Monthly Archives: July 2017

The Rise of Smartphones

These are the quiet times.

From April toJune, techs biggest companies all held their annual mega-events, laying out their grand visions for the next 12 months or so.

Facebook kicked it off in late April with itsF8 conference, followed byMicrosoft Build, then theGoogle I/O conference, andApples Worldwide Developers Conferencefinished things off. Amazon doesnt really hold events, but it unveiled two new Amazon Echo smart speakers during that period for good measure.

And things will get exciting again, sooner than you know it. This Fall, Apple is expected to reveal a10th-anniversary iPhone, Google will likely reveal arevamped Pixel smartphone, and Microsoft is expected to hold another one of its regular late-October Surface computer press conferences.

In the meantime, theres not much to do but reflect on what weve learned so far this year about the future of tech. And beyond the hype and the hyperbole, were starting to see the very earliest stages of a battle for the next phase of computing.

Because while Apple and Google may dominate the smartphone market today, technologies like augmented reality present whole-new platforms where theres no clear winner. So Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook, having missed out on owning a mobile platform, are doing their damndest tohasten the end of the smartphone and the end of Apple and Googles duopoly, while theyre at it.

Every major technological shift has created big opportunities for the few entrepreneurs who see it coming early in the seventies, Apple and Microsoft made big bets that the PC would be a much bigger market than gigantic room-sized mainframes, while themainframe industry decried the PC itself as a fad. We see who won that one.

Similarly, Microsoft didnt fully realize the potential of smartphones, until well after Google and Apple proved them wrong. Now, Googles Android is the most popular operating system in the world, full stop. And the iPhone has propelledApple torecord profits and to the status asthecompany to beat in tech.

Well, it seems like time is a flat circle. Right now, were seeing the earliest growing pains of augmented reality and virtual reality tech that overlays the digital world onto ourhuman senses. It means information, projected into your eyes and ears, as you need it. Why carry a phone when Netflix and WhatsApp are floating in front of you?

Some call it a fad, or just something thats too new and untestedto be considered a real threat to the smartphone. And yet, theres a veritable arms race to build these augmented reality platforms of the future.

Amazons Alexa is primarily thought of as a digital voice assistant, but having a virtual person tell you the time and weather definitely qualifies as augmented reality. Microsoft has its reality-bending HoloLens hologram goggles.Facebookand Snapchat have both built augmented reality straight into the camera. Even Google-backed startupMagic Leap thinks its yet-to-released goggles have a shot at becoming a new platform.

The net result is arace to build whatever is going to do the smartphone what the PC did to the mainframe. What these companies all have in common is that they missed the boat on building smartphone operating systems of their own. Now, its on them to build whatever comes next.

Apple and Google are well aware of the threat and are not standing still.

Apple has ARkit, a system for building augmented reality into iPhone apps, using the phones built-in camera. Its technologically robust enough and easy enough to use that developers love it, givingApple a nice foothold in augmented reality. If and whenApple releases smart glasses, those apps will come right over.

Google has various augmented reality effortsin the works, including Project Tango. And although the first version of the Google Glass headset flopped, if Google figures out how to revamp the device, it will have a vehicle to extend Android into the AR realm.

In a weird way, going on the defensive like this almost gives Apple a perverse incentive to replace the iPhone: IfApple can build the next great hardware platform itself, it means that Amazon cant do it with Alexa, and Microsoft cant do it with HoloLens.

In the meantime, as we appreciate all the new hardware and software goodies coming out later this year, keep the perspective that everything were seeing now is the first salvo in a computing war that will rage forthe next decade and beyond.

Continue reading here:
The Smartphone Is Eventually Going to Die, and Apple, Google ... - Futurism

In Brief Soft robotics and 3D printing have allowed a team of researchers from Switzerland to develop an artificial heart that works like the real thing. This proof of concept design was successfully tested in the lab, but it may take a while before it will be ready.

Scientists have been developingartificial hearts for quite some time now. However, many of the current designs are unfortunatelyclunky, which presents difficulties in successfully integrating them into human tissue. To approach this issue, a team of researchers from ETH Zrich decided to take a cue from thebiological human heart.

Instead of using separate parts, the Swiss team, led by Nicholas Cohrs, 3D-printed an artificial heart using a soft, flexible material. The material was molded into a single part (or a monoblock) which allowed the team to design a complex inner structure complete with pumping mechanisms able to be triggered by silicon ventricles. This method imitates a realistic human heartbeat.

[O]ur goal is to develop an artificial heart that is roughly the same size as the patients own one and which imitates the human heart as closely as possible in form and function, Cohrs said in a press release. The team successfully tested this artificial heart, pumping blood-like fluid at human body-like pressures. The team published their research in the journal Artificial Organs.

However, this design is still a proof of concept, which means its yet to be ready for actual implantation. The materials used are, as of right now, unable to last more than half an hour or some few thousand heartbeats, though that could vary a bit depending on a persons heart rate. Its a limitation the team will continue to work on, as new materials and design improvements advance. Once perfected, this design could potentially improve the lives and health ofaround 26 million people worldwide who suffer from various heart conditions.

Originally posted here:
This 3D-Printed Human Heart Can Do Everything a Real One Can - Futurism

Quantum Mechanical Particles

Mathematicians at the Universities of York, Munich and Cardiff have identified a unique property of quantum mechanical particles they can move in the opposite way to the direction in which they are being pushed.

In everyday life, objects travel in the same direction as their momentum a car in forward motion is going forwards, and certainly not backwards.

However, this is no longer true on microscopic scales quantumparticlescan partially go into reverse and travel in the direction opposite to their momentum. This unique property is known as backflow.

