Cyborg cockroaches can help find survivors through their voices
Someday, those vile, slimy cockroaches that make you shriek like a five-year-old girl might look more like little superheroes in some people’s eyes. Researchers from the North Carolina State University have developed a way for roaches to detect and locate sources of sounds (say, a person’s voice), so they can be used in search-and-rescue missions. In addition, they’ve developed an “invisible fence” technology to keep the bugs within an enclosed area. Just like the robo-roaches in a number of previous studies, NC State’s bugs also have backpacks strapped to their bodies, allowing the scientists to control the direction they go to.
Some of these backpacks are equipped with a single microphone that can capture sounds sent to first responders. Others are equipped with an array of 3D microphones that can determine where those sounds come from, making them effective at finding people trapped inside collapsed buildings, for instance. These cockroaches work together as a team and need to be within each other’s range, though, that’s why the researchers also devised an invisible fence technology. This fence can not only prevent them from straying too far, but also lead them to light sources in order to charge their solar-powered backpacks. If you want to get a better grasp of how these cyborg cockroaches work, make sure watch the videos below to see them in action within a laboratory setting.
[Image credit: Eric Whitmire/NC State University]
Filed under: Science
Via: TechCrunch
Source: NC State University
WSJ: Elon Musk wants to bring the whole world online with affordable satellites
Small, low-cost internet satellites that provide affordable internet to everyone on the planet. These are what Elon Musk wants to create next after working on reusable rockets, space capsules and electric cars since the early 2000’s, according to The Wall Street Journal. The publication says Musk is in the early stages of collaborating with Greg Wyler, who founded O3b Networks and led Google’s internet satellite venture until earlier this year. The duo (with Wyler now representing WorldVu, a company he also founded recently) apparently plans to launch a total of 700 internet satellites into space. They want each of those satellites to cost less than $1 million to build and to weigh less than 250 pounds — a huge undertaking, seeing as the smallest models these days cost several millions and weigh at least 500 pounds.
Wyler reportedly brought the idea to Google first during his time with the company, but he ended up leaving with his plans in tow, as he wasn’t entirely sure Mountain View had “sufficient manufacturing expertise.” Perhaps he thought things would fare better with the man behind Tesla and SpaceX, that’s why he, along with Musk, have already talked to Florida and Colorado government officials about the possibility of building factories in those states. Still, they’re in the very early stages of planning, and Musk might even drop out of the picture, since nothing’s official just yet. If the two do decide to go through with their joint project, they’ll first have to face a lot of regulatory hurdles and raise $1 billion to spend for the development process, among other issues. But hey, if this report is true, at least they don’t have to worry about which rockets to use to launch the satellites to space anymore.
Filed under: Science
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Google’s Barges Project Undone by Fire Concerns
Google’s mysterious barges project has apparently been shut down by the Coast Guard due to safety issues relating to fire. According to an inspector from the Coast Guard, the barge could prove dangerous in a fire. Google claimed the barges would be used to demo new technology, which coupled with 5,000 gallons of fuel could combine to make the new tech not the only hot thing on board.
Google originally had two barges under construction: one on the east coast, and one on the west. The east coast barge in Maine has been scrapped and sold, but the west coast barge has been relocated, supposedly to continue to make the designs fall more in line with Uncle Sam’s specifications.
The only way we know that the barges’ construction had been halted was from documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, but if you think you can use the documents to figure out just what Google has up its sleeve, guess again. Not even the Coast Guard can peep about the subject, since the tech giant forced them to sign NDA’s at the start of the project.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Come comment on this article: Google’s Barges Project Undone by Fire Concerns
Moto X 2014 gets Limited Lollipop Soak Test
Google seems to be dropping the ball this time around with its Nexus line, suffering from rollout delays with its Nexus 5 and 7, but Motorola is picking up the slack and surging ahead in the race to offer quick updates. Motorola has started soak tests with Lollipop on the Moto X 2014 already, beating all other competitors, including the source of the software itself: Google.
For those of you that own the Moto X, but have yet to receive your update, follow the link below to find an OTA mirror and get the software onto your phone from there. However, as a forewarning, the device must have never been rooted in order for it to work.
Source: xda
Come comment on this article: Moto X 2014 gets Limited Lollipop Soak Test
Google Offers Free Books on Google Play Books app
If you rushed out to get a Nexus 9 as soon as it came out, and you have yet to download Google Play Books, check it out. Google is offering a free best-selling book to owners of the new Nexus 9. The book will be instantly added to your library for your reading after you select it from the list of popular titles. Unfortunately, the deal is only good for one per customer. Check it out on your tablet and let us know below what title you chose!
