Telefonica: Big Data, Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Connect the Unconnected

Earlier, I wrote a detailed post on how Telefonica was on a mission to connect 100 Million Unconnected with their 'Internet para todos' initiative. This video below is a good advert of what Telefinica is trying to achieve in Latin America


I recently came across a LinkedIn post on how Telefónica uses AI / ML to connect the unconnected by Patrick Lopez, VP Networks Innovation @ Telefonica. It was no brainer that this needs to be shared.

Big data for social good from Patrick Lopez

In his post, Patrick mentions the following:

To deliver internet in these environments in a sustainable manner, it is necessary to increase efficiency through systematic cost reduction, investment optimization and targeted deployments.

Systematic optimization necessitates continuous measurement of the financial, operational, technological and organizational data sets.

1. Finding the unconnected

The first challenge the team had to tackle was to understand how many unconnected there are and where. The data set was scarce and incomplete, census was old and population had much mobility. In this case, the team used high definition satellite imagery at the scale of the country and used neural network models, coupled with census data as training. Implementing visual machine learning algorithms, the model literally counted each house and each settlement at the scale of the country. The model was then enriched with crossed reference coverage data from regulatory source, as well as Telefonica proprietary data set consisting of geolocalized data sessions and deployment maps. The result is a model with a visual representation, providing a map of the population dispersion, with superimposed coverage polygons, allowing to count and localize the unconnected populations with good accuracy (95% of the population with less than 3% false positive and less than 240 meters deviation in the location of antennas).


2. Optimizing transport

Transport networks are the most expensive part of deploying connectivity to remote areas. Optimizing transport route has a huge impact on the sustainability of a network. This is why the team selected this task as the next challenge to tackle.

The team started with adding road and infrastructure data to the model form public sources, and used graph generation to cluster population settlements. Graph analysis (shortest path, Steiner tree) yielded population density-optimized transport routes.


3. AI to optimize network operations

To connect very remote zones, optimizing operations and minimizing maintenance and upgrade is key to a sustainable operational model. This line of work is probably the most ambitious for the team. When it can take 3 hours by plane and 4 days by boat to reach some locations, being able to make sure you can detect, or better, predict if / when you need to perform maintenance on your infrastructure. Equally important is how your devise your routes so that you are as efficient as possible. In this case, the team built a neural network trained with historical failure analysis and fed with network metrics to provide a model capable of supervising the network health in an automated manner, with prediction of possible failure and optimized maintenance route.

I think that the type of data driven approach to complex problem solving demonstrated in this project is the key to network operators' sustainability in the future. It is not only a rural problem, it is necessary to increase efficiency and optimize deployment and operations to keep decreasing the costs.


Finally, its worth mentioning again that I am helping CW (Cambridge Wireless) organise their annual CW TEC conference on the topic 'The inevitable automation of Next Generation Networks'. There are some good speakers and we will have similar topics covered from different angles, using some other interesting approaches. The fees are very reasonable so please join if you can.

Related posts:

• Internet para todos: Telefonica and Parallel Wireless on a mission to connect 100 Million Unconnected
• Automating the 5G Core using Machine Learning and Data Analytics
• ITU 'Network 2030': Initiative to support Emerging Technologies and Innovation looking beyond 5G advances
• Artificial Intelligence - Beyond SON for Autonomous Networks
• Twitter et al. for Small Cell Planning

An Introduction to ONF and CORD (Central Office Re-architected as a Datacenter)

Continuing on the theme of Open Source from last week's post from Telefonica, lets look at the CORD by ONF.

The CORD (Central Office Re-architected as a Datacenter) platform leverages SDN, NFV and Cloud technologies to build agile datacenters for the network edge. Integrating multiple open source projects, CORD delivers a cloud-native, open, programmable, agile platform for network operators to create innovative services.

CORD provides a complete integrated platform, integrating everything needed to create a complete operational edge datacenter with built-in service capabilities, all built on commodity hardware using the latest in cloud-native design principles.



The video above from MWC 2018 is a very short summary of what ONF and CORD is. The video below from OCP Telecom Workshop at the Big Communications Event (BCE) on May 14th, 2018 in Austin, Texas looks at CORD in detail.



Related Post:

• Telefonica and open source

Short summary of #CWFDT event 'Smart Devices of 2025'

Last month, just before the Easter break, I along with some other SIG champions of the Future Devices & Technologies group at CW (Cambridge Wireless) organised an event titled 'Smart Devices of 2025'. Technologies are moving at such an amazing speed that it is not easy to foresee anything beyond 6-8 years. Hence 2025, 7 years from now.

