HoloLens adds mixed reality to a Japanese national treasure

One of the best ways to give centuries-old artifacts a modern touch is mixed reality. The technology allows you to add interesting elements to any object without actually touching or altering it in any way. Microsoft, for instance, has helped Tokyo-based mixed reality lab hakuhodo-VRAR turn a Japanese national artwork from the 1600s into an interactive experience for HoloLens. They’re applying mixed reality to the The Folding Screen of Fujin and Raijin (Wind and Thunder God), explaining the motivations of its Edo-period artist, Tawaraya Sōtatsu, in an immersive experience.

When visitors stand in front of the National Treasure with a HoloLens on, a holographic version of a Zen Buddhist monk will explain what Sōtatsu meant to convey with his artwork through a dynamic graphic narrative. You’ll see the artwork brought to life with rainclouds, lightning and thunder, find yourself standing above a lush Earth and in outer space surrounded by celestial bodies. The 10-minute experience will also show you 3D versions of the other art pieces painted by artists Sōtatsu inspired.

The bad news is, you’ll only be able to experience it yourself if you’re in Japan in the end of February, since you will need to stand in front of the Wind and Thunder God screen. You can see the national artwork and experience its accompanying MR Museum in Kennin-ji Temple, Kyoto’s oldest Zen Buddhism temple founded in 1202, from February 22nd to 24th. If you won’t be able to make it there, you’ll get another chance to see the exhibit when it’s displayed at Kyoto National Museum from February 28th to March 2nd.

Source: hakuhodo-VRAR

Apple may secure its own battery materials to avoid shortages

Cobalt is an essential component in lithium ion batteries, making it a crucial material in the production of smart devices and electric vehicles. But, as battery-hungry cars go mainstream, there’s a risk that the world’s supply will be eaten up by cars, which poses a problem for all of the other things we use. It’s why Apple has reportedly entered into direct talks with cobalt miners in the hope of securing a supply of the material itself. Bloomberg reports that the company, which has previously left the effort to its battery manufacturers, has now taken a more active role.

According to the report, Apple is seeking to lock down a long-term deal, securing several thousand metric tons a year, for a last five years. The move puts Apple in direct competition with other big players who are also looking for a similar agreement, and advantage. BMW, Volkswagen and Samsung’s own battery division are thought to be engaged in similar negotiations for their own EV projects.

It’s clear from the piece that Apple is only seeking to secure material for batteries that go inside its consumer hardware. CEO Tim Cook has been open about his company’s interest in the “autonomous systems” market, but wouldn’t be drawn on what exactly was being worked on. Rumors out of Apple’s self-driving car project, codenamed Titan, suggest that work is now underway on a plug-and-play system for third party manufacturers.

Procuring a supply of a highly-coveted resource is something that Apple has done several times in the past, often with market-altering results. Perhaps most famously, the company purchased a significant chunk of the world’s NAND Flash supply in 2009, effectively shutting out its competitors.

Apple’s involvement may also improve conditions in the mines themselves, since the company will be dealing directly with producers. Last year, it received plaudits from Amnesty International in its efforts to trace and eliminate child labor from its supply chain.

Source: Bloomberg

Apple in Talks to Buy Key Battery Ingredient Cobalt Directly From Miners

Apple is in talks to purchase long-term supplies of cobalt directly from miners to ensure a steady supply of the key battery ingredient amid industry fears of a shortage, according to a report by Bloomberg today.

The companies that make batteries for Apple’s iPads and iPhones depend heavily on the availability of cobalt, but Apple is said to have taken the issue into its own hands, prompted by fears that the electric vehicle boom could see supply of the raw material dwindle.

Apple is seeking contracts to secure several thousand metric tons of cobalt a year for five years or longer, according to one of the people, declining to be named as the discussions are confidential. Apple’s first discussions on cobalt deals with miners were over a year ago, and it may end up deciding not to go ahead with any deal, another person said.

