Streamline your work and protect your PC with the ultimate PC bundle (91 per cent off)

If you’ve been looking for a great deal on a serious PC system upgrade, we’re here to help.

Available at a fraction of the retail price, the 10 premium apps in The Ultimate PC Bundle streamline your workflow, protect your system, and enhance your productivity. For a limited time, it’s available at 91 per cent off from Pocket-lint Deals.

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In The Ultimate PC Bundle, you’ll find new idea-organizing capabilities with Scapple, while DeltaWalker Pro delivers a beautiful, JavaScript-based scripting design for working in a multitude of ways on important tasks or projects.

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• Softorino YouTube Converter

Pick up the entire bundle today for £30.16 ($39.99), or 91 per cent off from Pocket-lint Deals.

Pokémon GO security concerns appear to only affect iOS

You might have seen some security concerns about the Pokémon GO app being talked about on social media. These are very valid issues — the application can use its own webview container for login from your Google Account, and once approved it gives itself full access to all of your data.

We reached out to Niantic — which developed the Pokémon Go app. The company declined to comment.

The good(?) news is that this appears to be an iOS-only issue. On Android, the app appears to use the “right” way to log in with your Google credentials, and it doesn’t ask for access to your sensitive account data. You can check for yourself right here. In fact, when we check on an account that hasn’t used an iPhone to sign in, the Pokémon GO app isn’t even listed as having any access. Don’t be alarmed if you see the same thing.

The first concern — the webview container login page — isn’t too troubling. Apple has secure methods for apps to do this sort of thing (though Google would rather the user be directed to the default web browser so the URL can be checked) and every app is vetted by Apple staff before it’s published. Yes, even Apple can let something slip through, but the account authorization page is legit. We checked. And millions of users have checked.

The second concern — access to all of your Google account data — is much more troubling.

This level of access means that the publisher can see everything. According to Google:

When you grant full account access, the application can see and modify nearly all information in your Google Account (but it can’t change your password, delete your account, or pay with Google Wallet on your behalf).

Certain Google applications may be listed under full account access. For example, you might see that the Google Maps application you downloaded for your iPhone has full account access.

This “Full account access” privilege should only be granted to applications you fully trust, and which are installed on your personal computer, phone, or tablet.

And more. Basically, anything you’ve ever done while signed in with Google, and everything you’ve ever saved in Drive or Photos is wide open to Niantic and the app itself.

Now we don’t think Niantic or Nintendo is going to pore through your account data or look at your photos. But what happens if someone out there finds a way to hack Niantic? With access to the right database, any attacker can have a token that gives them all your “stuff.” That’s not good. Not good at all.

What we recommend is that you use a separate Google account if you’re going to play Pokémon Go on your iPhone. Or you can decide to not play at all and delete the permissions from your Google security page.

The important thing is that you know what’s going on.

Pokémon Go

• Requirements to play Pokémon Go
• The Ultimate Pokémon Go Game Guide!
• How to play without killing your battery
• Be careful where you download from
• Join our Pokémon Go forums!

Five things you should do first in Pokemon Go

Yeah, yeah, we get it. Gotta catch ’em all! Hold on a sec, though. Do these things first.

Jumping headfirst into a game like Pokemon Go is a fantastic way to miss some of the things early on that are going to make your later experience in the game go a lot more smoothly. The beginning tutorial is great, especially if you’re a fan of watching images of Professor Willow slide in and out of frame, but it turns out there’s a lot more to this game than tossing PokeBalls and walking around your town. Here are some quick starter tips for anyone looking to get the most out of their Pokemon Go experience!

Try to catch a Pikachu

At the beginning of the game you are offered a choice between one of three starter Pokemon, but what the game doesn’t tell you is there’s a fourth option. Walk away from those starter creatures a couple of times and a fourth Pokemon will show up. Pikachu is a Lightning type, which is an element with strengths and weaknesses that are different from the other three. This will give you a unique advantage when you start fighting other Pokemon at Gyms, which doesn’t happen until your character reaches Level 5.

