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Sunday 23 August 2015

3D printing: Where Chattanooga's past meets its future

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee -- When Platt Boyd decided to quit his job as an architect and use his retirement savings to start a company that would construct buildings with a 3D printer, he didn't move his family to Silicon Valley or Brooklyn. He came here.
Branch Technology has built the largest free-form 3D printer, to print walls.CNET/Marguerite Reardon
Boyd had been an architect for 15 years, and he left his steady paycheck and company benefits at Seay, Seay, & Litchfeld Architects in Alabama to participate in Chattanooga's Gigtank accelerator, a 100-day program where startups come and get guidance from industry experts and business mentors with expertise in broadband and entrepreneurship.
Boyd and the three other members of his team could have come for the Gigtank experience and returned home after it ended in July. Instead, they decided to stay in Chattanooga and create a company, Branch Technology, here. For Boyd, the decision was an easy one. The 3D printing brain trust is in Chattanooga, and that's where he wanted to be.
"Honestly, it was a bigger decision to quit my steady job than deciding to relocate the company," he said.
Call it being in the right place at the right time. Chattanooga has spent decades transforming itself from a dirty industrial backwater to a future-looking technology hub. Today, it boasts the nation's largest ultrahigh-speed broadband network, known in the industry as a gigabit network, and a thriving startup scene. Leaders in Chattanooga's startup community saw 3D printing in particular as the perfect way to marry the city's manufacturing roots with the promise of tomorrow's technologies, which they hope will pave the way for sustained economic growth.
Check out all the places we've been on CNET's Road Trip 2015.
"We saw how the gigabit network could benefit 3D printing," said Mike Bradshaw, executive director of The Company Lab, a Chattanooga-based nonprofit, whose mission is to help entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground. "And we thought, 'Do we want to let this just happen, or do we want to be a part of creating it?' We figured now was the time to jump in."

What do you do with so much speed?

Two years ago, the city-owned electric company EPB -- formerly known as Electric Power Board -- started building an ultrahigh-speed broadband network that delivers 1 gigabit per second downloads and uploads, which could let you download a full high-definition movie in 20 seconds, as opposed to 30 minutes on an average Internet connection.
But the city wanted to do more than just download movies, and it created Gigtank to answer the question: "If you had the world's fastest Internet, what would you do with it?"
3D printing was a good fit. The technology requires huge amounts of data to create a detailed three-dimensional design. It relies on cloud computing, where multiple computers are connected over a network to provide the necessary processing power to tell the 3D printer what to do. It requires a network with low latency, or the industry term for any delay with the data traveling across the network (low latency means less of a delay).
One of the benefits of 3D printing to industrial manufacturing is that the machines are able to adapt during the manufacturing process to correct flaws. A low-latency network like the one that Chattanooga has built ensures that all the machines can talk to one another without delay, which to a manufacturer greatly reduces mistakes and waste.
"Machines can adjust parameters over a low-latency network as its printing in real time," said Graham Bredemeyer, a self-taught 3D printing expert, who was recruited by Bradshaw to come to Chattanooga to help mentor startups as part of the Gigtank team. "Using other manufacturing methods, you might be forced to throw away the whole part and start over."
While Bradshaw and others immediately saw the fit between 3D printing and Chattanooga's network, 3D printing, which many believe to be the future of manufacturing, also dovetails nicely into Chattanooga's past. Since before the American Civil War, Chattanooga was an industrial hub of the South. It became a major center for steel and iron production used for shipbuilding. But as those industries started to go overseas and plants closed across the US through the 1970s and '80s, Chattanooga lost valuable manufacturing jobs and a part of its heritage.
Starting in the mid-'80s the city embarked on a revitalization effort that began with cleaning up its air and natural surroundings. Since then, the city has managed to attract industry once again. In 2011, Volkswagen opened its North American manufacturing headquarters here.

