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Πρακτικά Αδιάβροχα Τσαντάκια Ποδηλάτου

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Πρακτικά Αδιάβροχα Τσαντάκια Ποδηλάτου με Αποσπώμενη Θήκη για Κινητό ή 2 σε 1 με LED (από 23,90€)

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Suitable for all types of water. Data analysis with Smartyplanet

The SP6526 velocity, depth and flow sensor is the ideal solution for measuring these water parameters in rivers, streams, open drainage channels and pipes.

It is suitable for all types of water; from sewage to drinking water.

The sensor is designed to be placed on the bottom of the water from which the water velocity data is desired. To measure the depth has a built-in hydrostatic pressure sensor.

The data collected by the sensor for velocity, depth and flow are recorded and analyzed by the Smartyplanet web platform thanks to its full compatibility.

Description

The SP6526 velocity, depth and flow sensor is the ideal solution for measuring these water parameters in rivers, streams, open drainage channels and pipes.

It is suitable for all types of water; f rom sewage to drinking water.

The instrument measures water conditions in two dimensions and can be programmed so that once you have collected the data calculate the flow and the total flow.

The sensor is designed to be placed on the bottom of the water from which you want to obtain water velocity data. The measurement of the speed of the realization based on the ultrasonic Doppler principle.

In contrast, a hydrostatic pressure sensor has been incorporated to measure the depth.

The data collected by the sensor for velocity, depth and flow are recorded and analyzed by the Smartyplanet web platform thanks to its full compatibility.

Specifications

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Velocity, depth, flow sensor | Smartyplanet · Wireless sensor networks

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Suitable for all types of water. Data analysis with Smartyplanet The SP6526 velocity, depth and flow sensor is the ideal solution for measuring these water parameters in rivers, streams, open drainage channels and pipes. It is suitable for all types of water; from sewage to drinking water.

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Άλλο ένα project για την μέτρηση της υγείας των ποταμών

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Rivers. Essential to our survival, trade and so on. Great efforts have been made in the last decade to reduce our pollution of the world's bodies of water. The rivers are the source of the pollution, as people do not go to the sea to dump their trash. They dump it in the rivers.

These rivers then spill into the sea, the ocean and so the toothbrush that was once thrown in a river makes its way across the world and lands on the other side of it.

In a world trying to combat pollution, data is crucial. It should be easy for companies and businesses to collaborate on a global project to reduce water pollution. This is where WaterAid comes in.

A device cheap enough and scalable that can easily collect and analyse this data, so necessary to know how polluted a river is. WaterAid comes in 2 modes, one that would fit enterprises and another for individuals.

Multiple devices can function together, placed at different points across a stream or in different bodies of water. These devices collect data at an interval of time sending it to the same database. This allows the business to check the status of the river or lake being monitored with the click of a button.

A portable version of the device is also available. In this version, the individual can carry the device with them and when they wish to take a water sample, they press on a button on the device and place it in water for 30 seconds. The data will then be available on an online dashboard.

By collecting water temperature, pH and humidity as well as atmospheric temperature and humidity, WaterAid is packed with all the sensors you would need to monitor the pollution of the river.
Video Images
Functionality

WaterAid allows the user, a company or an individual to collect data safely and accurately and visualise all this data in one place thanks to Soracom's cloud. The project is composed of a front end and a backend.

The front end of the project is the physical device that is used to collect the data and send it to the cloud. The device can be set into mode 1 or 2. In mode 1, the device records a set of data with the press of a button, useful for occasional monitoring of a body of water. Mode 2 sets the device to take readings at a defined interval of time and push this data to the cloud.

An MKR GSM is used for the front end as it is easy to use and reliable. It can also access Soracom through GSM. Below are the steps taken by the device when collecting data.

The device is firstly in setup mode, it synchs the onboard RTC to the epoch time received from the GSM network, initialises libraries used and gets a lock on the location.

Firstly the trigger event occurs, the device is either woken up after sleeping for an amount of time (mode 2) or has been waken up by the press of a button (mode 1).

The device then takes readings from its array of sensors measuring water temperature, pH and turbidity as well as atmospheric temperature and humidity.

The time and geolocation are then extracted from the MKR GSM's network.

The data is then all parsed into a buffer formatted accordingly.

Lastly the data is sent to Soracom's cloud through Soracom Air.
Battery
The device can be powered through multiple ways. It can be powered by a LiPo battery through the provided port on the device, by a power bank or by connecting a battery through the VIN port on the device.

The lifetime of the device heavily relies on the power of the battery. The device goes into sleep mode between reads to conserve as much energy as possible.

The device is also equipped with an LED ring. This provides the user with feedback on what the device is doing at the moment. There are 3 modes that the ring can be in.

Multicolour indicates that the device is setting up or is processing data

Flashing Red a warning, usually meaning that the device has to be placed in water though it could also indicate an error

Progressing Blue or Green indicates that the device is currently taking a sample and should be placed in water.

Takinga Sample
The device's sensors should all be placed in the water when the device is taking a sample. A 6 second delay is placed before the sample is taken to warm up the sensors. For best results, the sensors should be submerged when the warm-up is taking place.
Parsing Data
The Data has to be sent to Soracom in the form of a JSON string. This gives all the keys used a value. The data will then be easy to interpret by the backend. Below is an example of a payload that would be sent.

The backend of the project refers to Soracom. Data is collected and visualised in the backend on dashboards. These dashboards are created using Soracom Lagoon.

Data is received by Soracom Air from the device

The data is then extracted using Soracom Harvest

The data is finally queried by Soracom Lagoon at intervals of time which then displays the data on a dashboard.
The Dashboard
The dashboard sums up all the data collected from the device. It plots the places data was collected from on a map, the colour varies according to how polluted the water is. The data is then graphed on line graphs below that and is then fully summed up on a table.

The user will also get alerts through email if the value of the pH or turbidity of the water are abnormal. Below are some screenshots of the dashboard.
Scalability
The device can be easily scalable and all data can be collected and illustrated on the same dashboard. Multiple devices can stream data to the Soracom and have the data visualised on the dashboard.

The price of the device and the extreme ease to build and program it makes it easy for a fleet of devices to be used. These devices can also easily be registered into Soracom using tools like Soracom Krypton.

Each enterprise or individual will have their personalised dashboard where the data collected by their devices will be visualised. Hopefully, people will be able to collaborate on the same dashboard and share their data with each other in the near future.

The individual or company utilising this product will benefit in:

Reduced running costs as the device is very self-sufficient.

Easily scalable, the device can easily work solo or in a fleet of tens of others.

Fast data collection allowing the data to be pushed to the cloud and visualised in real time.

Easy visualisation, data can be visualised anywhere and at any time using the online dashboard.

Constructing the Project
Step 1: Required Apparatus
This project requires a lot of sensors that will monitor a lot of parameters related to the water and the atmosphere placed in. Below is a list of all the materials needed.
Step 2: Connecting the Circuit
The components should be soldered together. To ease the understanding of the schematics out, a breadboard has been used. the schematics are below.
Preparing the MKR GSM
After the sensors have been soldered to the device, the SIM card, GSM antenna and battery have to be attached to the device. I am powering the board with 2 AA batteries through the VIN port. The steps are below.
Step 3: Acknowledging the Code
There are 4 main sections to the code of the project.

Collect Sensor Data

Get time and date

Process Data

Send Data

All these sections are described and detailed below.
Collect Sensor Data
The section of code above starts off by waiting 6 seconds for the sensors to calibrate in the water. The device then loops for 16 times, a new LED turning on the ring every loop.

Data from sensors that have fluctuating values is collected 16 times and then the mean is found. The high precision sensors are read on the last loop.
Get Time and Date
The first loop handles the credentials. The time is extracted from the onboard RTC as it was synched to the GSM network in setup. The geolocation is extracted from GPRS.
Process Data
processData() gets the mean of the data collected from the sensors that tended to fluctuate and then dumps all the data to the Serial Monitor.

makeLine() compiles all the data into the JSON string that is sent to Soracom. All values are parsed into a JSON buffer ready to be sent to the backend.
Send Data
Finally, the data is sent to Soracom. The device established a connection with the server and then prepares the credentials. The data is then sent to the server and the response is printed to the Serial Monitor.

