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How to Add Wi-Fi to Your Car
Getting your car connected to the Internet may prove to be very useful, especially when it comes to avoiding traffic jams, or keeping the kids quiet in their car seats during a long trip. In fact, the car itself can be transformed into a Wi-Fi hotspot, and this article will teach you how to do that. If course, the car may also have Internet integrated into its system from the very moment you’ve bought it.
Let’s start with the more frequent option, which is popular among people who haven’t bought a car in 2016. If you have a smartphone that has Internet access, it is very easy to use it in the car, providing Internet to other devices by making use of the Wi-Fi tethering option. If your phone supports tethering, it will act like a Wi-Fi hotspot and you won’t have to buy anything else; the nearby devices will be able to connect to the Internet wirelessly.
Of course, mobile data plans are still expensive, so avoid streaming long movies, for example; otherwise, you may pay huge amounts of money to the phone company, and I can only assume that you don’t want that to happen.
Most modern phones have access to fast, 4G Internet connections these days, so the connection speed should be blazing fast. Of course, if signal propagation is weak, you can always add an access point and connect a high gain antenna using RP-SMA adapters to extend the range.
One thing to note, though, is that Wi-Fi tethering can drain the smartphone battery quite fast, so you should keep it plugged in into your car battery. Use an adapter to do that, of course, or if you are feeling more adventurous, try using a reliable solar charger.
If you are among the lucky people to have a built-in Wi-Fi hotspot in your car, you won’t need to bring in your phone with you all the time, or make sure that it is always fully charged. Your car can connect to the Internet no matter who is driving it, or who is on board. As an added bonus, you won’t risk paying a lot of extra money because you’ve exceeded the monthly data plan.
Many new cars come with built-in Wi-Fi access. The main problem seems to be the Internet connection speed, though; the promises made in the contract aren’t always kept. Some of the top car makers promise (and offer!) full 4G connectivity and integrated hotspots, but the prices paid for these top cars and services aren’t always small.
When a car has a built-in Wi-Fi connection, it includes bigger antennas, which provide a much better signal in comparison with the signal provided by a tethered smartphone. Audi, BMW, Fiat, Ford, GM, Mercedes Benz are just a few of the key car makers which offer automobiles with integrated Internet access.
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3D Printing Explained
3D printing is a new technology that creates 3D objects by combining successive layers of material. These objects can have any shape, and making them requires the existence of a 3D model. The 3D printers aren’t similar with the printing devices we all know and like; it’s an industrial printer, an industrial robot.
3D printing works by adding material onto a powder bed, using several printer heads. This technology is already used in several industrial sectors, allowing people to create pane parts, jewelry, clothing and even medical devices.
If you want to print a 3D object, you need to build a virtual blueprint of it using computer-aided design (CAD) software. The blueprint (a 3D model) is then translated into instructions which help the printer do its job. Several layers are built on top of each other and in the end the final product is finalized.
There is also a dark side of 3D printing, as people can create illegal objects like weapons using 3D printers. Of course, there is an endless list of good ways to use this technology, no matter if we are talking about industry, medicine or simply for having fun.
3D printers work by making use of additive manufacturing, which means that successive layers are added in order to form the final product. This is a different technology in comparison with subtractive manufacturing, where the object is made through cutting the raw material until it reaches the desired shape or size. 3D printers can use rubber, plastic, paper, polyurethane materials and even metals in order to build the desired object.
Last year, a team of researchers, engineers and dentists have created the first prosthetic beak for a bald eagle. NASA wants to test 3D printers that are supposed to help the astronauts build whatever they may need for their space missions. Researchers already talk about 3D printed meat, which would be created using proteins, or even 3D printing for fully furnished living rooms.
Right now these printers are quite expensive. As an example, a smaller printer which can be used to print small toys and objects costs around $1,000 whereas a more professional model which can create large objects can cost up to $60,000.
In the past years, 3D printing has also been used to create replacement part in the auto industry. Local Motors has created an entire car through 3D printing in just 6 days, for example. The car will need to pass several safety tests before being sold and driven on real roads all over the world, of course.
When it comes to printing houses, the entire process may last several months and even entire years because the 3D printing technology is at its beginning. But there is one Chinese company that has managed to print 10 simple houses in a single day. Each of these houses costs around $5,000. As you can imagine, 3D printers are of big interest for architects, because they see the potential of creating all sorts of innovative blueprints.
3D printers will surely prove their utility in the health care industry. Medical implants and body parts like teeth, hip joints and knees are being produced by 3D printers today. The technology will also be utilized to create the organs that will be used in transplants, but the FDA has to test and approve it first.
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