Autonomous robosub hunts starfish with poison-tipped needles
Crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) are voracious coral consumers with a propensity for population explosions, which makes them very real threats to the world’s coral reefs. And while they’re typically held in check by fish higher in the food chain, overly aggressive human fishing has decimated these predator species. That’s why a team from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia has spent the past decade developing a fully autonomous COTS-hunting robotic submarine to help bring these populations back into balance.
The COTSbot is a torpedo-shaped autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) that weighs about 65 pounds. And by “fully autonomous” I mean this thing is a Skynet Hunter-Killer for starfish — everything from navigation to the COTS-targeting system is controlled by the sub itself sans human intervention. Its belly is armed with an integrated injector system loaded with a toxin — thiosulfate-citrate-bile salts-sucrose agar — specifically designed to kill COTS in 24 hours with a single injection, but not harm anything else on the reef.
Human divers can kill maybe 120 COTS an hour injecting them by hand. A small fleet of COTSbots can clear 99 percent of a reef infested with of thousands of these animals in just a few days. Any COTS that the bots miss can then easily be dispatched by humans or other predators, just like nature intended.
[Image Credit: Thomas Quine – flickr]
Filed under:
Science
Via:
Spectrum IEEE
Source:
Queensland University of Technology
Tags: Australia, autonomous, AUV, COTSbot, Crown of Thorns, drones, marine, QueenslandUniversityofTechnology, seastars
Playdate: Going back to school with ‘No Pineapple Left Behind’
Back to school. Those three words can strike fear in even the hardiest of kids. We’re celebrating the beginning of the semester a little differently, because, well, that’s what we do on Playdate. Rather than spend the afternoon quoting Billy Madison, we’re going to be playing through No PIneapple Left Behind, a game that skewers the politics of the American education system. And who better to talk about it than Seth Alter, the former teacher who developed the game? No one, that’s who. So join us here at 6 pm ET / 3 pm PT as Sean Buckley and myself walk through these pineapple-filled halls for two hours on Twitch. You can tune in here on this post, Twitch.tv/joystiq or even the Engadget Gaming homepage. And no, there’s no need to bring an apple for us — just being a good sport in chat is reward enough.
http://www.twitch.tv/joystiq/embedWatch live video from Joystiq on www.twitch.tv
http://www.twitch.tv/joystiq/chat?popout=
[We’re streaming No Pineapple Left Behind at 720p through OBS, so rest assured this game will look dramatically better on your computer at home.]
Filed under:
Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Tags: education, hdpostcross, NoChildLeftBehind, nopineappleleftbehind, pc, PcGaming, playdate, politics, sethalter, streaming, subalterngames, twitch
Google search expands its health conditions cards, adds a few other improvements
Back in February Google first introduced medical condition cards to Google search, giving you basic information on diseases and ailments as common as the cold or as rare as polio. Today Google is expanding on these cards by adding more detailed information, more health conditions that should total nearly 1000, an improved look, and the ability to download the information on cards as a PDF.
That last added function is the most crucial, as it means you can now search for illnesses and if you think those symptoms sound familiar to your situation, you can download them to show your healthcare provider. Not sure if you trust where Google is getting its information? In an official blog post, Google highlights that it gets its facts from working closely with doctors and the Mayo Clinic to create these cards. That means the information being dispensed has been verified for accuracy.
Of course, in order to look up these cards you’d have to suspect you have a specific disease in the first place. A system where you input symptoms like running noise into search and get matched with potential fits would be a nice addition — then again, it would led to a lot of people over worrying about symptoms thinking they are connected to some larger ailment. For now, I’d wager the main purpose of these cards is to look up diseases that you have heard about (maybe you have a friend or family member that was recently diagnosed) as opposed to trying to ‘cure yourself’.
Anyhow, expect those changes to start rolling out soon. For even more details, be sure to check out Google’s official inside search blog post.
T-Mobile brings native video calling to select Android phones
T-Mobile isn’t normally one to take a break from bringing its customers new features. A little over a month ago, the Uncarrier put a focus on making SMS and MMS much better through its Advanced Messaging initiative, and now the carrier is at it again, but this time with a focus on video calling.
T-Mobile has just announced T-Mobile Video Calling, which will bring native video calling to select Android devices’ dialer applications. Of course, video calling is nothing new to mobile devices, but this new feature will allow you to place and receive video calls without the need to download a third party application. On mobile devices with this feature built-in, you’ll see small camera icons next to a contact that has a device that’s able to receive video calls. If your contact doesn’t have a smartphone that can take video calls, the camera icon will be grayed out.
You’ll be able to place these video calls to and from your compatible device using your data connection or over Wi-Fi. This feature will also be able to switch between LTE and Wi-Fi without a hitch, which means your calls won’t drop if you leave your home while in a chat.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ will have T-Mobile Video Calling built-in, available through a small software update that’s rolling out today. The Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge will receive the update sometime next week. Of course, this feature will make it’s way to other devices in the future. T-Mobile says three more will get the updates by the end of the year, bringing the total number of compatible smartphones to seven.
Final Cut Pro X Receives Minor Update With Performance Improvements, Bug Fixes
Apple’s professional video editing software Final Cut Pro X received its first update in months this afternoon, adding a handful of new features, fixing several bugs, and improving performance and stability.
The update adds native support for the Sony XAVC-L and Panasonic AVC-Intra 4:4:4 files, introduces exporting of interlaced H.264 video, and allows users to import Canon XF-AVC 8-bit video files using the Canon plug-in.
