DJI Inspire 2 review

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DJI Inspire 2

When DJI released the original Inspire drone, it was an instant hit with filmmakers. Up until that point, if you wanted a drone that could carry a decent camera, you had to build it yourself — but then DJI came along, and suddenly anyone with $3,000 could get their hands on a pro-level 4K camera copter that was ready to fly straight out of the box.

Thing is, that was nearly three years ago. Drone technology has progressed in leaps and bounds since then, and nowadays you can get a 4K camera drone for under $500. But DJI isn’t one to be left behind. In late 2016, the company unveiled the second generation — and now that it’s out in the wild, we got our hands on one for an extended review.

Features and specs

A number of features make the Inspire 2 stand out from the rest of the pack, but generally speaking, it just has more stuff under the hood. We like to think that DJI calls it the Inspire 2 because it has two (or more) of everything.

Arguably the biggest inclusion is a dual battery setup, which gives the Inspire 2 a number of key benefits. Not only does it give the bird more flight time — it also protects it from battery malfunctions, and, more importantly, provides ample power for ancillary systems like cameras, stabilizers, sensors, and processors.

We like to think that DJI calls it the Inspire 2 because it has two (or more) of everything.

Speaking of cameras, not only does this drone rock a detachable and easily upgradable Zenmuse cam (ours came with the new X5S), it also sports a forward-facing FPV camera, which allows the pilot to keep an eye on what’s ahead of the drone while simultaneously watching/controlling the Zenmuse camera.

It’s also equipped with dual inertial motion sensors, dual barometers, and dedicated processors for various subsystems — including the newly-added obstacle avoidance sensors. Hell, you can even fly it with two controllers. Together, these new additions serve to make the Inspire 2 far more reliable, stable, and safe to fly than any previous iteration.

Build quality and design

In terms of form, the Inspire 2 isn’t really a huge departure from the original model. It sports the same prop configuration, the same retractable landing gear system, and more or less the same body style. There are, however, a few small design upgrades that make the Inspire 2 more versatile and capable than its predecessors — despite the fact that it doesn’t look much different.

The most notable and noticeable design change is undoubtedly the Inspire’s new forward-facing FPV camera and obstacle-avoidance system. Both systems live in a nose-mounted sensor bar, which contains a small optical lens and two laser rangefinders. Aesthetically, it’s a fairly minor change — but in terms of functionality, these systems provide a huge benefit. Obstacle avoidance gives the drone the ability to autonomously prevent crashes, while the FPV camera allows the pilot (or pilots) to keep track of the Inspire’s heading, regardless of where the Zenmuse X5S might be facing.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Build quality is, as we’ve come to expect from DJI, off the charts. Even for a DJI drone, the Inspire 2 is ridiculously well built. The props feature a new locking system that ensures they’ll never come loose during flight, while the prop arms are made of the same super-strong carbon-fiber tubing that previous generations have. If this drone crashes (which is unlikely), the only components that’d likely suffer serious damage are the props and the camera. This thing is basically a flying tank.

Overall, the design is a victory. Instead of a massive overhaul, DJI took a winning formula and made a few small improvements — which we appreciate. It’s like trading in your car for a new model year: same look and feel, but with a few extra bells and whistles that make the driving experience completely different.

Battery life and recharge time

Battery life is hugely improved in the new Inspire. Whereas the original and Pro versions averaged about 15 minutes per charge, the Inspire 2 is rated for 27 minutes of flight time. In a simple hover test, we got just over 25 minutes of flight time before the drone went into emergency landing mode — but of course, that’s not really a good reflection of real-world use. During our normal flight tests, where we flew around and made use of the drone’s many subsystems, we averaged about 23 minutes of flight time. Like any other drone, if you use features that require more processing power (obstacle avoidance, Active Track, etc.), then you can expect to see a corresponding drop in flight longevity.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

As for recharge time, you can expect about an hour on the charger before your battery reaches capacity. After our hover test (which ran the battery down to 10 percent and prompted DJI’s automated emergency landing sequence), the battery took about an hour and 20 minutes to charge up to 100 percent — but in most cases, you won’t be draining the batteries that much. If you do what most people do and land shortly after the first “low power warning” pops up, you’ll end up with roughly an hour on the power dock to recharge.

