Future Prosthetics Are Here

Tailored Prosthetics – Alternative Limb Project

When one of the clients, an ex-serviceman Ryan Seary had lost part of his left leg and left arm, while clearing mines in Afghanistan, he had felt psychologically prepared for amputation due to his military training. Sophie de Oliveira Barata creates tailored prosthetics through the Alternative Limb Project which, while they are functional and beautiful, tends to make a great impact on the lives of the wearer.

She had informed the audience at Wired Health 2015 that it was everything that came next which proved most challenging. She adds that early on in rehab, his physio got touch with her informing her that he had this guy and was wrapping fur around his leg and didn’t know what to do with him.

 He told Oliveira Barata that he wanted something cool-looking, three dimensional and removable, in case it did not suit the occasion. He also wanted to look down and see his toes again. Seary was wearing a common model with a microprocessor in the knee, though had already painted the `nails’ to personalise it by the time the London-based designer had met him.

Breaking Down Barriers & Boundaries

It had this horrible looking footshell where the toes were replaced with silicone, matching all the various skin tones by building the silicone one layer on top of the other. The nails were handmade and hairs from the back of the neck was utilised on the toes, making it realistic. The muscle plates had been modelled using 3D programmer Rhino and worked like a clip cover.

The design had been inspired by whale bones, trees, shells and the ocean with knots of trees that worked into the joints. But it was what occurred once he had donned the striking product in public that proved to Barata that her work could show unexpected effects. People had been coming up to him, stating that it was really interesting and how was it made.

They could not believe that the carefully crafted silicone foot was not real and wanted to know how it functioned. It was breaking down barriers and boundaries.

Extension of Personalities

Most of the clients that de Oliveira Barata tends to work with, seems to have a strong idea of what they need from their prosthetic. As with fashion for several people, it tends to become an extension of their personalities.Model victoria Modesta had donned some of the striking designs ranging from black lacquered spike to a white silicone design fixed with LED lights.

De Oliveira Barata commented that `she expressed her individualism and her progressiveness through her prosthetic and for her it was the ultimate power dressing and the spike leg was her dream. Veronika Pete, another client, desired to close the gap between her thigh and the bottom of her leg but when it was not possible, de Oliveira Barata had opened up the space in the knee socket to introduce a kind of turbine engine. She had also introduced secret compartments, crystallised designs and more to her line of fantastic limbs, fingers and toes. She stated that it tends to change everything and one is very much in control of the process.

You can now Report Multiple Abusive Tweets in one go

Users Can Report Various Abusive Tweets in Single Report

Users now have the privilege of reporting various abusive tweets in a single report after an update to twitter’s harassment rules. Twitter had stated that it required making user feel safe while expressing themselves on the social network. Twitter had mentioned in a blog post announcing the change, that the behaviour which crosses that line into abuse is against the rule and want it to be easy for user to report and have introduced an improvement to reporting process, the ability to attach multiple tweets to a single report.

The update would enable users to add more information regarding the extent of abuse, providing extra context which could be helpful in getting reports resolved quickly. Twitter had regularly come under fire due to its inability to stem the flow of abuse that often tends to take place against the minority groups.

However, steps have been taken in preventing the abuse from recurring both by Twitter as well as by governments. Trolls, in the UK who tend to use false profiles to pester other users would now face prosecution. In Germany, hate speech posted to Twitter, Facebook and Google will now be deleted within twenty four hours.

Not Tolerate Online Behaviour, Intended to Pester Users

Twitter had updated its rules, late last year to a more clearly state, that it would `not tolerate online behaviour which is intended to pester, intimidate or use fear to silence another user’s voice. The update is said to be rolled out on iOS, Android as well as on the web with Twitter stating that it assumes all user would have access to the feature within the next few weeks.

Twitter safety engineer Hao Tang had mentioned in a blog post that this update makes it easier to provide them with more information about the extent of abuse and reduces the time it takes to do so. That added context often helps them to investigate issues and get them resolved faster.

A little over a year ago, the then Twitter Inc. CEO Dick Costolo had admitted to employees in a memo of the company that `we suck at dealing with abuse and trolls’. Twitter’s brisk system of self-expression unluckily tends to facilitate a flood of wandering and disapproving tweets.

