ANBARASUASOKAN

While cop shows have shown us that it's easy for service providers to track a person's location via their mobile phone, researchers at the University of Minnesota have revealed it's also an easy task for hackers. Using a cheap phone and open source software, the researchers were able to track the location of mobile phone users without their knowledge on the GSM network, which is estimated to serve 80 percent of the global mobile market. According to the new research by computer scientists in the University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering, a third party could easily track the location of a mobile phone user without their knowledge because cellular mobile phone networks "leak" the locations of mobile phone users. "Cell phone towers have to track cell phone subscribers to provide service efficiently," Foo Kune explained. "For example, an incoming voice call requires the network to locate that device so it can allocate the

Connectify, a company known for software that can turn your computer into a wireless hotspot, is at work on a new project called Dispatch that will turn all internet connections available to your device into one glorious (and hopefully faster and more stable) stream of high-speed bandwidth. The project appears to take some of its cues from live video broadcasting companies like  LiveU , which sells custom made backpacks wired up with 3G/4G and Wi-Fi transceivers. These backpacks then spread the traffic load over whatever available networks it can connect to in order to maximize bandwidth, which is obviously a major plus if you're streaming live video. Dispatch, however, is planned as a software-only solution for the masses – no special backpack required. It will dynamically manage the traffic based on which networks provide the greatest bandwidth and have the clearest signal, which also means that even if one of the networks drops out entirely, you'll still have interne

A team of researchers working through Australia’s Centre for Ultrahigh Bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems (CUDOS) has developed data encoding technology that increases the efficiency of existing fiber optic cable networks. The researchers claim their invention increases the data capacity of optical networks to the point that all of the world’s internet traffic could be transmitted via a single fiber. Compatible with existing networks, the data encoding technology involves making more efficient use of available data channels. Where existing networks transmit data with gaps between the channels, the new approach packs the data channels closer together, thereby allowing more lanes on the same super-highway. To demonstrate the system, the researchers re-programmed a LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon) Wavelength Selective Switch (WSS) to make more efficient use of available data channels. A WWS is a network component that uses different wavelengths of laser light to combine (or mul

Lockheed Martin has been getting its feet wet in the renewable energy game for some time. In the 1970s it helped build the world’s first successful floating Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) system that generated net power, and in 2009 it was awarded a contract to develop an  OTEC pilot plant in Hawaii . That project has apparently been canceled but the company has now shifted its OTEC sights westward by teaming up with Hong Kong-based Reignwood Group to co-develop a pilot plant that will be built off the coast of southern China. OTEC uses the natural difference in temperatures between the cool deep water and warm surface water to produce electricity. There are different cycle types of OTEC systems, but the prototype plant is likely to be a closed-cycle system. This sees warm surface seawater pumped through a heat exchanger to vaporize a fluid with a low boiling point, such as ammonia. This expanding vapor is used to drive a turbine to generate electricity with cold seawater the

The architects responsible for the Panorama House have made a staircase of epic proportions that acts as a functional centerpiece of the house. The staircase serves as a multifunctional hub, not only providing a way to get from downstairs A to upstairs B, but forming a central element of the house's library, cinema, and play area. Designed by Moon Hoon, the Panorama House is located in Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea, and while the whole building is magnificent, it's the staircase that really stands out. It is gargantuan, with the stairs themselves representing just a small part of the structure (as can be seen in the gallery). Those heading down to the lower floors can take the stairs or use the slide instead, with kids and adults alike invited to experience the latter. The individual steps provide storage space for books, while the space underneath the staircase itself is used as an office, with plenty of room for a desk and chair. Last but not least in this staircase's

Since humans are responsible for much of the damage to coral reefs, it makes sense that we should try and help repair them. That’s exactly what a team from the Herriot-Watt University’s Centre for Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology is attempting to do with the development of underwater “ coralbots .” Now anyone can add their support to this worthy effort with the launch of a Kickstarter campaign that will help make the robots a reality. The research team has already built a couple of prototype coralbots that can be equipped with onboard camera, computer, and flexible arms and grippers. These would come together to allow the robot to reattach healthy pieces of coral back onto a reef to help speed up the healing process. This time-consuming task is currently performed by scuba divers – or not at all. It also makes repairing reefs at greater depths difficult or impossible. The team’s plan is to develop a swarm of robots that would autonomously navigate across a damaged coral

When you have plenty of bicycle to work with, such as is the case with a mountain bike, it’s not such a big deal to design it with front and rear suspension. When the bicycle in question is a diminutive folding city bike, however, it gets a bit trickier. That’s why UK industrial designer Sam Pearce has created Loopwheels. Instead of relying on a suspension fork and rear shock, it lets the bike’s 20-inch wheels absorb the bumps. Each wheel incorporates a regular hub, with a hub brake and hub gearing. Instead of spokes, however, three looped carbon composite springs run from the hub to the rim. Whenever the wheel hits a bump in the road, the energy is absorbed by those springs. This causes the hub to momentarily dip down within the wheel by up to 45 millimeters, so it’s actually a bit off-center until the springs flex back into their regular state. For this reason, the wheels will only work on bikes that already have sufficient space between the fork/frame and the tire – otherwise th

While the prospect of 3D printers pumping out  biological tissues  and replacement organs  has many justifiably excited, researchers at Oxford University have gone in a slightly different direction with the creation of a custom 3D printer capable of producing synthetic materials that have some of the properties of living tissues. Rather than being intended for supplying spare parts for damaged replicants, the new materials could be used for drug delivery or replacing or interfacing with damaged tissues inside the human body. The new 3D-printed materials take the form of “droplet networks,” which are made up of thousands of connected water droplets that are encapsulated within lipid films. Lipids are naturally occurring molecules whose main biological function is energy storage, signaling and as structural components of cell membranes. The researchers say that, because the droplet networks don’t contain a genome and don’t replicate, they don’t have some of the problems found in ot

UK-based tent manufacturer Tentsile has unveiled an all-new suspended tent, dubbed “Stingray,” which the company bills as an ideal combination of hammock and tent. Employing three tree straps, two poles, and a polyester fly sheet, Stingray allows up to four campers to sleep suspended in the air, thus avoiding ground frost and errant rocks – not to mention all those creepy-crawlies which tend to live on the forest floor. Stingray's more streamlined and compact design is a departure from the large eponymous tent we  previously reported on , and has been created in a bid to make a tent more suited to mass-market production. Stingray weighs 13 lbs (6 kg) and can reportedly be assembled or disassembled in just 5 minutes, so should be more suitable for campers who like to travel light. When suspended, access to the interior of the tent is afforded via its collapsible ladder to either a floor hatch or side door. Additional accessories are also available, including a shoe drying rack, lu

Treehouses are one of those childhood obsessions that never lose their appeal for many people, even after making their way into adulthood. Unfortunately, society frowns upon grown-ups messing around in treehouses, but Cacoon could possibly make the form factor acceptable for everyone, regardless of their age or level of maturity. In truth, Cacoon is more than just a treehouse substitute, with elements of swing chair, hammock, and hanging garden seat thrown in for good measure. Originally designed to be a part of the luxury spa at the Scarlet Hotel in Cornwall, U.K., Cacoon has now been given a life of its own thanks to a team of professional sail makers. The Cacoon design was influenced by the weaver bird's hanging nest, which provides the bird with a safe and secure bolt hole away from predators. Similarly, Cacoon offers a secluded personal space allowing individuals to get away from everything while still being aware of their immediate surroundings. Cacoon is designed to