A group of engineers thinks it’s found a cheaper way to use high-altitude satellites to deliver global coverage.
In spite of what SpaceX and other companies suggest with projects like Starlink, you don’t need mega-constellations comprising thousands of satellites—and all the aggravations they cause—to provide global internet coverage to the world. We’ve known since the 1980s that if you’re okay with settling for a connection a notch below gamer-quality speeds (about a half-second lag), then continuous worldwide coverage is possible with a constellation of just four satellites placed at much higher altitudes.
But HughesNet and ViaSat, the world’s biggest satellite internet providers that operate at these orbits, don’t offer anything close to global coverage. Other satellite networks that provide remote sensing and navigation services also fall woefully short of that standard. What gives?
Unsurprisingly, the big obstacle is cost. Several factors work to degrade a satellite’s orbit. These include natural drag, perturbations in Earth’s gravity field, the interfering gravitational pull of the sun and the moon, and even pressure caused by solar radiation. To combat these problems, you need a huge amount of propellant on the satellite to consistently stabilize its orbit—an amount that usually doubles the satellite’s mass. Manufacturing, launch, and operational costs are just too high for the four-satellite trick.
A new study led by engineers at The Aerospace Corporation and published in Nature Communications proposes a counterintuitive approach that turns these degrading forces into ones that actually help keep these satellites in orbit. If it worked, it would mean just four satellites could provide continuous global coverage for a fraction of the cost.
Currently, the orbits for these satellites are elliptical, and forces from the sun and moon create instabilities which break the constellation apart over time. Patrick Reed at Cornell University and his colleagues wanted to make the orbits more circular, letting the satellites get by with fewer propulsive maneuvers and lower propellant requirements. And they wanted to do this in such a way that the satellites could still provide nearly global coverage.
The team ran simulations that looked at what types of orbital configurations could best turn degrading forces into ones that actually fostered a stable, circular orbit. Instances where, say, the sun’s gravity would normally break the constellation apart could now bind the constellation together. The simulations were for four-satellite constellations that would spend at least 6,000 days (16.4 years in orbit).
After analyzing the simulations using the Blue Waters supercomputer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the team found two models that could work. In one, the constellation completes an orbit in a 24-hour period, at an altitude of 22,000 miles, and achieves continuous coverage for about 86% of the globe. The other works on a 48-hour period at an altitude of 42,000 miles and covers 95% of the globe. Any areas that experienced outages would face no more than about 80 minutes of downtime a day.
By Spine Divo
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Gravity Offers Rural Broadband on Kacific
Gravity Internet and Kacific Broadband Satellites Group have signed a three-year deal under which Gravity will use the soon-to-be-launched Kacific1 satellite to provide broadband services to New Zealand homes and businesses outside the reach of fibre.
Kacific1 is in the final testing phase at Boeing and is scheduled to be launched into orbit on a SpaceX rocket towards the end of 2019.
Gravity says the satellite will have three high throughput beams focussed on New Zealand and providing coverage to anywhere on the three main islands. It has committed to an unspecified portion of the capacity of each beam and says it will increase capacity as its customer-base grows.
It says it will be able to provide services at up to 50Mbps via a 1.2 metre dish, but has given no indication of pricing.
Gravity is already rural internet services however it is not clear from its website whether these are terrestrial wireless or satellite. It charges $99 per month of 10GB at 14/2Mbps, $149 for 25GB and ‘unlimited’ for $199. There is a $1499 installation fee that reduces to $999 with a 24-month contract, but that comes with a $14.95 per month equipment lease fee.
By Spine Divo
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The toilet paper bringing machine
Whether you refer to it as the whizz palace, the loo or the throne room, it's a simple fact that humans must spend time visiting the toilet every day of our lives. All that time spent on the pot adds up over the years, and to make life a little more comfy, toilet paper maker Charmin has come up with a range of tech-based bathroom solutions.
If you've ever been stranded on a toilet bowl without toilet paper, you know what an unfortunate situation that is.
