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New Shoe Models For The Blind People

Imagine walking down to the nearest grocery shop or a bus stop with your eyes blindfolded and you’ll probably get an idea how tricky outdoor navigation for the visually impaired can be.

Arduino Lilypad is the main circuit board, which is kept at the back mid-sole region of the shoe. The mini-vibrational actuators are placed on all sides for the directional haptic feedback so that an approaching turn triggers the vibration. See the slideshow for a full-coverage of how shoe-Le Chal works. Credit: Sujith Sujan

Sensitive towards the needs of the visually impaired people, Anirudh Sharma, 24, a young researcher at Hewlett-Packard Labs in Bangalore, worked over several nights to design a shoe for the blind. Unlike other existing aids that are available in the market for people with limited or no vision, this haptic shoe is simple and unobtrusive in design, uses low-cost readily available components, and provides tactile feedback to assist the visually impaired in their day-to-day outdoor navigation tasks.

To Sharma the first idea of a haptic shoe struck at the Design and Innovation workshop in Pune, Maharashtra, during 24-28 January, 2011. The workshop was organized by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab and the College of Engineering, Pune to engage and inspire students across all disciplines in Indian universities in inventing the future. During along with two other technologists, created the first prototype of the haptic shoe and showcased it to the delegates. The shoe was instantly named “Le Chal” which is a Hindi translation of “Take Me There”.

At present people with limited or no vision depend either on walking canes, which help them detect obstructions, or seek help from friends and other people for assistance, or using voice-based navigation aids. The existing form of voice-based navigation aids can be very distracting for the blind as they mostly depend on their sense of hearing. Such devices are prohibitively expensive to buy too.

This to create a shoe that could navigate the route for the visually impaired and lead them to their desired destination without hampering their Hearing Power or making them wear bulky stuff and look awkward on the street.

Le Chal is its most significant feature. The system comprises of a mechanism that condenses complex geographical navigational information and lets the user feel the directional and proximity information through vibrations. The Vibrator and proximity sensor put in one shoe of the pair enables the user to walk without any physical aid.

All that the user requires is a Le Chal shoe and a mobile phone with global positioning system (GPS). Once the user sets a destination on the phone before starting the journey, the Bluetooth communication between the shoe and phone does the rest. The phone fetches turn-by-turn Google maps data in the background and keeps updating the user with haptic feedback about the direction the user needs to turn to.

As soon as the user starts his or her journey, the GPS transmitter within the cellphone gets real-time location using Google Map. The built-in compass in GPScalculates the direction user is walking in. When the turning point is approached a mild vibrational feedback activated in the shoe informs the user the direction he or she needs to turn to. The strength of the vibration depends upon the overall proximity from the destination, that is, vibration is weak in the beginning and is incrementally stronger at the end of the navigation task. The built-in proximity sensor of the shoe can detect up to 10 feet, informing the user of the surroundings and allowing him or her to make decisions and plan the next move.

Sharma is planning to release the code of Le Chal Android application and schematics to public through Arduino community channel. He is also planning to create a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) guide through an editable Wikipedia where users can participate and help him create better version of the technology. He is also exploring the idea of how the commutation data of multiple users could decrease the overall time.

Microsoft, BlackBerry Drive Big Increase in Magazine

Overall ad spending on magazines may have been down 5% in the first quarter of this year, but one sector dramatically (and surprisingly) upped its investment in the medium: the technology industry.

Technology companies increased their spending on magazines by 21.6% from Q1 2012, according to data released this week by the Publishers Information Bureau. The technology category includes hardware, software, devices (including mobile phones and other handsets) and telecom providers (i.e. AT&T), said a spokesperson for PIB.

Why has the technology industry — which last year reduced the number of ad pages purchased three out of four quarters — suddenly reversed direction, spending $215.9 million on magazines in the first three months of the year? It hasn't. According to Jon Swallen, chief research officer of Kantar Media (which supplied the original data to PIB), the increase in spending — at least in the hardware/software division — is something of an anomaly, one that can be linked to a single advertiser: Microsoft.

"Microsoft launched significant campaigns in the first quarter for software products, particularly for Windows 8," Swallen explained in a phone interview with Mashable. "The company also launched some campaigns for Office 365 ... But the increase, it's all Microsoft."

