Fall Detection, a Clever Feature of Apple Watch Series 4

The Apple Watch Series 4 is one of the most sought-after wearables. The sales figures have hit the roof as the orders suggest. Besides a great improvement on the internals, there is also a larger display. Along with this the Apple Watch series 4 has come out with better and improved health features and includes the ECG monitoring feature.

The Apple Watch series 4 has an added feature called Fall Detection. If the wearer has a significant fall, then it will call for help in the absence of any movement within a minute of the fall.

How does the Fall Detection feature work? 

If the wearer has had a significant fall, then the Apple Watch Series 4 will tap on the wearer’s wrist. It sounds an alarm and will display an alert. In the eventuality of an emergency, you can contact the emergency services. In case there is no cause of raising an alarm, you can dismiss the alert signal by either tapping ‘I fell, but I’m OK’ or ‘I did not fall’

If the Apple Watch detects that there is some motion after the fall, then it will wait for the wearer to respond to the alert and will not call the emergency services immediately.

On the other hand, if the wearer is immobile for at least a minute, then the Fall Detection feature will begin a 15-minute countdown. It will tap on your wrist and sound a warning. The alert keeps getting louder until the wearer or someone nearby can hear it.

At the end of the countdown, the Apple Watch will contact the emergency services. The Fall Detection feature also sends messages to your emergency contacts letting them know the location of the fall and also that the emergency services have been contacted.

In order to contact the emergency services, the wearer should make sure to turn on the Fall Detection feature. To do this, you need to open the Settings app on your smartwatch, tap General and turn on the Fall Detection feature. Along with this, the falls will be recorded in the Health app, unless the wearer replies in the negative when the Apple Watch asks about the fall.

The Apple Watch Series 4 stores all the fall history in the Health app. To check the fall history, open the Health app on your iPhone, tap the Health Data tab and tap Results.

Apple’s Jeff Williams has explained that the Fall detection feature of the Apple Watch Series 4 detects only serious falls and not the usual stumbles and trips.

In order to check out this Fall Detection feature, Joanna Stern of The Wall Street Journal employed a clever strategy. She used an actual Hollywood stunt double to test out the Fall Detection feature. The stunt double aped a significant fall as accurately as possible. After the test was conducted she noted that the Apple Watch Series 4 was quite accurate when it came to detecting a serious fall and ignoring a fake fall.

The Fall Detection feature turns on by default for the wearers who are 65 years or older.

Researchers develop 3D printed objects that can track and store how they are used

Researchers at the University of Washington have devised a way by which technology can be made from 3D printers, which can be got from the off- the shelf and what’s more is that these 3D printed objects wouldn’t have to use electronics or be made from electronic materials to work. These 3D printed objects can be in the form of a pill bottle which is “smart” in the sense that it helps a patient remember when to take their pills.

However with 3D printed objects made of plastic, they cannot be monitored by researchers to show how the pill bottle and such is being used by the patient- that is whether they find it convenient enough for a next time use or once is enough. But researchers have found a way to overcome this obstacle as well.

The Solution to 3D Printed Objects is “Backscatter”: 

 Researchers at the University of Washington have found a technique known as “backscatter” that helps these devices store data offline and then send that information when the device is back online using an antenna. The 3D printed object can also receive information in the same manner- by reflecting the signal off of an antenna.

This backscatter technique helps sort the problem of not knowing how the patient uses the 3D printed object. It also helps keep the cost low by using only plastic and non- electronic parts.

Connecting the 3D Printed Object to Wi- Fi: 

Researchers at Washington University have found a way for the 3D printed object to connect to the Wi- Fi. This will allow the 3D printed object to order a pill bottle online when the current stock is running low, say for example, when the patient requires some more.

By making 3D printed tech from plastics and without using any electronics, it keeps the cost low while also you could get the object wet without worrying about spoiling it. This opens up a whole new set of applications where the same technique can be used.

The Monitoring Problem in 3D Printed Objects: 

In the researchers previous study they could track data going in one direction and wanted to do so in two directions as well. That means that while a 3D printed object could track detergent levels which saved information in one direction, researchers also wanted data to be tracked in both directions like the opening and closing of a pill bottle.




