British developers have been creating a new advanced cruise control system call Sentience. Drivers who are willing to turn braking and acceleration over to a computer could save up to 25% off of their annual gasoline costs. The system uses a GPS along with topographical 

information to control the steering and acceleration. If the Driver is alone on the road the car will essentially drive itself needing only the driver to steer the car. David Overton of Ordinance Survey, the U.K. company government agency that provided the map information for the Sentience project said "The car speeds up, slows down at speed humps, and stops at all the junctions without the driver having to intervene, all the driver is has to do is stick the phone on the dash on off you go." System uses a GPS equipped smart phone on the cellular phone network orange. Wireless bluetooth technology connects the phone to the R-cube, which was developed by the Ricardo company. The R-cube controls the acceleration and braking. The maps provided by the Ordinance survey includes speed bumps and school zones. According to www.gizmag.com the Sentience system even knows when lights ahead are going to turn red soon so you don't waste gas accelerating to a stop point. When pulling up to a round about for instance the software tells the car to slow down and once the turn is completed the car accelerates in the most fuel efficient way possible which is way it saves so much on gas usage. In initial tests it has been observed that drivers can save anywhere from 4% to 25% on gas.  The wide variation in numbers come from the difference in cars, from hybrids and those that have gasoline burning engines only, also the drivers style has an effect. For now the sentience system cannot be used completely effectively because it does not have real time information about where other cars in the road re located. An option is to have Sentience installed on every car on the road, then  the car could control itself and would greatly reduce the chance of car collisions. They feel that people driving while using cell phones or the elderly with slower reaction times could really see benefits from the hardware. The earliest that Sentience could be found on a car is not until 2012. I believe the software can be very useful for todays society and aiding with the prevention of car collisions. The problem at this point is that it is a big task to get all the cars on the road equipped with sentience. Though I feel the potential benefit of the software outweighs the hard process of equipping our vehicles with the same software. I can see a day in the future when all the cars on the road are just carrying people completely autonomously.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29865434/

http://www.gizmag.com/sentience-adaptive-intelligent-cruise-control-driverless-car/11223/

Mind Reading

Scientists have shown that by looking at a person's brain waves it is possible to "read" their mind. According to www.webmd.com in the new study four healthy young men in England played a video game that challenged them to move their on-screen character from one spot to another as quickly as possible.  While they played , they got MRI brain scans that focused on a brain area called the hippocampus, the scientists used a modern scanner to measure blood flow. The volunteers were looking at a virtual reality environment and by reading their minds the scientists could accurately guess where they were located in the computer-generated environment. According to Eleanor Maguire of the Wellcome Trust Center for Neuroimaging at University College London told reporters "In other words, we could 'read' their spatial memories." The discovery paves the way for new possibilities in mind reading but intrusive mind reading is still a long way off. The scientists believe rather that the new research will aid in illnesses such as Alzheimer's. The research also is paving the way for analyzing fuller memories of the past and visualizations of the future. Which means eventually the technology could be used in forensic examinations of a multitude of memories and thoughts. Researcher Demis Hassibis said it would be at least ten years before forensic applications became a possibility. "It's a long way off before that kind of technology is going to be possible where you can read someone's thoughts in a single short session, when they don't want to be cooperative," he said. The idea of mind reading has always been one seen in movies and a topic throughout history. Many people see the great opportunity in mind reading but there is also the fear of privacy and mind control. I see a great use for this technology as they spoke of in forensic uses, being able to read a  suspects mind to decipher truth from what the person is telling you and find out where the suspect had been and what they may have done. I also see a use in helping with Alzheimer's and possibly patients suffering from Amnesia to help them remember things they may have forgotten. The technology has a long way to go to reach that potential but I don't see why it cannot be achieved.

http://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20090313/mind-reading-not-just-science-fiction

