Liquid battery could last for over 10 years

Modern batteries aren’t hampered so much by their capacity as their long-term lifespan — a lithium-ion pack can easily become useless after a few years of heavy use. That’s bad enough for your phone, but it’s worse for energy storage systems that may have to stick around for the long haul. If Harvard researchers have their way, you may not have to worry about replacing power backs quite so often. They’ve developed a flow battery (that is, a battery that stores energy in liquid solutions) which should last for over a decade. The trick was to modify the molecules in the electrolytes, ferrocene and viologen, so that they’re stable, water-soluble and resistant to degradation. When they’re dissolved in neutral water, the resulting solution only loses 1 percent of its capacity every 1,000 cycles. It could be several years before you even notice a slight dropoff in performance.

The use of water is also great news for both the environment and your bank account. As it’s not corrosive or toxic, you don’t have to worry about wrecking your home if the battery leaks — you might just need a mop. The safer materials are also less expensive than the polymers you usually need in flow batteries, and wouldn’t require exotic pumps and tanks to withstand harsher chemicals. It needs less maintenance than other flow designs, too.

There’s no concrete roadmap for bringing this battery tech to the real world. There’s definitely a market for it, though. Renewable energy is becoming increasingly cost-effective, and inexpensive, long-lasting batteries would only help that. You could install solar power at home knowing that the cost of energy storage won’t wipe out the money you save on your electricity bill.

Source: Harvard, ACS

Prince Now Streaming on Apple Music

To coincide with the 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony on Sunday, Warner Bros. Records today announced that Prince’s well-known hits and albums are now available on streaming music services such as Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play Music, and Pandora, after a nearly two year exclusivity period with Tidal.

Prince, who passed away in April 2016, had pulled his music from all streaming music services but Tidal in July 2015. Since his death, Prince’s estate worked on deals with various services to make his music available for streaming again. As expected, the songs and albums became available today.

Tags: Apple Music, Prince
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Your weather forecast might be getting a whole lot more accurate with TAMDAR Edge

Why it matters to you

If you’re tired of a forecast that promises clear skies only to be caught in the rain without an umbrella, TAMDAR Edge may be the NASA technology you’ve been waiting for.

If you get caught in the rain without an umbrella, it won’t be your weather forecaster’s fault. At least, that appears to be NASA’s hope with a new weather probe that “will relay atmospheric conditions as they are unfolding and provide data to improve weather forecasts and models.” The probe has already begun test flights on NASA’s Ikhana remotely piloted aircraft, which means that one day, you may have to trust what your weatherman tells you.

“The weather information can benefit any kind of commercial or military aircraft and it could have uses for unmanned aircraft systems in the future,” said Ed Diks, Ikhana deputy project manager. The probe relies upon Panasonic Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Reporting, or TAMDAR, and while this technology in and of itself is nothing new (NQWQ said it’s been riding along on commercial airliners for more than 12 years), the TAMDAR Edge system is a much smaller, lighter weight version of the original technology.

More: Facebook now lets you check the weather forecast on mobile and desktop

And that’s partially why it can fly on an unmanned craft like the Ikhana.

Indeed, Ikhama and TAMDAR Edge may have a mutually beneficial relationship, according to pilot Hernan Posada. “Weather is vital to our safe operation of this aircraft,” Posada noted. “We adhere to strict airspace rules and manufacturer limits and seeing weather and being able to avoid it is a plus.”

We’ll soon be able to see exactly how good the probe really is when TAMDAR and a communications satellite network join forces to provide pilots with real-time weather, and separately, help better weather forecasting models. The TAMDAR Edge probe is capable of collecting a veritable treasure trove of meteorological information, including winds aloft, temperature, humidity, pressure, icing presence, and more.

And aside from the sheer amount of real-time information TAMDAR Edge can collect, its mobility could also prove beneficial, especially in remote areas where gathering data is a bit trickier. “We have a lot of data at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport),” explained Scott Wiley, a NASA Armstrong meteorologist. “We have a lot of data in Seattle. We have a lot of data in Chicago. However, we don’t have a lot of data in remote areas … We are filling the data gaps with TAMDAR to improve the weather models and forecasts. It’s a tremendous benefit to have this data.”

Could Google Assistant be coming to non-Pixel phones sooner rather than later?

Why it matters to you

Google Assistant has long been unique to Google Pixel and Pixel XL handsets, but a new alpha test suggests that Google could be spreading the love.

You don’t have to go out and get a Google Pixel in order to get Google Assistant — rather, it would appear that the AI tool is beginning to make its way onto non-Pixel hardware. As first reported by Android Police, it looks as though an alpha version of the Google app has appeared in the wild by way of the version 6.13 update, and while it’s rather buggy, it’s the first time we’re able to see Assistant on a phone that isn’t a Pixel or Pixel XL.

As Android Police noted, both a Nexus 6P (running Android 7.1.1) and a Samsung Galaxy Note5 (running Android 6.0.1) were able to launch Google Assistant with the user simply holding the Home button. After a few moments, a dialogue with the message “New! You just got the Google Assistant” popped up, and allowed for users to set up voice training.

