Week 5 (#2): How do Traffic Lights Work??

 

I have always wondered, ever since I was a little kid, how traffic lights work. When I was younger I used to think that there were little men actually inside the traffic lights that would turn a switch when they saw cars waiting. I've learned over the years that this is not the case...and Keebler elves only live in trees; not traffic lights.

Most traffic lights operate off detectors, but some, like those in large cities, operate on timers since there is always a constant flow of traffic. The detectors may detect when a car arrives at the intersection, when too many cars are waiting at the light, or when cars have entered a turn lane (activating the arrow lights). Detectors can be everything from lasers to rubber hoses filled with air. The most common detector is the inductive loop which is a coil of wire embedded under the road's surface. Inductive loops work by detecting a change of inductance. When cars are parked over the wires, the inductance will be much larger because of the large amount of steel (the magnetic core) positioned in the loop's magnetic field. A traffic light sensor constantly tests the inductance of the loop in the road, and when the inductance rises, it knows there is a car waiting, and thus knows to change...and there ya have it!

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/safety-regulatory-devices/question234.htm

Week 5 (#1): Invisible-Invisible Fence

 

All of us have heard of invisible fences, right? They're those things that you bury into your yard to keep your dog from going where he shouldn't. My roommate, who is a crazy dog-person, was telling me last night that a new kind of invisible fence is on the market now...what I think should be called an "invisible-invisible fence"... a wireless dog fence. Unlike current invisible dog fences, these new fences don't use burried wires and are easier and more convenient to install. Instead of digging trenches and burying wires, you simply position a transmitter unit, plug it in and turn it on. The transmitter emits a signal that the dog's receiver collar can detect. The transmitter unit can be adjusted to create a smaller or larger circular area in which the signal is detectable. The receiver collar is constantly searching for the transmitter signal, which it is able to find as long as your dog stays within the designated area. If your dog moves too far away from the signal, he will hear an audible warning signal. If your dog continues moving forward, the collar will eventually lose the signal. Once this happens, the dog will receive a harmless 'static correction sensation.' You can create a larger and more customized area for your dog by combining multiple transmitters.

Perhaps the wireless fence's greatest advantage over traditional invisible fences is that a wireless dog fence is portable, allowing you to take it with you when you move or travel.

Week 4 (#3): "Google Glasses"...what is the world coming to??

On my drive into work this morning I heard something on the radio that made me question if I was awake and really driving my car, or if I was actually still lying in bed and just having a really bizarre dream. The radio host was talking about a really unique and seemingly far-fetched product that Google plans to launch later this year, called "Google Glasses."  These glasses are eyeglasses that will project information, entertainment, and advertisements on the lenses. The glasses are not being designed to be worn constantly but are expected to be used only when needed, with lenses serving as a see-through computer monitor. The glasses will be equipped with GPS and motion sensors as well as a camera and audio inputs and outputs. 


Personally I think this product is an example of technology going too far. My initial thought is safety. If people are wearing these glasses and driving or walking, it would be 10x worse than people texting and doing these activities...not only will they be distracted but will they even be able to see clearly through the glasses into the real world?? Not to mention, these users will look really weird to onlookers who don't know what virtual images are being seen on the other side of the lenses; people could be dodging and ducking virtual objects while playing games, etc. Security and privacy is another issue...if facial recognition software becomes accurate enough, the glasses could remind a wearer of when and how he met the vaguely familiar person standing in front of him at a party. 


These glasses are being built in a secretive laboratory near Google's main Mountain View, CA campus and will use the same Anroid software that powers Android smartphones and tablets. 


Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/technology/google-glasses-will-be-powered-by-android.html

Week 4 (#2): Nook vs Kindle Fire...Gloves are Off

This post serves as a follow-up to my earlier post regarding the Amazon Kindle Fire doing stellar in the tablet marketplace. The newly introduced 8GB Barnes & Noble Nook is selling for $199 (about $50 cheaper than the flagship model), which puts it in direct competition with the Kindle Fire. Although this Nook has reduced memory capacity and half the RAM of the original version, Barnes & Noble is trying to capture some of the market share that the less-expensive Kindle Fire had claimed. While Amazon and Barnes & Noble are fighting for the low-cost tablet crown, they need to be aware of stealthy competition that may be heading their way, which may offer better performance for a similar price. We'll have to see how this battle wages.


Source:
http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/21/8gb-nook-tablet-officia/

Week 4 (#1): Smartphones...a Necessity??

I found an interesting article online that explains Nielsen's recent findings relating to Smartphone users, specifically their age and income. It seems that, thanks to lower prices of Smartphones, the devices are successfully penetrating young, lower-income individuals. Over 56% of those making less than $15,000 a year (aged 18-24) are Smartphone owners. In the 25-34 age group making less than $15,000 a year, 43% are owners of Smartphones. This data indicates that Smartphones are increasingly becoming a necessity rather than a luxury and that young individuals are finding a way to afford them. Although it is not clear if these owners are single, married, supporting families, etc, this ownership among young lower-income individuals can help developers, publishers, and advertisers reach this important target consumer group.

