MIT breakthrough may bring night vision to smartphone cameras
Ever wonder why your smartphone doesn’t have night vision? I mean, it can’t be that advanced of a technology, right? They used night vision goggles in World War II, for crying out loud. My phone can recognize my face and read my fingerprint. Why no night vision?
See also: Nexus 6P camera glass may spontaneously crack
Well it turns out that even though night vision isn’t all that technically difficult, making it cheap and small is a bit of a hassle. The problem is cooling.
Normal cameras behave very similarly to the human eye in that they detect light bouncing off of objects. If there’s no light source, they can’t see anything. However, night vision devices work differently. They detect infrared light that radiates off all warm bodies.
The problem is that the sensors that detect this heat have to be kept really cool. Otherwise their view of the world would be blotted out by all the infrared noise of the devices containing them. Historically this has been done with a system of refrigerants, much like a liquid-cooled computer. That kind of technology is bulky and cumbersome, and it can get expensive.
However, an MIT team has come at the problem in a different way. For a heat sensor, they’ve used atom-thin sheets of honeycomb-arrayed carbon molecules. This material, called graphene, is already used in a lot of night vision devices. It’s stronger than steel, transparent, and flexible. The research team solved the overheating process by using additional strips of graphene to suspend the sensor over a pocket of air. This keeps the sensor cool enough to detect objects at range without needing refrigerants.
This could be a huge deal for a lot of technologies. Consider how gadgets that recognize things like hand gestures and faces currently work. They rely on normal cameras to provide them with visible light. From that flood of information, programs must be able to recognize the shape of a human hand from background images before it even begins interpreting movement. Given infrared information, the hand would stand out starkly from the cooler background.
Although the team was able to get their sensor to detect a hand at range and a heated MIT logo, the resolution of this technology remains pretty grainy. They’re hoping increase the definition and bring this capability to devices like cell phones and vehicles in the near future.
T-Mobile starts rolling out much-needed maintenance update for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge
T-Mobile has been pretty much on the ball at rolling out maintenance updates this year in an effort to keep its customers devices running smoothly, and now it’s pushing out another for both carrier-branded variants of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge.
Unfortunately, the upgrade won’t bring Marshmallow to the handsets just yet, but it does transport several much-needed bug fixes aimed at improving performance, battery life, call stability, RAM management and security.
The full changelog can be seen below:
- Overall device performance has been improved.
- Battery life has been optimized.
- The stability of Call has been improved.
- The security of your device has been improved.
- Optimized closing unused applications.
- Removed new application. – Milk Video
- After updating, you will not be able to downgrade to the old software because of updates to the security policy.
To see if the update is ready for your device head into Settings, scroll to the bottom and tap on “About Device”, hit “System Updates”, then select “Check for updates”. Alternatively, you can wait until you receive a push notification prompting you to install the upgrade.
Via: TmoNews
Come comment on this article: T-Mobile starts rolling out much-needed maintenance update for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge
Google Fit update brings a personal trainer to your wrist
For the first time in seven months, Google has updated its official Fit application in the Play Store. The upgrade brings a new Fit Challenge feature to Android Wear, an updated watch face and a plethora of bug fixes.
Fit Challenge furnishes users with the facility to select a workout from three activities — push-up, sit-up or squat. It then displays a rather detailed demonstration on how to carry out the exercise safely. Once it’s finished, it will prompt you to initiate your session. From here, the app will accurately track all your reps and sync them to the main activity section of Google Fit.
A real-time record of both your reps and duration can now also been seen on the latest digital watch face. Users will be able to scroll through records to see how their performance has improved over a designated period of time.
To install the update on your Android-powered smartphone or tablet, simply open up the Play Store, toggle the hamburger menu by swiping in from the left-hand side of the screen, select ‘My Apps’ and click on ‘Google Fit’, then tap the update button. Alternatively, you can hit the link below to initiate the download on your smartphone from the Web.
Come comment on this article: Google Fit update brings a personal trainer to your wrist
Sony’s crowdfunded e-paper watch is coming to Japanese stores
Sony’s one-of-a-kind FES Watch is about to become more than a clever crowdfunded idea. The mostly e-paper timepiece is going on sale in Tokyo at Omotesando’s MoMA Design Store on November 21st, when it will cost you a not-completely-unreasonable ¥29,700 ($241). It’ll reach the city’s Isetan boutique more than a week later, on December 1st. There’s no mention of retail launches elsewhere in the world, but something tells us that you’ll have to order it online (either through Sony’s First Flight or the MoMA store) if you want any hope of strapping on this customizable wristwear outside of Japan.
Via: SlashGear
Source: Sony (translated)
Twitch private messages make their way to mobile
Twitch introduced its private messaging, dubbed Whisper, almost six months ago and now the system is rolling out to mobile. Like normal, a small number of Android users will get the functionality first and Twitch says that once its gathered enough feedback for a full deployment, the feature will hit iOS. If you get the notification to update the app, you’re in; otherwise there’s nothing else you have to do. The live-streaming service announced some big changes to its video-on-demand section at TwitchCon this year and those are starting to come to fruition, as well. Support for thumbnail editing is live for everyone. Sadly, you can’t upload your own images though. Instead, Twitch will auto-generate a quartet of thumbnails for any past broadcasts — generous! Twitch says that further customization options are coming down the pike. Should you need something to hold you over until then, well, there are always Bob Ross Mondays.
