Intrinsic: The New Company Of Google Parent Alphabet Aims To Bring Artificial Intelligence And Industrial Robots Together

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July 25, 2021

Intrinsic- New Company Of Google Parent Alphabet

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has a semi-secret division, X Development, that is responsible for providing radical solutions to big problems. X Development division works on projects that go beyond the usual and that want to bring technology to more people. Now, they have presented Intrinsic, their new way of making robotics more accessible.

With Intrinsic, Alphabet aims to make industrial robots smarter, cheaper and more flexible with artificial intelligence. The company will focus on the development of software for industrial robots with the aim of “unlocking their creative and economic potential.”

With this move, Google seeks to change the streak of failures it has had in the world of robotics. Alphabet spent millions of dollars buying different robot companies. Among them were the Japanese Schaft, the American Bot & Dolly and the well-known Boston Dynamics. Most of them, including the latter, were closed or sold. This was apparently due to how complex and unprofitable it is to build robots.

“We’re developing software tools designed to make industrial robots (which are used to make everything from solar panels to cars) easier to use, less costly and more flexible, so that more people can use them to make new products, businesses and services.” — explains the CEO of the company, Wendy Tan-White.

For the past several years, the new company has been exploring how to give industrial robots the ability to automatically detect, learn, and make adjustments as they complete tasks. A way for machines to learn from their environment and can be useful in a wider range of configurations and applications.

Intrinsic ensures that the collaboration with Google and its new partners will allow it to create solutions that can be applied in the real world.

After coming to light as a new Google family company, they will focus on product development as well as validation of their technology in different real work environments. “We are currently looking for partners in the automotive, electronics, and health care industries who are already using industrial robotics and want to learn together.”

Likewise, Tan-White has explained that they have opened a hiring process to grow strongly. “If you’re an AI expert, software engineer or roboticist keen to grow and build new technologies that will unlock the economic and creative potential of others, please get in touch.”

Indian Researchers Develop World’s Hardest Self-Healing Material

By

Adwaith

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July 24, 2021

Indian researchers have developed an organic crystalline material with a special molecular structure that can heal itself if it breaks. In the future, the material could be used for smartphone displays and automatically eliminate breaks.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Kolkata, and the IIT, Kharagpurhave developed this world’s hardest self-healing material.

Chilla Malla Reddy’s team has synthesized this organic crystal that has piezoelectric properties, i.e. it can convert mechanical energy into electrical energy or electrical energy into mechanical.

The crystals are about one to two millimeters long and 0.1 millimeters to 0.2 millimeters thick. If such a crystal is broken, the pressure on the fracture surfaces will create different electrical charges, resulting in “an electrostatically driven precise recombination of the pieces via diffusionless self-healing” — writes the team in the Science Journals.

Self-healing materials are not entirely new. The predecessors were rather soft plastics. “Our self-healing material is 10 times harder than others,” said project manager Chilla Malla Reddy to the daily Telegraph India.

Piezoelectric materials would often be used in industry or research. Self-healing could be useful if a component made of such a material is exposed to great stress and can break, the researchers said. But he could also imagine applications for everyday devices, said Bhanu Bhushan Khatua, who also worked on the project.

Last year, Apple applied for a patent for a self-healing screen based on elastomers. These are dimensionally stable but elastically deformable plastics. The screen should be under the influence of heat automatically repair.

Hidden iPhone Tricks That Will Change The Way You Use iOS

By

Rakesh Babu

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July 24, 2021

If you think you know everything about your gadget, we are ready to check it out with you. Read in this article what hidden features your iPhone can surprise you with.

Every day, iPhone owners use ordinary functions, such as the Control Center, and sometimes dream of some features that are not available to them now. At the same time, Apple itself is in no hurry to add modifications, carefully introducing long-awaited innovations as needed. And, sometimes, it even hides useful options. Let’s figure out what iPhone hidden features you must know about.

