Latest in Smart Textiles - A Musical Tablecloth

A Tablecloth – Turning Dinner into Musical Recital

A tablecloth with a drum kit as well as piano keys printed on the fabric turning dinner into a musical recital has been created by a Swedish company. Specialist Li Guo together with Mats Johansson from a technology company, Smart Textiles which is based in southern Swedish city of Boras,is responsible for the smart fabric conception. Johansson who has strong interest in music commented that the team desired to combine sounds and textiles in a fun way.

 Johansson informed Reuters that the special thing is that it is all from textile technologies. They had the woven cloth but on that were prints for the piano and haveadded together with other laminated textile structures for the drums which are from knitted fabrics.

It was then sewn as connectors or taping so it is the technologies that they are familiar with in textiles, now utilised for entertaining purpose in this case. Li, his colleague holds a doctorate in textile sensors and has been researching on how to integrate them in garments. The tablecloth is said to be made partly of conductive fibres which tends to carry current, converting it into signals. They have mentioned that turning a tablecloth into an instrument is all due to the sensors.

Integrate in Garments - Combine Sounds & Textiles

The team are investigating on how to integrate them into garment or to combine sounds and textiles. Lia has explained that one can see several different pins here which are actually functioning as sensors. When one tends to press one, it is actually switched on and the technology behind it all is sense capacitive coupling. It tends to sense any of the conductors where human beings are conductors and when one puts their finger on it, it seems to get switched on.

Lia seems to see several probable uses in the near future, though the technology is not yet totally established. She further adds that sensors could be of different types and now we have touch sensors. They have also been working with stretchable sensors as well as textile electronics which can obtain signals from heartbeats, for instance from the human body. It could thus be supportive with home-based health monitoring. Johansson has mentioned that the most difficult task was to connect the soft material with hard electronics and one of the main challenges in the smart textiles.

Future - Fabrics with Embedded Sensors

He adds that the problem currently is very much where one gets this change from the actual fabric to some type of electronics, from soft flexible substance to the rigid hardware, besides the electricity and the batteries. They seemed to be difficult to make from the real textiles though there are projects which tend to look also into that, to make it also lighter and flexible and so on.

Li had stated that in the future, smart fabrics with embedded sensors would be a common place. The team have forecast that in the near future, there would be sensors in clothing which would monitor as well as send data to fill the market, thus making what one tends to wear, a tool in keeping you healthy while also making a fashion statement.

Google Throws Down The Gauntlet

Demis Hassabis Prepares for Five Game Match against Lee Se-Dol

The chief executive of Google’s artificial intelligence start-up DeepMind, Demis Hassabis is making preparation for the session of its life, a five game match against Lee Se-Dol who is one of the strongest players in the world at the ancient game of Go. Last year in October, the company’s program AlphaGo had achieved a historic milestone beating Fan Hui who had been the highest ranking European player of the game, scoring 5-0.

It had been the first time a computer had beaten a professional Go player in an even match.However, Hui was ranked about 800th in the world prior to AlphaGo and is a two dan player where his rank on the dan sale of professional play that tends to start at one, rising to nine. In contrast, Lee is a nine dan player with the second highest number of international titles to his credit.

 Due to the marked increase in his skill, Hassabis had been prepared to only rate AlphaGo’s opportunity of winning at about 50%. Hassabis, speaking from DeepMind’s headquarters near Kings ‘Cross station in London, in a conference room that had been named after pioneering logician Kurt Godel, had explained that for his company, winning the match was not the most essential thing.

AlphaGo – Gain Valuable Feedback

The $1m prize pool which Google had put up for the match would be donated to Go and Stem charities as well as UNICEF, should DeepMind win and winning or losing, AlphaGo would gain valuable feedback from battling with one of the strongest players which the game has ever seen, besides the feedback, which no one working for DeepMind would be able to give, the machine having surpassed its developer long ago.

The vice-chairman of Korea’s Go association, Park Chi-Moon had inserted a note of caution for humanity that `DeepMind was of the belief that Alphago has 50% chance of winning and that they believe they are in fact more confident.

However, Lee himself was more confident in his skills and standing on stage visibly nervous in front of the crowd in Korea, said that he will not be too comfortable in approaching the challenge and will not be too arrogant in his preparation. However, he added that the company had only five months in improving the system since its game again FanHui.

