After Instagram changed their algorithm in 2016, users were upset to find their feeds full of days old posts with newer posts no where to be found. After two years of complaints, Instagram is moving to a new algorithm that is more chronological than the previous algorithm

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While the new Instagram feed will be more chronological, the feed will not be completely chronological and an instagram spokesperson says they will never go back to a 100% chronological feed. The new algorithm will simply put more weight on when a post was published to Instagram, where as the last algorithm put more weight on how likely a user was to be interested in the content. Instagram is hoping that this new algorithm will improve the user experience on their app.

This situation shows how the usability that we discussed in class is a problem the companies face when trying to innovate their product. Instagram switching algorithms based off user response shows the importance of usability and experience on an app. When their users complained about no longer enjoying the experience that the company was providing, Instagram responded by adjusting to a new system that will hopefully make users happier.

sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2018/03/22/instagram-tweaks-its-news-feed-to-be-more-chronological-after-years-of-complaints/?utm_term=.566c3e3e6b30

http://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-feed-algorithm-rolls-out-globally-2016-6

In a New York Times article, Kenneth Chang shares a potentially worrying fact: the sky is falling. Well technically it is not the sky that is falling, but rather China’s first space station Tiangong-1. This space station launched in 2011, and two years ago China has lost control of it. The European Space Agency announced that Tiangong-1 will fall to Earth anytime between Friday March 30 and Monday April 2. While this may cause panic to those afraid to be struck by falling debris, scientists tell us not to worry. The chances of being struck by this space metal is less than one in a trillion, which is essentially zero. For those who live in the extreme North or South, their chances are even more slim. Despite the fact that Tiangong-1 is no longer a threat, is this something we should worry about in the future?

Tiangong-1

Falling Debris: A Future Threat?

While reading this article the first thing that came to my mind was how could China send a space station into space, knowing it would crash into Earth a few years later? Perhaps they didn’t know and this was never the plan. Unfortunately, this is not the first case of manmade space objects crashing into Earth. In 2011, NASA’s 12,000 pound Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite crashed into the Pacific Ocean. While there are many other examples, only one person has ever been hit by space debris, and they never suffered injury. Even though we have been fortunate thus far, are we really going to wait until one of these crashes in fatal until we do something about it?  I think it is time that countries and their space programs take responsibility to ensure this does not happen. For both the safety of Earth’s habitants, I believe there should be stricter limitations and controls on what is allowed in space.

Source: nytimes.com/…/falling-chinese-space-station-tiangong-1

For those of you that like denim, you’ll love this one. Google has recently paired up with Levi’s to create the latest version of wearable technology. This pilot product is expected to be sold for around $350 and is titled “Commuter Trucker Jacket with Jacquard by Google”. It combines fashion with technology by including all the traditional elements of a jean jacket (plus extra pockets), and a touch sensitive threading on the left cuff along with Google’s “snap tag”. The snap tag is what contains a rechargeable battery, LED light, bluetooth and a vibration module. The tag can be firmly inserted underneath the left cuff, right below the the touch sensitive threading. Now comes the fun part. After downloading the Jacquard app on your smartphone, it should be able to pair with the snap tag on the cuff of the jacket. This pairing will allow you to set up command controls on the app so when you touch or swipe the sensitive threading, you will be able to: pause/play music, skip songs, have your text messages read, have the time read, access find my iPhone, and access GPS navigation. What a great invention!

Even though it is very cool to see the merging of technology and fashion into something that can make everyday life a little easier, I do not think something like this would be a big seller as it is in its current sate. This jacket is specifically made to target people who ride their bicycles frequently and do not have their hands on their phone at the same time. The jacket itself even possesses some reflective qualities to keep people safe who chose to ride their bikes at night. However, I feel this market is not large enough to boast any sort of record breaking sales, especially with an asking price of $350. On a more positive note, this innovation could be the start of the expansion of the clothing/technology industry. We have seen some other products on the market that combine these two aspects such as nike running shoes that can connect with your phone.

Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/google-levis-created-digital-jean-jacket-heres-think-171632144.html

In class we have learned a lot about what is called the “Internet of Things.” One huge example of this is the idea that the lights in our homes can be accessed wirelessly without going and physically turning on a switch. In the article I found on DigitalTrends.com, it explains how having a smart switch for your lights would work. They are on the pricier side, each switch would cost about $50. However, this could be a very useful product to save users a ton of unnecessary stress and frustration in the long run. This is because you can control the lights from the your mobile device. This means if you’re worried that your lights are on, you can just check and turn them off. You can link together different smart bulbs and program them to turn on and off at different times.

