Spy Satellite Soars To Space

Thursday's on-time launch of a U.S. intelligence satellite gave the Air Force a few days to prepare the Eastern Range for its next mission: SpaceX's planned 4:58 p.m. Monday liftoff of cargo to the International Space Station.

United Launch Alliance kicked off the nearly back-to-back countdowns at 1:45 p.m. Thursday, when an Atlas V rocket bolted from its Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with nearly two million pounds of thrust.

Trailing a white column of exhaust as it shot east over the Atlantic Ocean through a clear sky, the 196-foot rocket carrying a classified National Reconnaissance Office satellite was performing well several minutes into flight, before ULA ended its launch broadcast to preserve the mission's secrecy.

About four hours later, ULA confirmed the launch was a success.

"We are honored to deliver this national security asset to orbit," said Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president for Atlas and Delta programs, in a statement.

Amateur astronomers experienced in tracking satellites, including secret NRO payloads, believe the satellite may be first of a new type of signals intelligence spacecraft, bound for a geosynchronous orbit more than 22,000 miles above the equator.

The speculation takes into account the flight's trajectory and a powerful Atlas V rocket capable of delivering the satellite directly to a high-altitude orbit. The booster was aided by four strap-on solid rocket boosters, and the Centaur upper stage was thought to be equipped for a longer-than-usual flight requiring several engine burns.

The mission's logo featured a blue Pegasus and the Latin motto "In Scientia Opportunitas," or "In knowledge, there is opportunity."

The launch was delayed more than two weeks when an electrical short disabled an essential Air Force tracking radar.

The 45th Space Wing activated a backup radar so launches could proceed while the damaged one is repaired, and reported no problems Thursday.

"I am proud of the persistence and focus of the launch team, the wing, NRO, ULA and other mission partners, to make this launch happen," Brig. Gen. Nina Armango, 45th Space Wing commander, said in a statement.

It was the 45th Atlas V launch since it began flying in 2002, but only the second in this configuration.

And it was ULA's second Atlas V mission in a week, following the Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture's successful April 3 launch of a military weather satellite from California.

Denver, Colo.-based ULA could try two Cape launches next month. A Delta IV rocket is targeting a May 15 liftoff with a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite, before an Atlas V flies with another NRO mission.

But first, SpaceX on Monday will attempt to loft its third ISS resupply mission under a $1.6 billion NASA contract, and possibly follow that with a commercial satellite launch before the end of the month.

Google Glass Available to Anyone For One Day Only - April 15th

As reported by CNN: Have you been pining for your very own wearable $1,500 Google Glass but weren't sure how you, a regular nondeveloper residing in the United States, could procure one?

Tuesday will be your lucky day. Google is opening sales of Glass for one day only to any adult in the United States who wants one of the devices. In true sale fashion, Google is throwing in free frames or sunglasses for those first-time customers and the supply is limited. Sales start at 9 a.m. ET on April 15, but people can sign up now with Google to receive a reminder.

This is the first time the device has been available to the general public. So far, the face-mounted computers have been sold only to Google "Explorers," the company's name for early adopters. At first only developers could buy Glass, but Google slowly expanded the program to include regular people. Some were hand-picked, others applied to be Explorers through Google contests by sharing what cool projects they would do if they had Glass.

In the year since Google Glass was first shipped, it has been lauded as the future of computing, criticized for hastening the death of privacy, and mocked for looking silly. People wearing Glass have been banned from bars and restaurants, given tickets for distracted driving, and dubbed "Glassholes." It's been a busy year.

Glass mounts on a pair of compatible glasses and positions a small display above the wearer's right eye. The wearer uses Glass to access the Internet and can simply look up to see things like directions, notifications and content from custom Glass apps on the screen. It is controlled by voice or using the tiny touch pad on the side.

The device's most controversial feature is a small camera that can record 720p video or snap still photos. There's no indicator light showing when the camera is on, though Glass wearers say the display lights up, so it's not a secret.

