Google shuts down Titan drone program in favour of Project Loon

Technology is an ever-changing industry — just look at Google.

Startups are founded and collapse on a seemingly daily basis — and Google’s moonshots are no different. Alphabet confirmed to Business Insider it is killing its solar-powered drone project. 9to5Google first reported the news Wednesday. Project Titan had been part of X, or X Labs, Google’s moonshot incubator. Ever since the creation of Alphabet, however, X has experienced many high-level departures, according to Bloomberg, including project leaders and engineers. Tony Fadell of Google-owned Nest, for instance, recently left.

In 2014, Google, which now falls under the parent company Alphabet, bought Titan Aerospace, a firm that developed solar-powered drones. These drones were unique because they could fly at high altitudes for long periods of time, and they can collect real-time, high-resolution images of the Earth. They also feature atmospheric sensors and support voice and data services. It was presumed Google would use them to enhance its Maps offerings and to beam affordable internet onto remote, rural parts of the world with no connectivity.

But now it appears neither will happen.

• What is Google Waymo?

Alphabet also recently put Boston Dynamics up for sale and turned its self-driving car project into a standalone business called Waymo. Each of these decisions signal an effort at Alphabet to trim down and save on costs. According to a spokesperson for X, many people from the Project Titan team are still working at Alphabet but have been moved to other existing projects at X, including Loon and Project Wing.

In a statement, the spokesperson said Alphabet believes Project Loon – a network of balloons designed to extend internet connectivity to people in rural and remote areas of the world – is more economical and technically feasible than Project Titan.

JetBlue’s Fly-Fi broadband is now free on all flights

JetBlue has finally made good on that promise to provide free WiFi on every flight. The airline announced today that every jet in its fleet is now equipped with JetBlue’s Fly-Fi broadband, offering “gate-to-gate” high speed internet you can use even before the flight reaches cruising altitude.

Fly-Fi debuted in 2013 and JetBlue claims speeds of up to 20 Mbps per device. Even if speeds are slightly slower in practice, Fly-Fi promises to be leaps ahead of more expensive and slower options like the ubiquitous GoGo.

In addition to completely free internet throughout the fleet, JetBlue is also adding some more entertainment partners to its in-seat VOD system The Hub. JetBlue already had dozens of live DIRECTV channels plus on demand movies, but now passengers can get access to Amazon Prime’s streaming video and music services while onboard. Of course, JetBlue and Amazon would both appreciate it if you spent a little extra cash as well, so the airline is offering rewards points if you shop on Amazon via their affiliate link.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: JetBlue

Researchers genetically engineer Salmonella to eat brain tumors

Salmonella has earned its bad reputation. It is responsible for more than a million cases of food poisoning every year, of which nearly 400 people die. But a team of researchers from Duke University have recently engineered the bacteria to not attack the human gastrointestinal tract, but rather the most aggressive form of brain cancer known to man.

Glioblastoma is no joke. It’s extremely aggressive, with barely 10 percent of people diagnosed with it living another 5 years — the mean lifespan is just 15 months. What’s more, the cancer is protected from conventional drug and radiation-based therapies due to the blood brain barrier. Surgery is also an imperfect option because if even a single cancerous cell is left behind, it can spawn new tumors.

But that’s where the Salmonella typhimurium comes in. The Duke team made a few genetic adjustments to the bacteria’s DNA and transformed it into a guided-missile against Glioblastoma while rendering it harmless to the patient. Specifically, the team rendered the bacteria perpetually deficient in a crucial amino acid known as Purine. It just so happens that tumors are packed with Purine, which subsequently attracted the bacteria like flies to honey. Once injected directly into the brain, the Salmonella then burrows deep into the tumorous mass and begins to reproduce. The team also instructed the bacteria’s genetics to produce two compounds — Azurian and p53, both of which cause cells to self destruct — but only in low-oxygen environments such as the interior of a tumor where bacteria are rapidly multiplying. That way both the tumorous cells and bacteria alike eventually die off.

“A major challenge in treating gliomas is that the tumor is dispersed with no clear edge, making them difficult to completely surgically remove. So designing bacteria to actively move and seek out these distributed tumors, and express their anti-tumor proteins only in hypoxic, purine rich tumor regions is exciting,” Ravi Bellamkonda, Vinik Dean of Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering and corresponding author of the paper, said in a statement. “And because their natural toxicity has been deactivated, they don’t cause an immunological response. At the doses we used in the experiments, they were naturally cleared once they’d killed the tumors, effectively destroying their own food source.”

