Can Robotic walker replace old age homes?

Senior citizens of a country are the most delicate ones and should be dealt with utmost care and respect but its not always possible for any person to stick and guide them while crossing a street or walking through a new street. But, scientists from University of Trento explained a whole new device named ‘Robot Walker’, which could guide and help the elderly peoples with all the needs they requires and make their life autonomous and secure.

This ‘robotic walker’ is a device which is embedded with sensors, cameras, obstacle recognition systems and software components aimed at making a elderly person’s life much simpler beyond their home’s boundary walls. The walker obtains information about its environment from its wireless connections and accordingly deals with it on the user’s decision making.

The device’s working principle is as simple as it sounds. When an obstruction comes in front of its path and that of the user’s, the embedded recognition software sends the signals to the algorithms. These inside ‘algorithms’ then analyses the data, sending the information back to the user guiding a safer path where chances of being stumble upon is less. The system for instance will try to avoid the impediment that may be present in the surroundings, or people who are walking may not have notice the presence of the walker and its users.

Electronics engineers have worked hard to equip the ‘Walker’ with all kinds of necessary sensing, cognitive devices and friendly human-machine interface keeping the system as simpler as they could. The system was partially developed and designed in the University of Trento. It will be a great help for the Senior citizens, as it will make their life more secure while walking through a new pavement, said one of the researcher from the Trento campus.

Despite the art of technology used in the device, the scientists believe the device will not come cheap in the market. As for now, they have assumed that the price range could be between 1800 to 2000 euros per unit in the market. The researchers are currently working on the model in order to make it financially competitive and the embedded system has the possibility to connect wirelessly to signals send by other devices which can help minimizing the cost of the walker’s own system.

Scientists believe the device will be ready to launch in the market within a time span of two to three years. It will be great news for all those senior citizens, as finally they can be independent and don’t need to depend on others in order to live an autonomous life.

/Anuttam/

Spider venom could lead to the next class of painkillers!

They can be creepy and horrifying but they are also in the process of becoming the next generation painkillers as scientists from Australia confirmed. I am talking about spiders, yes these arachnid creatures with 8 legs and ugliest look can save the life of millions in the future through their venom. It is not surprising that spiders use the very same venom to immobilize or kill their prey, but researchers from Australia have isolated seven peptides- blocks of proteins from venom of different species of spiders and have managed to block the molecular path responsible for sending the pain signal from the nerves to the brain.

According to a survey done by the Medical journal of pain, it says that every year about 15% adults suffers from severe chronic pain. Traditional painkillers such as morphine and widely used medications such as hydrocodone can be addictive and the abuse of drugs has ascended in recent years, prompting stricter regulation from the US Drug Enforcement departments. So the medical communities are eager to change the revolution of the painkillers and are always in search of new replacements.

The ‘spider-venom’ research was carried out inside the campus of university of Queensland, Australia where the researchers studied venom of more than 205 species of spiders found locally or from other regions (a total of 45,000 spider species are there all over the world). The researchers isolated various peptides from the venom and then exclusively studied each peptide to find the one that will affect the specific pain paths known as ion channels, which transmits pain from the nerves to the brain. About of 40% of the tested spider species contain at-least one peptide that blocked the pain channels.

So far, one peptide found to be most effective is of a spider name ‘Borneo orange-finger tarantula’ which according to the researchers has the right structure, stability and potency to become a painkilling drug. Well, since the process is still ongoing and scientists are further conducting tests on the peptides’ clinical potentials, looking for any unforeseen side-effects, whether the substance break down in the body and various other outcomes. This venom also has the capability to treat autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

It is a great discovery done by the scientists from Australia, home to some of the most venomous creatures in the world and if the tests come up with a positive result, then surely it has the potential to lead a new class of painkillers.

/Anuttam/

Why FC Barcelona have an advantage over Bayern Munich this time?

A total of 14 trophies including two La Liga titles and Champions league double in 2009 and 2011, yes these were the achievements that Barca had achieved under the reign of legendary Pep Guardiola. But, now according to the latest champions league semi-final draw Barca will be facing Guardiola’s current managed team FC Bayern Munich which will see Guardiola coming for the first time in camp Nou since he left four years ago.

