AIM: Helping You Lose Weight

Obesity is the number one health condition that exists in America, with at least half the population being overweight to morbidly obese. That's not surprising considering the significant increase in portion size over the past decade, followed by an increase in processed fats, oils, and food by-products injected in many food items to appeal to society's appetites. Sure, one can eat a variety of "healthy" foods, such as vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains, followed by an intense workout schedule, to lose a few pounds but with that bucket of delicious french vanilla sitting in his freezer, and a marathon of Game of Thrones broadcasting at this moment. he will definitely gain weight lost those weeks of weight loss in a matter of days. Sure, there are many helpful and useful tools to help one get ripped, but often require the user to manually input the information of the nutrition of foods or the amount of time spent doing one specific exercise which can be often hard to find, especially if one is eating at those fancy Italian restaurant, with that heavy cream sauteed in a neat risotto. AIM, Automatic Ingestion Monitor, is a new device among the many that aims to reduce the tediousness of this cumbersome process. Developed in the University of Alabama, AIM is a 3D printed heatset which contains a complex sensor that can detect whether a person is chewing food or doing other stuff with his mouth, and, once the chewing is detected, the camera inside the headset takes a photo of the dish the user is currently eating. The data, number of chews and the photos, are sent to an application and identifies the food(s) and estimates how much of the food(s) is eaten given by the number of chews and the photos. The application then determines the energy content of the food item and records it for the user. AIM is more likely, however, to be marketed as a medical device, but future developments could make it available for the consumer market. To see more about AIM, follow this link: http://www.gizmag.com/automatic-ingestion-monitor-diet-tracking/34606/ 

SkySense Pad: Making Charging Easier

In recent years, the popularity of drone technology has significantly increased. At first, drones initially where used for military applications, such as unmanned aerial assaults and surveillance. Now drones have not only made accessible to the public, but are used in many other useful applications such as personal aerial delivery, photography, and even advanced film making. Despite the many useful applications drones can fulfill, they do have their limitations; for example, drones must refuel or recharge at specific times, depending on how much fuel is left, and charging stations could be very far from the current position of the drone which could result in the thousand dollar drone crashing, or landing safely in a location too far for the user to reach. Furthermore, charging requires the drone to be hooked up to a charging supply via charging adapters which can be cumbersome and time consuming. To solve this problem, SkySense has developed a charging pad capable of charging drones from the moment they land. The pad is gold plated with a power input of 100-240 V, and a charge rate of 10 A. The company states that the pad is compatible with any drone, from quadcopters to VTOLs. The pad is built for indoor and outdoor use, capable of withstanding rust from rain, allowing users to charge their drones outside from being used for agricultural and surveillance use. Three models are available, a small 17 inch, medium 34 inch, and a large 68 inch, each costing $649, $1,425, and $4,365 respectively, and will be available for purchase in January of next year. To see more about the SkySense pad, follow this link: http://www.gizmag.com/skysense-pad-charging-drone-lands/34592/

Multicore Optic Fibres: Redefining Speed

Speed is what drives society forwards. Literally. From the beginning of time, speed was an essential in living; an organism cannot escape or catch prey if it is too slow. But speed can be in many different forms; though speed might exist in the naive mind of a typical person as the velocity of a powerful sports car, speed also exists in electrical components, from biological muscle impulses responsible for the hundreds to millions of muscle contractions needed for organs of an organism to function properly, or else it dies, to the billions of binary signals executed in the vast array of semiconductors, transistors, resistors, and microprocessors in a computer's motherboard. Clearly, the faster something is, the better, especially for telecommunications. As data capacity in many electronic devices increase exponentially, the need for speed increases as well; society demands large files, in gigabytes, not megabytes, to be received and sent in minutes, not days. Currently, the fastest method of transmitting data is through fibre optic cables, capable of sending data at 100 terabits per second; however, as a few years go by, the demand for bigger bandwidth speeds will surpass this limit. For researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology and University of Central Florida, they have developed a future solution; a multicore optic cable able to send 5000 DVD's worth of data, from one source to another, in one second. By adding seven cores to the fibre optic cable, noise is significantly reduced from increasing the signal strength, and bandwidth speeds can reach speeds of up to 255 terabits per second over a 1 km cable. The individual fibres in in the optic cable are about 0.2mm in diameter, so they are relatively thin. The researchers hope that, by the end of the decade, they will develop an optic cable capable of reaching petabit per second speeds, meeting, and even exceeding, future demand. To see more about optic fibre, see the following link: http://www.gizmag.com/data-transmission-speed-record/34553/

