Tag: GPs

Even Realities G1 Smart Glasses Review: Superb Display, But Slow Info

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I’ve been wearing the Even Realities G1 glasses for four months, and while many people have commented on my new frames, only two friends asked if my glasses were “smart.” For someone who wore Google Glass in public and lived to tell the tale, this technological anonymity is high praise indeed. They look like glasses you might actually want to wear, and they don’t draw unnecessary attention to your (OK, my) face.

But as Clark Kent accessed his superpowers after taking off his spectacles, inversely, this mild-mannered reporter benefits from real-time language translation, access to AI, turn-by-turn navigation, and a personal assistant, all by keeping his glasses on.

Most smart glasses, like the Ray-Ban Meta, rely on Bluetooth audio, but the G1 features a small but brilliantly effective heads-up display called the Holistic Adaptive Optical System, or HAOS. Look carefully at the lenses and you’ll see a faint rectangle in each eye. This is where a micro-LED optical engine projector displays crisp, green digital text (640 x 200 pixels). Glance up (choose the angle via the app) and a seemingly two-foot-wide text homepage appears to float around five feet in front of you. Considering all this, it’s astonishingly clever given how light and, well, normal the frames feel.

The digitally surfaced lens is actually two bonded lenses but manages to be no thicker or heavier than a standard design. Prescription lenses cost $129 extra and, aside from the occasional glimpse of the projector screen in bright sunshine, works as well as any glasses I’ve ever owned.

Nestled on the end of each arm you’ll find two rubbery nodules. These contain the battery, buttons, and antennae that exchange real-time data with your phone over Bluetooth. They’re marginally heavier than standard glasses, but because the weight is kept away from the nose, they feel good. The frames are made from solid magnesium and have a cool matte finish, with the temples coated in silicon for added grip. Add in screwless hinges and a classic oval shape, and you’ve got a stylish proposition even before you charge them up.

Photograph: Christopher Haslam

The charging case is equally well designed and holds enough power to recharge the glasses 2.5 times. The 60-mAh battery in the glasses has enough power for 1.5 days.

So, they’re nice glasses—but what do they actually do?

Virtual Assistance

The idea of the G1 is not to replace your smartphone but rather to offer a pared-back interface that gives you help and information when you need it, then vanishes when you don’t.

After installing the app and syncing the glasses, when you glance up you will see a screen with the date, time, battery level, and upcoming diary dates (assuming you’ve given permissions). You can also receive messages and alerts from social and messaging apps. You can’t respond to any messages, though, which seems both odd and a shame given the onboard microphones and the transcription software used.

The right side of the main display is for QuickNotes. If you pinch the small box on the right arm, a note will flash up saying “Quick Note Recording.” When you speak, your words will be saved and displayed on the screen when you next look up. If you mention a date, time, or place, the AI assistant will add it to your diary. It’s great if you are a fan of voice notes. I’m not, but as someone who meets new people all the time but remains terrible at remembering names, I loved being able to have names, and even job titles, on display, for my eyes only.

Translation

Open up the Translate box on the Even Realities app, choose from one of 13 languages (including Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean), decide what language you’d like things translated into (in this case English), and press Engage. If someone then speaks to you in that language, the G1 glasses will listen, translate, and write the words on your HUD.

Annoyingly, however, it’s no Babelfish. With one-on-one conversations it worked OK, and I enjoyed understanding my wife’s rusty Spanish. Similarly, I had success rewatching Squid Game without subtitles. But without someone wearing their own pair and translating my English, it is one-way traffic.

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October 25, 2024
Who needs north? GPS compass points to a place of your choice

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While most compasses have a needle that points north, the Truest North Compass is different. Its main needle always points to a location of your choice, while its secondary needle shows the distance to that place.

Currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, the Truest North was created by Buffalo, New York-based inventor and professional storyteller Karl Smith. He previously developed software for Amazon and Google.