The promise of 3D printing

It's still early days in 3D printing, and Bradshaw said he and others recognize it may not be appropriate for all applications. That's why the companies chosen to participate in Gigtank must show a relevancy beyond novelty.
Bredemeyer noted that there are dozens of companies located in Brooklyn and Silicon Valley that are 3D printing all kinds of consumer goods. But he said there are few such companies focused on industrial- and commercial-grade manufacturing.
"It's not enough to just be able to 3D print something like a bottle opener or cell phone case," he said. "We need to ask what does 3D printing allow us to do in the manufacturing process that we couldn't do using a traditional process?"
Bredemeyer said Boyd's team at Branch Technology got this concept.
"They were asking not if they could 3D print a wall, but what does it offer that traditional construction can't?" he said.
Indeed, Boyd said that's the whole point of Branch. During his pitch at the Gigtank Demo Day in July, he described Branch's technique as a way to build like nature, eliminating the waste of traditional construction and allowing architects to design structures in shapes that were too costly to achieve using traditional construction techniques.
"One of the core advantages of 3D printing is that it allows for customization and complexity," Boyd said. "This means that we no longer have to accept boring, cookie-cutter designs. It really blurs the line between art and function."
Branch Technology has developed a technique it calls "Cellular Fabrication." It uses a 3D printer head attached to a 12.5 foot robotic arm from Kuka Robotics to free-form build a scaffold frame using a combination of plastic and carbon fiber. The robotic arm, which can travel up and down a 33-foot rail, can build a 3D skeleton of a wall that is 25-feet wide by 58-feet long.
The plastic scaffold weighs only a couple of pounds and then is filled with traditional construction materials, such as foam insulation and concrete to add support and strength. The final product is a wall that can support up to about 3,000 pounds.
Boyd explained that architects could send Branch designs that it would then use to 3D print the plastic frames. These lightweight pieces could then be shipped to construction sites, where they'd be assembled like Legos. Contractors would then use traditional building materials to fill in the scaffolding, and apply the proper finishes.
Boyd said this technique can reduce the cost of construction to between $80 to $140 a square foot. Compare this with the thousands of dollars a square foot it costs for most creative building designs, such as museums.
Branch is just one of five 3D startups to come through the Gigtank and make Chattanooga their homes. Another, Feetz, which 3D prints custom shoes, went through the program last year. Afterward, founder Lucy Beard relocated the company from San Diego, California, to Chattanooga.
Beard said her inspiration for the company came one day out of frustration when she was shopping for shoes. She struggled to find a pair of mass-produced shoes that fit. As she took a break from her search and had a latte, she wondered why she couldn't get custom-fitted shoes the way she was able to customize her coffee.
Feetz was born. Using a mobile app on a smartphone, customers take three photos of their foot, which they send to Feetz. The data is used to create a pattern custom-sized to each foot. And then, using 3D printers, the shoes are printed within hours and shipped out to customers. Prices range from $150 to $250.

'Shooting for the moon'

While the gigabit network is a key benefit for 3D printing applications and is one reason entrepreneurs come to Chattanooga, it's not the only thing driving the 3D printing community. Bradshaw has personally recruited 3D printing experts like Bredemeyer and others to relocate to Chattanooga.
There is also a significant amount of expertise in the 3D printing field just 100 miles away near Knoxville, Tennessee at Oak Ridge National Laboratories. This national laboratory, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, is another center of innovation for 3D printing. Earlier this year, engineers demonstrated the first 3D printed car.
"The startup culture in general here and the proximity to Oak Ridge National Laboratories, was definitely a significant reason for relocating to Chattanooga," Boyd said.
Bradshaw says The Company Lab or CoLab, as it's commonly known, is exploring other ways to fuel the 3D printing startup community. He sees an opportunity in helping manufacturers figure out how and if 3D printing is right for them.
"The big question for companies now is what place 3D printing has within their manufacturing process," he said. "But figuring that out is time consuming and expensive."
Bradshaw said he would like to create a lab in Chattanooga where companies could come, bring their engineers and consult with 3D printing experts to study their own processes and experiment with 3D printing technologies to see if it could be used to improve their existing processes.
"We may be shooting for the moon," he said. "But we have to remember that for every trip to the moon there are many earthly things that must happen along the way to get you there."

Thursday 20 August 2015

Google's Project Ara smartphones keep falling apart

Google said it's testing a new technology to make sure its Project Ara smartphones don't fall apart.Lynn La/CNET
Smartphone makers like Apple and Samsung rigorously stress test their phones before the companies release them to make sure they can handle the abuse of being out in the real world.
With Google's Project Ara smartphones, which aims to let people build their phones from interchangeable parts, we already know how the drop test went: not well.
Google explained Wednesday that it is taking more time to develop the product because the phones keep falling apart. That's because the separate components of the phone snap together like Legos. They're held in place by what Google calls "electropermanent" magnets. It turns out the magnets couldn't keep the phone intact during drop tests, so the company said it is looking to other technology.
Google didn't give much detail about how the phone will work in the future, other than to say it is "testing a signature experience" to attach and detach the different parts.
Project Ara is Google's attempt to shake up how consumers buy smartphones and how manufacturers make them. Instead of buying a complete phone, like an iPhone 6 or a Samsung Galaxy S6, Google wants to let people buy the parts -- such as the camera, processor or screen -- separately and mix and match them as consumers please. The initiative is just one of many out-there projects -- like driverless cars or Wi-Fi balloons -- that Google has invested in as it looks to where future revenue will come from.
Google hopes Ara will speed up development and innovation in the separate components that make up a phone, as hardware makers begin to compete for real estate on a handset.
The announcement on Wednesday is just the latest setback for Project Ara. Last week, Google said the company was scrapping its test launch of the phones in Puerto Rico as previously planned. Earlier this week, Google said the launch would also be postponed until 2016 and that the team is looking for a test market in the US.

