GM eyes HD mapping to boost self-driving car development

Last year, GM bought Cruise Automation, a startup focused on self-driving car technology, and now it appears the automotive giant is getting serious about creating HD maps. Cruise Automation has just announced that it’s recruiting a Head of Mapping, who will “own the strategy, planning, and execution of our specialized HD maps,” according to the job posting.

While GM might be the country’s top auto manufacturer, it lags behind Google and other Silicon Valley companies when it comes to self-driving technology. Indeed, Google’s self-driving project, called Waymo, has an upper hand on its rivals because of the company’s robust maps. GM and other car companies are racing to keep up with the tech giant.

However, GM has an advantage that Google does not: actual cars on the road. Last year, GM announced that it would begin to use OnStar, the safety system and in-car concierge installed in its cars, to create maps for autonomous vehicles. Now, it appears as though the company is ready to take advantage of all that data. “Look at how many cars GM sells — it won’t take much to have that data very quickly,” Dave Sullivan, an analyst with AutoPacific Inc., told The Wall Street Journal.

GM also recently announced that it was adding an additional 130 cars to its test fleet of autonomous Chevy Bolts. Between its prototype driverless cars and advances in HD mapping, it appears as though GM is very serious about developing safe and effective self-driving vehicles as quickly as possible.

Via: The Wall Street Journal

Source: Cruise Automation

Ripplemaker brings modular synths to all skill levels with an iOS app

There are plenty of apps that can turn your phone or tablet into a synthesizer, but they tend to fall into two camps: they’re either affordable and simple or pricey and robust. While that’s sometimes due to the nature of the instruments they’re replicating, it can frustrating if you want an app that covers all the bases. However, music app developer Bram Bos may have managed just that. He recently released Ripplemaker, a patch-based modular synth for iOS that’s designed to ease you into the West Coast synth method (where you add harmonics to a waveform to produce an effect) while still giving you room to grow.

To start, all the modules are already wired. If you just want to play with a monosynth, you can get started right away. It’s only when you want to experiment that you have to think about patch cables. There’s also a separate sequencer that encourages dabbling in new sounds, complete with a random pattern generator that can get you started. Of course, you can sync with other apps and devices (in this case, through either Ableton Link or MIDI Clock) and export your creations as MIDI or WAV files.

Ripplemaker is available right now for $9. That’s not the lowest price we’ve seen for a synth app, but it’s better than the $20 to $30 you tend to pay for similar software. Professional musicians aren’t likely to balk at higher prices, of course (it’s still a bargain compared to a real synth setup), but the low cost makes it easier to jump in if you’re a first-timer or hobbyist.

Via: FACT, Synthtopia

Source: App Store

IKEA plans to improve AR shopping tools with help from Apple

Apple and IKEA are creating an AR app that will let customers preview how an item will look in their home. Michael Valdsgaard, IKEA’s digital transformation manager, told Swedish website Digital.di, “This will be the first augmented reality app that allows you to make reliable buying decisions.”

In the first version, customers will take photos of their homes and use the app to place images of IKEA products wherever they might want them. Valdsgaard said users will be able to position products with millimeter precision and sizing of the products will be to scale. Eventually, customers may be able to try out products and then order them through the app.

The IKEA catalog app sort of lets you do this now, but not with much accuracy. In it, you can click on a piece of furniture and see it superimposed over whatever your camera is pointed towards. You can drag the furniture around and get an idea of what it might look like in your home and you can even use the app to make sure the size is accurate. But Valdsgaard says the new app will be better with the help of Apple’s technology and experience with AR.

IKEA isn’t the only retail company with AR shopping experiences. Both Lowe’s and Pottery Barn have apps that let you get an idea of how furniture and appliances will look in your home. Lowe’s even uses AR to help customers navigate their stores and VR to give lessons on how to successfully complete certain home improvement projects.

Valdsgaard says they would like to have the app available by the iOS 11 debut, but that it may not be possible. IKEA expects to have 500-600 products available on the app at launch.

