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Technology

10 Fitness Trackers You Can Clip On to Your Sports Bra

Worrying about stuff falling out of your pockets, tugging on uncomfortable yoga pants, hair in your face – these are all small annoyances that can ruin a good workout.

Many people wear fitness trackers on their wrist, but not everyone wants to do that. Some people find that wearing something on their wrist is constricting and uncomfortable. Good thing we have more options to choose from.

Clip on fitness trackers are a choice alternative. Many clip on fitness trackers are advertised to clip onto a belt, but they work perfectly clipped on to your sports bra. Keep it close without wearing it on your arm.

Which ones work? Read our list of fitness trackers you can clip on to your sports bra, and get the one that best fits your workout routine. Here are 10 fitness trackers you can clip on to your sports bra!

1. Garmin vívofit Belt Clip

This Garmin vívofit Belt Clip sold by Dell can easily be clipped onto your sports bra. For only $24.99, clip this handy fitness tracker on and keep track of your health goals.

Make your workouts as easy as possible (plus, get Dell promo codes here and here).

2. Garmin vívofit 2 Belt Clip

Different than the first Garmin vívofit clip on fitness tracker yet still just as neat looking, the Garmin vívofit 2 Belt Clip offers a rounder shape with the same clippability. This one’s sold at Heart Rate Monitors USA, which usually offers a discount or two (like this 10% off code).

Clip this onto your sports bra and keep track of how idle you are, how your heart rate is doing, and your steps.

3. Fitbit Zip Charcoal

Weight Watchers sells this next clip on fitness tracker that you can easily slide onto your sports bra strap. Burn calories without the sweat that shows up under a wrist watch. The Fitbit Zip in Charcoal is a simple use tracker that lets you know how many steps you’ve achieved and how many calories burned.

And honestly, it’s kind of adorable! It’s “rainy, sweat, and splash proof” so you don’t have to worry about breaking a good sweat on that hike. Sync it to your mobile device via Bluetooth.

This one’s a bit pricey, but there are usually a few discount codes or coupons to find.

4. Fitbit One

Another Fitbit for the list, the Fitbit One is Fitbit’s newer clip on and it’s got it all. It comes in black or burgundy.

Wear it while you work out or throughout your day. See how many steps you’ve taken, how many floors you’ve climbed, and how far you’ve traveled.

Track everything you need and only charge it a few times a month. The battery life is up to 14 hours.

5. Jawbone UPmove

Jawbone makes straightforward fitness trackers for daily wear or exercising. The Jawbone UPmove clip on is great for clipping onto your sports bra strap.

Grab this inconspicuous tracker on Jet.com (they always offer promo codes here and here) and it’ll blend into any outfit.

6. Bellabeat Leaf Fitness Tracker

Now, here’s an interesting one. This could actually go with a nice outfit! The Bellabeat Leaf fitness tracker looks like a lovely brooch, and you can find it at EBags (codes here and here).

This tracker is designed to look like jewelry, so you don’t have to feel like you’re wearing a military style fitness tracker. It helps you keep in touch with your body and overall well being. Make sure you’re getting adequate sleep and manage stress.

The most intriguing part is that it helps you track your monthly cycles. It lets you know where you’re at in terms of ovulation, period, and contraception intake.

Clip this on to your sports bra, or any other outfit, and it’ll look amazing.

7. Pro My Sync Clip

Sold at Tanga (discounts here, here) the Pro My Sync Clip is one of the most simple fitness trackers you can clip on to your sports bra. It connects through Blluetooth to your smartphone, so you can keep close track of where you’re at in your health goals.

It holds a 14 day memory and tracks all the basics: sleep, calories, steps, active minutes, and more. It’s got a 30 day warranty, so try it out! For only $40, it’s everything you need.

8. Cel-Lab Fitness Tracker

The Cel-Lab Fitness Tracker is probably the most elemental on the list. It helps you monitor your exercise without any frills. Wear it discreetly on your hidden sports bra strap or anywhere else it can clip on.

You can clip it and forget about it as it counts calories and steps. It won’t connect to your phone, so if you don’t mind that, then it still works wonderfully as a basic fitness tracker.

