Technology Trends

In this article, the Register writes that “camera phones will soon have lenses made from nothing more substantial that a couple of drops of oil and water, but will still be capable of auto focusing, and even zooming in on subjects.” The lenses, developed by the French company Varioptic, contain drops of oil and water, acting respectively as conductor and insulator, and sandwiched between two windows. These liquid lenses could replace glass or plastic ones because of several advantages: no moving parts, leading to better reliability; a very small power consumption; very small dimensions (diameter: 8mm; thickness: 2mm); and a very fast response time of 2/100th of a second. You can expect the first camera phones using these liquid lenses as early as Christmas 2005. These lenses might also appear in medical equipment, such as endoscopes, optical networking equipment or surveillance devices. Read more…

The company was founded two years ago to exploit two core technology patents covering lenses based on the principles of electrowetting. This is the tendency of liquid to spread on a substrate, explains Etienne Paillard, the CEO of the company. “It means we can tune the shape of the drop to create a lens. Think about a tunable lens, like in the human eye,” he suggests.

The lens has a simple structure: two liquids, of equal density, sandwiched between two windows in a conical vessel. One liquid is water, which is conductive. The other, oil, acts as a lid, allowing the engineers to work with a fixed volume of water, and provides a measure of stability for the optical axis. The interface between the oil and water will change shape depending on the voltage applied across the conical structure. At zero volts, the surface is flat, but at 40 volts, the surface of the oil is highly convex, Paillard said.

What are the advantages of these liquid lenses?

There are several obvious advantages to having a lens built like this. Because there are no moving parts, there is less to break and it should be more rugged. Power consumption is also very low: around a tenth of that of a motorised auto focus lens.

It also has the potential to be made very small. Paillard says that at the moment, the limit is a couple of millimetres, but that the company is researching ways of shrinking the lens further. Varioptics is now developing the lens for use in endoscopy as well as in camera phones. But the camera phone market is its priority right now.

And when will we see the first camera phones equipped with these lenses?

The company has a non-exclusive licensing deal with a subsidiary of Samsung to develop the lenses for use in its camera phones. Paillard expects products will be on the shelves by Q1 2006 at the latest, and maybe even in time for Christmas next year.

The first product will be the auto focussing lens, but in another year’s time Varioptics will have a true zoom capability, using two of the liquid lenses, Paillard says. “We’ve just proven in simulation that a 3x zoom is possible. We’re building the prototype now.”

Varioptic has filed two patents to protect its technologies. Here are the direct links to a lens with variable focus and a method for centering a drop of liquid on a given point on a surface.

If for a reason or another, these links appeared to be broken, please go to the Intellectual Property Digital Library which provides access to intellectual property data collections hosted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Then choose the patents database and enter the numbers of the patents in the search box. These numbers are respectively 99/18456 and 00/58763.

It’s worth noting that the Register published in March 2004 a story named “The $5 ‘no moving parts’ fluid zoom lens — twice” in which it compared the Varioptic patents with another one filed by Philips. As the Philips patent clearly made references to the Varioptic ones, it is highly possible that Philips needs to license the Varioptic technology if it wants to use it.

Sources: Lucy Sherriff, The Register, December 1, 2004; John Lettice, The Register, March 5, 2004; and various websites

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Traditional Oriental ink painting is more easily done with real brushes than with a computer program because you need to model how the ink is flowing into an absorbent surface such as paper. In this brief article, Technology Research News writes that “researchers from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have developed a brush-and-ink-style paint program, dubbed MoXi, that uses a model of pigment particles in water flowing into paper.” These virtual Chinese brushes simulate in real time the ink dispersion and could be available on your PC within two years. Read more…

Here is some general information about MoXi provided by Technology Research News.

The software models the gritty details of paper absorbing water and pigment moving through water, including the way pigment concentrates at ink boundaries as water evaporates from drying ink. The technique promises to make computer paint programs with more realistic and could also be used in computer animation packages, according to the researchers.