Via: 9to5Mac

Source: Digital.di

It’s time to embrace the eSIM

It’s a downright shame that eSIMs aren’t commonplace by now. Embedded SIM technology has the potential to make getting connected to cellular networks much more convenient, but there hasn’t been a consumer-friendly set of specifications for it since its 2013 introduction. That is, until last year, when the GSM Alliance (GSMA) released updated guidelines to add support for multiple profiles and devices (more on that later). Since then, thanks to partnerships between Microsoft, Intel and Qualcomm on a new generation of connected PCs with eSIMs onboard, we’re going to see the technology feature in all sorts of gadgets over the next few years.

For the uninitiated, SIM stands for Subscriber Identity Module, and it’s generally a tiny, fingernail-sized piece of plastic that you slide into a tray on your phone, laptop, tablet or smartwatch. Typically, this is found in your phone, and contains a unique reference number for your account so that your mobile service provider knows who to charge and how much access to grant you. The card also has some onboard memory to store a small number of your contacts and SMS messages.

But fiddling with a tiny, physical card is archaic and frustrating (who wants to carry around a SIM ejector?), and eSIMs can alleviate that pain. Embedded SIMs integrate the identification technology of the plastic card into the device’s processor or modem itself. For Intel-branded chips, this will be supported in its existing XMMTM 7260 modem and upcoming XMM 7360 model, while Qualcomm offers it in the Snapdragon 835 chipset. But that doesn’t mean you’ll have to buy a new device. If your machine already has a SIM card tray, you’ll be able to slide in an adapter.

Don’t worry about being locked to one carrier, though. Thanks to the new version of what’s called “remote SIM provisioning (RSP),” eSIMs can store and adopt different profiles (or accounts) so you can simply switch carriers without having to get a new card (we’ll get to what this looks like on your device in a bit). This means you could get wireless plans when you’re traveling or buy specific amounts of data without having to visit a carrier’s physical store. The GSMA, which represents the interests of about 800 mobile operators worldwide, updated its RSP specifications in March to extend this capability to gadgets other than phones.

The Samsung Gear S3 pictured above is one of the first consumer devices to use an eSIM.

Carriers will have to support this technology before you can access their networks over eSIM. So far, T-Mobile, AT&T and about 20 providers worldwide have said they’ll work with Microsoft to let eSIM-connected PCs buy data from the Windows Store. What that process will look like isn’t clear yet. Microsoft said it’s working on making the carrier selection process part of the Windows 10 interface. It could be as easy as picking a wireless operator the way you select a WiFi network, then going to the Windows Store to buy the amount of data you think you’ll need.

Based on a presentation made by Deutsche Telecom/T-Mobile at the GSMA’s March event, it could also involve entering an activation code provided by the operator in your device’s settings.

Not only will eSIMs save you trips to physical stores and remove the need to fiddle with a tiny piece of plastic, the space saved from not having a card tray anymore could also make for smaller gadgets. Since SIM cards don’t take up all that much room in laptops and phones, the space gained is most significant in things like wearables and connected devices. If they didn’t have to accommodate physical SIM trays, device makers could design LTE-capable smartwatches that are a bit slimmer.

We’re still at least a few months away from seeing the benefits of eSIM and the resulting carrier flexibility. But given the support from big brands like ASUS, Lenovo and HP, who have all signed on to make eSIM-enabled PCs, it’s clear we’ll see much more of the feature soon. Plus, who knows? In a few more years, we could even say goodbye to physical SIM cards altogether. And good riddance.

Leaked iPhone 8 Screen Protector Includes Reduced Bezels and Front-Facing Camera Cutout

New images and a video of a screen protector for the upcoming “iPhone 8” have been posted to the Chinese social network site Weibo and shared recently by leaker Benjamin Geskin and leak aggregation site SlashLeaks. The tempered glass screen protector is said to be made for Apple’s upcoming iPhone 8 with a 5.8-inch display, and represents a design that falls in line with current rumors for the unreleased iPhone.

The screen protector’s bezels are noticeably thin and are the same thickness all the way around, with the exception of the front-facing cutout for the device’s camera and various sensors. Although reports have failed to largely agree upon how Apple will incorporate the iPhone 8’s front camera into a device with dramatically thinner bezels, recent renders have suggested a minor cutout for the camera, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, and potentially a 3D sensing module.

