At the Berlin startup Fit Analytics, all employees have been laid off. The start-up scene learned this from corporate circles. It is said that the layoffs affected a higher double-digit number of employees. The company specializes in the AI-based calculation of clothing sizes and was taken over by the US social media group Snap just over two years ago. The Snapchat mother paid the equivalent of around 124 million euros for the takeover.

Snap stomps AR department

Snap has not yet responded to a request from Gründerszene. However, the group said in a statement that it had largely discontinued its activities in the area of ​​augmented reality. “After exploring our options over the last few months, it became clear that we would need to make significant additional investment to expand our enterprise offering for retailers. “We simply cannot afford these investments at this point,” said Snap founder and CEO Evan Spiegel. As a result, 170 employees were separated.

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Have you lost your cell phone or had it stolen? We’ll explain what you need to do to protect your data and your wallet.

Smartphones have become a constant companion for many. Whether for communication, navigation or paying in the supermarket – the smartphone supports you in many situations. It’s even more annoying when your cell phone is lost or stolen. We’ll show you what you have to do in such a case.

This is what you should do if you lost your phone

Losing your smartphone is not only annoying, but can also quickly become quite inconvenient and expensive. Therefore, if you have lost your cell phone, the first thing you should do is have your SIM card blocked.

You can do this either with your network provider. But the emergency number 116 116 can also help you here. There you can not only have your money and credit cards or the online function of your ID card blocked, but also your SIM card.

You should have this information ready

However, to be prepared for such a case, you should write down some information in advance. The consumer advice center advises you to write down the following numbers in case of an emergency:

• your own phone number
• the number of your SIM card
• your customer number and your customer password

The consumer advice center also advises you to write down the IMEI number of your cell phone. You can identify your smartphone with the 15-digit serial number. If you want to report your cell phone as stolen to the police after it has been lost, for example, you will also need this number.

You can find your smartphone’s IMEI number using the key combination *#06# – you have to type this into your phone and then click on call. Your smartphone will then show you the device information.

Lost cell phone: This is how you prevent the dangers of losing it

In addition to regular backups, you should also protect your data directly on your smartphone. You can do this, for example, using the screen lock. This makes it more difficult for criminals to unlock your cell phone and get your data.

You should also make sure that you can locate your smartphone remotely. This way you can track down a lost phone if in doubt.

Many smartphone providers such as Apple or Samsung also allow you to lock the smartphone remotely or delete the data.

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Researchers from Japan have developed an air battery that works without metal electrodes. Although the new battery is not yet suitable for practical use, it could drastically extend the lifespan of batteries in small electronic devices in the future. The backgrounds.

Batteries should have a high capacity, last a long time and, ideally, be environmentally friendly – and at the lowest possible price. Lithium-ion batteries are primarily used for electronic devices such as smartphones, laptops and tablets. However, research is making efforts to continually extend their lifespan.

One approach is air batteries. In the past, scientists have celebrated some successes in this area. Now a group of Japanese researchers has apparently achieved a new breakthrough.

Air battery stores many times the power of previous batteries

Like the Japanese research group led by Kenji Miyatake in the science magazine applied Chemistry reported that they have developed a new type of air battery. It contains organic molecules and solid electrolytes.

Scientists have already tested lithium-air batteries before. With more than 1,000 milliamperes hours per gram, they store several times the amount of electricity of conventionally available lithium-ion batteries. However, they used liquid electrolytes and only had a low cycle stability. The researchers from Japan now want to solve these problems with their prototype.

Air battery consists mostly of organic elements

To do this, they do not use electrochemically active metallic electrodes and thus avoid the formation of sharp dendrites when charging and discharging the battery. “A proof-of-concept study was carried out for a rechargeable air battery (SSAB) with redox-active 2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone (DHBQ) and its polymer (PDBM) as well as a proton-conducting polymer (Nafion),” the release says. These are mainly organic substances.

According to the researchers, the polymer PDBM in particular supports the discharge capacity of the air battery. It achieved a gravimetric capacity of 176.1 milliampere hours per gram. After 30 charging cycles, the research group was still able to demonstrate a capacity of 78 percent.

In fact, these values ​​show that the air battery from Japan is far from being ready for practical use. However, the practical test of the prototype proves for the first time that an air battery with solid electrolytes actually works.

New battery from Japan could power electronic devices for longer

In order to make the new air battery usable in everyday life, the research group must, among other things, further increase the cycle stability. Theoretically, up to 60,000 cycles are possible with a capacity of 200 milliamp hours per gram. “The air batteries had a high performance that was close to the theoretical maximum capacity,” the researchers said in their article.

If the Japanese scientists improve their development even further, the air battery could extend the lifespan of batteries in small electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets in the future. According to Miyatake, it should also contribute to the realization of a carbon-free society.

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Two and a half years ago, the Snapchat mother bought the Berlin AI specialist Fit Analytics for a lot of money. Now the business is being discontinued – for strange reasons.

At the Berlin startup Fit Analytics, all employees have been laid off. The start-up scene learned this from corporate circles. It is said that the layoffs affected a higher double-digit number of employees. The company specializes in the AI-based calculation of clothing sizes and was taken over by the US social media group Snap just over two years ago. The Snapchat mother paid the equivalent of around 124 million euros for the takeover.

Snap stomps AR department

Snap has not yet responded to a request from Gründerszene. However, the group said in a statement that it had largely discontinued its activities in the area of ​​augmented reality. “After exploring our options over the last few months, it became clear that we would need to make significant additional investment to expand our enterprise offering for retailers. “We simply cannot afford these investments at this point,” said Snap founder and CEO Evan Spiegel. As a result, 170 employees were separated.

