editorial The opportunity for apps

The advent of smart phones and tablet devices should give scientists exciting new opportunities for collecting, managing and interfacing with data.

One only has to take a quick glance that was launched in December 2010. around cafés, trains and offices to realize Timo Hannay, managing director of Digital the rising popularity of smart phones and Science, says the firm is busy developing tablets. Indeed, Apple’s iPhone and iPad, the innovative digital tools that scientists which run an operating system called will need in the future to manage, visualize, iOS, as well as smart phones running interact with and share data in more Google’s Android operating system, are convenient way. fast becoming a ‘must have’ accessory for “We’re a new division of Macmillan those that desire convenient access to the with a mission to support the needs of Internet while travelling. A major selling scientists and researchers. NPG does this point of these devices is the ease at which by providing the high-quality content they new software — known as ‘apps’ — can be need, whereas is about downloaded from the Apple iTunes store providing the technology they need,” or the Android Market for immediate explained Hannay. use. Apps cover an incredible diversity of “When it comes to data management, functions, ranging from games, personal scientists have better tools for organizing organizers and productivity aides to tools their personal music and photos than the for conveniently managing photos, music data collected in their lab.” and e-books. However, so far very few One of the possibilities that Hannay

apps have been built to serve the needs of finds most exciting is the opportunity for iHologram scientists. Arguably, the most successful tablet devices to create a true end-to-end and useful app so far is Papers for iOS digital workflow for scientists. “We’re visualize the positions of several optical (www.mekentosj.com/papers), which seeing an explosion in the number of tablet traps using the touch-screen of an iPad. provides scientists with a new, convenient devices, and they have huge potential for Their next goal is to produce a more way of managing, organizing and storing use in the lab,” commented Hannay. “If general toolkit that allows mobile devices to research papers in a personal and portable you think about it, the only thing that interact with any equipment controlled by library. In addition, several journal isn’t digital in the workflow for data is a National Instrument’s LabVIEW software. publishers such as the Institute of Physics, scientist’s lab notebook, and the tablet Scientists may soon be able to use Publishing Group (NPG) and the presents an opportunity to change this.” tablet devices as interactive lab notebooks American Association for the Advancement Beyond data management, the other not only to collect, organize and display of Science have recently released apps that big scientific opportunity for tablet and experimental results in real time, but allow their content to be easily viewed mobile devices could be for providing also to provide an intuitive touch-screen and managed by mobile devices. However, convenient control over apparatus in the interface for controlling their scientific that is about as far as scientific apps lab. As described in detail on page 255 of apparatus. In the meantime, if you have have progressed. this issue, researchers from the Universities come across any apps that you’ve found One firm that’s trying to change the of Glasgow and Bristol in the UK have now particularly useful as a researcher in situation is Digital Science (www.digital- developed an app that allows scientists optics, then please do write in and tell us science.com), a sister company of NPG to wirelessly control optical tweezers and about them. ❐

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