Bjork’s VR love affair grows with ‘Vulnicura’ exhibition

Bjork is infatuated with virtual reality. Last year, she debuted a VR music video for the song “Stonemilker” from her latest album, Vulnicura, but now she’s taking this digital love fest to the next level. Bjork has transformed four songs from Vulnicura into 360-degree VR experiences for an exhibition called Bjork Digital that kicks off today in Sydney, Australia. She plans to add VR videos for the album’s remaining five songs in the coming months, and the show will head to Tokyo, London, Paris, Houston and several other cities this year, Variety reports.

Bjork Digital takes place on 80 Gear VR headsets, plus it’s been ported to the HTC Vive complete with full-room tracking. VR enthusiasts will eventually be able to download the videos on HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Gear VR and as iOS and Android apps, Variety says.

One of the VR videos is the original “Stonemilker” experience that we tried out last year — it was a beautiful but surprisingly hollow exhibition that felt limited by the hardware itself, featuring Bjork on a black pebble beach. Another video takes place in a Game of Thrones-style cave and yet another is set entirely in Bjork’s mouth, Variety says. Bjork Digital also features the premiere of the music video for “Notget,” which Bjork teased earlier this week.

“I feel the chronological narrative of the album is ideal for the private circus virtual reality is,” Bjork writes on Instagram. “A theatre able to capture the emotional landscape of it.”

Source: Variety, Bjork

Huawei Daydream VR smartphone with Leica cameras is coming this year

Huawei has announced that not only will it be releasing a phone that adheres to Google’s Android Daydream VR specifications, but that it’ll arrive soon.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, the CEO of Huawei Richard Yu said that a Daydream-ready Huawei smartphone will arrive by this autumn.

Yu also pointed out that Huawei will continue to work with Leica, following its P9 that features dual-cameras made with Leica. This relationship will continue for the next five years at least, he said.

Google’s Daydream is a set of specifications for phone hardware as well as a platform for software that aims to make virtual reality more accessible. By handsets adhering to the Daydream specs they should all work with the VR headset, which will be similar to Samsung’s Gear VR. But this headset will also feature a controller making navigation simpler.

Huawei is one of the first manufacturers to announce a release date for its Daydream smartphone. Other manufacturers that have committed to the platform include Samsung, HTC, LG, Asus, ZTE, Xiaomi and Alcatel. These manufacturers may make their own headsets to Daydream standards as well as the smartphones.

Expect the Huawei smartphone to be one of the first Daydream devices to arrive later this autumn.

READ: What is Daydream and when is it coming?

Apple Car: What’s the story so far on Project Titan?

You’ve heard the rumours by now: forget about waiting for Apple to revolutionise the living room by launching a magical HDTV set straight from your dreams, because it’s now trying to innovate in the automobile sector.

That’s right. Apple is working on a car. Several reports from the last year have claimed the company is not only poaching former Tesla employees and hiring automotive experts, but it is also secretly starting up a research lab filled with hundreds (maybe 1,000 even) of Apple employees who are working on an electric car codenamed Titan. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg…

Industry analysts and critics have said they think Apple is working on a car, and earlier this spring, an Apple-leased van was spotted with a strange apparatus on its roof, suggesting Apple might also tackle autonomous technology. Keep reading to find out what else could be happening in Cupertino.

Apple Car: What’s the very latest?

November 2015: Tony Fadell, who is known as the “father of the iPod” but is now CEO of Alphabet’s Nest, recently appeared on Bloomberg TV to discuss his time at Apple. During the interview, he revealed that he spoke with Steve Jobs, Apple’s then-CEO, in 2008 about how Apple could approach a car project. But at the time, Apple didn’t have enough resources for such a project.

Fadell explained: “We had a couple walks, and this was in 2008, about if we were to build a car, what would we build? […] We would be looking at what would a dashboard be, what would seat be, how would you fuel it or power it, but at the end it was always like ‘We are so busy, we are so constraint’. You know. It would be great to do it, but we can’t.”

