communication – Page 4

communication, Elon Musk, Internet, Science & Technology News, SpaceX

SpaceX launches 60 new Starlink satellites, sticks rocket landing at sea

February 3, 2020

Watch: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 60 satellites into orbit

Following the successful launch, the rocket’s first stage gently touched down on a SpaceX drone ship landing platform.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX successfully launched its fourth batch of Starlink satellites into orbit and landed a rocket landing Wednesday following days of weather delays for the mission.

A sooty Falcon 9 rocket — which made its third flight with this launch — roared to life at 9:06 a.m. ET, lifting off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station here in Florida. The rocket carried 60 Starlink satellites for SpaceX’s growing constellation, the second such launch by the company this month.

Last week, strong upper level winds forced the private spaceflight company to postpone the Starlink-3 mission’s launch. SpaceX then aimed for the backup launch date of Jan. 28, but rough seas where the drone ship was waiting may have thwarted any attempt at a landing.

Continue reading… “SpaceX launches 60 new Starlink satellites, sticks rocket landing at sea”

AI, Amazon.com, communication, Science & Technology News

Amazon’s AI automatically dubs videos into other languages

January 28, 2020

Ever wish you could automatically dub foreign film dialogue into another tongue? Amazon is on the case. In a paper published this week on the preprint server Arxiv.org, researchers from the tech giant detailed a novel “speech-to-speech” pipeline that taps AI to align translated speech with original speech and fine-tune speech duration before adding background noise and reverberation. They say that it improves the perceived naturalness of dubbing and highlights the relative importance of each proposed step.

As the paper’s coauthors note, automatic dubbing involves transcribing speech to text and translating that text into another language before generating speech from the translated text. The challenge isn’t simply conveying the same content of the source audio, but matching the original timbre, emotion, duration, prosody (i.e., patterns of rhythm and sound), background noise, and reverberation.

Continue reading… “Amazon’s AI automatically dubs videos into other languages”

communication, cutting edge, new technology, Science & Technology News

Wi-Fi 6 will double your network’s range and triple its speed — once you upgrade your router, phone, PC, and everything else

January 17, 2020

Wi-Fi 6 will upgrade your workhorse wireless network

5G is great, but it’s a big Wi-Fi upgrade that’ll likely help you out sooner with faster speeds and longer range at home, school and work.

We get it. 5G is a big deal. But honestly, you likely use Wi-Fi networks as much or more with your phone and PC, so tune out the 5G noise for a moment and appreciate what’s coming with Wi-Fi 6.

“While 5G is getting much of the limelight, Wi-Fi 6 will have a bigger impact in our connected lives — and sooner,” said FeibusTech analyst Mike Feibus.

Wi-Fi 6, the consumer-friendly new name for the tech standard actually called 802.11ax, won’t just boost data-transfer speeds — though it’ll do that, by a factor of three or so. It’ll also reach into corners of our house farther away from network gear, better handle the crush of people at airports and stadiums, and sidestep interference from your neighbors’ noisy network. On your phone or laptop, it should save your battery life, too.

Continue reading… “Wi-Fi 6 will double your network’s range and triple its speed — once you upgrade your router, phone, PC, and everything else”

communication, Internet, new technology, Science & Technology News

What you need to know about 5G

January 5, 2020

5G, the fifth generation of mobile communications that enables global connectivity, is predicted to contribute $13.2 trillion to the global economy by 2035.

To date, there are 50 commercial 5G network deployments in 27 countries. An additional 328 operators across 109 countries have said they are investing in 5G.

Continue reading… “What you need to know about 5G”

China, communication, cutting edge, Science & Technology News, security

Chinese scientists develop portable quantum satellite communication device

January 3, 2020

Weighing in at just 80kg, the machine can connect to China’s quantum satellite and receive encryption keys in the form of entangled light particles

Breakthrough was made by team at University of Science and Technology of China

Chinese scientists have developed a quantum satellite ground station that is not only capable of sending ultra-secure messages anywhere in the world but also fits inside a family car.

The mobile device, developed by the University of Science and Technology of China, weighs about 80kg (176lbs). With the addition of a 28cm (11 inch) telescope, it can connect to the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ quantum satellite known as Mozi, and receive encryption keys in the form of entangled light particles.

Unlike traditional encryption methods based on mathematics, quantum encryption is protected by the fundamental law of physics. In theory, all information scrambled by encryption algorithms can be cracked by a computer if it is fast enough, but quantum key communication will remain intact because any attempt to eavesdrop will cause a physical change in the message and trigger a security alert to the sender or receiver.

Continue reading… “Chinese scientists develop portable quantum satellite communication device”

communication, Computer Security, Higher Education, new technology, Science & Technology News

Colleges are turning students’ phones into surveillance machines, tracking the locations of hundreds of thousands

December 30, 2019

Syracuse University is among the dozens of schools in the United States that use tracking systems to monitor students’ academic performance, analyze their conduct or assess their mental health.

When Syracuse University freshmen walk into professor Jeff Rubin’s Introduction to Information Technologies class, seven small Bluetooth beacons hidden around the Grant Auditorium lecture hall connect with an app on their smartphones and boost their “attendance points.”

