Best tools for designing mobile apps:

App designers have worked continuously to refine design tool kits to speed up the workflow and execute right design decisions. These tools have helped enabled designers to clearly communicate ideas and solve any technical troubles. Evaluating various extensions, plug-ins, tools and other resources have become necessary for the design cycle. Here is a list of some of the most popular mobile app design tools:

Sketch: Sketch has become a popular alternative to photoshop for designing mobile apps among designers. Unlike photoshop, Sketch is more focused on UI/UX design that offers a powerful set of features. It helps designers to create wireframes, visual design and vector logos, thereby achieving overall productivity with no wastage of time. Sketch is easy to use and offers additional features such as multi-resolution exporting and shared styles and symbols.

MockPlus: Mockplus is a powerful prototyping tool that is code-free and easy to follow. A simple drag and drop option allows designers to make interactions and preview ways to test the prototypes. Mockplus’s simplicity and efficiency is an USP for this tool. The collaboration features makes team work as time efficient as possible.

Adobe Experience Design (XD): Being the main competitor of Sketch, Adobe XD offers all the basic features like wireframing, prototyping and much more. Although the easy to use XD is still in the preview state, many app designers who have started using it are providing positive feedback.

Marvel: The Marvel tool helps users to create designs, prototypes and collaborate with other team members as well. It allows designers to synchronize their designs with other tools like Sketch, photoshop and illustrator, and cloud storage services such as dropbox and google drive. It allows designers to add animations easily without the need of an after effects expert.

UXpin: It is a wireframing and prototyping web tool that has a simple interface and many built-in features. This tool organizes the workflow by keeping all the layers of the design intact. The usability testing feature helps perform tasks, count the users and their clicks and display results to the team. This dynamic toolkit consists of several design elements for creating great designs from scratch. Additionally, the drag and drop feature helps users to build wireframes or prototypes that are compatible with multiple devices with a range of display resolutions.

Justinmind: It is a great prototyping tool that can be downloaded and used to work offline as well. This dynamic tool comes equipped with an extensive widget library that enables users to enter HTML, videos, docs, interactive maps and online/offline content in the website or application.

The tools mentioned above speeds up the design process, giving users more time for refining their designs. For world class mobile app designs and all your app development needs, send your queries to contact@bmsils.com

Welcome to the world of PlanetAR:

Virtual reality and augmented reality are two new buzzwords in the world of e-learning. Augmented Reality could drastically change the way in which we inherent knowledge, especially online. The PlanetAR brand consists of several innovative products that offer an interactive experience that makes learning fun for toddlers. Our team of experts has designed the products based on the suggestions by early childhood experts and parents.

PlanetAR Animals:

Interact with animals in AR like never before. Buy the complete set of the interactive and informative Planet AR cards for kids. PlanetAR Animals cards are a collection of 9 animals.

“Planet AR – Animal” mobile app* is available for both android and iOS devices. It offers an enjoyable and educational experience for kids with captivating animations and sound effects.

Have an elephant on the palm of your hand or maybe you’d prefer a lion instead. Examine the animals up close in 3D mode. The 2D sketch will turn into a 3D moving animation which allows you to spin, turn and zoom in and out of each animal. PlanetAR Animals gives you both interesting and informative facts about animals.

PlanetAR Alphabets & Numbers:

Flashcards are no longer boring with the new Planet AR Flash Cards. Planet AR Alphabets and Numbers is an educational and interactive game for children. Pair the App with Planet AR Alphabets and numbers flashcards and watch as the numbers and alphabets spring to life. Planet AR app is available at Google Playstore and App store. It offers an easy way for little ones to learn and pronounce alphabets, numbers and fundamental vocabularies.

One set of flashcards consists of 36 Augmented Reality Flashcards. 26 Alphabets cards, 10 numbers cards, 1 instructions card, a discount coupon,

PlanetAR promotes imagination, self- learning, creativity and much more. You can get your set of PlanetAR Augmented Reality Flash Cards on Amazon. Use Promo Code: PARAND20 and get 20% discount.

Amazon Link: goo.gl/7geSYt

Top Virtual Reality (VR) games:

Technology has grown leaps and bounds during the last couple of decades. Developers are pushing the boundaries to create tech solutions that are innovative and unique. One such technology that has gained popularity in recent times is Virtual Reality. It is an artificial environment created with software and presented to the user in a way that the user suspends belief and accepts it as a real environment. It includes three-dimensional images that appear to be life-sized from the user’s perspective. It also has the ability to track a user’s motions and eye movements, and correspondingly adjust images on the user’s display to reflect the change in perspective.

