FaceDisplay and Other Bizarre Virtual Reality Projects from CHI 2017

Explore/Innovate/Inspire

Recently in Denver the ACMCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing took place and similar to last year, hosted some remarkable, unbelievable and absolutely unusual technology demos. The theme for this year is `Explore, Innovate, Inspire’, which tends to provide adequate room for encouraging the weirdness that CHI is famous for. Some of the most amazing 3D printing related stuff are:

• FaceDisplay
• Fingertip Tangible Devices 
• CarVR 
• Ambiotherm 
• Haptic Walls

FaceDisplay – Supporting Multi-user Interaction for Mobile Virtual Reality

Observing someone while they seem to don a head mounted display, experiencing virtual reality environment would seem to be quite boring. FaceDisplay, a multi-display mobile VRHMD, enabling by-stander to view within the immersed virtual world of the users, permitting them to interact through touch. A prototype is built comprising of three additional screens together with prevailing interaction techniques as well as an example application which tends to power the FaceDisplay design area.

Fingertip Tangible Devices for Virtual Object Operation & Assessment

Often controlling objects in VR has been unproductive and the fact that one does not tend to feel anything when your virtual hand touches a virtual object seems to interrupt you from the experience, making you aware that in the imaginary territory, the object nor the hand tends to actually exist. This crafty glove seems to put force on your fingertips in order that one can grasp something in VR and get a convincing physical feeling of the weight of a virtual object.

The most important obstacle to immersivity at the time of object manipulation in virtual reality is the absence of feedback of realistic haptic. The intention here is to express convincing interactions with virtual objects like grasping, pressing, squeezing, lifting together with stroking without the need of a bulky, world-grounded kinaesthetic feedback device or the utilisation of predetermined passive object. In order to attain this, a pair of finger-mounted haptic feedback device which tends to bend the skin on the fingertips in expressing cutaneous force information from object manipulation is used. It is detected that users appear to see alterations in virtual object weight and they relate to increasing grasp forces while lifting virtual objects as condensed mass in increased.

Besides this, it is also observed that inexperienced users view changes of physical properties of a virtual object when skin deformation in rendering objects with varying mass, friction and stiffness is utilised. The research portrays that fingertip skin deformation devices tend to offer a convincing haptic familiarity adequate for virtual reality scenarios pertaining to object manipulation. 

CarVR Empowering In-Car Virtual Reality Entertainment

When cars tend to be driverless, the main issue on road trips would be keeping oneself amused wherein VR tends to be of great support with the exception that the motion of the car would probably be an issue. CarVR on the contrary utilises the motion of the vehicle in improving the VR experience, syncing what tends to happen in VR to what the car seems to be doing in the actual world. This would make the VR much more immersive as well as supportive in alleviating impulsive spewing.

CarVR is a solution permitting VR in moving vehicles by subtracting the rotation of the car and mapping vehicular movements with the visual information. This enables the user to feel the precise kinaesthetic forces at the time of the VR experience. A comparison with CarVR inside a moving vehicle with the baseline of using VR without vehicle movement was made.

 It was shown that apparent kinaesthetic forces caused by CarVR increase enjoyment and immersion considerably while simulator sickness is abridged in comparison to a stationary VR experience. Lastly the design space of in-car VR entertainment application utilising actual kinaesthetic forces was explored to develop design considerations for practitioners.

Ambiotherm – Increasing Sense of Existence in Virtual Reality on Simulating Real World Environmental Conditions

To evaluate Ambiotherm, a wearable accessory for head-mounted display is presented which offers thermal as well as wind stimuli in simulating real-world environmental conditions like ambient temperatures together with wind condition to augment the awareness of virtual reality. Ambiotherm comprises of Ambient Temperature Module which is linked to the neck of the user, a Wind Simulation Module directed towards the face of the user together with a control module using Bluetooth communication. A demonstration was conducted on Ambiotherm with two VR environments, a hot desert as well as a snowy mountain to showcase the various kinds of computer-generated environmental conditions. Several researches were also done to address design factors of the system, to evaluate the effects of Ambiotherm on factors connected to the sense of presence of the user. It was discovered that the calculation of wind and thermal stimuli considerably improved sensory and realism aspects contributing to an improved sense of presence in comparison to traditional VR experiences.

Offering Haptic to Walls & Heavy Objects in Virtual Reality through Electrical Muscle Stimulation

A wall is said to be something wherein it tends to be difficult to pass through. To simulate a wall in VR, a system is utilised which uses electrical muscle stimulation in taking-over the muscles in your arm in order that one is physically incapable of passing your arms through a virtual wall. It is somewhat a brute force approach to haptic though apparently is effective but hard to believe that the feeling is mostly pleasant. Other options were considered on how to add haptic to walls together with the other heavy objects in virtual reality. Our systems tends to trigger the user’s shoulder, arm and wrist muscles whenever a user attempts to push such objects, through electrical muscle stimulation, developing a counter force which seems to pull the user’s arm backward. This device has achieved this in wearable form aspect. The repugnance design together with the soft design is said to receive high scores on `prevented me from passing through’ and `realist’. In the second research, the effectiveness of approach was demonstrated, by enabling participants to explore a virtual world wherein all the objects offer haptic EMS effects comprising of walls, gates, boxes, sliders together with projectiles.

Online Growth 101: Simple Strategies For Success

While there is a great deal of ambiguity and trial-and-error work when it comes to building a business, one thing is clear: advertising online is almost always advantageous. Online advertising is a prudent course of action for many reasons. First, it allows you to interface with your target audience in a very immediate way. Second, it can expand your company's sphere of authority. These are just two of the many benefits that result from online marketing, so now is the time to figure out which strategies you need to implement to keep your company growing. Below are four that may work wonders for you:

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

SEO is one of the most important strategies to implement if you're serious about having success in the online sector. This approach works by making your product and service line more visible to members of your target audience. While there are many SEO services that a team of digital experts might deploy to engender this outcome, the following techniques are particularly prevalent:

•  keyword analysis 
•  target market research 
•  inbound/outbound linking 
•  local SEO 

2. Online Reputation Management (ORM).

In addition to implementing dynamic SEO services, it's important for you to invest in top notch ORM services. These services are empowering because they help you maintain the type of positive, pristine online image that will make prospects more willing to invest in your brand. ORM professionals can deploy a wide range of strategies to limit negative feedback about your brand in online spaces while also encouraging satisfied clients to provide positive feedback regarding your company.

3. Social Media Optimization (SMO).

If you really want your business to grow online, consider the value of using SMO services. These services are empowering because they enable you to communicate effectively with members of your target audience on key channels like:

•  Facebook 
•  LinkedIn 
•  Twitter 
•  Pinterest 
•  Google+ 

Note that you can provide clients and prospects with instant updates through these channels, making it a great way to announce last minute sales and other brand-related information when you need to communicate something immediately.

4. Web Design And Development.

One of the most important aspects of your online presence is web design and development. Site development is immensely important because it empowers you to advertise your product or service line in an interactive, engaging manner. When your website is both highly functional and aesthetically appealing, you can count on attaining substantive traffic and having your clients share your content with people in their social networks. When site development professionals start to work on your website, they typically keep the following elements in mind:

• functionality 
• engagement 
•  mobile friendliness 
•  aesthetic innovation 

Also note that companies such as Register.com offer ssl certificates to help clients keep their websites secure.

Start Growing Your Organization Now!

If you're ready to cultivate a substantive online presence, now is the time to make it happen. You can use some or all of the internet advertising strategies outlined above to keep your brand going and growing via internet!

Network Traffic Provides Early Indication of Malware Infection

Malware - The Great Dangers on the Internet

The word malware is a combination of the two English words "malicious" and "software", which means roughly as much as malicious software. The dubious meaning and purpose of these types of programs is therefore clear: they are supposed to cause damage. This can take many forms. When defining it, it is important to point out that malware infection without the computer user's consent or has hidden functions that it hides, and then secretly performs its task. Software with which you can harm others without being disadvantaged by yourself does not usually belong to this group.

