Angry Birds drains your battery faster

Are You addicted to Games like Angry Bird? If Yes be cautious the Life of The battery of your cell will be decreasing. According to TG Daily Free mobile apps using third party services to display ads are draining users' batteries, researchers from Purdue University and Microsoft say. The team monitored the power use of Android and Windows Phone devices using a tool called Eprof, and found that up to 70 percent of the power used by free apps was caused by downloading advertisements and tracking users. In the case of Angry Birds, just a fifth of the power use was caused by actually playing the game, with almost half accounted for by location services used totarget advertisements. In addition, the team found that the game left 3G connections open for up to ten seconds after downloading information, accounting for over a quarter of the app's total energy consumption. But other apps were almost as bad, with the team finding energy wastage on all 21 apps examined, including browsers, newspaper apps and Twitter. There is a solution, say the researchers. "Most of the energy in smartphone apps is spent in I/O, and I/O events are clustered, often due to a few routines," they say in their report. "This motivates us to propose bundles, a new accounting presentation of app I/O energy, which helps the developer to quickly understand and optimize the energy drain of her app. Using the bundle presentation, we reduced the energy consumption of four apps by 20 percent to 65 percent."Source: Ananta-Tec

Read More........→October 13, 2013

Popular game Angry Birds now on Facebook

Are you fond of Computer games and facebook? If you want to be on facebook and play your favourite game at same time, then it is possible now. As promised, the mega popular casual game Angry Birds has made its way to Facebook for the first time. The game's developer Rovio previously announced it would bring the avian-flinging adventure to the social platform just in time for Valentine's Day, and here we are. How romantic Yes, nothing screams romance and valentines quite like oblong green pigs, so the launch date seems perfectly fitting. This isn't the first time Valentine's Day has been an important affair for Angry Birds. Rovio previously released a themed 'holiday' version of the game filled with pink backgrounds and a whole slew of little hearts. Angry Birds has, of course, become one of the most popular casual games of all time. However, it is largely a single-player affair. Rovio could have brought it to Facebook a long time ago but it was apparently working on how to turn it into a more social experience. Angry Birds on Facebook includes online leaderboards and special power-ups that users can buy for 99 cents a pop. In case you've been keeping track, Angry Birds is already available for Android, the iPhone and iPad, Windows Phone, handheld game systems, and TV set-top boxes. And that doesn't even include the board game or any of the myriad other merchandising ventures. So as for Angry Birds making its way to Facebook, the only real reaction to have is - it's about time.Source: Ananta-Tec

Read More........→May 25, 2013

Razer DeathStalker Ultimate: Smartest gaming keyboard on the market

Razer DeathStalker Ultimate is a gaming keyboard, and what makes it different from the rest is that this keyboard is using dynamic adaptive tactile keys. This keyboard is using Razer’s award-winning Switchblade User Interface (UI) along with customizable LCD trackpad and LED keypad. This keyboard also has 10 dynamic tactical keys that can be used for binding commands or macros, and thanks to the Razer’s Synapse 2.0 software, these keys can display any image that you want. The interface is dynamical, so your keys will change accordingly while the relevant information is displayed on the screen. Razer DeathStalker Ultimate might just be the smartest keyboard on the market, since it is using dynamical and adaptive interface, and as for the price, this keyboard should cost $249.99 in US and €249.99 in the UK. Source: Saqatorrent

