Students from IIT Kharagpur developing in-house drones with indigenous hardware and software

  18 Oct 2016 , 12:44

A group of students at the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur is developing drones using indigenous hardware and software, officials said on Monday.

The drones, being developed under the institute’s Aerial Robotics Kharagpur (ARK) initiative, are being given shape at the Centre for Excellence in Robotics, funded by the Sponsored Research & Industrial Consultancy (SRIC) facility of the Institute.

The Centre has received funding from the Institute to the extent of Rs 5 crores for 12 projects.

“Under the ARK initiative, drones are being developed, which would be capable of autonomous flight, localisation in GPS-denied environments, and tracking and interacting with mobile ground robots as well as other drones, and much more,” said Somesh Kumar of the Department of Mathematics, who is heading the initiative.

The ARK initiative aims to develop a flexible aerial robotics framework, which can be easily used to control aerial vehicles and eventually move to

Maven mission by NASA beams back amazing ultraviolet images of Mars

  18 Oct 2016 , 14:20

NASA’s MAVEN mission has returned images showing the ultraviolet glow from the Martian atmosphere in unprecedented detail, revealing dynamic, previously invisible behaviour. They include the first images of “nightglow” that can be used to show how winds circulate at high altitudes, NASA said in a statement on Tuesday. Nightglow is a common planetary phenomenon in which the sky faintly glows even in the complete absence of external light.

Scientists predicted nitric oxide (NO) nightglow at Mars, and prior missions detected its presence, but MAVEN has returned the first images of this phenomenon in the Martian atmosphere, the statement added. Additionally, dayside ultraviolet imagery from the spacecraft shows how ozone amounts change over the seasons and

Researchers develop optical sensor to test vitamin B12 deficiency

Image: 3D Print

  18 Oct 2016 , 14:29

Researchers from University of Adelaide have developed a world’s first optical sensor that can detect vitamin B12 in diluted human blood – a novel step towards developing a low-cost and portable deficiency test. Vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Such a device would enable the tracking of vitamin B12 levels in high-risk patients and early intervention can help overcome the limitations of current testing methods which are time-consuming and costly.

“Vitamin B12 deficiency has been shown to be a potential modifiable risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and is associated with cognitive decline,” said Dr Georgios Tsiminis, Research Fellow at University of Adelaide. Older adults are particularly at risk of B12 deficiency due to age-related reduction in absorbing vitamin B12 received through their diet. “Our sensor is an early step towards a point-of-care solution for

Google Flights now alerts you when ticket prices are likely to rise

By tech2 News Staff /  18 Oct 2016 , 15:19

Google Flights has rolled out a new feature aimed at making travel planning less stressful right in time for the holiday season. More than 69 percent of US leisure travelers worry that they are not getting the best prices for a trip, according to a post in the new Google Keyword Blog. Google helps you get the best prices for your flight tickets in a number of ways.

If a particular flight is selected, then Google will notify you if the prices on that flight are expected to go up. Google Flights will notify users over the expected difference in ticket prices, as well as a time window within which to book before the prices are expected to go up. If users are looking at a particular route, but have not yet selected a flight, then Google displays helpful cards that prompt users into making better decisions.

Historical data on price changes in flights tickets are used to push out the information. The cards suggest routes, airports, and a time window to fix upon a particular flight and book tickets. If there is a price drop or price increase on a route or flight that a user are tracking, then Google Flights will continue to send notifications. Users can seamlessly track flights and routes on the web and mobile versions of the site. There is no app by Google for Flights. The update is expected to be rolled out over the next few weeks wherever Google Flights is available, which includes India.

T-Mobile and AT&T to stall exchanges of Samsung Galaxy Note 7, pending investigations

  18 Oct 2016 , 11:31

US telecommunications firm AT&T and German rival T-Mobile announced Sunday they would halt exchanges of recalled Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphones pending investigations into reports of fire-prone batteries.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a recall on September 15 of the Galaxy Note 7, the newest smartphone by Samsung Electronics, and said they could be exchanged for a new version of the Galaxy Note 7 with a battery modified to prevent serious fires and burns.

Since then, there have been reports that the batteries in the new Galaxy Note 7 devices have overheated and been involved in fires.

“Based upon recent customer reports and ongoing investigations by Samsung, AT&T is no longer exchanging customers into new Galaxy Note 7s at this time while we wait for the outcome of the investigations,” AT&T said in a statement.

AT&T said it would still offer customers the option to exchange that device for another Samsung smartphone or other device of their choice.

T-Mobile said that it too was halting the exchanges, as well as sales.

“While Samsung investigates multiple reports of issues, T-Mobile is temporarily suspending all sales of the new Galaxy Note 7 and exchanges for replacement Galaxy Note 7 devices,” the company said in a statement.

AT&T said it had not been selling Galaxy Note 7s since Samsung and the CPSC instructed the company to stop selling Galaxy Note 7 devices purchased before September 15.

Samsung decided on September 2 to halt the sale of the Galaxy Note 7 and

Samsung Electronics to compensate component suppliers for Galaxy Note 7 parts

  18 Oct 2016 , 11:11

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Tuesday it will compensate component suppliers for the discontinued Galaxy Note 7 smartphones and consider giving them orders for other models to cushion the blow.

The world’s top smartphone maker said it would fully pay for unused Note 7 parts that have already been manufactured, compensate suppliers for unfinished components and pay for materials bought to make Note 7 parts.

“Samsung will determine the inventory levels for the partner companies and carry out compensation quickly,” the company said in a statement, without elaborating on how much it expected to pay.

The decision comes after some South Korean government and central bank officials voiced concerns about the potential impact of the Note 7 crisis on the domestic economy. A deputy finance minister said the fallout could hurt the economy during the third and fourth quarters of the year.

Though most of Samsung’s smartphones are manufactured overseas, the company is a key customer for many South Korean parts makers including Samsung Electronics affiliate Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co Ltd.

Samsung last week permanently ended sales of the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 smartphone less than two months after launch, a decision the company expects will cost $5.5 billion in operating profit from the third quarter of 2016 to the first quarter of 2017.

Reuters

Rumour: New Apple MacBook Air and Pro lineup to launch by October end

Image: Martin Hajek

By tech2 News Staff /  18 Oct 2016 , 15:31

Apple has been hitting the right notes this year with its iPhone 7 and 7 Plus models. However, its MacBook line-up has not been updated for years. They still feature the same old designs with some updated fifth-generation chipsets, that will still burn a hole in your pocket when compared to similarly priced Windows 10 offerings. But things may change soon, and according to a new rumour, Apple could launch its new range of MacBooks as soon as the end of October.

Japanese blog, Macotakara points out that Apple is already geared up to release its new range of MacBook Pros and a new MacBook Air by end of October as conveyed by a reliable Chinese supplier. In fact, retailers are readying themselves to receive the new shipments which will also drop in by the end of the month.

Diving into the details, the new MacBooks will be skipping on the standard USB ports and will go in for the USB Type C ports instead, along with support for the Thunderbolt 3 standard. The USB C ports will be used for charging, so it is indeed time to wave goodbye to the MagSafe connector.

While the MacBook Pros are expected to arrive in 13-inch and 15-inch models, the same source also points out that Apple will kill the 11-inch MacBook Air. The reasons for the same seem to be related to the existence of the iPad Pro series. The 13-inch MacBook Air model is expected to see a complete redesign.

Last we heard, the MacBook Pro lineup was expected to feature Touch ID and an OLED touch panel that sits over the keyboard. The options displayed would change according to application in use. In addition to the usual improvements, some reports indicate that Apple may be dropping Intel chipsets in favour for AMD chips.