Read More: How to score a Pikachu as your starter Pokemon!

Map out your local PokeStops

There are places all around you that give you items when you visit them in the real world. PokeStops can be historical monuments, churches, a funny sign someone took a photo of, or just something unique in your town. They’re everywhere, and every five minutes they have a new cache of items to offer you. In your early levels, it’s a good idea to create a list of PokeStops you can walk between, so you can go back and forth and stock up on items while searching for Pokemon. By the time you’ve levels up to start participating in Gym battles you’ll have plenty of items for keeping your Pokemon healthy, and won’t have to go hunting for PokeBalls when everyone else runs out.

Learn how to throw curveballs

Every experience point (XP) counts in the early days, so you want to make sure you’re getting the most our of everything you do. A great way to give yourself a little boost early on is to get good with curveball throws. This is a special technique for throwing your PokeBall, and if you capture a Pokemon by throwing a curveball you gain extra XP, which means you’ll level up faster.

Read More: How to get a curveball bonus in Pokemon Go!

Find local players

This game does not have to be played alone, in fact Pokemon Go rewards you for playing with friends. If a group of people are somewhere and one of you discovers a Pokemon, everyone can see and capture their own version of the Pokemon. If you install a Lure Module on a PokeStop, anyone nearby can come take advantage of the increased volume of Pokemon that appear in the area.

Playing with friends is safer, and you all get more out of it. Also, when you join a team at level 5 it helps to know who your allies are so you can plan strategies for keeping control of your local Gyms.

Learn your local Pokemon

One of the most important things you can do in Pokemon Go is level up Pokemon you have caught in the wild. When you capture a lot of the same kind of Pokemon, you earn Candy and Stardust that are necessary for evolving and increasing the power of your Pokemon. The best thing you can do for yourself in the early days of this game is learn which Pokemon are the most common in your area and catch as many as possible. When you have a lot of them, you can use a Lucky Egg to double your experience while evolving all of your Pokemon, which will get you to the next level in no time!

Read More: The best way to use a Lucky Egg!

Pokémon Go

• Requirements to play Pokémon Go
• The Ultimate Pokémon Go Game Guide!
• How to play without killing your battery
• Be careful where you download from
• Join our Pokémon Go forums!

Acer’s all-in-one Chromebase 24 now available starting at $429

Acer’s latest Chrome OS-based all-in-one, the Chromebase 24, is now available for purchase. Starting at $429, the Chromebase 24 steps things up in size from Acer’s previous offering, bumping the screen size up to 23.8-inches.

On the inside, the Chromebase 24 is available in your choice of Intel processors, ranging from Celeron to Core i5, and up to 8GB of RAM. The Chromebase 24 is even available with a touchscreen option, and the display itself can be tilted from 5 to 30 degrees. Other notables include 16GB of solid state storage and included mouse and keyboard. The all-in-one is also VESA mount compatible, meaning you can mount it up on the wall if you so choose.

Interested? If so, you can check out the Chromebase 24 at the retailer links below.

See at Amazon

See at Walmart

Pokemon Go: How to play and other tips and tricks

Pokemon has officially left the 90s behind.

Nintendo teamed up with Niantic Labs to revitalize the title for 2016, and that includes creating a mobile app that is very much mobile and equipped with fancy tech like GPS and augmented reality, all of which enables you – the player – to actually catch Pokemon in your real world.

The new app is Pokemon Go. It’s an iPhone and Android game that you’ve probably seen mentioned all over Facebook, Twitter, Reddit… heck, your coworkers are probably even playing it and talking about it in between meetings. So, here’s everything you need to know to catch ’em all.

How to play Pokemon Go

Pocket-lint

What in the world is Pokemon Go?

