The Pocketalk device is an extremely interesting gadget designed for instant two-way translation from language to language. Pocketalk, which costs $ 299, contains a global SIM card and supports the translation of conversations into 74 languages.
Pocketalk is a pocket-sized device that can instantly translate from one language to another
The gadget has a simple interface, and its dual speakers and dual microphones with noise-canceling functions ensure high-quality performance even in noisy environments. Pocketalk was created by the specialists of SourceNext, a Japanese startup that is based, however, in the American Palo Alto. The company began selling its electronic translator in the US last October.
Dealing with the Pocketalk Classic setup is easy. On the main screen, you must select two languages from the proposed list. Further, each participant in the dialogue uses his own button to talk. For the translation to be as accurate and coherent as possible, sentences must be complete and complete. The device is capable of translating up to 30 seconds of continuous speech per translation. The phrase that we pronounce first appears on the screen in our native language, then in a foreign language, and then the translator voices it.
To use Pocketalk Classic you need an internet connection via Wi-Fi or a built-in SIM card.
I think this is the most needed device for travelers. People can talk with the local people without a language barrier because it is more interesting to hear the story firsthand. In addition, it is very small and spacious, you can carry it with you
Today there are two mRNA vaccines: Pfizer and Moderna. Both of them against Covid-19.
So, the important question is why this technology is so important or innovative? I will give you an answer in this blog.
Firstly, vaccines that were made in mRNA way could be easily modified for new virus stamps. Secondly, they are more effective than vector vaccines (effectiveness of Pfizer and Moderna more than 95% while vector vaccines have less than 90%). The third thing is that this technology gives us hope that in future we could get vaccines against Cancer, HIV and other serious illnesses.
The opposite view is that this technology is young, just few years. No one knows how it will affect our health in future, so that why using such vaccines should not be introduced by force or by threat. A person should introduce it if he wants to.
My personal view is that this technology started well and will provide to humanity with a lot of good things and will save great amount of people. And i was vaccinated by Pfizer , because i belive in this technology.
In a world of constant development humans are trying to achieve perfection in every field of knowledge. Scientists are working non-stop on newest inventions which are meant to help us people with getting through our day. One of the most common filed constantly being developed and is used around the world by almost everyone, is of course transport industry. Let us focus mainly on Cars which we use daily. Autonomous driving is no longer a science fiction dream of far future. We differentiate 5 levels of Autonomous Driving AI System.
Classification of autonomous driving development stages.
This classifications comes from Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). It describes the inequalities between every stage and states which level is an entry to autonomous driving. The levels of autonomous driving range from 0 with no assistance systems at all to Level 5, which describes fully autonomous driving.
What are the different autonomous driving levels all about?
Level 0 Autonomous Driving – Manual Driving
Anyone who obtained their driving license before the 1990s probably still learned to drive still learned to drive a completely manual vehicle – without ESP, parking assistance, or any other kind of assistance system. According to the classification of the SAE, these vehicles belong to level 0 autonomous driving.
Level 1 Autonomous Driving – driver assistance
New vehicles without any assistance systems are hardly to be found today; the majority of cars are equipped with assistance functions that correspond to Level 1. Examples include cruise control, lane departure warning, and emergency brake assistance. They support the driver, increase safety and driving convenience, but in no way replace his or her skills. The driver still steers the vehicle completely independently, has to be alert at all times and keep a constant eye on the traffic.
Cruse control
Line departure warning
Emergency braking assistance
Level 2 Autonomous Driving- partial automation
Level 2, as expected, goes one step further. Here, several assistance systems are often combined with one another so that the vehicle can independently perform individual driving maneuvers, such as parking or navigating stop-and-go traffic. The driver can hand over control of the vehicle during these maneuvers, but must remain alert and be able to intervene at any time if something does not work as intended. The same applies to assistance functions such as lane departure warning or distance warning. Level 1 and 2, when combined, form the current ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) technology.
Current vehicle models are often categorized as Level 2, and even if the functions are sometimes very impressive, it must be made clear that these are by no means actual self-driving functions that allow drivers to divert their attention from the road.
With the step from Level 2 to Level 3, things begin to get more exciting: While Level 2 autonomous driving is all about assistance systems, in Level 3 the car actually drives autonomously under certain conditions. Drivers may temporarily turn their attention towards other activities and even take their hands off the wheel. With Level 3, you enter the world of highly automated driving!
