Portable Sound Fire Extinguisher - George Mason University Engineering Graduate Students extinguish Fires using DARPA Research

My fellow readers, turns out you can extinguish a fire using sound.

And here was I thinking that Sound could only transfer Power wireless to recharge laptops and smartphones as explained in my blog article entitled “Meredith Perry's Ubeam Ultrasonic Power Transfer and the Venture Capitalists - Ubeam's Wireless Charging Future is a Good Vibration with a Magnetic Personality”.

Computer engineering major Viet Tran and electrical engineering major Seth Robertson of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia have developed a way to put out fires using sound as stated in the article “Engineering students extinguish fire with sound”, published March 26, 2015 5:27 PM PDT by Michelle Starr, CNET News.

However, Viet Tran and Seth Robertson Sound based fire extinguisher, is a huge improvement; they've developed a way to make their portable and handheld utilizing the research done by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and other before them.

So how does sound extinguish a fire?

Extinguishing fire with sound – DARPA Research the basis of Portable Sound Fire Extinguisher

Theirs is not the first to demonstrate that capability of putting out fires using sound, as DARPA had previously demonstrated that this was possible as shown below.

DARPA research was based on the initial research work of Dmitriy Plaks and several of his fellow students at the University of West Georgia in 2004 as detailed in the article “When Fire Strikes, Stop, Drop and... Sing?”, published January 24, 2008 by Alison Snyder, Scientific American.

Like the researchers at the University of West Georgia, they hoped to use this technology in space to out fires as using water is not an option.

Onboard the ISS (International Space Station) water is so precious; every drop of moisture onboard the ISS is recycled and is the basis of the technology behind the Orbital Shower System as explained in my MICO Wars Blog article entitled “Orbital Systems Shower of the Future is a Water Recycler for your Favourite Martian”.

Hence you can see why I’m pretty excited about this story.

Portable Sound Fire Extinguisher - How Viet Tran and Seth Robertson Sound based fire extinguisher probably works

To be honest, I’m not quite sure that even the explanation that I’m about to give even makes sense.

Their prototype for the Portable Sound Fire Extinguisher consists of a sound frequency generator, a small amplifier and a collimator to focus the sound waves in specific direction as shown in the video above. Basically a portable Subwoofer that looks like a prop from Ghostbusters!

From cursory reading, the concept seems to be based on choosing a particular frequency, around 30 to 60 Hz that causes oxygen (O_2(g)) molecules in the fire to get displaced. Music is obviously unsuitable; the music is a mixture of mostly high and low bass notes, with 30 to 60 Hz being more associated with a Subwoofer.

Through their experimentation, they also discovered that higher frequencies caused the flames to vibrate, which I'd expect, as the Carbon Dioxide (CO_2(g)) gas, Water Vapour (H₂O_(g)) that vapourizeds and unburnt hydrocarbons would have enough mass to be influenced by these high frequencies.

That might have future applications as it relates to manipulating fire and might just be they way that Pyro, a character in X-Men Series of Comics, is able to control fire.

In fact, there is copious evidence online of the use of high frequency sounds, particularly Ultrasonic frequencies to lift and move minute objects as explained in the DNEWS video below.

It’s possible therefore that at 30 to 60 Hz, the energy in the pressure waves that make up sound prevent oxygen (O_2(g)) molecules from forming molecular bonds and may be equivalent to the energy needed for oxygen (O_2(g)) molecules to react with atoms in a macro-molecular structure such as wood or a liquid Hydrocarbon.

This as in order for oxygen to create flames of a fire during combustion, the bond energy between the covalently bonded molecules or atoms of any macromolecular structure that may be Polar or Van Der Waals Force based, have to be overcome. Once that is overcome, the oxygen can react with individual atoms of molecules.

Possibly what happens here is that at 30 to 60 Hz, the vibration energy is enough to prevent the exchange of electron on a subatomic level from happening, thereby creating a situation where oxygen can be present but cannot react, as the energy needed to lose the electron is already being supplied by the low frequency sound, thus preventing the reaction from taking place.

