The University of Pennsylvania is developing a new style of gripper. One based on that of creatures like the gecko. The gripper will be a “tunable adhesive” that will grip and release as well as vary its tensile strength. A two material structure that is easily mass produced. Researcher Kevin Turner said, “When it comes to tunable adhesion, everyone is familiar with the gecko, and everyone tries to copy it. The problem is that it’s really hard to manufacture complex structures as well as nature. We’ve come up with a strategy that can achieve similar adhesion behavior but is much easier to make.” Perfect for miniature manufacturing, such as computer and electronic chips, the adhesive could also be used in large scale projects. These structures are sticky due to Van der Waals adhesion. Van der Waals adhesion is present any time two object are close together says Brian Torchin on his Google+ page. The closer they are the stickier they become.
Is Google Taking Things Too Far?
Have you ever considered the possibility of interactive clothing? Google has. Do you think that the company is taking things too far with this new product that they are trying to get made? Do you think that interaction clothing is just a little too much?
First it was smart phones that everyone had to have with them all of the time, and then there were smart watches. Now Google is trying to make some interactive jeans reports Kevin Seawright. What do you think of this? Do you call it progress, or do you think that it’s all just a little bit too advanced? Do you think that it will catch on, or do you think that it’s a waste of Google’s time?
People have become dependent on their devices and technology so much already. If interactive clothing are to come out, will this be one more step toward total dependence on technology? Is this taking things too far? How do you think this will affect the next generation?
Keep an Eye on the Eggs
The American Midwest is currently struggling to get out of the worst bird flu outbreak in history. The bird flu, or avian flu, has been responsible for almost 50 million deaths of egg producing chickens. Chickens are not the only birds affected by this outbreak. Turkeys on turkey producing farms have also been killed thanks to this particular outbreak. While the death of the turkeys have not hit the turkey production market too hard, the same cannot be said for eggs and egg production. This bird flu has completely crippled the egg production market. Over the next few months, the cost of eggs are expected to skyrocket. Some states have already seen a rise in prices, even though they are slight. The Department of Agriculture expects for the price in eggs to rise anywhere from $0.37 to $0.57 per package.
This will also affect foods that are processed and packaged but require eggs for their production. However, certain forms of eggs will be more expensive than others. Egg beaters, liquid eggs, and liquid egg whites are among some of the products that are expected to rise in price the highest. Grocers, wholefood stores, and markets across the country have already warned their customers like Jim Dondero of the possibility of rising egg prices. Before this current avian flu outbreak, a national eggs shortage seemed to be a roués. Unfortunately, it is a likely possibility now more than ever.
San Fran Takes a Stand
San Francisco is one of the most populated cities in the United States. With numerous sites to see and activities to engage in, it’s no wonder that living in San Francisco can be so expensive. The median range for rent is just around $4000. Even with such a high median for rent, it is still less expensive to house homeless people as opposed to leaving them on the street. The Economic Round Table is a report that analyzes years upon years of data when it comes to specific aspects of a city. For the last 6 years, the Economic Round Table has compiled the data of a homeless housing initiative in a San Francisco neighborhood. The numbers coming out of Santa Clara varied in each groups financial needs. Out of the participating groups, the average cost for allowing a homeless citizen to stay homeless was $62,473. It was after these numbers were compiled that these homeless people were given housing.
After they were placed in stable home, the $62,473 dropped to a resounding $19,767. Those numbers represent a 68% difference since the beginning of the initiative. The initial rate would go into the hospital visits, emergency room visits, rehab stints, and legal fees for homeless people who got tied up in the law. The $19,767 covers housing while the rest of the money goes to social services to make sure individuals can get any rehabilitation they need. This idea is called Housing First, and Steve Murray is reading more about it. While the creator of the method is very proud of his work, his idea is almost two decades old. The Greece born innovator had the idea back in the nineties what people thought he was crazy. After extremely generous Kickstarters, it seems as though Housing First is finally getting the credit that it deserves.
Skout, a Dating App for Teens and Adults
Skout is a relatively new dating, flirting app that allows its users to see photos, chat with people both locally or afar. Teens can find a safe place within the app to chat with people, away from the adult section. One can choose to be notified of someone in their area, which is a bonus for someone wanting to meet up in person.