Google and Explorers say that more education and exposure is needed to dispel privacy fears and for the technology to be embraced by the general public. This one-day sale could lead to a lot more people donning the devices. We'll have to see if that helps or hurts the Google Glass cause.

Apple iWatch Could Monitor Your Exposure to Harmful UV Rays

As reported by  Yahoo Tech: If all the reports turn out to be true, Apple’s first wearable technology device could well be a wrist-worn virtual doctor rather than just a second screen for the iPhone.

In a note to investors seen by Apple Insider, Barclays analyst Blayne Curtis says the iWatch will be able to monitor the wearer’s exposure to potentially harmful UV light and therefore know when it’s time to reapply sunscreen or cover up completely. In February, Silicon Labs, a Texas-based tech company, became the first to successfully build a single-chip digital UV index sensor, and Curtis believes that they could well be integrated into the Apple iWatch.

“These chips measure UV exposure to aid those with elevated risk of sunburn or just a general concern about excessive sun exposure, and we believe they may be … appealing to OEMs looking to differentiate in a crowded market,” Curtis wrote.

Adding weight to these claims is the fact that the sensors are multipurpose. They can also track other health and vital signs and, since the beginning of 2014, the reports, leaks, and whispers surrounding the iWatch have been focused on health and well being rather than push notifications and being able to dictate emails.

It started in earnest in January with a report in The New York Times that senior Apple executives had met with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to discuss regulatory hurdles to launching a health-focused device.

Since then, sources in China have claimed that the iWatch will be able to monitor both heartrate and blood-oxygen levels and that Apple was even toying with the idea of applying optoelectronics in order to read the wearer’s blood glucose levels.

Meanwhile, in February, a story in the San Francisco Chronicle claimed that Apple was looking to create a device that can predict a medical emergency and that a team, headed by Tomlinson Holman, was “exploring ways to predict heart attacks by studying the sound blood makes at it flows through arteries.”

The iWatch is tipped to launch in September 2014, by which time the Moto 360 and LG G Watch, the first smartwatches running Google’s new wearable device-focused version of Android, will already be on sale.

Google/Motorola Moves One Step Closer to Modular Smartphones

As reported by Mashable: Google released its first set of guidelines for developers hoping to participate in Project Ara, the company's platform for building modular smartphones. The first version of Project Ara's Module Development Kit was released Wednesday.

The idea behind Project Ara, first unveiled in October by the company's Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) Group, which is technically still part of Motorola, is to create a platform where any given part of a smartphone is its own module that can be replaced independently so users can completely customize the look of their device.

Google has already revealed the modular phones will come in small, medium and large sizes. The development kit includes guidelines detailing the requirements for individual components of the phones like processors and batteries.

"This is a very early version, but our goals are to give the developer community an opportunity to provide feedback and input, and to help us ensure that the final MDK — anticipated at the end of 2014 — is elegant, flexible and complete," Paul Eremenko, Google's head of Project Ara, said in a blog post.

The release comes just ahead of the first Project Ara Developer's Conference, which will be held next week in Mountain View, Calif. At the conference, developers will have a chance to provide feedback on the development kit and learn more about what features Google has planned for the platform.

The entire conference will also be live streamed for developers who wish to participate remotely.

Solar Impulse Unveils New Plane Designed To Fly Around The World Using Only Sunlight

As reported by The Verge: Solar Impulse has unveiled the plane that it hopes will be able to take its pilots all the way around the world using only solar energy. 

The Solar Impulse 2 weighs just 5,000 pounds and has a 236-foot wingspan covered entirely in solar cells, more than 17,000 of which are on the plane in total. 

Its creators say that the single-seat aircraft is also more efficient and generally better built than its predecessor — a necessity for making the approximately five-day-long flights across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans without running into problems.

The previous Solar Impulse completed a solar-powered flight across the US last year by hopping city to city, and the organization behind it hopes to begin its journey across the world in the new plane next year. The plan is to start in the Middle East in March of 2015, with landings made every few days to change pilots and hold local events. Solar Impulse will begin test flights and training this May.

