THE TECH-LICIOUS

High-efficiency spray-on solar power tech can turn any surface into a cheap solar cell

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="Solar Cells" height="353" src="http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Solar-Cells-640x353.jpg" width="640" /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Solar panels suffer from two fundamental problems that have continued to persists even after decades of research: they’re not very efficient, and they cost a lot to produce. At least one of these problems has to be solved beforesolar power can overtake cheap energy sources like fossil fuels, and some scientists have had their hopes pinned on a common mineral called perovskite. This is an organometal with peculiar light-absorbing properties, and a team of researchers from the University of Sheffield say they’ve figured out how to create high-efficiency perovskite solar cells with a spray painting process. Yes, spray-on solar panels might actually happen.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Perovskite is a crystalline organometal made mostly of calcium titanate, and is found in deposits all over the world. It was first discovered over 150 years ago, but only recently have scientists started investigating its use as a solar panel semiconductor replacement for silicon. It certainly makes sense if we can work out the kinks. Perovskite is considerably cheaper to obtain and process than silicon, and the light absorbing layer can be incredibly thin — about 1 micrometer at minimum versus at least 180 micrometers for silicon. That’s why the spray-on solar panel tech demonstrated by the University of Sheffield is plausible as a real-world solution.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<a href="http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/1406910807662_wps_3_Spray_Coater_Nozzle_jpg.jpg" style="color: #b1700a; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="Nozzle" class="size-full wp-image-187419" height="356" src="http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/1406910807662_wps_3_Spray_Coater_Nozzle_jpg.jpg" style="border-style: none;" width="634" /></span></a></div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">That raises the question, how efficient is this spray-on solar cell? Right now the researchers have managed to eke out 11% efficiency from a thin layer of perovskite. Traditionally manufactured solar cells based on the mineral have reached as high as 19%, and the spray-on variety is expected to reach similar levels eventually. That might not sound very impressive, but nearly 20% efficiency is rather good for an experimental solar panel. The average efficiency of <a href="http://www.extremetech.com/tag/silicon" style="color: #b1700a; text-decoration: none;">silicon</a> cells is only 25% after all. Other materials claim higher numbers, but they aren’t nearly ready for use.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/2013-02-25-eetimes-jh-scheffield.jpg" style="color: #b1700a; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Spray-on" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-187418" height="300" src="http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/2013-02-25-eetimes-jh-scheffield-192x300.jpg" style="border-style: none; float: right; padding-left: 10px;" width="192" /></a>The breakthrough here is in the process of applying perovskite in a thin uniform layer so it can efficiently absorb light on almost any surface. A layer of this material could be used as the basis for solar panels on cars or mobile devices that don’t have completely flat surfaces for mounting standard solar panels — the structure and properties of crystalline silicon simply don’t allow for very much flexibility. A solar panel on your phone? Sure, why not? However, the University of Sheffield team cautions the efficiency of spray-on perovskite will decrease a bit on curved surfaces. [DOI: 10.1039/C4EE01546K - "Efficient planar heterojunction mixed-halide perovskite solar cells deposited via spray-deposition"]</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The spray-on process has several key benefits in addition to the obvious non-flat solar cells. Most importantly, it should be incredibly easy to scale up — or down for that matter. The same nozzle can be used to manufacture a small solar panel for personal electronics and a large one for a car. It’s just about the number of passes it takes to coat the surface. The perovskite solution used can also be mass produced cheaply and is easier to handle than silicon. This all combines to lower the potential cost of solar power considerably.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Perovskite is nearing the point that it could actually supplant silicon as the standard for solar panel tech. In just a few years these panels have gone from low single digit efficiencies to nearly matching silicon. This might finally be the breakthrough we’ve been waiting for to move renewable energy forward.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/187416-high-efficiency-spray-on-solar-power-tech-can-turn-any-surface-into-a-cheap-solar-cell" target="_blank">SOURCE-EXTREAM TECH</a></span></div>
</div>

High-efficiency spray-on solar power tech can turn any surface into a cheap solar cell

Solar panels suffer from two fundamental problems that have continued to persists even after decades of research: they’re not very effic...

