Never a dull moment. Technology never stops evolving, thanks to dedicated innovators from all over the world. Now, here’s something that could make Nikola Tesla’s dream a reality: Wi-Fi powered electronics. In this era, we’re surrounded by Wi-Fi almost everywhere we go  – local area networking technology allows electronic devices to connect to the network. However, some raised the question: are we using this technology to its full potential? Every time I think of Wi-Fi, my subconscious shares a second with Nikola Tesla, the man who was keen on making wires redundant. Researchers at the University of Washington wish to fulfill Tesla’s dream with PoWiFi. The engineers released a new type of technology that uses a Wi-Fi router—a source of ubiquitous, but untapped energy in indoor environments—to power devices. This new system, dubbed Power Over Wi-Fi (PoWiFi), is one of the most innovative technologies of the year—Popular Science included it in the annual “Best of What’s New” awards. The researchers recently published a paper that shows how they managed to harvest energy from Wi-Fi signals and then to power a simple temperature sensor, a low-resolution grayscale camera, and a charger for a Jawbone activity tracking bracelet. The final paper will be presented next month at the Association for Computing Machinery’s CoNEXT 2015 conference in Germany, on emerging networking experiments and technologies. “For the first time we’ve shown that you can use Wi-Fi devices to power the sensors in cameras and other devices,” said lead author Vamsi Talla, a UW electrical engineering doctoral student. “We also made a system that can co-exist as a Wi-Fi router and a power source—it doesn’t degrade the quality of your Wi-Fi signals while it’s powering devices.” What this means is that electricity flows wirelessly through the air, but don’t...

Every two years, Tokyo hosts its own Motor Show. This year’s gathering was filled with fun and futuristic designs. Some have Wi-Fi capability, others are developed to drive autonomously, and some concepts come with augmented reality technology. Cars are not what they used to be. This is the case for the Mitsubishi eX concept car, a pure electric SUV with an intriguing design the company claims has a range of 248 miles (400km) on a single charge. The Japanese carmaker mounted underneath the body a battery pack they called “high performance” and “high-capacity.” The battery feeds power to two electric motors, which comprise the concept’s Twin Motor AWD (all-wheel drive). Moreover, it has semi-autonomous functions including an self-parking feature and highway driving assistant. Yet, probably the most attractive feature is the windshield that turns into a display. You’d think such an addition might seem a distraction, but actually it’s quite the opposite. Augmented reality can add web-surfing information and entertainment value to a car, but it can also improve safety. The augmented reality windshield has the special mission to keep the driver’s eyes glued on the road ahead displaying information normally shown on the screen mounted on the dash into the driver’s forward field of vision. Furthermore, a car capable of sensing its surroundings could alert the driver via the windshield about the unseen pedestrian in a blind spot, it could warn of potential collisions with other vehicles, direct lane changes and even illuminate objects in the dark by outlining them on the windshield. The AR windshield is fitted with the Caution Tracking feature which employs driver assistance technology and includes navigation route guidance, vehicle-to-vehicle distance alerts, lane departure warning, and traffic sign alerts to display guidance and warnings on information outside the driver’s...

Expandable furniture helps micro-apartment inhabitants make the most out of limited square footage with the push of a button. Trundle beds and convertible couches may define making the most of a small living space, but what’s been lacking is automation and modernization. Enter Ori, robotic furniture that appears, and disappears, with the push of a button. Modular Momentum The brainchild of Hasier Larrea, Ori furniture takes the guesswork out of transformation, seamlessly morphing floor units and wall installations into beds and pop-out closets. Ori offers a full-scale bedroom with a retractable bed that can be changed into an office or a closet, along with a full media console/credenza. Other versions include a walk-in closet, couch and various flavors of storage space. All the systems can be integrated into new and existing floorplans, which allows the Ori system to fit comfortably into any new building development or retrofit. During her tenure as the leader of the Architectural Robotics research area at the MIT Media Lab, Larrea married her robotics tech with Yves Behar design. The final product involves modular, transformable furniture Larrea and her team hope will debut early next year. “Larson’s team at the Media Lab developed the technologies behind Ori as part of the CityHome research,” Larrea told Mashable in a recent interview. “Then we created some initial functional prototypes … and went to [designer] Yves Béhar to help us ‘transform’ this initial concept from a robot/machine to a customizable system that people would love to have in their homes.” Space on Demand Ori’s first piece available for purchase includes a trundle style bed that rolls out from the bottom of a large wall of shelves. Specially designed actuators, electronics and software created by researchers at MITs CityHome project allows Ori’s furniture  to almost...