Security for networks in organizations need the planning and execution of an holistic idea. Furthermore tools such as scanners or firewalls, network monitoring is a helpful addition to security. The monitoring networks assists administrators to discover network abnormalities early enough and to find incipient attacks of Malware infection. It thus get along a strategically essential element in the IT security conception of companies.

Organizations would secure their IT base while the firewall worked dependably and the virus reviewer is up-to-date. Nevertheless, malware infection are often revealed late. An integrated system of monitoring networks, into the security conception, plays as an primal warning system if outset are designed accordingly. Full, suddenly happening CPU load alterations, out of the blue high traffic or an over utilization of hard disk capacities are crucial bespeak of undiscovered afflictions.

HARMFUL DRAFT

Malware infection, Viruses and trojan horses manipulate or delete data and are able to compromise entire computers - a threat to the entire network. Studies on IT security warn that the threat situation is still to be taken seriously for companies. Cybercriminals are increasingly developing more professional Malware infection that is more intelligent and thus more effective. For example, the number of drive-by downloads and denial-of-service attacks has steadily increased in recent years.

Network Monitor allows administrators to recognize a large part of such Malware infection to the enterprise network at an early stage. Signs are unexpected, unusual, and sudden changes in load, access times, and disk space that can not be explained by hardware defects.

PROVIDE IRREGULARITIES IMMEDIATELY

For the early perception of malware infection, it is achievable to find out bandwidths of chartered lines, networks or devices (switches, routers) etc. By the means of Network Monitoring, system executives acquire elaborate data on the actual state of their system. Additionally, we can observe usage crises, impendent bottlenecks and connection errors. Network executives can further measure the bandwidth and find out the activating IP addresses and protocols.

The network monitoring solution helps administrators to detect network irregularities at an early stage. It provides detailed real-time data about the current state of all integrated devices. In addition to the accustomed security means, to supervise network has considered as a time-tested method to observe early affliction from the outside. The chief reason for this is the time savings in the early perception of malware infection.

Which Smartphone Has the Best Camera?

Nowadays, smartphone cameras are remarkably good and it’s really difficult to take a bad photograph with a hi-end smartphone. Therefore, over the years, there have been major developments in this area as manufacturers look for more ideas to gain profits.


Over the past five years, more dual lens cameras have appeared which have an extra wide angle or have telephoto features. Some manufacturers have improvised on the front-facing camera concept, targeted at the large group of people who take selfies. In addition, some phones are made water-proof, for example the Apple iPhone 7 and the Samsung Galaxy S7.

A few manufacturers have made an addition of 4K video facilities. Many provide HDR for high quality dynamic range images and some use the method of “stacking” like, for example, Google Pixel, where it captures a small sequence and merges the results into one image.

Like the LG G6, some smartphones have dual lenses and sensors and the results are combined. Therefore, a smartphone camera that may be the best for one user, may not be ideal for another. One will have to pick a smartphone on the basis of their requirement, i.e. what they want to shoot and accordingly make a choice that suits their needs.

A low-end or mid-range smartphone does not offer many special features and the quality in general will be mediocre. However, there are a considerable amount of low end smartphones that take impeccably good pictures in sufficient lighting conditions. Grainy pictures tend to be an outcome when the lighting is low causing image noise.

Image in Contrast with Reality

The primary technical dissimilarity between smartphone cameras and standalone digital cameras is that smartphones have tiny lenses and sensors. The smartphone’s result should be worse that the digital camera’s but it is not so. They produce top-quality results by utilising their processors that are powerful and graphics engines that are built-in, to develop the image data and make up for their technical restrictions.

Sometimes, smartphone images look unusual because they are over-saturated and over-sharpened. However, there are very few people who are satisfied with the actuality of the final image and rather prefer something that looks good by enhancing it.

In the process, the final image tends to seem a bit exaggerated. This also means there are some criteria to be kept in mind while choosing a smartphone camera. You may find a resemblance sometimes as different smartphones from the same manufacturer often use the same sensors and software for processing.

Possibility of Various Options

Smartphone photography saw a boost in progress with the launch of Nokia 808 PureView smartphone in 2012. Its 38-megapixel sensor captured a high resolution image and changed the whole idea of how excellent a smartphone camera could be. This model and its other variants, like the Lumia 1020, are still running in the competition with other smartphones though newer models have surpassed them. Today’s smartphone cameras provide a resolution of 4032 X 3024 pixels because of their f/1.8 lenses and 12MP 1/3in sensors.

Apple’s iPhone 7 has the same specification. Google Pixel may be providing the best smartphone camera with a somewhat bigger 12.3MP 1/2.3in sensor and an f/2.0 lens. A smaller number indicates a better smartphone camera. A 1/2.5in sensor is bigger and less noisy as compared to a 1/3in sensor while an f/1.7 lens is faster and gathers more light when compared to an f/2 lens. In terms of megapixels, the more the number the better outcome. A minimum of 10MP should be good unless large prints need to be taken.


The Verge has out together an informative group review of four of the primary options namely Apple’s iPhone 7, Samsung Galaxy S8, Google Pixel and LG’s G6. Also, iPhone 7 Plus and the just launched HTC U11 can be considered in the same league as the ones mentioned above.

A cheaper option would be the OnePlus 3T that has a 16MP 1/2.8in sensor and an f/2.0 lens. According to DP review, it is not the best option when it comes to class but still the performance can be considered fairly good and an even better one could be OnePlus 5. Budget-wise, Lenovo’s £159 Moto G5 is the best which has a 13MP 1/2.5in sensor and an f/2.0 lens.

There is also £249 G5 Plus with a 12MP camera with a faster f/1.7 lens. Both these smartphones offer auto HDR and have two modes namely professional mode, which gives manual control to the user and beautification mode.

DxO Marks

Someone who follows smartphone cameras will come across DxO Marks. DxO Labs provide a small camera and many other photo-enhancement programs such as DxOOpticsPro. Still, cameras and lenses have been tested by this program for years and the DxO Mark Mobile rating system was announced in the year 2012. It’s a testing system that analyses the smartphone camera’s performance and gives it a rating.

Accordingly, smartphones are allotted a score and a list with the top smartphones are available to help users in making their choice. The top 20 to 25 are the ones that are generally better than the rest. The reviews by DxO labs are usefully in selecting a smartphone. The Moto Z Force Droid and the Moto G Plus have been given a rating of 87 and 84 respectively. The iPhone 6 Plus (82), Huawei P9 (80), Google Nexus 6 (78) and the Lumia 1020 (74) have all been rated by this program too.

Camera as The First Priority

Some companies have given more importance to the camera instead of the phone. However, it is advisable to go for a cheap, compact camera for just the photographical aspect. Not only are there a wider range of options to choose from, the camera is more easy to handle also, which includes quicker zooming, framing and shooting.

There are some good compact cameras available, one of which is the Sony RX100V which is a little expensive but is tiny and compact with a one-inch sensor. Other options include numerous Canon PowerShots, from model G3 X to G9 X, the Lumix DMC-LX10 and also the one by DxO. Its relatively easier to carry a compact camera that fits in the pocket of your jeans rather than carting along a Nikon D90 along with a few additional lenses.

Twitter Adds 69 New Emoji - But There’s a Catch

Twitter has added 69 new unique emoji including the much anticipated flags for Wales, England and Scotland. The line-up of Emoji 5.0 revealed emoticons such as a star-struck emoji, woman with headscarf, a swearing emoji, dinosaurs, face with raised eyebrow and a whole range of diverse skin tones. Until now, Twitter kept a rather meagre and simple set of emoticons unlike other platforms that have a lot of emoji which are not used that often. In this update, there are 239 new emoji and 69 unique new emoticons a user can choose from while expressing themselves on Twitter. Twitter is the first to provide support for Emoji 5.0. There is, however, a catch.

