Sunday 30 April 2017

Building Cities of the Future Now

Future city

Cities Upgraded for Future

New cities are being built around the world and the ones that have been lived in for years are being upgraded for the future. It is partially the cause of over-crowding as well as pollution and partly due to an ever-connected world that makes sense to peg entire cities up to the network.

A smarter city would mean that utilises data on traffic for easing congestion or one which focuses in linking services for provision of improved information for the citizens. For several it could be about making cities much greener as well as efficient.

Some of the technology companies like IBM and Cisco tend to see smart cities as large business opportunity though in conjunction with the schemes being advertised by technology companies seems to be more grass root project that targets to empower citizens enabling them a say in how the city would be viewed.

For several of them, Songdo in South Korea is the poster boy of the smart city and the $35bn project situated on reclaimed land towards the Yellow Sea has been generally considered to be a model for smart cities across the world when it had begun in 2005.

Information System – Universal City of U-city

Songdo’s information systems, also known as a universal city of U-city, seemed to be connected to each other. Moreover it had led critics to label it as a `city in a box’, a showcase for technology though not essentially the perfect city for people. Sensors seem to be on everything in Songdo, for instance, escalators tend to move only when someone is on them.

A telepresence system built in like a dishwasher is present in every home. Besides permitting users to control the heating system and locks, it also provides video conferencing and is designed to deliver education, government services together with health care. Offices as well as schools also tend to be linked to the network. The digital organizer behind Songdo is said to be Cisco supplying the network-based technologies that are needed.

Masdar, United Arab Emirates

Masdar which is meant as `source’ in Arabic is said to be a city which tends to stand in the centre of the desert of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and is created to be one of the most ecological on the earth. Having solar power station at its core and wind farms giving energy for the same it tends to be carbon free. Besides this, it is also a hub for clean-tech companies.

From water right up to garbage, everything in the city is said to be measured and monitored, thus being a source of information. The city is said to be constructed on raised platform enabling easy access for the `digital plumbers’ to the system of progressive technologies which seem to run it. It is also pedestrian friendly and totally car free.

The city is said to be carrying out trial with a network of electric driverless podcars. The personal rapid transit – PRT would be running 6m beneath the street level through the city. The architects’ firm of Norman Foster who had designed various striking buildings inclusive of The City Hall in London have designed the buildings in the city.

It is expected that around 40,000 people would ultimately reside in the city with around 50,000 shuttling there daily.

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil 

City mayor Eduardo Paes had commissioned IBM in creating a city-wide operation centre connecting all the 30 agencies of the city from transport to emergency facilities. This shows that the officials from all over the city could join forces in handling the movement of traffic together with the public conveyance system as well as ensure the power and the water supplies function proficiently.

Synchronized response can be taken in case of a crisis, like collapsing building. Shutting down of transport system, emergency services can be organised together with gas supplies to be cut off while citizen can be updated of substitute routes through Twitter.

The research team of IBM have developed a sophisticated weather forecasting system wherein it takes data from the river basin, land surveys, the historical rainfall logs of the municipality and radar feeds to forecast rain together with the probable flash floods.

It has also begun appraising the effect of weather occurrence on other city conditions like city traffic or power outages. Several citizen-centric apps have been laid by the centre with updates on weather and traffic.

Barcelona, Spain

Last year, Manel Sanroma, chief information officer of Barcelona city council had made a daring statement that the cities of the future could be more powerful than nation states. He had stressed at smart city conference around the world the need of having a strong mayor who would be willing to take control in drawing up blueprint for this type of a city.

Barcelona is considered to be leading and tends to have some remarkable projects which are being rolled out. It has developed well-organized bus routes, modernized rubbish collection utilising sensors as well as introduced smart street lights. The development of a city operating system bringing all systems together in one location is also organized.

 Mr Sanroma had informed BBC that contrasting to Rio no central control room will be there. Presently the biggest projects under development would be to present contactless payments all over the transportation services of the city.

 Besides this, Mr Sanroma also intends collaborating with the other cities. With this it has set up the City Protocol Society with the intention of joining up cities all over the world with businesses, universities together with the other organisations in developing standards for technology platform which would operate in any city.

London, England

Several areas of London dating back to Roman eras seems to be an apparent choice as a future city though there seems to be numerous projects that are presently being developed. On a £24m prize awarded by the Technology Strategy Board in creating a future city it had lost out to Glasgow, though it remained a testing ground for smart technologies.

London has been chosen as an incubator by IBM for testing the algorithms which could power the cities of the future and has been partnering with Imperial College and University College London on various projects, inclusive of a network of sensors in monitoring air quality, water supply and the traffic flow.

Friday 28 April 2017

Controlling a Robot is Now as Simple as Point and Click

Robot
Robots are on the rise: They ride, fly, swim or run on two or more legs. They work in the factory, are used in war and in disaster areas. Soon they will have conquered the household: they keep the apartment clean, serve the party guests, or maintain the grandparents. Even the toy will lead a life of its own. Each and every day the field of Robotics are getting more and more advanced.

Recently, a group of tech guys in Georgia Institute of Technology has found a new interface to Controlling Robot in just a point and click. The outmoded edge for tenuously functioning robots works just well for roboticists. They use a computer to autonomously switch six degrees, whirling three simulated rings and regulating arrows to get the robot into location to snatch items or execute an exact job.

This new interface seems to be cumbrous and erroneous for the older people or the people who are technically not advanced try to govern the assistive personal robots.

It is much modest, more well-organized and doesn’t involve major training period. The manipulator just points and clicks on a thing, then selects a clench. And the rest of work is done by the Robot itself.

It is said by Sonia Chernova, Catherine M. and James E. Allchin Early-Career Assistant Professor in the school of interactive computing that as an alternative of successions of rotations, lowering and hovering arrows, amending the grasp and fathoming the exact depth of field, they have abridged the procedure in just couple of clicks.

Her college students had found that the point & click mode ensued in suggestively littler errors, permitting accomplices to achieve tasks more hurriedly and consistently than using the outmoded method.

The outmoded ring-and-arrow-system is a split screen process. The chief screen shows the robot and the scene it plays; the next one is 3-D, collaborating view where the operator regulates the cybernetic gripper and communicates with the robot precisely what to do. This process makes no use of scene info, providing operators a thoroughgoing level of control and suppleness. However this choice and the magnitude of the terminal can develop an affliction and upsurge the number of booboos.

Controlling Robot by the means of point-and-click set-up doesn’t take account of 3-D representing. It only affords the camera interpretation, ensuing in a humbler edge for the user. Later a person snaps on an area of an element, the robot’s acuity system examines the objective’s 3-D apparent geometry to regulate where the gripper ought to be placed. It’s analogous to what we ensure once we place our fingers in the accurate positions to grip something. The computer formerly proposes a limited grasps. The user agrees, placing the robot to work.

In addition it considers the geometrical shapes, with creating conventions about minor sections where the camera cannot perceive, for example the backside of a flask. To do this work, they are influencing the robot’s aptitude to do the similar thing to make it conceivable to merely communicate the robot which thing we would like to be selected.


Wednesday 26 April 2017

Biased Bots: Human Prejudices Sneak into Artificial Intelligence Systems

Bot

Biased robots are here with human prejudices seeping their AI

Most of the AI experts believed that the artificial intelligence will offer objectively rational and logical thinking for the robots and systems in future. But a new study has is showing a darker path for AI wherein the machines are acting reflection so human and the AI is prejudiced with the human notions.