A new species is evolving—the humanoid robot. The family of human-like robots adds a new sibling with Chinese Ubtech Robotics’ crowdfunding campaign for Alpha 2—its newest humanoid companion-bot. The little fellow is “designed for practical household service and companionship,” because Ubtech felt that the need for human-like, responsive technology is growing. Alpha 2 is the brainchild of James Chow, Ubtech’s CEO. Made from aluminum alloy, PC + ABS housing, this small domestic drone is designed on the same premise as today’s smartphones — a responsive, intuitive and attractive platform on which to develop intelligent and useful functionality. Indeed, the Alpha 2 is fully programmable, operates on an open-source OS, and offers some impressive sensory inputs, including ultrasonic, touch, and pressure sensors. The robot companion may be small, but he is pretty smart. His brain is connected to the cloud, which allows it to leverage more visual and audio processing power than what could be physically implanted in a plastic skull. Alpha 2 can perform a series of activities (so far). It can manage weekly calendars and provide verbal reminders for scheduled tasks; his conversation skills make of him a tutor or interpreter, and he can also follow verbal instructions. Of course, he can take high quality photos (8 million-pixel camera with auto-focus and built-in powerful visual computing systems and smart technologies) and can also post them on social media. Alpha 2 can perform home security monitoring and alerts, entertain your children, guests, and even pets. We couldn’t really grasp exactly how the robot can entertain pets, hopefully it doesn’t involve letting the cat push it off the table. The 17-inch tall alloy family companion is equipped with 2GB of RAM memory, 16GB of storage, and a Samsung Exynos 5260 six-core processor. The five-pound robot...

Many of us purchased (or were gifted) new smartphones. Many with new smartphones have the new iPhone 6S or iPhone 6S Plus. Like the iPhone 6, the newer version can be a little slippery – it’s rather thin and without sharp edges. Now it’s time to find suitable protection for it, as no one wants to experience that uh-oh moment when your iPhone slips out of your hand and goes falling to the hard floor. Smart Battery Case Apple Silk Innovation PureView Case with Customizable-Backpanel Pong Sleek Case Leather Wallet Case Incipio Feather Shine Incipio Edge Chrome Casetify Acme Charge Case Alto Case Radius v2 Tech Armor Active Series We’ve made a list of the top choices. Any favorites that are left off? Incipio Feather Shine is a sophisticated case made of rigid ABS polycarbonate frame with a premium brushed aluminum style finish. It protects the device against dents and scratches while looking dashing. It’s available in six colors on Incipio’s website. Incipio Edge Chrome mixes durable protection with fashionable flair. Its frame is made of Plextonium™ polycarbonate that covers all edges. Moreover, the case is comprised of two-piece sliding design for docking and device removal. Silk Innovation PureView Case is an ultra slim protective case against drops, dings, and scratches. It combines a sleek, shock-absorbent rubber bumper with a crystal clear polycarbonate back shell. Users can personalize it through customizable inserts that fit behind the clear back shell. Casetify also allows its customers to turn their photos into a case, besides the designer collection. Radius v2 looks like a stripped down bumper with snap-on convenience that protects the corners and rear of the iPhone, the areas most susceptible to damage when dropped. This minimal design makes Radius v2 extremely light. Color options include...

