Augmented Reality almost here

For so long, I have been teaching that Augmented Reality will take over how we draw and overlay the technical parameters of our designs on reality. the technology has its ups and downs, Google glass lead the way, but fell due in part to the lack of foresight in the public, "Magic leap" has tantalised us with hints of what might be, but as yet have failed to deliver. The same goes for so many startups.

Yet both Google and Apple are poised to offer us the next phase of Augmented life and it looks interesting to the point I might even have to keep my MacBook Pro.

This article on Medium, and if you do not have an account here, get one, they are a major repository of so many interesting articles, but I digress. The article by Novac B, offers a lot of reason why Apple might just pull of another leap in Technology over the efforts of Google, that will, like the iPhone and Mac, send us into raptures and back into the Apple stores.

The article is titled Apple’s Smart Glasses — The Final Piece of the Puzzle is Almost There! and its a thesis of note, looking over the titbits of information currently out there and piecing it together to show just how far along the path Apple really are. So many like to give doom and gloom to Apple, their sales might be falling, but watch this space, they have done it so many times, announcing to the world products that change how we live.

Today's image is the title image from the above article, it so sets the scene

Techcitejournal my new site to promote academic papers

For some while I have been thinking about setting up a site to host not only my own Tech papers but any one who has or wants to publish a tech paper to promote Architectural Technology. I have named it Techcitejournal, I think it adequately describes what the site is all about.

Currently its hosted on a Wordpress.com site, but if there is enough interest I'll move it to its own site.

At present I an setting up the papers I have written, but if you have a paper old or new, sent it to the upload address and I will review and post

If your interested in becoming a reviewer, again drop me anEmail to the same address and we can talk.

I still have no logo, so thats next, also I need to add some html to allow citations to be easily done for any article. I also want  Scholar.Google.com or at least Google.com to list and scan my new site, this I have requested.

There is no cost to all of this, I want to provide a free and uncluttered publishing web site free of firewalls,  This Peer review journal will operate on the principles of Open Access. I see no reason but to quote this excellent open Access statement from Peter Suber on Open Access. The full version can be found here, it say it all. You might also want to read the Sparc site on this subject as well.

Open-access (OA) literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. What makes it possible is the internet and the consent of the author or copyright-holder.

But till them take a look, I'll be uploading my papers as and when I can.

On Air CPD with Podcasts

I am a massive fan of podcast, they are usually the audio versions but some like Leo La Ports Twit shows I often take as the lite video version.

I am appalled that so much is made of strict manufacturer lectures,  have aired my feelings on this in many of my blogs, and just recently at the Region 5 meet.

Its to ridged and inflexible, perhaps another way is to listen to the many podcasts that are available, My list stretches from History, through to Technology, touching on a little social, and a lot of global news both general , and political, the SA elections at present are a real interest.

But Tech news for computing is probably my favourite at the moment with Twit tv blogs, I like This week in Google, even though I have gone away from them back to Apple, and Triangulation. a show that looks at the greats of computing.

The FT is my business new blog, and I also like the Guardian, although I don't buy the paper, the podcast is not bad.

I don't have to make a specific time, to listen to my blogs, I tend to do it either driving, or walking my dog, don't ask, Barley is well up to speed on computing.

I am also a big fan of Science and love the Guardian's Science podcast.
All downloadable from iTunes store and onto the Podcast play app, which auto downloads all my listening and shows them as unplayed,

There are not many construction podcasts of note, I am trying "The Construction Leading Edge Podcast" at present, it seems to publish quite regularly, 7 issues so far this year 2016, so I'll let you know. Its lot and I mean a lot of effort to produce a show thats worthy of releasing, so I am not surprised at the lack of shows related to our industry, I would like one just for us, and I have thought about it many times, but the time just is not there.

So there it is, another way to increase your quality CPD without spending at leat 2 hours either side of a 1 hour manufacture presentation, just plug in and enjoy.

Backscatter Technology become WISP

You might remember, but some time back I wrote on the way Backscatter Technology, was taking my interest, big time, well a lot has gone on since, not only have I been writing Academic papers, but the really clever researchers have been expanding the technology.

It now seems possible that we can program the sensor, and make it act like a simple computer, not so much it can run games, but more simple calcs acting like a small computer. From my research its seems to be in the low end of what you might find in a FitBit watch. The University of Washington have been looking at this and have a rather good website paper for your reading.

Still this takes the whole concept of Sensors to the next level, and beyond. In one paper the researcher had made a simple black and white camera, all powered by Backscatter ambient energy. If you can't access academic papers, you might be missing out on a lot of research, I have written my research up into a 1 hour CPD program.

So perhaps instead of the sensor just sending loads of data, most of which might just be of no use, the unit would be able to do small calc based upon its readings and that perhaps of its near neighbours, and only send info when there was something interesting to report.

Another problem is the way a sensor knows its location, previously we had thought that the room sensor would do the calc, but now it seems once the room sensor pings the room and asks if there are any sensors, the returns are calculated, and  it tells each sensor where it is in space, and its programmed into the sensor.

This brings up another problem, that of ID, each sensor needs some form of ID, well why not its Easting & Northing plus it's height, or X,Y, & Z, no two sensors can occupy the same space, so each would be different. Another big reason to understand simple mapping and the difference between Lat Long, and Easting & Northings. Again the subject of a 1 hour CPD presentation.

Is your a manufacturer, then this is something you should be investigating, it's the start of the IoT, and beyond, miss it now and you'll be left behind, again I have several 1 hour CPD presentations on this.

The video below explains some of the technology, but I think its wise to start building up some of your own research on this starting where I first began, at the article and saving information to Evernote, or your preferred archive personal data store.