A Camera without a Lens? Hitachi is on It

Hitachi Camera – Without Lenes

Hitachi has been working on developing cameras which does not seen to have lenses and the company claims that the images taken with the camera would be refocused after they are captured. They have announced the progress of a technology for digital camera which has the potential of capturing images without the use of a lens.

The intention is to make cameras much thinner as well as lighter, suitable for cars and mobile devices which could take minimum space. Another aspect is that of the robots – technology and Hitachi would be providing fewer limitations in placing of the cameras. As to Apple’s claim that eliminating the headphone jack permits bigger batteries as well as other parts to be placed in it. Hitachi states that the camera which utilises lensless tech would be much slimmer and lighter.

The lensless cameras are possible due to a pattern development technique known as `Moiré fringes’. Hitachi intends to utilise these cameras that tend to use this technology by 2018. The company also expects to use lensless photography in automated driving, vehicles as well as robotics.

Fourier Transform

With the help of investigation tech like CCTV, the images of individuals often tend to be blurred owing to low focal ranges. For instance, with Hitachi’s lensless camera tech, the still images would theoretically get adjusted on the fly from a range of depths in identifying individuals clearly.

The sensor has a film placed before it comprising of a pattern of concentric and when an image of the pattern is taken, it tends to cast a shadow due to the light which strikes it, on the sensor. Thereafter the shadow is captured by the sensor and overlaid on another pattern concentric just like the one place before the sensor at the time of the image process.

This tends to develop a moiré effect which is a kind of interference resulted by the two patterns touched. There is a possibility of using these data to reconstruct the concluding image by using the Fourier transform.

Capture Angle/Pattern of Light

Hitachi technology also tends to provide other benefits. In fact when the shutter tends to capture all the information connected to depth, it is capable of changing the point of focus after one has captured an image. The design of the Hitachi camera is unique since it tends to do double duty wherein it not only captures the images without the use of the lens but also captures depth information and focus that image after the fact.

Basically it tends to capture the angle and the pattern of the light which comes in the sensor that enables to change what is in focus after the detail by overlaying a another pattern over the captured shadow during processing.

We already other products which tend to provide the same function, for instance, the Lytro Illum and the difference in this case is the size which is more compact. The small range Xperia tends to have a bigger space. Sony Xperia Z5 Compact on offer from Amazon Marketplace to 369 euro or from Amazon at 419 euro.

Samsung Set To Remove Headphone Jack on Galaxy S8

It was a big surprise, as well as, made some hue and cry when iPhone have decided to take away the facility of the headphone jack of the iPhone and replacing the same with the headphones, which is connected to the charging port of the handset. While this has created lots of controversies, among the users; it has ridiculously described this awful act or move as a very courageous act. Now it appears that Samsung, the well-known competitor of the Apple, is trying to toeing almost the same line of action and might be removing the 3.5 mm audio port from their flagship set, the very rich Galaxy S8, which has already created some sorts of speculations.

According to industry insider; the most eminent set Galaxy S8 will be made public at the trade show of Mobile World Congress on February in 2017. Most importantly this specific Galaxy S8 phone will come with the unique provision of audio port, using the charging port of the same phone, which will be the exact replica of the action of iPhone 7. This means that users have to listen to the audio impact, either using an adaptor or by using the wireless headphones or with the help of specialized headphone that is connected to the charging port.

Important Issues

This aforementioned facility in Galaxy S8 will not allow the user to do the dual work of charging and listening to songs at a time, as the port of is same, therefore; it can only be done, if there is another external type separate adapter, which is having at least two ports. But it could be a little bit easier for the user of Galaxy S8, compared to iPhone 7 users, as the former will be having the facility of wireless charging, which will replenish the exhausted battery if that placed on the pad.

While the iPhone 7 is lacking a headphone jack, which had raised lots of eyebrows at the time of introduction, but after several weeks of use of this phone has become almost a non-issue for its potential users.

It can be noted that the absence of the extra port in Galaxy S8 allows the company, i.e., Apple to increase the size of the battery; it has improved the vibration feedback of the phone and make the set water resistant, which is considered as great advantages for any phone. It is quite evident that the Samsung will be following the footstep of the iPhone and get rids of the audio jack, which may make the phone a bit thinner than its predecessor.

Final Words

SamMobile has also reported that Samsung will be having stereo speakers in the Galaxy S8, which will improve the external quality of the audio output. It is also claimed that Samsung will remove the home button from the upcoming Galaxy S8 and replaced with a fingerprint sensor implanted in the unique display.

These unique provisions, in association with the curved screen of the device, will be covering the entire façade of the device; a design concept that may be considered by Apple in their upcoming iPhone 8.

NASA’s Double Bubble D8

NASA has long been longing at ways to revolutionize the air travel which has not seen any great technological advancement in the recent past. NASA has come up with a new design which can be fitted right into the aircraft’s wings. This new radical design is related to the segment of Double Bubble D8 which focuses on fitting the plane with extra equipment to increase its agility, speed and performance. NASA study has shown that this new design will help in boosting the fuel efficiency of the air crafts by eight percent through dramatically reducing the drag as well as weight of the future planes.

NASA working on a super project

NASA is actively engaged in testing new fan and inlet design at its Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Currently the design of jet aircraft ensures that the engines are located quite away from the aircraft body in order to avoid the slow flowing air which usually develops along the plane’s surface. This is also known as boundary layer.

NASA engineers have devised a new way of reducing the fuel burn through embedding the aircraft engine into these surfaces. Doing away with the boundary layer aircraft will generate the propel ability right through its mission with less fuel usage. NASA engineers are currently in testing phase but they are hopeful that the new design and required enabling technologies will help in revolutionizing the air transportation in near future.
How the testing is carried out?

