'Talking' cars could reduce motorway pile-ups

Crash alarms are relayed to approaching vehicles so they slow and safely stop long before reaching an accident

"Talking" cars may soon be a reality - even without the need for human-like facial features, claim researchers.

Scientists from the University of Bologna in Italy have developed software that lets cars "communicate" with one another on the road.
Similar technology had been used before but this time, said the team, cars would be able to "know" what had happened kilometres ahead.
Tests suggest it could reduce motorway pile-ups by 40%.
The reduction in accidents emerged during computer simulations of the safety system which were detailed in a paper published in the journal Computer Networks.
Road tests of the software are imminent and will be carried out in August 2011 on the streets and motorways of Los Angeles in conjunction with car maker Toyota.

Dr Marco Roccetti University of Bologna

Although telematics, which unites telecommunications and informatics in cars, has been used for some time, the Italian research adds one more player.

It unites telematics with the notion of the Internet of Things in which everyday objects have a presence online so they can be communciated with.
The ultimate aim is to connect all cars on the road through wi-fi - either by installing a wi-fi-enabled sensor into a car, or by downloading software on to a smartphone.
Team leader Professor Marco Roccetti told BBC News that the study could have a major impact on society - particularly "in terms of human lives and societal costs".
Alerting in relay

"Talking" cars could help diminish the number of victims

He said the system the team had developed was different from conventional telematics that sees a radar-type mechanism detect an obstacle on the road in front of a car, which then brakes to avoid a crash.
"By letting cars 'talk' to each other, we can see what happens kilometres ahead - whereas current technology, instead, allows cars to perceive an obstacle only when it is physically in front of them," said team member Professor Gustavo Marfia.
The "talking" is done via acceleration sensors built into cars that trigger an alarm message in abnormal conditions such as when a vehicle is involved in a crash.
When a car in an accident experiences a sudden change in acceleration, this change would be captured by the sensor and alert cars and drivers approaching the same spot.
This alarm could spread down the chain of vehicles in a relay so they could safely stop a long way before they reach the accident scene.
"We have developed an optimal algorithm for multi-lane, strip-shaped portions of roads - such as highways," said Professor Roccetti.
Flooding the system Professor Marfia said the system could work two different ways.
One would see all cars equipped with a device running the alarm software, and integrated directly into the dashboard or in the sat-nav. The cost of integrating such a device would be about £25 per car, he said.
"Otherwise, our application could also run on wi-fi-enabled smartphones," he added.
One problem might be that if a car involved in an accident starts communicating with every single vehicle behind it, and they in turn relay it to those following them, the system could become clogged with messages.

The technology could reduce motorway pile-ups by 40%

To stop the data jam, the team decided on a scheme that selectively sends a message only to those cars which in turn are able to send the signal as far as possible.
This is achieved by having all the cars constantly swapping data so they know who is in the best position to pass on the crash warning.
"Our app allows cars to stay in constant contact with each other," said Professor Roccetti. "They read each other. They know the direction and speed that all the other cars are travelling, and they also know their transmitting capacity.
"All this information is updated every second or so, and the frequency is optimised so that it doesn't slow the system down."
Simulations of other schemes that simply pass the crash message to the vehicle at the limit of in-car wi-fi's broadcast range were fraught with too many problems, said Professor Roccetti.
"The furthest car could have a truck behind it which limits its transmitting capacity, or could be fitted with a less powerful communication system than the one in front of it.
Such problems are avoided if cars know who can do the best job of passing on messages.
"When the signal is sent out, the car that is in the best condition knows that it has to forward the alarm signal - and so it does," he said.
If the project is a success, it could be a step towards the notion of "smart cities" - when everything is connected and controlled by computers, from traffic lights to intelligent, driverless cars that could bring commuters to work while they relax in the back seat.

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From invisibility cloaks to 'emotive' robots

In Lisbon, Portugal, a robot able to recognise people's emotions teaches children to play chess

Harry Potter's invisibility cloak may still be fantasy, but researchers are moving closer to making things disappear.

At the Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition in London, scientists make visitors gaze in amazement as small balls vanish before their eyes.
This "invisibility stand" is one of the 22 projects being presented to the public this year.
Among them are special glasses that help blind people "see", tanks to capture sunlight and the so-called "smart traffic control".
Royal Society president Sir Paul Nurse told BBC News that the exhibition was a showcase not only for British science, but for the society in general.

Keil Smith Pupil, London

"We have a constant evolution of our understanding of the world, and it's important to see how science can be applied for human good, how it can be used to improve the quality of life, to improve health and to drive economic growth," he said.