Read More........→May 25, 2013

PlayStation 4 Will Stream Games

Not surprisingly, the PlayStation 4 rumors have been flowing as of late. With the expected reveal of the console coming this Wednesday, February 20 in New York City, it only makes sense that little bits of information would begin to emerge about what we’ll be seeing. The newest rumor is in regard to the next PlayStation’s ability to stream games. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that “Sony Corp. is planning to offer technology to stream games to its next videogame console,” according to its own sources. The new technology, to be unveiled Wednesday along with the new console, will allow users to play games
delivered over the Internet, these people said. The streaming service, they added, is designed to use current PlayStation 3 titles on the new console; the new device is also expected to play new games stored on optical discs. As WSJ points out, such a move on Sony’s part would be unsurprising. Even when it was drowning in red ink, it still took a massive risk when it bought streaming service Gaikai for $380 million. There is absolutely no doubt that, with an investment that significant at such a difficult timefor Sony, Gaikai's technology will be poised to play an important role in Sony’s future. Streaming games to PlayStation 4 (and perhaps other Sony devices) would be significant, giving gamers access to a wide array of titles that they never had to purchase outright. This could suggest that Sony may have a game rental-like service on its next PlayStation, or perhaps even a new subscription service that would give gamers access to a library of offerings. At this point, everything remains speculative. We've reached out to Sony for official comment and will update when we hear back. In the meantime, catch up on all of the pertinent PlayStation 4 news and rumors, including (but not limited to) information on PS4's controller, word of a new LittleBigPlanet and the possibility of  Source: IGN

Read More........→February 19, 2013

Baldur's Gate enhanced: relive the old-school adventure

Classic role-playing video game, with clever iPad update, withstands the test of time
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What you need to know A remake of the popular 1990s role-playing game Baldur's Gate has been released as Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition. The new game, the first from the franchise in nine years, has been released for Microsoft Windows and iPad, with Mac OS X and Android versions to follow. Like the original, the enhanced edition takes place in the fantasy setting of the Forgotten Realms and uses a modified version of the rules from the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game. Players can become characters including a monk, an elf magician and an orc, who explore the countryside around Baldur's Gate (a large and prosperous city). The enhanced edition includes new side-quests and campaigns, while the iPad edition offers improved viewing features and touch-screen functions. What the critics like If you're looking for old-school adventure, this "serves up a veritable banquet", says Daniel Tack in Forbes. It's "light on story, heavy on combat" and offers "back-to-back battles with some of the nastiest creatures around". Perfect for players looking for "that old RPG feel" without all the wizard conversations. Baldur's Gate was - and still is - a "beautiful, enormous, ambitious and seminal RPG that remains without equal", says Paul Dean on Eurogamer. The enhanced edition offers improved resolution and graphics, and the new Black Pits side-quest is a well-written adventure in its own right. The good news is that this complex game "works surprisingly well on a tablet's touchscreen", says John Bedford at Business Insider. The clever iPad edition brings a host of new refinements to "one of RPG gaming's finest moments". What they don't like At times this "enhanced" business feels like a load of hogwash, says Leif Johnson on IGN. Higher resolution and updated animations improve the visual experience to a degree, but "the project still looks its age". Source: The Week UK

Read More........→February 07, 2013

Anarchy Reigns: a 'superbly orchestrated' combat game

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Wacky characters, endless fist fodder and great music make this an online action gem

What you need to know: Online action combat video game Anarchy Reigns from Japanese games developer Platinum Games has been released in the UK. Platinum are best known for their ultra-violent combat game Madworld, as well as Bayonetta and Vanquish. Set in a post-apocalyptic world plagued by mutants and gangs, Anarchy Reigns allows players to control a variety of fighters, including Jack Cayman from Platinum's earlier Madworld game. Fighters use their outlandish hand-to-hand  or  weapons  skills  to
defeat their opponents in a series of melee-style battles. Anarchy Reigns includes both single player and multi-player modes. What the critics like: This inspired reinvention of multiplayer brawling offers plenty of cheap thrills, says Roger Hargreaves in the Metro. It offers a substantial single-player mode but it's the "superbly orchestrated multiplayer action", favouring fists over guns, that makes it "one of the best multiplayer games of the generation". Platinum Games delivers another "action gem" that's full of wacky characters and even wackier moves, says Jeffrey L. Wilson on PC Mag. Insanity and a "constant stream of fist fodder makes it one well worth your dollars". Anarchy Reigns is a bit like a 'greatest hits' from Platinum's previous game releases, says Chris Carter on Destructoid. But it also has enough of its own charm to make it unique. The 16-character cast offers something for everyone, and the soundtrack is "incredible". What they don't like: Platinum fails to deliver "a coherent or distinctive experience", says Phil Iwaniuk in Official Play Station magazine. The chaotic action will leave your poor neurons frazzled, and while Anarchy Reigns borrows characters from Madworld, it has "none of the gripping visuals". Source: The Week UK

