New Horizons achieves its goal

"Heart of Pluto" picture from New Horizons website

In my posts of January 25, 2015 (New Horizons soon to reach Pluto) and February 2, 2015 (The technology of New Horizons) I wrote about the NASA flyby mission to Pluto that was launched on January 16, 2006. The flyby was closest on July 15, 2015.

The New Horizons website now has continually updated information on what the scientific team has found so far, and are still finding. And - of course - there are great photos of Pluto and its moons, never before seen!

New Horizons website: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/

There are so many interesting sections on the website that it would be impractical to mention them all here, but as I use the material with my students in the autumn semester, I will be sharing my ideas on this blog.

One section I will focus on, however, is the Pluto in a Minute video series.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5u7fD8rLzj22GAMKStDhK6nGvJ2GhEVy

Despite the name, most videos are a bit longer than a minute, but only one is longer than 2 minutes (at 2:27). The narrator is Amy Shira Teitel, a member of the New Horizons team, who unfortunately speaks rather quickly. But the 21 topics focused on cover a wide range of information (in short bits) about Pluto and the New Horizons technology, so there are sure to be clips of interest to engineering students.

Some examples of the topics:

• What is New Horizons going to do after Pluto?
• How LORRI takes such phenomenal pictures
• Dr. Brian May shows us how to really see Pluto
• How did New Horizons phone home?
• Meet New Horizons' science payload

The last one on the list is related to my February 2nd blog post, which focuses on the 7 instruments on the New Horizons spacecraft. Some interesting information mentioned in the short (1:33) video clip:

• The payload is extremely lightweight. All 7 instruments combined weigh less than the camera on the Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn.
• Very little power is used for the instruments. All 7 instruments functioning at the same time draw only 28 watts/second, which is half the power needed to illuminate a light bulb.

I'm looking forward to finding out next semester which topics my students want to learn more about, and which information they will find most intriguing. I hope they will be motivated to look through the New Horizons website and find a topic they would like to research further.

In my post next week I'll focus on a specific article from the website for language work related to describing Pluto's features.

Factor magazine website

From FactorTech website

I recently came across an online magazine that looks like an excellent source of texts for my engineering students. The magazine is Factor and describes itself in this way:

“Factor is a website and digital magazine covering the latest developments in technology, science and beyond, with a focus on the future. We’re particularly interested in how innovations are set to change the way we live, and what our lives are likely to be like in the future.”

What would be particularly useful for students - to encourage them to read articles on the website themselves - is that it is "a free, monthly digital title, available to read on iPad and online with a modern desktop browser. Each issue we take a different theme and look at the technologies and likely future developments surrounding it – from everyday life and work to sports and travel, from robotics to healthcare, and from future cities to space and beyond."

The Factor website: http://factor-tech.com/

The sections presented across the top of the home page are:

• Space
• Future cities
• Robots
• Connected world
• Wearables
• Food supply
• Green energy
• Health

But there are also further sections revealed by clicking the "all" button. These include: 

• Gaming
• Movies
• Sport
• Transport
• Drones
• Virtual reality
• 3D printing
• 3D modelling
• Comment

The Comment section has opinion articles about certain subjects (rather than reader comments), and this material could be very useful for students who are using persuasive speaking or debate in the classroom.

The articles in general seem to be fairly short and written in a simple way, without being very technical. But they are certainly a good introduction to specific topics and can inspire students to look for further information.

I will keeping checking this site for material that I can use with my engineering students. As I find and use specific articles, I will post ideas to share with my readers. 

Transparent solar cell

Image from Michigan State University

Ubiquitous Energy is a technology company developing transparent photovoltaics. These devices would eliminate the limitations of the battery life of mobile devices, and would provide "smart" glass for buildings.

The "first truly transparent solar technology" is described on the company's website:

“Implemented as a fully transparent film that covers a device's display area, ClearView Power™ technology transmits light visible to the human eye, while selectively capturing and converting ultraviolet and near-infrared light into electricity to power the device and extend its battery life.”

Company website: http://ubiquitous.energy/

On the home page, viewers can choose "Learn more" or "Watch video." The video (4:03), from Bloomberg Business, focuses on the many uses of such solar technology. In particular, having transparent solar cells would mean that they could be used as windows in office buildings and skyscrapers in cities - where there is not enough space for conventional solar technology. There is also further explanation of how the technology works, and how the company innovated a truly transparent cell.

Choosing the "Learn more" option brings you to the Technology section, which explains the features of the device in more detail - which is probably of the most interest to engineering students. This was the information my students wanted to read, since they found the idea of a completely transparent solar cell to be extremely interesting.

In the News section of the website there are a variety of articles about the company's technology and applications for it. Articles are added often, so the choices are always up to date.

The sections of the website, with their subsections, are:

• About (Ubiquitous Energy, Team, News)
• Applications (Mobile, Internet of Things, Smart Glass)
• Technology
• Careers
• Contact

There seems to be a lot of material here for lessons, and I intend to keep checking this website for ideas I can use next semester (plan ahead for September!).

There are also some interesting articles about this new technology. For example:

From Factor magazine -
http://factor-tech.com/green-energy/7287-transparent-solar-collector-to-turn-skyscrapers-into-power-plants/

From ExtremeTech -
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/188667-a-fully-transparent-solar-cell-that-could-make-every-window-and-screen-a-power-source

Another idea for a secure password

From Nymi website

In my posts of May 19 and May 24 (Iris-scanning smartphone and Biometrics discussion, respectively) I wrote about a biometric device that scanned the eye, which replaces the need for a password. Now there is another biometric device, the Nymi.

The Nymi is a biometric wristband that uses an individual's heart rhythm as an authenticator of identity, replacing the need for passwords or scanning of fingerprints.


The company website has a video (1:55) that shows what the device is and gives a simple explanation of how it works. The narrator speaks clearly, and there is a visual showing what is being said. This makes it easily understandable to students and, of course, is a useful example how they can present information clearly and succinctly.

The company website: https://www.nymi.com/

The Nymi Band section of the website gives further information about the device as well as responses to frequently asked questions.

There is also a section called Become a "Nymi Developer" that invites innovators to develop applications for the Nymi SDK band for free.

From the description: "The SDK includes: APIs, sample code, the Nymulator (a virtual simulator for the Nymi Band for application testing), and documentation. All you need to start building applications for the Nymi Band."

The Nymi SDK kit

There are examples of other applications that have been developed using the Nymi, which students can "rate" for such factors as most useful, most needed, coolest, etc.

For developing creativity, students could brainstorm ideas for applications that are relevant to their particular engineering field.


There is an article from Time magazine about the device, This Could be the Most Secure Password Ever.
Link to article: http://time.com/3393329/heartid-heart-rhythm-password/?xid=newsletter-brief