Global tech major Accenture today said it has developed artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR)-based applications to aid the microlending sector. Those include a multi-lingual chatbot which will help potential borrowers ‘read’ contents of a brochure before availing a loan, the company said in a statement. The borrower can hold the smartphone over the […]
Neuromarketing is the application of neuroscience to marketing. Neuromarketing includes the direct use of brain imaging, scanning, or other brain activity measurement technology to measure a subject’s response to specific products, packaging, advertising, or other marketing elements. In some cases, the brain responses measured by these techniques may not be consciously perceived by the subject; […]
The adoption of blockchain by India’s banks could help avert frauds such as the one at Punjab National Bank as the disaggregated and transparent nature of the technology, which updates information across all users simultaneously, would have ensured that various officials would have instantly been alerted to the creation of the letters of undertaking (LoUs), […]
The French neuroscientist was watching a macaque monkey as it hunched aggressively at one end of a treadmill. His team had used a blade to slice halfway through the animal’s spinal cord, paralyzing its right leg. Now Courtine wanted to prove he could get the monkey walking again. To do it, he and colleagues had […]
Scientists have used an artificial intelligence (AI) system to design a device that may ultimately improve dialysis for patients by optimising blood flow in veins. Researchers, including those from Imperial College London in the UK, used computer modelling techniques – normally employed to simulate how unsteady air pockets flow over a plane – to model […]
Rainfall can be a tricky thing to measure. The amount of rain falling in a given area can change from minute to minute and might be completely different from the amount falling only a few miles away. Many wealthy countries spend large sums of money to build rain gauges over populated areas, and track cloud cover using ground-based radar. But in more rural areas, or in less wealthy countries, those options can be limited or non-existent.Currently, without rain gauges or radar there many communities don’t have any way to accurately measure rainfall. This can be a serious problem in regions where flooding, monsoons, or landslides are common. To solve this problem, some researchers are suggesting a new means of detecting rainfall using devices that are already found in every corner of the world: cell towers.Cell towers made an ideal choice for a few reasons. They’re everywhere, even in relatively impoverished countries that would never be able to afford expensive rainfall-detecting equipment. And they’re pretty much always sending out signals, which means they can be used to provide real-time estimates of the amount of rainfall.
The actual process of using cell towers to measure rainfall is pretty ingenious. Rain degrades cell signals, and clever modeling can work backward from cell strength to determine how much precipitation is in the air. Using real-time data from cell towers, meteorologists can tell roughly how much rainfall a certain area is getting without any special equipment.
This isn’t the most accurate method, but it is the easiest and the cheapest, which makes it perfect for areas without traditional rainfall detection. It also makes a nice complement to those rain gauges and radar screens, because cell towers can provide a second-by-second breakdown of the amount of rain, while radar especially could take hours to update.
This concept is already being used in some regions of Africa, and it’s being trialed in Sweden. But soon, weather forecasts around the world might be using cell tower data in addition to traditional measurements in order to record more accurate rainfalls.
Source: The Economist (more…)
Quantum computing is the emerging trend which is focused on the development of computer technology, based on the principles of “quantum theory”. Quantum theory was proposed in the year 1900 by Max Planck, a physicist. He explained the nature and behavior of energy and matter on the quantum level. Quantum Computer, (so far hypothetical the […]
Recent global malware attacks have alerted even companies making devices which are not normally subject to virus assaults to sit up and take notice. The announcement was made at the HP Reinvent world partner forum here which goes into its main session on 12 September.HP Inc announced on 11 September embedded security features in its […]
Microsoft chief Satya Nadella has again denied that Windows Phone is completely dead, but there won’t be a successor device until Microsoft has a radically different concept. Don’t hold your breath if you’d like to see Microsoft release its rumored high-end Surface phone. Incremental changes in smartphone technology won’t be what reignites Microsoft’s ambitions for […]
In today’s increasingly interconnected world, very few fields are as inherently necessary as information technology. In fact, due primarily to unprecedented e-commerce and software growth, it should come as no surprise that IT is one of the fastest-growing career fields in the world. If you want to stand apart from the competition and land a […]