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een Tech
The latest news on the airboard. Top 10 Christmas gifts!
16.12.2015
Issue #2
www.teentech.co.uk
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Contents December 2015
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TeenTech news.
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3d printing. What can we create with a 3D printer?
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We have all the latest tech news for you. Including parental permission for 13-16s to use social media.
Airboards. They have been made illegal on paths and roads in public areas.
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Top 10 Gifts! Find out the best 10 top Christmas gifts this Christmas
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Darwin Researchers have created a robot who can learn to walk, just like a human toddler. Upcoming phones. The year of the iPhone 7: find out other release dates for phones!
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Airboard, page 10
Top 10 gifts, page 8
Editor’s letter D
ark nights are drawing in faster and it is getting colder, so this can only mean that Christmas is rapidly approaching. Here at TeenTech, we have been looking at the latest news about the airboards (also known as hoverboards.) Along with when they became illegal. Some people don’t like the idea of them being seen on the streets, whereas it is a means of transport for some. We have also explored some things
you can do with a 3D printer which might start up your imagination. If you’re not sure on what to get somebody, flick through to the Top 10 Gifts for 2015. As 2016 is approaching, we all want to know which new mobile phones are being released next year. So we’ve got the latest phone updates, rumours and release dates! We’ve explored some new robots and where they will stand among humans, in the
future. Oh, and don’t forget to check out all the latest news, from social media, to the latest scientific and technological news. Rachel Clarke, Editor Twitter: rachelclarke96
More online... Visit www.teentech. co.uk to find out more about the latest gadgets or download the teentech app!
Courtesy of Wikimedia
Courtesy of cssauthor
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TeenTech News Hackers claim they will bring down the PS4 and Xbox online. The new group is threatening to bring down the servers over Christmas. The hack will limit people when trying to download patches or play games online. They caused exactly the same issues as last year. They said: “We are going to shut down Xbox Live and PSN this year at Christmas, and we are
going to keep them down for one week straight.” They are going to shut them down because according to them, “cyber security does not exist.”
3D printed jet-propelled drone scores a new record! deposition modelling’. The drone made its Some parts were made debut at Dubai Airshow at the start “To the best of our using another of November knowledge, this is technique, 2015. It is the largest, fastest laser the largest and most complex sintering, it and fastest 3D-printed UAV ever is a process 3D printed produced,” where drone. It small bits looks nothing Dan Campbell, like your aerospace research of material average engineer at Aurora are heated drone. It has Flight Sciences, said in up so they can fuse a 3 metre a statement. together wingspan and to form an aerodynamic object. This process is design, this gives it a often used to create high futuristic appearance. technical parts in metal. It contains several hollow parts which were produced using a common 3D printing technique, ‘fused Courtesy of Stratasys.
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Teens need a parent’s permission for some social media platforms. night, this involved the New rules require European Commission, teens under 16 to gain European Parliament parents’ consent to use and European Council of Facebook, Snapchat and member states. Instagram. Janice Richardson, European negotiators adviser at have arranged “The internet can the ITU and this new represent a lifeline the Council rule. It will for children to of Europe, be illegal for and a former any company, get the help they need when they coordinator including are suffering from of European Google, Safer Internet Snapchat and abuse, living with relatives who are network, Facebook addicted to drugs or warned the to process a alcohol, or seeking amendment teenager’s will make it data without confidential LGBT support services, to much harder the consent name a few.” for teens of a legal to access guardian. help, and, besides, will It was agreed by probably just lead to European negotiators them lying about their at the so-called age. negotians on Tuesday
Faeebook.com
Instagram.com
Snapchat.com
Which jobs will robots steal first?
Robots are expected to steal a taxi driver’s job or a career that involves sitting at a desk first. Boston Consulting Group predicts that by 2025, up to a quarter of jobs will be replaced by either smart software or robots, while a study from Oxford University has suggested that 35% of existing UK jobs are at risk of automation in the next 20 years. Workers who do repeititive jobs, such as writing reports or creating spreadsheets can be easily placed with the right software. Visit out Facebook page or tweet us on your view of human-robot relationships.
3D
Printing
Courtesy of Wikimedia
What can we print using a 3D printer? 1. Unborn babies.
This is an extension to the 4D ultrasound images in the womb. eight-inch “custom lifesize baby” models are available for $800.
2. Chocolate and other foods. The printer uses sugar and cocoa butter rather than plastics to create various sweet treats.
What exactly is a 3d product? It is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file.
3. Mobile phone cases. This is a great idea if you would like to make a profit from buying a 3D printer. You can be as creative as you want.
Courtesy of shapeways
MX3D, a robotic arm is 3D printing a steel bridge in Amsterdam. Wait, how does this work? The bots move along a track, printing a section and then rolling along the track over the new section to print the next section. Most 3D printers can only create materials in three directions (forward, backward, left to right and up and down), whereas the bots can print in all directions. They turn their torches sideways to print in any directions, and at a large scale. Another fantastic thing about the MX3D is that it prints outside the box, in the open. Other printers are limited to a box. Because Amsterdams streets are busy with pedestrians, it is being made in a giant warehouse in the Northern part of the city.
