National Instruments (NI), the provider of platform-based systems that enable engineers and scientists to solve the world’s greatest engineering challenges has announced the WLAN Test Toolkit 17.0 with support for Draft 1.1 of the IEEE 802.11ax standard.
Combined with NI’s second-generation Vector Signal Transceiver [VST], the WLAN Test Toolkit 17.0 supports 802.11ax waveform generation and analysis for characterization, validation and production test of products, such as RF front end components, wireless modules and user devices, that implement Draft 1.1 of the IEEE 802.11ax standard.
The WLANTestToolkit17.0 empowers designers and engineers with the ability to generate and analyze a wide range of 802.11ax standard-compliant wave-forms, including extended single user, multi-user OFDMA and multi-user Multiple Input, Multiple Output [MIMO] with per-user configuration and measurement results. The toolkit helps users solve demanding new access point test cases by generating signals that simulate multi-user environments, including per-user impairments. Engineers can also use the new software to generate trigger frames to test the real-time response of client devices and make power pre-correction and relative center frequency measurements.
As the standardization and evolution of 802.11ax continues, engineers require a software-centric test approach that can keep pace with the latest standard features and challenging new test cases. Taking advantage of NI’s modular platform and second-generation VST can help users lower their cost of test and reduce time to market.
With the WLAN Test Toolkit 17.0 and second-generation VST, engineers can configure up to 8*8 MIMO systems in a single PXI chassis. Users can also expect EVM measurements better than -50 dB, leading to rigorous device characterization and reliable test results. Furthermore, engineers can control their systems with the toolkit’s generation and analysis soft-front panels, and benefit from extensive LabVIEW, C and .NET system design software APIs and example code when programming and automating their systems.
The WLAN Test Toolkit 17.0 expands NI’s wide-ranging product portfolio for testing 802.11a/b/g/j/n/p/ac/ax, Bluetooth, 2G, 3G, 4G, FM/RDS, GNSS and low-power Internet of Things (IoT) wireless standards. NI’s platform-based approach helps ensure that users can update their existing PXI RF test systems to support 802.11ax device testing with a simple software update, and continue to do so as the 802.11ax standardization process evolves. Engineers can take advantage of this smarter approach to RF test to help lower their cost of test and better prepare for future connectivity and cellular standardization initiatives, such as 5G.
Uber, the ridesharing app that connects riders with drivers to provide convenient, reliable and affordable rides at the push of a button, have announced that riders can now update their pick up location after they have requested a ride, if they happened to request from the wrong place. With this cool new feature, riders can now conveniently redirect their driver partner to correct location through the app, even when the driver is en-route.
Ryan Yu, Software Engineer and Rachel Holt, Regional General Manager, US & Canada at Uber said
Pick-ups are one of the hardest parts of the experience to get right, and they’re especially difficult when riders accidentally request a pickup from the wrong place. It often begins with a phone call and ends with a cancelled ride. A small miscue can lead to a frustrating situation where riders aren’t riding, and drivers aren’t earning.
Starting today, riders in India, on iOS and android, can update their pickup location after they have booked a ride. This feature has been piloted in a handful of cities and it was found that it led to less stress and fewer cancellations – saving time and headaches for everyone involved. This feature will be made available to all riders across the India in the coming weeks.
Here is how it works:
Once your driver is en route, tap “edit” next to your pickup location
Enter your new pickup address, and tap “confirm”
Once a rider updates their pickup location, drivers will be notified of the new location and have their route updated, though the experience will vary slightly for in-app and out-of-app navigation.
The pickup is a core part of the Uber experience and we’re always thinking about ways for it to be as painless as possible for both riders and drivers. This simple fix gives riders more control over their pickup experience, and saves everyone time and avoidable headaches.
Bengaluru-based technology company Instadel India Pvt Ltd has released Omnisling, a Cloud based software platform that is all set to provide digital solutions to enhance the profitability and efficiency of small and medium retail businesses.
Omnisling serves as a one-point solution for micro, small and medium businesses to leverage digital technologies for procurement, sales, marketing and production.
Omnisling is a Cloud based software platform that is exclusively focused on tech enabling micro, small and medium retail businesses. The easy-to-use platform helps businesses digitize their product catalogue and presents it via multiple channels and thereby increasing their customer reach exponentially. The platform is tailored to domain specific needs providing in-depth solution to retailers. Omnisling is integrated with OEM partners from around the globe to provide a complete solution.