Testing is an integral part of development of new design and its enabling technologies in order to make it safer for wide usage in future. NASA is conducting highly experimental test which will certainly require years of preparation but it will help in removing all the doubts about it in the right fashion. Research team will be testing out the new technology and hardware by pushing it against varying wind speeds and boundary layer thickness as well as the fan operation. This research will also help a number of aircraft design being pursued by the NASA along with other private and academic industry partners.

NASA has plan to get this ‘double bubble or D8’ into a twin hull plane for better fuel efficiency and lesser load and unload time factor. The design for Double Bubble D8 craft was developed in 2008 by Aurora Flight Sciences and MIT. NASA has given a contract worth $2.9 million to a company for developing a scale model of the aircraft. So far in terms of innovation only X planes has made distinct name for itself by breaking the sound barrier.

Benefits of the D8

In a nutshell this new design forwarded with the D8 will bring about a number of benefits which includes increased fuel efficiency, less community noise, improved air quality, heightened passenger experience, greater airport compatibility and faster boarding and deplaning. However the best thing worth noting about the D8 is that it will help in enhancing the efficiency of the planes at transonic cruise speeds.

Google Lets Developers Build “Conversation Actions” for Google Home

Google - A household name for the millions of internet users and recognized as one of the most important and useful search engine, which allows people to explore the world with ease and comfort. The massive growth in the science and the technology division have paved the way for the computer and the internet, which have changed the entire social structure and the idea, lifestyle and livelihood of people.

Today, it is quite tough to identify a single item or issue that is not having the touches of digital technology, therefore, the importance of the regular developments of the search engines are considered as a mandatory issue, which helps in obtaining smooth and powerful search results. With an intention to provide useful supports for its users, Google tries their best to develop their service, with new options and access, which are of high quality and relevance.

It can be noted that Google has recently announced that all types of developers, apart from its members of the private preview line up, can start the bringing of their respective services and applications to the very prominent Google Assistant, which will be starting with the all-important “conversation actions” of the Google Home.

This particularly allows the developer in creating backward and forward conversations with users all the way through the Assistant and the individual user can simply initiate these useful conversations just by using the phrase, such as; “Ok Google, Speak to Martha.”

This particular Assistant runs inside the app, like Allo Chat, it is also available on various pixel phones. Google has already made the commitment that it is planning to bring unique actions to these other important “Assistant surfaces” in the near future, although when exactly this will happen, it is still quite unclear.

To provide excellent support for those developers, who intend to build the newly formed Conversation Actions be getting started; Google has been teaming up with some partners, such as; APIAP, DashBot, GupShup, Voice Lab, Notify IO, Assist, Spoken Layer and Witlingo etc. for better assistance.

Google also allowed a very small number of associates / partners in enabling their respective app on the very popular Google Home. It may also be noted that these integrations will have to roll out within a short while, as early as, by next couple of days.

This is worth mentioning that Google made their platform more accessible and of low friction means for the user that helps in getting their voice-enabled services, with a very simple command so that the user can invoke these novel actions and that is also, without any enabling of a specific skill, such as; required on Alexa.

Google will take the final call or control over facilitating of actions on the Google Home. Google also said that they will make possible of deeper integrations across the verticals in their upcoming releases and also provide required support for the booking and purchase, but the time of availability of these assistances is still remaining a very big question.

AMD Sets Countdown for December Public Hands-On of Zen Processor

The desktop CPU market is about to be embroiled in a contest between master crafters, Intel and AMD. After almost a decade of ruling the market with dependable reputation, Intel is about to face a challenge from AMD in the form of their latest “Summit Ridge” series that will utilize high performance Zen architecture.

Aimed to tease the public with the potential of its performance, AMD has initiated a countdown that would ultimately reveal some live demos with the Zen architecture by engaging in intensive gaming sessions. This big reveal is supposed to be a web show called “New Horizon”; it will be hosted by George Keeley, a big name in video game journalism and the eminent pro gamer Peter Dager, better known as PPD, of Evil Geniuses fame.

Estimated to be aired on 13th December at 1pm PST or 4pm ET, this reveal is going to be a treat as AMD have themselves confirmed that there will be multiple guests on the show taking their turn to test the Zen extensively and give their take on the newbie. AMD is luring the nerds stating, “If you’re serious about gaming, this is an event you do not want to miss.”

Intel is slated to showcase their latest Kaby Lake desktop processors sometime in January; AMD therefore is preparing their ground to pit their super economical Zen processors against the comparatively higher range of Intel whose last Core i7 6950x processor costs a whopping $1723. “Summit Ridge” is expected to have a highest price of $500 for an ultra fast octa-core processor.

Aside from being economical, it manipulates the use of Simultaneous Multi Threading in the high end octa-cores which is a leap of modification from its previous Bulldozer series which had single threading and low processing capacities. Also there is expected to be a high cache hierarchy. Both these couplings are aimed to correct the drawbacks of older AMD models.

The New Horizon will inaugurate with a modest level quad core to test the gaming potential, which is expected to keep the curiosity burning till the next big reveal on “Summit Ridge” later on in the beginning quarter of 2017, with other technologies hidden up their sleeve.

A lot of curiosity and interest is abuzz about this AMD Zen as this project has been entirely under wraps; the idea had been planted in a small Developer Forum convention event in August. It has been worked on meticulously by AMD to improve the design of Excavator architecture and improve its processing speed by adding more clocks; each clock is supposed to be fed with 40% more instruction than Excavator.

Assuring promises of giveaways, AMD is encouraging viewers to book a spot for the prime show and catch all the action live. An adrenaline fuelled performance on the 13th will probably be a premonition of how the processor industry of the future will turn out, commanding the best from both Intel and AMD.