Tomorrow Next

A major breakthrough for the realm of miniature and microscopic devices and robotics was announced by MIT researchers who were able to combine electrode and electrolyte materials that self-assemble based on their surface structure and charges. The breakthrough is not only important for constructing power cells on that level but also represents a method for assembling other microscopic and nanoscale structures and devices.

via MIT Technology Review

As if the resounding success of the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge wasn’t enough. DARPA is back again with 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge scheduled for the November in which autonomous vehicles will have to navigate a simulated urban environment complete with traffic, intersections, and a variety of obstacles. The 2005 challenge pushed the boundaries of what was deemed possible advancing the autonomous vehicle technology in to the realm of the viable. The 2007 event promises to promote technology which will bring commercial self-driving vehicles within reach.

Stanford’s Stanley entry won the 2005 competition, and four other vehicles managed to complete the 132-mile desert course in under 10 hours. Stanford is back this year with Junior.

Automobile manufactures including GM, Volkswagen, Toyota, and Honda are already moving to bring this type of technology to market. The introduction of the autonomous vehicle promises as fundamental a shift in the urban landscape as the original automobile ushered in more than a century ago.

When will we see a commercially available autonomous vehicle for sale somewhere in the world? My prediction 5-7 years.

via Engadget 

A challenge for developers wishing to use AJAX to incorporate dynamic content from another domain into their page is that AJAX was limited call back to the same domain that the page originated from. Workarounds have been implemented by having the AJAX call to a server process which then makes the request to the other on behalf of the browser, but this increases the load substantially on the originating server and exposes it to risk if the remote server is unresponsive. iFrames from other domains can not directly interact with the host pages. Even appropriately sizing the iFrame to its content can be a challenge. Other workarounds use plug-ins.

For a solution to this problem see HERMES - Cross-Domain Dynamic Script Attachment.

Click here to view a live demonstration.