Technary

Element14 launches PiFace and SHIM accessories for the Raspberry Pi

Gadgets

October 19, 2014

Element14 and the team that drafted the PiFace have launched a new series of unique Raspberry Pi accessories and updated the trendy PiFace Digital and Control & Display. These PiFace and SHIM accessories are launched for Raspberry Pi. It follows the launch of the Raspberry Pi model B+ this July. The PiFace Digital 2 helps to anticipate and regulate real world applications and is a uncomplicated and easy way to connect switches, motors, lights and more to the Raspberry Pi aiding it to interact with the world around it.

PiFace and SHIM accessories

The PiFace Digital 2 includes segments like switches, relays and digital and analog I/O that will aid to connect to sensors, lights, motors, etc. and be regulated by the Raspberry Pi board. You are going to go portable with the PiFace Control and Display 2 which means that you no longer need a monitor, mouse and keyboard.

It also includes a character display that will show you the information and the menus, and regulate the Raspberry Pi with onboard buttons or with an IR remote control. The PiFace Control and Display 2 is excellent to be used in XBMC media servers, internet radios or in other Raspberry Pi applications, and enhanced LCDproc open source software keeps record of how the system is performing.

The new accessory SHIM RTC (from PiFace) is the one that boosts supplementary functionality without having to losing Raspberry Pi GPIO. It is attained with a differently designed thin layer PCB and pin through holes, that enable it to sit on top of the Raspberry Pi and has ample space to add additional add-on accessories.

The SHIM RTC (Real Time Clock) means the Pi can keep a record of the existing time with correctness without actually putting GPIO header to use, an easy plug and play integration and enhancement for designs and/or applications requiring time stamps. It also has a battery back-up that can be used to make sure of the on-going timekeeping action in situations where the power is down.

The SHIM Adapter is a Raspberry Pi GPIO extender, which makes it very simple to connect extra add-on accessories, attach wires, work with breadboards or easy approach to pin testing all at the one time. One set of holes are located over the Raspberry Pi headers the other set of holes on the SHIM Adapter can hold header pins, wires, etc., this helps to back the users application and also we do not have to cover up the header pins for supplementary add on boards.

Leave your comments on the launch of the gadget in the comment box below.

element14 Inductive Sensing design challenge winners announced

Software

Srikanth Kulkarni

October 18, 2014

Newark element 14 is a chicago based electronic distribution company . It was founded in 1934 as Newark electric which was a small shop selling radio parts in chicago. Now it is the sixth largest electronics distributor around the globe. Elements 14 has selected the winning design in its inductive sensing design challenge. It was the first inductance to digital converter from texas instruments.

element14 Inductive Sensing design Challenge

Inductive sensing is a contactless, magnet-free sensing technology that can measure the position, motion, or composition of a metal or conductive target as well as detect the compression, extension, or twist of a spring. The LDC1000 enables inductive sensing, by utilizing coils and springs as inductive sensors to deliver better performance.

It also provides better reliability, and greater flexibility than existing sensing solutions – at lower system cost and power. Belgian designer Sammy Peiren was named the Grand Prize Winner for his USB microphone concept, and Dutch designer Elbert Kreukniet was announced Community Choice Winner for his wireless metal detector.

The criteria for choosing the winners was based on their design which has new innovations or possibilities like inductive sensing a contactless , magnet free sensing technology. Peiren’s USB microphone has device LDC1000 to detect sound waves of higher densities with greater sensitivityand dynamic range, whereas kreukniets wireless metal detector pairs an in-app smartphone display with LDC1000 module for depth adjustment and targeted positioning and can use bluetooth or Wi-Fi communication for more accurate metal detection.

Also read : element14 at Automation 2014 presents latest development kits ready of IOT

All the ten finalists were given a chance to prove their abilities by providing them with LDC1000 Evaluation Module and a budget of AU$313.64 for additional components and a CadSoft pro license . Peiren being a grand winner has secured 128GB ipad Air, a Beats by Dre Powerbeats in-ear Headset and an ipad air smart case.