The virtual reality world must be large and detailed enough for users to explore and get immersed into. With PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, and Oculus Rift out alongside less expensive headsets like the Samsung Gear VR, Google’s Daydream View and Cardboard, users have a huge selection of Virtual Reality games to choose from.

Here are some of the most popular VR games among users.

Fallout 4 VR: With detailed environments and engaging gunplay, Fallout 4 VR was one of the biggest VR titles in 2017. There are several weapons that players can choose to blow away the inhabitants of the virtual world. This first person shooter game is currently exclusive to the HTC Vive headset but can be played on Oculus Rift with a bit of adjustment.

Arizona Sunshine: This first-person shooter immerses the player in a post-apocalyptic desert town. There is an arsenal of guns and other weapons that players can use to kill blood thirsty zombies. This game is available on PSVR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets.

Resident Evil 7: Based on the popular survival horror series Resident Evil 7 offers a completely different way for players to see everything in the realm of VR. With creatures lurking around every corner to attack players in the virtual world, this game manages to provide an incredibly intense experience for users. Resident Evil 7 is currently available on PSVR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets.

Lucky’s Tale: This VR game is available on Oculus Rift and translates the classic 3D platform into virtual reality. It makes use of the player’s ability to manipulate perspectives hiding secrets behind trees and under obstacles. The levels in this game are short to maintain the comfort level of the player in virtual reality.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes: It is a multiplayer game where the user wearing the VR headset acts as a bomb disposal agent. Each level has an explosive device with a series of batteries, widgets and nodes to work with. The person wearing the headset has to describe the bomb and work as a team to disarm it. This game offers the player an adrenaline rush that is not seen in many others. It is available on Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PSVR headsets.

Stay tuned for information on other upcoming and popular VR games.

Best AR apps for your smartphone:

Augmented Reality (AR) is one of the categories of apps and games in Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store that has grown in popularity in recent times. Augmented reality refers to the enhancement of our real-world environment through computer-aided sensing. AR Apps use the phone’s camera or other sensors to give users more enhanced information about their environment. Companies using AR for a number of applications has become to driving force for augmented reality application development. AR is rapidly growing in popularity by merging elements of the virtual world, into our real world. Here is a list of the most popular AR apps and games.

Pokémon Go: This game combines Nintendo’s Pokémon with augmented reality technology. It sends players exploring their neighborhood on foot to discover, photograph and collect Pokémon. The user’s phone functions as a map and viewfinder, guiding them towards Poké Stops to collect various items.  Pokémon Go is a free game that is available for both android and iOS devices.

Ingress: It is a massive multiplayer augmented reality game available for both android and iOS users. This GPS based game has players joining rival secret societies to fight for control over “Exotic Matter” (XM). Players can use their devices to travel to real world locations to gather “XM” and gain control of portals around buildings and landmarks.

World Brush: This app allows users to draw and paint over real-world views using a variety of virtual brushes. The virtual painting is saved to its approximate GPS location, which allows other World Brush users nearby to view your creations. There is also an option to like, dislike and report offensive content. This app is currently available for iOS users only.

AR MeaseureKit: This app offers several handy utility functions for users. It is available for iOS users only and turns the user’s iPhone into a measuring tool. The ruler function in the free version of the app enables users to measure the length of surfaces. There is also a chaining tool for measuring more complex lengths. An in-app purchase unlocks full functionality of the app that offers tools for placing AR marker pins, measuring angles, trajectories, a person’s height, and checking whether a surface is level as well.

Fitness AR: This app allows users to visualize their running and biking routes in 3D, overlayed over the real world. They can sign in with their Strava account and select one of their recorded routes or explore the featured ones. The app also allows users to circle around and explore the map from multiple angles. This app is currently available for iOS users only.

Star Walk 2: This AR app uses the device’s sensors and location data to present an interactive view of the night sky. The app will display a matching view of constellations, planets and other celestial bodies in real time when the device is pointed skyward. While the Time Machine mode allows users to view starscapes at past or future dates, the night mode makes the app more comfortable to use in low light conditions.

Augmented Reality technology has changed the face of smartphone apps and gaming. AR adds digital images and data to amplify views of the real world, giving users more information about their environments.