About a quarter of global cobalt production is used in smartphones that use lithium-ion batteries, according to Bloomberg. Smartphones are said to use around eight grams of refined cobalt, but the battery for an electric car requires over 1,000 times more. That means Apple will be in fierce competition with carmakers like BMW and Volkswagen as well as battery producers like Samsung as the firms seek to secure supplies into the future.

With two thirds of all supplies sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has a history of political instability and child labor, the price of cobalt has more than tripled in the past 18 months and now trades more than $80,000 a metric ton.

In recent years, Apple has responded to criticism from human rights groups for its metal supply chain, which in the past has bought cobalt from mines that use child labor. Last year the tech giant published a list of companies that supply the cobalt used in its batteries for the first time, and said it would not allow cobalt from smaller Congo mines into its supply chain unless they could prove that “appropriate protections” to safeguard against child labor were in place.
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These are the best Xiaomi lifestyle products you can buy in 2018

Xiaomi makes hundreds of lifestyle products under its Mi Ecosystem label. These are the best of the lot.

Xiaomi’s phones get all the attention, but over the years the manufacturer has rolled out hundreds of lifestyle products through its Mi Ecosystem label.

Under the Ecosystem label, Xiaomi partners with hundreds of Chinese companies to offer smart home products, fitness bands, smart shoes, robot vacuums, and even a rice cooker. Over the course of the last year, that partnership has extended to include everyday objects like backpacks, luggage, and screwdriver sets. Xiaomi sells these products under its own label, with the smart home products marketed under the Mijia sub-brand.

For instance, the $25 Mi Band 2 is sold as a Xiaomi product, but it is manufactured by Huami. The brand’s smart shoes are also made by Huami, and are sold under the Mijia label. Then there’s the Mi Robot vacuum, which is made by Roborock.

By focusing on the lifestyle category, Xiaomi is looking to build an ecosystem of devices that communicate with each other. You can use the Mi Home app to control all of the brand’s smart home products, and there’s also the option to group multiple products and set up rules. For instance, you can set up a motion detector at the door, and have the lights and air purifier switch on the moment you enter your house.

A lot of these products are sold exclusively in China, so you’ll have to purchase them via third-party resellers. Without further ado, these are the best Xiaomi lifestyle products you can purchase today.

Yeelight LED bulb

The LED bulb is available for just $22, less than half the cost of an equivalent Hue bulb. The best part about the Yeelight LED bulb is that it doesn’t need a centralized hub to work, lowering the barrier to entry.

Each individual bulb connects directly to your home Wi-Fi network, and can be controlled by either the Mi Home app or the dedicated Yeelight app.

Yeelight’s Wi-Fi bulb offers Philips Hue quality at half the cost

There are several preset options to choose from, or you can just play with the color palette to get the desired lighting effect. The Yeelight LED bulb also works with Google Assistant and Alexa, giving you the ability to control the lights and change the scene with your voice. The color temperature of the bulb goes from 1700K to 6500K, and you can set up “rooms” within the Mi Home app to link up several bulbs and control them at once.

The Yeelight LED bulb is now officially available in the U.S. as well, but it costs slightly more at $29.99. The U.S. version comes with an E26 socket and works over 110V at 60Hz, and is sold directly on Amazon.

The international version of the bulb comes with an E27 socket and is designed to work over 220V, and is available for $22.35.

See at Amazon

Yeelight LED Lightstrip

Yeelight’s LED lightstrip offers the same premise as the brand’s LED bulb — you get a similar feature-set as the Hue LightStrip for a fraction of the cost. The lightstrip is two feet long (same as Hue), but costs just $29.

There’s a remote with a single button that lets you toggle the lightstrip, and you can also control it via the Mi Home app. The lightstrip is certified IP65, so you can use it outdoors as well. And it comes with Google Assistant and Alexa integration.

