Advanced Technology News
  • Home
    • Blog
  • Discoveries
  • Robotics
  • Engineering
  • Space
  • Aviation

Space Shuttle Tank ET-94 Arrives in L.A.

5/23/2016

0 Comments

 

First Podcast! 

​In this podcast, I talk a little bit more in depth about the arrival of the ET-94 fuel tank to Los Angeles. 
Picture

Recently, the Space Shuttle's (Endeavor) fuel tank that was actually never used in any space flights, is a big piece of American history, and it is heading towards the California Science Center! On Wednesday May 18, 2016, the tanked used in this historic space launch has now arrived in Marina del Rey, in Los Angeles. But why is this fuel tank so historic and valuable even though it 
was NEVER used?  This was an external fuel tank also known as ET-94, (ET-94 = External Tank 94) which was never actually used because it was thought that this tank would cause other problems, just like how the so-call "twin" tank, ET-93, caused a deadly accident.
​What I mean by this is that for example, astronauts and NASA space staff did not want to use this fuel tank for further exhibitions because the "twin" tank ET-93, was the cause of a huge fiery explosion of the space shuttle Colombia, in 2003, killing the seven astronauts aboard. So then afterwards, it was considered that this fuel tank didn't and never actually went up into space. Although, ET-94 WAS actually used in a flight across the canal of Panama last month in April, where it took-off and landed in New Orleans, Louisiana. 
Picture
Although people might not care about this fuel tank, it IS actually a big piece of both American and space history.
​
Now that it has recently arrived to Los Angeles, the big question that will probably take sometime to plan out is, "How will the ET-94 make its way through the Los Angeles streets to end up in the California Science Center?" 

First of all, we need to take a closer look at the humongous size of this fuel tank. This fifteen story high tank measures 154-by-27.5-feett (47 by 14.5 meters), according to Space.com. It weighs a total of 66,000 pounds! Now that is what you call MASSIVE! This tank is even bigger in size compared to the Space Shuttle Endeavor. Now that we know the size measurements of this fuel tank, we can begin to wonder how this massive piece of space history will make its way to the California Science Center.  

On May 21st, the ET-94 arrived to the California Science Center, on Saturday. It made a 16 mile long journey from La Marina del Rey, all the way to Exposition Park. This massive 66,000 pound fuel tank spent more than 18 hours slowly roaming down the streets of Los Angeles. According to ktla.com, one of the residents state, "This is huge...this is a huge tank, said Muchaka Zukinta, of Bellflower. “I didn't think it was that big, but it's bigger than I thought it was.” Science Center staff members say that this rule tank will remain in the science museum for several further years, until it is linked onto the shuttle in a new facility. ​​
Picture
I persoanlly, haven't seen this huge fuel tank in person yet, but from what people and residents have said from seeing this tank seems like it is a valuable experience. I am maybe planning to do visit this tank, where it is going to be displayed right next to the NASA Space Shuttle Endeavor. Experiencing and seeing this fuel tank must be an awesome feeling, just getting to see American Space history 
right on front of us. So if you are planning to give the Science Center a quick visit, I recommend that maybe you should go while it is still in Los Angeles ,because you heard, in a couple of years, the tank AND the Endeavor will sadly not be here anymore! ​
​1) ALL first gallery images courtesy of latimes.com. 2) ET-94 fuel tank image courtesy of collectspace.com.  3) Video courtesy of ktla.com Los Angeles News.  4) Tank route image courtesy of jpl.nasa.gov.  5)Image #1 in concluding gallery image courtesy of spaceflight101.com.  6)Image #2 in concluding gallery courtesy of jpl.nasa.gov. 
0 Comments

Edible Robot?