Charmin just revealed a robot that intends to solve the age-old issue: The RollBot "delivers a fresh roll of Charmin to you so you won't have to be left in a bind ever again."
The RollBot is part of a trio of "conceptual prototypes" that Charmin will unveil at this year's consumer technology conference CES in Las Vegas.
It's not clear how the bear-faced robot, which has no arms, hands or thumbs, is able to wrangle a fresh roll out from the cupboard under the stairs and open the locked toilet door to bring the roll right to you, but they're presumably problems for CES 2021 and beyond.
The Rollbot is one of the more niche robots we're likely to see this year at CES on our quest to discover the latest and greatest products, but it does play into one of the show's big 2020 trends -- the increased focus on how technology can benefit our health and well-being.
The Rollbot was accompanied on stage at the show by SmellSense, a sensor that will let you know before you enter a bathroom whether you are likely to gag or keel over from asphyxiation due to the activities of the previous occupant. SmellSense will give you a "no" or a "good to go" based on how much carbon dioxide or hydrogen sulfide it detects in the air.
The two gadgets are joined by the AR V.I.Pee as part of Charmin's GoLab vision for the future of bathroom visits. This superior port-a-potty is equipped with an Oculus Rift S VR headset to show you what's going on at the event you might be attending while you're in the bathroom. It's designed to give you a front-row seat to a concert during your pee break so you don't get FOMO, which if it's better than your actual seat might make it hard to leave.
GoLab isn't designed to go on sale within this coming year; instead these concept products are demonstrating how toilet-going could be disrupted in the future -- and we mean that purely in a tech sense, because being interrupted on the can is fun for no one.
By Spine Divo
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Mavic 2 Pro with Hasselblad Camera
Made in Sweden, Hasselblad cameras are renowned for their iconic ergonomic design, uncompromising image quality, and Swedish craftsmanship. Since 1941, Hasselblad cameras have captured some of the world’s most iconic images – including the first moon landing.
Co-engineered in partnership with Hasselblad after two years of tireless research, the Mavic 2 Pro comes equipped with the all-new Hasselblad L1D-20c camera. The L1D-20c possesses Hasselblad’s unique Hasselblad Natural Colour Solution (HNCS) technology, 5 helping users to capture gorgeous 20-megapixel aerial shots in stunning color detail.
The brand new 1-inch CMOS sensor has an active sensing area four times more effective than the original Mavic Pro. The large sensor also means better performance in low-light environments with a more extensive ISO range, max ISO lifted from 3200 to 12800.
The Mavic 2 Pro supports a 10-bit Dlog-M color profile that yields higher dynamic range for more flexibility in the grading room. The system records over 1 billion colors (compared to the 16 million colors from traditional 8-bit color coding technologies) and retains more in-depth details in both highlights and shadows. Now you can capture the subtlest gradations at sunset or sunrise, leaving greater space for post-production.
With 4K 10-bit HDR support, the Mavic 2 Pro can be plugged into a 4K TV with HLG and will immediately play back footage with the right color tones. The brighter highlights and increased contrast are what make HDR video so appealing.
The f/2.8-f/11 adjustable aperture delivers outstanding image quality both in high and low-light environments. When shooting in low light, set the aperture to f/2.8 to allow more light in and to capture bright and clear photos. When shooting in well-lit environments, set the aperture to f/11 to lower the shutter speed and make your videos smoother.
By Spine Divo
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Microsoft presents the new generation-
Microsoft took everyone by surprise last October when it announced the Surface Duo: a dual-screen device that runs Android. While the Surface Duo certainly resembles a phone in its folded state and can achieve all smartphone-like tasks such as making call and sending text messages, Microsoft does not want to label it a “phone.”
It’s the Redmond-based software giant’s version of a foldable, only that it’s not a traditional foldable if you compare it to devices like the Galaxy Fold or even the Galaxy Z Flip. It indeed folds in the center, but does so using a hinge that holds its two very separate screens together (rather than having a foldable screen).
