technology

Next Generation of Optical Media is coming with the Archival Disc

Next generation of the optical disc is announced to be launched in the nearest future. The maximum data storage capacity on a single optical disc that is available on the market now is up to 500 GB, and the new format is going to be able to store twice of that.

The discs are called ‘Archival disc’ and it is claimed that the storage unit can retain its data for more than a 100 years.

Higher capacities in optical storage are made possible due to smaller sized pits and marks and shorter wavelength lasers and improved drawing rates. In the case of the ‘Archival Discs’ alternative approach is used: extra data is recorded on the land areas between grooves that are traditionally unused.

Optical discs have great potential to further enhance their recording density and storage capacity with technological advancements in, for example, signal processing technology. If we compare the growth in the recording density of HDDs, optical discs, and magnetic tapes, in 10 years, from 2016 to 2026, the recording density will improve by 7~15% for HDDs and 30~46% for optical discs. For the magnetic tapes, the increase is estimated to be less than 30%. To estimate the longevity of the media, industry standard acceleration tests were conducted. Error occurrence rates were measured in temperatures 30℃ and above and in less than 70% humidity. These tests estimate that the prototypes of the Archive Discs can reliably store data for more than 100 years. On the other hand, hard disks have a lifespan of a few years, and magnetic tapes a dozen or so years.

Because optical discs have a long life, unlike hard disks and magnetic tapes, there is no need to regularly migrate data from degraded media to new media. Moreover, optical discs do not require operations or cooling of facilities that are associated with hard disks, therefore, long-term storing of data on optical discs can reduce power consumed as well as costs incurred. If 1PB (petabyte) of data is stored for 20 years on HDDs, magnetic tapes, and optical discs, with widely available HDDs and magnetic tapes, the costs come out to be around the same, whereas with optical discs, it is estimated that the data could be stored at half the cost.

Another technology used on the Archival Discs is,”Crosstalk-cancelling technology”. This technology cancels crosstalk noise generated by adjacent tracks. This should ensure playback quality without read errors, even with narrow track pitches.

Falcon Technologies International is constantly monitoring the overall trends of the optical media market and tends to allocate its resources towards innovation and improvement of its professional product lines, in particular, the Century Archival, which is a cutting-edge technology, built with Gold or Platinum layer to ensure maximum security, longevity and protection for stored data proven by a number of internal and independent third-party tests.

Source: guru3d

Meet all new 9.5-mm Optical Disc Drive by Silverstone

SilverStone has introduced its first ultra-slim ODD that can read and record CD, DVD, Blu-ray and BDXL media. The drive is not a technological breakthrough, but it is going to be one of a few 9.5-mm BD/BDXL-supporting ODDs on the market. The manufacturer is primarily known for its cases, PSUs and coolers, so the launch of the TOB03 ODD demonstrates that the company sees demand for such products.

Nowadays the vast majority of audiovisual content (games, music, movies, etc.) is distributed digitally via services like iTunes, Netflix, Origin and Steam. Partially due to this reason, a number of ODD makers and optical media manufacturers reduced production levels and focused on other markets. However, a lot of people still own large collections of CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs which need something to access the media. Moreover, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray formats still offer the highest quality 1080p and 4K movies due to massive bitrates that streaming or digital download services do not offer, due to network restrictions for most. As a result, while demand for ODDs, in general, is not high, it exists and there are people willing to pay for such drives.

From SilverStone’s point of view, these are people who buy its SFF PC cases, SFX PSUs and coolers for home theater PCs and then go to other suppliers for optical drives. From a business perspective, it makes a lot of sense for SilverStone to offer its customers premium ODDs in addition to what it already sells them.

However, there is a problem. While SilverStone makes various products in-house, producing optical drives is not what it does and sourcing lasers, motors and other ODD components is sometimes tricky in a world where only a few companies produce them. Therefore, SilverStone had to find an OEM to manufacture the hardware.