5/17/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Now, the advancement of technology has allowed there to be more robots and drones that are able to perform certain tasks. It also seems like there are more things that robots are able to do for your own personal care. Do you have a battery stuck in your stomach?  Do you have a wound that needs to be patched in one of  your organs? How about if you need a particular medicine to be carried to one of your intestines? Well, that seems like it is no problem for the "edible robot," that the scientists at the University of MIT have designed and created. By the appearance of this microscopically small robot, it seems like it cannot do anything. In fact, I bet you can get mistaken by this robot, thinking it is an insect. 

Researchers and scientists at MIT have thoroughly designed a  pill capsule robot  that is capable of carrying and entering very tight spaces. MIT states that people who have accidentally swallowed or ate past certain small objects that, this robot can safely go through the digestive system without doing any harm. Despite the robot being capable of doing other things,  in particular, MIT has tried to focus on their robot to try to carry out batteries from people's stomach. But why batteries? ​Well, according to  National Capital Poison Center, they state that 3,500 button cell batteries are mistakenly swallowed each year. 
Picture
This is a button cell battery.
You take this "robot," that is folded up inside of a capsule, that you take by mouth, like an ordinary pill. ​The "robot" is has a coating of ice inside of the capsule, so once it has entered your body, the ice melts by the esophagus' heat (in your throat).  Basically, since this robot is in the size of a pill formed like an origami, once it has entered your digestive system, it unfolds into its regular size to get ready into action. Once after the robot has been attached to for example, a battery, the robot and the battery make itself go through the digestive system, and is thrown out by the human body in solid waste form. 
You can check out this video above created by the University of MIT, that will help you understand more of the robot that they created.  
According to USAtoday.com, they state, '“[A researcher] bought a piece of ham, and he put the battery on the ham,” Rus said in a statement. “Within half an hour, the battery was fully submerged in the ham. So that made me realize that, yes, this is important. If you have a battery in your body, you really want it out as soon as possible.”' This particular robot uses a magnetic field system, and so this means that for example, when a particular battery is stuck in one of your intestines, the robot is quickly attracted to what it is looking for.
​It is called, the "edible robot" because for once, this robot is particularly designed to be eaten, or to be swallowed past by. Not only that, but this robot can also transport certain medicines to intestines that regular medicine taken by mouth cannot take to.  

​​Thoughts, Ideas and Opinions
​

I think that maybe because the invention of this microscopic robot will possibly be beneficial for several people. What I mean by this is that, due to the large numbers of people who get batteries stuck in their stomachs' are probably the people who went to the Emergency Room. Now, if many people get ahold of this robot, then when something like this, or related occurs with somebody, then they would easily solve this conflict on their own. It would save and avoid the MAJORITY of people to end up in the hospital when things like this happen, and it helps people save money because then afterwards they wouldn't have to pay an expensive bill for their Emergency hospital check-up. 
​1) First image courtesy of nydailynews.com.  2) Button cell battery image courtesy of ictradenet.com.  3) Video courtesy of YouTube.com/MIT
0 Comments

Google Glass

5/12/2016

2 Comments

 
Picture
After the futuristic tech gadget, the Google Glass, was cancelled from production, Google is still investing some money on this ongoing project. Was the purpose of a pair of the Google Glasses supposed to be a huge replacement for your personal device like your phone? Why did Google decide to discontinue the developing of this project, and decide to take this expensive piece of technology off many store shelves? Why did many consumers want this product so bad? How much did it go for? Was it worth the expensive price? Was this piece of tech able to be the future of many devices? How is a pair of the Google Glass rather much different than your usual pair of glasses that people wear today? What can this thing do? What are the special features of this piece of wearable technology that make it different from anything else? What was the TRUE reason why Google decided to end this huge money-making project? Did their consumers actually like it? What IS the Google Glass? 

