Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Beacon issues

As the argument rages on about what is the best way to reach out mobile shoppers through their devices, the most obvious answer seems to be the Beacon strategy that has been used immediately.
Having said that, there are areas that need to be carefully considered before a blanket solution is proposed. The article talks about some of the challenges that come alongwith a Beacon strategy.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/quickerbettertech/2015/08/24/why-targets-beacon-strategy-is-doomed/

As we see Beacon proliferation, we will need to look at fine tuning this strategy to come up with an effective final solution.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Eddystone

After so much activity and discussions around Eddystone, some simple thoughts around how it has made significant changes in the IOT landscape :


  • IOS , Android and more ....
Given that folks have been playing around the iBeacon spec and Beacons from Estimotes, Motorola etc for a while, it is a well known fact that the current landscape is more aligned towards the iOS users. Given that a little over two third of the world's users use Android, this had to be corrected...Eddystone gets us there

  • No App...That's fine
With Beacons, the users had to be using your application to make it really effective. Now with Eddystone, there can be URLs that can be broadcasted which do not need your apps to be installed. You can use Eddystone to send a link to your visitors to your application on the App store or something similar and also feature current promotions

  • Context Galore
With Eddystone, there is also a Telemetry option which allows broadcast sensor - driven data on the beacon's state and the environment around it. Data can be used to control factors around specific parameters. Different actions can be triggered based on the changes in environmental and weather conditions. Warehouse, Hotel conditions, Collecting weather factors, Notifications to preferred customers etc are just some of the huge applciations which can be used. 



  • Proximity factor
Using Eddystone URL, merchants can push URLs linked to their content, web page or personalized content system to patrons who do not have their applications installed. That way, folks near shopping centers or malls can receive notifications about the merchant offers and have context around that data, 

Hyperloop discussion

Based on the Hyperloop discussion by Mr Elon Musk, efforts are on for a transportation system that "would whisk travelers between cities at speeds topping 760 miles per hour. Passengers would ride inside pods shooting through a network of low-pressure tubes, with the pods surfing electromagnetic pulses rather than carrying engines of their own.".

While this system sounds extremely enticing for folks who have dreamt about getting to workplaces quicker, there are several challenges that will need to be addressed before it becomes "production" grade.

The initial design seems to be over simplified for such a complex system. Some of the challenges include
  • Seismic factors
In areas like San Francisco and Los Angeles, that are sitting on top of a potential seismic activity zone, the design of such a transportation mode which would sit as a welded steel tube on top of concrete pillars with dampers will have its own challenges.
  • More connections for Pylon
Currently the transportation system is just kept as a sort of tube that is hug from a Pylon but there has to be some sort of a connection to keep it from sliding off the side of the pylon. 
  • System Communications
This system will require some sort of tracking system of where each capsule was along the route.  A web of substations, communication centers will be needed 
  • Thermal Expansion

The current design claims that no expansion joints are needed because “tube is not rigidly fixed at any point” and uses “dampers” instead. But simple calculations show damper attachment to each pylon would not allow for the kind of movement that will happen.


Saturday, August 08, 2015

Tesla considers its own autonomous ride-sharing business

Advait Kulkarni
shared the story, Tesla considers its own autonomous ride-sharing business, with you on Flipboard.
Tesla considers its own autonomous ride-sharing business
Tesla considers its own autonomous ride-sharing business
engadget.com The best music often comes from the notes left unplayed, and so it was with the Tesla Motors Q2 earnings call with financial analysts this week. While w... read more
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