Tag Archive | sensors
March 29, 2015  

Why Samsung Gear is not completely a success ?

iwatch gear

In less than 1 month, Apple will launch its Apple iWatch. And the question is : will it be a success?

This is always difficult to know if a new product will be a success or not … But there is 1 thing to understand when we launch a new product : what are the main failure of the competitor products?

And Samsung Gear, the main competitor is not completely success. Do you see nowadays, in the subway, in the street, people with the Samsung Gear Watch? … And the problem is not that the Samsung smartphones are not the leader, isn’t it? In 2013/2014, the average Worldwide market share of Samsung was about 30% ; in January 2015, nevertheless, the market share was reduced to 20%, decreasing from 30% (in ratio).

But, nevertheless, Samsung with Samsung Gear is the leader of smartwatches sold in 2014 with 1,2 millions of units.

Is people satisfied by their smartwatch ? … No!

3 main topics are not relevant for the Samsung watch:

  • Autonomy : with 1 day of autonomy, you always have to recharge the battery of your watch … And if you are using your connectivity at the maximum, it is less than 4 hours …
  • Apps: there is not a lot of usage for the Samsung watch : we are speak about 20 to 30 Apps, and not all of them are good
  • Connectivity: with Bluetooth, the connectivity is not good and not secure …
  • Sensors : camera, sound, … nothing incredible ! Less than a smartphone !!!

With Apple, what do we know:

  • Autonomy : 18 hours … probably in the same condition as Samsung ; in full usage of connectivity, 3 hours … as rumor said !
  • Apps : 34 Apps advertised on Apple Store for the moment ; and nothing that seems to be a revolution. What is the real interest to have a new connected object with a computer inside with so few Apps. To be dramatically upgraded!
  • Connectivity : with Wifi in addition of Bluetooth, we can expect better connectivity, more secure than Samsung … Nevertheless, this connectivity between a smartphone and a watch will remain via Bluetooth … This is only connectivity with public Wifi area that could accelerate the connectivity; not so sure that it will be sufficient !
  • Sensors : no revolution compare to Samsung Gear ; how to measure diabetes, arterial pressure, temperature, virus and batteries overview  … and more!

To conclude, Apple could probably sell around 1 million of iWatch in 2015 … but not more than Samsung Gear in 2014. You will not see 100 millions of iWatch sold, as for smartphones.

Why? No revolution of this object …

What could be the future of the revolution ?

  • Autonomy : 1 month, 3 months, 1 year or … without any recharge! How to do that: reduction of energy usage by 10 or 100 by thinking the OS differently than for a smartphone. And use the energy to recharge with heat of the skin, solar and moving of the hand. If the autonomy is not the same or better than for a non connected watch, what is the real interest to
  • Apps : minimum of 1000 Apps to have a real added of these connected objects with connection to bank, credit card, insurance, police, hospital …
  • Connectivity : without 3G / 4G direct connection with military encryption is a must do for this type of objects
  • Sensors : measure of health situation is a must do

Of course, Apple iWatch will not be completely a failure. And having 1 million of iWatch sold this year is not so bad. But this is not the revolution that Apple is pushing with its marketing. The connected revolution is not really ongoing with this object ; Apple just not would like to be outside the competition.

And the real revolutionary smartwatch remains to be invented with, this time, a lot of innovations. 

January 27, 2014  

Can iWatch save your life?

iwatch

iWatch does not exist yet, but the wildest rumors are already running on the hypothetical future shows connected to Apple. Latest: Experts in blood tests have been poached by Apple.

That should revive speculation about the watch connected project from Apple. While nothing concrete filter on the mysterious ” iWatch ” a writer who specializes in Cupertino , Mark Gurman says Apple is currently hiring experts blood test .

Why ? To develop a gifted watch, capable of monitoring the health of the wearer . On the website 9to5Mac , the blogger explains that two new recruits have swelled the ranks of Apple , and not just any .

Two important recruits

The first , Nancy Dougherty , worked until last December as a product manager in a start -up called Sano Intelligence, and was responsible for the development of a small jewel of technology, Sano patch capable of controlling the blood of his own continuously . All without needle and painlessly. ” The embedded camera sensors do not hurt , it’s the same feeling that a piece of sandpaper that you rub on the arm ,” détaillait an employee of the company. ” However, they will measure the level of glucose in the blood, to check the proper functioning of the kidneys “.

Second recruit: Ravi Narasimhan , poached by Apple while working at R & D company Vital Connect , which develops portable biosensors department: small wearable devices that can detect a change in the body and allow the data storage . Vital Connect and markets the ” HealthPatch ” that is worn on the chest and transmits its.

See also : http://9to5mac.com/

April 16, 2013  

Innovation at school: combining Robotics With Poetry?

Robot-Poetry

In 2013, French government is trying to find a way to push France to be more innovative. France is considered a moderately innovative country in Europe (see more details with the previous article TOP4 Leaders in Europe). French government is focusing on education aspect: how to infuse the spirit of innovation at school?

Art and Engineering Can Co-Exist

At the beginning, people thought she was nuts. Sue Mellon, working in United States, gifted support coordinator for Springdale Junior and Senior High/Colfax School in the Allegheny Valley School District, thought 7th and 8th graders could develop a deeper understanding of poetry by playing around with robotics.

“Originally, people looked at me like I was crazy,” Mellon said. Now, two years later, Robotics Poetry is a staple of language arts classes at Springdale and a new grant has students preparing to be peer mentors.

Poetry isn’t always easy for students. But with hands-on engagement, they gain new understanding. Take Robert Frost’s “Pasture.” Instead of just reading and discussing the work in a typical classroom setting, students made 21st-century dioramas with robotic tool kits containing sensors, motors, LEDs, and a controller. One student made a blue plastic wrap lake in an old cardboard photocopy-paper box that vibrated, thanks to the motor, and, lit up, thanks to the LED. When the student said the word “water”—students record themselves reading the poems aloud in the audio-editing program Audacity—the LED turned the plastic wrap a deeper shade of blue. When he got to the bit about the “tottering” calf, the motor made the toy calf vibrate.

Critical for Innovation

The move to include art and design in the push to advance science, engineering, and math is not just a “feel-good” move. It’s critical to the future economy and families’ standard of living. Researchers are finding that although children’s IQ scores have been steadily rising, results on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking—a key measure of creativity—have been on the decline since 1990, just as the demand for more creative thinkers is rising. In a 2010 IBM survey, 1,500 CEOs identified creativity as a top leadership competency of the future.

At a professional development event for local superintendents, the participants had all read Daniel Pink’s book, “A Whole New Mind,” and then Pink came in to discuss the importance of creativity. An executive director of state agency that support the Sue Mellon’s school, spoke to the participants about the importance of “right-brain qualities” like empathy and inventiveness. “The message was loud and clear, and that’s when the movement started. Being strong in math and science wasn’t enough. To meet future workforce needs, we had to address the whole-brain needs of our students.”

See more details on original article

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/04/combining-robotics-with-poetry-art-and-engineering-can-co-exist/

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