California bill would require more zero-emissions cars

California’s tougher-than-usual climate change policy might become more stringent before long. Assemblywoman Autumn Burke tells the Associate Press that she’s introducing a bill requiring that car manufacturers sell at least 15 percent zero-emissions free vehicles within a decade. Companies operating in the state already have to hit yearly emissions targets and get credits for sales, but this would require that they embrace electric or hydrogen fuel cell cars in a big way — not just one or two novelty models. And if they don’t sell enough eco-friendly cars, they’d have to either pay a fine to the state or pay rivals that meet the targets. Yes, they might inadvertently help the competition.

If the bill becomes law, it could light a fire under car makers that have so far been slow to adopt emissions-free tech. Only 3 percent of all California car sales are either electric or plug-in hybrids. Those holdouts are going to complain loudly if asked to change their ways, mind you. Industry groups like the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers see the bill as pandering to Tesla, giving the local all-electric automaker an unfair edge. Whether or not that’s true, it’s doubtful that the state will show gas-centric companies much sympathy. The California government is serious about its 2030 climate goals, and it could easily welcome any move that helps it reach those targets a bit faster.

Source: Associated Press

Ben Heck’s ‘magic smoke’ preventer

It has been said that when an electronics component sets itself on fire that it has “let the magic blue smoke out” and so with it, the magic that makes technology great. In this episode Ben and Felix produce a device to hopefully prevent the “magic smoke” from escaping before any damage is done. The result is a laser-guided infrared grid array sensor, connected via i2c to a microcontroller with mechanical relays to disconnect the power to the device that causes the fire. The project integrates with a Hitachi HD44780 based LCD display to create a menu and interface for calibration with an enclosure designed with Autodesk Fusion 360. Want to produce your own? Or perhaps you have ideas on what you’d do differently? Let The Ben Heck Show team know over on the element14 Community.

Mobile Nations Weekly: Ramp up

Yet another Android security scare, yet more MacBook rumors, and yet even more Windows 10 builds.

Android’s open nature doesn’t mean that it’s any more vulnerable to security threats than any other OS. But it does mean that it’s more vulnerable to the perception of being more vulnerable. Case in point: the so-called “QuadRooter” vulnerability — lots of smoke and lots of people blowing it around, but a tiny little fire.

LG’s V20 is shaping up to be a worthy successor to the V10, sporting possibly the best audio we’ll see on a smartphone and adopting the G5’s modular design. And BlackBerry’s new phone, the DTEK50 — is shipping now to customers alongside a reduced-price BlackBerry Priv.

Over in VR land we’re dabbling in AR — Augmented Reality — with the Microsoft HoloLens headset, and it’s simply incredible. Plus a look back at the first three months of Oculus Rift and another dipping of our toes in the PlayStation VR waters.

The Windows 10 Anniversary Update isn’t even two weeks old and Microsoft is already moving on to the next thing: Redstone 2. The first preview builds for the next big update to Windows 10 already have hit Windows Insiders, and there will be plenty more to come. Alongside that we might just expect to see the second edition of the Surface Book arrive, alongside a Surface All-in-One desktop range.

Rumors are flying left and right about the next products from Apple. The iPhone 7, while rumored to be physically quite similar to the iPhone 6-series phones, is said to have upgraded displays, while the long-overdue-for-an-update MacBook Pro might just be sporting a fancy OLED display strip to replace the function buttons and the addition of a Touch ID fingerprint reader.

Android Central — QuadRooter and Quad DAC

A big piece of news this week was the revealing of the so-called “QuadRooter” vulnerability, and as is so often the case things were a bit sensationalistic. Though you shouldn’t brush it away entirely, know that Android’s built-in “Verify Apps” security setting can counteract QuadRooter, meaning a great majority of phones are already secure.

As we get ready for the official launch of Android 7.0 Nougat, we’ve started to take a look a deeper look at it. Starting with an evaluation of which phones should be upgraded in due time, then examining seamless updates and diving into Direct Boot.

We’re quickly approaching the full unveiling of the LG V20, the first phone with Nougat on-board, and leaked renders hint to a design not unlike the LG G5. We also know officially that the V20 will offer some really high-res audio thanks to a Quad DAC.

We’ve updated our list of the best Android phones, as of August 2016. This list won’t look the same, come next week. Just sayin’.

• Find your phone: the ultimate guide to Android Device Manager
• Selling your Android phone or tablet: The ultimate guide
• Triby: The powerful, portable Amazon Echo for the family
• The Samsung Galaxy J2 2016 is a sad, modern disappointment
• Honor 5C review: Balanced and affordable, not exciting
• Samsung Galaxy Note 7 vs. Note 5: Should you upgrade?
• Samsung Galaxy S8 edge: What does a curvy Note 7 mean for next year’s flagships?

CrackBerry — DTEK50 in the house!