The bots will get the job done between 10 and 1,000 times faster than traditional metal welders. This doesn’t mean that robots will take over the industry but they can certainly do the dangerous and dirty parts of the job. Or at least the things humans can’t or shouldn’t be doing.
It is possible to see these robots build bridges for cars or trains in the future, or could be used inspace to fix broken satellites. Although, for now, you will only see them in action at the company’s visitors center, which is open to the public every Friday between noon and 4pm. Courtesy of mx3d
And why?
Traditional welding can also be used for bridge-building, but it has its cons. It is a much slower process than what the bots can achieve.
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Why shouldn’t the T
he Crown Prosecution Service announced that the use of electric self-balancing boards are illegal to use on pavements. Electric selfbalancing boards are eco-friendly and personal travel devices. Although to hit the maximum speed (up to 10pmh), a flat and even surface is required. On the 11th October 2015 CPS announced that the use of electric self-balancing boards and unicycles are illegal to use on pavements. Airwheel Ltd who are the distributors of the Airwheels and Airboards have said: “We have had disabled users talking to us about how life changing the AirWheel products have been in allowing them to travel in a way they never previously thought possible. We have countless business commuters aged 21-45 years old that rely on their AirWheel to get to and from work every day, avoiding the necessity of cars and motor bikes. All are respectful AirWheel users that benefit the environment and society through their use.” We even have physiotherapists that use the AirBoards, stating their benefits including and not limited to ankle rehabilitation and strengthening”.
What can we do to make them legal?
It isn’t just a question of allowing people to have some fun. It depends on if the UK wants to be in an ever expanding technological world. If we limit the public use of innovation, we limit our progress in innovation. This is evident in the lack of UK inventions, we only contribute 0.3% of the world’s inventions at the moment. By limiting their use, it would mean harming small businesses and the people who have already spent hundreds of pounds in them. They offer a level of exercise through the control of the device and offers as a fun, safe, cost efficient and eco-friendly option to travel. They have been encouraging younger and older generations for improving posture. 6
airboard be illegal?
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We have countless business commuters aged 21-45 years old that rely on their AirWheel to get to and from work every day, avoiding the necessity of cars and motor bikes.
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top gifts this Christmas! Courtesy of Apple Inc.
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Courtesy of Sphero website
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Courtesy of Microsoft
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6s 1 iPhone The iPhone has a 4.7”
Polaroid Cube GoPro Hero 4 4 The GoPro is a perfect gift 7 The cube is a very
4 2 Playstation Simple and logical
round 5 Pebble Smart Watch
display with 3d touch, this allows pictures to become live.It has a 12MP camera and 4K video recording. (3840x2160) at 30 fps 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps or 60 fps The phone is available in three different storage sizes; 16GB, 64GB, 128GB. Starting at £640.
if somebody loves recording in a creative way. The Hero 4 gives you 4K resolution and does 1080p at 120fps or 720P at 240fps. It is also capable of doing time lapses at a variety of seconds. It comes with the waterproof case so you’re all ready to explore! The battery is rated at 1160mAH. £340
interface. It is easy to capture and broadcast gameplay onine. The disc drive is also a blu-ray player. Some of the games available: Bloodyborne, Uncharted, Infamous, LittleBigPlanet 3 and Until Dawn. £299.99 (Bundle with some games) at Game.
This smart watch is 7.5 mm thin. It will show your events, texts, app alerts, incoming call, fitness and sleep tracking. It has up to two days battery life. A full charge takes 15 minutes to reach. There are ten style combinations, with 14mm and 20mm straps in different materials, to choose from. Starting from £220.00
Pro 4 3 Surface Microsoft have gone
BB-8 6 Sphero The sphero is a great
lighter than ever at 786g, with a 12.3inch PixelSense display (high contrast and low glare.) Laptop and tablet, with the multi-position kickstand and keyboard. Jot down notes and ideas with the Surface Pen. 5MP front-facing camera and 8MP autofocus rear-facing camera. Starting at £749.99.
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little toy, from Star Wars. It is blue-tooth enabled, this allows control from your mobile phone with an app. Or you he will listen and respond to your voice and commands. It is capable of inductive charging. It has 30m range from your mobile. Along with a 60 minute battery life. £30.00
compact camera. 124degrees wide-angle lens and a splash-resistant shockproof mountable, and built to handle almost anything. 1080p HD video. The built-in battery records up to 90 minutes. The MicroSD Supports up to 32gb. It also has a magnet at the bottom to stick with you. £140.00