The device then goes to sleep until a trigger wakes it up repeating the steps again.
Step 4: Setting Up the Variables
There are certain variables that have to be edited before the project can be used. These are listed below. Instructions on setting them up are also below.

mode the mode of the device dictates if it takes samples periodically or if it takes samples at the action of a button. If this variable is set to 1, the device will need to be actioned through a button. If the mode is set to 2, the device will periodically take samples.

deviceID and deviceName these are custom variables that are used to identify the device if a fleet of devices are being used. Each device used should be given a unique ID and Name so that they can be easily identified.

sleepTime stores the amount of time that the device sleeps for between reads, it is set to 5 seconds in the code which is appropriate for testing but has to be changed when using it on the field. A sample could be taken at intervals of 15 minutes.

proDebug is used when debugging, it is set to false in the code but if the serial monitor is needed when debugging it should be set to true. Note that the device will still print to the serial even if the debug is off. If the debug is on, the device will not run unless the serial monitor is on.

Step 5: Uploading the Code
Before setting up the backend, data has to be sent to it.

If you do not have a Soracom account and the SIM you are using is not registered, you will have to complete step 6 first.

To do this, connect your MKR GSM to your computer and upload the code to the device, ensure that the mode of the device is set to 1 for this setup. After the code has uploaded, place all the sensors in water.

Now press the button on the device and wait for the data to collect and send. Repeat this a couple of times to populate Soracom Air.
Step 6: Setting Up Soracom
This step is split into 2 sections, the first will cover creating an account with Soracom and registering your SIM while the other will cover setting up Soracom Harvest to collect the data from Air. If you already have an account with Soracom, skip the first section.
Section 1: Creating an Account Section 2: Groupsand Harvest Step 7: Setting Up Lagoon
The last thing to set up on Soracom is Lagoon, this is the tool that we will use to visualise our data and create email alerts if the data is not good. Follow the steps below.
Calibration Problems
The turbidity and pH sensors have to be calibrated to be used precisely, you might find that when running the code, the turbidity might by 105% or the pH of water 3. In this case, the sensors have to be calibrated. A quick guide into calibrating them is below.

pH Sensor The pH sensor can be calibrated using the potentiometers on the module, place the probe in still bottled water of pH 7 and wait for 5 minutes, now develop a code that prints the pH from the sensor to the serial monitor. Twist the potentiometer until the pH is 7.

Turbidity Sensor The turbidity sensor is not very precise and so a relative percentage, compared to pure water is taken. To refine the value of pure water, if your readings exceed 100% turbidity, you will need to place the turbidity sensor in pure water and develop a code that prints the voltage on the analog pin of the pH sensor to the serial monitor. A variable named calibration is found in sensors.h, change the value of that variable to the voltage received when the probe was placed in pure water.

Libraries

ArduinoLowPower (c) 2016 Arduino LLC GNU Lesser General Public Licence this library is in the public domain

Adafruit_Neopixel (c) Phil Burges Lesser General Public Licence this library is in the public domain

MKRGSM (c) 2016 Arduino AG GNU Lesser General Public Licence this library is in the public domain

Wire (c) 2006 Nicholas Zambetti GNU Lesser General Public Licence this library is in the public domain

OneWire (c) 2007 Jim Studt GNU General Public Licence this library is in the public domain

DallasTemperature GNU General Public Licence this library is in the public domain

RTCZero (c) 2015 Arduino LLC GNU Lesser General Public Licence this library is in the public domain

Final
Finally, I got an enclosure done for the project that could be easily portable but be fixed to collect samples both in mode 1 and 2. Steps are below.

Finally, ensure that the mode is set accordingly and start using the device on the field. Check out your local river or lake and see how clean it is. Play around with the dashboard and see what other widgets it has.

Background

Today, data is the new currency and collecting it easily and efficiently is key to a better environment. By measuring the pollution of rivers and lakes collectively, we can raise awareness that the waters are getting dirtier and something has to be done.

I was thinking of an idea for the Soracom contest and I felt like I had to make something beneficial for the environment, the idea of people and companies working together on collective dashboards to visualise the status of rivers and lakes globally inspired me to take this project on.

What will you do to stop water pollution? Because action has to be taken today, and tomorrow is a day too late.

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Rivers. Essential to our survival, trade and so on. Great efforts have been made in the last decade to reduce our pollution of the world's bodies of water. The rivers are the source of the pollution, as people do not go to the sea to dump their trash.

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Project για την μέτρηση της υγείας των ποταμών με το Arduino.

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A river or lake can be a great source of fun and relaxation. But if the river becomes dirty and contaminated, all the fun is gone. Many people depend on river water to feed their livestock and cannot afford to give their animals dirty water.

Imagine living right next to a river (if you are not), you would not want to wake up in the middle of the night with your house flooded because of the river. Or what if your neighbour decides to dump some petrol in the river, you would not want your animals getting sick.

MyRiver solves all of those problems, it can operate in isolated areas thanks to Sigfox so that everyone has access to the device. The device will read the pH of the water, its pollution level using an innovative method, and its water level. You will be able to monitor the river live on your phone or computer anywhere thanks to Wia. This way you can know if there is a problem with the stream and allows you to act before it is too late. It will notify you if there is a problem with the river immediately.
Video Image
The device is based on the Arduino MKR FOX, it is designed for remote use, the user can place the device in a river or lake and monitor it from anywhere. Thanks to the SAM D's low power mode, the device can work for an extended period of time on 2AA batteries.

The device takes readings every 30 minutes, going to sleep afterwards, the sleeping period can be reset, though the minimum sleep time must be 20 minutes.

The MKR FOX reads the pH of the river using a pH sensor, it also gets its water level, using a water level sensor, and it senses if it is polluted by insoluble substances by shining an LED at a photoresistor, if the photoresistor reading is low, it means that a solid substance (oil, petrol, mercury, etc.) is present in the river. The device then sends all the data to Sigfox, where it is relayed on to Wia, processed and visualised. The user is notified on the state of the river. Below is an image of the functionality overview.

The buffer will be sent to Sigfox encoded as HEX, Sigfox will relay the data to Wia, the data will then pass through a flow, the data will be converted back to string and then into the sensor values. They will then be processed and the user will be notified if the values are out of bounds.

Below is another image illustrating the project's code overview, described below.

Read Sensors will read the pH, water level and photoresistor sensor values and store them in variables.

Format Buffer will merge all the values into a 12 Byte buffer that can be sent to Sigfox.

Parse Data will parse the buffer to Sigfox.

The MKR FOX can only send 12 bytes through Sigfox, this means that all the sensor values have to be merged into the 12 bytes, each sensor's maximum raw value is 1024 (as they are all analog), so each sensor represents one third of the buffer (4 bytes). The Arduino has to merge the values and add zeros to the start of each value until the value has 4 bytes. The image below illustrates this process.

The Arduino receives the sensor values as integers, it then converts the integers into strings and adds zeros to the start of each value until it has 4 bytes, for example, if the photoresistor value is 620, one zero will be added, 0620. But if the water level sensor is equal to 24, two zeros are added, 00 24. The device then merges the values together into a 12 bytes buffer and sends the data to SigFox.

Below are a number of photos displaying the functionality of the project, for a better view of them, refer to the video above.

Easily monitoring a river's water level, ph and pollution level from anywhere at any time

Receiving a notification if the river is polluted by soluble or insoluble substances or is flooding

Ease of use and mounting

Works in any Sigfox covered country

Step 1: Required Apparatus
This project requires all the components to be soldered together, there are not too many things apart from the sensors. The list of materials is noted below.
Step 2: Connecting the Circuit
The project's circuit diagram can be a bit confusing as the components are not placed on a breadboard, if you have any difficulty with it, try downloading the Fritzing file below and moving the wires around on your computer.

The images below will illustrate how the circuit should look when completed.

The images below will guide you through connecting the battery box and antenna to the MKR FOX, Note that the battery box must be connected after sensors are connected. Other wiring and setup is found under constructing the project / Final.
Step 3: Acknowledging the Code
There are 3 main parts to the code:

These sections are explained below.

The structure above contains loops that read each sensor value, there is a separate loop for each value.

The loop above intakes the 3 sensor values and then places them into an array. It then loops through each value, adding zeros to the start of each value until the value is 4 bytes in size, it then adds each value to a string which is then returned.

void parseData(String data) // send buffer to SigFox { SigFox.beginPacket(); SigFox.print(data); int ret = SigFox.endPacket(); }

This section intakes the string to parse and then sends the value to Sigfox.
Step 4: Setting Up Wia Sigfox Integration
This step will illustrate how to set up Wia to receive messages from Sigfox, Wia is a professional IoT platform that allows the user to visualise data using widgets on the web or on the mobile app, it also allows the user to create a block code called a flow, which allows the user to process the data. Data is represented by an event.

To get started, make sure you have a Sigfox account and a Wia account. Also download the Wia app on iOS or Android to allow you to receive notifications. The images below will illustrate connecting Sigfox and Wia.
Step 5: Setting Up the Wia Flow
This section will take a little longer to complete, the flow will convert the data received from HEX to String, it will then parse the string into the 3 sensor values and then convert them to integers, it will then convert the value of river pollution and river level to a High or Ok descriptor and the raw ph value to the actual ph value, it will then notify the user if the value is out of bounds.