The Catch

Most of the new emoji depend on characters that are included in Unicode 10.0, as reported by Emojipedia. This means that as of now these new emoji won’t work on iOS, MacOS, Windows and Android devices. All the new icons will not be viewable on platforms other than the official Twitter website and app and for the time being, it will be made available when using Twitter on desktop. Like, for example, one of the new emoji, the flag, will automatically be shown as a black flag on some platforms such as third-party apps and clients that do not support the new emoji yet. So in case you have posted something with the new features, on any app that doesn’t support Emoji 5.0, you now know why it doesn’t show up like it is supposed to. This, however, is expected to be a short term problem and a solution for this is being worked upon.

The Solution

The new Twitter emoji are all set to be included in other platforms before this year ends. Also, an update for Tweetdeck can be expected very soon. In the upcoming iOS 11 software update, Apple will most likely include the support required for the new emoji released. Apple is expected to make this announcement at its forthcoming Worldwide Developers Conference. At the same time, Google has also made an announcement about its plans to introduce support for the new emoji in the Android O release which is expected soon. Users who can access the Android O developer preview will be able to view the emoji already.

The other newly introduced emoji include an orange heart, a face vomiting emoji, an exploding head, a hedgehog, a t-rex, a breastfeeding woman, a flying saucer and a brain. Few food based icons have also been included such as a pretzel, a fortune cookie, a pie and broccoli.

The Unicode Consortium is an organisation which is mainly responsible to make sure that the icons or emoji are all the same on different platforms. They make the final decision about which new emoji should be released. Unicode had released an entire list of the 51 newly developed emoji set to be introduced in the Unicode 10 release. Also, a preview of the new line up for the current year was released by Emojipedia earlier this year which included a complete list of the to-be introduced emoji.

Prepare Yourself for Sweet Luxury of Riding in a Robocar

The idea of a self-propelled vehicle has existed for decades, but the car companies are only now approaching the vision. Also, data services like Google are working on the Robo car. But the way to the Robo car is quite still far.

Cars in the advertising always have free travel. What the advertising does not show: column traffic and pure boredom behind the wheel. Who does not want a chauffeur in professional traffic? In fact, drivers can soon leave the hands off the wheel and the feet off the pedals. This year, the BMW i3 will be the first held up in traffic jam on the road, which will be able to take over the running tasks up to 40 km/h. In the next Audi A8 generation, an autopilot is to accelerate, brake and steer up to 60 km / h.

Audi has unveiled the auto pilot-driven Robo car as part of the Consumer Electronics Show 2013 (CES) in Las Vegas. Also in the case of parking, you can save time and effort in the future: simply activate and disembark the park pilots. The driverless Robo car is automatically removed from the car park central computer by Wlan to the next free parking space.

The predecessors of the 1950s

"If we like it or not, slowly, but surely, the robots take over the job of the car driver," popular science cited as early as 1958. At that time, the first cruise control was introduced in the Chrysler Imperial. The system was able to keep the speed constant, but by no means recognize the traffic situation.

It was only after the turn of the millennium that robotic vehicles launched more and more sensors into the world: the research agency of the US military Darpa organized several races for driverless cars. In 2005 the victorious VW Touareg "Stanley" found its way independently through the Mojave desert. However, the Darpa had planted a zone of comfort to the electron brain through the human-free area: low earth walls as roadsides helped the radar, video and laser sensors to orient themselves. In addition, the route was set by nearly 3000 GPS points. Every 70 meters, a satellite-based road mark kept the scouts on course. In the ranking of intelligent systems, these rolling robots had not earned the predicate autonomously.

Measurement by laser scanner

"We have learned how to measure the edge of the road using a laser scanner in preparation for the Grand Challenge," explains Bjorn Giesler, who is responsible for driving the Robo car at Audi. In the meantime, cars nearer to the series are also available without drivers in the US state of Nevada. Audi was the first Robo car manufacturer to have the license to test the autopilot in regular road traffic. "How close we are to the show is to see the size of our laser scanner," said Ricky Hudi at CES. The Head of Development Electrical / Electronic at Audi presented a hand-held sensor that fits easily into any vehicle front.

This is a huge difference to the research vehicles of Google and Lexus that are on the road in California: their powerful laser scanner for the Robo car cost as much money as a fully equipped luxury limousine.

All the cars work on automated driving

The driver thinks the car is steering - as futuristic as this form of movement can also be: All leading car manufacturers are working with high pressure on the gradual introduction of automated driving Robo car. "The driver is only relieved of the burden on long, fatiguing routes on the motorway or in traffic situations through the system.

The sensor technology does not yet create the complex urban traffic or even critical situations on the highway ", explains the BMW developer Dirk Wisselmann all too euphoric expectations. There are also still high legal hurdles for fully automated driving Robo car :" Every driver should be able to reach everyone Time to control his car as well as to ensure timely and appropriate diligence, "says the 1968 Vienna Convention.

This also applies to the cars of Audi, Google, Lexus, Bosch, Continental and others that have been driving through California and Nevada for months. Each test Robo car has at least one passenger who constantly monitors the operation of all systems. The human being therefore remains the responsibility and must be able to take over the task at any time. Therefore, the system also ensures by camera that the pilot behind the wheel is neither sleeping nor impotent. If, for example, the traffic jam occurs and the traffic flows again at more than 60 km / h, the driver of that Robo car is asked to take over. In addition, the function is only available on the motorway, where there is no city-waggle with traffic and unpredictable pedestrians.

Traffic is coming into the cloud

Always on the road and on the road: In the future, the traffic in real-time will be reflected in a data cloud (cloud). Obviously the Volkswagen Group does not want to leave such data services to Internet companies like Google. "We will use the cloud as an external sensor for driving," promises Ricky Hudi.

Only the swarm-in-the-spot of the networked vehicles can control the traffic situation so precisely that the driver can turn to other activities without risk. "I assume that most vehicles will have a communication unit as a link to the cloud in ten years," says Hudi, "because we have a huge advantage with the large fleet of Volkswagen Group vehicles."

This Artist Has a Classroom of Robots That Chat, Count and Draw Portraits

20 robot students are busy working hard in a uniquely designed classroom near Southwark station in London. To talk to each other, they use a language inspired by the Morse code. While they are talking, their robot teacher asks them to settle down and begins to take the register. Once all the robots’ presence has been recorded, the class for the day begins, where the robots devotedly learn to count through tally, i.e. by drawing lines in their notebooks.

Patrick Tresset, an artist, in his latest exhibition, Machine Studies, included this robot classroom. His robots comprise of a camera and a pen held by a robot arm, which is controlled by a laptop concealed in a traditional school desk that is actually the robot’s body. Inspired by Tresset’s personal experience during his schooldays in France, the robot class finish an entire range of activities in Human Study #4.

Robots Displaying Human Traits and Performing Human Functions

All the robot students’ have synchronised actions but each robot has unique movements. Tresset programmed the robots to portray various behavioural qualities, such as uneasiness or timidity. Some robots appear to actively take part in the task allotted to them whereas others work a little slower, with a level of nervousness as compared to the others. Tresset says his study is about observing human nature than technology and is focused on how we can make robots more human.

In his other work, Human Study #1 3RNP, three robots wait with pens, ready to draw portraits of humans sitting in front of them. In a span of 30 minutes, the camera or “heads” are raised to view the subject and they start sketching frantically , stopping every once in awhile to have a look at their composition. Tresset has programmed each robot in such way that it can roughly imitate his own style of drawing but not fully and has left some room for the robot to use its own style. Therefore, Tresset says he cannot foresee what their final portraits will look like.

