The problem with the ride-sharing and robotaxi revenue model that nobody talks about.

Ride-sharing is a transport model in which passengers order rides using an app and drivers use their own vehicles to deliver these orders. Companies such as Uber and Lyft act as intermediaries, charging a commission on each trip. These companies are now moving towards robotaxis – autonomous vehicles capable of transporting passengers without a human driver. This technology has the potential to reduce operating costs, improve safety and increase transport availability, but at the same time it eliminates traditional drivers, which can lead to massive job losses. Decoupled revenue is a business model in which users who use a service are not its main source of funding. An example of this is social media, where users create content for free, while advertisers are the real payers. A similar phenomenon occurs in ride-sharing, where passengers pay for rides, but drivers are seen as a cost when providing a service, rather than key participants in the ecosystem. Platforms prioritise passengers because they generate revenue, while drivers are seen as a ‘problem to be solved’ – leading to wage cuts and a reduction in their influence on the company's operations. Business models work more effectively when users and payers are the same group.

Dietmar Rabich/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0

Autonomous vehicles could completely change the ride-sharing model. If Uber and Lyft implement robotaxis on a large scale, current drivers will lose their source of income because they will not be able to compete with an AI fleet that does not require wages. Eliminating drivers as an ‘operating cost’ means that companies will be able to focus solely on passengers, making them their main customers. Some companies are considering a model in which private users could buy and maintain autonomous vehicles and then rent them out on a ride-sharing platform. This is similar to the Airbnb concept, but with cars, there are additional challenges such as the costly maintenance of autonomous vehicles, unclear regulations regarding liability for collisions and the lack of infrastructure for fully automated charging of electric vehicles.

Current robotaxis mainly operate in urban areas where precise maps and developed infrastructure allow for effective autonomous driving. Of course, drivers may still be needed on longer routes and in less urbanised areas. An additional challenge is the lack of infrastructure for automatic charging of robotaxi fleets. Potential solutions include robotic charging stations, battery swapping technology and dedicated car parks for autonomous fleets where vehicles could recharge between journeys. In the future, ride-sharing could be integrated with new forms of transport, such as vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, which would enable fast travel between cities. There are also hybrid vehicle concepts where autonomous cars could connect with flying modules to avoid traffic jams and cover longer distances. Safety concerns may keep such solutions futuristic.

Robotaxis could make ride-sharing cheaper, safer and more convenient, but this has serious social consequences. Mass automation will lead to the elimination of jobs for drivers. Tesla is exploring the possibility of hiring people to remotely supervise autonomous vehicles in emergency situations. There will be far fewer of these jobs than there are current drivers, and their role will only be temporary. For passengers, these changes may prove beneficial due to lower prices, higher quality of service and no risk of travelling with an incompetent or dangerous driver. Ultimately, robotaxis could solve the problem of split revenues, as platforms would be able to focus exclusively on passengers as their main customers. The introduction of this technology will bring about new challenges, ranging from massive unemployment among drivers to the need to adapt the transport infrastructure to handle autonomous fleets.

RG-6 cables by TRISET 302 – match the appropriate F connector.

TRISET 302 coaxial cables come in several popular versions, each with a slightly different structure due to the material of the cable's outer sheath. The outer sheath of the coaxial cable can be made of a synthetic PVC polymer (typical inner cables), a polyethylene PE coating (outer) or LSZH (Low Smoke Zero Halogen) plastic (cables with an increased fire resistance class –Dca, B2ca). Cables made with PVC technology are softer than PE or LSZH cables. When using hard sheathed cables, proper fitting of connectors is particularly important for comfort and speed of system.

F MASTER connectors for TRISET 302 line of cables are available in two sizes to suit the diameter and outer sheath of the cable. The table below will help you select the right connector for the selected cable model.

Static color palette for thermal imaging cameras.

Thermal imaging cameras capture infrared radiation emitted by objects and convert it into an image in which the intensity of the radiation corresponds to specific temperature levels. The use of image coloring improves image clarity and makes it easier to analyze, as different temperatures are easier to identify with assigned colors.

Image using the Ironbow palette

Thermal imaging cameras support various color palettes, of which “Ironbow” (rainbow) is one of the most commonly used in building analysis and other general applications. The colours in this range are based on a gradient, from purple and blue for cool areas, through red, to white for the warmest places. Thanks to this intuitive color scheme, temperature differences are clearly visible – the coolest objects are dark blue, while the warmest go through shades of red all the way to white. Such colors help quickly identify areas with different temperatures.

An example of an image after using a static color palette

The “White Hot” (white and black) palette is often used in technical monitoring and analysis. In this palette, the hottest areas are displayed as white and the coolest areas as black. It is a good choice for applications where contrast is crucial, such as detecting moving objects. In this mode, a static color palette can be added, where, in addition, colors are assigned to specific temperature values and remain constant no matter what the camera is currently recording. This static pallet is best suited when the priority is to quickly detect any deviations from the norm.

Building a house – cabling for the Internet.

Given the progressive development of technology, changes in the offerings of service providers, as well as technical innovations appearing on the market, the recommended method of building cabling is very different from that of a few years ago.

If you are planning to install an internet connection in a building, there are several factors to consider that will influence the final cabling layout. Laying too few cables or choosing wrong type of cable can cause significant limitations in the future. On the other hand, it is important to consider the economic factor and not to plan too many cables that will never be used. So how do you currently wire your home correctly?