Apparently, there are only two companies on the planet that make 9.5-mm Blu-ray/BDXL burners: one is LG and another is Panasonic. The latter is the maker of the TOB03 and this is something that SilverStone does not seem to hide: the official photos of the drive clearly reflect that this is indeed the Panasonic/Matshita UJ272. The drive has been around for a while, but given the relatively slow evolution of ODDs in general, this is hardly a problem. Moreover, when it comes to availability of ultra-slim BD/BDXL burners, the more the merrier as right now their choice and supply are very limited. SilverStone’s offering does not expand the former, but it clearly boosts the supply by making the drive available from the company’s usual channels.

The SilverStone TOB03 (aka Panasonic UJ272) uses the SATA 3.0 interface (with a Slimline SATA connector) and can read and record CD (CD, CD-R, CD-RW, HS-RW, US-RW), DVD (DVD, DVD±R, DVD±R DL, DVD±RW, DVD-RAM) and Blu-ray (BD, BD-R SL/DL/TL/QL, BD-RE SL/DL/TL) discs. The drive has a 2 MB buffer underrun protection (which is lower compared to other high-end ODDs) and supports 6x CAV burning speed for popular BD-R SL/DL (25 GB/50 GB) media as well as 4x PCAV burning speed for BR-R TL/QL (100 GB/128 GB) discs. As for supported Blu-ray formats, both SilverStone and Panasonic declare Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D, but not UHD Blu-ray (at least for now). Since SilverStone’s TOB03 comes in retail packaging only, the ODD always comes with a 12.7 mm bezel to be compatible with cases that support slim drives as well as a slimline SATA adapter featuring a flexible braided cable for easier installation (which contrasts to OEM drives from renowned makers that come without any cables in some regions).

SilverStone’s TOB03 ODD burner will be available from the company’s partners in the coming weeks. The company does not disclose anything about pricing, but since Panasonic’s UJ272 is available for $70 to $90 depending on the retailer, expect the TOB03 to be priced in the same ballpark.

Source: AnandTech

The future of archiving

We all know content is king but just as important is the need to prepare, protect and preserve the content through viable and long lasting solutions.

Within the video production industry alone, data-heavy content such as HD, 4K and high frame rate videos are exponentially growing by the day. Subsequently, these newly created assets need to be managed effectively, stored safely, and utilised along with the old assets.

Broadcasters, production companies, and other content holders are not only handling large and growing quantities of daily content, but are also much concerned with digitising the massive VTR assets currently sitting on shelves. As it becomes increasingly possible to effectively manage and rapidly search these materials via shared networks, new potential is discovered for the reuse of such assets.

As data volumes rise, so do storage costs – making it essential to implement storage systems that distinguish between hot (frequently accessed), warm (occasionally accessed), and cold (infrequently accessed) data, and se-lecting the best storage media for each. The main obstacle for content owners is to ensure the ability to preserve, access, and re-use their valuable assets without incurring repeated investment, and huge running costs.

The requirements of long term reliability, the ability to maintain large quantities of data at relatively low costs, and the ability to maintain data integrity in “green environments” with limited environmental controls are essential.

Sony is convinced that optical disc storage fills all of these requirements, and is therefore ideal for warm and cold storage. The new technology, with open and non-proprietary formats, involves the use of multiple bare discs contained within a robust cartridge and a dedicated disc drive unit with an associated software driver able to manipulate the discs individually – providing a seamless read/write capability.

The non-contact read/write technology offers the ability to access data with remarkable speed compared to tape data that necessitates the physical fast-forwarding and rewinding of a tape, 800 metres or more in length, until the location of the required data is reached. Also, it’s never going to jam, tangle or snap.

The fact remains that optical discs are considerably more durable than hard-disk storage systems or magnetic tape based media, with a 100-year shelf life expectancy. The system is highly reliable and optimised for long-term archiving. It also succeeds in keeping down total archiving costs, and has a low environmental footprint. It offers accessibility, high speed, and can be scalable to fit the users’ needs which can begin with small archive stored on a few shelves, and expand into a large library as data accumulates.