10 Optical Illusions That Will Blow Your Mind!

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #5f6d80; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><u>How Many Legs Does An Elephant Have?</u></span></h3>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="background-color: white; border: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
<a class="ngg-fancybox" data-description="Normally four but this particular elephant appears to have more. However have a really good look and you'll see the true nature of this image." data-image-id="355" data-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Elephant.jpg" data-thumbnail="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/thumbs/thumbs_Elephant.jpg" data-title="How Many Legs Does An Elephant Have?" href="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Elephant.jpg" rel="17679" style="color: #0092dd; display: block !important; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;" title="Normally four but this particular elephant appears to have more. However have a really good look and you'll see the true nature of this image."><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="How Many Legs Does An Elephant Have?" height="291" src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Elephant.jpg" style="background: rgb(236, 240, 244); border: none; margin: 0px; max-width: 708px; padding: 10px;" title="How Many Legs Does An Elephant Have?" width="400" /></span></a><span style="color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Normally four but this particular elephant appears to have more. However have a really good look and you'll see the true nature of this image.</span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><h2 style="color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><u>This Is Not A GIF!</u></span></h2>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
<a class="ngg-fancybox" data-description="Honestly, this is not an animated image. If you stare at just one area of the image you will see that it stops moving." data-image-id="353" data-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/This-Is-Not-A-GIF.jpg" data-thumbnail="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/thumbs/thumbs_This-Is-Not-A-GIF.jpg" data-title="This Is Not A GIF!" href="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/This-Is-Not-A-GIF.jpg" rel="17679" style="color: #0092dd; display: block !important; margin: 0px; text-align: center;" title="Honestly, this is not an animated image. If you stare at just one area of the image you will see that it stops moving."><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="This Is Not A GIF!" height="480" src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/This-Is-Not-A-GIF.jpg" style="background: rgb(236, 240, 244); border: none; margin: 0px; max-width: 708px; padding: 10px;" title="This Is Not A GIF!" width="640" /></span></a><a class="ngg-fancybox" data-description="Honestly, this is not an animated image. If you stare at just one area of the image you will see that it stops moving." data-image-id="353" data-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/This-Is-Not-A-GIF.jpg" data-thumbnail="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/thumbs/thumbs_This-Is-Not-A-GIF.jpg" data-title="This Is Not A GIF!" href="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/This-Is-Not-A-GIF.jpg" rel="17679" style="color: #0092dd; display: block !important; margin: 0px; text-align: center;" title="Honestly, this is not an animated image. If you stare at just one area of the image you will see that it stops moving."><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Honestly, this is not an animated image. If you stare at just one area of the image you will see that it stops moving.</div>
</span></div>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><u>Coffee Beans</u></span></h3>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
<a class="ngg-fancybox" data-description="See if you can find a hidden man's face within the coffee beans. He is definitely there but you may need to have a good look. Although this isn't an optical illusion in the truest sense, apparently if you can find the face in under three seconds then it may be that "the right side of your brain may be more developed than most." (The right side of the brain is thought to be responsible for art, creativity, and imagination.) Cool!" data-image-id="356" data-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Coffee-Bean.jpg" data-thumbnail="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/thumbs/thumbs_Coffee-Bean.jpg" data-title="Coffee Beans" href="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Coffee-Bean.jpg" rel="17679" style="color: #0092dd; display: block !important; margin: 0px; text-align: center;" title="See if you can find a hidden man's face within the coffee beans. He is definitely there but you may need to have a good look. Although this isn't an optical illusion in the truest sense, apparently if you can find the face in under three seconds then it may be that "the right side of your brain may be more developed than most." (The right side of the brain is thought to be responsible for art, creativity, and imagination.) Cool!"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="Coffee Beans" height="439" src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Coffee-Bean.jpg" style="background: rgb(236, 240, 244); border: none; margin: 0px; max-width: 708px; padding: 10px;" title="Coffee Beans" width="640" /></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