New Power Inverter: More Power, Better Efficiency

Electricity has been one of mankind's greatest discoveries, allowing humanity to advance in technology exponentially faster than before. Not only is it very significant in terms of history, but also vital in current society infrastructures; nearly every career, industry, and household contain some sort of electricity executed and properly converted into a desired output from an advanced, or relatively simple, electric system. Furthermore, education has become more involved in electricity; electrical, computer, and software engineering fields have grown to the point where they are probably the largest university fields in the planet. Though there are many electrical features in a car, but one feature that, if frequent in every vehicle procured from automotive manufacturers, can reduce carbon footprints is, obviously,  electrical power system which, in other words, means a car propelled though a battery rather than easily depleted, nonrenewable hydrocarbons. Some vehicle manufacturers, such as Mitsubishi, Ford, and Tesla, all feature vehicles that run on electricity, but what if there was an electrical "combustion" system, or a component of that system, that could be improved so that, one day, all vehicles will be powered by electricity. There is a possible solution to that, and it is a new power inverter developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The power inverter is capable of producing 20 kW of power at a volume of only 91 cubic inches, four times more powerful than the inverter featured in Google's electric cars. The semiconductor used is silicon carbide,  a high grade material used for high power applications and can tolerate a wide range of temperatures. The device is composed, 50%, from 3d printed parts, allowing researchers to develop a high performance heat sink system. The inverter, however, is only a prototype at the moment, but researchers hope that, with a few more changes, it could be four times more powerful than itself. To see more about the inverter, click the following link: http://www.gizmag.com/ornl-high-performance-power-inverter/34453/

Blunt + Tile Umbrella: Innovation or a Gimmick?

Throughout today's advances of technology, many great men have created impressive new technologies from new found discoveries to make living life easier. Others, however, rip off these ideas, and try to incorporate these new technologies into items of impractical daily use, all to make a quick buck in a society of wealth. Current technology, such as smart watches and Wi-fi cameras, try to accomplish something new to improve or extend the way society uses technology, but fails to do so. One especially is Blunt and Tile's smart umbrella. The umbrella is basically a uniquely designed umbrella, the typical spokes replaced with blunts to reduce wear and tear and prevent eyeballs being ripped out from the eyesockets of incoming strangers, with a bluetooth tracker attached to it. The bluetooth module works with a smartphone application so that, in the case one ever loses his umbrella, they can track it. There are two ways that the module helps the clumsy owner find their umbrella; if within a 15 to 30m radius of the location of the umbrella, the umbrella will emit a tune, or else the application will points its location out on a map. The two models equipped with Tile's module, Blunt's Metro XS and Classic, each cost $69 and $99 respectively with the app only available to apple users at this time. Clearly, this technology is quite impractical as who would ever buy a one hundred dollar umbrella if he lives in cold climates or places that rarely rain, or those who actually have time to get their lost umbrella. To see more about this overpriced gimmick, go to this link: http://www.gizmag.com/blunt-tile-bluetooth-trackable-smart-umbrella/34328/

SightCompass: Helping the Blind

For many years, blindness is one of the many disabilities that gravely affects one's lifestyle. The visual sense of human beings is one that is most vital: sight is the most significant sense when one needs to navigate foreign areas, or recognizing objects and being visually stimulated by many new visual technologies. Furthermore, being blind prevents one from reacting appropriately to many immanent dangers, from rock slides to crossing the street. There are ways to help the blind, such as sight dogs that give indication to objects that the blind cannot hear, and prototype technologies that give the blind a glimpse of vision, or help the blind "see". One specifically is SightCompass, made by WorldBeacon,  a system that combines proximity beacons and a smartphone application to help the blind "see". The system consists of an array of beacons fixed to any object or building and can be programmed to output specific information such object such as the layout of the building and where everything is in that building. The beacons are detected via bluetooth with a 92m detection radius, and they have a battery life of 2 years, so these beacons can help the blind for a long time. The system itself has not been implemented yet, but arrangements has been made with many organizations that help the blind to install these systems in various sites in Arizona. It's currently in development, and even resorted to crowdfunding to raise awareness of their system in hopes that SightCompass will be evident in many educational and business institutions. To see more about the SightCompass, follow this link:http://www.gizmag.com/sightcompass-bluetooth-beacons-blind-surroundings/34282/