Whilst the professional AV media industry has moved steadily from its tape based origins toward file based workflows for acquisition, post-production and distribution, the archive domain continues to remain largely tape-based. An alternative modern day solution, the Optical Disc Archive (ODA), has been created helping organisations achieve safe, long-term storage of video, photos, text, and other important digital assets.

Both LTO magnetic tape and Optical Disc Archive are viable cold storage options. The most common complaint from the user community is the constant need to migrate valuable assets from one form of tape media to the next version upgrade simply to maintain a viable archive. This requirement for copy migration every two generations (approximately five to six years), incurs substantial media and labour costs.

By leveraging the proving optical technologies, and inter-generational compatibility of optical discs, ODA technology can store important data safely, eliminating the need for migration every few years. This eliminates the need for media, hardware and software re-investment, as well as the cost of human resources required to perform copying work, resulting in reduced total cost of ownership.

ODA solutions are also ideal for deep archive, whereas data tape does not provide the assurance or meet the need for very long-term archive requirements. It also provides a second copy broadcast archive solution at a remote site and is suitable for business continuity, disaster recovery, post house and production back-up and, for video, film and stock footage archives or AV national archives. The system can also be used for news and sports clips that need to be near-online and as an on-line browse and proxy clip store.

Recently, Sony unveiled the second generation of its Optical Disc Archive System, which doubles the capacity of a single cartridge, and doubling read/write speeds over the previous generation, accommodating 4K video in real time, and maintains backwards read compatibility with first generation optical disc drives.

Optical disc archive can serve as the core of highly productive archive systems capable of managing and storing valuable, high-volume data—including 4K video, future-generation video, older video assets, and multimedia video content.

The technology is future proof and achieves a revolutionary jump in the world of data storage ideal for any circumstance.

Now and in future, this system delivers an efficient, secure, and reliable archive solution. Unlike data tape technology, where you have to migrate your content or you can’t access it as your technology moves on, the Optical Disc Archive media written today, will be readable by the drives of tomorrow.

Bottom line is with the current region pre-dominantly tape based, it is now time to transition towards the future. Optical disc archiving is the way forward – it is a solution that is long term, economical, and ultimately scala-ble to grow with your business.

Written by Nabil El Madbak

Source: ScreenAfrica

From floppy disks to deep freeze: what’s the best way to store data?

A New York-based team of volunteer archivists and preservationists are working to transfer old VHS videotapes into digital formats. Volunteers meet weekly in a Tribeca loft filled with “racks of tape decks, oscilloscopes, vectorscopes and waveform monitors” to painstakingly digitize cassettes from the 1980s and 1990s. As they note, transferring video isn’t plug-and-go; much tweaking and troubleshooting can be required to get it right. That’s why they’ve only managed to transfer 155 tapes so far – a very small percentage of the total analog format archive.

The group partners with artists, activists, and individuals to lower the barriers to preserving at-risk audiovisual media – especially unseen, unheard, or archived works.

Whatever the content, once it’s digitized, it becomes publicly available via the Internet Archive.

And what about your own tapes? There are plenty of paid services that will help you to digitize old videotapes – or you can do it yourself using directions from open sources. And if you still have a big dusty box of your home video tapes stored somewhere deep in the closet, it may be a good idea to transfer their contents on the new storage mediums. In fact, we have already discussed that in one of our previous articles.

Tape manufacturers predicted 20 to 30 years of life expectancy, but media lifespan depends greatly on environmental conditions. Format obsolescence contributes to the crisis: Umatic and VHS tapes are no longer manufactured and BetaSP will soon be discontinued. Machines to play these formats are becoming more scarce as are the skills to maintain and repair them.

Of course, it’s not only the videotape that’s at risk. Entropy is relentless, and anything recorded on the old storage mediums will eventually have to be transferred and digitalized. Even if the medium remains intact, formats and interfaces become obsolete and disappear. Preserving data for the long term is a discipline worth more attention than we can give it here, but a few tips might be helpful.