Read More........→January 26, 2013

Microsoft blurs lines between screens and walls with Illumi-Room

Microsoft Research plans to blur the boundaries between on-screen content and a viewer's local environment using a Kinect unit and a projector. The concept system, called IllumiRoom, is designed for gaming applications and is the first confirmation that the company is developing a patent application that InAVate uncovered in September last year.

The system first uses a Kinect for Windows camera to map the geometry of the room and projected content extends visuals across a room to create a fully immersive experience. Whilst Microsoft has

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gaming applications in its sights, the developments could pave the way for cheaper, more flexible immersive video systems for projects with lower specifications. Microsoft Research intends to present a paper detailing more information on the system at the 2013 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Paris, April 27 to May 2. Source: InAVate

Read More........→January 23, 2013

League of Legends the world's 'most played video game'

Video games come and go, but Riot Games considers League of Legends the current king of them all for now. New statistics from the creator of League of Legends indicate that the free multiplayer PC real-time strategy game had an average of 3 million concurrent online users in July, besting the entire combined total peak player count for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on Xbox 360 (1.4 million) and people playing the top 100 games on Steam (650,000). Riot Games, developer of League, also noted in an infographic that the game usually sees an average of 12 million players a day, with about 32 million active players logging in every month. Just for reference, when World of Warcraft sat at the top, it had about 12 million subscribers total. League of Legends hit the scene nearly three years ago, and in some ways completely flew under the radar for most casual observers of the gaming industry. However, in that short time frame, League quickly acquired a huge following (70 million registrations) that stays addicted to the evolution of the game, which derives from predecessors Warcraft III and Defense of the Ancients. Further drum tapping occurs as Riot points out that League averages at least 1 billion average play hours a month with help from more than 145 countries, a figure held since the third quarter of last year. In comparison, the total cumulative hours pumped into Halo since 2004 sits at a little over 2 billion. In League, players can choose from more than 100 characters to control and can play alongside other people in head-to-head matches against another team. Each character wields four basic attacks and can choose from a variety of items and equipment to enhance the character's abilities. When the battle begins, each team works together to defeat the opposing side's turrets, minions, and players in an attempt to destroy the enemy base. League fans might enjoy Riot's admission that Teemo dies 6.5 million times a day, which figures out to about 75 deaths for the little guy every second. Source: SAM Daily Times

Read More........→October 14, 2012

Man or Machine?

Where do men end and machines begin? It’s a question that scientists and ethical philosophers are asking much more seriously at the moment. We all begin to wonder this when we’ve spent four hours online looking for holiday deals, or the best savings rates – technology has become so immersive, particularly in the field of computer games, that we are looking at the dawning of true virtual reality in the next few decades. But the ethics of man combined with machine, particularly in the field of neurotechnology is concerning some. So concerned are they that the highly esteemed Nuffield Council on Bioethics has launched a consultation to look into the issue. The concern centers around the use of mind controlled machines, which are in development at the moment. Neurotechnology: Scientists are already using Deep brain stimulation (DBS) to treat Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, OCD and stroke, with the use of electrodes passed into the brain and out to a battery pack attached to the body.  Source: The Coming Crisis