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29666474/

Virgin Mobile has undertaken a new mission. They have created the "WhiteKnightTwo" which is a space craft consisting of two cockpits and one wing connecting the two plane bodies. The aircraft has been created to propel a rocket ship that will carry two pilots and six passengers into the atmosphere to give civilians a space flight they will never forget. According to www.msnbc.com the mother ship is being tested in the skies above california in the Mojave desert. The WhiteKnightTwo has been test flown for just under four hours and have gone above an altitude of 18,000 feet, according to Will Whitehorn a scientist on the project We are very pleased with progress so far and it would be fair to describe her performance so far as flawless."The upcoming tests will take the craft higher and for longer times. The idea is that the rocket powered ship will sit between the two plane cockpits connected by the wing. The craft will fly up into orbital airspace. The rocket ship will then disconnect from the craft. Which while in orbit will give the passengers the chance to see the earth from space and to move throughout the ship in zero gravity. The aim of the Virgin Mobile company is to bring public space travel to more of a commercial business. According to www.engadget.com at this time Virgin Mobile has over 200 commitments of passengers willing to pay $200,000 for a 2010 or later launch date into space. According to www.wired.com Virgin Mobile has recently ordered 12 rocket ships which will help in the commercial promotion of space traveling. I feel that the idea is very fun and interesting and in the future will see rich people paying to go into space and experience it first hand. I do think the idea is good especially for a company that is already financially well off because it would take allot of money to start. In time they may find great profit from the $200,000 tickets

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29678316/

http://www.wired.com/science/space/multimedia/2008/07/gallery_virgin_galactic

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/23/spaceshiptwo-white-knight-two-designs-unveiled-arent-they-cute/

space

Nasa recently launched a planet-hunting spacecraft called Kepler to go throughout the galaxy searching for earth-like planets. This is the first time  a spacecraft capable f finding earth-like planets has been utilized. The mission is set to last 3 and a half years and will cost $600 million. The goal is to find planets orbiting stars in the habitable zone which for our earth is around 93 million miles away from the sun. In these zones water and life is possible. Kepler's primary scientist Bill Borucki  said "if we don't find any, it really means Earths are very rare, we might be the only extant of life and, in fact, that will be the end of 'Star Trek.' " Kepler will stare nonstop at 100,000 stars near the Cygnus and Lyra constellations which is between 600 and 3,000 light years away. The telescope is searching for orbiting planets. Astronomers have already found nearly 300 planets orbiting stars but they are mostly giant gas planets like Jupiter which are inhospitable. They are looking for smaller rocky planted like earth.  The telescope on board the Kepler is so powerful the scientists estimate that from space they could view someone turning off a porch light at night. The kepler although will not search for life that is for later space crafts. On Kepler.nasa.gov you can watch live video feeds of the telescope and read about the latest finds and updates about the mission. I am very excited about the Kepler mission because i have always been very curious about space and our universe. I would really like to know if there is life beyond ours, If there are humans out on a faraway planet. This could result in one of the most important finds in history is the telescope finds what it is looking for. 

http://kepler.nasa.gov

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/29557555/

Wheelchair arm controlled by thought

Scientists at the University of South Florida have recently created a wheelchair with a mounted arm that is controlled by thought alone. The device is intended to help those with Amytrophic Lateral Scoliosis (ALS) or full bodied paralysis have the ability perform simple everyday activities that would usually be impossible. A researcher at USF Redwan Alqasemi says "We are not reading peoples thoughts" and also "This is the first time a person with a severe disabilities like ALS can perform daily activities for themselves." Over time people with ALS slowly lose the control over the muscles in their arms, legs and eventually all muscles in their bodies except for those around their eyes. Patients have completely functional brains but with their conditions they have no way of expressing their thoughts. EEG scans are on way that ALS patients can communicate with the outside world. Placing a cap filled with electrically conductive gel filled with electrodes on the head of ALS patients, scientists can monitor certain kinds of electrical impulses flowing through the brain. The scientists monitor a particular Brain wave called the P300 because it lasts a matter of a 1/3 of a second. Reading P300 waves is basically like reading a persons thoughts but in a very primitive way. The person in the wheel chair wearing the cap looks at small arrows flashing on a small monitor. When the arrow points the way the user wants the arm or wheelchair to move their brain waves triggers or "lights up the EEG". The process is not an instant activity, it takes about seven seconds for the arrows to flash across the screen. The robotic arm continues to move in the direction until a new command is received. The arm has a pay load of about four pounds at this time which is equivalent to about a jug of milk. The scientists are working on a new model to increase speed, payload and cut down on weight. Reading P300 brain waves is effective because it does not require much brain power or practice. According to Gizmodo.com "Donchin and colleagues harnessed the P300 brain signal to allow the user to "type" on a virtual keyboard by thinking with the P300 response serving at the virtual "finger" for patients." I believe the new wheel chair is very productive and great for those with disabilities. The P300 brain wave seems to be very reliable and could ultimately lead to more helpful technologies for those with disabilities. I am interested to see what else scientists can do with the technology to create more inventions to help mankind. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29430690/

http://gizmodo.com/5150632/smart-wheelchair-features-a-brain+controlled-robotic-arm