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    ScienceBLAS

    RESEARCH NEWS TECHOLOGY SPACE ROBOTICS

    University of Lorraine Science Magazine May 2012

    MEETTHE FLYING ROBOT

    QUADROTOR

    ELECTRIC CARSSPACE SHUTTLE DISASTERS:

    BIONIC ARMSand much more...

    50 years of adventures

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    NTELLIGENTSIA

    COFFEE

    The best way to start your engineering d I m a g e

    S o u

    r c e :

    h t t p : /

    / w w w . d

    e a r c o

    f f e e

    i l o v e y o u . c

    o m

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    Contact us:[email protected]

    Magazine editors:

    Marija BekchevaNdye Aissatou DiopAliou Ndour Parfait Nzogho

    Cover Image:

    Image of quadrotor.Story on page 4Source: http://blog.makezine.com

    cience BLAST is 2012 Universityf Lorraine Engineering Team

    No material in this magazinean be reproduced partly or

    wholly without obtainingermission of the editors.

    FeaturesThe Quadrotor is Ready To Be The Next 4Music Star!

    Marija Bekcheva describes the design andpotential of the flying robot Quadrotor

    LIKE IT OR NOT: 8Electric Cars Are ComingIn a technical article, Aliou Ndour represents usthe electric car

    10 Things you dont know about 11the space

    Space Shuttle Disasters 12 A historical reminder of the 50 years of spaceadventures - Ndye Aissatou Diop

    Bionic Arms 16The use of Bionics...Enough said- Parfait Nzogho

    Bazinga Time: The Big Bang Theory 20Season 4 Episode 07-The Apology Insufficiencys Preview

    Movie Previews 21Memorable movies presenting our future

    Exclusive:

    7 Tips On How To Survive Your Final Exams 3

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    HTC ONE X

    Feel the chan

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    Plan, plan, plan.

    Make a study chart. Break your time into hours and subjects. Dont try tospend all day studying one thing.

    Prioritize.Study what is IMPORTANT. Pick out the key points and focus on them.

    Sleep is essential.Your mind needs time to rest and refresh! You'll feel so much better and willbe able to concentrate so much more after a sleep.

    Things to avoid:

    Procrastination. Long phone calls. Roommate problems. Stressful people.Social events. Facebook.

    Take a study break.On study breaks, do whatever it is that you enjoy doing: listen to music,exercise, walk your dog or even watch some TV.

    Practice, practice. Try to solve the problem on your own first then look at the answer. Find newexercises to test your knowledge.

    On the day of the examEat a good breakfast. Make sure you get to the exam on time and beCONFIDENT!

    Your final exams probably weigh 60% or 70% of your final grades. The summer is SO closeput some effort into your work!

    GOOD LUCK!

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    The Quadrotor is ready

    Research news

    Science BLAST May 2012

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    o be the next music star! I m a g e

    S o u r c e :

    h t t p : /

    / w w w . z

    e i t n e w s . o

    r g

    May 2012 Science BLAST 5

    The James Bond soundtrack is playedby nine robots. Keyboard, maracas,

    drums, cymbals and an adaptedguitar How can the robot Quadrotorplay all these instruments? Marija Bek-cheva, a student at the University ofLorraine, finds out .

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    A musician, a pilot, achef, a GPS navigator, asoldier These are just someof the future careers for Quadro-tor, a flying robot designed bytwo students at the University ofEngineering and AppliedScience in Colorado, MichaelReeves and Tom Stewart.

    When Michael Reeves firstsuggested a Quadrotor twoyears ago, many professorswere doubtful that the projectwould succeed. Only his friendJohn Stewart and his supervisorRod Lennon supported his ideaand the three of them decidedto form a team. We all knowthings dont work out all the timebut we must understand theneed to never accept the statusquo. says Rod Lennon, theDean for Education in theSchool of Engineering.

    The flying robot has fourrotors. Thats why it is calledQuadrotor. If you rotate therotors at the same speed, therobot floats. When you increasethe speed of the rotors, therobot accelerates. The up/downmotion is produced by

    increasing/decreasing the totalthrust while maintaining anequal individual thrust.The forward/backward, left/rightand the yaw motions areproduced through a differentialcontrol method of the thrustgenerated by each rotor. With aweight of only a tenth of apound, a diameter of eightinches and a consumption of 20watts of power, the Quadrotor iscapable of flying indoors withouta GPS device.