Best of all, it’s available direct from Amazon in the U.S. for $29.99. If you’re looking to pick these up in other markets, you’ll have to shell out $36.72.

See at Amazon

Mi Band 2

The Mi Band 2 is one of Xiaomi’s most popular products around, and it’s not hard to see why. The fitness band costs just $28, and comes with a dizzying array of features that include an OLED screen, activity tracking, heart rate sensor, call and notification alerts, and automatic sleep tracking.

You’ll be able to view detailed statistics on your daily activity from the Mi Fit app, which syncs with Google Fit. One of the biggest reasons for the Mi Band 2’s success is its battery life. Offering over 20 days of battery life on a full charge, the Mi Band 2 dwarfs most of its rivals in this category.

If you’re using the Mi Band 2, you should also consider picking up the Mi Smart Scale. The $42 scale hooks up to the Mi Fit app, and gives detailed information of your weight, BMI index, and much more.

See at Amazon

Mi Robot vacuum cleaner

The Mi Robot vacuum cleaner is one of my favorite Xiaomi products. I’ve been using the first-generation variant for just over a year and a half now, and I haven’t had any issues with it.

I recently upgraded to the newer model, which comes with a mop for wet cleaning. The vacuum has a powerful 2000Pa motor, a laser sensor that creates a 360-degree map of your house, and an algorithm that tracks the most efficient cleaning route.

Xiaomi Mi Robot vacuum cleaner review

The 5200mAh battery provides a cleaning time of over two hours on a full charge, and the vacuum automatically returns to the base when it’s low on charge or after it finishes cleaning the house. You can also monitor the cleaning process in real-time with the Mi Home app, and set automated schedules. It doesn’t come cheap at $549 (the first-gen model costs $325), but it’s well worth the investment.

See at GearBest

Mijia 5-in-1 Smart Home Security Kit

Xiaomi’s smart home security bundle is a must-have if you’re looking to get started with home automation. The $60 kit includes a door and window sensor, a motion detector, a smart plug, wireless switch, and a gateway.

You hook up the gateway to a wall outlet, and add the rest of the components as sub-devices in the Mi Home app. The gateway is a ZigBee hub, and controls the rest of the devices. Once set up, you can configure a wide range of options for each device. For instance, if you have a Yeelight LED bulb, you can set up the wireless switch to act as a portable dimmer switch to toggle the bulb on and off.

As mentioned earlier, you can use the motion sensor to set up rules for various actions. As for the smart plug, it is rated for 100V-240V and has overload protection built-in. The door and window sensors can be used for triggering alarms when they’re set off.

See at GearBest

Mijia Smart Shoes

If you’re not keen on wearing a fitness band to record your daily activity, then Xiaomi’s smart shoes are a better alternative. The shoe features a fabric upper and a heel section made out of styrene-butadiene rubber, and comes with an embeddable Intel Curie module.

It is the Curie module that enables activity tracking. It automatically differentiates between various forms of activity — running, walking, and climbing — and connects over Bluetooth to transmit the data to Mi Fit.

Even without the fitness tracking smarts, Xiaomi’s smart shoes are a bargain for $68. Throw in the ability to record your daily activity without having to wear a fitness band, and you have one of the best options in this category.

See at GearBest

Xiaomi Travel Backpack

Xiaomi’s $45 Mi Travel Backpack is designed to fit a lot of gear. The bag has a water-resistant outer shell and a total of 11 compartments, allowing you to slot in your everyday carry essentials with ease.

The inside of the bag is lined with polyester — with a suede section for storing sunglasses — and there’s a dedicated notebook sleeve that is reinforced with padding, as well as a tablet sleeve that can hold the Galaxy Tab S3.

For $45, you’re not going to find a better gear bag.

See at GearBest

Xiaomi Laser Projector

Of all the items on this list, Xiaomi’s short-throw projector is the costliest by some margin. It launched late last year for $1,470, but you’ll have to shell out close to $1,900 to get your hands on one outside of China.

