Tech articles

Land Rover’s Transparent Bonnet technology to see what’s under the hood!

At first glance, mixing augmented reality with cars may not seem to be a good idea, but a new concept from Land Rover might change that opinion. It’s name is Transparent Bonnet , combining a series of chambers with a HUD (head-up display) to make a transparent hood, allowing the driver to observe the road conditions below.

There is plenty of treacherous roads, and a little extra knowledge can be the difference between a relatively safe trip and spending hours in a sunken trench (that being optimistic) . Of course, a good vehicle can offset some of the problems that arise in a complicated route, but we cannot expect to solve everything. Technology is trying to lend a hand, and with this I do not mean the construction methods applied on the car, or the integrated information systems. We’ve seen things like sensors that help maintain a safe distance from other vehicles, and motion detectors to avoid impacts. In a less experimental aspect, the use of cameras is ever expanding, especially in countries with high levels of corruption and fraud. What we have here today fully qualifies as a concept, and calls for nothing less than the augmented reality . Adding elements in the visual field of the driver could be counterproductive, however, but in this case, it seems to be a very good idea.

The official name of this project is Transparent Bonnet . The translation for “bonnet” is nothing more than hood, so we already have a good idea of its function from the name. The plan is to use cameras at the front of the car, which transmit images to a HUD display. The result is the feeling of a transparent hood , which helps to visualize the state of the road under the vehicle , and the position of the wheels. According to the words of Land Rover , the main applications for Transparent Bonnet would be for maneuvering in tight spaces and in difficult terrains. The system also can play additional information , such as speed and angles.

The company has not said anything about the arrival of Transparent Bonnet in the market, but the New York International Auto Show is just around the corner (April 18) , and it has been confirmed that the technology will be present there. On one hand, I agree that it does not seem to be a very useful application of augmented reality on a traditional car, and on the other, I must not forget that this is Land Rover . Their vehicles have challenged hard roads for decades, and with that in mind,Transparent Bonnet would not be a bad idea.

You can read the official announcement here

April 10, 2014
Imitone -Make music by only using your voice!

Maybe you do not know to play an instrument, but now it’s possible to make music by only using your voice . If you think of a tune, the first thing you do is hum or buzz . So why not convert that directly into music ? The key to this is in imitone a software that allows you to compose any song using voice or any instrument.

No matter how hard you try it takes time and dedication to learn to play an instrument. You may not know to play an instrument or you do not have access to one, but what about your own voice ? Rather, what happens if you have a very good voice ? You could sing, that’s for sure. And you could also compose . That tune that appeared on your head can be cpnverted into a complete song with this software. If the idea interests you, then you should get a copy of imitone , a program developed by Ivan Balster.

Sing, whistle, hum or buzz, imitone has the ability to convert the sound of your voice into MIDI signals , which in turn supports a tremendous amount of specialized software, and obviously digital instruments. In essence, everything generated with imitone can be recorded, edited, mixed, compiled and processed, thanks to its role as a MIDI controller. Volume, scale selection, vibrato detection, output hardware external control and percussion are some of the features that imitone has . If that’s not enough, the program also offers control for multiple channels, noise cancellation and advanced data analysis, among other things.

Imitone has been a success in Kickstarter. Its developer got more than 300 percent its original goal of $ 20,000, and the best part is that it is still possible to buy a copy at a reduced price. With the $ 20 offer fully depleted, the cheapest entry point is $ 25 , or alternatively, you can invest $ 60 and receive a basic copy. imitone is compatible with Windows(XP and above) and OS X 10.6 64-bit or higher, while the Linux support will come later via free build , albeit with reduced functionality.

Check imitone here

April 9, 2014
New smartphones may recharge the battery in 30 seconds!- Storedot

It would be like the “Holy Grail” between mobile devices. The battery life combined with the charging time is one of the most frustrating points on any smartphone or tablet , however, just came a battery prototype developed by the Israeli company StoreDot , with the help of a special charger promises a total restoration in just 30 seconds .

Yes, my smartphone is charging up as I write. And the only thing I hate about my smartphones,camera,tablet and my laptop is that its battery capacity is too low and it takes a lot of time to get charged up.I should either have a battery which stays charged for atleast a month of heavy use or it should get charged up instantly.The loss of autonomy among the new devices is felt at every moment, and we must be constantly surrounded by things like emergency chargers and laptop batteries . Technology should have a definitive answer to solve this problem. One option considered by experts is the supercapacitor , and although their recharging speed is very fast, it does not contain sufficient energy. In essence, what is needed is the best of both technologies , battery and supercapacitor. A company located in Israel called StoreDot , seems to have the perfect combo.

