Dear Electronics Manufacturers, Stop Keeping Me Up at NIght

Years ago I recall reading an article noting the reason why electronics devices have bright LEDs is that manufacturers want consumers to pay more attention to their product on show room floors, but most of us don't live in a showroom, so why do the LEDs remain at the same brightness?  Honestly, I'm going to blame some corporate marketing genius, but I HAZ SOLUTION!

Photo resistors, that's right, simple photoresistors.

Manufacturers could readily embed one or more micro light sensors, that would provide feed back into the power supply of any visible spectrum LEDs.  Using a relatively simple PWM on the power of the LED, your device could dim its lights in real world conditions but still be annoyingly bright on the showroom.  

Unfortunately the reason technology like this isn't implemented isn't a result of lack of technology, it's a result of lack of incentives for them to make this feature common place.

7/15/15 Follow Up

Option B, instead of using circuits that add to the cost and complexity of manufacturing electronics lighting, sticky pads.  Using the same style of adhesive that painters tape and Post It Notes (tm), make pads of material that are designed to cover individual LEDs.  A company could make a generic pad that covers a given area, read a square of material, or you could get customized pieces that more closely match a given device.

The reason for this, I hate putting pieces of tape on my electronics, but it seems like it is the only way to ensure that my bedroom isn't a damn glow cave

Updating the Igloo

On Monday afternoon I got a text from a friend asking if we could use Arctic Ice and plastic sheeting to make buildings in extreme northern/southern latitudes.  To which I asked "you mean an igloo?"  After some clarification it became obvious that he was hoping for something a tad more modern, and when there is a convergence of an upcoming technical job interview where one's design methodologies are being inquired on and the "client" is an old friend, what the hey?

The challenge for this design request is how generally vague it is, Forrest this is no disservice to you, I know it was a random idea communicated via a small number of text messages.  The goal, generally stated is to design a technology or series of technologies that allow teams to use local resources to set up housing that can survive extreme weather.  The other general restrictions are reasonable cost, ease of transport, and ease of assembly.  Oh crap, I almost forgot, ability to integrate modern technology.  

The design criteria are now roughly outlined, the question is how to prioritize things, a point value defining which variable makes the most sense is possible, going that far isn't really that rational when I don't have an actual client pain to address, this is more pie in the sky designing, consequently   semi-RANDOM SOLUTIONS with ARBITRARY CONSTRAINTS!  (whoo!)

During the initial "client discussion" I put forth one suggestion, make an inflatable habitat similar to an emergency life-raft.  It met the clients desire for an easily deployed structure that would protect users from the elements, but it did not meet his requirement for a longer term structure.  After several days of thought, I came to the decision that making the Smart Igloo as a singular structure would not make sense, it lacks the flexibility in use that the source inspiration had and making a one size fits all solution just does not feel right.

I envision two primary parts in the final system, a flat pack interior lining that helps keep the insides in and the outside out, the second system, exterior wall and ceiling elements designed to protect the gooey insides of the Smart Igloo.

For the interior, I would start with a vinyl rectangular solid.  (at this point I was planning on putting in a cool rendering, but the relative thickness of the vinyl to width of the Smart Igloo, just didn't work, so descriptions and non-scale MS Paint art ahoy)

The tube of vinyl would start with a thick floor layer, the walls would look something far less crappy than the image below. 

 

The black squares represent cable tie mount points, this would allow for the clients request for adding electrical hardware, data cables, whatever other additions needed by the end user.  (please note the number of cable tie mounts was more visually motivated than an actual system density, that would require an in depth analysis of use cases and cost benefits.)  The blue squares are transparent window holes to allow light to go through.  Said window locations might also be designed for the window panels to be removed and things like ducts for air-conditioning.  The ceiling of the system would look relatively similar, mounting points for wiring and lights.

Now that the interior system is roughly sketched out, to the exterior.  That is relatively easy, sandbags and/or Hesco Bastions (see image to the right), can be stacked on top of eachother to provide thermal mass and insulate the structure.  The real challenge is making the roof of the unit, and I keep flip flopping on how to do that, currently I am leaning towards sandbags designed to help making an arched roof.

Seeing as I have spent too many hours trying to make CAD models look appropriate, finding what the hell Hesco Bastions were called, so onto the real world, thank you for reading.

Sci Fi Weapons

Soon after the big bang the most common compound in the entire universe was Helium Hydride, according to a random science article I read, it is also theoretically one of the most powerful acids known.  Idea for a sci-fi weapon.  A super gun that shoots magnetically contained rounds of helium hydride, to sound even more bad-ass you could say it was in a metallic state.  Example line from a book.