Dubbed the “world’s first truly cinema-level laser projector,” it offers 3,000:1 contrast levels, 5,000 lumens brightness, and can cast an image up to 150 inches in size in Full HD. It uses Appotronics’ ALPD 3.0 laser tech, and has a built-in speaker system with two tweeters and two woofers.

I picked up the projector at the end of last year, and after two months of usage, I can confidently say that it is fantastic. The image quality is great, and the integrated speakers are more than adequate for my use case.

The main problem with the projector is that the interface is in Mandarin, so you’ll have to use Google Translate during initial configuration. The content suggestions are also tailored for the Chinese market, but you can sideload APKs or hook up a Chromecast.

See at GearBest

Building an ecosystem of connected devices

The unifying theme among all of Xiaomi’s lifestyle products is great value for money, a trait that served the manufacturer very well in the phone business.

Xiaomi is going one step further in China by enabling voice recognition across its diverse range of offerings. The feature is limited to its home market for now, but Xiaomi has mentioned that it has sold over 10 million voice-enabled products, mostly in the form of its voice-activated TV remote.

The manufacturer has also stated that it perfected the Mandarin language model over the last two years, and that Chinese users can talk to the voice-enabled remote or the AI speaker to issue commands to control its smart home products.

Building a language model from scratch takes years of effort, but Xiaomi could start doing the same in the Indian market, where it has introduced the Mi TV 4 recently. India is the first market outside of China to receive the Mi TV, and the brand has revealed that it plans to bring several ecosystem products to the subcontinent over the course of 2018.

AT&T will launch mobile 5G in Atlanta, Dallas and Waco

AT&T is finally willing to say exactly where you’ll see mobile 5G in 2018. The carrier has confirmed that “parts” of Atlanta, Waco and its home turf of Dallas will adopt the standards-based service when it goes live before the end of the year. It’ll name the remaining nine cities “in the coming months.” There’s no mention of the first devices (many of those will have to wait until 2019), but it’s clear that this will be a cautious first step into the future rather than a full-on leap.

The initial coverage will use millimeter wave (very high frequency) spectrum, which isn’t great for range and may serve as more of a stopgap. The kind of coverage you’re used to will have to wait until later, when AT&T can justify moving 5G to more commonly used bands. That shouldn’t be too hard when much of the LTE equipment it’s installing now should help with the migration, but that still entails a wait.

This will still make AT&T the first big carrier to launch 5G. Sprint’s rollout is expected in 2019, T-Mobile only anticipates national coverage by 2020, and Verizon has so far talked more about its fixed 5G than something you can carry in your pocket. However, AT&T can’t quite claim a resounding victory. It’s making some sacrifices to shout “first,” and mature 5G won’t arrive for a long while.

Source: AT&T

Bigelow forms command center for its expandable space stations

Bigelow Aerospace has big plans for its future expandable space stations, so it has formed a whole new company for them. Called Bigelow Space Operations (BSO), the new private space company will oversee the marketing and customer service, as well as become the operations center for the space habitats its parent corporation is developing. If you’ll recall, Bigelow’s inflatable module BEAM is currently being tested aboard the ISS. It’s been doing so well NASA has decided to keep it around longer to be used as an on-orbit storage facility.

Company chief Robert Bigelow told reporters in a call that forming BSO is necessary as it segues “into becoming a production company” after existing as “a laboratory for 17 years.” Bigelow has far more ambitious plans for its creation: It’s already building two versions of the B330, an expandable module that’s much bigger than BEAM and can stay in space on its own. “These single structures that house humans on a permanent basis will be the largest, most complex structures ever known as stations for human use in space,” it said in its announcement. The company has long believed that its B330s could become standalone space stations in Low Earth Orbit that it even teamed up with ULA for its launch. More recently, it announced its plans to send a B330 space station to the lunar orbit by 2022.