A vendor can maintain his accounts, enroll himself in various seller domains, enter the e-market and continue his old sales method all at the same time using Omnisling.
Omnisling is an outcome of the recent digital trends. According to a report, Impact of internet and digitisation on SMBs in India [January 2017], a study by KPMG found that a staggering 68% of Indian SMBs are completely offline, with only 2 % actively selling or promoting their business online.
Digitally engaged SMBs grew profit by 19 per cent year over year as compared to 10 per cent for an offline SMB. Connected and enabled SMBs were also found to be 1.5 times and 2 times more likely to grow profits faster respectively. The gains were majorly driven by greater economies of scale, process upgrade and more information, easier communication, the report says.
A primary telephonic survey by Kantar IMRB in November 2016 of 504 Indian SMBs found that Indian SMBs who adopt digital technologies grow profits up two times faster than offline SMBs. The report finds that 51% of digitally enabled SMBs sell beyond city boundaries as compared o 29% of offline SMBs.
Omnisling’s flexible software can be customized according to the requirement of each client. It interconnects different strata in one organized web that helps the client in managing things on the go.
The reasonably priced technology solution is customized after an in depth study of challenges and opportunities faced by the small and medium businesses enabling them to keep pace with the technology race.
The tablet-based Omnisling works on different platforms. A readily available catalog has boosted a comparatively faster set up making it easy to add products and generate bills. It also provides with daily, monthly and yearly analytics useful in taking business decisions. The features of Omnisling are cloud based with multi payment gateways integrated with back end apps like accounting and scheduling. The technology works on PC Mac, iPad or Android tablets. It works offline and the data gets synchronized when the user comes online.
Omnisling is driven by a vibrant team that has cumulative five decades of corporate experience. The platform is very easy to use with self-help features and in addition a round-the-clock customer care works to the needs of the consumers.
Amagi, the leader in cloud broadcast infrastructure and targeted advertising for TV and OTT, have announced the launch of SKYLIGHT, the first-of-its-kind, cloud-managed broadcast services platform positioned to redefine the managed playout services industry.
SKYLIGHT offers TV networks cloud-led, end-to-end services encompassing content preparation, channel playout, content delivery & monetization for both linear TV and OTT for maximum efficiency. The SKYLIGHT services platform embodies a philosophy of simplicity, transparency, and automation.
Traditional managed service providers have archaic systems and their lack of innovation is limiting the possibilities for TV networks. They are labor-intensive, large physical operations, and from the perspective of TV networks, opaque in many ways. We are breaking new ground by adopting future-ready cloud technologies that add advanced automation to accelerate broadcast workflows, provide complete transparency through a web-based UI, and make it absolutely simple for broadcasters to operate channels.
Unlike traditional managed service providers, Amagi SKYLIGHT uses public cloud infrastructure to push broadcasters’ content to the cloud and then centrally manages the entire broadcast workflow. SKYLIGHT packs in cognitive capabilities and machine learning techniques to reduce human intervention wherever possible. These aspects drive scalability and increase broadcast efficiencies.
Amagi’s SKYLIGHT uses a differentiated partner-centric approach to help TV networks get better choice and cost effectiveness-be it for creative services including subtitling, voice over, and post-production or delivery services over fiber and satellite. By giving a wide swathe of choice of partners and on-demand infrastructure, Amagi provides better cost efficiencies and agility to its customers.
What makes SKYLIGHT truly an end-to-end service is our extensive expertise in monetizing content through targeted advertising on TV and dynamic, personalized ad insertion on OTT. This makes SKYLIGHT an attractive proposition for TV networks, not just for operational efficiencies but also for revenue generation.
About Amagi
Amagi is the world’s first cloud-managed broadcast services and targeted advertising solutions company. Amagi brings simplicity, advanced automation, and transparency to the entire broadcast operation, be it for traditional TV or next-gen multi-screen platforms. Amagi has deployments in over 40 countries, enabling TV networks to launch, operate, and monetize channels anywhere in the world. Amagi also provides targeted advertising solutions to 2,500+ brands, shaping the future of TV advertising. For more information, please visit Amagi
As Indians, 8th November is one date that has been etched in our memories since that was the date when Demonetization was announced by PM Modi. Whether the outcome was achieved or not is still an on-going debate 🙂 However, talking about dates, there is another one that can be considered as a game changer in the gaming industry and the date we are talking about is 14th December.
