Tech

Smartphones and tablets come from Asia and the USA, German and European industry is far behind. The causes are dealt with by a study of KIT published in the journal Telecommunications Policy. According to this study, risk aversion made the companies offer own data services at a high price instead of using the open internet. Competitive pressure by Europe-wide granting of mobile telephone licenses or the deregulation of the radio spectrum might improve the situation. Computers protected against the manipulation of data also open up market chances.

North Carolina State University researchers have developed and used a customized suite of technologies that allows a computer to train a dog autonomously, with the computer effectively responding to the dog based on the dog's body language.

"Our approach can be used to train dogs efficiently and effectively," says David Roberts, an assistant professor of computer science at NC State and co-author of a paper on the work. "We use sensors in custom dog harnesses to monitor a dog's posture, and the computer reinforces the correct behavior quickly and with near-perfect consistency."

After launch in June 2012, Carat has helped over 850,000 users, of which 41 percent have been Android and 59 percent iOS users, respectively. The new user interface follows modern application design guidelines and presents battery information in a more intuitive and easy to use manner.

In addition to the new user interface, we have increased the accuracy of the energy saving recommendations of Carat, says Professor Sasu Tarkoma, the leader of this research done at the university.

They thereby demonstrated that this class of materials is suitable for data processing based on spin. The work has been published in the renowned periodical Physical Review B and was selected as "Editor's Suggestion" article.

Firefighters entering burning buildings, athletes competing in the broiling sun and workers in foundries may eventually be able to carry their own, lightweight cooling units with them, thanks to a nanowire array that cools, according to Penn State materials researchers.

"Most electrocaloric ceramic materials contain lead," said Qing Wang, professor of materials science and engineering. "We try not to use lead. Conventional cooling systems use coolants that can be environmentally problematic as well. Our nanowire array can cool without these problems."

Ottawa (April 28, 2016) - A new workshop report, Commercial Marine Shipping Accidents: Understanding the Risks in Canada, released today by the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), explores risk by focusing on the likelihood of commercial marine shipping accidents across Canada as well as the potential social, economic, and environmental impacts of such accidents.

The Taiwanese government should provide subsidies for the solar panel industry to help it survive in that country, University of Exeter researchers have recommended.

Solar photovoltaic production in Taiwan is not competitive, a new study has found, and more support should be given to producers through publically-funded research and development.

Forest scientists have found an unexpected 'silver lining' to the insect outbreaks that have ravaged millions of trees across western North America.

While insect outbreaks leave trees looking like matchsticks, a new University of Vermont-led study finds these hungry critters significantly reduce wildfire severity.

The findings contrast sharply with popular attitudes - and some U.S. forest policies - which connect tree-eating insects with increased wildfire activity.

The pre-Columbian settlements in Amazonia were not limited to the vicinities of rivers and lakes. One example of this can be found in the Santarém region in Brazilian Amazonia, where most archaeological sites are situated in an upland area and are the result of an expansion of settlements in the last few centuries before the arrival of Europeans. This is concluded by a research team consisting of archaeologists from the University of Gothenburg and Brazilian colleagues.

'Zero-energy' buildings -- which generate as much power as they consume -- are now much closer after a team at Australia's University of New South Wales achieved the world's highest efficiency using flexible solar cells that are non-toxic and cheap to make.

Until now, the promise of 'zero-energy' buildings been held back by two hurdles: the cost of the thin-film solar cells (used in façades, roofs and windows), and the fact they're made from scarce, and highly toxic, materials.

Online troublemakers tend to be socially well connected. Some Facebook users therefore, remain friends online with troublemakers because they are worried about the repercussions if they 'unfriend' them.

This is the finding of a study by Sarah Buglass, a PhD student in the School of Social Sciences at Nottingham Trent University, who will presented her research this week at the British Psychological Society's Annual Conference in Nottingham.

Augmented climbing wall increases social interaction, helps to attract wider target audiences and empowers users to become content creators.

Augmented climbing wall operates as a huge touch screen. It combines body tracking with custom computer vision software, depth camera, and projected graphics. A conference paper about the system received a best paper honorary mention in the ACM CHI 2016, the leading conference on Human-Computer Interaction.

Inspired by the humble cactus, a new type of membrane has the potential to significantly boost the performance of fuel cells and transform the electric vehicle industry.

The membrane, developed by scientists from CSIRO and Hanyang University in Korea, was described today in the journal Nature.

The paper shows that in hot conditions the membrane, which features a water repellent skin, can improve the efficiency of fuel cells by a factor of four.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Scientists at the University of California, Riverside have discovered that a strain of beneficial nitrogen-fixing bacteria has spread across California, demonstrating that beneficial bacteria can share some of the same features that are characteristic of pathogens.

The bacteria, called Bradyrhizobium, form tumor-like nodules on the roots of plants and are able to 'fix' nitrogen by breaking it down and rendering it into forms that plants can easily metabolize.

The aroma of rosemary essential oil may improve ability of people over 65 to remember events and to remember to complete tasks at particular times in the future.

This is the finding of a study by post-graduate student Lauren Bussey, Lucy Moss and Dr Mark Moss of Northumbria University who will present their research today, Wednesday 27 April 2016, at the British Psychological Society's Annual Conference in Nottingham.