Stellar Wind was screwed, not the usual run of the mill screwed that Planetary Recon dealt with on a new world. this planet had been infected by Inguat, and running down the hallway was one of the largest Inguat Organic Tanks she had seen.  The tank had a unique proactive defensive mechanism that would stop anything with sufficient kinetic/chemical energy.  Fortunately for Wind she had packed four Metalic Helium Hydride rounds, each was capable of melting through almost any compound and was so rare that it was unlikely for the Tank's defenses to be programmed to stop the bullet, so long as it was lobbed softly enough.  Stellar Wind networked with her Ballista and started calibrating the on board magnetic accelerators, too much energy and the Tank's defenses would stop the round no matter what, too little energy and the bolt would be more likely to injure a squad mate.  Within two micro-seconds a range of options were considered.  Steady, aim, fire.  Before her conscious mind could process the sensation of firing Stellar Wind's Ballista let her know that she missed.  Round number two.  Steady, aim, fire. The Ballista releases another wave of electrical energy propelling the 40 mm diameter bolt to several hundred meters per second.  The second round nears its mark, proximity sensors begin to readjust the geometry of the bolt to ensure the acid can take advantage of its metallic state, tearing a tremendous hole into the central mass of the Tank.

(pretty bad eh, I am rather sleepy)  

Molecular Gastronomy Gets a Little Bit Cooler

Cold inspires, cold creates, and eventually cold will end the universe.  (not really, but I wasn't sure how I wanted to introduce this idea, consequently weird segues may abound, oh wait better intro, straight forward honest, but I like this part, so I'm leaving it in, take that coherent writing narratives) 

3-D printing and molecular gastronomy* are culinary matches made in heaven.  Inventors, chefs, and inventive chefs, are creating technologies and techniques that make you wonder what can't be made into food.  While food and drink recipes are moving into the future, culinary ice has only changed at a relatively glacial pace (pun very much intended).  

Ice does not need remain to relegated to simply cooling a food item, with 3-D printing, smart chemistry, and a chef's ingenuity ice can do so much more for a drink.  Currently when a drink is ordered at a bar, the bartender can only choose from varying sizes of ice cube, the differences in the shape and size of the ice cubes will alter the rate of melting within the clients drink.  Over time the melting ice will slowly water down the drink, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, many hard liquors are ordered on the rocks, to expressly have the water change the flavor profile of the drink over time.  What if the drink wasn't simply being watered down, but as the ice melted other flavor elements were added to the drink, transforming the relatively static drink into something dynamic.  Early generations of this technology would most likely be added to more rudimentary cocktails, where your margarita would intermittently add hints of lime.  Future innovators/bar owners hoping to maximize the premium on their drinks would allow guests to custom order specialized 4-D ice that matched their pallete, body temperature, and uhhhhh.. pheromones (?) (the last one is an idea for marketing BS not actually grounded in any real thought).  

The year is 2030 and Snowflake and his friends are out to celebrate his acceptance into the AI digitization and upload program, to celebrate they decide to get the most expensive drink on the menu, "Snowflake's Dream".  The title of the drink is based off of the overly invasive club's computer system data mining all of Snowflake's data on social media, as well as bio-metric data gleaned from the building's security system.  It turns out the programmers were lazy and simply coded the AI to simply make the title of the drink the name of the patron followed by the word dream.  While unimaginative on the menu's naming system the programmers did an amazing job on the drink design software.  Noting how long Snowflake generally takes to drink various types of drinks, what flavors he finds interesting and complimentary, the AI concocts a drink and ice cube that will perfectly match his desire for a social drink that takes 27 min+/- 4 min to finish.  When Snowflake's drink arrives, his friends cheer his achievement and he takes his first sip, the best cocktail he's ever had, 29 minutes later, the profile of the drink has changed, subtly and deliciously, and Snowflake is ready to order another.

The inspiration for this idea stems from a Wired magazine article which you can find here.  

*read people taking overly complex cooking techniques to levels that would look appropriate on the set of Star Trek 

Man it's been awhile since I wrote a post, damn ADHD/lack of external motivators,  a few things.

1. Using 3-D printers was more for hype than actually being the only way to add flavor to a drink dynamically, in theory a smart glass with small fluid reservoirs would be cheaper, but that didn't sound as cool.

2.  saying the guy was going to become an uploaded in the year 2030 was arbitrary, I  have no real sense of timescale on that, my money is on after this date, but I had already chosen the year and when I came up with what they were celebrating a 21st birthday seemed lame and I was already typing and that was the idea that came tome.

3. from an actual manufacturing standpoint printing like this would be incredibly complex, according to the wired article just using normal water ice, the chamber needed to operated at minus 8 degrees ( I assume Fahrenheit), for additives like sugar water, salt, or whatever inventors might end up using, the cold temperature might not be enough, to be truly effective the machine would need to provide a non-flavored surface coating to minimize cross contamination.  This would make it all very complex.