As far as electronic components go, the device incorporates a GPS chip that reads signals from two different constellations (groups of satellites); an IMU (inertial measurement unit) which detects movement of the compass; a light sensor; and a 1,000-mAh rechargeable lithium battery.

All of those bits and pieces sit inside a solid maple base surrounded by a clear-coated brass ring beneath a sheet of glass. The distance needle points to metric or imperial markings on the device’s faceplate, which is available in four different designs.

Pricing for the Truest North Compass starts at $180
Truest North Compass

The Truest North will ship to each buyer preprogrammed to a location of their choice. Wherever they take it after that, it will always show them the direction and distance to that place relative to their current whereabouts.

It can be reprogrammed, thanks to its light sensor. Utilizing their smartphone, users select their new target location on the Truest North webpage, then hold the underside of the compass against the phone’s screen. The screen will proceed to flash in binary code, giving the compass the new GPS coordinates.

Buyers can opt for a custom-engraved wooden storage box
Truest North Compass

Potential buyers should note that although the Truest North could conceivably be used for practical purposes while out and about, it’s intended more as a keepsake that will connect users to their “special place.” That place could be their hometown, a vacation spot they really enjoy visiting, or anywhere else that means something to them.

If the compass is frequently moved or reprogrammed, its battery will need to be recharged about once a week. Even if its battery does run out, however, its hands will remain in position (in other words, they won’t default to a neutral “home” setting).

Assuming everything works out, a pledge of US$180 will get you a Truest North Compass of your own – Smith tells us that the planned retail price is $200. Buyers willing to pay a bit more can opt for a chrome, antique-looking or 24-karat gold finish.

There’s more information in the following video.

Truest North Compass – Pointing To a Spot You Pick

Source: Kickstarter

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June 20, 2024
Quantum navigation system aims to counter deadly GPS spoofing

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Britain has scored a world-first with a series of test flights to demonstrate the core technologies of a future quantum navigation system that’s designed to foil one of the most potentially dangerous, yet not very widely publicized, threats that transportation faces: GPS jamming and spoofing.

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) have become so much a part of our lives with so many applications that it’s easy to take them for granted – that is, until you drive into a steep mountain valley or densely wooded forest and completely lose your satellite signal. That can be more than a little unnerving as the fuel gauge hovers around empty and you have no idea where the next gas station is.

It’s even worse for ships and especially aircraft because they don’t just face the possibility of an accidental signal outage but active jamming and spoofing. Jamming of GPS is identical to jamming radio or radar. It’s simply a matter of sending out a powerful transmission that can overwhelm and drown out the GPS signal. On the other hand, spoofing is far more dangerous. This means sending out false signals designed to fool a GPS device into thinking it’s somewhere else and traveling in the wrong direction.

This sounds like something out of a Bond thriller, but it’s a very real and very common threat. According to the European Business Aircraft Association, there were 49,605 incidents of civilian aircraft being the victims of spoofing in 2022 alone – often as the result of flying in the vicinity of conflict zones where spoofing is used to misdirect enemy warplanes and drones, though such incidents can happen anywhere.

The new navigation system is based on quantum mechanics
Crown Copyright

Once spoofed, the crew members are distracted. They lose situational awareness. They now have a much heavier workload as they cope with the emergency. The thing to remember is that spoofing isn’t just a matter of confusing an aircraft crew, air traffic controllers who rely on the aircraft’s transponder (which is now wrong) could also be affected, and may be of little use when contacted for confirmation of location.

Worse, the electronic flight bag that pilots depend on may be corrupted so the crew can’t trust its calculations of things like how much fuel is left. The plane’s course, speed, and altitude may be off too. The plane could even vanish from automatic tracking sites, increasing the chances of a fatal accident. The spoofing could also compromise takeoffs, as well as collision alarms and digital compasses, while autopilots could disconnect themselves.

