Thursday, July 12, 2018

Making Morse Code Available to More People on Gboard

You can now use Morse code on Google’s Gboard

Google recently added Morse code to Gboard, first on android after the I/O 2018 keynote and then now on iOS. The first version of Morse code came out in beta from on android back when Google had its I/O conference. But bringing out Morse code on iOS devices is not the only thing Google has done, they have also brought improvements to the android version of Morse code on Gboard.

Google has even created a game to teach people to communicate using Morse code, a handy tool for one if they are in trouble maybe? Or maybe it could be a cool way to chat with friends when you don’t want non- Morse coders to know what you are saying? But having Morse code on Gboard helps people with communication difficulties to use a device to communicate and such is what Assistive tech Tania Finlayson had in mind when she worked with Google on the Morse code project on Gboard.

How Morse code on Gboard can help people with disabilities:

Technology today is made for the masses but for people with disabilities it becomes very difficult to use a device that was intended for a person with no disabilities. Therefore this initiative of Google in bringing Morse code to Gboard is a good way to bring everyone onto the digital platform and in getting everyone to use a device irrespective of their physical abilities.

Nowadays when everything is done on phones and other gadgets alike, it becomes very difficult to live life not being able to use these gadgets that have become a staple in daily living.  By simply downloading an app people with disabilities can live life much easier knowing that they can access the world now with just the tip of their finger.

Finlayson also stated that a person with reduced mobility could even hook on external switches to their mobile device to operate it instead of using their fingers.

Using Morse code on Gboard:

Using Morse code on Gboard is simple enough. When you activate Morse code on Gboard, a dash and dot takes up the full space of the keyboard which would normally be filled with the QWERTY keyboard and just like the QWERTY keyboard as you type on the icons you get suggestions for words.

Google has even created a Morse typing Trainer game which it boasts can train people to use Morse code on Gboard in under an hour. This morse code game is available on both desktop and mobile versions. What is even better is that the game is free for anyone who is interested in learning Morse code.

A Little about Morse code:

Morse code is a communication system that dates back to the 1800s and has been used widely as a both a visual tool and an audio tool. It is used to rapidly convey information both by people with disabilities as well as was used with telegraph lines, radio circuits and undersea cables.

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Sunday, July 8, 2018

Better, Faster, Stronger: Building Lithium Ion Batteries That Don’t Go Boom

Lithium Ion Batteries like never before

We all remember that unfortunate incidence or incidences of the Samsung Galaxy 7 catching fire and the dozens of memes that came out of it but what we don’t remember is that this phone was powered by lithium batteries. While holding incredible promise when it comes to a phone’s or for that matter any other devices storage capacity, Lithium Ion batteries are on the top. This is not taking into account its extremely volatile nature.

Instead of looking at the core fundamental properties of lithium batteries, industries just concentrate on the ends, which is the ability of the battery to charge fast and hold a lot of juice and in the bargain safety and other factors like lithium battery’s properties are almost forgotten.

Concentrating on lithium ion battery problems:

The main factor that causes a phone or a device using lithium ion batteries to go boom is the flammable liquid electrolyte within the battery. So the next step is finding an alternative that is preferably a non- flammable solid electrolyte with a lithium metal electrode. Not only would this solution reduce the possibilities of a mishap but would also increase the energy of the lithium ion battery.

While many industries and researchers concentrate on the amazing storage capacity of lithium ion batteries, researchers at Michigan Tech are looking at lithium battery’s fundamental properties. They believe that by researching these properties, they will unravel the key to the mystery of lithium ion batteries.

Understanding the properties of Lithium Ion batteries:

The two main requirements in manufacturing batteries is that it should make the device in question charge faster as well as stay reliable even after multiple charges. Taking lithium ion batteries into the equation is a difficult task as these batteries are highly reactive and using them makes one very susceptible to mishaps.

Lithium is a very soft metal. The process of charging and discharging a phone with lithium ion batteries means that mounting pressure which is common with charging and discharging these batteries causes fingers of lithium called dendrites to fill microscopic flaws in the lithium battery, at the point between the lithium anode and the solid electrolyte separator.

During multiple cycles of charging and discharging, these dendrites often force their way into the solid electrolyte layer which separates the cathode form the anode. When the dendrites reach the cathode, the device often short circuits and this causes the device to catch fire.

