Inside Honda’s ghost town for testing autonomous cars
On the edge of the San Francisco suburb of Concord, California sits a ghost town. Dilapidated buildings and cracked roads are framed by overgrowth and slightly askew street signs. The decommissioned five acre portion of the Concord Naval Weapons Station that once housed military personnel and their families is now home to squirrels, jack rabbits, wild turkeys and Honda’s mysterious testing lab for autonomous vehicles.
This former town within a Naval base — now dubbed “GoMentum Station” — works to Honda’s advantage. It’s almost a turn-key solution to the problem of finding somewhere to test an autonomous vehicle inside an urban area. Thanks to the GoMentum Station, the automaker has access to 20 miles of various road types, intersections and the infrastructure just like those found in the real world. Just, you know, without all the people getting in the way. While the faded lane markers and cracked asphalt might make it difficult for the car to figure out what’s going on around it, that’s exactly what you want when training a self-driving system.
Many roads in the real world are in dire need of upkeep. Just because autonomous vehicles are hitting the streets doesn’t mean the funding needed to fix all the potholes and faded lane markers will magically appear. The real world doesn’t work that way and the robot cars that will eventually make our commutes less of a headache will need to be aware of that. Plus, it’s tougher to train a car to drive downtown than to barrel down the highway at 80 miles per hour. A company is going to want to get as much practice as possible.
While semi-autonomous driving on the everyone-going-the-same-way-at-a-constant-speed freeway driving is already a reality, navigating in an urban environment is far more complex. If you’ve driven on the streets of Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago or Seattle you know that driving downtown takes far more concentration than cruising down the interstate.
With all that in mind, Honda’s tricked out Acura RLX did a good job during its very controlled hands-free demo. It didn’t hit either of the pedestrians walking across its path. It stopped at stop signs and even maneuvered around a mannequin situated in the middle of the road.
The reality is that watching a car drive around the block and not run into stuff is boring. Plus, Google has been doing this for a while in the real world. A few people joked that maybe someone should leap in front of the car to add some excitement. Honda didn’t seem too keen to that idea.
But mundane is good. Boring driving is safe driving. Sure it was like watching an overly cautious driving instructor giving a lesson on how to avoid collisions. But, all the sensors, cameras, GPUs and development needed to keep the car from running into a pedestrian is insane.
Honda senior manager and chief engineer of research and development, Jim Keller said that the automaker has access to the facility for the foreseeable future. Part of the deal is that it has to take care of the upkeep. Eventually it’ll paint new lines and add new signs. It’s even going to create the driving conditions of European and Japanese roads. GoMentum Station will eventually go from quaint overgrown town to bustling car-testing min-metropolis as the company aims for a 2020 release of an autonomous car. Just don’t tell the squirrels.
Source: GoMentum Station
Google Now on Tap now lets you search via image and text
Google Now on Tap has just been updated with a few significant features, especially if you’re someone who lives for Google’s image search capabilities.
The changes will now let you select certain text for specific search terms, conduct real-time image searches using the camera app, and make simple image searches, which vastly improves on what Google Now on Tap was previously capable of.
Now, rather than having to get Now on Tap to assume which search terms you actually want, you can type in the correct terms without too much trouble. For example, if you stand in front of something like a painting or a monument you can take a photo of the item in question and have Now on Tap search for it for you.
If you received the update today, you should be able to find the new feature on the Now on Tap bar, denoted by the finger icon at the bottom.
Google Rolls Out ‘Find Your Phone’ Account Services to iOS Owners
Google has updated its My Account service to include a feature that helps iPad and iPhone owners locate their lost or stolen iOS device (via TechCrunch).
Previously only available to Android owners, the new feature now appears when users sign into their Google “My Account” page under the section “Find your phone”, where options exist to locate a device, lock it remotely, call it, secure an account, leave a callback number on its screen, and more.
The find and lock features don’t actually let Google take control of lost iOS devices, but instead redirect users to the iCloud website, meaning they aren’t a replacement for Apple’s Find My iPhone service.