9. Yoo Mini Fitness Tracker

The Yoo Mini Fitness Tracker is a cute little tracker from Walmart (look here for Walmart promo codes, or here) that wants to be your new workout pal.

Clip it on to your sports bra and it’ll go anywhere you go. It’s the size of a quarter, so it’ll stay out of the way when you’re running up hills or doing laps.

One of the coolest parts of this tracker is its special LED light activation technology. Wave your tracker in the air and it’ll turn the screen on for you to check your stats.

It runs on a replaceable Lithium battery and is water-resistant.

10. Striiv Fitness Tracker Clip On

Get a small, pebble shaped fitness tracker that you can clip on easily. It’s called the Striiv Play Smart Pedometer, and it’s sold on Rakuten (for which there are plenty of promo codes, and other deals).

It has a 60 day memory and gives a sleek look to your workout attire or casual outfit. Track steps, distance, and all your mild to difficult fitness endeavours.

Conclusion

Forget wearing it on your wrist, clip it on to your sports bra! Hide it discreetly, wear it out in the open, or make it look like jewelry. Whatever your fitness needs are, reach your goals in the most comfortable way you can.

Apr 11, 2018 0 comment

Opinion Technology

Five reasons 2018 could be the best year yet for cryptocurrencies

written by Web Desk

1. The work on scaling issues

Bitcoin (BTC) is the most important cryptocurrency. Most government-backed money that goes in and out of crypto goes through bitcoin, so what happens to the original cryptocurrency affects the entire market.

The token’s market dominance stood at about 40 percent as of Wednesday. By my estimates, however, it’s clear bitcoin’s market dominance should return to 75 percent of the entire space.

I actually see a 150 percent potential upside in bitcoin for 2018.

Why? Well, BTC is still dominant. It has the biggest user base and the biggest industry. Still, it faces a challenge in scaling up for wider use.

Bitcoin now can’t handle more than six or seven (or, with the “Segregated Witness” protocol upgrade, it’s 12 to 14) transactions a second. Compare that with credit cards, which involve thousands of transactions per second, so the criticism about bitcoin’s ability to be useful at larger scales is understandable.

The scalability challenge results in high fees as well.

What is the solution? It is the so-called second-layer peer-to-peer off-chain networks. To cite an example, look at the Lightning Network. Created by Blockstream, the Lightning Network allows for transactions off the blockchain, thereby decreasing the transaction costs almost to zero and increasing the speed and scalability almost infinitely. And it’s just getting started. As you can see from this map, more and more nodes as well as channels are being established. It is growing exponentially.

In the coming months, we will see a sharp uptick in transactions and the use of more bitcoin in these channels. What’s more, the Lightning Network doesn’t have any fee.

In other words, second-layer networks solve the problems bitcoin faces — scalability and lack of liquidity. That could be a key reason why bitcoin surges this year.

There are also other second-layer projects like Rootstock that would allow computations similar to those of ethereum (a blockchain-based computing platform that supports another cryptocurrency named ether) to be done through bitcoin.

Exciting projects such as those could cause a significant spike in BTC. I would dare say in the realm of 60 to 70 percent with the potential upside of 100 percent — and maybe even more.

2. Large scale and more legitimate ICOs

Like last year, initial coin offerings (ICOs) will impact the ethereum network because ICOs usually require plenty of ether. That will buttress the demand for the platform’s digital coin. More legitimate ICOs will lead to greater interest in ether as we are already seeing with the billion-dollar ICO of messaging app provider Telegram and that of Kodak.

That means we could see a rise in the market cap of ethereum to $200 billion by the end of the year from less than $90 billion on Wednesday. The cryptocurrency’s price could possibly double to $2,000.

Though other platforms could see similar gains, I believe ethereum will be the main focus.

3. Regulation

Many believe regulations hurt markets, but that is a short-sighted perspective. In the long run, companies require rules for the sake of legal stability and certainty. Regulation gives users and institutional clients the confidence to invest.

We saw something similar when Japan started regulating bitcoin. The market dropped initially, but it rose eventually. Ditto in Australia.

Other countries could follow the same rule book — I think we are going to see something like that with South Korea and probably many others — but the market’s fate will be no different than after what played out in Japan and Australia.

4. A lot of execution and usability

The number of users and merchants is set to increase sharply in 2018.