The simulation is based on mathematics — the lattice Boltzmann equation — that physicists use to model the complex behaviors of fluids. The model simulates more complex effects than previous work, and is also fast enough to deliver ink dispersion simulations in real-time on a reasonably large canvas, according to the researchers.

Below are two images generated with MoXi, the first one being called “Lotus leaves” and the second one “Planet” (Credit: Hong Kong University of Science & Technology)

Here are two links to larger versions of these images, the “Lotus leaves” (1.30 MB) and the “Planet” (1.47 MB).

The researchers behind the MoXi project are Chiew-Lan Tai, Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science, and Nelson Siu-Hang Chu, her Research Assistant.

For more information about their projects, you can read these two pages about the Virtual Chinese Brush and about MoXi. On this page, you’ll have access to several videos and images. The two pictures above come from this page.

The MoXi project will be presented at SIGGRAPH 2005 under the name “MoXi: Real-Time Ink Dispersion in Absorbent Paper.” Here is a link to the paper submitted by the researchers (PDF format, 1 page, 145 KB). Here are an excerpt from the introduction.

Our paint system, MoXi, allows users to paint in the spontaneous style of Eastern ink painting, on a computer. The simulations of both brush and ink are essential for a successful extension of this traditional art into the digital domain. For real-time performance, we have implemented our ink flow model entirely on the GPU, leaving the CPU for the brush simulation.

According to the researchers, this technique “could be used practically in one or two years.” But is this possible that this technology can be sold under the name MoXi? There already is a Digeo service named Moxi which offers High Definition TV (HDTV). And Digeo claims in its press releases (check this one for example) that Moxi is one of its registered trademarks.

However, it’s not so clear. I visited the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to know more. And for more information about this trademark, you can either click on the “Status” button in the Trademarks section, and enter the serial number 76279215 on the next screen, or go directly here. Here is the status of this trademark application as of April 25, 2005.

A non-final action has been mailed. This is a letter from the examining attorney requesting additional information and/or making an initial refusal. However, no final determination as to the registrability of the mark has been made.

If I correctly understand English, this means that Moxi IS NOT a registered trademark. But at the same time, Digeo writes it is registered. Who is right?

If one of the readers of this note is familiar with the USPTO procedures, please post an explanation below. Thanks.

Sources: Technology Research News, June 29/July 6, 2005; and various web sites

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In “Foggy screen points the way,” Nature describes a technology invented by a Finnish company named FogScreen. But don’t let you be fooled by the name, the images are not blurry, even if the screen is made of water. You can even walk through the screen without feeling wet because the company uses ‘dry’ fog made of plain water without any chemicals added. The idea behind the technology is similar to the one used by laser shows for musical events. And the real beauty of this innovation is its ease of use. You just replace your conventional screen by a FogScreen, and you’re all set. But read more…

Here are the opening paragraphs of the article from Nature.

Forget plasma screens, here’s one made out of nothing but water. Inventors have fashioned an interactive computer display from a curtain of fog.

The FogScreen uses ceiling-mounted air jets to create a vertical, turbulence-free slice of air a few centimetres thick, into which a fine mist of water is pumped. An ordinary projector can be used to display images on the resulting wall of fog.

And you can even click on this wall of fog.

When the projector is hooked up to a normal computer, the FogScreen can function much like the large display from a desktop in a lecture theatre. But, with the help of a laser-scanning system, the FogScreen also allows users to click on the watery screen itself.

Poke a finger at the screen, and the laser beams scanning the surface of the fog are interrupted, allowing the system to detect where you have ‘clicked’.

Below is a photograph showing how a FogScreen could be used during a trade show or a cultural event (Credit: FogScreen Inc.)

Here is a link to a larger version of this image (579 KB).

Nature adds that these screens are based on simple technologies.

It looks high-tech, but the FogScreen relies on fairly simple technologies. Ceiling-mounted blowers create vertical sheets of non-turbulent air that flow side-by-side without mixing. High-frequency ultrasound vibrations vaporize water into tiny droplets that are pumped between air flows.

In this page about its technology, FogScreen adds some details — but of course, this is company literature.

