Mobile phones hackers' main target


IANS: Mobile phones will be hackers' main target in the future, according to a network security report. About 7.12 million Internet-capable smartphones were infected with malicious programmes in 2011, and the number has been increasing rapidly, according to the China's National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team. The team found and terminated 6,249 malicious programmes last year, more than twice as many as in 2010, China Daily reported Friday. Hackers often designed software and applications to destroy mobile phone systems to get users' personal information, taking remote control of them and stealing bank account information or passwords, the report said. More than 1,317 of the malicious programme were used to charge cell phone users fraudulent fees, the report said, adding that it was hackers' source of money. According to the report, Nokia's Symbian and Google's Android mobile phone systemswere targeted by hackers last year. The number of malicious applications aimed at the latter continues to grow. China Daily said that aside from mobile phones, social websites and online forums, which collect significant user information, have also become easy prey for hackers.  Source: Hindustan Times, Image: flickr.com
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Spain: Government expects solar to dominate by 2030 with up to 77 GW

Spain has currently an installed PV power of around 4.8 GW. Image: Solaria Energía
In a new report, the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Digital Agenda has predicted that solar will become the country’s largest electricity source by the end of the next decade. Cumulative installed PV power could even reach 77 GW by the end of 2030, according to the most bullish scenario drafted by the Spanish government.APRIL 3, 2018 EMILIANO BELLINI

Spain’s Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Digital Agenda has published a new report, including new growth scenarios for the future of the Spanish energy market, which recognizes solar as the future cheapest source of power, and the dominance of PV above all other energy sources by 2030.

The first scenario, called the “distributed generation scenario” (DG), forecasts strong development of renewable energy distributed generation coupled with storage systems.

According to the most optimistic figures provided by the ministry, solar is expected to reach a power production capacity of 47.1 TWh by 2030, thus becoming the country’s leading power source, followed by wind (31.0 TWh), combined cycle plants (24.5 TWh), hydropower (23.0 TWh), cogeneration facilities (8.5 TWh), and nuclear power (7.1 TWh). Overall, storage is expected to account for 2.3 TWh of total demand.

Under this scenario, renewables would have a 70% share in Spain’s electricity mix, while solar PV technology would reach a cumulative installed power of around 77 GW, followed by wind with 47.5 GW.

A second, less ambitious scenario, called “sustainable transition scenario” (TS), also expects solar to become the largest and cheapest source of power by 2030, but with “only” 40 TWh of power production capacity, and no storage deployed. Under this scenario, however, renewables would still account for 67% of total power generation capacity, although part of the missing 7 TWh from solar would be partly replaced with 4 TWh of power generation from coal.

The country’s power demand is expected to increase from around 253 TWh currently, to 285 TWh (TS scenario) and 296 TWh (DG scenario), respectively. Costs of power generation, meanwhile, would range from €52/MWh in the TS scenario to €32.7/MWh in the DG scenario.

Commenting on the scenario with the highest penetration of solar and renewables, the Spanish government said that their increasing share would significantly reduce power generation costs, thus enabling savings of around €9.6 billion.

This would negatively impact the profitability of thermal back-up capacity, which will still be necessary in order to deal with fluctuations, while also making renewable energy project investment returns more problematic, the ministry said.

CO2 emissions, however, would be more than halved, and power exports to France would increase by around 236%, as a consequence of the price spread with the neighboring country, the report’s authors noted.

Spanish solar association, UNEF has welcomed the findings of the report, claiming that the Spanish government has finally acknowledged the high value of the PV technology.

“The forecast of a considerable increase in installed PV capacity by 2030, which would increase tenfold compared to current levels, is a key opportunity to allow citizens to have access to cheaper energy and to reach a more stable development model, in contrast to the dynamics of acceleration-braking-acceleration that has characterized the last years,” said association president, José Donoso.

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Next generation drones design inspired by nature

© Photo: East News
After being inspired by birds, bats, insects and even flying snakes, researchers from 14 teams have come up with new designs of next generation drones and flying robots. These robots would have the potential to perform multiple tasks from military surveillance to search and rescue, News Tonight reports.
Olga Yazhgunovich: These robots may look similar to many things that nature has given to us in abundance, as flying robot will look like insects and butterflies, Design and Trend says. A report in EurekAlert says that scientists are working on different types of drones that look like different insects and animals. The report also said that scientists have successfully created the smallest drone of all that is as small as merely a millimeter in size. Bioinspiration and Biomimetics journal has come out with fascinating details as to how things are going to shape up in the future as far as the look and shape of the robotic drones are concerned. These drones come with exquisite flight control and can overcome many of the problems drones may face when navigating urban terrain. There is no denying the fact that flying drones are going to be of immense use in different fields in the coming days. It is true that the success of a flying robot depends, obviously, on the exactitude of its flight control, and nothing has more meticulous flight control than the creatures who are born with the gift of flight. Experts are very optimistic about the design and success of such flying robots. Dr. David Lentink of Stanford University says, “Flying animals can be found everywhere in our cities…From scavenging pigeons to alcohol-sniffing fruit flies that make precision landings on our wine glasses, these animals have quickly learnt how to control their flight through urban environments to exploit our resources.” One of the most interesting such robotic drone is a drone under development in Hungary that mimics the flocking of birds. It tries to do it by actually developing an algorithm that allows drones to huddle together while flying through the air. By understanding the ways how tiny insects stabilize themselves in turbulent air, researchers have designed many future drones. One of the researchers from the University of Maryland engineered sensors for their experimental drone based on insects' eyes to mimic amazing capability of flight in clutter. These eyes will act as cameras to record actual position of the drone which will be further monitored by engineers connected to an on-board computer. Another raptor-like appendage for a drone has been designed by some of researchers that can grasp objects at high speeds by swooping in like a bird of prey. Also, a team of researchers led by Prof. Kenny Breuer, at Brown University, has designed an eerily accurate robotic copy of a bat wing with high range of movement, tolerance and flexibility. Prof. Lentink added that membrane based bat wings have better adaptability to airflow and are unbreakable. A few issues will have to be sorted out for the success of such robots. According to the report, one of the biggest challenges facing robotic drones is the ability to survive the elements, such as extreme heat, bitter cold and especially strong winds. To overcome this issue, a team of researchers studied hawk moths as they battled different whirlwind conditions in a vortex chamber, in order to harness their superior flight control mechanisms. Another report in Bioinspiration and Biomimetics says more than a dozen teams are involved in creating flying robots that look like insects, butterflies and others that not just don’t fly in conventional ways but also in unconventional ways and so they are able to fly freely in dense jungles where we cannot expect other drones to fly. Source:http://sputniknews.com/
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