Invisibility cloak The project involving "invisible" materials - called metamaterials - has attracted a lot of attention, with school children taking turns to hear the scientists explain the nature of the research.
Metamaterials are materials unavailable in nature, in which the microstructure is changed to create unusual properties such as bending of electromagnetic waves.
"I've never quite seen anything like it before; and if one day, I could have an invisibility cloak just like Harry Potter, that'd be fun!", said 13-year-old Keil Smith.

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Footage provided by the Royal Society shows an 'invisibility' demonstration

Professor Ulf Leonhardt of the University of St Andrews, one of the project leaders, told BBC News that in future, this technology could be applied in the areas of communications, wireless energy transfer, sensors and security.
He said that the "magic" illusion of disappearance stems from bending light in an unnatural way.
"In the 'cloaking' device, you bend light around something so that you don't see the object, but you also don't see that the light has been bent - it enters the device in a straight lines and it also leaves the device in the same direction in came from, as if nothing had happened to it," he said.

Eve Winsper Pupil, Alcester High School

"This makes objects undetectable and therefore invisible."

Besides the "cloaking" device, the team also demonstrated how small balls made of sodium polyacrylate literally vanished as they were immersed in water.
Tom Philbin, also from the University of St Andrews, explained that the balls had the exact same optical properties - the same refractive index - as water.
"So if you have two materials that are different like these balls and water, but their refractive index is the same, then as far as light is concerned, they're exactly the same thing," he said.
Mr Philnin said that H.G. Wells used these principles in his classic novel "The Invisible Man" - his character made his refractive index exactly the same as air, so that light could not tell him apart from the air and he thus became invisible.
"But to do that, you'd have to change your entire composition, to make your refractive index the same as air, which you can't really do," added the scientist.
Robots' faces At another stand, visitors learn about facial recognition technology - and how it can be applied to robots.

Tom Philbin demonstrates the cloaking device, where light is bent so as to "hide" the object inside

The team behind the project seeks to understand how the brain perceives faces, and then "teaches" robots to recognise the emotions of people they interact with.
Professor Alan Johnston from University College London told BBC News that there were a number of places where robots and people co-existed in social environments.
For instance, he said, in Scotland one robot helped in an office, and in Lisbon, Portugal, robots were teaching school children to play chess.
"It's important for these machines to recognise how to act socially - to see when people are looking happy or sad," he said.
"And our robots are able to understand your expressions, to then change their faces accordingly.
"They robots can smile, look surprised, and do a range of different things."
Old idea, new ways Wind power has long been viewed as an important source of renewable energy - but scientists are now trying to use the latest technologies to improve turbines that have existed for decades.
Researchers from Coventry University have teamed up with pupils from Alcester High School to improve the efficiency of a wind turbine called Savonius that was developed at the dawn of the 20th century.

Dr Patrick Joseph-Franks National Physical Laboratory

The turbine generates electricity by converting rotational energy produced when the wind blows on the blades of the rotor, makes them turn, and then turns a shaft.

This particular turbine has always been considered a poor electricity generator - but the team has managed to make it more efficient by increasing the number of fins on the rotor.
"We've been testing in the wind tunnel, and we found out that the more paddles the rotor has, the more efficient it becomes, as there's more surface for the wind to blow against - and it can produce more electricity," said 13-year-old Eve Winsper.
Steve Sarson, head of technology at the school, explained that they used computer-aided design and manufacturing techniques to turn something that has been first developed a long time ago into a much better device.
'Wasted' energy Another energy-harvesting technology has also made it to this year's exhibition.
But this time, scientists from the National Physical Laboratory have researched ways to harness energy that is otherwise wasted - dissipated as vibration, motion, heat or sound.

One of the ways to harness energy is by using a thermoelectric generator

Once captured, this energy is then transformed into electrical power.
One of the researchers, Dr Patrick Joseph-Franks, explained that there were several ways of doing so.
"One is a thermoelectric generator - if you warm two metal plates up by rubbing your hands, getting friction and thus generating heat, it then will be turned into electrical power," he said.
"The second device is somebody pedalling on a bicycle and it is connected to a generator, and the third system is a piezoelectric device - if you squeeze it or bend it, you put a strain on it and it produces an electrical signal and you can capture that."
None of these technologies are new, but today, it is becoming more and more economically important to capture energy instead of wasting it.
And some companies are already doing it.
Car manufacturer Volkswagen, for instance, is using a piezoelectric generator connected to the exhaust to capture the heat produced by a car's engine, said Dr Joseph-Franks.
And in Tokyo, power-generating mats have been installed under the floors at two train stations - they capture the vibrations of the thousands of commuters and then transform this energy into electricity.

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RoboCup for soccer-playing robots kicks off

The University of Edinburgh's Subramanian Ramamoorthy is training robots to play football

The best strikers, defenders and midfield players in the robot football world are gathering in Istanbul.

