NIKE+IPOD

Do you want to
Ø Create workout playlists
Ø See how far and how fast u've run as well as how many calories u’ve burned
Ø View statistics about ur past workouts
Ø Set ur workout goals

Then the Nike + iPod Sport Kit is for you.

Design of the kit:
The Kit has two components -- a sensor and a receiver, both of which are about an inch (2.5 centimeters) long. The sensor fits into a small space under the insole of a Nike shoe. The receiver plugs into an ipod NANO The Nano is not included, but it is required for the system to work. It provides battery power for the receiver and a user interface for the workout software. Runners use their Nano's click wheel to control the software, which is accessible through the "Nike+ iPod" menu.
The sensor fits into a hole under the insole of a Nike+ running shoe. It detects the runner's footfalls through its piezoelectric accelerometer.Piezoelectric sensors, on the other hand, use quartz, silicon or manmade crystals that produce electricity when squeezed, moved or bent.The accelerometer in the Nike+ sensor detects when a person's foot is on the ground. When someone is standing still or walking slowly, his feet spend more time touching the earth than in the air. But when jogging or sprinting, his feet spend less and less time on the ground. The faster he runs, the less time his feet spend in contact with the surface under them. Because of this basic trait of walking and running, a processor can use equations to convert contact time into running speed. The process is the most accurate when runners calibrate their sensors by running a pre-set distance so get a baseline reading.The accelerometer also acts as the sensor's on/off switch. When the shoes aren't moving, the accelerometer has no footsteps to report -- it stops sending data. In the absence of the accelerometer's output, the sensor eventually puts itself to sleep. But when a runner puts his shoes on and takes a few steps, the sensor generates electrical pulses, and the sensor resumes operation. The sensor also has a physical switch which can turn the unit off; the unit stays off until someone presses the switch again. This preserves the battery's life (the 1,000-hour battery can't be replaced) when someone isn't running regularly or is running in different shoes.
The Nike+ iPod sensor sends information to the receiver using a built-in transmitter and antenna. It broadcasts its data at a radio frequency of 2.4 gigahertz using a proprietary protocol. In addition to transmitting data about a person's running stride, it transmits a unique code that it uses to identify itself. We'll look at how the receiver uses this information next.
The Nike + iPod Receiver:The first time someone uses the Nike + iPod system, the sensor links to the receiver. The receiver learns to recognize that particular sensor's identification code. For this reason, multiple people can run together without their Nike + iPod sensors interfering with one another. If several people in one family use the same iPod but different sensors, the receiver can learn to recognize each sensor, and the Nano can store different settings for each user.
This system is flexible, and the 60-foot (18.2-meter) range of the transmitter makes it unlikely that the two parts of the system will lose contact with one another. However, the sensor's relatively long range has raised privacy concerns about the Nike+ system
Just a minute friens….You may be tracked sometimes by this kit….ofcourse
In order to track someone using the Sport Kit, a perpetrator must:
Ø Determine the identification number of the victim's sensor in order to track the right person.
Ø Conceal receivers and antennae, ensuring that the victim will pass within 60 feet (18.2 meters) of them
Ø Develop a method for retrieving and analyzing the sensor's data .

This information is just to alert you from the trackers.so Enjoy the technology being @ da safer side.

FLYING CARS

Answer to ever-worsening traffic jams:
Sitting amidst a sea of cars in heavy traffic on an endless expressway, have you ever dreamt about your car taking off and flying over the road ...or to fly anywhere in the world in your own personal jet anytime you want? This is no longer a reverie and it is the realization of a century-old dream -- the merging of cars and planes into roadable aircraft, or flying cars

SKYCAR:
Gasoline, diesel, alcohol, kerosene and propane can be used to fuel the Skycar, and its fuel mileage will be comparable to that of a medium-sized car, getting 20 miles (32.2 km) to the gallon. The initial cost of a Skycar will be about $1 million, but once it begins to be mass produced that price could come down to as low as $60,00

The four-seat Skycar is powered by eight rotary engines that are housed inside four metal housings, called nacelles, on the side of the vehicle. There are two engines in each nacelle so that if one of the engines in one of the nacelle fails, the other engine can sustain flight. The engines lift the craft with 720 horsepower, and then thrust the craft forward. To make the Skycar safe and available to the general public, it will be completely controlled by computers using Global Positioning System(GPS) satellites, which Moller calls a fly-by-wire system. In case of an accident, the vehicle will release a parachute and airbags, internally and externally, to cushion the impact of the crash.