More: Google Assistant adds another 10 skills, including a virtual sommelier

Be warned, however, that given that this is still an alpha version of the newest software, it’s working better for some than it is for others. It doesn’t seem to be linked to device type (some Nexus 6Ps got Assistant to work, while others didn’t), though it could be contingent on phone settings or other app versions. Regardless, the very presence of Google Assistant on v6.13 could mean exciting things for folks who have been waiting to get Google Assistant on their existing Android devices.

While we’re not rushing to any conclusions, it could be the case that Assistant will be made available to everyone when v6.13 becomes officially available. However, it’s also possible that some devices got Assistant as an error when mistakenly identified as a Pixel handset in settings (that said, the introductory messages that new users received suggest that this was not an error).

Regardless, we’ll have to wait a bit longer to see exactly when Google Assistant becomes more widely available, but perhaps not as long as previously thought.

Robots take over London Science Museum with the largest ever humanoids display

Why it matters to you

With a rich, 500-year history, this robot exhibition in London showcases the most humanoids ever on display at once.

A monk trundles out, silently mutters, and pounds his chest. A robotic duck defecates. The Terminator looms. Some robots can perform surgery or act as news anchors. And a variety of these machines are on display at the Science Museum in London’s current exhibition, Robots.

The museum offers a bizarre array of biblical, zoomorphic, and A.I.-driven robots created in the last 500 years. But what’s even more striking is that this is “the greatest collection of humanoid robots anyone has ever put together,” curators told The Guardian.

More: Meet Cassie, the walking robot that looks like a pair of disembodied ostrich legs

What started as a way to manifest faith-based magical realism via mechanics in the 16th-century — via automata of monks and Christ — turned into a critique of global industrialization, such as occurred with the human-replacement robot Maria in the classic sci-fi film Metropolis from 1927. Today, there are even robots used in therapy-play sessions with autistic children.

It’s no wonder the question of a robot take-over continues to haunt this century and lies at the crux of the exhibit.

“What we really want visitors to do is to stand in front of these robots, watch them in action and ask themselves, ‘are robots going to march into our world and demand jobs from us? Or are human beings — capitalists — going to award jobs to them because it’s the cheaper and easier thing to do,’” Ling Lee, the exhibitions content developer at the Science Museum in London, told The Guardian in a video interview.

The exhibit starts with “a wall of artificial skulls with robotic eyes, an interactive artwork named Area V5 after the part of the human brain which perceives motion by its developer, Louis-Philippe Demers of Nanyang Technical University, Singapore,” stated Roger Highfield, director of external affairs at the Science Museum Group, on the museum’s blog.

“In the exhibition [visitors] are first confronted with an animatronic baby, under whose latex skin three dozen metal joints whir. Ben Russell, lead curator, said: ‘Coming face to face with a mechanical human has always been a disconcerting experience. That sense of unease, of something you cannot quite put your finger on, goes to the heart of our long relationship with robots,’” Highfield stated.

Robots runs from February 8 until September 3 at the Science Museum in London.

Verizon reveals new unlimited data plan

Unlimited data plans are back at big red, and the prices don’t suck.

Verizon took the wraps off of a new data plan that gives customers unlimited data, talk, and text for $80 on a single line. Four lines can all get the same unlimited deal for $45 per line.

Of course, they mean alternative-unlimited like every other carrier does and you might get throttled at 22GB. We’re told it shouldn’t happen often, though.

On all Verizon Unlimited plans you get our fast LTE speeds. To ensure a quality experience for all customers, after 22 GB of data usage on a line during any billing cycle we may prioritize usage behind other customers in the event of network congestion. While we don’t expect to do that very often, network management is a crucial tool that benefits all Verizon customers.

You can also add a connected device, like the new Verizon Wear24 or a tablet for an extra $5 per month and the international TravelPass (500 MB/day limit; 2G speeds after that) is available for $10 per day. Last but not least, mobile hotspot is included and you will be able to tether up to 10GB per month before you’re throttled way down to 3G speeds.

The plan is available starting February 13 and you’ll be able to get all the details at Verizon’s site.

The one big unknown? They call this an introductory plan, so we’re not 100% sure how it applies to existing customers. We’ll know more on February 13.

NASA picks three potential drill sites for Mars 2020

When the Mars 2020 rover reaches the red planet, it will quickly begin drilling for samples from its surface. NASA hasn’t picked the exact drill site yet, but it has narrowed its choices down to three during a workshop with scientists in Monrovia, California. The group consulted images and data sent by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter before voting for easily accessible locations they believe could have supported life. Jezero crater, which got the most votes, was once an ancient lake comparable to Lake Tahoe. It was connected to a large river that fed it water and sediments, making it an ideal site for the rover’s search for signs of life.

Northeast Syrtis, which got the second highest number of votes, used to have hot water circulating under its crust. Finally, there’s Columbia Hills — the group’s third and most controversial choice where the Spirit rover used to roam. Spirit found silica rocks in the site resembling hydrothermal mineral deposits on Earth. Some of the people who attended the workshop didn’t think Mars 2020 would be able to shed light on whether the rocks could truly be linked to life.

