• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Housing Technology logo

Housing Technology

Housing | IT | Telecoms | Business | Ecology

  • Free Subscription
  • Search Archive
  • Home
  • Research
  • Magazine
  • Events
  • Recruitment
  • Blog
  • On Demand
  • Contact
Home / Magazine Articles / #HTtop5

#HTtop5

As a new media and channel specialist at Red Kite Community housing, welcome to the first ever #HTtop5… A bitesize chunk of technology news goodness, wrapped up in a delicious layer of creative possibilities, kind of like a tech-news sausage roll. So sit back, prepare your taste buds and take a housing-size bite of the top five latest tech tips…

Google Duo

The most exciting thing to happen in the world of Google for quite some time was the announcement of Google Duo, a one-on-one video-calling app that works on both iOS and Android. What’s so new about that? Well, the cool headlines on Duo are that it has some clever technology behind it that switches from cellular to wi-fi and moves from lower to higher speed service very smoothly, so users should be able to use it without worrying about where they are and what speed connection they have. Also, you don’t need a Google account to use it, just a phone number. There are lots of companies vying to be top dog in the video-calling market, such as Skype, Facetime, Facebook and Google Hangouts, and all of these offer a browser-based version which Duo does not. But there is space for someone to steal the video-calling crown if they can develop it and get it right. How long before the housing sector embraces video calling on a large scale?

Aero drone

Intel has made a new ready-to-fly drone called the Aero. It comes preloaded with Air-map which basically helps drone pilots fly where it’s safe and legal, thereby taking the headache out of the very unclear legal issues around drone flying. The Aero is a quadcopter and will be available by the end of the year. With some housing providers already using drones, pre-loaded safer drones may encourage more to try them.

Ford self-driving car

Ford has announced that it will mass-produce autonomous cars by 2021. It is doubling its spending on its research centre and making big investments into automobile automation technologies. The car-maker envisages it to be more of a car-sharing, Uber-style world, rather than individually-owned autonomous vehicles. Ford appears to be positioning itself more and more as a technology company as opposed to just a giant in the motor vehicle world. Of course, it has to compete against the likes of Google who currently leads the pack in this field. Can you imagine your communities sharing rides?

Intel getting involved in merged reality

Intel has unveiled a VR headset called Project Alloy that it describes as ‘merged reality’, basically allowing real-world objects to merge with computer-generated views. Project Alloy’s selling point is that users will be able to see their own hands, although Intel is a little late coming to the VR/AR party as Facebook, HTC, Microsoft and Playstation are all gearing up for the virtual reality revolution. Virtual viewings, anyone?

Wallbot lets you see through walls

A company called Wallbot has released the stud finder of the future. Working via USB to an Android device, it lets you see plastic and metal pipes, electrical wires and studs inside the wall, using 3D imaging sensors. The hefty $200 price tag may put some people off but it’s certainly an improvement on the old-fashioned stud finder.

Adam Rigg (@riggadam) is a new media and channel specialist at Red Kite Community Housing.

See More On:

  • Housing Association: Red Kite Community Housing
  • Topic: General News
  • Publication Date: 053 - September 2016
  • Type: Contributed Articles

Primary Sidebar

Most Recent Articles

  • Free cyber-defence tools from NCSC
  • Learning from history
  • Grand Union Housing gets connected with Aico HomeLink
  • The silences in the system: Predicting and preventing damp and mould
  • Looking back and to the future: Cyberthreats in social housing
  • Hyde signs repairs contract with Totalmobile
  • Fuelling high performance automation
  • Morgan Sindall’s Carbon Zero decarbonisation tool
  • An ethical approach to arrears
  • Housing and the ever-evolving workplace
  • Supporting residents with home safety risks
  • Less innovation & more service design at RHP
  • Ateb Group outsources IT help desks to Central Networks
  • Capital Letters partners with Evo Digital to tackle homelessness
  • Calico appoints M247 for digital transformation
  • 24/7 care requires 24/7 technology
  • Govtech trends for 2023
  • Are you ready for business process automation?
  • Lincoln council moves to the cloud with Civica
  • Why do IT business improvement projects fail?
  • Flagship and Ebrik launch augmented reality app
  • Following the golden thread
  • Setting the standard for carbon-monoxide protection
  • The business case for data
  • Digital twins – When, not if…
  • Using data to build communities
  • The cyber-security jigsaw’s missing piece – Managed detection & response
  • Cyber-security challenges in housing
  • Digitalising retrofits with SHDF & HomeLink
  • Tips for improving care and support

Footer

Housing Technology
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Contact
  • Free Subscription
  • Book an event
  • Blog
  • Search All Articles
  • Research
  • Update Your Subscription
  • Privacy Policy

Welcome to the housing Technology – Trusted Information For Business Professionals in HOusing

Housing Technology is the leading technology information service for the UK housing sector and local governments. We have always believed in the fundamental importance of how the UK’s social housing providers use technology to improve their tenants’ lives.

Subscribe to Housing Technology to gain market-leading research, unsurpassed peer networking opportunities and a greater understanding of your role to transform your business.

Copyright © The Intelligent Business Company 2022 | Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy
Housing Technology is published by the The Intelligent Business Company. A company with limited liability. Registered in England No. 4958057 | Vat Registion No. 833 0069 55.

Registered Business Address: Hoppingwood Farm, Robin Hood Way, London, SW20 0AB | Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8336 2293

htc23 pop banner