What’s New
– Native support for Sony XAVC-L and Panasonic AVC-Intra 4:4:4 up to 4K resolution
– Import Canon XF-AVC 8-bit video files with Canon plug-in
– Export interlaced H.264 video
– Asset management systems can include a library backup file when sharing from Final Cut Pro
– Fixes render errors that may occur when using reflective materials with 3D text
– Improves stability when swapping materials on 3D text with published parameters
– Improves performance when loading text styles
– Motion Title templates with published text layout parameters now export correctly
– Fixes an issue that may cause 3D text to appear dark when rendered
– Addresses issues with timing on certain animated effects
Complementary app Compressor has also received a minor update today, adding bug fixes, support for exporting interlaced H.264 files, and an improvement to closed caption and subtitle audio and video sync. An update to Motion may also be following shortly.
Final Cut Pro X, Motion, and Compressor received their last major updates in April of 2015, with Apple adding new features for motion graphics and enhancements to speed up video editing, packaging, and delivery.
Final Cut Pro X can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $299.99. [Direct Link]
Compressor can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $49.99. [Direct Link]
Motion can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $49.99. [Direct Link]
Waze sued for allegedly stealing map data
Google and its mapping service Waze are being dragged to court over allegations that Waze stole data from a rival’s map database. The lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court on Tuesday by PhantomAlert alleges that the navigation app used proprietary data from PhantomAlert without permission. Both apps share road, red light and traffic information. According to PhantomAlert CEO Joseph Seyoum he noticed that Waze was using the same fictitious location information in its app that his company had used to test PhantomAlert. The only way Waze would have that fake location data is if it was using information from Seyoum’s company.
In a statement Seyoum said, “I started PhantomAlert seven years ago as an entrepreneur with a dream, and now that dream has been crushed by companies that are profiting from the years of blood, sweat and tears our team put into our product.”
PhantomAlert lawyer Karl Kronenberger alleges that Waze used his client’s data to increase its value and become more attractive to potential buyers. Both Google and Facebook were reportedly interested in purchasing the mapping app with Google securing the deal for around $1 billion n 2013.
The suit seeks monetary damages and an injunction against Waze and Google regarding the app. Google has not responded to queries for comment about the lawsuit.
Filed under:
Transportation, Google
Via:
CNET
Source:
PhantomAlert
Tags: google, Lawsuit, Mapping, Waze
Samsung teases Galaxy View tablet at the end of IFA event
Samsung is making a habit of teasing its next announcement at the end of launch events. After today’s Gear S2 official reveal, the company teased a new tablet: the Galaxy View. Of course, details are quite scarce right now, but we do know that the slate sports a Surface-esque kickstand that’s either built-in or added by a case. The device maker only offered the hints of “think bigger” and “a new dimension of entertainment” alongside the promise that we’ll get more info next month. And when those specs emerge, you can bet we’ll bring you the latest.
Check out all the news from Berlin at our IFA 2015 hub.
Filed under:
Tablets
Source:
Android Central
Tags: galaxyview, ifa, ifa2015, samsung, tablet
Apple will reportedly outfit the 21.5-inch iMac with a 4K display
Almost a year ago, Apple put a Retina display inside its 27-inch desktop. A report from 9to5Mac says we could see a high-res panel on the smaller 21.5-inch model soon as well. The word comes from Mark Gurman, who has a solid track record for news like this, of the new iMac initially tipped by clues inside the upcoming OS X El Capitan. Despite the larger all-in-one getting a 5K Retina panel last fall, the report claims that the 21.5-inch version will come equipped with a 4K display and resolution of 4,096 x 2,304 (up from the current 1,920 x 1,080). While Apple has an iPhone-focused event scheduled for next week, Gurman says the new iMac won’t be announced until next month. If you’re not too thrilled about paying a premium for a higher-resolution display, chances are the current model will remain available. Even after the 27-inch Retina model arrived, the 1080p option stuck around.
Tags: 4k, 5k, apple, desktop, imac, mac, retina, retinadisplay, retinaimac, rumor
Samsung teases Galaxy View device for October
Along with the unveiling of the Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch at IFA 2015 in Berlin today, Samsung revealed something else called the Galaxy View, despite not really explaining what it is.
The Galaxy View, from the pictures Samsung teased out, looks to be a brand new big tablet that appears to have a kickstand and aimed at watching movies and TV shows.
It’s supposed to be released in October and could really either by a device completely on its own, or an accessory that attaches to a device as a second screen. A second display would make sense to offer an external display accessory to Samsung products, and would certainly justify the name ‘View’.
I guess we’ll find out in October.
The post Samsung teases Galaxy View device for October appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Barnes & Noble, Samsung announce Galaxy Tab S2 Nook
Fresh off a big keynote at IFA, Samsung is still rolling with more announcements. Today Samsung and Barnes & Noble announced the Galaxy Tab S2 Nook, which is essentially a version of Samsung’s latest flagship tablet aimed at the avid reader. The Tab S2 Nook is sporting the same specs as the standard 8-inch Tab S2, but Barnes & Noble has given users a bit more incentive to buy this version. In addition to access to the Nook library (which boasts over 4 million books) and Nook apps, buyers will also get a few extra goodies:
- Three free books (from a selection of 20 titles)
- Three free magazine editions (from a selection of 25 magazines)
- $5 Nook Store credit
- Lifetime in-store support for the tablet
It’s worth noting that Barnes & Noble members will get an additional 10% off the purchase price of $399.99. That’s a discount of roughly $40, which isn’t too shabby for a top of the line tablet. If this device sounds like your cup of tea, the Galaxy Tab S2 Nook is available now, in Barnes & Noble stores and online at Nook.com.
Source: BusinessWire
The post Barnes & Noble, Samsung announce Galaxy Tab S2 Nook appeared first on AndroidGuys.
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