Trash Talk: Volvo Group and Universities Working on Refuse-Gathering Robot

In the classic episode of The Simpsons where Homer Simpson ran for the sanitation office of Springfield, he ran on a pie-in-the-sky campaign promise of "Can't someone else do it?" when it came to waste collection duties. In 2015, Volvo Group working in cooperation with students from Chalmers University of Technology and Mälardalen University in Sweden as well as American Penn State University could change the topic to "Can't something else do it?" through the development of trash-collecting robot technology.

In a group effort to reduce the strain and noise related to garbage collection, robotic and autonomous principles are being engaged in the creation of a project called ROAR. ROAR (Robot-based Autonomous Refuse handling) is conceived as an extension of the garbage collection truck. The robot unit will be ample to collect and empty containers of waste into the garbage truck in the same labour-intensive procedure performed by human collectors. The ROAR system will relieve refuse collectors of the heavy workloads but will not take the human element of the equation. The robot or robots will operate under the supervision of a truck driver will ultimately instruct the technology.

Currently exiting the conceptual stage on-route to the development stage, a test vehicle integrating ROAR technology is planned for completion by June of 2016. Waste recycling company Renova will develop the vehicle while the three universities have divided construction of the ROAR project into separate responsibilities. An operating system will be created by Chalmers University while Penn State's Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute will be in charge of designing graphics, communication technology and the control panel inside the garbage collection vehicle. The basic design for the robot is entrusted to Mälardalen University. Project leader of the largely student driven development Mikael Ekström says, "It is exciting that we are combining advanced research with our training in robotics."

With focus on the completion of the ROAR project, autonomous technology and programming coming together in this application could prove important in the fostering of smart equipment in performing a wider array of duties. Project leader for the Volvo Group Per-Lage Götvall comments, "Within Volvo Group we foresee a future with more automation, this project provides a way to stretch the imagination and test new concepts to shape transport solutions for tomorrow."

Tesla Powerwall Quickly Charges Up with Canadian Backers

For many Canadian consumers, energy costs for our homes tend to travel in one direction; upward to pricier plateaus as illustrated on power bills. Smart meters, time of use rates have done nothing to provide us with a Simple logic would suggest we lower our consumption. Despite seeking low wattage lights and energy-saving appliances, we still seem to be paying more. In this modern world where connectivity and smartphones neglect any possibly for most of us to live off the power grid, it appears we are held at our mercy every time we turn on a light switch or plug in a device.

Last week, Tesla introduced a novel solution of a chargeable Powerwall battery providing a variety of opportunities to liberate consumers and small businesses from inflexible energy distribution. Today, it was announced the first 38,000 Powerwall units have already been sold in the United States through pre-orders. Less than a week after Elon Musk presented the new energy storage solution to the world, plans for releasing the Powerwall in Canada has been solidified.

In a partnership between Toronto's energy storage project developer NRSor Inc. and smart grid software engineering company Opus One, the Tesla Powerwall will began installation north of the 49th parallel border by the end of the year. "This energy storage system will provide Canadians with the opportunity to find demonstrable efficiencies in their daily energy usage as well as ensuring access to energy when it is really needed." said Chair and CEO of NRStor Annette Verschuren.

Expected for release statewide for the summer, the Canadian roll-out of the intelligent lithium-ion based energy storage unit will be available in limited markets for 2015. Widespread availability of the Tesla Powerwall in Canada is scheduled for the early part of 2016. The sale price for the Powerwall units have not been announced nor is there any announcement if the technology will ever qualify for government incentives.

 

What is the Tesla Powerwall?

Comprising as a large rechargeable lithium-ion battery, the Tesla Powerwall weighs around 100 kilograms (220 pounds) and measures 1,300 millimeters by 860 millimeters by 180 millimeters (51.2 x 33.9 x 7.1 inches) in dimension. Introduced in storage capacities of 7 kWh and 10 kWh (priced at $3,000 and $3,500 respectively), the Powerwall can be installed in a collection of up to 9 units for a total battery storage capacity of 90 kWh. As a reference for the necessary capacity needed by a home or business, Tesla offered the following examples:

Refrigerator: 4.8 kWh/hour
Flat Screen TV: 0.1 kWh/hour
Lighting for a Room: 0.1 kWh/hour
Laptop Computer: 0.05 kWh/hour

Out of curiosity, a single Tesla Powerwall will not be able to fully charge a Model S. The Tesla Model S 70D fitted with a 70 kWh battery would require seven-battery home system using 10 kWh units to be completely charged from empty. Single and multiple battery setups must be installed by a trained electrician.

