Honor 7X vs. Moto E4 Plus: Big-screen budget battle

Honor, a subsidiary of Huawei, focuses on mid-range and budget smartphones for the younger generation. The devices often look good, packing great selfie cameras and multimedia features — and that’s exactly what we’ve seen in our Honor 7X review. With an enormous HD display that measures almost 6-inches, you get a lot of phone for your money. But how does it weigh up against the current king of the budget devices, the Moto E4 Plus?

Specs

Honor 7X

Moto E4 Plus

Size
156.5 x 75.3 x 7.6mm (6.18 x 2.96 x 0.30 inches)
155 x 77.5 x 9.6mm (6.10 x 3.05 x 0.38 inches)
Weight
165 grams (5.82 ounces)
181 grams (6.38 ounces)
Screen
5.93-inch IPS LCD display
5.5-inch IPS LCD display
Resolution
2,160 x 1,080 pixels (407 pixels-per-inch)
1,280 x 720 pixel (267 pixels-per-inch)
OS
EMUI 5.1 (over Android 7.1 Nougat)
Android 7.1 Nougat
Storage
32GB for U.S., 64GB for international
16GB, 32GB
MicroSD card slot
Yes, up to 256GB
Yes, up to 128GB
NFC support
No
No
Processor
HiSilicon Kirin 659
Qualcomm Snapdragon 427
RAM
3GB for U.S., 4GB for international
2GB
Connectivity
GSM / LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
GSM / CDMA / HSPA / LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Camera
Dual sensor 16MP & 2MP rear, 8MP front
13MP rear, 5MP front
Video
1080p@30fps
1080p@30fps
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 4.1
Bluetooth 4.1
Audio
Headphone jack
Headphone jack
Fingerprint sensor
Yes
Yes
Other sensors
Accelerometer, proximity, compass
Accelerometer, proximity, compass
Water resistant
No
No
Battery
3,340mAh
5,000mAh
Charging port
MicroUSB
MicroUSB
Marketplace
Google Play Store
Google Play Store
Colors
Black, Blue, Gold, Red
Iron Gray, Fine Gold
Availability
HiHonor

Amazon, Best Buy, Motorola, Verizon

Price
$200
$180
DT review
4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5 stars

It’s always a good idea to temper expectations where budget phones are concerned; you’re not going to get the best performance in the world. But that doesn’t mean either of these phones are processing power slouches. The Moto E4 Plus is equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 427 chip, and though this isn’t the most powerful chip, it consistently exceeded our expectations in our Moto E4 Plus review, providing smooth and snappy performance.

But can it can stand up to the Kirin 659 processor in the Honor 7X? Our benchmark scores show the Honor 7X obliterates the Moto E4 here, and we’ve generally seen good performance from Honor’s phone.

The Honor 7X also has the edge in RAM, with 3GB in the U.S. model and 4GB for the international variant, both exceeding the 2GB offered on the Moto E4 Plus. While RAM isn’t the be-all and end-all for dictating phone performance, it does help with multi-tasking, running lots of apps at once, and switching between active apps. Storage options offer a similar story, with the Honor 7X offering twice the available base storage than the Moto E4 Plus. Both phones have MicroSD storage expansion.

The Honor 7X will offer you better performance, and it takes the win here.

Winner: Honor 7X

Design and display

Impressive for budget phones, both the Honor 7X and the Moto E4 Plus come with all-metal bodies that feel great in the hand. However, that’s pretty much where the similarities end.

We’ll start with the displays. As a larger version of the Moto E4, the Moto E4 Plus rocks a large 5.5-inch IPS LCD display, running a 1,280 x 720 resolution. It’s a decent screen, but with a pixels-per-inch (ppi) measurement of only 267 you’re not getting the sharpest display. The Honor 7X’s screen is IPS LCD as well, but the screen is a lot sharper thanks to the 2,160 x 1,080 pixel resolution (407 pixels-per-inch).

The Honor 7X also follows 2017’s biggest trend: The bezel-less design. Honor has somehow crammed a massive 5.93-inch HD display into a phone slightly larger than the 5.5-inch E4 Plus. The Moto E4 Plus has chunky bezels on the front, and it’s thick. It’s not a bad look, but it is a tad dated next to the svelte and skimpy bezel-ed Honor 7X.

In terms of physical durability, you’re probably going to withstand the same sort of damage with each phone. Neither have any water resistance, and there’s glass protecting the screen. It is worth pointing out the larger screen on the Honor 7X means it has a larger amount of glass to smash, even if it is Gorilla Glass. Honor said its phone is a little more durable, though, because of its airbag-style internal design. The company dropped the phone in front of us a few times and it survived without a scratch. It’s not shock-proof, but it certainly helps.