Lifespan comparison of different backup storage media

Keep track of how long media is likely to last – but remember that the statistics are controversial projections, and many won’t be so precise. The general consensus is that consumer segment CD-Rs should last 30 to 50 years, DVD-Rs less than that, and CD-RWs and DVD-RWs even less. Similarly, tapes and hard disks can be expected to be readable for 10 to 30 years, while portable disks, USB thumb drives, and other solid-state storage devices may survive for half that time, maybe.

Back in 2005, The New York Times reported that 3.5” floppies have “an estimated life span of 10 years if stored in a cool, dry place with average care and use”. If you’ve still got any, we’ll bet they’re older than that!

With this in mind, regularly copy data to new media, especially if it’s approaching its expiration date. And make sure anything you haven’t saved is “in a cool, dry place,” not your attic or garage. It is strongly recommended to use a specialized archival optical media, like FalconMedia Century Archival, which are able to secure your data for up to 500 years.

Move away from physical formats that are becoming obsolete. For example, many people who used to back up their data on Zip drives, Syquest cartridges, and 1.44MB floppy drives no longer have access to these. Even interfaces can be an issue: external devices often used serial or parallel ports that no longer ship standard on computers (though desktop PC and ExpressCard laptop adapters can still be found). Make sure you’ve migrated your data before you dispose of an old device or format.

A common related issue: data trapped on a working hard disk in a dead PC or laptop. The Guardian serves up some useful guidance on installing the drive in an external USB enclosure and restoring from there.

Migrate data from obsolete programs, or at least make sure you have the tools to do so when necessary. Millions of people still have content trapped in ancient word processing. Tools for viewing such data or move it into “living” software include Quick View Plus and FastLook; for some formats, the free LibreOffice productivity suite or XNView image viewer might be all you need.

TechRepublic offers some useful high-level advice on planning a long-term strategy for protecting your data here.

All this is great as far as it goes, but as the amount of data we’re generating continues to soar, we’re likely to need some radically new. Here are some technologies that may potentially improve data storage in near future:

Analog micro-etching: The Long Now Foundation – which specializes in trying to envision the long-term future and solve the problems it might present – ran a full conference on super-long-term data storage. The solution it found promising enough to test: analog micro-etching onto nickel disks. Eight years later, they had a prototype: a disk containing information in about 1,500 human languages, plus translations of the Book of Genesis in each. Since the information is analog, it’s readable directly by humans (though they will need a microscope).

The Arctic World Archive: Officially opened on March 27 in Norway’s Svalbard Arctic region, the for-profit Arctic World Archive is already housing key documents from Brazil, Mexico, and Norway — safe, theoretically, from natural disaster and warfare. According to a report in The Verge, data is actually imprinted on special film, in huge high-density greyscale QR codes – and the archive is completely disconnected from the Internet to protect against hackers and ransomware.

DNA: According to Science Magazine, researchers have been making breathtaking progress since the first attempts to store data in DNA molecules back in 2012. DNA is ultracompact, and it can last hundreds of thousands of years if kept in a cool, dry place. And as long as human societies are reading and writing DNA, they will be able to decode it – not something you can say with confidence about videocassettes or QR codes.

Source: Naked Security

Back To the Future: XXth Century Formats are Coming Back

We all get nostalgic every now and then. Depending on the age, one may remember the “good old days” of his, which may be 90s, 80s, 70s or even earlier. Every decade of the last century had its own unique features, which are carefully kept in the memories of those who saw them and possibly even was a part of them. And those good old days had good old things, which we sometimes miss so much. From vintage cars to costumes, we love things that take us back to a far simpler era.

Today, our lives are hectic and complex and the gadgets we use – from smartphones to computers – are very complex too.

Music is perhaps the best example for our longing for simple things. The rapid onset of computerization meant that music was easily digitized – put in the form of ones and zeroes. Hence the term “digital”. On the other hand, music was recorded and reproduced in “analog” form until then.

