Weekly Digest #15: How to Hack Pokemon Go
July 22nd, 2016
Pokemonomania hasn’t left the developers indifferent and they have learned how to hack the game’s algorithms. In other news - Internet of Things market research, blockchain technology used in medicine, chatbot platform, and many other things. Check it out!
IN A NUTSHELL:
- Facebook has released a beta version of Swift-SDK development tools. New SDK version uses Swift version 2.2.1 and 2.3. Facebook promised to upgrade it to Swift 3 as soon as that version comes out of beta stage, which will most likely happen this fall.
- Avid Pokemon Go players, check out GitHub’s code that helps to see all Pokemon in your neighborhood. The instructions on how to use it also are attached there. This hack has been made possible thanks to the fact that, in response to a request from any of the coordinates, the game shares the location of all pokémons.
- Algorithmia has introduced Colorize Photos, an online service based on neural networks that can recognize images and colorize them. The service is different from similar ones because it analyzes the images using machine learning algorithms, predicts the most appropriate color for specific parts of the picture, and offers to recolor the image.
- Microsoft specialists have prepared a free educational class for all those interested in data analysis technologies. You can check the class out on the eDX platform and is oriented for the newbies in the field as well as professionals who want to update their knowledge.
What Are Developers Interested In?
Over time, developers’ arsenal is updated with new tools. The most current additions are such instruments as cloud and Internet of Things as well as robotics. To find out what trends dominate the developers’ community, Evan Data Corporation has interviewed 1,441 developers around the world and compiled its Global Development Survey.
The survey showed that today's developer community is interested in areas such as robotics, cloud, and IoT.
Big Data Analytics Development Priorities
The report says that big data analytical tools’ developers use their skills to develop Internet of Things applications (15.1%), technical services (10%), telecommunications (10%), non-PC related manufacturing (9.6%), and in the field of finance / insurance (9.4%).
Data Mining Priorities
Developers of data mining applications are focused on the development needed for robotics (56.4%), arts, entertainment, and recreation (56.3%), and the automotive industry (52.9%). Other areas of interest for them are telecommunications (48.3%), the Internet of Things (47.1%), and manufacturing (46.7%).
The Importance of the IoT
About 45% of developers believe that the Internet of Things is a big part of their plans for the future. 7% believe that this direction is important for the strategy development. At the moment, according to the report, 29.5% of all developers are involved in the creation of IoT-applications.
Cloud Computing Development
Cloud’s growing popularity got reflected in this report. Today, 27.4% of all app developers focus on creating applications for the cloud. Of these, 66.9% are hoping to create a new cloud application within the next year.
Developers’ interest in the cloud is caused by a number of its advantages, including better security, better user experience, greater reliability, and affordability, as well as the increase of data exchange and processing speeds.
Artificial Intelligence
41% of developers named artificial intelligence a very important part of their plans for the future. The technology has become popular because of the companies operating in the field of AI, working on a subscription and making the technology more accessible to ISVs and startups.
Blockchain in Medicine
Blockchain technologies are used increasingly in various industries and occupations. Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (USA) announced the collection of research proposals dedicated to the use of blockchain technology in healthcare. The Department is preparing to conduct a study titled “Blockchain and Its Growing Role in Health and Related Fields.” The purpose of the study is to understand how blockchain can be used in the healthcare system. Applications from candidates will be accepted until July 29, 2016, and the winners will be announced on August 20th.
The Department leaves the possibility open to signing the contract with the winner to implement the suggested blockchain solution. US regulators named a number of advantages of using blockchain technology in medicine. Among them - the confidentiality of the patient’s personal data, security, and ease of medical records verification. However, they do admit that it can be quite an expensive solution to provide the sufficient computing power for the task.
Internet of Things has Become Mainstream
Vodafone has released the fourth edition of their IoT Barometer Report that provides an overview of solutions, innovations, and investments in the Internet of Things. More than 75% of the respondents admitted that the Internet of Things is the new industrial revolution, which will not simply affect people’s lives but also will change the way we do business in general.
The study showed that nearly 90% of companies have increased their investments in the Internet of Things, with the amount of funds invested comparable to that for the cloud computing and data analysis. Over 60% of respondents said the IoT investments are starting to pay off. Every second company uses IoT to transform their business. Interestingly, this figure exceeded 60% in the Asia-Pacific region. Also, every other company that participated in the survey announced its plans to develop new products and services in the IoT segment within the next two years.
According to Markets&Markets research firm report, China’s Internet of Things market is forecasted to reach $121.45 billion by 2022. The main development directions for this market segment will be agriculture and consumer electronics.
Apple will help to examine the Arthritis
Apple is stepping up its activities in the segment of digital health. The company plans to use its medical ResearchKit platform to study rheumatoid arthritis. The study will be conducted in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline that developed their own iPhone app based on ResearchKit. The app will use iPhone sensors to detect symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, including joint pain, general fatigue, and mood changes. Such a study will be complemented by patients’ questionnaires. In the future, the ResearchKit platform and iPhone smartphone are planned to be used in other disease research.
Big Data for Credit Scoring
Data analysis in the financial sector is mainly used to calculate risks and various scenarios. Chinese company Baidu and American startup called ZestFinance decided to use data mining technology to develop a platform of credit scoring - risk assessment for creditors and bank borrowers. This system of credit scoring will operate based on Baidu search engine, which will be able to assess the reliability of a particular lender, and use machine learning technology as well as big data analytics. The system is also important from a social point of view because traditional bank loans don’t work in China.
A Chatbot Platform Launched in Israel
An Israeli startup called Imperson.ai presented its enterprise platform for building and managing chatbots for Facebook Messenger, Skype, Kik, Slack, Twitter, Amazon Echo, and text messages.
These chatbots can be regarded as a “command line for non-technical people.” Using natural language processing, the Imperson chatbot software recognizes interactive input (text or voice), understands it, and performs certain actions for business. Imperson.ai platform gives companies an opportunity to track communications in chatbots and optimize the received result. In particular, Imperson has created and deployed Judy Hopps Zootopia bot for Disney, which led to an exchange of millions of unique messages between individual users and the bot for 16 days. 20% of the users who talked to the bot before, returned to chat with it again.
Chatbots became a new way for brands to engage in dialogue with its customers and, in some cases, even do business, for example, sell goods or provide technical support. Platforms such as Imperson.ai are just a beginning for the tools to come for chatbots creation and management, using speech recognition and machine learning.
Innovations in the Internet of Things
Several interesting IoT-devices have been presented last week. One of them is a smart stroller “4moms Moxi” that generates electricity during the walk and can be used to charge a phone or use the energy to light the headlamps. The stroller is also able to analyze walk time, distance, speed, and even count the calories burned by the person pushing the stroller.
Another interesting novelty is a smart pillow called ZEEQ, designed to improve the quality of sleep. It can play music at the right time and wake the sleeper during the appropriate phase of sleep. All you need to manage the pillow is your mobile phone with an app installed. Oh, and don’t forget to recharge the pillow.
Nest, one of Google’s numerous divisions dealing with the Internet of Things technology, introduced a camera for outdoor observation called Nest Cam Outdoor. This camera can be installed on the outer wall of a house and connected to the smart home system. The user can use his / her smartphone to see what is going on in front of the camera. Nest Cam Outdoor can also recognize people who are close to the house. If it is a stranger and house owner is not home, a special notification will be sent to the owner’s mobile device, who can talk to the visitor through two-way microphone built into the camera.