The Honor 7X wins again this round. It’s looks gorgeous, has a bigger, higher resolution screen, and it may edge out over the Moto E4 Plus in terms of durability.

Winner: Honor 7X

Camera

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

There’s not a huge amount to say about the camera on the Moto E4 Plus. It’s a rear-mounted 13-megapixel camera that takes hit-or-miss photos. It’s not the most reliable camera. The front 5-megapixel camera is serviceable, and should provide you with some decent selfies. It’s not bad for a budget snapper, but you shouldn’t expect too much of it.

The cameras on the Honor 7X deserve a little more time. There’s two of them on the rear: A 16-megapixel lens sits next to a 2-megapixel lens, giving the Honor 7X the ability to create “bokeh” (blur) shots you see in professional photography, like the iPhone X’s Portrait Mode. The pictures are pretty good, though it does suffer in poorer lighting. The front houses an 8-megapixel camera, and it takes solid selfies with live filters you can apply to your face and other fun effects.

We’ve found the photos from the Honor 7X to be better, and it’s overall a more reliable smartphone camera. It takes the win here.

Winner: Honor 7X

Battery life and charging

Adam Ismail/Digital Trends

The Honor 7X comes with a respectably-sized 3,340mAh battery. That should be enough to take you through a day, maybe a day-and-a-half with Huawei’s strict power management settings. That’s good for a smartphone, and you likely won’t be disappointed with the battery’s lifespan.

The Moto E4 Plus easily blows it out of the water. It packs an enormous 5,000mAh battery — which is why it’s so thick — and it excelled at our review’s battery tests. After a day of heavy streaming, YouTube videos, and constant Bluetooth, we only managed to knock 20-percent off the battery by the end of the day. After 36 hours off the charger, the battery still had just over 50-percent left.

The Moto E4 Plus’s battery is staggeringly good. It takes this category easily.

Winner: Moto E4 Plus

Software

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Motorola’s Moto E4 Plus software is fairly close to stock Android. There are a few quality-of-life additions, such as Moto Display, which fades notifications in and out of the lockscreen, and also lights up when the phone is picked up. The bad news is the E4 Plus isn’t running Android 8.0 Oreo — it runs Android 7.1 Nougat, last year’s version of Android — and there’s been no word as to whether it will be getting an update either.

The Honor 7X is similarly burdened with an older operating system, running Android 7.1 with Huawei’s EMUI 5.1 over the top. This device is far more likely to receive an EMUI 8/Android 8.0 Oreo update from Huawei, though when that will be is questionable. It’s far from stock Android, and you’ll be disappointed if that’s what you want. EMUI 5.1 is an improved and simpler version of the EMUI interface, but EMUI 8 is better and we can’t wait for the Honor 7X to receive it.

If you’re a fan of the uncluttered, stock Android experience, then you’ll find yourself drawn to the Moto E4 Plus. If you don’t really care about the interface much, then you’ll probably find the Honor 7X the richer of the two.

Winner: Tie

Price and availability

Adam Ismail/Digital Trends

The Moto E4 Plus is out now, with prices starting from $180, with the extra storage available for an additional $20. It’s available from Verizon for a bargain $130, but you won’t be able to take that to any GSM carriers like AT&T or T-Mobile.

The Honor 7X will be launching on December 15, with prices starting from $200. There’s no word on whether any U.S. carriers will be selling this device yet, though it does bear mentioning the Honor 7X — like many Huawei or Honor phones — does not work on Verizon or Sprint.

We have to give this round to the Honor 7X. For $200 you could get the Moto E4 Plus with 32GB of storage, or you could get the Honor 7X with the same amount of storage. Despite the lack of support for Sprint or Verizon, the Honor 7X represents pure value for money.

Winner: Honor 7X

Overall winner: Honor 7X

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

The Honor 7X is one of the nicest looking budget phones we’ve seen in a long time. The screen-heavy look of a bezel-less phone is very welcome in a market that often consists of bulky and ugly phones. It helps the Honor 7X has the power to back its looks up, with processing power and memory in spades.

That’s not to say the Moto E4 Plus doesn’t have its areas where it shines. Despite losing out in performance and camera, its battery life is phenomenal. If you need a phone that lasts and don’t care too much about style, then the Moto E4 Plus is the phone for your needs. Still, the Honor 7X is a well-rounded smartphone.

