532 Million Status Updates, 864,000 Hours of Video: A Typical Day on the Internet (Infographic)

According to information I found on the Internet, back in 1993 the Internet carried only 1% of all information from two-way telecommunication. By 2007, more than 97% of that information was flowing through the Interwebs.

So what exactly does that translate to in real numbers? Since the Internet has proven to not only be the go-to choice for communication and information, but is also one of the fastest ways to become a billionaire, the guys over at MBA Online poured through the research to find out what we do on the InterGoogles on a typical day.

READ MORE: The Earth – and Its Average Inhabitant – at 7 Billion People (Infographic)

And the numbers are staggering. In 24 hours we consume enough information to fill 168 million DVDs, send enough emails to keep the post office busy for 2 years, write enough blog posts to fill Time magazine for 770 years, and upload 98 years worth of videos. Every. Single. Day. It’s a miracle we have enough time to do actual work.

Car-Building Robots with Laser Eyes Can “See” Exactly Where to Place Parts for Custom-Like Fit

New car building robots can "see" where to place parts (Photos: Ford)

Assembly line robots that are programmed to build cars by placing parts in exactly the same place every time are no longer tech cool. You know what is tech cool?  Assembly line robots with laser eyes that can see where parts need to go, adjust themselves to even the slightest variations in positioning, and custom fit each placement.

An army of these new “seeing” robots has been installed at Ford‘s Louisville Assembly Plant to install Instrument panels, windshields, roofs and fenders on the all-new Ford Escape, and they can adjust to any variations in positioning as each Escape rolls across the line to be fitted with its parts.

The machines are programmed to recognize any tiny deviation from specification such as gaps between door panels or between the windshield and the vehicle body.

“The ability of the machines to register any difference in each vehicle on the line improves our quality by providing a custom-like build,” said Thomas Burns, an engineer who works with the technology for the Escape. This results in things like door panels that fit tighter, reducing wind noise inside the cabin.

These new robots not only improve accuracy and deliver higher standards of build quality, but they save us humans from physical strain and injury due to repetitive motion. According to Marty Smets, an ergonomics engineer, “We also have a variety of semi-autonomous robots, which do tasks that aren’t safe for humans to do repetitively.”

A robot like the Instrumentation Panel Robot (that, not surprisingly, installs the instrumentation panel), performs a task that isn’t safe for humans to do repetitively, while also improving the build quality and maximizing gap seals for that part.

In the paint shop, 88 new robots reduce energy costs by more efficiently applying paint and sealer inside the body and to the exterior of the vehicle. Keeping humans out of the zones where the paint is applied reduces airflow and climate control requirements thereby saving energy and reducing carbon emissions.

Ford has more than 700 robots at the Louisville Assembly Plant assisting in the build of the body and interior of the all-new Escape. And as they begin to “see” and decide where to place parts, how long before humans are no longer needed on the line at all?

Not that I want anyone to lose their job, but I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.

Flat Speaker is Thinner than a Credit Card (Photos)

Image: Hannes Harms

If you want a set of speakers to match your MacBook Air, then check out the thin boombox.

Measuring a half a millimeter thick (thinner than credit cards), the speaker design from Hannes Harms, a masters candidate at the Royal College of Art, uses sustainable manufacturing methods, design boomreports.

with acid-etching, the sheet of stainless steel is cut and engraved extremely precisely, allowing for 100% recyclability due to its extractive process. the shape of the product also allows for efficient shipping, enabling the use of envelope style packaging. once purchased, the user would assemble the speaker by bending the metal along pre-scored lines.

Image: Hannes Harms

Image: Hannes Harms

Image: Hannes Harms

Looks great, but how does it sound? No word yet, but judging by how puny it is, thin boombox probably can’t output the clearest and biggest audio. It is, however, great eye candy — and for some, that’s good enough.

Meet RUTH, the Touchy Feely Robot That Pokes Car Interiors For a Living (Video)

RUTH pokes and prods car interiors checking for comfort and quality (Photos: Ford Motor Company)

RUTH isn’t the ideal passenger. She’ll spend the entire time poking the seats, pushing all the buttons and flicking the air conditioner vents back and forth. She’s like a sugared-up 5-year-old, only instead of candy she’s powered by electrical wires, and instead of being annoying because she’s bored, she’s just doing her job.

RUTH is a robot. Her full name is the Robotized Unit for Tactility and Haptics. And she’s designed to tell car makers when the materials in their vehicles have just the right amount of softness, roughness, temperature, hardness and comfort that we as customers want. So earlier this year, Ford brought RUTH from Europe to their Michigan product development center to help them create cars with just the right amount of everything we want in a car’s interior materials.

See RUTH in action

“Quality” can be difficult to express, yet when we sit in a high-end car, we know by the feel of the trim and the touch of the buttons that the car is special and well-crafted. The sense of touch and the intuitive understanding of quality are innately human characteristics, but how do you measure them? How do you quantify something like seat comfort or a “satisfying” button push?