This would burnish the reputation of cryptocurrencies, with more and more companies trusting them. The firms that execute well this year will stand out and create a survivorship bias — where a few companies thrive and others fail, but people focus on the winners and ignore the losers.

Most start-ups bomb, but the spectacular successes of companies such as Facebook and Airbnb help mask those failures. Likewise, the success stories of a few entities in the cryptocurrency space will overshadow the negative news of several going bankrupt.

5. Institutional investors

The last reason why 2018 will be a stellar year for cryptocurrencies is that this will be the first year of solid institutional money flowing into the ecosystem.

It is estimated that $10 billion to $12 billion has so far flown into the crypto ecosystem, but that’s nothing compared to what institutional funds could invest. Since those first funds propped up the market to around $500 billion, the next $10 billion to $12 billion, which is peanuts for some funds, could double the market cap this year.

Summing up

To sum up, the likelihood of all five factors happening is not 100 percent. But I still see a probability of 70 to 75 percent. And each one of them might grow the market’s overall size 50 to 100 percent — maybe even 200 percent.

If you combine those factors, the market’s upside potential could rise to up to seven or eight times the present levels. While this might not be as much of a multiple as what we saw in 2017, it is much higher in absolute terms. That could make 2018 the most successful year in crypto ever. Additionally, the growth might not be based so much on hype or hope as it would be on solid foundations.

That being said, the reader should not see this piece as investment advice. When you dismiss real risks as fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD), you could be blindsided.

Feb 23, 2018 0 comment

Technology

Laser Manufacturers Are Innovating at the Speed of… You Know

written by Web Desk

Lasers are ubiquitous in science fiction, functioning as security measures, weapons, data collectors, and analyzers. It’s easy to point to laser usage in dated shows like “Star Trek” and snicker — but it seems sci-fi has enjoyed the last laugh. Lasers have advanced dramatically in recent years, using new techniques and technologies to solve problems across industries. It seems that lasers will be common in the future — seeing as though they are already common today.

The most practical function of lasers is in materials processing. Originally, lasers were hardly powerful enough to be seen by the naked eye; today, we can produce large and reliable lasers capable of processing a variety of materials in all sorts of ways.

A Brief History of Laser Innovation

While the existence of lasers was first proposed in 1900 by physicist Max Planck — and Einstein first described the process that makes lasers in 1917 — the first real laser (then called a maser) didn’t appear until 1954. Even then, lasers weren’t adapted for use in industry for another decade or so. Laser material processing developed in the late 1960s, when pulsed solid-state lasers were first used for drilling and spot welding and when continuous wave carbon-dioxide lasers were used for cutting and continuous welding.

Swiftly, lasers became indispensable tools for material processing. Laser flame cutting, laser fusion cutting, laser welding, hardening, and cladding evolved in the late 1970s and early ‘80s. However, in those early days, techniques were rudimentary, and not all components were available for use. Initially, lasers lacked beam delivery optics, focusing elements, and gas supply systems, which were not yet optimized for industrial use. For this reason — as well as a dearth of international standards for beam quality and definition — lasers lacked the power and precision we have become accustomed to today. Perhaps more importantly, there existed no or few standardized safety regulations, meaning laser operators undertook serious risks to use these advanced tools.

Still, demand for industrial laser processing systems increased. Slowly, lasers gained diamond-turned copper optics, zinc-selenide transmissive components, and molybdenum-coated focusing mirrors, all of which improved resonator optics, bean delivery, and focusing. Cutting heads also gained automated nozzle distance control and optimized gas flow, both of which made cuts more consistent.

Yet, widespread use of lasers in materials processing was inhibited by one serious factor: Cost. Consumption of gas, electrical power, optics, and spare parts are significant expenses that inhibited the diffusion of lasers into all organizations and fields. Thus, in the 1990s, most laser processor manufacturers began improving solid-state lasers, which require dramatically less maintenance. Using a CO2 slab essentially eliminates the need for gas ventilation and reduces standby electricity needs, but replacing the CO2 entirely with a solid-state fiber decreases loss and further reduces energy consumption. Solid-state lasers have a short longevity — just about 2,000 hours — meaning further innovation was necessary to see wider adoption.