If you’ve not been excited by either of these phones, but you’re still shopping for a cheaper phone, check out our list of the best cheap phones.

Editors’ Recommendations

• The best cheap phones you can buy
• HTC U11 Life vs. Moto X4: Who rules the midrange smartphone market?
• HTC U11 Life review
• Honor 7X review
• LG X Venture review

This app will track disease-carrying mosquitoes by listening to their buzz

Our smartphones are pretty darn good at recognizing our voices and the contents of what we say. Could they also be good at recognizing the sounds of different mosquitoes? Absolutely, suggest researchers from the University of Oxford. With the goal of helping identify the select mosquito breeds responsible for spreading diseases like malaria, they developed a machine-learning algorithm and app that can identify the acoustic signature of different mosquito species, and categorize them accordingly.

“We have developed a set of algorithms that go some way toward detecting the presence of mosquitos by ‘listening’ to the sound of their wingbeat,” Dr. Davide Zilli, one of the researchers on the project, told Digital Trends. “On top of this, we have developed several prototype sensors, in particular, an Android app designed to run on budget smartphones. The smartphone prototype app allows us to make mosquito recordings and upload them to our servers, where we can analyze them further and use them in the ongoing training process in our algorithm development. Collecting these recordings also goes towards another goal of the project: A database of free-flying species-specific mosquito recordings that will be made openly and freely available.”

At present, the tool developed by the team can accurately identify the Anopheles species of mosquito, responsible for spreading malaria, around 72 percent of the time. Going forward, the team hopes to extend that accuracy to cover all 3,600 different mosquito species in existence — a task that requires high-quality sound recordings for them to train their system on. To help with this, the researchers are launching a citizen science project on the Zooniverse platform to help process the raw data and label it correctly.

“This is very time-consuming and we hope to use Zooniverse volunteers to help us with this classification,” Dr. Marianne Sinka, a member of the team from the department of zoology at Oxford, told us. “These labeled data are then used to directly train the algorithm to detect mosquitoes within a variety of background environments. We would also hope to use citizen science to help with first level curation of incoming recordings when the app becomes available to the wider public.”

Additional researchers on the work included Dr. Yunpeng Li, a postdoctoral researcher in machine learning, and others. A paper describing the research, “Mosquito Detection with Low-Cost Smartphones: Data Acquisition for Malaria Research,” can be read here.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Satellite data from NASA could be the key to predicting malaria outbreaks
• Robotics startup could fight Zika by dumping mosquitoes from a drone
• Smart sensors will make sure you lift with your knees bent and back straight
• Tell me where it hurts: MIT app diagnoses car issues by listening, analyzing sounds
• Tweet-analyzing algorithm can detect depression sooner than a human doctor

This app will track disease-carrying mosquitoes by listening to their buzz

Our smartphones are pretty darn good at recognizing our voices and the contents of what we say. Could they also be good at recognizing the sounds of different mosquitoes? Absolutely, suggest researchers from the University of Oxford. With the goal of helping identify the select mosquito breeds responsible for spreading diseases like malaria, they developed a machine-learning algorithm and app that can identify the acoustic signature of different mosquito species, and categorize them accordingly.

“We have developed a set of algorithms that go some way toward detecting the presence of mosquitos by ‘listening’ to the sound of their wingbeat,” Dr. Davide Zilli, one of the researchers on the project, told Digital Trends. “On top of this, we have developed several prototype sensors, in particular, an Android app designed to run on budget smartphones. The smartphone prototype app allows us to make mosquito recordings and upload them to our servers, where we can analyze them further and use them in the ongoing training process in our algorithm development. Collecting these recordings also goes towards another goal of the project: A database of free-flying species-specific mosquito recordings that will be made openly and freely available.”

At present, the tool developed by the team can accurately identify the Anopheles species of mosquito, responsible for spreading malaria, around 72 percent of the time. Going forward, the team hopes to extend that accuracy to cover all 3,600 different mosquito species in existence — a task that requires high-quality sound recordings for them to train their system on. To help with this, the researchers are launching a citizen science project on the Zooniverse platform to help process the raw data and label it correctly.

“This is very time-consuming and we hope to use Zooniverse volunteers to help us with this classification,” Dr. Marianne Sinka, a member of the team from the department of zoology at Oxford, told us. “These labeled data are then used to directly train the algorithm to detect mosquitoes within a variety of background environments. We would also hope to use citizen science to help with first level curation of incoming recordings when the app becomes available to the wider public.”