Bigelow said it’s spending millions of dollars to study the space market and hiring 3 to 4 dozen employees for its new company. It’s also looking to build a new manufacturing facility in Florida, Alabama or another suitable place. If things go as planned and its space stations become operational, Bigelow expects to hire 400 to 500 more people to serve as BSO’s employees, providing support for its stations as they orbit the Earth and the moon.

Source: Bigelow Space Operations, CNBC

Netflix: ‘Stranger Things’ directors aren’t leaving the show

We haven’t heard much about the next season of Stranger Things, but a rumor on Moviefone.com indicated that its directors, Ross and Matt Duffer, will be less involved after season three wraps up. This evening, Netflix tweeted “Rumors that the Duffer Bros are leaving Stranger Things after season 3 are false,” which doesn’t exactly refute the report, but hopefully means our Eggos and walkie-talkies are safe. The reported cited a source claiming the two would step back to work on two other projects for Netflix, so this could just mean they’re more spread around. Still, we’ll be watching carefully to make sure the quality holds up.

Don’t drop your Eggos. Rumors that the Duffer Bros are leaving Stranger Things after season 3 are false. pic.twitter.com/x4kbL9990e

— Netflix US (@netflix) February 20, 2018

Source: Netflix (Twitter), MovieFone

Boston Dynamics’ robots won’t be held back by puny humans

Are you looking for the exact moment when the robots decide to turn on their human creators? You might want to mark this day on your calendar. Boston Dynamics has posted video of a SpotMini test where it gauged the bot’s ability to adjust to interference — in this case, from a pesky human. The quadruped managed to open a door despite a human pushing its hand down with a hockey stick, pushing the door closed and even tugging on its ‘tail.’ It clearly struggled, but its ability to adapt and rebalance left it unfazed.

This certainly isn’t the first time Boston Dynamics has subjected its robots to abuse, and the company even goes out of its way to address the elephant in the room: no, the robot isn’t hurt or irritated by that cruelty. It’s not actually going to revolt, and the lessons learned here could be useful for search and rescue or other situations where a robot might have to endure all kinds of resistance. Still, it’s hard not to sympathize at least a little with the SpotMini — if it ever develops feelings, it’ll point to this test as the reason it turned resentful.

Source: Boston Dynamics (YouTube)

Apple Named World’s Most Innovative Company Due to Focus on Hardware and Software Integration

Fast Company today published its annual rankings of the 50 most innovative companies in the world, and this year, Apple is the number one company on the list for “delivering the future today.”

Apple was picked for its impressive list of accomplishments in 2017, which included the iPhone X, the Apple Watch Series 3, ARKit, and its unique focus on hardware and software integration that sets it apart from its competitors. Apple designs its own chips that are optimized for its operating systems, resulting in performance that blows the competition away.

But creativity is more than skin deep–and Apple’s approach to the hardware and software engineering that creates its experiences has never been more ambitious. Other makers of phones and tablets buy the same off-the-shelf chips as their competitors. Apple, by contrast, designs its own chips–so an iPhone packs a processor designed specifically optimized for Apple’s operating system, apps, display, camera, and touch sensor. The company has gotten so good at chip design that the A10 Fusion inside the iPhone 7 trounces rival processors in independent speed benchmarks.

Apple also topped the list for its focus on privacy-based artificial intelligence advancements, its growing entertainment business, and its work to improve medical care with CareKit and ResearchKit. Its accomplishments boosted it up three spots from last year, when it was ranked the number four most valuable company in the 2017 list.

To create these rankings, Fast Company says that more than three dozen editors, reporters, and contributors surveyed thousands of companies to identify the most notable innovations of the year and trace their impact on businesses, industries, and the larger culture.

Other companies that made the top 10 list include Netflix, Square, Tencent, Amazon, Patagonia, CVS Health, The Washington Post, Spotify, and the NBA.