</div>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #5f6d80; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">See if you can find a hidden man's face within the coffee beans. He is definitely there but you may need to have a good look. Although this isn't an optical illusion in the truest sense, apparently if you can find the face in under three seconds then it may be that "the right side of your brain may be more developed than most." (The right side of the brain is thought to be responsible for art, creativity, and imagination.) Cool!</span></div>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><u>The Spiral</u></span></h3>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
<a class="ngg-fancybox" data-description="Although this may look like a spiral, this image is actually a series of concentric circles. Run your finger along the lines and see for yourself. The complicated background pattern tricks your brain into filling in what isn't really there." data-image-id="354" data-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/The-Spiral.jpg" data-thumbnail="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/thumbs/thumbs_The-Spiral.jpg" data-title="The Spiral" href="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/The-Spiral.jpg" rel="17679" style="color: #0092dd; display: block !important; margin: 0px; text-align: center;" title="Although this may look like a spiral, this image is actually a series of concentric circles. Run your finger along the lines and see for yourself. The complicated background pattern tricks your brain into filling in what isn't really there."><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="The Spiral" height="640" src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/The-Spiral.jpg" style="background: rgb(236, 240, 244); border: none; margin: 0px; max-width: 708px; padding: 10px;" title="The Spiral" width="636" /></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Although this may look like a spiral, this image is actually a series of concentric circles. Run your finger along the lines and see for yourself. The complicated background pattern tricks your brain into filling in what isn't really there.</span></div>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
<h3 style="color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><u>Pink Or Green Dots</u></span></h3>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
<a class="ngg-fancybox" data-description="If you stare at the black cross in the middle of the image then you will see a green dot moving around the circle. Eventually the pink dots will seem to disappear and you'll be left with only a green dot going round. However, the reality is that the green dot doesn't really exist!" data-image-id="357" data-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Pink or Green Dots.gif" data-thumbnail="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/thumbs/thumbs_Pink or Green Dots.gif" data-title="Pink Or Green Dots" href="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Pink%20or%20Green%20Dots.gif" rel="17679" style="color: #0092dd; display: block !important; margin: 0px; text-align: center;" title="If you stare at the black cross in the middle of the image then you will see a green dot moving around the circle. Eventually the pink dots will seem to disappear and you'll be left with only a green dot going round. However, the reality is that the green dot doesn't really exist!"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="Pink Or Green Dots" height="640" src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Pink%20or%20Green%20Dots.gif" style="background: rgb(236, 240, 244); border: none; margin: 0px; max-width: 708px; padding: 10px;" title="Pink Or Green Dots" width="640" /></span></a><a class="ngg-fancybox" data-description="If you stare at the black cross in the middle of the image then you will see a green dot moving around the circle. Eventually the pink dots will seem to disappear and you'll be left with only a green dot going round. However, the reality is that the green dot doesn't really exist!" data-image-id="357" data-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Pink or Green Dots.gif" data-thumbnail="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/thumbs/thumbs_Pink or Green Dots.gif" data-title="Pink Or Green Dots" href="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Pink%20or%20Green%20Dots.gif" rel="17679" style="color: #0092dd; display: block !important; margin: 0px; text-align: center;" title="If you stare at the black cross in the middle of the image then you will see a green dot moving around the circle. Eventually the pink dots will seem to disappear and you'll be left with only a green dot going round. However, the reality is that the green dot doesn't really exist!"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">
f you stare at the black cross in the middle of the image then you will see a green dot moving around the circle. Eventually the pink dots will seem to disappear and you'll be left with only a green dot going round. However, the reality is that the green dot doesn't really exist!</div>
</span></div>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
<h3 style="color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><u>Count The Black Dots</u></span></h3>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
