Google presents its new augmented reality search experiences
21/11/2022Google presents its new augmented reality search experiences From this week, Google users in London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, San Francisco and Tokyo will be able to enjoy the new Live function on their Android and iOS terminals, View Live, an immersive augmented reality (AR) experience that offers to explore the environment that surrounds us from our mobile. With Live View, Google has explained, users will be able to use their mobile phones to discover the shops and other establishments that they have around, from which they we will receive information about their open hours, type of sale, etc. To do this, it is necessary to install the application, which will soon be available in more cities than those included in this first launch, and focus the mobile camera on the buildings and stores that we have in view. Then, the information available for each one will appear. Google has also announced the global launch of a functionality that is currently only operational in Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, which reports on accessibility to shops and other establishments and premises for people with reduced mobility. The accessible places are marked with a wheelchair icon and the users can access to relevant information is displayed, such if that place have adapted bathrooms, if interior mobility in a wheelchair is possible, or if they have accessible parking spaces. The third novelty announced by Google is a new tool for electric vehicle drivers, with real-time information on the nearest charging stations.
[ ... ]
Madrid taxis already accept payment with cryptocurrencies
24/05/2022From this month of May, Madrid taxi users will be able to pay in cryptocurrencies. The possibility of this new means of payment comes after the agreement between the taxi sector and the Woonkly company, which has distributed dataphones to all taxi drivers so that payment with cryptocurrencies can be made. Madrid is the first city in Spain to introduce this means of payment in taxis, which is also contemplated by various municipalities in the United Kingdom and the Scandinavian countries. At the moment, the cryptocurrencies accepted in Madrid taxis are Ethereum, Bitcoin BEP2, Woonkly Power, Binance Coin, Cardano, Avalanche, Binance USD, Polkadot, USD Coin, Tether and Wrapped BN. The technology of the dataphones that are prepared to print the proof of the operation once the payment has been made, belongs to Waynance, a firm from Alicante, whose payment gateway has become the first universal payment system for cryptocurrencies. It allows payments done from any payment platform (POS, e-commerce, etc.), with any cryptocurrency, through any decentralized wallet and, above all, instantly.
[ ... ]
Video calling apps listen when the microphone is off, according to a study
25/04/2022A group of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (United States) has determined that video conferencing applications can continue accessing audio data even if the user has disabled the microphone. To demonstrate this, they have studied the most popular video conferencing applications and have analyzed the behavior of the mute button until they has determined that all the applications that they has tested whether the microphone was open or closed, occasionally collected raw data and delivered it to the servers of their services. In their research they have worked with binary analysis tools to see how the audio was transferred from the application to the audio drivers of the computers and then to the network. They aslo have created, through machine learning models ( 'machine learning'), a classifier of daily activities that, with 82% accuracy, has determined which activities users were doing while their microphones were, theoretically, silenced. In relation to this, the authors of this work recall that beyond muting the microphone, you can turn off the microphone of a device through the settings menu, a safer option to limit access to confidential information and sensitive data. All the conclusions of this study will be known next July in the Privacy Improvement Technologies Symposium.
[ ... ]
5G Automotive Association tests real-time safety notifications for vehicles and pedestrians
08/04/20225G Automotive Association, the organization that brings together technology companies and car manufacturers with the common goal of creating and applying vehicle solutions to make future mobility a reality, have tested a new safety concept for drivers and pedestrians. The innovation is based on real-time safety notifications for vehicles and pedestrians using high-speed 5G mobile technology and multi-access computing, so the car can communicate its position to nearby infrastructure to alert pedestrians and other vehicles, as well as receive emergency notifications from the mobile network. The 5GAA connected car concept uses fixed on-site cameras and sensors to collect detailed data. This information is a plus for what the vehicle can “see” using its on-board systems. With a high-speed 5G mobile connection, the system can quickly make decisions where the data is collected, for example in a pedestrian crossing, to communicate safety risks to oncoming pedestrians and vehicles. The tests have been carried out in Blacksburg, Virginia with a team installed in a Jeep Wrangler 4xe hybrid. Some companies that have participated in the testing are, Intel, Verizon, Stellentins, American Tower, CapGemini, Telus, Harman, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the Virginia Department of Transportation.
[ ... ]