November 17, 2017

Gadget Spots Fakes, 98% Accuracy

Posted on November 17, 2017August 1, 2024 by Frances Beldia

According to Sky News, New York-based startup Entrupy Scanner has developed a device that can spot fake goods with 98% accuracy. The new gadget can even identify mistakes with stitching or leather quality that experts struggle to spot.

Expensive fashion brands like Chanel, Gucci, Prada, and Hermes are on most peoples’ wish list when buying handbags, clothes, or accessories. However, with counterfeit goods often sold online and on the streets, people get ripped off all over the United States on a daily basis.

Entrupy says it already has 160 business customers on its books, including online retailers, who want to protect their reputations by ensuring the products they sell are exactly what they advertise them as.

Entrupys’s device uses a small handheld microscope camera along with computer vision software. The firm claims the device can spot fakes for 11 leading brands, including Gucci, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton.

Entrupy’s co-founder Vidyuth Srinivasan told Bloomberg that second-hand clothes stores currently use specialist staff to detect counterfeits, but he said that “for businesses that are growing, that’s not a scalable solution.”.

Srinivasan’s team worked with Yann LeCun, a leading researcher in the computer vision space and the director of Facebook’s artificial intelligence (AI) research team, as well as a private investor, to put the device into production.

During the development process, Srinivasan’s team found that computer algorithms could be trained to tell the difference between genuine luxury handbags and counterfeits.

Srinivasan told Bloomberg that his device is independent to the brands themselves, who “prefer not to acknowledge there is a second-hand market for their products.”

However, the inventor says that now more and more sales are being made online, leading brands need to look at ways of ensuring that customers stick with them by weeding out the bad seeds. Srinivasan says Entrupy can offer solutions to an ever-growing problem.

The International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC) claims that counterfeit goods cost US businesses more than $250 billion each year. What’s also startling is that counterfeit merchandise is directly responsible for the loss of more than 750,000 American jobs.

The global figure for the trading of fake goods tops more than $600 billion annually, and the epidemic appears to be getting worse as people cut costs to survive in an unpredictable global economy.

Entrupy says it already has 160 business customers on its books, including online retailers, who want to protect their reputations by ensuring the products they sell are exactly what they advertise them as.

The devices are currently being ‘loaned’ to retailers and even some customers at a cost of $99 a month, with an initial subscription fee of $299.

It takes bold actions like these to ensure the products we buy are really what we are paying for. Fake goods are causing major disruption not just to online sales but also the job market right across America. The fewer fake goods on sale means more jobs for fellow Americans and a reassurance that the products we buy are genuine.

Volvo Supertruck, Smart and Fuel Efficient

Posted on November 17, 2017January 9, 2024 by Staff Writer

Volvo is a Swedish car manufacturer well-known for the safety standards implemented in its cars. For a long time, people have associated Volvo as a car brand that produced safe yet unexciting cars; despite performance and a long lifespan, people often cannot shake that the company produced bland and boxy designs. However, they still must be doing something right as the company’s engineering has gone beyond cars, making their trucks a serious contender for future long-haul vehicles.

The combined D13 engine and I-Shift automated-manual transmission take rates are close to 95%. The I-Shift take rate alone is more than 90%. When compared to any other vehicle, these statistics are hard to beat.

Volvo calls its bold idea the SuperTruck, a tractor trailer which was the result of a $40 million collaboration between Volvo and the U.S. Department of Energy. The Volvo SuperTruck has an average mileage of more than 12 miles per gallon (mpg). This is double the standard mileage of trucks now running on the highway.

The SuperTruck is not the product of brute-force engineering. It is the result of multiple approaches which include not only the engine, drive train, and truck and trailer design, but also software and engine programming.

