“LG Display will begin mass-production of its large-scale OLED panels, such as those used in the 55-inch OLED HDTV the company demonstrated at CES earlier this month, in July 2012. CFO Jeong Ho-young confirmed the production plans after LG Display revealed its Q4 2011 financial results, Korean site Asia Economies reports, with the line capable of up to 48,000 panels per month.”

LG OLED TV mass-production in July as Q4 panel losses narrow – SlashGear

Looking forward to the next super-narrow display from LG? Well, you’ll be able to catch a glimpse of it at the ISE 2012 – Europe’s largest professional AV and Electronics Systems trade show. The company announced today that it will be showing off a variety of products at the event – from the 55″ Super Narrow bezel display panel with FPR (Film-type Patterned Retarder) 3D to its other displays such as a high brightness 47″ outdoor display and its 26″ window display. The 55″ display makes use of FPR 3D glasses which feature curved lenses like regular glasses so they are much lighter, cheaper and healthier than shutter glasses.

The 47″ LED backlight LCD panel makes use of a fiber optic display with 2000 nit high-brightness – four times brighter than a general TV, which makes it more visible outdoors when compared to other types of displays. It also makes use of Local Dimming technology that helps it reduce power consumption to levels lower than that of existing LCD panels by turning off the darker parts of its backlights. The panel works even temperatures above 230 degrees F, which means hot, sunny days are definitely not a problem for it.

The 26″ Window Display isn’t new but nevertheless an interesting creation. It will be usable as a regular glass window or transparent touch display. It has a brightness control function for sunlight when used as a window and can even be used as a display during the night via an embedded LED backlight. Can’t wait until we start seeing these windows being used in our cars.

LG Display to unveil latest in public display technology at ISE 2012 | Ubergizmo

Invented by engineers at the US government’s Sandia National Laboratories, the self-guided bullet homes in on a laser spot trained on a target from up to 1.4 kilometres away from its firing point. If the target is a moving truck, say, and it moves after the bullet is fired, the laser illumination as seen by a laser sensor in the bullet’s nose instructs the bullet to finely twist tiny rudder-like fins on its rear end to keep it on target. The LED test proved that the sensor can remain powered after firing.

In a patent filing, Sandia says: “Computer simulations showed an unguided bullet under real-world conditions could miss a target more than 1,000 metres away by nine metres, but a guided bullet would get within 0.2 metres.” You can read more about the specialised bullets here and watch them being fired here.

Short Sharp Science: Light test for laser-guided bullet

Breakthrough: South Korean scientists have developed new technology which they believe could result in smartphones – such as an iPhone – being able to diagnose diseases

Doctor in your pocket…How smartphones may be able to diagnose diseases from just a drop of blood or saliva on the screen | Mail Online

“Dahon MU N360 Variable Transmission Alloy Folding Bike 2012 Introduction The All-New NuVinci N360 CVT Drivetrain hub delivers easy, intuitive, ultra-smooth shifting across a wide range of gears.”

Dahon MU N360 Variable Transmission Alloy Folding Bike

“But the Breezer has an ace up its sleeve. At the back end of the drivetrain sits a Fallbrook Technologies NuVinci N360 “seamless shifting” hub.

This thing is a marvel. It’s a continuously variable transmission hub. Instead of offering a fixed selection of gear ratios that you mechanically shift between — as in other multispeed hubs — the NuVinci just glides up and down through the range of the transmission as you twist the grip shifter. It uses a circuit of freely rotating spheres instead of a standard planetary-gear system. (Rather than try to explain its inner workings in detail here, I’ll direct you to our previous coverage of Fallbrook and some YouTubery).

You get all the same advantages of a traditional internally geared hub — sealed case, low maintenance, the ability to shift while stationary — but you can shift under force, and you aren’t limited by the selection of stops on the shifter.

Pedaling it around town is a kick. You twist your right hand towards you to go harder, and away from you to go easier, just like a motorcycle’s accelerator. It’s very easy to get used to. After only about 10 minutes on the Breezer, I was instinctively going back to the easiest setting at every stop light, then twisting the shifter as I sped up.