Introduction to CW Future Devices & Technologies Group (#CWFDT) from 3G4G

As this was the inaugural event for the revamped SIG, the slides above are my quick introduction to the SIG. We not only talked about the future but we had some nice futuristic devices too. The nuFood 3D Food Printer by Dovetailed printed out some fancy toppings that could go on cheesecake and on other food, making it more appetising. Here is the video on how it works.



All the talks were very informative and very well explained. Its amazing how all of them came together to form a complete picture. The talks are all available here (limited time for non-CW members)

The starting talk by David Wood (@dw2), chair of London Futurists was not only informative and relevant to the subject being discussed but equally entertaining, especially for those who have been in the mobile industry for a long time. He has kindly agreed for me to share his slides which are embedded below.

Scenarios for Smart Devices in 2025: Brave New Smartphone and/or Black Mirror? from 3G4G

David talks about NBIC (slide 18) and how it could be combined with Social-tech and Planetary-tech in future to do a lot more than what we can do with it today. While David explains NBIC in his slides, I found this short video on this topic that I think is worth embedding.



It was also good to hear Dr Jenny Tillotson again after a long time. I blogged about smell transmission some 6 years back here. This is something that is still work in progress and probably will be ready by 2025. In the meantime 'Context-Driven Fragrances' can be used for variety of purposes from entertainment to health.

A fantastic talk from @scentsory on Context-Driven Fragrances #CWFDT pic.twitter.com/RoSTMiUqYz

— Zahid Ghadialy (@zahidtg) March 27, 2018

Finally, here is another small presentation (with embedded video) on Telepresence Robots that I did.

Telepresence Robots from 3G4G

Related posts:

• Have Wearables Found Their True Killer App? - Nitin Dahad, EE Times European correspondent
• Smart Devices of 2025 - Howard Read, Associate, Appleyard Lees

Some interesting April Fools' Day 2018 Technology Jokes

This year April Fools' Day wasn't as fun as the last one. Couple of reasons being that it was on a Sunday and it coincided with Easter Sunday. Here are some of the jokes that I found interesting.

Sprint's Magic Ball:

It was good to see that the US mobile operator joined the party this year. Their magicball (based on their highly successful Magic Box) advert was really good. Here is the video:



Good to see that they managed to squeeze in references to 5G and small cells

Official site: http://newsroom.sprint.com/sprint-magic-ball.htm


T-Mobile Sidekicks Re-booted:

T-Mobile USA has consistently come up with the best tech pranks. Last year they had the OneSie with Human HotSpot and BingeOnUp the year before. This year the re-booted sidekicks was the joke of the day. The video is embedded below. As the description says, T-Mobile’s Sidekick gets a remake! Inspired by the past but stepping boldly into the future, it has revolutionary AI, headphones that double as chargers, personalized GPS guidance by John Legere, and more!



Official site: https://www.t-mobile.com/offers/sidekicks


The Chegg Osmosis Pillow:

"A top-secret team of Chegg engineers from Zurich spent two years developing a new patent-pending revolutionary proprietary method of making memory foam using special blends of matcha and lavender. Thanks to their discoveries, Chegg’s memory foam actually improves your memory. Got a final exam tomorrow? Sleep on it. Got a lab report due? Sleep on it. Need to outline your entire thesis? Sleep on it."

Official Website: https://www.chegg.com/play/memory-foam-pillow/


Pindrop TonguePrinting:

"Tongueprinting technology analyzes thousands of tiny bumps called papillae, as well as factors such as shape, size, and temperature to accurately identify yourself by licking your phone. This technology will be the mouthpiece of Pindrop’s latest authentication and anti-fraud solutions." Video:


Official website: https://www.pindrop.com/resources/video/video/tongueprinting/


Roku Happy Streaming Socks: "Do messy snack hands keep you from using your Roku remote? Meet the new Roku Happy Streaming Socks with built-in motion sensors, plus toe-toasting and anti-loss technology."


Official Website: https://blog.roku.com/roku-happy-streaming-socks


The other jokes were, well, not very funny but here are some worth mentioning...

