Drone dogfight shows what happens when unmanned swarms collide

Why it matters to you

In the future, dogfights will be fought between autonomous drones. These tests lay the foundation for their aerial tactics.

Two drone swarms took to the skies above a National Guard facility in California earlier this year to study the future of aerial warfare. No shots were fired, but the friendly dogfight gave researchers the first data on live engagement combat between groups of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

“The ability to engage a swarm of threat UAVs with another autonomous swarm is an area of critical research for defense applications,” Don Davis, division chief of the robotics and autonomous systems branch of the Georgia Tech Research Institute, said in a press release. “This experiment demonstrated the advances made in collaborative autonomy and the ability of a team of unmanned vehicles to execute complex missions. This encounter will serve to advance and inform future efforts in developing autonomous vehicle capabilities.”

The teams each attempted to launch 10 drones, but two drones failed to take off, so the dogfight was uneven. Though the drones were identical in form, the algorithms that controlled the aircraft differed, allowing them to fly in varying formations and test a number of tactics.

“Both teams were trying to solve the same problem of flying a large swarm in a meaningful mission, and we came up with solutions that were similar in some ways and different in others,” said Charles Pippin, a senior research scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institute. “By comparing how well each approach worked in the air, we were able to compare strategies and tactics on platforms capable of the same flight dynamics.”

Before taking the drones out for a live engagement, the researchers tested their algorithms in a series of rapid simulations that helped determine the most effective tactics. The researchers hope their tests will help identify how aerial battles might best be fought in the future.

“Autonomous techniques using machine learning may identify new tactics that a human would never think of,” Davis said. “Humans tend to base their techniques on tactics that manned fighters have used in the past. These autonomous aircraft may invoke new strategies.”

Some Galaxy S8 users are having a hard time wirelessly charging their phones

Why it matters to you

If you just picked up a Galaxy S8 and wireless charging isn’t working properly, you’re not alone.

Users on XDA Developers are reporting some headaches with the Samsung Galaxy S8 and wireless charging. According to a thread on the forum, Samsung’s latest flagship is exhibiting problems maintaining a steady charging rate when paired with certain wireless chargers and power adapters. Worse yet, those affected can’t determine whether the erratic behavior is by design, or is being caused by a defect.

An individual by the name of ObsidianGT started the thread on the forum and shared his findings. According to the post, using Samsung’s proprietary fast charging power adapter with a first-party charging pad will achieve the desired result. However, mixing that same adapter with a third-party charging surface will prevent power delivery, unless the authentic Samsung fast charging adapter is switched out with a standard, non-QuickCharge brick. At that point, charging will continue, but at regular speed.

That seems simple and clear enough, and would suggest that Samsung may be actively preventing the Galaxy S8 from using the company’s fast-charging tech with third-party devices whose quality it cannot verify. Given the company’s troubles with batteries, this wouldn’t come as much of a surprise. However, it may be a bit more complicated than that because, as the responses to the thread show, not all users are seeing the same results.

For example, some are finding success using Aukey’s charging pads in tandem with Samsung’s fast charging brick, while others are noticing that charging pauses after a short time. Moreover, Anker’s devices appear to be working for some users, but not everyone. And one commenter claims the same all-Samsung setup they had for the Galaxy S7 isn’t functioning for the Galaxy S8, despite the fact that the two devices reportedly use the same technology with regard to wireless charging.

Overall, there doesn’t seem to be any sort of consistent behavior between Samsung’s just-released flagship and wireless chargers. Is it possible the company implemented measures to weed out unsafe accessories? Certainly. But, right now, users are having a hard time figuring out precisely what those measures are, how they work, and, consequently, what products they should buy.

If you’re having issues wirelessly charging your Galaxy S8, let us know in the comments. We’ll update this post as we hear more on the issue.

Apple is planning to transform its retail stores into social spaces

Why it matters to you

The next time you step into an Apple Store, you may notice that there are lots more classes going on — and that a row of trees is lining the Genius Bar.

The first Apple Store opened its doors in 2001, and since then the company hasn’t done too much to tweak the look and feel of its retail presence, even if the products within have changed massively. However, a major overhaul is in the works, with 100 of its biggest locations set to undergo a sizeable update.