In rat trials, a full 20 percent of patients lasted 100 days, the rodent equivalent of 10 human years. The treatment basically doubled the survival rate and lifespan of those suffering from Glioblastoma. Of course, success in rodent-based trials don’t guarantee those same benefit will be conferred upon humans, but the results are nonetheless impressive. There’s no word yet on when this experimental therapy will make it out of the lab.

Via: Eureka Alert

Source: Duke University

Honda recalls another 772,000 vehicles with faulty airbags

While autoparts maker Takata, works out a criminal deal with the US Justice Department, the largest US auto recall ever is still getting bigger. According to the Associated Press, Honda Motor Company is recalling another 772,000 Honda and Acura vehicles with faulty airbags in the US.

The National Highway Highway Traffic Safety Administration initiated the recall, which now includes more than 42 million vehicles in the US alone, after it was discovered that Takata’s airbags could deteriorate over time and cause an explosion of hot metal shrapnel. So far, Takata systems have been responsible for 11 deaths and over 100 injuries around the world.

Although multiple automakers were using defective Takata hardware, Honda has been hit hardest by the recall, with more than 10.7 Honda and Acura vehicles affected. The latest recall includes model year 2005-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2012 Acura RL, 2008-2012 Honda Accord, 2006-2011 Honda Civic, 2007-2012 Honda Fit, and 2010-2012 Honda Insight.

Takata is expected to pay a $1 billion financial penalty for criminal misconduct in the US and Justice Department officials are reportedly investigating whether the company engaged in wire fraud by faking test data.

Source: Associated Press

Samsung boss is a suspect in a South Korean political scandal

South Korea is currently embroiled in a massive corruption scandal: President Park Geun-hye is facing impeachment after word broke that her ‘friend,’ Choi Soon-sil, had cult-like control over Park that included access to sensitive info and forced donations to Choi’s foundations. And now, it looks like Samsung’s highest leadership might be caught up in the whole affair. The country’s special prosecutor’s office has named effective Samsung leader Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong (aka Jay Y. Lee) as a suspect in a case alleging that Samsung illegally influenced government decisions. Investigators are worried that roughly $25 million in payments to a Choi business and foundations may have convinced the national pension fund to support a merger of two Samsung affiliate companies. It may have offered bribes, in other words.

Lee will face questioning on January 12th. It’s doubtful he’ll tell officials what they’d like to hear, though. While Samsung has acknowledged that it paid Choi’s organizations, Lee and others have insisted that they weren’t trying to grease the wheels for the merger.

There’s no guarantee that Lee will face arrest, let alone conviction. However, the very fact that he’s a suspect won’t look good for Samsung, which has bent over backwards to keep its ruling family in power. Lee’s father (Chairman Lee Kun-hee) has been pardoned more than once for crimes like tax evasion, and the last time only because the government wanted his help securing the 2018 Winter Olympics. What happens if his son also faces possible prison time? It’ll further tarnish Samsung’s reputation, of course, but it could also cause chaos for a firm that has never had someone besides a Lee running the show.

Source: Reuters

Adobe demos a virtual assistant for voice-based photo edits

If CES was any indication, voice control and virtual assistants will rule in 2017. While some companies seem to be adding the tools just for the sake of doing so, others are finding some implementations that could actually be useful. Adobe falls into the latter category and the company is showing off what it calls “a first step” towards voice-controlled edits in its design apps.

In a short YouTube clip, a man uses an Alexa or Siri-like virtual assistant to lend a hand with some basic edits. When directed to do so, the software crops and flips an image on an iPad before taking a step back. It also helps the user share the final photo to Facebook. Adobe says its research team is currently exploring the idea and that the software can accept voice cues locally on a device or through a cloud-based natural language service.

The company explains that the addition of voice gives users “an easy and engaging way” to make tweaks to images on a mobile device. There’s no mention of desktop apps, but voice controls are perhaps better suited for assisting with those on-the-go edits. A virtual assistant will likely do just fine with basic things, but more complex edits will probably be left to desktop users to complete manually. Based on the video clip, it could also be faster to just do it yourself in some cases.

Adobe has been keen on adding powerful features to its mobile apps for a while now, so perhaps voice will be one of the new tools it will introduce in 2017. Of course, there’s no guarantee the company will bring the tool to one of its apps from the current prototype stage either. For now, you can see the early stages of the project in action via the video below.

Via: PetaPixel, ISO 1200

Source: Adobe (YouTube)

Airlines no longer need to warn passengers about Galaxy Note 7

If you’ve flown recently, you’ve likely heard a series of warnings around Samsung’s beleaguered Galaxy Note 7. At first, you could bring it on board, but only if it was turned off. Eventually, the FAA banned it outright — it’s now not allowed on any flight, even in cargo. Flight personnel have been instructed to repeat these warnings ad nauseam for the past few months. But now, they don’t have to anymore.