    Mathematical modeling is just one approach tounderstanding how the Quadrotor movesMathematical modeling is just one approach tounderstanding how the Quadrotor moves

    To create a robot with anautonomy that should get frompoint A to point B with complica-ted dynamics was a really bigchallenge for the team. First,

    they designed a robot in a12-dimensional space. Thenthey succeeded in transformingthe 12-dimensional space into a4-dimensional space.The 4-dimensional spaceconsists of X, Y, Z and the yawangle. With this genial mathe-matical trick, the Quadrotor canexecute any curve trajectory.Its capable of calculating itsposition and figuring out how togo through the obstacles.The most amazing thing therobot can do is it senses itsneighbors. So if you have tenQuadrotors in the same room,they base their actions on localinformation, what they sensefrom their neighbors. Also theycan fly in formation. They canbe planar formations and three-dimensional formations. Butwhen a lot of Quadrotors arecarrying the same thing,

    the inertia increases. One of thedisadvantages of doing this isthat they are not agile whenthere is a high inertia. The Quadrotor is an ama-

    zing robot, says John Stewart.But sometimes it can make sillymistakes. Were not done yet.We have not even started toscratch the surface. We insiston creating a Quadrotor that willknow who its neighbor is. Over the last few months,researchers at the University ofEngineering and AppliedScience in Colorado have beenworking on many differentapplications. The applications orthe software programs weredesigned to create specificbehaviors for the robots.Edward Palmer, who is agraduate student, wrote analgorithm which tells the robotwhat object to pick up, whenand where to place it. This robotis equipped with a camera anda laser H finder, laser scanner.So it uses these sensors to

    ImageSource: www.wikipedia.com

    Science BLAST May 2012

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    build a map of the environmentinstead of a GPS device. WithEdwards algorithm, the robotcan figure out where to go on itsown. So if there is a house andwe dont know what the houselooks like inside, we can ask theQuadrotor to go in, create amap and then come back andtell us what the house looks like.Robots like this can be sent tocollapsed houses to assess thedamage of disasters or sent tomap nuclear radiation levelsafter a nuclear meltdown.Furthermore, the robots withdifferent functions and softwareprograms will need to be able to

    download information on how tocomplete a task that is relevantto them. To solve this problem,the team is using a packet ofprogramming code called aRoboTool .

    Three weeks ago, the teamrepresented the newest applica-tion which is focused on enter-tainment. They made an appli-

    cation which gives Quadrotorthe ability to play different kindsof instruments.Thanks to Michael Reeves noweveryone can see the YouTubevideo of nine Quadrotors thatwork together to play the JamesBond 007 soundtrack. In lessthan two weeks, this entertai-ning video of Quadrotors hasnetted over 10 million views onYouTube. On this video, thenine Quadrotors are completelyautonomous, meaning humansare not controlling them.The robots perform thesoundtrack by playing variousinstruments including a key-board, maracas, drums, cym-bals, a regular guitar and anadapted guitar built from a

    couch frame. They play theguitar by flying over the guitarstrings stretched to the coach

    This is engineering music band!

    frame. A special microphonewhich is attached to the couch

    frame records the sounds madeby the adapted guitar. In thisexperiment, the place is in aroom fitted with infrared lightsand cameras. The nine Quadro-tors have reflectors on theirstruts, which allows the camerato plot their exact position andrelay that information wirelesslyto each point.One thing I love about thismusic software is that it focusesthe discussion away from robotsbeing metal people. saysLennon.

    After all, there is no doubt thatthe engineering revolution has a

    major influence on our lives. Wecant imagine a day withoutusing our computers, phonesand iPods. Every day engineerscreate more and more human-like robots. Is it normal forhumans to have a robot-idol?How far can technology reallygo?

    Whether or not the trend willcatch on is yet to be seen, butaccording to robotics engineers,it may not be long before wesee these Quadrotors as acommon occurrence.

    Google FOUNDATION

    Master Internship Awards in Studying Robotics

    Deadline: September 19, 2012

    $ 100.000 over 2 years

    May 2012 Science BLAST 7

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    Technology

    LIKE ITOR NOT:Electric cars are comingThe electric cars are part of a greenfuture. Are they a good or bad idea?Aliou Ndour reports

    The difference betweenan electric car and a petrol car is accentuated particularly inengines. The electric car isequipped with electric motorswhile the car has gasolineengines consists of a fuel.