After a shift from rod-shaped to disk-shaped laser activation material and experiments with thermal lenses, laser manufacturers finally transitioned to rare-earth element-doped fiber lasers in the late 2000s. Offering even greater power and control while being virtually maintenance free, fiber lasers are more adaptable to various applications than previous lasers, so one machine can perform dozens of processing techniques. Fiber lasers are simple, robust, and efficient — the perfect combination of qualities for a material processing tool.

How Lasers Will Process the World

Today, laser engraving machines, laser cutters, laser welders, hardeners, and cladders are common equipment in small and largescale material processing, and it only took 40 years of development to make it so. Laser techniques are well-established and, given the power and efficiency of modern laser machines, unlikely to disappear or become obsolete in the coming years.

Experts believe that lasers will continue to evolve, becoming even more accurate and applicable in the realm of materials processing. A laser processing revolution could be on the horizon with diode lasers, which seem to be faster than fiber lasers — but manufacturers must prove that diode lasers are as efficient, reliable, and affordable as fiber lasers, which have set a high bar for laser processing performance. The laser processing tools of the near future should be even more relevant, acquiring applications in new fields, such as additive manufacturing, and expanding applications in vast fields, like welding. Soon enough, lasers could even be integral tools in your home.

Nov 17, 2017 0 comment

Technology

Artificial Intelligence in Cars – A Driverless Future

written by Web Desk

The idea of driverless cars once seemed implausible and something that we only saw in sci-fi films, but we could be seeing this in the near future. Artificial intelligence (AI) has come on leaps and bounds and the auto industry is fully embracing it. This will completely revolutionise the way in which we drive down the line.

Current Technology

We are already seeing how artificial intelligence and modern technology is being incorporated into the motor industry. This is through the range of impressive safety technology that comes with new cars. Examples include systems which detect when a collision is imminent and applies braking, technology that senses when you are drifting out of lane and corrects your line and technology that determines when an operator is drowsy behind the wheel. This technology has already saved lives and stopped countless collisions from occurring.

There are many other impressive systems in place that assist with driving. This includes driverless parking, cruise control and blind spot monitoring. Much of this technology is now available as standard and available from many manufacturers.

Autonomous Driving

The big question on everybody’s mind is “when will we see driverless cars?”. Whilst many are excited about the prospect (especially car manufacturers pioneering the AI), there are still those that have their reservations. These reservations stem from the concern over safety and making moral decisions, but also those that enjoy driving. Regardless of where you stand, technologies are being constantly tested and developed and there are even autonomous car insurance laws in place in the UK.

Race Between Manufacturers

There is very much a race between the major manufacturers to achieve the first fully autonomous automobile, with companies like Mercedes, Tesla, Lexus and BMW all developing their own systems. Additionally, the owner of Vauxhall (General Motors) has bought leading startup Cruise Automation and invested millions in ride-sharing services with a goal of introducing fully autonomous fleets.

GM has also started to develop their own AI, so it is plausible to think that Vauxhall could too be a big player in the driverless car race. Many of their current range already use advanced technology and can be bought at affordable prices from places like Motorpoint Limited.

Driverless Experience

It is not just the ability to drive with AI too, as many of the leading companies are also looking to make the experience much easier and more enjoyable. This could include vehicles that can communicate with the driver and passenger, seats that move back to create a lounge-like environment with many gadgets and automobiles that can communicate with each other and even other devices (such as your fridge at home!).

Obstacles

Whilst it seems the technology is almost in place for autonomous driving, the logistics are a major obstacle to overcome. Human drivers (and errors), emergency vehicles, insurance, pedestrians, hacking, ethical decisions and road infrastructure are all factors that need careful consideration.

The future certainly looks bright for AI and autonomous driving and it is fascinating to read the latest developments. One day in the not too distant future we will see driverless cars on the roads, but there are still many hurdles to overcome first.

Oct 7, 2017 0 comment

Technology

The Importance of App Technology within the Auto Industry

written by Web Desk

Technology plays a significant role within the auto industry today. It’s incorporated into practically every aspect of a vehicle, including its safety, comfort and entertainment systems. It also controls satellite navigation systems; something which the majority of drivers have come to rely upon.

As technology is so deeply integrated in today’s modern vehicles, there’s been a particular increase in the utilisation of app technology. Here, we’ll look at why app technology is important within the auto industry.

