Daily Archives: February 7, 2022

A quick assumption would be that the utilization of braille has decreased in recent years, either due to advancements in technology or the rise of the audiobook industry. However, braille has since evolved from solely embossed paper to its incorporation in accessible technology.

Evolved from its original use as a means of low-light wartime communication, braille has been used as a tactile reading and writing system for over a century for those who are visually impaired. It is a system of code that allows for reading and writing without the use of sight, consisting of embossed braille cells each resembling a two by three grid that represent individual letters, numbers and symbols. So, how has braille survived in the era of screen readers and smart devices?

According to the National Science Teaching Association, visual impairments affect each member of the disabled community uniquely. Someone who is blind or has low vision might use braille as a means of reading and writing, in addition to using smart devices that can read aloud to them.

The National Science Teaching Association maintains that every person is unique in their personal accessibility. For example, someone who has a visual impairment and impaired mobility might not have the ability to detect braille cells through their fingers and will not find braille accessible. On the other hand, someone who has both visual and hearing impairments might find braille to be their preferred mode of reading and writing as they are not able to hear screen readers or electronic personal assistants.

Karen Arcos, a UCI alumna who received accommodations from the Disability Services Center (DSC), mentioned having used braille daily to complete her Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience with an emphasis in Chicano/Latino Studies as someone who is totally blind. Arcos said she used braille in all aspects of her education at UCI, including meeting presentations, collecting and analyzing data, daily emails and drafting her dissertation.

Braille on paper is especially useful when creating or interpreting tactile charts, tables and graphs. Reading braille digitally comes in handy for pleasure, like texting and when revising papers. I also enjoy writing braille, especially when thinking deeply or editing text, Arcos said.

Personal preferences for the use of assistive technology ultimately complement braille readers individual accessibility. In the end, each person must decide for themselves which tools increase their personal access.

DSC Assistive Technology Manager Somphone Eno explained that there are many factors that determine someones preference to consume braille in a physical or digital mode.

One page of text can turn into three pages of braille. You can have volumes and volumes of braille paper that just represents one book, for example. Some people might prefer to have the hard copy and some people might like the refreshable braille from some applications. Or in some cases, [refreshable braille displays] could be devices that are smaller and make information more portable, Eno said.

Its possible to say that the preference of braille in hard copy over screen readers is similar to that of physical print books over audiobooks or e-books. There is a specific occasion for each.

Among the recent advancements to increase accessibility, refreshable braille displays have become more accessible since their invention in the 1980s.

According to the American Foundation for the Blind, Braille displays provide access to information on a computer screen by electronically raising and lowering different combinations of pins in braille cells [where] it changes continuously as the user moves the cursor around on the screen.

A lot of people may be using their computer with a screen reader and theyre able to function everything fine, but they may prefer also having a braille display. Even though its [more advanced] technology, it is still braille, Eno said.

Braille, both on paper and on refreshable displays, retains its importance because audiobooks and screen readers were created to expand the accessibility of those who are low vision or blind not to replace the reliable means of tactile communication that braille has proven itself to be.

Eno said that braille remains the clearest depiction of text available for those who are low vision or blind, stating that, When youre listening to information, you dont really know the intricacies of the information, you just know the content.

While listening to a piece of text read aloud, some aspects of the text may be lost. For example, the tone of sentences is expressed grammatically with punctuation, such as an exclamation point or question mark. Electronic personal assistants, like Siri or Alexa, try their best to mimic human intonations; however, precise meaning is lost in solely auditory communication.

Braille gives blind individuals a way of knowing aspects like spelling and spatially orienting while writing. As well as reviewing and creating details that are harder to maintain through hearing, like computer code, Arcos said.

Additionally, braille allows for the reader to see the words spelled out before them, understand the punctuation present in the passage and perhaps be a childs first introduction to written grammar.

Arcos said that increasing braille literacy among those who are low vision or blind is important.

The over 70% unemployment rate among the blind in the U.S. is already too high, in my opinion; learning and being comfortable with braille is a key first step to lowering this trend, Arcos said.

Advancements in accessible technology have led braille to be fully incorporated into the digital age, as indispensable to accessible consumption like screen readers and electronic personal assistants.

Shakira Noriega is a STEM Contributing Writer for the winter 2022 quarter. She can be reached at sanorieg@uci.edu.

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Braille's Place in the Age of Technology - New University

Technology drives biological innovation. The continuous innovation of new technology over the past century has led to our continuously improved understanding of biological systems. In the future, research labs will continue to adopt new technologies that make it possible to perform previously impossible experiments: new instruments will make new experiments routine. Since biological systems are comprised of spatially organized cells, each making use of a particular combination of the genes available in its genomic repertoire, this will include technologies that can perform highly multiplexed biomarker analysis across whole tissues with single-cell resolution, giving us direct insight into biology.

Right now, it is common to measure just a few biomarkers at a time across biological tissues (e.g., immuno-fluorescence staining of a slice of brain tissue for a single protein), but most techniques that capture this spatial data do not have high enough bandwidth to capture more than just a few biomarkers such as RNAs or proteins. Yet, within the genome there are tens of thousands of unique genes. Measuring just one gene doesnt provide a clear indication of whats happening and distinguish the variety of cells present. On the other hand, experiments that perform highly multiplexed measurements tend to lose spatial context in doing so.

