Shachar Shamir

Stories By Shachar Shamir

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  Science

  Science By Shachar Shamir

  How Indoor Location Systems Have Evolved in the Last 5 Years

  How Phones Will be Able to Guide Your Every Movement, Indoor and Outdoor! If you want to know where you are during a hike or a long walk, then you can simply check an app on any GPS-enabled device to get a fix on your position. GPS uses 'global positioning satellites' in order to bounce signals off of satellites, thereby triangulating your location. GPS has near-limitless applications and makes navigating significantly simpler. However, Indoor location systems (AKA indoor positioning systems AKA IPS) are a little different. These systems fill the gap left by GPS by allowing similar indoor functionalities. While GPS is highly effective, its use is limited to outdoor scenarios due to limitations with signals (walls and roofs can easily block signals, while reflective surfaces can cause problems too) as well as insufficient accuracy. The very best GPS systems will still only be able to pinpoint a location within 4 meters. Indoor GPS has countless potential uses. This includes military applications, emergency response, virtual reality systems and navigation within supermarkets and other retail stores. Right now, GPS guidance tends to abruptly cease functioning the moment you walk inside a retail store. Imagine a world where you can get guidance around museums, where you can find your friends in concert halls or where firefighters can locate victims trapped inside burning buildings. Just how far are we? Current IPS Solutions Early attempts at IPS largely revolved around the use of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Tags) and 'inertial measurement'. Inertial measurement involves the use of gyroscopes and accelerometers in order to track an individual's movements. The downside is that it is only effective when the starting location of that person is known. This is still handy in military settings, where there may be no opportunity to install beacons within a location and the latest technology from DARPA is a chip smaller than a coin. These options are generally not suitable for commercial use, but several other solutions have made their way to the commercial market. Among the most popular, is the use of WiFi hotspots, which work by calculating the strength of known WiFi sources in order to pinpoint a location. Unfortunately, this method is limited due to the lack of available WiFi sources and the many factors that can impact signal strength. Other technologies rely on LED light fixtures or even magnetic fields to determine a location. Providers include the likes of ByteLight, which uses LED installations read by phone cameras. This process is less 'passive', as it requires the user to actively scan the light fixture and send the information away in order to get a response. Bluetooth for Indoor Positioning Systems One of the most effective solutions for these settings involves the use of Bluetooth beacons. Bluetooth beacons act like GPS satellites and communicate with any smartphone or other GPS-enabled device. Bluetooth beacons can be stuck to walls or ceilings of airports, museums, shopping malls and other indoor locations and allow visitors to find their way around via provided apps (most IPS require a map of some form). This allows visitors to save time and enjoy a more efficient trip. At the same time, it is effective for retailers as it can increase turnover and customer satisfaction. Ultimately, commercial demand is what drives technology to move forward. Pointr, for example, is one indoor positioning system that, embedded through an SDK into the venues app, is able to provide turn-by-turn navigation to lead users directly to specific locations within a building. This is possible not by Bluetooth beacons, but by utilizing the compass built into most smartphones. The company's recent partnership with solar provider GCell has enabled further development. Network Rail, which owns and operates the railway infrastructure in England, Wales and Scotland, has recently allowed the use of solar-powered Bluetooth beacons around the Liverpool Street tube station in London. These systems are capable of being powered by any available light source - even LED lights. The system is not open for public access yet. However, it represents a big step as the beacons, retrofitted throughout the whole station, provide indoor positioning and navigation to certain areas. They can also capture and transmit data, which is useful for future analytics in order to improve the customers' journeys. Last but not least, these solar-powered Bluetooth beacons will never need to be changed. The Future of Indoor Tracking While current solutions offer many different functionalities, they largely require the use of pre-installed systems of some nature. Given the many possibilities for this industry, companies like Google and Microsoft are racing to find more flexible answers. Likewise, we might one day see 'inside out' positional tracking used in experimental augmented reality headsets and Google's own Project Tango making their way to location systems. This would rely on 'computer vision' to analyze images from a camera and calculate a location based on that information. It is generally known that the best method will be a form of 'hybrid' that utilizes several different solutions in a synergistic manner. Whatever the case, this is likely to become an increasingly important subject and one that will receive more attention. The next time you get lost at a train station could be your last.