Fuel Efficiency

The initial goal of the program was to increase freight efficiency by 50%. Impressively, the SuperTruck reached 88% freight efficiency. It also improved fuel efficiency by 70%, and exceeded 12 mpg, with some test runs reaching 13 mpg. The powertrain brake thermal efficiency also reached 50% – better than the 42% thermal efficiency baseline, effectively delivering 8% more power from the fuel.

It uses a new engine, the 2017 D13, which has better fuel efficiency than its predecessor. It incorporates turbo compounding and wave piston technology to achieve improved efficiency. The truck is more streamlined than before, as it has done away with almost all external features that can contribute to drag, including most of the side view mirrors. The remaining side mirrors were retained because these are mandated by law. All the rest of the mirrors have been replaced by external cameras and monitors conveniently located where the driver would have seen the mirrors.

The truck was not a reinvention, as 75% of its components are already in production. The remaining 25% are custom-fabricated to be better and smarter. The truck was designed to be aerodynamic; in that regard, there were compromises made, including a skirt which covers the sides of the trailer. To get to the wheels, wheel well panels must be raised. It also looks wider than its predecessor due to rear chassis flare which improves air movement down the trailer’s side.

Powertrain and Transmission

Another improvement was the powertrain package take rate. The combined D13 engine and I-Shift automated-manual transmission take rates are close to 95%. The I-Shift take rate alone is more than 90%. When compared to any other vehicle, these statistics are hard to beat.

Volvo has also invested in making software updates seamless. Traditional software updates required that the vehicle be brought back to the dealer for the update to be downloaded. Volvo has cut downtime for long haul operators with over-the-air software updates. This means updates can reprogram the engine without the need for the vehicle to visit the garage or dealership.

The SuperTruck demo is not for sale. However, the price tag starts at $2 million without the engine, transmission, and accessories like tv monitors, cameras, etc. which cost less than $20,000.

Rebuilding and Regeneration of Infrastructure After Harvey and Irma Hurricanes

Posted on November 17, 2017January 9, 2024 by Staff Writer

The devastation caused by hurricanes Harvey and Irma impacted the lives of millions and caused over $200 billion worth of damage.

The Conversation, one of the leading online publications covering the latest research, has investigated the fall-out from America’s greatest natural disasters to determine the best route for rebuilding infrastructure.

“In the case of hurricanes, roadways with smart signaling and controls that dynamically adjust stoplights and reverse lanes to allow vehicles to evacuate quickly would be of significant value,”

Investigators found that there are three major rules needed for when it comes to investing in rebuilding infrastructure during the 21st century. Experts state that we should recognize the need for rebuilding infrastructure in a new and changing environment. The standard building methods we have used to date are not sufficient to keep us or our infrastructure safe.

Here are the three main rules to follow when rebuilding infrastructure a damaged America in the 21st century:

1) A Strong Foundation

According to Kellogg Insight, the research & ideas magazine of Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, America’s infrastructure problem has become so bad that the American Society of Civil Engineers has given the country a D+ grade, a rating usually received by third world countries devoid of any health or safety standards. The United States should be on a B rating or better and would need to double the rebuilding infrastructure budget to raise standards and fulfill its requirements.

The bill to repair deteriorating roads, bridges and dams could reach $210 billion by 2020, and $520 billion in 2040.

The answer is to invest in redesign institutions and not only rebuilding infrastructure. The key here is to spend the money on the design process for new builds rather than repairing damaged sites using old building methods.

2) Resilience and Uncertainty

Design in advance, for climate change and other possible factors that can come in the future. When it comes to the planning stage now, architects and surveyors need to become forward-thinkers. Climate change is undoubtedly altering the planet we live on and is getting worse over time. Plan and design for what may lie ahead 100 years from now, as opposed to just what is present today. Today’s climate changes mean not only severe storms and flooding, but also extreme heat and cold, wildfires, and drought – all of which should be factored into designs.

“Infrastructure planning and design must consider the legacy of past decisions and how risks build up over time as ecological, technological and human systems interact in increasingly uncertain and complex ways,” Scientific American states.