You might be scratching your head hard to recollect the specialty of it, well it was on that particular day when the addictive game of Pokemon Go was announced in India. Pokemon Go can be easily touted as a game that changed the phase of Augmented Reality [AR] gaming. You would have seen gamers going crazy to catch Pokemon’s at any cost and there was a huge amount of stickiness to the game.
Augmented reality [AR] is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented [or supplemented] by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data whereas Virtual reality[VR] typically refers to computer technologies that use virtual reality headsets to generate the realistic images, sounds and other sensations that replicate a real environment or create an imaginary setting [Source-1, Source-2]. There was a time when AR/VR was only limited to Video Gaming but it is now being used in different sectors like real-estate, customer service in banking, e-learning, etc. As a matter of fact, more the adoption of these technologies better it is for the AR/VR industry.
As per an industry report,
Over the past few years, AR & VR market has been growing in India on account of increasing penetration of head-mounted displays in entertainment & gaming industry, rising defense spending coupled with surging demand in the country’s healthcare sector. Over the next five years, anticipated growth in the country’s defense budget, and rising demand for AR & VR enabled products for training purposes are expected to emerge as the major factors driving demand for AR & VR products in the defense industry.
AR & VR market is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 55% during 2016 – 2021.Increasing AR usage for enhancing the gaming experience, growing penetration of head-up displays in the automotive sector, rising use of AR in pico-projectors, etc., are driving the AR & VR market in the country [Source – Techsciresearch]. Though there is a steady increase in the adoption of AR/VR, it is still primarily used by gamers since it completely redefines the gaming experience.
Back home, one company that is carrying the baton for utilizing AR & VR technologies for re-defining the gaming landscape is Smaaash Entertainment. Smaaash Entertainment was co-founded in 2009 by serial entrepreneur Shripal Morakhiaandcounts Sachin Tendulkar as its investor & Brand Ambassador. It is aimed at providing an exceptional gaming experience by combining sports with Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality. Smaaash Entertainment focuses on providing sports simulation technology based cricket, football etc. and other recreational activities, as well as a host of leisure activities including dining.
We visited Smaaash at 1 MG Road Mall in Bengaluru where Gladston Sequeira, Marketing Executive at Smaaash gave us a brief about the AR/VR games that are developed in-house by their R&D team. Apart from the experience, one thing that we really liked about their business model is that other gaming arenas are free to purchase those games from Smaaash which in turn spreads more curiosity about AR/VR !!
Some of the games that we experienced are listed below
Smaaash Cricket
Brett Lee is looking you in the eye. You got to have that shaken not stirred attitude to face off. The fielders will sledge; the crowd will be on your side. Let your bat do the talking at the 360-degree cricket simulator, where real world class bowlers will test your mettle with their genuine actions. You can find more about the behind Smaaash Cricket here.
Walk The Plank
Experience Virtual Reality as it takes the thrill quotient several notches higher. A dizzying 50 feet fall on either side and villainous monsters in your way. The only thing between you and death is a narrow plank. You will make it to the other side only if you can fight fear and vertigo at the same time. You can find more about the technology behind Walk the Plank here.
Finger Coaster
Wondered how designing a roller coaster by yourself would be? What if you could take a ride in one of those too. Your heart will be in your mouth when you ride on our physics-challenging, Oculus-based simulator. The better you design your ride, the more fun you will have. You can find more about the technology behind Finger Coaster here.
Nitro Wheelie
Get down and dirty on the racing track with Nitro Wheelie, a dirt bike game based on a platform boasting of six-degree freedom. Don racing helmets and get on different racing tracks, to puff up some dust. When it comes to dirt racing, nothing comes close to Nitro Wheelie. More details about Nitro Wheelie here.
Smart Arcade
With vintage favorites like Pac-Man, Air Hockey, Deal or No Deal and Simpson’s Soccer, you will never want to leave our time capsule. And if you enjoy more conventional games, there is Connect 4 and Fruit Ninja. More details about Smart Arcade here.
Super Keeper
Experience the drama, excitement, and emotions of a real penalty shootout, as you go one-on-one against our supersonic goalkeeper. At Super Keeper, it takes a lot more than mere skills to strike the ball to the back of the net. More details about Super Keeper here.