Bing is far from being one of the popular kids on the internet playground. But here’s some good news: Bing has updated Bing Maps with the option to view 35,000 live traffic cameras in 11 unnamed countries including the US and Spain. Pretty cool, no? This looks like a helpful tool in checking major roads for congestion before hitting the road. Moreover, the feature ties into the Clearflow traffic prediction algorithm which was launched in mid-November. The move points to Bing Maps planning on becoming a strong competitor to Google Maps; Microsoft’s traffic service is well aware of the fact that it needs to offer what the competition doesn’t have if it wants to lure Google loyalists. However, Microsoft doesn’t want to force-feed the new service, thus those who are not interested in the camera feeds can toggle the feature off—this will hide the camera icons on the maps. To access the traffic camera feature, users need to first download the Bing Maps app and then with a simple tap of the Traffic button (at the top of the app) they can study the traffic levels. Viewing multiple cameras at the same time is also possible, causing the screen to divide into smaller windows. The user has the ability to configure a specific route, too. This way, the app will help peruse through the cameras that are on the path. Bing Maps separates traffic levels in four color-coded categories: green for no traffic, yellow for light traffic, orange for moderate traffic, and red for heavy traffic. Having access to this piece of information from the traffic cameras will make each and every driver plan a better, quicker route to their destination. Furthermore, users can compare traffic cameras in the area by going to the...

Moving to Yardi’s cloud-based Voyager 7S platform was a big leap for Wilson Blanchard Management Inc., a Canadian condominium overseer. With responsibility for nearly 37,000 units in the Toronto and Golden Horseshoe area and offices in Toronto, Hamilton and Cambridge, the company is one of the largest and most respected condominium management firms in Canada. The company’s transition to the 7S platform was a big deal because not only were they moving away from a self-hosted software solution, but they jumped from a much earlier version of Voyager, Voyager 5, to the vastly improved and more intuitive 7S. “That was a big challenge, both from our standpoint and I think from Yardi’s standpoint also,” said Jeff Lack, manager of financial reporting for Wilson Blanchard. But moving to the cloud turned out to be one of the best technology decisions that Wilson Blanchard had ever made since the company began 20 years ago. Not only did it produce nearly immediate cost savings, but it saved time, enhanced productivity, and generated peace of mind. “The cost of being self-hosted, both the cost from a hardware standpoint and a maintenance standpoint, just wasn’t worth it anymore. It didn’t make sense to continue putting out that amount of money for servers, maintenance, software upgrades, and server upgrades,” Lack said. Transferring the responsibility for those items to Yardi created a streamlined system for troubleshooting and eliminated miscommunication between software provider, client and a third party IT provider. But there haven’t been many issues to troubleshoot, Lack relayed. “We really haven’t had any cloud specific issues, at all. There has been no downtime, no data issues,” Lack said. Among the efficiencies generated by Voyager 7S that Wilson Blanchard has appreciated are fast report generation using SSRS reporting. “It’s almost instant....

China’s OnePlus has been enjoying the spotlight since the OnePlus One smartphone debuted more than a year ago. The handset surprised and impressed with its hard-to-refuse price point: a top-end phone is rarely under $300. A year later, OnePlus did it again with its follow-up OnePlus 2, improving the technology, but keeping the price relatively low. Now comes version No. 3. OnePlus X is a completely different species—it’s OnePlus’ first truly mid-range smartphone that feels like it should be $500, but costs only $249. “The X line will always be the line where we can experiment a bit more.” The X line trades a bit of power, battery life and even screen size for a design that feels comfortable and looks premium. OnePlus X will be available in two versions: Onyx and Ceramic. The latter is the premium model of the two, made using a laborious crafting process that takes 25 days. It all begins with a zirconia mold fire-baked up to 1,482oC for more than 28 hours. The next two days it is left to cool and then sent through a rigorous polishing process. OnePlus is making only 10,000 of them starting at about $414, and only for European customers. The device resembles the famous boxy design of the iPhone 4 with some modern traits. At 0.27 inches it’s the thinnest OnePlus handset so far and the 5-inch display sits comfortably in the palm of the hand. The device has micro cuts in the metal frame that runs around its circumference, adding to the grip. This time, OnePlus uses a 5-inch AMOLED display with 1080 x 1920 resolution with 441ppi, instead of an LCD one. On paper, this suggests that the device will display deeper blacks and more vibrant colors. A bit of...