Microsoft and its media-buying agency, Starcom, declined to comment on the spending figures.

The software giant isn't alone in its actions. David Cooperstein, a Forrester Research analyst, pointed to advertisers such as Adobe, Samsung and BlackBerry, which coordinated a big marketing push for the launch of the BlackBerry Z10 phone in Q1.

"[Advertisers] have recognized that print still works," Cooperstein said, adding that print is particularly effective for "creating an emotion" around a brand or complex piece of consumer technology. Cooperstein noted that these advertisers are going beyond Wired and other technology-focused magazines, buying pages in consumer-oriented titles they haven't been in before.

Apple Stock Falls Below $400 For First Time Since December 2011

Apple's stock collapsed below $400 during midday trading Wednesday, a decline of more than 6% on the day and the first time that the stock has fallen below that milestone since December 2011.

The stock was hit by multiple pieces of bad news on Wednesday. Cirrus Logic, one of Apple's suppliers for the iPhone and iPad, reported a lower-than-expected revenue forecast, which investors took to be a sign of weaker demand for Apple's products. Peter Misek, an analyst with Jefferies, reported hearing that Apple is having production issues that could delay its next iPhone models and Digitimes, a publication with a mixed track record on rumors, reported hearing from supply chain sources that iPad Mini shipments are expected to decline by as much as 30% in the second quarter of this year.

Last week, Hon Hai Precision Technology — the manufacturer better known as Foxconn — reported that its first-quarter sales had declined 19% year-over-year, which one analysts pinned on disappointing iPhone sales.

Apple is set to report its earnings for the March quarter next week and investors seem to be preparing for the possibility of disappointing iPhone sales and profits.

LG Aims to Outwit Samsung with First Launch of Flexible Display Smartphone in 2013

Samsung and LG are the South Korean tech majors who are prepping their first flexible screen smartphones to dent the mobile space with high end innovation. But now, it seems LG will beat Samsung to unveil the smartphone equipped with flexible display in the market first.
Samsung has already stolen the show at the CES 2013 at Las Vegas along with the software giant Microsoft, when the company unveiled YOUM flexible display technology. While Samsung unveiled the flexible display, the officials informed that Microsoft is already in works in making a Windows Phone device that would feature the newly launched display. Furthermore, Microsoft even showed off a prototype of the upcoming device during CES 2013.

But it has been more than three months since the launch, and so far Samsung has not given any insight to the future plans of launch of flexible display equipped smartphone. However, according to a new Korea Times report, it seems that LG could beat Samsung and introduce the first commercial batches of flexible displays this year.
The report revealed that the production unit of LG is already ahead of Samsung Display in the race to bring the next generation of OLED TVs to market, and also when it comes to UHD (4K) displays.
Further, it has also been disclosed that LG has prepared its flexible displays, which can be twisted and bent and used for next-generation tablets and smartphones. Reportedly, in partnership with Korea's finance ministry, LG is targeting to ship the first batch of flexible displays later this year, ahead of Samsung.

Nokia Asha 501 and 210 Budget Smartphones Coming Soon?

Gizbot earlier told you about the leaked images of an upcoming Nokia Asha handset being tweeted by @evleaks , a well known leak expert with a reputation of being reliable. There were rumors that the handset will boast a new UI and design.

Lately, the same source again leaked few more pictures displaying the Nokia Asha design language preview. However, till now the name of the handset was unknown.
There is some new information, suggesting that the Finnish handset maker is prepping up to launch two new handsets dubbed as Nokia 501 and Nokia 210. According to Unwiredview both the smartphones have been certified recently by Indonesian Telecom authorities.
Could it be that, the images of the unknown phone that was leaked was actually, the one, that of Nokia 501? Quite possible.
Assuming the leaks were that of Nokia 501, the handset will come with only a home button and will come in three colour variants including green, red and yellow. Also, the handset is expected to have a 5 mp camera and AMOLED display. The Asha 501 is expected to be budget-smartphone costing around $150 ( Rs. 8,174).
As for the Nokia 210, there hardly is any news about this device, but the guess is, it is going to be a entry-level phone. These handsets could mean, Nokia are looking to focus on low-buget smartphone market.