Virgin Voyages Wa-Fi: "Here at Virgin Voyages we are excited to be bringing underwater WiFi, or as we call it “Wa-Fi” service, to all Virgin Voyages ships." Website: https://www.virginvoyages.com/wa-fi.html

Logitech BS Detection Software: "Today, I’m proud to announce that we are taking video calls to a whole new level with the introduction of Logitech Business Speak (BS) Detection software. Logitech BS Detection revolutionizes our meeting capabilities with built-in artificial intelligence (AI) that flags the…well…BS in business communications. "

Eager to eliminate the BS from your meetings? If so, be sure to check out Logitech's new Business Speak Detection software, which is now available on all @LogitechVC products. Learn more here: https://t.co/XuumeDrgme. pic.twitter.com/KP2ieuCXRi

— Logitech (@Logitech) April 1, 2018

Website: https://blog.logitech.com/2018/03/30/logitech-revolutionizes-business-communication-with-the-introduction-of-business-speak-detection-software/

Josh Ultra by Josh.Ai: https://www.cepro.com/article/josh.ai_josh_ultra_premium_voice_control

Jabra Sneakers: https://www.jabra.com/jabra-sneakers

INTRODUCING Jabra Speaker Sneaker - The world’s first stereo speakers included in footwear with voice assist. The detachable speakers ensure great sound and best of class battery life, allowing you to enjoy music all day long, wherever your feet take you. https://t.co/fO7TJp3KPp pic.twitter.com/1vmul0unAA

— Jabra US Team (@Jabra_US) April 1, 2018

Genetic Select by Lexus: Introducing Genetic Select by Lexus in partnership with 23andMe. The world’s first service that uses human genetics to match you with the car of your genes. http://www.lexus.com/geneticselect/

Google Maps is adding a Where’s Waldo? mini-game for the next week: Link.

Google Japan's Gboard: https://japan.googleblog.com/2018/04/tegaki.html

Google Cloud Hummus API - Find your Hummus!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_5X6N6DHyk

Tech21 Flexichoc case: https://twitter.com/Tech21Official/status/979392283106824192

Audi Downsizing Assistant: https://twitter.com/AudiOfficial/status/979991696657203201

Lego VacuSort: https://twitter.com/LEGO_Group/status/980369210789507072

Did I miss any good ones?


Related Posts:

• Some interesting April Fools' Day 2017 Technology Jokes
• Some interesting April Fools' Day 2016 Technology Jokes
• Some interesting April Fools' Day 2015 Technology Jokes
• Some interesting April Fools' Day 2014 Technology Jokes
• Qualcomm to put Femtocells in Mutant Animals ;)
• Just ate a Blackberry...and it was yummy!

Quick summary of Mobile World Congress 2018 (#MWC18)

This year at MWC, I took the time out to go and see as many companies as I can. My main focus was looking at connectivity solutions, infrastructure, devices, gadgets and anything else cool. I have to say that I wasn't too impressed. I found some of the things later on Twitter or YouTube but as it happens, one cannot see everything.

I have to be honest, haven't seen a WOW demo yet at #MWC18. While there are lots of interesting stuff, it's all the same, old and tired stuff.

— Zahid Ghadialy (@zahidtg) February 26, 2018

I will be writing a blog on Small Cells, Infrastructure, etc. later on but here are some cool videos that I have found. As its a playlist, if I find any more, it will be added to the same playlist below.



The big vendors did not open up their stands for everyone (even I couldn't get in 😉) but the good news is that most of their demos is available online. Below are the name of the companies that had official MWC 2018 websites. Will add more when I find them.

Operators

• NTT Group
• Telefonica
• Orange
• Verizon
• Deutsche Telekom

Network Equipment Vendors

• Huawei 
• Nokia
• Ericsson
• ZTE
• Samsung

Handset Manufacturers

• LG
• Huawei (see above)
• Samsung

Chipset Manufacturers

• Qualcomm
• Intel
• MediaTek

Did I miss anyone? Feel free to suggest links in comments.


MWC Summary from other Analysts:

• Mobile World Congress 2018 Event Report - ThinkSmallCell
• Mobile World Congress 2018: trends, news, announcements - Radio Electronics
• Observations from MWC 2018 - Frank Rayal
• Mobile World Congress: State of the Industry 2018 - Xona Partners
• Mobile World Congress 2018 Report: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4 - CCS Insight
• MWC 2018 Roundup - Counterpoint Research

Tutorial: Service Based Architecture (SBA) for 5G Core (5GC)

As a continuation of 'Control and User Plane Separation of EPC nodes (CUPS) in 3GPP Release-14', here is another tutorial on Service Base Architecture (SBA) for the 5G Core.

The slides (with video) is embedded below but there are quite a few tutorials on 5G available on 3G4G page here.