This deficiency can make it difficult to understand the biological complexities. Fortunately, an up-and-coming field called spatial biology promises to bridge the gap. Researchers in this field today are beginning to use technologies that simultaneously capture the arrangement of many proteins, RNA transcripts, or other biomolecules with single-cell resolution. The data can be used to spatially profile all the cells in a tissue, forming a cell atlas that can reveal novel biological mechanisms and act as a reference map for future work. While technologies today are not yet able to identify every molecule within a biological tissue, future advancements will continue to raise the ceiling of what is possible through spatial biology experiments.

With so much potential, single-cell spatial biology technologies are poised to become an integral aspect of life sciences labs in the future. By producing big, high-quality data, these technologies will provide scientists of the future with a new and more informed lens through which to interpret their research.

Lets consider two ways to approach understanding a complex biological system. Taking a macroscopic biological system as an analog, we could work towards understanding an ecosystem like the rainforest from the bottom up, one plant species at a time, carefully investigating how each plant grows and interacts with the surrounding environment. On the other hand, we could work from the top down by looking at the ecosystem as a whole and then honing into how the ecosystem is constructed from the constituent plant species. In the first approach, although you have thorough understanding of individual components of the system, it is difficult to piece together their complex interactions. In the second, its difficult to understand how each plant species then contributes to the overall ecosystem. Neither approach directly provides the full picture; instead, simultaneously capturing enough information about all organisms in the ecosystem to understand the function of each may yield more direct understanding.

Biological tissue functions like an ecosystem, with distinct cell types intricately interacting to form the whole. Therefore, to fully understand biological tissue, a comprehensive view using spatial biology to profile cells captures detailed molecular data about each individual cell and simultaneously captures information about every cell in the tissue. Cell types can vary across a staggering number of parameters. As with the jungle, scientists would benefit from analyzing many parameters simultaneously to not only identify the cell types but also gain a sense of how individual cells physiology is affected by their surroundings. This kind of data can be obtained through a technique called multiplexing, which allows scientists to capture information about many biological targets or parameters in a single experiment.

Many current spatial technologies incorporate multiplexing strategies, but those designed to detect RNA expression are leading the field by pushing the upper limit of how many unique RNA species can be detected at once. Right now, only the most advanced massively multiplexed techniques can capture hundreds of millions of data points for tens of thousands of biomolecules in a single experiment through a combination of molecular barcoding and combinatorial labeling. In the lab of the future, however, this level of multiplexing will become typical, allowing scientists to take a snapshot of a biological system and use that information to look for patterns, trends and markers to better identify molecular factors that are hallmarks of health and decline.

When it comes to biological systems, the localization and behavior of specific gene transcripts and proteins in individual cell types provides direct insight into how the whole cell and whole organism is functioning. Thats why new techniques to resolve details and reliably detect these molecules of interest are constantly being invented and improved across the world. In the coming years, advances in optics and imaging will give rise to a new generation of technologies that will provide a direct window into cell biology and the dynamics of larger biological systems.

While imaging at single-cell and subcellular resolution is not uncommon in todays laboratory, highly sensitive imaging technologies that can capture massively multiplexed data at single-cell resolution are extremely rare. One current technology that meets these criteria is MERFISH (Multiplexed Error-Resistant Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization), a quantitative technique that can spatially detect hundreds of millions of individual RNA transcripts from hundreds of genes across full tissues in a single instrument run including genes that are expressed at very low levels. While this technology is just beginning to find its way into todays genomics labs, the coming decades may see MERFISH technology becoming a leading tool for running single-cell spatial genomics studies. Additionally, single-cell technologies for detecting protein species and metabolic state will become more high-throughput and achieve higher resolution, rendering them capable of producing their own massively multiplexed data.

Once these technologies are available, labs of the future will likely be equipped with multiple instruments capable of capturing various types of highly multiplexed spatial data, offering a degree of clarity that will usher in a new era of life science research.

There is a growing appreciation for the fact that multidisciplinary research produces robust data. Scientists with diverse specialties, perspectives and approaches all bring something new and valuable to the table. In the lab of the future, instruments that produce massively multiplexed single-cell data will be accessible to researchers of numerous disciplines even those who dont have extensive experience running spatial experiments. Keeping pace with data generation, advancements in data science will make it easier to store and process the massive amount of information generated by these technologies. With ever increasing amounts of data, the role of the data scientist and computational biologist will become more important than ever. Their work towards generating novel ways to analyze massively multiplexed experiments and comparing results across multiple experiments and platforms analyzing RNA, protein and metabolic targets will be instrumental in moving the field forward.

Looking back, it took 13 years to first sequence the human genome; now, one group at Stanford has done the same in just over 5 hours. This was achieved through new technologies and new, advanced laboratory instrumentation. The field of spatial genomics is following the same trajectory. Considering spatial biologys growing role in research and medicine, technologies that can provide single-cell spatial information are poised to rise in prominence in life science labs in future decades.

To keep up, the lab of the future will adopt technologies that can capture more data at higher resolution in a way that is fast and accessible to researchers of varying skill sets. Data science will keep pace, enabling scientists to store and analyze big datasets with ease. By routinely being able to query high-resolution spatial information to shed light on unanswered questions and align results across disciplines, the lab of the future will transform the way scientists think about biology.