Additional researchers on the work included Dr. Yunpeng Li, a postdoctoral researcher in machine learning, and others. A paper describing the research, “Mosquito Detection with Low-Cost Smartphones: Data Acquisition for Malaria Research,” can be read here.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Satellite data from NASA could be the key to predicting malaria outbreaks
• Robotics startup could fight Zika by dumping mosquitoes from a drone
• Smart sensors will make sure you lift with your knees bent and back straight
• Tell me where it hurts: MIT app diagnoses car issues by listening, analyzing sounds
• Tweet-analyzing algorithm can detect depression sooner than a human doctor

10 things you could buy with $200,000 instead of the new Lamborghini Urus

After months of anticipation, luxury automobile manufacturer Lamborghini finally unveiled the Urus SUV. Packed with the company’s first production turbocharged engine — a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8, 650 horsepower, and 627 pound-feet of torque the Lamborghini Urus is nothing short of an automotive monster, but all of this engineering, of course, comes at a cost — $200,000, to be exact. This ungodly sum of cash got us to thinking, instead of buying this big car how could one just as easily, irrationally, and conspicuously blow this much cash? Here are the most investment- savvy ways to burn nearly a quarter of a million clams. Period.

125 Spike the Beetle original pieces of art

Spike the Stag beetle made our list of best pets of Instagram for his general charm, ornate tea parties, and, of course, his penchant for marker-on-canvas original creations. Spike’s original magnum opus auctioned earlier this year and sold on eBay for nearly $1,600. Spike’s next piece will be sold in the coming months with 20 percent of the proceeds going to People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES).

Two of those Cheetos shaped like Harambe

Harambe stole our hearts in 2016 and while his soul has departed he will live on forever in our hearts and of course our shared cultural meme lore. Anyway, someone found a Cheeto that kind of looks like Harambe and another human being paid nearly $100,000 for said cheese-dust thing. More than a year later it’s still too soon. It will always be… too soon. RIP, big guy.

Diversify your portfolio with seven Virgin Mary Grilled Cheeses

From grilled cheese to tree trunks, and even leftover french toast, in true omnipresent fashion, the Holy Ghost and all of its squad just has a knack for showing up when we least expect it. Nonetheless, after carrying around the 10-year old grilled cheese bearing an uncanny likeness to the Virgin Mary scorched on its surface, Dia Dusyer of, you guessed it, Florida decided it was time to cash-in on this pareidolia prize. Dusyer claims over the course of the 10 years she personally oversaw this sandwich, it never once went moldy — a true testament to its divinity and also the shelf-life of Velvetta infused breads. Eventually, the slightly nibbled snack went to auction fetching $28,000 on eBay. This sandwich should match or pass the 10-year Treasury bond projections. Remember, some people once laughed at the idea of BitCoin. You don’t want to be on the wrong side of history, my friends. The time to invest is now.

Buy a ‘new to you’ liver on the black market

For some, the old adage “my body is my temple” holds true, however, for the vast majority of humans, their bodies merely exist as their temporary trashcan. After decades of Michelob and Cup Noodles, things can often go awry internally but in true capitalist spirit, if there’s demand for a product, there is a supply. The black market organ-trafficking business has never been better and apparently based at least on this infographic, you or a dying loved one should be able to score a new-ish liver for a cool $157,000. Based on those estimates, you could go ahead and buy a spare set of eyeballs while you’re at it with enough broccoli left to throw in a spleen for good measure. Go ham, folks.

133 2009 Kia Rios

Instagram/Jen

Not unlike the new Lambo SUV, the Kia Rios will get you from point A to point B via four wheels. While 200,000 stacks guarantee you just a single Lambo, that same cash could allow you to theoretically go more than four months without every driving the same Kia Rios twice. Your move, Birdman.

This suspect island

Most of us can only dream about the prospect of owning our own exotic tropical island, and for just $200,000 you probably have to keep dreaming. However, you can settle on this econo option situated just off of Maine’s southeastern coast in the oft-blustery Atlantic. Based on current projections, you should have at least a couple hundred years before the oceans rise above the craggy shores.

A couple of these Killer Whale Submarines

Sure, the new Lambo SUV can fly from 0 to 60 in under four seconds, but can it go underwater? Nah. In swims a pair of Schlemmer’s completely unnecessary Killer Whale submarines. Even after purchasing a pair of these bad boys, you should have about $20,000 left to even potentially literally burn in a dumpster.

