MIT algorithm tells you how to fold any shape imaginable with origami

Why it matters to you

Algorithm may sound like just a fascinating math challenge, but it could be useful for 3D prototyping, too.

When we say that Erik Demaine has spent the best part of the past two decades folding paper into funny shapes, it’s a bit more impressive than it sounds.

In fact, as an 18-year-old Ph.D. student (yes, you read that right!) at the University of Waterloo, Demaine wrote an algorithm which described how a piece of paper could be folded into any imaginable 3D shape. It was an amazingly impressive piece of work, but it also worked a lot better in theory than in practice, since the algorithm resulted in lots of seams that required the paper to fold awkwardly back on itself.

Jump forward to the present day, and Demaine and colleague Tomohiro Tachi are weeks away from presenting a new, improved origami folding algorithm at the Symposium on Computational Geometry. The new algorithm not only manages to fold any 3D shape out of a piece of paper — but does so with the minimal amount of seams.

“We’ve developed a new algorithm for universal origami design,” Demaine, now a professor of Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told Digital Trends. “You specify an arbitrary 3D polyhedron as the shape you want to fold, and it tells you a crease pattern for how to fold it. The origami designs it comes up with seem quite efficient in practice, using a large fraction of the paper to form the desired shape. The designs are also ‘watertight,’ meaning that there are no gaps in the layers that make up the desired surface.”

The computer algorithm starts out by mapping the shape of the intended object onto a flat surface. This involves an immense amount of complexity since pieces which may be touching in the final three-dimensional fold could be nowhere near each other on the flat piece of paper. Just as complex as coming up with the algorithm was then setting out to prove its correctness.

But does this thing have any real-world applications, or is it just an impressive computer science achievement that is big on math, but short on real-life uses? Definitely the former, Demaine said.

“The big impact is on manufacturing: Sheet material is plentiful and relatively cheap, and origami offers a way to use it to manufacture 3D surfaces,” he said. “This can be much faster to prototype than traditional 3D printers, and is also very good for making lightweight structures.”

Between this, NASA’s origami robot, and ingestible origami bots that can perform microsurgery inside you, folding paper is so hot right now!

MIT algorithm tells you how to fold any shape imaginable with origami

Why it matters to you

Algorithm may sound like just a fascinating math challenge, but it could be useful for 3D prototyping, too.

When we say that Erik Demaine has spent the best part of the past two decades folding paper into funny shapes, it’s a bit more impressive than it sounds.

In fact, as an 18-year-old Ph.D. student (yes, you read that right!) at the University of Waterloo, Demaine wrote an algorithm which described how a piece of paper could be folded into any imaginable 3D shape. It was an amazingly impressive piece of work, but it also worked a lot better in theory than in practice, since the algorithm resulted in lots of seams that required the paper to fold awkwardly back on itself.

Jump forward to the present day, and Demaine and colleague Tomohiro Tachi are weeks away from presenting a new, improved origami folding algorithm at the Symposium on Computational Geometry. The new algorithm not only manages to fold any 3D shape out of a piece of paper — but does so with the minimal amount of seams.

“We’ve developed a new algorithm for universal origami design,” Demaine, now a professor of Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told Digital Trends. “You specify an arbitrary 3D polyhedron as the shape you want to fold, and it tells you a crease pattern for how to fold it. The origami designs it comes up with seem quite efficient in practice, using a large fraction of the paper to form the desired shape. The designs are also ‘watertight,’ meaning that there are no gaps in the layers that make up the desired surface.”

The computer algorithm starts out by mapping the shape of the intended object onto a flat surface. This involves an immense amount of complexity since pieces which may be touching in the final three-dimensional fold could be nowhere near each other on the flat piece of paper. Just as complex as coming up with the algorithm was then setting out to prove its correctness.

But does this thing have any real-world applications, or is it just an impressive computer science achievement that is big on math, but short on real-life uses? Definitely the former, Demaine said.

“The big impact is on manufacturing: Sheet material is plentiful and relatively cheap, and origami offers a way to use it to manufacture 3D surfaces,” he said. “This can be much faster to prototype than traditional 3D printers, and is also very good for making lightweight structures.”

Between this, NASA’s origami robot, and ingestible origami bots that can perform microsurgery inside you, folding paper is so hot right now!

Google video-sharing app Uptime now available to all users on iOS

Why it matters to you

You don’t have to watch YouTube videos alone just because there’s no one around you. Just check out Uptime, the iOS video-sharing app from Google.