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Spatial Biology Technologies in the Lab of the Future - Technology Networks

Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw here on Sunday exuded confidence that India would become one of the world leaders in the manufacturing of mobile technology in the next five years, given the technological advancement going on in the county.

As part of the AatmaNirbhar Bharat programme, we have been clearly instructed to design and manufacture the technology required for 4G and 5G connectivity in India. It is a matter of satisfaction that 4G technology has been designed and developed in India. It is being tested. The progress, we have achieved with regards to 5G service, is beyond our expectation, Mr. Vaishnaw said while addressing a press conference here.

The 5G core and radio network will be rolled out shortly. It would usher in development led by technology, he said.

India has developed 4G network technology which is better than the ones available in other countries. Our engineers have worked hard on the technology of virtualisation which no other company in the world has mastered. During the past two years, the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have developed the technology by virtualising the network, the bureaucrat-turned-politician said.

I am confident that India would become one of world leaders in mobile technology in five years, the Union Minister asserted.

A decade ago, who would have thought mobile and electronic systems would be manufactured in India. Now, India has already become the worlds second-largest mobile handset manufacturer. Worlds largest mobile manufacturing set-up is now available in India, he informed.

According to Mr. Vaishnaw, the market size of Indias electronic manufacturing has touched 6 lakh crore. The sector is generating 22 lakh jobs. With the speed at which electronic manufacturing is progressing, its market size would touch 25 lakh crore in next five years. It would be by then generating 80 lakh employments.

When asked as to why the public sector BSNL and MTNL were struggling to compete with their private counterparts, the Minister said, BSNL was a profitable company. The funds of BSNL were diverted during the UPA era. Within three years, BSNL became an entity that was unsustainable for its sustenance. There were no resources available to fund even the day-to-day activities.

For the first time, the BSNL had earned an operating profit last year. It happened because Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved a package of 90,000 crore for the revival of BSNL and MTNL. It enabled the two public sector companies to stabilise, he said.

This year, we are infusing 45,000 crore to take the public sector companies BSNL and MTNL to the next stage. The fund would be spent on 4G spectrums, network upgradation and the replacement of old equipment, the Minister informed.

Once BSNL gets stable in 4G technology in one or two years, it would go for 5G service, the IT minister said.

On Odisha having the largest villages uncovered by mobile services, Mr. Vaishnaw said PM Modi had approved the installation of mobile towers at 3,934 sites in December last and upon the installation of these towers, they would cover many more villages in their surroundings, he said.

In Odisha, there are 6,099 villages uncovered by mobile services the highest in the country. The next on the list is Madhya Pradesh, where there are 2,612 villages without mobile connectivity.

If any village is left uncovered in Odisha, the problem will be addressed immediately through a fresh survey, Mr. Vaishnaw assured.

Mobile connectivity is one of the major poll issues in elections to Panchayati Raj Institutions. In five gram panchayats of Deogarh district, candidates did not turn up for filing nominations protesting against lack of mobile connectivity. (EOM)

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India to become a world leader in mobile technology in next 5 years, says Vaishnaw - The Hindu

Signed in January, the partnership with the Silicon Valley-based company aims to leverage the applications of niobium in the mobility sector and to create an electric two-wheeler to break the current commercial motorcycle Land Speed Record (LSR). The initiative intends to innovate and test the metal in various components of the vehicle, in order to improve its performance and, eventually, exceed the 250 mph (around 403 km/h) mark.

According to CBMM's Market Development Manager, Mariana Perez de Oliveira, the partnership with Lightning Motorcycles is especially strategic, as it will serve as a platform for experimenting and testing niobium technologies in high-performance vehicles. "The idea is to demonstrate, in practice, the advantages of niobium applications, since the addition of the metal can bring numerous benefits to the project, aiming at weight reduction and greater energy efficiency, as well as contributing directly to safety." Mariana adds that the agreement is long-term, since the prototype will also serve as a concept for future projects.

"Light weight and high efficiency are essential for high-performance motorcycles, we have used some applications of niobium to achieve these goals," says Lightning Motorcycles CEO and Founder Richard Hatfield. Confident in the partnership, he states. "We are excited to work with CBMM to further innovate niobium technologies that can be translated into meaningful benefits to not just high performance electric motorcycles but to all types of vehicles".

ELECTROMOBILITY

Niobium allow a true revolution in mobility. In the steel industry, for example, the application is already a reality in the manufacture of high-strength steel. It allows the development of more resistant components, playing a crucial role in increasing vehicle safety.

In addition, the metal can enable improvements in the braking system such as reduced wear, greater durability, and better efficiency; to its use in the cathodes and anodes of vehicle batteries in order to obtain unique characteristics, such as ultra-fast charging and greater energy density, compared to technologies used in traditional lithium-ion batteries.

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Lightning Motorcycles and CBMM bet on niobium technology to break land speed record - PRNewswire

Theyve used physical distancing. Theyve followed strict cleaning and contract tracing protocols.Theyve tried masks.

And now, many Stark County-area schools are upgrading their air ventilation systems to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus and other harmful or noxious air pollutants.

A survey of Stark County-area public school districts shows that at least a dozen districts have upgraded their air ventilation systems in at least one of their buildings since 2020 or are planning to do so this spring and summer. Money sent to school districts to help them with COVID-19 mitigation strategies, known as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, has covered the cost of nearly all of the projects.