Read More........→July 11, 2012

Retake, Rewind, Rebound

By Michelle Oraa Ali: Mass Effect 3, the highly anticipated final outing of Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect universe, has had to contend with controversy and criticism for very many reasons. The most appalling and, indeed, wide reaching of which is the  indignation  surrounding  the ending(s) of the game. Dedicated fans and newcomers alike were furious with the anti-climatic endings the game offered; claiming all their decisions in the build-up to the end were of no consequence. Fans who have dedicated hundreds of hours playing the Mass Effect series in anticipation of the final battle were angry to see their decisions reduced to a choice between three main endings. With the demand that Bioware supply them with an ending they deserve, fans all over the world have formed the ‘Retake Mass Effect’ movement. Bioware has announced plans for the ‘Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut’. The post explains that the DLC (which is looking at a summer release) will not provide any new endings to the game, only expanding and supplementing the currently existing ones via new cinematics and epilogue scenes.  Source: Deccan Chronicle

Read More........→June 16, 2012

Mini-projector for smartphone may change the way we play with our phones

VentureBeat, By Meghan Kelly; My grandma hates showing me photos on her smartphone. It’s small and “pinch and zoom” doesn’t show the full photo — “I just miss prints,” she says. This very neat concept smartphone projector, however, may solve her problem. A group of scientists have come up with a concept for a miniature projector that would connect to any kind of smartphone and allow the user to control the phone from the projection itself. The scientists from the Frauhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering studied the composite eyes of insects, which were the inspiration for the projector technology. Using a similar composite projector system, the images are intended to be good enough to show off vacation
pictures without the blur that occurs when light hits a flat surface at an angle. This crispness is achieved through an array projection. Array projection is where many tiny LED projectors are brought together to display one big image. Those tiny projections each have their own version of the image and can be brought together to project an image as clear as your smartphone, devoid of fraying at the edges. Because of these composite projectors, which take a different angle on the image, smartphones with curved screens can have their images projected on a flat or straight surface. New takes on touch technology have been getting a lot of attention recently. Disney Research and Carnegie Mellon University recently announced a new technology called Touché. The technology will one day allow any kind of object to know it is being touched. Based on the type of touch, these items may one day be able to trigger actions. For instance, if you poked a door knob in a certain way, it could set off processes which would lock the door. The projector would be a huge improvement in sharing content from your phone with the people physically around you. There are so many uses. You could play games with friends, given that the projector allows you to control content from projection. You could much more easily share photos with friends. It would also be helpful for those who watch movies and videos on the go, but want a bigger display. Now let’s hope it moves from concept to reality. Source: VentureBeat

Read More........→June 12, 2012

Eye-controlled computer games for disabled children

Computer games which can be controlled by eye movements are being developed by researchers at a UK university. The project at De Montfort University aims to allow severely-disabled youngsters to play computer games. Learning to control games by eye tracking is also intended to help disabled children navigate real-world environments. Eye control "adds a whole new level of intelligence to games", says research leader Stephen Vickers. The use of eye tracking as a way of interacting with devices has been explored for a number of years, says Dr Vickers. But his project is developing a more accessible, low-cost system, which will bring games into the reach of disabled children who cannot operate a mouse or keyboard. They will be able to "push" buttons and direct a character by looking at different points on the screen. In a spaceship game, he says players can fire a gun by staring at a button. Eye tracking uses an infrared light to identify where the eyes are looking - and can measure the movements as the person looks around a computer screen. If the eyes focus on an on-screen button, this can be like using a mouse and cursor to "click" on a button. Researchers at the project at the Leicester-based University have worked with a local special school. As well as letting children play games, it is also a way of helping children with very limited mobility to learn how to move around virtual environments, including those showing the layout of real buildings.Dr Vickers says the growing popularity of touch screen tablet computers and the use of gesture and swiping motions on computers is part of a wider change in how people interact with computers. If eye-tracking technology is going to become more affordable and mainstream,he says it is likely to be through the games industry. "The characters will walk where you are looking. It's much more natural to use and enjoy. It adds a whole new level of intelligence for games," he says. The use of eye tracking is also being developed for other types of special needs. Researchers in the United States are using eye tracking to study different forms of autism among children. It showed that children on the autistic spectrum are less likely to look into people's eyes and are more likely to look fixedly at inanimate objects or at bodies.The eye-tracking study from the Marcus Autism Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and Emory University School of Medicine also found that "highly verbal children" on the autistic spectrum were more likely to look at mouths Source: The Ultimate Update