I currently have a “smart switch” at home that connects one of my lights to the Amazon Alexa. I ask Alexa to turn on the switch and it turns on my light. It is so useful and simple to use. I think that connecting all of our devices and automating our lights is great for the efficiency of our daily lives. I think that if we all automate our light switches it would be great for saving electricity as well and benefit our society in the long run.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home/what-is-a-smart-switch-learn-about-smart-control-for-house-lights/

Drones are best defined as a lightweight aircraft that are remotely controlled from a distance. These aircrafts posses embedded GPS, sensors and reliable software that control their flight patterns. All drones are also equipped with small cameras so the controller may visualize his or her surroundings from a latitude position. They were first introduced to the military division to be used as a tool for surveillance. In addition to be used as a human substitute when it involved dangerous scouting missions. The main objectives was to digitally capture images of enemies geographic position, deliver medical supplies, search and rescue. Of course for the past several years we have witnessed that drones have transition to be used in well known companies. For example, Amazon now provides a delivery system known as Prime Air , where they use drones to deliver lightweight packages to the customers specific location within thirty minutes or less. Drones have also become one the most popular toy aircraft of our generation. They be easily found in several department stores at a reasonable price nationwide.
What I exactly wanted to go into detail in is the actual origin for the drones we used today. Most man made inventions we admire today are inspired by the remarkable abilities of our wildlife. The drone is no exception. It’s flight design was influenced the modern day bat species. A drone’s wings were specific designed after bat wings. At the University of Southampton a team of student engineers designed the drone’s wings to be physically identical to that of a bat wings. In order for the drone to functionally adapt to the wind patterns (air currents) when it flies at a specific altitude. Their hope is to incorporate this new technology in the Micro Air vehicle (a smaller version of a drone) as well.

Source: http://www.wired.co.uk/article/bat-drone-wings-change-shape

Facebook data misuse scandal affects “substantially” more than 50M, claims Wylie

In recent weeks, it has come to light that Facebook’s loose data security measures allowed the data of at least 50 million users to be harvested and used for the aid of political campaigns by Cambridge Analytica. A former employee of the company, Chris Wylie, blew the lid off of the whole thing when he leaked information about what CA was doing.

In his testimony before a UK parliamentary committee he explained how CA harvested the data by having people take a personality quiz which allowed the company to access their profile and the profiles of their friends without ever explicitly asking for permission. With this information they were able to create and sell ads specifically targeted to the electoral bases of any politician that had hired the company.

Since this information has come out, the Federal Trade Commission has launched a full scale investigation into the misuse of data by Facebook. That along with Wylie’s own testimony suggests that the number of users affected is likely much more than 50 million. Zuckerberg has agreed to testify before congress on the issue.

I think this just goes to prove that these massive corporations like Facebook have way to much power about what happens with our data. There needs to be some sort of security that prevents these types of things from occurring. Social media is obviously really useful, but when it comes at the cost of having your data sold to the highest bidder, it worries me a bit.

Yesterday Apple held their annual education event where they announce a variety of products focused on the relationship of education and technologies that help simplify and modernize it. This year products that for sure will modernize and make life easier for students

The first product they announced is a 9.7 inch iPad at a price of $299 for students and $399 for the rest of the community. Some of the new features of this iPad are and HD face time camera, stereo speakers, and a 40 percent faster CPU. The most noticeable new aspect of this iPad is that it can  be used with another Apple product the “Apple Pencil” that has a regular price of 99$ and for students and teachers it is 89$, not so big of a difference.

With the announcement of the new iPad they also introduced a new app meant to be used by educators, called Schoolwork. the main purpose of this app is to allow teachers to hand out digital copies of assignments to students. It creates kind of a personal portal between the teacher and the student allowing them to have all the information in the same place and make it easier for teachers to keep track of everything on the same app. Schoolwork will also.