    The electric motor The electric motor is mainlycomposed of a stator and arotor. The stator surrounds therotor, and generates a magneticfield passing through it. Thisfield can be generated by induc-

    tionor by permanent magnets.The rotor consists of coilswhose wire is covered with aninsulating layer, and connectors.It is secured to the central axisof the engine.

    Electric cars aren'tpollution-free; theyhave to get their energy fromsomewhere.

    The combustion engine These engines are also called"heat engines" because theyconvert an explosion releasing

    large amounts of heat intomechanical energy. Indeed, theenergy released by the explo-sionof a mixture of fuel and air in the room starts to move thepistons of the engine, whichtransmit their energy to the rod.This drives the crankshaft andconverts the reciprocating linear

    motion in a continuous circular motion. The residue from theexplosion of the mixture arethen discharged through theexhaust pipes.

    View of a simple electric motor

    8 Science BLAST May 2012

    A n electric car is a car equip-ped with one or more electricmotors. It appeared very early inthe history of the automobile,the first dates from the 1830s.

    Until the late 19th century, mostcars were electric. Besidesbeing environmentally friendly,they are more efficient andquieter. It was not until the early20th century that the gasolinecar experienced a great suc-cess. Electric cars of that timehad little autonomy and thebatteries did not allow theengine to deliver as muchpower as an internal combus-tion engine.

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    Combustion engine

    The electric car is advancedby all players in the automotivefield as the solution of the trans-portation cleaner and environ-mentally friendly. It could indeed

    be an alternative to this alar-ming pollution, especially as theroad transport sector emits intothe atmosphere, more pollutantsthan the field of industry. Mostenvironmentalists swear bycycling and tram, arguing that itis impossible to get cars that willnot have repercussions on theenvironment. But among the

    sector's future prospects, wecan note the presence of thehybrid engine and the enginerunning on natural fuel.

    In the case of these cars,these sources willbe used to charge the batterythat manages the energy delive-redto the engine. The electricalnature also creates severaladvantages, starting with arelease of pollutants almostnon-existent, in the sense thatthis type of car does not emitmore gas and no longerrequires the use of pollutingproducts such as engine oil or the cooling liquid. One featurethat greatly eases the interviewsrequired by a car such asdischarge or monthly test of exhaust emission. The electricmotor also remedies the noise

    since it makes virtually no noise.

    ADVANTAGES AND DIS

    The electric car is still at theexperimental stage and it issubject to change or improve-ment. The cars passing thistype of consumption haveadvantages and disadvantages.The greatest strength of thiscategory of green cars is basedon the nature of its electricmotor. Indeed, electricity is anintegral part of daily life of everyindividual. Therefore, the opera-tion of such vehicles should notencounter major problems inthat the latter can be assimila-tedto other electrical equipmentthat requires a source to ope-rate.These power sources are alsoubiquitous either at the home,office or other.

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    Finally, this type of motor with a ride quality described asmild as it is in principle a singlespeed, so do not use a trans-mission, which gives the vehicle

    a continuous and gradual acce-leration.The electric car is wellsuited to urban conditions sinceit does not consume energy or in the braking or in traffic,selfload on descents and insome cases do not requirepermits lead. In some countries,users will see electric cars haveanadvantage over other driversbecause they have access tocertain routes and parking isf ree and also subject to lesstax,at least for now.

    As for disadvantages, Ithey are just as numerous and rangefromconditions of production of electric power to the various

    costs of the car. An electric car is really green ifthe electrical energy itconsumes is produced fromsolar, wind and water or, inextreme cases, nuclear.It does not make long tripsbecause of its low speed andlimited autonomy. Despite the use of lithium in

    the manufacture of the battery,the majority of these vehiclesuse a lead acid battery, whichturns out to be a very harmful tothe environment.

    A major weakness of electricvehicles is the high cost of these elements, mainly thebattery and the battery, which inaddition to being required to be

    replaced every two or threeyears, represent more than halfthe price of the self.The integration of electric carsassume. Finally, the implemen-tation of several infrastructuresif we cite only charging stationssince everyone does notalready have a garage wherethey can simultaneously

    r echarge the car park andalthough we can guess that thiswill surely be bound to evolve.