This app has a bit of Facebook social feel to it and like most apps, there are in app purchase options. The average star rating is a good 4.5. The reviews state that it is easy and fun to use. A person can chat with others, just for fun or send flirty comments. If you want to chat with a random person, rather than searching for them, just shake your device.
One thing this site does not allow is nudity and bathroom selfies, according to NY Daily News With well over a million downloads, this restriction does not seem to bother people at all and may be a welcome restriction. The owners of Skout felt that all the nudity and bathroom selfies caused a drop in ratings. Considering the high ratings of this app, that seems to be correct.
The goal of this app is not to be a platform for sharing inappropriate photos but one of chatting with others. It is not required to have an avatar so a user can stay anonymous while checking out the app before deciding if it is for them. Once a person is comfortable, adding an avatar is quick and easy.
According to Huffington Post, this app rates top on their list of dating apps and is fun for teens and adults alike. More about Skout can be found on their Twitter page.
Ford Leverages Media to Sell Electronic Vehicle Patents
If you’re a fan of Elon Musk and Tesla Motors you may be aware that all of Tesla’s patents are completely open and free to use. You can use any of Tesla’s patents without asking for permission or paying any kind of fee.
Ford recently user a clever marketing tactic to try and promote some of their electric vehicle patents. They told the media that they were opening up their patents. The only catch was that by opened up they actually meant a select number of patents would be available that you would have to pay to use. It’s more or less the opposite of what Elon Musk did with Tesla.
The media fell for the ploy hook line and sinker. A number of high profile media outlets around the internet have been reporting that Ford is joining Telsa in opening up patents according to businessman Kevin Seawright. This isn’t actually the case though. What they did really couldn’t have been any different.
It’s kind of sad when the big automakers feel like they need to play catch up with Tesla yet completely fail in doing so. Ford needs to be more afraid about what Elon Musk is up to than what anyone would do to hurt their profits with their electric vehicle patents.
Marc Sparks, A Story Of The American Dream
Marc Sparks is a Dallas, Texas resident who has been a very successful businessman. He now owns multiple different companies, and he has been very successful with them. He has several telecommunication businesses, such as Blue Jay Wireless, Cardinal Telecom, and Splash Media. He also is the owner of Timber Creek Capital. In addition to telecommunications, he has also been involved in the real estate, business solutions, and venture capital industries. However, he has not always been so successful. In fact, he started out as a C student! He now is working on a book that describes how it is possible for anyone to be successful.
He does not attribute his success to anything unique about him, nor does he feel his success was a matter of very good luck. He truly feels it is possible for anyone to become a success in the world of business. He is now writing a book, which is titled “They Can’t Eat You“. This book discusses his life and how he has become so successful. It also says that it would be possible for just about anyone to become successful in business. Of course, they need to use the right business strategies, make smart investments, and learn the necessary skills.
Done and done! Finally – 3 years and 11 drafts later – my book is released!
Order your copy on Amazon!
Also, Marc Sparks is giving back. He does not simply keep all of his wealth for himself. He is very involved in philanthropic causes, in his local community and elsewhere. He does much more than just donate money. He also invests time in volunteering for local organizations, such as the Habitat For Humanity. He has helped this organization to build homes for the needy. Additionally, he has helped with a program that helps to make sure that individuals in the community get a high school education. Since the late 1980s, he has been involved in helping out a local homeless shelter called The Samaritan Inn.
How These Modern Companies Are Changing The Way People Shop Through Image Recognition
Image recognition is certainly an exciting, new technology. Who would have thought 100 years ago that it would be possible to search for information based on nothing more than a photo? It is truly a remarkable, budding technology that will definitely impact the world in a drastic way. This developing technology was already impressive, but recently, it has become even more impressive. Through a research collaboration between Stanford University and Google, the new software can now describe everything going on in a picture, not just certain objects.
The team at Stanford and Google have been able to do this by writing algorithms that are able to explain what is happening in the pictures in a way that makes sense to everyone. This is done through image recognition technology and natural language processing. Though this new technology is certainly not perfect, and sometimes makes small errors, it is constantly improving and will surely improve greatly in the years to come.
Out of all of the image recognition companies there are, Slyce is the leading one in the image recognition industry. Slyce is truly changing the way that people shop. For instance, if a consumer snaps a photo of a handbag that they saw someone carrying on the street, links to buy that same product would be instantly pulled up. Also, photos of products can now be easily found on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The same can be done with print materials and billboards. On Slyce, users can search for any products from fashion to home decor.