NavVis: Revolutionizing Map Making

For centuries, maps have been made to mark multiple of newly discovered landforms and cities so that others from foreign origins may visit those places to satisfy their crave for adventure. But in those days, maps were made by hand and required exceptional visual memory, and even those maps are not as good as maps right now; they were only two dimensional and were updated every other year or more. With new ultrasonic and mapping technologies, maps now feature three dimensions, and also reveal significantly accurate images of landforms in a two dimensional plane, as well as added visual details such as local buildings, all of which are updated on a much faster pace than centuries ago. The most notable example of this is Google Maps, which controls the majority of this market, but there is a new device that might compete against the many technologies that created Google Maps. Its called NavVis, developed by researchers that the Technical University of Munich, and consists of two laser scanners and two cameras. The devices works with a human operator that moves the device around the desired area where the scanners record the horizontal and lateral positions of the hallway while the cameras take pictures of nearly every detail in the area, much more efficient than Google's method of creating 3D maps which usually involves one camera. Once every detail is recorded, a 3D map is created featuring all the pictures in the appropriate positions. Accompanied with navigation software, users are able to virtually take a tour around the area, seeing every surface in the area with astonishing detail. Furthermore, NavVis's IndoorViewer interface allows the owner to add additional and informative content at various parts of the map, and allows the owner to also augment any data of their generated map to their specifications. To see more about the NavVis, click the following link: http://www.gizmag.com/navvis-interactive-mapping-trolley/34316/

Zeiss VR One: A New Competitor

Recently, a new technological trend has risen from the innovative minds of today's computer and software engineers: portable virtual reality. In other words, a virtual world where one can actually see the virtual environment as if one is there already, and is commonly, if not always, done with a headset. Its not unusual as to how this got so popular, especially when society has become so mobile, so active that many stationary displays, no matter how better the pixel density is, or the deeper contrasts, if they cannot provide the in-depth immersion of a virtual reality headset. One company that dominates this industry is Oculus, recent bought by Facebook, and their Oculus Rift, creating a gaming experience a television cannot achieve, and inspiring the development of other virtual reality equipment. But allowing one company to monopolize an entire market can cost many people lots of money. There are competitors out there, but one virtual reality set offers the cheapest option for these headsets without looking too ridiculous, or working to a specific platform. It's called the VR One, developed by Zeiss, which can work with a variety of phones, including over priced iPhones. Despite the fact that it has the potential to fit in a variety of phones, the device requires that the phone be put in a specific tray for that phone for optimized viewing experience; however, the only trays available at this time are the iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphones. The device is fully compatible with Unity3D's software development kit, allowing application developers to create android and apple apps compatable with the VR One. The specs are limited, as many of the functions the headset should provide are already provided by the smartphone, but they include a 100 degree field of view and a tinted translucent screen that blocks some light while allowing the camera to function. VR One also has a media app available to allow users to take first person videos and pictures, and they can their pictures by tapping on the sides of the headset. VR One is even compatiable with Google's street view, with 360 degree panoramas and the ability to move around the street by tapping the front of the screen. The VR One costs $99 and is currently in pre-order phase. To see more about the VR One, click the following link: http://www.gizmag.com/zeiss-vr-one-headset/34287/

