This week’s must reads!
The tech world is rapidly evolving and it’s hard to keep up! To help you keep up to date we’ve made a selection of the last week’s best tech articles you should be reading:
Intel reveals world’s smallest wireless modem for the Internet of things
“By 2020, Internet-connected devices are expected to number between 26 billion and 50 billion, according to Raymond James & Associates. The IoT European Research Center estimates there are 80 things connecting to the Internet for the first time every second, and by 2020, this will expand to 250 every second. And those devices will need a lot of modems…”
Plant Monitoring Devices: is the Internet of Plants Next?
“Although most of the devices currently on the market are small consumer products for monitoring when you need to water your plants, the possibilities for using these technologies on a larger scale are huge. A connected network of plants and trees, sensing and monitoring their environment and providing feedback data could be revolutionary for environmental monitoring and positively disruptive to many other industries.”
Are tiny houses and micro-apartments the future of urban homes?
“Urban housing supplies are already straining worldwide with 54% of the global population of 7.2 billion living in cities, according to the United Nation’s World Urbanization Prospects 2014 report. By 2050, that number is expected to rise to 6.33 billion, or 66% of a forecasted world population of 9.6 billion. ”
Digital learning: how technology is reshaping teaching
“Using technology in an educational environment not only better reflects children’s life outside the classroom, but also allows them to hone their digital skills in a way that will continue to be valuable throughout their adult life.
“The use of mobile digital technologies in the classroom might be largely unfamiliar to parents, but the benefits can be huge,” said Drew Buddie, senior vice chair at Naace, the association for the UK’s education technology community.
“It’s not about just shifting traditional lessons onto screens — it’s about allowing pupils to make use of their devices to truly enhance their learning while giving teachers better ways to track individual achievement and personalise lessons.”
These 3-D Printed Skeleton Keys Can Pick High-Security Locks in Seconds
“Ultimately, the two lockpickers say they’re trying to show lock companies and their customers that 3-D printing has changed lockpicking in ways that may leave previously secure locks vulnerable. After all, many lock makers seem to rely on their keys’ restricted shapes — their “key profile” — as their sole defense against tricks like bumping. “It’s a kind of false sense of security,” says Holler. “If a protected profile is your only protection, you should be aware that’s no longer enough.”
12 NHS Hospitals Using 3D-Printed Models To Test Implants Before Surgery
“The models that the hospitals commonly request include jaw bones, for facial reconstruction surgery; elbows; hip revision models, to rehearse repairing hip replacements; forearms, to repair deformed bones; and cranial plastics, whereby the surgeon has to fit a titanium implant to a hole in a person’s skull.
The 3D models have also been used in orthopedics, neurology, spinal and ears, nose and throat wards, so that surgeons can identify the best procedure to use before surgery, which has cut down surgery time and hospital costs dramatically.”
‘A glance shows when something’s wrong’: The IoT startup using 3D interfaces to control smart cities
“Many Internet of Things (IoT) businesses target small companies and consumers with everything from smart home technology to wearable devices, but CyberLightning is going for the source. The company, founded in 2010, is freshly backed by $4.2m in funding and its CyberVille software is aimed at infrastructure companies, helping them collect, manage, and analyse their data more easily through 3D modelling.”
Research Paves Way for Cyborg Moth ‘Biobots’
“The moth is connected to a wireless platform that collects the electromyographic data as the moth moves its wings. To give the moth freedom to turn left and right, the entire platform levitates, suspended in mid-air by electromagnets. ”
Raffaele Giaffreda on the exciting future of the Internet of Things, and its obstacles
“…I believe that a big chunk of that market size will be in the healthcare sector. Assisted living in smart homes, real-time monitoring through wearables, tele-care, together with the advances in cloud and cognitive computing to process monitored data and ensure more accurate correlation between treatment and illness to be cured, these are all means that will increase the quality of our lives especially towards the end of it or in the case of ill health with a positive impact to our society.”
‘Robo Brain’ will teach robots everything from the Internet
“The system employs what computer scientists call “structured deep learning,” where information is stored in many levels of abstraction. An easy chair is a member of the class of chairs, and going up another level, chairs are furniture. Robo Brain knows that chairs are something you can sit on, but that a human can also sit on a stool, a bench or the lawn.”
Could A Giant Artificial Reef Save Venice From Sinking?
“The reef would be made from “smart droplets” that are attracted away from light. Over time, they would grow to cover the wooden poles under the city and spread to create a new platform to prop everything up.
“It would be porous, yet rigid, and could potentially stop the city sinking by producing an upward and lateral counter-force through the process of active growth, like expanding roots,” Armstrong explains. It could possibly even grow strong enough to push the city up above sea level.
Since the droplets scoop up minerals and carbon dioxide, they may also help clean the water and reduce acidity.”
Meet Enlitic, a startup that helps doctors analyze images with deep learning
“A technology attracting no shortage of hype these days, deep learning is changing quickly, with new best practices and techniques coming out all of the time. With the launch of Enlitic, it’s becoming clear that just as there’s room for deep-learning technology that can come in handy across many industries, there could also be room for applications for specific areas and types of workers.”
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