134,228 Doritos Locos Tacos

If you hate yourself, you could always just spend the rest of your fleeting days Livin’ la Vida Loca, cramming sheer tons of Doritos Locos Tacos into your skull. Fork and knife types could conversely opt for 55,710 Mexican Pizzas instead. You do you.

Fulfill your childhood dream of owning a Subway franchise

Who hasn’t dreamed of owning their very own corporate delicatessen? That said, if the Jared Fogle scandal proved anything, Subway can weather even the most central of PR storms and remain both economically viable and nutritionally void. You will probably never top this sick location in Big Merino at Goulburn, Australia, so temper your expectations in advance.

Just Venmo me directly

I’ll personally see to it that the money makes it to a good cause or something. I’ll just be posted at the “OMG Kittens” slots on hold with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America waiting for the funds to clear. Scouts honor. Let’s change the world.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Like a fighting bull, the Lamborghini Urus is part beauty, part beast
• Forza 7 beginners guide: Rule the road (and earn fancy cars early!)
• Most completely unnecessary ways to cook your turkey this Thanksgiving
• Will we see an electrified Lamborghini? One man has until 2030 to figure it out
• The best SUVs you can buy

HQ Trivia is coming to Android just in time for Christmas

Android users will finally get to check out HQ Trivia, the game show you play on your phone.

It seemed to arrive out of nowhere, but since launching as an iOS exclusive app in late October HQ Trivia has been growing in popularity day after day, a dozen questions at a time. The app live streams a trivia game show right on your phone daily, giving you a chance to answer 12 questions correctly for a chance to win real cash. It’s free to play and broadcasts live twice a day on weekdays and once on weekend and holidays.

Now, it appears folks behind HQ Trivia are ready to bring the trivia fun and excitement to Android, tweeting the following just hours before Tuesday’s 3pm EST live stream:

Hey world, we hear you also have Android phones? HQ has a nice little stocking stuffer coming your way… pic.twitter.com/RwY6Qpkk9e

— HQ Trivia (@hqtrivia) December 5, 2017

So its look like Trivia Daddy Scott Rogowsky is prepping to give all the HQties rocking an Android phone a very Merry Christmas this year — and if parts of that sentence confuse or scare you it’s going to be okay.

HQ Trivia was created by some of the same folks who created Vine, and has the same early energy as the six-second video platform. The game has managed to steadily grow its player base by offering cash pots of a minimum of $1,000 and up to $8,500, along with a diabolical referral system which nets you an extra life in the game for every new player that used your username when they sign up.

The game has just barely held it together at times with the viewership swelling past 400 thousand at times and leading to laggy video. It will be interesting to see if HQ Trivia can survive the inevitable influx of players when the Android app is released. Until then, you can always bust out that old iPhone or iPod Touch you may have sitting around and join in on the fun.

And if you’re a new player, tell’em mousemachine sent you 😉.

Aukey’s $15 USB Outlet can charge six devices at once

No more power struggles over who gets to charge first.

Amazon has the Aukey USB Outlet on sale for just $14.99 when you enter promo code AUKEYX06 at checkout to save $5. This is this product’s lowest price since its release in late September.

Aukey’s USB Outlet features two USB ports and four AC outlets, allowing you to triple your standard wall outlet’s charging capability. It’ll charge two USB devices at once with a total output of 2.1A. It features a night light which turns on automatically when it detects low light levels, though you can choose to turn it on and off as you’d like. There’s also a built-in phone stand to hold your device while its charging.

This outlet comes with a 24-month product replacement warranty card and a 45-day money back guarantee.

See at Amazon

Car2Go’s carsharing service now offers Mercedes CLA sedans in NYC

If you’re a Car2Go member living in New York City, you can show up to your next destination in style. Starting today, members of the car-sharing service in Brooklyn and Queens can rent 2018 Mercedes-Benz CLA four-dour sedans for 47 cents per minute (in comparison to 41 cents a minute for the standard Smart vehicles). Car2Go expects to add the crossover Mercedes GLA in 2018.

Car2Go is a subsidiary of Daimler, so it’s not surprising the company would introduce Mercedes cars. In fact, it’s already done so in seven cities. Now, it’s added New York City to the list, though the service only operates in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The cars are family friendly, and include LATCH car seat anchors and backup cameras and sensors. The vehicles are also equipped with all wheel drive.

The addition of these new luxury cars brings Car2Go’s total number of New York vehicles up to around 600, which serve roughly 77,000 members. Car2Go is also offering free registration to new members based in New York, along with $10 of drive credit. Just use the code BENZ when you register.