Update: In the latest version for Uptime, the app is now officially available to all users on iOS and includes a few new features.

If you and your friends all happen to be iPhone users and have been dying to watch a video together from across the country (or around the world), you officially can with Uptime. The app — which first launched in March and required an invite code — is now available for all users, according to TechCrunch.

In this day and age, you’re never really alone, even if there’s no one next to you. Driving home that idea, Google’s Uptime wants to make your video watching experience a more social one. Because who says you have to binge watch The Great British Baking Show all by your lonesome?

The new update also comes equipped with an easier-to-navigate home screen to see what’s on at the moment, Facebook Connect to find your friends, and now features music videos as well.

Developed by Google’s startup incubator Area 120, which was first established last year to encourage Google employees to come up with their own startup ideas, Uptime lets you connect with your friends via YouTube videos. Currently available exclusively for iPhone (we know that’s weird considering it’s … a Google product), the app simply requires you to sign in with your Google account, then find your friends. From there, you’ll be able to watch kitten videos (or whatever else you find on YouTube) together in real time, and provide commentary by way of Facebook Live-esque emojis and written comments as you watch.

We’re sure no one will be surprised to hear that the UI looks much like Snapchat’s, because apparently everyone is looking to borrow from the same source these days. But even so, Uptime certainly serves a different purpose from that of existing social media platforms, allowing users to gather around different screens, together.

The app is free to download for iOS.

Download for iOS

SyncThink uses VR to accurately diagnose concussions in just one minute

Why it matters to you

Smart eye-tracking VR tech promises to take the guesswork out of concussion diagnosis on the sidelines.

Here in 2017, fortunately everyone realizes the severity of concussions, referring to a traumatic head injury that results in the temporary loss of brain function. But while there is plenty of awareness, we are still trying to come up with the best way of diagnosing them when they happen.

From smart mouth guards to brain-testing audio exams, we previously covered a few of the potential solutions. An alternative approach, however, is the one dreamed up by Boston-based neuro-technology and eye-tracking startup SyncThink. Their answer? A patented virtual reality system that promises to be able to recognize concussion in just one minute, while being used in the field.

The idea is simple: Pop the headset on a person suspected of having a concussion and see if they are able to properly perform an eye-tracking test. If not, the cloud-connected analytics platform will alert the user (and anyone else who needs alerting) that a likely head injury has been suffered.

“SyncThink develops revolutionary eye-tracking technology products, now in VR headsets, that give medical professionals objective metrics for visual attention,” Daniel Beeler, chief technical officer of SyncThink, told Digital Trends. “Based on 15 years of research, SyncThink’s first product, Eye-Sync, is a 60-second, objective sideline assessment that uses eye tracking to evaluate for ocular motor impairments and vestibular balance dysfunction – the two most common and serious components of a concussion.”

As a company founded by Dr. Jamshid Ghajar, who also heads the Stanford Concussion and Brain Performance Center, the solution certainly is not lacking in the necessary credentials.

The really exciting bit, of course, is the technology’s supposed objectivity. Concussions can be challenging to diagnose because of the different ways they can manifest. Symptoms can be both vague and varied, ranging from tiredness and poor concentration to severe headaches. An objective tool that can, therefore, take the guesswork out of diagnosis could, therefore, be a potentially literal lifesaver. Already, the company’s tech has been used by top university athletic departments and medical clinics, including Stanford University and Massachusetts General Hospital.

“SyncThink’s preliminary focus is on the sports industry, including working with leading collegiate athletic departments and professional sports organizations,” Beeler said. “Eye-Sync is also used in the clinical setting at hospitals and doctors offices, as well as by the government in many capacities.”

Hopefully, tools like this can help make instant concussion diagnosis a reality.

Top 7 things to know about Google Home in Canada

Google Home is the first smart assistant speaker in Canada, and it’s a big deal. Here’s what you need to know.

Google Home is now available in Canada, and it’s the first voice assistant-powered speaker to make the trip north (despite years of secret Amazon Echo smuggling). Available for $179, the diminutive speaker is terrifically cute and extremely useful, but there are a few differences between it and the U.S. or international versions that you’ll want to know about.

It sounds pretty great

I’ve a Google Home and an illegal Amazon Echo next to one another, and they both sound OK — not great, especially when compared to something like a Sonos Play:1, but pretty good — but I think the Google Home sounds better. It has truer low-end from a nicely-sized passive cavity and a fairly accurate driver for accurate music and voice reproduction.