There are two primary ways the Tesla Powerwall can operate. The first way the Powerwall works is as energy storage for generated power from a solar panel setup. The Tesla Powerwall will also function as a backup power source for a home's existing conventional system. Under the second scenario, smart technology is employed to draw power for charging during off-peak hours for storage. During peak power periods, the Tesla Powerwall supplies energy to the connected home or building. Using numbers from Ontario Hydro as an example, on-peak cost for power per kWh is 16.1 cents while off-peak is 8.0 cents. Using a 10 kWh Tesla Powerwall, the savings will equate to 81 cents per day. While it seems meager in one day, the savings over a year is over $295.

The Tesla Powerwall is also equipped with an emergency system that will automatically switch on when utility-supplied power is lost in the event of a storm or other outage.

Record 9.23 Million Canadians Watched 2015 Super Bowl

Photo Credit: Rawlings

Super Bowl XLIX was best defined as the game New England Patriots fended-off a late game charge to win over the Seattle Seahawks 28-24. While the players of one team left the field victorious with the ultimate prize of being NFL champions, the football game was a massive win for television stations broadcasting the game. In the United States, NBC quickly sold 30-second commercial spots for 4.5 million dollars ahead of the Super Bowl and recorded consistent viewership of 114.4 million Americans watching the close, suspense-filled match. An all-new record for a Super Bowl broadcast, the 2015 game's peak viewership topped out at 120.8 million through a late New England Patriots drive for a touchdown. In Canada, the 49th annual football game was also a ratings blockbuster.

Between CTV and the French-language RDS sports channel, Super Bowl XLIX drew an average audience of 9.23 million viewers according to Bell Media making it the most-watched edition of the game ever in this country. The 2015 game breaks the 8.18 million audience that watched the 2012 Super Bowl tournament between the New England Patriots and New York Giants.

While the majority of Canadian audiences were accounted watching CTV, there was a million Francophone viewers alone. Over the course of the Super Bowl telecast in this country, 19.3 million unique members of the Canadian population watched the game at some part in the Sunday evening. The total number of viewers meant roughly 55 percent of Canada's total population watched the Super Bowl. Bell Media also noted that the event's halftime show drew 12.2 million in this country consisting of Katy Petty singing alongside guests Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott.

Once again, Canadian viewers of "The Big Game" lost out on seeing a majority of the highly-produced commercials created for the NBC airing of the game. Leading up to this year's Super Bowl, a CRTC ruling decried after 2016 that Canadian broadcasts could no longer replace the American advertisements with others supplied through the telecast provider in this country. Called simultaneous substitution, this is a common practice exercised in Canadian broadcasting for almost any broadcast from the United States shown as the same time in Canada. For Super Bowl XLIX, the result was commercials from Canadian Armed Forces, Tim Hortons, Government of Canada, PC Financial and Home Hardware making it to air on CTV.

Explained as a response to the CRTC's public consultation Let’s Talk TV: A Conversation with Canadians, the plan to outlaw simultaneous substitution has not sat well with Bell Media and its parent company Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE). Bell owns the rights to the Canadian broadcast of the Super Bowl and would lose autonomy in distributing their ad space. Days following the ruling, the notion of discontinuing simultaneous substitution was greatly argued by pundits (many against the CRTC coming from Bell-owned media companies). BCE noted the influence of sponsors in their press release saying, "Last night's record audience proves once again there is no better opportunity for Canadian advertisers to strike a chord with Canadian viewers than the Super Bowl.". Bell Media properties also received considerable ad time throughout the 2015 game.   

After the record 2015 Super Bowl, 1.35 million Canadians remained on CTV to watch the season 2 premiere of Masterchef Canada.

Aerial Drone Flight School Opening in British Columbia Teaching New Transport Canada Guidelines

Photo Credit:  CyPhy Works-Business Wire

The flights of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones has provided an outlet for recreation as well as a useful tool allowing professionals to accomplish tasks in a new, efficient manner. However, the growing access to UAVs has not been without concerns for their use. Privacy, property damage, signal interference and interference with other aircraft have been some of the worries regarding small flying devices.

In Canada, a new set of guidelines have been implemented to provide pilots with rules to safely operate their UAVs. Defined as Transport Canada Knowledge Requirements for Pilots of Unmanned Air Vehicle Systems (UAV) 25 kg or Less, the guidelines cover a wide assortment of aspects to flying a drone aircraft regarding the vehicle as well as the operator. With fines up to $25,000 applying in some cases when an operator of the UAV causes a disturbance, the Transport Canada guidelines gain a great importance.