Apple wants to transform its stores into tech hubs, rather than just places to get the new iPhone or MacBook. To that end, the company will add a host of new classes and workshops helmed by expert employees, under the moniker Today at Apple.

These sessions will offer attendees tutelage in topics ranging from photographic techniques to music production, according to a report from CBS News. They’ll be conducted by members of a new offshoot of the Genius program, specialized staff who will be known, in Apple’s verbiage, as Creative Pros.

The familiar Genius Bar is also set to undergo some big changes. The tech support destination will be rechristened the Genius Grove, and lined with real trees to contribute to the evolution of the Apple Store aesthetic. Brand new educational spaces will also be introduced for the purposes of classes and meetings.

The revamp of Apple’s retail stores has been led by the company’s senior vice president of retail, Angela Ahrendts, who was hired by the company in 2013. The original Apple Store format was hashed out by Steve Jobs and former J. C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson.

Today at Apple sessions will get underway at 500 of Apple’s biggest stores, starting at the end of May, with 100 of those stores being outfitted with new screens and spaces imminently. There’s no word on how the company plans to roll out the changes to the rest of its locations, but it seems likely that these improvements will eventually span its entire retail presence.

Apple’s next iMac could have server-grade hardware, and cosmic-ray-resistant memory

Despite earlier rumors to the contrary, the iMac is alive and well. Apple has re-affirmed its support for the platform, and promised desktop Mac die-hards that they’ll see an update sometime in the coming year. So, how will the new iMac — or iMacs — differ from the current crop? Well, let’s take a moment to talk about cosmic rays.

On the inside

One of the most recent iMac rumors suggests that the high-end versions of the upcoming all-in-one could feature “server-grade” internal components. One such component, error correcting code memory, or ECC RAM, is designed to protect memory from single-bit memory errors — which can be caused by cosmic rays. More frequently, radioactive decay and electrical interference can also cause single-bit memory errors, which are enormously problematic for users who handle highly sensitive data — like financial records, or scientific data.

According to the same supply-chain leak, the high-end server-grade iMac could feature an Intel Xeon E3-1285 v6 processor, 16 to 64 GB of the aforementioned ECC RAM, and a 2TB PCIe SSD. That would certainly be a step-up from the current offerings, and offer a competitive all-in-one solution for creative professionals looking for some serious horsepower in a slimmed-down desktop.

As it stands, the iMac lineup has been languishing for almost two years, its discrete GPUs options definitely starting to show their age. Given that Apple opted to include mobile-grade graphics chips in the last iMac update, they didn’t exactly stand the test of time. That could change with the next generation, though.

The smaller 21-inch iMacs will probably still feature onboard Iris or Iris Pro graphics, according to MacRumors. The new 27-inch iMacs will continue to feature high-end AMD graphics cards — likely the slimmer mobile versions — but the new Radeon GPUs will feature AMD’s latest Polaris architecture, which means users will get a lot more bang for their buck.

In addition to nimble new GPUs, the next iMac lineup will likely feature Intel’s latest 7th-generation Kaby Lake processors. That would bring the iMacs a bit ahead of their mobile counterparts, the MacBooks Pro, with their 6th-generation Skylake chips.

On the outside

Aside from new internal components, the new iMacs could feature a number of exterior improvements. Chiefly, the incorporation of something that was a bit of a headline feature for the 2016 MacBook Pro: the Touch Bar.

According to Bloomberg, the new iMacs will likely feature Thunderbolt 3/USB Type-C ports on the chassis, and wireless keyboards equipped with MacBook-esque Touch Bar and Touch ID functionality. There’s no word, however, whether these keyboards will be included with the iMac, or available as a stand-alone purchase.

Here’s the big question about the new iMac’s look, though. Will it have an 8K display? Maybe. Back in 2015, LG alluded to an upcoming iMac with an 8K display, but since then we haven’t seen any supply-chain leaks or other information suggesting such a massive display will be featured on the next iMac. It’s more likely that we might see an 8K external display, like the current LG Ultrafine 5K, developed in partnership with Apple.

When can you get it?

Uncharacteristically, Apple has been fairly open about when users should expect a new iMac. In a small, roundtable discussion, Apple’s engineering chief Craig Federighi claimed new iMacs should launch in late 2017.

So, iMac die-hards have a bit of a wait ahead of them. The refreshed lineup isn’t exactly right around the corner, but it’s close enough that you should probably wait it out if you are eyeballing a current-gen iMac.