A majority of the school districts have turned to a new technology, called bipolar ionization, that seeks to neutralize airborne viruses using equipment that can be attached to a schools existing air ventilation system.

Other school districts are installing HVAC systems for the first time, upgrading the filters in their existing air distribution systems or have invested in HALO sensors, which can monitor volatile organic compounds that officials believe also can be used to help control vaping and nicotine use by students.

Our priority has always been to do everything within our power to provide the safest environment in all of our buildings, said Plain Local Superintendent Brent May, whose district finished installing bipolar ionization units in its nine school buildings, central office and bus garage at the end of January. The pandemic has presented different challenges, but our priority remains the same, this (bipolar ionization) project is another step in making our buildings as safe as possible.

More: Stark County Catholic schools to go mask optional Monday

More: Canton City Schools superintendent, board members dismissed from defamation lawsuit

Plains upgrade comes as the Ohio Department of Health has eased its contact tracing and quarantine protocols for schools.

School districts are no longer required to notify families if their child had been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 and students can still attend school even if they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 as long as they wear a mask and show no symptoms.

While schools still are cleaning and keeping students spaced at least 3 feet apart, most Stark County schools also have dropped their indoor mask mandates. Only Canton City and Alliance school districts require masks while inside buildings. Masks are still required on school buses due to a federal transportation order.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ohio Department of Health have recommended that educational facilities consider ventilation system upgrades to increase the delivery of clean air and dilute potential contaminates. But the agencies dont endorse a specific type of upgrade nor do they recommend or oppose any manufacturer or product, leaving school district leaders to explore what works best for their facilities.

Plain, Fairless, Jackson, Minerva, Northwest, Osnaburg, Sandy Valley and Sebring have chosen to invest in bipolar ionization as part of their air quality improvement projects.

Bipolar ionization devices, which often are installed inside a buildings existing air handlers, univents or ductwork, are different from filters because they actively treat the air.

The devices send out positive and negative ions that seek atoms and molecules in the air. These ions act like magnets, merging with air particles to make clumps that are easier for filters to catch or that fall to the floor. The ions are able to neutralize harmful particles, such as viruses, by breaking down their molecular structure and can help with pollutants and odorous gases that oxidize with oxygen.

The devices have a life expectancy of at least 10 years with little to no ongoing maintenance, which also has made them attractive to school districts.

But the bipolar ionization technology also has faced increasing criticism.

A federal lawsuit filed last year against a manufacturer of bipolar ionization technology accuses Global Plasma Solutions of falsifying its effectiveness and safety claims by using studies that could not be replicated in real-world situations.

Global Plasma Solutions has responded with data from other third-party studies and thousands of installations that it says show that its technology is safe and effective. It also has filed federal legal actionagainst some of the scientists it states have published false and misleading statements about the technology.

Federal health and environmental agencies, includingthe CDC and Environmental Protection Agency, have called bipolar ionization and other newer air-cleaning methods, an emerging technology and have urged consumers to exercise caution and do their homework. The EPA also warns that bipolar ionization has the potential to generate ozone and other potentially harmful byproducts indoors unless specific precautions are taken in the product design and maintenance.

This is an emerging technology, and little research is available that evaluates it outside of lab conditions, the EPA states.As typical of newer technologies, the evidence for safety and effectiveness is less documented than for more established ones, such as filtration.

Steve Ripepi, sales manager for Gardiner, said the Plasma Air Technology that his company has supplied to multiple local school districts has been shown to be effective and not produce harmful byproducts.

He cited third-party testing of Plasma Airs technology against the spread of the coronavirus that shows a 99% reduction in the air and an 80% disinfection rate on surfaces after 10 minutes of exposure.

According to Plasma Airs website, its products are certified by the Underwriters Laboratory to produce zero ozone emissions.

Ripepi said Gardiner, which is a member of the International WELL Building Institute, has completed similar bipolar ionization projects for school districts across northeast Ohio as well as for businesses, courthouses, jails, restaurants and even homes.

Hes installed the technology in his home and his parents home to help not only reduce harmful pollutants but to also eliminate odors, such as the lingering smell of fish after dinner.

Reach Kelli at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com.

On Twitter: @kweirREP

The Canton Repository sent a request for information to Stark County-area school districts to find out whether they had recently upgraded their air ventilation systems and to get details if they had. Here are the responses that districts sent:

The district replaced eight boilers at Alliance Middle School and Alliance Intermediate School anda cooling tower and two HVAC units at Alliance High School. District staff also installed upgraded filters in each school buildings HVAC equipment that more efficiently filters the air being circulated, including the virus for COVID-19. The work has been completed over the past several months.

Cost:$750,000, paid by coronavirus relief funds.

Companies used: Johnson Controls

The district increased the Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values of its air filters from MERV 11 to MERV 13, which has been recommended by the CDC. A MERV rating of 13-16 is considered hospital-level air quality. The district also has provided air purifiers for individual classrooms.

Cost:$200,000, paid for by coronavirus relief funds.

More to come: The district plans to hire an architectural firm to assess its current facilities and expects that air quality and HVAC systems will be included in the recommended improvements that will begin this spring.