Robots Being Involved In Artistic Exhibitions

The exhibition is part of MERGE Festival held in London’s Bankside district. Donald Hyslop, head of community partnerships at the Tate Modern and chair of Better Bankside, says that the whole point of this festival is to not limit art to just museums but to extend it into new contexts within a community. He states that one doesn’t need to visit Berlin or Lisbon for experiencing interesting industrial spaces and instead this can be experienced in this part of London in Bankside where there are many hidden spaces. Tresset’s work is put up on display at Platform Southwark.

Angie Dixon who is project and production manager at Illuminate Productions, curates this festival and says that visitors are always interested to have their portrait drawn by Tresset’s robots. She herself had her portrait drawn earlier in 2012 by an earlier version of the robots. That time they were not able to differentiate between dark and light skin and so her portrait was like scratching on paper.

Nevertheless, she says she was not disappointed and it was an interesting experience for her. Tresset stated that robots cannot be counted as a threat to human artists as of now. His robots sign their creations and yet he counts himself as the author. He is currently involved in machine learning and says eventually he would want his robots to improvise and create their own style.

Researchers Engineer Concocted Shape Shifting Noodles

I can say even your grannie can play with the noodles or spaghetti the one that MIT researchers has invented. Yes, these spaghetti/ noodles caters a lot more fun than the normal noodles can't. What so fun about these edible films? This MIT team has made the dining experience more synergistic and lot of fun. Just add water in it and you find these can transform their shapes.

The MIT's Tangible Media Group, have commix something similar to the eatable origami, that is in the shape of flat sheets of starch and gelatin. If you immersed in water, immediately they shoot into 3D formations, that comprises of regular shapes of pasta such as macaroni, noodles and rotini. These edible three-dimensional formations can also be skillfully arranged to crimp into the form of a flower and other irregular designs. To play with these culinary prospective, the MIT researchers formulated flat discs that wrap up around caviar, akin to cannoli, and spaghetti that impromptu divides into littler noodles while soused in hot stock. They have presented their work to the Association for Computing Machinery’s 2017

This MIT's team describes that these edible 3D formations are not only the art of culinary performance, but it is a functional way to cut down food-shipping costings.

The edible films could be piled together and shipped to the customers, so alter into their ultimate shape later, while plunged in water. If you make a perfect pack of it, you will gain 67 percent of package will retain empty says the co author of the paper.

Programmable pasta

MITs researchers, Wang and Yao had been working the effects of respective materials to moisture. They were working generally with a definite bacterium that can metamorphose its form, shrinking and enlarging in effect to humidness. Coincidentally, that particular bacterium is used to ferment soybeans to prepare a regular Japanese dish called as natto. They worked with gelatin, which of course spread out while it takes up water.

This material can spread out to respective degrees that depends on the density. Then the team researched to control the bending structures of the pasta, so that they create various 3D shape-changing gelatin sheets. These gelatin sheets were covered with cellulose strips that controls the amount of water the gelatin sheet can absorb. This cellulose strip act as a water barrier! The print the cellulose onto the gelatin sheets, that can predictably control the shapes response to water and the shapes that it finally expected.

Designing for a noodle democracy

Wang and Yao formulated various different structures from the gelatin sheets, from macaroni like designs, to structures that matches flowers and horse saddles. The team showed their newly invented edibles to the head chef of a high-class Boston bistro. These two professionals designed some culinary creations.

They transcribed the cellulose shapes and the attribute of entire structures they were able to make, and as well tested properties such as strength, make all this into a database. This team used a lab 3-D printer to shape cellulose onto the gelatin films, merely they have defined ways in which we can produce akin effects with more common method, such as screen printing. With this online tool can render design instructions, and a startup establishment can transport the materials to you. They want to change the design of noodles.

Next Generation Mapping Drone

New mapping drone records areas ten times faster than before

Drones are called as remote-controlled aerial vehicles (UAVs - unmanned arial vehicles) can be both independent / machine-controlled flying craft, and also human-controlled aircraft.

The application areas are diverse with these wonderful machines enhanced with technology. Either as a pure hobby object for pure flying or even filming / photography or for professional occasion. On the other hand, they can be also used as military drones / combat drones.

Aerial photography = photography and video technical controls on, for example, high voltage masts and buildings various surveying techniques in the forestry different exploration areas and research in animal protection at the police and fire brigade. Hence the area of application of these drones are increasing day by day in various fields. And also there are a lot of new researches have been conducted to technology enhance these unmanned vehicles. Recently the technical team has formulated a mapping drone that records the ground ten times faster.

The Drone named “Marlyn”

Up to 60 kilometers per hour fast is a mapping drone that has developed the start-up Atmos UAV, a spin-off from the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands. This technology makes it much faster than almost all conventional airplanes of this type. The reason: "Marlyn" has wings like an airplane, but can still start vertically. The rotors can be rotated by 90 degrees. In the horizontal flight they can use all their strength to move Marlyn forward. The rotors of normal drones have to provide additional buoyancy.

One square kilometer in 30 minutes

The engineers at Atmos has enhanced this mapping drone with wonderful technology that developed Marlyn specifically for taking pictures of the earth's surface. The hybrid mapping drone creates a certain area ten times faster than a conventional aircraft. The first user is the Dutch company, which sees itself as a leader in the use of drones for industrial and agricultural purposes. Marlyn – the mapping drone creates an area of one square kilometer in just 30 minutes. The resolution is three centimeters in this driving mode. The maximum is 1.5 centimeters. This means that a pixel of the recorded image actually has an extension of 1.5 centimeters. In other words, a ten-cent coin can be easily identified.

Rain does not matter to Marlyn

To start and land, this mapping drone needs an area of two by two meters. It can fly in almost any weather. Rain does not matter to her. It must remain on the ground only in strong winds. "With the special features of this mapping drone, we create even the most demanding tasks," says Pieter Franken, one of the founders of Skeye.

Marlyn is wearing a high-resolution camera. Her job makes her autonomous, but after careful preparation. In the first step, by this wonderful technology a flight plan is drawn up that takes into account the required accuracy of the images and the terrain to be mapped. Then start the mapping drone and the data recorder on board at the push of a button. When this mapping drone has landed after the work has been done, the stored image data are read out and edited with any evaluation software.

What you need to know about Bitcoin after the WannaCry Ransomware attack?

After the recent worldwide attack of ransomware, Bitcoin was highlighted in the news again. The harmful software locks the victim’s access to all their files and data and refuses to grant them access unless a ransom is paid in the form of at least $300 in bitcoin. This leaves one wondering what exactly is bitcoin and why do hackers want their payments in this form?

What is bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a type of a digital currency. One can buy dollars or euros with it and also one can trade any other currency. It is stored in an online wallet and through this wallet, one can use bitcoin online and also in the physical world for purchasing services and goods. Bitcoin is also supported by PayPal. Bitcoin also has valuation and it’s price keeps fluctuating up and down, just like any other currency.

What's different about bitcoin?

Usually, while purchasing something online, one uses a credit card or a debit card. This card connects to information about the user, such as the name and the billing address. One can use bitcoin the very same way one uses debit or credit cards and the transactions made are completely anonymous. This can’t be used to personally identify you. Whenever one trades in bitcoin, a private key is used which is associated with the user’s wallet and a code is generated, called an address. This address is then publicly linked with the transaction but no personal details and information are identified. In this way, every bitcoin transaction is recorded and is signed securely in an open ledger that can be viewed and checked by anyone. Thus, bitcoin can be used to protect one’s privacy.

Is this why the WannaCry hackers chose Bitcoin as a form of payment?

Most possibly, yes. Bitcoin has gained its reputation as a technology that can facilitate crime in the news media. Although the identities of users making bitcoin transactions are not revealed, law enforcement can trace these transactions and the movement of bitcoin with the help of the public ledger. Online criminal operations that have used bitcoin, have been successfully prosecuted by the Justice Department.

