Without needles thanks to Google?

Google has filed a patent for a "needle-free blood draw" system that can be a revolutionary solution for people afraid of traditional methods. Such a device may be worn on the wrist or as a hand-held device that takes blood from a fingertip or other parts of the body.

Drawing from the patent application showing the needle-free device for taking blood samples
(source: google.com)

The blood draw system works by sending a surge of gas into a barrel containing a micro-particle that painlessly pierces the skin. Then the blood droplet released from the punctured skin is sucked up into a barrel with negative pressure. Such a small amount of blood is sufficient e.g. for a glucose test. The patent application also describes a second device, a kind of a smartwatch that can be worn on the wrist. This device would display test results and alert the user about health hazards. Continuous measurement of blood sugar levels would increase the safety of patients. Practical implementations of such devices can greatly facilitate the daily lives of people with diabetes. Technological progress opens up increasing diagnostic opportunities in the field of medicine.

Measurement of DVB-T signals - Bit Error Rate (BER).

An important parameter that should be taken into account when measuring DVB-T signals is BER. This parameter is well known to all installers of satellite dishes and describes the quality of the received signal. It informs about the proportion of erroneous bits (caused by interference occurring in the transmission channel) in relation to all transmitted bits. There are several types BER. Although from the perspective of the installer only one of them is really interesting, it is good to be conscious of the kinds of measurements performed by DVB-T meters (most of the instruments can measure two types of BER):

In the case of DigiAir Pro R10510, the BER rates before and after Viterbi correction are denoted as "Pre BER" and "Post BER". It is perfectly visible that the number of errors after the correction is 30 000 times smaller than the number of errors before correction. A good quality signal features Pre BER of 1E-4 or less. Such signal is recognized as Quasi Error Free (QEF).

Faster wireless transmission.

Ubiquiti NanoBeam-5AC-19 N2529 is an 802.11ac access point operating in 5 GHz band. Thanks to excellent beam directivity, the device provides better performance in high-noise environments than other solutions of similar size. The built-in antenna has gain of 19 dBi, the integrated wireless module has maximum output power of 26 dBm and 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet port.

Ubiquiti NanoBeam-5AC-19 (19 dBi, 5GHz airMAX ac)
N2529

AirMax™ TDMA protocol allows for elimination of "hidden nodes" problem by allocating for them time slots (TDMA) for collision-free communication. It enables maximum throughput even with dozens of client stations connected to the access point. Additionally, the included AirControl application can be used for central management of up to 100 devices.

A point-to-multipont network with N2529 APs

TV mount - make a good choice.

The selection of a suitable mount must be based on the three main requirements: load capacity, mounting standard, and screen size. The most important parameter is the load capacity, which has to be at least the same as the weight of the TV/monitor (a safety margin is highly recommended). This issue is basic for the security of the display and the viewers. The second criterion is the mounting standard (FDMI/MIS). TV/monitor mounts/brackets usually have hole patterns that are compliant with VESA mounting standards. Although it is possible to use adapters, the users should definitely purchase brackets that fit the patterns of their flat panels. The third important parameter is the screen size range. It may happen that a mount meets the first two conditions, but the diagonal of the TV is greater than that declared for the mount. Then, there is a risk that the TV cannot be tilted and/or rotated to the desired position. In the case of small monitors, a bracket intended for larger panels may stick out of the contour of the screen.

The table below lists popular Signal mounts with wide adjustment range, designed for large-screen TVs/monitors. The full offer of flat panel mounts is available here.

High quality video from Sunell cameras.

Sunell SN-IPR54/04AYDN/M K1678 compact IP camera is equipped with APTINA 1/3" CMOS image sensor with resolution of 1920x1080 pixels (2 MP) and IR illuminator with range up to 50 m. The built-in IR illuminator consists of eight Super Flux LEDs, which allows for effective night operation without additional lighting. Super Flux LEDs are characterized by a high intensity of the light beam. The varifocal 2.8-12 mm lens has viewing angle adjustable within 89°-30° range. The camera can operate indoors or outdoors, thanks to solid, aluminum housing with high ingress protection rating (IP66). The screenshots below are the real images from the K1678 camera, taken at the following parameters:

Recording surveillance video streams on a PC.

Video streams from Hikvision IP cameras and DVRs/NVRs with network interfaces can be recorded on PCs. This function can be used to create redundant (backup) recordings or as the primary way of recording the surveillance data. The recording on a computer is possible by the use of the iVMS-4200 application with Storage Server utility installed (the utility is an optional extension provided with the iVMS-4200 app). The program can format selected partitions of hard disks of PCs, similarly to HDDs in DVRs/NVRs. This means that the space reserved for the recording of the video data cannot be used for other purposes. The setup of the recording function is done through the same application. The user can choose different recording modes (continuous, by schedule, motion detection, etc).

HDD configuration window of the Storage Server utility

Small IP CCTV system based on Hikvision NVR with built-in PoE switch. The diagram below shows an example of IP CCTV system for a single-family home, based on Hikvision devices. The system consists of 4-channel NVR K22042 with built-in PoE switch and four K1772 cameras with varifocal lenses allowing for the adjustment of viewing angles within 91°- 28° range. The cameras are also equipped with IR illuminators with range up to 30 m, which ensures perfect monitoring at night even without any additional lighting... >>>more

IP video monitoring system for a small house.
The cameras are powered directly from the PoE switch built into the K22042 NVR.

Industrial switches - ready to work in all conditions