Via: The Verge

Source: Car2Go

Marvel is making a scripted ‘Wolverine’ podcast for Stitcher

Marvel is taking Logan to the internet. The comics publisher has entered a partnership with Stitcher to produce a premium podcast starring the razor-clawed mutant called Wolverine: The Long Night. Weapon X will be voiced by Richard Armitage, who has lent his voice to Netflix’s Castlevania series as Trevor Belmont. Of course, he was also Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy. Needless to say, his geek cred stacks up. As for the rest of the production, TechCrunch notes that the 10-episode season finds Wolverine hounded by investigators tracking a serial killer, and that it will debut next spring.

This won’t exist on Stitcher’s free service, though. Ben Percy (Green Arrow, Batman: Detective Comics) is on writing duties, and the cast also includes Scott Adsit (Pete Hornberger on 30 Rock) and veteran podcaster Chris Gethard. Sound effects will be recorded in surround sound too, which, combined with the cast, explains why Wolverine: The Long Night will live on Stitcher’s $35 yearly Premium subscription (or $5 per month). After an exclusivity period, it’ll arrive on other platforms next fall.

From the sounds of it, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Marvel’s Dan Silver described the podcast to Variety as “the ideal premiere vehicle” and that Marvel will keep exploring the medium. With how well podcasts like Serial, Crimetown and Heaven’s Gate have done, and how comic heroes have invaded pop culture, this seems like an area ripe for expansion — especially given that this is a murder mystery. Wolverine as the star is just the icing on the cake here.

Source: TechCrunch

NBA 2K eSports league qualifiers start January 1st

If you’ve been itching for an opportunity to participate in the officially sanctioned NBA 2K League when things get started in earnest this May, you now know what it’ll take to pass muster: the eSports competition’s Brendan Donahue has confirmed details of the initial qualifying phase. The first stage runs through all of January and is open to any 18-or-older player in the world with a copy of NBA 2K18 for PS4 or Xbox One, whether they’re solo or part of a team. To qualify, you’ll have to win at least 50 games in the Pro-Am mode and submit an online application before January is over.

Not surprisingly, things will get tougher from then onward. The league will conduct more “in depth” scouting in Feburary, with a “balanced” play environment. And in March, the 17 teams will draft their players for the full-fledged competition. Just be prepared to up-end your life if you’re one of the fortunate few to get in — you’ll have to move to the city that drafts you.

More details of the later qualifying stages are coming in the future. However, Donohue wants to stress that this first round is about showing “commitment” to the game rather than dominating everyone else. In short, it won’t hurt to try out if you’re already playing NBA 2K18 on a frequent basis and like the idea of turning pro.

Source: Reddit

Researchers 3D-print WiFi-connected objects that don’t need power

Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a way for 3D-printed plastic objects to transmit information via WiFi without the help of batteries or electronics. And they show that it can be done with commercially available plastics and WiFi receivers. “Our goal was to create something that just comes out of your 3D printer at home and can send useful information to other devices,” Vikram Iyer, a graduate student on the project, said in a statement. “But the big challenge is how do you communicate wirelessly with WiFi using only plastic? That’s something that no one has been able to do before.”

To do this, the team used things like 3D-printed springs, gears and switches that could be used to translate motion into antenna-transmitted information. For example, they created an anemometer, which measures wind speed, and attached it to a gear. When the gear spins, the teeth connect with an antenna embedded into the object and that antenna then reflects ambient WiFi signal, which can be decoded by a WiFi receiver. The faster the wind, the faster the gear spins and the more rapidly those signals are transmitted. They also created a scale and a flowmeter that can measure water speed.

Additionally, they printed three widgets — a button, a knob and a slider — that work in similar ways and can be used to talk to other smart devices. The researchers also developed two smart objects — a detergent bottle with an attached flowmeter that can track the amount of remaining detergent and order it when it gets low and a test tube holder that can be used to measure the amount of liquid test tubes contain and track inventory. And lastly, they developed a way to print iron into 3D objects in distinct patterns, which when read by a magnetometer in a smartphone, for instance, can be used to convey important information about that object such as what it is, who made it or how a robot is meant to interact with it. “It looks like a regular 3D-printed object but there’s invisible information inside that can be read with your smartphone,” said Justin Chan, another student on the project.

The team is making their 3D models available to the public so that anyone can utilize these objects at home. The work was recently presented at the Association for Computing Machinery’s SIGGRAPH Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques in Asia and you can check out a video about the work below.

Image: Mark Stone/UW Photography

Source: University of Washington (1), (2)