Tag Archives: VirginiaTech

US will test expanded drone use in 10 states

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The US government is making good on its promise to expand the use of drones. The Department of Transportation has named the 10 projects that will participate in its Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program, and they represent a wide swath...

Ford wants self-driving cars to communicate with flashing lights

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Here's a question: how does a self-driving car reveal its intentions to you without an audio cue? Humans can gesture when they let you cross the street, but autonomous vehicles don't have that luxury. Ford and Virginia Tech think they have the answ...

Lowe’s exoskeletons help workers carry what you can’t

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Exoskeletons aren't just for shipyard workers or people with limited mobility. If Lowe's has its way, they'll help store staff fetch your giant bucket of paint. The home improvement retailer has partnered with Virginia Tech to test prototype passive...

Apple hires an expert in virtual and augmented reality tech

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Apple hasn't shown off anything like HoloLen or Oculus Rift yet, but there's something in the works. The Financial Times reports Apple has hired one of the nation's leading experts on virtual and augmented reality, Virginia Tech computer science prof...

Virginia Tech learns how to get hydrogen from any plant, might lower fuel cell costs

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Virginia Tech can extract hydrogen from any plant, may lower fuel cell vehicle costs

Hydrogen fuel cell cars have any number of hurdles to overcome, whether it's widespread adoption or the basic matter of locating a place to fill up. If a Virginia Tech discovery pans out, getting the fuel itself won't be one of those challenges. The new combination of a polyphosphate with a special blend of enzymes lets researchers extract meaningful quantities of hydrogen from any biological element that includes xylose -- in other words, the sugar that's present in every plant to at least some degree. The process is potentially more eco-friendly than most, as well. While you'd expect it to be renewable given the main ingredients, it also reduces the need for metals and cuts back sharply on the volume of necessary greenhouse gases. Most importantly, the findings could reach the commercial world as soon as three years from now. If they do, they could lower the price of hydrogen fuel by making it more accessible, all the while avoiding much of the guilt trip that comes with using polluting technology to generate clean energy.

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Via: The Verge

Source: Virginia Tech, Wiley

Giant robot jellyfish reporting for recon duty, sir (video)

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Massive robot jellyfish reporting for recon duty, sir (video)

As if there weren't enough real jellyfish around to trigger our thalassophobia, researchers at Virginia Tech have created Cryo -- an eight-armed autonomous robot that mimics jelly movement with the help of a flexible silicone hat. The man-sized jellybot altogether dwarfs previous efforts, hence the upgrade from small tank to swimming pool for mock field tests. And unlike the passively propelled bots we've seen recently, Cryo runs on batteries, with the researchers hoping to better replicate the energy-efficient nature of jelly movement to eventually increase Cryo's charge cycle to months instead of hours. That's also the reason these robotic jellyfish are getting bigger -- because the larger they are, the further they can go. Potential uses include ocean monitoring and perhaps clearing oil spills, but the US Navy, which is funding the work, sees an opportunity to recruit jellies for underwater surveillance -- a job the researchers say is suited to their natural-looking disguise. But, before the tables are turned, you can spy on Cryo for yourself in the video below.

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Via: Wired

Source: Virginia Tech (Vimeo)

LTE: fast, global, silenced by a $650 radio jammer

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LTE fast, global, silenced by a $650 radio jammer

Oh gosh, we haven't been so panicked since our phones were hypothetically possessed by demons. And come to think of it, this is theoretically far, far worse. A research group at Virginia Tech is claiming that, due to the particular way 4G data is transmitted, an LTE base station can be sabotaged using lightweight equipment that costs as little as $650. Such a thing is possible because, unlike 2G and 3G, LTE depends on control instructions that occupy only a tiny fraction of the total signal -- and details of those specific frequencies have been openly published.

According to the research group's director, Jeff Reed, a single malicious operative with a hot briefcase and a bit of know-how could take down "miles of LTE signals." If the attacker splashed out on an amplifier, they could cut off reception for thousands of people across a whole city or region. Reed stresses that there are no known instances of this happening yet, but also warns that he can see no "mitigation strategies" that can "cover it all." Let us pray that humanity's characteristic inability to agree on anything -- including a universal LTE standard -- will be our salvation.

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LTE: fast, global, silenced by a $650 radio jammer originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Nov 2012 07:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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