Do you want answers, but can't trust your family/friends/fellow barflies to be objective? Don't want to get trolled too much by asking on a major website? No worries, now there's an app that serves the purpose of telling you (different versions of) the cold, hard truth.
The new "Unbiased" app, currently in beta testing, is simple and possibly very effective (depending on what kind of answers you are looking for.) Simply type in a question and within 24 hours, a real person will respond with an unbiased answer regarding your predicament. Bad at making choices? Let an unbiased stranger handle it for you!
The answers might be blowing in the wind...but they're also somewhere in cyberspace. (Image courtesy seocopywriting.com.)
Questions can concern any type of issue, and are submitted anonymously. One can choose from pre-set categories (Sex, Parenting, Family, Health & Fitness, Romance, or Career/Education) or simply designate the topic as "Other." Then, straight to your inbox, a solution!
Look for Unbiased to arrive soon at the App Store and Google Play, and ponder a problem no more!
But can you handle the truth? (Image courtesy youtube.com.)
Privacy on the internet is an important and valuable commodity, even for those who claim they have "nothing to hide." Though arguments on privacy frequently focus on the idea of not having to worry if you're not doing anything wrong, what if you're interested in remaining private because you're doing something wildly (and possibly uncharacteristically) nice for someone?
It's not always as hard as you think it might be. Even if it is, your discovery and notation of it increases its value. (Image courtesy twitter.com.)
Enter a new app, Outpour. As reported by wired.com, Outpour abets those who would like to deluge someone in positive comments but can't quite say them to their face or their facebook. When freedom of expression just needs a new method of expression, Outpour steps in so you can brighten someone's day with a nice note, sans your name. The idea is to spur people to say something sweet that they might otherwise have left bottled up, like so much maple syrup that could never saturate your mental pancakes.
"GODDAMNIT I LOVE YOU SO MUCH." (Image courtesy redtri.com.)
Yes, it could be used for evil, but the design is based against that. One would have to specifically seek out their victim's profile and consciously ignore all other nice messages before violating the "social norm" of the site with their message. For those who would buck that norm, their rantings can be deleted by the user, and the vitriol-spewer's account may be blocked. Numerous blockings could result in a site-wide ban. A unique phone number is required for sign-up, to prevent multiple accounts.
Outpour is available for iOS, with web and Android versions arriving next year. So if you're not near enough to someone to send a drink down the bar, or if you're not close enough to know where to send them a card, Outpour could help bring some small, secret joy with just a few keystrokes. How sweet.
Anonymous love is still love. (Image courtesy shinyshiny.tv.)
This Christmas season, Santa and his sleigh team are going to find some more traffic in the skies. Today, the FAA granted approval for four commercial companies to fly drones for the purposes of conducting aerial surveys as well as observing oil stacks and construction sites.
According to USA Today, the selected companies - Trimble Navigation Limited (TRMB), VDOS Global, Clayco Inc. and Woolpert Inc.- will be among the first to utilize drones for commercial purposes. The FAA has still got a ways to go concerning the exact rules of operation and regulations for flying drones in commercial airspace, but hopefully this development will shed more light on what will work best for future drone aviation.
This has to be handled well, to avoid aerial traffic jams.
(Image courtesy online-shipping-blog.endicia.com.)
The first commercial drone license was granted this June for a drone to keep watch over BP's Alaskan oil pipeline. The FAA has received 167 requests for commercial drone flight clearance, including one from Amazon, who seek to use drones for delivery purposes.
Jeff Lovin, senior vice president of Woolpert, Inc., was enthusiastic about his company's new acquirement of air access, which will allow their 5-foot, 15 pound drone to examine parts of rural Ohio and Mississippi from the air. He explained that drones "will change the way we conduct some of our existing business in the not-too-distant future, but more importantly, will create completely new and world-changing applications we haven't even thought of yet."
As discussed last week in our electronic tongue article, the human senses are being well replicated in the technological world. But one particular sense - touch - has been implemented more on the giving than receiving end, up until now.
High five!
(Image courtesy technologyreview.com.)
While many forms of technology respond to a tap or swipe on a screen, the sense of touch has not been reflected electronically for the user like an electronic eye or hearing aid might. However, now a company has invented prosthetic "smart skin" that can "feel" what it touches, making false limbs seem functionally real again.