Dalton High School will be getting its first HVAC unit this summer. The district also plansto retrofit its univents with new Daikin VRV heat pump systems for its office areas and Daikin hot water unit ventilators with DX coding in each classroom. The work is expected to begin this summer and be completed by September.

Cost: The board has approved spending up to $1,355,342 of its ESSER funds on the upgrades.

Companies used: Gardiner

The district installed a bipolar ionization system at its middle and elementary schools in December. The system also will be installed in the new Fairless High School as it is constructed.

Cost: $46,000, paid by coronavirus relief funds.

Companies used: Bell & Blaire LLC Mechanical Contractor

The district plans to install Plasma Air bipolar ionization units in its existing air handlers, univents and ductwork in all six of its school buildings this spring and summer. Extreme Microbial Technologies ionized hydrogen peroxide plasma units already have been installed in school clinics and some athletic spaces.

Cost: $437,170, paid by coronavirus relief funds.

Companies used: Gardinerfor the bipolar ionization units; Extreme Microbial Technologies for the hydrogen peroxide plasma units.

The district plans to upgrade its HVAC system at Washington High School beginning this spring. Coronavirus relief funds will be used to complete the project.

The district installed bipolar ionization units in the air handling equipment at each of its three school buildings last summer and soon will complete its upgrade of its automation controls that had been more than 14 years old.The district also installed HALO sensors that monitor volatile organic compounds, particulate size down to 1 micron, that officials believe will help the district control vaping and nicotine use by students. The district uses the sensor data to monitor and control outside air flow and increase energy and equipment efficiency.

Cost:Not provided. The district paid for the first phase of the automation controls using money from its main operating fund. The second and third phases of the automation project were paid by coronavirus relief funds.

Companies used: Trane

The district added bipolar ionization units to the existing air handlers at Northwest Primary, its central office and the athletic complex in 2020. An RGF photohydroionizationsystem was added to the current air handlers at Northwest High School in June 2021.

The district previously installed a dedicated outdoor air system to Stinson Elementary and Northwest Middle School.

Cost: $68,755, paid by coronavirus relief funds.

Companies used: Control Systems of Ohio (Northwest Primary); Famous Supply (Central Office and Athletic Complex); Standard Plumbing and Heating (Northwest High School)

The district installed bipolar ionization/UV units in its air handling equipment in the main school building last summer and upgraded its automation controls. Osnaburg also installed HALO sensors that monitor volatile organic compounds, particulate size down to 1 micron, that officials believe will help the district control vaping and nicotine use by students. The district uses the sensor data to monitor and control outside airflow and increase energy and equipment efficiency.

Cost: $14,661.00

Companies used: Air Force One and Enterprise Controls

The district installed bipolar ionization units in its existing air handling units at its nine school buildings, Central Office and bus garage in January. Air conditioning will be added in the next phase of the project.

Cost: $1,036,857, paid by coronavirus relief funds.

Companies used:Gardiner

Sandy Valley replaced three 20-ton remote terminal unitsthat were original to the Performing Arts Hall with three high-efficiency 20-ton units with humidity control and bipolar ionization units that also are connected to the buildings automation system. Bipolar ionization units also were installed at the wellness center, high school administration area and the middle school administration area. The district also installed eight variable frequency driveson the electric motors running the air handling units, four new heat pump units and upgraded MERV 8 pleated filters throughout the district. The work, which replaced units that were 14 years old, was completed last summer.

Cost: $218,197

Companies used: RT Hampton, Metal Masters and RKS Consulting

The district installed bipolar ionization units at BL Miller, McKinley Jr./Sr. High School and the administration building last summer.

Cost: $168,373, paid by coronavirus relief funds.

Companies used: Trane

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Stark County schools invest in air cleaning technology to prevent the spread of COVID-19 - Canton Repository

STOCKHOLM, Feb. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Tobii AB, the global leader in eye tracking and pioneer of attention computing, announces it is currently in negotiation with Sony Interactive Entertainment ("SIE") be the eye tracking technology provider in SIE's new VR headset, PlayStation VR2 (PS VR2).

Tobii is not commenting on the financial impact of the deal at this time as negotiations are ongoing.

This information is information Tobii AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, on February 7, 2022, at 7:30 a.m. CET.

Contact

Lina Perdius, Head of Communications, Tobii AB, phone: +46 (0)70 018 78 75, email: [emailprotected]

Henrik Mawby, Head of Investor Relations, Tobii AB, phone: +46 (0)72 219 82 15, email: [emailprotected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/tobii-ab/r/tobii-is-in-negotiation-to-be-the-eye-tracking-technology-provider-for-the-sony-playstation-vr2,c3499848

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Tobii is in negotiation to be the eye tracking technology provider for the Sony PlayStation VR2 - PRNewswire

SINGAPORE, Feb. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --At the Singapore Airshow this month, the largest in Southeast Asia, Boeing (NYSE: BA) will showcase its industry-leading portfolio of commercial, defense and support services by highlighting advanced systems and capabilities focused on safe and sustainable aerospace. Boeing's presence at the show will include its newest fuel-efficient widebody jet, the 777X, along with the company's offerings in maritime patrol aircraft, advanced fighters and trainers, and autonomous systems.

