Ambulances can interrupt your music in emergencies

When people tell you not to play music at full blast in your car, they’re not necessarily raining on your parade — there’s a real concern that you might not hear an emergency vehicle until the last moment. You might not have to worry quite so much if a Swedish experiment proves successful, though. Ambulances in Stockholm are testing a KTH-made system (EVAM) that interrupts in-car audio with a voice warning when they’re close by and responding to a crisis. The only requirement is that your car’s FM tuner support the Radio Data System format, which is common in the cars you see on the road. The interruptions are speed-sensitive, too, so you’ll get notices at greater distances when you’re on the highway.

A handful of ambulances will trial the system in the first quarter of the year. Whether or not it expands elsewhere will almost certainly depend on early results. We can see at least one potential problem: will this alert drivers on nearby streets where there’s nothing to worry about? Even if the system is overly cautious, it could prove to be a lifesaver if it clears the roads and gets patients to the hospital that much sooner.

Via: Phys.org

Source: KTH

NASA astronaut Gene Cernan passes away at age 82

NASA has continued its exploration of the moon since Apollo 17, but it has been over 40 years since one of its astronauts stepped on the surface. Gene Cernan was the second American to walk in space and the last set foot on the moon during that mission. Today, the retired US Navy captain died at age 82. During his time as an astronaut, Cernan logged over 500 hours in space and he spent more than 73 of those on the surface of the moon.

Captain Cernan’s NASA career began in 1963 and he made his first trip to space as part of the three-day Gemini IX mission in 1966. He went on to serve as the lunar module pilot for the Apollo 10 mission in 1969 before taking the role of spacecraft commander for Apollo 17 in December 1972. Apollo 17 was the last manned mission to the moon for the United States. Cernan retired from the US Navy after a 20-year career in 1976 and left NASA at the same time.

We are saddened by the loss of retired NASA astronaut Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon. https://t.co/Q9OSdRewI5 pic.twitter.com/gPdFTnXF2C

— NASA (@NASA) January 16, 2017

Source: NASA (Twitter)

The heart of Nintendo’s new console isn’t the Switch

I spent half of last Friday tearing my way through games at Nintendo’s big Switch launch event. More than any particular title, the highlight was the hardware itself: a $300 console-handheld hybrid that’s harder to describe than the latest Xbox or PlayStation. The Switch console is actually a tablet: It’s the piece that does all the processing and acts as screen when it’s away from your housebound dock and TV. But if the tablet is the brains of Nintendo’s strange new 2-in-1, the heart is split between the two included Joy-Con controllers.

Before the console even had a name, early reports suggested a hybrid device with detachable controllers — an evolution of what the company attempted with the Wii U, but better executed this time. With the Switch, Nintendo planned to make its handheld and home consoles one single thing. That’s why the device ended up looking like either a robot dog’s face or a futuristic toaster, depending on the use case.

Perhaps I’m drawn to the controllers just because there’s so little to say about the Switch’s main body. I live in a world filled with iPads and Surfaces. Other companies have tried this form factor for gaming too. And don’t forget that Nintendo already makes a lower-powered mobile console. In short, then, there’s nothing thrilling hardware-wise ticking away behind the Switch’s screen. Nintendo’s new console won’t (can’t!) go toe-to-toe with its rivals on specifications, so the company is trying a new approach. Again.

Say hello to the Joy-Con. Two of these controllers will ship in-box with the Switch, and are as solidly built as the rest of the console. While I really liked the remote-of-the-future aesthetic of the original Wiimote, the Switch’s controllers are less chintzy and also better designed for gamers.

The Joy-Cons still work as motion controllers too, but they’ve been upgraded with some additional tricks. Because you get a pair of them, two-handed gesture controls could become the norm for single-player games on the Switch. In other words, no more nunchucks.

That vision has a great proof-of-concept title in Arms, Nintendo’s new game series, which takes the form of a one-on-one boxing game. Sort of, anyway. You grasp a Joy-Con in each hand like a knuckleduster, with your motions sending your rocket hands spinning toward your opponent. Because the controllers are identically shaped and appear to weigh the same, they feel more comfortable in-hand than Nintendo’s earlier remotes, and you grip them just as you would many everyday objects. Where’s the Cooking Mama Switch announcement, eh?