To make the cutout less noticeable, iOS could then use deep black technology provided by the new OLED screen to make the area atop the screen appear like one uninterrupted dark strip. As Geskin tweeted out over the weekend, the new tempered glass screen protector aligns nicely with his previous iPhone 8 renderings.

#iPhone8 Render aligned with tempered glass. pic.twitter.com/OwJ2R3VxBb

— Benjamin Geskin (@VenyaGeskin1) June 17, 2017

Called the “Olixar iPhone 8 Full Cover Tempered Glass Screen Protector” and priced at $31.99, the MobileFun description for the accessory says that it supports 3D Touch and provides edge-to-edge protection for the iPhone 8’s screen. The screen protector is also said to include a 2.5D rounded edge, supporting the rumor that the iPhone 8 will include a flat OLED display.

In a separate image posted on SlashLeaks today, another screen protector manufacturer has leaked a picture of an iPhone 8 accessory, claiming the 5.8-inch iPhone will be dubbed the “Decade Edition.” This name has never been mentioned in previous reports on potential name schemes for the iPhone 8, so it’s best to remain skeptical about its veracity.

Following a report last year that Apple employees were referring to the 2017 iPhone as the “iPhone 8,” that nomenclature has largely become the go-to title for the 5.8-inch device. More recently, Japanese site Mac Otakara has suggested that the device could be called the “iPhone Edition,” marking the new iPhone as a higher-end device similar to the Apple Watch Edition. The “Edition” name would furthermore differentiate it from the iterative iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus updates also expected to launch this fall.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8
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Ring Launches Second-Generation Video Doorbell With 1080p Video and Removable Battery

Ring today launched the Video Doorbell 2 with 1080p video, up from 720p, and a removable, rechargeable battery pack.

Ring’s original Video Doorbell also has a battery, but it’s not removable, so the whole doorbell has to be unmounted and taken inside every six to twelve months or so to be recharged with an included Micro-USB cable. A removable battery pack makes recharging the video doorbell much more convenient.

Alternatively, the Video Doorbell 2 can continue to be hardwired with an 8-24 VAC transformer part of existing wired doorbell setups.

Ring’s second-generation video doorbell also features customizable, interchangeable silver and brown faceplates, and improved infrared night vision with a 160º field of view and 180º horizontal motion detection angle. It continues to have two-way audio with noise cancellation, and so-called bank-grade encryption.

Ring connects to a home’s Wi-Fi network and streams live video and audio to a paired iPhone and iPad through the free Ring Video Doorbell app on the App Store [Direct Link]. Video recordings can be saved in the cloud for up to 60 days with Ring’s optional $30 per year, per camera subscription plan.

Ring’s Video Doorbell and Video Doorbell 2 are not compatible with Apple HomeKit. A company spokesperson said the Ring Pro and Floodlight Cam will be HomeKit compatible most likely by the end of this year.

Ring is accepting orders for the Video Doorbell 2 on its website for $199, the same introductory price as its original Video Doorbell, now $179. The sleeker, hardwired-only Video Doorbell Pro is also available for $249.

Ring said the Video Doorbell 2 is also available today at all 15,000 major U.S. retailers that carry its devices, including Best Buy and Home Depot.

Tag: Ring
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IKEA Details Plans for Furniture Placement App Powered by Apple’s ARKit

At WWDC this year, Apple senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi performed a demo of the company’s new augmented reality platform, ARKit, while mentioning popular furniture company IKEA as an upcoming partner in the technology. Similarly, Apple CEO Tim Cook referenced an IKEA AR partnership in a recent interview with Bloomberg Businessweek.

Now, Ikea executive Michael Valdsgaard has spoken about the company’s partnership with Apple and ARKit, describing an all-new augmented reality app that will help customers make “reliable buying decisions” for IKEA’s big ticket items (via Digital.di) [Google Translate].

Image via Digital.di
When it launches, the app will let customers choose which IKEA product they want and then use an iPhone or iPad powered by ARKit to see how the IKEA furniture looks in their own home before it’s purchased. IKEA has been doing this for years now, including an early version which required users to scan pages of an IKEA catalogue to view AR furniture, but the company said that Apple’s platform will greatly increase the consistency and quality of the experience.