Mars 2020 will spend two years drilling for samples from the final site NASA picks. Whether or not those samples make it back to Earth depends on a follow-up mission, though. The rover won’t be coming back home, so the agency has to figure out a way to retrieve them. If NASA succeeds, they’ll be the first Martian rocks we’ll ever examine that aren’t meteorites, which don’t have the samples’ geologic context.

Source: Nature, NASA

Car makers ask Trump to revisit fuel efficiency rules

Car companies operating in the US are required to meet stringent fuel efficiency standards (a fleet average of 54.5MPG) through 2025, but they’re hoping to loosen things now that President Trump is in town. Leaders from Fiat Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota and VW have sent a letter to Trump asking him to rethink the Obama administration’s choice to lock in efficiency guidelines for the next several years. The car makers want to revisit the midterm review for the 2025 commitment in hopes of loosening the demands. They claim that the tougher requirements raise costs, don’t match public buying habits and will supposedly put “as many a million” jobs up in the air.

The Trump administration hasn’t specifically responded to the letter, although Environmental Protection Agency nominee Scott Pruitt had said he would return to the Obama-era decision.

The automakers’ argument doesn’t entirely hold up. While the EPA did estimate that the US would fall short of efficiency goals due to a shift toward SUVs and trucks, the job claims are questionable. Why would making more fuel efficient vehicles necessarily cost jobs instead of pushing companies to do better? As it is, even a successful attempt to loosen guidelines may only have a limited effect. All of the brands mentioned here are pushing for greater mainstream adoption of electric vehicles within the next few years — they may meet the Obama administration’s expectations just by shifting more drivers away from gas power.

Source: Reuters

Verizon Introduces $80 Unlimited Data Plan With 10GB of 4G LTE Tethering

Verizon today introduced its first unlimited data plan since 2011. Verizon Unlimited, which includes unlimited talk, text, and 4G LTE data, will cost $80 per month for a single smartphone or tablet, or $45 per month for four lines. The plan will be available to new and existing customers starting Monday.

Verizon charges an access fee of $20 per month per smartphone and $10 per month per tablet, but it did not confirm if those charges will apply to its new unlimited plan. If they do, the actual cost of Verizon Unlimited will start at over $100 per month. Taxes and any device payments if applicable are also extra.

Verizon Unlimited includes 10GB of 4G LTE tethering per month, with tethering reduced to 3G speeds after the 10GB of usage. The plan includes full HD video streaming, unlike T-Mobile and Sprint’s optimized plans that stream video at 480p, and AT&T’s opt-out Stream Saver mode that likewise reduces video quality.

The plan also includes calling and texting to Mexico and Canada, and up to 500MB per day of 4G LTE roaming in those countries.

Verizon Unlimited’s pricing requires paper-free billing and AutoPay. In line with rivals AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint, Verizon may de-prioritize customers who exceed 22GB of data usage in a billing cycle in the event of network congestion, so its definition of “unlimited” will be debated.

Verizon said customers can add a smartwatch or other connected device for an extra $5 per month. TravelPass, offering customers 500MB per day of 4G LTE data while traveling outside of the United States, Canada, or Mexico, reduced to 2G speeds thereafter, is available for an extra $10 per month.

Verizon becomes the last of the “Big Four” U.S. carriers to (again) offer unlimited data. AT&T’s unlimited data plan starts at $150 per month when you factor in the minimum cost of a required AT&T U-verse or DirecTV subscription, while T-Mobile ONE starts at $70 per month and Sprint Unlimited starts at $50 per month.

Verizon’s existing plans, including S, M, L, XL, and XXL tiers, will remain available to new and existing customers.

Tags: Verizon, unlimited data
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Verizon revives its unlimited data plan

Here’s a nice Sunday surprise: Verizon is bringing back the unlimited data plan. As of February 13th, the carrier is launching a Verizon Unlimited tier that gives you unlimited US data, calls and texting for $80 per month ($45 per line for a family of four). You do face the risk of throttling after 22GB of use in a given month, but Big Red is promising that you won’t see the catches that come with T-Mobile’s standard One plan: HD video streaming and hotspot support (up to 10GB at LTE speeds) are included, for example. And if you travel to Canada or Mexico, you’ll get calling and texting to those countries as well as 500MB per day of full-speed data when you’re in either nation.

There will still be 5GB, small, medium and large data plans if you don’t need that much capacity, Verizon says. You can tack on $5 per month for smartwatches and other connected devices, and a $10 per day TravelPass gets you 500MB of daily full-speed data outside of North America.

It seems like an odd move for a provider which has frequently tried its hardest to discourage unlimited data users and shift them to capped plans. However, it’s not hard to see why Verizon would suddenly welcome unfettered access with open arms. It’s facing stiff competition from T-Mobile, which engineered a dramatic comeback in recent years and upped the ante by making unlimited data standard through the One plan. Sprint’s own unlimited data focus hasn’t helped, either. Combine those with disappointing subscriber growth in the fourth quarter and there’s good reason to be concerned. Verizon might not be facing an immediate crisis, but it doesn’t want to drive any more customers to a fast-growing rival.

Source: Verizon