Shahrukh Khan comes to Deepika Padukone's rescue

Supersats Shahrukh Khan specially lent his vanity van to Deepika Padukone and Ayan Mukerji so that Deepika can dub for the trailer of her upcoming film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.

Director Ayan Mukerji, who is currently busy with the post-production of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (YJHD), recently landed at Wai, 250 km from Mumbai, on the sets of Shahrukh and Deepika starrer Chennai Express to dub a few lines for the trailer of YJHD. But to his dismay, he found there was no suitable infrastructure around.

Shahrukh immediately offered for their dub his luxury makeup trailer that has one of the best sound systems that a mobile van can have, said a statement.

"SRK not only allowed Mukerji and his team to use his van for dubbing, he also ensured that the YJHD team was treated to a sumptuous lunch and also offered them recreational facilities as they had driven seven hours at a stretch to reach the sets," said a source.

Releasing May 31, YJHD also stars Kalki Koechlin and Aditya Roy Kapur.

BlackBerry Z10: A Consumer Orders for 1Million Units...Really?

Cannadian company BlackBerry have pinned their hopes on their new flagship smartphone Z10 and looks like, they have found the break, they were looking for. On March 13, 2013, the company announced that one of it's established partners had placed an order for one million BlackBerry 10 smartphones. This is easily the largest ever single purchase order in BlackBerry's history

Rick Costanzo, EVP Global Sales, BlackBerry "An order for one million devices is a tremendous vote of confidence in BlackBerry 10,"

"Consumers are ready for a new user experience, and BlackBerry 10 delivers. With strong partner support, coupled with this truly re-invented new platform, we have a powerful recipe for success." He added.

BlackBerry did not disclose information on who made this massive purchase. However, the news interestingly comes after AT&T and Verizon announce BlackBerry 10 release dates of March 22 and March 28 respectively. Tech world seems to think, there might be some kind of a connection between the two. Anyways, telecom service providers have declined to comment on that.

A report from CNET said ' BlackBerry's shares on Nasdaq rose 8 percent to $15.62. Shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange also climbed 8.3 percent to 16.06 Canadian dollars ($15.63)'.

Meanwhile, BlackBerry Z10 seems to be doing surprisingly well in the Indian market BlackBerry CEO Thorstein Heins said BlackBerry Z10 has sold out within two days of its release in the country. Mind you, BlackBerry Z10 is priced at a whopping price of Rs 43,490.

The Z10 seems to be changing fortunes for the Canadian company, it could very well be, just a matter time, before the handset becomes one of the highest selling devices of 2013.

To have a look at the specs, BlackBerry Z10 comes with a 4.2 inch capacitive touchscreen display with 1280 x 768 pixel resolution, 1.5GHz TI OMAP 4470 dual-core processor, 8MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, 16GB internal storage, 2GB RAM, micro SD card slot, HDMI port, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, 4G LTE and a removable 1,800 mAh battery.

BB10 Tablet, Phablets: BlackBerry Roadmap Leaks Upcoming Apple iPad, Note 3 QWERTY Keypad Rival

Between hits and misses, Thorsten Heins, CEO BlackBerry, could announce couple for more BB10 devices. The makers behind acclaimed BBM messenger service is ready to launch a newer version of PlayBook, and a Phablet device this year, based on latest mobile operating system BB10.

The road map of BlackBerry has been leaked on the internet via @BB10Leaks.The struggling smartphone maker has earlier launched BlackBerry Z10, a touch screen phone powered by BB10.

So far the response is above average, as the maker managed to sell 1 million units of the BB Z10 last quarter. Recently, Mr. Heins in an interview to CNET shared his excitement about the next big thing from BlackBerry. There are two big devices coming out this fall, as per BlackBerry. The flagship device is said to take BlackBerry 10 to another level in terms of experience.

"There's one new product I'm really excited about, but I can't really share it," as told to CNET by Thorsten Heins, CEO BlackBerry.

Alex Kinsella, an executive at BlackBerry, told KYMI that the company will definitely announce a BB10 update for existing PlayBook. That could also means that a sequel to PlayBook is also brewing in the R&D labs of BlackBerry.