It’s a quite heady-mix time for the Barcelona fans as they are finally preparing to defeat the man who has given them so much to be proud of. The whole FC Barcelona community waited three years for this game and finally it arrived in their doorsteps and the last thing that they have to do is “Seize the moment”. There are many speculations about the draw like who’s going to have the advantage this time after what happened 2 years before, when FC Bayern overpowered Barca’s domination with a 7-0 scoreline. But, this time I think it is Barca’s time to triumph and let me tell you why?

The new (Old) Barca!

Yes, Eto’o/Henry/Messi is now Messi/Suarez/Neymar. Previously, the old trident were generally being fed by the Xavi-Iniesta pair who had almost hands in all the goals for Barcelona back in those days but now the times have changed, though the ‘pair’ is still there in the squad but with Xavi’s growing age, their visionary ‘pair- power’ have never been the same. But, Barca now has Rakitic who has shown excellent form this season in the mid-field area and can be a valuable asset in the game against Bayern. The new trio hasn’t disappointed at-all in the recent years. Neymar with his ball-playing skills have always been a invariable attacking threat to the opponents and Suarez is an excellent dribbler of the ball and an skillful individual too who is quite professional when comes in ‘one on one’ situation and Messi is well ‘Lionel Messi’.

The revenge!

Defeats are like war-wounds and Barca’s wound has not yet been dried up, it is still as wide opened as it was two years before when Bayern beat them 7-0 and took advantage of a coach-less team, a team when it lacked most of its prime players, a team which was emotionally tired( the ‘Vilanova’ incident). But, this time the dice will played in a different way as the FC Barcelona squad is fully fit with an excellent coach and with no emotions tied up with them, just one thing in mind ‘the revenge must be taken’. Now that Barca has its chance, I hope the players will relish and anticipate the situation completely.

Magical Messi!

Well, why it always has to come down to this lad? Answer could be that he is the world’s best player but it is much more complex than that. Messi is well-known for his quick movements and dribbling skills and that’s exactly what will edge Barca a little bit ahead of their rivals Bayern in the tie up between the two giants. In recent years, opponents players have found a traditional way of stopping Messi, i.e either put four defenders on him or foul him but in the current season, Messi has mesmerized everybody with his true leadership qualities by giving everything he can to make his team win attitude, it is obligatory that the only person who can stop Messi is Messi.

Bayern is an excellent team and they too have individuals who can decide a game but true speaking they don’t have a player who can decide that ‘today will be the day that I will win this match for my team by being phenomenal’.

Bayern is an excellent team who has a strong squad and the most innovative coach in their backyard but they are not supernatural or unbeatable. If Bayern repeat the same mistake versus Barca as they made in the first leg against Porto, then it will be ‘game over’ for them but things can never be conventional in football, so both the team will have to be the very best in their games if they want to progress for the final.

/Anuttam/

Abidal-"Barca can win the treble"

Former Barcelona defender and French international Eric Abidal was present in the stands when Barca beat PSG to qualify for the semi-final spot in the UEFA Champions league. After the game, Abidal spoke earlier this day in the opening ceremony of his foundation which aims to improve the 'life of young cancer sufferers’. The 37 year old was full of appraisal for his ex-club FC Barcelona and feels that Barcelona have a good chance to win the treble this year but however it will be not an easy task.

Abidal retired from football last season and is currently working as an associate in the marketing department for the Olympiakos club, where he played his last few years. Abidal also expressed his desires to comeback and work for FC Barcelona in the near future. He believes, there are many similarities between his foundation aim and that of FC Barcelona’s and hopes to co-operate with each other in the near future.

Abidal’s words, “They work as hard as possible to achieve everything, They are in good form, they showed it yesterday against PSG and like each year, are favorites to win the Champions League. I hope that they can reach the final and lift the trophy, I know them and I know that it is one of the biggest objectives of the club.”

“They are always favorites and now they're playing well winning everything is possible but really difficult. They are in the good path.  People know Barça is my home but now my priority is the Foundation. I hope we can co-operate with Barça's Foundation. We share the same values”.

Eric Abidal has played a total of 125 games for the Catalonian side and was considered to be one of the best in his position.