Why is app technology important?

When you think of app technology, you typically associate it with the apps you download from either the Android Play or Apple iStore. However, in terms of the auto industry, it can consist of so much more.

Vehicles are starting to become a lot more dependent upon mobile technology. As cars become increasingly connected to the internet, apps are now used to gather vital driving information such as real-time traffic updates and directions. They’re used to download entertainment for passengers, and some will even be able to tell you where your nearest charging station is for your electronic powered vehicle.

Perhaps one of the most useful apps available within the auto industry today, is the HPI checker app. There’s one available on the iTunes store from HPI Ltd for example, and it can prove extremely useful in the decision to buy a vehicle.

Why HPI checks are growing in popularity

HPI checks are becoming extremely popular as part of the vehicle buying process. Giving buyers vital information about a car’s history, it enables much wiser purchasing decisions. A vehicle check can help:

• Protect buyers against common auto scams

• Provide details of MOT history

• State whether there is any overdue finance on the vehicle

• Show whether a vehicle has been reported as stolen

Buying a used car has always been risky, but thanks to technological advancements such as the HPI check, it has become a lot easier in recent years. The best HPI checkers use the very latest technology to ensure the results presented are 100% accurate and up-to-date.

Overall, app technology has become an integral part of the auto industry. As time goes on, it’s only likely to become even more important to both buyers and manufacturers. It’s even estimated that future apps could help to reduce the risk of accidents by enabling vehicles to communicate with one another on the road.

Oct 7, 2017 0 comment

Technology

The Technology Behind Our Power Tools

written by Web Desk

Power tools have enabled both DIY enthusiasts and industry professionals to carry out more precise and effective tasks. Over the years they have changed dramatically, now benefitting from a lighter, faster and more powerful design. Here, we’ll look at the technology behind our power tools and how it continues to shape the gadgets we use.

The evolution of cordless power tools

One of the major breakthrough technologies within the power tools sector has been the introduction of cordless tools. Manufacturers have managed to develop cordless power tools with the same power as corded tools. Offering greater convenience and proving safer to use, cordless technology has come a long way in recent years.

The motors of cordless tools started with canned technology, before moving on to frameless and finally brushless motor technology. In order to keep up with the advanced motor technology, transmissions have also been improved. Initially, power tools worked with a fairly low transmission of around 250-300 rpm rate. Now, it’s not uncommon to find tools with a 1700-2000 rpm rate. This basically means today’s power tools are faster than they used to be.

Of course, the largest technological advancement in the power tools sector has been the switch from manual to electronic tools. Not too long ago, power tools worked in a very mechanical way. These days however, technology has helped to optimise performance and create a more streamlined, electronic design.

Lithium-ion technology

Battery powered tools have been significantly improved by the introduction of Lithium-ion technology. Used by top brands such as Milwaukee power tools, this technology has helped to make heavy duty tools more compact, lighter and more powerful.

The rechargeable batteries aren’t just common in power tools; they’re also widely used across many sectors today. For example, many manufacturers are starting to use Lithium-ion batteries as a replacement for lead-acid batteries in utility vehicles and golf carts.

In terms of power tools, this technology is also beneficial thanks to its slow loss of charge. When not in use, the tools won’t run down in power like they used to. When it comes to charging them up, Lithium-ion batteries also generally charge much faster than previous batteries.

As you can see, there’s been a few major developments within the power tools sector thanks to technology. As time goes on, it’s likely we’ll see even more improvements and technology innovations introduced.

Oct 7, 2017 0 comment

Gadgets Technology

How Technology has Transformed Office Design in Many Ways

written by Hasan Saleem

For many decades, offices have often been boring spaces where the daily grind really feels like a grind. Beige walls, row after row of grey desks and flickering strip lights don’t do anything to inspire, but thanks to technology, this has changed. Instead of projectors and bulky desktops, lightweight and fast gadgets have made the workplace smarter, brighter and more fun.

Smart technology has played a huge role in transforming offices, particularly for lighting. At their campus in San Diego, telecommunication giants Qualcomm have installed a light sensor system. It automatically senses when the lights need to be on and takes up very little room. The sensors are part of a wider attempt to create a smart building.

