Tech Trends- Dec 12-13
Walmart accepts mobile payments, Tokyo police deal with drones, a wearable like no other, and more in this week’s Weekend in Tech Trends.
Tech Trends 1) Walmart enters the mobile payments game with Walmart Pay
After taking their sweet time, Walmart has finally decided to enter the mobile payments game with their very own Walmart Pay. The mobile payment platform will work through the Walmart app and will use QR codes to make the transaction.
Walmart cites one of the reasons they chose to build there own app is that they have 22 million people already using their app, so they’re looking for that to play an important role in adoption. They also cite that sense they are using the camera rather than a NFC chip, more phones are capable of using the technology, rather than just phones with NFC chips. Another reason that retailers are a fan of QR code based payments is that they do not have to pay credit card processing fees on those transactions. Which is big for a retailer like Walmart.
Walmart will be rolling out Walmart Pay in select cities on Thursday. They haven’t released which cities will get the early rollout but we can expect it to be available everywhere in the first half of 2016.
Source: Mashable
Tech Trends 2) YouTube Gaming now has Cardboard Mode for Google Cardboard users
Google is trying really hard to grow virtual reality with Google Cardboard. They just gave away Star Wars Google Cardboard which are now completely out of stock. Now, YouTube has also decided to join the push for VR by adding a “cardboard mode” to YouTube Gaming. Users viewing videos on an Android device can now put the video in cardboard mode for a full immersive experience. Not sure that this is a feature a lot of users are looking for but it does show Google is in full swing for pushing VR whenever possible.
Source: TechCrunch
Tech Trends 3) Help Tesla recycle by buying a Tesla iPhone case
Tesla has put a lot of focus on maintaining their brand as environmentally friendly. Their latest move to ensure that their brand retains that image is to recycle their leftover seat leather. But not just recycle it so it can build more seats, there going to build phone cases out of it.
The goal is to reduce waste by taking to left over leather and making iPhone 6 and 6s phone cases out of it. For $45 you can pick up a Tesla phone case and for $50 you can pick up one with RFID blocking card slots so that you can keep your credit cards in the case as well.
Source: TechRadar
Tech Trends 4) Tokyo Police have a new way to stop illegal drone usage
Drone regulation is a topic that is currently being discussed by many governments. There is much debate on how to build laws around drone usage. Another debate is of course of to stop a drone that is breaking the law. Some people have opted to shoot down drones that they felt were invading their airspace. The police in Japan have a more civil idea.
They used a drone that was equipped with a large net to take down a smaller drone and deliver it to the ground without causing harm. While this is just a test run, it is probably a more feasible idea than police having to shoot down a drone that is breaking the law. Check out the video below to see it in action.
Source: Mashable
Tech Trends 5) The first and only urine-powered wearable has arrived.
Just when I had thought I’d seen it all, a team of scientists from the University of the West of England in Bristol say they have now developed the world’s first urine-powered wearable.
The scientists utilized microbial fuel cell technology, which is the process by which bacteria turns into fluid waste into electricity, to make electricity of out urine. They then used tubes to push the pee into microbial fuel cells (MFCs) which then create the electricity. In trials, the team was able to use the socks “to wirelessly transmit the phrase “World’s First Wearable MFC” every two minutes”.
“We wanted the system to be entirely self-sufficient, running only on human power — using urine as fuel and the action of the foot as the pump,” said team lead Professor Ioannis Ieropoulos. “This work opens up possibilities of using waste for powering portable and wearable electronics.”
So it looks like the team wants to build some sort of wearable that can produce electricity to power electronic devices. This shows how wild the imagination has gotten in the world of wearables. I can’t imagine what we’re going to see next.
Source: DigitalTrends