As reported by cnet.com, researchers at Seoul National University, South Korea have developed the smart skin by using layers of sensors enabled by ultrathin, single crystalline silicone nanoribbon. Where formerly only pressure was detected (to allow the user to tell if they were applying too much force with their awesome robot hands), now the sensors can indicate if the "skin" is being stretched too far or is in a humid environment. The stretchable sensors, which are layered for durability, are connected to a multi-electrode array that targets the body's nerves via platinum nanowires and ceria nanoparticle electrodes. Combined, this accurately simulates the sense of touch, even down to onboard "heaters" to make the smart skin seem warm.
Just don't try to tattoo anything on it.
(Image courtesy closethegap.humana.com.)
Used all together, the effect is realistic. According to the study's abstract, "This collection of stretchable sensors and actuators facilitate highly localised mechanical and thermal skin-like perception in response to external stimuli, thus providing unique opportunities for emerging classes of prostheses and peripheral nervous system interface technologies."
The fresh flesh allowed for prosthetic hands to discern the sense of touch while performing many routine tasks, such as grasping things, shaking hands, typing, touching wet or dry objects, and other unspecified "human-to-human contact."
Hot.
(Image courtesy wehuntedthemammmoth.com.)
So if you're in need of a physiological overhaul, or if you're just busy already designing your future brain-download's robot body, now "smart skin" is in.
Even the least intelligent sensors of the smart skin know how to sense a high-five.
(Image courtesy blog.cbtnuggets.com.)
The architecture of the future has already got some interesting plans in store for it, but how about for your average apartment or office dweller? With cities getting larger in population but not in landmass, some serious planning has had to happen in recent years to make sure that space is maximized for everyone who wants a slice of the urban pie. Now, thanks to new magnetic levitation technology, apartment and office buildings can take on different shapes with more human storage, as they are abetted by sideways elevators.
They're still on tracks though, no Wonka technology yet. (Image courtesy delightingintoday.com.)
For the last 160 years, cable-tethered elevators have had all the pull, but now thanks to the German company ThyssenKrupp, the cord is being cut and a whole new way to rise up is going down. As Business Week reports, their MULTI elevator system uses the same sort of magnetic levitation system found in next-generation trains. This cuts the weight of a giant elevator cable and allows buildings to stretch even higher into the sky. The penthouse just got a little snootier from its perch in the clouds.
And height isn't the only advantage. The MULTI system will allow elevators to travel sideways in "loop" systems inherent to future architecture. Multiple cabins will reduce the waiting time (glory be), and thinner required shaft space will allow for more accessible living or working space for tenants. While the MULTI systems are slower than conventional elevators, they allow more time for sensitive ears to adjust to heights, and aid in more frequent travel thanks to the numerous cabins.
Love in an elevator actually could include an entire date, at these heights. (Image courtesy urban-hub.com.)
As explained by Andreas Schierenbeck, CEO of ThyssenKrupp Elevator, in a company press release, the standard elevator wait is a serious issue: “Per year, New York City office workers spend a cumulative amount of 16.6 years waiting for elevators, and 5.9 years in the elevators...This data provides how imperative it is to increase the availability of elevators.”
The MULTI will also increase the availability of artistic architecture, with mile- or two-mile buildings not out of the reach of accessibility if it is successful. A 2016 test tower will give more complete results. Until then, perhaps this innovation won't mind sitting to the side.
You could probably avoid getting back to the office all morning in one of these babies. (Image courtesy cnet.com.)
Alright look, this is the future, and you don't need to be bound by petty things like the proper use of language or even the construction of complete sentences anymore. In fact, thanks to a new app, Emojiary, you can create a whole chronicle of your day without ever typing a single word.
These are your new ABCS, children.
(Image courtesy genius.com.)
Based off of the current trend to express oneself in social media via nothing other than small, colorful, variously-mooded facial avatars, Emojiary is literally a diary created only from emojis. This allows you to "remember your feelings", as their website says (they wrote that part in real words though.)
Except we don't remember feeling this weird...ever.
(Image courtesy thejournal.ie.)
Over time, one can chart the arcs of their malarkey and "learn the rhythm to your emotional ups and downs." Because self-awareness is apparently now best served in facial cartoon form, they have invented and included new emojis for your chronicles. Privacy is also paramount to the program, lest anyone else see your shocking secrets of frowny faces or blushy-kissy faces.