In addition to a master list, Fast Company publishes a breakdown of most innovative companies by sector. Apple also topped the list in the “Consumer Electronics” category, beating out companies like Amazon, Nintendo, and Sony.

Tag: fastcompany.com
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Seven self-help and motivation apps to channel your inner peace

We all go through phases when we feel like we’re not smart enough, attractive enough or exciting enough. No matter how fulfilling our lives are, there are bound to be days when you’ll find yourself wishing you could be someone else. The notion of needing self-help is very real.

These fluctuations are part of life, and every individual goes through them at some point or another. And the good news is, there are steps you can take to pull yourself out of feeling this way.

No, we’re not talking about expensive couch sessions with your therapist. Instead, you could try installing a few apps on your Android phone. Mobile tech influences numerous aspects of our lives. They teach us how to cook, get fit and manage our finances. But they can also help us feel more confident and self-empowered.

We’ve rounded up some of the best self-help and motivational apps for Android for when you feel like you’d need a fresh perspective.

Pacifica

Why you should try it:

• Stress and anxiety are a big component of our modern lives. Want some help in minimizing their effects on your well-being? Pacifica could be the answer.
• The app offers psychologist-designed audio lessons and activities to help you cope with stress, anxiety and even depression.
• Pacifica includes a database of mindfulness meditation audio tools and mood tracker so you can see your progress over time.
• Comes with an elegant interface that’s very easy to use

Install Pacifica

Personality Development

Why you should try it:

• We all have things about our personalities we want to work on. Whether we’re trying to cultivate a character trait or to get rid of some unwanted habit, this app could prove helpful.
• The app includes useful tips, training, skill sharing and quotes on 150 topics of self-improvement.
• It provides easy to understand content for various personality types.

Install Personality Development

Forest: Stay Focused

Why you should try it:

• This app addresses two very common issue today: phone addiction and the inability to stay focused on a task.
• Forest provides an interesting solution: it challenges you to plant a seed in the Forest and watch it grow. But for it to develop and prosper you need to leave the app on and restrain from playing a quick round of Super Mario Run or text your best friend.
• As you continue to stay away from social media and other temptations, you’ll be able to unlock more tree species and earn reward.
• You can easily share your forest and compete with friends.

Install Forest: Stay Focused

Luscher Test

Why you should try it:

• Uncover the hidden depths of your personality with the Luscher Test app. The test was developed by Dr. Max Luscher in Basel, Switzerland. Since color preference is subjective and seated in the unconscious, Dr. Luscher theorized that color selection can reveal the person as they really are, not as they perceive themselves to be.
• The test is very easy to take. You’ll simply have to choose from 8 colors in order of preference: tap on the one you like best, then the second and so on.
• You have to take the test twice so that the app can generate a more accurate interpretation. This helps ensure that the subject has been sure about his choices rather than simply being impulsive.

Install Luscher Test

Mindly

Why you should try it:

• When you feel like you have too much on your plate, it’s easy to get demotivated. Mindly wants to help you organize things, so you can take it one by one.
• Mindly is a great app for visual people who will certainly appreciate the clean and minimalist design.
• The app is basically an organizer for your thoughts. You add thoughts which take the form of colorful circles, as they gravitate around the main idea, which is also represented as a (larger) circle (it could be a speech or a presentation or a design project).

Install Mindly

Habitica

Why you should try it:

• Habitica puts a fun spin on doing chores and completing tasks because it treats everything as a game.
• Input your habits, daily goals and to-do list and create your avatar. As you check off tasks you will unlock new features such as armor, pets and yes! even quests.
• Users can team up with friends and fight monsters to keep each other accountable.

Install Habitica

Life Hacks

Why you should try it:

• Life hacks let you learn something useful every day. Bet you didn’t know you could use a t-shirt as a small pillowcase.
• Choose from a selection of categories including Food, Money Saver or Life Tips
• Stay connected to the stream of life hacks. The app sends you notifications when something new is added, both when you’re online and offline

Install Life Hacks