Meet Luigi MIT's Sewer Scouring Robot

Luigi – Sewer Trawling Robot

A sewer-trawling robot has been created by Underworlds, a project from Senseable City Lab of MIT which has been designed in connecting the gold mine of information prowling in the sewer.The robot in question is known as Luigi and up to now, has been deployed underground in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Boston and Kuwait as a part of an experimental program which could be spun out in various cities worldwide.

Scientists are of the belief that on researching fecal matter they would be capable of envisaging the spread of infectious diseases, provide an image of the collective health of the community together with influence policy. The Underground project, launched in 2015, has been bringing experts together from engineering, public health and biology sectors.

Carol Ratti, MIT professor, co-principal investigator and founder of Senseable City Lab had commented that `the name (Underworlds) tends to highlight the rich amount of insights hidden in our cities and in this case in sewage’. Scientists can monitor urban health patterns and diabetes, analyse drug usage as well as identify antibiotic-resistant bacteria, by sampling and interpreting human waste.

Biomarkers in Human Waste – Insight in Infectious Diseases

Co-principal investigator of Underworlds and director of the Alm Lab, Eric Alm had explained that ` we all tend to flush valuable health data in the toilet. Sewers tend to signify an exceptional opportunity where health data from everyone in a community is assembled together.

With the provision of biomarkers in human waste, they are in a position of obtaining some insight regarding infectious diseases like flu strains, which has ultimately made it possible for the scientists to expect and alleviate epidemics. Collection of fecal samples is not really a desirable task.

 Ratti recalls that initially the sampling method had been very `low-tech’ and the same was lowered to a 20-foot pole with a bottle taped to the end of it in a manhole and the sample had been scooped out. Sampling waste by hand was not enjoyable and hence they started developing the robots.

To quicken things up, the team had installed a large pump at street level. He commented that all these methods seemed to be quite messy. It was then that the first automated sewage-scouring robot, Mario had come to the rescue.

Nintendo – First Generation Model

Named after the famous plumber, Nintendo, the first generation model updated the process though was not adequately fast. Then came in Luigi, which has been much more compact and economical wherein the new model has enabled the team to streamline the collection process.

Luigi measuring around 3feet long and 3 inches in diameter comes with a motor, pump together with a filter. In order to get the task done, the remote-controlled robot tends to descend from street level to the waste water and seizes the bacteria by pumping the water through a filtration system.

 On obtaining the samples Luigi tends to return to street level for refining and dispensation. Ratti has stated that usually the examination of sewage is carried out in the treatment plants beyond the cities which tend to lose the precise data owing to the time in transport.

However they are capable of beginning the filtration process of fecal and urinary matter in situ. Moreover accumulating fresh sample seems to be critical since gut bacteria tend to die off as soon as they enter the sewer system.

Are Killer Bots About to Do Away with Smartphone Apps?

Bots - Little Digital Assistants

Smartphone app has been around and Apple tends to have two million on them in its App Store while Google Play seems to have some few hundred thousand more than that. The Aggregate downloads of app have crossed over 150 billion mark. However some have been speculating whether the apps would be replaced by something lesser, smarter and quicker.

Due to artificial intelligence software, bots have been programmed to chat to humans through text, remove the meaning and then perform on it. They seem to be little digital assistants. One would be talking to a bot at any point of time when you see a live chat box opened up on the website of a retailer or while ordering a taxi or flowers via chat platforms like WeChat and Facebook Messenger.

According to the research by Nielsen, irrespective of the various options on apps, the average number used is 27.The issue with apps and their apparently unending updates is that they tend to consume the storage volume of the smartphone alarmingly rapidly. Developers tend to often get a raw deal. One estimate recommended that 94% of the cash created by the apps in the App Store of Apple to only 1% of publishers and those firm also received 70% of all the downloads.

Bots Natural Successors of Apps

Ted Nash of Tapdaq, a veteran app developer while still a teenager, had commented that one of the worst things regarding the App Store was the App Store since it is a walled garden. He stated that oversights of Apple on all the slows down development and forces programmers of app would comprise of specific chunks of code which tends to look after adverts, usage statistic together with the other metrics.

