Out with Old - In with the Printer

3D Systems Just Broke the Speed Barrier, Surpassing Traditional Injection Molding Manufacturing Techniques

BY BRIAN KRASSENSTEIN · JUNE 10, 2014

You would have to be living under a rock if you haven’t heard about 3D printing and additive manufacturing yet. The media has been all over the up and coming technology, while businesses, individuals, and even music groups who want attention, just have to find a way to mention or utilize the technology in some way or another. Despite all the attention, and all the predictions of a changed world as a result of this technology, there are still many skeptics.

For every researcher, scientist, or person working in the additive manufacturing field, who says that its the future of manufacturing, there is at least one individual to counter their claim. “3D printing is not fast enough.” “It will never be used for mass production.” “Injection molding will never be replaced by additive manufacturing on a mass scale.”

These are all opinions I have personally heard uttered from the mouths of some very educated, respected individuals. Although, at the time I may have wanted to jump in and call them out on their ignorance, I respected their opinions and instead decided to sit back and wait a few years as the technology progressed enough to prove them wrong.

Here we are, not even halfway through 2014, and 3D Systems may have already delivered a near knockout blow to the 3D printing skeptics out there. Today the company, who invented much of the technology behind 3D printing, announced a major breakthrough. For the first time ever, they have shown that their fab-grade 3D printers have matched and exceeded the productivity and speed of traditional injection molding, in creating functional parts.


“Our unwavering commitment to customer success through innovation has literally broken the mold this time – challenging the myth that 3D printing can’t match the productivity of injection molding,” said Cathy Lewis, 3DS’ CMO. “This is just the beginning. We are working on additional applications that defy traditional manufacturing constraints, allowing our customers to go from idea to product in hours, instead of months – to truly manufacture the future.”

What’s even more amazing is that we are only at the starting gate in the development of high speed, extremely productive machines, capable of mass producing both indistinguishable, as well as customized parts. In fact, 3D systems also pointed out that we are in the midst of a Moore’s law-like exponential progression when it comes to the speed of these printers. On average, over the last ten years, the capabilities of 3D printers have doubled every 18 months, according to the company.



Mass Maufacturing via SLA 3D Printing

3D Systems gave an example of their success. Recently they printed out 2,400 tiny lamp shades on one of their stereolithographic printers. It took a total of 20 hours to print. This equates to approximately 30 seconds per part. All the while, there was no need for tooling or lengthy supply chains.

Clearly we have just entered a realm in which additive manufacturing has proven to be just as, if not more effective than traditional injection molding techniques for many mass manufacturing cases. The next several years, or perhaps sooner, should prove that injection molding is not the path to future manufacturing, but 3D printing is. Let us know your opinions on this announcement in the ‘3D printing breakthrough‘ forum thread at 3DPB.com. Check out the video just released by the company, discussing this impressive breakthrough in additive manufacturing.

GAS Anadarko

Bridging the generation gap for spatially-enabled asset management

Between the Poles by Geoff Apr 16

I've blogged many times about the aging workforce challenge facing many industries.  At the SPAR International conference Wayne Rodieck of Anadarko Petroleum outlined what this means to the oil and gas industry and how he is using IT to bridge the generation gap.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is projecting that by 2020 the U.S. will surpass Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer.  US oil and gas production, driven by technologies that are unlocking light tight oil and shale  gas resources, is rising dramatically.  Since 2008 the U.S. oil and gas industry has increased production by 25%.  This expansion has created 1.7 million new jobs.



Most of these have been filled by young workers with no or little experience in oil and gas, but better acquainted with IT technology than the experienced workers who are on the verge of retirement.  As with other industries oil and gas is faced with the challenge of knowledge transfer to enable younger workers to be as productive as possible and to avoid a massive decline in productivity as the older generation retires.

Dr Apostol Panayotov of UC Denver described an online spatially-enabled asset information system at Anadarko that is designed to be accessible to both generations.

  

It provides a web-based user interface designed to serve up information about equipment on oil and gas facility sites including visual photographs, facility attributes and gelocation.  It is based around point clouds captured by scanning valves, pumping stations, and other oil and gas pipeline infrastructure, but it hides the point cloud behind an intuitive interface that relies on smart digital photographs of facilities.  Clicking on a particular piece of equipment such as a valve, tank, or catwalk in a digital photograph links the user to information about that piece of equipment including geo-location and dimensions, information that is derived from a point cloud.