Contents

1 Use the keyboard as a trackpad
2 Check that a surface is level
3 Hit backspace in Calculator
4 Hide your private photos
5 Go to bed on time
6 Receive notifications via camera flash
7 Teach Siri to use nicknames
8 Magnify what the camera sees
9 Write on email attachments
10 Lock focus and exposure when taking a photo

Use the keyboard as a trackpad

Starting with iOS 12 (iOS15 has already been released), users of any smartphone from Apple can easily turn the virtual keyboard into a trackpad. This iPhone hidden feature allows you to place the cursor in the desired location quickly and accurately when editing text.

To activate the trackpad mode, you need to press and hold anywhere on the keyboard, after which the system will turn into a virtual trackpad. After activating the trackpad mode, drag your finger around to move the cursor.

To start the text highlight mode, touch (but don’t hold) the virtual trackpad with another finger. Start sliding your held (first) finger across the trackpad to highlight a fragment. To display formatting options and any hidden menu actions such as Cut, Copy, Paste, Share, and more, just tap the selected text.

Check that a surface is level

A built-in construction tool is an extremely handy feature. The standard Compass application, which few people use only, has an additional Level tool. By switching to it, you get at your disposal a full-fledged level that can help, for instance, to hang a picture.

Depending on how you hold the device, you can measure the angle of inclination of the surface. Be sure to remove the protective accessory. Note that the Compass feature has been moved to the new Measure app in iOS 12.

Hit backspace in Calculator

In the iPhone standard calculator, you can remove the last dialed digits. This is a very useful option to avoid having to retype the numbers for any calculations. If you mistype some digits, just swipe left or right. The extra digit will be removed immediately. It doesn’t matter the swipe direction – the app always deletes only the last digit entered. This gesture works in both vertical and horizontal modes.

The app includes a scientific calculator designed to perform complex mathematical calculations as well. Rotating the device 90 degrees transforms the calculator’s keyboard into a more functional interface with intuitively labeled buttons. Using the scientific calculator, maths lovers can extract roots, calculate logarithms and trigonometric functions.

Hide your private photos

We all sometimes give our iPhones to our friends or colleagues to show photos from a vacation or make a call. And it is at these moments your especially private photos may appear on the screen, which you don’t want to demonstrate. Luckily, you can keep them hidden from prying eyes.

To do this, just pick a photo or several pics, click “Share,” and then select “Hide.” All hidden pics will no longer be displayed in the general feed but will move to the special “Hidden” album. This is how iPhone hidden features help hide photos on your smartphone.

Go to bed on time

Apple implemented a useful Sleep option starting with iOS 10 in order to take care of the users’ health. Open the Health app on your smartphone, tap “Browse” in the lower right corner, choose “Sleep“, and move to the “Schedule” section. Sleep mode reminds the users when to go to bed if they want to get a good night’s sleep.

To customize the app, Apple offers to answer several simple questions: How many hours do you need to sleep? When do you need to get up? What days of the week… etc. Apple also reminds us that going to bed on time (at least until midnight) is the key to good sleep and good health at the same time.

Receive notifications via camera flash

Not everyone knows that starting with iOS 5, Apple developers have added an automatic flash function for iPhone owners when they receive calls and notifications. This iPhone hidden feature can be useful not only for people who are a little hard of hearing but for those who would like to receive visual notifications instead of sound ones. To get the feature working, move to “Settings” and select “Accessibility“. Then, enter “Audio / Visual” and turn the “LED Flash for Alerts” on.

After activating this iPhone hidden feature, the LED flash will start flickering when the iPhone receives an incoming call or notification. Last but not least, make sure to place your phone face down if you want to see this feature in action.

Teach Siri to use nicknames

If you have a rare or hard-to-pronounce name, you can teach Siri to pronounce it. Or, if the assistant has trouble recognizing any names or contacts, you can give them nicknames.

To manually add a nickname, open up your “Contacts“, choose a contact card, then “Edit“, pick “Add field“, and select “Nickname” from the list. The AI assistant will remember your relationships.

Magnify what the camera sees

This one of the iPhone camera features allows you to get a closer look at what is difficult for you to see. The Magnifier provides a clear and high-quality picture.

To activate this iPhone hidden feature, you need to go to “Settings” → “Accessibility” → “Magnifier”. This iPhone camera feature zooms the text on the screen by using the phone’s camera and flashlight so you can always read the fine print.