He then commented on Apple’s possible entry into the automotive sector: “If you think about a car – what’s a car? – a car has batteries, it has a computer, it has a motor and it has a mechanical structure. If you look at an iPhone, it has all the same things. It even has a motor in it. If you try to scale it up, oh my god, I can make a car with those same components. There is some truth to that.”You can watch the whole interview here:

September 2015: Apple, according to The Guardian, had a meeting with California autonomous driving officials in August 2015. This is thought to have followed an enquiry into acquiring a disused military base with lots of roads for autonomous car testing. Apple has also hired an engineering program manager – something that happens when a project is ready to leave the lab.

Apple has also reportedly spent more than a year investigating whether an Apple Car project is even feasible. The company must think it’s worth exploring some more, because according to The Wall Street Journal, project leaders are now tripling Apple Car’s 600-person team. Apple is ramping up efforts to build an electric car and has even set a target ship date for 2019.

This report conflicts with previous ones that claimed Apple wanted to start producing its electric vehicle by 2020. Just remember that a ship date might not mean you’ll be able to buy it in a mere three years; it could mean engineers have only signed off on key features. Also, The Wall Street Journal further revealed the first Apple Car will not be fully autonomous.

Apple has included the functionality in long-term plans, though. Keep in mind that when asked by Stephen Colbert recently about whether an Apple Car was even in the works, Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, would only admit: “We look at a number of things along the way, and we decide to really put our energies on a few of those.”

Apple Car: Is this really happening?

It looks that way.

An unnamed Apple employee told Business Insider that Apple is working on something that will “give Tesla a run for its money.” It’s a vehicle development-related project – and Tesla employees are allegedly “jumping ship” to now work at Apple. Some critics are weary about the news though, noting Apple prefers to work on just a few things at a time.

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, even admitted as much last January during a conference call: “We have zero issue coming up with things we want to do…We must focus on the very few that deserve all our energy.” If Apple isn’t going all out and developing an Apple Car, a colloquial name for what the company might call its rumoured vehicle, it might just improving CarPlay.

CarPlay launched just last year and is still very much in the early stages. It brings an iOS-style interface to in-car infotainment systems and is meant to be built directly into many cars. It might also expand one day to offer Tesla-like features. With the Tesla iPhone app, for instance, you can turn on heating, as well as lock and unlock doors, flash the lights, and more.

That said, Cook also recently suggested Apple could be developing something big during an annual shareholders meeting in Cupertino. He said: “Do you remember when you were a kid, and Christmas Eve it was so exciting, you weren’t sure what was going to be downstairs? Well, it’s going to be Christmas Eve for a while.”

Apple Car: Has Apple poached Tesla employees?

Apple and Tesla are trying to recruit top-level employees from each other, according to Bloomberg Business, and Tesla is winning the battle by reportedly nabbing at least 150 former Apple employees.

Tesla as of mid-2015 had about 6,000 employees, and former Apple employees are filling up several different departments at the carmaker, including engineering and law. They had no problem switching companies, it seems, because Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, reminds them of Jobs. He pays attention to detail, they purpotedly claimed, and they believe he’s a strong leader.

Musk has confirmed that Apple is trying to poach Tesla employees, too, though the reasons why aren’t clear. Apple is offering $250,000 bonuses and 60 per cent salary increases, but it has only managed to recruit a “few people” so far.

More recently, Musk elaborated on its poaching war with Apple, claiming Apple has only hired engineers that Tesla fired: “We always jokingly call Apple the ‘Tesla Graveyard.’ If you don’t make it at Tesla, you go work at Apple.”

Apple Car: Has Apple poached other EV experts?

Electric motorcycle startup Mission Motors ceased operations in October 2015, and it claimed the main reason it had to stop business was due to Apple grabbing up its key talent, according to Reuters. Apple poached six engineers from the San Francisco-based startup but never attempted to acquire Mission Motors outright.”Mission had a great group of engineers, specifically electric drive expertise,” [former CEO Derek] Kaufman said. “Apple knew that – they wanted it, and they went and got it.”

The engineers specialised in electric drive systems and battery algorithms for charging and cooling. Mission Motors began in 2007, with the purpose of making premium electric motorcycles. Although it launched a prototype in 2013, it never released a version for sale to consumers and didn’t have an adequate business model.