Possibility of a Clean Sweep

He commented that due to the time limits, he does not think that it would be a close match and believes that it will be 5-0 or perhaps 4-1 and the critical point for him would be not to lose the match. There could be a possibility for him of taking a clean sweep.

Hassabis agreed that the system seems to have various weak points and that part of the cause for the game against Lee was to gain more information on how to progress in those conditions. However he refrained from divulging in more details for fear of handing the game to his challenger.

But behind the fight for mastery over Go is a broader aim. The game seems to be a perfect test-bed for the machine learning techniques of DeepMind and the same systems which it had mastered Go would be soon put to use, enhancing the voice-controlled assistants on the smartphones of Google.

 In the longer term on tackling issues, regarding climate as well as healthcare modelling, an announcement on the latter would come later this week.

Raspberry Pi3 adds Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

Raspberry Pi featuring Quicker 64-Bit Processor/Wi-Fi/Bluetooth

The most well-known British computer so far is the Raspberry Pi and the title was previously held by the Amstrad PCW which is believed to have sold around eight million units. The sale of Raspberry Pi will exceed that amount this month according to Eben Upton the founder of Raspberry Pi project. The breakthrough has come as the Raspberry Pi 3 had been unveiled featuring a quicker 64-bit processor as well as a built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections.

Mr Upton had stated that they are the best-selling UK computer. He mentioned that the Pi Foundation originally believed that it had won the title last year when the sales had gone past the total set in 1980s by Sinclair machines. But he mentioned it had appeared that the Amstrad machine had been sold in great numbers and that the total too had exceeded.

He added that the curve tends to keep trending upwards and the sales will get a lift from the release of the Raspberry Pi 3 by the end of February. The sale price would be $35 and a few hundred thousand units would be available on launch day from the online stores. The Raspberry Pi 3 retains the form factor of the Raspberry Pi 3 and works well with the latest version.

Utilise as PC Replacement/Embedded Computer

He had informed BBC that the two main things which people tend to do with their Pi are utilising it as PC replacement or use it as an embedded computer. The Pi 3 is doubling down on both these things instead of going looking for new things to do.

The updated device tends to have a 64-bit processor on-board which provides the Pi 3 a performance of 50% improvement on the Pi 2. Besides this the built in to the latest device are the Wi-Fi as well as the Bluetooth connections. He mentioned that for hobbyists, who use the Pi, it tends to act as a hub for home gadgets who would be able to use Bluetooth to connect devices as well as sensors together.

 He said that this is the first Pi one can stick behind the TV and tend to forget about it completely. There have been indications that the Pi had been successful in achieving one of its formation focus that is to make computer science as a more well-known option at degree level.

Being Used Extensively in Schools

Mr Upton had mentioned that the Pi’s popularity together with the other coding projects were arousing interest in the technical subject. He mentioned that in some of the institutions the number of individuals enrolling on computer science courses had improved from the low points that were seen in 2008-9.

 But he admitted that it may yet be too early to see the complete effect of the Pi on the people who tend to pursue coding or their technical skill, considering that the first Pi was released only in 2012. He said that the gadgets had begun being used extensively in schools and the merger of the Pi foundation with the Code Club initiative could ensure that it reaches more children and with children in the age of 9 – 11, would be seeing a lot of people getting excited about it at that level.

What Software Do Warehouses Use To Keep Track of Inventory

The inventory in your warehouse represents a lot of value, and it is essential to keep track of each and every component. Organizing data has always been a challenge, and new software tools are making it easier than ever to streamline costs and improve productive output.

The Old Ways 

Before computers became common place in the business world, complicated ledgers were kept by hand in log books. Very precise notes of inventory had to be maintained and inventory specialists relied on physical counts of parts. This method was error prone as a human being can only keep track of so much information at a time. While obsolete, upgrading with a personal computer and digital ledgers presents many of the same problems to small businesses.

The Spread Sheet

For small companies or startups, an inventory ledger can be approximated with a well-organized spreadsheet. Spreadsheet software is robust and can perform a number of automated calculations that reduce errors in counts, but as a business grows, this method must be abandoned as well. Spreadsheets do not store history or track process moves. The files must be constantly updated, and there is the risk that important data can be lost. Reports must be generated from scratch, and redundant information between different departments can overwhelm your company’s decision makers.