Want to develop an Augmented Reality app? With 7 years of experience in developing mobile apps, we at BMS Innolabs are ready to take any challenge to make the best use of our expertise for your business.

Top free Graphic design software:

Whether you are creating and editing vector graphics, illustrations, infographics, 2D or 3D content, here are some of the most useful free software for designers.

Inkscape: It is an open source vector graphics editor widely known as the free counterpart to Adobe Illustrator. Inkscape is available for Windows, Mac and Linux, and is a great for budding graphic designers. It offers many complex features including complex path operations, node editing, bitmap tracing and path-based text. It is a powerful vector graphics tool with excellent format support and a comprehensive toolkit.

Krita: It has a set of carefully designed tools designed primarily for comic book artists. This includes halftones, pre-made templates and a set of drawing aids such as vanishing points, customizable brushes and other tools, smooth shapes, layer masks and advanced selection functions.

GIMP: It is a free photo editing and graphic design software packed with customizable tools for designers working with photos. GIMP is great for adjusting photos, creating a digital painting or compositing several different elements. It can easily be expanded using a huge archive of extensions or installing Photoshop plugins.

Blender: It is a great tool for graphic designers working on 3D content. Whether it’s modeling, rigging, rendering or animating, Blender has you covered. It is highly customizable and has excellent format support, and can be used to create short films, TV shows, and even feature films. Designers can even create their own tools and extensions that suit their needs.

Easel.ly: With a clear and easy-to-use interface, Easel.ly is a tool dedicated to creating infographics. It offers a good selection of templates and a wide selection of shapes and other tools for designers to work with. The completed infographics in PDF or JPG format, with quality settings optimized for web and print use.  Unlike many other free data visualization tools, Easel.ly will not watermark your work.

Gravit Designer: It is a full-featured vector design app suitable for a number of jobs that includes screen and icon designs, creating presentations, illustrations and animations as well. This software is packed with a host of tools for creating detailed and beautiful vector imagery. Other features include a knife tool and path graphs, multiple fills and blending modes, and a powerful text engine. Gravit also offers cloud service that enables designers to access their project on the go.

Vectr: It is available both as a stand-alone desktop app and as a browser-based web app. This free editor can be used for creating 2D vector graphics. It offers live collaboration and synchronization options to connect with other designers and work in tandem. Vectr is available for Mac, Windows, Linux and Chromebook, and has a number of options for using filters, shadows and fonts.

Applications of Augmented Reality:

Augmented reality has been around for many years, but it wasn’t until the emergence of smartphones equipped with GPS, camera and AR capability that AR came into its own among the public. Augmented reality technology combines the digital world with the real world in the form of live video imagery that is enhanced with computer-generated graphics. AR can be experienced through headsets and displays on mobile devices. The number of AR apps available for the android and iOS devices has expanded dramatically, and are not limited to just games. Retailers are showing tremendous interest in the possibilities of using AR for their business.

Handheld AR Equipment: There is a list of AR software development kits available for Android smartphones and Apple’s mobile devices. These kits give developers the tools needed to add AR elements to their apps.

AR Headsets: Although devices like Microsoft’s HoloLens or Facebook’s Oculus headset are quite expensive. Other companies have started offering headsets at a third of the price the high end headsets like the HoloLens. Most AR headsets operate while tethered to a PC, but it won’t be too long before untethered headsets will be available in the market.

AR Applications:

Early PC, smartphone and tablet applications for augmented reality focused on games, but AR has much broader uses in the real world. The possible commercial and educational applications are unlimited.

Augmented Reality in 3D viewers:

This allows users to put life-size 3D models in their environment with or without the use of trackers. Trackers are the simple images that 3D models can be linked to in Augmented Reality. Popular 3D viewers include AUGMENT and Sun Seeker.

Augmented Reality in Browsers:

The AR browsers can enhance users’ camera display with contextual information. For example, when you point your smartphone at a building, you can see its history or estimated value. Examples of these type of browsers include Argon4, AR Browser SDK and more.

Augmented Reality Games:

AR Gaming software is probably the most common type of App. These apps create mesmeric gaming experiences that use your actual surroundings. Some of the popular AR games include Pokémon Go, Parallel Kingdom, Temple Treasure Hunt, Real Strike, Zombie Go, etc.

Augmented Reality GPS:

AR applications in smartphones generally include Global Positioning System (GPS) to spot the user’s location and its compass to detect device orientation. Examples: AR GPS Compass Map 3D, AR GPS Drive/Walk Navigation.