With one directional data movement, researchers used gears that allowed a fluid to move through when the gear moved in one direction and this liquid would push a switch down to reach the antenna.
For two directional data movement, researchers have now developed two gears one on the top and the other on the bottom. This apparatus works in the same way as well with the fluid and gears. So as the pill bottle is opened the gear moves in one way, pressing the top antenna and when it is closed the gears move in the other way, pressing the bottom antenna.

Discovery of a new Printing Technology Making use of Sound Waves

Engineers from the University of Harvard have come out with a new printing technology that makes use of sound waves. This is a great revolution in printing where the sound waves control the droplet flow of highly viscous liquids. In other words, the new printing Technology involves a printer which uses sound to print with the help of tiny droplets of highly viscous liquids.

The new printing technology will help in the manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals and bioprinting. Here they use biopolymer and cell-laden solutions which are 100 times denser than water.

According to Jennifer Lewis, a senior author and professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, the new printing technology that they have created helps printing in a drop-on-demand manner.

In the new Printing Technology, how the liquid can be manipulated with the help of sound waves: 

We see in Inkjet printing which patterns liquid droplets, the liquids are about 10 times more viscous than water. The researchers are far more interested in liquids that are more viscous. In the case of biopharmaceuticals and bioprinting, biopolymer and cell-laden solutions are about 100 times more viscous than water. There are some sugar-based biopolymers which have the same viscosity as honey which is about 25,000 times more viscous than water. Viscosity of fluids is influenced by temperature and composition changes. With the result, controlling the droplet size becomes difficult and hence it is not possible to optimize the printing parameters.

The researchers therefore wanted to develop a new printing technology independent of the viscosity of the fluid. They thus turned their attention to using sound waves. When we consider a liquid under gravitational force, the droplet size is large and the flow of the droplet is difficult to control.

The researchers have thus turned to generating sound waves in order to enhance drop formation. Pressure waves have been used to defy the earth’s gravitational force, as is seen in Acoustic Levitation. These same sound waves are being used by the researchers to assist gravity and the new technology adopted is known as acoustophoretic printing.

The researchers have built a sub-wavelength acoustic resonator that can generate a highly confined acoustic field that can pull a force that is 100 times more than the gravitational force at the tip of the printer nozzle. In this new printing technology, the controlled force then pulls each droplet from the nozzle on attaining a specific size. It is then ejected on the area for printing. If the amplitude of the sound waves is high then the droplet size is small, irrespective of the fluid’s viscosity.

The new Printing Technology can have a wider scope: 

The new printing Technology was carried out on different materials like honey, stem-cell inks, biopolymers, optical resins and liquid metals. It was seen that the sound waves do not travel through the droplet and hence the method was safe to use even in the case of sensitive living cells or proteins. They hope that the new printing technology can help in the manufacture of new biopharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food.

What We Know About Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL

All there is to Know about Google Pixel 3!

As the year reaches its close, all the big smart phone manufacturers are set to launch their latest mobile offering and while many of them have already dons so, Google is still left. With the latest Galaxy and the latest iPhones from Samsung and Apple respectively, Google’s Pixel 3 is the next highly anticipated phone. But what can we expect from Google’s to- be- released- offering?

While there are facts in the world there are also rumours and the tech world is filled to the brim with them. So, without further ado let’s see what new rumours Google Pixel 3 has brought out.

Design of the new Google Pixel 3:

Continuing with the Pixel name tag, This year around, Google plans on releasing its new Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL. The main design upgrades that both phones have in store is that both the Pixel 3 and 3 XL will feature front facing cameras. This is besides the rear one, of course.

Talking about Google Pixel 3, the phone will be the same as last year’s Pixel 2’s design except now with smaller bezels and a 5.4inch display.

Google Pixel 3 XL on the other hand will be bigger at 6.7inches display rather than the 6inches last year. The Google Pixel 3 XL will also bear the same notch design that major manufacturers have adopted in this past year.

Cameras on the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL:

The bar is set at a high level this year as was last year. Google’s camera has been one of the best on the market and this year expectations are higher than ever before.

