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COVID-19 Update

As you’ve seen now in most public communication, the Coronavirus has emerged in the United States. Like other events out of our control, Cadan Technologies is prepared for the impact to our employees and clients. Our staff is working remotely when possible and remain completely operational. All paths of communication will remain in place as currently available under normal business conditions.Read More

World's largest storage battery will replace gas peaker plants in New York

World’s largest storage battery will replace gas peaker plants in New York

Something to look forward to: The New York Public Service Commission approved a proposal last week to build the world’s largest storage battery in Vernon Ave., Queens, New York. The location was reportedly home to 16 gas powered plants of which only 2 are operational today. Ravenswood Development, the current owner of these peaker plants will head the three-phased project, starting with the demolition of the remaining gas plants to make room for the 316 MW/2,528 MWh storage battery facility.

A proposal (pdf) recently approved by the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) at Ravenswood’s generating station in Long Island will see the construction of the world’s largest battery storage facility that will help to “offset dirtier resources and enhance New York City’s grid reliability.”

Ravenswood began seeking the approval for this project in February. Once complete, the installed lithium-ion batteries will be able to supply up to a maximum of 8 hours of storage capacity at its rated output and charge/discharge up to 316 MW of power. Read More

remotely-control-ford-rental

Man is still able to remotely control Ford rental five months after returning it

Scientific and technological progress often brings plenty of benefits for the average person, but sometimes, there are unintended consequences. As modern vehicles become more advanced, these consequences have become more clear than ever.

A recent report from Ars Technica highlights some of the issues associated with renting or buying a “connected vehicle” from a third party. In this case, a man named Msamba Sinclair acquired a Ford Expedition from rental service Enterprise back in May. A few days after returning it later that month, Sinclair realized — much to his surprise — that he still had access to the vehicle via the FordPass app, which lets drivers control various aspects of a supported Ford vehicle remotely.

Specifically, Sinclair was able to remotely start or stop the car’s engine, lock or unlock the doors, and track its exact location. To this day (many months later), Sinclair still has access, suggesting that Enterprise (at least, the specific location the vehicle is being rented from) has failed to reset the vehicle’s infotainment system properly upon each new rental.

Sinclair has tried to bring this issue to the attention of Ford, but without any success. His suggestions for fixing the dilemma, submitted via Ford’s “New Ideas” program, were also rejected.

Naturally, this is a massive security risk for connected car users everywhere — Ford is far from the only company that allows for remote systems control. Sinclair might be benevolent enough to draw attention to the matter and avoid abusing his access, but not every driver will be. The potential for bad actors to remotely unlock a vehicle and swipe a new renter’s belongings (or worse) is ever-present.

Ford, for its part, says the infotainment screens of its connected vehicles will display a warning when a device is paired, but as Ars notes, it’s clear that Enterprise workers have failed to see or heed this information over the past several months.

Ford also claims that performing a “Master Reset” — which would unpair connected devices — is part of a “used car checklist” at its own dealerships, which must be followed before the sale of a vehicle. It seems this Enterprise location has a different set of pre-rental protocols.

Regardless, this is an unfortunate situation, and we hope Ford and Enterprise develop a permanent solution moving forward, whether that comes in the form of a software fix from Ford or new pre-rental procedures from Enterprise.

By: Techspot

OmniVision sets Guinness world record for the smallest commercially available image sensor

Forward-looking: OmniVision recently made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for “the smallest commercially available image sensor” called the OV6948. The sensor has a size of 0.575 mm x 0.575 mm, features a 1/36-inch optical format and an image array that can capture 200 x 200 resolution video at up to 30 fps.

OmniVision aims to enhance anatomy procedures with its smallest OV6948 image sensor. Integrated with the company’s OVM6948 CameraCubeChip, a wafer-level camera module measuring just 0.65 x 0.65 mm, the tiny package is meant to offer an ideal solution for disposable endoscopes in the smallest parts of anatomy.

Although the sensor was introduced over two years ago, it set the record based on testing and market research conducted in April this year by Transparency Market Research in Pune, India.

Since heat is a major concern during endoscopy, the sensor’s low power consumption of 25mW ensures that less heat is generated at the tip of the endoscope, improving patient’s comfort and allowing for longer-duration procedures. OmniVision says that the complete module can be integrated into a disposable guidewire, catheter or endoscope with a diameter as small as 1.0 mm.

“With this camera’s small size and high 200 x 200, or 40 KPixel backside-illuminated resolution, high quality images can be captured from within the body’s narrowest blood vessels for neuro, ophthalmic, ENT, cardiac, spinal, urology, gynecology and arthroscopy procedures” the company says.

The module can be operated in temperature ranges of -20 °C to +70 °C, has a focus range of 3 mm to 30 mm, and a wide 120-degree field of view to help with narrow environments.

By: Techspot