4.  the cost benefit on an idea like this is incredibly dubious, I am aware of that, there is a reason why this is on a damn design blog.

I hope you all enjoyed. 

Let us Segue the Conversation to the Segway

It has been far too many moons since this nerd has properly updated "My Cognitive Surplus" and so I am now spending a few minutes writing up an idea I've had for awhile relating to additional uses for Segway scooters.

Garbage Pick-Up:  Taking the trash out is such a hassle, why should I have to remember when to take out the trash?  (Yes I know this is more a solving of first world problems)
The body of the segway scooter serves as a fantastic platform for a semi-autonomous delivery platform, by replacing the standing area of the scooter with container storage and a sensing node, the scooter should be able to transport roughly 100 lbs of materials from point A to point B with little oversight.  Instead of physically lugging your garbage-can to the street corner the night before/the morning of garbage pick up, your smart garbage-can could wander its way to a central pick up storage location.  The advantage of this approach is one of fuel use, whenever a vehicle has to stop and start it wastes a tremendous amount of energy, larger garbage trucks have a lot of mass that needs to be accelerated the less frequently they have to stop the less energy the need to operate.  The smaller smart garbage-cans waste less energy per stop and have the advantage of being fully electric, meaning they can use a home's energy supply, the central storage location could even use a solar canopy to charge the smart cans.

Developments of the future could design homes and businesses with a standardized garbage pick up modules, allowing said locations to share a minimal number of smart carriers.

Another use of this technology would be home delivery assistance, as the smart carrier technology became more accepted businesses could start to utilize the standard container dimensions, instead of Amazon using drone air-craft for deliveries, they could use the smart-segways.  There would certainly be trade-offs with respect to getting from point A to point B, you would be limited to two dimensions of motion.  The benefit of using a ground based semi-autonomous transport system come from safety and mass of cargo, a drone would need to be limited to a relatively small amount of mass, but a ground carrier would be able to carry far more mass for a given amount of energy.  If firms are willing to deliver at night, swarms of these small delivery systems could offset a large volume urban deliveries.

Capturing Martian Dust Storms for ... uuhhh Science Stuff

Imagine going on vacation and having to bring every single item with you, food, clothing, electricity.... (you get the point), now imagine going on a trip where you need to bring the very air you breathe with you, oh and it costs at minimum $10,000/kilogram to get that material there.  This is the challenge that faces the world's space agencies when they consider humans exploring Mars.  The most popular solution for reducing the weight of what needs to be shipped is to try manufacturing supplies from resources found on the alien world, this process is referred to as In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU).  The why of ISRU is pretty understandable, make what you need from what you find around you and make your mission more affordable, the how is a little more difficult to determine, researchers and mission planners must consider a range of potential challenges when providing recommendations for research efforts.  Currently NASA is researching the potential of collecting Mars' thin atmosphere and converting the carbon-dioxide and extracting breathable oxygen.  This approach requires filtering out atmospheric dust particulates, primarily to avoid jamming the atmospheric collector, instead of focusing on extracting gaseous materials, this author wonders how viable it would be to simple collect the dust and soil that are whipped around Mars as a result of the planet's high speed winds.  (As I am unfamiliar with the actual energy demands of extracting the useful elements of Martian dust I am going off of a mechanics question, it could be very likely that the dust question was discounted as a result of the net energy demands of resource extraction vs the energy cost of material capture)
The rational behind designing an extraction system that utilizes air born dust as opposed to more active extraction systems, i.e. digging robots, is to minimize the number of moving parts and as a result the potential points of system failure.  A properly designed dust scoop could stand stationary for years or decades slowly accumulating dust and soil picked up by Martian dust storms.  The overall design of the dust collector array would need to meet a range of system requirements, including, but not limited to, surviving dust storms where wind speeds could reach 100 kph or more (the highest wind speeds recorded on Mars were measured by the Viking Landers at 100 kph, but there is no guarantee that they have seen the highest wind speeds Mars can produce), the body of the collection system must be able to withstand the weathering forces of Mars' extremely abrasive dust, and most critically the dust collector must be able to extract as much Martian dust and soil for every dollar it would cost to send as a more active excavating robot.  Estimating the design requirement of the first constraint is relatively easy, the remaining two, a bit harder, but let's try.
To estimate the median force that the wind would apply on the collector, which for initial calculations we are going to treat the collector as simple wall, namely because that limits the variables and we're only going for the same scale of force, read we are only worried if we are within a factor of 10 of the actual value.  
The Equation Used is the Drag EquationV is the velocity of the wind, here calculated for the known worst case scenario, 100 kph or 27.7777 m/s

ρ is the density of Martian atmosphere 0.02 kg/m^3

A is the area of the collector system.

CD is the coefficient for Drag, which we are assuming is 100%, remember we are looking at the worst case scenario.

