Scientists have always researched into alternative ways to do away with “unclean” energy for cleaner ones. Clean energy or renewable energy, being energy derived from natural sources without destruction to the environment that comes with producing energy nowadays. Think the batteries in your smart devices that poison the earth if not disposed of carefully.
The solar power panels have always been sought for an alternative way to harness energy. Why? The sun is abundant and will always be there, as long as there is life on earth. But the most efficiency we ever got from this form of power generation was 17%. This has changed now. Sol Voltaics, a Swedish start-up has seen a breakthrough that will help ensure change.
They claim to have created a film that can boost solar power efficiency to 50%. This is good news for both us, the end users, and mother nature. One thing is certain, the more we look, the more we find. Soon, we might just have a renewable energy source that will make the “poisonous” batteries we have all around us now obsolete, amongst other things. We might never need to charge our mobile devices any longer, it will charge itself by fuelling on the sun. See video below!
We say well done to the researchers of this discovery and hope for an even better result on clean energy in the future!
We all know those times when you want to show your friends, or loved ones a video on youtube and then there is an advert. You would be very lucky to get those ads you can skip after 4 seconds, if you are less lucky, you get that 14 seconds video that you just have to wait for!
Well this could finally be a thing of the past without breaking the bank. One word; Adblock.
Adblock is a portmanteau of the words advert and block, and it means what it looks like, it is a “software” that blocks ads. Some websites actually ask for a premium so that those annoying adverts will stop holding up your entertainment. However, recently many tech companies are researching into making an adblocker to stop them all. This has been slowly introduced into some web browsers and one of these is Opera.
Without futher ado, Opera web browser has cracked it finally. No more adverts on most websites, and with time, we only think this process will be perfected. So go on here, download the new opera browser by choosing your device, install it, turn on adblock, and browse and watch with freedom and peace! At least until websites learn to counter these adblockers.
Update: Websites are fighting hard to make sure they can bypass adblockers. However, so are the adblockers themselves. You might notice it is a continuous battle between the two sides, but all in all, adblockers still work and get updated regularly to give you that stress free browsing, or entertainment!
Whichever way you look at it, technology has always helped us learn more about the environment, and in the long run, help us defeat some of our impediments, pushing us to some times live longer! Of such innovation came a company: Pixium.
Pixium – founded by José-Alain Sahel, a scientist and ophthalmologist- has created an artificial “retina”: IRIS II – to help the blind regain their sight
IRIS II mimics the mechanism our natural eyes use to make out shapes in black and white.
Picture courtesy www.pixium-vision.com
According to the makers’ website “The above chart is an illustration of the rehabilitation process where patients progressively identify shapes. It is not indicative of final outcome.”
Also the video below is also an illustration of how the device would be implanted.
We at thecomputerpotato think extremely savant research such as this is a blessing to earth, and hope to see more people giving up their valuable time to make the world a better place!
The computer potato is all about digging out promising, emerging technologies in anything electronics. We won’t have lived up to our reputation if we didn’t bring you nifty, tiny devices that make us wish for more!
We present to you the WonderCube!
Yup, the device looks like something out of a sci-fi movie, but then again what new device doesn’t nowadays! This tiny device will make you do away with lots of your daily devices and it is just the size of a key ring! This makes WonderCube a device that makes our list quite literally in any category!
You can now preorder WonderCube here. This indicates it will soon be seeing commercial production.
We say kudos to the inventors of this tiny, tiny “cubey” thing that will make life a lot easier and a whole lot less heavier.
Many companies and service providers are trying to give us mobile connectivity without the need for a SIM card. This could mean the beginning of seamless connection everywhere you go around the world, without needing to worry about signal bars or that massive roaming bill when you get back home or carrying around one of these.
In the US, Google has recently launched its own “mobile network” of mobile networks called Project Fi. For one paid plan, you can use the many phone networks that Google has partnered with around the world!
How it works?
You simply get one of the Project Fi enabled phones, sign up for one of the packages with Google, and you are good to go! The plan is you can go around the world with your phone with no roaming charge, and you will be able to seamlessly make calls over wifi or any of Google’s partner networks in the country you are in, all these without losing the call during change of networks! Google boasts this is possible in over 120 countries! Sounds like freedom!
Another startup company – GoTenna – has also made a revolutionary device that connects to your phone via bluetooth to send messages without needing a network signal, either mobile or WiFi, or even a SIM in your phone.
Man With GoTenna In Remote Location
How it works?
The GoTenna comes in pairs, you buy one and get one for a family member or friend. This way, a network of GoTenna is built around the world with each connected GoTenna. If you were to lose signal, say you are in a desert, and another GoTenna is less than 4 miles away (depending on the terrain), you can send messages to the nearest GoTenna and through it. Or you can simply send your location so that you are easily found. Not convinced? Watch video below.
Slowly, it seems we will no longer be needing a SIM to communicate with each other if technologies like these are allowed to pick up! We will have no need for roaming charges! And best of all, all networks will serve everyone no matter their individual chosen mobile provider!
Don’t throw away your phones yet though, before we can enjoy these services in full capacity, there is much work to be done to the current infrastructure, and we are sure, tonnes of contracts signed between the mobile providers!
We at Computer Potato would like to introduce you to the next stage of technological advancement in computing and mobile devices which if put together into one device will change the way we interact with our environment using the electronic devices of the future.