Source:
http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/20/for-the-young-smartphones-no-longer-a-luxury-item/

Week 3 (#3): Is Apple Kicking Themselves in the Butt...?

An article titled “How the iPhone 4S boosted Kindle Fire sales” discusses how Apple’s slip of share in the fourth quarter of 2011 in the tablet market may have Amazon to blame. Pricing the Kindle Fire at just $199 proved to pay off for Amazon and was a brilliant pricing strategy. After many Apple-loyals paid at least $199 for the new iPhone 4S, they may have opted for cheaper tablets, like the Kindle Fire, rather than spending a hefty $499 on the iPad. Apple iPads slipped from 64% market share in the third quarter to 57% share in the worldwide tablet market in the fourth quarter; while the Kindle Fire had a 14.3% share of the tablet market. Although Amazon won’t reap a wide profit margin pricing the Kindle Fire at just $199, it did succeed in stealing customers away from the competition (Apple in particular). Perhaps the attraction of a low-price tablet will result in lower tablet prices across the entire tablet market; good news for us!!

Source:
http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/16/technology/ipad_market_share/index.htm

Week 3 (#2): Frank & Oak Helps Twentysomething Men Dress Themselves

Speaking in generalities, men do not like shopping. Very seldom do I hear a guy say “I can’t wait to go to the mall this weekend and get some new clothes.” There are a million other things my boyfriend and guy friends would rather do with their time than shop. A new site called Frank & Oak wants to target these men and “take the headache out of clothes shopping for men between 20 and 35;” which builds on the assumption that men would rather get something shipped to them than have to go out shopping.

The site is a new product from men’s clothing company Modasuite that is aiming at a younger audience with clothing that is more affordable and the process simpler. How the site works is that subscribers go to the site and enter their clothing preferences. Then, once a month, the subscribers get an email newsletter with a list of items tailored to their interests. The newsletter goes out only monthly because CEO Ethan Song said men in their 20s and early 30s don’t want to buy clothes more often than that. Subscribers select up to 5 items, which are shipped to them free of charge. The ones they don’t like or that don’t fit, they send back and the subscriber only pays for the ones he keeps.

Song says the goal behind this site is to “create the most hassle-free experience I’ve ever had.” Manpacks has a similar business model where men can sign up for deliveres of underwear, socks, and other necessities. The Modasuite team designs the clothing and has direct relationships with the manufacturers which mean products can be of high-quality and relatively low-price. Frank & Oak shirts cost about $40 and accessories cost about $25. This is just another example of how technology (particularly the internet) is making life easier and more hassle-free for us…and maybe even putting joy into shopping for men!

http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/15/frank-and-oak/

Week 3 (#1): The Magic Behind EZ Pass

Most of us are quite familiar with what EZ Passes are used for, but we probably weren't too familiar with how they worked until we learned about RFID in class. These are the main components of the EZ Pass system: transponder, antenna, lane controller, and host computer system. The transponder is the EZ Pass device that is placed on the inside of the car's windshield behind the rear-view mirror. The transponder is a battery-operated RFID unit that transmits radio signals. The RFID transponder has some basic account information stored in it, such as ID number and whose name the account is in. The antennas, which are the electronic readers, are positioned above each toll lane. The antennas emit radio frequencies that communicate with the transponder; with a detection zone of about 6 to 10 feet wide and about 10 feet long. Some toll systems use light curtains. A light curtain is a beam of light that is directed across the lane and when the beam is broken, the system knows a car has entered. 

Here is how the EZ Pass system works:

1) As a car approaches a toll plaza, the RF field emitted from the antenna activates the transponder.

2) The transponder broadcasts a signal back to the lane antenna with some basic info.

3) That info is transferred from the lane antenna to the central database (host computer system).

4) A toll is deducted from the driver's prepaid account.

5) The lane gate opens via the lane controller (computer that controls the lane equipment).

6) A green light indicates that the driver can proceed. Some lanes have text messages that inform drivers of the toll just paid and their account balance.

Since this whole process takes only a few seconds, electronic toll-collection systems allow traffic to move faster. EZ Pass lanes are monitored using video cameras so if a car does not have a transponder, the camera records and takes a snapshot of the license plate and the vehicle owner will receive a violation notice in the mail...and believe it to be true; personal experience!!

Source: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/e-zpass2.htm

Week 2 (#3): No Need to Count Calories!

There were a lot of great future RFID ideas mentioned in class this week, and on my drive home I got thinking about other potential ideas for the use of RFID in the future...


Tons of people are constantly trying to lose weight; whether it's by watching what they eat, working-out more, trying new weight-loss programs, using apps that log what they eat, etc. Wouldn't it be amazing if there was an RFID chip implanted into our bodies that was able to measure the number of calories we consumed and burned each day??? This would eliminate the need to be super conscious of what we eat, and we would no longer need to log our food consumption in a daily journal. All we would need to do is look at an app on our cell phones that would give us our net caloric intake for the day; in order to lose weight, one has to reduce the number of net calories. This way people could monitor if they are 'allowed' to have that candy bar before bed or if they 'need' to go on a 2 mile walk that afternoon. This would be nearly 100% accurate, opposed to current apps that can only estimate the number of calories that are in a given piece of food.   


