Phone astrophotography

 Phone cameras have come a long way and are inching closer to the capabilities of DSLR and mirrorless cameras when it comes to astrophotography. Improvements in sensor technology and built in post processing features such as HDR, stacking and star alignment being have made them into a useful backup or even a viable replacement for traditional cameras, especially when used with a tripod. These days, I find myself using my phone more than my DSLR for milky way photography.

The photos that follow are some of my favorite shots of the milky way and landscapes taken using an iPhone 14 pro, on tripod with the maximum 30s exposure in the built-in camera app, and later edited in Lightroom mobile. 

The above was taken at Lerderberg State Park Victoria aiming directly at the zenith around the end of winter. 

These two photos were taken in Point Lonsdale lighthouse. The red light from the lighthouse lit up the surrounding rock formations in red as seen in the top image. What is also interesting is that the second image would not have been possible on a single exposure on a DSLR, as the light from the lighthouse would have washed out the image. It appears that the phone has automatically stacked images of various exposures to create a composite image.

These images were taken at the Gravity Observatory in Perth. While a lot of stars are visible the image contains a lot of noise highlighted during the edits, possibly showing the limits of phone night photography.

The first two phots above were taken at Lake Tyrell, and third at the town of Sea Lake. In the second image, the moon illuminated the surroundings and overpowered the stars, but I was able to capture the reflections of a few stars on lake's calm surface. 

 

These two images are the latest ones taken at Aireys Inlet beach. The last one is my favorite so far since it highlights the details of the milky way as well as the rock formation. I used the flashlight from another phone to briefly light up the rocks while the image was being exposed for 30s, and in my opinion it resulted in perfect exposure of both landscape and the stars. 

While phone cameras have made impressive improvements and deliver impressive results, DSLR and mirrorless systems continue to advance in their own right. Still, smartphones offer unmatched accessibility and portability - and as the saying goes, "the best camera is the one you have with you".

The Future of Wireless Charging

While Android and IOS dominate the operating systems in today's smartphones, Nokia stays in the game with its innovative hardware. The inclusion of wireless charging in the recently released Lumia 920 made wireless charging a hot topic. Although wireless charging may sound like a modern breakthrough in technology, it is a pretty old concept. For starters, we tend not to realize that our radio sets are actually receiving energy wirelessly. The purpose of external power in radios is to amplify the signal and to play it back with clarity. The simplest radios-crystal radios operate without any external power.

Wireless charging by inductive coupling has been used in Oral-B toothbrushes since the early 1990s. But wireless charging was not common in consumer electronics such as mobile phones and laptop computers due to constraints in efficiency and rate of power transfer.  However with new improved technologies and standards such as "Qi" and Qualcomms's WiPower, wireless charging has started to make its way into modern smartphones and tablets. Intel's upcoming ultrabooks will come with the ability to charge smartphones that are placed beside them.

source : qualcomm

Wireless charging of consumer electronics is primarily classified into two categories.
1. Inductive Coupling.
2. Resonance Charging.

Inductive coupling uses the theory of electromagnetic induction to transfer power from one source to another without physical contact - like the power transfer from the primary winding to the secondary winding in a transformer. Because the strength of a magnetic field diminishes rapidly with distance, inductive coupling requires the charging source and the device to be very close or in contact with each other.

Resonance charging improves the above concept by using electromagnetic resonance. The coils are made to resonate at the same frequency and this enables power transmission through a greater distance. This means that the device only needs to be in the vicinity of the power source. This method has been found to be effective over distances of several feet.

source : intel

So what will the future of Wireless charging look like? Current areas under research provide clues about it. Major computer manufactures are already in the process of introducing remotely powered phones, laptops and tablets. The idea would be eventually to make charging as simple connecting to a WiFi network. Wireless power transfer using Resonance Charging has already proved successful in charging several devices in a room simultaneously. In the future coffee shops and other public areas will be equipped with the facility of wireless charging and our smartphones and computers will power themselves automatically using these "charging hotspots".

Moving on to a larger scale in wireless power transfer, a prototype aircraft called SHARP which flies using energy transmitted from the ground has been developed. Laser propelled spacecraft is another field under research. The company Lightcraft Technologies aims at developing spacecraft which will be powered by laser beams directed from the earth. The idea is to use the laser beam to rapidly heat and expand air which in turn will propel the spacecraft. This eliminates the need to carry fuel, which is the heaviest component in a space craft.

source : popular science

Using microwaves to beam power from solar power stations in space to the earth is another idea that is under consideration. Beaming power to earth from space has some environmental benefits but it poses a lot of challenges. Safety also would be a major concern in such an arrangement. Starting from handheld devices, wireless power transfer will one day be used in all our energy needs and will give rise to a truly wireless future.