"We are looking forward to gathering with our industry colleagues in Singapore, in support of the recovery of aviation in the Southeast Asia region, as it provides us an opportunity to engage with customers, government officials, partners, suppliers, media and other stakeholders from the region," said Alex Feldman, president of Boeing Southeast Asia. "We will highlight our investment in, and commitment to, technology, innovation and sustainability, building the foundation for the long-term growth of the aerospace industry."

During the show, a Boeing 777X flight test airplane will make its Asia debut, demonstrating aerial maneuvers that showcase its new carbon-fiber composite wing and quiet GE9X engines, which contribute to the airplane family's leading environmental performance. Based on the most successful twin-aisle airplane ever, the 777, and with advanced technologies from the 787 Dreamliner family, the 777-9 will be the world's largest and most efficient twin-engine jet, delivering 10% better fuel use, emissions and operating costs than the competition.

Boeing's exhibit at the show will also highlight the F-15, P-8 Poseidon, T-7A Advanced Pilot Training System, as well as autonomous technology including the Boeing Airpower Teaming System, which is the company's first uncrewed system to be designed and developed in Australia. Designed to provide a transformational capability for global defense customers, it is the company's largest investment in a new uncrewed aircraft program outside the United States. This purpose-built aircraft can be missionized to suit country-specific needs.

The United States Department of Defense corral is expected to display the KC-46A Pegasus, P-8A Poseidon, and C-17 Globemaster III.

Additionally, Boeing will highlight its growing digital ecosystem of services, including integrated flight operations, a data-driven supply chain, e-commerce, predictive maintenance, digitally enabled MROs and competency-based training for commercial and defense customers. Showcased service offerings use digital innovation to reduce fuel use and support sustainability targets for customers utilizing all airplane platforms.

Boeing will also focus on measures to deliver a safer, more efficient and sustainable air transportation system for the future with an emphasis on the Confident Travel Initiative, a Boeing led effort to provide passengers and crew a safe, healthy and efficient travel experience and deliver that information to governments and the general public.

Additional information about Boeing and the Singapore Airshow:

About Boeing

As a leading global aerospace company, Boeing develops, manufactures and services commercial airplanes, defense products and space systems for customers in more than 150 countries. As a top U.S. exporter, the company leverages the talents of a global supplier base to advance economic opportunity, sustainability and community impact. Boeing's diverse team is committed to innovating for the future and living the company's core values of safety, quality and integrity. Learn more at http://www.boeing.com.

Contact

Chris Singley Boeing Global Media Relations+1 214 697 8980[emailprotected]

Swetha MaheshBoeing Singapore+65 9824 4836[emailprotected]

SOURCE Boeing

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Boeing to Highlight Sustainability, Technology and Partnerships at Singapore Airshow 2022 - PRNewswire

Autonomous driving has progressed rapidly in recent years, moving from small-scale robotics challenges to reshaping some of the worlds biggest companies long-term strategies. Programmes that might once have been considered pet projects have since attracted multi-billion-dollar investments, and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) have now become a standard fit for many mass market vehicles.

The prospects for deployment vary by sector, but the industry is well and truly on its way to producing autonomous vehicles (AVs) at scale. JamesHodgson, Principal Analyst, Smart Mobility & Automotive at ABI Research, gives his take on the current state of play and how such progress has been achieved in a relatively short period.

How would you describe the evolution of the autonomous driving space?

Various factors have taken something that seemed only technically possible 15, 20 years ago, to something that you could feasibly see deployed with business models that make sense.

The cost structure has

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Democratised technology has catalysed autonomous driving efforts - Automotive World

Dyson has launches its latest cord-free vacuum cleaner in India the Dyson V12 Detect Slim, which comes with laser detection technology. The Dyson V12 Detect Slim has a Hyperdymium motor from the company, which generates up to 150 air watts of suction. It has a five-stage filtration, and the company claims this vacuum cleaner can capture captures dust particles down to 0.3 microns.

As engineers, our job is to solve daily problems, and the past few months has created plenty of new ones with more time spent indoors. We are all cleaning more frequently, trying to remove the additional house dust but desperate for peace of mind that our homes are truly clean, James Dyson, Chief Engineer and Founder said in a press statement.

It also uses adapted laser technology to reveal hidden dust. Dyson has integrated a diode laser into the cleaner head, which will reveal particles that might not be visible to the naked eye. Further, the laser is positioned in a way to ensure an optimal angle, when using the cleaner.

The company has used a green laser diode, and this was chosen for its ability to provide the best contrast. The laser is fitted into the Slim Fluffy cleaner head to ensure that hidden dust on the floor surface can be seen and removed.

Further, the vacuum cleaner can measure the size and count the particles 15,000 times per second thanks to its acoustic piezo sensor. This sensor converts vibrations into electrical signals, which then displays the size and the number of particles sucked up on an LCD at the back of the vacuum cleaner. Dyson states that the user can see how much dust the vacuum has removed, as well as the different sizes of particles.

Further, the sensor will ensure that the suction power is increased when the vacuum cleaner comes across a large amount of dust. This happens in auto mode when the piezo sensor detects high concentrations of dust. Reactive suction power is triggered to automatically increase in power thanks to the sensor.

Dyson is also adding a new anti-tangle Hair screw tool. This will remove the problem of hair getting stuck on the brush bar. The new anti-tangle conical brush bar spirals hair off and into the bin. This also prevents the wrapping of hair around the brush bar, which is a common problem with vacuum cleaners.