Everyone has heard of Pokemon. It’s a franchise that involves fictional creatures called Pokemon, which humans known as Pokemon Trainers try to catch and battle each other for sport. The franchise started as a Nintendo-published video game for the original Game Boy and eventually spawned into trading card games, animated TV shows, movies, comic books, and toys. Now, via Pokemon Go, it’s an augmented-reality game.

You don’t need to know Pokemon lore or anything about the franchise to get started with Pokemon Go. That said, it is a lot like old Pokemon games: you catch Pokemon, battle in Poke Gyms, evolve your creatures, etc – only now you’re doing it all in the real world. You’re no longer using a D-pad to navigate an avatar around. You physically walking about now, and your virtual avatar follows your every movement. Technology, man.

Pokemon Go is exciting because you’re not only catching and battling Pokemon, you’re exploring the real world, discovering cool places and monuments in your town (which are dubbed PokeStops or Poke Gyms in Pokemon Go), playing with friends on occasion, and getting a taste of augmented reality without having to don a massive or pricey headset, such as Microsoft’s Hololens.

All you need is a smartphone, the Pokemon Go app, and a good pair of trainers.

• What is Pokemon Go and why is everyone talking about it?

How do you get started with Pokemon Go?

Download Pokemon Go for iOS or Android. It’s free. Then, sign up for the game. You’ll need to use your Google account or create a Pokemon Trainer Club account. After signing up, you’ll customise your avatar. You can choose gender, eye colour, hair colour, clothes, and a backpack style.

After you’ve finished customising your avatar, you’ll get a starter Pokemon option. Three Pokemon will appear in front of you. You can choose from Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle. Once you capture one, the other two will disappear. However, if you walk away from the original trio about four times, you’ll get Pikachu as a fourth starter Pokemon option. Once you’ve done this, you’ll enter the Pokemon Go map.

The map is the main area of the game. It’s like Google Maps. You’ll see unmarked roads, your local landmarks (dubbed PokeStops or Poke Gyms), and rustling leaves (which means wild Pokemon are around). As you navigate, your avatar will move. Also, you’ll see your player icon in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. You can tap this to view your information and achievements.

You’ll also see a Poke Ball icon next to your player icon. Tap this to access your Pokedex (has information on all the Pokemon species you’ve caught), Pokemon (a list of all the Pokemon you have), Items (this is your backpack; it stores all the items you picked up during your journey), and Shop (lets you buy special items to attract Pokemon; every 20 hours you can visit here to redeem coins).

And finally, you’ll see a Nearby Pokemon icon in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. Tap it to see nearby Pokemon. Speaking of Pokemon, they might sometimes appear in the map, along with a tiny vibration. Whenever you see one, tap on it to try to catch it.

• Pokemon Go’s Getting Started support page

Pocket-lint

How do you catch other Pokemon?

At the start of the game, you’ll capture your first Pokemon, then you can catch others. Just walk around. You’ll eventually find Pokemon. They appear most often near PokeStops, so visit your local landmarks, tourist spots, populated areas, etc. As you walk around, your avatar will move on the map using GPS. And when a Pokemon is nearby, it’ll appear on your screen with a vibration.

You can then tap the Pokemon to try to catch it. Tapping will zero-in on your avatar and launch an AR experience in which the Pokemon hops around your environment. Once you’ve found a Pokemon, throw a Poke Ball to catch it (tap and hold on your Poke Ball, and when the glowing ring shrinks, flick your Poke Ball at the Pokemon to hit its head and then release your finger).

If you did that right, you’ll capture the Pokemon. Stronger Pokemon need a more powerful Poke Ball. If the ring surrounding the Pokemon is green, you can catch it. If it’s yellow, you have a chance. If it’s red, you’ll need many Poke Balls or more powerful Poke Balls. Pokemon might also try to escape the Poke Ball after a couple shakes, but just throw another Poke Ball and recapture it.