The entire concept of “shifting gears” is eliminated. Accelerating through the range of the transmission is much more pleasurable than the choppy, click-click-click routine we’re all used to. Getting the Breezer up to speed from a dead stop is smooth and quick, even when you’re pushing the cranks as hard as you can.”

Breezer Packs Billions of Gears Into This Comfy Commuter Bike | Product Reviews | Wired.com

“Fallbrook Technologies released the NuVinci Continuously Variable Planetary (CVP) N170 transmission for bicycles in 2007. The rear hub-based system does away with distinct, defined gears, it’s sealed against dirt and other contaminants (unlike a derailleur), and it allows riders to change drive transmission ratios even when standing still. Last year, the company unveiled the NuVinci N360, which is smaller and lighter than the N170, yet has a wider range of ratios. Fallbrook has now announced yet another incarnation of the technology – the NuVinci Harmony – which is an auto-shifting version of the N360 aimed specifically at e-bikes.”

NuVinci Harmony brings automatic shifting to e-bikes

“San Diego/Interbike Expo, Las Vegas — September 12, 2011) — Fallbrook Technologies Inc., developer and manufacturer of NuVinci continuously variable planetary (CVP) technology, is emphasizing the increasing adoption of its NuVinci N360 drivetrain in the US at the Interbike Expo, September 12-16 in Las Vegas. More than 40 bicycle brands worldwide now offer models equipped with the NuVinci N360 and at the Expo, Fallbrook will showcase 10 US models equipped with NuVinci technology. The models on display will include the first US e-Bike featuring the award-winning NuVinci Harmony, the world’s first automatic CVP shifting system for bicycles.

The NuVinci N360 makes riding more enjoyable with seamless, continuous shifting (even under high pedal torque) over a full 360 percent range, without power interruptions, missed gears or dropped chains. The NuVinci drivetrain’s intuitive shifting dial is fun to use, quickly and easily increasing or decreasing pedaling effort.
At this year’s Interbike, model year 2012 bicycles equipped with the smooth shifting NuVinci N360 drivetrain, include initial or expanded offerings from well-known brands such as Breezer, Jamis and Novara. In addition, folding bike companies like Dahon and Bike Friday are joining the NuVinci parade. Other new NuVinci N360 models include classic city bikes from Handsome Cycles and Urbana, a new cruiser from English Cycles, and an innovative tandem bicycle and an alternative tandem bicycle from Buddy Bike designed for family cycling, which also supports special needs.

Bodhi Bicycles’ 2012 Sport and Step-Through models will be the first US e-Bikes equipped with NuVinci Harmony working in conjunction with the NuVinci N360 drivetrain to create a riding experience second to none. The newly introduced NuVinci Harmony intelligent drivetrain is the first continuously variable drivetrain offering the option for seamless automatic or manual shifting.

“Our clients have used terms like ‘smoothest ride’ and ‘incredibly intuitive’ for our Bodhi electric bikes – all outfitted with the N360 manual shifter. Now with Harmony’s Advanced Controller, we’re taking it to the next level and adding a ‘sixth sense’ to their riding experience,” said Paul Jung, President of Bodhi Bikes.

The bicycling industry has already honored NuVinci Harmony. Last week the system received an iF Design/EUROBIKE 2011 award and TDR’s 2012 FluxX featuring NuVinci Harmony won an iF Design/EUROBIKE Gold Award. Two other bikes featuring NuVinci technology were also EUROBIKE Award winners.”

Fallbrook Technologies

A miracle machine that cracks the code of life within hours and could revolutionise healthcare was the talk of Davos, grabbing the imagination of a forum otherwise shrouded in gloom.

Davos wowed by device that reads ‘code of life’ in hours

Although robotic vacuum cleaners are still a relatively recent invention, they’re evolving quickly. After the SR8845 and SR8855, Samsung has launched the SR8895, which also goes by the name of ‘Silencio’. As you’d expect then, the main new feature of this vac is that it’s much quieter than the firm’s previous models.

While the prices of the two other models are now starting to come down, the SR8895 has launched with a rather extravagant £500 price tag!

Samsung Navibot Silencio SR8895