Valdsgaard said that the app will support between 500 and 600 IKEA products at launch with more being added afterwards. The augmented reality experience will even directly play into the development and launch of new products, as Valdsgaard explained that the company plans to first debut new pieces of furniture in the app to give customers a taste of what’s coming.

“This will be the first augmented reality app that allows you to make reliable buying decisions,” said Michael Valdsgaard, digital transformation manager at Inter Ikea Systems, the company that owns the brand Ikea.

Going forward, it will play a key role in new product lines. “When we launch new products, they will be first in the AR app.”

Selling furniture directly within the app is a possibility as well, but isn’t the company’s focus for the first iteration of the software. Valdsgaard said, “Ideally, you could put a sofa in your home with the help of the app, and then with one click add it in the shopping cart on the site. But we have a tight deadline.”

Several teams are working on the technology behind the augmented reality app, including one “innovation team” of 150 people located in Älmhult, Sweden — where the first IKEA opened — as well as a twenty-person team specifically responsible for the 3D modeling of furniture. The ARKit-powered IKEA app is expected to launch this fall, following the iOS 11 update.

Tags: Ikea, ARKit
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What is the Nordic Thingy:52? – Gary explains

The Nordic Thingy:52 is a clever microcontroller development board that showcases what can be done using Nordic’s Bluetooth Low Energy chip, the nRF52832. It is a platform upon which hobbyists and professionals can learn, prototype and develop IoT solutions. So let’s take a look at what it’s capable of and what it can help you build.

The Thingy:52 comes with a whole array of different sensors including a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an air pressure sensor, and a 9 axis motion sensor. Nordic also gives away for free the source code needed to build an Android app to communicate with the Thingy:52. There is also the added bonus that it doesn’t come as a geeky looking circuit board, but rather in a very presentable 6×6 cm plastic and rubber case with built-in battery, meaning you can use it to try out IoT ideas without needing to design a consumer version first.

• Read more: Gary Explains

Endless possibilities

The possibilities for the hobbyist computer enthusiast have never been greater. Smartphones are ubiquitous and come with powerful quad-core or octa-core CPUs, fast GPUs, gigabytes of RAM and gigabytes of storage. With some programming knowledge you can develop games and apps for your smartphone using free tools downloaded from the Internet. But it doesn’t stop there. Single Board Computers (SBC) like the Raspberry Pi have opened up the fields of hardware and software development to a whole new generation, while microcontroller-based systems like the Micro:bit have demonstrated what can be achieved with even simpler CPUs.

It is the latter category of microcontroller-based development boards which is likely to see the greatest interest as the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to grow. One important aspect of IoT is the idea of a sensor node that sends data to a gateway device (like a smartphone or a SBC) which in turns sends the data into the cloud for processing. A simple example would be a temperature sensor that works in conjunction with services like IFTTT to send you a notification when a preset temperature is reached.

And this is where the Nordic Thingy:52 fits. Nordic Semiconductor makes efficient ultra low power (ULP) microcontrollers with built-in Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for devices that need to run a long time off a simple battery (like a CR2032). Since Nordic is in the business of selling those chips, it is also in the business of showing what those chips can do. And that is what the Thingy:52 is, a showcase of what can be achieved, as well as a development platform for IoT projects.

Getting started

Your first task is to switch on the Thingy:52. To do this, remove the rubber case and flip the power switch next to the micro USB port. Next, download the Nordic Thingy:52 Android app from the Play store.

Start the app and hit the ‘Scan’ button. When your Thingy:52 is found, connect to it. If there is new firmware available then the app will tell you and offer to upgrade your Thingy:52. This is a really neat feature and one that is essential for any company making IoT devices. The beauty of Nordic’s solution is that you get all this for free, source code and all!

You also have the option of naming your Thingy:52. This is especially handy if you have more than one. Once that is all done just play around in the app to explore all the capabilities of the device.