It has been found when the common machine learning programs are trained online with the ordinary human language then they are likely to acquire the cultural biases and this can get embedded right into the patterns of their wording. The ranges of these biases are quite erratic from the preference to certain lower to having some objectionable view about the race or gender.

Security experts has stated that it is extremely critical and necessary to address the rise of biases in the machine learning at the earliest as it can seriously impact their reasoning and decision making in future. In upcoming days we will be turning to the computers for processing a number of things ranging from the natural language translation for communication to making online text searches as well as image categorization.
Fair and just

Arvind Narayanan, an assistant professor of computer science at the Center for Information Technology (CITP) at Princeton has stated that the artificial intelligence should remain impartial to the human prejudices in order to offer better result and judgment making skills. He asserted that fairness and bias present in the machine learning has to be taken seriously as our modern will depend on it in near future.

We might soon be finding ourselves in the center of such situation wherein modern artificial intelligence system will be frontrunner is perpetuating the historical patterns of bias within the system without even us realizing it. If such events comes in the future then it will be completely socially unacceptable and we will still remain good old times rather than moving forward.

An objectionable example of bias seeping into AI

Just a few years ago in 2004, a study was conducted by Marianne Bertrand from the University of Chicago and Senhil Mullainatahan from Harward University. These economists conducted a test wherein they sent out about 5000 identical resumes to over 1300 job advertisements.

They only change the name of the applicants’ names which happened to be either the traditional European American or the African American and the results they received were astonishing. It was found that the European American candidates are 50 percent more likely to get an interview than the African American candidates. Another Princeton study has shown that the set o African American comes more unpleasant associations than the European American sets when it is run through automated system run by the artificial intelligence based systems.

Therefore it has become a necessity to distance the AI from the biases and prevent the cultural stereotypes from further perpetuation into the mathematics based instruction of the machine learning programs. It should be taken as the task of the coders to ensure that machines in future reflect the better angles of the human nature.

Metal as Fuel? These Canadian Scientists are Working to Make it Happen

Can we turn metal into fuel? Canadian scientists are just doing it.

The fuel as we known petroleum and gas will be over in next two decades and we have very little time come up with an alternative. So as per the mainstream technology news some of the Canadian scientists have found of turning the metal into fuel for vehicles in near future.

The researchers from the McGill University have been aggressively studying the combustion capabilities of the metal that also for over a decade. An experiment conducted by them last week in the space has helped in bringing a new twist to their hope of turning metal into fuel.

How this study has helped the scientists?

The technology news has affirmed that the reason behind conducting the experiment in space has the scientists in understanding the way practices react in weightlessness state. Using metal as a fuel is still a farfetched and unusual concept which seems to be an exclusive matter of science fiction but still it can be turned into reality. One of the researchers present in team named Andre Higgins has been studying and working on the concept of turning metal into fuel over two decades.

Collectively they had found that turning metal in powder can help in creating fuel which can be fed to the burner. This fuel will be highly efficient and it will help in releasing more energy and heat per litre of iron power than what is achieved today with a liter of gas.

Quite interestingly the residue in form of iron oxide can again be collected using a vacuum to act as the fuel again. Higgins proudly states this theory as the closed loop system which has higher efficiency than the bio fuel as well as the modern day fuels used in the vehicles.

Saving the planet with green fuel

Metal fuel will not be a ‘green’ fuel and the threat to the Mother Nature and global climate changes will be aggravated if we bring the metal fuel in daily usage. Technology news further shed light onto how researchers will be employing a noble way of recycling the metal fuel with closed-loop system.

These researchers have studied the metal fuels for over a decade which has helped in understanding how it can be brought into fruition for the benefit not the smaller vehicles like cars but also the large vehicles like ships and trains.

A state like Canada which has abundant of metals will certainly see the economic benefits of the shipping metal fuel to other countries. Countries suffering from acute air pollution like China will benefit from the truly closed loop system of the metal fuel.

The biggest benefit of the metal fuel is that it works in closed system wherein the materials will go around and around without causing any harm to the environment. Technology news also brought a revelation that metal fuels isn’t a new thing as NASA has already been using about 16 percent Aluminum powder for its space shuttle’s rocket boosters for quite some time.

Simple Ways to Safeguard Your Computer from Hackers and Malware

1
credit: online tech tips
There are hackers out there lurking around searching for unsecured computers and smartphones to hack into. If you’re not careful, you could become their next victim. Nowhere is safe, not at restaurants, hotels or even your home. However, if you take the proper precautions, you can decrease the chances of a hacker breaking into your computer. The way hackers are able to access your devices is through the internet, so this is where you need to begin setting up walls. Here’s what you can do today to improve the security of your home devices.

Install a Firewall

Most computers come with trial versions that offer firewall security, but once this expires, you’re on your own. There are two types of firewalls you can use to protect your computer – one that comes in the form of software and the other that comes in the form of hardware. Both act similarly, but are used for different reasons. When you install a firewall, you’re creating a first line of defense for your computer. This barrier stops unauthorized programs from the web, keeping them from opening up on your computer. Make sure your firewall is always on, whether you’re at home or staying at the Hilton.

Set Up Antivirus Software

Another way to boost the security of your computer is to install antivirus software. This also stops unauthorized software and codes from operating on your computer system. This includes viruses, trojans, keyloggers and other intrusive software that are designed to steal, delete and corrupt your files, or even spy on you. Antivirus software offers real-time protection from these threats.

Install Anti-Spyware Software

Spyware is everywhere and it’s used for both innocent and harmful purposes (depending on the user). The purpose of spyware is to collect data from you that is then redirected to a third party. This information can be used for advertising purposes by companies or for sinister purposes of a hacker. Like antivirus software, this can hep to protect your system from these intrusions in real time.

Always Use Complex Passwords

The passwords you create for your emails, social media, financial institutions and computer log-in should be secure and complex. No one should be able to guess it, so never use your name, birthday or those of your closest family members. This is the first thing hackers will try. As a rule of thumb, your passwords should be at least 8 letters long, contain a number, a special symbol and an uppercase letter. The more complex your password, the more difficult it will be for hackers to figure it out. Make sure you don’t share it with anyone or write it down on documents that can be stolen from your computer files.

Check Your Browser Security Settings

Make sure the browser you’re using while surfing the web is secure. Look at the security and privacy settings to see how it’s set up. Make the necessary changes to make it more secure. This is important since a lot of websites now track what you’re doing on the web (for advertising purposes).

9 Easy Things You Can Do to Stay Safe on Your Android Phone

Android Phone
Android mobile phone: If it falls down it goes broken, if it is stolen, all data are lost. It does not have to be. We provide you with valuable tips that make your smartphone safe. Smartphones now accompany us everywhere, know almost everything about us and organize our days. Reason enough to secure its smartphone comprehensively. We trust our smartphones that contains all our data, and often forget to take the Android Security measures if in case it gets into the wrong hands. For this reason, you should pay particular attention to good safety precautions for your smartphone.

There are cases where practically every hope is in vain. This includes a fall of the smartphone from heights or a theft by a professional. But in all other cases, you can do very much to make your smartphone safer. Just follow our tips!