The guide below will illustrate this process step-by-step. You will be instructed to insert certain pieces of code in Wia Functions, these pieces of code are inserted below, just copy and paste the code into the function. The data to include in the emails are also inserted below, work with them like with the functions.
Wia Functions
if(input.body) { output.body.name = "value"; output.body.data = toByteArrayStr(input.body.data.sigfoxData); } function toByteArrayStr(sigfoxData) { let result = Buffer(sigfoxData, 'hex'); return result.toString('utf8'); }
Wia Emails
Automatic Messaging System Data Warning - myWater device ${trigger.source.device.id} detected a problem in the stream. Warning - Water Is Polluted by Insoluble Substances. Information Device ${trigger.source.device.id} Raw Data ${input.body.data}

Automatic Messaging System Data Warning - myWater device ${trigger.source.device.id} detected a problem in the stream. Warning - Water Ph is not Appropriate. Water is Contaminated. Information Device ${trigger.source.device.id} Raw Data ${input.body.data}

Automatic Messaging System Data Warning - myWater device ${trigger.source.device.id} detected a problem in the stream. Warning - Water Level is too High, River may be flooding. Information Device ${trigger.source.device.id} Raw Data ${input.body.data}
Setting Up the Variables
When the data is received by Wia, it has to be processed, if the data is between a minimum and maximum value, the value is safe, the pH and water level sensor's limits have been set, but the user has to manually set the photoresistor's limit, a test has to be made to determine this value, the steps below will instruct you how to do this.

The first step is to fill a 1/2L transparent bottle of water with... clean tap water.

Next, turn the device on and ensure that the circuit is connected as in the project's schematics.

Now tape the LED on one side of the bottle and the photoresistor on the opposite.

Plug the MKR fox into the Mac/PC and upload the fallowing code to the device.

Now open the Serial Monitor and look at the reading, note the reading down, it could be 400 or 15, depending on many factors, once you have used a 1or2L transparent water bottle filled with tap water, your can trust your reading.

Now, add a dark ingredient to the water, I used soil, you can use coffee, black tea or other dark stuff around the house, mix well.

Now look at the reading on the Serial Monitor, note that down too.

Compare the two results, let's say that the clean water outputted 400 and the dirty outputted 50, to find the marginal value for the Wia flow, go up a bit over the dirty water output, so around 100 for us. If you get 20 and 5 as your values, then the marginal value would be around 8.

Now fallow the images below that illustrate the process of editing the marginal value on Wia

There is another variable that the user has to set, proDebug, if it is enabled, the Arduino requires connection through USB to a computer and the Serial Monitor must be open, the Arduino prints to the Serial Monitor in this mode, it is ideal for troubleshooting. proDebug defaults to false for operating on the field.
Libraries

Sigfox - copyright (c) 2016 Arduino LLC GNU Lesser General Public Licence this library is in the public domain

ArduinoLowPower (c) 2016 Arduino LLC GNU Lesser General Public Licence this library is in the public domain

Final
The last step is to connect your Arduino to a PC/Mac and upload the sketch, make sure that the battery box is connected to the Arduino and the circuit is ok. The next steps will guide you through making an enclosure for the project.

I have decided to create my enclosure out of a bottle of water, I think it is a great and ecological way to embrace the project in. The device looks like the picture below.

If you like the idea of the enclosure, you can scroll through the images below, illustrating how the enclosure was made, feel free to make one yourself.

The last thing to do is place the device in the river. To do this, go to the river you wish to implement MyRiver on during High Tide, this is essential to ensure that the device is not alerting that the river is flooding when it is actually just the tide.

Place some tape on the top of the water bottle to prevent water from seeping into the bottle and destroying everything.

We went to a local, dirty river to test the project out, all the alarms went off correctly.

When placing the probe in the water, ensure that the water is at the bottom of the water level sensor but is covering the photoresistor entirely. Secure the project to the shore using tape or a hammer and screws, and it should look like this (or better).

Relaxing in your house, looking out the window at the once beautiful and delightful river rushing in front of you. But instead of the beautiful fresh river, you see a green slimy one, you might want to move house in that case.

And if the river decides to flood into your house in the middle of the night while you are sleeping, you will certainly decide to move.

I thought of these problems and how to solve them all in one device, and I came up with MyRiver.

If you are in the city and living beside a river, it will warn you in time if the river decides to ruin your day in any way or if your neighbour is dumping oil in the river. Or if you are on a farm, MyRiver will warn you that the river is dirty before you give the water to your animals, and will give you time to bring the animals in before the river floods.

But just reading the pH of the river was not enough, as insoluble substances like mercury or other metals do not effect the Ph of the water. So we came up with a new method to detect those substances, unique to this project, a photoresistor reading the amount of light from an LED penetrating the water. This way any water impurity can be detected.

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A river or lake can be a great source of fun and relaxation. But if the river becomes dirty and contaminated, all the fun is gone. Many people depend on river water to feed their livestock and cannot afford to give their animals dirty water.

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" With the early wildfire detection system FireWatch, the Brandenburg state forest administration is contributing substantially to the protection of forests. Early wildfire detection with FireWatch - a substantial contribution to preserving our environment and to maintaining public safety and order."

Raimund Engel // Chief Forester & Wildfire Protection Officer of the State of Brandenburg, Germany

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" With the early wildfire detection system FireWatch, the Brandenburg state forest administration is contributing substantially to the protection of forests. Early wildfire detection with FireWatch - a substantial contribution to preserving our environment and to maintaining public safety and order."

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Έξυπνα δάση του 21ου αιώνα

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Έξυπνα δάση του 21ου αιώνα

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Click map to view Smart Forests site details

Science and sound resource management depend on accurate and timely environmental data. Smart Forests is an initiative to bring together instrumented sites within the USDA Forest Service Experimental Forests and Ranges network, and additional sites within the Northeast region of the US. These sites have invested in digital environmental sensor and telecommunications capacity to create the Smart Forests Network, and provide a foundation of data for integrated research and monitoring efforts.

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Welcome to Smart Forests! | Smart Forests

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Science and sound resource management depend on accurate and timely environmental data. Smart Forests is an initiative to bring together instrumented sites within the USDA Forest Service Experimental Forests and Ranges network, and additional sites within the Northeast region of the US.

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Write something...

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Forest fires:
An enormous resource loss

In 2016, 160 490 hectares were burned in Portugal, more than twice the average area burned in the 2006-2015 decade. In 2017 we have already surpassed 500,000 hectares of burning forest and more than 100 mortal victims. Undoubtedly, this reality is a national scourge that, year after year, destroys our forest heritage and more importantly it has been taking lives indiscriminately.

Aware of the impact that this problem represents, we resolve to get our hands on the ground and guide our creative potential to solutions that better help forest monitoring and alarm mechanisms.

In the end of 2016 we started the project and we brand it SmartForest. SmartForest is a brand registered in Portugal and owned by us. We are not a comercial company. We are a technological Portuguese Startup that branded the service / Porduct that we are developing as SmartForest. Don't get confused with a comercial company named "Smart Forest, Lda"!

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In 2016, 160 490 hectares were burned in Portugal, more than twice the average area burned in the 2006-2015 decade. In 2017 we have already surpassed 500,000 hectares of burning forest and more than 100 mortal victims. Undoubtedly, this reality is a national scourge that, year after year, destroys our forest heritage and more importantly it has been taking lives indiscriminately.

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Μια κοινότητα για την εξερεύνηση του διαστήματος με ιδέες και αναλυτικά σχέδια υλοποίησης

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Μια κοινότητα για την εξερεύνηση του διαστήματος με ιδέες και αναλυτικά σχέδια υλοποίησης

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The STEMcase is portable makerspace, it aims to facilitate the growth of maker skills in the developing world to ease aid dependency & create the skill base for new start-ups to flourish.

The STEMcase concept consists of a set of two cases, one for 3D printing and CAD, and one for electronics prototyping and programming.
READ MORE ABOUT STEMCASE

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The STEMcase is portable makerspace, it aims to facilitate the growth of maker skills in the developing world to ease aid dependency & create the skill base for new start-ups to flourish. The STEMcase concept consists of a set of two cases, one for 3D printing and CAD, and one for electronics prototyping and programming.

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Libelium smart world

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Πατήστε εδώ εάν δεν γίνει ανακατεύθυνση σε μερικά δευτερόλεπτα.

Εικόνες
Top 50 Internet of Things Applications - Ranking | Libelium

libelium.com

Η εικόνα ενδέχεται να υπόκειται σε πνευματικά δικαιώματα.