Hour-long recharge times aren’t particularly special — but one thing we do appreciate is DJI’s new charger dock. It’s designed to accommodate up to four batteries at once — and charge them all simultaneously. If your batteries are not paired, the hub will intelligently charge the cells according to power levels from high to low. If your batteries are paired, the pair with more stored power will charge first — which means you’ll get back into the air faster and spend less time waiting for your batteries to juice up.

Flight performance and autonomy

In the air, the Inspire 2 is a beast. It’s big, burly, outrageously stable, and more reliable than any drone we’ve ever flown. Despite the fact that it’s quite a bit heavier than its smaller brethren, the Phantom and Mavic Pro, it’s every bit as quick and nimble. Acceleration is a bit slower due to the bird’s extra weight and inertia — but once it gets up to speed, it leaves everything else in the proverbial dust.

The Inspire 2 far more reliable, stable, and safe to fly than any previous iteration.

DJI rates the Inspire 2 with a top speed of 58 miles per hour, but with a good tailwind you can easily get it up to 60 or higher. This is especially useful when you’re filming something that moves quickly — like a car, for example. We took it along for one of our car review video shoots (check out the video up top), and the drone didn’t have any trouble keeping pace as we zipped around corners and blasted down straightaways. That being said, if you need to use the Inspire’s obstacle avoidance abilities, you’ll be limited to a top speed of 45 miles per hour. Still, that’s pretty quick for sensor-aided flight.

Speaking of which, the Inspire boasts a slew of smart piloting features. In addition to DJI’s standard suite of Intelligent Flight modes (TapFly, Waypoint, Point of Interest, Active Track, etc), the Inspire 2 is also equipped with DJI’s new Spotlight Pro mode — which is immensely useful for filming moving objects.

Spotlight Pro uses DJI’s visual tracking algorithms to lock onto a subject during flight, regardless of the direction that the Inspire 2 flies — thereby enabling a single pilot to capture shots that would otherwise require a dedicated camera operator. If the gimbal comes close to reaching its rotation limits, the Inspire 2 itself will rotate in the same direction without affecting flight control –or the shot being captured– to free up gimbal movement. In other words, you can literally fly circles around a moving subject and the camera will stay trained on it regardless of how the drone rotates.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

And that’s really just the beginning. Thanks to all the sensors and processing power packed into the Inspire 2, the drone can basically fly itself. That’s not just a figure of speech, either — it legitimately happened during our testing process.

During my first car-filming excursion, something went horribly wrong. Toward the end of the flight (which ultimately carried me about two miles away from the takeoff point), the Inspire’s battery levels hit 30 percent. Because the drone was still on its factory default settings, this caused the Inspire to initiate its “automatic return to home” function.

The drone can basically fly itself. That’s not just a figure of speech, either.

Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem – you can halt it with the flick of a switch in the app. But unfortunately I didn’t get that opportunity. At almost the exact moment that the Inspire stopped and turned to head back, my phone rang. The “you’re getting a call” screen popped up over the DJI Go app  (Android | iOS), I panicked, and by the time I was done fumbling with my phone, the drone had already flown out of range — straight into a thicket of trees and wetland swamps.

For the first minute, I was in a state of sheer panic. I thought I had just lost a $5,000 drone, and was already dreading the call I’d have to make to DJI. But then I remembered that the Inspire 2 isn’t your average drone. It has advanced GPS, obstacle avoidance, and a slew of environmental sensors that all work in concert to make sure the drone doesn’t crash. So I crossed my fingers, hopped in the car, and headed back to the takeoff point.

Sure enough, the Inspire 2 was there. Somehow, it had managed to fly through a dense thicket of trees and foliage –completely unassisted, mind you– and navigate back to the exact point which it had taken off from. If that doesn’t inspire confidence in the drone’s autonomous flight capabilities, then I don’t know what will.

DJI Inspire 2 Compared To

Parrot Bebop 2 FPV

Hover Camera Passport

DJI Mavic Pro

3DR Solo Drone

DJI Phantom 4 Pro

Yuneec Breeze

Parrot DISCO FPV

eHang Ghostdrone 2.0

HEXO+

Horizon Hobby Chroma

Yuneec Typhoon H drone

Yuneec Typhoon Q500 4K

Parrot BeBop Drone

dji Phantom 2 Vision+

Camera and accessories

A stock Inspire 2 doesn’t actually come with a camera attached, but it’s designed to work with a handful of cameras in DJI’s Zenmuse line. Our review unit shipped with a top-of-the-line Zenmuse X5S: a Micro Four Thirds camera designed from the ground up to work with the Inspire 2.