Going by the alleged shot of the road map, it confirms that BlackBerry will indeed have plans to announce an updated version of PlayBook in Q3 2013. Another interesting piece of news is the coming of a Phablet, which could hit markets sometime in Q4 2013. For QWERTY Key-pad fans, another version or a sequel of BlackBerry Q10 is waiting to be announced in Q2 2014.

The coming of a Phablet like device from BlackBerry would surely bring joy, as many of its competitors have already announced a large screen device in the recent months. From May 14-16, 2013, BlackBerry will organize BlackBerry Live, an annual event for industry people, and app developers. The alleged leak of road map is a coincidence or it is mischief of someone.

Nothing can be said at this point of time. But one thing is clear from Mr. Heins interview given to CNET - expect two interesting devices from BlackBerry. Stay tuned to GizBot.

BMW Limited Build Cruise Electric Two Wheeler

This is not the first time BMW has produced an electric bicycle, but Cruise seems to be more advanced than anything else the Bavarian automaker has come out with before. Not many details about BMW Cruise have been revealed yet and we know that it will only be made available in its home country, with a limited run of 1000 units.

BMW Cruise bicycle/moped is equipped with a 250W motor from Bosch that powers the rear wheel and it is powered by a lithium ion battery of unknown rating. At this point all BMW says is that Cruise is capable of reaching 25 km/h (15 mph), with a range of 80 km (~50 miles). Finally, about that "advanced" part we mentioned. BMW Cruise is the first of its kind to offer driving modes - Eco, Tour, Sport or Speed/Turbo. Go through the images in the gallery below.

IPL 6 to open in Kolkata with glitz and glamour

Kolkata, Apr 1: Come Tuesday (April 2), the Salt Lake Stadium here will resonate with Rabindra Sangeet and Pitbull's rap as a medley of dancers will enthrall over a hundred thousand spectators at the inaugural ceremony of the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 6).

The Opening Ceremony will start at 7.30PM IST.

The spectacle, that will have Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone shake a leg to chart-topping hits, will flag-off with a dance sequence by 300-odd hep and peppy high school and college students of the eastern metropolis.

The dance sequence will begin with Tagore's 'Aguner Poroshmani' playing in the background as the teeny-boppers take to the arena in 'Om' formation, holding aloft torches.

"We will stand in the formation of the 'Om' symbol holding torches with 'Aguner Poroshmoni' being played in the background, followed by an instrumental number," Payel Bhor, a college student from the suburb of Srirampore, told IANS.

Bhor and her co-dancer Krittika Ghosh from Konnagar in Hooghly district have been rehearsing for eight hours a day with other members of their troupe since March 22 to prepare for the ceremony, put together by Mumbai's event management company Cineyug in collaboration with Red Chillies Entertainment (RCE). The SRK-owned RCE holds a 50 percent stake in Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Choreographed by Santosh Shetty, the torch dance sequence will be followed by a carnival where the children will showcase western steps in a variety of formations with props like tassels, flags, pom-poms and umbrellas. The jamboree will also see a cavalcade of flying drummers from Europe and stilt workers.

"The dancers have been divided into four groups and each group will hold a different prop. There will be hip-hop, jazz and other steps. This sequence will be performed to an electronic instrumental number and special lighting will be used in sync with the choreography and formations," school student A. Paul told IANS.

For the cricketing part, captains of the nine participating teams will sign the ICC spirit of cricket pledge "Play hard, play fair" following which defending champions KKR captain Gautam Gambhir will put the trophy back into play.

Braving the rising mercury, parents of the teen performers have been camping out near the stadium office, just to see their wards step on the same stage with SRK and Katrina.

"We sit out here in the shade all day long. We have brought packed lunches and also buy food from the stalls. It is a huge effort in this heat but we will do it as it is a great honour to see our daughters and sons perform on the same stage as Shah Rukh and Katrina. We bought our own tickets as the organisers didn't provide us with any," Payel's mother Alo told IANS.

As for Bhor and Ghosh, who consider themselves 'lucky' to have made it through the auditions March 12, it is a chance of a lifetime.