When we remove the units we see everything balances out, which is always nice to see.

Holy crap, I have spent a few too many hours on this, I will follow up tomorrow with more, but time to get back to job hunting.

Edit I want to add some links at the bottom that will get added into the rest of this document later.

http://reseauconceptuel.umontreal.ca/rid=1225319082132_1402805076_76755/In%20Situ%20Resource%20Utilization.cmap probably a contender for one of the worst flow charts in history, but it does talk about dust extraction vs air extraction

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20110016184.pdf  a higher level document on dust extraction utilizing electrical fields

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar_resources/documents/ISRUFinalReportRev15_19_05%20_2_.pdf over view on ISRUs

http://www.spaceclimate.net/ISRU.Chapter.vers7.pdf another ISRU overview

http://iopscience.iop.org/1742-6596/327/1/012048/pdf/1742-6596_327_1_012048.pdf filtering out dust from atmospheric extraction systems

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20120001775.pdf powerpoint in PDF format that talks about atmospheric extraction  

Williamsburg's Latest Tablet

After months of unfounded rumors, scraped from locavore cheese tastings, sampled from triple fusion food trucks, and a journey through several underground clubs I have finally had my first opportunity to look at the "TMNT" Industries' ("Totally Mainstream New Technologies" Industries (yes the quotation marks must be included in the name)) latest tablet.  To say this piece of hardware is an inspiration for going in a bold new direction for personal computing and self exploration is a harsh understatement, the simple square design and reclaimed wood panel backing surround a machine that will allow both artists and makers to unleash their creative power.  First impressions are difficult to fully describe, "TMNT" Industries lead designer Dona T. Lo is a true perfectionist in  her craft, while she allowed me to interact with some truly inspired early drafts of the Aliquid no photographs could be taken and only the idealized render of the system would be shared with your blogger.  She feels that consumer experience will sell the final product at launch, come February 30th.

What I can say is that this device takes tablet technology in directions only alluded to in competing products.  For me the most distinguishing feature was the three camera array on the tablet.  The most humdrum being for selfies and facetime chats with friends the front facing camera serves as a 1080p webcam that is also capable of taking 10 megapixel stills.  On the back of the tablet's aesthetic is a contrast of reclaimed barn wood (at least in the prototype I held, designer Lenard O'Devince tells me that customers will eventually be able to bring almost any material in for re-purposing) and a removable black square about 2.5 inches across with a silver ring encompassing a small glass window.  For many photographers this will be the Aliquid's "killer app", this removable segment allows for a range of sensors and lenses to be added to the Tablet, using minimal tools.  The default design will come with 2/3" CCD sensor capable of sensitivities more than ISO 6400 (issues with sourcing from manufacturers is making exact details hard to finalize) and a fast acting shutter on par with the majority of DSLR cameras.  Customers will receive a free Holga lens system and a coupon that will allow them to order a lens mount for most lens supplier as the adapters become available.  Above the major sensor lies a smaller camera system, that includes a sensor similar to the front facing camera, but with more advanced audio recording and a brighter flash.  While many photographers are likely to attach their own flash assemblies as they create them, "TMNT" has also included a larger flash to the left of the cameras as a back up option.

For makers, tinkerers, hackers, and anyone else not included in this list who likes to mess with electronics "TMNT" Industries has a new technology sure to blow your mind, inductiblu.  Inductiblu is an open standard based around the existing bluetooth standard intendend to allow users to add functionality to their Aliquid tablet wherever they need it.  Embedded along the bezel of the Aliquid's body there are dozens of micro-wireless power transfer systems, capable of supplying over 5 miliwatts of power per centimeter.  These power systems could provide the energy for communicating with small data relays, sensors, if inventors want to make an attachment they can do it.  Electrical engineer Chuck Michelangelo noted that he has made several magnetically mounted cartridge readers for various classic systems including the NES and Sega Genesis.
Every detail blew me away, unfortunately my editor is making me cut this post short to get it out on time, so I will finish up with a few final details.
The Aliquid will launch with an optional attachment for playing vinyl records, it will use the system's single USB port for power.
The back paneling is removable and the interior is designed to allow for additional components and modifications to be added, as well as the option to add thicker backings to accommodate larger components
Screen Size 10 inches
Aspect Ratio 1:1
Screen Resolution 2200x2200 pixels
Cameras 3
Battery 8,000 mAh
Processor:  Quad Core from a to be announced supplier
Memory:  4 GB RAM 16,32,64,128, 256 GB SSD as well as microSD expandable for all models
Dimensions: 220mm wide 220 mm in height and 9 mm in thickness

Obviously this is a piece of fiction, hopefully you enjoyed reading this post, if you have any thoughts or comments or want more details please say something.  Thanks for your time and happy April Fools.

XKCD did a much better job committing to the crazy tablet premise