In terms of capabilities, the X5S is big step up from its predecessors, the Zenmuse X4S and X5R. Most notably, it boasts a bigger sensor. With a pixel size of 3.4 microns, the 20.8 megapixel sensor can capture more detail than earlier generations, and also has better color sensitivity and a higher signal-to-noise ratio. As for resolution, it’s capable of shooting in 5.2K at 30 frames per second, 4K at 60 frames per second, and goes down as low as 720p.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

You can also swap between one of 8 different lenses, ranging anywhere from 18mm to 90mm. This gives you more creative freedom and allows you to pick the lens that works best for the shot you’re trying to capture. Of course, you’ll have to pay extra for these lenses, since they aren’t included in the stock X5S package — but it’s still nice to have options.

Speaking of options, DJI also offers a range of awesome accessories for the camera system — such as a dedicated 480GB solid state drive designed specifically for storing the X5S’s footage, and a long-range focus control remote that gives you faster, more tactile control over the camera’s focus settings. So between the lenses, storage options, and specialized controllers; the Inspire 2 gives you a high degree of flexibility in how you film. Whether you’re an amateur or a pro, this platform has the gear you need to get the job done.

Our Take

The Inspire 2 is, without a doubt, one of the best drones we’ve ever had the pleasure of flying. The specs and features are top-tier — but what really makes this drone special is how reliable it is. Usually, flying a $3,000 drone with a $3,000 camera attached to it would be a nerve-wracking experience. That’s a lot of money hanging precariously in the air. But DJI has gone the extra mile with the Inspire 2 to ensure that it’s basically infallible — and that’s a big deal. It’s one thing to build a drone that can carry a nice camera, but it’s entirely another to build one that’s safe and stable enough that you can fly without getting sweaty palms. If you buy this drone, you aren’t just getting a high-end cinema quad; you’re also getting the peace of mind that comes from knowing your drone is safeguarded against malfunctions.

Are there better options available?

Despite being a great drone, the Inspire 2 occupies a weird middle ground between high-end consumer drones and ultra-expensive elite cinematography drones — so it’s not for everybody.

If you’re just an average Joe looking to capture some good-looking 4K video you can share on your YouTube channel, you probably don’t need an Inspire 2. DJI’s Phantom 4 Pro boasts all the same flying modes, has a camera with a slightly smaller image sensor in its camera, and costs less than a quarter (just $1,500) of what a fully-loaded Inspire 2 does. It’s definitely not as robust in its video capture abilities, but for the average user, the P4 Pro is simply a better value.

If you’re a pro filmmaker and want something even more powerful, you’d be wise to explore DJI’s Matrice 600 platform. It’s even beefier than the Inspire 2, and can carry state-of-the-art digital cinema cameras like the Red Epic and Hasselblad A5D. But of course, it’s also more expensive. The drone itself costs $5,000, and that’s not even counting the gimbal or the camera. A fully-loaded rig can cost upwards of $30,000.

If what you’re looking for is a “prosumer” drone like the Inspire 2, but with a lower price tag, you should check out the Tornado H920 from Yuneec. It’s a hexacopter, and boasts a similar suite of features and functionality, but only costs $4,000 with camera included. The drone’s specs aren’t quite as robust as DJI’s inspire, and Yuneec’s CGO4 camera is a bit of a step down from the Zenmuse X5S — but Yuneec’s package does offer more bang for your buck.

How long will it last?

Thanks to DJI’s upgradable design and high-end specs, the Inspire 2 will likely remain at the top of its class for years to come. Of course, it’ll eventually be dethroned by competitors and new DJI releases, but given the Inspire line’s slow release cycle and future-focused design, we’d bet that the Inspire 2 won’t become obsolete for at least another four or five years.

Should you buy it?