8 Meccanoid Available in two sizes.
G15KS (122cm tall). A total of 1188 parts including servos, gearbox assemblies and a Meccabrain to create any type of robot. The other mode is G15 (61cm tall). It is able to respond to more than 30 pre-programmed voice commands and unlimited user-recorded voice comamnds. It says 1000+ preprogrammed phrases. There are more high interactive features, such as dance, kung fu, exercise and high five. It can be programmed using LIM (Learned Intelligent Movement), Ragdoll Avatar or Motion Capture. *smart device required. There is also 12 different modes of interactivity and autonomous personality that is affected by enviromental factors. G15KS 349.99, G15 £169.99
Cruiser 9 CROSLEY Turntable Vinyl Records are sowly coming back and becoming more popular in the younger generation so this may be an ideal gift for you. It has three speeds; 33, 45 and 78 RPM. It has built in stereo speakers and comes in a brief case with a handle. £79.99
10 Samsung Gear VR
Samsung’s all-round and consumer friendly headset, currently on the market. It’s only compatible with Samsung Galaxy smartphones, which is the processor and display. The phone slots into the front of the lenses. Starting from £200.00
Courtesy of Maurizio Pesce
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Height: 454.5 mm Weight: 2.9 kg
Robot called Darwin learns to walk like a toddler.
D
arwin is teaching himself to walk like any other toddler. Darwin, which stands for Dynamic Anthropomorphic Robot with Intelligence– Open Platform. He tries then falls down again. Although it isn’t all Darwin’s work, it is a neutral network which is designed to copy the human brain. Pieter Abbeel and his team at UC Berkeley’s Robot Learning Lab believe that this will be one of the biggest leaps for robotics. It allows the bots to adapt to new situations, rather than having to respond to narrow programming. The neutral network allows Darwin to be programmed so he doesn’t have to perform any specific functions, for example, walking or climbing stairs. The team uses a function called ‘reinforcement learning’, this helps him to adapt to situations as a human toddler would. Just like a child’s brain, the reinforcement technology uses the trial-and-error process. Unfortunately robots can’t adapt when they try to walk on a slope, but they are pretty good at walking on flat ground. The robots adapt by a development where the technology doesn’t address specific behaviours. Levine researcher said that we are basically not telling the robot anything about doing the task. It is kind of like the difference between a circuit built for one specific job, and a general-purpose computer. “Imagine learning a new skill, like how to ride a bike, You’re going to fall a lot, but then, after some practice, you figure it out.” said John Schulman, a Ph.D. candidate
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in computer science at UC Berkeley in Abbeel’s group. UC Berkeley hopes to move closer to a world where robots are autonomous. In the future we may see robots being able to provide care for the elderly, conduct rescue efforts, clean up in disaster areas or deliver mail. Darwin’s main purpose is for research and programmer within the areas of humanoid, artificial intelligence gaitalgorithm, vision,[3] inverse kinematics, linguistics.
(Above and below) Courtesy of trossenrobotics
Researcher teaches giant robot to sit, stay and beg. Madeline Gannon is devoting her career to improving robot-human relationships. It is becoming more noticeable that the tensions are high, with human jobs at risk. Gannon has given the robot eyes so it could actually see her and collaborate in a shared space. The project is called ‘Quipt’. The robot looks for motion capture markers that the person interacting with must hold or wear. They move together, with the robot responding to Gannon’s every motion. It looks like somebody is playing fetch with a very tame terrifying pet monster. Gannon said: “The robot and I definitely had a strong bond by the end of the five-week project,” writes Gannon. “With it fluidly moving and responding to my body language, it was hard to not relate to her as a living thing. At the same time you always have in the back of your head that this is a powerful, dangerous machine. And although I trust the quality of software I developed for interacting with it, you can’t help but feel more like a lion tamer than a roboticist when you step into the same space.”
Upcoming phones in 2016 Samsung Galaxy S7
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge+
Storage will be available in multiples of 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 124GB, with RAM expected to stay at 3GB.
Storage will be available in multiples of 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 124GB, with RAM expected to stay at 3GB.
Release Date: February.
Sony Xperia Z6
Release Date: February
Release Date: August/September
Huawei P9 Release date: April
A 4K UltraHD screen. Expect to see new camera features. Waterproof feature. fingerprint sensor and a bigger battery.
LG G5 Release Date: March
Expect a full 4K screen in the LG G5, backed up with a few quirky design tweaks, and a leather back of the G4. Release Date: March
a fast processor (either a Snapdragon 810 or the newer 820), 2-3GB of RAM, two large front-facing speakers and a metallic frame.
Samsung Galaxy Note 6
Apple iPhone 7
Release Date: September
Completely waterproof Possible OLED display
HTC One M10
Release Date: August/September
Huawei is working on its own Kirin 950 processor, which could be faster than Samsung’s Exynos 7420, this would make it one of the fastest processors to date. It is exptected to have two front-facing cameras, a rear facing finger print sensor, along with 4GB RAM.
Apple iPhone 7 Plus Release Date: September
Nexus 6 (2016) Release Date: October
(Above) Courtesy of pcadvisor.co.uk (Current img) Courtesy of Wikipedia
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