    Answer simple question and win prizes! HURRY UP!!!

    Send a text message to5555 4444 with the correct answer .

    The song Computer love is performed by:a) Placebo

    b) Kraftwerk c) Kings of Leon

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    Space

    Space Shuttle dis

    50 years of adven

    Manned spaceflight was an actualrevolution led by Yuri Gagarin. To behuman is to engage in danger. Of all thespecies on Earth, only humans explore,

    and the astronauts are our modern-dayexplorers. Ndye Aissatou Diop, stu -dent at Lorraine University invites youto travel into 50 years of sacrifice andastronauts' heroism...

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    May 2012 Science BLAST 13

    the first who set foot on themoon on July, 21st 1961, trave-

    ling in space became a realchallenge for humanity.50 years of travel and discoveryallows us to know more aboutthe universe and its mystery.However the spatial conqueststory is strewed with dramaswhich are good to remember inmemory of those who lost theirlife to quench this thirst ofhumanity.In 2007, studies revealed thataccidents during flight killed 18astronauts, during training 12and 70 staff's members passedaway on the ground duringshuttles launch.

    The disasters1967: Fatal accident in thespaceship Apollo-1.

    As part of the first space flightand space exploration by theU.S., the first manned flight inorbit with Apollo, took place inFebruary, 1967.

    Traveling in space hasalways been a dream forhumans. It was the way for us tospread our knowledge beyondour planet's border. Thats whyat the beginning of the 20thcentury Constantin Tsiolkovsky,a Russian scientist, tried toimagine an engine capable oftravelling in the space.After the Second World War,

    only USA and USSR were ableto finance research on rockets.Their purposes were identical:create ballistic missiles capableof transporting new nuclearbomb from a continent to ano-ther one. The main goal ofthese researches at the time ofthe war was to use rockets inspite of sending men in thespace.A space race began with theCold War. But when Yuri Gaga-rin became the first man whomade a journey into the outerspace on April, 12th 1961 andNeil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin

    January27th, 1967, during arehearsal of the countdown, fire

    broke out inside the cabin of thespacecraft and spread rapidly. Astronauts Virgil L. Grissom,Edward H. White and Roger B.Chaffee died after havingunsuccessfully tried to leave thecabin. The accident greatlydelayed the continuation of the

    Apollo program. However, inNovember 1967, a Saturn Vrocket put into orbit an automa-tic spacecraft Apollo.Soyuz 1:Vladimir Komarov, a Sovietcosmonaut was on Soyuz 1 on

    April 24th 1967, for the inaugu-ral flight of the new space cap-sule. His day mission waspunctuated by a series of inci-dents peaking with the burn ofthe parachute after the atmos-

    pheric comeback. Komarov diedin the crash of his capsule.1970: Apollo 13It was a manned lunar missionof Apollo space program.

    Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Gaffee

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    If we die, we want people to accept it.We're in a risky business and we hopethat if anything happens to us it will notdelay the program. The conquest ofspace is worth the risk of life.Virgil "Gus" Grissom (1926-1967)

    It was a manned lunar missionof Apollo space program. Theflight was piloted by James A.Lovell with John L. "Jack" Swi-gert as Command Module pilotand Fred W. Haise as LunarModule pilot. The craft waslaunched on April 11, 1970.

    During the journey to the moon,the oxygen tank exploded twodays later. They were forced tocontinue their journey to themoon and to go around using itsgravitational pull. The crewreturned safely to Earth on April17th by using the lunar moduleas a lifeboat to return to thevicinity of the Earth. The famoussentence Houston weve had aproblem was pronouncedduring this mission.The craft was launched on June6th, 1971, from the base ofBakonour, Kazakhstan. Gueor-gui Dobrovolski, Viktor Patsaevand Vladislav Volkov wereaboard. The mission seemed tobe successful. They went backto earth on June 29th in spite of

    some difficulties. After an appa-rently normal comeback

    comeback of the capsule, thecrew was found dead during theopening of the Soyuz. Afterinvestigation it appeared thatthe crew died by suffocation. Infact a defective valve openedwhile the descent moduleparted from the module of

    service and had caused a lackof air and as a consequence theasphyxiation.1986: Challenger On January, 28th 1986, SpaceShuttle Challenger broke apartafter 73 seconds of flight,leading to the death of its sevencrew members. The spacecraftdisintegrated over the AtlanticOcean. This incident was due toa failure of a joint which allowed

    rwarm gases coming from thebooster to escape. This provo-ked an outbreak of fire which ina few seconds split the shuttleunder the eyes of severalpersons who attended thelaunch of the shuttle. The crewmembers who died were: Greg

    Jarvis, Christa McAuliffe,Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka,Judith Resnik, Michael J. Smithand Dick Scobee.2003: ColumbiaThe Space shuttle Columbiawas launched on January 16th2003. On February, 1st 2003,during the reentry into theEarths atmosphere, the shuttledisintegrated killing sevenmembers aboard.

