TotalCapture is a real-time, full-body mocap system that uses standard video cameras, along with inertial measurement units typically found in mobile phones. The new system requires no optical markers or specialised infrared cameras and can be used indoors or out, giving filmmakers and video-game artists unprecedented flexibility not found in existing mocap technologies. The new…
Electrifying News: Nano-Modified Aerospace Composites
New technology that could enhance both the electrical and thermal conductivity of conventional composite materials has been developed thanks to a collaboration between the University of Surrey, University of Bristol and the aerospace company Bombardier. Carbon fibre composites, composed of reinforcing carbon fibres within a plastic, have revolutionised industries that demand strong, yet light materials.…
Spray-Printed Crystals to Move Forward Organic Electronic Applications
Has the time come to replace traditionally used silicon with printable organic semiconductor inks? University of Surrey scientists believe so, especially for future electronics that need to be flexible, lightweight, wearable and low-cost. Single crystal semiconductors, such as silicon, have been at the forefront of scientific interest for more than 70 years, serving as the…
Ripples in Fabric of Space-Time? Hundreds of Undiscovered Black Holes.
New research by the University of Surrey published today in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society has shone light on a globular cluster of stars that could host several hundred black holes, a phenomenon that until recently was thought impossible. Globular clusters are spherical collections of stars which orbit around a galactic centre such…
Improved Fire Detection With Ultra-Sensitive, Ultraviolet Light Sensor
Researchers at the University of Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute manipulated zinc oxide, producing nanowires from this readily available material to create a ultra-violet light detector which is 10,000 times more sensitive to UV light than a traditional zinc oxide detector. Currently, photoelectric smoke sensors detect larger smoke particles found in dense smoke, but are not…
Graphene Rubber Bands Could Stretch Limits of Healthcare
Although body motion sensors already exist in different forms, they have not been widely used due to their complexity and cost of production. Now researchers from the University of Surrey and Trinity College Dublin have for the first time treated common elastic bands with graphene, to create a flexible sensor that is sensitive enough for…
Graphene Rubber Bands Could Stretch Limits of Healthcare
Although body motion sensors already exist in different forms, they have not been widely used due to their complexity and cost of production. Now researchers from the University of Surrey and Trinity College Dublin have for the first time treated common elastic bands with graphene, to create a flexible sensor that is sensitive enough for…