The teams and their coaches are there for the climax of the 2011 non-human soccer calendar - the RoboCup.
The competition sees teams from all around the world pit their creations, be they made from bolts or bytes, against other robot teams.
The 2011 tournament includes one of the UK's first robot football teams.
Team human Now in its 14th year, the RoboCup was set up with the aim of creating, by 2050, a team of humanoid robots that can take on and beat the best human players.
The competition aims to encourage innovation in robot building by getting roboteers to tackle the many problems that playing football embodies.
Not only do team coaches have to conquer basic problems such as vision, but they also have to work on how to get their players acting as a team. All robots playing the game have to be autonomous - although the machines can swap information wirelessly. Play must also be fair as no barging, blocking or touching is allowed.
UK team Edinferno from the University of Edinburgh has won a place in the final and is up against 27 other teams in what is known as the "standard platform" league.

The RoboCup attracts teams from more than 40 nations

Every team in this league uses humanoid Nao robots made by French firm Aldebaran Robotics. The robots are standard but the on-board software controlling their sensors, actuators and limbs is custom-written to try to make the best of the machine's capabilities.
The UK also has an interest in the Noxious Kouretes team that is coached by the Technical University of Crete as well as the University of Wales and Oxford University.
In addition, a number of UK schools have qualified for the junior competition.
Other leagues at the tournament will see competition among simulated players (both 2D and 3D), small robots, medium-sized robots and teams made of humanoid robots.
In 2010, about 500 teams from about 40 nations - including Iran, Taiwan and Chile - took part in the RoboCup's various tournaments.
In recent years, the tournament has grown to include more than just football. Allied competitions cover domestic robots that carry out chores around the house and rescue robots that help emergency services.

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Yahoo! criticised over e-mail 'snooping' for advertising

A leading consumer group has accused Yahoo! of scanning through personal e-mails for information to use to sell advertising.

The world's largest e-mail provider says signing up to its new service means scanning technology will be used to block spam, and eventually to offer adverts relevant to the user.
But Sarah Kidner fom watchdog Which? Computing says "This is a blatant intrusion of privacy".
A Yahoo! spokesperson said, a box will appear 'asking for users' consent'.
"To look for keywords and links to further protect you from spam, surface photos [photos sent from friends which then won't go straight to spam] and in time, serve users with interest-based advertising."
Users could then see pop-up ads that are relevant to keywords in e-mails both being sent and received.
Trust issues "People should have the right to send messages without Yahoo! snooping through them," said Sarah Kidner editor of Which? Computing.
Yahoo! is among a number of e-mail service providers which scans content.
Google mail, on its website, says it looks at the text of Gmail messages to filter spam and detect viruses.
"Google also uses this scanning technology to deliver targeted text ads and other related information."

Sarah Kidner editor of Which? Computing.

The sifting is done by computers and creates profiles of customers about their likes and dislikes.
However, competitors Microsoft which runs Hotmail in a statement said it 'puts online privacy as a top priority.'
"Not only does Windows Live Hotmail not read users' e-mails, but we protect your inbox from anyone else accessing your e-mail with advanced security features."
Yahoo! says it began to offer its users the chance to sign up to its New Mail service in June to provide a 'faster, more social and safer experience'.
"If you prefer not to consent, you can remain on our existing mail, although we will, as Yahoo! and other free webmail service providers do, continue to machine scan e-mails to protect against spam.
The email service say it's easy for users to opt-out of internet-based advertising by visiting http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/uk/yahoo/.

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Secret agents raid Apple store webcam 'artist'

The US Secret Service has raided the home of an artist who collected images from webcams in a New York Apple store.

Kyle McDonald is said to have installed software that photographed people looking at laptops then uploaded the pictures to a website.
Mr McDonald said he had obtained permission from a security guard to take photos inside the store.
Apple declined to comment. However, the Secret Service confirmed that its electronic crime division was involved.
A spokesperson told the BBC that the investigation was taking place under  which relates to "Fraud and related activity in connection with computers."
Offences covered by the legislation carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Writing on Twitter, Mr McDonald said: "@secretservice just stopped by to investigate [web address removed] and took my laptop. Please assume they're reading any e-mails you send me."
No arrests had been made in the case as of 8 July.
Staring Kyle McDonald's images were uploaded to a page on the blogging site Tumblr.
In the description of People Staring at Computers, the project is described as: "A photographic intervention. Custom app installed around NYC, taking a picture every minute and uploading it if a face is found in the image.
"Exhibited on site with a remotely triggered app that displayed the photos full screen on every available computer."
The site features a video and series of photographs, apparently showing shoppers trying-out computers.
Comments on the individuals by visitors to the site are also attached to the images.
Mr McDonald, writing on Twitter, said that he had been advised not to comment on the case by the online freedom group the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

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Illegal UK film downloads up 30%, new figures suggest

A 25-year-old illegal downloader tells Newsbeat why he thinks it's OK

The number of illegally downloaded films in the UK has gone up nearly 30% in five years, new figures suggest.