Easier to Report Threats to Law Enforcement

Earlier, when a Twitter use would be harassed or saw a user pestering another, abusive tweets had to be reported one at a time which takes six clicks to report a single tweet. Moreover reporting multiple offenses would get labour intensive, and individually reported tweets were not automatically considered part of the same harassment occurrence.

Hao Tang, state that this change would make it easier for the company to understand the extent of abuse some users deal with. The change would be made available on Twitter.com and Twitter’s iOS together with Android apps rolling out to users world-wide over the next few weeks.

This update trails the improvement over the last couple of years which target to make it easier for users of Twitter to report threats to law enforcement and as a rewriting of the company’s violent threats policy, the capability of sharing list of blocked Twitter accounts with other users and the launch of Twitter Safety Centre combining the resources that are available to victims of harassment.

Facebook Developing Camera App Similar to Snapchat

Facebook to come up with Stand-Alone Camera App

According to online source report, quoting people familiar with the matter, Facebook is coming up with a stand-alone camera app which will be like the disappearing photo app Snapchat, to upsurge user engagement and will encourage its 1.6 billion users to create and share photos and videos.The app which is being developed by the friend-sharing team of Facebook in London is said to be in its initial stage and may not come to completion, as per the report.

 Moreover, the newspaper has reported that the company is also said to be scheduling a feature which would enable user to record video through the app to start live streaming. The same had caused apprehension within Facebook, over increasingly passive behaviour on the social network of the user. Several of the users tend to check Facebook often or multiple times a day though few tend to share photos, video and update of status regarding their own lives.

Withdrawing the trend seems to be a growing priority within the company. Facebook spokeswoman had refrained from commenting on the product plans. She had mentioned that the overall level of sharing on Facebook had been strong and alike to levels in prior years. People familiar with the matter had stated that the camera-first format is focused in motivating users to create photos and videos.

Open to Personalized Feed/Articles

The flagship mobile app, in comparison, tends to open to a personalized feed or articles, status, updates and ads, which encourages users to use content, though not necessarily create it. The approach also tends to differ from Instagram image-sharing network of Facebook that had gained reputation as a place to post the best, most well-photographed pictures.

 Instagram tends to compel users to go through numerous steps before posting an image, inclusive of filters and it is not the first time that Facebook has built an app encouraging sharing. It had launched Slingshot, in June 2014, a Snapchat like app which enabled users to trade photos and videos, which disappeared after 24 hours.

It had earlier launched a photo-editing as well as sharing app known as Camera and none gained much traction among users which was later on dropped. The latest app would have a bit different features like the live-streaming mode. In the past year, the decline in sharing on Facebook has developed as a problem.

New Feature - `On This Day’

Technology news website – The Information had reported earlier this month that the original broadcast sharing on Facebook had dropped by 21% as of mid-2015 when compared with the earlier year.During the first quarter of 2016, 33% of Facebook users surveyed by market researcher GlobalWebIndex had informed that they had updated their profile status in the past month and 37% stated that they had uploaded or shared their own photos.

A year back, 44% had informed that they had updated their profile status in the past month and 46% stated that they had uploaded or shared their photos. The camera app just seems to be one way that Facebook intends tackling the issue.

 Facebook has also tried to re-engage users with a new feature known as `On This Day’ that permits users relive and share past posts. According to GlobalWebIndes, this together with similar features could have prompted more users to `like’ Facebook post. It also said that that in the first quarter of 2016, 82% of Facebook users had clicked `like’ at least once in the previous month up from 73% at the same period, a year earlier.

World's Largest Aircraft Airlander 10

The Airlander 10 – World’s Largest Aircraft

The world’s largest aircraft, the Airlander 10 has ultimately been given its official name – Martha Gwyn, which had uncharitably earned the nickname of the `Flying Bum’ owing to its characteristic shape when seen from front.

The name had been disclosed at a ceremony at its hanger in Shortstown, Bedfordshire, just days after regulators had given the go-ahead for its first flight which was to take place later in the year, by Duke of Kent. Hybrid Air Vehicles, building the Airlander has also revealed that it hadraised-up over £1 billion in crowdfunding push this month and the airship is named after the wife of the chairman of Hybrid Air Vehicles, Philip Gwyn.

Mrs Gwyn had stated that she can’t really take it in and had a shire horse named after her in the past and this is the first airship. She adds that when The Duke had stood back and she read and then looked again and read it, it took some time for it to sink in and that it has been an enormous surprise.