Breaking Google Doodle Olympic Records

The recent series of Olympic Google doodles are really fun. It's a great way to waste a couple of minutes and compete with your friends or co-workers. But it can be very frustrating when you always end up getting a lower score than your buddies ;).. So here is a way to become a champion in the doodle olympics. Keep in mind however that this is a way of cheating the doodle, so if you are not keen on cheating then stop reading  now. :D

Assuming that you are ready and willing to cheat in the doodle olympics, here's how you do it. (Instructions given here are for the Google Chrome browser) For this demonstration I have used the most recent slalom canoe doodle, but the basics are the same for any event. First, take you own cool time and finish the game and obtain your result.

Then right click anywhere on the doodle and select "Inspect element"

In the window that opens, locate the four lines that I have bracketed in green. You can use the search feature on the top right corner of the page element window to locate it quickly. (Click on the image to enlarge)

These are the lines that are required to be changed to change your result. The first line contains you timing. double click on it and change it to your desired timing. The next three lines are for the three gold medals that accompany the timing. The last three letters in these three lines will be "smg" or "smh". Change all three to "smg" to get all three gold medals.

Make the changes and close the page element window to view your doctored result. Now go and brag to your friends! :D

Active shutter 3D technology

The recently converted MC Platinum 3D uses the active shutter technology. It is the same technology that is used in most 3D televisions. The basic concept here is to provide the left eye and right eye images to the left and right eye sequentially by blocking the view of one eye at a time. This is achieved by the use of liquid crystal shutter glasses. the view through one lens is blocked using the liquid crystal layer between the lens while the other lens remains transparent and shows the corresponding image. this alternating shutter effect happens very rapidly and is synchronized with the images projected (or displayed) on the screen. This method is also called the Eclipse method.

MC Platinum 3D uses shutter glasses of the brand Hi Shock. Active shutter glasses need to be powered by batteries and they wirelessly communicate with the projector or the television in order to synchronize the shutters. In order to avoid flicker the refresh rate needs to be very high. The refresh rates are usually double that of normal projection or other 3D projection systems. The brightness also needs to be higher than normal just like in polarized 3D systems.

shutter glasses at MC Platinum 3D

More information : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_shutter_3D_system


UPDATE (19/2/2014)

MC platinum 3D No longer uses the Active Shutter system. Recently they switched to a polarized filter system similar to that of Savoy 3D. The lightweight, passive glasses used in this method means that flickering and other problems associated with active shutter systems will no longer ruin your movie experience.

Asteroids as a Resource

Recently, the company planetary resources unveiled their plan to mine asteroids. Their approach to this extremely challenging task by trying to get there in 4 different stages, seems to be a practical. They are planning to mine asteroids for platinum group metals and water. With all this attention to mining from outer space it is worthwhile to consider whether asteroids actually have the potential to be a resource that is economical to exploit.

There is no denying that asteroids contain valuable metals and water in abundance. But these are even found on earth. At the moment there is no shortage of platinum here on earth although it is quite expensive due to the costly extraction process. Unless platinum occurs as pure metal on asteroids, processing will still have to be done, and doing it in outer space is going to be even more difficult.

Looking at this situation it might seem a better option to invest on the existing platinum mining and processing here on earth in order to make it more efficient. However mining from asteroids has the advantage of avoiding the environmental damage created by mining on earth. Also if the platinum demand rises sharply within the next few decades and if it becomes increasingly difficult and costly to mine for platinum on earth, mining it from asteroids will be the best solution.

Although lots of minerals and metals are found in the crust of the earth, most of the heavier metals such as iron and nickel lie inside the core of the earth due to the gradual gravitational sinking of these metals during the formation of the earth. Asteroids however are mostly of small sizes and therefore in most cases the metals are somewhat evenly distributed throughout the volume of the asteroid. This makes mining easier. Even in larger asteroids where metals have settled like on earth, accessing it will be easier.

