These driverless pod cars will be on the road this year

Autonomous cars are coming, sooner than you may think, with self-driving pod style cars hitting the streets by the end of this year.

The driverless pods are due to arrive on limited roads in Singapore before the end of 2016 as a way for families to get about school and work. They are effectively automated public transport systems for within public areas.

The pods won’t be on the main roads just yet. Rather, they’re built to move people about gated communities or on a campus grounds.

The electric powered pods, built by Dutch company 2getthere, will hold 24-passengers meaning when rolled out these will service up to 8000 passengers per hour, in one direction, says the company.

Similar pods have been operating on a smaller scale, with just running, in Masdar City in Abu Dhabi since 2010. Another example of similar models currently running is in Rotterdam’s Rivium Business Park where there are six vehicles carrying 20 passengers each. Here, the company says, there are 2500 people using the pods each day.

While this is still a very localised example of autonomous driving, it’s the opening of the gates to a future where self-driving cars are common. Expect there to be plenty of autonomous cars hitting the major roads soon.

READ: Self-driving cars: 14 automakers betting on driverless vehicles

The Marines are fitting their tanks with anti-missile tech

The US Marine Corps believes it’s time to upgrade their trusty tanks with technology that can detect and deflect incoming missiles. In fact, it’s joining forces with the Army to test out the Israeli Trophy Active Protection System (APS). When Trophy’s sensors detect that there’s an anti-tank missile on the way, it fires small rounds to deflect them. It can also use jammers to mislead the enemy. According to Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, they’re seeing “much more sophisticated threat(s) on the ground,” and adding more armor to the vehicles will just slow them down. They needed to turn to high-tech solutions to protect the tanks and their drivers, like how the Navy is developing new technologies for its ships.

The Corps is already tweaking some M1 Abrams tanks, one of the heaviest in the world, to be able accommodate a Trophy system. But that’s not all the Marines are doing to shore up their vehicles’ defenses. Walsh says they’re also investing in drones designed to spot enemies before they can launch anti-tank missiles.

Via: Business Insider

Source: US Naval Institute

Lenovo’s ZUK phone puts other Chinese flagships to shame

ZUK, a Chinese smartphone brand that you may have already forgotten about, has recently joined the ranks of Moto and Vibe to become Lenovo’s latest mobile sub-brand. That wasn’t the plan when Lenovo started restructuring its mobile division last year, but now it’s included the startup to make its earlier investment worthwhile. Which is a good move, given how awesome and good-looking the freshly-announced ZUK Z2 Pro turned out to be. The company emphasized that its new 5.2-inch device makes full use of Qualcomm’s 2.15GHz, quad-core Snapdragon 820, so it also comes with speedy UFS 2.0 storage of up to 128GB, LPDDR4 RAM of up to 6GB, USB 3.1 connectivity with Type-C port, Cat 6 LTE, dual Nano SIM slots and Quick Charge 3.0 — you’ll want that for the big 3,100 mAh battery.

Alas, the Z2 Pro has left out NFC for some reason, but that shouldn’t bother mobile payment users in China who are more used to in-app payments, such as AliPay, WeChat, JD and Bestpay. These can all take advantage of the Z2 Pro’s front-facing fingerprint reader which apparently tolerates wet fingers, and it also has self-learning ability to increase reading accuracy. As part of ZUK’s Android-based ZUI 2.0, you can customize various finger gestures — including single tap, double tap, horizontal scrolling and long press — to perform specific tasks using the fingerprint reader.

One of the main focuses of the Z2 Pro is fitness, so first and foremost, it’s equipped with a bright 5.2-inch 1080p Super AMOLED screen — shielded by a piece of 2.5D Gorilla Glass 3 — that goes all the way up to 500 nits, though it can also dial down to just 1 nit for night time reading. It also features 100 percent NTSC and sRGB color gamut, as well as a near-invisible 0.05mm-thick black border around the screen.

ZUK says you won’t have to worry as much about potentially dropping the phone while you go running with it, as it features a ThinkPad-inspired rollcage design — there’s a shock-absorbing layer between the curved glass backside and the 4.6mm-thick metallic mid-frame. But of course, there’s still no guarantee that this will prevent the glass pieces from shattering upon impact.

