Microsoft Live Labs researchers have developed Pivot, a tool designed to visually organize large data sets. Pivot presents data in the form of several images accompanied by textual data. Users can zoom into the images to study individual pieces of data, or zoom out to see items grouped according to certain criteria. Data collections can contain a few images with static data attached, or they can be large and connected to a feed of changing data. Pivot is based on Microsoft’s Seadragon, software designed for manipulating large amounts of visual information. Users can make their own collections of data by converting images to the Deep Zoom format used by Seadragon, and annotate them using a format based on extensible markup language. Pivot also could provide a better way to sort through Internet search results, because users could sort through thousands of results visually, instead of just looking a list of the top 10 search results.
View Full Article
For More Information Visit: http://www.cpccci.com

A project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and led by University of Nottingham researchers is developing a new computerized approach to scheduling airport operations that is designed to reduce delays, speed up baggage handling, and decrease pollution. The project aims to computerize and coordinate the scheduling of take-offs, landings, gate assignments, and baggage handling. The end result will be a search engine capable of analyzing the billions of possible scheduling combinations to provide the controllers with the most efficient courses of action. Currently, these four areas are organized manually by staff members who make decisions based on observations, reports, and experience. The scheduling improvements will make flying easier for passengers and reduce pollution by minimizing the time planes spend on the ground with their engines running. The project will develop computational models for each of the four areas of operations and determine how to run those models in conjunction with each other. One of the critical issues is how long an airplane needs for preparation on the ground before it can take off. Preparation includes enough time for the safety briefing and warming the engines. Sending a plane to the runway before either of these steps has taken place will cause delays on the runway that could affect other flights.

View Full Article

For More Information:http://www.cpccci.com

The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance has awarded a Sustainable Vision Grant to a Georgia Institute of Technology research team to migrate its ad hoc, infrastructure-free wireless communications network to the marketplace. The network, called LifeNet, lets one person share network connectivity with others through their computer and is particularly critical for supplying instant communications connectivity in post-disaster scenarios or in rural and developing areas. LifeNet consists of consumer electronic devices, such as laptops or smartphones, with each device serving as a host and a router at the same time. LifeNet can support incremental expansion or shrinkage by enabling any user to connect and disconnect from the network at will, and it covers areas ranging from a few hundred meters to a few kilometers in diameter. In addition, all devices throughout a LifeNet network can access the Internet if just a single device is connected. LifeNet will next undergo rigorous testing and implementation.
View Full Article

For More Information Visit: http://www.cpccci.com