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  News

  News By Shachar Shamir

  5 Online Hacks to Help You Spruce Up Your Daily Routine

  Take a deep breath and repeat to yourself: everything is going to be alright. 2016 felt like the longest year on record for many of us, and notwithstanding the extra day for leap year, a brutally drawn-out election season, and the typically hectic winter holiday season, 2017 could not come soon enough. While New Year's resolutions are infamously hard to stick to, it will be worth your while to integrate new helpful habits into your daily routine to put some pep in your step, shake off habits that no longer work for you, and develop new ways to enhance your life on a daily basis. If you're ready to say sayonara to 2016 and usher in the new year with better health, habits, and hobbies, take a look at these 5 online hacks that'll position 2017 to be your most productive and fulfilling year yet. 1. Get focused: Self-Control It doesn't matter your age or occupation. The majority of us are constantly prone to distractions at work. Last year, The Telegraph found that a third of employees are distracted at work for up to three hours a day, culminating into a whopping 759 hours per year. Many of us even subconsciously beg for distractions to relieve us of monotony and the static nature of the corporate grind, though even one minute of interruption is enough to reset your short-term memory, thereby stunting both your workflow and mental progress. If you are serious about cutting out distractions at the workplace, consider trying out Self-Control, an OS X app that renders your browser "offline" within a chosen time frame. You're in complete control to allow or disable specific sites, so whether you're a social media junkie, avid gamer, or compulsive reader of viral content, you can customize your way to a more productive and less obstructed workflow. 2. Get some fresh air: Time Out It may seem hypocritical after the last point, but taking short breaks away from your desk and work obligations throughout the day is a key strategy towards boosting your energy, keeping your mind sharp, and enhancing your workflow. Studies show that these mini breaks significantly improve focus, as constant stimulation on the same task may put your brain on autopilot, thus rendering you less effective and your output less productive. Time Out is a simple app for OS X that operates while you work and gently fades in for a friendly reminder to take a short break at whichever interval you choose. You can also set "micro-break" reminders that'll encourage you to take a few seconds of respite from harsh screen lights. 3. Get organized: Evernote Organization is one of the most important facets of a well balanced, harmonious daily life, and a lack of it can cause major delays, misplacements, and other hiccups that could compromise both your personal and professional well-being. Enter Evernote, arguably the most kick-ass digital organizational tool on the market. Evernote's capabilities are widespread and plentiful, including compiling disparate notes and clippings into organized notebooks, device-syncing, and a powerful search tool that can even decipher handwriting. It's also worth checking out Scannable, its high-quality scanning app, and Web Clipper, a browser extension that'll make better use of saving web pages than merely adding it to a dusty and disorganized bookmark folder. 4. Get a sense of calm: Headspace Now that you have established a better workflow, it is time to do something for yourself on a personal level. People around the world are taking an increased interest in mindfulness meditation (including 18 million American adults), which isn't limited only to yogis, monks, and those who are purportedly "holier than thou." Even business bigwig Forbes aggregated a list of some of the scientifically proven ways that meditation can restructure your brain chemistry and pave the way for a healthier, more fulfilling and happier life. While it may seem counterintuitive to look at your phone to help you establish balance, calm, and peace of mind, a slew of apps are popping up to make meditation accessible and approachable for the modern man. Headspace, a British app, is one of the best of the bunch. It keeps things simple and digestible with an easily navigable interface, quaint explanatory cartoon videos, and a free 10-day trial series to help ease you into (perhaps new) mindfulness territory. The key to meditation is a consistent, daily practice. Expect to benefit from a fresher perspective and optimistic attitude to become second nature. 5. Get relaxed: Watch Online All work and no play constitutes a day poorly spent. After all, once you get home from a long day, you deserve to relax at least a little bit. Instead of turning on your TV for mere background fodder or flipping through an endless number of channels with no decent programs in sight, check out Watch Online to find your favorite TV shows, discover when they're on, or get direct links to stream them over a variety of viewing platforms. It is a good way to recklessly binge watch whatever show your friends have been telling you about for the past year.

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