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Πατήστε εδώ εάν δεν γίνει ανακατεύθυνση σε μερικά δευτερόλεπτα. Εικόνες Top 50 Internet of Things Applications - Ranking | Libelium libelium.com Η εικόνα ενδέχεται να υπόκειται σε πνευματικά δικαιώματα.

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Εξελίξεις στο Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο

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"They are on the verge of creating commercially viable miniature fusion reactors for sale around the world," Boris Johnson told the Conservative party conference earlier this month - "they" apparently being UK scientists. It was, at best, a rash promise for how nuclear fusion might make the UK carbon-neutral by the middle of the century - the target recommended by the Committee on Climate Change, which advises the government. "I know they have been on the verge for some time," Johnson hedged. "It is a pretty spacious kind of verge." But now, he assured his audience, "we are on the verge of the verge".

It's a familiar and bitter joke about nuclear fusion as an energy source that, ever since it was first mooted in the 1950s, it has been 30 years away. Johnson's comments had the extra irony that Brexit could merely add to that distance.

It's not clear what "commercially viable miniature fusion reactors" the prime minister had in mind. There are no such things either existing or planned at the main British centre for fusion research, the Joint European Torus (Jet) at Culham in Oxfordshire, which Johnson visited in August. Experiments at Jet, conducted by all partners within the 28-state Eurofusion consortium, aim to make the nuclear fusion of hydrogen - the process that powers the sun and other stars - viable for energy generation by collecting the heat released to drive turbines for electricity. When Jet is running, the temperature inside is more than 100m C, making it "the hottest place in the solar system" according to Jet's director, Ian Chapman.

Nuclear fusion is the merging of atoms. Every atom contains a very dense central blob called the nucleus, made up of particles called protons and neutrons. Atoms of different chemical elements have nuclei with different numbers of protons. If two nuclei collide at high enough energy, they can amalgamate to form a different, heavier element. It requires very high temperatures and densities: inside the sun, temperatures of 10m C or so enable hydrogen atoms to fuse into helium. This process releases energy, which makes the sun shine.

Today's nuclear power plants use not fusion but nuclear fission: the splitting apart of heavy nuclei. This happens spontaneously for radioactive elements such as uranium, and it too releases energy. But both the fuel and the products may remain highly radioactive for very long times - hundreds of thousands of years - creating health hazards and waste-disposal problems. What's more, the fission process, which involves chain reactions that induce fission, can be hard to control and shut down, as the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters, in Ukraine and Japan, showed. Fusion is "nuclear power done right" - potentially much cleaner, safer and more efficient. "It seems too good to be true - high power density, low and manageable waste production, and no possibility of uncontrolled energy release," says Tim Luce, chief scientist on the large international fusion project Iter, in the south of France. "But it is true!"

Since its completion in 1983, Jet has been working towards the holy grail of net energy gain: extracting more from the fusion process than is put in to keep it alive. Its reactor induces fusion in a super-hot plasma of hydrogen fuel suspended by magnetic fields inside a doughnut-shaped device called a tokamak - the word is a Russian acronym, the design having first been proposed in the 1950s by Soviet physicists.

In 1997 Jet set a world record for the highest ratio of energy out to energy in. But that was still just two-thirds of the break-even point where the reactor isn't consuming energy overall. Jet was always intended as an experimental facility, however, and it will eventually hand on the baton to the $20bn Iter project, on which the EU and six other nations, including the United States, Russia and China, are collaborating. The construction of Iter is now nearing completion at Cadarache, near Aix-en-Provence. It hopes to conduct its first experimental runs in 2025, and eventually to produce 500 megawatts (MW) of power - 10 times as much as is needed to operate it. "The role of Iter is to realise power-plant levels of power and gain, and to begin to address the technological needs of power plants," says Luce.

The fuel used in these and other fusion reactors is not ordinary hydrogen - the lightest element, with a nucleus containing just one proton - but heavier hydrogen isotopes called deuterium and tritium, which also have neutrons in their nuclei. The presence of neutrons lets fusion happen under less extreme conditions of temperature and pressure. Deuterium is abundant: it makes up 0.02% of all the natural hydrogen in seawater, from which it can be extracted. But tritium is very rare and radioactive, disintegrating with a half-life of 12 and a quarter years.

Tritium can be produced directly at a fusion facility by using the neutrons released as nuclei fuse to break apart lithium atoms, so that a reactor may "breed" its own fuel. It can also be extracted from heavy (deuterium-rich) water, which is how Jet gets it. But it's costly, so deuterium-tritium fuel is only used on major test runs. Jet plans to conduct one next year - the first since the record-breaking demonstration in 1997. "We remain very optimistic that we'll break the world record for fusion energy produced," says Chapman. "Everyone is very excited because we haven't done it for 20 years." Iter, meanwhile, hopes to start using deuterium-tritium fuel in 2035.

Jet won't be jeopardised by Brexit. Chapman says that "we've signed a contract to operate Jet to the end of 2020, whatever happens with Brexit. And we're already talking with our European partners about an extension to the end of 2024."

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An artist's illustration of nuclear fusion. Photograph: David Parker/Science Photo Library/Getty Images

That's not true of the UK's role in Iter, however, which is the real big hope for the future of fusion. The country's membership of the project comes through its affiliation with the European atomic energy programme Euratom - which is coupled to EU membership. "If you leave one, you leave the other," says Tony Donné, programme manager of Eurofusion. With a withdrawal agreement, he says, "in principle the UK could stay in Euratom until the end of 2020, and then it's in an easier position to negotiate for associate membership, as Switzerland already has". But without one, the UK would need to renegotiate a fresh position in Iter from scratch. That's possible - Ukraine has done it - but Donné says: "It would take a long time and I don't know how it would go."

He adds: "In fusion, we have a tradition to work internationally, so it would be a pity if the UK [were to] drop out." Even if it eventually became possible to rejoin Iter, "British industries might lose their chance of orders, and then when the UK comes back in in a few years' time, maybe all the nice orders will have been given to other companies."

Not everything depends on these big international collaborations, however. The British government has given £220m to a UK-based project called Step (the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production), which aims to build a working fusion reactor that will feed 100MW into the national grid by 2040. Later phases of the project will be cofunded by industry, and Step's director Howard Wilson, a physicist at the University of York, says that it will benefit from the work done in parallel at Iter.

Step uses a different design from Jet or Iter: the aforementioned spherical tokamak. "Rather than a ring doughnut, it looks more like a cored apple," Wilson says. "The hole in the middle is much smaller." This makes the reactor more compact and therefore potentially cheaper (that, perhaps, is what Johnson had in mind when alluding to "miniature" fusion reactors). But the spherical shape also creates problems, in particular dealing with the greater concentration of heat.

One of the biggest challenges is the damage caused to the reactor materials by the extreme heat and the intense doses of neutron radiation. Iter won't suffer too much of that because it will only run for short bursts. But a commercial reactor would need to operate more frequently, if not continuously, to be economically viable. Since Step will run more in that manner, it will need to tackle this crucial engineering issue.

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The construction of Iter, France. Photograph: Iter

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has explored spherical tokamaks since building the world's first prototype, called Start (the Small Tight Aspect Ratio Tokamak), in the 1990s. This design is also favoured by some of the small startup companies now trying to develop commercial fusion, such as Tokamak Energy, based at Milton Park, a few miles south of Culham in Abingdon. They hope to create a reactor small enough to fit on to the back of a lorry; the idea is that such systems could provide power locally to a factory or a town. But these companies - others exist in the US and Canada - are nowhere near having market-ready devices.

The bigger projects welcome this injection of diversity. "We don't see ourselves as in competition with the startups, but as complementary," says Wilson. Chapman agrees: "The more bright people working on the problems, the better. I don't think any of those companies is going to design and build a working reactor, but they might innovate on a particular component and help drive down the costs or improve performance."

The idea of having a nuclear reactor on the edge of town might sound alarming. But that's largely because we have become familiar with the dangers of fission - the radioactive waste and the spectre of Chernobyl-style meltdowns. Fusion is different: there's no real risk of it getting out of control, and much less radiation hazard. Chapman likens the process to a gas oven: "Fusion stops almost instantaneously once you stop fuelling it", and a reactor typically only contains about one second's worth of fuel at any moment. The challenge, he says, is to keep it going: "I've spent most of my career trying to do that."

No one believes that fusion will solve the immediate climate crisis. It's not expected to come online until 2050, by which time many scientists say carbon emissions will already need to have fallen to zero to avoid the most serious climate impacts. But neither can renewables such as wind and solar power solve the problem on their own - their intermittency and low power density means, for example, that you couldn't power large cities that way. Fusion will be perfect in that situation, says Donné, and he predicts it will be a major component of global energy generation in the second half of this century.