Wayne described a simple use case which explains what he sees as the critical advantage of this approach.  There is an emergency and at 2:30 am he has to send a young, inexperienced worker out to a site where there are a 120 valves to turn off one of them.  He feels confident that by providing the young worker access to this intuitive online system that he will turn off the right one.

What the PDF ...?

Geographic Imager is software for Adobe Photoshop that leverages the superior image editing capabilities of the world’s premier raster-based image editing software and transforms it into a powerful geospatial production tool. Work with satellite imagery, aerial photography, orthophotos, and DEMs in GeoTIFF and other major GIS image formats using Adobe Photoshop features such as transparencies, filters, and image adjustments while maintaining georeferencing and support for hundreds of coordinate systems and projections.

Geographic Imager 4.5 is immediately available and free of charge to all Geographic Imager Maintenance Program members and at US$319 for non-maintenance upgrades. New fixed licenses start at US$699. Geographic Imager Basic licenses start at US$199. Academic, floating and volume license pricing are also available. Geographic Imager 4.5 is compatible with Adobe Photoshop CS5, CS5.1, CS6, CC and CC 2014.

The PDF Maps app is a geospatial PDF, GeoPDF® and GeoTIFF reader for your Apple iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. Easily search for and browse thousands of professionally made maps available in the Avenza Map Store. Interact with spatially referenced maps to view your location, record GPS tracks, add placemarks, and find places.

Exporting an ArcGIS Map for Use in the PDF Maps App from SmithGIS on Vimeo.


For the geospatial community, PDF Maps complimentsMAPublisher and Geographic Imager, both of which have the ability to export to geospatial PDF and GeoTIFF. The formats are also supported by common GIS applications including ArcGIS.

PDF Maps is used by inviduals*, companies and organizations for navigation, information collection, and sharing geographic information and knowledge.

Skin Cancer ... App for that

This smartphone app 

can detect skin cancer

BY EMILY PRICE  @EMILY  MAY 8TH 2014, AT 4:48:00 PM ET 17

You can already use your smartphone to do things like hail a pimp ride home or order an artisan pizza, obviously the next step is cancer detection, right? Researchers at the University of Houston think they've created a smartphone app that can detect melanoma even better than your doctor. Called DermoScan, the app works by taking a photo of your odd-shaped mole, and then analyzing it to determine if it might be cancerous. Initial testing found that DermoScan was able to identify skin cancer roughly 85 percent of the time, making it just as effective as visiting a dermatologist and even better at diagnosing melanoma than the average primary care physician. Don't head over to the app store just yet. The app requires a special $500 magnifying glass to make the magic happen -- not exactly more cost effective than a trip to the old MD.It might not make sense for the average American to shell out five bills for the necessary equipment to use DermoScan, but the app could be big news for developing countries and rural areas where there isn't a primary physician for people to see. One device could potentially diagnose an entire village. Paired with something like Wello's tricorder-esque iPhone case, an 5S could become a powerful tool in helping an entire town determine if they need to travel to see a doctor -- all for less than your average trip to the ER.

Samsung takes the 4K Production Camera Lead

http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/h-265-vs-vp9-4k-video-codes-explained

Samsung has introduced the pro-oriented NX1 mirrorless camera for Photokina 2014, boasting the first-ever APS-C sized BSI-CMOS sensor. The 28.2MP NX1 also offers a sophisticated hybrid autofocus system with 205 phase-detect points covering 90% of the frame, and the camera is weather-sealed to resist the elements.

The list of high-end specifications reels on: the NX1 is capable of recording 4K video, offers 15 fps burst shooting with continuous autofocus, and provides a 2.36M dot OLED EVF. Being a Samsung camera, it offers advanced wireless features including built-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. The connectivity power can auto-shift from bluetooth pairing to smartphone Wi-Fi allows for camera settings selection, image monitoring, and other real-time controls for zoom. Camera has 6df orientation awareness but not GPS positioning unless when paired to an appropriate smartphone.

The Samsung NX1 will be offered body-only for $1499.99, or as a 'premium kit' with 16-50mm F2-2.8 lens, battery grip, and extra battery for $2799.99.

Convergent Design Slips... Hold-on there Cowboy.