X2 Motor Racing Simulator
Bring out the F1 racer in you. At speeds of 200 mph, you got to hold your nerve as the torqued steering tests your driving mettle. Teamed with realistic racing simulation motions you will twist and turn in the 100% formula one car replica. More details about X2 Motor Racing Simulator here.
Some of the photos clicked during the visit are below:
Out of all the games that we played at Smaaash, Smaaash Cricket and Walk the Plankwere cut above the rest !! The major difference between Smaaash Cricket and the Cricket that you can play at other malls using the Bowling machine is that in this case, you can actually feel that the actual bowler is bowling to you. They have collected action and speed samples of close to 20+ international bowlers that makes playing Smaaash cricket much more fun and entertaining. For e.g. If a fast bowler like Lasith Malinga bowls a slower ball, you can observe the change in pace. Live cricket commentary in the context of the game pumps the player up at you get a feeling that you are playing in a stadium 🙂 If you are cricket fan then you should definitely try out Smaaash Cricket !!
Walk the Plank is an amazing game that makes the best use of Virtual Reality. The player needs to cross 100 feet tall building on a six inches plank. That sounds a bit scary and the amazing cinematic graphics makes the overall experience even more thrilling.
More details about the games, dining, etc. at Smaaash can be found here & here. A couple of days back RCB skipper Virat Kohli was at Smaaash, Bengaluru and the atmosphere was electrifying. More details about his visit can be found here
This was our review of Smaaash that is located at 1 MG Lido Mall, Bengaluru. In case you have visited Smaaash, please leave your experience in the comments section…
Yahoo has announced the new Yahoo Homepage, along with updates to Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Cricket and Yahoo Lifestyle for users in India. These changes provide a more unified experience across our homepage and core properties, offering a better way to consume, engage, and discover the quality content our users have come to expect.
With cleaner, more modern designs and a focus on increased personalization, the new sites deliver a continuous stream of articles tailored to each user [including original content] and create a more consistent experience on Yahoo properties across devices.
Yahoo Homepage
The new Yahoo homepage makes it easier to get all your latest news and content, in less time. You no longer need to open individual articles in multiple browser tabs; instead, you can simply scroll through related stories inline.
Up top, Yahoo’s editors pick some of the most important stories readers need to know, alongside content most relevant to them. For a more in-depth understanding of a story, see related stories by clicking the ‘heart’ icon, or clicking through to find additional related stories below each article. Over time, as you click on more content, the Yahoo stream becomes more tailored to your interests. The more you use homepage, the better your experience will be.
Interested in breaking news and real-time events? The new updates let you discover the full story as it’s happening live. Follow the latest news developments and receive instant notifications when a story is updated.
Yahoo Finance
Cleaner and easy to read across devices, the new Yahoo Finance features bolder headlines, striking photos and fewer modules-all while continuing to provide exceptional access to real-time data, editorial insights and analysis, breaking news and video.
Yahoo has combined the watchlist, portfolios and popular market data such as top gainers and losers into a configurable dashboard where you can add, remove and reorder your stocks directly on the homepage. To jump between interactive charts you are viewing, just click a ticker on your watchlist. New data visualizations on stock quotes in the right rail provide a quick company performance summary, while a new ‘View Watchlist’ button allows you to see your stocks on any quote page without navigating away.
Users can use My Portfolio to customize the site and add, remove, or reorder their portfolios. And instead of 15 fixed headlines, Yahoo will now offer an infinite stream of content on the quote page, with related articles grouped into clusters, similar to the homepage.
One of the new features Yahoo is most excited about is the new community-centered ‘Conversations’ section available on each quote page. Message boards are now moved into a more modern social experience where you can discover trending tags and will be able to post charts and images, Gifs to express your ideas. Relevant conversations from articles will also appear to help you discover what is being said about companies anywhere on Yahoo.
Yahoo Cricket
And for the millions of Cricket fans in India and across the world, the new upgraded design of Yahoo Cricket will provide you with a new experience which includes-considerably faster page load, more seamless surfacing of slideshows, videos and original content and a more conformed platform. The new design of Yahoo Lifestyle will provide users a modern and fully immersive content experience consisting of News, Finance and Homepage.
Have you checked out the Yahoo Homepage,share your views in the comments section…
Digitisation has been instrumental in determining the growth of any business and the last bottleneck of the digital economy is the point of sale. ToneTag’s sound wave technology has reduced this by enabling contactless on any phone and provide easy, friction-less, and secure proximity payments and communications using sound. This has resulted in a 4.2x jump in their sale.