"I came to fusion because I passionately believe that it is needed - that it can change the world," says Chapman. "I'm convinced that not only is fusion important: it's going to happen." We're not on the verge, but it's just about in sight.
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"They are on the verge of creating commercially viable miniature fusion reactors for sale around the world," Boris Johnson told the Conservative party conference earlier this month - "they" apparently being UK scientists.

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Πόλεις του μέλλοντος

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Πόλεις του μέλλοντος

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Η "κάθετη καλλιέργεια" πρεσβεύει την εξοικονόμηση χώρου στις μητροπόλεις και στις άγονες περιοχές, καλλιεργώντας φυτά σε κάθετη διάταξη με τη χρήση της υδροπονίας. Επεκτείνοντάς το, οι υποθετικές αποικίες μας στον Άρη και τη Σελήνη θα πρέπει να χρησιμοποιήσουν αυτό το σύστημα ώστε να είναι αυτάρκεις.

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Read: How do plants grow in space?
One of the big leaps forward in space agriculture came little more than a decade ago with the introduction of broad-spectrum, affordable LED lights-these are now powerful, efficient, and cool enough to allow plants to be grown entirely indoors. In this episode, Gastropod visits Wageningen University in the Netherlands, the world leader in indoor farming, where the scientist Esther Meinen drew on her greenhouse expertise to select the crops and design the best "light recipe" for EDEN ISS, a European space-farming prototype that provided fresh herbs and vegetables to the crew of the Neumayer Antarctic station throughout the last polar winter.

Those radishes, celery, and tomatoes were all grown hydroponically, without soil. But plants love soil-and on Mars, the subsurface soil may even offer some water. So can we grow crops directly in Martian or moon dirt? As it turns out, although Apollo astronauts brought nearly a thousand pounds of rocky dust back from the surface of the moon, no one at NASA had ever used it to grow plants. The remaining lunar material is too precious for NASA to hand out, and we don't even have soil from Mars. But a few years ago, Meinen's colleague Wieger Wamelink decided to try growing plants using Martian- and lunar- soil simulants. In this episode, we visit his Martian test plot to learn about the challenges of exoplanetary terroir-and taste the results. And whether we get there or not, it turns out that figuring out how to grow plants in space has plenty to teach us about farming here on Earth. Listen in this episode for the how, what, and why of space agriculture.
This post appears courtesy of .

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.

Nicola Twilley is a writer based in New York. She is a co-host of the podcast Gastropod and a contributor to The New Yorker. She also runs the blog Edible Geography.

a co-host of the podcast Cynthia Graber is a writer and audio journalist based in Somerville, Massachusetts Gastropod. H , and er work has appeared in Scientific American and The New Yorker.

is a podcast that covers food through the lens of science and history.

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Plants Might Thrive Better Than Humans in Space

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Read: How do plants grow in space? One of the big leaps forward in space agriculture came little more than a decade ago with the introduction of broad-spectrum, affordable LED lights-these are now powerful, efficient, and cool enough to allow plants to be grown entirely indoors.

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Μια ομάδα του Πανεπιστημίου Carnegie Mellon που ασχολείται με την εξέλιξη στην επικοινωνία του ανθρώπου με τα ρομπότ και τους υπολογιστές. Έχει πολλά ενδιαφέρονται βίντεο για το πως μπορούμε να σχεδιάσουμε μελλοντικές εφαρμογές.

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The Future Interfaces Group (FIG) is an interdisciplinary research laboratory within the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. ...

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Καινοτόμες εφαρμογές για την εξέταση της υγείας μας από smartphone.

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Καινοτόμες εφαρμογές για την εξέταση της υγείας μας από smartphone.

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Αντί να πηγαίνουμε στο νοσοκομείο μπορούμε να κάνουμε την πρώτη εξέταση μόνοι μας

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Η εμφάνιση του Shwetak Patel παραπέμπει περισσότερο σε φοιτητή παρά σε καθηγητή πανεπιστημίου. Μπήκε στην αίθουσα των συνεντεύξεων χαμογελαστός, με απλότητα και άνεση χωρίς τη σιγουριά του σπουδαίου επιστήμονα αν και μόλις στα 37 του χρόνια απέσπασε το μεγαλύτερο βραβείο στην επιστήμη των υπολογιστών, το ACM prize in Computing 2018. "Είμαι χαρούμενος γιατί η έρευνα στο πεδίο της πληροφορικής δεν αναγνωρίζεται εύκολα. Ωστόσο δεν είναι δικό μου το βραβείο, είναι της ομάδας μου. Η έρευνά μου πηγαίνει προς τα εκεί που θέλει η ομάδα μου", σχολίασε ο ίδιος. Το βραβείο αναγνωρίζει επιστήμονες υπολογιστών που βρίσκονται στην αρχή ή στη μέση της καριέρας τους, των οποίων η ερευνητική συνεισφορά παρέχει θεμελιώδη αποτελέσματα και έχει ευρεία απήχηση.

Ο αμερικανός καινοτόμος ερευνητής με ρίζες από την Ινδία, που είναι καθηγητής επιστήμης υπολογιστών και μηχανολογίας ηλεκτρικών συστημάτων στο πανεπιστήμιο της Ουάσινγκτον στο Σηάτλ και ηγείται του εργαστηρίου UbiComp (ubiquitous computing), βρέθηκε την περασμένη βδομάδα στη Χαιδελβέργη ως προσκεκλημένος ομιλητής στο 7ο Heidelberg Laureates Forum, δηλαδή, την ετήσια "πνευματική ανταλλαγή"-θεσμό μεταξύ διαφορετικών γενεών επιστημόνων από όλο τον κόσμο, με στόχο να υποδείξει στους παρευρισκόμενους νέους "ευφυείς" τρόπους χρήσης των κινητών τηλεφώνων για την ψηφιακή παρακολούθηση της υγείας. "Η μεγάλη πρόκληση είναι να οδηγείς την έρευνα σε εφαρμογές που έχουν μεγάλη απήχηση και αφορούν μεγάλο κομμάτι της κοινωνίας, για αυτό και επέλεξα να ασχοληθώ με την υγεία. Δυστυχώς η τεχνολογία δεν μπορεί να λύσει όλα τα προβλήματα της ανθρωπότητας. Σου δίνει όμως τα "εργαλεία" να επιχειρήσεις να λύσεις κάποια από αυτά. Προσπαθώ να "μεταφράζω" την έρευνά μου σε χρήσιμες και φτηνές εφαρμογές προσιτές σε όλους", λέει χαρακτηριστικά και συνεχίζει: "εμείς δεν δημιουργούμε τεχνολογία που επιφέρει εξαρτήσεις. Αλλάζουμε τον τρόπο προσέγγισής της και διερευνούμε τι μπορεί να κάνει για την κοινωνία. Γενικά όμως δεν πρέπει να εναντιωνόμαστε στην τεχνολογία".
Έρευνα για την κοινωνία
Ο Patel μαζί με το βραβείο έλαβε και χρηματικό έπαθλο ύψους 250.000 δολαρίων για την δημιουργική έρευνα που έκανε μαζί με συναδέλφους πάνω στη χρήση συστημάτων με αισθητήρες που ανιχνεύουν περιβαλλοντικούς κινδύνους και που απλοποιούν την ενεργειακή παρακολούθηση στο σπίτι. Μέχρι τότε τα περισσότερα από τα αντίστοιχα συστήματα απαιτούσαν δαπανηρές και περίπλοκες εξειδικευμένες συσκευές, αποκλείοντας την πρακτική ευρεία χρήση. Ο Patel, ο οποίος είναι επίσης επιτυχημένος επιχειρηματίας, είχε την εξυπνάδα να "μεταφράσει" γρήγορα τις ερευνητικές ιδέες και τις δημοσιεύσεις της ομάδας του σε αληθινές εφαρμογές για τον κόσμο, ιδρύοντας εταιρείες για την εμπορευματοποίηση του έργου τους. "My research community is humanity", δηλώνει και περιγράφει γελώντας την επιθυμία της μητέρας του να τον κάνει γιατρό για να της λύσει όλα τα προβλήματα υγείας που είχε. Βέβαια γιατρός δεν κατάφερε να γίνει, ωστόσο κατάφερε να λύνει προβλήματα που αφορούν την υγεία, φέρνοντας μια "επανάσταση" στη διάγνωση με screening μέσω κινητού.