Odessy 7Q - Someday the Four-channel 1080p Concurrent Recorder the disappointment




Shogun - more a proxy and monitor no microphone



Unlike the Convergent Design 7Q which still does not accept 4K from the A7S and uses proprietary SSDs the Shogun makes use of standard 2.5″ SSD drives. They also had a caddy for CFast cards (which the Ninja Star uses) so you can use those on the Shogun as well. 

http://www.newsshooter.com/2014/08/19/convergent-design-odyssey-7-and-7q-get-another-new-firmware-update-adds-1080p-50-and-59-94-prores-recording/

Egaget and Sony Action Cams... with GPS

Sony Action Cams are ready to stream live internet video

BY JON FINGAS

Sony Action Cam owners: if you're eager to share your sporting adventures with the world, your moment has come. The company has just rolled out a firmware update for the AS100V (installable on Macs or Windows) that lets you broadcast live video on Ustream, complete with social network alerts when you're on the air. The higher-end camera also gets a new Motion Shot Mode that composites several photos into one, while burst shooting and self-timer modes are useful for both action-packed images and self-portraits.

You won't get live streaming or high-speed photography if you're using the more modest AS30V cam, but you're not out of luck. It's getting its own upgrade (available on Macs and Windows) that delivers multi-camera control through an optional remote, better automatic exposure and the use of WiFi without a memory card. Hit the source links if you're ready to expand your cinematic repertoire.

Android Cameras ... Building Google Earth Fly-throughs

Android founder: We aimed to make a camera OS

The creators of Android originally dreamed it would be used to create a world of "smart cameras" that connected to PCs, a founder said, but it was reworked for mobile handsets as the smartphone market began to explode.

"The exact same platform, the exact same operating system we built for cameras, that became Android for cellphones," said Android co-founder Andy Rubin, who spoke at an economic summit in Tokyo.

Rubin, who became a Google executive after the search giant acquired Android in August 2005, said the plan was to create a camera platform with a cloud portion for storing photos online.

He showed slides from his original pitch to investors in April 2004, including one with a camera connected "wired or wireless" to a home computer, which then linked to an "Android Datacenter."

But growth in digital cameras was gradually slowing as the technology became mainstream. Rubin's company revamped its business plan: A pitch from five months later declares it to be an "open-source handset solution."

Android kept its software core, including its Java core. The operating system's use of Java is at the heart of an ongoing multi-billion dollar lawsuit filed against Google by Oracle, around which an eight-week jury trial has just begun.

Back in 2005, the company added team members who had experience at companies like T-Mobile and Orange, and began to target rivals like mobile versions of Windows. Apple didn't enter the market until 2007.

. 

 IDGNSAndroid co-founder Andy Rubin, speaking in Tokyo.

"We decided digital cameras wasn't actually a big enough market," said Rubin. "I was worried about Microsoft and I was worried about Symbian, I wasn't worried about iPhone yet."

Rubin said there was an opportunity at the time because even as hardware costs fell steeply due to commoditization, software vendors were charging the same amount for their operating systems, taking up an ever larger part of manufacturers' budgets. As Android considered its product to be a platform for selling other services and products, the company aimed for growth, not per-unit income.

"We wanted as many cellphones to use Android as possible. So instead of charging $99, or $59, or $69, to Android, we gave it away for free, because we knew the industry was price sensitive," he said.

Handsets worked out better than cameras. An original "ambitious" projection by the company aimed for a 9 percent market share in North America and Europe by 2010; Android hit 72 percent last year. Google said in March that over 750 million Android devices have gone on line globally.

The Android operating system also eventually returned to its roots. Samsung has launched a Galaxy Camera that runs Android, along with similar offerings from makers including Nikon and Polaroid. The OS has been used in devices including tablets, TVs, espresso makers and refrigerators.

Rubin was a speaker at the Japan New Economy Summit held Tuesday in Tokyo. The summit was backed by a Japanese business group that aims to kick-start the country's economy.

In March, Google announced that Rubin had stepped down from his role leading Android in order to "start a new chapter" at the company.

Rubin said Tuesday he would continue to create products directed at end users.

"I can pretty much guarantee you that whatever I do next it's going to be something that delights consumers."

For more comprehensive coverage of the Android ecosystem, visit Greenbot.com.

Citizen Sensor - StormTag

StormTag Is A Waterproof Weather Sensor That Wants To Help Crowdsource Hyperlocal Forecasts

• 
  
• Mor
  
  Next 

Hong Kong-Based Financial Startup WeLab Raises $14M Series A From Sequoia And TOM Group

StormTag is a key-fob sized sensor for measuring weather data that’s 

designed to contribute to a crowdsourced network of other sensors to 

map aggregated weather data and offer localized predictions. It works 

with Bluetooth LE smartphones and tablets to sync its data back to the 

cloud where users can view weather info in an app.