Super Screens

Presentations are a big part of what goes on in almost every office. For presentations, the humble overhead projector gave way to smart whiteboards. However, they have since been replaced by far more sophisticated means of displaying slideshows, test versions of new projects and screening video conference calls from the other side of the world.

360 degree screens were a big innovation last year and are set to become a major feature in offices worldwide. Being fully immersive, these screens are great for teamwork exercises and brainstorming sessions. Using just a single computer, it saves space too, all while displaying what’s on different screens from different devices.

The move away from bulky projectors has also been enabled by streaming devices, such as the Amazon Fire Stick and Google’s Chromecast. These small USB flash drives have meant less wiring cluttering up meeting rooms, whilst also allowing offices with smart or WiFi-capable TV screens to broadcast live video calls at a moment’s notice.

Faster Connections

One historical way in which office design has been transformed is by the introduction of WiFi. Until the early 2000’s, modems for every computer were a major fixture in offices. Since WiFi became an integral part of offices, they have become far less cluttered, more efficient and more spacious. In the process, download and upload speeds have become much faster.

Many serviced offices like those from DeVono have WiFi built-in. This saves even more space, making it easier for new tenants to plug in their laptops, get comfortable and get to work. In terms of design, serviced offices are more minimalist, with much of their technology being built into the walls.

Modern offices have been designed with hot desking in mind. Whilst some offices still have cubicles today, a shift towards open plan desk layouts in the 1990’s enabled employees to move between desks when it was convenient. WiFi, instant messaging and video conferencing have played their part.

Digital Assistant

A more recent addition to the range of gadgets found in an office is the smart speaker. Examples include the Amazon Echo and Google Home, and both have digital personal assistants – Alexa in the Echo’s case. They answer questions asked verbally, acting as a useful tool in even the smallest office.

For businesses who don’t have the funds to hire a full-time receptionist, a smart speaker is a good alternative. It can be used by clients asking for directions to the nearest train station and employees needing an instant answer. They are small in size too and often form the centrepiece of a small office or cluster of desks.

Oct 2, 2017 0 comment

Gadgets Technology

Drones are Invaluable Helpers in the Wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma

written by Don Eminizer

I’ve recently written about drones being tested to help lifeboats looking for people at sea, and it is common knowledge that they are being used by a variety of agencies (including police departments to find missing persons, and fire departments to safely inspect damage buildings and structures). In terrible and damaging natural disasters like recent hurricanes Harvey and Irma, drones are proving to be yet again extremely helpful, and that for a variety of reasons.

First, insurance companies are more and more using drones to assess property damage. Drone usage not only lets surveyors conduct inspections in a safe manner, but it also considerably expedite the assessment process. After destruction of this magnitude, it can be difficult (and dangerous) to physically inspect each house. Just making one’s way among the rubble or flood can be enough of a challenge – not to speak of the actual inspection. In this manner, inspectors and adjusters can, if they’re lucky, inspect on average 3 houses a day. With a drone, they’re able to move much more quickly and complete the process for upwards of 10 houses every day. This doesn’t only benefit insurance companies and their employees; policy holders also benefit from the drones’ help, because it allows them to receive claims faster, and start rebuilding or relocating more quickly. Being homeless and relying on shelters isn’t something anyone wants to have to do longer than they have to.

But drones are also helpful in other ways. They can be used to inspect damages made to infrastructure such as bridges, towers and roadways, to see which are safe and which threaten collapse. Communication companies also use them to survey the damage made to their equipment, helping them rebuild faster.

Drones are becoming essential in all sorts of ways, and we are certainly taking advantage of their technology to the fullest – or at least working on it. The only downside of drones near the destruction zones is that they are unmapped on any radar and are sharing air space with a plethora of others – news and rescue helicopters and other aircrafts that are doing equally important jobs, like humanitarian efforts and search and rescue operations. We’ll need to find a way to coordiante flights in the future so that every craft and personnel can be used to their full potential.

Sep 24, 2017 0 comment

Services Technology

The UK is Testing Drones as Lifeboat Rescue Helpers

written by Don Eminizer

Drones are becoming increasingly helpful in a wide array of situations. They have a lot of potential, and are already being use by police forces looking for fugitives or missing persons as well as by fire departments to inspect potentially dangerous structures and situations while staying out of harm’s way. It’s therefore not surprising that lifeboat workers are interested in seeing if drones could be a helpful tool to help locate people lost at sea.