If you’re low on supplies, get away. Keep in mind other players can catch the same Pokemon. Your friend might see the same Pokemon, but you can both grab it. You can also use special items to lure Pokemon to your location. Incense, for instance, attracts Pokemon to you for 30 minutes. If you use Lure Patch at a PokeStop though, every player there can catch it for up to 15 minutes.

• Pokemon Go’s Catching Pokemon support page

Pocket-lint

Pokemon Go 101: Pokemon, PokeStops, and more

Pokemon

Okay, so you don’t need to know anything about Pokemon to get started with Pokemon Go. We’ll still cover the basics, however: At the start of Pokemon Go, you’ll be able to catch the original lineup of Pokemon. But Pokemon come in many types, shapes, and sizes (over 100 are available).

Pay attention to types as you play. You’ll see Fairy, Psychic, Electric, Grass, Water, Poison, Flying, Ghost, Bug, Rock, Ground, and Normal. Pokemon types are limited to certain areas. You might keep finding Pidgey in one area, for instance. But if you come across a local river, for instance, you might find Water Pokemon. Also, if you wait until night, you’re more likely to spot Fairy Pokemon.

PokeStops

PokeStops are landmarks in your area. They can be as inconsequential as public pools or as important as statues. PokeStops let you collect items, experience, Poke Eggs (they hatch into Pokemon when you use incubators), etc. You’ll see them as blue polls with cubes on your map. Tap them to see which landmark it is connected with, and then check in when you’re nearby.

The blue cube will turn into a disc when you’re close. Tap it to visit, and inside you’ll see a PokeStop symbol and the location’s photo and details. Swipe on the disc to spin it, and you’ll get items in return (like Poke Eggs, Poke Balls, etc). As you increase in levels, you’ll unlock new items. And once you visit a PokeStop, the pole will turn purple and can’t be visited for 10 minutes.

Poke Trainers

Pokemon Go isn’t just about Pokemon. It’s also about you – the Poke Trainer. You can gain levels as a trainer by catching Pokemon, walking to PokeStops, and battling at Poke Gyms. When you reach higher levels (level five), you can fight in Poke Gyms, get stronger PokeBalls, help make your Pokemon more powerful, and the higher level you are, the better you can take over occupied Poke Gyms.

Poke Gyms

Once you get to level five, you can visit a Poke Gym, where you can join one of three coloured teams: Instinct (Yellow), Mystic (Blue), or Valor (Red). Unlike the original games, the team you choose has nothing to do with the Pokemon you find. After picking a team, you’ll join other players across the world, and each team works together in a group sport of sorts to reign supreme.

In teams, you can join up with your friends. Your team can take over and level up gyms. When you occupy a gym, you also get PokeCoins and Startdust – both of which help you to level up and evolve your Pokemon. Similar to PokeStops, Poke Gyms are important things in your actual world, and all battles take places in Poke Gyms. Entering an occupied Poke Gym starts a battle.

Items

Items are necessary. You need Poke Balls to catch Pokemon, for instance, and incense to lure Pokemon, and potions to heal them after battles. You can buy items with real currency disguised as PokeCoins, or you can collect items by visiting PokeStops, but you never know what you’ll find at a PokeStop. Most will help you catch new Pokemon or revive Pokemon.

You can also find Lucky Eggs, which give you double experience for 30 minutes. There’s also Lure Patches, which attract Pokemon to a PokeStop, and Razz Berries, which help you to catch more of the same species of Pokemon, and Poke Eggs, which hatch into new Pokemon.

Incubators

Speaking of Poke Eggs, they need to be placed into an incubator. You start the game with an incubator. You need more incubators if you want to hatch several eggs at once. Once the egg is incubated, you’ll need to walk around before it’ll hatch. You might have to walk 6 miles before it hatches, and the app will have to be open the entire time to log your steps.