However, tools for calling a lost phone, remotely signing out of a Google account, and locating a local lost and found should come as welcome additions for Google account holders.
Users can access the My Account page from the iOS Google app, by saying, “OK Google, show me my Google account”. The company is also working to make the features easier to access in other ways, so that users will be able to access their My Account page simply by Googling their own name, for example.
Google’s My Account site launched last year to offer Google users centralized access to privacy and security settings across the company’s services. Other options on the My Account site include Ads Settings, Privacy and Security checkups, and more.
Tag: Google
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Uber snags a massive $3.5 billion investment from Saudi Arabia
As a part of its latest round of funding, Uber has received what the Financial Times says is the “largest single investment ever made in a public company.” That investment is a $3.5 billion chunk laid down by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, at Uber’s current valuation of $62.5 billion. Uber has operated in the country since 2014, and in a statement the managing director of the Public Investment Fund, Yasir Al Rumayyan, noted how this is a part of the country’s Vision 2030 plan to reduce dependence on oil-related industries.
Rumayyan will be taking a seat on Uber’s board as a part of the deal, but Uber doesn’t have any specific expansion plan there right now. Also notable is the fact that women are prohibited from driving in Saudi Arabia, and Uber says they make up 80 percent of its riders there — interesting light of of CEO Travis Kalanick’s statement that “Our experience in Saudi Arabia is a great example of how Uber can benefit riders, drivers and cities and we look forward to partnering to support their economic and social reforms.”
Source: New York Times, Reuters
Valve has sold over 500,000 Steam Controllers
If you’ve been wondering how many people bought into Valve’s bid to redefine the PC gamepad, you’ve got an answer: about half a million. That’s the number Valve gave today in the Steam Controller’s June Update post. That’s a lot of controllers, but nowhere near enough to overthrow the dual-stick status quo. It is enough, however, to give Valve a diverse user base from which to harvest valuable user feedback. “With every controller that comes online we get the opportunity to get more feedback on how to make the Steam Controller even better.”
Valve says it’s been listening to that feedback, too — outlining the major improvements it’s made to the Steam Controller since its release in November of last year. Most of the update is old news for avid Steam Controller users, but welcome additions all the same: recent updates have enabled users to configure their controllers in desktop mode, added a rumble pass-through feature for games that support force feedback and enabled user-configurable “Action Sets” that can change controller mapping on the fly. Valve also says that more games are launching with Steam Controller support out of the box, citing Doom and Dark Souls III as recent examples.
Finally, to prove it’s been listening to the community, Valve confirmed another feature that’s on the way: Activators. As described, this would allow users to “assign actions to press-and-hold, double click, toggle and more.” The option isn’t available to users just yet, but you can already find activators at work in Doom’s default Steam Controller profile, where double tapping the weapon cycle button calls up a specific gun. Are these changes enough to make you brave the Steam Controller’s steep learning curve? Let us know in the comments below, or click through to the source to see Valve’s full June update.
Source: Valve
‘Skylanders Imaginators’ lets you create your own heroes
Just because Disney is calling it quits on Infinity doesn’t mean that the era of collectible-driven video games is over. Activision has unveiled Skylanders Imaginators, and its centerpiece is the ability to create your own hero using a wide array of body parts and gear. At last, you’re no longer limited to whatever the developers can dream up. You won’t get a real-world figurine that matches your exact character, unfortunately, but there will be “Creation Crystals” you can buy to bring your champion to other consoles.
The game mechanics revolve around this customization, too. You have to develop your character through Senseis (who are available as toys, naturally) that refine your skills, unlock content and otherwise help your personalized avatar advance.
Activision releases Imaginators on October 16th in North America, and October 14th in Europe. Importantly, this is likely to be one of the few major games reaching last-generation consoles this year. It’ll reach the PS4, Wii U and Xbox One, but it’ll also come to the PS3 and Xbox 360 — you won’t have to upgrade your kids’ console (much to their chagrin) to make sure they can play.
Source: Activision Games Blog, Skylanders
‘Neverwinter’ will debut on PS4 later this summer
Neverwinter, the free-to-play MMORPG that debuted on PC then made its way to Xbox One last year, is making its next stop on PlayStation 4. All aboard the Drizzt train!