In a press release, the FAA said that US airlines no longer need to make pre-boarding notifications that the Galaxy Note 7 is prohibited. The phone is still banned of course, but according to the Department of Transportation, there is now sufficient public awareness about the ban that the warnings are no longer necessary.

It said that this is in part due to “extensive efforts by Samsung and US wireless providers to make all Note 7 users aware the phone is recalled and banned from transport from US aircraft.” The company also announced recently that the recall was a success, with more than 96 percent of phones in the US returned thus far. It also gave credence to various efforts by carriers to disable the phone with a software update.

Of course, as the phone continues to be banned, this doesn’t really change anything in regards to passenger behavior. Individual airlines can continue to offer the same warning too if they like. What it does do, however, is make Samsung breathe a little easier as it attempts to dig itself out of this PR nightmare. Not having its failure repeated before every flight will probably limit damage to its reputation. Now all Samsung needs to do is explain what really went wrong, and customers could soon learn to trust it again.

Source: FAA

Las Vegas is testing autonomous shuttles this week

Public self-driving vehicle tests are becoming more and more commonplace, and the latest to launch in the US just hit the roads in Las Vegas. French driverless electric vehicle manufacture Navya just announced that its autonomous electric shuttle is now taking passengers through Las Vegas’ Fremont East entertainment district from today through January 20th. Navya and the city of Las Vegas say this is the first autonomous electric shuttle to hit a US street, though Uber is already providing public transportation with autonomous cars in Pittsburgh.

The pilot got off the ground thanks to a partnership between Navya, which built the autonomous Arma shuttle, and Keolis, a self-described “global leader in operating public transportation systems” — along with the city of Las Vegas’ cooperation, of course. According to the Las Vegas Sun, each vehicle can hold up to a dozen passengers, will take riders for free and will operate at a max speed of 12MPH, even though they’re certified safe up to 27MPH.

While the shuttles will only be on the road for a short time in this pilot, Jorge Cervantes, Las Vegas executive director of community development, told the Sun he expects they’ll be launching fully in late summer or early fall. Whether they’ll operate on the same route they are during the pilot or in an expanded area doesn’t appear to have been decided yet.

This pilot is starting up at a time when Las Vegas is trying to brand itself as an innovation center. Nearly a year ago, the city launched an “innovation district” that was aimed specifically at bringing futuristic technology to the city. As one of the biggest and most crowded tourist destinations in the US, it certainly could use help making it easier for people to get around town.

Source: Navya

Casio boss: One smartwatch doesn’t fit all

The biggest tech show in the world didn’t offer that much in the way of new wearables in 2017 — especially compared to the glut we saw in previous years. Alongside smarter Misfit and New Balance wearables, Casio launched its second-generation smartwatch. The WSD-F20, which looks similar to its predecessor, is still explicitly aimed at outdoors types, with low-power GPS and offline maps meant to ensure you can use it without tethering to your phone’s internet connection.

More importantly, according to Casio president Kazuhiro Kashiro, it fulfills a purpose. “We’re looking for wearable ideas that people will have a reason to use,” he said. “We’re not looking to make the same smartwatches as everyone else.” And perhaps that’s where many wearables fall short: They’re trying to please too many people at once.

Mr. Kashio is the second-generation president of the company that bears his family name (it was westernized a bit, clearly). He’s been in charge for a little over 18 months — replacing his father as president — and the company’s smartwatch series is arguably his biggest product launch since taking up the position. This year also marks the 60th anniversary of Casio, a company synonymous with early calculators and digital watches — some of the first gadgets many of us owned.

Casio is aware of the pressure to stay nimble. “We’re at a point where most electronics makers have to continuously keep moving and changing,” Kashio said. “Upgrading facilities, changing business models, creating new business.”

The smartwatch is a new business that plays to what Kashio calls the company’s major strength: watches. “When it comes to [smartwatches], I believe if you’re not already making watches and mobile devices, it’s hard to make something good.” The company also has a bit of a crazy streak when it came to its timepieces. It’s made rumblepack game watches, magic trick watches and even models packing IR temperature sensors. Its smartwatches, so far, have been relatively sensible in comparison.

“This is still just the start for smartwatches,” said Kashio. “I’m sure the Apple Watch is selling well, but it’s all very new. We’re aiming to lead here.”

Kashio mentioned Apple’s foray into wearables several times during the interview, particularly as an example of the issues that wearables in general. According to Kashio, “There’s nothing that stands out from the major smartwatch makers.” The company says that when it designed its first smartwatch, it brought in know-how from its influential G-Shock series, as well as its lesser-known but established Pro Trek outdoor watch line. This won’t be its only family of smartwatches either. Kashio tells Engadget the company is looking to approach specific needs with every wearable the company decides to make.