On the back, you’ll find an optical heart rate sensor that can also measure oxygen saturation. For those who get bored easily, ZUK’s added a fun but gimmicky feature that lets you use this sensor to take a selfie and also add a heart-shaped label showing your heart rate at the time, which can be fun for when you’re taking selfies with your idols or just any friend. But going back to health and fitness, the Z2 Pro also does more precise activity tracking by taking uphill movements and running cadence (as opposed to just steps) into account. The main camera there also serves as a 15-level UV detector, which can come in handy when you’re about to head out for a run on a sunny day.

Speaking of cameras, the main one features a Samsung 13-megapixel 1.34um sensor with a bright f/1.8 aperture, PDAF, optical image stabilization and dual-tone flash. ZUK added that its new phone does a much better job at stabilizing video shots than the iPhones, but we’ll believe it when we’ve tried it ourselves. As for the front camera, it uses an unknown 8-megapixel sensor with slightly larger 1.4um pixels, a reasonable f/2.0 aperture and a smart beautification mode that can apply the right amount of enhancement by detecting your gender.

Last but not least, we’re rather amused by the fact that ZUK has added the ability to let the Z2 Pro sync with Apple’s iCloud, which should makes lives much easier for users who are migrating from an iPhone to this Android phone. But whether this will work as smoothly as advertised or whether Apple will put a stop to this remains to be seen. At least it made us giggle during the keynote.

Now, the prices. To our delight, the Z2 Pro’s elite edition (6GB RAM with 128GB storage) will cost just 2,699 yuan or about $420, and it’s available for pre-ordering in China tomorrow. ZUK cheekily pointed out that the maxxed-out Vivo Xplay5 with near-identical specs costs 4,288 yuan, which got a loud cheer from the audience. Even Xiaomi’s Mi 5 Pro with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage is also asking for 2,699 yuan. But if this is still too much for you, ZUK will also be offering a cheaper “flagship edition” Z2 Pro with just 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, but there’s no price announced just yet for its May 10th pre-ordering.

According to a company spokesperson, ZUK does have plans to continue serving its European and Middle Eastern markets (they’ve been mostly online), but we’ll have to wait and see if these prices will match, and also whether it’ll continue partnering with Cyanogen for its international devices.

Source: ZUK

ICYMI: Underwater robot snake, Earth’s ocean saving and more

Today on In Case You Missed It: Princeton researchers discovered ocean currents can move most anything around the globe within 10 years; which could help replenish dying ecosystems… and also spread around pollution. Norwegian engineers came up with a mechanical snake for underwater sea inspection and simple repair jobs near oil drills. And Harvard wants to encourage kid programming with a new robot that can be used by kindergartners to high schoolers.

Once that’s conquered, the answer is clearly to make the MIT open-source duckcar. As always, please share any great tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.

Gene editing discovery might treat many more diseases

In theory, gene editing could eliminate genetic diseases by correcting the flaws in your DNA. However, there’s one big obstacle: the current CRISPR technique has trouble modifying individual DNA letters. As most genetic conditions revolve around mutations of those single letters, that leaves most conditions untreatable. However, Harvard researchers might have just made a breakthrough that turns gene editing into a true disease-ending weapon.

Their newly discovered approach modifies CRISPR to avoid breaking both strands of a DNA double helix. Rather than let a key enzyme (Cas9) snap DNA, the team neuters it and links it to another enzyme that converts DNA letters. After that, a guide RNA just has to steer the enzyme pair to its objective and make the necessary letter change.

The technique is far from ready. Even with modifications, it’s currently 75 percent effective at correcting genes in mouse cells and a mere 7.6 percent effective in human cells. It’s not yet ready for tests in live animals, let alone people. With that said, the existing CRISPR system doesn’t work at all — the very fact that this modified CRISPR produces any results is significant. So long as the scientists can refine their method and expand it to work against many mutations, there could be a day when eliminating disease is simply a matter of making the right tweaks.

Via: The Verge

Source: Nature

Review: SanDisk’s New Lightning/USB 3.0 iXpand Flash Drive Offers Easy Transfers and Backups in a Slim Package

SanDisk’s iXpand Flash Drive, which is able to transfer files between an iPhone and a PC, has been around since 2014, giving iPhone and iPad users a simple way to back up their photos, offload extra content, and expand the storage space on their devices.

Today, SanDisk is ready to debut a second-generation iXpand Flash Drive, introducing the same file transfer functionality in a smaller package with faster USB 3.0 transfer speeds and a revamped app that makes it easier to use. Available in 16, 32, 64, and 128GB capacities, the iXpand can back up a full photo library and store a wide range of media files that can be viewed directly from the drive.