/Anuttam/

German Scientists generate electrical current from Noise

Well, electricity is a set of physical phenomenon that is an ever-growing topic in the field of physics. Generally, there are various mode of generating electricity but scientists from the University of Wurzburg have found a new way to generate electric current from ‘noise’. A device has been built in which two quantum dots has been used to generate electrical impulse from the voltage noise.

It’s a well-known fact that electronic devices generates a huge amount of heat that is needed to be dissipated, but instead of discarding this energy, using it to do useful work could transfigure the electronic industry forever. Re-using this energy means, more efficient electronic devices can be constructed. For more than a decade physicists have tried founding ways via which they can generate electrical currents from this ‘wasted heat energy’ so that they can make them do works, such as power electronic devices and finally they have reached a possible point.

How the experiment works?

In a simple statement, the experiment uses voltage noise to mimic the hot and cold spots of wasted heat and hence is not directly converting the heat energy loss into electrical impulses. These two quantum dots are nothing but disc of semiconductor about 300nm in diameter. They are kept at distance of 150nm so that they can exchange energy via coulomb coupling theory. Then three conducting leads are being introduced into the system, two to the upper quantum dots so that the current can flow across the dots and one to the lower quantum dot to a voltage source with superimposed noise at milivolt range.

Now, when the researchers increased the intensity of the noise applied to the lower quantum dot, they saw comparatively a larger amount of current generating in the upper quantum dot. Technically, the data followed a quadratic drift, doubling the voltage noise quadrupled the maximum current, where the current is measured in nanoamperes.

Is the Experiment ready for industrial process?

Well, though there is an initial success yet the researchers believe that the experiment is not ready for the industrial experience. Currently, the quantum dots are immersed in liquid helium in order to maintain them, clearly which cannot be used for consumer devices. Plus the researchers are also in doubt about whether the currents can be driven out in room temperature. Scientists are now finding ways to construct a device which can be operated at room temperature.

Hope, the scientists do find a way to build the device as because this is a great method of generating electric current and can limit the usage of fossil fuels and thermal energies which have debilitated environment drastically in recent years.

/Anuttam/

"We have to give everything", says Guardiola

FC Porto’s win over German giants in the first leg of quarter finals was quite a shocking result and manager Pep Guardiola believes that his team has to work their sweat off in order to topple the 3-1 deficit and knock out FC Porto from the champions league. He further admits that the ‘Bundesliga leaders’ have to get an astounding result in the 2^nd leg of the quarter finals after slipping through a shocking defeat in Portugal last week.

In the first leg, Bayern Munich failed miserably in their defensive line and Porto took full advantage of the situation and capitalized on it to triumph the game. Quaresma scored twice in the opening 10 minutes of the game, out of which one was penalty. Bayern got their one back in the 27^th minute when Thiago netted, but Jackson Martinez capped the day for the Portugal giants by making the scoreline 3-1 in the 65^th minute.

FC Porto’s first leg result result means that they have extended their unbeaten run in the competition and is becoming a tough contender, while Bayern Munich have to find a way in their den if they want to reach the semi-final of the Champions league at all.

Guardiola in a recent prees conference said, “This is a big club, so you can’t say we are in a cosy situation, If you win, you’re a genius. If you lose, you have lots of problems but that’s the nature of my job. It isn’t enough to win the Bundesliga and the cup. Only a treble is enough for a club like Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern but I am proud to be here with these players.”

Bayern Munich is currently dealing with lots of injury problem, with the likes of Robben, Ribery, Alaba, Benatia and Martinez are all out due to injuries but one good news is that Bastian Schweinsteiger is fit to play the game tonight in the Allianz Arena.

So, lets see whether Bayern Munich can do the impossible and reach the semi-finals of football's most elite competition.

/Anuttam/

"Louis Van Gaal may have to face Chelsea without Carrick"

The importance of Michael Carrick in Manchester United squad in recent weeks is incomparable as his visionary skills in the mid-field have played a key part in Manchester United’s consecutive six games success. But Louis Van Gaal may have to play against Chelsea without Carrick as the 33 year old caught up an injury in Sunday’s 4-2 win against Manchester City.

Carrick has been the 'soul' of the Red Devils as the Englishmen have opened many attacking position for the strikers and have created several goal scoring chances and his presence have made look United a completely different team. But the injury in the derby game has forced the mid-fielder to limp off late in the game.