The element14 Community Choice Winner, Kreukniet will receive a 32GB iPad Air and an Apple in-ear Headset with remote and microphone

By conducting these competitions and encouraging the engineers to think out of box and try to create new possibilities to use inductive sensing technology. These inductive sensors have many applications in automobile,traffic lights, metal detectors,medical devices, computers. Also they cover a staggering array of consumer electronics and a variety of automated industrial processes. One Challenge proposal seeks to use inductive sensing to analyze traffic patterns, while another will use the technology to ensure metals used in building construction are safe – a potentially life-saving application.

Transcend launches “Happy Diwali! Store Happy memory!” Campaign

Gadgets

Pavithra Ranganathan

October 18, 2014

So… yet another gleeful diwali peeping around the corner! And guess who is coming to wish you this time? It’s that friendly guy who always stood first to help you store all your memories in the form of videos, photographs and what not!? Yes, I’m talking about TRANSCEND, whom we better recognize in the form of our dear old pen drives.

Transcend launches “Happy Diwali! Store Happy memory!”

Transcend, which has 14 offices worldwide, has rightly understood how excited Indians get when diwali comes around. As a gesture of humble acknowledgement, they have launched their diwali campaign “Happy Diwali! Store happy memory” which would enable us to store all dose special festive moments. When they say offer, privileges like “buy one, get one free” are included in the menu as well. The campaign would be running from 12^th October to 9^th November 2014.

With this news from Transcend, we can heave a sigh of relief as it would ease all problems of storing the pictures which our smart phones and cameras would capture. Sharing the same with the endless list of friends and relatives would now be a joy and not a task anymore. To facilitate this, transcend provides portable HDD up to 2 TB capacity and OTG pendrive. Having said this, there would be very less confusion on picking up gifts for your friends and cousins.

The customers can avail Transcend’s JetFlash340 (OTG pendrives) free for the purchase of selected Transcend storage products (HDD/SDD). The campaign will run PAN India including the big metros like, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. The customers have the liberty of grabbing this offer either from retail outlets or through online shopping in Snapdeal.

The retail outlets offer, TS1TSJ25H3P, TS2TSJ25H3P, TS1TSJ25H3B, TS2TSJ25H3B, TS128GSSD370, TS256GSSD370, TS512GSSD370, TS1TSSD370 while snap deal offers, TS1TSJ25M3B, TS128GSSD370, TS256GSSD370, TS512GSSD370, TS1TSSD370 .

So, now that you have a way to store all your precious memories, stop waiting and start creating those wonderful and picturesque memories and don’t forget to let us know how your celebrations with TRANSCEND went ahead!

KMI K-Board launched for $99 – 13 inch USB MIDI music keyboard

Gadgets

Arshi Bansal

October 18, 2014

Keith McMillen Instrument (KMI), a dominant developer of creative music hardware and software technologies to make computers feel and react like musical instruments, has declared today K-Board™, an ultra portable unbreakable 13 inch USB MIDI keyboard, which is the simplest way to make music with Android tablets, iPads, Windows, Mac and Linux laptops and computers all at a go.

KMI K-Board

It is exclusively available at Guitar Centers nationwide(USA) for $99; K-Board is a very light weight backlit USB MIDI nano keyboard with intelligent sensors that grants instant music creativity on the road with professional musical features at a minimum price. For all musicians it is the perfect gift.

Plug-N-Play & Unbreakable, Travel-Friendly Music Companion for any Tablet or Laptop .K-Board is rugged and cannot be broken; it can easily survive being kept and pulled out carelessly from backpacks and kicked around at concerts and on the road. It has been subjected to various experiments like; it has been run over by a car, dropped from a 2 story building, taped onto a watermelon, and more and guess what? It did not break.

The perfect traveling companion to any laptop or tablet, K-Board weighs just 345 grams (12 ounces) making it extremely lightweight and small at 13 inches x 3.5 inches and can be used with all USB devices to light the fire of creativity and bring out the musician in everyone, anywhere. K-Board also is compatible with all major music software, including Apple Garage Band, Apple Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Native Instruments NIKomplete, and Moog Animoog for iPad, among others.

It is the first Consumer Keyboard Product from Award-Winning KMI, Innovators of Electronic Instruments& The Choice of Professional Leading Musicians. This keyboard follows KMI’s award-winning and critically acclaimed QuNexus keyboard, K-Board builds on KMI’s long history of innovative changes in electronic instruments and is the company’s first consumer offering.