The other important resource that is planned to mine form asteroids is water. A source of water outside earth is valuable because it would no longer be necessary to carry a heavy load of water in future space missions. It would also pave the way to colonization in space since one of the main challenges faced in such a situation is finding access to an appreciable reserve of water.

If the constituents of water, Hydrogen and Oxygen are separated, they can be used to power rockets. This could also one day lead to fuel stations in space which will not only reduce the cost of space travel but also widen our reach in space. Having both fuel and water readily available in space, our dream to colonize in space will come closer to us.

Mining asteroids seems a far fetched idea and it might not look like it is economical at a first glance. But this situation will change in the future and sometimes asteroid mining might be the only option. We will be able to advance only if we plan for the future and act accordingly. We should remember that before the internal combustion engine was invented, commercial drilling of petroleum seemed unnecessary..

image from : wikipedia

Magnetic Anomaly Based Indoor Positioning

We know that certain animals have the ability to orient themselves and navigate using the earth's magnetic field. Unfortunately humans do not have that ability and therefore humans have to rely on their ingenuity and technological skill for navigation purposes. From early methods of using celestial bodies for navigation to present day Global Positioning Systems, it is technology that has enabled humans to find their way.

These days most phones are equipped with GPS based navigation and location services. GPS however is not very accurate indoors. A company called Indoor Atlas sets out to solve this problem by offering a unique way to navigate inside buildings. This company which is based in Oulu, Finland and Oxford, UK, has developed a method of navigating indoors using the local variations of earth's magnetic field, or magnetic anomalies. These variations of earth's magnetic field depend on several factors such as mineralogical variations in the ground and surrounding magnetic sources. The unique differences in the magnetic field thus created can be detected and used for navigation purposes.

Most of the smartphones today are equipped with magnetic sensors that enable them to act as digital compasses and are used in mapping and augmented reality apps. these magnetic sensors in smartphones can detect the the said magnetic anomalies. The system Indoor Atlas has developed works in 3 stages. First the users are allowed to add buildings to an online mapping application developed by the company. Then users can use their smartphones to map the building by walking around the building using their smartphones. The phones will detect the magnetic signature and upload the magnetic data to the mapping application. The final step is using mobile applications to use the uploaded magnetic data for navigation purposes. The magnetic data can be downloaded to any device running the application and by comparing the data with the actual magnetic signature positioning can be done. The accuracy of this positioning technology is within 0.1 and 2.0 metres.

This method has several advantages over existing methods that are presently used to navigate indoors such as wifi or radio access points. Unlike these methods, magnetic anomaly based positioning does not require additional hardware or infrastructure. It also won't be affected by radio blackouts or satellite disturbances. It is also interesting to see how this technology will be used in augmented reality applications because there's a lot that can be done with magnetic data if readily available. This technology has a lot of potential to become a groundbreaking success.

magnetic anomalies can be used to navigate inside buildings

More information : http://www.indooratlas.com/
http://web.indooratlas.com/web/WhitePaper.pdf

Mining Asteroids

Industries based on space exploration have received a lot of attention lately. Companies are already in the process of introducing commercial spaceflights to the general public. Among these new "space age" industries, is a new start up called Planetary Resources that focuses on mining Asteroids. Although it seems like a far fetched idea, the recently founded company Planetary Resources claim that they have a plan. They also have got some serious investors like Larry Page, co founder of Google to back them.

Asteroids are found in abundance in space and contain vast quantities of valuable minerals and metals. Asteroids also contain large amounts of water in them. Being much smaller than planets, the minerals in  an asteroid are distributed evenly throughout the entire body of the asteroid, unlike in planets where the large gravitation causes the heavier minerals to sink towards the core of the planet. This makes it easier to mine because deep excavation will not be necessary to access the resources of an asteroid.

Although the idea of mining asteroids for useful resources has been around for quite some time, this is the first time that it is actually being attempted. According to Planetary Resources, the final goal of the company which is mining asteroids commercially will take about a decade to accomplish. Despite this fact the company is set to generate revenue during the process, even before the actual mining takes takes place. In fact, one of its co-founders has claimed that Planetary resources is already a "positive cash-flow company".

Planetary resources plans to mine asteroids in 4 stages. The first stage is the "Arkyd Series100" in which a set of space telescopes known as "Leo space telescopes" will be launched. These telescopes which will be in low earth orbit and will be used to gather data about asteroids. The telescopes can also be pointed at other objects in space such as the moon  and planets as well as the earth itself. This capability gives the company the opportunity to rent out these telescopes to universities and other private and government organizations for research purposes. This is one avenue the company aims to profit in.