The Dyson V12 Detect Slim is available from today, starting at Rs 58,900 at Dyson.in and Dysons own offline stores.

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Dyson launches V12 Detect Slim vacuum cleaner with laser detection technology in India - The Indian Express

If you've been watching the news lately, you've probably heard of 5G technology and how it is set to transform our lives. As the next-generation cellular data network, it is expected to radically improve wireless connections and data transfer rates, and power some of the most advanced data technologies like smart cities, autonomous vehicles, and more.

What does 5G mean though? How does it work? Is it safe? And how fast are 5G connection speeds expected to be?

The term 5G refers to the fifth generation of cellular data technology. While not a single technology in itself, 5G is a collection of technologies that work together to form a specific technology standard that other devices can connect to for internet access.

According to Qualcomm, a leading mobile technology company, "5G wireless technology is meant to deliver higher multi-Gbps peak data speeds, ultra-low latency, more reliability, massive network capacity, increased availability, and a more uniform user experience to more users. Higher performance and improved efficiency empower new user experiences and connect new industries."

What makes 5G exciting for many is that the data transfer rates for 5G are substantially higher, and so it is expected to enable all sorts of new consumer technologies that simply aren't possible with existing the 4G LTE network infrastructure. The most promising of these is so-called "smart city" infrastructure, like autonomous bus lines, improved traffic monitoring and management, electricity and water system management, and more.

The biggest advantages of 5G are going to be the number of concurrent connections as well as the data transfer speeds of those connections. The part of the radio spectrum that 5G accesses is almost entirely unused, so there is far less interference from different radio signals that can limit how fast data can be transmitted. What's more, since it's far less congested, you can have many more devices connected to the network that will enjoy the full benefit of a 5G network's improved data speeds.

The biggest downside of 5G networks is that you will need special equipment to access them. Old phones and tablets won't be able to connect to 5G networks, and any existing connected infrastructure will need to be upgraded in order to work with 5G. These upgrades aren't too onerous when it comes to your phone or other mobile devices, but they can be quite costly when you're talking about upgrading city infrastructure.

More recently, airlines in the United States protested that 5G masts near airports threatened to interfere with critical equipment in airplanes like altimeters that rely on radio signals near the frequencies that new 5G networks use. This can be potentially hazardous when a plane is attempting to land, especially in bad weather, when the altimeter is important for knowing how close the plane is to the ground. As a result, network providers are restricting their networks around airports and are looking for other solutions to the issue.

5G is a cellular network, which means it operates using a system of cell sites that carve each area up into different sectors and transmit encoded data through radio waves.Each of these sites needs to be connected to a network "backbone", most often a physical wired connection, and the encoding they use is different depending on the type of network.

In terms of infrastructure, there isn't all that much different about 5G compared to existing cell sites, but the new 5G networks will enable those cell sites to access a much wider band of frequencies than before. 5G networks use OFDM encoding, which is similar to the type used in a 4G LTE network but provides an "air interface" with lower latency and access to more airwaves than 4G LTE.

The biggest feature of 5G is that cell sites will have access to short-range, "high-band" airwaves that were inaccessible with 4G LTE technology. Moreover, 5G lets devices use wider channels across a larger chunk ofthe radio frequency spectrum. Regulators and carriers have to unlock those channels for customers to use, which is only now just starting to happen. But as those channels become accessible speeds are set to increase dramatically.

On old 4G LTE networks, a device can combine up to seven, 20 MHz channels, or 140 MHz of total spectrum usage, though phones typically fall short of that (around 60 MHz or less). Low and mid-band 5G lets a device combine up to three, 100 MHz channels with several 20 MHz channels from the 4G LTE network to considerably improve network speeds, but it's hardly the "fourth industrial revolution" that we've been promised for several years now. The real game-changer is the millimeter wave ("mmWave") (24-39 GHz)short-range radio signal known as high-band 5G, which lets you stack up to eight, 100 MHz channels to vastly improve data transfer speeds and latency.

Cellular carriers are also able to stitch together 4G and low-band 5G frequencies using something called dynamic spectrum sharing, based on network traffic, to get the most out of their existing 4G network. But this is mostly just an improvement to the current 4G network, rather than something genuinely new, and so you don't see the significantly faster data rates of true 5G networks. This hasn't stopped some network carriers from marketing these slight improvements to 4G LTE networks as 5G or similar, which has led some to mistake these for actual 5G networks. And since these networks aren't much faster than 4G LTE, this has left many with the impression that 5G isn't that big of a deal. These aren't real 5G networks, though, at least not what anyone meant when they were talking about 5G for the past few years. What everyone really means is high-band 5G, which is starting to roll out in earnest in the US and elsewhere in 2022, so perceptions of these networks are sure to change rather quickly.

Neither an individual nor a company invented 5G technology. Several companies in the mobile technology space came together to develop the new 5G wireless network standards to help streamline the technology so that all companies and customers could benefit from the same technology. Some of the leading companies involved in building the network equipment are Qualcomm, Huawei, Samsung, and Ericsson. Mobile providers from around the world have also been involved regionally to set up network towers and build up the physical infrastructure that will make up the 5G network.

