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Issue no. 7, 2004 Published: Feb 27, 2004
US and EU reach agreement in Galileo talks
Microsoft's Tokyo offices raided
US military creates second Earth
Scans pick up object orientation
Simple optics make quantum relay
Batteryless implant measures blood pressure in heart
Logging on could require a swipe card
Piercing the fog with a tiny chip
Cell phone reads user fingerprint
TV set which doubles up as a mirror

US and EU reach agreement in Galileo talks
The US and EU on Wednesday night reached an agreement to end a four-year transatlantic dispute over Galileo, Europe's satellite navigation system and rival to the Pentagon-controlled Global Positioning System (GPS). The accord ends a period of tough negotiations that exposed deep differences in the transatlantic relationship. The US, which put its national security interests at centre stage during the talks, insisted that the Europeans did not need Galileo since GPS was already freely available. The EU insisted on the need to develop a highly precise satellite navigation system for commercial and civilian reasons and to make its defence and security ambitions credible. Wednesday night's deal means that parts of the Galileo system will in many cases be compatible with GPS, giving the maritime, air and land navigation users maximum security and choice. Diplomats said the deal also meant that the US and Europeans have avoided becoming competitors, costly for both sides. Under the terms of the deal, the US will lift its veto on the EU making further technological developments of Galileo.
Financial Times Feb 25, 2004	back to top

Microsoft's Tokyo offices raided
Officials from Japan's fair trade watchdog have raided Microsoft's Tokyo offices, authorities said. Microsoft's Japan unit is being investigated by the country's Fair Trade Commission on suspicion of violating antitrust laws, at a time Microsoft faces similar accusations in Europe. The commission said Thursday that it believed Microsoft imposed unfair conditions on computer manufacturers wanting to license its Windows XP operating system software. The investigation is only the latest for Microsoft, which is plagued by accusations that it has abused its monopoly on PC operating systems to push prices higher or harm rivals. It is in settlement negotiations with the European Commission, which says the firm abused its dominant position and curbed competition by tying its Media Player program to its Windows operating system.
ZDNet / Reuters / Silicon.com Feb 25, 2004	back to top

US military creates second Earth
The US Army is building a virtual version of Earth to help it prepare for conflicts around the world. The detailed simulation will be drawn from a real-world terrain database and will be drawn to the same scale as the original. The ambitious project aims to help the US Army plan future conflicts which are unlikely to involve set-piece battles and instead be smaller in scale. The software Earth is being created by gaming company There, which is currently working on a virtual world for gamers. The world being created will be a 'massively multi-user persistent environment' that will model real world physics as closely as possible, according to There. The emphasis will be on human interaction rather than conflicts involving lots of military hardware. Combat will be a part of the game but it is also intended to let the Army simulate intelligence work as well as patrols, planning and working with indigenous populations. Also included will be tools that help trainers and pupils work out how they did and review their progress.
BBC News Feb 23, 2004	back to top

Scans pick up object orientation
It only seems easy to recognise a familiar face or object from any angle. Pattern recognition, however, is difficult for computers, but has many potential uses in areas like manufacturing and security. Researchers from the University of Valencia in Spain have improved the process with a method of mapping three-dimensional objects in a way that records every possible point of view of the object. Because the method produces a map that contains the information of the object from every point of view it allows objects to be recognised from a wider range of views. The method could be used to inspect the orientation and shapes of manufactured goods, and also for face recognition, the researchers say. The method calls for scanning objects from every angle using a range finder that maps the peaks and valleys of the object's surfaces. A later scan from one angle can be compared to this mapped to determine the orientation of the object. The key to detecting object orientation from every angle was mathematically converting the 3-D scan map to a series of points on a sphere.
Technology Review / TRN Feb 24, 2004	back to top

Simple optics make quantum relay
Without repeaters, the light pulses that carry information over fibre-optic long distance lines would fade before they got much further than 100 kilometres. Quantum cryptography devices and networks, which transport photons whose properties can be used to represent the 1s and 0s of digital information, could also benefit from repeaters as today's prototypes cannot carry information over long distances. Researchers from the NASA-Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory have found a way to make a quantum repeater using ordinary optical equipment. Quantum repeaters could boost the reach of quantum cryptography systems, and eventually enable quantum networks. The device would allow for an exponential improvement in the distance quantum bits can be transmitted. The researchers' linear optical quantum repeater uses beam splitters and photodetectors to route photons based on whether specific photodetectors detect other photons. The combination of the right paths and detection- riggered routing makes for a repeater that transfers entanglement rather than copying photons. Entanglement links particle properties such as polarisation regardless of the distance between the particles.
Technology Review / TRN Feb 26, 2004	back to top