According to Nordic, the Thingy:52 is designed to function for extended periods of time without charging. When you do need to charge your Thingy:52, connect it to a computer or mobile charger via the micro-USB port. Note that the power switch must be on for the device to charge. But what kinds of things can you use the Thingy:52 for?

Audio over BLE

The Thingy:52 comes with a speaker and built-in microphone. This means you can send audio from your smartphone to the Thingy:52 for playing through the speaker or you can use the built-in microphone and get the audio sent back to an Android app.

Remember that the Thingy:52 is using Bluetooth Low Energy, not Bluetooth Classic, so this isn’t the same as streaming audio to your favorite Bluetooth speaker or headphones. For the demo Nordic is using 8-bit PCM with a sampling rate of 8 KHz (much lower than the 44.1 KHz used for CD). PCM isn’t compressed so the full audio is being sent back and forth, which might sound inefficient, but it saves the little microcontroller on the Thingy:52 from having to encode and decode of the audio.

The advantage of the speaker/microphone setup is that now you can build different types of home security or digital assistant devices. For example, you could monitor the sounds in a room (like a baby monitor) and get a notification (along with the sound) when it goes over a certain level. Or the Thingy:52 could act as the front-end to a digital assistant, maybe one built on the Raspberry Pi using Google’s Assistant API.

See also:

How to build your own digital assistant with a Raspberry Pi

May 11, 2017

Doing more

The easiest way to achieve more with the Thingy:52 is to connect it to the cloud via IFTTT. The sample app from Nordic has IFTTT connectivity built into it. To use it you just need to get a Maker Webhooks token and enter it on the Cloud page of the app. Then, in IFTTT you can make an applet that triggers on a Maker Webhook for the following events:

• temperature_update
• pressure_update
• button_press

The problem with the temperature and the pressure events is that the app doesn’t actually check to see if the temperature has changed (within a preset margin): it just triggers the event every time the temperature is read. Since the maximum interval settable in the app is just 5 seconds, it means that you will get inundated with IFTTT events. Of course this could be changed in your own version of the app.

The button press event is much more useful as it only triggers when you press the button. This means you can easily setup a demo where you press the button on your Thingy:52, it then reports the press to the app, the app creates an IFTTT event and then IFTTT actions it with any of the valid actions, including controlling Philips Hue lights, making a setting on your Nest thermostat, or just simply sending you a notification.

After you have finished experimenting with the Thingy:52 and services like IFTTT then the next step, especially for those actually making consumer products, is to tailor the source code for your own needs. Initially you will probably just want to alter the Android app and make it specific rather than generic.

You probably won’t need to alter the firmware on the Thingy:52 though as Nordic has done a great job of exposing all of the functionality over Bluetooth. However, there might be some cases where you will want to alter it. For example, all the sensor data from the current firmware is real time, there is no provision for buffering a small amount of the data for cases when a connection to the Thingy:52 is lost and later re-established. However if you are working at that level then hacking the provided C code shouldn’t be much of an issue!

If you do need to play with the source code then it is all fully available on GitHub:

• Nordic Thing:52 Android SDK and sample app
• Nordic Thingy:52 Firmware
• Nordic Thingy:52 Web App
• Nordic Thingy:52 Nodejs
• Nordic-Thingy:52 iOS library and sample app

Wrap-up

If you are a gadget fanatic then the Thingy:52 is a lot of fun and there is some real potential for doing interesting things with it and IFTTT. However, the real power comes to those who know how to write Android apps. So, if you are a hobbyist computer enthusiast with app development experience then the Thingy:52 is a great way to get into IoT and try out your ideas.

If you are a professional developer then the Thingy:52 is an absolute gem as it provides so much of the infrastructure needed for just about any sensor-based IoT project. Nordic also provide all the hardware documentation necessary to build your own products based on the Thingy:52 including a bill of materials (BOM) and all the schematics. In other words, Nordic have taken all the hard work out of building an energy efficient Bluetooth-based product.

• You can find various online retailers for the Thingy:52 (~$40) via Nordic’s website

What do you think of the Thingy:52, you looking to get one? Let me know in the comments below.