Design

The new iXpand Flash Drive, made of metal and a flexible rubber, material, has a curved design with a Lightning connector on one end and a USB connector on the other end. When plugged into an iPhone, the USB connector wraps around the back, allowing the iPhone to be used as normal while it’s plugged in.

Design wise, the iXpand Flash Drive works well. When plugged in, the iXpand sticks out from the Lightning connector about an inch, but it doesn’t seem to interfere with normal usage. It makes it more awkward to hold an iPhone or stick it in a pocket with the dongle plugged in, but it’s not difficult to adjust to.

Plugging the iXpand into the iPhone requires bending the flexible casing forward to get the connector to line up with the Lightning port. I was able to use the iXpand with an Apple iPhone case and most other cases should work fine, too, due to the amount of flex. The iXpand can bend quite a bit to accommodate a thick case.

On a Mac or PC, the iXpand fits into any USB port and features USB 3.0 transfer speeds for moving files between devices. Neither the USB side nor the Lightning side are protected with caps, something that could potentially be an issue if the iXpand is tossed into a bag or backpack.

Aside from that, the iXpand is small enough to carry in a pocket or clip to a keychain. The design of the iXpand isn’t the prettiest I’ve seen, but it’s functional and portable, two qualities desirable in an iPhone dongle.

App Interface

SanDisk doesn’t ship the iXpand with directions and it was initially unclear which app I needed to download, but plugging the iXpand into my iPhone let me know which app I needed through a popup that took me right to the App Store.

The iXpand Drive app is required to use the iXpand because it enables all of the iXpand’s backup and file transfer/management functionality. There have been apps for previous versions of the iXpand, but with the launch of the second-generation iXpand Drive, there’s a newly revamped app. I’m not familiar with the older versions of the iXpand app, but the new app is feature rich, with a simple layout for managing files and support for transferring and sharing files.

There are tools for creating backups and menus for copying files, viewing files, and restoring from a backup. The card-based interface offers quick access to the main features of the iXpand, including automatically backing up, and an overview displays how much storage is remaining on the iPhone and the iXpand device.

Interfaces for file management are straightforward, making it easy to find photos, music, or other files stored on the iXpand or the iPhone, and there’s a built-in camera option. With the camera, photos and videos taken through the app will be stored directly on the device, but the photo taking tools are rudimentary with no control options beyond a timer and a flash.

In the granular menus for managing files, there are multiple view options and separate sections for Music, Photos, Videos, and other file types, along with dedicated menu buttons for quick access to each section. Files are organized logically by default, with photos set up by date taken and music available by song, album, or artist.

In the Settings section of the app, there are help files, options for clearing the cache, and a privacy feature that will lock files with a password. Files can be locked on a selective basis, so it’s possible to lock select folders while leaving others unlocked for sharing purposes.

The iXpand Drive app supports 3D Touch, so there are Home screen quick actions for making a quick backup, taking a photo, playing a video, or browsing photos.

Backup Functionality

iXpand can automatically back up photos and videos on the camera roll, but there are no options for selecting specific folders or images — it’s all or nothing. It can also back up images you’ve uploaded to social media sites including Facebook, Instagram, and Picasa, again with all or nothing options. Contacts can also be backed up through an automatic process.

Setting the iXpand up as a backup for my iPhone photos, videos, and contacts took just a few taps, and my collection of more than 2,000 images and videos transferred over in approximately 30 minutes. After the transfer, the iXpand asked if I wanted to delete all of the existing photos on my device to save space. I didn’t accept that option, but it’s good to have for users who want to transfer their photo libraries over to the iXpand entirely.

I ran into a few errors suggesting the iXpand wasn’t connected to my iPhone during the transfer process, even when it was, and at several points, the upload stopped and I had to remove the iXpand and shut down the app.

Once a photo library has been backed up the first time, new photos added to the library (or new contacts) will be automatically backed up each time the iXpand is connected to the iPhone and the iXpand Drive app is opened up.

The iXpand Drive app isn’t able to differentiate between different backups, so this isn’t a device that’s going to be able to back up multiple photo libraries. I gave that a try with iCloud Photo Library turned on and I ended up with duplicates of every photo with no real organizational structure or way to separate them between devices.

That said, you can back up an iPhone or iPad and then plug the iXpand into a different device to view all of your photos and videos. All of the content backed up to the iXpand is also accessible on a Mac when plugged into a USB port.