Advanced: 5G Service Based Architecture (SBA) from 3G4G

Further Reading:

• Control and User Plane Separation of EPC nodes (CUPS) in 3GPP Release-14
• 3GPP 5G Specifications
• 5G - 3G4G Webpage
• 2G, 3G, 4G & 5G Training and Tutorial Videos - 3G4G Webpage

QUIC - Possibly in 5G, 3GPP Release-16

Over the last year or so, I have heard quite a few discussions and read many articles around why QUIC is so good and why we will replace TCP with QUIC (Quick UDP Internet Connection). One such article talking about QUIC benefits says:

QUIC was initially developed by Google as an alternative transport protocol to shorten the time it takes to set up a connection. Google wanted to take benefits of the work done with SPDY, another protocol developed by Google that became the basis for the HTTP/2 standard, into a transport protocol with faster connection setup time and built-in security. HTTP/2 over TCP multiplexes and pipelines requests over one connection but a single packet loss and retransmission packet causes Head-of-Line Blocking (HOLB) for the resources that were being downloaded in parallel. QUIC overcomes the shortcomings of multiplexed streams by removing HOLB. QUIC was created with HTTP/2 as the primary application protocol and optimizes HTTP/2 semantics.

What makes QUIC interesting is that it is built on top of UDP rather than TCP. As such, the time to get a secure connection running is shorter using QUIC because packet loss in a particular stream does not affect the other streams on the connection. This results in successfully retrieving multiple objects in parallel, even when some packets are lost on a different stream. Since QUIC is implemented in the userspace compared to TCP, which is implemented in the kernel, QUIC allows developers the flexibility of improving congestion control over time, since it can be optimized and better replaced compared to kernel upgrades (for example, apps and browsers update more often than OS updates).

Georg Mayer mentioned about QUIC in a recent discussion with Telecom TV. His interview is embedded below. Jump to 5:25 for QUIC part only

Georg Mayer, 3GPP CT work on 5G from 3GPPlive on Vimeo.

Below are some good references about QUIC in case you want to study further.

• IETF QUIC Charter
• Youtube: QUIC Next generation multiplexed transport over UDP - Google
• Understanding QUIC wire protocol - Anuradha Niroshan
• HTTP/2 and QUICK protocols. Optimizing the Web stack for HTTP/2 era
• Measuring QUIC vs TCP on mobile and desktop

5G Network Architecture, Design and Optimisation - Jan 2018

Prof. Andy Sutton, Principal Network Architect, Architecture & Strategy, TSO, BT, provided an update on 5G Network Architecture & Design last year which was also the most popular post of 2017 on 3G4G blog. This year again, he has delivered an update on the same topic at IET '5G - State of Play' conference. He has kindly shared the slides (embedded below) that are available to download from Slideshare.

5G Network Architecture, Design and Optimisation from 3G4G

The video of this talk as follows:


There are many valuable insights in this talk and the other talks from this conference. All the videos from the IET conference are available here and they are worth your time.

Related Links:

• [Video] The UK’s first end-to-end 5G network test - EE
• [Video] 5G Network Architecture Options - 3G4G
• [Video] Beginners: 5G Terminology - 3G4G
• 3GPP-VRIF workshop on Virtual Reality Ecosystem & Standards in 5G
• Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) 2017 Conference summary

Inside AT&T Towers

A really good video from Mr. Mobile on YouTube on how the cell towers look from inside. Worth your 9:27 mins.



If you found this interesting then you will also like:

• Tutorial: An Introduction to Macrocells & Small Cells
• AT&T Blog: "Providing Connectivity from Inside a Cactus"

3GPP-VRIF workshop on Virtual Reality Ecosystem & Standards in 5G

Its been a year since I last posted about Augmented / Virtual Reality Requirements for 5G. The topic of Virtual Reality has since made good progress for 5G. There are 2 technical reports that is looking at VR specifically. They are:

• 3GPP TR 26.918: Virtual Reality (VR) media services over 3GPP
• 3GPP TR 26.929: QoE parameters and metrics relevant to the Virtual Reality user experience

The second one is work in progress though. 

Anyway, back in Dec. 3GPP and Virtual Reality Industry Forum (VRIF) held a workshop on VR Ecosystem & Standards. All the materials, including agenda is available here. The final report is not there yet but I assume that there will be a press release when the report is published.