    The challenger crews members

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    So many tributes were paid inthe memory of their sacrifice.

    A Belgian artist Paul Van Hoey-donck created a small aluminumsculpture representing in astylized way an astronaut in itsspacesuit. This statuette wasbaptized Fallen Astronaut. Tocommemorate astronauts andcosmonauts who died for theadvancement of space explora-tion, on August 1st, 1971.Fallen Astronaut was placed atHadley Rile on the moon by thecrew of Apollo 15, along with aplaque bearing the names ofeight American astronauts andsix Soviet cosmonauts who haddied.

    In 1995 the movie Apollo 13directed by Ron Howard,retraced the Apollo 13 Mis-sion. On YouTube some videosof their tributes are available.On many websites you can findthe list of the dead astronauts. More than 50 years separateus from the first flight of YuriGagarin. The conquest of spaceis more than a technological,scientific or political challenge.

    As at the time of the Cold war, itis especially a challenge and amission which well have topursue in the next years.

    Investigations showed that theaccident was due to a piece offoam that broke off duringlaunch and damaged the ther-mal protection system compo-nents on the leading edge of theleft wing of the shuttle orbitercausing an extensive heatbuild-up. During reentry, thedamaged wing slowlyoverheated and came apart,eventually leading to loss ofcontrol and total disintegrationof the vehicle.TributesOver the last 50 years therewere many spatial incidents andaccidents which caused thedeath of some astronauts.

    Space shuttle Columbia fragments

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    Robotics

    All on bionic ar ms

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    Connected to the nervous system of an amputee bymotors and sensors, bionic arms are no longer sciencefiction. The bionic arms are used in replacement when a

    man or a woman has lost his/her arm. But the bionic armshave no touch as bionic arm. So, how a woman or a mancan lives with a bionic arm? How exactly can they carry outeveryday activities? - Asks Parfait Nzogho

    I n medicine, bionic meansreplacement or enhancement oforgans or other body parts by amechanical version. Do notforget that the movements ofour body are controlled by thebrains that send signals to thenerves, which automatically turnmuscles. It is this intuitive com-munication which no longerexists between the brains,

    nerves and muscles of ampu-tees that scientists want torestore. First, electrodes installed onthe muscles react to throughand transmit signals. Secondly,a computer reads the transmit-ted signals. Thirdly, the motorsof the arm or leg perform themovement. You might certainlywonder how can the arm is it toask the type of informationdesired by the brains and howwill he know you need toperform a movement? The bionic arm is controlled bythe brains. A chip in the forearmallows the restoration of theconnection between the brainand nerve signals through thenerves in the transplant patient'schest. Once these nerves havebeen rerouted and provided withelectrodes, the computer canaccess neurological information.

    Indeed, the electric motors ofthe prosthesis are controlled bymyoelectric signals sent by thebrain to the muscles remainingabove the amputated limb, thisto allow the patient to performseveral movements at a timeand to distinguish the type ofinformation desired by thebrains such as twisting the wrist( close hand .... etc). Nerve endings, which control-

    led the arms were diverted tothe chest and attached to themuscles. At this point, scientistsare implementing a wholemechanism of electrodes thatwill record nerve impulsesemitted by the motor cortex tothe nerve endings of the armthat disappeared. Then comes the chip that cananalyze hundreds of electricalsignals and control severalpossible movements of theprosthesis. The basic principle is verysimple: even amputated, amember will not deprive thebrains' memory that thismember was doing: this prin-ciple is called "proceduralmemory". That is why at theshoulder, the bionic arm has amultitude of micro sensors thatinterpret the information sent bythe brain to the muscle.

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    Batteries and microprocessorcontrol circuits take overthereafter to operate the arm assoon as possible.