Law Enforcement and WannaCry

The government is already investigating these attacks. White House homeland security adviser Tom Bossert stated that the process of finding out who is behind the crime, also called as attribution, is a generally tough process in computer attacks. Most of the times, the attackers are not easy to catch hold of as they are beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement. Their activities are hidden behind multiple layers of security.

Money Collected by the Attackers

According to Quartz, the news site tracking the amount of money in the hackers’ wallet, so far the amount looks to be about $55,000. It’s not a lot of money considering that the European Union Law enforcement agency, Europol, has said that more than 200,000 computer systems have been affected. Still, in recent years, the value of a single bitcoin has seen a steady rise. An all-time high price of $1,830 per bitcoin was seen just hours before the WannaCry attack began to spread. However, after the attack was revealed, the price fell by $200. Looking at how easily hackers can attack with ransomware, acquiring even a handful of bitcoin and keeping a hold of it for sometime can help the cyber-criminals gain a large sum of money.

Construction Begins on Google’s Massive Seattle campus in Amazon’s Backyard

Google’s New Campus – Established by Paul Allen - Vulcan Read Estate

Works has begun on the new campus of Google in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighbourhood, on the outskirts of global headquarters of Amazon. The project is being established by Vulcan Real Estate of Paul Allen and tends to span two whole blocks and would comprise of office space of around 600,000 square feet, together with residential tower on every block with a combined 149 units according to Lori Mason Curran investment strategy director of Vulcan Real Estate.

Commencement of the work had started earlier in the month on the project that had been announced last year which will be reaching completion in early 2019. Vulcan also tends to have an adjacent block which is not a portion of the project of Google. According to Mason Curran, the site is intended for 216 residential units and 161,000 square feet of office space. It is said that Vulcan would not begin this block till it lands a tenant.

The main player for long has been Amazon in South Lake Union. However, the entry of Google in the neighbourhood down the road together with the rapidly growing presence for Facebook should provide plenty of competition for top talent.

Structure – Begin in Phases 2017 - 2019

Presently, Seattle area footprint of Google comprises of offices in the Fremont neighbourhood and the Eastside suburb of Kirkland, Wash. It is uncertain what Google intends to do with its Fremont space when the new Seattle campus seems to be ready. However at the moment, investing in the neighbourhood, Google had signed a deal, earlier this year to sublease the former sound Mind & Body Gym space in 2014 that Tableau had altered into around 50,000 square feet of tech office space, for its engineering team.

The structure would begin in phases from 2017 and would complete in 2019. According to an official from Vulcan, Google has agreed to leases which would be lasting 14 to 16 years, a new sign of its long-term commitment to the Seattle region. Joined with the recently expanded offices in Kirkland, Wash of Google, the technology giant would be approaching 1 million square feet in the area with this latest space. Presently Google tends to have over 1,900 employees in Washington State, in offices in Seattle and Kirkland.

South Lake Union – Thriving Hub

Google would be moving from its present location in Seattle’s Fremont neighbourhood, wherein the space had been constrained in recent years considering the rapid expansion of Tableau Software together with the other technology companies. Clyde McQueen, site Lead for Google Seattle had mentioned in a news release that South Lake Union is a thriving hub and they were excited for the new space. They loved being in the Fremont neighbourhood though would need more breathing space.

They are yet to catch a view of Lake Union, from the new location. Besides providing a bigger footprint for Google in the city, the news is prominent since Amazon is not the one taking the building and Vulcan had established the online retailer’s prevailing campus in the South Lake Union neighbourhood. More focus has been done by Amazon on its expansion in the neighbourhood towards the south where it is rolling its own three block campus on the northern outskirts of downtown Seattle.

A Google Engineer Recreated a DSLR Photo Using a Nexus 6P with Absolute Perfection

Create Image Utilising Nexus 6P

Smartphone cameras have been enhanced beyond our imaginations and from the rough VGA cameras which the earlier phones featured, to the updated Dual Cameras lots that tend to replicate DSLR type portrait shots with perfections, smartphone photography had progressed to great extent.

However there seems to be one segment wherein smartphones are unable to compare up to the DSLRs low light photography and Google has plans of changing it. OEMs tend to advertise low-light photography as a feature in their phone cameras though usually it is more of a trick. An engineer Florian Kainz working on Gcam team of Google, the team behind the legendary camera of the Google Pixel had been challenged by his colleague to develop a night shot of the Golden Gate Bridge which had originally been shot by a DSLR utilising a smartphone camera.

He had accepted the challenge and had managed in creating the image utilising the Nexus 6P together with some post-processing and created an image using smartphone providing us a glimpse of what Google could do in making night-time outdoor photography a real thing with the support of smartphones.

Technique for Shooting Milky Way – Google Pixel

Using a technique he was capable of shooting the Milky Way utilising the Google Pixel from the Californian coast where the nights tend to get very dark and the stars are said to be the only source of light on nights when the moon is not in sight.

But at 9 to 10 megapixels, the subsequent photos did not seem to be as high quality as a DSLR, though the details seemed to be there. With the results of the Pixel together with the Nexus 6P, it is clear that the final frontier of smartphone photography is on the threshold of being penetrated.

Software has been developed by OEM in order to process the images internally, with all the additions together with the subtractions as well as the averaging of the multiple photos to make night point and shoot photography utilising a smartphone, a reality. But one can’t take photos yet the same way with your smartphone and the Google Pixel tends to come the nearest in taking such images though not close enough.

HDR+ Feature

Google is said to utilise the HDR+ feature that swiftly takes 10 short exposure shots and averages them to form an individual image to eliminate blur and noise at the time of collecting adequate light for good photos at practically low-levels though it will still tend to be impractical in very low-light, moonlight landscapes for example, or starlight photos.

To achieve the image, Kainz had installed a custom Android app which enabled him to set the ISO, shutter speed and focus manually. He also utilised a tripod to keep the phone steady. The custom app was to eliminate the maximum 4-second exposure time for taking longer exposure shots in order to lessen the ISO setting and thus reduce the noise.

When the shutter button is pressed, the app tends to wait a few seconds and then takes up to 64 frames with the selected exposure and ISO settings. Thereafter it saves the frames as DNG file wherein these are later exported to a PC to post-process into one.

What is Spectrum Why is It a Big Deal for Cell Phone Companies?

Spectrum Best Opportunities for Wireless Companies

The most recent government action regarding radio airwaves would be affecting the prospect of the wireless industry and services. We need to be aware on the updates. Recently was the start of the Federal Communication Commissions’ Incentive Auction that had taken valuable spectrum away from TV broadcasters to sell it to companies who would offer wireless service.

This specific band of spectrum is said to be priced extremely and industry insiders have named it `beachfront property’, since it tends to operate at lower frequency. This means that it has the potential of running across greater distances going through walls for greater coverage. This is the reason why this auction needs the attention of the viewer. It represents one of the best opportunities for wireless companies in getting more spectrums which is how things get conveyed to the phone from videos to work emails.

 Moreover it could also remodel the wireless industry, providing smaller carriers with an opportunity of offering the similar, robust nationwide coverage which Verizon Wireless and AT&T tend to provide. Overall, they seem to control over 70% of the wireless market of US. Further than the two big, T-Mobile, satellite TV provider Dish Network and cable giant Comcast are other large players who intend joining in the auction.

Spectrum – Range of Radio Frequencies

Spectrum is said to be the range of radio frequencies which are utilised in transmitting sound, data as well as video to TVs or smartphones. These are the airwaves which had ignited Beatlemania in December 1963 when radio stations had started playing `I Want to Hold your Hand’.

