THE TECH-LICIOUS

Amazon's new games show what only the Fire Phone can do

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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Looks like Amazon plans to take advantage of the Fire phone's head-tracking tech at every turn, so it put its Game Studio to work developing two new titles especially for the device. The first one called <em>Saber's Edge</em> is a strategic pirate puzzle game, while the other, called<em>To-Fu Fury</em>, is a puzzle platformer (think <em>'Splosion Man</em>) that stars a tofu martial artist. They sound like funny, typical mobile games, other than the fact that they support the Fire phone's "Dynamic Perspective" feature that tracks the movements of a user's head. Sadly, you can't exactly control the games by moving your noggin (that might sound silly, but at least that'll make the games truly unique), but you can peek around the corners to see hidden obstacles or bonuses. Of course, you can always just tilt the phone if you don't want to look silly in public. If you don't mind the games' limited support for the feature, you can grab em for $1.99 each -- but only if you're also getting the Fire Phone, which starts shipping this week.</span></div>
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Amazon's new games show what only the Fire Phone can do

Looks like Amazon plans to take advantage of the Fire phone's head-tracking tech at every turn, so it put its Game Studio to work developing two new titles especially for the device. The first one ca…

22 Jul 2014

Do-it-yourself spray can make your phone or tablet resistant to water

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<a href="http://i-cdn.phonearena.com/images/article/58453-image/Do-it-yourself-spray-can-make-your-phone-or-tablet-resistant-to-water.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="Do-it-yourself spray can make your phone or tablet resistant to water" border="0" height="200" src="http://i-cdn.phonearena.com/images/article/58453-image/Do-it-yourself-spray-can-make-your-phone-or-tablet-resistant-to-water.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">You might remember some of the amazing displays we have seen from</span>companies like Liquipel<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"> and P2i, showing how they can make your phone resistant to water. In one amazing example, a tissue coated with P2i's product and placed in a container of water, </span>was completely dry when taken out of the container<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">. The water seemed to roll right off the tissue.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">But now that manufacturers like Samsung, Sony and HTC are making their flagship models water resistant out of the box, others might follow suit. Already, we have seen P2i and Liquipel stop marketing directly to consumers. Not only is it expensive for individuals to lay out the money to have their phone treated, it also means having to go without the phone until it is returned by the company applying the treatment.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">No one wants to ship out their pride and joy, hoping that the company treats your phone with kid gloves like you do. For that reason, you might be interested in Impervious. The company has two different systems you can buy. There is a waterproof spray that you apply yourself, to protect your phone from water damage and scratches on the screen. The spray kit is $29.95 and is available for the iPhone, and Android phones. This protects your device from spills and light rain.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">If you need more protection, you can buy the Waterproofing Kit for the </span>Apple iPhone 5<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">, </span>Apple iPhone 5s<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">,</span>Apple iPhone 5c<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">, the </span>Apple iPad mini<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"> and the full-sized </span>Apple iPad<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">. The price for this kit is $39.95 ($5 less for the iPad mini). Self-applied to the outside and inside of your iPhone or iPad, it gives your iDevice a rating of IPX7. This means that you can submerge your treated iPhone or iPad in up to 3 feet of water, for as long as 30 minutes, and it will emerge in perfect working condition. Impervious does not recommend that you do this, however. But you can rest easier knowing that if an accident were to happen, your phone would be protected.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">Check out a couple of videos for the product, including a television ad, below.</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CH1TijOAxxs?feature=player_embedded" width="640"></iframe></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">source-<a href="http://www.phonearena.com/news/Do-it-yourself-spray-can-make-your-phone-or-tablet-resistant-to-water_id58453" target="_blank">techbaet</a></span></div>

Do-it-yourself spray can make your phone or tablet resistant to water

You might remember some of the amazing displays we have seen fromcompanies like Liquipel and P2i, showing how they can make your phone resistant to water. In one amazing example, a tissue coated with…