It’s been a while since we heard something official from Microsoft about the Surface Duo, but of late, we’ve ourselves received some insider info about its release window. We’ve also recently come across some leaked specs for the Android hybrid, including information about its chipset, battery, and camera. In this rumor hub, we’ll detail all that we know about the Surface Duo until now. Take a look.
The design of the Surface Duo is no mystery. Microsoft showed us pretty much the entire device back in October. The hardware itself is very reminiscent of Surface devices like the laptops and the tablets. It’s got that strong Microsoft aesthetic with clean lines and that familiar four-square Microsoft logo front and center.
Elsewhere, two individual screens fold shut inwards like a small book. A 360-degree hinge mechanisms joins the two 5.6-inch displays together, allowing the device to be folded in various states like most 2-in-1 laptops out there. When folded out, the overall device measures 8.3-inches horizontally. The Surface Duo is also a slim device, measuring just 4.8mm thin.
There’s a camera on the top bezel of the right-side display, next to a speaker grille. However, when the device was spotted in someone’s hands, a flash was also seen accompanying the single camera. You can see that image below.
Microsoft says the Surface Duo will fit inside your pocket, but from what we can see, that might not be possible because it’s too wide.
Microsoft has done a pretty decent job of keeping the specs of the Surface Duo under wraps. When it first showed off the device at its Surface event, it was running a Snapdragon 855 processor. Thanks to information sourced by Windows Central, we now hear that Microsoft will stick to the older generation Snapdragon flagship for the final Surface Duo release.
The outlet reports that the specs of the Surface Duo are pretty much cemented and that it’s in a “take-home” status at Microsoft internally. This means that company employees from outside the Surface division can request to test the device, so we presume its specs won’t change now.
According to Window Central, the Surface Duo will ship with 6GB RAM and 64GB or 256GB storage. There’s no 128GB middle ground here and even if there is, the report fails to mention it.
The camera above the right display is said to be an 11MP sensor, for both front and rear facing photos. That’s likely because the displays can be rotated around for front and rear photos. The two 5.6-inch screens reportedly have AMOLED panels with a pixel density of 401 pixel per inch.
Sadly, the battery size is reportedly capped at 3,460mAh which might not nearly be enough to support two displays and all the multitasking you’re expected to do on the device. Also, there won’t be any wireless charging as per Windows Central.
In terms of connectivity, the Surface Duo is said to feature a single USB-C port and a nanoSIM slot. It’ll also be compatible with a Surface Pen.
On the software front, the Surface Duo is expected to run Android 10 at launch, and later get an upgrade to Android 11. The device is also expected to get the redesigned Microsoft Launcher, which comes with new rotation modes, a new dock, and other UI tweaks.
By Spine Divo
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Ultra-Portable, Ultra-Capable
Redefine what’s possible with thin and light designs powered by 10th Gen Intel® Core™ mobile processors featuring built-in AI for intelligent performance, Intel® Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+), Thunderbolt™ 3 technology, 4K HDR, and new CPU and GPU architectures for big-time entertainment and productivity advances.
Desktop Caliber Performance to Go
With up to 5.3 GHz2 Turbo, 8 cores, 16 MB of Intel® Smart Cache, and overclocking3 plus Intel® Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+), Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost (Intel® TVB), and Intel® Dynamic Tuning Technology (Intel® DTT) for continuous system optimizations, 10th Gen Intel® Core™ laptop processors power the ultimate portable systems for gamers and creators.
Supercharged Desktops
Delivering up to 5.3 GHz with Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost (Intel® TVB) technology, 20 MB of Intel® Smart Cache, highly advanced overclocking tools3, Intel® Ethernet Connection I225, and more, 10th Gen Intel® Core™ desktop processors give gamers and creative professionals heavyweight performance advantages.
The Platform of Modern Business
The built-for-business Intel vPro® platform, powered by 10th Gen Intel® Core™ vPro® processors, provides the business-class performance, built-in hardware-enhanced security features, modern remote manageability, and validated PC fleet stability that IT pros need and users want, with Intel® Hardware Shield, Intel® Active Management Technology, Intel® Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+), and more to help you get work done.
By Spine Divo
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