Samsung’s next smartphone might have a 98-percent curved screen

Why it matters to you

These reports confirm that the curved display and screen-to-phone ratio trends remain hot.

The Galaxy S8’s edge-to-edge curved screen is one of the most impressive things about it, but rumor has it that Samsung wants to produce one that’s even better. According to South Korean publication ETNews, the Seoul, South Korea-based company’s next-gen displays will wrap around all four edges of a phone’s sides (the top, bottom, left, and right), making it up to 98 percent screen.

Such a move would add fuel to the bezel-free fire that’s swept the mobile industry. The Xioami Mi Mix 2, the successor to last year’s Mi Mix, boasts a 93-percent screen-to-body ratio. And both ZTE’s Nubia Z11 and Oppo’s R9s both screen-to-body ratios above 74 percent.

A wraparound screen design is one LG, Samsung’s chief rival, is said to have pursued. LG Display, its screen design arm, supplies the curved screens for Xiaomi’s Mi Note 2, and is rumored to be ramping up curved-screen production for the LG V30, the successor to the LG V20.

Samsung’s next-gen screen isn’t feasible yet, though, and the problem lies in the company’s current lamination process. Wrapping the screen on all four sides of the phone could create a “blind spot” on each corner, according to ETNews, meaning they wouldn’t respond to touch.

Samsung isn’t the only manufacturer stymied by lamination difficulties. Apple, which is rumored to be considering a curved OLED screen for the next iPhone, might stick with a flat model as a result of production setbacks. Reports suggest it’s working with Samsung Display, a Samsung subsidiary and Apple’s display supplier, to develop a fix.

The design’s challenges might motivate Samsung to go another route: a flexible screen. In February 2017, the company was granted a patent on a device with a foldable display, a mechanical hinge in the middle, and a screen that folds inwards. And as far back as March 2015, Samsung was rumored to have been working on a curved smartphone with a bendable display.

Those plans appear to be on track. In early January, reports emerged that the company was prepping a foldable smartphone for the third quarter of 2017, albeit contingent on “marketability” and “profitability.” And last year at the SDI conference in San Francisco, Samsung showed a flexible 5.7-inch, 1080p display that could roll up like a scroll.

LG, too, is said to be working on flexible devices. Reports suggest that it’s preparing to commercially release devices with flexible screens later this year, and that it has already started retrofitting one of its factories with the infrastructure needed to mass produce a flexible-display device.

Apple is finally refreshing the Mac Pro – here’s everything we know so far

Once upon a time, Apple made a professional-grade desktop called the Mac Pro, which looks like a high-tech waste basket yet delivered world-class performance. Then, Apple decided not to speak of it again.

Until now. It’s been more than three years since Apple refreshed, updated, or even addressed the Mac Pro. Thankfully for Mac Pro die-hards, its modular pro-grade PC is slated for a big upgrade in 2018, or 2019.

What we know

Discussed as part of a conversation about Apple’s desktop computers, Apple’s engineering chief Craig Federighi and vice president Phil Schiller gave the Mac Pro some much needed attention.

“We are in the process of what we call completely rethinking the Mac Pro. We’re working on it. We have a team working hard on it right now, and we want to architect it so that we can keep it fresh with regular improvements, and we’re committed to making it our highest-end, high-throughput desktop system, designed for our demanding pro customers,” Schiller said, speaking with John Gruber, Ina Fried, and a few other tech journalists in a small, roundtable meeting.

The discussion continued along those lines, with Federighi and Schiller admitting the current Mac Pro was a bit problematic, if not exactly a “mistake.” To that end, it looks like the biggest change we’ll see from the new Mac Pro will be an entirely new chassis, with an emphasis on modular components.

So, why the delay? Well, it looks like the current Mac Pro wasn’t really designed to handle the kind of heat put out by its powerful internal components. Federighi mentioned during the discussion that Apple engineers didn’t really anticipate just how much heat the upgraded internals would put off.

That heat issue was the chief culprit behind Apple’s decision to ignore the Mac Pro for more than three years, rather than dole out incremental upgrades over time. It’s a problem Federighi hopes the new Mac Pro will address.