Candy and stardust

Now, evolution doesn’t work the same in Pokemon Go. Pokemon don’t evolve or level up after battles. Instead, you must catch many of the same Pokemon. That’ll drop Candy and Stardust. You can also send unwanted Pokemon to the Professor for a single candy, but you can never get that version back. Once you’ve caught enough of one Pokemon type, use the candies to evolve it.

Certain candies only work for certain Pokemon, though they can be used to level up any Pokemon in that evolutionary chain. You can use Candy that Charmander dropped to evolve a Chameleon. Doing this will give you the next evolutionary stage of a Pokemon, raising a Pokemon’s CP (how well a Pokemon can attack) and HP (how much heat a Pokemon can take).

Combining Candy and Stardust might increase stats too.

Pocket-lint

How do Poke Gyms and battles work?

This part of the game is less about walking around and augment reality. It’s more about group sport.

If an opposing team has occupied a Poke Gym, you’ll need battle their Pokemon to try and take it over. When you enter an occupied Poke Gym, you’ll start a battle. Your Pokemon must now attack and dodge the opposing Pokemon (tap the screen to attack; press and hold to launch a special attack; swipe to doge an attack). You want to get your opponent’s Pokemon to zero hit points.

To take control of an occupied Gym, you must win all the battles against the opposing Gym Leaders’ Pokemon. You can also claim unoccupied Poke Gyms for your team and level them up. Other Pokemon Trainers can claim unoccupied Poke Gym for their Instinct, Mystic, or Valor teams too. If your team has occupied a Poke Gym, you can train your Pokemon inside (only one at a time).

Also, other trainers will leave some of their best Pokémon behind to defend their Poke Gyms. You’ll need to enter Combat mode to claim the Poke Gyn as your own. Once you’ve won them back, don’t forget about them. Head back to your occupied ones every day for a coin bonus, and you earn even more by leaving some of your levelled-up Pokemon to defend them.

As you lose battles in Poke Gyms, they will lose prestige. Poke Gyms earn prestige when you train your Pokemon, and they lose prestige when other teams win battles in them. Experience points gain prestige, which leads to leveling up the Poke Gym. As levels increase, so do Poke Gym Leaders. So, if your Poke Gym gets to level three, you’ll have three Poke Gym Leaders in it.

Having more Poke Gym Leaders make it difficult for other teams to take the Poke Gym. Keep in mind winning against leaders – which takes multiple battles – in the Poke Gym will lower its prestige, but when you occupy a gym, you’ll help your team and earn PokeCoins.

• Pokemon Go’s Gyms and Battles support page

What’s the Pokemon Go Plus?

It’s a $30 wearable. It comes with a band and clip and lets you play Pokemon Go without taking your phone out of your pocket. You can wear it on your wrist, backpack, or wherever you want. It’ll alert you when a PokeStop or Pokemon is nearby via different vibrations. You can also use it to activate a PokeStop and catch a Pokemon via different pressing patterns.

• Pokemon Go Plus website

Pokemon Go tips and tricks

Pocket-lint

Make sure you play securely

Pokemon Go is facing huge security issues. The developer, Niantic, asks for full access to your Google Account. So, when you sign in at the beginning, you grant them access to everything, including the ability to see, modify, and delete your email, documents, photos, and more, according to ArsTechnica. If you still want to play Pokemon Go, but privately and securely, you can.

Simply make a new, secondary Google account – and then delete your Pokemon Go account. You’ll have to sign back into Pokemon Go with your new Google Account. This will of course make you start back over in the game, but at least Niantic can’t creep your stuff.

• Google’s Create a New Google Account page
• Pokemon Go’s Delete Your Account support page

Alternatively, you can revoke access to your Google Account. Visit your Google account’s Connected Apps & Sites link. Click the Pokemon Go Release entry, then click Remove, and then click OK. The game will continue to function.

Buy an extra battery pack

Pokemon Go will kill your phone’s battery killer. It needs to be always open so it can access your Wi-Fi, GPS, camera, and more. You’ll need another battery to play this game for more than an hour. You can also switch off the AR component to squeeze out some extra battery life.