Dedicated Database

Eventually a large enough company needs to implement a database system to track inventory. With a barcode reader and digital locations, placing parts into a system and tracking their moves through a process is easy. Reports can be generated that help the warehouse staff streamline redundancies. It is even possible to create multiple locations for your components, and the information remains current.
Databases are great tools, but they are still limited in many ways. They require hardware to support the data, and information can only be accessed by those in the warehouse. Reports are much easier to create, but new information must be manually transferred back and forth between business units.

ERP Warehouse Solutions

Most companies now depend on enterprise resource planning software. These are the most advanced and powerful tools that companies have for managing their entire operations. Like the database, the information in your warehouse is easy to organize and keep current, but an ERP system integrates all of the data your company uses into one solution. Each department has easy access to information that impacts its operations.

With current information shared across business units, employees are free to make decisions and respond to changes in the market. It is important for sales staff to know what is available. Customer service reps should be able to see if a delivery has been made on time when responding to a complaint. Accounting departments need to be able to estimate the value of the inventory to balance accounts.

ERP solutions are also readily available to small companies through software service programs. Instead of purchasing and maintaining the computing hardware and software themselves, high speed internet access gives companies the options to contract with a solutions provider. Storing data on a network server operated by an outside company lowers the initial cost and provides quick access to these tools.

The better organized your inventory is, the greater the efficiency you have in your operations. Upgrading with an ERP solution gives your company the opportunity to streamline processes and increase its competitive edge. These tools are more readily available and essential than ever before.

Jaq's Salt Water Charger Powers Up Phones

 

MyFC Unveiled its Jaq – Fuel Cell Charger

A portable power bank which tends to use salt as well as water for recharging smartphones has been put up on show at the Mobile World Congress tech show in Barcelona.Swedish start-up MyFC unveiled its cool technology called Jaq at the CES on Jan 6. It is said that the device is small enough to be slipped into the back pocket and is fuel cell charger.

 It utilises saltwater and oxygen in converting chemical energy into electricity. The Jaq cell charger comprises of colourful rubber sleeve together with a credit card-sized `power card’ containing saltwater. It tends to work by causing detached chemical reaction between the saltwater – fuel and oxygen – oxidant wherein hydrogen molecules from the water tends to enter the fuel cell at the anode.

A chemical reaction shreds the hydrogen molecules of their electrons and the positively charged hydrogen ions are then capable of moving through the electrolyte where the negatively charged hydrogen electron delivers the current via the external circuit. Oxygen, in the meantime, enters the fuel cell at the cathode where the oxygen molecules mingle with the hydrogen electrons returning from the electrical circuit and the hydrogen ions that have been delivered through the electrolyte

Each Power Card Used Only Once

The outcome of the reaction tends to produce electricity and water which the device connects and utilises to charge the phone through a Micro-USB cable. It is said that one power card can generate 1,800 mAH amount of electricity which would be adequate in charging an iPhone 6S completely though each power card could be used only once.

The charger comprises of a credit card shaped `power card’ and a hollowed out port which is about the size of a smartphone. The card contained saltwater that tends to fuel electricity producing chemical reaction when one slips the card into the port.

To obtain electricity to the battery of the phone one needs to plug the phone into the port with a standard cable.The Jaq charger does not require plugging in, since it tends to utilise disposable cartridges in generating power. Chris Foxx of BBC had asked Bjorn Westerholm the company’s chief executive if it was better for the environment than using the normal battery based power banks.

World’s Smallest Charger

It is the world’s smallest charger of its type and the device has got its European unveiling offers up speedy phone charging without the need of plugging it in a socket. It is owing to Jaq powering itself with the help of its own PowerCard that is made of water and salt.

When this is stuck in the charger, some chemical magic hydrogen is created and the charge takes place. It tends to charge a phone just the same time a normal power outlet does. Though the chemical reaction and hydrogen may sound a bit dangerous, MyFC undertakes the responsibility that the chemical reaction seems to be completely safe and that it is also environmental friendly.

The MyFC Jaq seems to be compatible with all phones as well as tablets inclusive of iOS and would be made available in white, black and purple. Though the release date is not yet out, MyFC has put the Jaq up for pre-order wherein one can sign up to have PowerCards sent to them on a subscription basis.