“I think we designed ourselves into a bit of a thermal corner, if you will,” Federighi said. “The current Mac Pro, as we’ve said a few times, was constrained thermally, and it restricted our ability to upgrade it,” Schiller added.

What we don’t know

Though Apple did speak of the Mac Pro, it didn’t provide any indication about the hardware that would be found inside. That’s not surprising, given that it won’t be released for some time.

Still, it’s not hard to guess the general equipment. The Mac Pro will likely include an Intel processor of the Xeon variety, alongside up to 64GB of EEC RAM, and hard drive options up to a NVMe solid state drive.

The biggest question is whether Apple will choose to pick AMD or Nvidia graphics. The latter’s hardware is currently more efficient, but Apple has worked more closely with AMD in recent years. There’s also a new GPU architecture, Vega, slated to arrive from AMD in 2017.

When can you get it?

It’s hard to say. According to MacRumors, development on the new Mac Pro started just weeks before the roundtable interview earlier this month. During that interview, Schiller stated only that customers wouldn’t see the new Mac Pro “this year.” It’s possible we could see it hit store shelves in 2018, but given how early on in development it is, we might be waiting a bit longer.

Back up aerial images on the fly with Seagate and DJI’s portable hard drive

Why it matters to you

Running out of room for aerial 4K files? The DJI Fly Drive by Seagate allows drone pilots to save files on location, no computer required.

As camera drones increase in resolution and capabilities, pilots can quickly run out of space on their MicroSD cards — but DJI and Seagate are working together for a solution. On Sunday, Seagate announced the DJI Fly Drive, an external hard drive that allows for on-location backups and data transfers with a built-in MicroSD card slot.

Designed for backing up files on location or moving files off the SD card for a second flight, the Fly Drive uses quick transfer speeds from the integrated MicroSD card slot, rated as a UHS-II, as well as quick transfer to a computer using a USB 3.1 Type-C or Thunderbolt 3 connection. The new portable hard drive will be available in capacities up to 2TB, which is enough to store over 60 hours of 4K footage — equivalent to about 250 flights with DJI’s Mavic Pro.

The drive uses a protective bumper which tucks away the USB-C cable for packing away without the twist of cables. The Fly Drive is designed to withstand small impacts, like being bounced around in a backpack, Seagate says.

The Fly Drive is the first product to come from a partnership between the drone giant and the data storage company, announced earlier this year. By working together, the two companies are hoping to work to meet the growing data demand from UAV photographers and videographers, since a 25 minute flight shooting at 5.2K from the pro-level Inspire 2 creates a file that takes up 120GB of space.

The portable hard drive, compatible with both iOS and Windows platforms, is expected to begin shipping this summer, but is on display this week during the annual NAB Show in Las Vegas. The Fly Drive starts at $120 and also includes two free months of access to Adobe Premiere Pro CC, a $40 value.

Sapphire details Pulse line of AMD 500 series graphics cards

Why it matters to you

Sapphire’s 500 series range of graphics cards is now a little broader and offers some lower-cost alternatives.

Sapphire has released more information about its new Pulse line of graphics cards, which are designed to offer a wider choice to those with lighter budgets. The new range will sacrifice fancy cooling and aggressive factory overclocks to save a little on price.

With margins so low in the graphics card game, the way to make any money is through volume sales. That’s why you’ll rarely find a segment of the market without a bespoke solution and to that end, Sapphire is spreading its offerings as widely as possible. The Pulse line will nestle itself behind the more premium Nitro+ Sapphire cards, looking to take on an audience that may have opted for a competitor otherwise.

The new graphics cards will all be based around AMD’s new 500 series Polaris graphics processors (GPU), including the RX 580, 570, 570 ITX and the 550. They will all maintain the same high-end components as the Nitro+ range, according to Sapphire (via PCPer). That means the same “black diamond” chokes, solid capacitors, and fuse protection systems will all be present on the PCB.

The coolers won’t be quite as impressive, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be capable. The higher-end RX 580 and 570 will make use of dual-fan air coolers, while the lower-end models will have a single fan. All, however, will have aluminium backing plates for added passive cooling.

The weaker cooling solution does mean that the clock speeds can’t be quite as aggressive as the Nitro+ cards. Although the Pulse RX 580 does have the same 2,304 stream processors as the Nitro+ version, its clock speed is 1,366MHz, rather than 1,450MHz.