Yes. If you have $6,000 to spare and you’re after a professional aerial cinematography rig that’s ready-to-fly straight out of the box, the Inspire 2 and Zenmuse X5S should definitely be on your radar.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Active: News and rumors

Why it matters to you

If you haven’t bought a Galaxy S8 because it’s too fragile, a rugged Active model may be on its way, ready to nestle in your slippery hands.

Samsung’s Galaxy S smartphone range has traditionally included a rough, tough version known as the “Active,” and if rumors are accurate, the Galaxy S8 model line-up will be no different. While many aspects will likely remain consistent between the regular S8 and the Active versions, there will be some key changes, aside from the inevitable rugged body. Here’s what we think we know about it so far.

Design

The Galaxy S8 won’t survive many drops –unless you put it inside a good case — due to its all-glass construction, and the curved edge screen. How will a Galaxy S8 Active improve the situation? A leaked image published on the Wireless Power Consortium’s website shows what’s believed to be the device, and it won’t have the curved Infinity display that’s the defining feature of the regular Galaxy S8.

This gives Samsung more opportunity to encase the device in a harder wearing, tougher body shell. The leaked image doesn’t show the back of the phone, or the sides in any detail; but we can see a definite protective structure around the device. It almost looks like a separate case, but The Wireless Power Consortium — the group behind the Qi wireless charging system — lists the device as the Galaxy S8 Active, making it less likely we’re looking at a faked image.

With its flat screen, the S8 Active may end up resembling the LG G6, which shares an 18:9 aspect ratio.

Specs

Samsung stuffed the Galaxy S8 full of the latest tech, and we’d expect the S8 Active to be equally as impressive; but nothing has been revealed about the phone yet. However, like previous S Active phones, the body will probably meet military protection standards, and will have an IP68 water and dust resistance rating, matching the standard model.

The other major change is likely to be in battery capacity. The Galaxy S7 Active has a 4,000mAh cell, compared to the Galaxy S7’s 3,000mAh battery. The Galaxy S8 also has a 3,000mAh battery. Due to the leak on the Wireless Power Consortium’s website, wireless charging using the Qi system is highly likely.

The Galaxy S8 has a Snapdragon 835 processor, a 12-megapixel rear camera, and a 5.8-inch screen. If the S8 Active also has a 5.8-inch screen, it will be the largest on an Active model yet.

Release and price

The Galaxy S8 Active is apparently codename Cruiser, and has the model number SM-G892A, according to a leak from SamMobile. In early May, the same model number showed up on Netflix’s website activity data, indicating the phone is being tested.

Samsung hasn’t officially announced plans for a Galaxy S8 Active, so the release date isn’t known, but the Galaxy S7 Active was announced in June 2016. If Samsung is aiming for an annual refresh, we may see the S8 Active very soon.

Upon release, the Galaxy S7 Active was an AT&T exclusive in the U.S., where it cost $800 without a contract. We’ll keep you updated with Galaxy S8 news and rumors right here.

Lenovo rep confirms 3000mAh battery for the Moto Z2 Play

Lenovo is trading battery life for a sleeker phone.

It’s looking more and more likely that the Moto Z2 Play will feature a smaller battery than its predecessor. A leak from earlier this month revealed that the phone will come with a 3000mAh battery, and a recent tweet by a Lenovo representative confirms the change:

@AnbhuleAnant Hi Anant. Moto Z2 Play has Non-removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery. Auxen_Lenovo

— Lenovo (@lenovo) May 20, 2017

The Z2 Play passed through TENAA (China’s equivalent to the FCC) at the end of last week, giving us another look at the specs. The phone is likely to feature a 5.5-inch Full HD AMOLED display, Snapdragon 626, 4GB of RAM, 64GB storage, and a 12MP camera with an f/1.7 lens.

According to the original leak, Lenovo is prioritizing a thinner frame over a larger battery, with the Moto Z2 Play expected to come in at a thickness of 5.9mm, a full millimeter thinner than its predecessor. Motorola is likely to unveil the phone on June 8, so stay tuned for more on the company’s mid-range offering in the Moto Z series.

Google I/O is the Greatest Show on Earth

Google I/O is for everyone, and that’s amazing.

Google I/O has only been around for a decade, but to many developers, tech fans and lucky writers, it’s The Greatest Show on Earth.