Ο Patel αν μπορούσε θα έκανε τους αισθητήρες κάθε φορητής ή μη συσκευής να αποκαλύπτουν εκπληκτικά πράγματα για την υγεία μας. Η δημιουργική του σκέψη ώθησε το 2011 το Ίδρυμα John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur να τον αποκαλέσει "ιδιοφυΐα", ενώ το 2009 αναδείχθηκε από το MIT Technology Review ως κορυφαίος καινοτόμος επιστήμονας ηλικίας κάτω των 35 ετών. Οι καινοτόμες ιδέες και υλοποιήσεις του Shwetak Patel στον τομέα των τεχνολογιών υγείας, δεν άφησαν φυσικά, αδιάφορη ούτε την Google.

Γεννημένος επιχειρηματίας
Ο Shwetak Patel ίδρυσε μια εταιρεία με την επωνυμία Zensi, Inc., ενώ ήταν ακόμη μεταπτυχιακός φοιτητής στη Georgia Tech. Μέσω της Zensi ανέπτυξε τεχνολογία για την μέτρηση της ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας που χρησιμοποιείται από οικιακές συσκευές, καθώς και παρόμοια συστήματα για τη μέτρηση της χρήσης νερού και φυσικού αερίου. Το 2010, η Zensi εξαγοράστηκε από την Belkin International, μια επιχείρηση ηλεκτρονικών ειδών που εδρεύει στο Λος Άντζελες, έναντι άγνωστου ποσού. Το 2012 ο Patel υπήρξε συνιδρυτής της SNUPI Technologies-Sensor Network Utilizing Powerline Infrastructure, μιας εταιρείας που ανέπτυξε μια πλατφόρμα επικοινωνιών για να υποστηρίξει πολυάριθμους περιβαλλοντικούς αισθητήρες, οι οποίοι θα μπορούσαν να ανιχνεύσουν καπνό, μονοξείδιο του άνθρακα, διαρροές νερού, μούχλα, μεθάνιο και άλλους κινδύνους. Η SNUPI, σύμφωνα με το Bloomberg, η οποία υποστηρίχθηκε από την εταιρεία VC (Madrone Venture Group) με έδρα το Σιάτλ και άλλους επενδυτές, πώλησε το WallyHome, το πρώτο προϊόν της στη Sears το 2015.

Ο Patel εφάρμοσε την τεχνογνωσία του σε συστήματα αισθητήρων και στον τομέα της ψηφιακής υγείας. Το 2016, ίδρυσε τη Senosis Health, μια start up που ανέπτυξε μια σειρά εφαρμογών smartphone για τη διάγνωση και διαχείριση ασθενειών. H Senosis το 2017 πωλήθηκε στη Nest, μια θυγατρική της πολυεθνικής Alphabet (μητρική της Google και άλλων εταιρειών που ανήκαν στην Google). Έχουν περάσει σχεδόν δύο χρόνια από τότε που η Google αγόρασε σιωπηρά τη Senosis Health, αλλά η συμφωνία δεν ανακοινώθηκε ποτέ δημοσίως από τις εταιρείες. Ωστόσο τον περασμένο Απρίλιο ο Patel παραδέχτηκε πως συνεργάζεται με τον αμερικανικό κολοσσό στον τομέα της φροντίδας της υγείας. Ο ίδιος λέει πως είναι στην κουλτούρα του εργαστηρίου του να προσεγγίζει ενδιαφερόμενα μέρη, όπως ΜΚΟ, υπουργεία, επιχειρήσεις και να διαχέει την έρευνά του δημιουργώντας συνέργιες. Επίσης θεωρεί πως η ευρεία χρήση της τεχνολογίας από την κοινωνία προωθεί και τον εκδημοκρατισμό της υγείας.
Σπιρομέτρηση με ένα απλό φύσημα στο μικρόφωνο του κινητού
Μια από τις ερευνητικές ομάδες του Patel δημιούργησαν την SpiroSmart, μια εφαρμογή κινητού χαμηλού κόστους, η οποία εκτελεί σπιρομέτρηση χρησιμοποιώντας το ενσωματωμένο μικρόφωνο του κινητού τηλεφώνου. "Με την κανονική μέθοδο σε ένα νοσοκομείο, για παράδειγμα, μπορείς να κάνεις μέχρι 20 σπιρομετρήσεις την ημέρα. Με τη δική μας εφαρμογή μπορείς μέχρι και 10.000 ημερησίως!", λέει ο καθηγητής. Η φιλοσοφία είναι απλή, σύμφωνα με τον εμπνευστή της: "Προσομοιώσαμε την ανθρώπινη τραχεία και την φωνητική οδό και δημιουργήσαμε έναν αλγόριθμο για την ανάλυση του ήχου που αντηχεί μέσα στους πνεύμονες του χρήστη κατά την αναπνοή. Στην περίπτωση προβλήματος στην αναπνευστική οδό μεταβάλλονται ο ήχος και ο συντονισμός του στο εσωτερικό των πνευμόνων. Αυτές οι μεταβολές παρέχουν ακριβή κλινικά αποτελέσματα σε έναν πνευμονολόγο ώστε να εκτιμήσει διαγνωστικά στην κατάσταση". Η συγκεκριμένη έρευνα χρηματοδοτείται από το Ίδρυμα Gates και μέχρι τώρα έχει βρει ευρεία εφαρμογή σε χώρες της Ασίας, της Ινδίας, της Ν. Αφρικής και στην Ταϋλάνδη. Για να επιτευχθεί η λειτουργία της εφαρμογής σε κάθε τύπο κινητού ο Patel και η ομάδα του δημιούργησαν το SpiroCall, όπου οι ενδιαφερόμενοι χρήστες μπορούν να καλούν τον αριθμό 1-800 και να χρησιμοποιούν το τηλεφωνικό δίκτυο για να ελέγξουν τη λειτουργία των πνευμόνων τους. Λαμβάνοντας δε υπόψη ότι η ποιότητα ήχου σε μια τηλεφωνική γραμμή είναι χειρότερη από το κινητό, η ομάδα δημιούργησε ένα πρόσθετο εργαλείο το οποίο βοηθά τους χρήστες του SpiroCall να εκτελούν σωστά τη δοκιμή. Είναι ένα τρισδιάστατο στυλό που αλλάζει τον τόνο του ήχου όταν εκπνέει ο χρήστης.

Διάγνωση αναιμίας χωρίς εξέταση αίματος
Στον αναπτυσσόμενο κόσμο, η αναιμία επιδεινώνεται από τον υποσιτισμό ή τις μολυσματικές νόσους. Μια από τις ομάδες του Patel ανέπτυξε την φθηνή εφαρμογή HemaApp, η οποία χρησιμοποιεί την κάμερα του smartphone για να υπολογίσει τις συγκεντρώσεις της αιμοσφαιρίνης. Φωτίζοντας το δακτύλου του ασθενούς με ένα φως LED που αναβοσβήνει και που έχει τοποθετηθεί πάνω από την κάμερα του τηλεφώνου, το HemaApp αναλύει το χρώμα του αίματος. Για να εξασφαλίσει ότι λειτουργεί σε διαφορετικούς τόνους δέρματος και σωματικές μάζες, η ομάδα ανέπτυξε αλγόριθμους επεξεργασίας που χρησιμοποιούν τον παλμό του ασθενούς για να διακρίνουν τις ιδιότητες του αίματός του και τα φυσικά χαρακτηριστικά του δακτύλου του. Ουσιαστικά το HemaApp βομβαρδίζει το δάκτυλο ενός ασθενούς με διαφορετικά μήκη κύματος φωτός και υπέρυθρης ακτινοβολίας και δημιουργεί μια σειρά βίντεο. Με την ανάλυση του τρόπου με τον οποίο απορροφώνται και αντανακλώνται τα χρώματα σε αυτά τα μήκη κύματος, μπορεί να ανιχνευτούν οι συγκεντρώσεις αιμοσφαιρίνης και άλλων συστατικών του αίματος όπως του πλάσματος. "Ήδη η εφαρμογή έχει βρει ευρεία χρήση στο Περού σε συνεργασία με το υπουργείο υγείας, καθώς τα μισά παιδιά στη χώρα είναι αναιμικά", λέει ο καθηγητής.
Διάγνωση του ίκτερου στα νεογνά με smartphone
Η εκτίμηση του ίκτερου στα βρέφη οπτικά είναι υποκειμενική. Για να καλύψει αυτή την ανάγκη, η ομάδα του Patel ανέπτυξε μια "έξυπνη" εφαρμογή τηλεφώνου που ονομάζεται BiliCam, που χρησιμοποιεί τη φωτογραφική μηχανή και το φλας ενός smartphone και μια κάρτα βαθμονόμησης χρώματος. Ο χρήστης κατεβάζει την εφαρμογή, τοποθετεί την κάρτα στην κοιλιά του μωρού και στη συνέχεια τραβάει μια φωτογραφία. Η κάρτα βαθμονομεί και καταγράφει διαφορετικές συνθήκες φωτισμού και χρωματικούς τόνους δέρματος. Τα δεδομένα αποστέλλονται σε σύννεφο (cloud), αναλύονται μέσω ενός αλγορίθμου μηχανικής μάθησης και σχεδόν αμέσως στο τηλέφωνο του γονέα αποστέλλεται μια έκθεση σχετικά με τα επίπεδα χολερυθρίνης του νεογέννητου. Θεωρητικά, όποιος υποψιάζεται ότι το βρέφος έχει ίκτερο μπορεί να χρησιμοποιήσει την εφαρμογή BiliCam για να το ανακαλύψει χωρίς γιατρό. Το μόνο που χρειάζεται να κάνει είναι να εκτυπώσει την κάρτα βαθμονόμησης χρώματος. "Είμαστε πραγματικά ενθουσιασμένοι με τις δυνατότητες που παρέχει η εφαρμογή ειδικά σε φτωχές χώρες. Μπορεί να κάνει τη διαφορά σε μέρη όπου ναι δεν υπάρχουν εργαλεία για τη μέτρηση της χολερυθρίνης, αλλά υπάρχει καλή υποδομή κινητής τηλεφωνίας" σχολιάζει ο ίδιος. Η σύγκριση των αποτελεσμάτων από το BiliCam με την παραδοσιακή εξέταση αίματος κατέδειξε ότι η εφαρμογή ήταν αποτελεσματική, αν και δεν μπορεί να αντικαταστήσει 100% σε ακρίβεια μια εξέταση αίματος.