4 Tech Tools to Organize Your Greek Life Activities

Life in a fraternity or sorority can be really fun, but it can also get hectic. After all, it’s not all games and parties. Being a member of a prestigious and historical organization comes with a lot of serious responsibilities as well, from recruiting new members and organizing study groups to supporting worthy causes and giving back to the school community.

The good thing is that technology these days has made work so much easier for school organizations. With help of smartphones and other smart devices, people can communicate with each other faster, create media more conveniently, and surf the Internet for information instantly.

Additionally, there are more and more innovative tech tools that further enhance productivity and encourage creativity in the way things are run in a fraternity or sorority. These apps and websites can help students get things done more quickly and efficiently, not to mention in a more fun and engaging manner.

In this article, we provide a list of some of the most important tech tools available today that fraternities and sororities should not fail to utilize. These tools can  certainly make your Greek life easier and more enjoyable:

Virtual Storage

Cloud or virtual drive storage is the first vital tech tool that any organization must set up. This is where they can store, organize, and backup important digital data. The Google Drive suite continues to be one of the most popular and well-used platforms for this, but there are many other options these days for data storage, collaborative file sharing, and other data organization functions. Be sure to look around, and try which one suits your organization’s needs best.  Also determine administrator and user roles carefully, and make sure that only the right individuals are given access to important or private data.

Group Communication Application

A group communication app is the next most useful tool for fraternities and sororities. More than letting its users rely on calling or texting each other on the phone, such an app takes communication to the next level by integrating a myriad of features all into one tool. These include a chat function, a calendar for events and activities, a poll function to determine the general preferences or consensus of the group on certain issues, and a photo album, where images can be stored, curated and shared with one another. Groups can even search for or interact with other groups and their members—it’s an exciting virtual meeting place for everyone.

Donation Platform

Donation platforms are proving to be an important tool for school organizations like fraternities and sororities because they help these groups organize fundraising activities, whether for personal causes or charity (GoFundMe), or for business ideas (Kickstarter). It also helps ensure transparency and accountability in money transactions. There is also something gratifying in seeing the money being pooled in slowly grow in amount day by day, encouraging more and more members to pitch in and achieve the financial goal.

Web Design Tools

There are a number of great layout and design template sites available these days that make it so much easier to come up with fun, relevant, and aesthetically appealing communications materials for your organization. There are literally hundreds of designs to choose from, be it for event invitations, posters, flyers, memes, Facebook covers, or slide presentations. Best of all, most of these basic designs tools are free of charge—no need to spend a lot of time and resources anymore when coming up with engaging collateral that look professionally done.

These days, it already seems unimaginable how school life would be without mobile phone and Internet technology. These fantastic tech tools are there for the taking, so be sure to make the most of them!

Best app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time

Everyone likes apps, but sometimes the best ones are a bit expensive. Now and then, developers put paid apps on sale for free for a limited time, but you have to snatch them up while you have the chance. Here are the latest and greatest apps on sale in the iOS App Store.

These apps normally cost money and this sale lasts for a limited time only. If you go to the App Store and it says the app costs money, that means the deal has expired and you will be charged. 

Orderly

Orderly is designed based on how the human mind visualizes to-do lists. The app comes with location-based reminders, so you never miss a to-do task at a particular place.

Available on:

iOS

My Checkbook

My Checkbook is the easiest way to manage your checkbook. And now, you can manage your checkbook wherever you are. It’s based on the award-winning My Checkbook desktop application for MacOS Windows.

Available on:

iOS

Compress Video

Compress video to free space on your device. This app re-encodes videos filmed on your smartphone to a smaller file size while maintaining video quality.

Available on:

iOS

Magnifier Flash

Did you forget to take your reading glasses with you this morning? Just pick your iPhone to transform it instantly into a magnifying glass with a flashlight.

Available on:

iOS

Photo Guard

Friends or family taking your iPhone? If you’re anything like us, you don’t like nosy intruders peeking into your camera roll. Let Photo Guard keep your personal life personal.

Available on:

iOS

White Noise

Do you have trouble sleeping at night? Do you want to relax your body and soul with peaceful background sounds? Do it all with this White Noise app.

Available on:

iOS