The first mass produced digital music format was the humble Compact Disc, which is now over 35 years old. It was a revolution when it was introduced. Read by an optical laser with no real surface contact, the CD became the fastest selling new consumer format, until that crown was taken by the Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) in 1996. The DVD itself is based on the 12 cm CD platter.

The birth of the Internet or more specifically, the World Wide Web saw the emergence of music formats such as MP3, a compression method that reduced the digital bandwidth needed for storing and streaming music. MP3 received a big boost with the introduction of the original Apple iPod in November 2001.

The storage capacity of the iPod Classic topped out at 160 GB, which effectively meant space for thousands of songs on one device. Today, every smartphone is practically an iPod.

MP3 did popularise music, but at the same time, nearly killed it. MP3, whose patents expired recently, was not an audiophile standard (unlike CD) at all. The sound quality was low and online piracy dealt a blow to legal music providers, at least until legal services such as iTunes came along.

CD and MPs became so widespread that they almost caused the death of the two existing music formats. (In the video sphere, DVD ensured the rapid demise of Laserdisc and much later, VHS). Sales of vinyl records and audio cassettes (the digital equivalent of audio cassettes, the Digital Audio Tape and the Digital Compact cassette, never really took off) plunged to an all-time low as CD and MP3 sales and downloads skyrocketed.

Everyone thought that both formats would die a natural death in a few years. After all, both formats were as old as time – the rudimentary form of the present Long Playing (LP) record was invented by Thomas Edison way back in 1877 and the audio cassette was invented by the Dutch electronics giant Philips in 1962. Pre-recorded cassettes came to the market in 1965.

But then, listeners realised the digital music lacked the warmth associated with analogue music. They felt it was lifeless, cold and distant. They somehow wanted to get closer to the heart of the music.

The answer: go back to basics. Yes, today, there is a remarkable resurgence in vinyl and audio cassette sales as people are rediscovering the joys of these two undying music formats.

The discs themselves can be manufactured in transpartent versions or with multiple colours, adding further value. One company even released an LP with embedded dinosaur bones. Collectors the world over gladly pay a premium price for vinyl because MP3 or online streaming services can never really offer these options.

The last seven-eight have been promising for Vinyl, a relic from the past. Sales of vinyl records have gone through the roof in both the US and UK, with Amazon being the number one seller.

The situation is not much different in other markets. Even in Sri Lanka, a music label has re-introduced vinyl albums by popular singers.

Vinyl accounted for 76% of total album sales worldwide in 1973; by 1994 this had dropped to 1.5% as compact discs (CDs) took over. Now things have come full circle as sales of vinyl in 2016 reached a 25-year high with consumers young and old once again embracing analogue physical formats of music.

More than 3.2 million LPs were sold in the UK last year, a rise of 53% on last year and the highest number since 1991 when Simply Red’s Stars was the bestselling album.

This was also the first year that spending on vinyl outstripped the amount spent on digital downloads. This is the ninth consecutive year that vinyl sales have grown around the world and this year will be no exception.

Every new album is now being released on vinyl and music lovers are lapping them up despite the higher prices. New vinyl record pressing machines have been installed around the world to cater to the increasing demand. There are already predictions that digital downloads of music would disappear altogether as people switch to streaming (which is now seamless thanks to faster Internet speeds), CD and Vinyl.

Pre-recorded audio cassettes are also about to make a comeback. At the moment there is only ONE large scale audio cassette replicator (National Audio Company, USA) left in the world and it cannot keep up with the demand. NAC alone will churn out more than 24 million cassette tapes this year.

Among the Amazon listings for audio cassette albums and performers are: Guardians of the Galaxy Original Sound Track, Beach House B-Sides, Caribou by Elton John, Cranberries, Ed Sheeran, Iggy Pop and Bob Segar greatest hits.

Cassettes, which enjoyed their heyday due to the Sony Walkman, may come back with an even bigger splash this time. Cassette sales are up by 82 percent worldwide for the year, and even Top 40 hit maker Justin Bieber is releasing albums on tape.

