Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: mobile phones – Page 128

This Room Can Wirelessly Charge Devices Anywhere Within Its Walls

Today, wireless charging is little more than a gimmick for high-end smartphones or pricey electric toothbrushes. But a new approach that can charge devices anywhere in a room could one day allow untethered factories where machinery is powered without cables. As the number of gadgets we use has steadily grown, so too has the number of cables and chargers cluttering up our living spaces. This has spurred growing interest in wireless charging systems, but the distances they work over are very short, and they still have to be plugged into an outlet. So, ultimately, they make little difference.

This is only a prototype though, and considering the dramatic increase in efficiency between the first and second versions, this efficiency gap could be closed. A more pressing concern might be the cost and complexity of retrofitting buildings with massive aluminum plates in the walls.

Indeed, the researchers are working on both issues. “We’ve just developed a brand-new technique. Now we have to go figure out how to make it practical,” Sample told Scientific American.

Still, while this kind of seamless wireless charging won’t be ubiquitous in the near term, the technique could soon be used in niche situations, like charging cabinets for power tools, and ultimately, the researchers think it could be make the factories of the future cable-free.

Japan Discovered a Rare-Earth Mineral Deposit That Can Supply The World For Centuries

Earlier this year, researchers found a deposit of rare-earth minerals off the coast of Japan that could supply the world for centuries, according to a study.

The study, published in the journal Nature in April 2,018 says the deposit contains 16 million tons of the valuable metals.

Rare-earth minerals are used in everything from smartphone batteries to electric vehicles. By definition, these minerals contain one or more of 17 metallic rare-earth elements (for those familiar with the periodic table, those are on the second row from the bottom).

These elements are actually plentiful in layers of the Earth’s crust, but are typically widely dispersed. Because of that, it is rare to find any substantial amount of the elements clumped together as extractable minerals, according to the USGS.

US states to accept driver’s licence on iPhones

Arizona, and Georgia will introduce the system first, with Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Utah also signed up.

The “first locations” to use the system will be airport security checkpoints run by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Apple says.

Americans usually need some form of state ID only to travel by air domestically, unlike other countries, in which a passport is widely used.

Tapping a phone at an identity reader at supported airports will prompt passengers to use their Face ID or fingerprint to authorise sending information to the machine.

“Users do not need to unlock, show, or hand over their device to present their ID,” Apple said.

Apple’s new ID system for its Wallet will be rolled out at airports to start.

Continue reading “US states to accept driver’s licence on iPhones” | >

Apple announces first states that will let you keep a digital version of your driver’s license on your iPhone

Eight states will roll out a feature allowing users to add driver’s license and state IDs to Apple Wallet for iPhone and Apple Watch to use at security at participating airports, Apple announced Wednesday.

Arizona and Georgia are the first states to adopt the feature and Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma and Utah will follow, though the company did not specify a timeline.

The news comes just months after Apple said at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June that it was working on the feature with the Transportation Security Administration. The update is a crucial step in Apple’s plan to replace physical wallets and will offer more convenience to travelers looking for a touchless airport experience, the company said.

Ten Agencies Plan to Increase Use of Facial Recognition Technology

As the use of facial recognition technology (FRT) continues to expand, Congress, academics, and advocacy organizations have all highlighted the importance of developing a comprehensive understanding of how it is used by federal agencies.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has surveyed 24 federal agencies about their use of FRT. The performance audit ran from April2020through August 2021. 16 of the 24 agencies reported using it for digital access or cybersecurity, such as allowing employees to unlock agency smartphones with it, six agencies reported using it to generate leads in criminal investigations, five reported using FRT for physical security, such as controlling access to a building or facility, and 10 agencies said they planned to expand its use through fiscal year 2023.