3) Infrastructure and Equity

Create a flexible foundation. It’s all about resilience and adapting to the environment around us. Current buildings are substantial, but it can be costly and difficult to adapt these constructions to cater for today. The key here is to rebuilding infrastructure with forward-thinking designs or to start again with adaptable logic.

“In the case of hurricanes, roadways with smart signaling and controls that dynamically adjust stoplights and reverse lanes to allow vehicles to evacuate quickly would be of significant value,” Scientific American states.

Experts say that planners and policymakers up and down the country must “engage diverse communities” and ensure that “rebuilding infrastructure services are designed for everyone.” The report states that even if it is not evident today, then communities must demand it.

It will take bold actions by both lawmakers and policymakers to ensure that America gets the infrastructure development it requires to bring it up from a D+ to a B rating. Budget is no doubt a factor, and now with a further $200 billion needed to repair damage caused by the latest hurricanes, there is optimism that America can rebuild itself even better than before.

Drone Taxis First Flight in Dubai

Posted on November 17, 2017February 19, 2024 by Staff Writer

Dubai, the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is leading the way in autonomous public transport systems. Located along the Persian Gulf, the city is famous for having the tallest tower in the world called the Burj Khalifa. However, the city is also home to the Dubai Metro, the world’s longest driverless single metro line, running on a 32.4-mile (52.1-kilometer) track. Soon, it will also have the first pilotless flying taxi in the world.

First Flying Taxi Test Flight

Recently, the Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, attended the first concept flight of the autonomous air taxi (AAT). The two-seater AAT prototype is capable of a maximum flight time of 30 minutes, with a cruising speed of 50 kilometers per hour (31 miles per hour), and a maximum airspeed of 100 km/h (62.1 mi/h).

During the next 5 years, the RTA will work with the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority and the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority in setting up the operational requirements for the AAT services.

The AAT is an electric vehicle with nine independent battery systems, with a battery quick-charge and plug-in system that gets to a full charge in as little as two hours. This charging time is expected to be much shorter in the production version. The AAT also has optional emergency parachutes along with other safety features. As it is electric, it is a clean energy and environment-friendly vehicle with low noise levels. It has 18 rotors with the battery systems running two sets of rotors each.

App-Based Booking

Once operational, passengers can book the AAT through a smartphone app which is also capable of tracking the route of the vehicle, book flights, and receive booking reference details. In essence, it operates much like a driverless multi-copter Uber.

Developed by Volocopter, a manufacturer of autonomous air vehicles based in Germany, the AAT looks like a small tailless helicopter with an aerodynamic tear drop cockpit. It has 18 propellers spreading out from six nodes, each of which branches out to three other nodes.

Safety and Security

According to Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) director-general and chairman, HE Mattar Mohamed Al Tayer, the AAT “has a variety of unique features that include top security and safety standards, and multiple redundancies in all critical components such as propellers, motor, power source, electronics and flight controls.”

Al Tayer said that his agency has appointed JDA Aviation Company, an autonomous air-vehicle safety specialist based in the United States, to manage preparations for the AAT’s flights, security and safety.

Also in attendance at the test flight were the chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chairman of Emirates Group, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum; UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs and The Future, Mohammad Abdulla Al Gergawi; and UAE Minister of Economy and chairman of the General Civil Aviation Authority, Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori.

Setting Policies, Guidelines, and Regulations

The actual AAT service still has to go through certification and other details before it can begin service. During the next 5 years, the RTA will work with the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority and the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority in setting up the operational requirements for the AAT services.

Some of the items yet to be finalized include government policies, laws, and regulations for the certification of the AAT and its operations. Routes and corridors must be mapped along with designating take-off and landing areas. Standards for AAT services operators in Dubai will also have to be specified, including the roles and responsibilities of the project stakeholders, as well as the security and safety standards for the AAT.

Day: November 17, 2017

Gadget Spots Fakes, 98% Accuracy