<a class="ngg-fancybox" data-description="So you think you can see black dots? See if you can count them. You might struggle because the reality is, there are no black dots! There is in fact only white spots which seem to turn black from your peripheral vision." data-image-id="348" data-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Count-The-Black-Dots.jpg" data-thumbnail="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/thumbs/thumbs_Count-The-Black-Dots.jpg" data-title="Count The Black Dots" href="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Count-The-Black-Dots.jpg" rel="17679" style="color: #0092dd; display: block !important; margin: 0px; text-align: center;" title="So you think you can see black dots? See if you can count them. You might struggle because the reality is, there are no black dots! There is in fact only white spots which seem to turn black from your peripheral vision."><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="Count The Black Dots" height="479" src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Count-The-Black-Dots.jpg" style="background: rgb(236, 240, 244); border: none; margin: 0px; max-width: 708px; padding: 10px;" title="Count The Black Dots" width="640" /></span></a><a class="ngg-fancybox" data-description="So you think you can see black dots? See if you can count them. You might struggle because the reality is, there are no black dots! There is in fact only white spots which seem to turn black from your peripheral vision." data-image-id="348" data-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Count-The-Black-Dots.jpg" data-thumbnail="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/thumbs/thumbs_Count-The-Black-Dots.jpg" data-title="Count The Black Dots" href="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Count-The-Black-Dots.jpg" rel="17679" style="color: #0092dd; display: block !important; margin: 0px; text-align: center;" title="So you think you can see black dots? See if you can count them. You might struggle because the reality is, there are no black dots! There is in fact only white spots which seem to turn black from your peripheral vision."><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">
So you think you can see black dots? See if you can count them. You might struggle because the reality is, there are no black dots! There is in fact only white spots which seem to turn black from your peripheral vision.</div>
</span></div>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
<h3 style="color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><u>Parallel Lines - Yes Or No?</u></span></h3>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
<a class="ngg-fancybox" data-description="Although it might not look like it, these lines are parallel. It is due to a brain function known as irradiation, where our brains tend to "spread" dark zones into light zones." data-image-id="349" data-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Parallel-Lines-Yes-Or-No.jpg" data-thumbnail="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/thumbs/thumbs_Parallel-Lines-Yes-Or-No.jpg" data-title="Parallel Lines - Yes Or No?" href="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Parallel-Lines-Yes-Or-No.jpg" rel="17679" style="color: #0092dd; display: block !important; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;" title="Although it might not look like it, these lines are parallel. It is due to a brain function known as irradiation, where our brains tend to "spread" dark zones into light zones."><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="Parallel Lines - Yes Or No?" height="387" src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Parallel-Lines-Yes-Or-No.jpg" style="background: rgb(236, 240, 244); border: none; margin: 0px; max-width: 708px; padding: 10px;" title="Parallel Lines - Yes Or No?" width="640" /></span></a><a class="ngg-fancybox" data-description="Although it might not look like it, these lines are parallel. It is due to a brain function known as irradiation, where our brains tend to "spread" dark zones into light zones." data-image-id="349" data-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Parallel-Lines-Yes-Or-No.jpg" data-thumbnail="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/thumbs/thumbs_Parallel-Lines-Yes-Or-No.jpg" data-title="Parallel Lines - Yes Or No?" href="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Parallel-Lines-Yes-Or-No.jpg" rel="17679" style="color: #0092dd; display: block !important; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;" title="Although it might not look like it, these lines are parallel. It is due to a brain function known as irradiation, where our brains tend to "spread" dark zones into light zones."><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Although it might not look like it, these lines are parallel. It is due to a brain function known as irradiation, where our brains tend to "spread" dark zones into light zones.</div>
</span></span></div>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><u>Which Is The Biggest Line?</u></span></h3>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