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” -Confucius Geekitecture – a new term I’ve just invented to describe the development of office space by new technology titans – is becoming a real trend. Apple, Facebook, Google, and Amazon are showing off innovative architectural plans for their impressive new headquarters’. These projects may look drastically different, but they have major commonalities, namely that they are focused on innovation, sustainability, collaboration, and beauty. By capturing the attention of the general public, these technology innovators are showing that they can transfer their design and development skills to physical plant as well as virtual products. Let’s take a look at a few of the projects planned. Apple is building a jaw-dropping 2.8 billion square feet spaceship-like corporate campus on approximately 176 acres, property that was previously owned by HP. Apple Campus 2 will be four stories high, encompassing a mix of office, research and development space and open land. It’s planned to accommodate up to 14,200 employees who will unfold their activity in a unified, secure and private campus which connects with outdoor opportunities for recreation, relaxation and reflection. The top priority for Apple’s project is the environment. The company is committed to power the campus with renewable energy, provided by fuel cells and approximately 8 megawatts of photovoltaics. This solar installation will be one of the largest in the world for a corporate campus. Some of the campus’ amenities are a striking restaurant, a Corporate Fitness Center of approximately 100,000 square feet, and a 1,000-seat Corporate Auditorium of around 120,000 square feet. The project replaces existing asphalt and hardscape with over 100 acres of landscaped green space. The professionals behind it are London architects Foster + Partners,...

If you haven’t prioritized the energy efficiency of your commercial properties, you’ve already fallen behind the curve. Corporate mandates requiring the lease of green buildings have nearly tripled. Prospects are willing—and now able—to pay a premium for energy efficient spaces. The Institute of Building Efficiency issued a survey to 687 VPs, facilities managers, owners and C-level personnel across the nation. Their buildings range from under 50,000 square feet to beyond 500,000 square feet. The results of the report revealed that energy efficiency has become a top priority and growing investment for building owners. When asked about their views on energy efficiency, 46 percent of survey respondents said they paid “a lot more” attention to energy efficiency in the previous 12 months than they had in prior years. Of the executives surveyed, 68 percent plan on increasing their investments in efficiency and renewables. In the past, third-party rebates and incentives furnished the bulk of financing for commercial efficiency upgrades. Yet with such resources dwindling, owners are earmarking monies within their own budgets. Financing called “energy- or climate-specific set-asides within the capital budget” nearly doubled last year to 30 percent from 17 percent in 2012. Meanwhile, energy service agreements increased to 32 percent from 21 percent in 2012/2013. The benefits of energy efficiency have proven their worth. Executives, managers, and tenants choose energy efficient buildings over conventional buildings. This year, 36 percent of respondents expressed that they would be willing to pay top dollar for an efficient space. This is more than double the 15 percent of participants who reported that they would pay a premium in 2013. Many are willing to pay the premium because efficient spaces are a mounting requirement by leadership. 10 percent of respondents reported that corporate policy mandates the lease of...

Google’s handset family welcomed a sibling that’s first of its kind: first one made of metal, first one made by Huawei, and the first one to include fingerprint reader and Android 6.0 known as Marshmallow. Nexus 6P is the new 5.7-inch device compatible with all major carriers, besides Google’s own unique Google-Fi wireless service that allows the user to transition between carriers without swapping hardware. The “P” in the name stands for Premium—due to its metal unibody design that’s placing it in direct competition with the aluminum iPhone 6S Plus and glass-and-metal infused Samsung Galaxy Note 5. It’s relieving to see how Huawei built the 6P to look and feel different than any other Google-commissioned phone—ditching the cheap plastic in the Nexus 5X (built by LG) for the metal design. At 5.27 x 3.06 x 0.28 inches, the device is slightly taller than Nexus 6, but notably narrower and thinner. Furthermore, even though Huawei raised the bar on the phone’s specs, Nexus 6P weighs only 6.27 ounces; the way they’ve fit everything in though is another story—the 12.3MP camera creates an unsightly-looking rear bulge with a black strip where the lens, flash, and an array of antennae are positioned; luckily this seems to be the only eyesore aspect of the device. On the bottom of the phone sits a reversible USB-C port, replacing the micro USB in favor of faster charging. A 3.5mm headphone jack sits at the top and the stereo speakers are now placed to the front. Nexus 6P has an AMOLED display with 2,560 x 1,440 resolution at 518ppi, looking brighter and more colorful than the previous Nexus 6, but also extremely saturated. On the exterior, Nexus 6P comes in the traditional white, silver and black. The 12MP camera shoots sharp,...