    As far fhe delicacy of touch isconcerned, the fingers are

    equipped with pressure sensorsthat allow the arm to detect thecharacteristics of objects andadapt to the situation.

    A familiar application of thisbionic arms would be the artifi-cial heart, which was first suc-cessfully used in 1952.Bionic arms are more complex

    than artificial hearts, as theirmotion is not constant and isbased on conscious commandsfrom the user.When humans move a limb toperform an action, many thingshappen in quick succession.The brain sends signals toappropriate muscles in the limb,which send feedback informa-tion to the brain in order toconstantly adjust the amount offorce that needs to be applied.

    Nerves also send informationto the brain to detect the posi-tion of the limb. In order forlimbs to be functional, threemajor components must bepresent: bio sensors, control-lers, and actuators. Bio sensorsare the nerve cells and muscle

    cells, controllers are the brainand anything related to nervesignaling, like the spinal cord,and actuators are the musclesthat actively move the limbs.Biomechatronic limbs have thesame components.

    Mechanical bio sensors detectelectrical activity through many

    devices, including special kindsof wires placed on the skin orelectrodes directly implantedinto the muscles themselves.

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    They detect the intention of thewearer and send this informa-tion to the controller. Mechanicalsensors, like force meters oraccelerometers, relay informa-tion such as limb position andforce.The controller connects thewearers muscles or nerves tothe electronic arm and interpretsand controls the signals fromthe biosensors as movement,which it relays to the actuator.The actuator, usually a motor,controls the physical move-ments of the device, moving thelimb or providing force. The

    concept is very simple, butcurrently, bionic limbs do notprovide much feedback andcannot truly adapt to a variednumber of scenarios as a reallimb can. Researchers aroundthe world are working to makeprosthetic limbs more accuratelymimic the complex motions ofreal limbs.

    At the University of Twente in the Nether-lands, researchers are using cameras andvarious sensors to analyze walking versusstanding in healthy people. Researchers atMIT are also studying walking and runningmotions, and have developed a lower legcalled the Rheo-Knee, which movesbased on the viscosity of an iron-oil fluid,making a nearly realistic-looking walkingmotion. In the future, researchers hope tocreate biomechatronic limbs based on livingtissue. Research is being done at MIT usingliving frog muscle tissue to power a roboticfish. Two sets of muscles were alternatelystimulated by electrodes, creating a swim-ming motion. This is the first example of adevice created using living material.Current applications are very important in

    the military. Many soldiers suffer fromdamaged or removed limbs because ofexplosions or other wounds. Using prosthe-tic would make life easier for many warveterans.

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    TIME

    Season 4 Episode 07 -The Apology Insufficiencys Preview Howard needs to obtain a security clearance. Everyone will beinterviewed by an FBI agent ...

    Dont missthis episode!

    S o u r c e : w w w . t

    u m

    b l r

    . c o m

    0 Science BLAST May 2012

    Im Special Agent Page, FBI.Youre say, youreSpecial Agent Page.

    Here is my ID. And here is my Justice LeagueMembership card.

    But that doesnt prove thatI know Batman.

    Howard, I wish you nothing buthappiness.

    Bazinga! I dont!Double Bazinga! I DO!

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    Movie Reviews

    May 2012 Science BLAST 21

    THIS MONTH: MEMORABLE SCIENCE MOVIES PRES

    ImageSource: www.im

    db.com

    Science has an enormous impact on our lives. So, it was simply natural that produ- cers, directors and writers would start creating blockbusters that would attract viewersall over the world. Movie makers using their imagination have created a fantasy worldthat would satisfy us. We do not know what our future has in hold for us, but until thenwe have these movies to tickle our minds

    Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is a science fiction drama film direc-ted, produced and co-written by Steven Spielberg. It is based on ashort story "Super-Toys Last All Summer Long" written by Brian

    Aldiss. The development of A.I. originally began with director StanleyKubrick in the early 1970s. Kubrick felt that the computer-generatedimagery was not advanced enough to create the characters. The filmprogressed really slowly. In 1995 the film was handed to StevenSpielberg and it was greeted with positive reviews from the critics. In this tale, David (Haley Joel Osment) is an artificial kid. Hedoesn't eat. He doesn't sleep. But he observes bedtime and he hasreal feelings, especially a never-ending love for his "mother", Monica(Frances O'Connor). Monica is the woman who adopted him as asubstitute for her real son, who has an incurable disease. David isliving happily with Monica and her husband, but when their real sonreturns home after a cure is discovered, his life changes dramati-cally...