Given that the Amazon Echo isn’t officially sold in Canada, Google Home’s respectable sound quality is a bonus, but it helps even more when two units are paired together to form multi-room, or intra-room, music parties.

There’s support for Canadian French (so you’re welcome, France!)

The Google Home isn’t sold in France just yet, so support for Canadian French — a mandate of any product sold in Canada — meant that French, with its quirky Quebecois variances, is now supported by the smart speaker.

More importantly, it means that French Canadians can communicate with the assistant in their native tongue, while bilingual Canadians can go back and forth between the two. Incroyable!

It’s not just an American thing

Google hasn’t just slapped a second language on Home and called it a product; the company has added a number of Canadian-specific news sources that everyone can enjoy. Those include:

• CBC
• Radio Canada
• Global News
• Sportsnet
• TC Media (Metro)
• The Weather Network
• MétéoMédia

These sources can be added to a daily news roundup when selecting English (Canada) or French (Canada) in the language settings of the Google Home app and, thankfully, can be combined with U.S. and UK sources to create a diverse set of news sources, if desired.

There’s no multi-user support just yet

Just as the U.S. has received one of the most important Home updates yet, the ability for multiple users to interact with a single speaker with different results based on voice signature, Canadians have been told that feature won’t be coming for some time. It’s a blow to the out-of-box experience, since multi-user means that six people can get personalized readouts from Google Assistant on daily routines, music playlists, commute times, calendars, and more.

There’s no word on when multi-user support will come to Canada, but it should be relatively soon given the imminent release of the feature in the UK.

It’s not just for asking questions

Google Assistant knows a lot of things — it’s connected to Google, you know — but Home can also connect to smart devices like Philips Hue lights, Nest thermostats (and soon Nest Cams) and Chromecasts. I have a bunch of lights in my office that I leave on all the time now, only to tell Google to turn them off before bed. It’s pretty damn convenient.

The list of supported smart home products is growing every day, and the ability to connect a IFTTT account to Home means that even products that aren’t supported can be made to work with certain phrases.

It’s getting better all the time

Like Google’s Pixel smartphones, or its Chromebook laptops, the company is pretty good at iterating on and improving software experiences, and despite not having a screen, Google Home is no exception.

Since it was released, Google has added a handful of new supported products and services, such as LIFX bulbs and Rachio sprinklers (!!) to the list.

There will also soon be bases — the bottom of Google Home is removable — so you can accessorize your speaker with different colors.

It’s available in a lot of places around the country

Google Home is getting a pretty wide release in Canada, including the Google Store, Bell, Best Buy, Fido, Indigo, London Drugs, Rogers, Staples, The Source, Telus, Visions, and Walmart.

That’s a lot of places to pick up the new unit, but it’s not surprising: this is a product perfectly suited for the tech-obsessed Canadian market, especially since Echo doesn’t exist here and Google wants to get ahead of Amazon (and later this year, Apple) in this very lucrative space.

Pick it up for $179 and enjoy talking to your appliances. It’s really fun!

Google Hardware

• Google Wifi review
• Google Home review
• Everything you need to know about the Chromecast Ultra
• Chromecast vs Chromecast Ultra: Which should you buy?

Google Wifi:

Google
Amazon

Google Home:

Google
Best Buy

Chromecast Ultra:

Google
Best Buy

Facebook won’t launch its original TV shows until later this summer

We’re learning more details about Facebook’s original TV plans.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Facebook will launch its own original series later this summer, with some of them being full-fledged cable TV productions. The 30-minute episodes will even have adverts. The company is reportedly focusing on sitcom programming as well as short-form content from partners like BuzzFeed. Facebook is looking to target an age range of 13 to 34.

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It may even do its own take on reality TV programming, kind of the like The Bachelor, as well as melodramas and comedy. However, it’s staying clear of political dramas, news, or anything with nudity and foul language. Refinery29’s Strangers, which debuted at Sundance in January, as well as MTV’s Loosely Exactly Nicole will be among the first debut shows on the platform.

In a statement to the media, Facebook said it plans to support partners and creators on all kinds of shows – from sports to comedy to reality to gaming. It’s focused on episodic shows, too. Keep in mind in May it was revealed that Facebook was in the middle of developing about two dozen shows, with plans to start premiering them in mid-June, but obviously that hasn’t happened.

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Some of the shows will even be longer, primetime-level shows like House of Cards on Netflix. As for the smaller, short-form shows, they’ll be up to 10-minutes long each, and will be added to a revamped video tab daily. There will even be a virtual reality dating show from Conde Nast. Other shows may feature A-list celebrities, too, with one major star already contracted in a deal.