Theft protection

If the smartphone is stolen or lost, then you will feel less like you have lost your wallet. Therefore, we advise all smartphone users to install and activate the anti-theft protection. Such a possibility is provided by most anti-malware solutions, which we also present in this Android user edition. If you only want to use the anti-theft protection, we recommend the application Cerberus anti-theft of the developer LSDROID. It brings a lot of possibilities and can be controlled via SMS or via a web front end.

Save important data

Connect the mobile phone to the PC, start the app and back up data. But which data is really valuable to you? Contacts, SMS messages and the photos… There are solutions for automatic backup. You secure the contacts via your GMail account. We recommend this even if you are not actively using GMail.

To save the photos, you create a Google+ account and activate the instant upload via WLAN. If you are photographing relatively little, then you must definitely activate the upload in original size. This gives you "only" 5 GB of storage space, but your photos are kept in the original (and you can later purchase additional storage, if desired). If Google+ is really only a backup, select the default size in the settings for the Instant Upload of Google+ under Store Size. This allows you to back up as many photos as you want in the Google Cloud, but with a maximum of 3 megapixels. All photos remain private and you do not need to actively use Google+ for this service.

PIN code or pattern

Even if it is cumbersome to unlock your own smartphone again and again with a PIN code, password or pattern: make the effort! This is the only way to avoid theft or loss of the data on your smartphone. To set the display lock, enter the settings and select Security -> Display lock. If you choose a pattern, avoid obvious such as Z or N and set a reciprocal motion. This prevents someone from recognizing the pattern due to streaks on the touchscreen. Also make sure that the Make visible checkbox is not set. So you see at most a wrong pattern, but never the right one.

Viewing angle protection film

The best password or the best unlocking pattern will not be useful if someone is watching you unlock the Android device. The fact that someone looks over your shoulder can prevent you in most cases, but what about side looks? Here is a viewing angle protection film, also called privacy filter. Once mounted on the display, you can practically no longer see what happens on the touchscreen from the side.

Protective covers

Admittedly, many protective covers do not look great, but most of them protect your smartphone from glass breakage when the smartphone falls from the breast to the ground. Make sure that the bumper is made of a soft material and provides an additional edge around the display so that it will get ground contact on impact, not the touch screen.

Two-way authentication

Do you use simple passwords or do you often log on to other computers on Google? Then you should use two-step verification from Google. To do so, log in to your Google Account and then set up the confirmation. In the simplest case, you will get an SMS on your mobile phone, but there is also an offline application for Android Security, which generates the necessary codes for the login. This does not make your mobile phone safer, but it will protect your Google account. The details explain our free article on the website

Protection in WLAN hotspots

Do you like surfing at McDonald's, Starbucks, or other hotspots with many unknown users? Then you should be aware that it is easy with every rooted Android smartphone and the appropriate apps to "hijack" even HTTPS encrypted connections and thus intercept login data and passwords. The App DroidSheep Guard by Andreas Koch protects you against this danger. The app notices, if someone tries to divert the network traffic over its own device and switches in such a case automatically the WLAN from. As the only app on Google Play, it performs this task reliably, free of charge and without ads.

Safe mode

You have the feeling that something is wrong with your smartphone, you may have installed a malicious app, or someone fiddled with your smartphone? Then restart it in safe mode. To do this, hold down the power button on the touch screen until a dialog box appears to select Safe Mode. Your Android device then only offers the apps to the start, which were packaged by the manufacturer on the mobile phone. So you have time to check the installed apps and delete malicious software. The mode is also an excellent way to find a good deal. If the running time is much better in safe mode, then one of the additionally installed apps must be responsible for the high battery consumption. Safe mode will automatically stop when you restart the smartphone.

Install anti-malware software

Even if there are currently no really bad apps on Google Play, there are enough dangerous apps in Google Store that you will not be able to install. To be protected against such and other malware, you should install anti-malware software. For a basic protection the free version is sufficient for most providers. For Android users, AVG AntiVirus Mobile Security PRO is available free of charge in this edition for one year.

Encrypt the storage

Since Android 4.0, there is the possibility to encrypt the complete smartphone. The file system is fragmented in such a way that it can only be re-assembled with a password or PIN code. This feature provides high data protection when the phone is switched off. In operation, the encryption is nothing to remember, all files are normally available. Since the process takes about an hour, you must first fully charge the mobile phone and leave it on the charger until the encryption is finished. You can find the setting under Security -> Phone Encrypt. Here you also define whether the mobile phone is to query the PIN code of the SIM card at startup.

Tuesday 25 April 2017

Flying cars: A 1950s dream takes to the skies without the rules to stay airborne

Flying car
A sports car with swivel wings that can get in the air: What acted like a year ago is now reality. The Slovakian flight car has a wonderful Technology can now be pre-ordered and is scheduled to take off in three years.

In Monaco, Aeromobil – the Flying cars company from Slovakia presented the final design of its flight car, which will cost between 1.2 and 1.5 million euros and will be delivered from 2020 onwards.

Aeromobil, the Flying car has the technology should be transformed into a plane in less than three minutes. The wings can be folded away for travel on the road. This company has an idea to build upto 500 copies of its first model. Like other competitors, the aircraft may only be launched and landed on conventional airfields or other areas explicitly released as an aircraft.

In order to drive and fly with the vehicle, the pilots must have both a driving license and a pilot license. Aeromobil deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2020, commented Stefan Vadocz- Chief communication officer. The company is already accepting pre-orders now. Until such aircrafts become the mass transport means, sometime should pass! Government is working around the world on to regulate the operation of unmanned drones and driverless cars in the future.

However, small airplanes for passenger transport are currently considered an exciting topic in the aviation and IT industry. Aeromobil is not the only company that relies on flying cars for super-richs. In addition to the Dutch company PAL-V, which has recently offered its model "Liberty" for sale, Terrafugia - the Flying cars company is also working on a similar hermetic car and plane.

The US Company was founded by five MIT graduates. For a $ 10,000 deposit, Terrafugia – the Flying cars company is already making reservations for its two-seater flight "Transition". Terrafugia is targeting first deliveries for the year 2019.

Aeromobil with 750 km range

According to this Flying cars company, the vehicle operates in a wonderful technology with standard gasoline already fulfills all necessary regulations for road and air traffic. With wings folded backwards - similar to an insect - it should also find sufficient space on every normal parking lot and thus be suitable for everyday use.

Able to take off, the wings must first be extended, which is to be done within three minutes, according to AeroMobil. Then the driver or plane needs only a meadow, on which now 8.8 meters wide flight car is accelerated to 130 hours kilometer, then ascend to the sky. There, speeds of up to 360 kilometres per hour are to be reached, on the road the maximum is about 160 kilometres per hour. The AeroMobil, driven by a hybrid engine and a propeller in the rear, could fly a distance of 750 kilometers fully, says the Flying cars company.

Aeromobil also works on a flight and vehicle for urban transport. Together with the Audi subsidiary Italdesign, Aeromobil is developing a passenger cell, which is to be flown through the city by autonomously controlled and electrically operated drones.

The Uber service has recently brought on board an expert on flying cars, which has been able to take off and land precipitously for decades on smaller vehicles. However, it does not want to produce its own flight cars, but sees itself as an "acceleration catalyst" for the newly-formed flight car industry.

In other words, its customers should first take conventional over-vehicles to a flight taxi stop in a residential area. From this "Vertiport" customer could then fly to the next stop near their workplace.