1-2-Switch banks on the silliness of hits like Wii Sports and Warioware, and the mini-games here are utterly dependent on the Switch’s motion controls. In fact, Nintendo’s pitch when it came to revealing the title to the public is the ability to play without looking at the screen: You’re focusing on your human opponent and using the most important part of the Switch: these controllers.

During the livestream, Nintendo hyped the Joy-Con’s HD vibration feature. It’s meant to offer more nuanced vibrational output that approaches haptic feedback as you play. These vibrations tell you if you’re doing well, or even how to play.

After trying out all the 1-2-Switch demos on display at the launch event, it was the safe cracker mini-game that stood out most. You rotate the controller to find multiple “bite points” on a lock and the only way of knowing if that’s where you need to keep the dial (to unlock it) is through a mildly different buzz of the controller.

Yes, these mini-games are single ideas in a vacuum; none is meant to be played for hours on end. But, if games developers try to add nuanced vibration to Switch games, these titles will benefit from an extra sensory dimension.

There’s another feature that I haven’t gotten to test yet, involving a motion and shape-detecting sensor embedded in the left-hand controller. Nintendo used the classic “rock, paper, scissors” game as an example in its livestream broadcast. There’s a game that uses this as a sort of motion detector within 1-2-Switch (it’s a speed-eating mini-game), but alas it wasn’t on display at the event I attended. Like the HD vibration feature, it’s up to Nintendo to deliver intriguing game features with this new idea, but it’s there: embedded in the controller.

But frivolous cow-milking and safe-cracking won’t be what persuade early adopters and current PS4 and XBox One owners to buy a Switch. How do the Joy-Con controls translate to Nintendo’s more established game franchises?

The Wii U offered us a giant tablet on which to play home console games. The Switch offers the same form factor, but better realized. It’s more comfortable, the screen is more responsive and just plain prettier, and you don’t feel like you’re trapped with your controller options. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a remake, is an excellent example of the control options that will be available to gamers when the console arrives in March — and how they could change the way we play popular titles.

When I joined a circle of Mario Kart players at the event, then, each of us had our own dedicated console in our hands, steering with the Joy-Cons attached at the sides. Nearby, other gamers were playing through Pro controllers on huge TVs. According to a Nintendo promotional video, you can slide out the pair of controllers, offer one to a friend next to you, and race away. They don’t have to own a console, or a copy of the game. This is something the Wii U can’t do. Nor the 3DS, for that matter.

It’s all thanks to those Joy-Con controllers. They’re equal parts peculiar and cool. The original Wii was a hit because of its brave attempt to reinvent the games controller, adding smart responsive new control options that coaxed non-gamers into playing. The company is now hoping to repeat that same trick.

Intel wants sensors to help you with your shopping

As quickly as technology is reinventing your shopping experience, Intel doesn’t think it’s moving quickly enough. The chip giant is launching a Responsive Retail Platform that creates a common set of sensors, software kits and other components for in-store tech. It promises to speed up inventory tracking, provide feedback on buying habits and personalize your shopping. Stores might not have to cobble together separate solutions or make their own — they’d just have to turn to Intel and partners for everything they need.

The company is also backing up its words with cold, hard cash. It’s investing over $100 million into the retail industry over the next 5 years to help get the ball rolling.

It’s not certain just what a complete Intel solution looks like. However, the company is showcasing the kind of technology it wants to see. Simbe Robotics’ Tally keeps tabs on store shelves, for instance, while ShopperMXTM HIVE gives retailers a virtual reality preview of store layouts. In short: if it’s Intel-powered and pushes technological limits, there’s a good chance the company is thinking about it.

Intel probably isn’t the first name you associate with retail, but it certainly has clear incentives to jump into this space with both feet. More than anything, it’s a way to accelerate Intel’s fledgling Internet of Things business — someone has to design the sensors those stores will use. It also serves as one more hedge against a declining PC industry. It’s hard to know if shops will welcome Intel with open arms, but something tells us that the company is willing to wait until people warm up to its presence.

Source: Intel Newsroom (1), (2)