At least, that's my explanation from a Chemistry point of view being based on Engineering Experience working in the Telecommunications field and Bauxite Mining sector at CWJ (2001 to 2004), CLARO Jamaica (2008 to 2009) and then at JAMALCO (2014) as laid out in my Engineering Resume and Diploma and Degree qualifications for anyone to see!

Commercial possibilities for Portable Sound Fire Extinguisher – Kickstarter is possible and VC’s may be circling

It would be interesting and totally no surprise, if these two (2) George Mason University final year students Viet Tran and Seth Robertson were to follow in the footsteps of Meredith Perry and start their own company to license their technology for use on the ISS (International Space Station) or for more down-to-Earth uses putting out fire in your kitchen!

This is a story to watch over the next few months, as VC (Venture Capitalist) may already be circling and they may end up at CES 2016 if they haven't started a Kickstarter to make this device into commercially viable product.

They still have a long way to go, such as figuring how much energy is needed for larger fires as well as how to prevent fire from re-igniting, especially if they fuelled by hydrocarbon combustibles like plastic or rubber as explained in the article “When it comes to putting out fire, GMU students show it’s all about that bass”, published March 22 2015 by Tom Jackman, The Washington Post.

To Computer engineering major Viet Tran and electrical engineering major Seth Robertson of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, congratulation on your invention, making a POC (Proof of Concept) idea of a Portable Sound Fire Extinguisher a reality.

How NSA can hack the Baseband Processor and control your smartphone

Turns out the Octopus, a reference to the NSA (National Security Agency) and the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), may have some seriously powerful communications intercept capabilities.

For one, the NSA can remotely shut down your smartphone and use it to spy on you, according to ex-CIA and NSA contractor Edward Snowden as revealed in the article “How the NSA can 'turn on' your phone remotely”, published June 6 2014 By Jose Pagliery, CNN Money.

So how can the NSA do this? Well, you know it’s all about that Baseband Processor.

Baseband Processor hack by NSA - How the NSA can remotely turn on your cellphone to spy on you

Apparently the hack relates to your baseband Processor in your smartphone, the secondary DSP (Digital Signal Processor) that handles communication to the Cell Tower for the Telecom Provider that your cellphone belong as noted in the article “Can the NSA Remotely Turn On Your Mobile Phone?”, published MAY 30, 2014 12:36 PM ET BY JILL SCHARR, Discovery News.

The other processor in your Smartphone actually controls the smartphone functionality and mainly runs the OS and Apps; that goes off when you press the power button. However, the Baseband Processor stays on, patiently listening out for commands from the cell towers for you Telecom Providers. It is this fact about the baseband Processor that is the basis for this hack which the CIA and NSA has had the capability to do since 2004.

The CIA (really the NSA) can use a femtocell or attocell in a hack similar to the Baseband Hack used to gain access to a Blackberry as described in my blog article entitled “How to Hack ANY Blackberry or Smartphone - SGP Technologies survived in the Lion’s Den as Blackphone Hack was cover for Blackberry Baseband Hack”.

The NSA basically mimics a cell tower and your smartphone connects to that femtocell or attocell. It then sends instructions to your cellphone to shutdown but leave the microphone, camera or even the GPS running. This would allow the NSA or CIA to track your location as well as keep listening to you and watching you via your smartphone's camera.

However it isn't totally foolproof. According to chief technology officer of the NSS Labs security John Pirc, a cyberscurity research firm, the hacking method has a warm giveaway, quote: “The only way you can tell is if your phone feels warm when it's turned off. That means the baseband processor is still running”.

Malicious Apps to track you – Trojan Viruses, Malicious updates make Apps into Remote Access Spies

Still, there are better ways to track someone smartphones.

For one, the hacker can use a malicious App with a Trojan Virus that can not only track you but give them the option to remotely control your smartphone, as described in my Geezam blog article entitled “Google Play Store Apps with AdWare threat to Android Security”.

Then there is malicious App updates that exploit weaknesses in the API (Application Interface) for older versions of Google Android smartphones as noted in my Geezam blog article entitled “Android Browser Security unfixed as Google wants you to Upgrade to Lollipop”.

The hacker can create malicious updates and place them on a server mimicking your App’s server. Then when your App accesses the server to download the latest update, it will install on the phone and modify the App, giving the hacker access to your smartphone.  