“Before RUTH, many engineers had access only to hand-held measuring tools, and no means to test the interiors in a manner that resembled in-vehicle scenarios,” says Luke Robinson, Ford metrologist and RUTH technician. “An engineer outside of our department might even have pushed a dictionary and a pop can into an armrest to measure its resistance and softness.”

RUTH and engineer Luke Robinson test a seat's comfort

Now, with this new technology, Ford has taken data from decades of worldwide consumer feedback and entered them into RUTH. Then RUTH takes her giant, 6-jointed, robotic arm and pokes the trims, turns the knobs, pushes the buttons and interacts with many of the vehicle’s interior areas in the same way a person would. She then “tells” the engineers which option is the best and finest, and Ford puts it into production. This allows Ford to tailor each vehicle interior to exactly what a customer group wants.

The result is the ability to put high-end products into cars faster, with less testing time, allowing them to be more affordable and within reach of a larger group of customers. And for that, we’ll put up with a little poking and prodding.

Apple's Contract-Free iPhone Could Benefit Every Consumer In America

Apple’s introduction of an unlocked and contract free iPhone 5 may be a big thing in the United States, but for the rest of the world it’s business as usual. But it might herald a change in the US market that will benefit consumer choice.

Having consumers buy a subsidised phone on a two year contract has a lot of advantages for the network carrier, but having options in the pay as you go market, as well as SIM only deals and buying the hardware outright is something that is an accepted practice outside of the US.

In the run up to the launch of the iPhone 5 in the UK, SIM only networks such as GiffGaff saw their user base request the new nano-sim in preparation for the unlocked smartphone from Apple; pay as you go data plans in many countries are heavily tailored to data usage for smartphones; and there is very little to stop someone with a two year contract switching the SIM into another phone to see out the contract period. In America the carrier relationship is much more powerful. Handset costs are subsidised to a huge extent. Smartphones on sale for $50 are clearly not being sold at the true cost of production, but it’s the expected price. And if you want to end or switch a contract out, there is a high cost to pay.

By opening up the smartphone market in America with more options for pay as you go users, Apple could have a positive effect on the whole ecosystem. Arguably the press from the American media drives the stories that promote the ‘winning’ smartphones, and that concentrates the story on the carrier, rather than the Lumias, Galaxies, and iPhones of the world.

Just as manufacturers are looking to have people locked into ecosystems, there is a secondary  battle to own the customer. With a reliance on subsidised hardware, the relationship remains with the carrier.

This is where Apple could help the rest of hardware manufactures. Tim Cook’s company does its best to grab user details, both through the iTunes setup and the billing relationship required for app and media purchases. Microsoft are making similar moves with Windows Phone to direct people to register via a Windows ID and set up payment for the Windows Store, and Google has the requirement for a Google account and payment details to fully engage with Android.

All of these relationship require nothing more from the carriers. In essence they become little more than data pipes while the fun stuff happens between users and ecosystems.

Carriers would likely prefer this not to happen, and the two year contracts and subsidies ensure people will return to buy their handsets from them because for many in the US there is no other valid choice. The rest of the world knows differently and the carrier model sits alongside the contract-free option quite nicely.

Opting out of a restrictive carrier grip is a choice the hardware manufacturers would love for the consumers to have. Every little step helps, which is why Apple’s move to supply unlocked handsets should be applauded.

Portable mCAMLITE Turns Your iPhone Into a Versatile Video Camera

The mCAMLITE turns your iPhone into a top-level video camera (Images: Action Life Media)

Yes, you can use your iPhone as a more than decent video camera, but if you want to get better, more professional results, wrap it in an mCAMLITE.

Made from aircraft-grade billet aluminum, the mCAMLITE not only protects your iPhone when climbing on rocks to get the perfect angle, but it gives it the weight and heft you need to stabilize your hands whileshooting.

And because the pros don’t just use one standard lens when pushing for the perfect shot, the kit comes with two 37mm interchangeable lenses: a wide angle for capturing everything you want in the scene, and a macro when you want to get up close and personal. Together, they give you the chance to get shots that are downright impossible with the iPhone’s lens.

Since the best videos have sound, the mCAMLITE comes with a 180-degree external microphone, allowing you to capture directional sound and reduce ambient noise, so your YouTube fans can hear every note of your keyboard-playing cat…

The mCAMLITE’s housing is designed with consideration of your growth as an auteur. It has mounts on top and bottom for accessories and tripods, and has a cold shoe on top for pro quality mics and lights. They even offer a pair of action carts so you can slide your cam along to get smooth action shots. So as you get better and demand more from your cam, the mCAMLITE can oblige.

At only $159.95 it’s the perfect starter kit for any visionary filmmaker (or photographer), to add to their portfolio without spending a fortune. Don’t quote me on this, but I think this is how Scorsese got started…