Though it’s shared a venue with both Apple’s and Microsoft’s developer conferences at one point or another, Google has managed to put its own colorful and at-times weird spin on the very dry notion of a developer conference. From a live Google Glass demo in 2012 involving skydivers to an infamously long and rambling question and answer period by then-CEO Larry Page, Google I/O has always been, through the thoroughly rehearsed keynote scripts and predictably healthy lunch fare, a bit haphazard and unpredictable.

This year’s conference was a bit more sedate than previous years, but no less weird or charming.

When the conference outgrew Moscone and San Francisco and shifted to Shoreline Amphitheater in 2016 — a concert venue made legend by being inspired by, and hosting 39 times, The Grateful Dead — its haphazardness took on a whole new meaning, as organizers were completely unprepared for the relentless sun and torrent of people desperate to learn about a half dozen new products that would, in retrospect, take months to materialize.

This year’s conference was a bit more sedate, but no less weird or charming. The weather, while no less relentlessly sunny, was more tolerable, and coupled with an ample number of (likely very expensive) air-conditioned tents and plenty of free water and sunscreen (the loadout for each attendee was a light cotton t-shirt, a pair of sunglasses, a metal water bottle, and a small clip-on tube of coconut sunscreen, all Google-branded), there was far less cause for complaint.

Similarly, despite the lack of major product announcements, I got the impression that developer attendees felt like this year’s show was more substantial, as most of the improvements, from Kotlin being adopted as an official Android programming language to a bolstering of existing platforms like Assistant and TensorFlow, were ready to be played with.

And then there was the annual concert, headlined by one of my favorite bands — and one that I never thought I’d get to see live — LCD Soundsystem. It was one of the nicest Google I/O surprises I can remember, surpassing watching Tycho in the spitting rain back in 2015. Google I/O is always a spectacle, but there’s something about watching thousands of increasingly drunk, swaying developers singing along to one of the most critically acclaimed and fun bands of the 2000s that makes me really happy.

Google I/O is also one of the few chances I get to convene most of the Android Central team in one place for an extended period, and there was a lot of blabbering, from the excellent podcast to the late-night pizza and beer as we scrambled to get everything finished. Working remotely is great and all, but it’s nice to recall just how awesome everyone is in person, too.

“Everyone is welcome here.”

The circus is now over and everyone has left the tent. But like the real Greatest Show on Earth, Google I/O will be remembered year after year as much for its follies as its charms. It’s a sprawling mess of an act that somehow manages to attract a growing number of fans (maybe that’s where the circus metaphor should end, though, since the Ringling Bros was an animal rights nightmare and may not survive scrutiny in a few decades) every year. And I think I know why.

It struck me when I was sitting on a picnic table drinking an afternoon coffee, lazily looking around at the passersby. A TV screen in the distance flipped between the Google I/O logo and a message: “Everyone is welcome here.” It’s a simple thing, to say that. You can even dismiss it as a platitude. But when looking around at the sheer variety of people, of backgrounds, of experience, I can confirm that to be true.

To some extent, Google I/O is a summer camp for nerds, a place where all are welcome and no one is discriminated against. In an ugly world, here’s a guarantee of three days without intolerance or disrespect, of being both an individual who matters and a part of something significant. Yes, Google I/O is just a developer conference, but there’s a good reason why I hear, time and time again, that it’s the best one there is, and the greatest show on earth.

A few more thoughts from the week that past:

• The HTC U11 is such a bizarre thing. I like what I’ve seen, but there is zero chance it’s going to make a dent in the market, especially when the least popular major U.S. carrier was the only one to deem it worthy of supporting.
• Yes, that’s how carrier exclusives work: the provider agrees to put significant amounts of marketing support behind a product in exchange for its silo. I’ve spoken to many handset sales reps who say they never go out seeking an exclusive. It’s the worst of all scenarios.
• Nope. Just nope. But I ❤️ Russell for writing this.
• I’ve had a surprising amount of fun with Alexa Calling this past week, though it’s mostly been to troll Modern Dad. I’m not quite as bullish as he is on its disruptive potential, but I do like the notion of a voicemail box for the 21st century.
• I also got a Google Home and so far, so meh. It doesn’t sound nearly as good as the Echo (which doesn’t sound nearly as good as my Sonos Play:1), but I also haven’t delved into Actions just yet. We’ll see — I’ll write something on it soon.
• On the other hand, I am so in love with the fact that I can now type to Google Assistant.
• I can’t wait until Google Lens is a thing. I can see that being used for so many useful things.
• Off topic, but the second season of Aziz Ansari’s Master of None is probably the single best season of TV I’ve watched all year, and I watch a fair amount of good television. Watch it.