Read More........→May 25, 2012

Dump the mouse, control PC with brain

ANI, London, First we had keyboards and mouse for controlling our computers, before smartphones popularised the touchscreen movement. And then hardware such as the Xbox’s Kinect system made gesture controls feel like second-nature. Now, people are getting ready to enter the world of thought-control, with headsets that can read our minds now available for as little as 300 pounds, and the software to  transform our dreams into actions starting to take shape. Kevin Brown, senior inventor at IBM, works to bridge the gap between budding technology and the practical applications they can provide to society. He is already working hard to make everyday tasks easier through mind control, using headsets like the commercially-available Emotiv Systems headset. The Emotiv headset retails for 299 dollars and can easily be plugged into any recent Windows machine to start working, with apps and games - including Angry Birds - being adapted by enthusiasts to run with simple mind controls. “The current headsets can already pick up a range of sensory input from our brains, and this will only improve over time,” the Daily Mail quoted Kevin, who has been an IBM for 16 years, as saying. “The Emotiv Systems set can pick up a range of emotions - currently whether we are bored or excited, and if we are concentrating on a task or if we are relaxed. “It can also pick up on what our brain is telling our muscles to do, so it can pick up a smile or a frown, and react accordingly.” The cleverest aspect of the system is in picking up our EEG brainwaves. Users can quickly train the software to understand various patterns. “The system is not “reading our minds”, it is instead recognising certain patterns, and passing that information to a control unit which can then respond to that input,” he said. For example, researchers are experimenting at IBM with the idea of the “Connected Home”, where, for instance, lamps are wired into the system. “You can think of turning on the lamp, tell the system that this particular thinking pattern relates to turning on the lamp, and then whenever the headset recognises that pattern, it will send the command to turn on the lamp,” he added. Source: Hindustan Times, Image

Read More........→May 17, 2012

This is Your Brain on Video Games (Infographic)

Video games get a bad rap: They’re too violent. They waste too much time. They’re partly responsible for the child obesity epidemic. And that may all be true. But there are also some benefits to spending a few hours on MW3, fragging your friends. According to research , video games can have positive effects on the brain, including strengthening memory and learning, improving the ability to reason and solve problems, and sharpening eye-hand coordination. Does that mean you should skip the gym and the Sunday crossword puzzle to find better living through gaming? Not entirely. Because when it comes to the effects on your brain, video games are still a Good vs. Evil battle. Source: Sensei Fun and Knowledge

Read More........→April 29, 2012

Game Review: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13

BusinessDay: THE Tiger Woods golf-simulation franchise has come a long way. The latest instalment was released last week, just in time for the 2012 Masters Golf tournament in Augusta. I was a little reserved when I heard I would be reviewing Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13. It’s a golf simulation — how exciting could it be? How wrong I was. EA Games has created one of the best golf-simulator games yet. In the first Tiger Woods game I played, many years ago, you had to control the player’s swing with the X button. Not any more; you now have to use the left analogue stick to determine how hard you hit the ball. This, however, is not as easy as it seems. If you don’t swing the stick the right way, the ball will go in the opposite direction. This game is like smoking. The first time you think, ‘How good can it be?’, but then it swallows you, and soon you can’t get enough of it. One interesting feature in the game mode is called "Legacy Challenge", where you take control of Woods in the various stages of his career (but no, not during his recent media debacle). This will keep you busy for a while. However, the main feature is the career mode. You create your own player and start your career as a professional golfer. You then need to play well in all the tournaments to get better sponsors for your character. Two problems with this game: one, the loading time is extremely long. This will get tiresome. Also, while you are playing in a tournament, the loading time between the holes is also long. As soon as you’re getting into the swing of things, you have to wait for the next hole to load. Second, the character’s face isn’t as changeable as you would like it to be, so all players will basically have the same character. On the plus side, the game play and graphics are fantastic. EA put a lot of effort into creating the courses to resemble the real thing as closely as possible. Also, you get to play as any of a group of real-life professionals, including Tiger Woods, Rory Mcllroy, Jim Furyk and all the South African pros. Plus, you get to compete in all the main tournaments — except those in South Africa. Overall, this is a fantastic game that will keep you occupied for hours.  RATING: 8,5 out of 10, FORMATS: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PRICE: R529, downingr@bdfm.co.za, Twitter: @RoyDowning, Source: BusinessDay