And last but not least Apple announced that they will give students with a school registered Apple ID an increase on their iCloud storage from 5GB to 200GB, allowing them to have more information on the cloud without needing to pay the extra 0.99 cents a month to increase storage. By launching this new products Apple is entering more deeply the area of technology and education, an area that has been expanding rapidly over the last few years. I personally believe that now a days technology is a key facilitator for education since it allows students to be more engaged and have a more easy access to everything. By apple getting involved with this side of technology they are branching out their products to even a larger community making their brand more approachable by everyone.

Sources: https://9to5mac.com/2018/03/27/apple-education-event-announced-roundup/

https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/27/17155688/apple-event-2018-news-highlights-recap-ipad-education

While many people believe that technology is replacing humans in the work industry this was not the case for Flippy, the burger flipping robot.  Flippy was made by Miso Robotics, she stated that his purpose wasn’t intended to replace humans but to serve as an “extra hand.” The robotic cook was able to flip burgers faster than humans to increase to speed of the restaurant also, have a more accurate knowledge of when the burgers were done. The robot was also able to work with other products like chicken but burgers were Flippy’s expertise. Flippy’s spatula-tipped arm, was built to work with grill maintenance as well. The robotic fry cook had thermal vision, which allowed him to know when the patty was done or if it was still raw also when to flip it. Flippy had a display screen that was visible for his human co-workers to see and would monitor each product. Then when the food was ready, the co-workers would be able to know and would start to put the toppings on.  Miso Robotics shared a video of what Flippy could see and this is what it looked like.

As you can see Flippy had a clear view of the grill. In the upper right hand corner, there is a thermal readout display and this is how the robotic chef knew which patties were ready to be flipped or served.

After Flippy’s name got out, his real job was put to the test. The robot was hired by CaliBurger, they advertised Flippy and even dedicated a corner in their kitchen for him called “Flippy’s Corner” where customers could view it in action. Unfortunately, Flippy over preformed and was suspended after 2 days on the job. A CaliBurger representative told USA Today that there were not enough people working behind the counter to keep up with robotic chef. The food would be done but there simply was not enough staff to dress the burgers. It is very clear from this statement that the usability and convince aspect of Flippy was there, but when it came down to human computer interaction it failed.

In 2017 Miso Robotics announced that automatic burger makers like Flippy are soon to be in more than 50 CaliBurger restaurants around the world by the end of 2019. As of now the one location that owns Flippy has him currently turned off and are working on fixing the issue.

As someone who has previously worked in the food business I know how hard it is to keep up. If everyone is on the same pace and although it is an extremely fast pace, I understand how a robot could effect the flow of the kitchen. I personally believe that robots have and continue to advance our world. Now that technology is such a huge part of our life acquiring the tools to be able to work hand and hand with machines will be essential to our success. I don’t think robots are going anywhere and we need to learn how to work with them in order to benefit your workplace which is what CaliBurger is doing. Machines have the ability to accomplish tasks humans cannot and although Flippy has this ability, it did not work out. Our world is changing every day and I can guarantee Flippy will be back very soon.

https://www.livescience.com/61994-flippy-burger-flipping-robot-flops.html

https://www.usnews.com/news/technology/articles/2018-03-27/techno-teachers-finnish-school-trials-robot-educators

An elementary schools in the southern city of Tampere, Findlay have recently tested a new type of learning style; one that replaces the role of a human teacher! Instead, a robot, acts as the instructor in the classroom. The robot has the ability to comprehend and speak 23 languages. The way the robots are wired allow them to interpret student’s requirements in order to promote learning. The robot is also able to acknowledge the student’s skill level and caters their questions based on the students their intelligence. Other parts of the country including the Middle East, Asia, and the United States have also been seen using robots as teachers.

Human teachers within the school promote the idea of students interacting with robots as a way of learning. They feel this is a new and interactive style of learning. The robot itself is a foot tall and is based on SoftBank’s NAO humanoid interactive companion robot. This software was created by Utelias, a creator of educational software for social robots. In the future, schools hope to utilize a math robot. This small, blue machine is about 10 inches tall and remembered an owl.

Although robots are wired with the necessary information to instruct students, the biggest critique is that they are unable to maintain order and discipline in the classroom. I think the use of a robot could be effective for one-on-one interaction. However, I think it is imperative that students have a human instructor. A human instructor, simply put, has people skills. They have the ability to discipline but also nurture students. Although I commend creators for designing this intelligent robot, I do not foresee a robot ever fully replacing a human teacher.