Source: Twitch blog (1), (2)
Xbox One update brings back Xbox 360’s universal controller settings
You don’t need to drop $150 on the Xbox One Elite controller to get access to one of its most prominent features: remapping the gamepad’s buttons. Tucked away inside the Xbox One’s new Windows 10-flavored menus is the app for changing what buttons do what on your standard Xbox One controller as well. Perhaps most notably? You can permanently invert the Y-axis (controlled with the right analog stick by default) to make aiming and moving the camera in third-person and first-person games, respectively, more to your liking. That feature is something that the Xbox 360 had at launch with its “game defaults” options that appeared during initial setup for the system. In terms of how the app works from the Elite to the vanilla controller, it’s pretty similar aside from not being able to adjust thumbstick and trigger sensitivity. You’ll find the new addition under Settings > Ease of Access > Button Mapping.
Source: Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb
FAA: No, you won’t need to pay someone to register your drone
You may not like the idea of having to register your drone to fly it in the US, but you likely won’t need to pay someone to handle the paperwork. The Federal Aviation Administration is telling would-be flyers to think twice before signing up with any company that promises to register your drone for a fee. You can “probably” do it yourself whenever the program kicks in, the FAA says, and the process won’t be much different than registering products with their manufacturers. In short, anyone asking for your money right now is an opportunist — they’re hoping that your aversion to filling out forms overcomes your rational side.
Source: FAA
Samsung CEOs see salaries dropping due to struggling sales
Samsung’s poor sales have been affecting more than just the company’s reputation. The Korean giant has had to close down main stores and now we are finding out even the CEOs are suffering… if you can really call earning millions suffering. The latest report from the Korea Herald states all three co-CEOs have seen a drop in their annual income. They still earn a fortune (by our definition), but it’s significantly less compared to the previous year.
Sammy’s regulatory filing showcases the following information:
- CEO Kwon Oh-hyun received 3.82 billion won (about $3.25 million USD), compared to 6.25 billion won in 2014.
- CEO Yoo Boo-keun received 2.34 billion won, compared to 3.61 won in 2014.
- CEO Shin Jong-kyun received 2.28 billion won, compared to 12.03 billion won in 2014.
It’s safe to say these guys are not exactly hurting either. Maybe instead of a Ferrari they will get a Corvette or something. Regardless, those are some significant drops… especially the last one. But the main thing to keep in mind here is that their actual salaries stayed nearly the same. It was the diminishing bonuses that affected their income so much, and those are definitely based on the company’s performance.
Samsung’s efforts have definitely been noticed this year. The company finally gave in and released a smartphone that didn’t feel like a toy (Samsung Galaxy S6), which is important in a market where all manufacturers are focusing on build quality. This was likely one of the main reasons we saw their sales went up (even if that didn’t help much).
I say they have a good chance at coming out of this hole. The company is, after all, one of the top dogs in the market. They seem to be working on a winning equation with their new devices. Not only are phones better built, but they are more interestingly made, with some having those edged displays some of you fell in love with.
Let’s just wait and see how things work out in the near future. Our main concern isn’t tracking how much richer CEOs are, but those numbers are a direct representation of how a company is doing. What do you think? Is it time for Samsung to leave the throne? Do you want Samsung to stay on top? Hit the comments to share your thoughts!
First Apple Pencil Orders in the U.S. Now ‘Preparing for Shipment’
Though the iPad Pro has been widely available in Apple retail stores since its launch last Wednesday, supplies of the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard have been much more limited. At launch, there were no Apple Pencils or Smart Keyboards available for purchase in the U.S. with in-store pickup, and the first online orders listed delivery dates of November 19 at the earliest, more than a week after the iPad Pro became available.
As of today, pre-order customers with some of the earliest upcoming estimated delivery dates are seeing some movement with their orders, receiving notifications that their Apple Pencils are now preparing for shipment. MacRumors reader Jose‘s Apple Pencil is preparing to ship with an estimated delivery date of November 20 to November 24, and there are a few other reports of Apple Pencil shipment changes on Twitter.
With orders already preparing for shipment, it’s likely customers who managed to pre-order right around midnight on November 11 will start receiving their shipments later this week. A few customers in the United Kingdom have already received their Apple Pencil orders.
Customers who order an Apple Pencil online right now will not be able to receive the device until mid-to-late December, and the same goes for the Apple Keyboard, which is equally scarce. After the iPad Pro’s midnight launch, delivery estimates for the Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard quickly slipped from late November into December.
Some Apple retail stores around the country have been receiving small Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard shipments on a daily basis, but as Apple is not allowing in-store pickup for the Apple Pencil, it’s not possible to use Apple’s website or app to determine which stores have stock. Instead, customers hoping to get an Apple Pencil before December are having to visit their local Apple Stores on a daily basis hoping to get lucky with shipment timing.
The Apple Pencil, which enables pressure sensitive drawing on the iPad Pro, retails for $99. The Smart Keyboard is priced at $169.
Discuss this article in our forums
You get what you pay for with Walmart’s $10 Android phone
Walmart is known for its heavily discounted goods, and in another display of price-slashing has just announced that it will sell two Android smartphones for $10 each. Prior to this offer, the cheapest smartphone on the market was the $35 Firefox OS phone. Wondering what you get for $10? Well, not a whole lot. Both TracFone LG handsets (the Sunrise L15G and Lucky LG16) offer low-grade specs and old software, running Android 4.4 KitKat, the version released two years ago. However for that price, you shouldn’t expect them to run Marshmallow. You also get WiFi, but no 4G and no front-facing camera which means it’s going to be a lot harder to take a selfie. On the plus side, the phones support a microSD card which means you can ramp up the measly 4GB of storage. With all that said, there’s no clear difference between the two models as all the specs and software are the same. However, if you want a bare-bones yet functional smartphone for less than the price of dinner, we’re sure you know where to find a Walmart.
[Image credit: LG]
Source: Ars Technica
AIVAnet 