22 Jul 2014

Ford lifts the hood on 2015 Mustang

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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="The new 2015 Mustang is available with a V6, V8 or a four-cylinder EcoBoost engine" height="358" src="http://images.gizmag.com/hero/ford-mustang-engines.jpg" width="640" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Late last year, Ford threw the sheets off the design for its 2015 Mustang. Now the automaker has revealed what will lie under the hood of that updated body, including more powerful V6 and V8 engines, along with a new EcoBoost engine that the company says boasts the best power density ever for a Ford engine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The base engine available on the 2015 Mustang is a naturally aspirated, 300 hp (223 kW) V6, however, the flagship of the range steps things up to a 5.0-liter V8 pumping out 435 hp (324 kW) and providing 542 Nm of torque. The V8 takes advantage of larger intake and exhaust valves, and Ford says its forged crankshaft has been rebalanced to make the engine better at high revs.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.gizmag.com/2015-mustang-engine-options/33028/pictures#1" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1e8dd7; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="The new 2015 Mustang can be specced with a six-speed manual or automatic gearboxes" src="http://images.gizmag.com/inline/ford-mustang-engines-0.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="530" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">While the V8 may top the Mustang lineup, the turbocharged four cylinder EcoBoost engine is big news as well. Designed specifically for the Mustang, the 2.3-liter engine includes direct fuel injection and twin independent variable camshaft timing and puts out 310 hp (231 kW) and 433 Nm of torque. This gives it what Ford says is the best ever power-density for one of its engines, with a specific output of almost 135 hp (101 kW) per liter and more than 188 Nm of torque per liter. The engine has also been strengthened to withstand the added stresses placed on it to ensure durability.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">All three engines are available with either a Getrag six-speed manual or Ford's "SelectShift" six-speed auto. The manual is meant to be more precise than the gearbox in the old Mustang thanks to a redesigned shift linkage, while the shift lever has been shuffled closer to the driver and away from the cupholders. Meanwhile, the automatic gearbox comes standard with rev-matching on downshifts and drivers able to take manual control with wheel-mounted paddles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The new Mustang will go on sale in the US later this year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">source-<a href="http://www.gizmag.com/2015-mustang-engine-options/33028/" target="_blank">gizmag</a></span></div>
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Ford lifts the hood on 2015 Mustang

Late last year, Ford threw the sheets off the design for its 2015 Mustang. Now the automaker has revealed what will lie under the hood of that updated body, including more powerful V6 and V8 engines,…

21 Jul 2014

amazon drone delivery program is taking pace

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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The plan for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/" style="color: #0092dd;" target="_blank" title="Amazon">Amazon</a> to begin shipping deliveries via drone is gathering pace as the company sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (<a href="http://www.faa.gov/" style="color: #0092dd;" target="_blank" title="FAA">FAA</a>) this week. The global giant is “incredibly passionate about” its Amazon Prime Air feature.  The service would see airborne drones delivering packages to registered customers “in 30 minutes or less,” according to the letter.</span></div>
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<a href="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/www.pcworld.com_.jpg" style="color: #0092dd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="Amazon Prime Air Drone Program" class="lazy size-full wp-image-17322 data-lazy-ready" data-lazy-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/www.pcworld.com_.jpg" data-lazy-type="image" height="385" src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/www.pcworld.com_.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; display: inline; max-width: 708px; padding: 10px;" width="708" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Amazon Prime Air Drone Program</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">According to the letter, Amazon has said they are developing drones, which can travel over 50 miles per hour and be capable of carrying packages of up to 5 pounds.  Amazon state that covers 86% of all the packages, which are sold on Amazon. It also asks the FAA to allow the company “expedited operational authorization” to develop and research civil unmanned aircraft under the FAA Modernization Reform Act of 2012.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Amazon’s VP of global public policy Paul Misener, said in the letter the company is already working on their eighth and ninth-generation drones, and they have been conducting private research indoors at a facility in Seattle. To begin testing the drones for outdoors use, however, Amazon will require special permission.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The FAA Modernization Reform Act of 2012 gave the FAA increased funding to update their air traffic control regulations.  This was necessary before commercial drones can legally take to the skies. The act also allows for certain exemptions for the development and research of drones. That’s what Amazon is requesting in this letter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">People were initially sceptical of the drone plan, since the announcement first came to light just before the 2013 winter holiday season.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">What do you think?  As always, if you would like to leave a sensible comment, then please do so in the comments section below.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">source-<a href="http://news.filehippo.com/2014/07/amazon-requests-permission-faa-drone-program/" target="_blank">techbeat</a></span></div>
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amazon drone delivery program is taking pace

The plan for Amazon to begin shipping deliveries via drone is gathering pace as the company sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) this week. The global giant is “incredibly passi…

20 Jul 2014

google has joined hands with pharmaceutical company and expected to launch smart contact lenses