Graphene Based sieve Turns Seawater into Drinking Water

Graphene

Graphene Based Sieves Makes Seawater Fit For Drinking

It is an unaltered fact that Sea Water is not fit for drinking because of the excess Sodium content in it, but science is developing at a very fast pace and in this 21st century the stalwarts of science and technology have innovated a new technique through which they can separate salt from the sea water and will make them fit for drinking. We cannot drink sea water because of the taste, simultaneously it leadsto several other health problems like high blood pressure and many more.

Our planet Earth is known as the blue planet because it has approximately 71% of water out of which only 3 % of the water is non-saline and hence fit for consuming. Due to this situation, there are people in this world who do not get optimum amount of water to drink and there are many who even die due to the scarcity of drinking water. If the researchers can reduce the percentage of unfit water by making it fit to drink, then that would be a very big gift to mankind.

A team of researchers based in UK have developed a sieve based on Graphene that can remove salt from the sea water and will make it fit for drinking. A team from the University of Manchester had confirmed a fact in 2004 that graphene consists of carbon atoms which are layered singly and are organized in a lattice in the form of a hexagone, due to which this tool is sure to provide promising results with the help of extraordinary properties, which includes unusual strength in the tensile and a high conductor of electricity that ensures this as one of the most potent material to grant assured measures in the past.

The scientists have also declared that it is quite difficult to manufacture such single layered Graphene with the existing technologies. The production cost is also very high and that needs to be supported. The deposition of chemical vapor method won’t be much feasible to support the innovation from all ends. Rather, a very onymous scientist has confirmed that oxides that are to be used in the Graphene can be produced only via a simple method of oxidation in the lab.

Though, he orated it to be simple, but the process is lengthy. This is undoubtedly a very big step to abolish the problems cropping up due to scarcity of drinking water, but the underlying measures are such that cannot be averted and for this, the technique of Graphene is still at stake. Manufacturing of single layered Graphene is not much feasible, instead we can replace it that with oxide Graphene, which will give the same result with less cost of production.

Some problematic zones have been discovered when it comes to Graphene of single layer and these uncomfort zones can be avoided if Graphene of oxide are used in its place. So, in this era using of oxides of Graphene will be much suitable to avoid unnecessary expansions.

Monday 24 April 2017

Google Uses Neural Networks to Translate Without Transcribing

Google Makes Use of the Neural Networks for Translating without Even Transcribing

Google is actively working towards enhancing its translation abilities to a whole new level where it can be helpful and promptest in every manner. Google eagerly wants to help the mankind in communicating with people in different language by translating the speech rather than the text language. Almost all the translation tools focuses on translating the text rather than text and Google understand the amount of good work it can bring with it.

The machine translation will actually work by translating the speech into the text then that text is translated in another language. In case the machine gets any kind of error while recording the speech then it will result in error prone language translation which will fail to serve the purpose which it is intended to do. This is where Google is working at.

The Google Brain


Google has deployed a large number of researchers at the Google Brain where they are making use of the deep learning research facility for better results. Researchers have started making use of the neural networks which can help in skipping transcription while translating any given speech at a faster pace with higher level of accuracy.

Researchers has spent huge amount of time which counts into hundreds of hours in training the system with Spanish to improve its translation skills into the English language. The system present at the Google at first went to analyze the waveform of the Spanish audio in order to learn who he different parts of the language tend to correspond with the words in the written English language. Later on this system was entrusted with the task of translating the speech and its was do so with great accuracy and precision through making use of the neural layers.

The capability of this system


A researcher from the University of Montreal who wasn’t a part of this research has stated that the capability of the Google Brain is mind-blowing. It has the ability to find the patterns of the correspondence between the various waveforms. These waveforms happen to be present in the source language as well as the written text. Over the time where learning phase is initiated The Google Brain has the ability to bring one of the best English translations of the Spanish speech.

The quality of translated of the speech is evaluated using the BLEU which helps in understanding how good machine based translations are when compared to the professional human.

The future application of this system


Google developed system will be of great use for translating the speeches in such languages which is usually done by very few people. It can play a vital role during international disaster relief wherein teams can make use of a robust translation system in order to communicate with people who speak different language. An incident can help in imploring its advantages this system as in 2010’s Haiti earthquake the relief team had a hard time in conversing with the people speaking Haitian Creole.

Triboelectric Nanogenerators Boost Mass Spectrometry Performance

Triboelectric Nanogenerators

Scientists Successfully Boost the Mass Spectrometry Performance by Using Tribolectric Nanogenrators


The most basic problem which surfaces in the entire consumer electronics device is the power consumption. We are actively looking for such kind of power source which doesn’t put a hole in our pocket and helps in getting performance out of the device. Researchers have come with a solution by developing the triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) which will help in converting the mechanical energy from the environment to electricity. And this electricity will be more than enough to power some of the small devices which include the sensors and consumer electronics products.

The team behind this remarkable technology


This technology has been developed by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology which can bring a trend of replacing the traditional power supplies with the TENG device for charging. Though in this case the TENG devices will be used of charging the molecules in the spectrometers and the research has shown that it take the sensitivity of it to an unimaginable level which is good in every way. Scientists have conducted few experiments on the smaller samples in order to understand the full extent of the applications of the TENG technology.

During their research it was found that this technology requires further study the TENG offers unique aspects in its output which has a remarkable high voltage as well as controlled current. This means that the TENG can help in making incredible improvements in the ionization process and later on increased voltage speed can be easily applied to the instrument without even damaging it. This research has already been published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology and quite incidentally this research has been supported by the Natural Science Foundation as well as Department of Energy and NASA astrology Program. Researchers has been modest about their astonishing technological discovery based on the nanogenerators by stating that it is quite new and it is being used in a very controlled manner in order to charge the molecules.

The remarkable finding of the research


Researchers have made use of this technology in the electrospray ionization and plasma discharge ionization wherein they have been able to generate singular polarity as well as alternating polarity of ion pulses. Researchers have successfully measured the voltage level present in the mass spec ionizer to be between the 6000 to 8000 volts. It is a great achievement given the fact that the standard iconizer presently in use can only operate at less than 1500 volts.

The future application of the TENG technology


Researchers have retrofitted the tech technology to existing mass spectrometers and this has been done in the lab with great success. Their research has already been published in some of the journals and researchers are hopeful that more number of people starting making use of the TENG technology in not just the mass spectrometry but even other areas. This nanogenerators based technology will certainly help in getting more power for our daily use devices without spending huge amount of time and money.

Sunday 23 April 2017

Why Your Smartphone's Fingerprint Scanner is not as Secure as You Might Think

Fingerprint
Master Fingerprint – Less Secure 

Researchers who had developed `master fingerprints’ with the capability of tricking the sensors, are of the belief that smartphone fingerprint scanners tend to be less secure then led to believe. They were capable of bypassing fingerprint readers that had been utilised in unlocking phones, log-in to apps and in making payments, utilising fake fingerprints developed by using patterns located across several real prints.

 This discovery from New York University and Michigan State University gave rise to query regarding security of the popular utilised technology. The researchers were capable of creating a set of `master prints which could trick a scanner up to 65% of the time.

Fingerprint scanners are considered to be more secured than depending on passcodes in unlocking smartphones. According to Apple the Touch ID scanner utilised on the iPhone tends to have only a one in 50,000 chance of matching with somebody’s finger.

Though the researcher state that they had tested only their discoveries in computer simulation instead of real smartphones, they cautioned that the technology creating artificial physical fingerprints had been refining quickly.