The rear camera on the Google pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL will be the as that of last year standing at 12.2MP. What further improvements Google has in store for its camera layout is anyone’s guess.

The only improvement heard so far through rumour mills is that Google plans on updating its Pixel Visual Core Image Chip.

The front facing cameras will each be 8.1MP.

What more can you Expect from the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL?

Both of the phones are said to come with a USB-C port instead of a headphone jack and a finger print scanner which is the same as last year’s models.

The only thing different this year around is that both phones will come with wireless charging that is a welcome addition form last year’s models.

As for the processor on both Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL- both will come with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 processor.

Apart from this, the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL will both come with Android 9 Pie and also have an “active edge grip” that summons Google Assistant with a squeeze at the sides of the phone.

Colour Choice on the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL: 

Black and white will be the common options for the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL phones with unexpected pink and mint green options also being lined up.

With the Facebook Hacked Your security is compromised

The Facebook Hacked was discovered on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 25th. The security of about 50 million account holders have been compromised. This discovery was made by the engineering team of Product Management. The VP of Product Management wants all the account holders to know that after the Facebook Hacked came to light, they are taking the issue very seriously. They want the users to be aware of the Facebook Hacked and that they will be taking prompt action to safeguard the user’s accounts and details.

Though the investigation regarding the Facebook Hacked is in its initial stage, it is quite clear that the hackers have found a way to access the user’s accounts. It is thought to be a vulnerability in the Facebook’s code which impacted the ‘View As’ feature. This feature of Facebook allows the users to see what their personal profile looks to others. The hackers could steal Facebook access tokens which enabled them to take over and operate the Facebook user’s accounts. The access tokens are actually the digital keys wherein a Facebook user can remain logged in without any need to re-enter their password every time they need to use the app.

Action taken towards Facebook Hacked

The primary action towards the Facebook Hacked was that the law enforcement agencies have been informed and the vulnerability has been fixed.

The access tokens of the affected 50 million accounts have been reset in order to protect the user’s security. As a precautionary measure, the access tokens of about 40 million accounts which have been subject to ‘View As’ in the past 1 year have been reset.

Due to the Facebook Hacked, at least 90 million users will now have to log in to Facebook or any other apps that use Facebook Login again. After this is done, the users will receive a notification at the top of their News feed explaining about the Facebook Hacked.

The ‘View As’ feature is temporarily turned off so that they can conduct a thorough investigation to figure out where the breach occurred. They have yet to see if any of the user’s accounts were misused or any personal information accessed. It is also not clear who is behind these attacks and where the hackers are based. If they find that there are more accounts that have been affected, then the access tokens willbe reset immediately.

Further Details regarding the Facebook Hacked

Only last week some additional details came to light. The vulnerability of the system was exploited and the Facebook access tokens for the user’s accounts in HTML were exposed. This happened as a result of three bugs.

The ‘View As’ feature which is a privacy feature allows people to see what their profile looks like to others. ‘View As’ is a view only interface. The box that allows you to wish your friends on their birthdays, with the ‘View As’ feature incorrectly enabled it to post a video.

In the second instant, the new version of the video uploader, (which appears due to the first bug) that was introduced in July 2017, gave an access token that had the accessibility of the Facebook mobile app.

Thirdly, when the video uploader appeared, it provided the access token not to you as the viewer, but for the user you were looking up.

All these three bugs combined became a vulnerability when the ‘View As’ feature was used to see your profile as a friend, the code did not remove the person that allows people to wish you; the access token was generated with the video uploader and the access token was not for you but for the person being looked up.

The access token was present in the HTML which the hackers extracted and could log in as another user. They could then access other accounts and get more access tokens.

Google Project Stream will be Huge for PC Gaming

Project stream to REACH New Heights!

Streaming has been the greatest invention since the internet or at least in my view. There is no hassle of downloading just the need for an internet connection. You can then watch your favorite shows, movies or listen to your favorite songs all without any problems. But that is not all streaming can do. Google plans on pushing the limits of streaming even further with its project stream operations. To make streaming even more capable than what it can currently do, Google’s project stream will be much more demanding than just streaming your average day video.