Read too

Unprecedented wave of layoffs: There have recently been layoffs at these startups

Spiegel cited, among other things, the new technical possibilities offered by generative AI tools such as ChatGPT as the reason for the layoffs. This makes it more difficult for Snap to sell its products. On top of that, due to the recent difficult business development, the group had to concentrate on other business areas, such as advertising. Snap shares have lost almost 90 percent of their value since their peak in September 2021. It is currently trading at around eight euros.

Known for messenger app

Snap is best known for its messenger app Snapchat. It was once known primarily for the images that disappear on their own, but the app’s functions have now been greatly expanded. Among other things, Snap relies on so-called augmented reality (AR), in which virtual objects on the screen are inserted into the real environment. This became more popular, especially during the pandemic, for trying on clothes or shoes.

The takeover of the Berlin startup Fit Analytics in spring 2021 therefore seemed logical. The company was founded in 2010 by Asaf Moses and Sebastian Schulze and counted fashion companies such as Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and The North Face among its customers.

ChatGPT has taken over the internet in a storm. The AI ​​language model is considered one of the fastest-growing applications ever. The over 100 million users can now also install numerous extensions. We therefore present the five best and most helpful ChatGPT plugins.

ChatGPT has remained the talk of the town since its release. After the initial hype, data protection concerns are now increasing. Many employees also fear that they will lose their job due to artificial intelligence.

The five best and most helpful ChatGPT plugins

On the other hand, AI language models can also provide support at work and help boost your career. In addition to the classic chat function, there are now also numerous extensions for ChatGPT.

Like standard mode, they can help you complete tasks faster to save time and thus increase your own productivity. In the following overview we therefore present the – in our opinion – best and most helpful ChatGPT plugins.

1. Ask you PDF

With the ChatGPT plugin “Ask you PDF” you can “talk” to your PDF documents, so to speak. Because ChatGPT turns the files with the extension into their own chatbots.

After you have installed and activated the free plugin, you can, among other things, ask ChatGPT questions about the content of the selected document. An example: “Summarize the first chapter of the book in one paragraph.” You can find an explanation of how to install the extension here.

2. Prompt Perfect

So-called prompts are requests to ChatGPT. Depending on how well or poorly they were formulated, the language model spits out better or worse answers. The ChatGPT plugin “Prompt Perfect” is intended to help users formulate the “perfect” prompts.

After you have installed and activated the extension, you must first ask Prompt Perfect a question or request that you would like to address to ChatGPT. The plugin then rewrites the prompt and adds details so that the AI ​​spits out the best possible result.

3. Link Reader

The Link Reader extension lets you view the content of all types of links via ChatGPT – including websites, online PDFs, images, and more. The only thing you have to do is insert a link and ask the AI ​​for the corresponding content.

ChatGPT automatically connects to the “Link Reader” and spits out an answer to your query. The plugin can above all help to quickly summarize different content.

4. Image Editor

If you want to edit images, you don’t necessarily have to use Photoshop or another program. Because with the ChatGPT plugin “Image Editor” ChatGPT can take care of basic editing. For example, the extension can crop, rotate, resize, or reduce blurring of images. To use the tool, you need to paste the URL of an image and upload it.

5. Zapier

The ChatGPT plugin “Zapier” is intended to avoid or facilitate unnecessary workflows. The extension allows users to connect different applications and apps with each other. You can create so-called “Zaps” to execute certain commands via one or more applications at the same time.

According to the developers, the plugin can interact with over 5,000 work applications – such as Gmail, Slack and Outlook. You can use ChatGPT to write a message and send it via several services at the same time – without having to open each one individually.

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Making shipping more climate-friendly in the future – can that be achieved? British developers want to do exactly that with the new Windwings drive system.

Long transport routes for goods or food continually contribute to global emissions. This also includes shipping. Although their share can be expressed as a percentage with a small number, it still has a big impact.

But how could shipping solve this problem? The answer is in the air, as a new drive system now wants to prove. An Olympic champion was even involved in the development.

This is what drives Windwings

Shipping in the EU must reduce its emissions by two percent by 2025 – this is the target of the “Fuel EU Maritime” regulation. By 2040 there should be savings of 31 percent and by 2050 a full 80 percent.

But this is hardly possible without alternative propulsion methods for cargo ships. But this is exactly where the Windwings come into play, as they can also power a large cargo ship with the power of the wind.

Where did the invention come from?

The Windwings were created in Great Britain and Norway. The British company BAR Technologies, which was founded by one of the world’s most successful sailors, is behind the idea.

Sir Ben Ainslie has won medals in five consecutive Olympic Games, winning gold from 2000 to 2012. This makes the four-time Olympic champion the most successful sailor in Olympic history.

So it’s no wonder that his company’s Windwings are based on the high-tech sails from top-class sports.

The company Yara Marine Technologies, which comes from Norway, is behind the construction. The company says it is focused on enabling a “greener maritime industry.”

Windwings are intended to make shipping greener

Although the Windwings are based on the sails from sports, they appear significantly different visually. The three-part construction is made of a fiberglass composite material and is 37.5 meters tall.

With the help of sensors, the system can rotate with the wind. The two outer elements are also mobile and can therefore adjust to the wind as best as possible.

If the futuristic sail is not needed or the wind is too strong, it can be folded up.

Savings potential on the maiden voyage

The Windwings have now set sail on their maiden voyage with the “Pyxis Ocean”. From Singapore to Brazil, the new wind technology is now being tested for six weeks on behalf of the Cargill company.

The freighter was subsequently equipped with two sails, which will initially serve as auxiliary propulsion. According to estimates, the ship could use around 30 percent less fuel.

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