Have you ever imagined a smartphone shaped differently than… a smartphone? I never thought I would appreciate a phone that rids of the ever-growing rectangular shape. But I do! In fact, it’s almost impossible to watch the video below and not wish to have a bipedal robot phone yourself. Sharp Corp. of Osaka, known as a brand-name for announced at the recent Ceatec technology show on the outskirts of Tokyo it would introduce a new mobile communication device in 2016 that is a tiny android robot—an android smartphone, literally. Its name is RoBoHoN and it was designed by renowned robot creator Tomotaka Takahashi. RoBoHoN is an adorable eight-inch-high robot with a 2-inch screen on the back, a camera and projector built into its face, and articulated animated arms and legs. It talks, walks, dances, and connects to LTE. Moreover, it’s capable of identifying people by their face or voice and will communicate verbally with its owner—it understands voice commands, will announce when there is a new message, and will also tell them to smile for the camera—a cute replacement for the selfie stick. There’s more to the little fellow than just that cute face. The device runs on a version of the Android mobile system (probably Lollipop), although it is not decided if it will use it going further or another operating system. It weighs a little under a pound and is small enough to be carried in chest pockets. According to the company’s statement, because of its form and the ability to naturally communicate with its owner, users should be able to feel a special bond with the device. Its main board is kitted out with 3G, LTE and Wi-Fi radios. Its core is made of a quad-core Qualcomm MSM 8926 clocked at...

On October 6 Microsoft took its fall hardware collection to New York, raising many eyebrows with its first laptop ever—the Surface Book. The long-awaited device (so long, that many believed it would never happen) bears the genes of the Surface family with its 2-in-1 mobile experience. Yet, it adds something the previous models lack: a stiff hinge. The Surface Book is still a tablet with a separate keyboard, but there’s no kickstand. The Dynamic Fulcrum hinge (which resembles a tiny metal gauntlet) holds the screen up and allows positioning it at any angle. The screen is firmly anchored into the keyboard/battery base; it can be ejected either through the physical eject button or through the one included in the software. The result is an incredibly thin but generous 13.5-inch, 3000×2000 screen, a standalone tablet. And this is not all—the screen can be reattached backwards to the laptop base, allowing to fold the tablet over the keyboard. It is what Microsoft calls the “drawing mode”. The look of the Surface Book will be divisive: the dynamic fulcrum hinge doesn’t completely close, the screen isn’t flush against the keyboard—look from the side and there is a gap. This might be unpleasant for some, despite the rest of the polished features. By far, this is the most beautiful Windows laptop ever made; it feels solid, well-engineered and designed, even though some might make a wry face when seeing its unadorned, almost industrial look. Microsoft’s newest star has an angular silver magnesium casing adorned with just two physical buttons—for volume and power. It measures 12.30” x 9.14” x 0.51 – 0.90” and weighs 3.34 pounds, including the keyboard. The screen sports 6 million pixels, 267 per inch, surpassing MacBook Pro’s 227ppi and making colors pop. The Surface Book...

The price for photovoltaic cells is plunging, in the last six years it has fallen by at least 50 percent. According to a Gallup poll, 79 percent of Americans expressed the interest for the U.S. to develop more solar power. The product is already growing, accounting for 36 percent of all new electric capacity through the first nine months of 2014, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Although on an upward swing, solar power has yet a lot of catching up to do. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that the United States generated approximately 4,093 billion kWh of electricity in 2014. The most part of the electricity (two-thirds) came from fossil fuels (mainly coal and natural gas), and one-fifth from nuclear. Solar accounted for only 0.4 percent. The reasons are various: the roof is facing the wrong way or needs replacing, there is too much shading from mature trees or other buildings, the renter status which doesn’t give them the right to make such a decision, simply lacking those 10 or 15 grand to pay for installation, or the not-so-good credit that cuts any possibility of financing or long-term purchase agreement. The future looks different. A new sharing platform dubbed Yeloha focuses on a new approach, which combines the power of social networks and the attractiveness of the sharing economy, aiming to offer solar power regardless of location of income level. What’s the plan? Yeloha has two types of customers—sun hosts and sun partners. The sun hosts are represented by the people living under eligible sunny roofs, but can’t afford the costs for the panels. In their case, Yeloha will install its own panels at no cost and give them a portion (typically one-third) of the electricity they produce, for free. In...