Θα μπορούσε κάποιος να καθίσει ώρες να συζητά με τον ευφυή επιστήμονα αλλά δυστυχώς ο χρόνος πιέζει και τον ρωτάω να μου πει λίγα πράγματα για την οικογένειά του, η οποία μετανάστευσε από την Ινδία στην Αμερική και συγκεκριμένα στην ευρύτερη περιοχή της Αλαμπάμα πριν ακόμη ο ίδιος γεννηθεί. Μαθαίνω ότι παρότι ο πατέρας του είναι μηχανολόγος μηχανικός και η μητέρα του μικροβιολόγος και οι δυο δεν ασχολήθηκαν με την επιστήμη, αλλά με την επιχειρηματικότητα. Αρχικά εργάστηκαν σε εργοστάσιο παραγωγής χαλιών και στη συνέχεια, αφού εξοικονόμησαν χρήματα άνοιξαν τη δική τους επιχείρηση, ένα μικρό οικογενειακό μοτέλ. Το μοτέλ αργότερα έγινε μεγαλύτερο και άλλαξε θέση, καθώς η οικογένεια αναγκάστηκε για τις ανάγκες του σχολείου του Shwetak να μετακομίσει στη μεγαλύτερη πόλη της Αλαμπάμα, στο Μπέρμιγχαμ. Ο διαπρεπής επιστήμονας θεωρεί ότι οφείλει την όποια επιχειρηματική του κλίση στους γονείς του και εξηγεί: "...όχι τόσο γιατί μου έδειξαν τι θα πει business, αλλά γιατί με έμαθαν να εργάζομαι σκληρά και να πετυχαίνω τους στόχους μου. Και για αυτό τους ευγνωμονώ...". Όσο για τη συμβουλή του: "Αν επιθυμείς κάτι με πάθος προχώρα το και φτάσε το στα όρια του. Αυτό κάνω κι εγώ μέχρι τώρα!"

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"Ευφυείς" τρόποι ελέγχου της υγείας από τον βραβευμένο καινοτόμο Shwetak Patel

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Η εμφάνιση του Shwetak Patel παραπέμπει περισσότερο σε φοιτητή παρά σε καθηγητή πανεπιστημίου. Μπήκε στην αίθουσα των συνεντεύξεων χαμογελαστός, με απλότητα και άνεση χωρίς τη σιγουριά του σπουδαίου επιστήμονα αν και μόλις στα 37 του χρόνια απέσπασε το μεγαλύτερο βραβείο στην επιστήμη των υπολογιστών, το ACM prize in Computing 2018.

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Ολοκληρωμένες λύσεις για "έξυπνες πόλεις"

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Ολοκληρωμένες λύσεις για "έξυπνες πόλεις"

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Όλες οι λειτουργίες μιας πόλης συγκεντρωμένες σε ένα σύστημα.

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Η πόλη Hull, κοντά στο Yorkshire, μπαίνει στη λίστα των έξυπνων πόλεων που χρησιμοποιούν το δικό τους λειτουργικό σύστημα για την οργάνωση των ψηφιακών λειτουργιών τους.

Με τη χρήση του δικού τους λειτουργικού συστήματος, οι έξυπνες πόλεις αποκτούν καλύτερες λειτουργίες διαχείρισης δεδομένων, ενώ γίνεται και πιο σωστή κατανομή πόρων, με τη βοήθεια του ειδικού λογισμικού. Κατά μήκος της παραλίμνιας πόλης του Hull υπάρχουν τοποθετημένοι αισθητήρες που τροφοδοτούν το κεντρικό σύστημα με δεδομένα σε πραγματικό χρόνο, μέσα από διάφορες εκδοχές του Διαδικτύου των Πραγμάτων (Internet of Things). Το Δημοτικό Συμβούλιο δηλώνει ότι με τον τρόπο αυτό μπορεί να ελέγχει τον φωτισμό της πόλης, να ρυθμίζει τη λειτουργία των φωτεινών σηματοδοτών, καθώς και να παρακολουθεί τις θέσεις στάθμευσης, με απώτερο σκοπό την καλύτερη παροχή υπηρεσιών στους πολίτες.

Η πλατφόρμα που χρησιμοποιεί η πόλη αυτή, όπως προκύπτει από τα όσα αναφέρει το ZD Net, ονομάζεται CityOS και αναλαμβάνει να ενοποιεί όλα τα δεδομένα που λαμβάνονται από όλους τους αισθητήρες, έτσι ώστε να είναι κοινή η πληροφορία και ταυτόχρονα να μπορεί να γίνεται καλύτερη συγκέντρωση και μετέπειτα μελέτη των δεδομένων.

Από την άλλη μεριά, η Δημοτική Αρχή του Hull ξεκαθαρίζει ότι δεν βασίζεται αποκλειστικά και μόνο στην τεχνολογία για την ευρύτερη λειτουργία της πόλης, γιατί κάτι τέτοιο θα ήταν εξαιρετικά επικίνδυνο σε περίπτωση που εμφανιζόταν ένα πρόβλημα στις τεχνολογικές δομές. Το CityOS λειτουργεί επικουρικά και πάντοτε υπό την επίβλεψη του ανθρώπινου παράγοντα, διευκολύνοντας την εύρυθμη λειτουργία της πόλης. Παρόμοια λογική ακολουθούν και άλλες πόλεις του κόσμου, όπως είναι το Λας Βέγκας και η Κοπεγχάγη, με την χρήση ειδικού λογισμικού που ενοποιεί ένα διόλου ευκαταφρόνητο πλούτο πληροφοριών από δεδομένα σε ένα κοινό πλαίσιο με απώτερο στόχο τη βελτίωση της καθημερινότητας των πολιτών.

Σε κάθε περίπτωση, πάντως, η συλλογή δεδομένων σε πραγματικό χρόνο σε επίπεδο πόλης αποτελεί μία πρόκληση για όσους σχεδιάζουν τέτοιας κλίμακας πληροφοριακά συστήματα.

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Έξυπνες πόλεις με το δικό τους λειτουργικό σύστημα

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Η πόλη Hull, κοντά στο Yorkshire, μπαίνει στη λίστα των έξυπνων πόλεων που χρησιμοποιούν το δικό τους λειτουργικό σύστημα για την οργάνωση των ψηφιακών λειτουργιών τους. Με τη χρήση του δικού τους λειτουργικού συστήματος, οι έξυπνες πόλεις αποκτούν καλύτερες λειτουργίες διαχείρισης δεδομένων, ενώ γίνεται και πιο σωστή κατανομή πόρων, με τη βοήθεια του ειδικού λογισμικού.

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Ενέργεια από τον ήλιο

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Ενέργεια από τον ήλιο

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Ένα βίντεο με θέμα την αξιοποίηση ενέργειας από τον ήλιο

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How to Build a Dyson Sphere - The Ultimate Megastructure

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Αύξηση της στάθμης της θάλασσας

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Αύξηση της στάθμης της θάλασσας

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Κινδυνεύουμε;

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Ανταρκτική: πότε θα πάψει να αποτελεί μια έρημο;

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Ανταρκτική: πότε θα πάψει να αποτελεί μια έρημο;

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Άρθρο σχετικά με τις επιπτώσεις, θετικές και αρνητικές, της κλιματικής αλλαγής στον ορίζοντα της Ανταρκτικής

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When you think of Antarctica, you probably imagine a frigid, windswept, icy, inhospitable domain; the whitest, most barren canvas on Earth. That's pretty much the way the Southern continent has been for at least the last 3 million years, since the last time atmospheric carbon dioxide levels approached their current levels. But times, they are a-changing.