Room Alive: Another Way to Play

Image resolution has improved exponentially throughout history. From the dreaded and ugly 8 bit characters to 4K ultra HD images of anything from frames of reality to awesome, detailed, hyper realistic computer generated images. But despite the sharp and clean graphics today, we are unable to interact with them, to touch or, virtually, change the image projected. Instead, we are left to admire those images through our eyes only, through visual stimulation. Sure, our society has developed new way to display images, such as holograms, but they are relatively too expensive and quite impractical. But for researchers from Microsoft's R&D, they have developed a system capable of allowing the player to interact the images within the game, but is quite impractical. The system is called RoomAlive, which consists of six procams, a projector with a Microsoft Kinect attached to it. The system uses projection mapping, projecting the images on various walls in the room while the Kinect sensors detect the motion of the persons in the room and determines what effect that motion has on the image. There are four interactive games optimized with this system, Setting the Stage, Whack-a-Mole, Robot Attack, and Traps, but the system is unavailable for consume purchase as the cost of actually buying all six procams, and having them properly installed in one's room for optimized visual experience is very expensive and impractical as many of the games that come with RoomAlive are simple and repetitive, but it does foreshadow the rise of new gaming systems that will dominate over the "sit down, stare, and play" method of gaming. To see more about RoomAlive, click the following link: http://www.gizmag.com/roomalive-living-room-video-game/34176/

Oxygen Absorbing Material: No More Scuba Gear?

Going to any tropical paradise is a blast; the very hot weather, beautiful scenery, and, of course, the beaches. At the beaches one is able to see the fine white sand, burning one's toes, and the sparkling azure waters, and in those waters lies beautiful wildlife followed by intricate and colourful displays of coral, and detailed landscapes that can only exist in water. To see and fully experience all of its glory, one needs a scuba suit, with a bulky tank of compressed oxygen, nitrogen, and other gases. Sure one can snorkel, but the majority of tropical oceanic wildlife lies in depths greater than 5m, and one can only hold his breath so long underwater. Furthermore, if one were to scuba, one runs the heavy risk of the tank exploding due to a malfunction, causing the gas pressures in ones body to greatly change, and must undergo extreme medical care or one will, literally, explode into meaty chunks. There is no solution to this problem yet, but, at the University of Southern Denmark, researchers have developed a substance that absorbs enough oxygen for deep sea diving. The material is composed of cobalt and another organic compound that makes the cobalt able to absorb oxygen relatively quick, and releases oxygen when heated or if it undergoes a vacuum. Experimenting with different chemical structures of the material, this substance could be used in a variety of applications such as regulating oxygen supply to fuel cells, oxygen mask filters, and, obviously, deep sea diving. In fact, just a few grain of this substance can absorb enough oxygen from water for one breath. This substance is clearly not commercially available, but may soon be in the future. To see more about this substance, go to the following link: http://www.gizmag.com/crystalline-material-absorb-oxygen-denmark/34064/

Recyclable Li-Ion Batteries

Stated in many of my previous blogs, today's society is rapidly advancing, with new technologies emerging in a matter of seconds. These advancements, though they lead to a much more sophisticated lifestyle and satisfy the desires for better items, have had a huge environmental impact. Materials lead, bisphenol-a, and other toxic molecular and ionic compounds and elements are required for advanced electronics are often left in landfills and poison nearby ecosystems. In fact, humanity's desire to continue to advance at such a rapid pace has made society numb and without concern for the earth; humanity no longer takes time to consider all the negative long term effects of developing new technologies, or explore new methods and techniques to make products more friendlier to the environment. Therefore, despite a small step, many companies are offering ecofriendly products and exploring new ways to make their products more efficient rather than making new items with such deadly substances. An example of this is an ecofriendly lithium ion battery, which, developed at the Uppsala University’s Ångström Laboratory, is made from substances extracted from alfalfa and pine resin. With these batteries, lithium can be extracted with chemicals such as water and ethanol, substances that pose little harm to the environment. Furthermore, the new batteries are able to deliver 99% of power in typical lithium batteries. Though this is not the first method of developing an ecofriendly battery, the concept of reusing lithium is significant in that it offers a cost effective technique to create new batteries without having to research new methods that could pose an even greater threat to the environment. To see more about this battery, go to the following link: http://www.gizmag.com/recycled-battery-alfalfa-seeds-pine-resin/34031/