Nokia 9 leak shows off dual cameras, 5.3-inch QHD display, Snapdragon 835

An early look at the Nokia 9 shows off a device with a lot of potential.

Nokia’s foray into the world of Android started off with three entry-level offerings — the Nokia 3, Nokia 5, and Nokia 6 — with the company stating that it would launch high-end phones at a later date. The Nokia 9 is likely to be the first of the premium phones, and a recent leak out of FrAndroid gives us a first look at the design and possible specs.

The phone in question is a prototype of the Nokia 9, and as such is covered in a bulky case that hides its overall design. However, it has cut-outs for the various connectors, confirming USB-C charging and the presence of a 3.5mm jack. The Nokia 9 will have a 5.27-inch QHD display with an Always On mode, two 13MP cameras at the back oriented vertically, 4GB of RAM, 64GB storage, and Quick Charge 3.0. There’s also a physical home button up front that houses a fingerprint scanner.

On the software front, it looks like the Nokia 9 will come with Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box, and the interface itself doesn’t appear to deviate much from vanilla Android. The publication notes that the camera isn’t quite up to scratch, but given that it is a prototype model, we should see a lot of improvements in that area before the phone makes its debut.

There’s no word on when the Nokia 9 will be made official, but we’ll let you know once we hear more.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 dummy shows vertical dual-lens camera

Pictures and video have appeared online that purportedly show a dummy version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.

The phone itself isn’t expected to be officially launched until September, but details have been hitting the internet over the last few weeks. Now this dummy handset has been posted. It is said to be a model that could have been shipped to a case manufacturer for size and design purposes.

From the photos and clip, you can see that the design is similar to the current Galaxy S8 and S8+ devices. It is even pictured alongside the Galaxy S7, showing that it’s not a million miles away from that phone too.

Weibo

It will have an Infinity Display, like the latest Samsung flagships, it is said. But its screen will be 6.3-inches – just a fraction larger than the S8+.

• Samsung Galaxy Note 8: What’s the story so far?
• Samsung Galaxy Note 8 said to have 6.3-inch 18.5:9 screen
• This amazing picture leak could show us the Samsung Galaxy Note 8

Where it will differ, it seems, will be with a vertical dual-lens camera on the rear and S Pen stylus.

Weibo

The rear camera has been talked about before, with rumours suggesting that it will be made up of 12-megapixel and 13-megapixel sensors. This is the first time we’ve seen it ranged vertically however. And there’s no sign of a fingerprint sensor either, hinting that speculation about an in-screen biometric sensor could be true.

Of course, this is just a dummy handset with no confirmation whatsoever that it originates from Samsung, so take everything with a healthy pinch of Himalayan mountain salt.

Shell Eco-marathon: Driving the future through super efficiency

“That green button under your foot is the kill switch,” we’re told as we strap into the five-point racing harness. “Lift your foot off it and the engine will stop.” 

The engine in question reverberates through the carbon fibre cabin of Shell’s UrbanConcept vehicle, a super-efficient car that we’re now driving slowly round a closed track in London’s Olympic Park. The looming shell of the Velo Park dominates the horizon, its celebration of speed a stark juxtaposition to today’s challenge.

Shell

“The course is not about speed, it’s about efficiency.” Those words circulate as the concept car rolls smoothly across the Tarmac and the first corner looms. Lose too much momentum and you’ll waste fuel picking up speed again; accelerate too hard and the single-rear wheel drive will twist the vehicle needing a costly correction. 

The engine is from a scooter and the cabin is sparse. It’s an empty shell designed to be as light as possible. It’s not lost on us that the weakest link in this chain is the weight of the driver, and the relative lack of skill.

Shell

That’s a challenge that’s faced by Eco-marathon participants, who build cars of this type in the UrbanConcept or Prototype classes for Shell’s competition. The UrbanConcept is a more practical design, something you might actually be driving in the future, with a seat, doors, there’s even a sliding window you’re unlikely to use. Shell even has a road legal version, adding luxuries like mirrors and indicators.