The added value of automating certain scenarios can be seen particularly clearly in highway driving. For instance, driving straight ahead for long periods is boring and relatively straightforward compared with navigating city traffic. Accordingly, a possible development towards Level 3 could be that vehicles on highways drive independently and drivers can devote themselves to other tasks during this time. When the highway exit is approaching or some complicated scenarios pop-up, such as road work or diversions, the vehicle hands control back to the driver.
However, this handover poses a number of challenges. Which activities may the driver perform while the car is steering itself? How long in advance must the vehicle alert about the change of control? These questions need to be clarified, as does the technological assurance that the vehicle will correctly recognize when a traffic situation exceeds its capabilities.
Level 4 Autonomous Driving – high automation
The next step after the initial automation of certain driving situations is the automation of all driving situations, i.e. fully automated driving on Level 4, where the vehicle controls complete journeys on the highway as well as in city traffic predominantly independently. Drivers can also devote themselves to other activities for longer periods of time, such as working, keeping the children in the back seat busy, or even sleeping.
Those who see their own driving pleasure endangered by autonomous driving functions do not need to worry: At Level 4 the driver can always take back control of the vehicle at any time. In some cases the vehicle may even hand over control to the driver if the system is no longer able to guarantee complete safety. If the driver does not react in this situation, the vehicle will come to a safe stop.
Level 5 Autonomous Driving – full automation
With Level 5 we have arrived at fully autonomous driving: Unlike the previous levels of autonomous driving, neither driving ability nor a driving license are required to use the vehicle.
The driver becomes a pure passenger.
This is why prototypes of fully autonomous vehicles have neither a steering wheel nor pedals, since they are capable of driving completely independently and require no human input. The user merely determines the pick-up location and the destination.
This opens up completely new possibilities for low-cost individual transport, because robo-taxi fleets consisting of fully automated vehicles can be operated very economically and efficiently. In addition, they generate enormous advantages for people without a driving license or their own vehicle, such as children or senior citizens, and offer great added value, especially in rural areas. Thus, autonomous vehicles will not only change the functional spectrum of the car in general, but also the concept of mobility itself from the ground up.
Is it possible for Autonomous Driving in not so far future?
Considering how fast modern world is changing it is very possible for Fully Autonomous Driving(level 5) to appear in a future. It is largely determined by the development of perception technology an sensor technology. Automated driving functions from Level 3 upwards are only possible if vehicles are able to reliably detect their entire environment and derive instructions for action accordingly. Such vehicles will make use of a wide range of sensors, such as ultrasonic sensors, radar, and cameras, with the LiDAR sensor at the center, thanks to its high resolution and reliable 3D measurement capabilities. We only can wait and see what future holds.
Penji is one of the biggest unlimited design services. You pay them a monthly, quarterly, or yearly fee and you get access to their team of designers to whom you can make unlimited design requests.
Unlimited? How can that be real?
You can send unlimited requests, but their designers will work on them one by one. So despite you ask for 1,000 logos, they will work on one logo at a time, finishing all the work probably in many months or years.
Why would I go with an unlimited design service?
Because, if you have recurring design tasks that need to be done, but not enough of them to hire a full-time designer, it can be much cheaper than hiring freelancers or agencies.
The way Penji can have so cheap prices is that the same designer that works for you, works for other companies, so his wage is distributed between many businesses.
Pros:
Design quality: Many unlimited design services provide work that’s just okay in terms of quality. Penji, in my opinion, is really over most of the other services in terms of quality and innovation.
Price: They are similar or even lower than the standards of the industry. Their “Team” plan pricing includes all the design tasks a business founder may need and turnaround times are perfect. If you’re in a rush or need many design requests, the “Agency” plan and pricing make a lot of sense as well.
Company: The company is great. They care about social issues and do their contribution by donating 10% of the profits and providing their services for $1/month to non-profit organizations. Everyone I’ve talked to in the company has also been really friendly.
Cons:
Communication: There’s no other communication method more than Penji’s internal dashboard (which is amazing, anyway). Most other unlimited design services allow you to send and manage requests over email, Slack, etc. You’ll have to add Penji’s dashboard as a new tool to check every day, instead of being able to have everything withing the tools you are already using.
Price: Penji may prove to be expensive if you don’t use it and do many monthly design requests. But that’s a common problem of unlimited design services, not only of Penji (and Penji’s price isn’t more expensive than other services).
