Coming in 2008: GPS-enabled cameras?

The year of the GPS-enabled camera is nearly upon us.

So predicts Kanwar Chadha, founder of GPS chip designer Sirf Technology. "Most (camera makers) are seriously planning location-enabled cameras. The first," he said, "you'll see next year."

Chadha has a vested interest in the technology, so take that bullish prediction with a grain of salt, but don't discount his expertise, influence, and connections. And do pay attention to a new technology Sirf is developing that Chadha promises will let GPS devices find their location within 10 seconds of being switched on.

If his prediction comes true, it'll be good news for those of us who want to know where our pictures were taken as well as when.

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Laser Photon Thruster Could Shorten Trip to Mars to 1 Week

A new laser photon thruster (PLT) developed by Young Bae, head of the Bae Institute, could be the holy grail of space travel in our solar system. The clean burning laser is precise, powerful and efficient. In short, just what the astronauts ordered.

The PLT could accelerate a spaceship to velocities greater than 100 km/sec making the journey to Mars a week long journey. The small scale demonstrator produced thrusts of 35 µN and is scaleable to power spaceships.

Other uses include precision satellite positioning controlling synthetic apertures for space and earth observation and clean burning positioning thrusters for docking.

Meiri hraði á koparnum

29-year-old Australian researcher Dr. John Papandriopoulos has developed an algorithm that has the promise of upping ADSL connections from 1-20Mbps to 100Mbps by reducing electromagnetic interference. He moves to Silicon Valley in two weeks.

John Cioffi, an engineering professor at Stanford and known as the "father of DSL" by some, has offered him a job at his tech startup, ASSIA, where optimizing DSL networks is their focus. His school is trying to find a vendor to implement his work.

Although others are researching similar ways to reduce crosstalk, his approach allows for easier implementation. ISPs worldwide could roll out products in 2-3 years using his algorithm if he can get equipment vendors licensed to use it.

Research Boosts Wireless Data Transfer

Scientists at the Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC) at Georgia Tech are investigating the use of extremely high radio frequencies (RF) to achieve broad bandwidth and high data transmission rates over short distances.

Stephane Pinel, a research scientist with the Georgia Electronic Design Center, demonstrates gigabit-wireless technology at the group’s Atlanta headquarters. (Georgia Tech Photo: Gary Meek).

Within three years, this “multi-gigabit wireless” approach could result in a bevy of personal area network (PAN) applications, including next generation home multimedia and wireless data connections able to transfer an entire DVD in seconds. 

The research focuses on RF frequencies around 60 gigahertz (GHz), which are currently unlicensed—free for anyone to use—in the United States. GEDC researchers have already achieved wireless data-transfer rates of 15 gigabits per second (Gbps) at a distance of 1 meter, 10 Gbps at 2 meters and 5 Gbps at 5 meters.

Wireless high-definition video could also be a major application of this technology. Users could keep a DVD player by their side while transmitting wirelessly to a screen 5 or 10 meters away.

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