Apple Car: Has Apple recruited any auto experts?

Apple in recent months has recruited automotive technology and vehicle design experts – including vehicle dynamics engineers – to work at its new “top-secret research lab”, according to The Financial Times.

Apple designers working under Jonathan Ive, Apple’s design chief, have also met with automotive executives and creators, and at times, has tried to poach them. Keep in mind Apple hired former Mercedes-Benz R&D President and CEO Johann Jungwirth last year – and he is now listed as Director of Mac Systems Engineering at Apple.

Jungwirth has a history of working on connected cars and autonomous driving.

Linkedin

More recently, The Wall Street Journal claimed Apple hired Doug Betts. He previously served as the Senior Vice President of the Chrysler Group, where he was the global head of operations leading product service and quality.

His LinkedIn page indicates he started working at Apple in July 2015. Before working at Chrysler, Betts worked at Nissan, Toyota, and Michelin.

Additionally, Apple has also hired former Tesla vice president of vehicle engineering, Chris Porritt. He used to be Aston Martin’s chief engineer, suggesting Apple’s plans could be for a high end, premium vehicle.

Apple Car: What is Apple’s new secret research lab for?

It’s an automative-focused research lab.

The Financial Times has claimed a team of Apple employees are researching automotive products in a new research lab at a top-secret location near Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino. The team is being led by experienced managers from Apple’s iPhone unit. The lab also only sprang up last year, right after the new iPhone 6 and Apple Watch unveiled.

Apple’s new team, which includes “dozens” of Apple employees, might be using the lab to develop an advanced software platform based on CarPlay, though it could also be in working on the early stages of a car that may rival Tesla.

Apple Car: Is Apple definitely making an electric car?

The Wall Street Journal has weighed in on all the speculation, specifically adding that Apple has “several hundred employees” working on an Apple-branded electric vehicle that is currently codenamed Titan. An initial design of the vehicle even looks like a minivan, though Apple might eventually kill the car altogether.

Technologies being used in Titan, including advanced batteries and in-car electronics, would then go toward other Apple products like the iPhone and iPad. It’s not unheard of for Apple to investigate technologies and potential products that it never plans to retail. In addition, an electric vehicle would still take several years to complete and pass certifications.

That said, the report noted Apple is serious about its car project, as evident by the size of its project team, and it has even flown executives to meet with contract manufacturers for high-end cars like the Magna Steyr. Cook apparently first approved the car project almost a year ago and told Vice President Steve Zadesky to lead the project’s team.

Zadesky used to work at Ford and once helped lead the teams that created the iPod and iPhone. He is now assembling a 1,000-person-or-more team to work on Apple Car and is reportedly poaching employees from different area of the company. The team is working at a private location a few miles from Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino.

The team’s research currently includes different types of robotics, metals, and materials, all of which are consistent with automobile manufacturing.

Apple Car: Or is Apple just making electric batteries?

In another report from Reuters, it’s been revealed that electric-car battery maker A123 Systems is suing Apple for aggressively poaching its top engineers since June 2014. These engineers are apparently helping Apple build out a large-scale battery division, fueling rumours that Apple is developing an electric car car.

The poached engineers were apparently tasked with leading some of A123’s most critical projects, but now, according to court filings, they’re helping Apple to compete in the very same field as A123. The battery company, which is now in bankruptcy, said it specialised in bigger, electric batteries for larger machines like cars.

While Apple is likely building its own battery division, we’re still taking all the car production rumours with a pinch of salt. After all, Apple uses batteries in most of its major products and mobile devices, so it’s fair to assume an in-house battery division could be in the making to improve Apple’s products.

Apple Car: Is Apple working with any carmakers?

Reuters has claimed that CEO Tim Cook visited BMW’s headquarters last year, while other executives toured the company’s Leipzig plant. Apple reportedly showed interest in BMW’s i3 electric car and the manufacturing process for the vehicle’s carbon fiber body.

Manger Magazine recently also reported that Apple met with BMW, claiming Apple is looking at the i3 for the basis of its own electric car. It’s not yet clear if Apple will work with BMW, though.