While there are some interesting presentations, here is what I found interesting:

From presentation by Gordon Castle, Head of Strategy Development, Ericsson

From presentation by Martin Renschler, Senior Director Technology, Qualcomm

For anyone wanting to learn more about 6 degrees of freedom (6- DoF), see this Wikipedia entry. According to the Nokia presentation, Facebook’s marketing people call this “6DOF;” the engineers at MPEG call it “3DOF+.”

XR is 'cross reality', which is any hardware that combines aspects of AR, MR and VR; such as Google Tango.

From presentation by Devon Copley, Former Head of Product, Nokia Ozo VR Platform

Some good stuff in the pres.

From presentation by Youngkwon Lim, Samsung Research America; the presentation provided a link to a recent YouTube video on this presentation. I really liked it so I am embedding that here:



Finally, from presentation by Gilles Teniou, SA4 Vice chairman - Video SWG chairman, 3GPP

You can check and download all the presentations here.

Further Reading:

• 3GPP 5G Specifications

Introduction to 3GPP Security in Mobile Cellular Networks

I recently did a small presentation on 3GPP Security, looking at the how the security mechanism works in mobile cellular networks; focusing mainly on signaling associated with authentication, integrity protection and ciphering / confidentiality. Its targeted towards people with basic understanding of mobile networks. Slides with embedded video below.

Intermediate: Security in Mobile Cellular Networks from 3G4G

You can also check-out all such videos / presentations at the 3G4G training section.

Control and User Plane Separation of EPC nodes (CUPS) in 3GPP Release-14

One of the items in 3GPP Rel-14 is Control and User Plane Separation of EPC nodes (CUPS). I have made a video explaining this concept that is embedded below.

In 3G networks (just considering PS domain), the SGSN and GGSN handles the control plane that is responsible for signalling as well as the user plane which is responsible for the user data. This is not a very efficient approach for deployment.

You can have networks that have a lot of signalling (remember signaling storm?) due to a lot of smartphone users but not necessarily consuming a lot of data (mainly due to price reasons). On the other hand you can have networks where there is not a lot of signalling but lot of data consumption. An example of this would be lots of data dongles or MiFi devices where users are also consuming a lot of data, because it’s cheap.

To cater for these different scenarios, the control plane and user plane was separated to an extent in the Evolved Packet Core (EPC). MME handles the control plane signalling while S-GW & P-GW handles the user plane

CUPS goes one step further by separating control & user plane from S-GW, P-GW & TDF. TDF is Traffic Detection Function which was introduced together with Sd reference point as means for traffic management in the Release 11. The Sd reference point is used for Deep Packet Inspections (DPI) purposes. TDF also provides the operators with the opportunity to capitalize on analytics for traffic optimization, charging and content manipulation and it works very closely with Policy and charging rules function, PCRF.

As mentioned, CUPS provides the architecture enhancements for the separation of S-GW, P-GW & TDF functionality in the EPC. This enables flexible network deployment and operation, by using either distributed or centralized deployment. It also allows independent scaling between control plane and user plane functions - while not affecting the functionality of the existing nodes subject to this split.

As the 3GPP article mentions, CUPS allows for:

• Reducing Latency on application service, e.g. by selecting User plane nodes which are closer to the RAN or more appropriate for the intended UE usage type without increasing the number of control plane nodes.
• Supporting Increase of Data Traffic, by enabling to add user plane nodes without changing the number of SGW-C, PGW-C and TDF-C in the network.
• Locating and Scaling the CP and UP resources of the EPC nodes independently.
• Independent evolution of the CP and UP functions.
• Enabling Software Defined Networking to deliver user plane data more efficiently.

The following high-level principles were also adopted for the CUPS:

• The CP function terminates the Control Plane protocols: GTP-C, Diameter (Gx, Gy, Gz).
• A CP function can interface multiple UP functions, and a UP function can be shared by multiple CP functions.
• An UE is served by a single SGW-CP but multiple SGW-UPs can be selected for different PDN connections. A user plane data packet may traverse multiple UP functions.
• The CP function controls the processing of the packets in the UP function by provisioning a set of rules in Sx sessions, i.e. Packet Detection Rules for packets inspection, Forwarding Action Rules for packets handling (e.g. forward, duplicate, buffer, drop), Qos Enforcement Rules to enforce QoS policing on the packets, Usage Reporting Rules for measuring the traffic usage.
• All the 3GPP features impacting the UP function (PCC, Charging, Lawful Interception, etc) are supported, while the UP function is designed as much as possible 3GPP agnostic. For example, the UPF is not aware of bearer concept.
• Charging and Usage Monitoring are supported by instructing the UP function to measure and report traffic usage, using Usage Reporting Rule(s). No impact is expected to OFCS, OCS and the PCRF.
• The CP or UP function is responsible for GTP-u F-TEID allocation.
• A legacy SGW, PGW and TDF can be replaced by a split node without effecting connected legacy nodes.