The Prototype by contrast is about pure efficiency, like piloting a sarcophagus, with the driver lying prone inside, with a small window to view the road ahead.

While most of the talk about Shell Eco-marathon is about engineering – its participants are engineering students from around the world – once behind the wheel, it’s about the skill of the driver. Just like Formula 1 at the other end of the spectrum, all the research and engineering is just to put that driver on the course and let them perform.

Pocket-lint

As we pull to a halt, the team is already opening up the engine bay and examining the fuel level. A serious shake of the head confirms what we already know: “not so good.” We blame the weight of the driver, and seek consolation in a post-race doughnut. 

Don’t blame the driver: An autonomous future 

The UrbanConcept vehicle is easy to relate to and Shell is also going to be opening this up to autonomous vehicles in the near future. Sure, autonomous vehicles aren’t that rare these days. Everyone seems to have one in development, with autonomous of self-driving features now available on a wide range of production cars.

Oxford Robotic’s approach is different, because it doesn’t reply on GPS. It uses a laser system for location identification, scanning and recognising the world around it so it can take control of the vehicle and drive it for you. The idea is to create a system that isn’t dependent on other technologies like GPS, letting you put vehicles into locations that can’t use satellite systems.

Pocket-lint

This could be underground, warehouses, urban environments or in parts of the world that aren’t covered by GPS, and give you a vehicle that can still perform autonomously. In the case of the Oxford Robotics concept, it knows the route it has to drive by recognising where it is, and drives us smoothly with no problems.

That’s really what Eco-marathon is about. It’s about approaching the problem in different ways and seeking answers by doing things differently. The focus of the student’s course has an impact. Some may be working on ultra-low friction bearings, some might be looking at lightweight materials, some might be looking telematics, figuring out how to gather data in real time and pass that back to the driver.

As long as you stick to Shell’s rules, then creativity flows and the variety of designs and solutions you’ll see taking part is striking.

Shell Eco-marathon: Getting involved 

For the last 30 years or so, Shell has been running the Eco-marathon. It’s a challenge to develop the most efficient vehicle possible, looking to push boundaries, but also the minds and skills of those who participate.

The concept for the Eco-marathon dates back a lot further – to the 1930s – when a challenge between staff at Shell in the US lead to a competition to see who could get the furthest distance on a set amount of fuel.

Pocket-lint

The participants present a wide range of variety in design, budget, focus and even fuels. You’ll find electric, hydrogen, bio-diesel and petrol. We stop by to see the contrast between Colchester Institute’s Prototype design – including pieces salvaged from a washing machine, and handstitched plastic panels – and that of University College London, with a full carbon monocoque. 

While the designs are radically different that aims are the same: to seek out efficiencies, to improve the performance and take bold steps into how we engineer the future and how we think about our vehicles in the future. That and have a lot of fun, of course. 

The competition returns to London for the second year in a row in 2017, being held at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London. Between 25-28 May, Shell will throw open the doors on the Make the Future Live festival, with free tickets for those interested in attending and taking in some of the marvels on show. You can find more information on the Make the Future website.

Amazing Nokia 9 hands-on pics appear online, along with photo samples

A phone very much thought to be the Nokia 9 has already appeared in a leaked video this month, but this latest unveiling of the handset is by far and away the most revealing yet.

French website Frandroid claims to have spent some time with the forthcoming handset, even being allowed to take photos using the prototype device in order to test its camera. It then posted the results along with shots of the phone the site used.

You might think it looks a bit odd in the hands-on images, but it’s actually hidden behind a fake casing in order to obscure the final design. The screen, camera and other ports were exposed though, suggesting that the device is the same as previous leaked pictures have shown.

• Nokia 9 to feature QHD OLED display, iris scanner and OZO Audio
• Nokia 9 flagship to launch in Q3 for €749

One of the posted shots includes a list of specifications, which reveal the Nokia 9 to have a 5.3-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) screen – it says 5.27-inches technically, but that’s generally rounded up.

It also suggests that the device will run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, have 4GB of RAM and come with 64GB of storage built-in.