One way to combat this is to add backup navigation like an inertial guidance system. This is essentially an electronic version of dead reckoning and is used by submarines all over the world by switching to gyrocompasses and accelerometers that automatically calculate the boat’s course and position to measure how it turns and accelerates along all three axes.

If you have a decent navigational fix to begin with, it’s a very useful tool, but it’s limited because over time errors will creep into the system until they accumulate and reinforce one another – which could result in the readout being off by miles. This is why submarines have to periodically rise close to the surface to get a fresh GPS position.

Aboard the RJ100
Crown Copyright

Since aircraft move much faster than submarines, these errors can build up much faster. To get around this, British partners Infleqtion, BAE systems, QinetiQ, and UK Research and Innovation are working on creating a new version of dead reckoning using quantum mechanics.

Quantum navigation systems are based on what is called quantum sensing where, under cryogenic conditions, the movements of a single atom are tracked precisely by means of the peculiar properties of quantum mechanics, including quantum entanglement, quantum interference, and quantum state squeezing. Combined with atomic clocks and special software analysis to filter out interference, these can stand in for GPS for a considerable time.

According to the British government, the hope is that the new quantum-based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) systems will be one part of a larger system to protect commercial flights against spoofing. The recent tests completed at the Ministry of Defence facility at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire recently demonstrated two quantum technologies: a compact Tiqker optical atomic clock and a tightly confined ultra-cold-atom-based quantum system. Both of these were installed on QinetiQ’s RJ100 Airborne Technology Demonstrator aircraft that has been fitted with a fighter plane nose. The PNT will eventually be integrated into a complete Quantum Inertial Navigation System (Q-INS).

“From passenger flights to shipping, we all depend on navigation systems that are accurate, safe and secure,” said UK Science Minister, Andrew Griffith. “The scientific research we are supporting here on quantum technology could well provide the resilience to protect our interests. The fact that this technology has flown for the first time in British skies, is further proof of the UK as one of the world leaders on quantum.”

Source: UK Government

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May 16, 2024
Gensler’s Product Sustainability (GPS) Standards are a step toward a more circular economy

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Gensler’s Product Sustainability (GPS) Standards send a market signal to manufacturers, clients, and the AEC industry in general: The largest architectural services firm in the world is on a quest to not spec toxic or environmentally harmful products in its work worldwide. The GPS is still in its early phases, but it’s a step toward a more circular economy and less carbon-intensive industry.

The open-source resource disseminates information from reputable certifications—LEED, BREEAM, Cradle-to-Cradle—and other third-party entities so that product manufacturers can easily understand Gensler’s range of individual and product-specific sustainability targets. GPS Standards went into effect in January and Version 1.1 was announced in April. However, it’s important to note the standards are never set; they require continual maintenance as certifications and expectations continually update and improve through research. But the GPS Standards certainly encourage more research, transparency, and generally challenge the industry at a market-wide scale to do better.

David Briefel, a principal at Gensler who led the development and implementation of GPS, told AN that product category selections came down to three main questions: What does Gensler specify the most? How much information is available on the product? And how available are these products in different markets?

From these questions, the firm compiled a list of 12 product types that will surely be expanded in future iterations. Currently, the information and data is readily available online—for use by manufacturers or even other architecture practices—for the following product types: acoustic ceiling tiles, panels, and suspension grids; batt insulation; board insulation; carpet tile; decorative glass; glass demountable partitions; gypsum board; interior latex paint; non-structural metal framing; resilient flooring and base; systems furniture workstations; and task chairs.

Gensler’s Product Sustainability (GPS) Standards disseminates information from reputable certifications and other third-party entities so that product manufacturers can easily understand Gensler’s range of individual and product-specific sustainability targets. (Gillian Fry/Courtesy Gensler)

The information is laid out in an easy-to-read chart format, providing links to sustainability commitments and details such as the targeted minimum percent of recycled content for a product type. Users can opt to view and follow the Gensler Standard or the Market Differentiators, the standards for an ideal world that go beyond the Gensler requirements.