There is a general feeling that people are looking to get beyond the digital playlist.

Digital streams cannot carry complete album artwork, liner notes, lyrics, or back cover credits. A physical disc or tape is something tangible you can hold in your hands, share with a friend and once brought, it is yours to keep and enjoy. (On the contrary, you never really own digital content). Surprisingly, the very revival of the two formats is being led by the millennials who grew up with digital.

They realise that life means more than ones and zeroes and want to get a more intimate music experience. By the way, the surge in print book sales is also attributed to the younger generation. This is a good trend – music is meant to be not just heard, but felt as well.

Source: Sunday Observer

How smartphones became our personal portable data banks

During last couple of decades, it is stating the obvious to say that mobile telecommunications has entirely changed the world we live in. Over this period we have gradually switched from handwritten paper contact notebooks to electronic contact records in our mobile phones, however it is not only the phone numbers we store in our phones anymore: with the development of smartphones, they became or own personal data banks.

Alongside the contacts, our small electronic friends now store so much data (passwords, photos, music, sometimes even medical records and biometric parameters etc.) that losing our device would most likely be a total disaster for one’s day-to-day routine. Some people even don’t remember their passwords from social media accounts, because their phones keep them securely stored in their memory.

Loss of that sensitive data may be a problem, but it is transfer to another device is even more problematic.

Everyone has, least once in their life, switched from one mobile phone to another. Back in 2000’s it wasn’t such a big deal: you switched the SIM card and all your data is easily transferred to the new phone. Those were the good old days when the contacts were stored on the SIM card and there was no hassle with gigabytes of photos and music. These earlier phones pretty much were meant to ring and exchange texts back then: no cameras, no players, not even mentioning the mobile internet.

It was later in 2006-2007, when the smartphone market started to emerge, the problem of data transfer between two devices became bigger when different mobile operating systems decided to develop in completely different directions.

By the beginning of 2010’s it became obvious that data transfer between Android and iOS devices became so difficult and time consuming, that leading developers could not ignore consumers’ complaints anymore, and a revolutionary step was taken.

As one of the market leaders and most innovative consumer electronics companies, Apple made iPhone owners’ life easier, by launching of the “Move to iOS” app that provided an easy way to move contacts and other data from an Android phone to an iPhone.

Google, as Apple’s biggest rivals on mobile operating systems market, developed similar technology in their own mobile device, called Pixel. They even included a dedicated adapter to make data transfer procedure easier.

According to Google, the new Pixel phones ship with a dedicated Switch capability that allows users to transfer contacts, calendar events, photos, videos, music, SMS messages, iMessages and more from one device to the other. Quick Switch Adapter technology is a dedicated On the Go adapter that is shipped within the Pixel box, which Google confirms within its Pixel specs.

Google describes the switch as a three-step process. Older phones have to run on Android 5.0 and up, or iOS 8 and above for iPhones.

If data has to be transferred from an older Android phone, the process is relatively simple. For iPhone users, they turn off iMessage and FaceTime, then remove the SIM card. Then it is required to sign into your Google Account from the Pixel. Finally, Google will ask the user to select what data needs to be imported.

Once that’s all decided, Google takes over and migrates the requested data. It’s as simple as that.

These developments are a great example of how consumers benefit from a healthy market competition and innovative thinking about how to secure personal data that smartphones carry nowadays. Anyone who is somehow related to IT industry will tell you: ALWAYS do backups of your data. No matter how secure you think all the cloud technology systems and personal hard drives are, just remember one thing: once data is lost – it is lost forever.

Therefore, as a conclusion to this article, we at Falcon Technologies International strongly recommend to use dedicated archival optical media solutions to store all the sensitive and valuable data, that you would like to keep secure for a long time. It doesn’t take too much time to burn couple of DVDs, but it will ensure that your data is insured.

