Communications of the ACM
Inside Hp Labs: 8 Cool Projects
Hewlett Packard
Hewlett-Packard Labs is hosting a number of research projects, including one on sustainable data centers that aims to determine how future data centers can be self-sustaining. It focuses on the five sustainability areas of energy savings, resiliency, higher efficiency, computer air-conditioning consolidation, and improved flexibility. "For the next-generation city, we are thinking that we can use the IT ecosystem to manage the ecosystem around it," says Chandrakant D. Patel (pictured) of the Sustainable IT Ecosystem Lab. "We can seamlessly integrate the IT systems into the city so we can manage the ecosystem — services such as transport, waste, and power."
Another project is producing flexible, disposable computer displays via self-aligned imprint lithography. "The patterning information is imprinted on the substrate in such a way that perfect alignment is maintained regardless of process-induced distortion," enabling more cost-effective continuous production on a flexible plastic material in a low-cost, roll-to-roll fabrication process, says Carl Taussig with HP's Information Surfaces Lab.
Another HP Labs project is BookPrep, which allows printed books to be made from any submitted out-of-print text through an automated, non-destructive 24-hour scanning and printing process. The online Color Thesaurus enables users to choose a color by entering the name of a more well-known color and viewing slight variations, while the HP-owned Snapfish photo storage portal's Pet Eye application can eliminate glowing eyes in photos of pets using a new set of algorithms.
HP Labs also has devised a working photonics prototype that uses light to transmit information, which combines greater data volume transmission with more energy efficiency.
From Computerworld
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