The challenge with looking for people from the boat is that if the sea isn’t calm, it can be extremely challenging to see well enough to find anything. When the sea is rough, lifeboat operators have to rely on particularly big swells, which puts the boat in a higher position, allowing them to look down at the surrounding water. Unfortunately, if whoever they’re looking for are at that moment in a trough, there is still the chance that they will be missed. Obviously, when someone is lost in choppy seas, time is of the essence – if exhaustion doesn’t come first, hypothermia won’t be far behind.

This is why a lifeboat service located in Norfolk, England, thinks that drones could be very useful in search and rescue missions. The drones they are currently testing are equipped with cameras that relay live footage to monitors located inside the lifeboats themselves. This would allow the drone operator to search a greater area much more quickly, and the drone coordinates could potentially allow the lifeboat operator to be able to reach whoever is adrift faster.

There are, however, a few technicalities to work out. First, because of the size and weight of the drone, it might be challenging to operate it successfully in windy conditions. Depending on the weather, visibility could also be poor, but the drone’s eye will probably still be better than whatever can be seen from the boat. Then there’s the UK law that states that drone operators must at all times have a direct view of the drone itself. This could prove to be a problem – if the drone can’t scout far enough ahead, the chances of finding anyone in time are greatly diminished. The lifeboat service is therefore appealing to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to allow them to forego this directive when the drone is over the water.

I can see how drones might be useful in search and rescue operations over water. Hopefully lifeboat help and recue drones are something we’ll see in the near future.

Sep 22, 2017 0 comment

Technology

The Parcel Delivery Sector and Digital Technology

written by Hasan Saleem

Today’s digital retail customers have extraordinarily high expectations, they expect the right product at the right price and they expect to receive it quickly, at a time and location that suits them. The response to this from online retailers, logistics and transportation companies has been to say “yes – no problem” and then to look for digital solutions for this increased demand.

So, how are logistics and transportation companies staying ahead of the game, what digital technologies enable them to collect and deliver millions of packages and parcels every year?

Here we look at the digital revolution in the parcel delivery and courier services.

The Slow Life

Twenty years ago, life was much slower, shopping online was in its infancy, Amazon and eBay were just starting out and the parcel delivery and courier sector looked tired, a little grubby and was slow. Many jobs in the sector were completed manually and the reams of paperwork that contained inventories, delivery addresses and other vital information was easy to lose and was likely full of errors.

Then of course people started buying stuff online – lots of stuff.

Supply, Demand, Expand, Innovate

Increased demand brought on by people shopping online created an opportunity for existing and new parcel delivery and courier services, they needed to expand, but not only that they needed to be faster and more efficient – enter digital technology.

Now, to keep ahead of supply and demand, the sector relies on a multitude of digital technology and equipment. GPS is de rigour and means that couriers can navigate the roads more effectively and avoid accidents and traffic jams.

Couriers and those working in company offices and despatch centres also need to communicate using digital technology in order to stay ahead of the game. Dispatch information and delivery addresses are now held digitally, as is live tracking data.

And, so the first wave of digital innovation experienced by the sector has made it much faster and more efficient. Many of the leading parcel delivery and courier services, however, are now looking to the future in order to make deliveries even faster and to become more environmentally friendly.

Future Tech Today

Much of the technology that the parcel delivery and courier sector will need to adopt in the future are already with us. Drones for example have already been tested by Amazon, who are now looking to offer deliveries in 30 minutes or less in some US states.

Electric vehicles are finding their way onto our roads and are being adopted by the sector as a more sustainable way to run their services. Inevitably, driverless vehicles will be used and online supermarket Ocado, have recently tested one such vehicle in south-east London and are expected to be an early adopter when it comes to using the technology.

Once again, the US are leading the way with driverless and drone tech, with companies like Zipline already operating a commercially in Africa, delivering medical supplies – the nature of globalisation, however, means that selling or franchising ideas brought to life in the tech industry is quick and easy and so eyes peeled for the first UK drone deliveries.

Sep 19, 2017 0 comment