Presently it tends to deliver `Games of Thrones’ to your phone through the HBO Co app. Extra spectrum would mean quicker and more-reliable wireless service. Spectrum is said to be a restricted resource which is controlled for the greater part by the US government. Companies could have it if they are inclined in participating in auctions, acquire a company with spectrum holding or purchase licenses from one another in a secondary market.

To manage the ever-increasing volume of data traffic that is created over phones, tablets, cars together with the other gadget as well as machines, additional spectrum is essential. The 600 MHz band, the spectrum which has taken hold in the auction, has traditionally been utilised in transmitting TV signals and is probably the last time the government would be capable of auctioning off such spectrum.

Lack Significant Volume of Low-Bank Spectrum

Low-band spectrum tends to function consistently indoor and over great distances and could be helpful to carriers in keeping up with the increasing demands for coverage on the part of the customer.

The two big winners in the last auction of low-band spectrum in 2008- AT&T and Verizon have erected the foundation of their 4G LTE networks on low-band 700 MHz spectrum which was another sliver of spectrum that had once been utilised in broadcasting TV. The third largest wireless provider of the nation, T-Mobile has been making attempts in assembling an identical set as assets for its own network though for the most part, T-Mobile is said to lack significant volume of low-band spectrum.

Incentive Auction is actually two auctions in one and there is a reverse auction which would permit TV broadcaster in selling their airwaves back to the government. A forward auction would be following in the next few months by which the government would be selling these same airwaves to wireless companies. Broadcasters would be getting a cut of the proceeds in exchange for giving up their spectrum.

Largest & Complex Auction

This auction is said to be the largest and the most complex auction ever run by the FCC. Dish Network, the Satellite TV provider is anticipated to bid in the modern FCC spectrum auction though it is not certain if the company would be as aggressive as it had been in the AWS-3 auction, last year when it had paid $10 billion.

Estimates had recommended that the auction could generate around $60 billion though several in the industry were of the opinion that the price is not accurate considering the constrained budgets of the carriers. Eight years back, the 700MHz had raised $19.6 billion and last year AWS-3 auction had collected in a record setting of $45 billion. AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile would probably purchase the bulk of available spectrum in this auction since the FCC is aware how critical low-bank spectrum is in forming a company which could oppose AT&T and Verizon.

 The agency has fixed out a sliver particularly for smaller players such as T-Mobile together with some rural operators in bidding on without facing the deep pockets of AT&T together with Verizon. Dish is said to be another wild card in this auction that had been steadily progressing up a conflict chest of spectrum. It is not certain what Dish intends to do with the spectrum which is own already and the licenses it would probably pick in this auction.

T-Mobile Tougher Substitute to AT&T

There is a possibility that the company would be looking for a partner or would be developing a fixed wireless service which would serve as a substitute broadband connection to DSL or cable. Comcast also tends to bid in the auction as long as a competitor in the auction to T-Mobile for spectrum reserve for smaller operators. The provider has developed an extensive wireless network utilising Wi-Fi technology and would ultimately partner along with a cellular operator in building a network to rival with traditional wireless carrier.

 Comcast has given no indication on how it intends to utilise the spectrum. It could utilise the licenses in building its own network though there is a possibility that Comcast would be using the licenses as a bargaining chip while dealing with traditional carriers. Particularly absent from the auction is Sprint, the fourth ranked carrier. Based on how the auction tends to turn out, T-Mobile would probably end as a big winner.

That means that for the average consumer, T-Mobile can be a tougher substitute to AT&T and Verizon. Usually, T-Mobile tends to have frail signals beyond major cities though the spectrum from this auction would be helpful in covering additionalregions of US particularly those in the suburbs as well as rural regions.

Google's AI Chips Will Have A Tough Time Competing With Nvidia

Nvidia's chief played down the challenge from the Google AI chip

Nvidia has shared many of its forthcoming on the bringing of omnipotent graphics chips used for the wonderful Technology of AI, thus it was not a outstanding day for the organization as Google had famed couple of weeks ago that it had well-stacked its own Artificial Intelligence chip for use in data fractional monetary unit.

The profound Google's TPU Technology, has been premeditated generally for deep learning, a division of the AI software Technology train themselves to decode them to make the world finer thus that it can acknowledge things or read the spoken language.

TPUs Technology have been distributed on Google for over a year, for lookup comprehensive and navigation on Google maps. They bring out "a ratio finer carrying into action per watt machine learning" compared to different derivatives, according to Google.

The awful tidings for Nvidia's Technology might be that its spick-and-span Pascal micro architecture is planned with machine learning in mind. Subsequently dropping out of the smartphone industry, the organization with magnificent Technology is sensing for AI development, gaming as well as Vitual Reality.

For the initiative, he said, the Technology of profound learning has two prospects to it - upbringing and illation – as well as GPUs are still overmuch finer on the upbringing, reported by Huang. Grooming Technology affects an algorithmic program with immense magnitude of information to present, devising it finer to acknowledge something while logical thinking is when the rule employs what it has enlightened to an unbeknown input.

"Upbringing is billions more complex that logical thinking," he said, as well as grooming is where Nvidia's GPUs stand out. TPU Technology of Google, but then, is "just for logical thinking," Huang said. A formula upbringing can take months, he said, while ofttimes illation come about in seconds fragmental parts.

In addition to this distinction, he noted that of the many companies who do inference need not have their own processor Technology.

"For organizations that manufacture their own logical thinking chips, that's not a difficulty for us, we re pleased by that," Huang said. "Merely there are millions of knobs in the Hyper-scale data fractional monetary units of organizations that do not manufacture their own TPUs. The best solution we can suggest for them is Pascal."

The Google improved its own chip should not be a ample surprisal. The engineering can be a combative vantage for big online service providers, as well as giants like Google, FB and Microsoft already plan their own servers. Scheming a processor is the succeeding coherent measure, albeit a challenge.

Whether development of the Google's TPU has affected its other chip purchases.

"We're still literally buying tons of CPUs and GPUs," said a Google engineer The Wall Street Journal.
Interim, Nvidias Huang, as some other in the industriousness hoped-for deep learning and AI to get along omnipresent. The last decade were the period of time of the mobile cloud, he said, as well as we are at present in the epoch of artificial intelligence. Companies need to healthier interpret the multitude of data they roll up, and that come about through AI.

Is My Data Safe in Online Drives, or Should I Back It Up as Well?

Backing up Data on Online Drives – is it really safe?

Having files synchronised with online data storage services such as Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox,Flickr, Apple iCloud, etc. is very handy as it helps in retrieving some or almost all of the photos if the smartphone or laptop of the user crashes or is stolen.

However, one should never assume that the data is absolutely safe whether its network servers, cloud services, USB drives or external hard drives, smartphones, SD cards or CDs. Schofield’s Law of Computing states that a data doesn’t really exists unless there are at least two copies of it. But in today’s world, it is advisable to keep three backups in different places in such a way that even if one of them gets deleted it should not affect any of the others.

Syncing files with Online Drivers

A few years back, OviDemetrian, a Google Drive user, started a discussion on his website saying, that because of poor user interface he lost many years’ work and his personal memories which he had saved as Google Docs. When he moved all his files out from the Google Drive folder on his PC, he did not realise that those were just links.

When he went online and found out that his Google Drive space was running out, he emptied the trash folder which immediately deleted all his files. The reverse also used to happen often. A user would install Google Drive on their PC, put some files in its folder, upload them and then delete the data. However, on checking online, their files were not there. Users have a problem in even local synchronisation. Take for example, a user who has set up an external hard drive to sync with his data present on the PC’s hard drive.

All the files get backed up but if he accidentally deletes a file or a folder on his PC, the same file or folder is also deleted from the external hard drive due to the sync program. In this case, the external hard drive can be used to back up data the second time, that is, for backing up the back up. Another problem users face is the threat they face from ransomware where all the files on the PC are encrypted and are held hostage. This affects even external hard drives and cloud drives.

