The FAA Selects Six Operators to test Drones Fly viability over the USA.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Monday six public entities that will develop unmanned aircraft research and test sites around the USA over the next several years.

The FAA considered geography, climate location of ground infrastructure, research needs, airspace use, safety, aviation experience and risk, to select the site operator.

“These test sites will give us valuable information about how best to ensure the safe introduction of this advanced technology into our nation’s skies,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

The FAA will assist in the program ensuring that site operators set up a safe testing environment and will provide oversight until the program is complete.

“Safety continues to be our first priority as we move forward with integrating unmanned aircraft systems into U.S. airspace,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “We have successfully brought new technology into the nation’s aviation system for more than 50 years, and I have no doubt we will do the same with unmanned aircraft.”

The selected six:

University of Alaska: The University of Alaska proposal contained a diverse set of test-site range locations in seven climatic zones as well as geographic diversity with test-site range locations in Hawaii and Oregon. The research plan includes the development of a set of standards for unmanned aircraft categories, state monitoring and navigation. Alaska also plans to work on safety standards for UAS operations.

State of Nevada: Nevada’s project objectives concentrate on UAS standards and operations as well as operator standards and certification requirements. The applicant’s research will also include a concentrated look at how air-traffic-control procedures will evolve with the introduction of UAS into the civil environment and how these aircraft will be integrated with NextGen. Nevada’s selection contributes to geographic and climatic diversity.

New York’s Griffiss International Airport: Griffiss International plans to work on developing test and evaluation as well as verification and validation processes under FAA safety oversight. The applicant also plans to focus its research on sense and avoid capabilities for UAS, and its sites will aide in researching the complexities of integrating UAS into the congested, Northeast airspace.

North Dakota Department of Commerce: North Dakota plans to develop UAS airworthiness essential data and validate high reliability link technology. This applicant will also conduct human factors research. North Dakota’s application was the only one to offer a test range in the Temperate (continental) climate zone and included a variety of different airspace, which will benefit multiple users.

Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi: Texas A&M plans to develop system safety requirements for UAS vehicles and operations with a goal of protocols and procedures for airworthiness testing. The selection of Texas A&M contributes to geographic and climactic diversity.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech): Virginia Tech plans to conduct UAS failure mode testing and identify and evaluate operational and technical risks areas. This proposal includes test-site range locations in both Virginia and New Jersey.

FAA via ibtimes

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Entrepreneurship: International CES 2014: to Showcase Global Startup Community.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

New areas and events dedicated to startups and entrepreneurs

The 2014 International CES® will spotlight the promise, power and future of technology through innovative startups and entrepreneurs. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® today announced new areas and events at CES dedicated to the startup community, including the Indiegogo Zone and UP Global LIVE Stage. Owned and produced by CEA, the 2014 CES, the world’s gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies, will run January 7-10, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

 

“CES is a platform for innovators, big or small, who come to CES to take their business to the next level,” said Karen Chupka, senior vice president, International CES and corporate business strategy, CEA. “Startups are attending and launching their products at CES in ever-growing numbers, underscoring CES’ importance as the proving ground for innovators in consumer technology. We’re thrilled to bring new areas and events to the show floor that showcase these entrepreneurial companies and their groundbreaking innovations and provide them access to potential customers, partners, and investors as well as the global media.”

 

The all-new Indiegogo Zone, housed within the Eureka Park TechZone, will feature hardware campaigners from around the world. These innovators will showcase products and share experiences about raising funds on Indiegogo. The Indiegogo Zone provides an opportunity for anyone interested in learning more about crowdfunding for hardware.

 

The UP Global LIVE Stage, sponsored by GE, will showcase the startup community, facilitate connections and provide programming in Eureka Park. The stage will feature panels with iconic entrepreneurs, leading investors, corporate executives and media. In addition to programming, UP Global will host mentor sessions and pitch competitions and provide resources and networking opportunities for exhibitors and attendees. 

 

The second annual ShowStoppers Launch.it power session is a curated pitch event built exclusively for the young, transformative and entrepreneurial startups that exhibit in Eureka Park. Sixteen exhibitors will pitch to a panel of high profile angel/VC investors along with media, analysts and industry experts in the audience.

