probe lands in the Great Salt Lake Desert on Jan. 15. Launched in 1999, Stardust flew through a cloud of dust surrounding the comet Wild 2 in January 2004 and collected a tiny sample of particles, many of which are "presolar," preserved in the frigid vacuum of space since before the birth of the solar system.

CRIME-LAB-ON-A-CHIP For a decade, chips able to process droplet-size samples have been delivering instant laboratory analysis to researchers in the field. Now, improved microfabrication techniques are taking labs-on-a-chip to a new level. "With computer-controlled valves, switches and pumps on these chips, you basically have a fluidic microprocessor," says Berkeley professor Rich Mathies, whose DNA fingerprinting chip should be available to law enforcement in 2006.

FIBER-TO-THE-HOME To combat high-bandwidth wireless and cable technologies, telecommunications companies will be replacing copper phone lines with fiberoptic cable, all the way to your front door. The rollout has already begun: Verizon's FiOS (Fiber Optic Service) offers telephone, TV and ultra-high-speed Internet at up to 30Mbps to 3 million homes in 15 states. This bigger FiOS pipeline will jumpstart bandwidth-hungry services such as HDTV on demand.

BLIND-SPOT DETECTION
To prevent drivers from smashing into what they can't see, two as-yet-unnamed automakers will include Valeo Raytheon's blind-spot detection in 2007 models. The system's 2.4-GHz radar sensors will be mounted in the rear bumper and won't be affected by the elements. When a vehicle is in a driver's blind spot, an LED in the sideview mirror will light up. If the driver turns the steering wheel anyway, a beep will warn him of the hidden danger.

VIA http://www.popularmechanics.com/