ToneTag technology is provided as an Interaction as a service solution. Post demonetisation, Tonetag has garnered more experience and popularity among merchants and is proving to be a vital game changer in the payment industry.
ToneTag has partnered with Banks, Issuers and Acquirers, Toll plaza, Parking operators for payment solutions and Retailers for payment solutions and locating and engaging the customers. Some of the ToneTag partners are Freecharge, ICICI pockets, YES Bank, Airtel, Shoppers Stop etc.
ToneTag is the ?rst company on this planet to enable contactless payment acceptance on EDC machine using Sound. So far 100,000 plus Ingenico and Verifone EDC machines made contactless with ToneTag and 4000 computer POS made contactless with TT SDK push.
In a short span of time, ToneTag has reached 32 million plus consumers through its technology, giving them a whole new payment experience. We have with us 110,000 plus merchants, who use our technology to receive payments. We have a total of 18 clients so far. Our partners have reported a 4.2 times improvement on overall transactions compared to prevailing methods of transacting using OTP or QR codes, keeping the spend on consumer adoption same.
Digital India is the way forward, with the ‘Smart City’ projects underway and government’s push for a cashless economy is evident as UPI based payments and Aadhar Pay are government initiatives. All banks and financial institutions have started to embrace digitization; this simplifies our role even further. Since India is home to the second largest mobile phone user base in the world with around 1 billion subscribers and 80% penetration, it’s the one technology that has truly captured the urban as well as rural areas.
ToneTag is in talks with other major players in the retail, banking and fin-tech companies, trying to make the payment front more secure and safe.
About ToneTag
ToneTag is a sound based proximity communication provider that enables contactless proximity communication, location based services and customer engagement services among a multitude of other solutions. Backed by Reliance VC among a host of investors, ToneTag has enabled contactless, offline, proximity communication on any device through sound and their team continues to innovate and transform the way devices will communicate with each other in the near future. For more information, please visit ToneTag
Synechron, a global financial services consulting and technology services provider have announced the launch of two new, state-of-the-art digital innovation labs in Pune and Bengaluru to advance global, digital transformation initiatives for the financial services industry.
Synechron’s Financial Innovation Labs [FinLabs] act as an innovation hub that enables businesses to experience first-hand the latest digital technologies from blockchain and artificial intelligence, to voice recognition, drones and others to look at, touch and ‘feel’ real-world business solutions and advance fintech initiatives.
With Pune and Bengaluru FinLabs open to the industry and another new facility coming up in Hyderabad shortly, Synechron now has 8 FinLabs globally, with other labs located in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Charlotte and Fort Lauderdale. Synechron also plans to roll out a flagship FinLab in its New York HQ, in the coming months.
The India FinLabs in Pune and Bengaluru are fully operational as of now and are open to Synechron clients to experience the latest digital technologies and be energized and inspired to develop transformative solutions.
Visitors can do everything, from role playing the customer journey through a typical digital engagement scenario to prototyping around new technologies, applications and accelerators including:
Artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning and data science
Blockchain applications using Ethereum, Hyperledger and Ripple
Data analytics and visualizations
Drones
Gamification models
Tablets, beacons, biometrics and mobile applications
Virtual reality and augmented reality
Voice recognition and natural language processing via Amazon Echo and Siri
Additionally, Synechron’s India FinLabs have introduced an interactive video wall for data visualization, recognizing that user experience [UX] is the key to customer engagement and a centerpiece for the bank branch of the future.
Our vision for FinLabs was to create more than just a trendy collaboration space. Synechron has taken the innovation lab model to the next level by creating a truly immersive technology experience that fosters development of real business applications like our blockchain accelerators while supporting FinTech innovation. Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad are leading technology markets, and as we look to cultivate top tech talent and serve our clients, we are delighted to deliver this unique value.
David Horton, Managing Director and Head of Innovation at Synechron added
The financial services industry wants to embrace cutting-edge technology to advance business strategies. Each of the technologies we are featuring in FinLabs can help address key issues like regulation, cost pressure, efficiency, customer experience and engagement to deliver digital banking and achieve fintech’s promise of disruptive innovation that simplifies our world, and makes banking better.
Synechron, one of the fastest-growing digital, business consulting & technology services providers, is a USD 400 million firm based in New York. Since inception in 2001, Synechron has been on a steep growth trajectory. For more information, please visit Synechron