These new shows will presumably also be viewable through Facebook’s video app for the Apple TV and other set-top boxes. In February, The Wall Street Journal said Facebook is developing a “video-centric app” for set-top boxes, including the Apple TV, so it can put video content from the social network on screens in the living room.

Lyft tries to make your rides faster with suggested pickup spots

In order to make pickups more efficient and convenient, Lyft has begun offering pickup suggestions. Any time the app spots a slight change in pickup location that would save a rider time, such as walking to the nearest corner or heading towards a main street, it will suggest an update. The app will also let the rider know exactly how many minutes the adjustment will save them and the rider can choose to move to the new location or stick with the original pickup spot.

This update to the app follows two last year that let Lyft riders change a pickup location after a ride was requested as well as pinpoint exactly where they wanted to be picked up and dropped off. An update in May allowed riders to begin scheduling a pickup up to seven days in advance. But the company is a little slow to offer the pickup suggestion option because it’s something that Uber started working on in 2015.

Lyft’s new service should make pickups more efficient for both rider and driver and it’s being rolled out everywhere Lyft is available, starting today. Just make sure to update your app.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Lyft

Apple TV’s new firmware is available for adventurous watchers

While Apple took time to talk about updates to its macOS, iOS and watchOS products onstage at WWDC this year, it didn’t spend much time on the Apple TV. The only mention of Apple’s favorite “hobby” was the addition of Amazon Prime Video to the Apple TV lineup. But today, in addition to the iOS 11 public beta, Apple has also released the beta for tvOS.

It’s fairly simple to get the beta on your own Apple TV, though we don’t recommend it. We’re still sore from last September when the latest iOS 10 beta bricked our iPhone. Still, if you’re super curious and don’t care if your Apple TV stops working, you can sign into the Apple Beta Software Program with your Apple ID on your Apple TV, enable the Public Beta Updates option, then let the box download and install the latest beta tvOS. If you want to send feedback to Apple, you’ll also need the iOS 11 public beta for your iPhone. But seriously, don’t do it unless you’re willing to brick the thing.

Source: Apple

Microsoft wants OneNote to be the go-to classroom app

Microsoft has been quietly focusing on the education market with its OneNote app for some time now. It’s offered free Office 365 subscriptions for students, an integrated math tutor and a classroom-centric add-on called OneNote Class Notebook. The company has just updated OneNote with even more educational extras, including improvements to Notebook, new learning tools and some fun new stickers that teachers and students can use to spice up their collaborations.

New updates, new features, new STICKERS! Check out all the latest from #OneNote: https://t.co/TGmQboVOj8 #edtech pic.twitter.com/f4yTQGkEEA

— OneNote Education (@OneNoteEDU) June 26, 2017

The update includes improvements for both teachers and students. OneNote Class Notebook will now connect with even more learning module systems (LMS), including Edsby, Schoology, and Skooler, with better integration with the respective assignment and grading tools. The Learning Tools add-in now has improved Syllables for English and has added four new languages: French, German, Italian and Spanish. The team has also rolled out a new Researcher tool, available for Office 365 subscribers as well as Word on Windows and Mac. Students and teachers can also save a copy of their notebooks to their personal OneDrive to make it easier to move schools or classes. Stickers can make OneNote a lot more fun, and OneNote now has two new packs, called Silly Supplies and Cacti Friends.

Ultimately, all of these functional and cosmetic improvements will help both kids and teachers in their digital classrooms. It’s hard not to also see it as a way to create a whole generation of future adults who see OneNote as an indispensable part of their lives, which is a great way to compete with the other options out there like Evernote and Bear.

Source: Microsoft Blog

Twitter on Android automatically enters ‘night mode’ after dark

Twitter added a “night mode” option almost a year ago that ditched a big white background for big dark background so users could nocturnally scroll without keeping themselves awake. But the only thing better than manually switching to the eye-saving light is having your phone do it for you. The latest version of the Android Twitter app, 7.2, automatically turns “night mode” on after dark.

You can still set it to manual toggle, but if you switch it to automatic control, the app will turn “night mode” on at sunset and off at sunrise. Tragically, it seems that the dark theme has been disabled, but such is the cost of progress. The feature is live on Android as of the Twitter app’s version 7.2, released today, but that edition hasn’t reached iOS yet.

Via: 9to5Google

Source: Twitter (Play Store)