There will be a mini-jack headphone socket, which will come as some relief for those annoyed at some manufacturers ditching theirs.

However, it’s not all great news as Frandroid reports that the camera results were less impressive than many other flagship devices currently available, such as the Samsung Galaxy S8 and iPhone 7.

In test shots, the images displayed a lack of some detail and light performance was average.

Frandroid

It must be remembered that this is said to be a prototype Nokia 9 rather than the final phone, so things could get better by the time it is fully consumer-ready. And Frandroid was impressed by one camera feature – the ability to take simultaneous, square shots using the rear and front-facing cameras.

No announcement date has been revealed so far, but previous rumours point at a third quarter launch and a price of around €750 (£650).

The Morning After: Monday, May 22nd 2017

Hey, good morning! Over the weekend, you might have missed the (legal) consequences of emoji, Microsoft’s holographic display that could squeeze inside your glasses, and how drones and AI are battling poachers.

A smiley isn’t just a smile for everyone.
Israeli court says emoji can signal your intent

Emoji are always open to interpretation, and when the person reading them is a judge, there could be tangible consequences. A court in Israel has ordered a couple to pay $2,200 for using emojis that “convey great optimism” in a text they sent to a landlord when looking for an apartment. After a few back and forths, the couple stopped responding, with their last text promising to send him the changes they wanted to his apartment contract. While the landlord eventually found another renter, he took the other couple to small claims court for misleading him with their emoji use.

A single revolution of their blades can reportedly power one house for 29 hours.
UK switches on the world’s largest wind turbines

The largest wind turbines in the world have started producing energy for the UK. Dong Energy, the Danish company behind the project, has recently switched on the 32 gigantic structures in Liverpool Bay. At 640 feet, the turbines are taller than some skyscrapers, and have 262-foot-long blades that can generate 8 megawatts of power.

You don’t need an elaborate headset to experience augmented reality.
Microsoft’s true holographic display fits in your glasses

A lot of the technology billed as holographic, well, isn’t. Real holography requires a laser-generated 3D image, and it’s no mean feat to stuff that into something you can comfortably wear. Microsoft researchers have developed a true, near-eye holographic whose optics can fit inside a regular pair of glasses. The mirrors and the liquid crystal on silicon needed to achieve the effect sit inside the frame — it’s only the electronics that have to stay outside. Tiny-sized projectors normally result in an unusable picture, but the researchers’ adjustments have made it easy to read details down to individual pixels.

Still need to make less CO2.Sorry, you can’t plant enough trees to offset fossil fuels

Ever planted a tree to feel better about your environmental footprint? It might not be the solution to climate change you hoped it would be. A simulation-based study has determined that it would be utterly unrealistic to plant enough trees to offset humanity’s CO2 emissions as they are — the plantations would need to be so big that they’d “eliminate most natural ecosystems” or cut into food production.

But wait, there’s more…

• The world’s largest tech fund is run by SoftBank and Saudi Arabia
• After Math: Get free
• Drones and AI help stop poaching in Africa
• Switzerland votes for an end to nuclear power

Amazon’s checkout-less Go stores could be coming to the UK

Amazon’s checkout-free grocery stores could be coming to the UK and Europe, if its recent intellectual property filings are anything to go by. Bloomberg reports that the retailer has successfully registered trademarks for slogans “No Lines. No Checkout. (No, Seriously.)” and “No Queue. No Checkout. (No, Seriously.)” with the UK Intellectual Property Office, hinting that it’s already planning to its high-tech Amazon Go stores outside of the US.

The registered strap lines were first used in a promotional video (shown below) for Amazon Go when the company first unveiled the concept in December 2016. In it, shoppers are shown signing in on the Amazon Go app, filling their bags and then leaving the store without stopping to check out. Sensors can detect the products and automatically bill the customer. Amazon calls it the “Just Walk Out Shopping” experience and has already opened its first store for employees in Seattle.

While Amazon has yet to confirm its expansion plans (the company also has registrations pending with the European Commission), major UK supermarkets will be keeping a keen eye on things. In a bid to mirror Amazon, Tesco recently confirmed it’s trialling a new one-hour delivery service, but is currently only offering the option to select customers and staff in London zones 1 and 2.

Via: Bloomberg

Source: Intellectual Property Office