The basic components of the screen are a laminar, non-turbulent airflow, and a thin fog screen (or any particles) injected into and inside a laminar flow. Created this way, the fog screen is an internal part of the laminar airflow, and remains thin, crisp, and protected from turbulence.

The fog is made within the device using water and ultrasonic waves. If you hold your hands in the fog flow, the fog feels dry and cool, and your hands do not get wet.

After the screen is formed, images can be projected onto it. The screen can be translucent or fully opaque.

And with two projectors, you can project different images on both sides of the screen.

The technology behind the FogScreen products has received the U.S. patent number 6,819,487 in November 2004 under the name “Method and apparatus for forming a projection screen or a projection volume.”

Finally, in “Click on air!,” innovations report, from Germany, describes what you would experience at a car show if an automotive company used such a display.

Imagine a stand at a motor show featuring a new convertible. There’s a screen ‘hanging in the air’ with everything you expect on your PC desktop. You can click your way through all the new features of the car just by pointing your finger, and when you’re done you can walk through the screen and on to the next stand.

A last note: I’ve never seen these displays in action. So if you read this note and have already walked through a FogScreen, please leave your comments below. Anyway, tt looks like serious fun technology.

Sources: Michael Hopkin, Nature, June 10, 2005; and various websites

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• Displays
  
  
• Human Computer Interface
  
  
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IsraCast is a Jerusalem-based multimedia network and one of its reporters just wrote an article about a dream come true, “Like a Fish: Revolutionary Underwater Breathing System.” An Israeli inventor, Alan-Izhar Bodner, “has developed a breathing apparatus that will allow breathing underwater without the assistance of oxygen tanks.” This invention is based on how fish are breathing, picking the air which is dissolved in the water. Right now, a prototype has been built which uses rechargeable batteries and which will allow for one hour of diving time. But don’t run to your diving store yet, this system will only be available in a few years. Read more…

The author, Iddo Genuth, first looks at the limitations of current underwater breathing methods: the amount of time a diver can stay underwater; the dependence on oxygen refueling facilities; and the actual use of oxygen tanks underwater.

Of course, many engineers around the world have tried to design better and lighter systems. But now, Alan-Izhar Bodner, has developed his invention by looking at how fish are breathing, explains Genuth.

Fish do not perform chemical separation of oxygen from water; instead they use the dissolved air that exists in the water in order to breathe. In the ocean the wind, waves and underwater currents help spread small amounts of air inside the water. Studies have shown that in a depth of 200m below the sea there is still about 1.5% of dissolved air. This might not sound like much but it is enough to allow both small and large fish to breathe comfortably underwater. Bodner’s idea was to create an artificial system that will mimic the way fish use the air in the water thus allowing both smaller submarines and divers to get rid of the large, cumbersome oxygen tanks.

The idea really sounds neat, but how will it be exploited?

Bodner has already built and tested a laboratory model and he is on the path to building a full-scale prototype. Patents for the invention have already been granted in Europe and a similar one is currently pending examination in the U.S. Meetings have already been held with most major diving manufacturers as well as with the Israeli Navy. Initial financial support for the project has been given by Israel Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Bodner is currently looking for private investors to help complete his project.

This is a photograph of the prototype that the inventor sent to IsraCast (Credit: Alan-Izhar Bodner). As says Iddo Genuth, there is “not really much to look at” but it’s a first draft of the device. We’ll see how it goes in the coming years.

This method for breathing underwater was patented in Europe in 2002 and 2003. For more information, you can use the Online European Patent Register search engine. You just have to enter the application number “EP20010996491″ without quotes.

For a quicker access, here are the direct links to this patent, “Open-Circuit Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus,” referenced as WO0240343 (May 23, 2002) or EP1343683 (September 17, 2003).

Here is the abstract.