With the new DTEK50 now shipping out to customers, there’s no better time to go ahead and get yourself caught up on what the device is all about. This week, we posted up our review of BlackBerry’s second Android-powered smartphone. Plus, if you find DTEK50 is not for you, BlackBerry has lowered Priv pricing for a limited time. A good chance to pick one up!

• BlackBerry DTEK50 review
• BlackBerry lowers Priv pricing through ShopBlackBerry for a limited time!
• BlackBerry Blend has officially reached EOL status

iMore — Rumors, speculation, and how-tos, oh my!

Whether it’s iPhone 7, new Mac laptops, or promises of an Apple TV guide, this week had a little bit for everyone in the Apple arena.

We also had a bit of real news, too: Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides now supports Split View for iPad, a mere 11 months after the feature appeared in iOS 9. We can’t say we’re not a little annoyed it took this long, but still happy to have the feature (which works brilliantly) at last available.

In other corners of the iMore universe, we’re starting to roll out how-tos for some of our favorite iOS 10 features, including turning off Messages read receipts on a per-message basis, how third-party apps will integrate with Siri, and how to navigate the Lock screen in iOS 10.

• Apple Talk 10: The iPad Story
• How to get directions with Apple Maps and CarPlay
• Apple TV Guide and skating around the Hollywood defense

VR Heads — Living through the lenses

How long can you spend inside a headset? We haven’t hit a hard limit yet, but if you want to know what 24 hours inside Microsoft HoloLens is like we’ve got something good for you. Meanwhile, with PlayStation VR starting to make itself known in Canada, we scored another hour inside Sony’s exciting new offering. It’s also time to start looking back at the Oculus Rift now that we’ve been using it for three months now, and see how well everything has been holding up.

• After 24 hours inside Microsoft HoloLens, I don’t want to take the headset off
• Three months with Oculus Rift — The polished experiment
• One hour in PlayStation VR — The hype is real!

Windows Central — Building resumes

New cumulative updates for PC and Mobile rolled out earlier this week bringing fixes and security enhancements to Windows 10 devices. The Windows Insider program saw the first release of ‘Redstone 2’ builds (build 14901) wasting no time starting on the next big update slated for an early 2017 release. While not much is yet known about Redstone 2, we have a few ideas on what may be in store.

We heard from our sources that the Surface Book 2 might ditch the ‘gap’ in the hinge. Also, at least three sizes of Surface All-in-Ones (AIO) are being tested, though it is not clear which will get released.

Finally, while Windows phone got Prisma-competitor Vinci, we also lost MyFitnessPal and Amtrak, showing that the app-gap struggle is still a very real one for Microsoft.

• Refreshed Surface Book to ditch hinge gap and Surface AIOs may get 4K displays
• Windows 10 Redstone 2: Everything We Know (So Far)
• Microsoft Edge improves HTML5 support on Windows 10 build 14901
• These are the 10 best Universal Windows 10 apps that need to come to Xbox One

Hebocon: The contest to find the world’s crappiest robots

Sex toys, dried squid, repurposed Happy Meal toys and the husk of a Gameboy Advance are just some of the components found in the robotic competitors at Hebocon — a contest that aims to crown only the ropiest of robots. But what is it, and why hold a competition for such poorly made things? I went to the first world championship in Tokyo (where else?) to stare and make gifs.

What is Hebocon?

Heboi is a Japanese word that loosely means something is technically poor, or crappy. Thus: Hebocon, which, according to the founders, extends to both the robots and the people that make them — but in an affectionate, pat-on-the-back kind of way.

The competition involves several sumo-style matches in which the robots try to push their opponents out of the arena. It’s no DARPA challenge, but when you see the robots in action you begin to realize it’s almost as difficult a struggle. Most of the robots on show at Hebocon can’t be controlled very well. Some can’t be controlled at all, while others stay rooted to the spot, with parts spinning wildly out of control, hoping to knock their opponent away and out. (That last scenario didn’t happen once.)

That’s not to say technically skilled people can’t participate: They just need to ignore that part of their brain. “Focus on how you can avoid using anything technical, and only try out ridiculous ideas you’ve never seen or heard of in your life. If things aren’t looking good, then you have the right to participate in Hebocon.” This is what it says on the Hebocon intro site. In other words, iterative, polished robots aren’t welcome here.

The sheer level or randomness and crappiness on show ensures it’s a hilarious, unpredictable competition. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Japanese internet company (and sponsor) Nifty, it held the first world Hebecon championship. It was as crappy as I had imagined.

The challengers

Glamorous Squid Machine is the first robot from two women who normally work at an art museum. The bot’s most notable feature is its … aroma: two circular layers of dried squid (“It’s my favorite bar snack”) spin at a high enough speed to almost topple the robot itself. The team hoped the stench would affect rival robot pilots. Plastic feet at the base shuffled the mess of dried organic flesh and motors toward the competition — when they wanted to. The robot, unfortunately, didn’t move when it came to the crunch and was knocked out in the first round. “The event has a great atmosphere. Even if the robot doesn’t move, no one gets angry. They cheer,” said one of the women.