This is similar to how one can hack an Internet connected car via the Vehicle Entertainment System which in most model cars is connected to the computer that control the brakes and engine as described in my blog article entitled “Automotive Security Researchers tell CNN Money Vehicles are hackable - How Vehicle Entertainment Systems are hacked”

Then there is always the alternative of using a malicious App to steal information from another App, as they all share and run in the same memory area on your smartphone as stated in “Sneak Attack: Android Apps Can Spy on Each Other”, published 21.08.2014 by NBCNews.

This was based on the research of Qian and Qi Alfred Chen and Z. Morley Mao of the University of Michigan who had presented their findings at the USENIX Security Symposium in San Diego on Friday August 22^nd 2014 in their paper entitled “Peeking into Your App Without Actually Seeing It: UI State Inference and Novel Android Attacks”.

Finally, they might not even need to get inside of your phone at all; Researchers at Stanford University and Israel’s defense research group Rafael have discovered that it’s possible to track a cellphone using just the power levels as described in the article  “SPIES CAN TRACK YOU JUST BY WATCHING YOUR PHONE’S POWER USE”, published 02.19.15 by ANDY GREENBERG, Wired.

Their technique, called PowerSpy, allows them to determine your location over a period of time using an App installed on the Smartphone that tracks your power usage from the Baseband Processor and thus determine which cell tower your connecting to and your relative distance and angular orientation based on what sector of the cell tower your smartphone is connecting.

Defense against the Dark Arts – what to do to stop Malicious Apps spying on your smartphone

The best way to stop Baseband Processor hacks is to really shut down the smartphone by doing a battery pull. Not really possible as most Smartphone no longer allow you to remove the battery in order to make the battery bigger, this is no longer an option, even if you don't own an Apple iPhone.

Other than that, the other options include placing your smartphone into Recovery Mode or spending a lot of money on signal blocking smartphone cases.

I recommend to not worry about this; the NSA and CIA are really hunting terrorists. To gain FULL control of your Smartphone, they're also have to install a malicious app on your smartphone to remotely control it from the outside.

So be careful of the Apps that you download and install, as some of the more innocent ones are giving away your GPS location, which you can of course disable by following the instructions in my blog article entitled “The Reason why I don't like Smartphones - Location Privacy and How to disable Location Services on Android and iOS”.

Plus, it's really the FBI you should be scared of if you're an American, as they are more likely to hack the smartphones of civilians!

How to find work in Jamaica at Call Centers - 1000 workers for Sutherland Global in Mandeville

Folks working in the Call Center World at Xerox, ACCENT Marketing and elsewhere, I’ve more important news relating to Call Centers that’s more important than Simone Clarke Cooper trying to sneak up on the food on the Smile Jamaica set on Television Jamaica.

This as Mandeville, capital of the parish of Manchester is finally getting their first BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) aka Call Center in the form of Sutherland Global as reported in the article “Mandeville Gets Its First Business Process Outsourcing Company” Published Thursday March 12, 2015 by Janet Silvera, The Jamaica Gleaner.

The Big news broke at a Jamaica Investment Forum on Thursday March 11^th 2015 when Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller announced that Sutherland Global was indeed setting up shop in Mandeville.

This pretty much confirmed my earlier blog article entitled “How to find work in Jamaica at Call Centers - 20000 Call Center Jobs at Sutherland Global in New Kingston and Mandeville means boom time for NCU Students in Manchester” where I’d mentioned that Sutherland Global was expanding not only in New Kingston but also to Mandeville.

They’re also looking for an additional 1000 Call Center Agents, QA (Quality assurance) and Supervisors, most likely staff draw from persons who live in Mandeville. This is my estimate based on the words of Country Head and Associate Vice President for Sutherland Global, Odetta Rockhead, who outlined plans at the Jamaica Investment Forum gathering to grow Sutherland Global from 2000 Jamaican employees to 3000 Jamaican employees.

For those wishing to apply to Sutherland Global, it might be a good idea to read up about the Country Head and Associate Vice President for Sutherland Global, Odetta Rockhead.

