Provided is a weekly snapshot of the recent technology, IoT, and mobile news that HOBI’s blog reported on during the week 7/30-8/03.
Transmitting data as sound waves will be the next transformative move for IoT
Forget about tweeting, pretty soon we might all be chirping. Data-over-sound startup, Chirp, believes that transmitting data as sound waves will be the next revolutionizing step in the Internet of Things industry. Chirp’s technology takes data and encodes it into a unique audio stream, before sending it from one device to another. Anything with a speaker can send a ‘chirp’, while most devices equipped with a microphone can receive and decode the message. Chirp currently offers a free software development kit (SDK) to enterprise developers looking to test it out.
Innovation is making lithium-ion batteries increasingly harder to recycle
In a world looking to go mobile, lithium-ion batteries are extremely convenient – which is why they can be found in nearly every consumer electronic that you can think of. However these batteries are quickly becoming an issue. While technology to advance these batteries becomes more innovative, these devices are increasingly becoming harder to recycle. Battery manufacturers have opted to redesign batteries as an effort to minimize cobalt usage. But without valuable contents, recyclers have little incentive to capture used batteries.
New Apple patent hints that your tech devices could be able to charge each other wirelessly
Apple is making progress towards a future where consumers can finally stop toting their device chargers with them everywhere. A new Apple patent shows that the future of wireless charging technology will involve your devices wirelessly charging your other mobile devices. The patent describes the use of inductive charging between electronic devices, which lets two devices, such as a tablet and a smartphone, charge each other’s batteries using their existing charge. the technology stated in the patent application introduces the use of inductive coils, which are used to perform wireless charging. But, the difference lies in how the wireless charging will work here. The same inductive coils will now be used to transmit as well as receive power.
Rumored feature that will set the Galaxy S10 apart from all other smartphones
It’s that time of year where the mobile and consumer electronics industry is buzzing with rumors. And for now, the attention seems to be on Samsung and their latest patent that may just make the Galaxy S10 stand out from all other smartphones. Recent reports say that Samsung has just patented technology for ultrasonic fingerprint sensor – which is likely the tech giant’s effort to compete with Apple’s FaceID and Chinese handset’s optical fingerprint sensor. If the rumors are true, this could be a big game changer not only for Samsung but to the smartphone market as well.