Thursday 13 August 2015

Review: Samsung Galaxy Note 5

Key Facts

  • Galaxy Note 5 Release Date: Sept in Korea, Q4 in US, No European release
  • Galaxy Note 5 Price: To be confirmed
  • Galaxy Note 5 Specs: 5.7-inch, 16MP with OIS, Exynos 7420, 4GB RAM

First Impressions – This isn't the phone that Note fans wanted

Let’s start with the bad news – the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 won’t be coming to the UK or Europe any time soon. In fact, it may never come, according to our briefing with Samsung. It’s currently scheduled for release in South Korea in September with a US release date coming a little later.
That’s sad news indeed, since its predecessor – the Galaxy Note 4 – is a brilliant handset. It was certainly among the best phones launched last year, and it’s certainly one of my favourites.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 32

The reason Samsung is being coy about releasing it in the UK and Europe is because it has another phablet on the scene. The Galaxy S6 Edge was announced with the Note 5 and is a 5.7-inch curved variant of the smaller S6 Edge. This is the phone Samsung will be pushing harder outside Korea.
Unlike the Edge , which is almost identical to its sibling barring screen size, the Note 5 is drastically different to the Note 4. I’m not convinced all the changes are for the better, though.

Same screen size, smaller body, fewer features

Galaxy Note 5 Design: 153.2 x 76.1 x 7.6mm, Aluminium frame, Non-removable glass back, 5.7-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED screen
Samsung has worked some serious shrinking magic with the Galaxy Note 5. Even though it has the same screen size as the Note 4 it’s significantly svelter in both width and thickness.
This makes it easier to handle – especially with one hand. It’s also a lot more comfortable to hold. The curved aluminium frame feels much softer than the square metal on the Note 4, and it has a sweeping curve that meets the edges on the back. It rests perfectly in your palm.
This is a big phone that’s both easy and comfortable to use. So far, so good.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 17

The incorporation of the S Pen stylus has also been finessed. You now press the S Pen into the phone and it pops out. It’s not quite the auto-eject feature some Note 5 rumours claimed, but it is neat. I did find it wasn’t that easy to get to or pull out, but then neither is fishing the S Pen out from the Note 4. Other than that the S Pen on the Note 5 is similar in design and functionality to its predecessor, and it makes the Note 5 unique among phablets.
Now to the bad part. The Galaxy Note 5 shares more design traits with the Galaxy S6 than it does with the Note 4, and that limits it. A non-removable glass back means you don’t get access to the battery and you don’t get a microSD card slot either. Like all of Samsung’s flagship phones released this year the Note 5 doesn’t allow for expandable storage.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 9

In the S6, S6 Edge, and even the S6 Edge , this is annoying. But in a phone that’s designed to be the perfect on-the-go productivity tool – something the Note series has grown into – it’s downright negligent. Expandable storage and replaceable batteries are even more necessary when you use your phone as your main work device.
For me the Note 4 struck a great balance between slick design and functionality. It was a big step up from the all-plastic Galaxy S5. The Note 5 has swung too far the other way.
Thankfully, the 5.7-inch screen is better than ever. It’s the same Quad HD resolution as before, but colours pop with even more zeal. It’s like the screen on the Galaxy S6 has been scaled up a little. No other manufacturer comes close to Samsung’s Super AMOLED displays on a phone or phablet.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 6
The different colours of the Note 5

Faster Processor, more RAM and the latest version of Android

Galaxy Note 5 Specs: 2.1GHz quad-core and 1.5GHz quad-core, 4GB LPDDR 4RAM, Android 5.1.1
Samsung has thumbed its nose at Qualcomm once more this year and has packed the Galaxy Note 5 with its own, blisteringly fast, Exynos 7420 chipset – the same one that’s in the rest of 2015’s high-end Galaxy phones.
The Snapdragon 805 in the Note 4 was no slouch, but the Note 5 will perform better in benchmarks and should be more energy efficient thanks to a 14nm manufacturing process (compared with 20nm on the Samsung). This allows Samsung to fit more transistors into a smaller space, while at the same time reducing heat and power consumption.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 4
The Note 5 (left) and S6 Edge (right) side-by-side