The research into lithium battery’ properties:

Researchers caused indentations into the lithium metal with a diamond tipped probe to see how the metal reacted to pressure. Their results showed that lithium metal has incredible strength at small length scales.

Researchers tried to explain this phenomenon by saying that lithium metal’s atoms rearrange themselves to alleviate the pressure imposed on the metal. Researchers used this experiment to observe the speed at which lithium metal deformed as well as the effects of the ions rearranging themselves.

Researchers have discovered that the elasticity of lithium as well as its atoms rearranging themselves under pressure when lithium is at a very small length scale of 500 nanometers. This fundamental study of lithium batteries could lead to a safer lithium battery in the future.

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Quantum Enhancement for Sensor Technology

In the technologies that is available to us today, we need accurate information quickly from the quantum states. This is very essential for quantum processors and sensitive detectors that are present in the existing technologies.

If we look at the technology that is currently available to us, there is not much accuracy. There are certain limitations to accurately measure things. Let us take for example an X-ray image which is blurry and we are not able to decipher it accurately. It takes an expert physician to read the X-ray and interpret it. The contrast between the tissues is fairly poor and hence it becomes difficult to interpret. Probably, the image could be improved by exposing it longer, taking many images and overlapping them or exposing humans to a higher intensity radiation. This however is a disadvantage, as it is not safe to expose humans to a very high radiation and imaging too takes lots of time and resources.

Researchers from Aalto University, ETH Zurich and MIPT and Landau Institute in Moscow combined quantum phenomena and machine-learning to get a magnetometer with accuracy that was far beyond the usual quantum limit. They have come up with a novel way whereby a quantum system is used to measure magnetic fields.

Their findings were published in npj Quantum Information journal. They illustrated how the accuracy of magnetic field measurements could be enhanced by an artificial superconducting atom, a qubit. It is basically a device that is created by using strips of aluminium overlapping each other and evaporated on a silicon chip. We can see this same technology that is in use to make processors of computers and mobile phones.

On cooling the device to a considerably low temperature there is an electric current that flows in it without any resistance. In addition, it shows the same quantum mechanical properties as that of real atoms. When the atom is irradiated with a microwave pulse, the state of the artificial atom also changes. The change that occurs is mainly dependent on the external magnetic field that is applied. On measuring, you can figure out the magnetic field.

In order to go beyond the usual quantum limit you need to use a technique that is similar to pattern recognition which is a branch of machine learning. One of the authors from ETH Zurich team says that they had used a technique whereby they take the measurement and based on the outcome the pattern recognition algorithm decides how to change a control parameter in the next stage. This is done in order to obtain the fastest estimation of the magnetic field.

We can see quantum technology at work when quantum phenomena is combined with a measurement technique based on supervised machine learning. The sensitivity of the magnetic field detectors is enhanced going beyond the standard quantum limit.

They wanted to devise a highly efficient but at the same time minimally invasive technique by using low intensities or taking measurements within a certain time frame.

From the geological point of view to imaging brain activity, detection of magnetic fields plays a very important role. The researchers are of the opinion that their work is a step forward whereby sensor technology uses quantum-enhanced methods.

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Monday, June 11, 2018

Atomically Thin Nano wires Convert Heat To Electricity More Efficiently

Getting the Best out of Atomically Thin Nano Wires

Researchers at Birmingham University have discovered a way to enhance the efficiency of Themorelectric wires by reducing their size and when I mean reducing their size I really mean it. These Atomically Thin Nano wires are just an atom thin and supposedly this thinness gives it a higher efficiency than when the material is used at its normal size.

Heat can be converted into electricity more efficiently than before with these atomically thin nano wires. This means that a lot more electricity will be generated from the same amount of heat. Not only will you get more electricity with less heat but also the discovery of atomically thin nano wires will open up new opportunities in the field of renewable energy.

Use of Thermoelectric materials in atomically thin nano wires:

Thermoelectric materials are much sought after as a renewable and environmentally friendly source of energy because of their properties of converting waste heat into electricity.

Researchers have discovered that by shaping this material into atomically thin nano- wires then you could get the best out of them- that is maximum efficiency in converting waste heat into electricity. These atomically thin wires open up doors in creating sustainable energy.