Triaging files

Some files are really important, such as family photos, which are irreplaceable and some really disheartening to lose such as an incomplete PhD thesis or a novel or any important data. In order to prevent such loss of data, an easy way would be to keep all the important files in a single folder and back up just that one folder instead of the whole PC, thereby avoiding backing up unnecessary data.

You can also choose the storage format depending on the size of the data to be stored. If the total size of the data is 700MB, a CD-Rom can be used, if the files’s size is 4.7GB, then it can be stored on a DVD. There are external hard drives that can hold a maximum of 8TB of data.

However, external hard drives of smaller capacities are more affordable. Optical discs can also be used since they are cheap and multiple copies of them can be easily made. At the same time, they are very useful as they are not affected by ransomware.

Option of Storing on Cloud

A few specialised cloud-based services are available for back up, namely Mozy, Carbonite and SugarSync but they are costlier than an external hard drive and can take a relatively long time to back up all the data.

Cloud drives used for general purposes such as OneDrive, Google Drive and Dropbox are ideal for sharing small files with others or for sending from one device to another but are not suitable for backing up data. You can have one to two copies of your data that is really important but if the storage size goes beyond 2GB then the additional storage space needs to be purchased.Google Drive charges $19.99 per year to provide 100GB or 1TB at $99.99.

Likewise, Dropbox also charges a certain amount which is £79 per year for a storage of 1TB.Microsoft Office 365 Personal offersOneDrive storage of 1TB for a price of £59.99 for a year. However, the best deal available is Office 365 Home with Premium OneDrive wherein the users get 1TB each for a charge of £79.99 a year along with Microsoft Office software for their PCs and Macs with an addition of applications for their smartphones and tablets.

Nevertheless, there are certain threats with cloud storage, such as the either or both the mailbox and cloud drive being inaccessible because of the provider or a hacker. Also, these online files can only be accessed using internet connection.

Therefore, it is advisable to not rely on just one cloud service for backing up your data and even two is not sufficient. Although, it can be a part of a more cautious and fool proof back up strategy where other media can also be included.

10 Smart Gadgets That Make Apartment Living Easier

Smart Home Products Devices

The modern smartphone is still in the learning process. In the rush of the technology world in making everything internet connected, the home tends to be a space with the greatest potentials for changes and lasting effect. We tend to be dependent on the internet in making our routine life much better and effective. There are various types of smart home products devices which are inclined in controlling the functions remotely from your smartphone and this trend is on the rise.

Several renters are of the belief that they are unable to revel in the perks of smart home devices since they are incapable of altering their living spaces. However there seems to be abundant of amazing products which could be utilised in one’s rented apartment. Probably one would be on the look-out for plug-and-play devices which would need minimum or no installation that could be packed up and taken along when they tend to move out. The following devices could be impeccable for renters.

1. Smart battery which upgrades normal smoke detectors

Rather than replacing the prevailing smoke detectors with a smart equivalent, you could just update the prevailing alarms. The Roost smart battery could turn normal smoke detectors into smart devices by just installing the battery. This would not need any tools and you could just pop it up and one would be capable of getting smartphone notification whenever the alarm tends to go off or if the battery seems to be low.

2. Install free smart plug which saves energy

It could be very annoying when one is faced with a high electric bill beside the rent. However Wemo smart plugs could be helpful. You could just plug them in your prevailing outlets and then plug in your appliances. This can be remotely controlled, whatever has been plugged in the Wemo, enabling the user to turn devices off when not at home.

3. Smart controller for air-conditioner

If an air conditioner has been provided by the landlord, you could upgrade the same into a smart AC unit with the support of the Tado Smart AC Controller. By installing the controller you would be capable of controlling the appliance remotely and save around 40% on energy cost. The Tado is also said to function with heat pumps.

4. Removable smart air conditioner

If the renter is not in possession of an air conditioner, he could treat himself to a smart, affordable AC unit. Frigidaire Smart Window AC tends to provide the renter with remote control over the device and offers maintenance reminders to save the user of not forgetting of changing the filter.

5. Standalone security System

The need of mounting cameras or pay a monthly fee for monitoring your home is not essential. The Piper All-in-One Security System together with Video Monitoring is said to be appropriate for rentals. This could be placed on a shelf or table and one will be capable of monitoring your place with HD video streams with real-time notification should something go wrong.

6. Kit to turn regular blinds to smart blinds

Another product which could turn your normal apartment fixings to smart gadgets is the MySmartBlinds Automation Kit. When it is installed, you will be capable of controlling your window coverings from your smartphone and set up schedules for them to open as well as put them in energy-saving mode.

7. Easy Installation of smart light bulbs

Smart bulbs are much preferred to smart lights. There are no hubs or bridge needed for these light bulbs besides a Wi-Fi connection. These could be even synced with Alexa of Amazon and hence can be controlled with voice commands.

8. Showerhead which enables you to take phone calls

Smart showers are said to be fantastic though there are chances that the landlord may not compromise on the installation costs. This should not stop you from enjoying a tech-savvy shower. The H2oVibe Rain Showerhead could be installed on the prevailing shower enabling you to answer calls or rock out on some of your favourite hits while you shower.

9. Sleep system to block out loud neighbours

Having noisy neighbours in the neighbourhood could be very disturbing especially at night. The gadget Sense Sleep system not only produces ambient noise in blocking out disruptive sounds but it also monitors your sleep patterns providing personalized recommendations on how one could have a good sleep and wake up in the morning.

10. Pet camera to keep your dog from barking

Should the barking of your pet tend to bother your neighbours, you could try quieting down Fido with the support of the Furbo Dog Camera. This amazing device is said to send you notifications if your pet is found to be barking and enable you to talk to your dog as well as feed him a treat or two

Mind Boggling Optical Illusion Reignites the Debate Over Whether the Outfit is Blue and Black or White and Gold

Strange Optical Illusion

A clip shared on Korean site Ruliweb portrayed two outfits, one black and blue while the other yellow and white which seemed to alter right before your eyes. After an ill-famed debate had divided millions all over the web, it had been reignited by a short clip portraying a strange optical illusion.

 When a small section is relocated from one dress to the other in the animation, though it tends not to alter colour, it seems to match the shade of both the dresses. As the section tends to slip from the black and blue striped outfit to the yellow and white stripe dress it seems to abruptly slot into place without any problem. This delusion is said to work by adding what seems to be a shaded blue box above the yellow dress and a yellow tinted box above the blue dress.

However the delusion on the shifting of shade is on how the colour is viewed which is one of the reasons why several debated on the original colour of the #TheDress way back in 2015. Professor of Ophthalmology in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southampton, Andrew Lotery had informed the MailOnline that the variance in observation was owing to lighting conditions, the device from where the image is seen as well as the age and gender of a person.

Visual system Throws Away Information

People all over the social media have been debating about an image depicting a perfectly nice bodycon dress as blue with black lace fringe or white with gold lace fringe. The debate is more than just social media and is about primal biology as well as the way human eyes together with brain have progressed in seeing colour in a sunny world.

 Light is said to enter the eye through the lens with various wavelengths matching to various colours. The light tends to hit the retina towards the back of the eye wherein pigments initiate neural connections to the visual cortex, the area of the brain which develops these signal into an image. Though the first surge of light is the result of whatever wavelengths tend to illuminate the world, reflecting off whatever one views at.

The brain on its own tends to figure out what colour light is bouncing off the image your eyes are observing and basically detracts that colour from the real colour of the object. Neuroscientist at the University of Washington commented that our visual system tends to throw away information regarding the illuminant and extract information related to the actual reflectance.

Various Combinations of Genes

Lotery had clarified that all tend to have various combinations of the genes which tend to develop the sense of colour for red, green and blue and since these genes are on the X chromosome, women seems to have added variations. As a consequence, women tend to have a more vibrant range of colour and could be more prone as well as subtle to particular colours.