"It is a chance of a lifetime for us. We are excited to see all the stars. It doesn't matter that we have to work so hard," Ghosh told IANS.

The trio from Bollywood will take to the stage towards the end of the show while Pitbull will rap twice during the ceremony.

Amazing Beauty Benefits of Lemon

Lemon is one of the most versatile natural ingredients to enhance your beauty. The beauty benefits of lemon are numerous and very potent. One of the main beauty benefits of lemon is that it works as natural bleach. So, lemon lightens skin and hair naturally. It is citrus and thus has many antiseptic properties. That is why the beauty benefits of lemon also includes curing minor infections.

Most often, we are only aware of how lemon is good for the skin. But lemon have many benefits for your hair as well. For example, lemon juice keeps hair roots strong and gets rid of dandruff easily. Moreover, lemon makes hair smell heavenly with its fruity and citrus aroma.

It has several other beauty benefits on your skin, hair as well as nails. All in all, lemon is a wonder fruit for keeping-up your beauty. So you can rely on this citrus fruit to look younger, fairer and better.

Here are some of the main beauty benefits of lemon.

Internet slowdown due to deliberate cable cut near Egypt

New Delhi, April 1: After series spam attacks, now undersea Internet cables are being targeted.

Egypt's naval forces captured three scuba divers, who were trying to cut undersea Internet cables in the Mediterranean. This has affected Internet speed in India. Added to deliberate cutting was damage caused to another cable by a ship.

According to media reports, the three submarine cables that have been affected go by the acronyms SMW4, IMEWE and EIG.

The SMW4 or the South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 4 cable is approximately 18,800 kilometres long, and provides the primary Internet backbone between South East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and Europe.

I-ME-WE stands for India-Middle East-Western Europe and is 13,000-kilometre submarine communications cable system between India and France.

Meanwhile, state-run BSNL has released a statement saying that its Internet capacity has dropped by 21 percent due to fiber cuts in three undersea cables that are responsible for global connectivity.

This is not the first time cable cuts have affected the Mideast in recent years. Errant ships' anchors are often blamed. A cable cut can cause data to become congested and flow the long way around the world.

Petrol price cut by 85 paise per litre excluding VAT

New Delhi, April 1: With state-owned oil companies recouping some of their losses due to falling crude prices, they seem to be in a mood to lighten the burden on consumers. The petrol price was slashed by 85 paise per litre, excluding Value Added Taxes (VAT), from midnight on Monday.

If VAT is included, the reduction in price is actually Rs 1.02 per litre in the national capital. Motorists here need to only pay Rs 67.29 per litre of petrol from Tuesday as compared to Rs 68.34 till date.

The corresponding figures for Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai are Rs 74.14 a litre, Rs 74.72 and Rs 70.34.

Explaining why the petrol price has been reduced, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) pointed out that international prices of the fuel have fallen from 122.74 US dollars per barrel to 119.23 US dollars a barrel in the past two weeks. The Indian rupee also appreciated by 12 paise to Rs 54.28 against the US dollar.

"Following this, it has been decided to pass on the benefit to customers and accordingly the aforesaid reduction in the retail selling price of petrol is being effected," the IOC said.

It is not just motorists who have a reason to be happy, households too can rejoice as non-subsidised cooking gas also turned cheaper by Rs 3 per cylinder on Monday.

According to IOC officials, non-subsidised LPG refill will henceforth cost Rs 901.50 in the national capital. Till Sunday, families living here had to pay Rs 904.50 for a cylinder after exhausting their quota of 9 subsidised LPG refills in a year.

In Kolkata, a non-subsidised cylinder will cost Rs 926.50 while the rates in Mumbai and Chennai will be Rs 912 and Rs 898 respectively.

Though the cap on LPG cylinders was fixed at six when the UPA government first opted for the unpopular move in Sep 2012, protests by the entire opposition and even constituents of the ruling coalition forced a rethink.

The Centre finally revised the cap upwards in Jan 2013. Now each household can avail a maximum of nine LPG cylinders in a year. On Jan 18, oil companies hiked the price of non-subsidised refills to Rs 942 in Delhi. On Mar 1, the rates were further slashed to Rs 904.50.