Category 21st Century Technology

What is meaning of term ‘Painting with words’?

The technical advancement in Artificial intelligence or Al has helped recognise CT scans for doctors, predict oil deposits for engineers, and create and regulate algorithms among other things. But can Al generate art?

Creating art takes a unique combination of skills, creativity and the very human element of aesthetic taste. In April 2022, OpenAl, an artificial intelligence (AI) research laboratory, came up with a text-to-image generator that can draw anything you want virtually. This has been done before but the difference here is that the fleshed-out painting or images created by this system replicated the aesthetic design and taste of a real artist. This new Al system is called Dall-E 2 and is capable of turning any text description into a unique work of art. This is an updated system of Dall-E which was released by the company last year. The high-quality and high-resolution images generated by Dall- E 2 are completed within 10 seconds after one enters the prompts and also feature complex backgrounds, realistic depth, and shadow effects, shading and reflections. This free-for-all Al-powered software has made art more accessible, giving everyone a platform to create pictures with words without having to actually execute them with paint, cameras, or code.

Picture Credit : Google 

What is meaning of term ‘Blockchain, NFT’?

Blockchain and NFT are buzz words in the technology industry today.

Blockchain corresponds to a distributed database that maintains a continuously growing list of ordered records, called blocks. These blocks are then linked using cryptography. A blockchain thus serves as a decentralised distributed and public ledger that is used to record transactions across many computers.

NFT stands for non-fungible token. As it is non-fungible, it cannot be replaced or exchanged for something of identical value. Basically blockchain tokens representing unique digital items. NFT allows you to buy and sell ownership of unique digital items.

Picture Credit : Google 

What is UPI and how it works?

UPI saves people from Cash on Delivery hassle and running to an ATM

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushes for a digital India, many of us may have used Unified Payments Interface (UPI). But do you know what it is?

What is UPI?

UPI is a system that allows multiple bank accounts into a single mobile app, thus, merging several banking features, seamless fund routing, and merchant payments under one umbrella.

The UPI has made bank-to-bank money transfers simple and secure, enabling everything from purchasing vegetables from roadside vendors to sending money to friends and relatives.

UPI was launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on April 11, 2016, by Raghuram G Rajan, then-Governor of RBI, at Mumbai.

Features

Some of the unique features of UPI is that it allows immediate money transfer through mobile phones round the clock 365 days.

Besides, it saves people from Cash on Delivery hassle, running to an ATM, or rendering exact amounts.

People can also pay multiple bills from a single mobile app via Utility Bill Payments, Over the Counter Payments, QR Code-(Scan and Pay) based payments.

As per the latest guideline issued by the NPCI, a person is allowed to use UPI to send a maximum of Rs 1 lakh per day. The restriction varies from bank to bank.

Besides, there is a cap on the total amount of UPI transfers that can be made in a day. Twenty transfers are permitted per day using UPI.

HOW TO REGISTER IN UPI ENABLED APPLICATION

Steps for Registration

User downloads the UPI application from the App Store/  Bank’s website

User creates his/her profile by entering details such as virtual id (payment address), password, etc. User goes to “Add/Link/Manage Bank Account’ option and links the bank and account number with the virtual id

Generating UPI – PIN

User selects the bank account from which he / she wants to initiate the transaction

Change UPI PIN

User receives OTP from the Issuer bank on his / her registered mobile number

User now enters last 6 digits of Debit card number and expiry date

User enters OTP and enters his/her preferred numeric UPI PIN (UPI PIN that he/she would like to set) and clicks on Submit After clicking submit, customer gets notification (successful or decline) User enters his / her old UPI PIN and preferred new UPI PIN (UPI PIN that he/she would like to set) and clicks on Submit After clicking submit, customer gets notification (successful or failure)

Picture Credit : google 

What is DigiYatra?

Launched on December 1, DigiYatra enables domestic air travellers to have easy entry and embarkation at Delhi, Bengaluru, and Varanasi airports.

Gaining entry into the airport is somewhat cumbersome as a result of the processes involved. In a bid to simplify this, the government launched DigiYatra at Delhi airport recently. But what is it and how does it work? Let’s find out.

Seamless travel

DigiYatra is a facial recognition software that allows domestic air passengers to seamlessly travel without carrying an ID card. DigiYatra aims at providing passengers a hassle-free entry and embarkation experience based on facial recognition technology at airports in the country. In other words, your face becomes your identity. DigiYatra facilitates a contactless air travel experience at entry point and boarding gate and will make the whole process of boarding faster.

To start with, it was rolled out at Delhi, Bengaluru, and Varanasi airports. Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia launched the facility at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on December 1. DigiYatra will become operational at four more airports – Hyderabad, Pune, Vijayawada, and Kolkata – by March next year and then across various airports in the country.

Download the app

The DigiYatra app by the Digi Yatra Foundation is available on Google Playstore for Android mobiles and App Store for iPhones. Download the app on your Aadhar-linked mobile phone. For availing oneself of the service, a one-time registration on the app has to be done using Aadhaar-based validation and a self image capture. Update the boarding pass on the app and share it with the airport. At the airport, the passenger will have to scan their bar-coded boarding pass downloaded on their phone and the facial recognition system installed at the e-gate will validate their identity and travel document.

Once this process is over, the passenger will have to follow the normal procedure to clear the security and board the aircraft.

At present, DigiYatra is available for passengers taking domestic flights of Air India, Vistara, and IndiGo.

An initiative of the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Digi Yatra Foundation was set up in 2019 to develop a facial recognition system at airports for streamlining air travel.

Concerns

As air passengers have to furnish their Aadhaar details for this service, there are concerns about data theft and privacy. The Minister laid them to rest by saying that the data of the passengers will be stored in an encrypted format in a decentralised manner on their mobile phones. He also said that the data passengers upload would mandatorily be cleared from the servers at the airport 24 hours after their travel.

Picture Credit : Google 

How do you see the posts you’ve liked on insta?

Instagram stores a history of all your liked posts, a handy feature that lets you look back at the photos and videos you liked over time. Open the Instagram app. Go to the profile tab and tap the three horizontal lines. Select Your Activity. Tap on Interactions > Likes. Now you can see the 300 most recent posts you liked ranked from newest to oldest. Use the Sort & Filter option to sort the posts based on author, start date and end date.

Picture Credit : Google 

How does a foot mouse help disabled people?

The Foot Mouse by Califor Design is designed for people who are unable to use their hands due to disability or a neurological condition. Winner of the Red Dot Design Concept Award 2022, the Foot Mouse transfers control to the feet, allowing the user to navigate and click by resting a foot on it. The left and right keys are designed to be operated with the toes. The scrolling function is activated when the left and right buttons are simultaneously pressed, and deactivated when one of the left or right keys is released. “The concave design of the mouse’s top surface is combined with human-machine engineering principles to ergonomically fit the complex curvature under the foot, ensuring a stable and comfortable user experience,” says Califor Design. “Foot Mouse is designed to fit feet of any width and size and to provide anti-fatigue support for extended periods of use.”

Picture Credit : Google