Adequate Resemblance Between Various Prints

Since in present days the fingerprint readers on smartphones seem to be comparatively small, they usually tend to scan various areas of a fingerprint making sure that just one press of a finger or thumb could effectively trigger the sensor.

 Since several users tend to register numerous fingerprints on a device and there are often dozens of various incomplete prints registered on a phone, only one of these incomplete scans could be a match for the sensor in unlocking a phone. According to Nasir Memom of NYU, one of the authors of the study that had been published in IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics &Security had commented that there is a greater opportunity of falsely matching a partial print than a full one and most devices tend to depend only on partials for the purpose of identification.

In spite of the human fingerprints being comparatively exclusive, researchers have stated that they had discovered adequate resemblances between various prints in creating synthetic master prints which could effectively replicate several fingerprints of the users.

Hosted Other Authentication Systems 

Since the phones seem to typically permit several attempts before deactivating the fingerprint scanner and needs a passcode, Mr. Memon had stated that one could create a glove with five different fingerprints which would get into almost half of iPhone before the five attempts permitted, tend to expire.

Irrespective of the well-known trust in fingerprint scanners, some of the phone manufacturers had hosted other authentication systems. The new Galaxy S8 phone of Samsung is said to have an iris scanner together with facial recognition though the latter is shown to have been fooled by images. Moreover, smartphone passcodes have also portrayed to be susceptible to cracking.

There seems to be a one in 10,000 chance of guessing a four-figure passcode though researchers from Newcastle University have shown that the motion sensors in a phone could disclose the numeric codes by identifying how a phone tends to move when certain areas of the screen are pressed.

Japanese researchers had earlier cautioned that posing with peace signs in images could be adequate for hackers in copying your fingerprints and then unlock a fingerprint secured phone.

Exploring Simple Ways to Improve Your Business

Getting ahead in the business world is not always going to be as easy as you might like. To see improved odds of success, it is very important that you step up your game and start doing some research. Business owners everywhere have begun to understand the large impact that technology tends to have on the future successes of a company. Experts of the industry such as Donald Burns are constantly discussing the reasons why business owners should be more on top of the advancements being made in various areas associated with enterprise technologies.

When you pay attention to all that can be achieved with enterprise technology, you will be more likely to see some fantastic results from your endeavors. If you need a bit of guidance to get started, then there are some easy steps that you can take. Explore some of these exciting areas related to current business enterprise technology and see what your company might be able to gain the most from.

Storage and Security

Keeping your business protected from those who would wish to do it harm can be very important. Once, security was only a matter of hiring a guard or two to watch over your valuables when no one else was present in the office. Unfortunately, things have gotten a bit trickier since the age of the internet. Now, you need to make sure that you are being protected in a digital sense. Hackers are a huge concern and it is easier than ever before for a person halfway across the planet to download and destroy your sensitive data.

Instead of having a panic attack over this, you can benefit by taking a look at which enterprise technologies stand to help you the most in this scenario. When you are worried about your data being, you might find that it is in your best interests to explore cloud technology. This bit of enterprise tech has gained a big name for itself in recent years. Cloud technology helps you to store all of your information on a remote server. This makes it far more difficult for hackers to get to while providing you and your team with easy access.

Increased Interactivity

Another exciting way for you to take advantage of enterprise technology is by taking a look at social media opportunities. Most business owners already have a strong understanding of why social media is important to growing a businesses. If you believe that your customers could benefit from having a place to go and express concerns, questions, or compliments related to your business, then you need to take action. Explore social media platforms generated by enterprise technologies to experience new and productive ways of allowing your customers a chance to interact with your business.

To keep your company going in the right direction, you might find that it is in your best interests to take a look at what you can achieve with enterprise technology. There are tons of new and exciting advancements being made in this field each day. Explore what might be able to help your company achieve the most and take action for the future of your business.

Friday 21 April 2017

Researchers Print Promising Two-Dimensional Transistors

Transistors

Researchers just printed two dimensional transistors successfully

If you are wondering what transistors then please note it is essentially a semiconductor devices which helping amplifying and switching the electronic signals or electric power as a whole. It plays a vital in almost all the electronics products which are available in the market and without it you can’t even think of devices performing the way they are. Some of the researchers from AMBER and Trinity College in Dublin have successfully created printed transistors that consist of only two dimensional nanomaterials. The best thing about this innovation is that no one has done it before and the 2d materials used in comes loaded promising electronic properties which is extremely low cost in nature.
This research does have some of the incredible application potential which can’t be explained to its fullest. For example in future the food packaging industry can make use of it bring a digital countdown which will alert the users about the health of the food and placing it on wine bottle can help in showing whether wine is kept at the optimum temperature or not. Their finding has already been published in the Science magazine April issue.

 

The team behind this technology


Using the standard printing technique of combining the grapheme nanosheets which includes the electrodes with two other nanomaterials namely boron nitride and tungsten diselenide. The two most important parts of the transistors is called the channel and separator and researchers has been able to print it on a nanosheet thereby coming up with a working transistor.

The team of researchers consisted of Trinity College professors namely Jonathan Coleman and Georg Duesberg. Coleman has shed light on the future possibility of creating or combining together highly complex device by conducting, semiconducting as well as insulating the 2D nanomaterials. But during their research they simply focused on printing the transistors which can work as electric switches into the modern computing with ease and grace. 

New method indulge in testing without even touching

Earlier the chemical vapor deposition were used to develop the two dimensional transistors. Using this particular the transistors were great at performance but the method itself was quite expensive.

While the printable electronics brings a new way of printing components which are mostly based on the carbon based molecules at extremely low cost and get an amazing performance out of it at the same time. It is worth noting that carbon based molecules does have its own share instability and performance limitations but it is still better than the chemical vapor deposition.

A single nanosheet can do much better

Researchers has made use of many different nanosheets of completely varying size in order to get best combination available for the printing their transistors. When the printing process was initiated researchers simply deposited the nanosheets over one another in random fashion and it was found that the conductivity present within the nanosheets was just good for the job.

So the next job for the researchers is to come with a single nanosheet which will help in printing such 2D structures which offers better performance than the current one.

Wednesday 19 April 2017

Google Chrome's most frustrating feature is BACK

Google Chrome is bringing back the most annoying feature

There is a very annoying feature built right into the Google Chrome which uses to leave users frustrated beyond words. Just last year Google finally said goodbye to its annoying feature which allowed users to make use of the backspace key as a smart function to return on previous page.
The major reason why Google went ahead removed this feature from the Google Chrome is that users has complained that they happen to lose data whenever they hit backspace while filling out the online forms. When a user made use of the backspace in order to delete the text in the form then they were simply thrown back to the previous webpage they had visited. This feature was put to its end with the arrival of Google Chrome version 52.

A good thought from Google

At that point of time this feature was seen a major ‘low point’ in the Chrome experience. One of the Google employee even stated that removing that feature brought a major change in the people habit which is a good thing but given the fact the data loss is major issue in today’s time the idea of dropping that feature is well conceived.

Extension to get back to old habits

However people who loved that feature which allowed them to get back without taking the pointer to the back arrow does have some good news. A new Google Chrome extension has come into the play which allows users re-enable this extinct feature on their feature with ease and grace. From now users will get the same old pleasure of hitting the backspace key to back to the previous webpage with this simple browser add-on.