This is the first time this has been found in a particle where external forces are acting on it. Previously, scientists were only aware of this movement in free quantum particles, where noforceis acting on them.

Using a combination of analytical and numerical methods, researchers also obtained precise estimates about the strength of this phenomenon. Such results demonstrate that backflow is always there but is a rather small effect, which may explain why it has not been measured yet.

This discovery paves the way for further research intoquantum mechanics, and could be applied to future experiments in quantum technology fields such as computer encryption.

Dr Henning Bostelmann, Researcher in Yorks Department of Mathematics, said: This new theoretical analysis into quantum mechanical particles shows that this backflow effect is ubiquitous in quantum physics.

We have shown that backflow can always occur, even if a force is acting on the quantum particle while it travels. The backflow effect is the result of wave-particle duality and the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics, and it is already well understood in an idealised case of force-free motion.

Dr Gandalf Lechner, Researcher in Cardiffs Universitys School of Mathematics, said: Forces can of course make a particle go backwards that is, they can reflect it, and this naturally leads to increased backflow. But we could show that even in a completely reflection-free medium, backflow occurs. In the presence of reflection, on the other hand, we found that backflow remains asmall effect, and estimated its magnitude.

Dr Daniela Cadamuro, Researcher at the Technical University of Munich, said: The backflow effect in quantum mechanics has been known for quite a while, but it has always been discussed in regards to free quantum particles, i.e., no external forces are acting on the particle.

As freequantum particlesare an idealised, perhaps unrealistic situation, we have shown that backflow still occurs when external forces are present. This means that external forces dont destroy the backflow effect, which is an excitingnew discovery.

These new findings allow us to find out the optimal configuration of a quantum particle that exhibits the maximal amount of backflow, which is important for future experimental verification.

This article was provided byUniversity of York. Materials may have been edited for clarity and brevity. And make the name of the source a link back to their website.

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New Breakthrough DiscoveryEvery Quantum Particle Travels ... - Futurism

In Brief Elon Musk shared a bold prediction for the future of EVs and autonomous driving systems during a talk at a meeting of the National Governors Association. Just two decades from now, he expects most of the vehicles on the road will be electric and autonomous.

During a talk at the National Governors Association on Saturday, Elon Musk shared a bold prediction for the future of personal transportation. Not only does he believe that half the cars produced in the United States just 10 years from now will be electric, he thinks almost all cars produced by then will be autonomous.

In 10 years, half of all production will be EV, he told the governors. I think almost all cars produced will be autonomous in 10 years, almost all. It will be rare to find one that is not, in 10 years.

While EVs and autonomous cars will comprise a bulk of new vehicles, however, that doesnt mean they will be the majority on the roads. New vehicle production is only about five percent of the size of the vehicle fleet, Musk explained, and because a car or truck can last for 15 to 20 years, it will take some time for the old to be replaced by the new. Even when new vehicle production switches over to electric or autonomousthat still means the vast majority of the fleet is not, he noted.

Musk estimated that well have to wait a bit longer before we see a significant change in the types of vehicles on the road, but two decades from now, he expects an overwhelming portion of vehicles to be electric and fully autonomous.

The shift wont be limited to cars and trucks, either. He predicts that eventually all transport will go fully electric with the exception of spacecraft.

Musk is at the forefront of this driverless and electric revolution. Tesla recently began production on their Model 3, which is poised to make electric vehicles more affordable, and the companys cars have been breaking EV industry records for hypermiling and cannonball runs.

Teslas progress has spurred their competitors into action, with other industry leaders like Volvo making the decision to go all electric. If the trend continues, Musks predictions could prove true and we could be just a few short years from entering the age of electric, autonomous vehicles.

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Elon Musk: Almost All Cars Produced Will Be Autonomous in 10 Years - Futurism

In Brief Google's iconic Glass is now back, but this time the wearable is not meant for the average consumer. Alphabet's X division has refocused the device for optimal use in the workplace, and already, the reboot is poised to be more successful than the original. A Clearer Vision

When Google Glass debuted back in 2012, it generated so muchhype that people expected it to usher in a new era of wearable technologies. Sadly, the hype was short-lived as people realized that Glass wasnt what they thought it could be.

Despite officially shutting down the Glass website in 2015, Google didnt exactly pull the plug on the project, and now, Glass is backwith a new mission.

The reboot comes from X, the moonshot branch of Googles parent company, Alphabet. The eyeglass-like wearable is now called Glass Enterprise Edition, and according to the Glass website, its nowa hands-free device, for hands-on workers.

Workers in many fields, like manufacturing, logistics, field services, and healthcare, find it useful to consult a wearable device for information and other resources while their hands are busy, Jay Kothari, project lead for Glass, wrote in a blog announcement. Thats why weve spent the last two years working closely with a network of more than 30 expert partners to build customized software and business solutions for Glass for people in these fields.

This work-focused version of Glass was a product of time and smart choices. Despite the original Explorer Edition not landing a core market, it did find traction in a number of work environments.

We first saw signs of Glass potential for businesses in the Glass Explorer days, explained Kothari. As we said when we graduated, wed been seeing incredible developments with Glass in the workplace.

While Alphabet continued to supply companies likeBoeing, General Electric, DHL, and AGCO with the Glass Explorer, they also started adjusting the lenses to focus on just one market.

For these businesses, using the Enterprise Edition has worked out pretty well. Employees are now working smarter, faster, and safer because they have the information they need right in their line of sight,AGCOs Peggy Gulick told Kothari.

By pivoting away from the consumer market, Glass may just have found a way to rewrite its legacy.

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Google Glass Is Back, and It's No Longer Meant for Everyone - Futurism