Hologram – a photographic record on a carrier of at least two-wave interference images, which in the reading gives two independent 3D spatial images (three-dimensional).
HOW IS HOLOGRAM MADE?
But how exactly is this real hologram created? A hologram can be created with the help of two lasers. One of the lasers is necessary to illuminate the object to be displayed on the hologram. The second laser illuminates the cliches on which the hologram will then be created.
HOLOGRAMS IN THE POP CULTURE
Holograms are not a completely new idea because they have been appearing in literature or science fiction films for many years, e.g. famous scenes in Startreck or Star Wars, they are also used in modern illusion magic in which Magicians, using mirrors and other items, also try to create illusions optical to resemble the previously mentioned holograms.
HOLOGRAMS TODAY
Companies creating holograms with various applications appear in the world but are mainly used to connect to huge conferences in which the interested person can display their hologram anywhere in the world. Some time ago, due to limitations related to Covid19, some heads of large companies could not appear at events due to limitations related to covid 19, therefore they decided to create holograms that would lead the panel at the conference. Portal, a company dealing with the preparation of such holograms, received an order from the head of the Swiss watch company Christoph Grainger-Herrstoph, who spent a staggering sum of about 60,000 dollars for the hologram. This hologram was displayed in 3D in full-size 4k resolution to see all people and the power to talk to them as if they were there. Portals in which we see holograms have built-in speakers that are built-in at the right angle, thanks to which we have the impression that the sound comes from the mouth of the hologram. other companies that use cheaper solutions, eg Microsoft uses HoloLens 2 (for which you have to pay about 3-4 thousand dollars), but this device does not create 3d holograms that would be realistic. Another example of the use of holograms is complex engineering in which the engineer would not have to move between countries, and the power would remotely use holograms to show exactly how a given mounting or structure should look like.
THE DISADVANTAGES OF THE HOLOGRAMS
But is this type of technology very necessary? It is an interesting solution, but whether it can replace a normal meeting with another person or a telephone conversation, rather not because direct contact between a person and a person is more necessary for us than we think, as shown by the time of the pandemic, and telephone conversations or writing are more private. Well, because let’s consider whether we would prefer to talk to someone using a hologram or meet for a coffee, go for a walk or some sport together. A person using a hologram needs a special machine for this, which cannot be used portably, for this very high costs related to the price of such devices make them impossible to take into account on a larger scale, because most people would not be able to afford them. . Holograms can be a nice gadget at conference presentations, but you can still ask yourself the same question if they are necessary. Remotely, using programs and a well-prepared presentation, you can still prepare a very good presentation that can give a better effect than a hologram. As for other engineering applications, it is better to create clear instructions for a given structure that would allow the repair and construction of the device without the need to send engineers from a given company around the world.
TO SUM UP
Summing up, holograms are an interesting device thanks to which the development of technology in image transmission will go very forward, but its prices are not adequate to what they can convey, which means that for the majority of society they seem to be just a gadget that cannot be used to anything more specific.
It may appear impossible to program the surrounding reality until you discover that a person’s ideas may modify reality. Fortunately, or regrettably, I have stumbled upon such a “superpower,” and you can take your own conclusions after reading the entire article.
Have you ever observed your hands constantly being washed, your feet thumping on the floor involuntarily, or your items being arranged in the “correct” order? Is it feasible to call behaviors like frenzied cleaning, double-checking the same item, mentally repeating phrases, and a desire for organizing the day by the minute “everyday habits”?
A person believes that by repeating specific activities, he may avoid fate. “If I do it perfectly, nothing will happen,” you’ll hear a lot from these people.
Childhood trauma, moral and physical fatigue, stress, and even culture can all be used to justify such behaviors (myths, omens).
In most cases, the need for absolute omnipotence causes anxiety, and the habit swiftly develops into an actual mental illness known as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This leads to compulsive ideas that something like this might happen. Furthermore, a person’s ideas might attract negative energy and situations, confirming that everything he is experiencing is accurate. As a result, a person programs his or her own world. And it appears to be a kind of mental prison that a person builds for himself, from which he can only be released with the help of drugs and psychotherapy.
James Webb Space Telescope is often dubbed the long awaited ‘successor’ to famous Hubble Telescope. With its recent start on 25th of December 2021 let’s delve into the details of the telescope’s mission and elaborate on some differences between ‘Webb’ and ‘Hubble’.