Read More........→April 14, 2012

Connected TV sport app from BBC

The BBC has launched its new sport app for connected TVs, enabling audiences to access the BBC’s interactive coverage of major sporting events via the BBC Red Button. This is the BBC’s next generation TV experience, seamlessly integrating linear TV with online and on-demand content at the simple click of a button. Initially focusing on Formula 1, the BBC Sport app will bring all the race action together in one place, with live streams, on-demand video and additional content. During races that are covered live on BBC One, fans won’t miss a second of the race, with access to alternative options such as on-board cameras which take the viewer to the heart of the action and the ‘driver tracker’ that shows where each car is on the circuit. As well as the races themselves, there will be full coverage of practice and qualifying sessions. Over the next few months, the BBC Sport app will also include coverage of Euro 2012, Wimbledon and London 2012 Olympic Games for sports fans across the UK. The BBC Sport app will sit alongside the award-winning BBC News app, which includes the best of BBC News on TV, online, and on-demand along with the BBC iPlayer app for connected TVs. The BBC News and Sport apps both launch immediately on Virgin Media’s TiVo service, bringing BBC Red Button to around 500,000 Virgin Media TiVo homes, for free. The BBC Sport app for connected TVs will be made available on a range of additional devices. Launching BBC Sport on connected TVs is another important step in the BBC’s strategy to bring its content to audiences across four screens: the PC, mobile, tablet and connected TVs. Phil Fearnley, General Manager for News and Knowledge in the BBC’s Future Media division, said the app and Red Button launch would ensure the broadcaster brought its next-generation TV experience to sports fans across the UK, integrating TV and online content seamlessly at the click of a button. “With predictions there’ll be almost 36 million connected TVs installed in UK homes by the end of 2016, the new BBC sport app is a great new way for these audiences to access the best of BBC’s content,” he claimed. The app launch – in the run-up to the first Grand Prix the BBC is covering live in the 2012 Formula One season – follows the launch by Sky of the Sky Sports App for iPad prior to the season opener in Melbourne over the weekend of March 16-18. Source: Advanced Television, Image: flickr.com

