Brain-machine link helps you steer exoskeletons with your mind
Right now, mind-controlling a machine isn’t pretty: you typically wear a silly cap or headset, or else subject yourself to open brain surgery to get a deeper link. Australian scientists might have a better way, though. They’ve developed a brain-machine interface that taps into your motor cortex through a relatively simple operation — you won’t need to gamble with your health to have a permanent connection to robotics. The device (known as a stentrode) would let you directly steer an exoskeleton or artificial limb through thoughts alone, even if you need the implant for “many months” at a time.
This isn’t just a theoretical exercise, either: the stentrode is already in line for human trials in 2017. If it succeeds, it could bring mobility to paralyzed people that need more than a wheelchair, such as “locked in” patients that can’t move any limbs. Eventually, joysticks and other clunky control mechanisms might be a thing of the past.
Via: EurekAlert
Source: University of Melbourne, Nature
Samsung may produce a Galaxy Note S Pen that doubles as a stand
Kickstands are a welcome addition to practically any mobile device. There’s really only so long that you can awkwardly support your phone with the side of your pinky finger (like you may be doing right now), so it would be nice if you could just set your smartphone down at a nice viewing angle to keep browsing or streaming. Unfortunately, kickstands kind of grate against the aesthetic of premium devices. If your casing is made of plastic, a stand is all well and good, but they feel out of place on metal and glass. According to some recent patents, it would seem that Samsung has found a work-around.
The patent, discovered by Patently Mobile, outlines a design for a stylus that bends in the middle, which allows it to function as a kickstand while halfway inserted into its slot. The idea is to let users take advantage of their gorgeous displays without compromising the design’s overall aesthetic.
See also: Samsung patents an S-Pen case for non-Note Galaxy devices
When the S Pen is bent into a stand, a lock engages inside the slot so you don’t have to worry about it falling out. Once you bend the stylus back into its straight alignment, the lock disengages, and you can slip the S Pen all the way back in for storage or start scribbling away with it. If you’re worried about a bendable pen feeling unwieldy, you shouldn’t be too concerned. The joint seems to lock into place, creating a sturdy pen while you’re using it.
Samsung filed this patent in the third quarter of 2015, but the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office didn’t publish the application until this year. We’re not certain when this feature may be making its way to commercial products, but it is definitely a creative and innovate use of the S Pen. What are your thoughts regarding this patent? Let us know in the comments below!
The $350 Huawei GX8 is now available for purchase
Huawei is definitely on a mission to be the maker of your next smartphone. Getting its second phone out in the U.S. before Mobile World Congress is no small feat. In January Huawei launched the launched the Honor 5X which made a name for itself with its high-end build and starting price of just $200.
Huawei wants to compete in every price category and has just made the Huawei GX8 available for purchase at GetHuawei.com, BestBuy.com, newegg.com, and Amazon.com for $349.99. The GX8 was announced a month ago at CES 2016, and has quite a spec sheet for a mid-range price.
Huawei GX8 highlights:
- 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 616, 8-core processor, 64 bit
- 16GB memory (expandable up to 128GB)
- 2GB RAM
- 5.5″ 1080p 2.5D display
- US Supports AT&T, T-Mobile, MetroPCS, and other GSM networks
- Colors: Horizon Gold, Space Grey or Mystic Champagne
- 13MP camera
- Android 5.1 Lollipop
The GX8 has s superior build being made from aircraft grade aluminum, and sports a fingerprint reader on the back of the phone similar to the Nexus 6P and Honor 5X. Huawei has been on a roll with fantastic devices in every price range, and should be atop your list of devices to check out if you’re interested in premium quality at budget prices. The GX8 comes free of contracts and can also be financed directly through Huawei if you can’t afford to put all $350 down at one time for as little as $20 per month.
Learn more at Huawei.com.
The post The $350 Huawei GX8 is now available for purchase appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Huawei GX8 arrives in the US, priced at $349 unlocked
Back in January we learned that Huawei would be bringing its GX8 over to the United States in the near future. True to their word, the phone has now landed, available through Huawei’s website and via Best Buy’s online store. The phone will also hit NewEgg and select Best Buy brick-and-mortar locations starting tomorrow.
The Huawei GX8 is a bit of a curious device, toting essentially identical specifications to the Huawei-made Honor 5X, as well as a very similar design language (it’s different, but not massively so). While having two phones with the same basic spec/design isn’t so strange, it is a bit odd that the GX8 is priced $150 higher, with a sale price of $349 unlocked in your choice of gold, gray, or champagne.
So what kind of hardware we talking about for this price point? The GX8 is powered a Snapdragon 615 with 2GB RAM. Other specs include 16GB storage, microSD, a 13MP main cam, 5MP rear cam, a 5.5-inch 1080p TFT display, Android 5.1 with EMUI 3.1, a 3000 mAh battery, and standard connectivity features (but no NFC). Like the Honor 5X, you also get Huawei’s high-quality fingerprint sensing tech baked in.
While the pricing isn’t bad for what you get, we can’t help but feel that the Honor 5X is the better deal. That said, if you prefer the Huawei brand over their sub-brand, honor, the GX8 could be worth a look.
