Ford's Autonomous Fusion can see in the Dark Without Headlights

Ford Fusion Hybrid Autonomous Research Vehicle – No Headlight On

There are a lot of talks going on regarding the present status of self-driving cars. Ford is aware that its systems are not perfect yet; however its self-driving Fusion research vehicle seems to be getting better and is capable of navigating in the dark. Ford Fusion Hybrid autonomous research vehicle with no headlights on, had recently navigated along lonely desert roads to perform task which would be dangerous for a human driver. Driving in pitch black at Ford Arizona Proving Grounds symbolises the next step on the journey of the company in delivering fully autonomous vehicles to consumers all over the world.

Its car have the potential of tackling the dark of night owing to two technologies namely 3D mapping and LiDar which tends to stand for Light Detection And Ranging, uses lasers for measuring the distance to objects. The 3D maps tend to provide extra information regarding the road, comprising of markings as well as the geography. The LiDar also helps the car to recognize where on the map it is at that point of time. Utilising infrared improving goggles, the engineers of Ford were able to observe the car work its magic as it casts infrared laser beams around the vehicle.

Adequately Strong to Steer Impeccably

Presently, the night-time, lights-off testing has been limited to its Arizona proving grounds, since it is quite illegal in operating vehicle on public roads at night minus the traditional illumination. Though autonomous night vision could be helpful for vehicles to continue to move towards a destination if infrastructure or the own lighting of the vehicle tends to goes dark, dashing forward in pitch black could be a bit scary to an average driver or passenger.

Moreover, it would also put a dent in the light pollution which covers most of the sky in areas with great population density.It is an important progress which shows that even without cameras that depends on light; Ford LiDar tends to work with the virtual driver software of the car and is adequately strong to steer impeccably around winding roads. Though it is idyllic to have all the three modes of sensors namely radar, cameras and LiDar, the last can operate independently on roads without stoplights.

No Driver to Intervene/Control Vehicle

Jim McBride, technical leader for autonomous cars says that due to LiDar, the test cars are not dependent on the sun shining, or cameras detecting painted white lines on the tarmac. In fact LiDar enables autonomous cars to drive well in the dark as they do in the light of day’. After over a decade of Ford autonomous vehicle research, the company has been dedicated to achieving fully autonomous driving possibility that as defined by SAE International Level 4 does not need the driver to intervene and control the vehicle.

Ford, this year will be increasing its autonomous vehicle test fleet bringing the number to around 30 self-driving Fusion Hybrid sedans for the purpose of testing on roads in California, Arizona and Michigan. These elements seems to be the main elements of Fort Smart Mobility, the plan in taking Ford to the next level with regards to connectivity, mobility, customer experience, autonomous vehicles, together with data and analytics.

Time Management Techniques to Increase Your Productivity

Whenever missing deadlines, being late in appointments, and feeling drained without tangible accomplishments are common occurrences in your work life then you have to admit that there is a big problem. Fortunately, this problem is not big enough that good time management techniques cannot handle.

What are time management techniques that will ensure productivity? 

Once you start practicing the following time management techniques you can see for yourself how productive your work day would be:

• Be realistic on your “to-do” list – there are people who have a daily to-do list that is so long you will wonder if the items could be accomplished in a month! Do not be this person. Try to come up with a “processed” to-do list. This means that you have already gone through all the tasks you need to accomplish and you are now going to prioritize the items on the list based on their necessity and value. In other words, your to-do list for the day should only contain tasks that you have to accomplish during that day (necessity) and those that will help you advance your career (value). Four items would suffice since in reality you only have about five hours in a day to actually spend working. If you are not able to finish everything on your list, move the unfinished items on the next day and complete the five tasks again. 
• Avoid tasks that waste your time – if you are in a habit of glancing at your Facebook or other social media accounts every now and then, stop it. If your colleagues are always dropping by to chat, close your door (if you have your own room) or say politely that you have to urgent work to finish. Every time you get interrupted at work, you have to spend extra time trying to get back to the “work mode” you initially have. 
• Have one complete organizer or personal calendar – time management techniques will do you no good if you have no clue what are the things that you need to do given the time that you have. There individuals who maintain different calendars for different aspects of their lives. For example, they have a calendar for their social activities, for their work appointments, and another for personal engagements. This system does not work. The only way you can manage your time wisely is by organizing every little thing that you do in a day. By maintain one organizer/ personal calendar for everything you can readily see, at a glance, if you still have any more available time for other things. 
• Set specific time to finish every task – if you have a specific time deadline in mind your brain and whole body will work with urgency. That is why you need to put time limit on every task and you force yourself to stick with it. You should only adjust these time frames when absolutely necessary like your boss called for an emergency meeting.