 

An anchor for the startup community at CES, the 2014 Eureka Park TechZone will feature more than 200 exhibitors, 30 percent more than the 2013 CES. In partnership with UP Global, the National Science Foundation (NSF), General Electric (GE) and AT&T, Eureka Park provides a stage for new companies with technologies to market their innovation to venture capitalists, media and buyers. Eureka Park will have a French pavilion for the first time with UbiFrance bringing 11 French startups to the area.

 

Building off the success of Eureka Park, the new Eureka Park: NEXT hosts the progressing stage of Eureka Park startups. This TechZone is designed for mid-stage startups that have launched a product in the past year. In Eureka Park: NEXT, retailers, venture capitalists, manufacturers and more will discover established startups looking to expand their growth.

 

Floored within Eureka Park, Academia Tech focuses on the technologies coming from colleges and universities. CES also offers special networking events curated for startups and entrepreneurs like the invitation-only Entrepreneurs Reception and Tech Cocktail’s Startup Night.

 

The 2014 CES will feature more than 3,200 exhibitors unveiling the latest consumer technology products and services across 15 product categories. For more information on the 2014 International CES, visit CESweb.org.

 

Note to Editors: The official name of the global technology event is “International CES.”  Subsequent references to the show can be shortened to “CES.”  Please do not use “Consumer Electronics Show” to refer to the International CES. Media registration is still open. If you need to register as press, do so here.

About CES

The International CES is the world’s gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. It has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for more than 40 years—the global stage where next-generation innovations are introduced to the marketplace. As the largest hands-on event of its kind, CES features all aspects of the industry. And because it is owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the technology trade association representing the $203 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry, it attracts the world’s business leaders and pioneering thinkers to a forum where the industry’s most relevant issues are addressed. Follow CES online at www.CESweb.org and through social media: 

Press Contacts:

Tara Dunion

703-907-7419

tdunion@ce.org

Allison Fried

703-907-7603

afried@ce.org

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Google`s Zeitgeist Video: The Most searched in 2013.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

More about Most searched in 2013 , just go to Zeitgeist 2013 http://www.google.com/zeitgeist #zeitgeist2013 

Discover what the world searched for with Google's year in review. 

Music: "Feels Like Coming Home" by Jetta http://goo.gl/O0atNn

Daft Punk's Random Access Memories available now on Google Play: http://goo.gl/w1MJyQ

The Rolling Stones are now on Google Play: http://goo.gl/PaJHEG

Breaking Bad available now on Google Play: http://goo.gl/qkPZa4

Despicable Me 2 available now on Google Play:http://goo.gl/np16NG

"1D: This is Us" available on Google Play http://goo.gl/3W1IwY © 2013 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Additional footage provided courtesy of Centro Televisivo Vaticano

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Space: The Wolrd`s First One-Billion Pixel Camera Mapping the Galaxy.Videos

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Gaia's mission aims to pick out celestial objects 400,000 times fainter than the human eye can see. The 1,000,000,000 pixel camera will map our galaxy in 3D with an unprecedented accuracy and test Einstein's theory of relativity with greater precision than before. The Gaia space telescope, built by Astrium, holds the largest instrument ever created fully in Siliconcarbide. 

Today could change the way we look at the universe. EADS space unit Astrium is launching the highly-expected Gaia mission from Kourou in French Guiana. The goal? 3D mapping the stars, thanks to the largest camera ever made for a space mission.

Astrium’s Gaia telescope begins journey into space to map the stars.

• Gaia, Europe’s most advanced space telescope has been successfully launched and is now en route towards its final orbit, the L2 Lagrangian point, to be reached mid of January

• Designed and built by Astrium for the European Space Agency, Gaia will map the Milky Way in 3D to improve understanding of the origins and evolution of our galaxy

• Gaia draws on the best in space technology, including Silicon Carbide for the structure, a billion pixel sensor and cold gas micro-propulsion 

The scientific satellite Gaia, designed and built by Astrium – the world's second largest space company – has been successfully launched from Kourou, French Guiana aboard a Soyuz.