Project stream is Google’s way of pushing the limits when it comes to streaming in a good way. It is a test of sorts to see how far streaming can actually go. Our current day streaming has come a long way since only a few years back. But now for the ultimate test in project stream Google plans on streaming a blockbuster game.

Streaming a Blockbuster video game through Project Stream:

To really push the boundaries in project stream, Google has come up with a way to stream a blockbuster game and this is no ordinary game either. The game chosen for project stream is one of the best known and highly played games- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. The game may not be released just as yet but it is well on its way to becoming one of the most played games in the world.

The game to- be- released by one of the best gaming publication houses out there- Ubisoft, is all set to feature as Google’s test on streaming with project stream.

Who gets to be a part of Project Stream?

The game is all set to reach Google’s project stream platform on October the 5th. For the duration of the project stream test, Google will select a certain number of participants to play the game for the duration of the project stream test. This will take place at no extra cost to the players.

To play the game you have to be a US resident and aged above 17 years, plus (this goes without saying) you also have to have a working internet connection like say 25 megabits per second to play. This is besides there being other criteria which you can check out on Google’s help center.

The Difficulties of Streaming a Game on Project Stream:

Streaming comes with its own set of problems like buffering and the annoying wait for that to happen. But this is when you watch something like a video. But when it comes to gaming it’s a whole different ball game.

You have graphically rich content to stream and not only that, there can be no lagging and buffering, there has to be instant interaction between the player and what happens on screen.

The only latency that is acceptable is a few milliseconds and no more. Plus if you take in graphics, that makes it a really complex process that Google hopes to overcome with project stream.

Switching Silicon in Solar Cells Drops Production Costs

Cutting the Costs of Solar Panels through a Change of Silicon

In the summer when it gets really hot, the first thing we think of is the air cooler but after a while, after we have properly cooled down, we think of the exorbitant bill that is going to come our way on account of the A/C. In such times getting a solar panel is the best solution. Although they do cost a lot to install, the subsequent costs are brought down. But who can shell out all that cash at the beginning? Here’s where scientists plan on bringing down per unit costs by changing out the silicon used.

Scientists at Michigan University have found that by switching out the silicon in solar cells, the costs drop by about 10% per unit manufactured. Solar energy has been in use for a while, as concerns for green- house gas emissions started to increase, solar energy became the new “in thing”. In some places the costs of using a solar panel instead of conventional forms of electricity is almost the same. But this 10% drop in costs will give solar panels another boost in the industry.

The Use of Silicon in Solar Panels: 

Silicon is the norm raw material that is used in solar panels or photovoltaic cells. They come in two forms- perfect crystals that cost more but will give you more efficiency and multicrystalline silicon that costs less but gives you less efficiency.

In both cases of silicon, the cells have to be etched to reduce sunlight reflection. This reduces efficiency as some part of the sunlight is lost. This loss of light through etching on the cells, gives the cells their bluish color.

The Alternative to such Silicon Treatments: 

The alternative is to use nano- texturing silicon with a dry etching technique. This gives you a blackish silicon surface that is much more efficient at capturing sun rays than the norm blue one.

The reason this type of silicon surface is black is that the entire surface of the cell is covered in etchings which resemble a forest of tiny needles. This is done so that what sunlight falls on the surface gets captured and does not get reflected back.

Another challenge to using this form of Silicon: 

With surface defects on the surface of the cell, normally you would have problems in conducting electricity. But scientists have discovered a method known as Atomic Layer Deposition or ALD for short. This coating minimizes the surface defects problem of conducting electricity.

The dilemma in using black Silicon: 

Using black silicon instead of the bluish ones in solar panels and then its subsequent treatment of ALD all adds to the cost of the solar panels. This is at least what scientists thought. Scientists thought that by using black solar panels instead, the cost would go up by 15 to 25%.

But on further notice, scientists seen that they could, in this case, use the lesser efficient and lesser costing multi crystalline silicon and get the same efficiency or even more than the normal silicon solar panels cutting costs altogether by 10%.