How was the atomically thin nano wires discovered?

Scientists were conducting research into the crystallization of tin telluride in very thin nanotubes to help the material crystallize in their lowest dimensional form, when they discovered the increased efficiency of thermoelectric materials in atomically thin nano- wires.

In a joint theoretical as well as experimental research, scientists were able to not only establish a direct relation between the template and the resulting atomically thin nano wire size but also found out how this technique could be used to regulate thermoelectric efficiency of tin telluride formed into atomically thin nano- wires.

Unlike thermoelectric wires in three dimensional form, the atomically thin nano wires are able to conduct less heat and produce more electricity at the same time. This property of thermoelectric materials in atomically thin nano- wires yield a higher efficiency in converting heat to electricity than their three dimensional form.

The use of super computers and quantum mechanical programs have helped scientists predict the structures of these atomically thin nano- wires as well as their properties. Some scientists have also said that by discovering the abilities of these atomically thin nano- wires that we are really moving into the realms of “Picowires”.

New Opportunities for atomically thin nano wires:

Scientists have said that after having discovered the efficiency of atomically thin nano wires in generating electricity, this opens up new opportunities in the fields of thermoelectric generators.

Scientists are also looking for alternative materials to thermoelectric materials which are non- toxic and perform to the same level of efficiency like thermoelectric atomically thin nano- wires and maybe even more.

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Saturday, June 9, 2018

An Artificial Nerve System Developed at Stanford Gives Prosthetic Devices Sense of Touch

Artificial nerve System to give a Sense of Touch to Prosthetic Devices and Robots

A new artificial nerve system developed by researchers in Seoul and Stanford can give the feeling of being touched to a person with prosthetics or even a robot for that matter. This nerve system can mimic the twitch reflex commonly seen in cockroaches and also with this artificial nerve you can identify letters in braille.

Right now researchers have only created an artificial nerve, while this may be the first step, the second involves making entire skin that will give the sensation of feel to amputees, people with prosthetic and to take things a bit further to robots too, to give them some form of reflex on being touched and sensing that touch.

Understanding the skin and its workings:

We not only use our skin for feeling things but it is much more than that. We not only feel, but the skin also signals, and makes decisions all the time based on the feel sensation. In making the artificial nerve system, researchers can now focus on making this artificial nerve system into a smart sensory network that not only knows how to transmit pleasant sensations but also to learn when to pass on messages to muscles so that they can react accordingly.

How was the artificial nerve system made?

The whole point in making an artificial nerve system was that it could be placed under future skin- like covering for prosthetics and robots so that it would give the feeling of touch to amputees and robots alike.

The artificial nerve system is composed of three integrated parts that work together to create the artificial nerve system. The first component is a touch sensor that sends even minuscule touch signals to a second component which is a flexible electronic neuron. This second component in turn stimulates a third component known as the artificial synaptic transistor which replicates the synapses in humans.

These synapses are used to store data and relay signals in humans and work much in the same way as this in an artificial nerve system. To illustrate the working of three components researchers give the example of a knee.

When the knee is tapped, the knee muscles stretch, the sensors in these muscles send an impulse to the neuron, the neuron in turn sends the necessary signals to the synapses. This synaptic network then understands the pattern of stretch and emits two signals one to contract the knee and the other to the brain to register the sensation.

At present the artificial nerve system has not reached this level of complexity but scientists are well on their way to doing so.

Demonstrations of the artificial nerve system on a cockroach:

In an experiment, scientists hooked up the artificial nerve system to a cockroach leg and delivered tiny increments of pressure to the touch sensor, The electronic neuron then converted the signal into a digital signal and relayed the signal to the synaptic transistor which in turn caused the leg to twitch more or less vigorously as the pressure on the touch sensor increased or decreased.

 

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Friday, May 25, 2018

From Client to Courtroom: 3 Reasons Your Case Management Software May Need an Upgrade

Case management software is a necessity these days. With so much going on and such a massive amount if information, documents and correspondence, it’s impossible to function without computers and software. This is especially true with almost all types of case filing being on the increase.

