Archive for May 2014
Google Driverless Car
Will any body get shocked if i will say we are going to have a car that will not going to need any driver. Yes absolutely i am not joking our dream are going to be true.
I could still remember the day I watch the iRobot, and being skeptical about my brother’s statement that one day, the driverless car will become reality. And it’s now a reality.
Google is now working to provide us an Autonomous car named as Google Driverless Car.
As the name suggest it will not need any driver to drive.
Technology
Google driverless car is powered by artificial intelligence and have about $150,000 in equipment including that utilizes the input from
(01).The video cameras inside the car,
(02). A sensor on the vehicle’s top, and
(03). $70,000 laser radar (LIDAR system) and position sensors attached to different positions of the car.
(04). The range finder mounted on the top is a Velodyne 64-beam laser
Laser allows the vehicle to generate a detailed 3D map of its environment. The car then takes these generated maps and combines them with high-resolution maps of the world, producing different types of data models that allow it to drive itself.
Sergey Brin, Google co-founder, set a 2017 deadline for bringing its driverless cars to market.
So far the system has successfully driven 1609 kilometres without human commands!
Videos Related to Google Driver less car
(Images courtesy of Wikipedia.)
How Does A Capacitor Work?
Do you often wonder “how does a capacitor work”? In this article we will find answer to this interesting question.
One may already found the answer in many books. It states something like “a capacitor works by storing energy electro-statically in an electric field”. I don’t know about you, but that sentence didn't make me any wiser when I was starting out with electronics.
I like to answer the question of “how does a capacitor work?” by saying that a capacitor works like a tiny rechargeable battery with very very very low capacity.
The time it takes to discharge a capacitor is usually only a split second. And so is the time to recharge it.
What Is A Capacitor?
Just like the Resistor, the Capacitor, sometimes referred to as a Condenser, is a simple passive device that is used to “store electricity”. The capacitor is a component which has the ability or “capacity” to store energy in the form of an electrical charge producing a potential difference (Static Voltage) across its plates, much like a small rechargeable battery.
There are many different kinds of capacitors available from very small capacitor beads used in resonance circuits to large power factor correction capacitors, but they all do the same thing, they store charge.
A capacitor is made up of two metallic plates. With a dielectric material in between the plates.
When you apply a voltage over the two plates, an electric field is created. Positive charge will collect on one plate and negative charge on the other.
And this is what the physicists mean when they say that “a capacitor works by storing energy electrostatically in an electric field”.
Capacitor Construction:
The parallel plate capacitor is the simplest form of capacitor. It can be constructed using two metal or metallised foil plates at a distance parallel to each other, with its capacitance value in Farads, being fixed by the surface area of the conductive plates and the distance of separation between them. Altering any two of these values alters the the value of its capacitance and this forms the basis of operation of the variable capacitors.
Also, because capacitors store the energy of the electrons in the form of an electrical charge on the plates the larger the plates and/or smaller their separation the greater will be the charge that the capacitor holds for any given voltage across its plates. In other words, larger plates, smaller distance, more capacitance.
The Capacitance of a Capacitor
Capacitance is the electrical property of a capacitor and is the measure of a capacitors ability to store an electrical charge onto its two plates with the unit of capacitance being the Farad (abbreviated to F) named after the British physicist Michael Faraday.
Capacitance is defined as being that a capacitor has the capacitance of One Farad when a charge of One Coulomb is stored on the plates by a voltage of One volt. Capacitance, C is always positive and has no negative units. However, the Farad is a very large unit of measurement to use on its own so sub-multiples of the Farad are generally used such as micro-farads, nano-farads and pico-farads.
What Does A Capacitor Do?
As we already discussed capacitor is stored to store charge, For example:
if you have a circuit with a microcontroller running some kind of program. If the voltage for the microcontroller drops for only a split second, the microcontroller restarts. And you don’t want this.
By using a capacitor, the capacitor can supply power for the microcontroller in the split second that the voltage drops so that the microcontroller doesn’t restart. This way it will filter out the “noise” on the power line.
Apart from storing charge a capacitor can also be used for filtering.
Capacitors and resistors is combined to form filters that target specific frequencies. For example in an audio system you can target the high frequencies to remove them.This is called a low-pass filter.
The All new Google glass- Technology that we need.
Wearable smart-devices represent the next stage in mobile computing.
Google Glass is the most hotly-anticipated gadget in that space. It is not an extension of your Android smartphone or tablet, but is a whole new gadget in itself that can perform various day to day tasks, without you ever moving your hands.
The computing headgear unveiled at a Google launch event in 2012 has created lot of excitement. However, though most have read and heard about the Google Glasses, there are only a few who know what it can exactly do. So, here is a look at seven cool features of Google Glass.
Record videos, take pictures
Just say the word and Google Glass will take a picture or record a video – you will never have to touch the hardware. The photos and videos will be stored on the 4GB flash memory of the device, and can also be shared on social networking websites or emailed.
Show messages
Google Glass will show you text messages as well as emails you receive and allow you to reply to them via voice commands.
Find information
If you are in the habit of Googling things a lot, you will find that your task has been made easier by the new Glass. You simply need to ask a question and the device will pull the answer from the internet. For example, you can ask when Taj Mahal was built or to give you a few photographs of the monument and the device will provide appropriate replies on the small screen in front of your eye.
You activate Google Now by saying "Okay Glass" then send a command or question. Tilting your head up does the same thing.
Show maps
The widely used Google Maps are integrated into Glass, so that users will be able to chart the course of their journey or look up locations or establishments via voice commands.
Live video sharing
Google Glass can show the world what you are seeing – live! If you are attending a family function, your child’s school play or a concert, you can share the feed with your friends and family in real-time and make them a part of the experience.
Integrates Google Now
Google Now, the digital voice assistant from the search giant, has been integrated in this device. It will keep track of your daily habits, such as when you leave for office or the route you take. It will give you alternate routes if there is traffic on the way or give you weather updates periodically, among various other functions.
Translate
This is a neat feature that may come in handy when you travel abroad. You simply need to ask Google Glass to translate a phrase or sentence from one language to another and it will speak that out.
Compatibility
Google Glass works not only with Android phones but also with the iPhone, according to this report. Apart from the GPS chip inside, Google Glass is dependent on the Wi-Fi or mobile connectivity to deliver its features. It is only fair game it if is available like any third-party accessory.
When paired up with your smart device, it can show social network notifications and let you communicate via the same channels as you would on the computer. This removes the need of looking at your smartphone constantly, giving you more time to concentrate on the task at hand.
New look
What is high tech without a sleek and cool design? Google Glass weighed an astounding 8 poundswhen it first was announced more than a year ago, but now is seeking to receive nods from the fashion industry.
Already lightweight, and soon to be available in 5 colour options (Shale, Tangerine, Charcoal, Cotton and Sky), Google Glass is set to get a make-over with help from eye-wear companies.
(Images courtesy of Google and The Verge.)
(Source *Times of India)