Communication Benefits of GPS Fleet Tracking Solutions

As reported by Utility Products: Many utility business operators and fleet managers are aware of the need for efficient oversight and simplified communication between the office and the field. It is a necessary task that businesses in the utility industry face on a daily basis. While fleet and asset tracking are becoming more common than ever, many managers do not realize these fleet-tracking solutions can do much more than simply pinpoint a vehicle's location on a map. These solutions can also simplify the lines of communication and make communication between home base and the fleet safer and more efficient.

At the basic level, telematics solutions provide simple track and trace options, allowing fleet managers to locate a vehicle or asset on a map. Global positioning system (GPS) fleet management solutions, however, can streamline communications in the field, allowing for increased driver productivity, increased fleet efficiency and other benefits, including fuel savings. By providing a fleet management solution, you are connecting the employees at the office to the employees in the field. Enabling fleet managers to track the vehicles in their fleet provides them with a wealth of information regarding the drivers' activities and eliminates the need for unnecessary cell phone usage while behind the wheel.

Though communication is a metric that is difficult to measure, business owners and fleet managers see the return on their investment through increased productivity and fleet utilization. According to a survey by Aberdeen, extremely efficient fleet operations have a vehicle utilization time of 80 percent or above, compared to 55 percent of other respondents. A consistent characteristic among those best-in-class organizations is the integration of a GPS fleet tracking solution into their operations. Streamlining communication between the main office and the field is the first step to realize those results.

Dispatching and Routing Capabilities
When selecting a GPS fleet management solution, ensure your options offer dispatching as a feature. This powerful tool allows fleet managers or any other operations personnel to easily schedule jobs and dispatch vehicles to the appropriate site while also sending messages to and from the workers in the field. Some solutions offer advanced dispatching solutions that are automated, allowing for maximum efficiency. Whether automated or done manually, dispatching field workers directly to sites allows the fleet manager to be sure the vehicle closest to the site is assigned to it. Dispatching should be offered in an intuitive, easy-to-use display, ensuring it can be completed in an efficient manner.

Routing goes hand-in-hand with dispatching and is another important feature that increases communication between drivers and the main office. The GPS fleet tracking solution you consider should offer a route planning feature that optimizes routes for field workers. This ensures your business is not losing revenue because of excessive driving and stops that are out of the way. Optimized routing takes all locations and stops in a vehicle's route and orders them to create the shortest route, saving time and money.

The benefits of an effective communication tool are measured through driver productivity and fleet efficiency. A Georgia-based utility provider improves driver productivity by 15 percent by being able to communicate to the closest driver when a service call is received. This not only increases productivity but also improves customer satisfaction, enabling field workers to handle meter reading and other meter services efficiently and in a timely manner.

The most useful fleet tracking solutions allow dispatching capabilities to integrate with personal navigation devices (PNDs) used in vehicles, such as a Magellan Navigation system, Garmin or mobile application. This enables optimized routes to be sent to the driver's in-vehicle PND, saving time for the dispatcher and the driver. These features ultimately mean more jobs can be completed in one day, which increases service revenue and driver productivity, while also decreasing fuel costs. Western Monmouth Utilities Authority increased fleet productivity by 25 percent with a GPS fleet tracking solution, allowing more work to be done in a day and eliminating excessive driving. Routing and dispatching integration also eliminates the risk for communication errors that might occur through texting or other cell phone communication.

Western Monmouth also discovered dramatic fuel savings after implementing the GPS fleet tracking solution. Through the available reporting features, the fleet manager noted that fuel costs were reduced by 10 percent. By allowing the fleet manager to locate the closest vehicle to the site, no fuel was burned because of excessive driving. Eliminating unnecessary fuel usage is an easy away to better your business' bottom line.