Write on email attachments

Modern ways of communication are developing quite rapidly, but some technologies have remained practically unchanged for quite a long time. For instance, emailing, which is used by millions of people around the world every day.

With this iPhone hidden feature, you can paint, add captions and digital signatures, highlight text and make other edits to attachments. To modify a file you received, open the attached document and click the markup icon in the top right corner.

Lock focus and exposure when taking a photo

Comparing models, we can say that the focus and exposure controls on the iPhone haven’t changed much over the years. Both settings are automatically changed when you move the camera. To choose your own focus and exposure, just click on the screen in the desired area of the frame.

Numerous Apple fans buy these smartphones because of the iPhone camera features. So it’s essential to know how to make vertical video horizontal using free video editing software.

A modern smartphone has so many features that users don’t even know about many of them. Some of the iPhone’s hidden features are rarely, if ever, used. To use your gadget to the maximum, you need to know all its hidden functions and possible iOS bugs. Good luck!

New Corning Gorilla Glass Will Protect Smartphone Cameras Without Compromising Photo Quality

By

Vishak

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July 23, 2021

With its new Gorilla Glass, Corning is taking a step forward by bringing its ultra-resistant glass technology to the rear cameras of phones, with the aim of protecting them from drops and scratches without compromising photo quality.

According to the glass specialist Corning, the new protective glasses with the names Gorilla Glass DX and Gorilla Glass DX+ offer higher light transmission — ideal for smartphone cameras that are hidden behind the glass.

Corning already offered a version of Gorilla Glass with DX/DX+ for smartwatches in 2018. However, the new variant is intended for smartphone camera lens covers that not only have to be scratch-resistant but also have to let light through so as not to impair the image quality.

Gorilla Glass with DX and Gorilla Glass with DX+ should let through about 98 percent of the ambient light and be just as scratch-resistant as the typical Gorilla Glass. The lens protection with traditional anti-reflective coatings should only let around 95 percent of the light.

At the moment, Corning has not specified which will be the first phone models to adopt lenses with Gorilla Glass DX or DX+ protection. However, the company has said that the first manufacturer to launch this technology will be Samsung.

Begins With Mobile Games: Netflix Shares First Details About Its Strategy In Video Game Industry

By

Anu Thomas John

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July 22, 2021

Through its financial report for the second quarter of 2021, Netflix has confirmed and substantiated the latest rumours about the addition of video games to the platform.

Netflix announced that its first video games would land on smartphones and tablets. The company also pointed out that these games will be included in the current subscription without any additional charge. So, we could say that they will take their first steps as a competitor to Apple Arcade and Google Play Pass.

A component of the gaming efforts should also include interactive content that matches the respective series or films on Netflix. With the announcement, Netflix emphasizes that, despite the new category, the series and films will continue to grow in the coming years and be supported with investments.

After a decade in the market with Netflix, however, it is time to learn more about how their own users value games. In the past, Netflix had pointed out that it viewed games as competition for its own service when it came to getting users’ time and attention.

With games, Netflix could differentiate itself from other providers in the increasingly competitive film streaming market. Also, many games are significantly longer than series, so that customers may not pause their subscription as often if there is no exciting film content to be seen.

Jeff Bezos Flies Into Space: The First Launch Of Blue Origin Was A Complete Success

By

Avinash A

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July 20, 2021

Blue Origin New Shepard First Human Flight

The four crew members of the New Shepard capsule, including Jeff Bezos, founder of Blue Origin and former CEO of Amazon, have landed safely after the first flight with humans from Blue Origin.

The trip lasted just over 10 minutes, and it was a suborbital flight. This means that it has risen in the air around 100 kilometers from sea level, and after a few minutes, it has fallen to Earth, but without going around it.

The event confirmed that the crew of flight number 16 of the New Shepard spacecraft had made history within the Blue Origin company by successfully completing the first flight with humans inside.

