Tech Update: Simple Selfies, a complaining app and smartphones in space

Selfies simplified

There’s a new app for Apple devices which allows you to take selfies without having to touch the screen and awkwardly pose so as to not drop your phone. Using touch-less technology, the GoCam app by Crunchfish lets users trigger snapshots from a distance of up to 3m using only hand gestures. GoCam will be free and only available in Sweden and Australia for now, but I have a feeling this will spread like wildfire.

Watch out, the selfies are coming! Oy vey…

Do you love complaining? Now there’s an app for that!

A new, proudly South African, smartphone app promises to help you complain about poor

products and services more effectively.

It goes by the name Plus94 and allows a user to rate companies and government agencies in order to drive increased quality of service (like that’s been successful so far!). The app aims to make manufacturers, service providers, government departments, retailers etc. more accessible to the public. The app is loaded with 500 brands and users are able to suggest new brands and view ratings and comments by other users.

NASA is sending smartphones into space

NASA plans to use Google smartphone handsets with next-gen 3D sensing tech to beef up its Spheres, which could eventually take over daily chores for astronauts or even handle risky duties outside the vessel. The smartphones will be the eyes and brains of the Spheres (those cute hovering robots on the International Space Station).

The smartphones were added to make the Spheres smarter by enabling them to carry out more precise movements, add communication and a camera, increase their processing capability etc. Using a motion-tracking camera and an infrared depth sensor, similar to Microsoft's Kinect, to detect sharp angles inside the space station and create a 3D map, the Spheres can navigate from one module to another.

The phones were modified by adding extra batteries and shatter-proof screens before sending them off to the space station where they were attached to the Spheres using Velcro.

Written by: Christine Kleyn 
Copywriter at The Computer Guyz Cape Town and Centurion