Use Pikachu as your starter Pokemon

After you sign up for Pokemon Go and choose your player character, you’ll be asked by the Professor to catch a Pokemon. You’ll get the chance to catch the classic stater Pokemon: Charmander, Squirtle, or Bulbasaur. However, if you physically walk away from them until your phone vibrates, and then repeat this about 3 to 5 more times, Pikachu should appear for you to catch.

Ditch AR to improve catch rates

If you want to catch Pokemon, hit the button on the top-right of your screen that says “AR” during Capture mode. This will take you to the virtual Pokeworld. It’s not as cool as the AR world, but it will improve your catch rates.

Trade duplicate Pokemon

Certain Pokemon appear based on time of day, location, etc. So, you’ll likely catch more than one of the same type. But this doesn’t waste a Pokeball. Duplicate Pokemon can be traded to Professor Willow for candy. You can of course use candy to increase the stats of your Pokemon. Just click the Pokeball icon, then select Pokemon, and hit Transfer by the Pokémon you want to trade.

Keep your app open to hatch eggs

Eggs hatch based based on how many miles you’ve walked with the app open, so you’ll need to make sure you put the egg in an incubator and then keep Pokemon Go open so it can registersyour miles as you walk. To check your progress, tap the Pokeball at the bottom of your screen, and then select the Eggs menu.

How to spot wild Pokemon

If you see leaves rustling on the map, chances are there is a Pokemon hiding that you can try to catch it. Keep in mind different areas have different types.

Check your PokeBall rings

When you do decide to catch a wild Pokemon, focus your camera on the Pokemon. The white pointer ring will change size and colour. The smaller the ring, the more likely you are to capture the Pokémon. Also, before you throw a PokeBall, check the colour: green equals easy, yellow equals moderate, and red equals tough. So, if it’s red, you probably won’t catch the Pokemon.

Pick up goodies at PokeStops

PokeStops have random goodies, including Poke Eggs for hatching new Pokemon, Pokeballs for catching new ones, and Potions or Revives for healing your Pokemon while in Combat mode. Visit PokeStops every day to get this stuff. Simply walk up close to it, tap the blue icon, then swipe it to make it spin. All your loot will then appear.

Spend PokeCoins on rare items

Pokemon Go has real-world currency in the form of PokeCoins. You can spend these on a number of items in the shop, but you should focus on rarer items that are hard to get from PokeStops, such as incense and lures.

Lure Pokemon to you

Sometimes you won’t be able to walk around and find wild Pokemon. So, draw them to you. You can use lures like incense to attract Pokemon. Simply hit the Pokeball at the bottom of the screen, tap Items, and select Incense to lure them in (a purple ring will appear around your avatar).

Do you still need help with Pokemon Go?

Pocket-lint

Check out the official Support Center

If you need troubleshooting tips or more information on how to get started, trainer progress, gyms, battles, finding, evolving, and hatching — check out Pokemon Go’s Support Center for related help articles and FAQs.

• Pokemon Go’s Support Center

Want to know more?

Check out Pocket-lint’s Pokemon Go hub for more news, reviews, and analysis.

Who needs roads? Land Rover creates Autonomous All-Terrain Driving Range Rover Sport

Jaguar Land Rover has announced that it is trailing a new system that would allow future autonomous cars to drive themselves over any surface or terrain.

Dubbed the Autonomous All-Terrain Driving Research project, the initiative aims to ensure the self-driving cars of the future are able to go anywhere in the world, rather than just on smooth motorway roads.

“Our all-terrain autonomy research isn’t just about the car driving itself on a motorway or in extreme off-road situations. It’s about helping both the driven and autonomous car make their way safely through any terrain or driving situation,” Tony Harper, Head of Research, Jaguar Land Rover, said on the news of the announcement. “We don’t want to limit future highly automated and fully autonomous technologies to tarmac.”