Driver Safety
By using a GPS fleet tracking solution that integrates with in-vehicle technology, drivers no longer need to communicate through cell phones with their dispatchers or fleet managers. Awareness surrounding the dangers of distracted driving is increasing and cell phones are a major part of the concern. Currently, 41 states ban text messaging while driving for all motorists. Not only does eliminating the need for cell phone use while driving keep your drivers and others on the road safe, but it could also potentially save your business from being the target of a lawsuit if your driver is responsible for an accident.

According to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), distracted driving is a factor in 25 to 30 percent of all traffic crashes. In addition, 28 percent of all accidents are caused by mobile devices. Companies spend significant funds on branding and logo development, which is often showcased on fleet vehicles, essentially transforming these vehicles into moving billboards for the companies they represent. If your driver is behind the wheel and is using a cell phone to get an update on his or her next route, it could hurt your business' reputation, turning that investment into a poor company image.

In addition, with a GPS fleet tracking solution, businesses can prove where a vehicle is located, reducing liability. With the large risk of accidents or other safety issues while driving, a GPS fleet tracking solution can provide assurance that you know where your drivers are and how they are driving.

Additional Benefits
Although simplified communication is a main reason to implement a GPS fleet management solution, many utility companies have found added benefits once the solution was introduced.

One of the greatest benefits experienced by a Georgia-based utility company after implementing a GPS fleet tracking solution was a 25 percent increase in preventative maintenance tickets. Some solutions allow fleet managers to receive automated email notifications when a vehicle is due for maintenance. Whether a fleet is large or small, this benefit is helpful in many ways. It reduces the need to manually keep track of vehicle maintenance schedules and increases productivity. The fleet manager noted that after implementing a preventative maintenance feature, his fleet experienced less vehicle downtime, which resulted in a more productive fleet operation.

In addition to the basic tracking features, GPS fleet management solutions provide many benefits to utility companies. By implementing a GPS fleet management solution, fleet managers can streamline communications between the office and the field, providing a safe and simple way to speak with workers on sites. The dispatching and routing features of these solutions eliminate the need for excessive cell phone use while a worker is behind the wheel, while also providing added benefits such as increased efficiency, improved productivity, decreased fuel costs and maintenance savings.

Land Rover's Transparent Hood Is Technology From The Future

As reported by Motor Authority: If you've been feeling like us, like you've been shortchanged by the promises of your childhood and the under-delivery of the modern era—at least when it comes to cars—look no further than this innovation from Land Rover. It’s not The Jetsons, but it’s something those bleebling little space car drivers never even thought of. It’s the Transparent Bonnet.

Here in the U.S., we’d call it (and Land Rover USA does, too) a Transparent Hood. But that unassuming name doesn't quite convey the simple brilliance and complex technology behind it.

Using a web of camera images and projectors, the Transparent Hood system projects the area just in front of and underneath the nose of the Land Rover concept car onto a head-up display along the lower portion of the windshield. The effect is breathtaking, offering the ability to see obstacles and terrain that would otherwise be hidden, and to allow precise placement of the vehicle’s front wheels—both key improvements to the off-roading experience.

Part of a suite of new technologies to be showcased on the Land Rover Discovery Vision concept car at the 2014 New York Auto Show, the Transparent Hood is a demonstration of what’s possible today using the thinking of tomorrow.

In addition to the unprecedented view of the terrain under the nose, the system also relays a head-up display of key vehicle data, including speed, incline, roll angle, steering position, and drive mode.

The solution isn’t solely intended for the expedition off-roader, either. It’s thought to be useful in an urban environment, too. “As our vehicles become more capable and offer increasing autonomy off-road, we will ensure the driver has the confidence to progress over any terrain,” says Dr. Wolfgang Epple, director of research and technology for Jaguar Land Rover. “We are developing new technologies including the Transparent Hood to give drivers an augmented view of reality to help them tackle anything from the toughest off-road route to the tight confines of urban parking.”

Look for more details on the technology inside the Discovery Vision concept, including live photos and more, from the 2014 New York Auto Show next week.