    "What responsibility does a human have to a robot that genuinelyloves?" the film asks, and the answer is: none.Runtime: 146 minRelease Date: 29 June 2001 (USA)IMDB rating: 7/10

    Nowadays the medicine has advanced to that point that anyorgan can be replaced by a mechanical equivalent. The general idea of

    replacing organs for better and longer life has always been a wish ofthe scientists. In this film which is directed by Miguel Sapochnik, the medicalinsurance company "The Union" provides expensive prosthesis toimprove the lives of the clients. If the clients cant pay for the organs,the company sends repo men to retrieve the artificial organs. Theformer soldiers Remy (Jude Law) and his best friend Jake (ForestWhitaker) are among the best repo men of the company. Life is sweetfor Remy, until an accident at work means he has to get an artificialorgan. The artificial organ is very expensive and Remy changes hisbehavior after the medical procedure. So, he is no longer capable ofchasing the debtors. When he can't make the payments, he is chasedby his best partner Jake...Runtime: 111 minRelease Date: 19 March 2010 (USA)IMDB rating: 6,3 /10

    ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

    REPO MEN

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    When you get theBMW X6

    , you get the powe

    Its not the road that matters, its the car that makes the difference. So,if you want to feel it, youve got to drive it...

    W ith some fifty years ofexistence, BMW X6s are thenewest example of BMWsinnovations. BMW X6 was bornout of a very interesting obser-vation made by the James Bonddirector Marc Forster to theBMW chairman Norbert Reitho-fer. When Forster saw the BMWX5, he knew that its the perfectkind of a car for his new movie.But he wanted BMW X5 to havemore sporting character. BMWtook up the challenge and set towork on the Project BMW X6.

    The car was revealed at the carpresentation at the Berlin Car

    Exposition in April 2012. Thecars are manufactured in fivecountries: Germany, England,France, Russia and Mexico.

    BMW X6 diesel engineBMW X6 has a really smalldiesel engine instead of a bigpetrol engine. That is the reasonwhy its so economical and

    powerful at the same time. Thepower/weight ratio is 230 bhp /ton. This will get the thumbs upfrom those who know a thing ortwo for cars, as the higher thisvalue, the more lively a carsperformance and the greater the

    enjoyment behind the wheel. Ifyou thought the small diesel

    engine would increase the price,you are wrong! It is pricedsimilarly to BMW X5, around 50,000.

    Safety doesnt happen byaccidentIn an emergency, things tend tohappen more quickly thanexpected. Fortunately, the

    safety systems of BMW X6 arealways here to protect you. Theelectronic stability program willintervene if its sensors detectthat the driver is losing controlof the car. For example, if therear end tends to break away,

    adventorial

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    Then when you get the power, then

    Source: http://www

    .bmw.co.uk

    WheelsTyre dimensions front 255/50 R 19 VTyre dimensions rear 255/50 R 19 V Wheel dimensions front 9 J x 19 light alloy Wheel dimensions rear 9 J x 19 light alloy

    EngineCylinders/valves 6/4

    Capacity in ccm 2,979 Stroke/bore in mm 89.6/84.0 Max. output in kW (hp) at 1/min 225 (306)/5,800 Max. torque in Nm at 1/min 400/1,200-5,000 Power-to-weight ratio (EU) in bhp/ton 230

    Weight in kgUnladen weight EU 2,145 Maximum permissible weight 2,670 Permitted load 600 Permitted axle load front/rear 1,275/1,475

    Fuel consumptionEU urban (l/100 km) 13.2EU extra-urban (l/100 km) 8.3EU composite (l/100 km) 10.1CO2 emissions (g/km) 236Tank capacity in I (approx.) 85

    a wheel spins or loses contact with road.Then the electronic stability programimmediately reduces the engine torqueand brakes individual wheels to stabilizethe car. The hydraulic brake also helps tohave a safe drive. The BMW sensors candetect when you are attempting to performan emergency stop. Every time you belt upyou can rest assured that what you aredriving is built to protect you from everyeventuality.SO JUMP IN AND TRY IT OUT !

    For more information visit: www.bmw.co.ukor contact us on 0510 0510 or email:[email protected].

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    Africa

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