The Pulse RX 570 has a core clock of 1,284MHz when boosted, while the ITX variant runs at 1,244MHz. The RX 550 drops things down to 1,206MHz.

The only other difference between the two ranges of Sapphire’s 500 series GPUs, is that the Pulse cards don’t have any form of LED lighting, which, if you aren’t running a system with a side window, could be a good way to save some money. Indeed most of the new cards are around $20 cheaper than their Nitro+ counterparts.

The cards are said to be shipping out now and will be available at retailers in the very near future.

Smartphone adoption will soon match total population in Brazil

Why it matters to you

Our global love affair with smartphones shows no signs of slowing, and soon may match our population.

While the world’s growing population continues to present a challenge with respect to food and energy production, the smartphone industry seems to be having no trouble keeping pace — at least in Brazil. In that country, it is estimated that this mobile device adoption will match the country’s population in the next two years.

As per new research from Brazilian think tank and university Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV), the total number of smartphones in the South American country will hit 236 million sometime between 2020 and 2022. Currently, Brazil’s population stands at just around 208 million people, and already, there are 198 million smartphones in the nation.

What’s the impetus behind this growth? As per FGV professor Fernando Meirelles, a shift in buying patterns is the chief contributor to the increase. At an event in Sao Paulo in which Meirelles presented the team’s research, he noted that younger Brazilians in particular are moving away from desktops and towards smartphones.

Brazil is quite smartphone savvy, and is now the world’s fourth largest mobile phone market. As per a related study, smartphones comprise the mobile phone market in Brazil.

Even though Brazil has actually recently experienced a decline in smartphone sales as a result of a 2016 economic crisis, that doesn’t seem like a trend that will last. Just last month, Counterpoint Research pointed out that the market was already on the rise. “Although the smartphone market declined 16 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2016, it grew 15 percent sequentially after shipments hit a trough in the third quarter of 2016,” Business Insider reported.

Indeed, smartphone adoption across the world is on the rise, with users across the world checking their devices a whopping one billion times a day more than they did a year ago.

So look out, friends. We may not be taken over by aliens or apes, but smartphones could be a cause for concern.

AT&T expands its LTE coverage to include residents in rural Georgia

Why it matters to you

AT&T’s LTE plan is another small step to help make the U.S. a more connected place with accessible internet.

In 2011, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission unveiled the Connect America Fund, a plan that overhauled the $8 billion federal budget set aside for rural and low-income phone customers. AT&T was among the internet providers that agreed to expand coverage area in exchange for funding and made good on its promise this week.

On Tuesday, AT&T said that it had completed an initial network rollout in Georgia. Residents are guaranteed speeds of “at least” 10Mbps downstream and 1Mbps upstream on a one-year, $60 per month LTE plan, and DirecTV and smartphone plan subscribers get a $10-a-month discount.

“AT&T’s Fixed Wireless Internet service is a great example of the innovative thinking necessary to bring high-speed internet to rural and under-served communities,” Betsy Huber, president of the National Grange, said in a statement. “When you consider that farmers, ranchers, and other rural residents are also small business owners, the need for high-speed internet becomes obvious. This is a milestone for communications services for rural and small-town America.”

AT&T’s expansion is a step in the right direction, but it is not perfect. The service’s speed falls below the 25Mbps/3Mbps threshold that the FCC currently defines as broadband, and usage is capped at 160GB — overage fees start at $10 for every 50GB of data past the limit, up to a maximum of $200 a month. And the Georgia site represents just a fraction of the 400,000 locations of sites AT&T plans to by the end of 2017.

That said, AT&T is making slow but steady progress. It will expand coverage to rural parts of Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin this year. And it plans to expand coverage to 1.1 million locations by 2020.

“Access to the internet is an important tool for advancing opportunities in communities. It creates economic growth, helps increase community engagement, and makes education accessible,” Eric Boyer, senior vice president of AT&T’s wireless and wired product marketing, said in a statement. “We’re committed to utilizing available technologies to connect hard-to-reach locations.”

AT&T is one of 10 carriers that accepted $1.5 billion from the FCC. The agency’s current plan calls for an expansion of broadband connectivity to the nearly 7.3 million consumers in 45 states over a six-year period, building on an earlier effort that used funding to expand broadband to over 637,000 homes and businesses.