A self-contained open-circuit breathing apparatus for use within a body of water naturally containing dissolved air. The apparatus is adapted to provide breathable air. The apparatus comprises an inlet means for extracting a quantity of water from the body of water. It further comprises a separator for separating the dissolved air from the quantity of water, thereby obtaining the breathable air. The apparatus further comprises a first outlet means for expelling the separated water back into the body of water, and a second outlet means for removing the breathable air and supplying it for breathing. The air is supplied so as to enable it to be expelled back into the body of water after it has been breathed.

Finally, here is the conclusion of the IsraCast article.

If everything goes according to plan, in a few years the new tankless breathing system will be operational and will be attached to a diver in the form of a vest that will enable him to stay underwater for a period of many hours.

Sources: Iddo Genuth, IsraCast, May 31, 2005; and various websites

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Today, anticancer drugs are delivered to patients in such a way that they can destroy both infected and healthy cells. But now, researchers at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), in Singapore, have designed ’smart’ nanocarriers which deliver the drugs exactly where they are needed, reducing side effects and suppressing cancer growth. Their core-shell nanoparticles are both sensitive to temperature — which has been done before — and to acidic levels. When these nanocarriers encounter acidic environments such as tumor tissues, they break apart and release the molecules they contain. So far, this technology has only been tested on mice, but the researchers have filed an application patent in the U.S., so expect to see practical applications in a few years. Read more…

Before going further, please note that this IBN news release, published by PhysOrg.com on April 26, 2005, was originally issued by IBN on March 21, 2005. You can find the original version here (PDF format, 2 pages, 49 KB).

So what’s the situation of anticancer drugs delivery today?

Anticancer drugs are now being administered to patients using methods that cause the indiscriminate killing of both diseased and healthy cells. [...] Hence, there is a crucial need for the development of more effective cancer therapy, which not only minimizes side-effects but also directly targets diseased cells.

Scientists at IBN have found a way to tackle this problem through the use of anticancer drug delivery vehicles that transport drugs only to where they are needed in the body. This method significantly reduces or even eliminates the severe side-effects typically induced by conventional chemotherapeutics.

So what exactly is this new method?

The team led by IBN Group Leader Dr Yi-Yan Yang has created ’smart’ nanocarriers that can house anticancer drugs in their inner cores. Such polymeric core-shell nanoparticles are small in size (generally less than 200 nm), with shells that protect enclosed bioactive compounds against degradation and digestive fluids.

These nanocarriers, which are both pH-sensitive and temperature-sensitive, are structurally stable in the normal physiological environment. However, in slightly acidic environments that are characteristic of tumor tissues and endosomes (a cell component), they deform and precipitate, thus releasing the enclosed drug molecules.

The key idea behind this new technology is obviously that these nanocarriers are pH-sensitive.

“Previous attempts by other scientists involved the use of core-shell nanoparticles that were only sensitive to temperature. Drug delivery may be controlled by superficially heating and cooling the environment of the nanoparticles,” said lead scientist Dr Yang.

“The novelty of our invention compared to carriers that are only temperature-sensitive is the ability of IBN’s core-shell nanoparticles to target drugs to deep tissues or cell compartments without changes in temperature.”

Now, two questions need to be answered: is this technology efficient? and does it suppress side effects?

So far, the IBN team has proven that their core-shell nanoparticles can deliver anticancer drugs much more efficiently into cancer cells, compared to current techniques. Their in vivo studies using a mouse breast tumor model has also shown that doxorubicin (an anti-cancer drug) loaded in these smart nanoparticles can suppress tumor growth more efficiently than free doxorubicin.

“IBN’s ’smart’ nanocarriers do not show significant cytotoxicity, and offer great potential in targeting drugs to tumor tissues with high efficacy,” added Dr Yang. “This invention may also be used in in vitro and animal studies for drug discovery.”

The research work has been published online by Advanced Materials on February 4, 2005(Volume 17, Issue 3, Pages 318-323) under the title “pH-Triggered Thermally Responsive Polymer Core-Shell Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery.” Unfortunately, this link to the paper doesn’t provide an abstract.

But you’ll find few more details on this page at IBN about “Stimuli-Sensitive Core-Shell Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy.” [Please note that the URL of this page has been built manually: it's not directly available from the IBN site.]

