Current Events in Technology

The life of someone who cannot speak was once an existence of being misunderstood and being considered mentally defective. Finally, a savior was found for those who were deaf or could not speak in the form of sign language. However, even with learning sign language the person would need an interpreter to be understood by most people. Now there is an even better option.

This new option is being presented by “VocalID”. VocalID a company founded by Rupal Patel has created a technology that can create custom synthetic voices for those who cannot speak. This new technology could be used by about 500,000 Americans according to BusinessWeek.

The service is not that expensive at an initial cost of $1,250 and a yearly update fee of $240. The technology has already been released to 60 initial customers and the company is looking for the funding to expand. Patel is working to get the initial cost of the service below $1,000 and ways to pitch the software to robotics and gaming companies.

This new technology is just another way that technology has been reimagined. The advent of new technologies like this show how newly graduated technology professionals have the opportunity to make a splash with new takes on existing technology.

Big brother may be watching your actions in the next few years, that is if you are using the waterways of Venice to transport goods via ships. It was reported in Business Week that a project called “Subcultron” that is lead by Thomas Schmickl, a zoology professor, is developing a new type of underwater robot.

The Subcultron robots will be put into the polluted waterways of Venice to monitor the water quality. There will be three different types of robot used in the system. The first is the “aPad”. the aPad is internet capable and allows the other robots to send data back to the government agency that is tasked with monitoring the pollution. The second type of robot is the “aFish”, the aFish as you might guess is shaped like a fish. The third type of robot is the “aMussel”, the aMussel is a pod shaped robot.

The Subcultron robots can make decisions on what they should monitor such as damaged ships and water mains. The robots constantly monitor water composition as well as the temperature of the water. The robots are powered by lithium ion batteries which are charged with solar panels built into the robot.

This is a very interesting development in robot technology. The use of robots in more and more industries and government programs shows that Information Technology professionals should begin to study the different types of robots and the tasks that they can accomplish. As robots become more common in the industrial and governmental sectors there will be more career opportunities for those that have a knowledge of how to implement programs using this steadily emerging technology.

Sources:

Bloomberg BusinessWeek, February 1, 2016

It is Monday morning, you wake up and your butler has your breakfast ready. Your maid has your house neat and tidy… However, then your alarm clock goes off startling you out of your dream world, you find that your dreams have not come true… Instead of your breakfast being ready, you forgot to buy groceries over the weekend. Instead of your house being tidy, you forgot to send the laundry out, therefore, you have a huge pile of dirty laundry and nothing to wear to work.

While your life may seem terrible at this minute, one company has an answer to some of the problems that surface due to the lack of a butler and maid. The company is “Hello Alfred”. The startup company that was started by two college students who found that their study schedule and their study schedule and their cleaning schedule could not coexist.

The company has made it more affordable to enjoy some of the luxuries of having a butler and maid for the middle class. For as little as $32 a week the company will have someone come to your home and tidy it up, the “Alfreds” will also take your laundry to the cleaners and deliver your grocieries.

All of the services that Hello Alfred offers are facilitated through their online service and through phone apps. This is part of a still emerging trend of service companies that use apps to let their companies choose which services to purchase. Companies like Hello Albert and Uber are gaining market share in their industries by appealing to millennials by allowing them to purchase services using their ever present smart phones.

This is a very interesting and growing trend. Businessofapps.com predicts that by 2017 mobile app revenue will grow to over 70 billion dollars. Because of the growing market share of apps in ecommerce Management Information Systems and Information Technology students should take as many courses as they can to learn skills in writing mobile apps.

The landscape of the technology sector is swiftly changing. This is not only changing our way of life at home, it is also changing the way that we will work as technology professionals. Because of the swift changes in technology we should always keep an eye toward the future so that we don’t get left behind as technology moves forward.

Sources

Bloomberg Business Week, January 31, 2o16

Businessofapps.com, November 16, 2015