 This could explain why women are casual between seeing the different colours while men typically do not tend to do so. He further went on to add that some people seem to have more than a single dose of a blue colour genes for instance and hence they will see higher or lesser stages of this colour also.

McLaren 720S Review: Mono-Live

720S - Unmatched By Rival Ferrari 488 GTB

You can settle back for some automotive theatre by pushing the start button in the McLaren 720S where the carbon fibre pod before your eyes seems to swivel through 90 degrees illuminating a mass of digital instruments.

Towards the entre a portrait-style infotainment system comes to life as your shoulders tend to pulsate to the launch cycle of 4.0-litre, twin turbo V8. This is followed by a heated growl from two exhausts, which has been mounted waist-high towards the rear, signalling the start. It is said to be a performance which is unmatched by the rival Ferrari 488 GTB. While coordinating with insiders of McLaren it was learnt that they had underestimated the importance of this kind of theatrics when they had launched their initial production car, in 2011.

The strangely named MP5-12C.McLaren had been considered to be the best Ferrari’s heritage and passion with production competence. Need for affected behaviour for the 720S had further been complex by an issue of McLaren’s own making. The company’s 200 mph mid-engined supercar known as the 570S already disapprovingly acclaimed is priced at £143,250. The 720S begins at a price of £208,600.

Apparent Difference – Styling

Director Haydn Baker, vehicle line director had informed  that when a customer tends to walk in a showroom and views both the cars; they had to give them a reason to gravitate to the 720S. Considering how fast the 570 tends to be, that appeal had to be about more than pure performance’.

 The most apparent difference had been the styling. Though several of the manufacturers tend to create a family of appealingly similar cars such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes, the 720 as well as 570 seem to be radically different. Out of the two, the 720S is said to be more `Marmite’, where one expecting to discover conventional headlights, will find two gaping `eye sockets’ designed to assist channel air to the radiators.

Baker had mentioned that they wanted to make a statement with the headlights and also wanted the sides of the car to be very clean. The 570’s side air scoops utilised in cooling the engine had also been replaced by a channel running along the top of the bodywork – where it tends to meet the window glass and an added unobtrusive intake low down behind the door.

New Track Telemetry System

The signature airbrake of McLaren that tends to be fully deployed in about 0.5 seconds is also said to be present and accurate. It has been claimed by the engineers that the 720S is twofold as smoothly competent, has been defined by the ratio between adverse drag and appropriate downforce as the 650 model it tends to replace.

The 720S tends to debut McLaren’s new Track Telemetry system utilising GPS, three cameras together with a series of sensors comprising of throttle angle and lateral/longitudinal G-force in order to record circuit lap data.

 The driver can review the data, comparing various laps utilising the central infotainment screen or download it for later study. It is superb considering it as a tool for improving driver performance

Checking for the Latest Windows 10 Update

Microsoft’s Creators Update for Windows 10

Recently released Creators Update for Windows 10 by Microsoft is also called Version 1703. The user can view what version number tends to be running on the PC on pressing the Windows and I keys to open the Settings app or choosing the Settings app from the Start menu and selecting the System icon. You can opt for `About’ towards the bottom of the list on the left side of the System Settings box.

 Here you can view the edition of Windows 10 connected on the computer (like Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro) together with the version number as well as the other technical details. If 1703 tends to be listed as the version number, your computer has been updated to the Creators Update.

 The upgrade to Windows 10 last month was the most recent revision of Microsoft of its Windows 10 operating system, which came in less than a year after the Anniversary Update (Version 1607) in August 2016. The Creators Update comprises of many new features such as a 3-D renovation of the paint program. Another option of viewing if one has the latest variety of Windows 10 is to check your Apps list for the new Paint 3D program.

Enhancement to Microsoft Edge Browser

The Creators Update also seems to bring about enhancement to the Microsoft Edge browser as well as improved designs for video game lovers. But as in the case with any main system update, there are bugs which tend to come up. On the online forums of Microsoft, some of the users had reported issues with Bluetooth and internet connectivity, computer-memory problems, Dolby sound disaster, crashing apps besides other anguishes.

Hopefully these problems can be fixed in the near future with system patches and workarounds. If one’s computer has already upgraded itself to the latest version, then the user would prefer to need to explore the Settings app a little more to ensure that you have the new operating system organized the way one would desire. For instance on opening the Privacy icon on the main Settings screen in order to settle the quantity of personal data one would prefer to share with Microsoft.

Automatically Install App Updates

Windows 10 tend to automatically install the app updates whenever they seem to be available. However the user could also check for updates manually. Some users are inclined to check manually so that they can see if there are any variations stated in the update. To enable automatic app updates you could –

• Open the Store 
• Tap or click the user icon towards the top near the search form 
• Tap or click Settings 
• Toggle on Update apps automatically 

To manually check for app updates

• Open the Store 
• Tap or click the user icon towards the top near the search form 
• Tap or click Downloads 
• Tap or click Check for updates 

The user could also check particular app for update by going to the Store page where you can utilise the search forms in locating the app. Another option is to check My Library for a list of all your apps.

Are Wi-Fi signals letting hackers see into your home?

Wi-Fi Signals – Windows to Home

It has been discovered that Wi-Fi signals can be a window to your home. Researchers have observed that cyber thieves could utilise the microwave radiation of the signal in creating three-dimensional image so a location together with the objects as well as the individuals within it.

 It has been suggested by the team that this hack has the potential of generating scans of buildings and also track the individuals indoors, though it could also be utilised in locating people buried by an avalanche or earthquake. The scientist at Technical University of Munich – TUM, had made this discovery, which had developed a holographic imaging process depicting the radiation of a Wi-Fi transmitter to generate three-dimensional images of the surrounding environment.

The system of the team enabled them in creating holograms that tends to develop a three-dimensional image alike to that of peering through a window of a home. According to Dr Friedenmann Reinhard and Philipp Holl ‘s report in the study published in the scientific journal Physical Review letters, though the optical holograms tend to need an elaborate laser technology, generating hologram together with microwave radiation of a Wi-Fi transmitter would need one fixed as well as one movable antenna.

Holographic Processing of Wi-Fi

Friedemann Reinhard, director of the Emmy Noether Research Group for Quantum Sensors at the Walter Schottky Institute of the TU Munich had stated that `utilising this technology we can generate a three-dimensional image of the space around the Wi-Fi transmitter, as if our eyes could see microwave radiation.

The researchers visualized arenas of positioning particularly in the domain of industry 4.0-automated industrial amenities wherein localizing parts and devices tends to be difficult. Earlier work has portrayed that there is a possibility of utilising microwave radiation to view through walls though the team at TUM have developed a new system which enables them in creating an image of the total space through holographic processing of Wi-Fi or cell phone indicators.

Creation of images through microwave radiation tends to require special purpose transmitter having large bandwidths. The very small bandwidths of distinctive household Wi-Fi transmitters operating in the 2.4 as well as 5 gigahertz bands had been adequate for the researchers with the utilisation of holographic data processing.

Bluetooth/Cell Phone Signals 

Besides this Bluetooth as well as cell phone signals can be utilised. It is said that the wavelengths of these devices tend to match to spatial resolution of a little centimetres. Philipp Holl executing the experiment commented that instead of using a movable antenna, that measures the image point by point, one could utilise a larger number of antennas in obtaining a video-like image frequency.

Future Wi-Fi frequencies like the proposed 60 gigahertz IEEE 802.11 standard would enable resolutions down to the millimetre range. The notion of treating microwave hologram such as optical images permits the microwave image to be joined with the camera images.

 The extra information removed from the microwave images could be implanted in the camera image of a smart phone for instance in tracing a radio code which may be attached to a lost item. However the scientists are only at the commencement of the technological improvement