Webb’s Origin and Development
The idea for a Next Generation Space Telescope was born in the 1990’s. It was planned to observe the Universe in the infra-red spectrum, which would allow to see space objects much farther or colder than Hubble could see. It was initially intended to launch in 2007, but in 2000’s it was still in early development. The first deadline was deemed impossible to meet, so the whole project was re-planned with the seven-fold expansion of the initial budget, and the launch was put-off to somewhere in the following decade. Eventually, the project’s budget exceeded $9 Billion, with European and Canadian Space Agencies contributing hundreds of millions of dollars, as well. Due to both, technical issues and factors independent of the space agencies, like the most recent Covid-19 Pandemic, the start of the mission of the Webb Telescope was scheduled for 2021. The Telescope was eventually launched from Europe’s Space Port in French Guiana on 25th December 2021.
Differences between other space telescopes
Hubble Space Telescope (left) compared to Webb (right)
One of the most significant differences between Webb and Hubble is the location of the mission. While Hubble is operating from Low-Earth Orbit, Webb will observe its targets from so-called ‘Earth – Sun Second Lagrange point’ (L2) which effectively means that it is few times further away from Earth than the Moon. Other very important difference is the wavelengths which telescopes utilizes. Hubble can see light varying in wavelength from ultraviolet to close infrared, while Webb can see much farther into infrared, which will be its main frequency of operation, just like Spitzer Space Telescope. Webb has also main mirror more than two times larger than Hubble’s with a diameter of 6.5 meters.
The difference between different wavelenghts (by Hubble Space Telescope)
The mission
Currently the Telescope is travelling to L2, where it will make its research. After its arrival to the orbit in late January 2022, the 6 months long preparation phase will follow. When Webb is finally calibrated, it may start its observations which are meant to last at least 5 years, but the Telescope may operate for as much as 10 years. From there it will look down in infrared on countless Nebulae, Star Clusters and Systems, providing new, clearer look on already known objects. One of the first Webb’s objectives is going to be evaluating on systems with potential exoplanets discovered by Kepler Space Telescope. Another goal may be searching for stars much older than we could previously see. Due to the redshift effect, the further away the object is, the more shifted to red it will be perceived by us. JWST is able to search for much older objects than Hubble, which tend to release more radiation in the infrared frequencies, due to its greater presence in infra-red spectrum.
Libration Points in Sun – Earth system. JWST will orbit around Second Libration Point
Conclusion
Webb’s Mission has just started, but its success is much anticipated. Its observations will verify countless theories regarding different space objects and provide many additional data which may be useful in the future. Even though, minor malfunctions may be handled by the Telescope itself, any major failure may lead to the end of the mission, because it is too far away to be repaired by a rescue team of Astronauts. Only Time will tell us what we will gain from James Webb Space Telescope…
In one of the posts about neobank usage (N26, Starling bank, Klarna, Revolut, Tinkoff) is stated that more than half of people (55%) in the age 22-34 old and slightly less than half (47%) of 35-49 years old use smartphones to access their mobile banking more than 5 times a week – which means that practically every day.
What are people doing so much in mobile banking? – checking their balances, ordering transfers, tracking their transaction history.
Nowadays, we have the possibility to choose from our banking or especially neobanking apps depending on our intuition and simplicity of the onboarding process and the usage of the app – i.e. number of clicks for onboarding, creating an account, order of transfer, visibility of transaction and card payment history (with accurate logos and names) and fees and commissions associated with maintenance and transactions, additional services such as forex, insurance, investments.
And here comes PFM and its functionality…
PFMs are more often finding their way into banking applications and are becoming an absolute banking standard!
So, what really is PFM?
PFM is a way of managing your personal finances.
One of the most important features of PFM are savings and budgeting. You can categorize transactions – create a grocery budget, budget for entertainment, transport, pet budget could be also nice.
Some cool features are automatic saving (by payment with a card we turn on the micro saving feature – go to saving account or even auto-invest) and multiple subaccounts maintenance – you can add accounts from multiple institutions into a single view.
Moreover, PFM allows you to visualize data such as spending trends and net worth.
The key here is Payment categorization. In e-commerce and physical POS payments are used the MCC codes but this is not enough. Some companies offer other more precise solutions for identifying the right type of transaction.