Most recently, the popular music discovery app, Shazam, has implemented image recognition as well. They are introducing a new feature of the app that will allow users to scan images through their smartphones with the Shazam logo. The logos will be found on print media, posters, and packaged goods. Shazam understands that on average, most people use less than 25 apps every month, and that they are not interested in downloading new apps. Because Shazam already has such a large following, they believe that they are given an advantage over similar companies. Shazam’s chief executive, Rich Riley, believes that most people do not care enough about new apps to download them, and that is Shazam’s unfair advantage against competitors. Currently, Shazam has already secured deals with a number of other companies including Target, Levi’s, and Disney.
Truly, image recognition is an exciting new technology that still has a lot of improvements to make, but it is already beginning to the change the world in an innovative and productive way. As time passes, it will only become more advanced and extraordinary.
Microsoft to Release Cortana Assistant on Android and iOS
It’s official; Microsoft is planning to bring their coveted Cortana digital assistant to the Android and iOS platforms. Soon iPhone and Android users will be able to use Cortana outside of the Windows 10 environment.
Microsoft has provided a preview of the applications they will be releasing for the mobile phone platforms. They claim that Cortana will function in much the same way whether you make queries from Windows 10, iOS or Android.
You can expect to see the application release for Cortana on Android devices as early as June of this year according to Homejoy. The application for iOS will be released later this year according to sources close to Microsoft.
The integration of Cortana on Android and iOS won’t be exactly the same as Windows 10. However, the apps will still come with full notification support. Cortana will be able to provide you with updates regarding news, sports, weather and more on your mobile device.
Microsoft plans to bring other Windows 10 applications to mobile platforms as well. Applications are planned to take advantage of OneNote, OneDrive and more.
Applying Radiological Techniques is an Indispensable Task for Medical Facilities
Radiology is medical specialty that focuses on certain techniques of imaging different parts of the body with different radiological methods. Radiologists then utilize these images to make diagnoses and treat diseases. The initial imaging technology was X-ray technology. More advanced techniques are ultrasound, nuclear medicine, magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography imaging. Emerging technologies include positron emission technology. These technologies have become famous with their corresponding acronyms. Positron Emission Technology is referred to as PET technology, and magnetic resonance imaging is known as an MRI. Computed tomography is referred to as a CAT scan or a CT scan.
However, X-ray technology is also known as projection radiography. This technology produces a radiograph, and this is the name that the process became known as. Radiographs are taken by projecting X-rays through a patient. This information is then gathered with a device specifically designed to catch these altered X-rays. This altered information is then transformed into a visible image. This image is then assessed by radiologist that then make diagnoses.
Magnetic resonance imaging utilizes magnetic and nuclear technology to exact precise images from multiple perspectives in order to diagnose and treat patients. This is one the most technologically advanced forms of producing images of the soft tissue in the body. CT scans use X-rays, but they are combined with advanced digital algorithms. This combination produces an exacting cross sectional image. This image is known a tomogram. Tomograms are so precise that it often reveals the slightest anomalies. This technology is particularly useful with issues concerning the brain and the associated vascular composition. These forms of radiology are most likely encountered by most people with health issues because they have become common in many medical settings.
The process is known as interventional radiology. It is defined as utilizing various techniques of radiology to treat and diagnose disease, and radiologists perform this analysis. However, radiographers or radiologic technologist perform the actual testing. These are trained technicians, but they are not medical doctors or specialist. The primary benefit of interventional radiology is that it is a minimally invasive means of diagnosing disease. The technology is a superiorly accurate method for this purpose. Radiology is constantly advancing as is the precise application of the treatment and diagnosing capabilities.
However, this technology requires implementation by companies that are designed to make the technology available and useful for medical settings. Imaging Advantage performs this service in the largest medical markets in the United States. We advance radiological solutions throughout the entire medical community including Level 1 and level 2 trauma centers and other imaging centers. We work directly with doctors and other medicals staff to offer advanced teleradiological solutions. We offer unique solutions in practice management, onsite staffing and 24 hour teleradiology, as well as subspecialty coverage. We also perform emergency department optimization in a manner that allows our clientele to deliver extraordinary patient care. This allows Imaging Advantage to effect the health of patients positively along with our partners in the medical field. Visit their Twitter page for more information.