The National Academy of Engineering recently released fourteen Grand Challenges for the engineers of the 21st century. These challenges reflect global problems that range from the creation of new energy sources to the advancement of healthcare informatics. With the growth of informatics technology, more patient files are making their way onto hard-drives and servers, which [...]
Pole vaulting is an incredibly dynamic and complex sport that requires high levels of athleticism, precision, and skill. The process of the vault involves the transfer of energy from the vaulter to the pole, and finally back to the vaulter as he is launched into the air. As a result, the vault relies heavily on [...]
The quadrotor is an emerging Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) that may have limitless applications. Departing from a century old design, modern quadrotors are evolving into small and agile vehicles. After already proving their usefulness as aerial imaging tools, new research is allowing quadrotors to communicate intelligently with other autonomous vehicles, to explore unknown environments, and [...]
Image depth is created by three processes: layering, line perspective, and binocular stereoscopy. The first two are most effective in creating 2D paintings while binocular stereoscopy is used in 3D media today. Stereoscopy employs the same principles as natural binocular vision by layering two slightly different images, which will then be separated for each eye, [...]
Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) use bacteria to convert organic waste material into electrical energy. This environmentally-friendly process produces electricity without the combustion of fossil fuels. MFCs have various practical applications such as in breweries, domestic wastewater treatment, desalination plants, hydrogen production, remote sensing, and pollution remediation, and they can be used as a remote power [...]
The Olympic Games are the world’s largest international athletic competition. Every two years, viewers from around the globe tune in to the Olympics to cheer on their nations’ most celebrated athletes. The heroic athletic performances of the Olympics will always be remembered, but what is often forgotten is the incredible preparation effort completed by each [...]
Urban sprawl and a lack of public transportation infrastructure have led to ever increasing traffic congestion, as people commute to most of their daily activities. Traffic-actuated signals have been created to alleviate this problem by efficiently managing traffic flow. The system is capable of detecting live traffic data and assigning the appropriate light cycle (for [...]
Modern music recognition software has taken the guesswork out of locating music. With just a tap of a finger, smartphone users everywhere can record, send, and analyze 15 seconds worth of music to receive a response with the track name in only a matter of seconds. By analyzing a song’s unique “audio fingerprint” and reducing [...]
With its naturally arid landscape, Southern California has always relied on water piped in from other locations in order to meets its demand. However, a growing population and dwindling supplies are creating a huge water deficiency. Traditional methods of tapping into new surface or groundwater sources have proven to be very detrimental to the environment, [...]