It is a very sorry situation for both the team and the fans of Manchester United as Carrick's absence may be a great loss when the team faces Chelsea but in the modern day games injuries are normal and no-one can do anything about it. So, now the questions lies that who will replace Carrick’s position( if he is not playing) when united is travelling to west London?

Daley blind looks to be the perfect replacement for Carrick against the match with the league leaders as the Dutchman’s recent performance in the left-back has been at par and can uniformly play admirably in the middle of the park too. While, Luke Shaw can take the position in the left flank provided he recovers from his hamstring injury.

The fans are quite confident on the team as their recent run has been excellent with big wins against Tottenham, Liverpool and recently against noisy neighbors Manchester City. Carrick’s presence will no doubt enhanced the confidence a bit more but reports on his injury is yet unknown. Hopefully, the injury isn’t too severe and Carrick will be fit up to play the match at Stamford Bridge.

/Anuttam/

"Derby defeat made city fans hypocrites"

Well, when we speak about Derbies 'hatred' will always be the main divider between each other but this time City fans have taken a step further down and have performed a great act of disgracefulness. It was quite hard for City fans to swallow the sounding 4-2 defeat against Manchester United last Sunday but rather than attacking the players who let them to their defeat the fans quickly found a new target for their mistreatment, Manchester City’s women striker Toni Duggan.

Duggan’s big mistake was that she posted a picture in her instagram page right after the derby game, with her teammate Isobel Christiansen and Everton’s Michelle Hinnigan posing with Manchester United head coach Louis Van Gaal. The timing of the photo was not gleaming, and Toni immediately removed the photo from her instagram page as well as apologized consequently via her facebook page, but that doesn’t mean she deserves the bombardment of abuse that she has received from the fans of Manchester City.

Throughout the footballing world, Louis Van Gaal is acknowledged as one of the legendary figure. The former Ajax, Bayern Munich and Barcelona boss has great experience with him and have achieved everything there is to achieve and there was no reason why anyone doesn't want to meet the iconic figure and Toni Duggan was no exception. It is a deceitful act done by the city fans to put their aim to someone who had nothing to do with the defeat at Old Trafford.

Earlier this day, Toni have score a goal against Birmingham City for 'MCWFC' to help her team reaching the Women’s FA-Cup semi-final but despite that, the 450 fans who were present to see today’s game felt that they every right to show their grubby attitude towards the innocent striker and some even tried to attack her bodily. And perceptibly these are the people who I believe have no whatsoever interest in watching women’s team or supporting the city’s other side.

It was quite normal for the City’s fan to be angry after the defeat, anyone would be angry after a disappointing performance, but to aim their repugnance at a player who gives her all for the Manchester City’s Women team who the majority of the fans have never watched is nothing but an act of complete hypocrisy.

 It was an awful moment for the Women striker to post her photo at a bad time but the reaction from the City’s fans were more reprehensible than Duggan taking a picture with the Manchester United’s manager.

/Anuttam/

"Probable Manchester United's kits for next season".

Things are finally falling into United’s way as the club’s five consecutive wins have put them in a contented third spot of the premier league ahead of their strident neighbors Manchester City. Finally, United are in a position from where they can surely bag a Champions league spot at the end of the campaign.

After recently beating Tottenham, Liverpool and Aston Villa, United are looking forward to face Manchester City this Sunday at home. Dressing room is full of confidence and Louis Van

Gaal’s Side is eyeing for the 2^nd spot rather than looking at the gap to fifth.

In terms of sponsorship for the strips, Manchester united have been doing a fine job in their first season with Adidas and the 2015/2016 home kit has been doing the rounds for some time but today trustworthy pictures came out of the second strip and third strips which are really cool. Check out below,

United fans from all around the world are seriously expecting a win against Manchester City which can really fix the fate for united this season.Hope they don't disappoint us.

/Anuttam/

"Carrick is United's Iniesta", says Former Liverpool star.

United fans may find it quite amusing that it is now until, “34 year old Manchester United mid-fielder Michael Carrick is finally getting the appraisal from football world outside of old Trafford” as Jamie Redknapp, former Liverpool footballer and sky sports pundit joined the latest set of personalities to comment on Carrick’s talent and performance leveling him to Manchester United’s Andres Iniesta.