Thing is we’re way past the days when case management software was an innovation. We’re already using it, as is pretty much everyone else. However, with technology always advancing, we should all be looking to keep our systems fresh and updated at all times. Sometimes that even means upgrading our hardware and even our software.

So why might you need an upgrade?

  1. To Get Better Support& Customization

One of the biggest issues around software in general is support. If it goes down or doesn’t work how it should, support is essential. A good provider will not only regularly update their systems to fix any known bugs & issues, they will also be easy to contact and quick to provide support.

Another piece of the software puzzle is customization. This and support are two separate points, yet both are part of the overall ‘user experience’. Having customization is essential these days because every firm handles things a little differently and wants to reflect that in their system. The “one-size-fits-all” approach just doesn’t work when dealing with different companies and different management styles. Some new case management software provides, such as Legal Files, offer plenty of customizability to work with, and the customer support to back it up.

  1. For More Integration & Function in Different Areas

Having a good amount of integration built in to your software is essential. It needs to auto-update so anything you change as an individual is reflected throughout the entire system. It also needs to have enough functionality to be usable for any type of area or info that’s required.

Switching between programs is also a pain, so having as much integrated into one piece of software as possible is a great way to boost efficiency. Cross-functionality with other common programs like word or excel is another great feature to have. This also goes for functionality with online programs and e-mail. The more that you have built in to one piece of software, the better.

  1. For Mobile Access

Mobile access could be the biggest factor for modern management software. With everybody constantly on the go, a lot of software and internet usage comes from mobile phones and tablets. In fact, from 2016-2017 around half of all traffic on the internet was from mobile devices. That means by not being mobile compatible, your software is potentially unusable around half of the time.

Mobile compatibility makes things much easier for your employees and helps them to keep the system updated at all times, so you have as close to “real time management” information as possible. The mobile access provided for your software also has to be safe and secure, keeping your security tight will allowing you to boost productivity.

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Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Researchers 3D Printing Electronics And Cells Directly on Skin

3D Printing Directly onto skin now a Reality!

Researchers recently used a cheap custom 3D printer to print electronics and biological skin cells directly onto skin. A recent study conducted by the researchers from University of Minnesota, show them printing 3D electronics directly onto skin. This could open up a host of applications in various fields. With this technique too no one would be in harm of burning their hands either. The ink used for this type of printing is a unique one and would not cause a person any harm otherwise there wouldn’t be any point in 3D printing electronics onto skin.

3D printing electronics onto skin can be used by soldiers on the battle field, for example they print a circuit that would take the form of sensors that would inform them of chemicals or other biological warfare used by the enemy. Soldiers could also print solar cells onto their hands to charge their gadgets used on the field. But printing electronics is not the only thing that can be printed onto ones hand.

3D Printing Skin Cells onto a Hand:

Researchers also used the same 3D printing technique to print biological cells onto a wound of a mouse with amazing results. This again could open up a lot of opportunities in the healthcare sector. This 3D printing directly onto skin could lead to groundbreaking results when it comes to healing of wounds or making grafts for skin disorders.

3D printing directly onto skin- “The Swiss army knife of the future”:

Researchers printed these 3D inks directly onto skin with the help of a standard cheap over the counter printer costing only $400. Scientists believe that with this tech, soldiers could pull out this printer and print any circuit of their choice on their hands, which would help them on a battlefield. Researchers call this the “Swiss army knife of the future”. The soldier would have all that they need in this one 3D printer.

The cool thing about 3D printing tech directly onto skin:

3D printing directly onto one’s hand is a difficult task as the hand has to be exactly in one spot to print a precise circuit otherwise everything would be for naught and no matter how much a person can remain still, there are still minor movements that can cause distortions to the 3D print on skin.

But one amazing thing with this technique is that it continually scans the surface that it is working on, that is a hand and adjusts the printing according to the movements of the hand and all this is done in real time too.

The type of ink used in 3D printing directly onto hand:

Most 3D inks cure at high temperatures and these inks cannot be used to print 3D material onto skin as it would burn the hand. So researchers used a unique ink made of silver flakes to print directly onto skin. This specialized ink can cure and conduct at room temperatures making it an ideal ink for printing directly onto skin. Removal too is easy- all the person has to do is wash off the electronic device or remove it with tweezers.

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