Google is behind the Chrome extension

If you are thinking that some smart user has made this extension in order to bring back the feature to millions of users. Then you will be surprise to know that it is Google who had rolled out the free Chrome extension just week ago on the WebStore. Users are simply required to download the add-on, install it and they are set to visit previous webpages with the stroke of the backspace. Google has titled this extension as ‘Go back With Backspace’ which can be easily found in the Chrome Store.

After installing the extension hitting upon the backspace on the keyboard will bring back the previous webpage. In case you are wondering you will lose your data while filling up the forms online then simply click on the extension icon in the Google Chrome and give a tap on the ‘Disable On This Page’. There is plenty more you can tinker around by simply giving a on the small gear icon for more settings options.

Google has spent some serious time with this extension to make it smarter and innovative accessory for online web browsing experience. Now this extension comes with the default functionality of being disabled for java and flash applets as well as PDFs and the common chat tools.

Microsoft confirms Windows 10 Creators Update

Windows 10 Creators Update to rollout from April 11

Microsoft is set to start the roll out of the Windows 10 Creators Update to the users globally from April 11. The launch of the rollout start date was confirmed by the Microsoft officials though a blog post on March 29. The Anniversary Update started rolling out in August last year while Microsoft has to delay the launch of the Creators Update by several months. This update will be known as 1703 though it was due to hit the systems globally in early but dues to this reason it is coming so late.
The game of changing ‘name’

Windows 10 Updates are extremely confusing for the common users to follow around but one thing has been consistent so far which is the naming of the updates. Now, Microsoft has revealed that the expected roll out for the masses in beginning of the April is simply named as ‘15063’. This shows that this build number will not be named RTM which is short for ‘release to mainstream’).

Features of the Creators Update


Microsoft has been indulging the performing huge testing on the Creators which effectively is the successor of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update for quite some time. Creators Update brings a number of consumer focused features to bring a marvellous computing experience to the consumers. This includes a new Game Mode, Windows Mixed Reality support, Beam game streaming along with a new robust eBook & tab management capabilities for the Edge browser. The iconic Paint application will also undergo a major change a new variant in form 3D paint will debut on the Windows. Microsoft is not doing away with the 2D Paint application as both of them will work in unison on the operating system.

Update on the final roll out of the Creators Update


Microsoft yet again failed to abide by its promise and it has been confirmed that the new roll out date for the Creators Update will be set at April 25. Microsoft officials have given no update regarding the launch of the Creator Update on the Cloud version. It should be noted that the Cloud version of the update is designed specifically to run the Windows Store apps and in later stage it will become upgradable to the Windows 10 Pro version.

Broader availability of the Surface device


The Microsoft gives major information where it has stated that the availability of the Surface range of devices will be boosted on global scale. Last October Microsoft has launched three major variant of the Surface Boko which includes the Surface Book with Performance base, Surface Studio and Surface Dial.

Microsoft will be making Surface Book with Performance available in countries namely Austria, Hon Kong, Japan, Denmark, China, Finland, Norway, France and Netherlands as well as UK, Switzerland and Sweden on April 20. Surface Studio as well as Surface Dial will be available for purchase only in Australia, New Zealand and Canada from 20. All these devices are open for pre-order in these selected countries.

Saturday 15 April 2017

The Top 15 Design Templates for a Landing Page for a Mobile Game 

There are a few things to consider when building a landing page for a mobile game, to make sure you give users a great first impression. Loading time, design aesthetic, and browser compatibility are among the most important factors in a mobile game landing page template. By installing the right template for your game's landing page, you can encourage users to download and play your game, and avoid losing traffic to slow or clunky-looking landing pages. Check out these top 15 design templates for your mobile game's landing page.
  1. APPMOB

  2. APPMOB is a mobile app design template that will suit your game's landing page perfectly. That's because it's responsive, conforming to any mobile device's screen size without stretching the proportions of your images. This template uses clean coding and W3C valid HTML so you won't have any bugs or errors slowing your app down.
  1.  Flat Vault

  2. Flat Vault was created to be the ultimately diverse landing page. It can be used on just about any mobile app. It's responsive so it's a great choice right off the bat, but it also includes eye-catching color schemes, well-designed buttons and artistic touches around every corner. Flat Vault will bring life to your otherwise dull mobile gaming landing pages.
  1.  Wava

  2. The Wava template was designed specially for mobile apps. It uses HTML5 and CSS to create a fast-loading, responsive platform for your app. It makes the perfect loading page template because of its compatibility with all Android and Apple devices and browsers. Wava will work on any web hosting that allows HTML and CSS so you don't have to worry about host compatibility either.
  1.  PureCSS

  2. If you want simple development and unlimited design control, then PureCSS is the mobile gaming landing page for you. This page template is constructed of CSS3 and HTML5, and will work on any web platform. It's responsive and allows you to easily incorporate grids, tables, and menus, if your game calls for these elements.
  1.  Grayscale

  2. This landing page template is based on Twitter's Bootstrap and will work on any web hosting;server. It has dark color schemes, ideal for many gaming applications. This template also uses animated scrolling and other visual effects to create a more in-depth gaming environment.
  1.  Avira

  2. The Avira landing page works great on your mobile gaming marketing because it's results-driven. Use this page to draw users into your mobile game and collect user information such as email, name and age. This landing page can be installed in your actual app or on the website for your mobile game.
  1.  App King

  2. App King is a high resolution landing page template designed specifically for mobile apps and games. It works well in any mobile operating system or web browser. This is a 3-column page that uses Bootstrap and HTML5. Use App King for a generic, clean and organized landing page that won't distract users from the theme of your game.
  1.  Big Picture

  2. This landing page works great for mobile apps and games because it puts your media first. Use this simple one-page layout to display large images and screenshots from your game.
  1.  Deco Mobile

  2. Deco Mobile is high tech and responsive, it uses Bootstrap 3.x, CSS3 to create functional design. It also uses PHP and Ajax too for an input form that can allow you to offer sign-ups on your mobile game's landing page. That makes it a perfect choice for those wanting to consolidate the landing page and sign-up page into one screen.
  1.  Dodge

  2. Dodge is a landing page template for any mobile application. It comes in six main variants so you can customize the look and color scheme without the need for changing the CSS files. This landing page is great for those without much coding background, as it's easy to install and use. It has a contact form, "About Us" and "Pricing" sections to give your users all the information they need up front.
  1.  Appi

  2. This Envato-checked app is well designed and fully responsive. It includes a menu, a PHP form for sign ups and a Mailchimp-compatible contact form. This is great for games that offer tech support or customer service. Use Appi on your mobile gaming project to better engage with your users throughout the entire gaming process.
  1.  Royale

  2. Every mobile game needs a landing page that directs users to sign up or download the application. Royale will accomplish this for you with a Lightbox pop-out layout and strong Call to Action buttons. Use this creative, marketing-friendly landing page template to draw players into your game.
  1.  Apparent

  2. This creative landing page template from Themeforest will work well with any mobile game. It's responsive and easy to customize using SASS and Javascript. This landing page template uses a Parallax background, so it's great for landing pages with a lot of content or the need for scrolling.
  1.  Full Slider

  2. If you require a larger image slider for your landing page, then this is your best bet. It's based on Bootstrap 4 and CSS3 for maximum compatibility and a modern look. Full Slider uses a carousel-style slider to rotate your images or instruction screens. Consider using screenshots of your gameplay in the slider to entice users to get started playing.
  1.  Neon

  2. Neon is a fully responsive landing page template for any mobile app or game. It was built using Bootstrap and clean CSS3, and quality-checked by Envato. This mobile landing page offers a flat user interface and allows you to display video as well as images.
Landing pages are the first screen users see that represent your game or app, so despite their simplicity, they are vitally important to your game's branding. By selecting a landing page optimized for mobile games you can create a clean, professional look without sacrificing artistic creativity.

