Initiating the Surround Sound Era for Digital Radio
Telos/Omnia and Fraunhofer IIS announce the first public demonstration of their new surround system for HD Radio™ at the NAB Radio Show in San Diego, October 6-8, booth 907. view more (2004-10-05)
Surround sound can be delivered to consumers more efficiently
Recent research conducted by scientists at the University of Surrey in collaboration with Bang & Olufsen and the BBC, shows that surround sound can be delivered to the consumer more efficiently by taking into account the results of perceptual tests. Although improvements in the audio quality of consumer entertainment systems such as DVDs, CDs,... view more... (2004-09-09)
Hearing where it's at: how humans and gerbils learn to locate sound
Humans behave like small mammals when tracing the source of a low-pitched sound, according to a study funded by the Medical Research Council at University College London. UCL researchers have devised a new model for how the human brain tracks sound, which could eventually help engineers develop technology for tracking sound sources in noisy... view more... (2004-08-02)
Scientists unveil mysteries of plasma jets on the Sun
Scientists at the University of Sheffield and Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Lab have solved a 127-year-old problem about the origin of supersonic plasma jets (spicules) which continuously shoot up from the Sun. Their findings are published in today's edition of Nature. Spicules, are jets of gas or plasma that are propelled upwards from... view more... (2004-07-29)
Latest IMM-newsletter "IMMage" published
Special issue "reforming technology" „Micro systems for the people" was the motto of the last issue of our newsletter "IMMage". The urgent need for a sustainable, environmentally sound and resource sparing energy supply is certainly one of the questions concerning our society today. Hydrogen and fuel cells yield... view more... (2004-07-13)
Controversy over what your doctor should learn
The current fashion in teaching doctors, which allows medical students to decide what they want to learn and how to go about it, is strongly criticised in a paper published in the British Medical Journal this week (10th July 2004). The authors argue that the new ideology may damage medical training in this country, and that there is now a risk... view more... (2004-07-07)
3-D movement captured to conduct music
Imagine the sound mixing desk in a concert hall controlled not by a technician manipulating hundreds of knobs and sliders, but by pointing to speakers and changing volume and tone with the movement of an arm. This futuristic orchestra conductor is being made reality by the work of researchers in the school of music at the University of Leeds. Dr... view more... (2004-07-06)
Beating the thieves with location tracking
Police aim to 'design out' crime by equipping valuable items with tracking devices that sound an alert or record their movement. They are being helped by electronic engineers at the University of Leeds who are devising a way of locating objects using widely-available technology. view more (2004-07-05)
MPEG-4 Audio-Visual Solutions One-Stop At Fraunhofer IIS
High-quality video transmission with multi-channel sound through DSL connections finally becomes reality thanks to an up to now unmatched efficiency in audio and video compression. The revolutionary new multimedia technology can be licensed one-stop at Fraunhofer IIS. MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding AVC allows screen-filling video in good quality at... view more... (2004-06-21)
Pretending To Be A Bird
Tape-recorders allow us to record and analyze birds' singing, but communicating with birds is more difficult. From time immemorial, people have listened to the birds singing, recognized birds by voices, have been able to guess their condition. Some people are able to successfully imitate bird's singing. Only in the 50s of the last century,... view more... (2004-05-24)
Toumaz Technology Set For Expansion After Attracting £1.5 Million Investment
Toumaz Technology Ltd, a developer of advanced semiconductors, has attracted an investment of £1.5 million from Gennum Corporation, Canada. Toumaz Technology is a spin-out company from Imperial College, London whose ultra low-power (AMx™) Advanced Mixed Signal technology could transform the whole concept of battery operated and mobile... view more... (2004-04-07)
Extracting Metal from the Sea â€" the Environmentally Friendly Way
A novel method that uses bacteria to mine valuable minerals from the ocean has been developed. Nodules collected from the Indian Ocean seabed can be treated to extract scarce land-based minerals in an environmentally sound way, says research published in the Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology. Using the marine species Bacillus M1,... view more... (2004-04-02)
High-quality multi-channel listening with MP3 Surround
Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS presents the brand new MP3 Surround technology as a CeBIT premiere. A next generation of MP3, the MP3 Surround technology, provides a multi-channel listening experience with minimum effort and maximum compatibility. MP3 Surround allows the reproduction of high-quality multi-channel sound at bit... view more... (2004-03-12)
Colas ensures noise doesn't break the sound barrier
Colas, the leading road construction and maintenance group, and its subsidiary, Somaro, a specialist in safety equipment and road signs and signals, in partnership with the Ecole Polytechnique, have developed a new type of noise barrier for roads with an unequalled level of sound absorption. Depending on the configuration, the barrier's... view more... (2004-03-10)
iPod professor tunes into music on the move
The world's leading expert on the impact of personal stereos is investigating the Apple iPod trend. University of Sussex media lecturer Dr Michael Bull is seeking iPod users to further his research. Dr Bull has studied the mobile music revolution since the arrival of the Sony Walkman in the late 1970s. He is now looking at the social influence of... view more... (2004-03-04)
Touchy Feely Music
The music industry is poised for a revolution if a self-employed design consultant from London can get his innovative touch-screen technology off the ground. NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) - the organisation that nurtures UK creativity and innovation - has invested £100,000 in the idea to help turn it... view more... (2004-03-02)
Rats May Be Pessimistic Too
Rats housed in unpredictable conditions appear to have a more negative outlook than those housed in stable, settled conditions, according to new research by scientists at Bristol University Veterinary School, published in this week's issue of Nature. The researchers found that whether an animal anticipates that something good or bad is going to... view more... (2004-01-19)
A "slurp" says more than ten beeps
Natural warning sounds may be the future in airplanes and perhaps in cars as well. A "slurp" when fuel is low works better than a monotonous beeping sound. In a dissertation at The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden, Pernilla Ulfvengren has studied how warning sounds function, how we associate sounds, and how new sounds can be... view more... (2003-12-18)
Physics on Stage 3: the Eurovision Song Contest for physics?
You might see it as the physics equivalent of the Eurovision Song Contest offering superficial, easily digested gee-whizz physics. But Physics on Stage 3 gives physicists, teachers and science communicators a unique opportunity to showcase the most exciting, fun and innovative ideas happening across Europe. The focus of Physics on Stage 3 is the... view more... (2003-11-12)
Advance directives open to different interpretations
Health professionals come to different conclusions about the "right thing to do" when applying the terms of an advance directive to a clinical scenario, finds a study in this week's BMJ. view more (2003-10-29)
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