<a class="ngg-fancybox" data-description="The answer: They are both the same size.!" data-image-id="350" data-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Which-IS-The-Biggest-Line.jpg" data-thumbnail="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/thumbs/thumbs_Which-IS-The-Biggest-Line.jpg" data-title="Which Is The Biggest Line?" href="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Which-IS-The-Biggest-Line.jpg" rel="17679" style="color: #0092dd; display: block !important; margin: 0px; text-align: center;" title="The answer: They are both the same size.!"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="Which Is The Biggest Line?" height="500" src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Which-IS-The-Biggest-Line.jpg" style="background: rgb(236, 240, 244); border: none; margin: 0px; max-width: 708px; padding: 10px;" title="Which Is The Biggest Line?" width="640" /></span></a><a class="ngg-fancybox" data-description="The answer: They are both the same size.!" data-image-id="350" data-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Which-IS-The-Biggest-Line.jpg" data-thumbnail="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/thumbs/thumbs_Which-IS-The-Biggest-Line.jpg" data-title="Which Is The Biggest Line?" href="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Which-IS-The-Biggest-Line.jpg" rel="17679" style="color: #0092dd; display: block !important; margin: 0px; text-align: center;" title="The answer: They are both the same size.!"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">
The answer: They are both the same size.!</div>
</span></div>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><u>Which Is The Biggest Orange Circle?</u></span></h3>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
<a class="ngg-fancybox" data-description="Again, they are both the same size. Known as the Ebbinghaus Illusion." data-image-id="351" data-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Which-Is-The-Biggest-Orange-Circle.jpg" data-thumbnail="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/thumbs/thumbs_Which-Is-The-Biggest-Orange-Circle.jpg" data-title="Which Is The Biggest Orange Circle?" href="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Which-Is-The-Biggest-Orange-Circle.jpg" rel="17679" style="color: #0092dd; display: block !important; margin: 0px; text-align: center;" title="Again, they are both the same size. Known as the Ebbinghaus Illusion."><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="Which Is The Biggest Orange Circle?" src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Which-Is-The-Biggest-Orange-Circle.jpg" style="background: rgb(236, 240, 244); border: none; margin: 0px; max-width: 708px; padding: 10px;" title="Which Is The Biggest Orange Circle?" /></span></a><span style="color: #5f6d80; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Again, they are both the same size. Known as the Ebbinghaus Illusion.</span></span><h3 style="color: #5f6d80; text-align: center;">
<br /></h3>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; color: #5f6d80; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%; text-align: start;">
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><u>Colouring In</u></span></h3>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
<a class="ngg-fancybox" data-description="We all love to colour in and so does our brain. When a polygon has a border made of a bright line, bordered by a darker line of a complementary color: your brain is tricked into "filling in" the shape with the brighter color." data-image-id="352" data-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Colouring-In.jpg" data-thumbnail="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/thumbs/thumbs_Colouring-In.jpg" data-title="Colouring In" href="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Colouring-In.jpg" rel="17679" style="color: #0092dd; display: block !important; margin: 0px; text-align: center;" title="We all love to colour in and so does our brain. When a polygon has a border made of a bright line, bordered by a darker line of a complementary color: your brain is tricked into "filling in" the shape with the brighter color."><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="Colouring In" height="400" src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Colouring-In.jpg" style="background: rgb(236, 240, 244); border: none; margin: 0px; max-width: 708px; padding: 10px;" title="Colouring In" width="398" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">
We all love to colour in and so does our brain. When a polygon has a border made of a bright line, bordered by a darker line of a complementary color: your brain is tricked into "filling in" the shape with the brighter color.</div>
</span></div>
</div>
<a class="ngg-fancybox" data-description="Again, they are both the same size. Known as the Ebbinghaus Illusion." data-image-id="351" data-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Which-Is-The-Biggest-Orange-Circle.jpg" data-thumbnail="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/thumbs/thumbs_Which-Is-The-Biggest-Orange-Circle.jpg" data-title="Which Is The Biggest Orange Circle?" href="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/gallery/optical-illusions/Which-Is-The-Biggest-Orange-Circle.jpg" rel="17679" style="color: #0092dd; display: block !important; font-size: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;" title="Again, they are both the same size. Known as the Ebbinghaus Illusion."><br /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; color: #5f6d80; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="pic" id="ngg-image-0" style="border: none; color: #5f6d80; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.310400009155273px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 100%;">
</div>
</div>
</div>