Making AI Dumber, but Smarter

There always seems to be an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system in almost every science fiction novel and film. Whether they are spaceship autopilots or simply pets that never die, AI in our imaginations are advanced and holds lots of data in what they need to perform. This goes the same for current society; today's society is focused on making everyday technology, such as our phones and TV's, smarter by incorporating some kind of AI that can do the things one wants without that person having to do anything that strains the mind. Though today's society wants to make AI smarter, better, and faster, some want AI to adapt to new situations, and to learn about new advancements in today's technology to improve society, or to learn from the past and prevent past mistakes from being repeating in society. For researchers at the University of Gothenburg, they created a program called O* that actually learns. The program starts from a simple set of broad definitions to form a general cognitive model, and builds knowledge based on previous knowledge, drawing new conclusions about the world. This process is similar to how children learn: through logical reasoning. This logical reasoning the program uses can be used in many other areas, such as English, rather than pure math. The logical reasoning, and its name, is based on the principle of Occam's razor: one often favors short and simple explanations, and combines patterns in these explanations and combines them with prior knowledge to solve a problem. O* manages to learn arithmetic from scratch and can deduce logic problems much like an average adult. With this program, the researchers hope that their program will learn and find correct conclusions with reasoning so that programmers do not need to create an algorithm for it to find the correct conclusion, but the program will need many years of development before it is seen in today's society. To see more about O*, follow this link:http://www.gizmag.com/artificial-intelligence-program-imitates-child-cognitive-development/33972/

Robot Rubber Snake: A Biological Inspiration

Many science fiction shows often depict robots as metallic, resembling human anatomy, or with multiple of joints, consisting of many pneumatic or hydraulic actuators. The problem with these robots, and some robots today, is simple: they are inflexible. This often results to restrictions in what the robot can do and safety hazards as, due to motion restrictions, they could accidentally injure people nearby. Currently, though, robots today are going through evolution, but not an evolution as the common citizen might assume; robots are now being built in the form of nature's biological masterpieces, from robots that swim like fishes to robots that run like cheetahs. Now, MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence lab has developed a 3D printed robotic tentacle, resembling the kinetic movement patterns of a snake, capable of moving through pipes, channels, and burrows. The robot consists of a rubber silicon body with various inflatable channels where the robot will increase the air pressure in certain areas to "slither" around obstacles. This design also allows the robot to create arc shapes and fit in tight spaces; however, the robot is far from being complete; they need to experiment ways on how to implement mechanical parts and electronic sensors for the actual robot to be of use in real life applications. Hopefully, the researchers at MIT will finalize their prototype and make it available for use in a variety of industries, and, sometime in the future, today's society will see robots in forms beyond human anatomy. To see more about the tentacle, go to the following link: http://www.gizmag.com/mit-slithering-silicone-rubber-robot/33838/

Piezoelectric chin strap: a new way to charge devices

Electronics are everywhere, prevalent in every aspect of today's society, from today's methods of instantaneous communication to awe inspiring entertainment. But with so much technology comes a big problem: sustaining energy. In fact, to power all of these devices, devices that hold tonnes of sensitive data, requires many gigawatts of electrical power, and producing that much power takes a lot of energy derived from, mostly, fossil fuels and nuclear power, both of which can cause huge negative impacts to the environment. Fortunately, there are alternatives, such as wind and solar, but there is one specifically that will eventually power many of today's small electronics. Its called kinetic energy, biological movement converted into potential electrical energy, but is not readily available yet; however, researchers at  École de technologie supérieure have developed a chinstrap composed of piezoelectric fiber composites, integrated electrodes and an adhesive polymer mix that conduct a electric charge when they undergo mechanical stress, seeing as the act of chewing has the potential to produce about 7 mW of electrical power. The problem is that it can only produce 0.000018 W at this time, but the intent of the strap was to prove that electricity derived from kinetic energy is possible, and they hope to modify and improve its design to be used in power medical implants and even smartphones. Hopefully, our society will eventually evolve into a world completely independent of non renewable resources and looking into possible sources of energy that could power all these devices. To see more about their invention, go to this link: http://www.gizmag.com/piezoelectric-chin-strap-electricty/33885/