Along with Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark Bezos, flight instructor Wally Funk and Oliver Damenen travelled in the capsule. The latter has been the youngest person to travel to space with only 18 years at the time of flight. For her part, Wally Funk is the oldest at 82 years old and has a very important past in military flight instruction in the United States Army.

The New Shepard took off taking off from Launch Site One, located in the middle of the desert in West Texas. This space complex has witnessed the first line of the launch and ascent of the spacecraft during the first 3 minutes in which it has exceeded the barrier of 3,700 kilometers per hour — more than 3 times the speed of sound.

After those 180 seconds, the capsule has undertaken its own journey, separating from the launch system, and that is when the astronauts have experienced weightlessness and have unbuckled their seat belts.

About a minute later, they have reached the Kármán line, where they have been able to observe the curvature of the Earth, an altitude beyond 100 kilometers. The maximum altitude, as seen in the broadcast, has been 106 kilometers, and 7 minutes after the start, the rocket has landed perfectly on Earth.

It will probably be reused later for other tests or flights. At minute 8, with the capsule already falling, the parachute began to open, and at 10:11, minutes after launch, the capsule had landed.

Therefore, the four members of this first flight, who have left the capsule perfectly, have become the first space tourists to fly with Blue Origin. Still, Bezos was not the first billionaire to go into space with his own company. Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Galactic, got ahead of him on July 11.

https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1417479184465768451

The mission marked another milestone in the space race started by private companies.

Soprano: QuantWare Launches The World’s First Commercial Quantum Processors

By

Sabarinath

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July 20, 2021

Until now, quantum computing has been the privilege of large, well-funded research institutes and wealthy commercial companies. But every new technology becomes democratized sooner or later and it looks like this is about to happen with quantum computing. QuantWare, a startup based in the Netherlands, starts offering its Soprano quantum processing unit (QPU) to all interested parties.

QuantWare was started with the main objective — to shape a quantum processor that can be commercialized on a large scale. And now they have developed the world’s first commercial quantum processor, the Soprano, that is rated at 5 quits, and a custom topography that includes Purcell filters, AirBridges and QuantWare’s proprietary TSV configuration.

The Soprano processor of QuantWare are available out-of-the-box or based on custom target parameters, based on customer requirements. Unfortunately, it doesn’t reveal the price of a 5 qubit Soprano QPU.

In terms of reliability, QuantWare ensures a rate of 99.9% per qubit, which translates into a fairly low risk of errors and is therefore affordable and easy to manage.

While five qubits is small by current quantum computing ‘standards’, some companies offer cloud access for much higher performance. This configuration is said to be enough to attract researchers from smaller companies and universities.

“Our Soprano QPU is what the Intel 4004 was for the semiconductor business,” says QuantWare co-founder Matthijs Rijlaarsdam. “Superconducting qubits are highly customizable, easy to control and very scalable. That practicality makes superconducting QPUs by far the most likely candidate for near-term quantum computing applications.”

The company expects to exponentially multiply the number of qubits in its future processors over the next few years. Keep in mind that this type of processors requires extreme cooling systems, based on liquid helium, which makes their use extremely difficult and expensive.

Pegasus Spyware Has Infected 50,000 Mobile Phones Of Journalists And Activists Around The World

By

Bhasker Das

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July 19, 2021

Pegasus is once again at the forefront of the controversy. Last time we heard 36 employees of Al Jazeera TV, as well as a London-based Al Araby TV journalist, have been spied by bypassing all security barriers of iPhone with the help of this well-known Israeli spyware.

Now, an investigation led by The Guardian and The Washington Post with the collaboration of Amnesty International and Forbidden Stories has revealed a list of 50,000 mobile phones of journalists, activists and politicians around the world that could be targeted by Pegasus spyware from the Israeli company NSO.

The list does not state the names of the possible targets, but the investigation has identified at least 1,000 people from more than 50 countries, including various members of the Arab royal family, 65 executives, 85 human rights activists, 189 journalists and more than 600 politicians, including ministers and the military.

Pegasus spyware is an old dog. Especially since its presence on Android and Apple devices became known in 2016. The spyware is installed when the user clicks on a link from their phone and is used to collect emails, calls and text messages. Sometimes it can be installed without the link.