The Google Glass is a piece of advanced technology that is still being worked on by their developers at Google, although it is not available for purchase anymore. ​The Google Glass went for a retail price of $1500, (for the I/O developers in the U.S.) the Explorer Edition, and was released on April 2013. The Google Glass was designed, developed, and created by Google X, (a group of designers and engineers at Google) who focus on advanced technology such as the Google Self-Drving Car. (If you want to check out my full article on the Google Self-Driving Car, click here!) The Google Glass has a very slim and slid design to it, which is one of the coupe reasons that make it appealing to its consumers. These Glasses are known 
for its insane and futuristic features. It features a touchpad which is located on the right-hand side, which allows the user to (click and swipe motions) control and see a timeline-interface, displayed on the screen. It has a camera that allows 
the user to take photos, and record videos in 720p HD. The Google Glass features a display that is shown on the screen, in the right-hand side of the glasses. One of the biggest features the Google Glass contains is voice activation. Besides the trackpad, which gives the consumer the freedom to swipe and click on the interface, the Google Glass also uses a system called, "voice actions." Once "voice actions" is activated, the user has the ability to perform certain tasks like you can say, "Take a picture," "Record a video," Schedule a meeting with (Person's name in contacts), and so much more. The "voice actions" reminds me a lot of Siri, from Apple because when having for example an iPhone, you can command Siri to do certain things, for your own certain reasons. 
You can check out this video below, to see how elders react to such thing like the Google Glass. What do they have to say about this?
Due to how a small amount of consumers own a pair of the Google Glass, shows how MANY of the OTHER people don't have these pair of futuristic glasses. Many people that have purchased this piece of wearable tech are the people who say they they actually enjoy the 
special features of the Google Glass. On the other hand, people who have no experience an whatsoever with the Google Glass, are people who say this piece of wearable tech is something fake, and seems like it was taken out of a movie. 

1) Google Glass image courtesy of pcmag.com.  2) Google Glass video courtesy of YouTube.com/Marques Brownlee. 3) First image of gallery courtesy of  Wired.com  4)Second image of gallery courtesy of technologyreviwer.com.  5) Third image of gallery courtesy of catwig.com.  6) Images 4-6 in gallery courtesy of flowjournal.com.  6)Elders React to Google Glass video courtesy of YouTube.com/Fine Brothers Entertainment. 
2 Comments

Humanoid Robotic Diver

5/3/2016

4 Comments

 
Picture
Recently, Stanford University has designed and created a humanoid robotic diver that has recovered many of the treasures and mysteries from King Louis XIV's shipwreck, La Lune. This robot is called OceanOne and has many outstanding characteristics to what it can perform. The interesting idea for this robot came from the need to be able to discover and study coral reefs and underwater ocean life in the Red Sea, whereas obviously human divers couldn't swim more than 100 meters deep to research. In order to do this, you would have needed to find someone who could have held their breath for long periods of time. (Of course, so far, this is impossible to do so). This discovery stayed out of range for many divers and researchers. This was when the idea for OceanOne sparked in the minds of many engineers and skilled deep-sea archaeologists from the University of Stanford.

The students and researchers control this humanoid in a boat with a large set of monitors and joysticks. (It seems like they are playing a video game.) Basically, it is a virtual diver that is controlled by the people themselves. Because of this, the researchers at Stanford were able to use the OceanOne to dive more than 100 meters deep into the Red Sea. The OceanOne has several cameras, sensors, mini computers and much more advanced technology, that is absolutely waterproof. The OceanOne was able to dive deep to the sea grounds to the underwater site where the ship La Lune, sank. This humanoid was able to discover many of the unfound artifacts. In fact, according to news.Stanford.edu, the OceanOne was able to recover an accent vase from the shipwreck, since 1664. There are more artifacts to be found in other discoveries related to ones like these. 



Check out this video below from the SciShow, for further details on the OceanOne! 
​
1) ​news.stanford.edu.   2) Gallery images courtesy of news.stanford.edu. 3)OceanOne video courtesy of YouTube.com/SciShow. 
4 Comments

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

    Archives

    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016

    Categories

    All
    Apple Helping FBI
    Aviation
    Discoveries
    Engineering
    LA Marathon
    Robotics
    Space

    Picture

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
    • Blog
  • Discoveries
  • Robotics
  • Engineering
  • Space
  • Aviation