Source: Android Police
Come comment on this article: Google Offers Free Books on Google Play Books app
Motorola Posts Release Notes about the Lollipop Update
Motorola accidentally posted release notes today for the Lollipop updates to both the Moto X and the Moto G. The update is of course not yet live, so the pages were pulled down soon after the mistake was made. The release notes detail the changes in the software and how to update your device. Since these pages were posted, it seems that it’s only a matter of time before the update sees wide release. Check out the post below:
Come comment on this article: Motorola Posts Release Notes about the Lollipop Update
Motorola DROID Turbo wallpapers are big and pretty; get them here now [Download]
The Motorola DROID Turbo has been out for just over a week now, and all the initial reviews of it are looking really good. Coupled with a Snapdragon 805 processor and a Quad HD display, the massive 3,900mAh battery makes the DROID Turbo almost unmatched among its Android brethren for combination of power and endurance. The DROID Turbo is still one of the few smartphones to carry a Quad HD display, which means we’re pretty interested to see not only what the display looks like, but what wallpapers Motorola and Verizon have hidden in the device. Luckily, the stock Motorola DROID Turbo wallpapers have been dug out, and we have all 14 of them available down below. Be sure to click through to the full resolution image before you save it:
Naturally, the resolution of each of the wallpapers is 2880×2560 which should be sufficient for pretty well any device available on the market right now. Clearly whoever curated this wallpaper set has a penchant for macro shots as many of these appear to be close up photos, and those of you who are Verizon veterans from the old Droid Maxx should recognize a few of these wallpapers as well.
What do you think of the Motorola DROID Turbo wallpapers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Droidviews
//<![CDATA[
ord = window.ord || Math.floor(Math.random()*1E16);
document.write('‘);
//]]>
The post Motorola DROID Turbo wallpapers are big and pretty; get them here now [Download] appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Google says the best phishing scams have a 45-percent success rate
Conceptually, phishing scams sound easy to see through: a fake webpage with the wrong URL that doesn’t look quite right — who’s going to fall for that? Quite a few people, apparently. According to a new Google study, the most successful phishing websites will capture data from 45-percent of its visitors. The least successful scams only scored information from three percent of its visitors, but when crooks are sending out phishing emails by the millions, that still adds up. The study found that the majority of the hijackers operate out of China, the Ivory Coast, Malaysia, Nigeria and South Africa, and that they work quick: 20-percent of accounts were compromised within 30 minutes of having information phished.
Most hijacked accounts are used to continue the cycle: sending emails to account’s contacts asking for bank transfers (under false pretenses, of course) or simply distributing links that might capture yet more accounts. The best way to protect yourself, Google says on its blog, are the old ways: enable 2-step verification on your accounts when possible and “stay vigilant” — report messages asking for personal information to and never, ever reply to them. Want to read the full study? Click right here.
[Image credit: Shutterstock]
Via: Huffington
Source: Google (1), (2)
The ASUS ZenWatch will be launched on November 9th for $199
The Android Wear space has heated up mightily over the last few months. The main offenders that have been kicking up a fuss have been the round-faced Motorola Moto 360 and the LG G Watch R, however the latest square-faced smartwatch is about to hit the scene, and boy does it look like a good one. The ASUS ZenWatch was officially announced at IFA 2014 earlier this year, and despite the fact we knew its pricing ($199 USD), we’ve yet to hear word of when it would be arriving for us to get our dirty mitts on – until today. November 9th (that’s two days away!) is the date that the ZenWatch is going to become available and will start to be sold (in the US at least) in Best Buys with it going up on Google Play at a later date.
At $199, the ZenWatch is a particularly interesting specimen. Hardware-wise, it doesn’t look all that different from the Moto 360 and the LG G Watch R, housing a Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz processor, 512MB RAM and 4GB storage, which makes it almost a steal at $50 cheaper than the two round-faced smartwatches. Couple that with a few software additions like tap features that add additional functionality and a selection of 100 watch faces to choose from. While we’ll reserve full judgement until some reviews start coming out, we’re quietly confident that the ZenWatch is the more budget Android Wear option that we’ve been waiting for.
What do you think about the ASUS ZenWatch? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: The Verge
//<![CDATA[
ord = window.ord || Math.floor(Math.random()*1E16);
document.write('‘);
//]]>
The post The ASUS ZenWatch will be launched on November 9th for $199 appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
[Humor] ‘Stop looking at your phones’ video makes humorous light of awkward family meals
We’ve all seen it before – a family dining at the same table except that everybody is on their phone or tablet or some other form of technology that makes eating together seem a little moot. It all feels a bit sad really, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun with the idea just to make light of exactly how sad it is. College Humor just dropped a video titled “Stop looking at your phones” as part of “The Britishes” series and makes fun of this phenomenon in an era where phones weren’t exactly the same as they are now. Check it out (warning: strong language) :
“What number are you?” “Six…”
Maybe I’m just a stickler for British humour but I thought that this video was hilarious and is a great play on the unfortunate situation many of us face at the dinner table. Suffice to say, if you’re dining with loved ones, try to put your phone on silent or stack it on the table so you can enjoy their company once in awhile.
What do you think of the ‘Stop looking at your phones’ video? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
//<![CDATA[
ord = window.ord || Math.floor(Math.random()*1E16);
document.write('‘);
//]]>
The post [Humor] ‘Stop looking at your phones’ video makes humorous light of awkward family meals appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
AIVAnet 