In British Columbia, a partnership between Aerobotika Aerial Intelligence and Pacific Rim Aviation Academy has formulated the first instructional course designed specifically for UAV operation under the new Transport Canada rules. The monthly course will educate students on the lawful use of UAVs covering subject matter such as standard pilot training along with avoidance of dangerous situations.

Starting in late February, the class will operate monthly as a two-day seminar. With four students per instructor, completion of the course results in pilot candidates receiving a Letter of Completion used to acquire a special flight operations certificate from Transport Canada.

CTV Records Second-Largest Canadian Audience During Sunday Night's Super Bowl

Less than super, Super Bore, the Snoozer Bowl have been some many ways to describe Sunday night's NFL championship match-up between the Denver Broncos and the victorious Seattle Seahawks. Taking the lead after a single mistake by the Broncos' offense, the Seahawks commanded the field of MetLife Stadium throughout the 48th Super Bowl to win 43-8. A couple years ago, remembered watching the Toronto-based Buffalo Bills game versus the Seahawks and was not the least bit surprised the Seattle NFL team could mount such a Super Bowl feat against, what was on paper, a formidable Denver team.

Despite the dominating performance of Seattle driven by quarterback Russell Wilson and a near unbreakable defensive line, fans gave Super Bowl XLVIII continuing attention. Recording big ratings in the United States, Canadian fans of American football were also glued to "The Big Game".

Numbers released by CTV (Canada's broadcast affiliate for the 2014 Super Bowl) revealed that Sunday night's game was the second-highest watched broadcast of the event in this country. Shown on the main CTV stations and on French sports network RDS, the 2014 Super Bowl combined to draw an average viewership of 8 million. The viewership fell just short of the record-setting 2012 Super Bowl broadcast in Canada that achieved 8.2 million average sets of eyeballs. While the average amount of viewers achieved 8 million, CTV has accounted that 18 million unique viewers watched at least some part of the 2014 Super Bowl broadcast. Viewership among the 18-49 and 25-54 age demographics showed growth greater than one-third over the 2013 Super Bowl. On CTV and RDS, the adult male demographic share was rated between 65 and 74 percent.

With the Seattle Seahawks' appearance in the 2014 game, western Canadian markets recorded all-time high audiences for this year's Super Bowl. Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton area fans turned on the television set in record numbers.

The non-sport element of the 2014 Super Bowl also proved popular among Canadians. During this year's acclaimed halftime performance, CTV estimates almost 10 million viewers watched Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers entertain in New Jersey.

Look Out for Ontario Electronic Recycling Fees this Boxing Week

Photo Credit: Walmart Canada

As the waste remains presents and cards are being cleaned off the floor, Christmas of 2013 has close to a wrap. Starting on December 26th, a large number of people will be putting their newfound cash and/or gift cards to use at retail stores as well as online portals. Boxing Day or Week has become a shopping tradition where customers indulge themselves in the single or multiple items we have otherwise deprived ourselves from up to this point. With little doubt, a great deal of shopping will occur in the electronics section.

In Ontario, like several other provinces in Canada, collect an electronic recycling fee on a wide-range of technology. Check-out may be the first time where some of us will become familiar with the additional cost added to our choice electronic. Intended to cover the cost of an electronic device's end-of-use or disposal and run by the Ontario Electronic stewardship, it is charged on top of what we pay for a new product fitting into the taxing criteria.

In Ontario, the electronic recycling fees currently spans from 5 cents for a cell phone or pager up to $173.75 for a floor-based photocopier or printer machine. For customers this Boxing Week, the televisions and computer monitors could prove to be the most highest purchased item with the heaviest recycling fees. For televisions up to 29 inches in screen size, the additional cost this holiday season is $12.25. Planning to buy a big screen? The Ontario electronic recycling fee skyrockets to more than triple cost of a smaller set. When over 29 inches in size, the Ontario electronic recycling fee runs $39.50. If looking for a medium-sized television around 27 to 32 inches, the electronic recycling fee cost could be something to consider. It might cause you to reconsider the net benefit of a few inches of screen size.