Her rise to her current position makes for interesting reading as per the article “Odetta Rockhead, The Woman Who Conquered The BPO Challenge”, published Monday March 16, 2015 by Karrie Williams, The Jamaica Gleaner.

Sutherland Global in Mandeville – 70,000 square feet of ICT Ward Avenue Facility might host two Call Centers

Sutherland Global is truly growing at a very fast pace since 2012 when they had launched as chronicled in my blog article entitled “UWI opens Call Center to employ Students - Call Center Work before Six Degrees of Hell in the Working World”.

Since then, they've switched from hiring University students, their initial pool of employees to taking on persons who've applied from outside of the University of the West Indies as of the fourth quarter of 2014 as per my blog article entitled “How to find work in Jamaica at Call Centers - Sutherland Global Service is now hiring Full-Time Customer Care Consultants to work at the Mona Technology Park as Christmas draws nigh”.

The location of Sutherland Global's Call Center is almost confirmed, with the ICT facility being built on Ward Avenue as described in the article “Ward Avenue ICT facility almost ready”, published Monday, March 23, 2015 BY ALICIA SUTHERLAND Observer staff reporter, The Jamaica Observer being the most likely location.

Based on its size, it may host not only Sutherland Global, but another Call Center. So we may be looking at not just one, but two (2) call Centers sharing the 70,000 square feet of ICT space that's capable of hosting about 1000 seats.

Already the Minister of Finance, Dr. Peter Phillips, has tabled a National five-year strategy to grow the BPO industry from the current target of 15,000 seats to some 30,000 by 2020 as stated in the article “Business Process Outsourcing Sub-Industry To Drive Growth”, Published Wednesday March 25, 2015, The Jamaica Gleaner and “Government hopes to double BPO employment by 2020 — Phillips”, published Sunday, March 15, 2015 BY KARENA BENNETT Business reporter, the Jamaica Observer.

So with 1000 workers needed in six (6) months time, if you're in Mandeville, this may be your lucky day.

Here’s the link:

Sutherland Global Website

Sutherland Global Jamaica

Address:

Mona Technology Park

University of the West Indies

Mona (7)

Mona Technology Park Application link for Sutherland Global Services

Sutherland Global Login Page

Sutherland Global Jamaican Application

 Sutherland Global Twitter  Feed: @sutherland_gs

Ministry of Agriculture bans US, Canadian Chicken Products - Why H5N2 Avian Flu is Shadows of 2014 Chicken Shortage during Easter 2015

Planning an Easter Egg hunt with coloured Easter Eggs as described in my MICO Wars blog article entitled “How to Dye Bright Glow-in-the-Dark Easter Eggs to go with your Easter Bun?”

You may have to rethink your plans for the little ones as there is a coming Chicken Shortage, which means Egg shells may also be in short supply.

Remember in my article on Chikungunya Death entitled “Jamaican Chikungunya Outbreak possible – Why H1N1 Outbreak in Jamaica possible as 1,731 die in India from H1N1 Outbreak” where the Canadian Government via their Public Health Agency of Canada had warned their Canadian Citizens not to travel to the Caribbean as the Chikungunya outbreak is not yet over?

Well, it looks like the Veterinary Services Division of the Ministry of Agriculture here in Jamaica has now issued a ban on imported Chicken from both Canada and the US of A out of fears of avian influenza Virus or H5N2 coming to Jamaica as reported in the article “Jamaica Bans Importation Of Poultry And Poultry Products From North America”, Published Thursday March 19, 2015, The Jamaica Gleaner.

This ban took effect on Friday March 12^th 2015 as stated in the article “Jamaica Bans Poultry Imports From Parts Of US, Canada”, Published Friday March 20, 2015 by Tameka Gordon, The Jamaica Gleaner in a bid to protect our local Chicken Industry.

H5N2 is now known to infect humans and is often confused with H1N1, a strain of the Influenza Virus also referred to as Swine flu now ravaging as stated in the article “India In just 3 months, swine flu deaths surpass worst annual toll”, published March 26, 2015 by Chaitanya Mallapurm, Business Standard infecting some 32,663 people in India and killing 1,947 since the start of 2015.

Another Chicken and Egg Shortage like last year in from January 2014? I’ll explain the details!