Europe’s most advanced space telescope Gaia, built for the European Space Agency (ESA), will produce a highly accurate 3D map of our galaxy, the Milky Way, and discover and map objects far beyond its boundaries so as to improve our understanding of its origins and evolution. The Gaia mission is also expected to discover hundreds of thousands of unknown celestial objects, including extra-solar planets and failed stars, known as brown dwarfs. And within our solar system, Gaia will be able to identify tens of thousands of asteroids.

Gaia draws on the best in space technology and will carry ultra-modern instruments, including the most sensitive telescope ever made. This cutting-edge equipment draws on unique expertise developed by Astrium in the field of silicon carbide (SiC) telescopes, such as that used for the space telescope on ESA’s Herschel mission, as well as for all the instruments made by Astrium for Earth observation missions.

Through their space programmes, Astrium and its partner Boostec have created a successful new economic sector. The SiC produced in the French Midi-Pyrénées region enables Astrium and its partners to produce exceptional optical payloads for scientific missions and Earth Observation.

“Gaia is an unparalleled space system: the precision of its instruments and its technical conception once again prove Astrium‘s unique expertise in optical payloads,” said Eric Béranger, CEO of Astrium Satellites. “Mastering these exceptional technologies enables us to maintain Astrium’s rank as the world leader in the export of Earth observation satellites.”

Gaia will also use a ‘photographic’ sensor of unprecedented accuracy. The precision of the measurements taken by Gaia’s optical instruments will be extremely high. For instance, Gaia would be capable of picking out a strand of hair from a distance of 700 kilometres –the equivalent of the altitude of Earth observation satellites – by using its huge focal plane made up of 106 CCD detectors gathering 1 billion pixels. For its attitude control, the spacecraft will use a cold gas propulsion system with micro-thrusters, enabling it to remain perfectly stable and point with the required extreme accuracy.

Gaia will be located at one of the five Lagrangian points in the Sun-Earth system, at the L2 point. The Lagrangian points in our solar system are points of gravitational balance where a body such as a spacecraft orbits around the Sun at the same rate as Earth, thereby remaining in a fixed position relative to the Earth-Sun line. Located 1.5 million kilometres from Earth, the L2 point is vital for astronomy observation missions, which require high pointing stability.

About Astrium

Together, pioneering excellence

Astrium is the number one company in Europe for space technologies and the second in the world. It is the only global company that covers the full range of civil and defence space systems, equipment and services.

In 2012, Astrium had a turnover over €5.8 billion and 18,000 employees worldwide.

Its three business units are: Astrium Space Transportation, the European prime contractor for launchers, orbital systems and space exploration; Astrium Satellites, a leading provider of satellite system solutions, including spacecraft, ground segments, payloads and equipments; Astrium Services, the Space services partner for critical missions, providing comprehensive fixed and mobile solutions covering secure and commercial satcoms and networks, and bespoke geo-information services, worldwide.

Astrium is a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2012, the Group – comprising Airbus, Astrium, Cassidian and Eurocopter – generated revenues of €56.5 billion and employed a workforce of over 140,000.

Effective from January 1, 2014, Astrium will be integrated into Airbus Defence and Space together with Airbus Military and Cassidian.

Press contact

Jeremy Close                                                               Tel.: +44 (0)1 438 

77 3872

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Science: Algae to crude oil: Million-year natural process takes minutes in the lab. Video.

Science: Algae to crude oil: Million-year natural process takes minutes in the lab. Video.

WorldWide Tech & SCience. Francisco De Jesùs.

Algae to oil to gasoline/diesel.

Process simplifies transformation of algae to oil, water and usable byproducts.

Engineers have created a continuous chemical process that produces useful crude oil minutes after they pour in harvested algae — a verdant green paste with the consistency of pea soup.

The research by engineers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory was reported recently in the journalAlgal Research. A biofuels company, Utah-based Genifuel Corp., has licensed the technology and is working with an industrial partner to build a pilot plant using the technology.

In the PNNL process, a slurry of wet algae is pumped into the front end of a chemical reactor. Once the system is up and running, out comes crude oil in less than an hour, along with water and a byproduct stream of material containing phosphorus that can be recycled to grow more algae.

With additional conventional refining, the crude algae oil is converted into aviation fuel, gasoline or diesel fuel. And the waste water is processed further, yielding burnable gas and substances like potassium and nitrogen, which, along with the cleansed water, can also be recycled to grow more algae.