Apparently styled after Mad Max (I don’t see the similarities, either), Kenji Itou’s robot planned to clothes-line its rivals with multiple rows of heavy-duty rubber bands. Unfortunately, its first opponent was shorter than the lowest band, and the match was over quickly. “I didn’t really give much thought to the height of the bands”, said Itou.

Pole Dance Robot [Party Rock Anthem] — that’s the full name — involves a pole (naturally), a Barbie that’s seen better days, and a Bluetooth speaker blaring the Party Rock Anthem. Despite the obnoxious music choice, it was an early crowd favorite. When PDR [PDA] met defeat, it went out in garish style, shooting millions in fake yen out of twin-mounted fans. As the referee noted: “It can’t really attack at all.” Creator Anipole Kyoko’s reply? “It’s more important to keep the party going.” Amen. It won the audience choice award for being the most heibo of all the entries. It’s hard to argue with their selection.

This glorified sex toy on wheels was short on detail and barreled around the arena with speed. Maker Lin Yin-Chun came across from Taiwan, and it wasn’t his first Hebocon. I’m not sure if it’s more shameful to be beaten by a sex toy, or to enter one into a robot competition in the first place.

“King of Cup Noodle” is, as the name suggests, mostly a cup noodle with a robot attached. Housed inside, alongside motors usually found in toy kit sets, there’s a secret hand that attempts to punch its enemy. In later stages, the competition turned into messy four-on-four Battle Royale matches.The best way to describe these: spectacle. King of Cup Noodle fell to multiple attackers.

University student Zuni’s creation was “inspired by AI,” but it’s not all that intelligent. The pocky snack sticking out of its mouth is how it attacks its rivals, but its true purpose is to meet other robots and “understand love.” Apparently, this is a crappy robot with a backstory. And a creepy face.

From Iceland, the Gary Chopin robot is a repurposed Happy Meal toy, with attachments meant to “bitch slap” its rivals — a motor attached to the toy, which spun, swinging a mace made from rubber bands and plastic. Once the robot was switched on, it was left to luck: There are no other controls. The team managed to claim second place in a Hebocon competition back home, so this was their second battle. Gary looked worse for wear by the end of it.

Team Tanago’s robot combined a fishing net, hamster wheel and the repurposed, vibrating heart of some poor stuffed toy. Helmed by Ichiyoshi, the 7-year-old son of the family/team, the robot went far in the competition, despite the erratic vibrating core — the not-so-secret weapon — going off at the worst possible times. Ichiyoshi’s mother explained that the robot was powered by familial bonds. I saw batteries.

Unagorilla’s Growing Robot kept itself covered until the middle of its first match. The surprise? A giant inflatable dolphin that grew out from it during the match. The surprise (or the sheer amount of space the toy took up in the fight arena) allowed it to progress to one of the battle-royale finales, where it didn’t have time to inflate before tumbling out of the ring.

The results

Hebcom isn’t like the Olympics. At all. In fact, no one is looking to win or crush the competition. There was a great atmosphere of camaraderie as the matches happened: victors often claim a component from their defeated adversaries, attaching them like some grisly hood ornament. Typically, these never added anything good to the robots, often weighing them down more and making them topple under their own weight in later matches. As Hebocon’s official site puts it best: “True Happiness can only be achieved through fighting hard, and then losing.”

If you’re not the best of the worst, then you’re the worst.

No one embodied this spirit better than the eventual, begrudging winner, Ricky Chan from Hong Kong, with his Robot Controlled Controller Robot. After bowing and apologized for his win — hilarious enough in itself — he said he had placed second twice in his home country, and explained that coming in second is the most heboi of places. If you’re not the best of the worst, then you’re the worst. He agreed it was time someone else got the sweet taste of almost-victory.

GMC’s latest SUV travels farther thanks to glue

Usually, squeaking significant extra mileage out of a vehicle involves some very conspicuous changes. You can switch to a new engine, go hybrid (or full electric), or build components out of lightweight materials like carbon fiber. GM, however, is trying something different with the just-launched 2017 GMC Acadia: glue. Rather than join the SUV’s underbody components using rivets or welds, GM is using aircraft-grade adhesives along the seams to create a body so stiff that the company can afford to use thinner steel. The result is an Acadia that’s a whopping 700 pounds lighter than its predecessor, giving it 23 miles per gallon (versus the 2016 model’s 18) without having to resort to more drastic changes.

As the New York Times observes, though, car makers are pursuing unusual assembly tricks like this out of necessity. The US wants brands to reach an average of 54.5MPG by 2025, and that means improving fuel economy across as many models as possible — including big, gas-guzzling SUVs where hybrid and electric motors aren’t always practical. The falling costs of electric cars may reduce the urgency behind using glue or other uncommon efficiency tricks, but GM probably doesn’t want to take any chances.

Source: New York Times