Wednesday 12 April 2017

Controlling Turtle Motion with Human Thought

Turtle Motion
About nine years ago we saw the flick which showed humans controlling the body of an alien. Today we have that technology though it is in the initial but has huge potential to grow by leap and bounds in the upcoming years. Leaving the realm of science fiction aside scientists has long been working on developing a system called ‘brain computer interfaces’ or BCI. This particular technology is designed to allow humans to read and use the thought in order to control the machines and one of its prime examples are the humanoid robots.

Now the researchers at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) had successfully developed a highly sophisticated human turtle interaction system. This system allows the signals emerging from the human brain to produce desirable effect on the movement of the turtle.

How this technology works?

If you are wondering how human are able to control the turtle movements simply with their thought then here is complete process. Human operator has to wear a head mounted display which is commonly refereed as HMD. HMD IS combined with the BCI which helps in immersing the human operator right into the turtle environment. On other hand the turtle in question is equipped with a cyborg system which consists of a camera, Wi-Fi receiver along with a control module as well as a battery. All of this is mounted on the upper shell of the turtle. A black semi-cylinder with a slit is also placed on the shell which helps in forming a true simulation device.

A camera is mounted on the turtle which is received by a human operator. Using these real time video images the human operator has to be deciding where he wants the turtle to move about. Human operator is required to provide all the commands which affects the motion of the turtle using a wearble BCI system which effectively makes use of the electroencephalography (EEG) signals.

Currently the BCI system is designed to take commands only in the three metal states of left, right and idle. Now when the human operator tends to make the choice either left or right that commands happens to activate the turtle simulation device which is connected through a Wi-Fi. This particular process invokes a natural instinct in the turtle to move towards the light and thereby it changes the direction.

Future applications of this technology

This research has clearly demonstrated how the human thought can be utilized in developing animal guiding scheme for turtles. This technology in future can be easily integrated into positioning system and can certainly help in augmented and virtual reality techniques.

On other hand this can be helpful in enabling a wide range of application which might devices form the military reconnaissance and surveillance. But for these to happen it might take another decade to make the technology human proof, robust and highly reliable so that it can distinguish from the raw and concentre commands originating from the human mind.

Google Takes Aim At Update Its Duo Videoconferecing App in Battle with Skype, Messenger and Facetime

Google’s New Video-Calling App – Duo

A new video-calling app known as Duo had been launched by Google as a challenge to Skype and Apple’s Facetime. It tends to work using your mobile phone just like WhatsApp, once the app has been downloaded and logged utilising a Google account. The user can instantly video call any person from their contacts who also tend to have the app.

Though the main focus of Google is on ease, it does have duo features with a provision of differentiating it from its opponents. For instance a feature known as `Knock Knock’, enables the user to see live video of your caller before answering, providing you with a sense of what they could be up to and why they would prefer a chat.

 According to Google this makes video calls seem like an invitation rather than an interruption. Another benefit of the feature is the capability of switching between Wi-Fi and cellular data mechanically without dropping the call. This way you could start your call at home and continue effortlessly while heading out.

The benefit of Duo over FaceTime is that it tends to work on Android as well as iOS while FaceTime only operates on Apple devices. It has also been considered to be simpler than Skype enabling users to start a video call with only a tap.

Cope with Slower Networks

Justin Uberti, principal software engineer at Google had mentioned in a blog post that video calling is the next best thing to being with someone in person but too often it could be a frustrating or complicated experience.

One should not have to worry about whether your call will get connected or if your friend has been using the same kind of device similar to the one you could be using and this could be the reason why almost half of them never tend to made video calls on mobile.

Google has also built Duo to work to cope with slower networks in the background, like a 2G together with end-to-end encryption for the purpose of security. Google had mentioned that it would be offering an audio-only option on its Duo video calls service in order to assist users in communicating utilising poor quality connection and would be adding a feature to allow file sharing in group chats on its Allo messaging app.

In August, the company had launched Google due offering video calls for Android and iOS users, opposing it against Apple’s FaceTime, Microsoft Corp’s video calling app – Skype and Messenger of Facebook Inc.

Google Maps

Google Vice President for Product Management, Mario Queiroz had mentioned in a blog post after he had announced the moves at a Google conference in Sao Paulo that the audio-only calls would be working well on all connections speed and would be data efficient. In reply to responses from users in countries like Brazil,

Google had informed that Android users all over would be in a position of sharing documents as well as other files with friends on Allo in group chats. Moreover he also mentioned that they would have two new features for Google Photos on Android and iOS in order to make backup and sharing much easier on low connectivity.

When strong Wi-Fi connection tends to be available backed up photos would be replaced with high-quality version. Google has also mentioned that it would be adding new location sharing feature in Google Maps to enable users in letting friends and family to be aware of their whereabouts and when they would arrive at their destination. Queiroz had also mentioned that users could stop sharing that information whenever they desire to do so.

Fuzz Fibers Can Take Rockets Heat

 Fuzz Fibers
Rocket engines of latest design have much vigor, and produces heat. Recently, NASA has made a joint effort in order to create some fibers for taking the heat of rockets.

The special fibers are manufactured with silicon carbide, which may be comparable to Velcro. They are able to resist the pressure, which is experienced by materials in many applications of aerospace. Such fibers give enough support to composite materials, which are often applied in the latest rocket engines with a capability of enduring high level of temperature. Ceramic materials, present in these rockets, make use of the fibers for toughening the system. However, at any time, brittleness or cracks may turn up, especially because of oxygen exposure.

Use of nanotubes along with fibers-

The researchers of Rice laboratory have implanted nanowires and tubes into fibers’ surface. The uncovered spots of these fibers have coiled design. They work almost as a hook to add value to Velcro. After making the experiment, the scientists have concluded that it leads to the development of powerful interlocking links with lots of knots of fibers. As a result, a composite has reduced level of cracking risk. Moreover, due to sealing, the chemical structure of fibers is not changed.

Amelia Hart, one of the students of Rice University, has stated that fuzzy fibers could be improved with the application of nanotubes (made of silicon carbide), which are interwoven with one another, while is placed inside composite. It also increases the resistance level and strength to endure intense heat.

A test on compression and friction confirmed about the force, which was essential for moving the nanotubes over one another. This force seemed to be quite higher than what is required for sliding the simple fibers or nanotubes. They could also pull through extreme compression, created with the help of nano-indenter. The indenters prevented breakdown for much extensive period.

The complete work has been explained in detail in one of the journals. It had been started, while Hart had met Meador, one of the researchers of NASA. Presently, Meador is a manager of nanotechnology program, while Hart was engaged in the study, related to carbon nanotubes development.

It had brought about a good partnership, which would increase the possibility of combining her thoughts with the engineer of NASA. A partial conversion of silicon carbides was accomplished. In fact, Hart had applied the skill for growing nanotubes to create fresh composite.

Tests on different fibers-

Hart along with other researchers blended the fiber in iron-based catalyst. After that, they applied a deposition of chemical vapor for inserting carbon nanotube system to a surface. It turned out to be the model of ultimate product. Then, these fibers had been heated under severe temperature.