JLR says that the company’s researchers are developing next-generation sensing technologies that will be the “eyes of the future autonomous car”.

In a world-first off-road demonstration, to be seen by Pocket-lint later this week, Jaguar Land Rover has connected two Range Rover Sports together using something the company is referring to as DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) technology to create an Off-Road Connected Convoy that effectively means the first car relays terrain information to other cars in the convoy.

This wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communications system shares information including vehicle location, wheel-slip, changes to suspension height and wheel articulation, as well as All-Terrain Progress Control (ATPC) and Terrain Response settings instantly between the two vehicles.

Land Rover

TERRAIN-BASED SPEED ADAPTION

This research project gives the vehicle the ability to sense the path in front and automatically regulate its speed to suit the conditions. This reduces driver workload and increases ride comfort.

The system is intelligent enough to function pre-emptively and reactively: di erent features in the terrain are mapped against di erent target speeds, but speed is also managed according to the actual response of the vehicle and the suspension. TBSA can function on all surfaces but is particularly relevant off-road.

Land Rover

SURFACE ID

This world-first technology determines what type of surface the vehicle is about to drive on and then recommends the most appropriate Terrain Response setting for those conditions.

In the future, Terrain Response settings could be changed automatically before any change in surface, optimising traction and delivering even greater capability and driver control – even on the most challenging surfaces such as sand and wet grass.

Land Rover

OFF-ROAD CONNECTED CONVOY

Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) technology enables all vehicles in an off-road convoy to share information, which will be a key element in successful all-terrain autonomous driving in future. If the lead vehicle stops, for example, or if its wheels slip driving over a di cult boulder, this information is transmitted live to all of the other vehicles – even if they’re out of sight.

—

According to the SUV maker, terrain is monitored by a combination of data from on-board cameras, ultrasonic, radar and LIDAR sensors to give the car a 360-degree view of the world around it.

JLR says that the sensors are so advanced that the car could determine surface characteristics, down to the width of a tyre, even in rain and falling snow, to plan its route.

Furthermore ultrasonic sensors placed in the car will be able to identify surface conditions by scanning up to five metres ahead of the car, so Terrain Response settings could be automatically changed before the car drives from tarmac to snow, or from grass to sand.

While what’s on the floor makes a difference, JRL also says it understands that overhanging branches or objects like a car park overhead barrier would also need to be identified to make sure the route is clear. To that end Jaguar Land Rover says an Overhead Clearance Assist technology would use stereo camera technology to scan ahead for overhead obstructions. The driver programmes the system with the vehicle’s height, which can include roof boxes or bicycles, and the car will warn the driver with a simple message in the infotainment touchscreen if there is insufficient clearance.

Sensors could also be used to scan the roughness of the road or track ahead and adjust vehicle speed.

Researcher proposes method for growing brain cells in 3D

A new method has been proposed that could allow scientists to develop a “3D brain-on-a-chip.” Something which could offer researchers a new platform to develop a far better understanding of how brain cells react to medication in a real setting.

While 3D cell culturing isn’t new, it’s not currently used in neuroscience, which still takes place in two-dimensions, in a petri dish. Bart Schurink — a researcher at the University of Twente in the Netherlands — has recently pioneered a way in which three-dimensional cells could be grown on a chip.

By measuring electrical signals and placing a microreactor on top, Schurink found that cells could also be grown vertically as well as horizontally. The process also involves a special “sieve” that contains 900 inverted pyramid openings the enables the 3D “network” of neurons. The 3D cell environment offers more accurate data for studying the effects that medicine has on them. Naturally, the researchers needed a little help from the university’s NanoLab to make a “microsieve electrode array,” as every hole needs to be exactly the same size.

Tests have so far been conducted using living brain cells from lab rats but the hope is that the data the process yields will provide a new way of analyzing the effects of diseases and their treatments, and ultimately be applied to humans.

Via: Science News Journal

Source: Universite of Twente