Green Bean: Making you home smarter

Technology now is getting smarter. Our society has developed many innovative features into many of todya's electrical devices such as SIRI from Apple, or virtual reality headsets from Oculus. In fact, in recent years, society has now introduced smart technology into our homes; new platforms are developed that allow the user to control and survey many home appliances such as microwaves, laundry machines, and even a door lock, which can all be done through a smartphone application. Despite the excitement over these enhanced devices, they do require a large investment of money as they tend to cost thousands of dollars, hence, few are sold as buying a thousand dollar laundry machine that simply notifies the user when the laundry is done is impractical. Fortunately, there is a way to make your current appliances smart without replacing them. Its called Green Bean, developed by FirstBuild, a $20 electronic module that allows users to control the elements of their appliances. The only problem is that the person must have knowledge of programming, Green Been is open sourced and requires a javascript program created by the user to actually work, and could require significant modifications to current appliances, but there is a community creating and sharing ideas and applications for the user to access and utilize. Therefore, one can use that application on their smart phone and manipulate that appliance to their specifications. Clearly, smart technology will one day become so prevalent in today's society that they will be in everything, from cars to trucks, from lawn mowers to toys, and can be manipulated in a touch of a button. To see, in more detail, about the Green Bean, go to this link: http://www.gizmag.com/ge-green-bean/33877/

MM1: Advancing 3D printing

Recently, 3D printing is more evident in today's technology savvy society than it has been even 2 years ago. Before, 3D printing technology provided a much more efficient method of manufacturing high quality products with precise details in a relatively small amount of time, but was restricted to being used in factories due to its extremely large size, and using only one material: plastic. Now, 3D printing has advanced to the point where today's society can buy their own 3D printers, and are capable of using different materials, such as metal, or even sugar, to create intricate and detailed objects other manufacturing methods cannot match.  Now, MakerMex, a 3D printing company based in Mexico, has created a prototype 3D printer, the MM1, with a capability that further advances 3D printing technology; the ability to transition between materials as required. The MM1 features a print area of 20x20x20cm, and measures 49x37.5x49cm. The MM1 is capable of printing in a variety of matrials such as ceramics, metals, rubber, and even Play-Doh. With this, an object can be made one part metal, one part rubber, and one part Play-Doh in just one print. The MM1 prints at 300mm/s and a layer resolution of 30 mircons. The printer can be further customized with a variety of add-ons such as Wi-Fi modules and heating beds. MM1 will cost around US $999, but production will not start until they reach a crowdfunding goal of $50, 000. Clearly, 3D technology is advancing in such a rapid pace that many products today, such as out smartphones, laptops, and even buildings, will be created with 3D printing technology in a few years. To see more about this printer, go to the following link: http://www.gizmag.com/makermex-modular-mm1-3d-printer/33781/

Findbox: Helps You Find Things

All people have to go shopping at one point, either caused by a desperate need for that desired item, or one's mom or girlfriend who, sometimes literally, drags him out to the store to endure painful hours of shopping for things he does not need. Most of the time, people tend to encounter frustration finding that certain product they need. Asking employees for help is a hit or miss; they could have full knowledge of what goes on in the store, or be complete buffoons, wasting precious time that could be spent on relaxing. Most unfortunately, the item could be out of stock, so one could waste hours of searching for no gain. Fortunately, Findbox GmbH, a company originating from Germany, has developed a possible solution. The solution is called Findbox, a kiosk that scans an item that you want and determines if a replacement is available and directs them to where they can find the item. Findbox works by creating a mesh when the customer scans the desired item through Findbox's multicamera system. From there, the kiosk then uses that mesh and search for a near identical item in the store's database based on colour, icons, text, logos, and shape, and usually finds the item in about 3 seconds. If none are found, then the customer can manually search function with its built in keyboard. and, if both fail, then Findbox offers alternatives, complementary items, or even have the item shipped to your home. The company also features a Findbox app which allows anyone to take a picture of the item and upload it into the Findbox database to try and find a match, and which store that item is in. Findbox also helps retailers by informing them of items that need to be reordered and track inventory. Findbox currently costs US$260-$388 per month, but it is unknown whether retailers actually use them or not. To view more details about Findbox, go to the following link: http://www.gizmag.com/findbox-kiosk-scanner-shopping/33697/

Iris+: Shoot Awesome POV Videos!