The Cryptic Studios-developed role-playing adventure based on the Dungeons & Dragons universe is arriving on the console with all of the content from the original game as well as its nine expansions to play through as one of eight varied classes. Neverwinter features enemies pulled straight from Dungeons & Dragons lore, with locations from the Underdark and Icewind Dale that may be familiar to longtime D&D fans.
You won’t have to worry about ponying up for a subscription fee for the game itself, but publisher Perfect World Entertainment has announced that it won’t require you to pay for PlayStation Plus, either.
There’s no exact release date for Neverwinter just yet, but it’ll be out at some point this summer.
Source: PlayStation
Musk: Tesla will do ‘the obvious thing’ for Autopilot on Model 3
Tonight during an interview at the Code Conference, Elon Musk shared his thoughts on everything from The Martian to AI (he’s only worried about one unnamed tech company when it comes to AI, maybe we should Google the answer) to the current presidential race. Most notably however, he mentioned Tesla is planning another Model 3 event this year, saying it’s already notched over 400,000 preorders. Pressed for an answer by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher on the availability of Autopilot on the $35,000 base model, Musk would only say “we’ll do the obvious thing.” You can watch the interview below for more details on things like why SpaceX lands its rockets at sea and its launch schedule for the next few years.
Source: Recode (Facebook)
8 things every Pebble Time user should know – CNET
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Sarah Tew/CNET
Pebble Time is a user-friendly smartwatch with a battery that seems to never stop. At least, when compared to the single-day battery life of competing smartwatches from Apple and Google’s Android Wear.
Despite its user-friendly design, there are still some tips and tricks hiding under your sleeve.
So if you’ve recently picked up a Pebble Time or have had one for awhile, you’ll want to read through our list of eight things each Pebble Time user needs to know below.
Initial setup
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Screenshot: Jason Cipriani/CNET
Before you can begin receiving alerts from your phone on your Pebble Time watch, you’ll need to install the Pebble app on your phone. You can find the Android version here, or the iOS version here.
During initial setup, the app will walk you through creating a Pebble account and connecting your watch to your phone. You’ll also select your default language as well as installing some suggested apps, and picking your first watchface.
iOS vs. Android
There used to be some fairly significant differences in overall experience when it comes to using a Pebble Time with iOS or Android phones. After years of software updates and refinement, it seems the most notable difference rears its head when it comes to dictating responses to text messages.
For iOS users, you’ll need to be either an AT&T or Verizon Wireless customer and follow the instructions in this post to gain the option send a new message or reply to incoming messages using your voice.
As an Android user, you can click the middle button on the right side of the watch when viewing a notification to view additional actions or options you can take on the message. If “Voice” is listed, then go ahead and talk to your watch. No one will stare.
Watch apps
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Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET
The Pebble Time app splits watch apps and watchfaces into two different stores. The app tab will show you currently installed apps on your watch. You can tap on the “+” button in the lower-right corner of the app to view the app store.
Some important things to keep in mind as you review app listings include:
- Pay attention to OS compatibility. An Android robot and iOS text indicate which platform(s) the app will work on.
- Look to see if the watch app requires a companion app on your phone. In the far-right screenshot above, you can see the Music Boss app shows that an Android app is required to use it.
- You’ll likely find a section of curated apps “Powered by Kiezelpay.” This is a service developers can use to charge for their work, kind of like PayPal but specific to Pebble watch apps.
You can view a list of installed apps on your watch in the phone app under the Apps tab. Drag and drop various apps to the order you prefer, or tap on the Settings icon to make changes. If an app has a yellow dot next to it, that indicates you still need to set up the app.
Watchfaces
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Screenshot: Jason Cipriani/CNET
Watchfaces on Pebble Time work similar to apps, having a dedicated tab and store within the Pebble app.
When you add a watchface to your Pebble account, it will install itself on your Pebble Time watch and open any applicable settings page in the Pebble app.
You can switch between watchfaces by selecting an installed face, or customize how each one looks by tapping on the Settings gear to the left of the watchface.