In addition, both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State reported using FRT to identify or verify travelers within or seeking admission to the United States, identifying or verifying the identity of non-U.S. citizens already in the United States, and to research agency information about non-U.S. citizens seeking admission to the United States. For example, DHS’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection used its Traveler Verification Service at ports of entry to assist with verifying travelers’ identities. The Traveler Verification Service uses FRT to compare a photo taken of the traveler at a port of entry with existing photos in DHS holdings, which include photographs from U.S. passports, U.S. visas, and other travel documents, as well as photographs from previous DHS encounters.

Kuo: iPhone 13 to Feature LEO Satellite Communications to Make Calls and Texts Without Cellular Coverage

The iPhone 13 will feature low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication connectivity to allow users to make calls and send messages in areas without 4G or 5G coverage, according to the reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In a note to investors, seen by MacRumors, Kuo explained that the ‌iPhone 13‌ lineup will feature hardware that is able to connect to LEO satellites. If enabled with the relevant software features, this could allow ‌iPhone 13‌ users to make calls and send messages without the need for a 4G or 5G cellular connection.

ARROW, a reconfigurable fiber optics network, aims to take on the end of Moore’s law

Wide Area Networks (WANs), the global backbones and workhorses of today’s internet that connect billions of computers over continents and oceans, are the foundation of modern online services. As COVID-19 has placed a vital reliance on online services, today’s networks are struggling to deliver high bandwidth and availability imposed by emerging workloads related to machine learning, video calls, and health care.

To connect WANs over hundreds of miles, fiber optic cables that transmit data using light are threaded throughout our neighborhoods, made of incredibly thin strands of glass or plastic known as optical fibers. While they’re extremely fast, they’re not always reliable: They can easily break from weather, thunderstorms, accidents, and even animals. These tears can cause severe and expensive damage, resulting in 911 service outages, lost connectivity to the internet, and inability to use smartphone apps.

Scientists from the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and from Facebook recently came up with a way to preserve the network when the fiber is down, and to reduce cost. Their system, called ARROW, reconfigures the optical light from a damaged fiber to healthy ones, while using an online algorithm to proactively plan for potential fiber cuts ahead of time, based on real-time internet traffic demands.

Apple Plans to Add Satellite Features to iPhones for Emergencies

(Bloomberg) — Apple Inc.’s push to bring satellite capabilities to the iPhone will be focused on emergency situations, allowing users to send texts to first responders and report crashes in areas without cellular coverage.

The company is developing at least two related emergency features that will rely on satellite networks, aiming to release them in future iPhones, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

Apple has been working on satellite technology for years, with a team exploring the concept since at least 2,017 Bloomberg has reported. Speculation that the next iPhone will have satellite capabilities ramped up this week after TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the phone will probably work with spectrum owned by Globalstar Inc.

Experimental chlorine battery holds 6 times more charge than lithium-ion

Stanford University scientists experimenting with a decades-old, single-use battery architecture have developed of a new version that is not only rechargeable, but offers around six times the capacity of today’s lithium-ion solutions. The breakthrough hinges on the stabilization of volatile chlorine reactions within the device, and could one day provide the basis for high-performance batteries that power smartphones for a week at a time.

The new battery is described as an alkali metal-chlorine battery, and is based on chemistry that first emerged in the 1970s called lithium-thionyl chloride. These batteries are highly regarded for their high energy density, but rely on highly reactive chlorine that makes them unsuitable for anything other than a single use.

In a regular rechargeable battery, the electrons travel from one side to the other during discharging and then are reverted back to their original form as the battery is recharged. In this case, however, the sodium chloride or lithium chloride is converted to chlorine, which is too reactive to be converted back to chloride with any great efficiency.

This autonomous Tesla HGV brings ultra-futurism to Elon’s semi dreams

A Tesla semi-truck with a very Tesla-worthy aesthetics highlighted by the contoured yet sharp design language that in a way reminds me of the iPhone 12!

Tesla’s visionary Semi all-electric truck powered by four independent motors on the rear is scheduled for production in 2022. The semi is touted to be the safest, most comfortable truck with an acceleration of 0–60 mph in just 20 seconds and a range of 300–500 miles. While the prototype version looks absolutely badass, how the final version will look is anybody’s guess.

/* */