10 Optical Illusions That Will Blow Your Mind!

How Many Legs Does An Elephant Have? Normally four but this particular elephant appears to have more. However have a really good look a...

NASA reveals instruments selected for Mars 2020 rover

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="The seven instruments selected for Mars 2020 (Image: NASA)" height="359" src="http://images.gizmag.com/hero/mars-2020-instruments.jpg" width="640" /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22px;">NASA’s </span>Curiosity Mars rover<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"> has been trundling around the Red Planet for almost two years now, so the space agency is looking for a trade in. At a press conference in Washington DC, it announced the seven instruments selected to fly on the Mars 2020 rover mission that is scheduled to launch in July or August 2020 with a landing set for February 2021 at a yet to be determined site. The instruments were selected out of 58 proposals from US and international scientists and engineers, and represent a development cost of US$130 million.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Mars 2020 rover uses the same basic design and engineering as Curiosity, which is currently exploring the Gale Crater region of Mars. While it will come with some improvements – such as newly designed wheels – the launch system, cruise stage, aeroshell, and Skycrane landing system will be almost identical to that used on its predecessor. Like Curiosity, the new rover’s power source will be a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) using the heat from the natural decay of plugs of plutonium-238 nuclear fuel.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The purpose of the mission is to study the geology of Mars, to seek out signs of ancient life, and conduct experiments related to the habitability of Mars for future manned expeditions. In addition, Mars 2020 will collect and store rock and soil samples in a container similar to one developed by the ESA, to be returned to Earth by a later mission.</span></div>
<div class="article_img" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; height: 247px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px auto 1px; padding: 0px; width: 530px;">
<a href="http://www.gizmag.com/mars-2020-rover-instruments-announcement/33184/pictures#15" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1e8dd7; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="A sample return container (Image: NASA)" src="http://images.gizmag.com/inline/mars-2020-instruments-14.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="530" /></span></a></div>
<div class="inline_caption" style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); border-top-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; color: #444444; height: auto !important; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px auto; min-height: 30px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; width: 530px;">
<div style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 5px 5px 10px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A sample return container (Image: NASA)</span></div>
</div>
<div class="clear_both" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
<h2 style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #f36031; font-weight: 300; line-height: 32px; margin: 30px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">
The seven new instruments</span></h2>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Mastcam-Z:</b> An advanced camera system, the Mastcam-Z is a new mast-mounted camera for the Mars 2020 rover that has zoom, panoramic and stereoscopic imaging capabilities. It’s used for mineralogical surveys and general imaging to aid rover operations. The zoom capability is a considerable advance because the current camera on Curiosity relies on two fixed-focus lenses and has great difficulty creating stereoscopic images.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>SuperCam:</b> The Super-Cam is an imaging device for studying chemical composition and mineralogy. It’s designed to detect organic materials in rocks and regolith at a distance.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL):</b> This is an x-ray fluorescence spectrometer, which includes a high-resolution imager to study the fine-scale composition of surface materials for detailed detection and analysis. Mounted on the rover’s robotic arm, it can focus its x-rays on a surface sample and complete an analysis within minutes or even seconds while its imager records visual details to aid mineral identification.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC):</b> SHERLOC is a fine-scale spectrometer that uses an ultraviolet laser for mineralogical studies and detecting organic compounds. According to NASA, it’s the first UV Raman spectrometer (named after the Raman scattering effect used) sent to the Martian surface.</span></div>
<div class="article_img" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; height: 298px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px auto 1px; padding: 0px; width: 530px;">
<a href="http://www.gizmag.com/mars-2020-rover-instruments-announcement/33184/pictures#8" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1e8dd7; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="SHERLOC infographic (Image: NASA)" src="http://images.gizmag.com/inline/mars-2020-instruments-7.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="530" /></span></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"This instrument uses two distinct detection strategies," says principal investigator, Luther Beegle of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "It can detect an important class of carbon molecules with high sensitivity, and it also identifies minerals that provide information about ancient aqueous environments."</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE):</b> This is an experiment from MIT that will attempt to produce oxygen from the carbon dioxide in the thin Martian atmosphere. NASA hopes that this could one day lead to a way to provide explorers with oxygen without the expense of carting it from Earth.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA):</b> A weather station to measure temperature, wind direction and velocity, barometric pressure and humidity, as well as the size and shape of dust particles in the air.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Radar Imager for Mars' Subsurface Exploration (RIMFAX):</b> Mounted under the rover’s belly, this is a centimeter-scale ground-penetrating radar for studying subsurface features.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">NASA says that Mars 2020 will spend at least one Martian year or two Earth years studying the Red Planet. The space agency hopes that data sent back by the robotic explorer will provide insights into the potential hazards from Martian dust as well as the prospect of manufacturing oxygen out of atmospheric carbon dioxide for breathing and rocket propulsion, which would greatly reduce the cost of sending people to Mars.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"The 2020 rover will help answer questions about the Martian environment that astronauts will face and test technologies they need before landing on, exploring and returning from the Red Planet," says William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. "Mars has resources needed to help sustain life, which can reduce the amount of supplies that human missions will need to carry. Better understanding the Martian dust and weather will be valuable data for planning human Mars missions. Testing ways to extract these resources and understand the environment will help make the pioneering of Mars feasible."</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The press conference introducing the new instrument suite for the Mars 2020 can be viewed below.</span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1cRhU6bMLis?feature=player_embedded" width="640"></iframe></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">source-<a href="http://www.gizmag.com/mars-2020-rover-instruments-announcement/33184/" target="_blank">gizmag</a></span></div>

NASA reveals instruments selected for Mars 2020 rover

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has been trundling around the Red Planet for almost two years now, so the space agency is looking for a tr...