That research, from internet consultancy firm Envisional, indicates that the top five box office movies were illegally downloaded in the UK a total of 1.4 million times last year.
Film industry bosses say it is costing £170m every year and putting thousands of jobs at risk.
The research also shows a big rise in TV shows being pirated online.
Dr David Price led the the team which conducted the research and said there are four main reasons for the increase.
"We've seen increases in technology like faster broadband," he said.
"The methods of piracy have become easier, with quicker downloads and easier to find content.
"We have a generation online now who aren't really bothered about downloading things illegally.
"Finally it's an issue of availability - there's a lot of American content which a lot of people are desperate to download that they can't get hold of legitimately."
It's people like Steve, who's 25 and from Essex, that the film industry says are the biggest threat to its future survival and success.
He illegally downloads and uploads around 10 films per week.
"I think in comparison to the money they make it's a drop in the ocean," he said.
'Creating jobs'
"Also, what I'm actually doing is providing people with new jobs.
"With all these ISPs that are producing super fast broadband we [illegal downloaders] are actually helping create those jobs," he added.
But movie industry bosses rubbish such claims.

Dr Price on why piracy is rising

• Broadband speeds have increased
• Technology has made piracy faster and easier
• A new generation doesn't think piracy is wrong
• People illegally download top US shows to see them before they're out in the UK

Kieron Sharp works for the Federation Against Copyright Theft or FACT.
"Research for the government has shown that film piracy costs the industry about half a billion pounds a year," he said.
"About a third of that is due to illegal downloading of film and TV content.
"Clearly that is unacceptable."
'Big demand'
But it's not just illegal film downloading that's on the rise - research suggests people are illegally downloading more TV shows too.
The top five most popular shows were illegally downloaded a total of 1.24 million times in the UK last year.
That's a 33% increase from 2006 figures.
"We have a big demand in this country for north American TV shows in particular," Dr Price said.
"Shows like Glee and House are heavily illegally downloaded in the UK.
"We're very eager to get the television shows as soon as they get broadcast in the US.
"But we often have to wait for one month or two months for those shows to be shown legitimately in the UK.
"So people naturally turn to the internet to get that content as soon as they possibly can."
As for a solution, Dr Price says one of the best ideas available to content producers is a controversial one.
"They need to compete with piracy and get their content out there themselves as easily and as quickly and as cheaply as possible," he said.

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'Super sand' to help clean up dirty drinking water

                 The technology could help improve access to clean water in developing countries
  

Contaminated water can be cleaned much more effectively using a novel, cheap material, say researchers.

Dubbed "super sand", it could become a low-cost way to purify water in the developing world.
The technology involves coating grains of sand in an oxide of a widely available material called graphite - commonly used as lead in pencils.
The team describes the work in the American Chemical Society journal Applied Materials and Interfaces.
In many countries around the world, access to clean drinking water and sanitation facilities is still limited.
The World Health Organization states that "just 60% of the population in Sub-Saharan African and 50% of the population in Oceania [islands in the tropical Pacific Ocean] use improved sources of drinking-water."
The graphite-coated sand grains might be a solution - especially as people have already used sand to purify water since ancient times.
Coating the sand But with ordinary sand, filtering techniques can be tricky.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

Given that this can be synthesized using room temperature processes and also from cheap graphite sources, it is likely to be cost-efficient”

Mainak Majumder Monash University, Australia

Dr Wei Gao from Rice university in Texas, US, told BBC News that regular coarse sand was a lot less effective than fine sand when water was contaminated with pathogens, organic contaminants and heavy metal ions.

While fine sand is slightly better, water drains through it very slowly.
"Our product combines coarse sand with functional carbon material that could offer higher retention for those pollutants, and at the same time gives good throughput," explained Dr Gao.
She said that the technique the team has developed to make the sand involves dispersing graphite oxide into water and mixing it with regular sand.
"We then heat the whole mixture up to 105C for a couple of hours to evaporate the water, and use the final product - 'coated sand' - to purify polluted water."
Cost-efficient

"Super sand" is made using regular sand - and it could become a low-cost way to purify water

The lead scientist of the study, Professor Pulickel Ajayan, said it was possible to modify the graphite oxide in order to make it more selective and sensitive to certain pollutants - such as organic contaminants or specific metals in dirty water.
Another team member, Dr Mainak Majumder from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, said it had another advantage - it was cheap.
"This material demonstrates comparable performance to some commercially available activated carbon materials," he said.
"But given that this can be synthesized using room temperature processes and also from cheap graphite sources, it is likely to be cost-efficient."
He pointed out that in Australia many mining companies extract graphite and they produce a lot of graphite-rich waste.
"This waste can be harnessed for water purification," he said.

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