Jamie Redknapp was full of appraisal for the English mid-fielder and stated that ‘it was a criminal offence done by the English Football Association’, using Carrick so less at the international level. He further reveals that Carrick will be a key figure in the England squad to play at the EURO-16 next summer.

Carrick is acknowledged for being at ease when controlling a match and is prominent for creating better attacking position for the strikers with his visionary skills but his defensive side lags a bit which may have held him down. Former Boss and an iconic figure Sir Alex Ferguson went as far as to name him as the ‘best English mid-fielder in the country’ earlier this year. 

Carrick is generally a respectable figure within the walls of the Old Trafford walls but it is only now, when finally he is getting the credits for his talents.Getting compared to the stature of Iniesta’s class is indeed quite a admiring comment for the 34 year old Carrick, but it’s not only there where Redknapp stopped and the ‘Sky Pundit’ further continued, “They may not have the best stats for goals or assists, but they are at the heart of it all, he said last week. It’s the same with Andres Iniesta and Luka Modric, they keep things ticking over, as does Carrick. He makes the passes that lead to the key pass.”

Carrick’s fitness has been a major apprehension as because the player suffers most of season from injuries and it appears that his importance has been highlighted recently as after his return from the latest injury, United has seen 5 wins on a stretch including the 2-1 win at Anfield two weeks ago. Not only in the domestic level but Carrick’s recent form has helped England too, as his presence in the friendly match against Italy swung the game in England’s errand which saw the English team tie the match with a 1-1 draw.

/Anuttam/

"Arbeloa believes, FC Barcelona will slip-up points".

32 year old Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa believes that rival club FC Barcelona will be helddown in the coming games as they have a difficult schedule to run in and hopes that Carlo Ancelotti’s men can take advantage of a slightly light schedule and surpass the 4 points gap between the teams.

Los Blancos have fallen 4 points behind the Catalans with 9 games still to go in the league but the veteran defender of the club feels that they will manage to match Barcelona in the title race because Barca has comparatively a tougher schedule to play against than them.

Looking up at the upcoming matches, both the team are up-to face tough challenges against the likes of Sevilla and Valencia between now and the end of the season but the Catalans have to face one major game which is against the current title holders Atletico Madrid at the Estadio Vicente Calderon and the real Madrid full-back believes that the rival club will indeed slip-up.

According to Arbeloa, “Barcelona has a tougher schedule than we have, We aim to win all our remaining games. That is our goal, even though we know it will not be easy. Sometime you spill points when you least expect it. We have two important games in La Liga coming up before the Champions League match versus Atletico Madrid. We want to head into that game in good form, so we must beat Rayo Vallecano and Eibar. The 9-1 win over Eibar was a big boost. It has helped us focus.”

Real Madrid’s next fixture is against Rayo on Wednesday before playing Eibar at Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.

/Anuttam/

"Information is not erased but preserved in black holes"

Contrary to what we have been knowing for such a long time that, ‘Black Holes doesn't hold information and any document that is ever shredded into the “giant” hole is unlikely to be ever retrieved’, a new study at University of Buffalo contradicts this theory and may prove many physicists wrong. The new research comes with explicit theoretical calculation backing up the statement that “Black holes don’t erases the information instead preserves it”, an information which is stored but cannot be retrieved.

For years Scientists have argued that Black holes are the ultimate vault, entities that absorbs any information and then make it disappear forever leaving behind no trace of its origin. But according to the latest research done by Mr.Dejan Stojkovic, Phd, associate professor at University of Buffalo, ‘the information just doesn’t disappear’.

The research’s skeleton structure outlines how interaction between two particles emitted by black holes can reveal about the information what lies within, such as characteristics of the object that form the black hole to begin with, and the characteristics of the matter and energy drawn inside. Professor Stojkovic believes that his paper is important as it will help those scientists too who believed that ‘information in a black hole is not lost but didn’t able to prove it mathematically’, as his new paper presents strong mathematical calculation to prove that how the information is preserved.