CUPS forms the basis of EPC architecture evolution for Service-Based Architecture for 5G Core Networks. More in another post soon.

A short video on CUPS below, slides available here.



Further reading:

• 3GPP: Control and User Plane Separation of EPC nodes (CUPS)
• ITU: 5G Network Architecture and FMC - Joe Wilke, Ericsson
• Heavy Reading: Service-Based Architecture for 5G Core Networks

Couple of quick interviews from URLLC 2017 Conference

I tried the Facebook Live feature yesterday at the URLLC 2017 conference and recorded a couple of quick interviews with Martin Geddes and Prof. Andy Sutton. Hope you find them useful.

           

Further Reading:

• Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) 2017 Conference summary

Quick tutorial on Mobile Network Sharing Options

Here is a quick tutorial on mobile network sharing approaches, looking at site/mast sharing, MORAN, MOCN and GWCN. Slides and video embedded below. If for some reason you prefer direct link to video, its here.

Mobile Network Sharing from 3G4G

See also:

• Telecoms Infrastructure Blog: Passive and Active Infrastructure Sharing
• Telecoms Infrastructure Blog: Small Cells Network Sharing
• The 3G4G Blog: Network Sharing is becoming more relevant with 5G
• The 3G4G Blog: A practical use of MOCN in ESN

5G Dual Connectivity, Webinar and Architecture Overview

One of the things that will come as a result of NSA (Non-StandAlone) architecture will be the option for Dual Connectivity (DC). In fact, DC was first introduced in LTE as part of 3GPP Release 12 (see 3G4G Small Cells blog entry here). WWRF (Wireless World Research Forum) has a good whitepaper on this topic here and NTT Docomo also has an excellent article on this here.

A simple way to understand the difference between Carrier Aggregation (CA) and Dual Connectivity (DC) is that in CA different carriers are served by the same backhaul (same eNB), while in DC they are served by different backhauls (different eNB or eNB & gNB).


We have produced a short video showing different 5G architectures, looking mainly at StandAlone (SA) and Non-StandAlone (NSA) architectures, both LTE-Assisted and NR-Assisted. The video is embedded below:

Finally, 3GPP has done a short webinar with the 3GPP RAN Chairman Balazs Bertenyi explaining the outcomes from RAN#77. Its available on BrightTalk here. If you are interested in the slides, they are available here.

Related posts:

• 5G Core Network, System Architecture & Registration Procedure
• 5G: Architecture, QoS, gNB, Specifications - April 2017 Update
• 5G Security Updates - July 2017
• Enhanced 5G Security via IMSI Encryption
• 5G – Beyond the Hype
• Network Sharing is becoming more relevant with 5G

Smartphone Batteries Round-up: Technology, Charging & Recycling

Back in 2013, I spoke about Smart Batteries. Still waiting for someone to deliver on that. In the meantime I noticed that you can use an Android phone to charge another phone, via cable though. See the pic below:

You are probably all aware of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 catching fires. In case you are interested in knowing the reasons, Guardian has a good summary here. You can also see the pic below that summarises the issue.

Lithium-ion batteries have always been criticized for its abilities to catch fire (see here and here) but researchers have been working on ways to reduce the risk of fire. There are some promising developments.

The electrochemical masterminds at Stanford University have created a lithium-ion battery with built-in flame suppression. When the battery reaches a critical temperature (160 degrees Celsius in this case), an integrated flame retardant is released, extinguishing any flames within 0.4 seconds. Importantly, the addition of an integrated flame retardant doesn't reduce the performance of the battery.

Researchers at the University of Maryland and the US Army Research Laboratory have developed a safe lithium-ion battery that uses a water-salt solution as its electrolyte. Lithium-ion batteries used in smartphones and other devices are typically non-aqueous, as they can reach higher energy levels. Aqueous lithium-ion batteries are safer as the water-based electrolytes are inflammable compared to the highly flammable organic solvents used in their non-aqueous counterparts. The scientists have created a special gel, which keeps water from reacting with graphite or lithium metal and setting off a dangerous chain reaction.

Bloomberg has a good report as to why we’re going to need more Lithium.

