Image by Tony Jun Huang Images of a light beam without and with bubble lens. Professors from several colleges have joined forces to create the world's first plasmofluidic lens—a tiny water bubble used to manipulate and focus a beam of light at the nanoscale. Researchers say it could open doors to develop smaller, faster electronic circuitry.To make the lens, a low-intensity laser heats water on a gold-film surface, creating a water bubble, says Yongmin Liu, assistant professor in the mechanical and industrial engineering department and the electrical and computer engineering department at Northeastern University, Boston. The bubble's optical behavior remains
Courtesy AOC AOC just released a thinner, brighter version of its 16-in., USB 3.0 mobile monitor. Related Links: AOC's Monitor on Amazon https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/air-display/id368158927?mt=8 Air Display App An electronics manufacturer just released a lightweight, high-definition flat-screen monitor that increases in-the-field workers' screen real estate.The 16-in., 2.3-lb screens, made by AOC International, Taipei, Taiwan, are "just fabulous," says Connie Fuller, operations analyst at Hollywood Woodwork, a Hollywood, Fla.-based architectural firm. "I work on the West Coast and in Florida, and I travel back and forth," she says. "I had a big Dell monitor before this, and it wasn't convenient for travel."Now when
Courtesy of Lloyd Wright This Texas-based wind research lab is designed to explore how an array of wind turbines affect one another and discover best design practices for turbine placement and blade design and angle. Related Links: SWiFT Construction Time Lapse Texas Tech National Wind Institute T he United State's first public-operated, multiple-turbine wind-research test facility recently completed its first phase of construction. It is designed to test the physics of how wind turbines interact in a wind array.The $4.5-million facility, dubbed SWiFT for "scaled wind-farm technology," is the result of a partnership between the U.S. Dept. of Energy, Sandia
Related Links: GitHub Browser-Based Version of Build-A-Bolt The American Institute of Steel Construction is offering cash prizes for developers who create apps that it deems useful to the steel design and construction industry.Also, the AISC just released an app of its own to help workers, for any given job, select the correct bolt, washer and nut combination of the right material, steel grade, finish and manufacturer."There are only a handful of steel apps currently available," says Erin Criste, an AISC staff engineer. "So the AISC saw a need for more apps to assist with the design, construction, fabrication and erection
A new software application that helps contractors add facilities data fields into a building-information-model file system throughout the construction cycle is showing promise to address a major pain point with as-built information.
Courtesy Bentley Systems Bentley's Map Mobile displays geospatial data, such as fire hydrants and underwater pipes, overlayed on a map. Related Links: Bentley Picks Up Ivaras Asset Performance Management Tools Bentley's Developer Network Bentley's Map Mobile in Google Play When Thomas Kaufmann, an engineering-plans design supervisor at the Philadelphia Dept. of Water, sends engineers out to the field to look for underground water pipes, he says they typically have to take more than 120 maps in the truck to help track down the pipes. Once at the location in question, the engineers must rifle through countless paper maps to locate
Image Courtesy of PCI Geomatics The visual search function of Geomatica Discover eases management of geospatial data. Related Links: Geomatica Discover A new browser-based, stand-alone software released in late June searches local, system and removable drives to discover and index the geospatial data of more than 100 formats. It creates a graphical geospatial data catalogue from vector and image files."When I started in this industry, you were lucky to fit two satellite images on your hard drive," says David Stanley, chief technology officer at PCI Geomatics, the Ontario, Canada-based photogrammetric software development company that released Geomatica Discover. "Now, people pass
By Luke Abaffy New app allows remote access to smart devices. Related Links: LogMeIn Rescue LogMeIn Rescue for Android LogMeIn Rescue is a new app for the iOS platform that supports any IT help desk by allowing remote access to iOS mobile devices. The new app is released in conjunction with a redesign to the existing Android app of the same name, which has been out since February."We allow you to remotely configure and chat with the iPad and iPhone," says Lou Orfanos, product manager, LogMeIn Inc., Boston. "Once you request a support session, you end up with a chat
Photo Courtesy N.J. DOT By reading drivers' Bluetooth signals, New Jersey DOT monitors traffic flows to predict travel times on highways and through work zones. Related Links: TrafficCast A traffic monitoring system that reads Bluetooth signals from mobile devices inside cars is being implemented around Boston and other cities to predict highway travel times through construction zones and on highways.The BlueTOAD traffic-monitoring system was created by TrafficCast, Madison, Wis. "It's very, very accurate," says Taylor Stukes, senior engineer of information technology services with KCUS Consulting, Boston. "We're covering roads from Boston to Cape Cod with it, and MassDOT has aggressive
Photos by Luke Abaffy for ENR The iPhone beeps when its magnetometer, in the upper right of the phone, is near metal. Related Links: Stud Find App on the iTunes Store Stud Find is an iPhone application that uses the device's built-in magnetometer to find metal studs, screws, nails and anything metallic in a wall.The iPhone's three-axis magnetometer is an instrument that measures magnetic forces. Internal Apple software uses the instrument to position the phone's 360° orientation. Stud Find uses the magnetometer as a metal detector.Testing the app on an iPhone 5, we found it works best when moved slowly