The research have helped solving one of the greatest paradox in the history of astrophysics, i.e. “information loss paradox”, that have plagued many physicist for almost 40 years since the time when Stephen hawking first proposed that “black holes could radiate energy and evaporate over time”. Though hawking later said that he might be wrong in his theory and that ‘information may escape from the black hole’, integrating a never ending debatable topic among many astrophysicists that, ‘the subject of whether and how it’s possible to recover the information from a black hole’.

But Stojkovic’s paper may be the answer for the all the queries, as not only it dealt with the particles that black hole emits, but have also taken into the account about the ‘subtle interaction of the particles’, which have proved that, it is possible for an observer standing outside of a black hole to recover information about what lies inside. The whole research was funded by the National Science Foundation and could sketch new face of truth for the “black hole” theory.

/Anuttam/

'Robotic Ants will be the future of the working industry'

It might be nightmares for some while ‘advancement’ for others as, ‘Festo’, a German based global industrial control and automation engineering firm have just found out replacements for the modern day factory workers. The most interesting fact though is this future replacements are nothing but Ants, yes an army of artificially intelligent cyborg ants, synthetic critters that are smart enough to work together for a common goal.

Known as ‘Bionic ants’, these 5 inches long, 6 inches wide and 1.5 inches tall smart creatures can even cope-up with fluctuating production demands and increase their working rate accordingly in order to meet higher increasing demands in less time. The coolest part of all is that they can wirelessly talk basic things to each other like ‘what’s up’ (talking frequently won’t make them bored while working).

As we all know Ants have been used to teach us the virtues of hard work, a fact not lost on the engineers at ‘Festo’. The German based company’s primary aim for building this project was to “demonstrate how autonomous individual components can solve a complex problem together, working together as an overall networked system”. These lithium battery-powered ‘Bionic ants’ are genetically engineered to work together for solving complex problems and shared common vision to reach a particular goals and last but not the least to be ‘cooperative’ for the greater good of the society.

These complex build algorithmic-controlled ‘bionic ants’ are equipped with a bulbous plastic abdomen, six strong jointed legs, two antennae, serrated pincers and faces that appears to be grinning. The bodies of these smart creatures are made up of lightweight polyamide in order to make them bulky and the circuitry was 3-D printed in order to study the structure of its operation.

How these Synthetic Ants will work?

These ANTS (Autonomous Networking technology) is a very advance mode of technical stuff but the working model of the ants is not as complex-able as it looks. The two pincers sticking out from their heads will allow them to pick up, drag and drop small objects and to recharge they should simply put their antennae feelers against a charging station. Smart, right?

Well, these genetically engineered Ants are not just for sales yet, but their importance in the industrial society is certainly intriguing and have left us with many questions, most important one of which is “ Will Bionic Ants replace the modern day Human factory workers”? What you think?

/Anuttam/

Smalling and Jones could be sold out for balancing FFP, says Paul Parker

Well, it’s a crystal clear fact that Manchester united generally lags behind in the defensive areas where they have failed to make an impact for a long amount of time, But in recent times the ‘Red Devils have been finally able to find a little stabilization in their back as Chris Smalling and Phil Jones the english internationals were starting to put some consistency in their performance. Yet, Ex-Legend Paul Parker have a different prospective and feels that Manchester United will probably let go off these two defensive duos in order to balance the financial books for the summer.

The 50 year old ex-English international believes that both Jones and Smalling are ‘valuable assets’ for Manchester united but still they are both dispensable for current manager Louis Van Gaal. Both the English defenders have improved vastly in the current season, with smalling being an ‘real asset’ to Manchester United’s defense with consistent performance in big games and to some point of the season Phil Jones have also shown assured performance at the heart of the defense.

Parker said, “United could sell Smalling and Jones to be on the right side of the Financial Fair Play Regulation”, “Both defenders are saleable assets-they are young England internationals who should attract attention from many clubs”.

But if hypothetically seen, the sales of the ‘two defenders’ will have nothing to do with the Financial Fair Play regulations, as the English club have recently tied up a 75 million euro deal sponsorship relations with Adidas and various others regional sponsors and TV revenue shares which will keep the club financially strong for the foreseeable future.

Well, there is no attestation about the fact whether these two ‘English duos’ will really leave Manchester United in the future,  but if Van Gaal is letting either of them go from Old Trafford, then it will be for footballing reason and not for Financial theories.

/Anuttam/