As many of us do, some more frequently than others, I recently upgraded my cell phone. In my case, it was not about racing to get the latest thing to hit the market, but rather the integrated AI translation capabilities. After studying the reviews and the features, I felt it was more of a necessity.

Why a necessity? There is a bit of a language barrier in our house as my father-in-law lives with us and speaks very little English. Though I have picked up a few keywords and phrases since he moved in seven years ago, I am far from being able to speak the Korean language and my wife is not always there to translate.

Whether it is Fitbit, Apple, Samsung, or Garmin, new wearable Bluetooth technology devices are constantly joining the market. Tracking everything from step count, distance traveled, and heart rate, even a basic cardiogram has been built into wearables as capabilities have advanced. As a result, it has become more convenient for people to track more of their routines such as diet and exercise since wearables communicate directly with apps on their phones, tablets, and computers. The advances have also made it easier to share this data with family, friends and, more importantly, their physicians to set goals for improving one’s health.

Cruisin’ Into the New Year: Technological Advancements and Innovation

Picture it – the holiday season, 2023. Imagine that you have decided to forego hosting a holiday gathering at your home, nor are you going to travel from house to house to visit with family and friends while spreading holiday cheer and dropping off gifts. Santa already has that part covered anyway, right? This year is going to be different. This year, you have decided to spend your holidays having a bit of fun in the sun. You’re going on a cruise!

In September, my beloved Atlanta Falcons played the Jacksonville Jaguars in an NFL game in London. If you don’t follow the NFL, you might think it unusual that they played in Europe, but actually they play a handful of games in Europe every year. The unusual part was that the game looked like the picture above. Not the traditional warriors of the gridiron that we’re accustomed to, but animated caricatures of football players that looked like kids action figures.

This was Toy Story Funday Football.

How GIS is Advancing Our Understanding of Mars 

Space may be the final frontier for human exploration, but it is just the beginning for the next generation of GIS developments and emerging technologies. Ever since Galileo first observed Mars in 1610 through his primitive telescope, human civilization has been fascinated by the red planet. However, it has only been in the last fifty years that scientists have been able to truly enhance their understanding of Mars’ surface and begin answering important questions about the possibility of life outside of our atmosphere.