The effects of global warming are beginning to radically alter the Antarctic landscape in some surprising ways. Scientists say it's like looking back in time, to an epoch when this bleached terrain was actually green. Mossy mats are rapidly spreading across the thawed, exposed soils at unprecedented rates, transforming the land from a place of desolation, to a place of viridescence.

At the very least, we're getting a peek at Antarctica's future, which like its past was green and filled with plant-life, reports the Washington Post.

"This is another indicator that Antarctica is moving backward in geologic time - which makes sense, considering atmospheric CO2 levels have already risen to levels that the planet hasn't seen since the Pliocene, 3 million years ago, when the Antarctic ice sheet was smaller, and sea-levels were higher," said Rob DeConto, a glaciologist at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

"If greenhouse gas emissions continue unchecked, Antarctica will head even further back in geologic time... perhaps the peninsula will even become forested again someday, like it was during the greenhouse climates of the Cretaceous and Eocene, when the continent was ice free."

So far, the greening of Antarctica is mostly limited to the peninsula, where two different species of mosses are fanning out at a startling clip, at four to five times the rate seen just a few decades ago. They gain a footing in the summers, when the frozen ground thaws, then freeze back over in the winter. But these layers-upon-layers are thickening, generating an increasingly detailed record of Antarctica's warming climate.

It's perhaps only a matter of time before grasses, bushes, perhaps even trees begin to sprout. As beautiful as a forested Antarctica might be to imagine, it's important to remember that this isn't necessarily a good thing. Climate change is an ambiguous beast; Antarctica might be getting greener, but deserts elsewhere in the world are expanding, sea levels are rising, and weather is becoming more severe.

"These changes, combined with increased ice-free land areas from glacier retreat, will drive large-scale alteration to the biological functioning, appearance, and landscape of the [Antarctic peninsula] over the rest of the 21st century and beyond," wrote the authors of the study, which was published in the journal Current Biology.

Lead author Matthew Amesbury added: "Even these relatively remote ecosystems, that people might think are relatively untouched by human kind, are showing the effects of human induced climate change."

Global warming is making Antarctica green again, and it's stunning

At current rates, it's not crazy to think that the Antarctic peninsula could eventually become forested again.

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Global warming is making Antarctica green again, and it's stunning

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When you think of Antarctica, you probably imagine a frigid, windswept, icy, inhospitable domain; the whitest, most barren canvas on Earth. That's pretty much the way the Southern continent has been for at least the last 3 million years, since the last time atmospheric carbon dioxide levels approached their current levels.

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Συνέπειες της κλιματικής αλλαγής

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Συνέπειες της κλιματικής αλλαγής

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Ένα πολύ σύντομο βίντεο στα ελληνικά που αναφέρει τις βασικές συνέπειες της κλιματικής αλλαγής στον πλανήτη

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Η Κλιματική Αλλαγή & οι Συνέπειές της - Climabiz

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Ενημερωτικό κανάλι σχετικά με θέματα που καλύπτουν δεκάδες τομείς των επιστήμων

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Animation videos explaining things with optimistic nihilism since 12,013. We’re a team of illustrators, animators, number crunchers and one dog who aim to spark curiosity about science and the world we live in. To us nothing is boring if you tell a good story. For updates on our videos and other news from the kurzgesagt universe follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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Ομιλία για την κλιματική αλλαγή

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Ομιλία για την κλιματική αλλαγή

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Η ομιλία έχει ελληνικούς υπότιτλους και εστιάζει στις δύσκολες αποφάσεις που πρέπει να πάρουμε για να αποφύγουμε το άσχημο σενάριο της υπερθέρμανσης του πλανήτη.

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Άλις Μπάους-Λάρκιν: Η κλιματική αλλαγή συμβαίνει. Πώς θα προσαρμοστούμε

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Φανταστείτε την πιο ζεστή μέρα που έχετε ποτέ βιώσει. Τώρα φανταστείτε ότι είναι 6, 10 ή 12 βαθμούς πιο ζεστή. Σύμφωνα με την κλιματική ερευνήτρια Άλις Μπάους-Λάρκιν, αυτό θα είναι το μέλλον μας εάν δεν περικόψουμε σημαντικά τις εκπομπές των αερίων του θερμοκηπίου άμεσα.

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Προτάσεις για ονόματα

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Προτάσεις για ονόματα

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The coconut team (?)
Κάτι άλλο;

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Διαστημικός Ανελκυστήρας

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Διαστημικός Ανελκυστήρας

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Θα μπορούσαμε να σκεφτούμε κάτι σχετικά με αυτό το θέμα, όπως π.χ. τα προτερήματα προς το περιβάλλον (μείωση των διαστημικών απορριμμάτων, κόστος εκτόξευσης πυραύλων κτλ.)

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When the Space Shuttle Columbia lifted off on April 12, 1981, from Kennedy Space Center, Fla., to begin the first space shuttle mission, the dream of a reusable spacecraft was realized. Since then, NASA has launched more than 100 missions, but the price tag of space missions has changed little. Whether it is the space shuttle or the non-reusable Russian spacecraft, the cost of a launch is approximately $10,000 per pound ($22,000 per kg).

A new space transportation system being developed could make travel to Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) a daily event and transform the global economy.

A space elevator made of a carbon nanotubes composite ribbon anchored to an offshore sea platform would stretch to a small counterweight approximately 62,000 miles (100,000 km) into space. Mechanical lifters attached to the ribbon would then climb the ribbon, carrying cargo and humans into space, at a price of only about $100 to $400 per pound ($220 to $880 per kg).

In this article, we'll take a look at how the idea of a space elevator is moving out of science fiction and into reality.

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A space shuttle launch is expensive -- about $10,000 per pound. The LiftPort Group is developing a new system that could cut the cost down to about $400 per pound. Find out how a space elevator might be your ticket into orbit.

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Επόμενη συνάντηση

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Επόμενη συνάντηση

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Η επόμενη συνάντηση μας θα γίνει την Τρίτη 29/10 και ώρα 4.

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Fusion Power Explained – Future or Failure

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How We Could Build a Moon Base TODAY – Space Colonization 1

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Hey friends in this tutorial i will show you how to make a Arduino Radar System.

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Η σελίδα του διαγωνισμού

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Η σελίδα του διαγωνισμού

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Κάνε τις ιδέες σου πραγματικότητα στον Πανελλήνιο Διαγωνισμό Generation Next!

Ανακάλυψες, έμαθες, πειραματίστηκες.

Είναι ώρα να δημιουργήσεις τις δικές σου τεχνολογικές κατασκευές και να πάρεις μέρος στον πιο συναρπαστικό διαγωνισμό!

Σημαντικές ημερομηνίες διαγωνισμού

Ο υπεύθυνος καθηγητής δηλώνει συμμετοχή ομαδας 2-4 ατόμων

Οι ομάδες παρακολουθούν τα μαθήματα και επιλέγουν το τοπικό προβλημα που θα επιλύσουν

Ο υπεύθυνος καθηγητής καταθέτει το project της ομαδας

Δήλωσε συμμετοχή στον διαγωνισμό
Συμμετοχή στον διαγωνισμό μπορεί να υποβάλει μόνο ο καθηγητής, ο οποίος ορίζεται και σαν επικεφαλής της ομάδας, αποτελούμενης από 2-4 άτομα.

Είσαι καθηγητής και θέλεις να υποβάλεις συμμετοχή στον διαγωνισμό;

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Πληροφορίες | Διαγωνισμός | Vodafone

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Ανακάλυψες, έμαθες, πειραματίστηκες. Είναι ώρα να δημιουργήσεις τις δικές σου τεχνολογικές κατασκευές και να πάρεις μέρος στον πιο συναρπαστικό διαγωνισμό! Σημαντικές ημερομηνίες διαγωνισμού Ο υπεύθυνος καθηγητής δηλώνει συμμετοχή ομαδας 2-4 ατόμων Οι ομάδες παρακολουθούν τα μαθήματα και επιλέγουν το τοπικό προβλημα που θα επιλύσουν Ο υπεύθυνος καθηγητής καταθέτει το project της ομαδας Συμμετοχή στον διαγωνισμό μπορεί να υποβάλει μόνο ο καθηγητής, ο οποίος ορίζεται και σαν επικεφαλής της ομάδας, αποτελούμενης από 2-4 άτομα.