Offer Business/Leisure Flights

The Duke of Kent, who is the pilot himself, during his visit to the First World War era hanger where the Airlander is retained, was shown around the flight deck and cabin of the aircraft before being given the occasion of experiencing what it would be like to fly in the aircraft in its flight trainer.

Over 302 ft. long, the aircraft which is part plane and partairship is about 50 feet longer than the largest passenger jets. It is said that the design of the hybrid airship had been first developed for the US government as a long endurance surveillance aircraft though it fell short of defence falloffs.

 The British firm Hybrid Air Vehicles has launched a campaign in May 2015, to return the Airlander 10 to the skies and would now carry out ground testing before 200 hours of test flights which tends to begin later in the year. The ship is said to be converted to offer business as well as leisure flights in a hanger in Cardington, Bedfordshire.

Conception – Lighter than Air Technology-Airships/Aerodynamic Lift - Airplanes

The conception behind it is to combine the lighter than air technology that is used in airships with the aerodynamic lift that is seen in airplanes, enabling it to travel long distances with comparatively less fuel and set down without the need for large measure runways.

Last October, one of its fins which measures 29 feet by 36 feet was filled with 1.3 million cubic feet of helium adequate to fill 15 Olympic sized swimming pools, in a test run. However in spite of its impressive size and design, which is anticipated to give a boost, in using airships, the vehicles tend to attract more attention due to its appearance.

The test in October resulted in a stir on Twitter, with several spotting the airship rather unfortunate resemblance to a human bottom. In one of the case, head-on image of the airship had been changed with the inclusion of a picture of Kim Kardashian who is said to be famous for her derriere. In November, the aircraft had already been tested with successful float test with the hull being filled with helium and floated external of the aircraft hangar, though it would be the first test once the engines are attached successfully.

Bots Explained

Bots/Chatbots Popular Models for Software

Bot is a software which has been designed to automate the kinds of jobs one tend to do usually on their own, such as making a dinner reservation, fetching and displaying information or adding an appointment to your calendar. While technology to simulate conversation with the computer has been around for several years, bots or chatbots are a popular model for software. The common kind of bots, chatbots tend to simulate conversation and often live within the messaging apps or are designed to look that way. It seems like one is chatting back and forth as one would do with a human being.

Some of the bots can handle various customer service requests that would usually need a telephone call to a human agent. For instance, a bot has been released by Taco Bell which permits you to order and pay for tacos via an automated chat conversion. Other bots such as X.ai could be helpful in scheduling the meeting for you wherein one could just add the bot to the email thread and it could handle the back and forth conversation essential in scheduling the meeting, makes you aware when the same is arranged and adds it to your calendar.

Bots Capable of automating all Types of Things

As the bot technology tends of progress, the thinking is that the bots would be capable of automating all types of things, possibly even things as complex as the taxes. Chatbots have already been there in several places where one tends to communicate, mainly messaging apps that lend themselves to conversational interface. Bots are there in Slack, which is the business-focused messaging service, several of which tend to help with the work-connected task like expenses or to-do-lists. Kik Messengers having about 275 million registered users has announced recently a bot store which comprise of one bot, to send people Vine videos and another to get makeup suggestions from Sephora.

For years, Twitter seems to have bot, such as bots which tweets about earthquakes as soon as they are registered or a Domino’s bot which permits you to order a pizza by tweeting a pizza emoji. Several of the users are expecting Facebook to roll out a bot store of some type at its annual F8 conference for software developers which would mean that these bots would soon be operative within Messenger, the messaging app.

Companies Stacking Big on Bots

Test of the virtual assistant bot known as `M’ had already begun, though the product seems to be available for a few people and mainly powered by humans. Several of the companies which are building the apps used on the phones are building bots. A group of companies are staking big on bots inclusive of Microsoft and Slack which tend to have easy access for bots.

The technology which tends to power bots, artificial intelligence software has been progressing intensely due to the sharp interest from key Silicon Valley powers such as Google and Facebook. Facebook which tends to have 900 million Messenger users is said to get into bots and many envisage this as a big probable opportunity and where Facebook seems to go, the rest of the industry tend to follow.

Slack which imports bot-based services has also developed radically to two million daily users which bot makers as well as the investors view it as a possible profitable market. It is helpful that messaging is seen as a new opportunity particularly in interacting with a corporation in the same personal space one would generally interact with a colleague.