File Transfers and Supported Media

Video and audio files transferred to iXpand can be viewed directly within the iXpand Drive app. I tested .MOV, .AVI, .MP4, .MKV, .OGG, .FLAC, .WMA, .WAV, and .MP3 files, all of which I was able to watch or listen to in the iXpand app. I was also able to transfer these files to other apps and send files to other people via AirDrop, Messages, Mail, and more.

Music purchased from iTunes is supported and can be played alongside music stored on the iXpand Drive and playlists can be created directly in the app. Movies and television shows purchased from iTunes can’t be loaded on the iXpand Drive, nor can music downloaded on an iPhone from Apple Music.

The iXpand app can’t open files from apps like Pages added to the device through a PC or Mac, but when these files are tapped within the app it opens up a share sheet. The share sheet lets files be copied to an appropriate app or be sent to another person. Through this method, it’s possible to transfer documents to iXpand and use them in third-party apps, and this is also the way files can be uploaded to a cloud service like Dropbox.

Transferring files from my Mac to the iXpand was quick thanks to USB 3.0 connectivity. According to iXpand, file transfer speeds can reach 70MB/s, and it didn’t take long to get my entire photo library from my iPhone to the iXpand and then to my Mac. Transferring files from the iXpand to my iPhone over Lightning wasn’t quite as quick, but it was by no means glacial.

Bottom Line

The iXpand is useful for people who don’t have enough storage space, whether due to a 16GB iOS device or a media collection that exceeds the available space even on a device with more storage.

If you have an iPhone or iPad and need additional storage for photos, videos, or music, the iXpand is a solid choice. Files need to be viewed and managed within the iXpand app, but the interface is easy to use and content can be shared with other people and opened in other apps. iXpand’s video and audio playback capabilities are robust, so it’s possible to have an entire music or video library stored on the device.

iXpand is also useful for quickly transferring files from an iPhone or iPad or a PC and it’s a good solution for backing up content like photos and contacts. Photos and contacts can be backed up at little to no cost using iCloud, but multiple backups are always good to have.

All in all, the iXpand works as advertised. It’s a fully functional media storage and file transferring device, and while it isn’t super cheap, the iXpand is a worthwhile purchase for those who need the features it offers.

Pros:

• Compact
• Support for a wide range of media files
• Fast transfer speeds
• Automatic backup functionality
• Built-in security features
• Can play iTunes music

Cons:

• No cap to protect USB/Lightning connectors
• Photo taking capabilities are limited
• No easy way to wipe the iXpand
• App crashes and needs to be restarted occasionally
• Drive isn’t recognized and needs to be re-plugged in occasionally
• Needs better tools for accessing Dropbox and other cloud-sharing services
• No selective backup tools
• Restricted to iXpand app

How to Buy

The iXpand Flash Drive is available in 16, 32, 64, and 128GB capacities at the following prices: $49.99 (16GB), $69.99 (32GB), $89.99 (64GB), and $129.99 (128GB). It can be purchased from the SanDisk website or through third-party retailers like Best Buy and Amazon.

According to SanDisk, the iXpand works with the iPhone 5 and later, the iPad Air and later, the iPad mini and later, and the 5th generation iPod touch.

Tag: SanDisk
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B&O Play’s new $249 Bluetooth speaker looks absolutely gorgeous

B&O Play has a new Bluetooth speaker called the BeoPlay A1. The $249 speaker is the vendor’s smallest to date, but it comes with a battery that lasts all day and has a built-in microphone that allows you to take calls. While there are several Bluetooth speakers in this segment that offer similar capabilities, the A1’s design is its differentiator. Like all B&O Play’s products, the A1 looks gorgeous, sporting an aluminium dome with perforations for the speaker grille and a soft-touch rubber base.

There are no buttons on the A1, but you do have power, volume, and Bluetooth pairing controls on the outer edge. The 2200mAh battery charges through a USB Type-C port, and there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack on the side.

The speaker also comes with a feather cord that lets you attach it to a rucksack, or hang it from a hook. However, unlike Logitech’s UE Boom 2, the A1 is not water resistant, so you won’t be able to hang it in the shower. The tabletop design of the speaker allows for 360-degree sound, delivered by a 30 watt woofer and tweeter.

The A1 is offered in matte silver and moss green, although the latter color option is not yet available on B&O Play’s site. If you like the design and are in the market for a Bluetooth speaker, check out the BeoPlay A1 from the link below.