I suppose in order for this to work, every piece of food would need to carry an RFID tag that held information on how many calories were in it. But wouldn't this mean we would be eating a ton of RFID tags? That can't be good! So perhaps there is a way for an RFID tag to measure the number of calories that pass through the bloodstream, and have an app on our cell phone that could be the receiver and decoder, displaying our daily counts. Hey, you never know!

Week 2 (#2): RFID Chips in Fish at Aquariums!

When researching about RFID technology, I came across the following article http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/view/8592/1 titled "RFID Chips Tell Fish Tales at Aquarium." I thought this was a very interesting and brilliant use of RFID technology!


The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, located in Virginia Beach, uses RFID to help visitors be better able to identify the fish in the 45,000 gallon tank. The fish are implanted with RFID chips and there is an RFID reader installed on the tank's exterior. When a fish swims by the reader, the reader's antenna captures the fish's tag ID number and results in a photograph and description of the fish to appear on the video screen; for example "Ted the black drum fish." The information includes where that particular fish was collected from the wild, its size and growth history, and its species characteristics. Granted, the read range is quite short, only about 9 inches, due to the water's salt content. After the fish swims away, the information remains on the right side of the screen, while a new fish's data will be displayed on the center of the screen once it swims by. Visitors can utilize the touch screen to select a fish that has already swam by and read more about it!


The first known use of this technology was done at the Underwater World Singapore aquarium in 2007 and then at the Underwater World Pattaya in Thailand in 2008. These new attractions have increased attendance at the aquariums and interest in the exhibits! 

Week 2 (#1): Tracking Bobcats in New Hampshire

I want to share with everyone a type of technology that is rather unique and probably not well know. My boyfriend Derek, who is a graduate student at University of New Hampshire, is doing his master's thesis on estimating the bobcat population in the State.

In order to protect and manage a wildlife population, it is necessary to determine the population size, where the animals are located, and what types of habitats they prefer. In the past, researchers have used tracking surveys (e.g. footprints in the snow) to answer these questions. With today's technology, researchers are able to attach devices (collars) to individual animals to record their locations as they move across the landscape. This new technique provides researchers with large amounts of quality data.

From the 1980's to the late 1990's very high frequency (VHF) radio collars were attached to animals that emitted a radio beacon that could be heard using a radio receiver. That signal allowed researchers to estimate the animal's location, using triangulation. As technology advanced, GPS was incorporated into VHF radio collars which communicated with satellites to record the animal's location. This data was stored in the collar and could be retrieved once the collar was removed from the animal. About 5 years ago, cell phone technology was incorporated into these GPS/VHF collars where the devices could then send the GPS data to researchers via Short Message Service (SMS) text messages.

This SMS technology is what is now used in New Hampshire to monitor bobcats. These 'cell phone' collars have saved researchers thousands of dollars that would have been spent on field labor attempting to obtain at best a few, moderately-accurate locations for each animal each week. Instead, these collars (which cost about $5,000 each) provide researchers with approximately 25 highly accurate GPS locations per week over the span of a year without researchers ever having to leave the office.

This large amount of highly precise data allows researchers to accurately calculate bobcat home ranges, determine habitat selection, and produce population estimates for the State quicker and easier than ever before.




Derek and I putting a cell phone tracking collar on a bobcat!



  



Week 1 (#3): Facebook Going Public??

Facebook, the social networking superpower, is anticipated to file for an IPO this week. The funds would help Facebook maintain its expansion and fend off competition from internet rivals such as Google Inc. and Twitter Inc. The company is said to be looking for valuation between $75 billion and $100 billion, which would make it one of the most valuable technology companies in the market (behind Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Google, Oracle, Intel, and Cisco). Right now the company is trying to project investor expectations; the IPO price can't be too high or too low. Some say the price may be set at the low end to ensure the first days of trading are strong. Facebook has to be extra careful in setting a price, especially since many of the newer tech IPOs (like LinkedIn, Pandora, Groupon and Zynga) fell from their opening-day prices. A concern of some industry analysts is that the value of a social networking company is directly related to the number of users and, if user adoption slows, so could revenue growth.


What this means to the public is an opportunity to invest in the world's largest social networking site and, as long as the company continues to perform well, reap earnings! A novice investor may not want to buy at the opening, but rather see how the stock trades for a few days. Having nearly 1 billion current users, I would suspect there are many who would love to get their hands on shares of Facebook stock. To be part-owner in a company that one can so closely identify with is something special. Personally, though, I think investing in such a 'fad' company would be riskier than I'd be comfortable with. Facebook is at its peak right now, but who knows how long it will be before another technology or social networking site is introduced that may leave Facebook in the dust?


Sources:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-31/facebook-said-to-plan-its-ipo-filing-for-as-early-as-next-week.html


http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505124_162-57367651/will-facebooks-ipo-delight-or-disappoint/?tag=mncol;lst;3


http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/01/27/facebook-ipo-is-nigh-should-you-buy/