Proper observance and application of the above mentioned time management techniques will undoubtedly make your work day more productive. But aside from that, it will also relieve you of stress and tension since you know that you are not helpless but fully in control of your day.

Surrey now has the UK's 'Largest' Police Drone Project

Surry Police – Largest Drone Squadron in UK

Surrey police has the largest drone squadron in the UK after being given £250,000 to buy new drones. The Surrey and Sussex Police force had trained 38 of its members of staff on how to fly UAVs and will be increasing its fleet from one to five after being funded by the Home Office. Officer utilising the drone during the three month trial would comprise of those in Gatwick Airport’s armed response unit, forensic collision investigation and reconstruction, a targeted patrol team, neighbourhood response together with a command search and operation planning unit.

Assistant chief constable Steve Barry had commented in a statement that their drone operations will be overt, open and transparent and will use all outlets available to ensure that the public are informed regarding the drone use. He also stated that it was the largest trial of drone by the police in the UK and other forces testing drones will provide the force with details. As per the police force, discussions regarding the privacy of members of the public have taken place with the Information Commissioner’s Office and the office of the Surveillance Commissioner. It is said that both seemed to be satisfied with the plans to test the drones.

Drones Used for Various Applications

The police force has been conducting limited trials with its prevailing drone around Gatwick airport and the four new Aeryon SkyRangers purchased will be utilised by the trained officers. Barry had added that the OSC had recently seen the Gatwick drone being operated and were impressed with the operational protocols. As the potentials of drone tend to have increased, more public authorities have begun to test the drones for various application. Police forces in UK including the Police Service of Northern Ireland have been testing the use of drone.

Commercial use of drone has been covered by guidelines from the Civil Aviation Authority and organisations need to register drones of a definite size with the regulator. As reported by The Telegraph, local councils have started the use of drones to evaluate planning application for building alterations and new building. In all, 12 councils had purchased or hired drones, using them for planning, monitoring coastal erosion and surveying dangerous buildings. First responders to emergency cases all over Europe have also been set in starting the use of drones in support with their work.

Potential of 50-Minute Flight Time

The European Emergency Number Association has stated that mountain rescue teams in Ireland as well as fire-fighters in Holland would be given DJI drone in order to help in responding to situations. In the meanwhile in Malawi, UNICEFhas been testing the use of drones in speeding the process of diagnosing HIV. The drone model is the Canadian-built Aeryon SkyRanger sUAS that has been operative since 2014 at London’s Gatwick airport.

Aeryon has mentioned on its website that `designed to military and government specifications, the Aeryon SkyRanger uUAS airframe and integrated platform is based on successful customer exercises and missions all around the world. The SkyRanger is said to have the potential of a 50 minute flight time which can be operated by a sole user and tends to have reliable flight performance in demanding environments and high winds.

What Is Forex?

Forex is a common term you face when you go through different websites on the internet. A number of advertisements are displayed where you find the common call ‘Start Forex trading today with....’ and similar. Many of us don’t know that what is Forex and how to perform Forex trading. Well, learning Forex, what can be traded and how it is traded is not a big deal. We will help you to understand the basic knowledge about Forex with XFR Financial Ltd or XTrade.

What is mean by Forex?

Forex stands for Foreign exchange and it deals with the exchange of foreign currencies. To better understand what is forex, you have to know that every country’s currency value fluctuates with respect to another country’s currency and that is the basis of Forex trading. Let us take an example. EUR is the currency of many European countries and USD is US Dollar. In EUR/USD pair, the relative price of EUR with respect to USD is taken. A trader dealing with this currency pair will make a speculation of future prices of EUR/USD pair and buys or sells the currency pair. If the speculation goes correct, the trader will make a gain otherwise a loss.