Ministry of Agriculture bans US and Canadian Chicken Products – Anything Chicken incinerated against Avian Flu

Somehow I fail to see the significance of this; I’ve stopped eating Chicken a long time ago now that I’m doing my Professional Diploma in Teaching at the MICO University College as evidenced from my blog article entitled “Cooking Restart at MICO - How to Cook a Meal in under 30 minutes and make Drinks with Bag Juice”.

But the meat eaters are concerned, so my article is really obligatory, not to mention whetting the appétite of my readers for a little local action on my blog.  

According to the article “Jamaica Bans Poultry Imports From Parts Of US, Canada”, Published Friday March 20, 2015 by Tameka Gordon, The Jamaica Gleaner, the Ministry of Agriculture is banning the following Chicken related products:

1.      By-products not fully cooked

2.      Feathers

3.      Hatching eggs

4.      Live birds

5.      Offal i.e. internal organs including entrails from within the Chickens

6.      Poultry

7.      Poultry products whether raw, chilled, fresh or frozen

8.      Powdered Egg yolks and Egg whites

9.      Raw pet foods containing Poultry

The Specific areas from the US of A and Canada where the products are being banned are as follows:

1.      Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Minnesota, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington in the USA

2.      British Columbia in Canada

This is clearly very serious; the Ministry of Agriculture, possibly with assistance from the Public Health Department from the Ministry of Health, has already made plans to incinerate any Poultry and Poultry products (aka Chicken) coming from the USA and Canada as noted in “Brace For Chicken Shortage Amid Ban On Some Imports – Producers”, Published Friday March 20, 2015, The Jamaica Gleaner.

This has prompted Poultry producers to warn Jamaican consumers of the possibility of a Chicken Shortage.

Shadows of the Chicken Back Shortage of 2014 - Egg and Chicken Shortage during Easter

This coming Chicken Shortage is very similar to the Chicken Back Shortage of August 2014 which saw Jamaican putting Crocodiles and even mongoose on the menu to satisfy our lust for meat as reported in my blog article entitled “Jamaicans now Eating Sly Mongoose as Chicken Back shortage Gets closer to Christmas - Family and Community Gardens needed to Grow what we Eat and reduce Food Import Bill”.

They've also activated a National Emergency Animal Disease Committee to get themselves ready to handle any possible outbreak of avian influenza or bird flu among the Animal population. This committee involves:

1.      Ministry of Health

2.      Jamaica Customs Agency

3.      Poultry Industry Producers

They also plan to reach out to small-scale Poultry operators, Egg farmers, pet bird owners and pet stores, basically anyone who wants to import live Chickens and eggs for breeding purposes to make sure they achieve compliance.

After all, we're STILL experiencing an Egg Shortage since January 2014 that has basically lasted all of that year due to increasing demand as a Meat replacement and declining supply from local Egg Farmers as explained in my blog article entitled “Egg Shortage in Jamaica set to continue to March 2014 - Poor Agricultural Planning to blame as Cheap Meat shortages forcing many to become Ovo-Lacto Vegetarians”.

But if this is as bad as it sounds, we may also be looking at an increase in baked goods that use eggs, such as Cakes, Puddings and Easter Bun, a staple during Easter and further on into the year! Chicken we can live without, as other forms of meat exist; Eggs will be sorta tough to replace!

These measures mean that major players in the Poultry Industry cannot import powdered eggs albeit they can switch to powdered Egg Substitutes like Hampton Creek Foods Egg Replacement made from blended organic plant proteins and spices as explained in my blog article entitled “CPJ's Liquid Eggs Limited Jamaican Egg Shortage - How Imported Eggs from Hampton Creek Foods may alleviate Egg Shortage in December 2014”.

So Easter Eggs with your Festival and Fry fish? You may have to skip Eggs and Chicken. Then again, it’s the Season of Lent; you can do without it. It’s after Easter that the meat eaters in Jamaica have to worry about!

US$199 Eko Core Stethoscope by @EkoDevices means Nurses and Doctors can become Cardiologists

Doctors and Nurses in Jamaica, get ready to buy the latest gadget that can actually help you become a cardiologist overnight!