The holidays are coming… and with them comes a huge increase in resident packages! Are you ready? If that thought made you shudder a little bit, you’re not alone. Apartment communities and high-rise buildings see a dramatic influx of deliveries during the months of November and December. The question of how to deal with them in a way that will make both residents and staff happy is on every property manager’s mind right about now. First, we’ll take a look at some shipping stats so you can see exactly what communities just like yours are up against. Then we’ll identify challenges that every property faces. Finally, we’ll show you how simple technology solutions can help you handle shipments more efficiently. Because even Santa could use a hand during this time of year! The Stats Did you know that the typical apartment community can receive as many as 100 packages in a week—and that number can DOUBLE during the holidays? Last year, the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) took a closer look at package delivery by the numbers. Take a look at their wonderful infographic below to see stats at a glance. We can only imagine that the numbers will be even bigger this year! The Challenges “When you receive 200 or 300 packages a week, it puts tremendous pressure on the staff to manage the influx of deliveries. And with 90 percent of retail sales still taking place in brick and mortar buildings, we’re only at the tip of the iceberg in terms of e-commerce,” said Rick Haughey, NMHC Vice President of Industry Technology Initiatives. The challenges that most community managers face regarding parcel deliveries really come down to three things: storage, manpower and resident notifications. Package storage: Where will you store packages after...

The 3D printing technology continues its adventure, conquering industry after industry. Among the latest highly debated upon is the construction industry and the upgrades 3D printing brings to it. It’s no surprise as construction is a $1 trillion industry in the United States ($8.5 trillion worldwide) and accounts for 8-10% of the U.S. GDP. Startup Branch Technology of Chattanooga, Tennessee, led by visionary Platt Boyd, came up with a new approach inspired by nature. The company announced at GIGTANK, a boutique accelerator for startups developing high-bandwidth business applications, that it is the first company to successfully construct building walls at scale using the world’s largest freeform 3D printer; they are the winners of the Investor’s Choice Award. Branch’s mission is to simplify the work of architects by giving them more freedom to incorporate new geometries into their designs, inspired by nature. Like bones in our body or trees in the forest, optimized geometries are made strong and functional by the material filing the matrix. After that, the interior and exterior skins can be finished in any way. To achieve that, Cellular Fabrication™ (C-Fab™) was designed as Branch’s patented freeform 3D printing process. It turns the question “how much can we build?” into “how little can we build?” Freeform printing in open space is freed of the slow, layer-by-layer build process of traditional 3D printing. They’ve came up with an algorithm which creates both the geometry and robotic motion to construct complex geometries in open space, saving on the use of support materials and on highly controlled build environments. The technology uses a 12-and-a-half-foot Kuka robotic arm which travels on a 33-foot rail to build a simple lightweight scaffolding made out of ABS plastic reinforced with carbon fiber. Then, using the same tools that contractors...

Renters of all ages have rising expectations for technology features in their rentals. While splurging on gadgets would certainly catch your prospects’ attention, that approach isn’t the most budget-friendly. You’ll want features that offer the biggest bang for your buck! We’ve evaluated a few tech toys that combine resident appeal, utility, and longevity. USB Compatible Outlets These little guys allow residents to charge phones, tablets, and other mobile devices without displacing lamps and small appliances. Installing USB compatible outlets can offer significant savings for older properties, which often lack the quantity of outlets available in newer properties. Residents will need fewer extension cords and power strips, which reduces the risk of hazardous overloads and costly fires. USB outlets are affordably priced and can be installed in less than ten minutes. With so many USB-reliant devices, they are unlikely to become outdated soon, making them a terrific investment. Home Automation Home automation wins over the hearts of many: tech gurus love controlling their homes from their tablets; those who love to save savor the $180 savings per year thanks to a remotely programmable thermostat; tenants who enjoy convenience appreciate starting the coffee maker from bed or turning off the iron once they’ve left the house; renters who are concerned with safety rely on Bluetooth-controlled locks that regulate access to their home using customizable codes. Most renters can find something to appreciate about home automation, which gives your property a competitive edge over properties without it. The downside is that home automation technology can be costly to install and maintain. Depending on the features, home automation systems can cost upwards of $1,000 per unit. More advanced systems also require additional labor and time costs; there is very little research to depict the ROI in multifamily installations...