Birds, bats and insects fly in a chaotic environment full of gusts traveling at speeds similar to their own. Yet they can react almost immediately and adjust with their flexible wings. Roland Piquepaille points out a news release from the University of Michigan where researchers are looking to birds and bats for insights into aerospace engineering. Wei Shyy and his colleagues are learning from solutions developed by nature and applying them to the technology of flight.

The roll rate of the aerobatic A-4 Skyhawk plane is about 720 degrees per second. The roll rate of a barn swallow exceeds 5,000 degrees per second. Select military aircraft can resist gravitational forces of 8-10 G. Many birds regularly experience positive G-forces greater than 10 G and up to 14 G. Flapping flight is inherently uneven, but that’s why it works so well.

Networking problems may require extensive maintenance and having a remote management solution is always a good. Uplogix manufactures these remote management solutions which make the administration and fixing problems an easy task. This company has been for quite some time and gained popularity, you can read about MTTR and know more about this company also. Their products use strongest security techniques. What makes these remote management solutions in demand is the ability of fixing problem quickly and getting everything back to running condition which is very important in networking.

MPIO launched new USD card in Korea market which combines an SD card and USB memory stick. It is designed to take advantage of convenient connectivity of USB and an SD card that is widely used in various digital devices these days. Now you don’t need extra USB cable or memory card reader any more. It comes with a case to protect the data while increasing portability. Two types are available: L-Type and T-Type. Suggested price is 19,900 KRW for 1GB.

A lot of cases are heard when after few days of surgery it is found that some items like sponges, small instruments etc are left inside the patient. This is a big problem for both doctors and patient. Patient can experience pain and develop serious problems while doctors may land in legal trouble and get a bad name. To prevent this potentially deadly problem, a new technology is developed that can help its surgical teams keep track of all sponges used during a surgical procedure. Each sponge has a unique bar code affixed to it that is scanned by a high-tech device to obtain a count. Before a procedure begins, the identification number of the patient and the badge of the surgical team member maintaining the count are scanned into the counter. When a sponge is removed from a patient, it is scanned back into the system.

Samsung developed its next-generation graphics DRAM ‘512Mb GDDR5’ chip that has a transfer speed of 6 Gigabits per second (Gbps). The new memory will first come as a 512 Mbit chip and will operate at 1.5 volts.

“Samsung’s 512Mb GDDR5 will enable the kind of graphics hardware performance that will spur software developers to deliver a new level of eye-popping games,” said Mueez Deen, Marketing Director, Graphics Memory, and Samsung Semiconductor. The first GDDR5 chip samples have already been delivered but mass production is set to begin in the first half of 2008.

US Telematics introduced ‘Vivee (Voice Interactive Voice Enhanced Email)’ solution during CES 2008 Unveiled NY Press Preview. The Vivee can read email or SMS text messages via activated avatar characters on mobile phones. It could be useful for drivers particularly since it enables them to keep their hands on the wheels. The company is currently teaming up with Palm for this solution.