Vision-correcting display lets users ditch their reading glasses

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="Researchers at UC Berkeley claim to have created a vision-correcting matrix for display sc..." height="358" src="http://images.gizmag.com/hero/vision-correcting-display.jpg" width="640" /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22px;">We've seen a number of </span>glasses-free 3D<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"> technologies in recent years, most famously in </span>Nintendo's 3DS<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22px;">, but now researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and MIT have created a prototype device that allows those with vision problems to ditch their eyeglasses and contact lenses when viewing regular 2D computer displays by compensating for the viewer's visual impairment.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The prototype device consists of a screen printed with a matrix of pinholes measuring just 75 microns in diameter and separated by gaps 390 microns wide. This printed pinhole screen was then inserted between two layers of clear acrylic and attached it to an iPod display. Using an algorithm that takes into account a person's eyeglasses prescription, the screen is able to compensate for an individual's specific visual impairment by adjusting the intensity and direction of the light emitted from each screen pixel.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In this way, by way of a technique called deconvolution – a process of reversing optical distortion similar to that used to correct images on the Hubble telescope’s distorted mirror – the light from the image that passes through the pinhole matrix will be perceived by the user as a sharp image.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In a trial to test this set up, the team used a camera whose lens was adjusted to emulate farsightedness in a human eye, and then displayed images to that camera. When the image-correcting matrix was placed between the screen and the observing camera, the image resolved into sharp focus.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"Our technique distorts the image such that, when the intended user looks at the screen, the image will appear sharp to that particular viewer,” said Brian Barsky, UC Berkeley professor of computer science and vision science who is leading the project. "But if someone else were to look at the image, it would look bad."</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Currently, the device also requires that the viewer remain in a fixed position for the matrix to be effective. However, Fu-Chung Huang, who is lead author of the study, says that eye-tracking technology could be used in future to allow the displays to adapt to the position of the viewer's head. He says the team also hopes to add multi-way correction that would allow users with different visual problems to view sharp images on the same display.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In addition to common problems such as farsightedness, the team says the technology could one day also help those with more complex problems, known as high order aberrations, which eyeglasses and contact lenses are unable to correct.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"We now live in a world where displays are ubiquitous, and being able to interact with displays is taken for granted," said Barsky. "People with higher order aberrations often have irregularities in the shape of the cornea, and this irregular shape makes it very difficult to have a contact lens that will fit. In some cases, this can be a barrier to holding certain jobs because many workers need to look at a screen as part of their work. This research could transform their lives, and I am passionate about that potential."</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The research team's will present their findings at <a href="http://s2014.siggraph.org/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1e8dd7; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">SIGGRAPH 2014</a> (Special Interest Group on Graphics and Interactive Techniques) conference in Vancouver, Canada on August 12th this year. Their paper is published in the journal <i><a href="http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2601122&CFID=395543916&CFTOKEN=48556190" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1e8dd7; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">ACM Transactions on Graphics</a></i>.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The following video shows the prototype screen in use, and explains some of the background to its development.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6V2x3nLQdA0?feature=player_embedded" style="background-color: transparent;" width="640"></iframe></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">SOURCE-<a href="http://www.gizmag.com/vision-correcting-display-glasses-obsolete/33173/" target="_blank">GIZMAG</a></span></div>
</div>
</div>

Vision-correcting display lets users ditch their reading glasses

We've seen a number of glasses-free 3D technologies in recent years, most famously in Nintendo's 3DS , but now researchers at...

zcan-two in one "a scanner and a mouse"

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="The 2.4 GHz Zcan Wireless runs on a rechargeable lithium battery and packs Dacuda SLAM Sca..." height="359" src="http://images.gizmag.com/hero/zcan_wireless_scanner_mouse.png" width="640" /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Hong Kong-based company Design to Innovation (DTOI) has developed what it is claiming is the world's first wireless scanner mouse. The Zcan Wireless is designed as a standard optical mouse, but does away with the cord and packs a miniaturized scanner, enabling users to instantly scan images and text.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We've seen a number of mice that double as scanners emerge over the last couple of years, with the launch of products like LG's LSM-100 and theIRIScan mouse for Windows. It now appears the technology can be miniaturized to the point where a battery and wireless communications technology can also be squeezed inside, without compromising on size and comfort.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Zcan Wireless communicates wirelessly via 2.4 GHz frequency when used as a mouse and connects to a computer via Wi-Fi for scanning. It is powered by a rechargeable lithium battery and features a scanner that uses SLAM Scan software that allows real-time processing of text and images, instant editing, as well as easy sharing of contents. The software was developed by Swiss company Dacuda, who used it in its own PocketScan portable wireless scanner.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Connecting via Wi-Fi and swiping the mouse over a document or image will see it appear instantly on the user's monitor. At present, the Zcan Wireless is compatible with Windows 7 and 8, Mac OS X 10.6 or higher, third-gen iPad and second-gen iPad Mini, with iPhone 5/5S support slated for the end of the year.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Scanning images and text at a resolution of up to 400 dpi, files can be saved as Excel, Word, PDF, TXT JPEG, TIFF, PNG or BMP files. It also supports more than 199 different languages through Optical Character Recognition (OCR), a neat little feature which, when linked Google Translate, allows text to be instantly translates into different languages and read aloud.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The team is looking to raise US$30,000 on Indiegogo to scale up production, develop Android drivers and bring the Zcan Wireless to market. An early pledge of $79 will have one of the wireless scanner mice shipped your way in October, if the campaign runs as planned.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">You can check out the team's pitch video below.</span></div>
<ul id="gallery_images" style="background-color: white; color: #f30631; height: 105px; line-height: 22px; list-style-type: none; margin: 20px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/RO4h1c5lGbI?feature=player_embedded" style="background-color: transparent;" width="640"></iframe></span></ul>
<div>
<span style="color: #f30631; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #f30631; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #f30631; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #f30631; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #f30631; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #f30631; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #f30631; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #f30631; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #f30631; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #f30631; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #f30631; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #f30631; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">source-<a href="http://www.gizmag.com/zcan-wireless-scanner-mice/33185/" target="_blank">gizmag</a></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>

zcan-two in one "a scanner and a mouse"