Batteryless implant measures blood pressure in heart
Miniature sensors similar to those that trigger airbags in cars might soon be implanted in the hearts of people suffering from a kind of heart disease. The sensors, developed by Integrated Sensing Systems (ISSYS) in the US, would make it easy for doctors to measure blood pressure inside the heart, which at present involves repeated operations. The implant, the size of a grain of rice, is one of a new breed of medical devices that requires no batteries. A radio transmitter and receiver held near the body provides the power and interrogates the implant. The device is designed for people with congestive heart failure, where fluid builds up in organs and limbs because the heart fails to pump enough blood around the body. The condition is usually treated with drugs, and to ensure they are working doctors regularly have to measure the pressure inside the left atrium of the heart. At the moment, this can only be done by temporarily inserting a catheter into the heart, via an artery in the arm or leg. But with the new implant a similar operation would only have to be done once, to place the sensor inside the left atrium, according to ISSYS.
New Scientist Feb 25, 2004	back to top

Logging on could require a swipe card
Like getting cash out of the ATM, soon logging into your desktop computer at work could require swiping a piece of hardware such as a credit card, key fob or cell phone, as well as typing in a pass code. Separate technologies that will make logging on to networks more secure, were announced by Microsoft and Sun Microsystems on Wednesday. Microsoft says that a technology called SecurID will be integrated with Windows by September 2004. Windows users will be able to log on to a network with a key fob and a six-digit pass code. The Sun system for Linux users requires that a user reveal a unique identifier to the computer network. The vision is that one day users will swipe the SIM card from their cell phone or their java-enabled credit card into a reader attached to the PC and then log in as normal with a password.
New Scientist Feb 25, 2004	back to top

Piercing the fog with a tiny chip
Electrical engineers at the California Institute of Technology have shrunk the functions of a radar system into one tiny, intricately designed silicon chip and eight minuscule antennas. The basic building blocks of the radar system are all fully integrated on the chip, including power generation, signal processing, and dozens of other functions. The intricate parallel circuitry is designed so that the eight antennas can work together to focus and steer a beam of microwaves. Although the circuit design is highly complex, the silicon chip can be made in bulk using inexpensive lithographic methods. The high-frequency beams that the system generates and receives may one day handle many functions, including the usual radar jobs of ranging and location. The chip may also be used for wireless communications, since it has a broad bandwidth at which it communicates. And it produces a bit stream at roughly the rate of fibre optics, more than enough for quick downloads of movies and other digital data.
New York Times Feb 26, 2004	back to top

Cell phone reads user fingerprint
US start-up Atrua Technologies on Saturday unveiled a cell-phone touchpad with built-in fingerprint recognition as a security feature. Atrua, funded by the venture capital arms of Ericsson, Nokia and Intel, said its Atrua Wings product works like the touchpad on many laptops, allowing users to scroll through menus and choose items with the touch of a finger. The same sensor also acts as a fingerprint reader, increasing the security of wireless transactions and simplifying the sign-in process on secure websites. The company said manufacturing of its product would begin in the second quarter and phones with the Wings technology built in will be on the market by year-end. Besides navigation and security features, the company is also pitching its technology as a better way to play games on phones and as a way to increase revenue for carriers.
Wired News / Reuters Feb 22, 2004	back to top

TV set which doubles up as a mirror
A TV set that becomes a mirror at the flick of a switch will go on sale in March. The MiraVision system from Philips of the Netherlands is made up of a 58-centimetre wide-screen LCD that is covered with a thin semi-reflective sheet, mounted in a picture frame. When the screen is switched on, anyone standing in front of it sees only the picture. With the television switched off, the surface behaves like an ordinary mirror. MiraVision can even be both things at once. Anyone wanting to watch TV while brushing their hair or fixing their make-up can switch to 'picture in mirror' mode, which displays a small image in the corner of the frame. The screen can also be wired to a PC and used as an outsize monitor. Philips hopes eventually to make a waterproof version for use in bathrooms.
New Scientist Feb 25, 2004	back to top