Eko Devices is a company that has developed an attachment to the familiar stethoscope called the Eko Core that will take this analog listening device into the Digital age as stated in the article “Eko Devices' smart stethoscope could eliminate unnecessary cardiologist referrals”, published September 15, 2014 5:20 PM by Mark Sullivan, Venturebeat.

The US$199 Eko Core is an attachment that fits in-between the stethoscope’s earpiece and chest attachment. It listens to the heartbeat and re-transmits the sound it hears to an Apple iPhone or Apple iPad via Bluetooth LE.

The Eko Core then uploads the data via the Internet to a server run by Eko Devices that analyzes and compares the heartbeat against a known database of heartbeats and returns an accurate diagnosis of the patient.

This last part reminds me of another product, called the US$199 SCiO Portable IR Spectrometer that's made by Consumer Physics  that analyzes the chemical composition of anything it scans as noted in my blog article entitled “Consumer Physics US$199 SCiO Portable IR Spectrometer – Star Trek Tricorder that can scan the Molecular World”.

So how did Eko Devices get the idea for US$199 Eko Core?

And can this attachment make a difference in healthcare or is it just another gadget for doctors, like Google Glass as noted in my blog article entitled “Google Glass with Intel Chips - US$199 Google Glass Plus coming as Intel Core M 14nm Processor shrinks Battery for US Army and Medical Doctor Demand”.

US$199 Eko Core Stethoscope attachment – Doctors don’t trust their own hearing in diagnosing Heart disease

Dr Connor Landgraf, founder and CEO of Eko Devices, came up with the idea while he was still in graduate school for biomedical engineering. By chance, a professor introduced Connor Landgraf and his two (2) other co-founders, fellow undergraduates Jason Bellet and Tyler Crouch to a panel off six (6) physicians who expressed interest in their product.

The stethoscope stood out in those discussions and is usually the obvious identifying mark of a doctor. In many cases, it’s the first tool that he reaches for when diagnosing a patient.

However, many doctors and nurses aren’t trained cardiologists as argued in the article “Futuristic Stethoscope Attachment To Go Into Clinical Trials”, published 3/12/2015 by Sarah Hedgecock, Forbes.

With the US$199 Eko Core, the possibility exists to turn these health care professionals and even regular folk at home who have a stethoscope into doctors, to quote Dr. John Chorba, who’s involved in a clinical trial where the Eko Core accuracy is being compared against EKG (Electro Cardiograph) readings: “What’s really exciting is it has the potential to make internists and nurse practitioners and other types of providers into cardiologists”.

US$199 Eko Core Stethoscope attachment – IoT meets Big Data to turn Doctors and Nurses into Cardiologists

The Eko Core, being the latest in the trend of IoT (Internet of Things) to final come to the Medical Profession, can also be used gather the heart signatures of millions of heart patients from across the world and allows for Cloud Servers to analyze this date in real time.

This concept, called Big Data, will not only make it possible for anyone to become an expert cardiologists in little or no time, but also make it possible to sport heart conditions that much quicker.  

The US$199 Eko Core, powered by IoT and using the concept of Big Data, might finally help Health Care Professionals properly address Cardiovascular disease, which affects 1 in 4 of the world’s population.

Eko Devices’ Eko Core is set to get FDA (Federal Drug Administration) approval by the end of 2015. The Eko Core has been working with two (2) Hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area to test their product, one of which is UCSF’s department of cardiology.

Eko Devices lists VC (Venture Capital) investors Shazam and former advisor to the HHS secretary John Noonan among its board of investors. They’ve also been in partnership with a VC (Venture Capital) firm StartX accelerator at Stanford, in the heart of Silicon Valley, in hopes of bringing this revolutionary product to market

Doctors and Nurses in Jamaica may think this Eko Core a bit too small and expensive to shell out US$199 for something that an EKG can do and worse only works with an Apple iPhone.

Still, if it will can potentially diagnose heart conditions correctly in real time and save on the visit to a cardiologist, then Eko Core  is gonna be a device that’ll become an indispensable standard as the Stethoscope itself has been for the past 200 years.

Here’s the link:

Eko Devices Twitter Feed: @EkoDevices

Eko Core Electronic Stethoscope

Eko Devices Website