Drivers will simply get in, turn on the power and enter the address or phone number of their destination. SkyRider will do the rest. The system will be almost fully automatic, but may allow some manual control. Commands will be entered just by telling the car what you want it to do.
Flying cars that can travel at hundreds of miles per hour would not only cut that rush hour commute to a few minutes, but it would allow us to live hundreds of miles farther from work and still make it to the office faster than by road-bound cars today.

INTERNET T.V

It could change the way we get our news and entertainment. New technology can change the way we receive news and entertainment. Radio challenged newspapers in the early 1900s, and television challenged radio. Now, it is the era of internet TV or Internet protocol television (IPTV). IPTV could change the way we access information & entertainment IPTV is video and audio delivered over an Internet connection. An IPTV signal is basically a stream of data packets traveling across the Web.Along with many of the same shows you find on the big networks, many Web sites offer independently produced programs targeted toward people with specific interests. Because many sites offer on-demand services, you don't have to keep track of scheduling.
What makes IPTV possible?
There are two things that make Internet TV possible.
1. Bandwidth: Bandwidth is the number of lanes on the highway. Bandwidth is important for Internet TV, because sending large amounts of video and audio data over the Internet requires large bandwidths.
2. Streaming audio and video: Streaming technology makes it possible for us to watch live or on-demand video without downloading a copy directly to a computer.
There are a few basic steps to watch streaming audio and video:
*A server holds video data.
*When you want to watch a video, you click the right command, like "Play" or "Watch." This sends a message to the server, telling it that you want to watch a certain video.
*The server responds by sending you the necessary data.
*A player on your computer decodes and plays the video signal.
Acme:
Although Internet TV promises quite a lot users with slow Internet connections may have difficulty getting data fast enough. Video quality pales in comparison to HDTV screens. websites have difficulty providing sufficient bandwidth. Peer-to-peer software may offer a possible solution,since it spreads out the amount of available information across lots of computers instead of putting all the pressure on one server.

Basic concept behind the working of a Infrared Remote control:

The dominant remote-control technology in home-theater applications is infrared (IR). An IR remote control (the transmitter) sends out pulses of infrared light that represent specific binary codes. These binary codes correspond to commands, such as Power On/Off and Volume Up. The IR receiver in the TV, stereo or other device decodes the pulses of light into the binary data (ones and zeroes) that the device's microprocessor can understand. The microprocessor then carries out the corresponding command.
The basic parts involved in sending an IR signal include:
Ø Buttons
Ø Integrated circuit

Ø Button contacts
Ø Light-emitting diode (LED)
On the component side, the infrared receiver sits on the front of the device where it can easily see the signal coming from the remote control. You've probably noticed that some remotes only work when you're pointing them directly at the receiver on the controlled device, while others work when you're pointing them in the general vicinity of the receiver. This has to do with the strength of the transmitting LED. A remote with more than one LED and/or a particularly powerful LED produces a stronger, broader signal.

Electrifying Curtains for Your Home using Solar Textiles:

Ever thought the curtains in your house are not bright enough? Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created designs for flexible photovoltaic materials, known as solar textiles that can also be draped as curtains, which may change the way buildings receive and distribute energy. According to a report in Science Daily, these new materials work like the now-familiar photovoltaic cells in solar panels made of semiconductor materials, they absorb sunlight and convert it into electricity. To design the solar textiles, Sheila Kennedy, an expert in the integration of solar cell technology in architecture, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, used a 3-Dmodelling software. This software generated membrane-like surfaces that can become energy-efficient cladding for roofs or walls. ‘Surfaces that define space can also be producers of energy’, said Kennedy. ‘The boundaries between traditional walls and utilities are shifting’, she added. A recent project, ‘Soft House’, exhibited at the Vitra Design Museum in Essen, Germany, illustrates what Kennedy means when she says the boundaries between walls and utilities are changing. For Soft House, Kennedy transformed household curtains into mobile, flexible energy-harvesting surfaces with integrated solid-state lighting. Soft House curtains move to follow the sun in order to get sufficient sun-rays and can generate up to 16,000 watt-hours of electricity – more than half the daily power needs of an average American household. In the backdrop of increasing demand of electricity and limited sources of fossil fuels, this type of solar textiles would certainly help the people. Source: The Times of India, June 25, 2008.

LEDs

LEDs are just tiny light bulbs that fit easily into an electrical circuit. They last just as long as standard transistor.
To get more information on LEDs watch IICM Forum-1.