K-Board includes exclusive musical features at a customer-friendly price, such as touch-sensitive smart fabric under every key for effects and expression, speed detection, pressure and tilt; polyphonic pitch bend. Also it has octave up/down buttons for a 7 octave range. These are some of the other features. KMI keyboards are often the choice of well-known musicians; the posh list includes the likes of, Herbie Hancock, Ritchie Hawtin, Lorde, John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), and Childish Gambino.

K-Board features a professional backlit keyboard with a consumer friendly pricing. It can be used withstand careless usage and is unbreakable. It is USB powered and gets power directly from iOS device or computer. It is class compliant for iOS, Android, Mac OS, Windows and Linux and does not require drivers. It has 25 smart sensor keys to detect velocity, pressure, and tilt.

Its features include polyphonic pitch bend and aftertouch, pitch bend pad, Octave up/down buttons for a 7 octave range which are useful for professional musicians. It is extremely portable and has dimensions of: 3.3” x 12.8”x 0.43” (84mm x 325mm x 11mm) and it is very light-weight at 0.76 lb (345g).

It is compatible with all USB devices, including tablets and computers: iPad and other iOS devices (Apple USB connection kit required, not included), Mac – OSX, Windows XP, 7, and 8, Android tablets, and LINUX computers. It is also compatible with all leading music software, including Apple Garage Band, Apple Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Native Instruments NIKomplete, Moog Animoog for iPad.

You can get it from Guitar Centers throughout the U.S. K-Board will be in stores from November 1, 2014.It is priced at $99. You can buy it from Guitar Centers throughout the U.S and online store.

Leave your comments on the launch of the gadget in the comment box below.

LiveRez creates Google Glass Mobile App for Housekeeping and Maintenance

Software

Pavithra Ranganathan

October 17, 2014

If daily tasks were automated, bookings were taken care of round the clock, and business can be run from any corner of the world by an app, will there be a better blessing for a vacation rental manager? Well, then that is exactly what LiveRez is delivering.

LiveRez creates Google Glass Mobile App

It has successfully partnered with more than 800 property management companies within an agile span of 6 years. LiveRez is a fast growing cloud-based software company and created softwares for professional vacation rental managers. This great software is becoming truly greater as it is culminating its features with that of the Google Glass technology. It predominantly aims at mobile housekeeping and maintenance.

The inaugural Partner Conference which took place last month announced the arrival of this app followed by a demonstration. With the launch of the product, the world would witness a technical wonder right before its eyes, literally!!

Why literally?? It is because it is going to use Google’s smart eyewear project glass. The technique behind is that, the internet connection from the glass is integrated with LiveRez’s cloud based vacation rental management software. The advantage behind this is that, the housekeeping and maintenance teams can complete their work even without using their hands.

This can be done through simple voice commands or even log pictures of issues with glass’ onboard camera. The GPS system of the glass enables this task with a lot of ease. Tracy Lotz, CEO LiveRez remarked that “Internet of Things” has found its way in rental industry.

The CEO, being a 20-year veteran in the field mentioned that the maintenance and housekeeping teams always have their challenges in completing the task. The Guests check-in and check-out and cleaning of the homes with timely inspection always kept the teams busy. Therefore it was felt that, if an app could help them do this, it would mean that it would result in a lot of efficiency.

The app currently in internal testing will further go to field testing when Glass devices are generally available. The Glass is now in open beta, and it has to be appreciated that Google has made this available to public recently. Lotz, suggested that, with the technology becoming mainstream, a non-glass version of the app will be made available by the end of the year.

There is also a recent news wherein, LiveRez ‘s integration with smart home automation leader Point Central will happen. This partnership is evident, that the whole of vacation rental home will become yet another online resource.

Lotz claimed that LiveRez aims to build new technologies that will make the lives of their property manager partners better. It was also said that, LiveRez will be the first company to have made use of the Google Glass technology, thus bringing the vacation rental industry online.

With the advent of these new technologies, it looks like watching a sci-fi movie in real time. But if it’s going to improve our daily lives and ease out our tasks, why not appreciate and beckon it?

Don’t you think this app deserves it???

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