Apple Car: Is Apple developing self-driving technology?

A mysterious van with an apparatus on its roof appeared earlier this year in Concord, California, and according to CBS affiliate KPIX 5, Apple was leasing the car. San Francisco-based blog Claycord promptly published photos of the Dodge Caravan, and it noted a similar-looking, self-driving Dodge Caravan was also spotted last autumn (see video).

Reports have claimed Apple’s van is most likely involved in some sort of mapping project, as the apparatus on top of the vehicle looks like camera equipment found on top of typical mapping cars. Apple has been planning to improve its Maps app, so it’s possible that the company is preparing to launch a feature similar to Google Street View.

Claycord

Technology analyst Rob Enderle told KPIX 5 that the van’s apparatus had about 12 cameras on all four corners of the vehicle and that they were angled downward. Apple Insider claimed Google’s Street View cars use a similar setup, with 15 cameras for stitching together images. It therefore appears as though Apple’s van is indeed a mapping car.

That said, due to the coincidences with the self-driving Dodge Caravan from last autumn, other reports have wondered if Apple is developing its own self-driving technology rather than a Street View-like feature.

More recently, The Wall Street Journal claimed Apple hired Paul Furgale, the deputy director of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology’s Autonomous Systems Lab. Apple is seeking even more experts with robotics and machine experience as well, with Furgale supposedly recruiting both students and researchers.

Apple Car: Has Apple begun testing its car yet?

Apple is already looking for locations to test a self-driving car, according to The Guardian, which said it learned this information through a public records act request. Apple engineers in May reportedly met with representatives of a 5,000-acre former naval base in San Francisco called GoMentum Station.

Contra Costa Transportation Authority owns GoMentum and often lets it be used to test connected and autonomous vehicles, because it’s equipped with highway overpasses, roads, tunnels, and train crossings.

In one of the emails obtained through the request, an Apple engineer asked GoMentum for “an understanding of timing and availability for the space, and how we would need to coordinate around other parties who would be using [it].” Apple also asked for a layout/photos of the grounds.

Keep in mind companies like Acura, Mercedes-Benz, and Honda also test their own self-driving cars at GoMentum.

More recently, landlord Victor Coleman told The Wall Street Journal that he has sorted Apple out with 800,000 square feet, which the company is apparently “looking to take down for their autonomous cars”.

Apple Car: What do industry experts think?

Yes. Bryan Chaffin, co-founder of The Mac Observer, has claimed he is “certain” Apple is working on a car, especially after talking to his sources. He claimed an Apple Car is definitely being created and will “give Tesla a run for its money”.

Chaffin also said: “I should add that when I asked one of my sources flat out to put a percentage chance on Apple working on an actual car – rather than some kind of car-related technology – I was told, ’80 percent.’ When coupled with everything I’ve learned since, I’m personally closer to 100 percent.”

Apple blogger John Gruber was initially skeptical, but now he has said: “I know a lot of people at Apple, at all levels of the company, who love watches. I also know many who love cars,” and then he provided a link to Jonathan Ive’s many cars. Gruber also pointed out that only a small market share of the car industry means huge profits.

Apple Car: Is Jony Ive pushing Apple to design a car?

We can only hope.

According to Cult of Mac, Apple’s Industrial Design studio houses a bunch of talented automobile designers. It’s own Jony Ive, for instance, has long been obsessed by cars and owns quite a few himself. He even reportedly wanted to be a car designer as a teenager and considered going to a UK design school that specialised in automotives.

Wikipedia

Apart from Ive, Apple employs several designers who’ve made concept cars, and looking at those key members of Apple’s design team might reveal what Apple is cooking up: Marc Newson once created a Ford O21C concept car, Julian Hönig made an Audi RSQ concept car, etc.

Apple Car: When can we expect it to be ready?

Within the next five years. Bloomberg has claimed that Apple wants to start producing an electric vehicle by 2020, while The Wall Street Journal said Apple has a target ship date set for 2019.

Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, has also claimed he expects Apple Cars will be on the road from 2020.

