New Tech Packs Hundreds of Sensors into a Single Optical Fiber

h/t - @osamaelmageid
 
industry tap - Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh have developed an all-optical high temperature sensor used in gas flow measurements that can operate at high temperatures above 800 degrees Celsius.

This sensor was developed by combining the concepts of active fiber sensors and high temperature fiber sensors.

It can successfully operate at 850 degrees Celsius, which is 200 degrees higher than an earlier notable demonstration of MEMS-based sensors developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

This revolutionary technology could be successfully utilized in industrial sensing applications where conditions are harsh, like interiors of nuclear reactors, outer space, deep geothermal drill cores and many other areas.   Read More

Your Phone Can Take Your Blood Pressure With This New Tech

Forbes - Engineers are taking advantage of the flexibility of apps and the computing power of smartphones to replicate the functions of medical devices and even laboratory instruments.

Smartphone based medical apps started to proliferate two years ago. Handy integrated devices like the $129 Withings blood pressure monitor simplified the process of tracking personal health. This year, the level of sophistication of as taken a significant leap.

Take for instance the NetraG from Massachusetts-based EyeNetra. The company, which develops mobile diagnostic tools to aid eye-care, is working on manufacturing an effective diagnostic system using plastic lenses mounted on a smartphone. By replacing autorefractors—the expensive medical devices optometrists use to prescribe glasses—EyeNetra says it can cut eye-care costs by thousands of dollars.   More

The Hottest Tech from IFA 2011

PCMag.Com - The technology trade show, there’s nothing like it. From the minute your feet hit the show floor with its deep, squishy carpet, bright lights, and flashy displays, all the way up to the time you eyeball your umpteenth 3D TV, and want to keel over from exhaustion, it’s an experience.

IFA, the massive European consumer electronics and home appliance show, is winding down tomorrow, and for the past week PCMag has been on the ground in Berlin reporting on the hottest products and technologies there. Light-as-air laptops, thin tablets, and cutting-edge mobile phones got a lot of ink. Cutting-edge cars, cameras, and fun gadgets were also well represented. The biggest story at IFA was 3D technology, a theme that crossed several product categories including HDTVs, displays, home theater gear, cameras, and camcorders. Sony even unveiled a head-mounted 3D OLED display. For all the specifics read our IFA coverage.

What we haven’t done, however, is give you a feel for what we’ve seen wandering the many exhibitor halls of the Messe Berlin fairgrounds searching for tech treasure. Since we focused on the technology side of the show, and a large portion of IFA show space is devoted to home appliances, there’s a lot of cool stuff we didn’t get to tell you about. Instead, we took pictures to show you.

With 1,441 technology companies on display at the show this year, many of them spending small fortunes to showcase their latest wares, there was practically a photo op around every corner.

Check out the slideshow for a look at some of the most memorable show floor sights from IFA.

Click here to see “The Best of IFA 2011 in Pictures” slideshow