Conventional chemotherapies for cancer treatment have significant toxic side-effects due to the non-specific absorption of anticancer drugs by all cells. The aim of our project is to develop a smart and safe delivery system to target drugs specifically to tumor cells.

In this project, novel core-shell polymer nanoparticles are designed with their lower critical solution temperature (LCST) being dependent on the ambient pH. This value is above the nominal physiological temperature of 37°C at pH 7.4, but decreases to a temperature below the physiological temperature with a small decrease in pH. The resulting change in LCST causes the core-shell nanoparticles to deform and precipitate in an acidic environment, triggering the release the chemotherapeutics at low pH. In addition, a biological signal has been conjugated to the shell of the nanoparticles, which can recognize tumor cells. This system may be able to target drugs to tumor cells and release the drugs intracellularly.

Finally, the researchers filed a patent application in the U.S. under the name “Nanostructured thermosensitive membranes as wound dressing.”

I can’t give you more details today as the search engine of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) seems to be broken, returning internal errors. But try another day: with the name, it should be pretty easy to find it in the USPTO database.

Sources: Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, March 31, 2005; and various websites

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You probably receive dozens of emails every day about various aspects of your business or personal life. And because your email program doesn’t understand the relationship between messages, except for the occasional thread, you have to manage your activities by looking through lists of emails. But now, two computer scientists from University College Dublin (UCD) and IBM have developed the Active Email Manager (AEM) and have even filed patents for a ’smart’ email program. Their prototype can make the difference between work-related tasks — and assign them to a workflow — and personal email. This software could be integrated in commercial products from IBM within two years. Read more…

Here are some details about the project.

A University College Dublin (UCD) scientist has filed a patent application for a new technology that he believes can turn email into a much more effective business tool. US-born Dr Nicholas Kushmerick, a senior lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at UCD, has developed the technology over the past year during his part-time position as visiting scientist on IBM’s Centre for Advanced Studies (CAS) initiative.

Kushmerick developed the technology, known as Active Email Manager (AEM), in concert with New York-based IBM researcher Tessa Lau. Together they developed a machine-learning algorithm that automatically keeps track of tasks and associated emails, in order to build up a work flow for each task.

“The vision is that rather than come in and download all your emails, you could just call up your to do list and manage your activities,” Kushmerick explains.

Now, the two researchers have developed a prototype of the software and are busy testing it. And IBM wants to use the technology in some of its future products.

The technology is currently being appraised by two separate research groups within IBM, with the aim of turning into a commercial product. One of these is the Massachusetts-based product development team that develops IBM’s suite of collaboration software, Lotus Workplace. “There are some pretty intensive discussions going on now to see if we can get enough attention and convince them that our idea is feasible and that they would put it into their product pipeline,” says Kushmerick.

The research work has been presented at the 2005 International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces (IUI 2005) which has been held on January 9-12, 2005, in San Diego, California. You can find the abstract of the paper called “Automated Email Activity Management: An Unsupervised Learning Approach” in the 2005 Conference Program.

Many structured activities are managed by email. For instance, a consumer purchasing an item from an e-commerce vendor may receive a message confirming the order, a warning of a delay, and then a shipment notification. Existing email clients do not understand this structure, forcing users to manage their activities by sifting through lists of messages. As a first step to developing email applications that provide high-level support for structured activities, we consider the problem of automatically learning an activity’s structure. We formalize activities as finite-state automata, where states correspond to the status of the process, and transitions represent messages sent between participants. We propose several unsupervised machine learning algorithms in this context, and evaluate them on a collection of e-commerce email.

Please note that this work received a Honorable Mention for Outstanding Paper Award at IUI 2005.

For more information, here is a link to the full version of this paper (PDF format, 8 pages, 234 KB), available from Kushmerick’s website.

Finally, you might want to read an article from Technology Research News on this subject, “Software organizes email by task.”

Sources: Brian Skelly, Silicon Republic, Ireland, April 6, 2005; and various websites

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