Augmented Reality is a technology that has changed the face of smartphone apps and gaming. AR adds digital images and data to amplify views of the real world, giving users more information about their environments.

Want to develop your Augmented Reality app? With 7 years of experience in developing mobile apps, we at BMS Innolabs are ready to take any challenge to make the best use of our expertise for your business.

What is 5G technology?

5G is the fifth generation wireless broadband technology that is based on the IEEE 802.11ac standard. Although there is still time for mainstream implementation of this technology, an increasing number of companies have already started gearing up for this new mobile wireless standard. The features and usability of 5G are much beyond the expectation of people. The features of 5G includes,

• Zero latency.
• Speed of up to 10 Gbps.
• Wide range of applications.
• More software options to upgrade.
• Faster response time.
• Ubiquitous connectivity.

While 4G claims to be around five times faster than 3G services, 5G Wi-Fi connections are set to be around three times faster than 4G, starting with 450Mbps in single-stream, 900 Mbps in dual- stream and 1.3Gbps in three-stream. With huge growth seen in the IoT and smart devices, 5G will enable a rapid arrival of a connected future. This new technology offers a wide range of features, which are beneficial for everyone, including students and professionals in various fields. It has the ability to provide uniform, uninterrupted, and consistent connectivity across the world. Medical treatment will become easier for doctors as they will be able to treat patients remotely. Besides increase in bitrate, 5G has also advanced in terms of,

• Increased peak bit rate.
• Larger data volume per unit area.
• Allowing more devices connectivity, concurrently and instantaneously.
• Lower battery consumption.
• Better connectivity irrespective of the location.
• Larger number of supporting devices.
• Lower cost of infrastructural development.
• Higher reliability.

Although implementing this technology has many benefits, it has several shortcomings as well. Because of the incompetent technological support in most parts of the world, the claimed speed of 5G is difficult to achieve in all locations. Most old devices would not be compatible with 5G and will need to be replaced, which is an expensive deal. With security and privacy issues yet to be addressed, developing the infrastructure needs high cost as well. The challenges faced by this technology can be categorized into Technological challenges and common challenges. The technological challenges include inter-cell interference, efficient medium access control and network traffic management. Common challenges include standardization to provide dynamic, universal, user-centric, and data-rich wireless services, need for larger infrastructure support, security and privacy concerns of users, and legislation of the Cyberlaw is also an imperative issue.

Starting from the First Generation (1G) in 1980s, we are advancing towards more sophisticated and smarter technology. With greater bandwidth comes faster download speeds and the ability to run complex mobile internet apps on devices. With 5G scheduled for launch in 2020, the impact it will have remains to be seen.

Top Messaging Apps:

Since the appearance of smartphones and the subsequent explosion of mobile apps in the market, low-cost chat and social messaging apps have been proven to be a cheaper alternative to operator-based text messaging via SMS. Traditional SMS text messaging has become old-fashioned with the rise in popularity of these online messaging apps. There are several messaging apps that offer social networking features with improved security. They not only provide the option to send messages, but also offer voice calling, video calling and file-sharing options as well. Many messenger apps offer interesting features like group chats, exchange of graphics, videos, audio messages and even stickers or emoticons. Hers are some of the most popular messaging apps based on the number of monthly active users on both android and iOS devices.

Whatsapp: With over 1.2 billion active users, Whatsapp is the most popular messaging app among smartphone users around the world. This free to use app is very easy to setup using just the phone number. This feature rich app allows users to send text, photos, voice and short video messages to their WhatsApp contacts. The app has continuously added new features like emoji, video calling, and most recently, end-to-end encryption.

Facebook messenger: Social media giant Facebook’s foray into mobile messaging is its messenger app. It is a dedicated messaging app that builds on company’s existing chat network and offers more mobile messaging features. Users can sign in using their facebook account credentials to use the apps features such as send text and voice messages, make voice and video calls to other users. There is also lighter version of the app called Messenger Lite that can run on older Android devices and requires less memory and processing power.

We chat: With over 900 million users, we chat dominates in the Chinese mobile web. This app offers users with features like free instant messaging, video and voice calls, group chat, and multimedia messaging as well.

QQ mobile: This app has over 800 million users and offers a number of unique features. This includes making video calls, send voice messages, texting with emoticons and more. The most interesting feature is Live Translation with a built in translator that supports over 50 languages. The app offers location-based discovery functions to find QQ users nearby and make new friends.