In my hour or so with the Note 5 it felt silky smooth and fast. There’s a lot of power there and using multiple apps in split-screen mode didn’t seem to faze the phablet one bit – but then I never experienced these issues using the Note 4 either.
An extra gigabyte of RAM – 4GB in total – should keep the Note 5 ticking over a little better than the S6 and S6 Edge.
There should be no complaints over the Note 5’s performance.
TouchWiz – Samsung’s reimagining of Android – is still going strong on the Note 5 but, just like on the rest of the Galaxy range, it’s now a little tamer than before. Under the UI layer is Google’s latest version of the world’s most popular mobile operating system – Android 5.1.1.
All the shortcuts you’ll be used to on a Note phone using the S Pen are there, letting you access key settings and apps quickly and efficiently. In fact it feels to me that the S Pen is faster than ever at displaying menus.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 10

Improved cameras and improved audio

Galaxy Note 5 Camera: 16-megapixel, OIS, Phase Detection, AutoHDR, 5-megapixel front camera
The Note 5 uses the exact same camera sensor and lens as the Galaxy S6. That means it has a very solid camera that’s a step up from last year’s model. Still, it leaves me a little disappointed.
The Note 4 had an improved camera compared to the Galaxy S5 and I expected the Galaxy Note 5 to follow suit. Not to put too much of a damper on it, though, the camera is very good – in fact it’s one of the best around and goes toe-to-toe with the competition.
In some ways it’s better than the cameras on the iPhone 6 Plus and LG G4 and in others it’s slightly worse. It’s a toss-up as to whether you prefer more detail or better colour accuracy. If it’s the former you’ll be very happy with the Note 5; if the latter perhaps the iPhone or LG would be preferable.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 13

There have been some improvements to the software, however. Samsung has uprated its VDIS, which makes videos more stable, and has added a number of movie-editing options and real-time video sharing.
Audio has also had a boost. Samsung has made software and hardware changes so the Note 5 can now upscale MP3 and comes with a dedicated clock to help reduce distortion and noise. I didn’t have a chance to test the audio quality, but hopefully it’ll be a step in the right direction for audiophiles.

Battery life could be shorter

Galaxy Note 5 Battery Life: 3,000mAh non-removable battery, wireless charging, fast charging
The biggest surprise the Note 5 announcement brought was that it has a smaller battery than its predecessor – 220mAh smaller, to be exact.
The Note 4 was one of the best phones of last year when it came to staying power – only the iPhone 6 Plus and Xperia Z3 could compete. It’s one of the killer features of the Note series and I hope the drop in battery size doesn’t mean it’s affected too much.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 21
Note 5 (left) and Note 4 (right) side-by-side

There are reasons to believe it won’t be. The Exynos processor should be more efficient than the Snapdragon and the battery is still a fair amount bigger than that on the Galaxy S6, which manages to last a day.
I’ll need a lot more time with the Note 5 to assess its battery life fully.
Samsung has improved wireless charging so it’s 27% faster than it is on the S6 and S6 Edge. It’ll charge a full hour faster than those, even though the battery is bigger.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 27From left to right: iPhone 6 Plus, Note 5 and Note 4

What’s the Galaxy Note 5 missing?

We’ve already mentioned that the Samsung has dropped the microSD slot and removable battery from the Galaxy Note 5. The former is somewhat eased by the fact that the top-of-the-line Note 5 model comes with 128GB of storage – 32/64GB are the other options. We expect the extra storage to come at a significant price, though.
The other omission is Type-C USB, something the much cheaper 5.5-inch OnePlus 2 sports.
Type-C USB has the benefit of being reversible, so you don’t have to guess which way you’re plugging it into the phone. It also has the ability for faster data transfer using USB 3.1 and improved power delivery – something OnePlus hasn’t taken advantage of. Apple’s new Macbook uses it as the main charging port.
Again this is useful for a product aimed at professionals who want the ability to quickly transfer files from PC to phone and vice versa.
The Note 5 also comes with the full gamut of other features we expect from a flagship in the Galaxy range. There’s an improved fingerprint scanner that works in tandem with NFC and magnetic secure transmission (MSG) in preparation for the launch of Samsung Pay. There’s also fast 4G and an IR blaster for controlling your home cinema system.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 7

First Impression

There’s no denying the Galaxy Note 5 is a top-quality phone. All the elements that make the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge so strong – screen, design and processor – are there.
Unfortunately, like those phones, it lacks a number of features such as a removable battery, USB 3 and, crucially, microSD expansion. On the smaller handsets that’s less of an issue, but for a phone aimed at power users it could well be a misstep. Perhaps that's why Samsung has chosen not to launch it in the UK and Europe just yet.