The second stage is the "Arkyd Series 200" also known as the interceptor in which further developed telescopes will be stationed in a higher orbit to obtain better access to asteroids and to gather data. These telescopes will also be equipped with micro propulsion mechanisms enabling them to move into different positions.

The third stage - "Arkyd Series 300" AKA Rendezvous Prospector will incorporate swarms of spacecraft capable of communicating with each other to move on to more distant asteroids and obtain specialized data regarding constituents, size shape, rotation etc while orbiting the asteroid. The technology developed during this stage is expected to generate revenue for the company by providing means of inter-planetary space flight to interested parties such as NASA and other agencies.

The fourth and final Stage is the Asteroid Mining itself. Mining will also be done using swarming robots with the ability to communicate and coordinate like in the previous stage. Several technological challenges will have to be addressed in this stage. For example whether the the processing of mined material is done on site or brought to earth before being processed. Both these methods have their advantages and disadvantages depending on the mineral to gangue ratio in the mined ore. Furthermore asteroids being situated at quite a distance from the sun, exploiting solar energy would be difficult. This creates the need for improvement of existing solar technology or the use of some other energy source. In addition to the technological issues, the legal matters pertaining to mining from outer space will have to be considered.

Planetary Resources plans mainly to extract platinum group metals and water from asteroids. Extracting water from asteroids can be very useful in future manned spaceflights and space stations because taking water from earth will not be necessary. Also the chemical constituents of water, Hydrogen and Oxygen if separated can be used as fuel for the space craft as well. This could lead to fueling stations in space and ultimately reduce the cost of space flight significantly.

The founding of Planetary Resources has redefined the limits of possibilities in the field of energy and resources. If it turns out to be successful it is bound to be the beginning of a revolutionary and extremely profitable industry while opening the doors to colonization in space. Most importantly it will be a great achievement of the human race.

images from : planetaryresources.com

Charge your Phone while walking

Imagine never having to worry about your mobile phone battery running too low. This day might be closer than we think because very soon, we'll be able to charge our phones just by walking. Scientists at Cranfield University, University of Liverpool and University of Salford have developed a wearable device that produces electricity using the knee movements of the wearer. This device is known as the pizzicato knee-joint energy harvester and can be worn on the knee joint. It relies on a pizoelectric plucking mechanism to generate electricity. While still in the prototype phase it generates two milliwatts of power. The scientists behind this device claim that it can be improved in the future to harvest up to 30 milliwatts. Expected uses of this technology include, powering heart rate monitors, electronic equipment carried by military personnel and hikers and of course, charging your mobile phone by taking a quick walk!

Source : http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/06/pizzicato-knee-joint-energy-harvester-converts-potential-energy-into-kinetic/

Dolby 3D at MC superior

MC superior 3D is at present, Sri Lanka's only 3D cinema. The technology used at this cinema is not known to many. There are several 3D projection techniques that are used around the world today. They are,
Anaglyph Stereoscopy - the well known red-green glass method, Polarization methods as used in "RealD 3D", LCD shutter-glass method which is used in LCD TVs and monitors, Interference filter method - a modification of the anaglyph method and, Autostereoscopy which provides glasses free 3D for portable devices- for example the Nintendo 3DS gaming console and LG optimus 3D and HTC Evo 3D smartphones.

The Majestic Superior 3D theatre uses Dolby 3D technology. The glasses issued and the intro displayed before the movie starts says so. This Dolby technology is an interference filter method which is an improvement over the old anaglyph method. What it does is, it provides two different full colour images with slightly different wavelengths to each eye thus giving rise to the illusion of a third dimension. The projector consists of a colour filter wheel which filters the light before it hits the screen. The viewers glasses contain complementary filters that filter light according to its wavelength and gives two images required for 3D, to each eye of the viewer with two different shades of primary colours (created by a difference in wavelength). This can be seen by holding the glasses about 1 foot away and looking through both lenses at the screen before the movie starts. Two different "tints" will be seen through the two lenses. The colour filter wheel can also be disengaged from the projector giving only 2D images. This means that the same theatre can be used for 2D movies as well.

image from : dolby website

image from : wikipedia

More information :
http://www.dolby.com/us/en/professional/technology/cinema/dolby-3d.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_film