Read More........→April 12, 2012

Super-human brain technology sparks ethics debate

A British ethics group has launched a debate on the ethical dilemmas posed by new technologies that tap into the brain  and could bring super-human strength, highly enhanced concentration or thought-controlled weaponry.  With the prospect of future conflicts between armies controlling weapons with their minds, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics launched a consultation on Thursday to consider the risks of blurring the lines between humans and machines. Intervening in the brain has always raised both hopes and fears in equal measure. Hopes of curing terrible diseases, and fears about the consequences of trying to enhance human capability beyond what is normally possible, said Thomas Baldwin, a professor of philosophy at Britain's York University who is leading the study.  These challenge us to think carefully about fundamental questions to do with the brain: What makes us human? What makes us an individual? And how and why do we think and behave in the way we do?.  The Council, an independent body which looks at ethical issues raised by new developments in biology and medicine, wants to focus on three main areas of neurotechnologies that change the brain: brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), neurostimulation techniques such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and neural stem cell therapy. These technologies are already at various stages of development for use in the treatment of medical conditions including Parkinson's disease, depression and stroke, and experts think they could bring significant benefits, especially for patients with severe brain disease or damage. GROWING FAST:  But they also have huge potential outside the health context. In military applications, BCIs are being used to develop weapons or vehicles controlled remotely by brain signals, and there is big commercial scope in the gaming industry with the development of computer games controlled by people's thoughts.  Speaking at a briefing to launch the consultation, Baldwin said the estimated total global market for all neurotechnologies - including pharmaceuticals for the treatment of brain disorders - is around $150 billion. Setting pharmaceuticals aside, the value of the market for the devices and technologies we are dealing with is something in the region of $8 billion, and growing fast, he said. Kevin Warwick, a professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading and a supporter of more neurotechnology research, said some experimental brain technologies had great potential in medicine. From the brain signals, a brain computer interface could translate a person's desire to move ... and then use those signals to operate a wheelchair or other piece of technology, he said. For someone who has locked-in syndrome, for example, and cannot communicate, a BCI could be life-changing. But he and Baldwin also stressed there are concerns about safety of some experimental techniques that involve implants in the brain, and about the ethics of using such technology in other medicine and other fields. If brain-computer interfaces are used to control military aircraft or weapons from far away, who takes ultimate responsibility for the actions? Could this be blurring the line between man and machine? Baldwin said. The ethics council's consultation is at www.nuffieldbioethics.org/neurotechnology. The deadline for responses is April 23 and it expects to publish a report with recommendations in 2013. Source: Indian Express

Read More........→April 11, 2012

Smartphones and Sharks: video game technology is aiding shark research

RTSea: There you are, smartphone in hand, ready to engage in supersonic aerial combat. Or for more exercise, you stand in front of your television, clenching your game controller tightly, ready to play world-class tennis - game, set, match. Many of today's video games are aided by the use of accelerometers - electronic sensors that can recognize motion in a multitude of directions. Accelerometers have worked their way from aerospace and high-tech machinery applications to today's consumer electronics. And now they are adding another dimension to the study of sharks. At the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, Dr. Nick Whitney, head of Mote's Behavioral Ecology and Physiology Program, has been utilizing accelerometers in shark tags to advance the study of shark movements. "These accelerometer tags use the same technology found in iPhone[s] and Wii. It can actually tell us what an animal is physically doing, what their body movements are and what their body posture is," said Whitney. Correlating the data on shark movements with laboratory studies on oxygen consumption, Whitney is better able to make estimations of shark behavior, such as during mating or, in particular, during catch-and-release situations. Whether when promoting catch-and-release to sportfishermen or when catching sharks for scientific tagging and then releasing the shark, the extant to which a shark may be traumatized during the catch and how quickly it recovers is of great importance.  a while to recover?" Whitney questioned, "Do they swim off strongly, doing great? Or does  it take them

There are a wide range of telemetry tags used in shark research. Some are designed for regional behavior, monitoring a shark's depth, speed, and even internal body temperature. With a limited transmitting range, these tags are ideal for monitoring sharks within a shorter range of less than a mile. Dr. Peter Klimley at UC Davis as become one of the acknowledged masters of the art of regional telemetry tags and I have seen them used extensively with the white sharks at Isla Guadalupe, Baja. However, many sharks species are long-distance travelers and this is where "spot" or satellite tags are preferable. These more sophisticated tags record data for much longer periods of time, periodically downloading their data to satellite networks that surround the planet. Dr. Barbara Block, director of theTOPP Program (Tagging of Pelagic Predators), and Dr. Michael Domeier seen in National Geographic'sExpedition: Great White series, often make use of these types of tags, as do many other researchers for a variety of migratory shark species. With accelerometer tags, scientists like Dr. Whitney can get a glimpse of more than where a shark is, but how it's "feeling" as body movements can be correlated to its respiratory functions and overall metabolism at a given moment. Whitney will be soon starting a research study on blacktip sharks utilizing the accelerometer tags. I can't wait for the video game version to come out for my iPhone. Source: RTSea

Read More........→April 08, 2012