The StormTag sensor come in two versions: the basic StormTag, which 

includes a temperature and barometric pressure sensor and costs $25; 

or the $35 StormTag+ which also includes a humidity sensor, UV 

sensor, and on-board memory so it can log data for as long as the battery

 lasts and sync it later to a phone or tablet.

StormTag is currently a prototype while its makers run a Kickstarter 

crowdfunding campaign to get the device to market — aiming to ship 

to backers in November.

Flagship smartphones are getting increasingly sensor packed these days. S

amsung added temperature, pressure, and humidity sensors to its Galaxy S4 

device last year, for instance, giving it the ability to measure weather data. 

But there are plenty of lower priced handsets that don’t have such a fancy 

array of sensors — which means there’s scope for a standalone device that 

contains the necessary hardware and syncs with a smartphone to ferry its 

enviro data load up into the cloud.

Add to that, phones are often kept tucked away in a bag or pocket, rather than 

deliberately left exposed to the elements, so a standalone sensor for 

environmental data logging makes some sense.

StormTag is aiming to be such a standalone device — competing with the
likes of CliMate. Both devices are currently raising funds on Kickstarter, 

but StormTag has already more than doubled its original funding target 

of $17,500, so has the money to make it to market in the bag already — 

still with well over a month of its crowdfunding campaign to run.

StormTag is another hardware project from Jon Atherton, whose prior 

successfully crowdfunded creations include the YuFu, Nota and JaJa styli, 

and – more recently – an e-ink Bluetooth bedside clock, called aclock.

Atherton says he’s recycling some of the parts used in the YuFu stylus for 

StormTag — specifically the pressure sensitive electronics — which has 

allowed him to bring the StormTag to market with a relatively low funding 

target. CliMate, by comparison, is shooting for a $50,000 raise.

Atherton is also partnering with crowdsourced weather map WeatherSignal 

so users of StormTag get access to data being generated by WeatherSignal’s 

network of environment-sensor equipped Android phones from the get-go, to 

help circumvent the problem of needing a large uptake before StormTag 

starts generating useful data. It also means he doesn’t have to build his own 

app since WeatherSignal will be taking care of the end-user software.

“WeatherSignal already have a large body of data — and we will be adding t

o that with users of iOS other Android devices that don’t have inbuilt sensors,” 

says Atherton, nothing that the WeatherSignal app has 50,000 active devices, 

and 230,000 total installs.

“Globally, WeatherSignal is averaging out at just around 2 million readings 

per day. Note — each reading is a timestamped, geolocated set of sensor 

readings — so a single reading covers many sensors, so there are several 

million data points per day already stored in WeatherSignal. So StormTag 

builds on this WeatherSignal data.”

Atherton is giving the StormTag crowdsourced weather project a two-year 

timeframe to build into a really useful hyperlocal weather forecasting ecosystem.

“My two year target is to have accumulated enough historic data that we can 

do useful predictions using just one StormTag — we’ll also be building out 

the crowd sourced weather predictions and mapping,” he says, adding: “In the 

interim, we’ll be delivering some fantastic data to our users, as well as hyper 

local readings.”

The StormTag has a hole in it so it can easily clip onto keys or clothing, and 

is being designed to be waterproof so it can be used outdoors in scenarios 

like skiing or boating.

With StormTag’s funding target already met, Atherton says he’s kicked off 

the production process already – and reckons he’ll be able to deliver it to 

backers earlier than scheduled

buttontrack FOB Locators

Losing important items is always a concern, especially when it comes to smartphones. Whether phones are misplaced in the course of a day or left behind when moving about, it is something that happens frequently. But what if there was a device that could keep everyone from forgetting them? What if it there was a small, inconspicuous tracking tag that could help locate the phone or the item it was attached to? Fortunately, there's no need to wonder - as Protag offers the Duet to fit those needs.

Offering a tiny size at 1 x 1 x 0.19 inches, the Duet can easily be added to a number of items that are carried every day. Using the provided split ring or adhesive disk, users can attach the Duet to a keychain, laptop, luggage or bag. Forgoing either, the Duet tag can be stuffed in a pocket to be hidden from sight. Protag offers the Duet in five different colors, to give customers some options if they choose to show it off. Made from plastic and containing only a circuit board and battery, the Duet snaps together tightly. It stands up to as much abuse any normal keychain faces.