All action packed movies have one thing in common: awesome aerial shots. From spectacular car chases to epic landscapes, Hollywood magic does its tricks to create a dynamic viewing experience that really dominates over many weak or cliche plots of these movies. With such cool viewing angles, many might want to try recording their own epic POV video's, such as zipling over a vast beach, or intense rally racing, but do not want to invest too much as many movies often do. Fortunately, there is a solution to that, and they are hovering mini copters carrying a camera. One of the many copters available is the Iris+. The Iris+ is a quadcopter drone that has a unique feature; with a gps enables android device, the quadcopter will follow you and adjust the camera so that the user will constantly be in the middle of the video, and has 2 axis stabilization so that your video is almost rock solid. Unfortunately, the GoPro cameras will only be compatible with this device, and does not feature any collision detection, so be careful when using the FollowMe feature as this thing costs $750. The user can also control this remotely with a program available for IOS and Windows operating systems. Its battery life is a max of 15-22 minutes, less when carrying the GoPro, and will go back to its original launching point when running out of batteries. To read more about the Iris+, go to the following link: http://www.gizmag.com/3d-robotics-iris-plus-follow-me-drone/33747/

iPhone 6: is bigger better?

Apple was once an extremely innovative company; they created many creative technologies, mainly the first touch based phone with an interesting and simple user interface. Now, with so many new mobile technologies being developed, the technological titan has a hard time retaining its innovation that once defined and dominated the technology market, and often faces with other giants such as Samsung and LG. It seems as if they are no longer distinct from all the competition, frequently upgrading preexisting technology, but never bringing anything new to our current technological society. This is clearly evident in the iPhone 6. The iPhone 6 is obviously the newest phone in Apple's iPhone product line, but is not in stores yet; however, they revealed the numerous "new" features not seen in other iPhones. The iPhone 6 will come in two varients; the iPhone 6, 4.7 inches, and the iPhone 6 Plus, 5.5 inches. A new feature in both iPhones is reachability, which allows the user to access the top of the current display will slide down to the bottom, allowing the user to access top level navigation in one hand. They also feature the new A8 processor, 25% faster than the previous processor with 50% more graphics performance. The camera remains the same 8MP, but can autofocus two times faster and record 1080p, 60fps video or 240fps slo-mo video. The superphones also feature a NFC payment system where you take a picture of your credit card, and, once verified by the Passbook application, you can simply tap the phone with the credit card on the display and the pruchase will instantly be complete. Many of these features are hardly innovative; the bigger screen is to compete with other superphones, the processor is at par with many other superphone processors, reachability is simply a gimmick and hardly improves the iPhone "experience", the camera is nothing spectacular, and its NFC system is already featured from devices that came out a year ago. Needless to say, Apple will die pretty soon, until the millions of Apple fans have given up on their once distinct technological titan. To read in detail about the iPhone 6 reveal, click the following link: http://www.gizmag.com/apple-phone-6-iphone-6-plus-details/33740/ 

Quantum security for everybody

Computers are, as usual, advancing in such a fast pace that most of the previous generation could not catch up to understand the thousands of new features exhibited in these binary based systems. Recently, many computer and software engineers are exploring a new system that will soon replace the binary code and revolutionize the computer industry; this system is quantum computing. As we enter the "quantum" age, the data being processed will dramatically change. Rather than having one predefined state of ones and zeroes, data will exist in a billion of different states, allowing computers to examine and transfer data much faster. Not only will this data make computers execute commands more efficiently, but it will also improve data security, since, with data existing in a variety of states, attempting to "crack the code" would almost be impossible. Quantum security does exist today, has been developed for a couple of years, but only exists as an experiment in some of the most advanced physics laboratories. Now, quantum security is currently being developed for everyday people to create quantum "locks" for private and personal data. The Los Alamos National Library has developed a device that generates random numbers and cryptographic keys through random photon polarization based on quantum mechanics. The device uses random polarized filters that causes the photon to exhibit only one state of motion instead of the typical four. Then the physical state of a photon recorded by the filter is then converted into its associated binary notation, With this system, anyone trying to crack the system will affect the stream of protons and the position it is currently in, allowing the system to detect unauthorized decryption immediately. Furthermore, the technology developed is so cheap that anyone can buy it, meaning that one day this technology will be in every computer system in the world for secure data encryption. With this technology, hacking could be a thing of the past, but that does not mean that hacking the information is impossible. For more information and clarity on how this system works and how it applies concepts of quantum mechanics, click the following link:  http://www.gizmag.com/super-secure-quantum-data-encryption-lanl/33660/