Casio has tapped into its digital watch expertise, adding a secondary low-power monochrome digital watch-face that’s layered atop the color Android Wear screen. The watch itself is indistinguishable from the company’s chunky G-Shock watches. It doesn’t look like an awkward slab of early adopter tech on the wrist, but that cuts both ways. It’s not subtle either. Metallic orange isn’t a color choice for everyone, and even if you choose the black option it’s a pretty hefty watch.

Casio’s company motto is “creative contribution”: making something thing that hadn’t existed before. “It’s not necessarily about making something completely new but making something that solves a problem that exists,” Kashio said. “Something that answers new needs.” That’s a challenge all smartwatches face.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2017.

Cubed Rally World is Addictive Lane-Changing Fun! (review)

A game recently released for both iOS and Android this past November is Cubed Rally World by developer Jared Bailey (under the corporate name “Nocanwin”). It’s the latest in a series of games using the ‘cubed’ motif of simple 8-bit graphics drawn in a 3D layout. I’ve had the best time playing and sharing this game with friends and family, and I’d like to share it with you here.

Setup

Getting to the game is standard-issue; just download the game from the Play Store and open it up. Once in, you’re free to explore the game at your leisure. The title screen also serves as a ‘master menu’ screen, where you can choose your vehicle to race. As far as options, you only have a couple: turn the music on/off, buy additional coins (more on this soon), and link out to a premium ad-free version of the game (for $4.99).

Back to selecting your vehicle….while there is a plethora of vehicle types to choose from in a lineup-style on the title screen, you are only given a single simple car to start out with. So choose that one and off we go!

Gameplay

After selecting your vehicle, you transition to the race screen with your vehicle waiting at the starting line. The race course is made of 5 parallel tracks, and your controls are a simple left and right button on their respective sides. After a quick countdown (“3, 2, 1, Go!”), your vehicle takes off at a constant speed along the course. There are multiple courses, and which one you find yourself on (street, water, sky, dirt, farm) is mainly dictated by the type of vehicle you are in (car, boat, helicopter, dune buggy, tractor, etc).

Each course is littered with both stationary and moving obstacles. Your job is simply to avoid these obstacles by tapping left and right to switch amongst the 5 lanes. The variety in the obstacles are a highlight of the game as they are relevant to the vehicle and course you are on and in how they attempt to end your race. Included in the lanes are multiple types of ramps/jumps to give you some added excitement. You can even add to your point total by drifting around corners (you can’t really control this, but everybody I had try the game on my phone commented on how they liked this).

While maneuvering down the course, there are also some goodies you’ll want to try to pick up. The coins you’ll want to collect as they are how you acquire the other vehicles shown in the title screen (different vehicles have different prices). The blue icons add to your point total (my kiddos & I found some healthy competition in trying to best the current high score).

The clock icons give you a very temporary “bullet-time” slo-mo visual of particularly tricky course areas upcoming. And there are gas tanks you want to grab because during your course run there is a fuel bar across the top of the screen that is constantly dwindling down. Without grabbing gas icons, you will run out before finishing your race.

The game is a great combo of simple and challenging. First-timers that I’ve had try this title have zero problem getting an immediate handle on it. But because one collision with an obstacle equals starting over at the start, it forces players to really focus and jump right back in once they screw up. And try as I might, I could not find someone who could get mad at this game. Even when trouble was had in getting through a particular course, it only caused a giggle and a “let me try that again”.

There really is no end to the game. The more vehicles you buy, and the more points you score, the game just continually gets longer and even links multiple course types together into super-long courses. If you start by choosing a boat, it will only get you so far as at some point you’ll cross a faux-finish line and immediately switch to a randomly-selected different vehicle and respective course. Then another, and another. Good luck to your patience level.

Visuals & Sound

The hallmark of the game is the ‘cubed’ motif mentioned earlier. It’s a simple but well-done 8-bit world, drawn in a 3D arrangement that isn’t commonly seen in mobile gaming. The colors are primary and really pop off the screen without being garish at all. The vehicles and courses are varied enough that they make you want to pursue and try them out. My kiddos quickly became obsessed with trying to collect all the vehicles they could!

The sound is simple 8-bit nirvana with all the electronics beeps and boops you can handle. Again, if it happens to be a little more than you can handle, you can always toggle this off in the title screen.

Overall

Let me put it this way: Cubed Rally World has stayed on my phone longer than any other app or game I’ve reviewed in a while. And given my propensity to move through apps, that’s a pretty impressive statement. The game is very easy to access at the start, offers enough eye candy to be fun, and provides enough variables to keep you coming back.

Click here to download Cubed Rally World from the Play Store.