While algae has long been considered a potential source of biofuel, and several companies have produced algae-based fuels on a research scale, the fuel is projected to be expensive. The PNNL technology harnesses algae's energy potential efficiently and incorporates a number of methods to reduce the cost of producing algae fuel.

"Cost is the big roadblock for algae-based fuel," said Douglas Elliott, the laboratory fellow who led the PNNL team's research. "We believe that the process we've created will help make algae biofuels much more economical."

PNNL scientists and engineers simplified the production of crude oil from algae by combining several chemical steps into one continuous process. The most important cost-saving step is that the process works with wet algae. Most current processes require the algae to be dried — a process that takes a lot of energy and is expensive. The new process works with an algae slurry that contains as much as 80 to 90 percent water.

"Not having to dry the algae is a big win in this process; that cuts the cost a great deal," said Elliott. "Then there are bonuses, like being able to extract usable gas from the water and then recycle the remaining water and nutrients to help grow more algae, which further reduces costs."

While a few other groups have tested similar processes to create biofuel from wet algae, most of that work is done one batch at a time. The PNNL system runs continuously, processing about 1.5 liters of algae slurry in the research reactor per hour. While that doesn't seem like much, it's much closer to the type of continuous system required for large-scale commercial production.

The PNNL system also eliminates another step required in today's most common algae-processing method: the need for complex processing with solvents like hexane to extract the energy-rich oils from the rest of the algae. Instead, the PNNL team works with the whole algae, subjecting it to very hot water under high pressure to tear apart the substance, converting most of the biomass into liquid and gas fuels.

The system runs at around 350 degrees Celsius (662 degrees Fahrenheit) at a pressure of around 3,000 PSI, combining processes known as hydrothermal liquefaction and catalytic hydrothermal gasification. Elliott says such a high-pressure system is not easy or cheap to build, which is one drawback to the technology, though the cost savings on the back end more than makes up for the investment.

"It's a bit like using a pressure cooker, only the pressures and temperatures we use are much higher," said Elliott. "In a sense, we are duplicating the process in the Earth that converted algae into oil over the course of millions of years. We're just doing it much, much faster."

The products of the process are:

• Crude oil, which can be converted to aviation fuel, gasoline or diesel fuel. In the team's experiments, generally more than 50 percent of the algae's carbon is converted to energy in crude oil — sometimes as much as 70 percent.
• Clean water, which can be re-used to grow more algae.
• Fuel gas, which can be burned to make electricity or cleaned to make natural gas for vehicle fuel in the form of compressed natural gas.
• Nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium — the key nutrients for growing algae.

Elliott has worked on hydrothermal technology for nearly 40 years, applying it to a variety of substances, including wood chips and other substances. Because of the mix of earthy materials in his laboratory, and the constant chemical processing, he jokes that his laboratory sometimes smells "like a mix of dirty socks, rotten eggs and wood smoke" — an accurate assessment.

Genifuel Corp. has worked closely with Elliott's team since 2008, licensing the technology and working initially with PNNL through DOE's Technology Assistance Program to assess the technology.

"This has really been a fruitful collaboration for both Genifuel and PNNL," said James Oyler, president of Genifuel. "The hydrothermal liquefaction process that PNNL developed for biomass makes the conversion of algae to biofuel much more economical. Genifuel has been a partner to improve the technology and make it feasible for use in a commercial system.

"It's a formidable challenge, to make a biofuel that is cost-competitive with established petroleum-based fuels," Oyler added. "This is a huge step in the right direction."

The recent work is part of DOE's National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels & Bioproducts, or NAABB. This project was funded with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds by DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Both PNNL and Genifuel have been partners in the NAABB program.

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CES 2014: Samsung to demo the Exynos 5 Octa series mobile processors with HMP. Video Ad.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs

Samsung Exynos OCTA-pella: Performance + Efficiency in Perfect Harmony

Samsung's Exynos 5 Octa series of mobile processors with ARM© big.LITTLE™ technology now supports heterogeneous multi-processing (HMP)!