The need for innovation and longevity in technology

Thirteen seems to be the unlucky number for Apple, with a decline in iPhone sales leading to the first revenue decline in 13 years. This has been attributed in part to the struggling Chinese economy, still the second-largest market in the world for Apple products behind the USA. The iPhone accounts for nearly two-thirds of Apple’s revenue. However the company sold 16% fewer iPhones than it had during the same period in 2015 and made 18% less profit from them. The total tally for the device was $32.9bn from 51.2m phones sold; the year previous Apple brought in $40.3bn from 61.2m phones.

So what is exactly driving the first annual revenue decline since 2001? Perhaps the entry price of the smartphone in the developing world is still a barrier, even among very inexpensive devices. The iPhone smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. run Apple’s iOS mobile operating system with the first generation iPhone being released on June 29, 2007. Followed by the iPad, and both were constantly updated with new, highly-anticipated iterations which sold in their hundreds of millions around the world, sending the company’s sales to ever soaring heights. A year ago Apple sold $58bn worth of gadgets, this equates to nearly $650m a day in the first three months of the year.

The Apple Watch has been publicized by the company as a multi-billion dollar business, rivaling many classic watch brands. Thus So far Apple has not delivered a breakout detailing the number of units sold per quarter. Instead the Apple Watch revenue has been combined with other products including the iPod, Apple TV, and Beats. Samsung shipped 0.4 million of its Gear and Gear2 watches in both 2015 and 2016. However Garmin was the only brand to show growth with shipments of 0.6 million in the third quarter of 2016 compared with 0.1 million in 2015.

Apple has promised some “amazing innovations” in the pipeline. Such as new headphone ports which are dust-proof and waterproof, and the redesign of key buttons. Are these innovations going far enough and will the brand achieve longevity? Many see Apple’s iPhone 7 objective as a premium product and not innovation. The products no longer have their unique appeal and a point of mental saturation has been reached.

Google self-driving car project

In the battle for longevity, constant new ideas and innovation sees one stand out diverse innovation are the Google self-driving cars, this represents a new breed of autonomous cars, developed by Google X as part of its project to develop technology for mainly electric cars. The vehicles are taught to navigate through many complicated scenarios on city streets.

These cars use their sensors and software to sense objects like pedestrians, cyclists, vehicles and more and are designed to safely drive around them. The cars use sensors and software to detect objects like pedestrians, cyclists, other vehicles and more (e.g. How to navigate through construction zones), and are designed to safely drive around them. The development has been initiated since 2009 and the work is building towards vehicles that take you to a destination at the push of a button. Components have been added to existing cars like Lexus SUVs, the next step sees designing of a new prototype from the ground up to better explore what should go into a fully self-driving vehicle. This includes removing the steering wheel and pedals, and incorporating software and sensors which will handle the driving.

FTI and innovation

At the heart of the range of products Falcon Technologies International L.L.C., FTI offer is Innovation. Innovation is the key driving force behind our product diversity. FTI has always believed that a strong culture of innovation, in all areas of the company, is an essential contributor to business success. High quality R&D has historically been at the foundation of FTI since it’s inception in 2005, and the company has consistently invested in extensive and innovative product R&D, and in acquiring a world-class, in-house knowledge base at the forefront of the optical digital media technology landscape. With the aim of market longevity and creativity today FTI continues to engage in cutting-edge R&D, internally and in collaboration with partners in academia, research and commerce.

FalconMedia SOUND suits both professional and amateur recording requirements, whether mass producing an audio CD, recording a concert master copy, or facilitating the amateur musician who wants to produce and sell his music on a smaller scale.

FTI’s culture of R&D and innovation go hand-in-hand, with our central commitment to new product development, process and manufacturing improvements, segmented market research and advancements in the science of Optical Digital Media key indicators of how innovation runs through the fabric of FTI’s operations.

GITEX Technology Week in Dubai

In search for future technologies that can enable companies to achieve efficiency and cost effectiveness for business? Well, the 36th Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (Gitex) provided just that.

This 5 day event opened its doors from Sunday 16th October, 2016. It was the largest ICT exhibition in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, that took place at Dubai world trade centre. The event was inaugurated by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council.