Throughout this article, we will use the word devices to cover anything from mobile devices, to computers (desktop/laptop), to any smart electronic devices found in cars, homes, and anything considered smart today!
Let’s start with the tech giant Intel’s RealSense. Like the name suggests this technology will allow devices to map and represent a real sense of what is actually around them. This means devices can electronically simulate the world around them in real dimensions, leaving your whole body and everything around you interactive with you and with your devices. See the video below.
You can see more and read more about it here. Realsense has already started trickling out commercially in some devices.
Another tech giant Google recently announced many projects they are working on. Some have caught our eye and had to be added to this article
Project Soli essentially does some of the things the Intel RealSense does by allowing you to interact with devices using your body and gestures but even down to minute movements and motions. See below
Project Jacquard on the other hand does let you interact with devices in a “fabricated” way (pun intended). This technology is weaved into the fabric of your clothes, and in essence gives you the power to control your devices by gestures on your clothes. Yeah you read that right!
Lenovo also announced their concept phone with a projector built in. Yes not only is this innovative enough, they made the projected image smart enough to read your input. With this you can get a projected keyboard that you can actually type on. This might mean physical keyboards or touchscreens might actually become extinct. See below
So we have talked about inputting, interaction and controlling devices. How would we then feel or see our controls or how will the devices themselves interact with us?
Not to worry, with many many virtual reality goggles coming out already, we don’t have to crack our brains. Virtual reality as the name implies, is when an electronic device represents reality electronically and animates the simulation of the environment.
One of these goggles is made by another technology giant, Microsoft. The Hololens is a virtual reality goggle like no other announced yet! See below
Now putting all these newer technologies together into the already smart and helpful devices we have today and what do you get? A more immersive experience and interaction with devices on every level much like you see in a scene from Iron Man in the video below.
The best of this is, these technologies are past the research stage and have started appearing on some devices. We at the Computer Potato give kudos to all these companies and their researchers working hard to advance the future, take our money, and make our lives a bit more fun!
Meet the Yotaphone. A phone designed to meet both your reading and smart phone needs at both ends.
Yotaphone has a normal smartphone screen you see in many new phones in front of it and an e-ink screen at the back, the kind you see in mobile devices designed just for reading.
You can use the screen at the back for both reading your favourite book and viewing your notifications without unlocking your phone. You could even personalise the back screen to show your favourite picture all the time, so you basically have your own digital case. Yes the back screen is always on.
You must be thinking battery matters now. Well the e-ink screen doesn’t use the phone’s fairly large battery as much as the normal screen giving your 5 days of using the back screen alone. The phone even lets you use the back screen for all functions which means you could use your phone for 5 days without need for a charge.
Is this useful in anyway I hear you say, here at Computer Potato we believe this is one innovation that has got a place in the current market and beyond. With time we will see this design used in many mobile devices giving you more functions. So we say kudos to the brains at Yota for their idea! See it yourself below.
The Consumer Electronics Show 2015 saw almost all big automobile manufacturers showcase their latest innovations and ideas for our future driving. Like you would have guessed from the title of this article, most of the cars have systems that are considered smart.
Now, what can they do? They have a lot of features like, calls and text integration, voice commands, parking assist, self driving, and of course infotainment. By now you must have also guessed the hub for all these features is your phone. Many companies are vying to make the standard operating system in these smart cars including Google and Apple, the latter whom has been whispered to be looking into the arena of smart cars too.
As this is only the beginning of officially smart vehicles, don’t throw away your hard earned driving license yet. Self driving cars are not yet feasible for the next few years as their are safety and legal laws and principles that need to be looked into. However, other helpful features like the internet connected car system that can give you up to date traffic information and of course real-time news are already out for grabs in the newest cars.
See below for more!
MyFord Touch
MyFord Touch redesigns the in-car interface, mirroring how consumers interact with most devices in their lives using touch-sensitive buttons, touch screens, thumb-wheel controls and voice recognition.
BMW Self Parking Car
BMW showed us a research vehicle whose Remote Valet Parking Assistant will help park your car
The Mercedes-Benz F 015 Luxury in Motion.-540x334
This is a driverless concept car from the car giant Mercedes
Hyundai Motors infotainment syste
Indulge in entertainment with this Hyundai infotainment system.
We at Computer Potato really do give kudos to these car companies and everyone looking into backing this good idea, as this could mean cars would be much safer when it kicks off and no more DUI worries for those nights when you just had a bit more to drink!
We all know that moment when you eat too much and your belt feels too tight, or when you sit down and you suddenly feel the cold metal belt buckle press too tightly on your skin.
Now you can avoid the uncomfortable moment, automatically. Yes automatically! We introduce you to Belty, the smart belt that will solve this issue for you and tell you a lot more about your waist line and day to day activities.
The official website boasts “Belty helps you enhance your overall wellness as well as your comfort throughout the day.” It achieves this by many sensors it has inside of it that monitors and tell you how many steps you have taken daily and your expanding or reducing waistline. As always, like all the smart devices, it correlates the information it gathers and displays it on your phone for your analysis.
The Belty App
We at Computer Potato do no think smart belts are the direct future, however, one thing is for sure this innovation will set the trend for more smart wearable items that will give more information about our daily lives.