The basic transmission medium used for building LANs should be copper twisted-pair cable. The use of fiber optics for transmission in the home will certainly not make sense in the next several years. In homes, it is recommended to use twisted-pair cables of 5e or 6 category. This type of cable allows to transmit data at speeds up to 1 Gbps, which will certainly prove sufficient over the next dozen or so years or even decades. Those with a larger budget can consider laying a category 6 twisted-pair cable, which allows to transmit data even up to 10 Gbps. Given the availability of devices working at a speed of 2.5 Gbps, such a twisted pair may prove to be a safer solution.

LAN at home – cabling diagram

Green line ⇒ E1171 50 Ohm Tri-Lan 240 coaxial cable for LTE/5G antenna
Purple line ⇒ E1611 NETSET U/UTP 6 gel-filled, black – outdoor twisted pair cable for WLAN antenna
Blue line ⇒ E1608 NETSET U/UTP 6 cable – indoor twisted pair cable for outlets
Light blue line ⇒ Internet Service Provider cable

It is best to run a cable to every room in the house. This will give you freedom of choice when selecting the location for the access point. Note that the WiFi signal must reach devices such as air conditioners, heat pumps (central heating furnaces), recuperators, refrigerators and other devices equipped with WiFi modules. The ability to freely connect a computer or other device to a wired network may also prove important. Keep in mind that some applications may require cable connection for stable operation. This applies, for example, to streaming high-definition video or playing online games. When planning cabling, one should remember that the Internet is used today not only by personal computers. Twisted-pair cables have to be led to the places where TV sets, consoles and home theaters are installed. It is also worth thinking about one socket in the kitchen, bathroom or any other room.

When building LAN network in a house you should consider potential sources of Internet access. Routing twisted-pair cable to the lowest building level enables easy connection of services from the local ISP providing traditional service, or – after installing a cable modem – from the cable network. One outdoor UTP/FTP cable leading to the roof will allow to access the Internet via radio (access point integrated with antenna). It is also worth to think about the wireless LTE/5G network that is gaining popularity. Two 50 Ohm coaxial cables going to the roof will allow you to mount external antennas using MIMO technology and use the full potential of high-speed Internet.

Connection of additional reader via RS-485 to IP Villa Hikvision door station.

Hikvision Villa IP door stations of the DS-KV8xx3-WME1(C) series have an RS-485 input that can be used to connect an additional reader. The reader can be mounted on the exit side of the property in case the customer does not want to open the gate with a handle or local opening button. The DS-K1107AM G75369 can be used as an exit reader. Before connecting the reader, set the appropriate address on it, (e.g.:1) by moving the first DIP switch to the ON position. Then connect the reader via RS-485-bus to the door station (yellow wire RS-485(+), blue wire (RS-485(-)). After connecting the reader, power the door station using PoE switch or 12 V/DC voltage and the reader using 12 V/DC voltage. After the video door entry system is properly configured and a Mifare (13.56 MHz) key fob is added, applying it to the reader built into the door station or connected via RS-485 will drive relay one at the door station and release the electric strike.

Sample connection of DS-K1107AM G75369 reader to DS-KV8113-WME1(C) G73632 door station.

Fiber optic categories and designations.

When studying fiber optic network design documentation, one will come across many designations for fiber optic cables and fibers. There are several popular styles of fiber naming. Some of them come directly from the designations proposed by standards and recommendations. Others are a confusion of these designations with abbreviated descriptions on the outer sheaths of cables.

The most well-known way of describing fibers comes from a series of recommendations ITU-T (the telecommunications standardization division of the United Nations digital technology agency). This method of naming and categorization (G.65xx) is most often found in catalog data offered by fiber optic cable manufacturers and vendors. On the other hand, designers of telecommunications networks, when describing cabling issues in detail, can use a European standard issued by the IEC to describe fibers – IEC – EN 60793-2-50. According to it, single-mode fibers are category B, while multimode fibers are category A1. Each category, of course, also has subcategories, the equivalents of which can be found in the ITU-T recommendations.

The third and final way is through designations introduced by the company standards of large telecommunications operators. Within their own networks, they may use alternative designations to those proposed by the standards. An example is Orange, which has introduced the "J" category for single-mode fibers, along with the corresponding subcategories.

For multimode fibers, ITU-T has issued one recommendation – G.651.1, while not proposing a subcategory of these fibers (the recommendation refers to other documents in this regard). The most popular classification of multimode fibers is introduced by the structured cabling standard ISO/IEC 11801. OM1, OM2, OM3, OM4 and OM5 symbols are described in this very document. A much less popularized (but still found) way of marking multimode fibers is included in EN 60793-2-10. These are respectively A1b for OM1 fibers, A1a1 for OM2 fibers, A1a2 for OM3 fibers and A1a3 for OM4 fibers.

L79508 outdoor cable with single-mode G.652D fibers. Other fiber designation: B1.3 or J2D.

Powering a camera directly from a fiber optic media converter. Fiber optic cables are the core of the cabling of many surveillance systems. They are usually opted for in cases where the camera points remain at a considerable distance from the monitoring center. In a situation where the camera point includes 1 camera, its implementation usually takes into account the use of a sealed box, in which a media converter is placed together with a power supply, a PoE power supply and a box/tray that protects the place of fiber optic splicing introduced into the box...>>>more

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