So, what was the Gitex technology exhibition all about? This event showed live demonstrations of future generation technology solutions from various government and international companies that can transform Middle East businesses. Key industry verticals of marketing, healthcare, finance, intelligent cities, retail, education and energy were discussed by industry leaders.

Over 200 investors and influential tech investment companies from Silicon Valley, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, including SoftBank Group International, 500 Startups, and many other venture partners arrived in Dubai to explore, evaluate and potentially fund start up businesses with talent. These ventures also included globally giant investors like Facebook, Dropbox and Spotify.

Key highlights included a large indoor VR activation powered by Samsung logo, Game-changing tech from 4,000 solution providers including AR, VR, AI, Wearables, Drones and more. GITEX Startup Movement examined the global startup movement featuring 350+ breakthrough startups from 52 countries. Customized networking programmes were also on offer for startups to discover how global contemporaries have been there, done that and created an impact.

In today’s era of technology, there is an ever increasing need for entrepreneurs to harness technologies that can enable companies to achieve efficiency and cost effectiveness. FTI has always believed that a strong culture of innovation, in all areas of the company, is an essential contributor to business success. FTI prioritize R&D and technology over cost, as we firmly believe that these functions are critical to ensure our products represent the best quality within the optical media industry.

In line with new innovation for business and services Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) showcased a smart streetlight system at GITEX 2016. According to Eng Maitha bin Adai, CEO of RTA’s traffic and roads agency, there are three systems showcased at Gitex this year and this combination of systems will help sustain green economy requirements by reducing carbon emissions. These systems include the Central Wireless Road Lighting Control System that sets multiple synchronized timetables for dimming streetlights. “A new feature in the smart lighting system is a tentative WiFi service installed in Dubai Water Canal at Sheikh Zayed Road.

RTA also displayed high-definition pedestrian detection camera systems with a twist. These new generation cameras produce pedestrian statistics in terms of number, sex, and age group.

Dubai Customs‘ Smart Virtual Agent initiative was also showcased at GITEX 2016. This venture represents a smart channel for communication with customers, which allows their queries about customs services, procedures and regulations to be answered more efficiently. Without the need for any physical employee the Smart Virtual Agent is an intelligent tool which operates 24/7. This cost effective measure helps efficiently redirect resources to other duties by reducing support cost. The self-improving platform utilizes Dubai Customs’ database and memory of similar cases to answer customer inquiries.

Many GITEX visitors had the opportunity to try out the Smart Inspection Glasses on display at the Dubai Customs stand. These tech heavy glasses facilitate containers’ field inspection, as customs inspectors can browse the customs declaration and x-ray images of the shipment simultaneously as well as its risk level. Inspectors can submit inspection reports using either the virtual keyboard or voice input feature.

Furthermore Dubai Customs showcased 8 happiness-led initiatives and innovations under the umbrella of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation pavilion. Other innovations included the Authorized Economic Operator, Smart Inspection Lab, Smart Customs Route, Bags Smart Customs Inspection System and the Endangered Species Exhibition.

Five seminal trends have caught the eye at this Gitex event namely; Robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), Biometrics, 3-D Printing, Mixed reality and drones. With artificial intelligence on the rise and the need for huge amounts of data to be stored, the progression and development of cloud storage is on the horizon. Cloud storage is a cloud computing model in which data is stored remotely on servers accessed from the World Wide Web, or “cloud.” Storage servers are built on virtualization techniques all maintained, managed, and backed-up online.

The technology world is increasingly realizing that Optical Digital Media is a safer way to store data compared to cloud technology solutions – this is evidenced by multiple data breaches where personal photographs and other information has been hacked and distributed to the public, and by the fact that Facebook has publicly stated that they have chosen to store their data with Optical Digital Media rather than cloud.

Falcon Technologies International (FTI) leads the way with regard to Optical Digital Media security and memory technology, and is conducting potentially ground-breaking research in this field with academic partners.