This Pebble strap lets you pay with your wrist
It’s a crowd-funded initiative, so there’s a possibility that it will never see the light of day, but Fit Pay has put together a strap that lets you pay with your wrist in most places you could use a credit card. This NFC-ready strap looks almost indistinguishable from a normal Pebble strap, but you can load a number of credit cards or debit cards onto it and look like a wizard in your local grocery store.
The strap itself is called the Pagaré, and it was developed for Pebble Time devices by Fit Pay, a startup tech company that is focusing heavily on new payment methods and which just secured $3.1 million in funding from investors. The Pagaré will put Pebble in competitive waters with both the Apple Watch and the Samsung Gear S2 (once it gets its payment capabilities sorted out). Where this tech aims to snare an advantage over these two devices is the strap-located NFC chip, which means you don’t have to twist your wrist into an unnatural position to get it to register.
Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that we’ll be seeing the Pagaré on the mobile market. At the time of writing, Fit Pay has secured nearly $40,000 of its $120,000 goal with 644 backers, and there are still 29 days to go so the odds look good. Nevertheless, if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Kickstarted tech projects, it’s that you can’t ever put too much hope in them. Early supporters can throw $49 at the project and get themselves a Pagaré smartstrap to go with their Pebble Time. If you kick that up to $199, you’ll get the Pagaré and a Pebble time to boot. Throw in an additional $50, and they’ll upgrade your Pebble Time into a Time Steel or a Time Round. Once the project makes, the company is hoping to ship Pagarés as early as July.
What are your thoughts regarding this payment-savvy smartstrap? Let us know if you think it’s worth the apparent $49 price tag in the comments below!
SpaceX could try its next sea landing on February 24th
The next sea-based landing attempt for SpaceX could be on February 24th, based on an announcement from satellite operator SES. As part of the launch of a new SES-9 satellite, which Elon Musk’s company is expected to transport to its orbital slot using a Falcon 9, SpaceX will likely try to touch base at sea — that’s if the rocket doesn’t have enough fuel to land.
SES didn’t reveal an exact time for the event that day, but it did say there’s a backup launch date of February 25th, in case any technical or weather issues may come up. For SpaceX, it’s another chance to make history, after failing to do so last month.
Via: Ars Technica
Source: SES
‘Star Wars’ is getting an official electronic music album
There are plenty of Star Wars-inspired songs and remixes (such as Meco’s disco adaptations), but the legendary space fantasy series is finally getting something official… and you might want to give it a listen. The upcoming Star Wars Headspace will include electronic tunes that are either influenced by or reworks of the movies, most of them from artists you’ll know if you’re big on digital beats. The whole thing is produced by Rick Rubin, and there are tracks from Bonobo, Claude VonStroke, Flying Lotus, Kaskade and Röyksopp, among others.
The album will be available through online services on February 19th (in physical stores March 18th), and you can already listen to a few tracks now thanks to clips from Apple’s Beats 1. From the sound of it, this isn’t a simple cash-in — it has solid tracks that just happen to include droid beeps and Darth Vader’s breathing. Bauuer (Mr. “Harlem Shake”) has a real banger, while Flying Lotus’ signature glitch-hop sound remains intact. We can think of some glaring omissions (seriously, Disney, you didn’t get RJD2 or Jedi Knights to contribute?), but this might be an album you’ll continue to enjoy once the novelty wears off.
https://embed.itunes.apple.com/us/embedded-player/idsa.aaa90357-ce8a-11e5-8295-9fc69a0a8a5b
https://embed.itunes.apple.com/us/embedded-player/idsa.1b4ad324-ce8c-11e5-8ce4-660cccbdb036
https://embed.itunes.apple.com/us/embedded-player/idsa.0de1a050-ce89-11e5-b393-b28b1d1edb63
Source: StarWars.com, Star Wars Headspace
Huawei, Best Buy, and Newegg join Amazon in selling the GX8
At the end of last week, Huawei’s somewhat new GX8 became available in the United States through Amazon. Now, the phone, which costs $349 off-contract, can be bought through an additional three retailers as Huawei is expanding their reach in the country. Huawei itself along with Best Buy and Newegg are joining Amazon in selling the GX8 to U.S. consumers.
The GX8 comes with a 5.5-inch Full HD (1920×1080) TFT display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 13MP / 5MP cameras, a 3000mAh battery, and Android 5.1 Lollipop smothered in Huawei’s EMUI 3.3 software overlay. So what’s the difference between this phone and the new Honor 5x? Not much outside of price. The Honor 5X costs around $150 less than the GX8. It’s also guaranteed that the Honor 5X will receive a software update to raise its version to Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
Huawei, Best Buy, and Amazon are all selling the GX8 for $349; however, Newegg has a special promotional price where you can get the phone for $299. Newegg is also throwing in a 64GB microSD card as part of a limited time offer that might just last until the pre-order label is removed. If you prefer to buy device in-store though, head over to your local Best Buy because the electronics retailer is the exclusive in-store seller of the GX8.
While all models have the same 16GB of internal storage, you do get to choose a color. The Huawei GX8 comes in Horizon Gold, Mystic Champagne, and Space Grey.
[Huawei] [Best Buy] [Newegg] [Amazon]
Come comment on this article: Huawei, Best Buy, and Newegg join Amazon in selling the GX8
AIVAnet 