Both Tesla Motors and General Motors are also hoping to release new electric vehicles by 2017, which are expected to cost less than $40,000 but can go more than 200 miles on a single charge, so Apple’s electric car would basically rival those offerings.

FIFA testing video refs for major in-game incidents at last

FIFA has approved testing of video replays during football matches. After many years of pundits, footballers and experts crying out for the use of video technology to help referees during major incidents, there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

The International Football Association Board and FIFA will test video assistant referees in several competitions around the world – first offline and then during live matches.

Leagues in Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Brazil, Australia and the US have agreed to testing. The FIFA Club World Cup in Japan later this year will be used as the final test event before participants can conduct live experiments.

If all goes to plan, video referees could be permitted from 2017.

“The IFAB believes the best way to answer the question of whether the use of VARs will improve the game is to test it in different regions, so we are delighted to already have competitions across four confederations sign up,” said IFAB Secretary Lukas Brud.

“The organisers of these competitions can now begin installing and testing video replay facilities as well as training match officials and technical staff in line with the protocol and in consultation with The IFAB and FIFA’s Football Technology Innovation Department.”

Goal-line technology is already implemented around the globe.

Samsung Galaxy Note 6, or Note 7 edge, event date leaks

The eagerly anticipated Samsung Galaxy Note 6, likely to be called Galaxy Note 7 edge, has had a release event date leaked for just two months away.

According to serial leakster Evan Blass, the event should take place around 2 August. He tweeted yesterday saying: “Galaxy Note 6/7 launch event is almost exactly two months away.”

Rumours have pointed towards an August launch event despite previous generations being announced at IFA in September. That said, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 was announced last year on 13 August.

Since Samsung is rumoured to be pitting its next Note device against Apple’s new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, this date makes sense. Apple usually announces its iPhone shortly after IFA in September. Perhaps Samsung wants to get in nice and early this year.

This targeting of Apple is also attributed to the name. Samsung is rumoured to skip the Galaxy Note 6 name and jump straight to Note 7 in order to sound as new as its own Galaxy S7 as well as Apple’s iPhone 7.

Specs rumoured for the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 edge include a 5.8-inch QHD Super AMOLED display, Qualcomm and Exynos chip options, 6GB of RAM, dual-cameras and a fast-charging 4000mAh battery.

READ: Samsung Galaxy Note 6 / Note 7: What’s the story so far?

Night vision in a military tough smartphone, meet the gorgeous Lumigon T3

If a marine soldier were turned into a smartphone it would be the Lumigon T3. This bad boy is tough, well kitted out and can see in the dark.

Lumigon, a Danish company, has created the T3 to be different. The design aesthetics are something to be drooled at in daylight, despite it being quite at home in the dark.

Built from a marine-grade 316 stainless steel and coated in Corning’s Gorilla Glass 4, this handset is tough. It’s also water and dust resistant so should be able to handle anything you throw at it, or wherever it is thrown at, to be more exact.

To get down to the really unique point here, it has dual cameras with night vision. Yup, this beast can capture 4-megapixel night vision stills using a dual infrared flash system. But it’s capable in the day too thanks to a 13-megapixel front camera with phase detection autofocus with dual tone flash, plus a 5-megapixel selfie snapper with front-facing flash. The main camera will record in 4K and can also mange 120FPS slow motion video.

Lumigon

So what’s the catch? It’s not power, thanks to a 2.2GHz octa-core CPU backed by 3GB of RAM and 128GB storage. Nor is it software, thanks to the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS. Audio should be on point too with playback of up to 24-bit/192kHz sound. It even has wireless charging and a “BackTouch display” that can be used to scroll websites or tap to take selfies.

The screen is the issue. The 4.8-inch display offers a resolution of 1280 x 720 for a respectable 308ppi – but still nothing compared to some modern handsets. That said it is a Super AMOLED so colours and blacks should be well rendered. The problem is that, for the price, you’d expect more.

The Lumigon T3 comes in at $925 aka £630, as a starting price. Then there’s a Black Gold edition for $1200 which is £820 and more coming in June including Black Black, White Diamond and White Gold. We dare not imagine their prices.

READ: OnePlus 3 on sale early from 6 June, but there’s only 1,000 up for grabs