Starting about two years ago, fears of a lithium shortage almost tripled prices for the metal, to more than $20,000 a ton, in just 10 months. The cause was a spike in the market for electric vehicles, which were suddenly competing with laptops and smartphones for lithium ion batteries. Demand for the metal won’t slacken anytime soon—on the contrary, electric car production is expected to increase more than thirtyfold by 2030, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Even if the price of lithium soars 300 percent, battery pack costs would rise only by about 2 percent.

University of Washington researchers recently demonstrated the world's first battery-free cellphone, created with funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and a Google Faculty Research Award for mobile research.

The battery-free technology harvests energy from the signal received from the cellular base station (for reception) and the voice of the user (for transmission) using a technique called backscattering. Backscattering for battery-free operation is best known for its use in radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, typically utilized for applications such as locating products in a warehouse and keeping track of high-value equipment. An RFID base station (called a reader) "pings" the tag with an RF pulse, which allows the tag to harvest microwatts of energy from it—enough to return a backscattered RF signal modulated with the identity of the item.



Unfortunately, harvesting generates very little energy; so little, that you really need a new standard. For instance, Wi-Fi signals transmit continuously, but harvesting that energy constantly will only enable transmissions of about 10 feet today. Range will be the big challenge for making this technology successful.

So we wont be seeing them anytime soon unfortunately.

Recycling of materials is always a concern, especially now that the use of Lithium-ion is increasing. Financial Times (FT) recently did a good summary of all the companies trying to recycle Lithium, Cobalt, etc.

Mr Kochhar estimates over 11m tonnes of spent lithium-ion batteries will be discarded by 2030. The company is looking to process 5,000 tonnes a year to start with and eventually 250,000 tonnes — a similar amount to a processing plant for mined lithium, he said.

The battery industry currently uses 42 percent of global cobalt production, a critical metal for Lithium-ion cells. The remaining 58 percent is used in diverse industrial and military applications (super alloys, catalysts, magnets, pigments…) that rely exclusively on the material.

According to Wikipedia, The purpose of the Cobalt (Co) within the LIBs is to act as a sort of bridge for the lithium ions to travel on between the cathode (positive end of the battery) and the anode (the negative end). During the charging of the battery, the cobalt is oxidized from Coᶾ⁺ to Co⁴⁺. This means that the transition metal, cobalt, has lost an electron. During the discharge of the battery the cobalt is reduced from Co⁴⁺ to Coᶾ⁺. Reduction is the opposite of oxidation. It is the gaining of an electron and decreases the overall oxidation state of the compound. Oxidation and reduction reactions are usually coupled together in a series of reactions known as red-ox (reduction-oxidation) reactions. This chemistry was utilized by Sony in 1990 to produce lithium ion cells.

From Treehugger: An excellent investigative piece by the Washington Post called “The cobalt pipeline: From dangerous tunnels in Congo to consumers’ mobile tech” explores the source of this valuable mineral that everyone relies on, yet knows little about.

“Lithium-ion batteries were supposed to be different from the dirty, toxic technologies of the past. Lighter and packing more energy than conventional lead-acid batteries, these cobalt-rich batteries are seen as ‘green.’ They are essential to plans for one day moving beyond smog-belching gasoline engines. Already these batteries have defined the world’s tech devices.

“Smartphones would not fit in pockets without them. Laptops would not fit on laps. Electric vehicles would be impractical. In many ways, the current Silicon Valley gold rush — from mobile devices to driverless cars — is built on the power of lithium-ion batteries.”

What The Post found is an industry that’s heavily reliant on ‘artisanal miners’ or creuseurs, as they’re called in French. These men do not work for industrial mining firms, but rather dig independently, anywhere they may find minerals, under roads and railways, in backyards, sometimes under their own homes. It is dangerous work that often results in injury, collapsed tunnels, and fires. The miners earn between $2 and $3 per day by selling their haul at a local minerals market.

There is a big potential for reducing waste and improving lives, hopefully we will see some developments on this front soon.

Nokia Bell Labs - Future Impossible Series Videos

Picture Source: Cnet

Bell Labs, which has played a significant role in telecoms history and has a very glorious list of achievements created a collection of short films highlighting the brilliant minds who created the invisible nervous system of our society. Some of you may be aware that Bell Labs is now a part of Nokia but was previously part of Alcatel-Lucent, Lucent and AT&T before that.

The playlist with 5 videos is embedded below and short details of the videos follows that.