 It is considered by researchers that the fibers would modify heat and light resistant silicon carbide strand. The later one is able to stay consistent to almost 1,600 C. It gives the scientists a confidence on the success that they would get by integrating nanotubes, made of silicon carbide.

Tuesday 11 April 2017

New Electron Microscope Sees More Than an Image

EMPAD
In the field of material science, electron microscope has lots of application as an effective device. It is usually known to all that this tool helps in viewing at an image. However, with the new enhancement done few days ago, this microscope has gained much more power. And it has been confirmed recently by some physicists at Cornell. The overall system is named as Electron Microscope Pixel Array Detector. It produces image along with some important data on the present electrons, which develop that image.

To give a clear idea about the microscope, Professor David Muller has said that it is possible to identify the tilts, polarity, rotations and magnetic or electric fields.

Manufacturer of the new microscope-

CTL department of Cornell University has accredited the innovation of new microscope to a prominent manufacturer, FEI. According to FEI, the design may be commercialized fully on the present year. In a periodical (Microscopy and Microanalysis) in 2016, the researchers have clarified the work in detail.

In another standard microscope, STEM, the researchers have observed that few electrons could be captured with the help of a specimen. The scanning is done from side to side to generate images. There is a detector at the base, and it interprets how the electrons are varying in their intensity.

EMPAD is intended for the replacement of a standard detecting system, and it is designed with specific pixels, which are sensitive to electrons. Every one hundred and fifty microns square are attached to a circuit, which warns signals with enough effectiveness in understanding signals. This technology is comparable to what you may find in contemporary camera. The major intention is the detection of angles or directions, where the electrons come out. Every electron usually does not strike at the same pixel.

Microscope with prompt working ability-

EMPAD has remarkable sensitivity and speed along with extensive intensities, tracked by it. It also detects each of the electrons and beams that contain almost millions of electrons. To explicate the phenomenon, Muller has commented that it is just like the act of capturing image of sunset, which displays surface details and everything about the shadows.

The advancement that has been done to the device is really unique and increases the excitements of scientists. Collection of all electrons that are in scattered condition develops the sensitive feature of the device. Moreover, it is also reduces the risk of damage and any negative effect on the living sample. EMPAD has power to track the frame of image within shortest time, and it identifies several electrons for every pixel and frame. In fact, it is multiple speedier than that of any traditional electron microscope.

Thus, the new microscope has brought a revolution in the domain of science. The scientists are now competent at examining the internal part of the cells. The research process has been backed up by Department of Energy in the United States and Cornell. STEM adaptation has also received support from Kavli center.

Innovative Software Convert Wi Fi Data into Energy Savings

UBC
The advancement of technology had begun since the arrival of human kind of Earth’s sphere. From the invention of knifes and spears to the creation of computers and tablets, man has managed to come a long way. It is a known fact that this technological advancement has been exceptionally brilliant in the past two centuries. Every day scientists around the world are striving to create something newer that is not only mind boggling but will also be useful to mankind.

High quality air with reduced energy consumption 

Recently in the University of British Columbia in Canada, a group of dedicated engineers have derived a way by which they could use Wi-Fi to establish number of building residents. By determining the number, they can easily adjust the ventilation through which they would be able to save energy without compromising on the air quality. Stefan Storey who holds a PhD in environmental studies and resource management and masters in mechanical engineering from UBC is leading the project. He remarked that thousands of tablets, laptops, and Smartphone are connected everyday to Wi-Fi through UBC. The Bridge Software incognito calculates the total number of Wi-Fi connected devices in every room. This anonymously calculated number is then passed on to the head building control system of UBC, which then regulates airflow through the buildings, in real time.

Based on this resident count, the control system can manage the airflow, ramping it for a crowded lecture, or bringing it down in other times. Storey collaborated with UBC for testing the effectiveness of this new technology at one of the busiest places, Irving K Barber Learning Centre, which is attended by thousands of staffs and students. It not only resulted in increased occupant comfort and goof air quality but also reduced energy expenditure by five perfect in 12 months.

Increased thermal comfort at a reduced rate 


UBC’s managing director, David Woodson remarked that this system can save over $100,000 in energy costs every year and would also assist the university in reducing greenhouse gas emission. UBC is considering this system to be the future of managing and better handling of energy consumption. The test conducted at the learning centre was highly successful and seeing the results of this ordeal, UBC is all set to install the technology in 8 to 10 more buildings within 5 months. Woodson also stated that this software uses Wi-Fi network, to reduce the disruption and lower the costs while offering thermal comfort and providing good air quality. He also stated that UBC Wi-Fi user’s private information is completely secured and protected as per the rules of Canadian privacy legislation.

Storey believes that this project emphasizes the prospective advantages of using Wi-Fi network to create smart buildings. With the support from UBC he also co founded Sensible Building Science, a company that helps staff entrepreneurs, faculty, alumni and students to lead their way through, from a basic idea to the market. Storey’s patent innovation is being set up at campuses around B.C. UBC is extremely happy about the success of this project and is thus is planning to expand their system to 10 more campuses.

Monday 10 April 2017

‘Machine Folk’ Music Shows the Creative Side of Artificial Intelligence

Magenta
Folk music is seen a direct link which connects us to our past and helping in cementing the cultural bond. When it comes to Artificial Intelligence it doesn’t possess any cultural heritage, bond or traditions but can we help Artificial Intelligence in building those attributes which defines the human intelligence at some levels. Over the years AI has grown by leap and bounds as it has been able to defeat the brightest human minds at Chess and even demonstrated breath-taking wordplay skills but can it create music or show us the creative side.

Artificial Intelligence on the rise

Researchers are trying to unlock the creative side of the Artificial Intelligence for quite some time. In 2016 a AI has been able to produce a piece of musical theatre which was premiered in the London. The effort is given towards broadening the boundaries of the creative research through new evolved AI techniques and utilizing the larger collection of the data. The Artificial Intelligence written musical piece has been a result of a thorough analysis of hundreds of other successful musicals.

Some of the prominent Artificial Intelligence project which aims towards bringing art and music out of the AI includes Sony’s Flow Machines, Google’s Magenta project and some projects under the British startup called Judedeck.

During the current study researchers has made use of the state of the art Artificial Intelligence techniques in order to educate Ai about the musical practice in the Celtic folk tradition. Traditional folk music was reduced into the form of music notation using ABC. In this method the music is denoted using the text characters as a rough guide for the musicians. Researchers have been successful in training the Artificial Intelligence for using as many as 23,000 ABC transcription of the folk music. This particular feat of transcription this amount of folk music was made possible with the active contribution of the people on the ‘the session.org’. During recent workshop researchers has asked the folk musician musicians to perform some of the songs composed by the machines.

The culmination of the artificial compositions and the human melodies

This particular Artificial Intelligence is trained to look at a single ABC symbol and predict what will come next and this helps in generating new tunes which appears to be like original compositions due to the use of existing patterns and structures. So far researchers have generated as many as 100,000 new folk tunes using Ai which is a remarkable feat in itself.

The structure of the folk music composed by the AI has two repeated part of similar eight-bar length and they complement each other quite musically. Secondly AI had also shown a great ability of repeating and varying the musical patterns which has always been the key characteristic of the Celtic music. AI has been able to understand as well learn all the rules set for the Celtic folk song compositions on its own though carefully analysing the patterns in the fed data within a very short time.