And when they skip class? The SpotterEDU app sees that, too, logging their absence into a campus database that tracks them over time and can sink their grade. It also alerts Rubin, who later contacts students to ask where they’ve been. His 340-person lecture has never been so full.

“They want those points,” he said. “They know I’m watching and acting on it. So, behaviorally, they change.”

Continue reading… “Colleges are turning students’ phones into surveillance machines, tracking the locations of hundreds of thousands”

Automation, communication, Driverless cars, Science & Technology News

Smart intersections could cut autonomous car congestion

December 26, 2019

Researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind model to control traffic and intersections in order to increase autonomous car capacity on urban streets of the future, reduce congestion and minimize accidents.

In the not-so-distant future, city streets could be flooded with autonomous vehicles. Self-driving cars can move faster and travel closer together, allowing more of them to fit on the road — potentially leading to congestion and gridlock on city streets.

A new study by Cornell researchers developed a first-of-its-kind model to control traffic and intersections in order to increase car capacity on urban streets, reduce congestion and minimize accidents.

“For the future of mobility, so much attention has been paid to autonomous cars,” said Oliver Gao, professor of civil and environmental engineering and senior author of the study, which published in Transportation Research Part B.

Continue reading… “Smart intersections could cut autonomous car congestion”

2020 Predictions, communication, Internet, new technology, Science & Technology News

These are the technologies that will transform the 2020s – From 5G to vertical farming

December 17, 2019

Renault autonomous car concept

Shared mobility, advanced plastic recycling and protein production are also going to be key to future prosperity.

2020 is set to be the year of 5G, shared mobility and new ways of recycling plastic, says research group Lux, along with new battery technology and artificial meat also set to make a big impact.

The provider of tech-enabled research has produced its “20 for 20” list of “the technologies and trends that will transform the way we live, work, and play over the next decade”.

5G networks will lead the way thanks to their role as an enabling technology for so many other parts of the every-expanding digital landscape. “From robotic surgery to self-driving cars, 5G will be critical to advances in the internet of things,” Lux says. “5G has officially left the realm of research and entered reality, with more than 2,200 patents being filed this year.”

Continue reading… “These are the technologies that will transform the 2020s – From 5G to vertical farming”

China, communication, Computer Security, government, Science & Technology News

China introduces mandatory face scans for people buying mobile phones

December 6, 2019

The rule came into effect on December 1st, to “protect” Chinese citizens’ rights and security in cyberspace.

Now people buying new mobile phones and phone contracts in China will have to provide a scan of their faces.

The rule came into effect on Sunday, 1 December and is meant to “protect the legitimate rights and interest of citizens in cyberspace,” according to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The faces of customers buying new SIM cards must now match their I.D. documents.

It might seem like a step in the right direction along with technological advancement, however, a few privacy concerns have arisen.

Continue reading… “China introduces mandatory face scans for people buying mobile phones”

communication, Internet, new technology, Science & Technology News

The future of Wi-Fi : Trends that could shape the future of India

November 26, 2019

With the introduction of 5G and Wi-Fi 6, the advancement of Internet connectivity will elevate further

In today’s age and time, the Internet plays a major role in one’s everyday life. Our country is moving towards digitization and has proven to be a front-runner when it comes to Internet users and its usability. We have come to a point where it can be reasonably argued that Wi-Fi has become essential part of our life along with food, water and shelter. Just as every person needs to have access to the basic elements that support life, Internet connectivity is now considered a must-have by people from all walks of life.

Deployment of 4G technology has brought cellular performances to unmatched levels of data speed, coverage, mobility and security. With the introduction of 5G and Wi-Fi 6, the advancement of Internet connectivity will elevate further, the use of these technologies will play a dominant role in the way people work, watch and play.

Continue reading… “The future of Wi-Fi : Trends that could shape the future of India”

Augmented Reality, communication, Life Skills, New Viewpoints, Science & Technology News, Wearables

Smart glasses, smart designer babies and the future of work

November 24, 2019

John B. Goodenough, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry last month, struggled to learn to read. “Back then,” he says, “You were just a backwards student.”

His experience is still all too common, yet he and many like him demonstrate clearly that dyslexia is not a definitive barrier to career achievement. We must ask ourselves if our entry level recruitment and education systems should always depend on literacy.

Continue reading… “Smart glasses, smart designer babies and the future of work”

communication, Engineering, Historical Perspectives, Internet, Science & Technology News

50 years ago today, the internet was born in Room 3420

November 9, 2019

50 years ago today, the internet was born in Room 3420

Here’s the story of the creation of ARPANET, the groundbreaking precursor to the internet—as told by the people who were there.

When I visited UCLA’s Boelter Hall last Wednesday, I took the stairs to the third floor, looking for Room 3420. And then I walked right by it. From the hallway, it’s a pretty unassuming place.

But something monumental happened there 50 years ago today. A graduate student named Charley Kline sat at an ITT Teletype terminal and sent the first digital data transmission to Bill Duvall, a scientist who was sitting at another computer at the Stanford Research Institute (now known as SRI International) on the other side of California. It was the beginning of ARPANET, the small network of academic computers that was the precursor to the internet.

Continue reading… “50 years ago today, the internet was born in Room 3420”