Further to this, he added that the issue of making apps to function across various devices as well as keeping up with the changes to Apple’s software, it is no wonder some people seemed to be disillusioned. Head of mobile development at accounting software firm Sage, Kriti Sharma, stated that apps use to be the big thing but several more people seem to be messaging that posting on social media.

 This could be the reason why she is of the belief that bots are the natural successors to apps, the interface is promptlyacquainted to consumers.

Pegg – Assisting Small Business Makers

Ms Sharma had begun her career in coding at Barclays where she had co-created its Pingit banking app and supervised its mobile portfolio. She is of the belief that for companies or brands which preferred meaningful interactions with the customers, a chat intervened by a bot would work well.

A bot known as Pegg is being developed by Sage which tends to act as a smart business assistant and would be assisting small business makers in keeping track of outgoings as well as expenses, which would be making the tracking of cash flow much easier.

Ms Sharma had commented that bots do not have to be super-complicated though over a period of time they could add a lot more value for a customer. She states that bots seems to be more reliable since good progress has been made in writing artificially intelligent software.

Moreover since several companies now tend to have massive data they could utilise in fine-tuning the responses of bot. She also claims that bots also tend to have speed with which they can be developed, organized as well as updated

Facebook Messenger Just Rolled Out 'Secret Conversations'

In this digital age consumers are more concerned about their privacy than they have ever before. Facebook is trying to build its credibility in terms of enhancing the security towards safeguarding the privacy of the billion users on its social media platform. For last two months Facebook has been trialing the Secret Conversation named feature which aims to offers end-to-end encryption feature on the Messenger app. A update to the app finally brings this much need encryption to the Facebook messaging app which has more than a billion users on global scale.

Secret Conversation a much needed feature for Messenger

A number of chat apps like SnapChat, WhatsApp and others are already providing the encryption on its platform to safeguard the communication of the users from prying eyes. Over the years chat apps has cemented themselves as a central mode of communication giving way to the age old text messaging.

Having this feature on Messenger will help in placing it among the secure and reliable apps category which will certainly aid in the adoption rate among the targeted audience. End-to-end encryption offers dual benefits as not just app owners but even the hackers and law enforcement agencies wouldn’t be able to access the user information in any way.

How to Use Secret conversations? 

Facebook Messenger will require users to ‘opt-in’ to the Secret Conversations feature. Users can make use of the Secret Conversation by manually selecting ‘Secret’ each time they need to initiate an encrypted conversation with friends. Messenger users can even add expiration time for their sent messages which range from 5 to 24 hour which is quite similar to SnapChat offering. However using the Secret Conversation will limit the amount of action user can perform while sending a message such as access to chatbots, animated GIFs and businesses will be turned off.

Report on messaging apps brings incredible insight

A detailed report generated by Business Insider on messaging apps brings a more refined and valuable look on the messaging market, value and potential. Right in the beginning it states that mobile messaging apps have transformed itself as a massive market with hundreds of millions of monthly active users.

The rise in messaging service apps and their adoption is directly influenced by the steep rise in the penetration of internet and falling of data prices couple with cheaper devices on global scale. Even to reign among the top 5-10 messaging apps isn’t an easy task as user’s preference keeps shifting with time therefore apps has to come up with new innovative ideas to keep their users engaged on their platform.

Currently the leaders in the messaging app platform happen to be the Asian messaging apps such as WeChat, LINE and Kakao Talk. All of these apps commands huge user base while Messenger is still in the nascent stage when compared to the amount of features and services these established apps present to the consumers. However with Secret Conversation Facebook is bringing the challenge back to the leaders in a most credible manner.

Saving money on tech is one way to cut down on spending and it can be achieved as follows:

 

Scan bills for hidden fees

It is never a waste of time to carefully scan your bills to ensure you are not overcharged. This is because it is habitual for a majority of companies to impose extra fees that are never questioned by anyone. There is also the possibility of banks deducting money in form of service and maintenance fee in your already suffering bank account. Make a call and inquire about such charges, if possible request that they be dropped. You could make significant savings from doing just that. It does not matter even if it is just a few dollars of savings, remember that every single dollar counts in such tough economic times.