Skype: Microsoft’s Skype is most known for its video and voice call functionality. The app also boasts a robust instant messaging system. It allows users to send text, photos, short video messages to other Skype users, even when they are not online. Skype credits can be used to calls to mobile phones and landlines. It is very popular among companies for its business friendly features in its professional version. Even in the face of stiff mobile competition, this old warhorse has stood the test of time.

An introduction to Chatbots.

Chatbots are computer programs that can have the ability to mimic human conversations in their natural format including text or spoken language. This is accomplished by using artificial intelligence techniques that includes Natural Language Processing (NLP), image & video processing, and audio analysis. Their most interesting feature is that they can learn from past interactions and become smarter over the time. Chatbots work in two ways:

• Rule Based: They provide predefined responses from a data base, based on the keywords in the search.
• Smart Machine Based: They inherit capabilities from AI and adjust their behavior based on customer interactions.

The arrival of this technology is has given rise to new realms of engaging customers and ways of doing business. With instantaneous and personalized customer response that meets customer expectations, chatbots have revolutionized the customer service industry. Powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), Chatbot intelligence will increase with better use of conversational interfaces, and in future it will be used not only for customer support and retention, but acquisition as well. The objective of using chatbots is not to replace humans, but to bridge the gap between brands and consumers. Although the implementation of chatbots in the call center industry will have huge implications with potentially disruptive technology. Generally, chatbots can be trained with four major types of data projects.

• Utterance collection: Here, the bot is trained to identify instances where people come up with different ways to ask the same thing.
• Relevance: Using this, the bot is trained to give relevant responses to real user questions.
• Intent: Here, the bot learns to judge the user’s intent while they are engaged with them.
• Entity recognition: This type of data project is used to help the bot understand nuance and context of the conversation.

Currently, front-end chatbots are used in several domains, but are still in the primitive stage. Compared to humans, these front-end chatbots lack empathy and the ability for problem solving. For businesses, chatbots can be used to manage customer queries round the clock without any delay. There are many other advantages of incorporating this technology in business.

• Interactions are possible through familiar platforms like Facebook chat through API.
• Easy to interact using a simpler interface.
• Capability to outperform humans in terms of speed in handling customer queries.
• Easy to build, cost efficient and improved efficiency.

Chatbots can currently be seen on websites and social platforms to assist customers in their interactions with the brand. Chatbots not only communicates through voice or text, users can now interact with them via graphical interfaces and widgets as well. This technology gives businesses a new way to interact and deliver their messages to customers on chat platforms.

What is Machine Learning?

Machine learning (ML) is an application of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It provides systems the ability to learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed. The learning process begins with observations and data such as examples provided by us, direct experience or instructions, in order to look for patterns in data and make better decisions in the future. The primary objective of ML is to enable computers to learn automatically, without any human intervention.

The processes involved in machine learning are similar to that of data mining and predictive modeling, which require searching through data to look for patterns, based on which program actions are adjusted accordingly. Social Media giant Facebook uses machine learning to personalize each members news feed. The software uses statistical analysis and predictive analytics to recognize patterns in user data and use them to populate the News Feed. Search and recommendation engines use also use this technology to personalize online ad delivery in near real time. There are many other use cases in machine learning that includes building news feeds, fraud detection, spam filtering, network security threat detection and maintenance.

Machine Learning methods:

Here are the categories of Machine Learning algorithms.

Supervised Machine Learning Algorithms: These algorithms can add what has been learned in the past to new data to predict future events. By analyzing a known dataset, the algorithm produces a function that is used to predict output values. It can also compare outputs, find errors and make modifications accordingly.

Unsupervised machine learning algorithms: These algorithms are used for unlabeled training data-sets and learn how a function can be inferred to describe its structure.

Semi-supervised machine learning algorithms: These algorithms use both labeled and unlabeled data for training. Systems using this method are able to significantly improve learning accuracy. This method of learning is chosen is the given data requires skilled resources to train it.

Reinforcement machine learning algorithms: This learning method enables the system to interact with its environment by producing actions and discovering errors and rewards. In order to maximize performance, these algorithms allow machines and software to ascertain the ideal behavior to determine which action is best in a specific context.

Combining machine learning with AI can make it even more effective in processing large amounts of data. Machine learning enables analysis of this data to accurately identify profit making opportunities and potential risks.