Since instituted in Ontario in mid-2009, electronic recycling fee has gone through five major adjustments. When the fee was for introduced, desktop computers received the highest fee amount at $13.44. Portable and home entertainment devices such as MP3 players, photo frames and digital cameras were originally exempted. With the latest fee structure introduced this May, a large selection of everyday electronics is now subject to an electronic recycling fee. Along with laptop or netbooks, the portable computer fee also encapsulates the popular tablet devices. The following is the fee structures created through the lifetime of the Ontario electronic recycling fee:


Ontario Electronic Recycling Fees Since Program's Inception

Item	April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010	April 1, 2010 to July 31, 2011	August 1, 2011 to December 31, 2012	January 1, 2013 to April 30, 2013	May 1, 2013 to current
Cell Phones or Pager	NA	0.10	0.01	0.10	0.05
Video, Audio or Image Device
Portable	NA	0.40	0.10	0.15	0.75
Home Sized	NA	2.75	1.45	5.15	7.10
Home Theatre in a Box	NA	9.95	7.80	7.80	7.10
Aftermarket Vehicle Equipment	NA	2.85	1.55	3.00	4.00
Television or Monitor
Computer Monitor	12.03	12.25	11.00	12.25	12.25
Under 18”	10.07	12.25	11.00	12.25	12.25
18” to 29”	10.07	12.25	11.00	12.25	12.25
29” to 45”	10.07	26.25	25.00	27.60	39.50
Over 45”	10.07	26.25	25.00	27.60	39.50
All-in-One Computer*	13.44	12.25	11.00	12.25	12.25
Computer
Desktop	13.44	7.80	3.50	3.40	3.00
Portable	2.14	2.75	0.70	2.30	1.50
Mouse	0.32	0.40	0.05	0.30	0.75
Keyboard	0.32	0.40	0.05	0.30	0.75
Hard Drive	0.32	0.40	0.05	0.30	0.75
Optical Drive	0.32	0.40	0.05	0.30	0.75
Modem	NA	0.40	0.05	0.30	0.75
Telephone or Answering Machine	NA	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.50
Printing
Desktop Printer or Copier	5.05	5.40	5.40	11.45	10.35
Floor Printer Device	5.05	32.50	32.50	341.20	173.75
Floor Copier	5.05	32.50	32.50	341.20	173.75

* All-in-one units were not specifically mentioned on the initial fee structure. I made an assumption it is considered a desktop computer.

While printing equipment showed some massive increases, the cost for television sets have also showed a steady peak upwards. Televisions over 29 inches in size are being levied with an electronic recycling fee almost four times greater today than when the program in imposed in 2009. While most fees have risen from the initial 2009 setup, the Ontario electronic recycling fee has dropped considerably for desktop computers and even for portable computers.

Important Exemptions

Not all electronics are subjected to electronic recycling fees. Among the major products not subjected to electronic recycling fees is video game consoles, Bluetooth headsets, eReaders, memory cards and a majority of computer components are not assessed fees at this time. It's also interesting that while a standard computer hard drive is subject to a fee, solid state storage devices are not. A full list of electronic products is provided on the Ontario Electronic Stewardship website.

Hammacher Schlemmer Showcase: The No Glasses Required 3D Tablet

Photo source: Hammacher Schlemmer 

It searching for the ideal gift for the technology lover, a computer tablet could have been a great gift idea in previous years. However, during this 2013 holiday season, its likely a tablet has already found its way into the hands of a loved one. The constant advancement of technology could present a realistic prospect that the gift receiver may appreciate a modern upgrade. For 2013, the leading Apple iPad, Microsoft Surface and Samsung devices have kept setting a rapid pace for technology evolution offering a variety of flashy enhancements such as fingerprint recognition and simple animation studios. For fans of 3D, retailer Hammacher Schlemmer has a tablet to fulfil those seeking the extra-ordinary viewing experience.

Being sold as the "No Glasses 3D Tablet", this device produces a three-dimensional perspective without the need for special eyewear traditionally associated with 3D. Operating with an eight-inch touchscreen, the No Glasses 3D Tablet operates with a parallax barrier (similar to the display provided on the Nintendo 3DS device). Automatically distinguishing 3D content, the No Glasses 3D Tablet also functions efficiently with 2D media. Video and webpages is viewed in 1,080p HD resolution with the No Glasses 3D Tablet.

The No Glasses 3D Tablet is based on an Android 4.1 operating system providing a familiar environment of productivity and entertainment. Bluetooth and two cameras are also part of the No Glasses 3D Tablet. The rear camera is 2.0 megapixel and the front camera is 0.3 megapixel.

With time remaining ahead of Christmas day, the No Glasses 3D Tablet can be ordered for $349.95 US from Hammacher Schlemmer as a gift for someone special (Ourselves included).