During the conference ‘Next Think’ that Microsoft held in the city of Tel Aviv, StoreDot conducted a demonstration of a battery that only needed 28 seconds to fully charge a Samsung Galaxy S4 . StoreDot has focused on nanodots , bio peptides -organic chemical synthesized with the ability to optimize the electrolytic performance and the capacitance of the electrodes. This led to the development of a new “Multifunction Electrode” , with one side acting like a supercapacitor, and the other acting as a lithium electrode with slow download. By modifying the electrode with nanodots, developers dramatically increased their effectiveness, and all this without using toxic materials .

The prototype has an estimated 2,000 mAh capacity, more or less what you can expect from a traditional smartphone (although small for a S4) , but StoreDot recognizes that technology needs more development. First, the special charger must be miniaturized (currently it is as big as the phone itself) and the next plan is to adapt it so it can be used in cars . It is estimated that the first commercial version of the battery and charger will be available in 2016, at a price that is double the current batteries. For 30 seconds recharge, I think we’re willing to pay the difference.

April 8, 2014
Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 810 and 808

Qualcomm have announced their next generation mobile processors-Snapdragon 810 and 808 on April 7th.These are the highest performing chipsets manufactured by the company to date.Both 810 and 808 have 64 bit processors and use cortex A5 series.

The Snapdragon 810 features four cortex A-57 cores and four cortex A-53 processors.It also has the newest Adreno 430 GPU,which results in about 80% power increase over the current GPUs.It can have a screen resolution upto 4k.It also adds the support for bluetooth 4.1 and usb 3.0.

The Snapdragon 808 features four cortex A-57 cores but only two cortex A-53 processors.This one too has a new GPU-Adreno 418,and can have a screen resolution upto WQXGA (2560×1600).

The new Snapdragon 810 easily outclasses it’s previous best chipset-Snapdragon 805.The processors are anticipated to begin sampling in the second half of 2014 and expected to be available in commercial devices by the first half of 2015.

April 7, 2014
How to increase the sound of your computer?

A fairly common complaint among many users is that their computer sound is very low even when the volume control is set to maximum. There are many reasons why it is not possible to go beyond 100 percent , but if you want to increase the sound anyway, there are a couple of things to do …

The biggest problem we face when dealing with the sound is in your listing subjective . That sounds“too low” for one person may be barely tolerable for another, and wars are legendary among audiophiles in many forums. This quality differences in sound cards, speakers, drivers, playback-software,and even the audio itself . I know I’m entering a very difficult territory. It is impossible to cover all the variables of audio hardware. That said … you’re here because you want you increase the sound of your PC .Windows volume control is set to max, and still you are not getting the sound you want.

The ultimate solution suggested again and again in the specialized forums, is to connect an amplifier (Or the so called Sound Booster). After all, the hardware has its limits, and cannot “invent” more power. A set of speakers with integrated headphone amp should be sufficient to increase the sound , while the most portable amps (including those derived from DIY projects) work very well.Geek Plus audio awesomifier is one of the best sound amplifiers for computers. If you want to get one, go here to indigogo and fund the project. If purchasing new hardware is not a viable option … there are some methods to cheat with some softwares.The first step to check is if the official drivers are updated(Or to check if it is even installed!).. Maybe the solution is in a new driver with the ability to use the sound card more effectively. After reinstalling operating system in my laptop,I felt that the sound quality had degraded a lot, but after an exhaustive testing,I found that, for some reason my audio drivers were not installed.After installing the drivers,my sound volume and quality increased by 5 fold.Then it will be necessary to verify that all volume controls are really at full. The “mixer” Window tells only a fraction of the story, and sound properties may reveal the additional controls that can increase the sound safely.

Then you must check if the problem persists for all audio files . Some mp3 files can have a very low volume, and the fact that 5.1 audio played through stereo speakers also creates problems. For the first case, you need an audio editor . GoldWave is one of the best audio editor, but you can also use an open and free alternative such as Audacity . Now, if the audio is in a movie, AC3Filter is an excellent alternative. In addition to down-mix of 5.1 to stereo , you can also increase the volume or channel in general. AC3Filter does not work independently, but must be configured from within each player.Some of the most popular players (such as VLC Player and Media Player Classic Home Cinema) also offers some options for standardizing and maximizing overamplification volume.

Finally, I can only recommend a trick that has been around for a while on the web, which is to enable “Loudness Equalization” (if it is available) in the audio properties . Please go to the Control Panel, click Sound, select the default device, open its properties, and in the improvements section, place a checkmark in the appropriate box. A warning : Turning ON Loudness Equalization is a double-edged sword . In most cases it will increase the sound, but there are several reported cases in which it does the exact opposite. Guarantees? sorry to say no. ? Risk? Not all speakers are the same, and the potential for harm is relatively very low , but it’s there . A low volume on the computer can be attacked from different vectors at a time, and not all apparent solutions are suitable for each user, except for what I mentioned at the beginning, which is to connect an amplifier.Good luck!

April 7, 2014