Hong Kong-based company Design to Innovation (DTOI) has developed what it is claiming is the world's first wireless scanner mouse....

Fitle gives users a 3D avatar of themselves for virtually trying on clothes

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="Fitle wants to provide users with a 3D avatar of themselves with which to try on clothes w..." height="359" src="http://images.gizmag.com/hero/fitle-6.jpg" width="640" /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A new service is promising to end the uncertainty of how clothes will look or fit when shopping on the web. Fitle aims to provide users with a 3D avatar of themselves with which to "try on" clothes online. The company says it will eventually offer the world's largest clothes database via partners.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A number of technologies have already been created aimed at helping people to judge the look at fit of clothes when shopping online. Fits.me is a solution developed for online retailers that allows people to input their measurements and dress a virtual mannequin to gauge clothing fit. Verisize, meanwhile, provides users with size equivalents across clothing brands.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">While these tools can be useful, Fitle says that it can create a 3D avatar of an individual that not only looks like them, but that is morphologically exact. Indeed, it claims to provide a 99 percent accurate representation of the user.</span></div>
<div class="article_img" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; height: 259px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px auto 5px; padding: 0px; width: 530px;">
<a href="http://www.gizmag.com/fitle-3d-clothing-avatar/33167/pictures#1" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1e8dd7; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="User need only provide their height and four photos to create their 3D avatar" src="http://images.gizmag.com/inline/fitle-1.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="530" /></span></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Fitle avatars are created using the height measurement of a user and four photos of them. An algorithm is used to extract more than 50 parameters based on how a user looks, while another is used to create a 3D reconstruction of the user. Fitle says the end results are photo-realistic.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The company also uses its recognition and reconstruction algorithms to digitize clothing from its partners. By doing so, Fitle says it is able to generate "accurate 3D versions of clothes based on their dimensions, size and material," and that users can therefore be confident that the look and fit of the clothes on their avatars will be true to life.</span></div>
<div class="article_img" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; height: 259px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px auto 5px; padding: 0px; width: 529px;">
<a href="http://www.gizmag.com/fitle-3d-clothing-avatar/33167/pictures#2" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1e8dd7; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="An algorithm is used to extract more than 50 parameters based on how a user looks" src="http://images.gizmag.com/inline/fitle-2.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="529" /></span></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Amongst the other benefits that Fitle says its technology will provide is the ability to show users only clothes that will fit them and that match their style, based on previous purchases. Users can scan the barcode of existing clothes to see what they would look like when paired with online items, if the existing item has already been digitized. Clothes can also be saved to a virtual wardrobe in order to try out different outfits or to see how certain items will match with potential purchases in the future.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Fitle says that it has the catalogs of over 250 partner brands already digitized. Partner catalogs are kept up-to-date with new items, changes in price and product availability.</span></div>
<div class="article_img" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; height: 259px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px auto 5px; padding: 0px; width: 529px;">
<a href="http://www.gizmag.com/fitle-3d-clothing-avatar/33167/pictures#3" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1e8dd7; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="Users can scan the barcodes of existing clothes to see how they would look with potential ..." src="http://images.gizmag.com/inline/fitle-3.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="529" /></span></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The company is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the industrialization of its 3D clothes modeling process, to increase its partner network, to further improve its accuracy and to run beta testing of the technology. Individuals can pledge to receive, amongst other things, a smartphone case, a watch or beta access to the site. The campaign looks set to miss its target, but Fitle says it will launch regardless. It is due to go live first in the US and France by February 2015.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Fitle's Kickstarter pitch video can be seen below.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">source-<a href="http://www.gizmag.com/fitle-3d-clothing-avatar/33167/" target="_blank">gizmag</a></span></div>
</div>

Fitle gives users a 3D avatar of themselves for virtually trying on clothes

A new service is promising to end the uncertainty of how clothes will look or fit when shopping on the web. Fitle aims to provide users w...