See at B&O Play

Could this be the Android games console we’ve been waiting for?

There have been plenty of Android devices dedicated to gaming. Many even believed that an Android games console could rival dedicated machines from Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft one day.

However, while plenty have tried, all have seemingly failed. Ouya, for example, might have made millions on Kickstarter originally but it was buggy and sales were poor. Its support by games developers was also disappointing.

Razer ended up buying the company.

Nvidia has come the closest to getting an Android games machine to be taken seriously. Its Shield tablet and Shield Android TV box are both excellent devices that excel when it comes to playing quality games as well as be fully-featured entertainment kit.

Anybody who has played with the latest Shield Tablet K1 will tell you how the Tegra K1 processor makes quality gaming possible on a portable device.

Now a handheld gaming tablet plans to exploit the chip for a gaming handheld that will also come packed with retro emulators aplenty.

Funstock

The Nvidia JXD S192 Android Retro Gaming Tablet is a handheld device powered by the an Nvidia Tegra K1 quad-core processor and the 2GHz ARM Cortex-A15 chip. There are 192 GPU cores and it is supported by 2GB of RAM.

The screen features a 7-inch Full HD (1920 x 1200) display with 323ppi. There are stereo speakers built in, a 13-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel snapper on the front.

An ergonomic gamepad is built around the screen, with Xbox-style controls. You can even use separate USB or Bluetooth controllers.

Impressively, there is a 10,000mAh battery on board. That means up to 30 days of standby time, 57 hours of wireless internet access or up to six hours of constant gaming.

It comes with Android 4.2.2 pre-installed, Google Play, plus emulators for 18 different computers and consoles, including MAME, Dreamcast, SNES, NES, N64, Megadrive, PSOne and more.

Funstock has opened for pre-orders of the device now, with an expected shipping date of 6 May. It costs £219.99.

B&O Beoplay A1 Bluetooth stylish speaker lasts a whopping 24-hours

B&O Play has gone back to the drawing board to create a small speaker that’s portable but doesn’t compromise on sound or power, the result is the Beoplay A1.

The Beoplay A1 is co-created by designer Cecille Manz meaning it’s not only functional but attractive and stylish too. Its creators say the compact speaker is able to produce the usual quality signature sound you’d expect from B&O despite being in such a small form.

One of the crucial selling points for any Bluetooth speaker is battery life. This little fella has a 2200mAh battery couple with smart algorithms that are able to keep churning out tunes for a hefty 24-hours, says B&O. All that and it also has a microphone built in so it can be used as a speakerphone with a connected smartphone too.

The A1 weighs in at 600g and sports a 133mm by 48mm aluminium body. Inside are custom woofers including an aluminium cone mid woofer, silk dome three quarter inch tweeter and bass to as low as 40hz, plus a DSP algorithm that offers 360-degree sound.

There is also a button on the speaker’s side that allows for quick connection to the last device it was hooked up to. This button will have more uses in future when software updates roll out, says B&O.

The B&O Play Beoplay A1 is available in “moss green” and “natural” colours for £199 now.

READ: What is Magic Leap and why might it kill all screens?

Next at Acer: Watch the Predator and laptops live-stream here

It’s Acer time. The Taiwanese company is all set to unveil new products at its global press conference, starting 16:00 BST (that’s 11:00 EST in New York City where the conference is taking place), and you can watch it via the stream live below.

So what to expect? Our bet is it’ll be going big on Predator gaming kit, having just announced its range will be hitting India later this year. 

Since Jason Chen took the reins as Acer CEO in 2014 the focus of the company has shifted. At its 2014 global press conference its core focus was on education, with the desire to shift Chromebooks and budget laptops in volume.

But that hasn’t stopped the company exploring other avenues. And we’re not talking about the what-the-heck Aspire R7 Star Trek themed laptop of 2013. No, the likes of Acer Revo Build, a modular mini PC, has captured the imagination and interest of many, while its affordable Aspire R11 laptop has shown what can be achieved on a small budget.

The real critical strike, though, was the unveiling of the Predator 8 gaming tablet back in 2015. That’s what set to blood pumping of our readers and was a direct push into Nvidia’s tablet territory. Will we see a 2016 update? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Pocket-lint is at the Next@Acer global press conference in New York City, where we’ll be bringing you the latest. It also happens to coincide with Acer’s 40th year, so maybe there’ll be cake and candle-blowing too.