Noting some omissions from the current list, Briefel explained how it would be difficult today to add concrete, steel, or other similar heavyweight architectural materials to the standards.

“Architects don’t always have control over concrete specification and it is also extremely regional,” he told AN. “And because the technology for low-carbon concrete is still somewhat in its infancy, it’d be very hard for us to set targets and start in markets where the products just aren’t available.”

The information is presented in an easy-to-read table format. (Courtesy Gensler)

Nevertheless, the addition of concrete is an aspiration for future iterations. Other additions Briefel is looking toward are improved labor and manufacturing practices and conditions and take-back programs, which aren’t currently profitable for companies. Therefore, market pressures applied to these systems that can stem from projects like GPS could be instrumental in moving the needle.

“Not many manufacturers have third-party validation around their manufacturing processes,” Briefel said. “But we hope that by putting some of that criteria in Market Differentiator we’re signaling what’s going to be important in the future.”

For now, Gensler has placed its focus on specified products it, as an architecture firm, has control over. However, the standards relay that reuse of any material or object—whether metal cladding or a desk chair—is always encouraged. Per GPS Standards, this supersedes the selection of any new material. The firm has educated its designers and material librarians on the standards and regularly meets with manufacturers. A visit to the office material library and in-situ showroom highlights the myriad products at designer’s fingertips that meet or exceed these baselines.

Briefel looks forward to a day when the work of sustainability personnel are not an afterthought, next step, or a box to check. “When you’re talking about sustainability experts, most of us hope that we’re obsolete at some point—that we do such a good job of integrating into teams that it’s something that’s automated, or that it becomes such standard practice embedded in projects that it becomes a requirement.”

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May 14, 2024
Acoustic navigational tech gets scuba divers using GPS maps

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Because GPS doesn’t work underwater, divers usually can’t track their real-time position on a digital map. The new Diver Navigation System (DNS) gets around that problem, however, using both floating and wearable acoustic transponders.

Manufactured by German underwater tech company EvoLogics, DNS consists of three main components: a tracker unit, a diver console, and a USBL (ultra-short baseline) buoy.

Floating at the surface over the diving area, the buoy continuously sends acoustic “pings” through the water. These are received by the tracker unit, which is mounted on the diver’s air tank. The tracker automatically responds to each initial ping with a reply ping of its own, which is received by the buoy.

The wrist-worn diver console (left) alongside the tank-mounted tracker unit
EvoLogics

By analyzing the amount of time that elapses between each initial ping being sent and its reply ping being received – and the direction from which the reply came – it’s possible to determine the diver’s present position relative to the buoy.

And because the buoy does have GPS access (via a GNSS module), its location on a map of the area can be determined by an integrated microcomputer. Therefore, the diver’s current location on that map can also be established.

This data is sent back down to the tracker unit in subsequent pings. It’s relayed from that device to the hard-wired diver console, which is a smartphone-sized gadget worn on the wrist. Simply by glancing at the console’s screen, the diver can see where they are on the map at all times.

They can also check the locations of other divers in their group, as the buoy can communicate with up to five trackers at a time. The buoy additionally uses an onboard Wi-Fi transceiver to relay its data to a topside support crew, who can track the locations of all the divers on a laptop or tablet.

The system’s USBL surface buoy
EvoLogics

As an added bonus, the console also lets divers send and receive simple preprogrammed text messages to and from one another – again, the data is transmitted via acoustic pulses. The topside crew can also send and receive such messages via the Wi-Fi-linked buoy.

As far as hard numbers go, the system has an underwater communications range of 1.5 km (0.9 miles), a positional accuracy of plus or minus 10 cm (3.9 in), and a claimed battery runtime of up to eight hours. The tracker and console have a maximum depth rating of 50 m (164 ft).

You can see the DNS in use, in the video below.

EvoLogics presents the new Diver Navigation System

Source: EvoLogics

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April 16, 2024