The 5G technology standard calls for significantly faster speeds than existing 4G LTE network technologies. At its theoretical peak, 5G has a maximum download speed of 10 Gbps with a latency as low as one millisecond. Of course, these data speeds won't be available for many years; and even then, it will depend on network coverage and specific circumstances. But a base speed of 50 Mbps should be the absolute floor of what is available, while we should eventually see speeds that are more than 100 times faster than average 4G network speeds. The fastest speeds though will come from the mmWave high-band signals, but since these signals are fairly weak and have a rather short range, these will likely be reserved for special pockets of coverage that require these faster speeds.

There are two answers to this question, depending on what you mean by safe. If you mean safe for humans, then yes, 5G is safe. Most 5G signals use the same kind of radio waves that TV and radio networks have been using for many decades now, as well as those that cellular and Wi-Fi networks have long been using without issue.

The genuinely new technology in 5G, the millimeter frequency signals of the mmWave technology, are technically microwaves, which are naturally going to be misunderstood by a lot of people. These signals are very weak, don't travel very far, and aren't even able to penetrate the leaves on nearby trees, much less the walls of your home. Old fashioned UHF television signals are much more powerful than anything 5G towers are putting out, but those signals have been in use since the 1960s and are very heavily congested as a result. The radio waves from mmWave transmitters aren't going to cook people's brains. Even if you were to stand next to a transmitter, the signals aren't even strong enough to get past your skin.There are also clear safety guidelines for this. For example, The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) is a global scientific body that has determined a norm for the non-ionizing radiation put out bymobile phones and telecom antennas and continually monitors their thermal effects.

The value of 5G mmWave high-band signals isn't that they are somehow much more powerful than the radio signals we've been using before, but precisely because no one uses these frequencies, and so there isn't anything clogging up the airwaves. That hasn't stopped people from turning 5G into conspiracy theory fodder, though. Now, if we are talking about whether 5G signals can interfere with other radio signals in an unsafe way, that is a very different issue. Like all radio signals, they are subject to interference and are capable of interfering with other radio signals.

The two most serious issues are with radar equipment used in many airplanes and with certain weather monitoring satellites. In the case of weather satellites, 24 GHz frequency signals used by 5G networks can "leak" into the nearby 23.8 GHz frequency band used by weather satellites to monitor atmospheric moisture. This monitoring is critical to proper weather forecasting, and there is concern that 5G networks can reduce the accuracy of weather forecasts by as much as 30%. This would be the equivalent of setting back weather forecasting accuracy by several decades, leading to lower preparation response times to major storms like hurricanes.

The other major concern about 5G interference is with radar altimeters used by airplanes to measure their altitude, something we can all agree is important for everyone's safety. Recently, airlines in the US have protested that 5G emissions in the3.7 GHz to 3.98 GHz C-band frequency risk interfering with the proper functioning of an airplane's altimeter, which uses radio frequencies between 4.2 GHz to 4.4 GHz. Verizon and AT&T, who spent billions of dollars to buy the rights to use frequencies in the 3.7 to 3.98 GHz spectrum, have pushed back on these fears, saying that there is more than adequate space between their 5G signals and those used by radar altimeters. They also expressed frustration with regulators who they say raised concerns at the last minute despite having two years to prepare for the introduction of 5G around airports.

"At our sole discretion, we have voluntarily agreed to temporarily defer turning on a limited number of towers around certain airport runways as we continue to work with the aviation industry and the FAA to provide further information about our 5G deployment, since they have not utilized the two years theyve had to responsibly plan for this deployment," AT&T said in a statementon January 18, 2022.

Clearly, there is still some friction between aviation and telecommunication industry giants, with government regulators working to navigate the two competing interests to find a workable solution. This came to a head recently, when in January 2022, a number of airlines, including British Airways, Emirates, and Air India, canceled or changed US-bound flights over concerns about thedeployment of 5G technologynear airports. The Federal Aviation Authority has also begun updating its guidance on which airports and aircraft models will be affected by 5G andAT&T and Verizon announcedthey will temporarily pausethe 5G rollout near key airports.

Of all the concerns around 5G, the issues of weather satellites and aircraft altimeters are clearly legitimate and are actively being addressed between the various parties. How these will ultimately end up is still an open question, though, given the safety issues involved, it is likely that the 5G network providers will have to give ground in the end.

It's been a long time in coming and after two years of delay, major 5G networks are starting to be activated in major cities around the world. While it will still take time for the networks to mature and for coverage to expand to more rural areas, the process has begun and 5G might finally start to deliver on its lofty promises of transformational speeds and technological advances.

What those advances will be is hard to predict. When 2G rolled out in the 1990s, everyone thought that digital voice calling was going to be the big advance of the era, but it was SMS text messaging that actually came to define that generation of technology. With 3G, mobile internet service was expected to be the "killer app" of the generation, but it turned out to be social media and smartphone apps. Likewise, 4G LTE saw the introduction of a whole new catalog of apps like ride-sharing services, food delivery, and services powered by cloud computing, but streaming services like YouTube, Netflix, and video calling services like FaceTime made 4G LTE all about video content. Given the potential for 5G, there is no way of knowing what that next step up in technology will end up being, but at long last, we're finally on our way to finding out what it will be and it's about time.

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What is 5G Technology and How Will It Transform Our Lives? - Interesting Engineering