Health
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Screenshot: Jason Cipriani/CNET
Pebble Health is an automatic step-, exercise- and sleep-tracking tool recently added to the Pebble Time lineup.
Before you can begin tracking your steps, you need to enable and opt-in to using Pebble Health in the app. You should have been asked during initial setup if you wanted to turn it on, but if you skipped past it like I did, you can always open the Pebble app, go to its Settings, and turn on Health.
You’ll need to enter some personal details such as height, weight and your overall fitness goals before it’s enabled.
With Health turned on, you can view your current step counts and last night’s sleep quality under the Health tab in the Pebble app or by opening the Health app on your Pebble Time watch.
Quiet Time
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Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET
Sure, receiving notifications on your wrist is convenient but it can also come across as rude during a meeting or date. Thankfully, Pebble has gradually updated its software, making it possible to put the watch on what amounts to a “do not disturb” mode the company calls Quiet Time.
On the watch, click the middle button to open the app listing and scroll up to Settings > Quiet Time by pressing the middle button to select each item.
Here you can manually enable quiet time, have it automatically enable and disable itself based on your calendar entries, set times throughout the week when it should turn on or off and indicate what interruptions-if any-you want to allow.
To quickly enable or disable Quiet Time, say for an impromptu meeting, you can hold in the back button on the left side of your watch until it vibrates.
Additionally, you can view the notifications tab in the Pebble app and set specific apps not to push alerts to your wrist during the week or weekend.
Timeline
Timeline is Pebble’s interesting take on putting more information at our fingertips without forcing users to click and hunt just to launch an app to get a sports score or current weather conditions.
From the watchface of your Pebble Time, you can press the bottom button to view future pins. Pins can range from trip plans to ESPN updates. Pressing the top button will take you back in time, revealing meetings or games that have already ended.
You can interact with items in your timeline by pressing the middle button to select it. For example, clicking on an ESPN entry will give you the option to view more details about the game, including live sports scores if the game is currently underway.
More Information
Read the full CNET Review
Pebble Time Steel
The Bottom Line:
Pebble’s step-up all-steel smartwatch has added battery life and a more durable feel, but it’s basically a tiny upgrade to the less expensive Pebble Time.
Read full review
CNET Editors’ Rating
3.5 stars
Very good
Priced at
$199.95
to $249.99
Reviewed: Aug 6, 2015
Quick Launch
The standard procedure to launch an Pebble app on your watch is to press the middle button, then scroll to the app, press the middle button again, and finally interact with the app.
With Quick Launch, you can create shortcuts to two of your favorite apps. Press and hold the top button until the watch vibrates, then select an app to assign to the top button. Repeat the process for the bottom button.
To change an app assigned to Quick Launch, open the Settings app on your Pebble watch and open Quick Launch.
Facebook to introduce AI that understands everything you post
Facebook’s latest artificial intelligence system is known as “DeepText,” and it has some pretty serious implications as far as privacy goes. The social network is interested in implementing the system that can help analyze thousands of posts per second across 20 different languages, all with near-human accuracy.
What does that mean for you as a Facebook user? Soon, the company will be able to identify what you’re saying in posts, messages and other content available via your profile and other pages to better offer suggestions and other helpful options. For example, if you happen to post a status about needing a ride or converse with a friend about when you might need to be picked up, Facebook might suggest you hit up Uber or Lyft services via Messenger transportation integration. The key is distinguishing between slang, jargon and other intricacies of human language that can sometimes make this sort of thing difficult for artificial intelligence to understand.
Facebook is interested in bringing this kind of technology forward as a way to help format sales posts when it can tell you’re creating one, or even help pinpoint and filter out malicious, hateful or otherwise hurtful speech on the social network. According to Facebook, its AI systems already report more photos that could be found offensive than humans, so it’s going one step further to make the network a safer place. It’s understandable how the DeepText system could be a boon for users, but it also of course opens the floor to several questions about privacy that will have to be investigated as DeepText debuts and proves its worth as a recommendation engine.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Facebook
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