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Dead artist performs — by holograms In April this year a remarkable “live” music performance was seen by dazzled spectators. Tupac Shakur, who died 15 years ago, suddenly appeared on the stage and gave a live performance. It was actually his real life looking holographic image that performed and sang. One song was performed with his lifelong friend Snoop Dogg. At the end of that show, Tupac Shakur disappeared in a burst of light. The event at which this remarkable performance was witnessed was the 2012 Coachella Music Festival in USA. The deceased rapper was brought back to life due to the 3D effects created by AV Concepts and effects studio, Digital Domain. It opens up possibilities of seeing Elvis Presley or Michael Jackson on stage again — in the weird world of ghost singers.
Contact lenses — for augmented reality The US Defense agency DARPA is funding a project that will equip US soldiers in the field with augmented reality. The project involves the use of contact lenses with embedded microelectronics that will allow useful battle information to be visible simultaneously to the viewer, superimposed on the actual real images, so that he can get important battlefield information, such as the distance of the enemy, the surrounding landscape that could be hiding potential threats and other such information without even blinking an eyelid. Previously the technology has been embedded in special helmets that are worn by fighter pilots so that they have information on their consoles visible to them constantly without the need to bend their heads and look away from the dog fight that may be taking place. That precious fraction of a second may be all the difference between life and death.
The ultra-small form-factor head-up display (HUD) is incorporated into the contact lenses that the soldier wears, allowing him to focus on two planes simultaneously. The project is the DARPA’s Soldier Centric Imaging via Computational Cameras (SCENICC) programme. The iOptik display system comes with special glasses that are equipped with tiny projectors on both sides. These allow 3D video images to be projected also.
While such technologies have certainly given considerable strength to US troops, the courage and human spirit is what finally matters, as is seen in Afghanistan, where first the Soviets were driven out and now the NATO troops have decided to withdraw due to the sheer guts of the Taliban fighters.
Asteroid mining Certain asteroids are rich in some precious metals such as gold, platinum, iridium and rhodium. This can be a commercially attractive opportunity if we could reach them and bring back some of these metals in an economical manner. Now a new company, Planetary Resources, has been formed that has joined hands with some other powerful companies with a net worth of $30 billion. The company recently announced its intention to explore the possibility of mining for these precious metals in steroids found in space. The new company is headed by Chris Lewicki, the former NASA Phoenix Mars Lander mission manager. A recent press release from the company states “The company will overlay two critical sectors — space exploration and natural resources — to add trillions of dollars to the global GDP. This innovative start-up will create a new industry and a new definition of natural resources.”
Harvesting energy and water — by wind turbines Wind turbines have been used for production of electricity, but they have not been used for harvesting water from the air. This is about to change. Now the French inventor Marc Parent has developed a novel design for a wind turbine that can harvest water from the air. A demonstration of this capability was made recently in Abu Dhabi when the wind-powered refrigeration/condensation unit was seen to extract 130-200 gal (approx. 500-800L) of clean, fresh water from the dry desert air.
The wind turbine is connected to a water condenser system that is located on top of a 78ft (24m) mast. It is powered by a 30kW wind with a 42ft (13 m) diameter rotor. The wind turbine is used to generate electricity to cool the on-board cooling units so that the moisture condenses out. If water is not needed, then it can be used to provide electricity to the surrounding localities. It can be ideal for desert locations, remote islands or sites of natural disasters where constant supply of electricity and/or fresh water could be needed for survival.
The units have been robustly designed to last for up to 30 years. In areas where wind may be lacking but there is plenty of sun, an alternative version fitted 30kW solar panel is available to operate the condensation/filtration equipment.