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<a href="http://giznet.pl/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/szk%C5%82a-kontaktowe-Google-408x272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Google podpisało umowę z firmą farmaceutyczną, która ma wprowadzić do sklepów inteligentne szkła kontaktowe" border="0" src="http://giznet.pl/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/szk%C5%82a-kontaktowe-Google-408x272.jpg" style="background-color: transparent;" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span class="notranslate" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In January of this year, Google X Lab praised the development of <strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">contact lenses</strong> with a miniature chip, measuring the level of glucose in tears.</span> <span class="notranslate" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Today, Mountain View has announced that it has partnered with one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, which aims to bring the product to market.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://giznet.pl/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/szk%C5%82a-kontaktowe-Google-408x272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span class="notranslate" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Swiss company <strong style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Novartis</strong> apparently sees in this type of sensors big money.</span> <span class="notranslate" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The company, which last year recorded the highest sales of all firms in the industry , intends to invest in the development of the technology developed byGoogle X Lab through dealing with ophthalmology subsidiary Alcon. <strong style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Novartis</strong> has already acquired a license to technology developed by <strong style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Google</strong> and intends to introduce it to the market.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span class="notranslate" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"We are pleased that we can work together with Google to connect their advanced technology with our extensive knowledge of the biology and together satisfy unmet medical needs," said CEO of NovartisJoseph Jimenez.</span> <span class="notranslate" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"It is extremely important for us to start from ophthalmology, to go beyond the existing boundaries of the treatment of diseases."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span class="notranslate" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Our dream is to make use of the latest technology miniaturization of electronics, improve the quality of life of millions of people," added Sergey Brin.</span> <span class="notranslate" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"We are pleased that we will be able to realize this dream together with Novartis."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span class="notranslate" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In addition to business plans to market lenses for diabetics, the agreement also provides for cooperation in research on more advanced contact lenses fitted with microchips.</span> <span class="notranslate" style="background: rgb(230, 236, 249); border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Novartis suggests that such lenses may, for example, automatically in accommodating alleviate eye problems that arise in the case of presbyopia .</span></span></div>
<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #56595e; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span class="notranslate" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Although it sounds very interesting, keep in mind that it will be some time before the pharmacy you can buy contact lenses that measure glucose levels and wirelessly transmit data about mobile device.</span> <span class="notranslate" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">When <strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Google</strong> claimed the prototype, the company claimed that the development of the final product should take about five years.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span class="notranslate" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">SOURCE-<a href="http://giznet.pl/" target="_blank">GIZNET</a></span></span></div>
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google has joined hands with pharmaceutical company and expected to launch smart contact lenses

In January of this year, Google X Lab praised the development of contact lenses with a miniature chip, measuring the level of glucose in tears. Today, Mountain View has announced that it has partnere…

18 Jul 2014

Students develop drone to locate survivors via their mobile phones

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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="Jonathan Cheseaux with the drone that uses a Wi-Fi antenna to locate mobile phones (Photo:..." height="358" src="http://images.gizmag.com/hero/drone-phone-location.jpg" width="640" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">These days, most people are inseparable from their mobile phone, with the device being one of the essentials along with keys and cash or cards that people don't leave home without. A project at EPFL's Mobile Communications Laboratory is looking to take advantage of this fact by developing a drone that would help rescuers search for victims of natural disasters by locating their phones.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When a mobile phone's Wi-Fi is switched on, the device emits data packets at regular intervals. The strength of these signals can vary depending on the surrounding terrain, the weather, interference, or if the device is buried under a layer of rubble as the result of an earthquake or other natural disaster.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Taken in isolation, with all these variables it isn't possible to accurately calculate the location of the device that is emitting the signals. However, by capturing the signals from several different points it becomes possible to calculate the device's approximate location. This is where the drone comes in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Using a Wi-Fi antenna attached to what appears to be a senseFly eBee UAV, it is possible to capture the signal as the drone flies between different points to better map the location of the device and, hopefully, the person it belongs to.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Cheseaux, who worked on the project for his master's degree, says that automatically eliminating weaker signals from the calculations has helped to improve the accuracy of the system, which has been able to locate mobile phones on the EPFL campus with a high degree of accuracy.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.gizmag.com/drone-mobile-phone-location-survivors/33005/pictures#2" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1e8dd7; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="The EPFL students also developed an interface that allows those on the ground to track the..." src="http://images.gizmag.com/inline/drone-phone-location-1.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="530" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"In the best tests we have performed, the place indicated was within 10 m (33 ft)," says Cheseaux, who, being an amateur mountaineer, added, "The drone’s Wi-Fi antenna could be replaced by Avalanche Victim Detectors (DVA) which would enable the rapid and inexpensive deployment of the first avalanche searches."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The project also involved the development an interface that allows those on the ground to track the aircraft in real time. Detected mobile phones are indicated by colored dots on a computer display, with the drone also tightening its flight around a selected device to indicate its position.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The system can be seen in action in the following video.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="298" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7ysg-m7kV14" width="530"></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">source-<a href="http://www.gizmag.com/drone-mobile-phone-location-survivors/33005/" target="_blank">GIZMAG</a></span></div>
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Students develop drone to locate survivors via their mobile phones

These days, most people are inseparable from their mobile phone, with the device being one of the essentials along with keys and cash or cards that people don't leave home without. A project at EPFL'…

18 Jul 2014

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