This advanced technology allows the Exynos 5 Octa processors to provide exceptional performance and increased power efficiency. In the OCTA-pella video, you'll see how the Exynos 5 Octa uses ARM big.LITTLE processing to balance workloads across CPU cores, using the right core for the right task.

big.LITTLE™ is a state-of-the-art technology designed by ARM. With performance and data consumption predicted to increase by eight times, a future proofed energy efficient solution had to be found. That’s where big.LITTLE comes in.

By using multiple processors that are developed for different energy and performance budgets, big.LITTLE provides optimum performance and maximum efficiency. The first big.LITTLE solutions will pair the ARM Cortex-A15 processor with the ARM Cortex-A7 processor. This will be followed by a roadmap of new Cortex processors that build on big.LITTLE making it an important innovation for future mobile devices.

If you want to think big, think big.LITTLE - technology that enables the next generation of mobile gaming, bigger brighter screens and longer mobile battery life.

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LG may develope webOS smartphones later.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

As we know LG now plans to showcase an Internet-connected television model powered by webOS in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The LG WebOS smart TV  would retain the “cards” system, or a stack of pop-ups that allows users to navigate multiple applications, originally used in the webOS mobile devices launched by Palm and later by HP.

LG didn’t comment on the company’s plans to market the webOS-powered TVs but said the operating system may be developed and later adopted for LG’s other consumer electronics, including smartphones.

wsj

Related articles:

• Where is Palm webOS now?
• LG webOS Smart TV to come with Voice/Gesture recognition at CES 2014.
• CES 2104: LG to show up Premium Smart TV with advanced speech, and gesture recognition running in NEW OS (Palm webOS?)
• CES 2014: LG webOS 4.0 Smart TV finally to debut. Confirmed. To revive Palm/Enyo dvelopment efforts.
• 2014: LG to show-off its next generation TV with webOS/Enyo work at the Apps World in SF.

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CES 2014: LG will showcase the Slimmer Pocket Photo 2.0 printer for smartphones/tablets Android and iOS.

CES 2014: LG will showcase the Slimmer Pocket Photo 2.0 printer for smartphones/tablets Android and iOS.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Slimmer Pocket Photo 2.0 is the Perfect On-the-Go

Companion for Customizing, Printing and Sharing Images

LG Electronics (LG) will showcase its new Pocket Photo 2.0 (Model PD239) smart mobile printer at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas from January 7-10. LG’s latest Pocket Photo device provides wireless connectivity with NFC and Bluetooth, enabling users to print custom 5.1 x 7.6cm (2 x 3 inch) pictures from most of today’s tablets and smartphones. Compatible with Android and iOS, the versatile Pocket Photo 2.0 is an excellent travel companion.

The eye-pleasing LG Pocket Photo 2.0 is one of the smallest mobile photo printing devices on the market The new versionis 4mm thinner than its predecessorbut manages to deliver more prints per charge.Moreover, the LG Pocket Photo 2.0 prints pictures rendered at a crystal clear 313dpi — perfect for sharing or displaying. After downloading and installing the free Pocket Photo editingapp, users can wirelessly connect their smartphone or tablet and begin printing immediately.

LG has enhanced theediting features in the accompanying Pocket Photo app to let users experiment with an expanded range of customization options. A new set of filter effects has been added, as well as a clever frame augmentation feature. The updated app still offersthe ability to embed QR codes in photos, a greatway to connect a physical photograph with an online community orinternet-based content. The creative and easy-to-use combination of app and device givesthe Pocket Photo 2.0 the unique ability to both edit and print photographs without a computer.

The Pocket Photo 2.0 uses the proven ZINK^® technology, eliminating the need for expensive ink cartridges, ribbons or toner. ZINK printing technology utilizes heat to activate the necessary color-forming chemistryimbedded in each sheet of paper. Compared to conventional printing processes, ZINK’s inkless paper system preserves images for longer and produces less smearing. The Pocket Photo 2.0 can print30 photoson a single charge.

“Printed photos have a sentimental appeal that digital images are not truly able to replicate,” said Byung-hoon Min, senior vice president of LG’s Home Entertainment Company. “Our newest Pocket Photo embraces the emotional aspect of the printed photo while offering a level of portability and convenience that are missing from today’s digital cameras.”

Available in pink, jewel white and lime yellow, the new Pocket Photo is now availablein China and will be rolling out globally in 2014.

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