This is the emoji for people who have spent years perfecting their usage of language to express their ideas and emotions, as they now ponder the societal implications of Emojiary.
(Image courtesy blog.lawyers.net.)
If this seems jaw-droppingly inane and thoroughly counterproductive to thousands of years of humans attempting to artistically express themselves in thoughtfully written form, know that Emojiary has been created to help. Their mission statement explains it all:
"Emojiary is a product from All Tomorrows—a product studio working at the intersection of emotion and technology, focused on developing a constellation of products to support emotional well-being and help people unlock their potential. We’re on a mission to tap into the best that technology has to offer in service of supporting a kinder, more self-aware society. A brighter future starts with understanding what motivates you, what scares you, and where you’re being held back. We’re all about creating products that help you do that."
From another intersection of emotion and technology, we're saying this is kind of weird. But if your self-awareness is best recognized through sending smileys, here is your new closest confidante.
Good evening, space fans! It's been an important week outside of the atmosphere...
On Friday, the ISS crew watched the test flight of NASA's Orion rocket, which was the first spacecraft since the Apollo missions to leave low earth orbit and return home. The Orion, which was an unmanned mission, was being tested as a possible means to propel astronauts into deeper-space targets such as an asteroid, or Mars. NASA has stated that it hopes to put a manned mission on Mars by the mid-2030s, but for now, our intrepid ISS astronauts remain humanity's sole spacefaring outpost.
And they're great at it...Astronaut Cristoforetti, aboard for two weeks now, has already got the hang of micro-gravity.
(Image courtesy NASA.gov.)
Orion's program manager, Mark Geyer, lauded the ISS as an integral element of the Orion mission, telling NASA.gov, "Without what we’ve learned from having a continuous human presence in space for more than a decade, we wouldn’t be able to think about sending people into deep space onboard Orion...We’re testing out technologies and concepts on the space station right now that are necessary for the kind of long-duration trips Orion enables.”
One major experiment released from the ISS this week was the Cyclops mini-satellite. Clocking in at only 22 inches in diameter, the Cyclops propels itself using controlled "micro-thrusters" to position itself. It is busily documenting different facets of space weather (in particular, the atmospheric drag that applies itself to orbiting entities), which is important for the overall assessment of satellite placement and other issues regarding orbital travel.
Fly ball! The Cyclops "SpinSat" ventures out to orbit.
(Image courtesy spaceflightnow.com.)
Another major facet of long-term spaceflight are closed-loop environmental systems, which the space station excels at sustaining. Progress on the ISS this week included important maintenance work on the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly, which converts the carbon dioxide exhaled by the astronauts into rebreathable oxygen. It also converts naturally-occurring humidity back into oxygen. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Terry Virts replaced filters and checked for leaks in the assembly.
Basically it serves the functions that a forest would...but needs a lot more upkeep.
(Image courtesy NASA.gov.)
The 3D printer hummed along as planned, with ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti printing more test parts that could someday be crucial elements for maintaining various functions of the ISS. NASA has even pondered a means to eventually 3D print foods like pizza in space.
"Si, it's making stuff. No, unfortunately, not pasta. Yet."
(Image courtesy NASA.gov.)
Cosmonaut Yelena Serova worked a host of different jobs in the arts and sciences this week, including installing antivirus programs on ISS computers, working on assessments of blood circulation in micro-gravity, and studying advanced space photography techniques.
Speaking of experiments on the ISS, if you've ever wondered about the array of interesting science that's underway up there, NASA.gov has recently created a Space Station Research Explorer app for earthlings to follow the fascination. Prospective space monkeys can search through four major sections (Facilities, Benefits, Media, and Links.)
The Facilities section provides an interior view of the Columbus, Kibo, and Destiny ISS modules, featuring clickable experiment racks that offer details of the science therein. The Benefits section expounds on the topics of how ISS science affects and implements Human Health, Earth Benefits, and Global Education. The Media section offers videos, podcasts, and games, while the Links section offers more ISS analysis sites and connections to other NASA apps. It's a little bit of space, right on your smartphone!
The scientific discoveries of tomorrow are floating aboard the ISS today!
(Image courtesy NASA.gov.)
And, just because it's awesome, here's the Orion launch, one more time. We may not be able to live on the ISS, but with projects like this afoot (overhead?), it inspires dreams of dwelling even further out in the galactic frontier.