Coupons

There are numerous useful coupons that can be found online and these are readily available on the right websites. What makes it even better is the fact that a majority of these sites currently have smartphone apps. Which use the Global Positioning System technology of your phone to deliver coupons right away. A good example would be using best buy coupons +Tiger Direct that has huge promo tech deal savings of up to 70%. Alternatively, one could utilize money-saving promotion codes when they get an opportunity to. Promotion codes are strictly coupons for online shopping.

Decrease cellular bills

You should strive to cut back on your cellular service especially when you are experiencing financial doldrums. You might just be surprised on how little data you need to get you through the month. In addition, you could try installing apps that might assist you in saving data. Cancelling is never an option as you require your phone and because activation fees might be charged in order to restore your plan. Alternatively, you can use Wi-Fi on free services such as Skype that allows you to text and call even without a cell phone plan in place.

Lower internet bill

The internet bill can be regarded as one of the most financially draining monthly payments. Individuals spend hundreds of dollars on unnecessary TV and internet. However, if a person is only interested in saving money without altering any of his or her services, then they should consult their provider on waiving other charges or even equipment fee. Alternatively, they could also be able to select an affordable plan that will allow them to make savings.

Forget about replacing your computer

When your computer starts glitching or slowing down, your last option should never be to rush and replace it. Instead, you could try finding ways by which to speed it up, fix its freezing or how to personally sort out other major PC problems without replacing your computer. One way would to entirely replace Windows on an older computer with an OS that is faster such as Chrome OS. This has the ability of refreshing old gear so that it is as good as new.  

Conclusion
With the above five insightful tips, you are now well equipped on how to save money on tech.

A New Pokémon GO Update

Pokemon Go fans are delighted with weekly updates which is making this game more and more exciting and fun. Niantic is staying true to its promise about offering new updates after every few weeks to bring new features in the game. Buddy System was unveiled last month on the Pokemon Go which are highly acclaimed and loved by the players as well. So far players have accumulated a wide number of medals for various for completing certain objectives in the game.

How new update works? 

Niantic has carefully described how this new update works on the Play Store and App Store description itself. It states that players chances of catching a particular kind or category of pokemon will be boosted based on their medal tally with this update. In case a player happens to higher number of Kindler Medal then that player will get more chances at catching the Fire type category Pokemons which includes Vuplix, Charmander and Pontya.

In the game app users will get a sign ‘+1/2/3’ with catch bonus mentioned nearby. This means that players chances of capturing that particular kind of pokemon based on their medal tally will increase by 10%. Catch bonus can even be understood as XP reward for their effort and time. A number of players has argued that it get touch to catch pokemons at higher level of game which seriously limits their ability to explore the game but this update is set to remove all those hard feelings.

What does new update brings to the game? 

This new update in truth acts as a blanket nerf for all the breakout rates which have been provided throughout the game. It will make use of the existing metal tally rather than resetting all the categories of pokemons to provide a valid capture bonus. Currently gold medals are awarded for capturing Normal, Poison, Flying, Water and Psychic types, Silver for Grass, Ghost, Dragon and Bug types while Bronze for the rest of pokemons. This feature works towards making it easier to catch the pokemons at which you excel like if you have more silver medals then you will be catch new pokemons in that particular with ease.
Little bit of confusion stills surrounds the new update
Some of the things are unclear in the new update which includes the ‘+’ capture bonus. It can be 10% per level or 30% per level or even be just 1% per level. Currently it is not possible to make out the real functionality of this ‘+’ sign though it can be easily believed that it will help in making the capacity better at the end. Niantic should be applauded for its effort in continuously improving the game-play as well as keeping existing users engaged by carefully bringing game centric updates after every few weeks. So far the best addition to the still goes to Buddy System while the recent new medal/capture is filled with its own issues but once they are uncovered it can turn to be a valuable addition as well.