Video 1: Introduction

Introducing 'Future Impossible', a collection of short films highlighting the brilliant minds who created the invisible nervous system of our society, a fantastic intelligent network of wires and cables undergirding and infiltrating every aspect of modern life.


Video 2: The Shannon Limit

In 1948, father of communications theory Claude Shannon developed the law that dictated just how much information could ever be communicated down any path, anywhere, using any technology. The maximum rate of this transmission would come to be known as the Shannon Limit.  Researchers have spent the following decades trying to achieve this limit and to try to go beyond it.


Video 3: The Many Lives of Copper

In the rush to find the next generation of optical communications, much of our attention has moved away from that old standby, copper cabling. But we already have miles and miles of the stuff under our feet and over our heads. What if instead of laying down new optical fiber cable everywhere, we could figure out a way to breathe new life into copper and drive the digital future that way?


Video 4: The Network of You

In the future, every human will be connected to every other human on the planet by a wireless network. But that’s just the beginning. 

Soon the stuff of modern life will all be part of the network, and it will unlock infinite opportunities for new ways of talking, making and being. The network will be our sixth sense, connecting us to our digital lives. In this film, we ponder that existence and how it is enabled by inventions and technologies developed over the past 30 years, and the innovations that still lie ahead of us.


Video 5: Story of Light

When Alexander Graham Bell discovered that sound could be carried by light, he never could have imagined the millions of written text and audio and video communications that would one day be transmitted around the world every second on a single strand of fiber with the dimensions of a human hair.

Follow the journey of a single text message zipping around the globe at the speed of light, then meet the researchers that have taken up Bell’s charge.


For anyone interested, Wikipedia has a good detailed info on Bell Labs history here.

Some interesting April Fools' Day 2017 Technology Jokes

Here are the interesting April Fools' Day 2017 Technology Jokes. If I have missed one, please add them in comments. For those who don't know what April Fools' Day means, see here.

Google Windmill from Google Nederland: Interesting use of Wind and Cloud to keep Rain away.




Amazon Petlexa (Alexa for Pets): It allows dogs, cats, and other animals to communicate with Alexa just like you do. The Petlexa feature gives pets the freedom to place orders from Amazon, and to activate smart home enabled toys.




Google Play for Pets: A new category of games, apps and training tools to keep your pet stimulated. Honestly, I cant see why this cannot be real.

Honda Horn Emoji's: Horn Emojis offer a range of horn sounds for a variety of scenarios, from seeing your kids off to school to commiserating with other drivers in rush-hour traffic.

See video here. Honda has also launched In-car dating app to help lonely drivers find love at the wheel. More details here.


T-Mobile ONEsie: T-Mobile CEO John Legere has designed this Onesie and CTO Neville Ray has also participated in testing. Its got a lot of Amazing properties, including creating Human SotSpots.

See videos here and here.


Virgin Atlantic Dreambird 1417: World’s first-ever aircraft using new patented technology – flapology – to create the world’s first aircraft with flappable wings.




Virgin Trains (UK) Tickink: Innovative new contactless ticket system, offering customers the opportunity to have their train ticket permanently tattooed on their body, preventing frequent passengers from ever losing their tickets again. Details here.


Virgin Mobile Australia PhoYo:

Say "goodbyeee" to smashed phone screens and "helloooo" to the #PhoYo pic.twitter.com/MCAiwabKGA

— Virgin Mobile Aus (@VirginMobileAus) March 31, 2017

Prysm Avatar: I quite like this concept. A work drone that enables you to reap the benefits of working from home, without sacrificing the interpersonal advantages of being in the office. Each drone is equipped with sophisticated sensors and a holographic projector that displays your likeness as a realistic, life-sized avatar.




Telenor prohibits the word ‘Digital’ in all communication: There is a small chance this may be true ;-). See here.

Telenor bans word 'digital' from all internal communication; hand gesture introduced to ease transition. Read more: https://t.co/HKEEnqTLdH pic.twitter.com/HP4lfnZbQX

— Telenor Group (@TelenorGroup) April 1, 2017

Finally, there was also Google Gnome (like Google home), Google Ms. Pac-Man, Lexus LC: Lane Valet, Shake Me - by Trade Me, Huawei Mate 9.2 with 2 headphone jacks


There is also this picture from 1992 circulating, showing how standards body (ETSI) celebrated April Fools' before twitter/youtube :-)

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• Some interesting April Fools' Day 2016 Technology Jokes
• Some interesting April Fools' Day 2015 Technology Jokes
• Some interesting April Fools' Day 2014 Technology Jokes