And as a result, we could see the following examples of PFM – Monzo, Revolut, Moneze.
I’ve always had a strong feeling of empathy towards people with paralysis and the physically impaired. I keep wondering to myself how hard and challenging it must be. But as technology advances, things we thought were impossible become reality. Neuralink is a great example, as it’s a company that is known for its controversial brain-chip interface. When you first hear of the brain chip, it sounds like an idea taken straight from a horror movie, but if you care enough to look beyond that, you can get a glimpse of the future for the physically impaired – a new, sixth sense: Neuralink.
So what is Neuralink?
Neuralink was founded by arguably the most influential and richest person in the world, Elon Musk. Neuralinks core promise is to enable the brain to communicate directly with computers. It’s essentially a device that is surgically inserted into the brain using robotics by different neurosurgeons. A chipset called the link is implanted into the skull during this procedure. The device itself has several insulated wires which are connected to the electrodes that are used in the process. The Neuralink can be used to operate computers and smartphones without actually touching them. Human trials have not yet started though, as getting approval from the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is no easy task.
What does Neuralink do?
As mentioned above, Neuralink allows people with paralysis to easily operate smartphones and computers directly with their brains. Its main purpose is to help people communicate through text or voice messages. Neuralink is not only limited to that though, as it can also be used to take photos, draw pictures, etc.
How does Neuralink work?
The way Neuralink works is quite complicated. To completely grasp the way Neuralink works, we first have to understand the science behind our brains. Simply put, the brain sends and receives electrical signals throughout the body. Different signals help control different processes, and the brain interprets each. The electrodes that are a part of Neuralink help read the signals made by the neurons in the brain. The signals are then outputted in the form of an action or movement. Additionally, the company’s website mentions that they deliberately implant the device directly in the brain because placing the Neuralink outside the head won’t be able to detect the signals accurately.
My take on the topic
When it comes to implanting Neuralink on healthy people, I believe that getting most people even remotely interested in having this device will be proven difficult. I think that the possible negatives far outweigh the proven positives when it comes to Neuralink. First of all, in my eyes, the idea of implanting this device in healthy people would require extraordinary evidence of safety. And that’s already hard to picture because as soon as you surgically open someone’s head, you put that person’s life at great risk. Not to mention the security concerns which could be vital in the future era. The technology’s core promise — is to enable the brain to communicate directly with computers — might possibly turn out to be its biggest security flaw. Should a computing device literally connected to the brain, like Neuralink, become hacked, the consequences could be disastrous, allowing hackers to have ultimate control over someone. In conclusion, I believe that while Neuralink could be of great help to people with paralysis or the physically impaired, the process of convincing the healthy public in their product is next to impossible.
The article “The small nuclear power plants billed as an energy fix” is about an energy company in Denmark, Seaborg Technologies which has invented a new type of nuclear reactor that is much smaller and cheaper than the conventional large and expensive nuclear reactors and address the problem regarding the fears of safety involving nuclear disasters we have seen in the past. These reactors are housed on floating barges and use molten soft to moderate reactions which prevent large-scale disasters from occurring. Moreover, this article also includes skepticism from professionals in the industry as well as some concern from the director-general of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
Figure 1: Seaborg nuclear power barges
Of course, nuclear energy is known to be very clean and much more efficient than other alternatives such as Solar and thermoelectric energy, but the question remains to this day, are the tradeoffs from this energy worth the potential for another nuclear disaster in our future? having had such devastating incidents such as Chernobyl and Fukushima would make anyone wonder if it is possible to use this technology without there ever having issues again. This company thinks that they have found the solution to this problem; however, this technology may not be available for a number of years meanwhile other alternatives like wind and solar are growing leaving nuclear behind such is an example with Germany who has greatly invested in wind energy and has practically abandoned nuclear energy. I do believe that one day companies will have technology advanced enough to ensure with 100% certainty that there will not be another nuclear disaster, but I think that day is still off into the future. I personally am in favour of nuclear energy due to many factors such as it being a low-carbon energy source but also because the nuclear sector creates many jobs in different aspects and stages of production from the construction of nuclear power plants to running as well as the decommissioning of plants and waste. However; I think there are too many skeptics and too many countries who are steering away from it to become a more mainstream form of energy any time soon regardless of the reduction in pollution it would bring as well as the individual reduction of businesses’ carbon footprint.