Read more: http://www.electronista.com/reviews/protag-duet-bluetooth-tracking-tag.html#ixzz35BLI4wzq
Read more at http://www.electronista.com/reviews/protag-duet-bluetooth-tracking-tag.html#uosxtXyXycf0uBJM.99

Very Interesting...all things have a natural rhythm

Immersive Media Gets a New Standard - Plus 3D All Around

'Virtual Reality 

Camera System' uses 6 Red D

ragons to make 360-degree 

video magic 

by Richard Lawler | @rjcc | 12hs ago


Oculus/Facebook, Samsung, Sony, Google. We're about to be flooded with 
virtual reality hardware, but what about content? While John Carmack 
works on the gaming side, the folks at NextVR (formerly Next3D) 
have been developing camera rigs to record live video in full surround 
that will let VR units put you anywhere in the world you want to go, 
and here's the latest one. Red Camera's Jarred Land spilled the beans, 
posting pics of this "Virtual Reality Camera System" which links six 
of his company's 6K Dragon cameras together in a rather monstrous-
looking array. There should be demo footage on display at the IBC 
onference, but based on what we've seen from NextVR already, the 
potential is high. There aren't any cameras pointing up (or down) but 
previous systems from NextVR have used fisheye lenses to expand their 
range, and we expect something similar would be in store for this. NextVR 
is providing video to go along with Samsung's Gear VR headset when 
it launches and it's working with Oculus too. Judging by this setup more
 video experiences -- whether live streamed or recorded -- will be coming 
to the VR space soon.

Damm the DEMs, full speed ahead?

WorldDEM

Airbus Defence Space

WorldDEM (Digital Elevation Models), provided by Airbus Defense & Space, is one of the most accurate and high quality data sets currently available. With global grid spacing of just 12m, compared to 90m in previous models, WorldDEM is taking elevation data resolutions to a whole new level. Data acquisition should be completed by the end of 2014 and will provide a product that covers the globe from pole-to-pole.. What might it cost?

Cool Imagery Interface

Pictorian Offers A Uniquely Designed Photo Storage App, Perfect For Your GIF Collection

TechCrunch by Sarah Perez May 27

 

On an App Store that today sports over a million applications and a set of recommended design guidelines that hold a heavy influence over how developers proceed, it’s rare to come across an app that offers a unique perspective. But a newly launched photo storage application called Pictorian does just that. The app, a simple utility for storing photos outside your iPhone’s… Read More

SONY QX Series Cameras Step-Up... UAS/UAV destined?

CAT Hard Phone...

CAT's next phone is so rugged we're surprised it doesn't have a beard

by Daniel Cooper | @danielwcooper | 6 hours ago

We'd Hate To Admit It. But You Could Never Really Mistake Your Humble Narrator For A Manly Man, Breaking Cinder Blocks With His Pectoral Muscles And Hanging Out At Monster Truck Rallies. That Doesn't Mean, However, That We Can't Appreciate The Engineering And Effort That Went Into CAT's Newest Rugged Smartphone, The S50. We're Told That It's Designed "For The Outdoors," That Terrifying World Where There's No WiFi And Comfortable Furniture We See Only In Our Nightmares. The 4.7-Inch Handset Is Coated In A Liberal Helping Of Gorilla Glass 3, But The First Time We Asked About Resolution - Which We Later Learned Is 1,280 X 720 - The Device Just Glowered At Us As If We'd Challenged Its Masculinity.The Body Of The S50 Is Waterproof, Certified Dust Proof To IP6X And Waterproof To IPX7, Which Means That It's Capable Of Lasting Under A Meter Of Water For Half An Hour. There's An 8-Megapixel Camera 'Round Back, But This Phone Believes That Selfies Are Nothing More Than Silly Nonsense, Which Is Why The Fo

You might be disappointed to learn that there isn't a cuddly inside lurking beneath that austere shell. Alas, you'll just find a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm MSM8926 paired with 2GB RAM alongside 8GB of internal storage that can be bolstered with a 64GB microSD card. Battery-wise, there's a 2,630mAh cell tucked in there, rated for around 16 hours of talk time. The company is also promising access to its own app store, which claims to offer a curated experience such that its customers "don't need to trawl through the 1.2 million apps on Google Play to find the one they want." It'll be available at some point in the near future, priced at $499 / €479, depending on which side of the Atlantic you reside.