How Forex trading at XTrade is done?

 

After learning what is Forex, the other important thing is to understand how Forex trading is done. Gone are the days when Forex trading was done through a physical broker. Now all the Forex trading has gone online and it is far more convenient to get the services of an online Forex broker like XFR Financial Ltd or XTrade. A trader, who wants to open a Forex trading account, searches for a good online Forex broker and registers an account with him. Finding a good online Forex broker like XFR Financial Ltd or XTrade takes a little time and you can read reviews of different Forex broker and select the broker of your choice. Do not register with a fraud broker or a scammer. Always trust a regulated broker.

So, register with a Forex broker and open an online trading account with him. You can first try out a demo account to trade with demo funds for practice and later you can open a live trading account. Forex brokers also provide an online Forex trading platform where you can perform all your trading activities starting from execution of trades to making analysis and reading reports. A good selection of Forex trading platform is must.

XFR Financial Ltd provides a learning centre

 

Today most of the Forex brokers like XFR Financial Ltd or XTrade also provide a learning centre where you get education like what is Forex, how Forex trading is done, different useful strategies, about technical and fundamental analysis and much more. Forex trading is done with a smart approach and effective strategies and techniques. If you want to be a successful trader, you have to learn Forex trading as well. Just knowing what is Forex trading is not a good approach.

Palm Skin Could Be Turned Into Touchscreen

Technique – Time Reversible Processing – SkinHaptics

The Internet of Things would soon stretch to your skin, with the hands working like a touchscreen. Researcher at the University of Sussex in England have conducted a study on a technique known as time-reversal processing which can be utilised in sending ultrasound waves through the hand.

SkinHaptics is a system that tends to send ultrasound through the hand in creating a sense of touch. The waves of ultrasound tend to get targeted while they travel through the hand ending at a precise point on the palm. It could sound like some kind of an incredible sci-fi novel though one would soon be capable of using the skin as a touchscreen. UK scientists have achieved in creating tactile sensations on the palm of a human hand utilising ultra-light beams.

The hand is envisaged as a possible perfect display extension for the forthcoming smartwatches though earlier haptic technology had used pins or other vibrating parts, to touch the skin and then block the display area of the hands. The new system is said to be different since it utilises sound to provide touch feedback wherein the hand is available as a touchscreen.The new application, SkinHaptics tends to send sensations to the palm from the back of the hand so that the palm is free to display the screen.

Wearable Are Big Business

The first to discover a way for users to feel what they are doing while interacting with displays projected on their hand were a team from the University of Sussex. Professor Sriram Subramanian, leading the research team at the University of Sussex stated that wearable are already big business and will only tend to get bigger. He adds that as we tend to wear technology more, it gets smaller and we look at it less and hence multisensory capabilities have become more important.

If one envisages that they are on the bike and want to change the volume control on the smartwatch, the interaction space on the watch is quite small and so companies are considering how to extend this space to the hand of the user. What is offered to the user is the potential of feeling their actions while they are interacting with the hand. The discoveries were presented at the IEEE Haptic Symposium 2016 in Philadelphia by co-author Dr Daniel Spelmezan study.

Haptic Technology – Fast Growing Element of Technology Market

When the device is placed at the back of the hand, it tends to feel like it is touching the palm. With additional progress, the technology is said to be used in similar ways to smart watch application. For instance, SkinHaptics could send the sensation of a tap on the wrist in notifying users of incoming calls or inform them whether to turn left or right while following directions.

 A projector can also form a display on the hand of the user, thereby turning the skin into a long-lasting touchscreen. Haptic technology that comprises of vibrating controllers in video games as well as vibrates alerts on phones and other smart device is said to be a fast growing element of the technology market. Researchers are of the opinion that the overall haptic technology market could reach $29.84 billion towards 2020.

Though haptic technology supporters aim on applications mainly in the virtual reality gaming as well as medical fields, products such as SkinHaptics tend to give rise to more diverse applications of haptic technology.