CES 2018: Satechi Announces 75W USB-C Multiport Travel Charger

Satechi today announced the launch of a new 75W USB-C travel charger that’s equipped with multiple ports to charge all of your devices with one simple power adapter.

The 75W Multiport Travel Charger offers four charging ports, including a USB-C power delivery port, two USB 3.0 ports, and one Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 port.

The USB-C port can provide up to 60W of power, making it suitable for the 12-inch MacBook, the 13-inch MacBook Pro, and similar USB-C devices. It can also charge a 15-inch MacBook Pro, but as that machine accepts up to 87W of power, it may not charge fully with the Multiport Travel Charger when under a heavy workload.

While charging a MacBook or MacBook Pro, the Travel Charger can also charge your iOS devices at the same time, with up to 75W of total power provided.

When using the USB-C port with a USB-C to Lightning cable, the Travel Charger enables fast charging on supported devices like the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X.

Satechi says the Travel Charger features an input range of 100-240V, allowing it to meet the voltage requirements of multiple countries. It has also been designed with a compact size to make it easy to fit into a backpack or luggage.

Satechi’s USB-C 75W Multiport Travel Charger can be purchased for $60 from Amazon.com or directly from the Satechi website for $64.99.

Tags: Satechi, CES 2018
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Ingestible gut sensors reveal potential new immune system

Ingestible technology — the stalwart theme of medical sci-fi — has been in the works for decades, but now researchers are closer than ever before to taking it mainstream thanks to successful trials of gas-sensing capsules. The swallowable sensors, designed by RMIT University in Australia, could revolutionize the way gut disorders and diseases are diagnosed and treated, offering a potential game-changer for the one-in-five people worldwide who will suffer from gastrointestinal problems in their lifetimes.

The capsule is the size of a vitamin pill and works by detecting and measuring gut gas in real time, then sending data to a mobile phone. Trials have uncovered bodily mechanisms never seen before, including what could be an entirely new immune system. “We found that the stomach releases oxidising chemicals to break down and beat foreign compounds that are staying in the stomach for longer than usual,” said study lead and capsule co-inventor Professor Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh. “This could represent a gastric protection system against foreign bodies. Such an immune mechanism has never been reported before.” The researchers also found evidence that the colon contains oxygen, contradicting previously-held beliefs that it’s an oxygen-free area of the body.

The technology also provides a more effective way of measuring and analyzing activities in the gut. Scientists would previously have to rely on faecal samples or invasive surgery, which Kalantar-zadeh noted is “not a true reflection of the gut microbiota at that time”. The capsule has now passed human trials, and the team is exploring ways of commercialising the technology, partnering with development company Planet Innovation to bring the product to market.

Via: Science Daily

Source: Nature.com

Jimmy Iovine denies reports he will leave Apple in August

Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine has squashed rumors that he’s leaving his post as Apple Music chief — and leaving Cupertino altogether — in August. At a Q&A event held to promote The Defiant Ones, the HBO documentary delving into his partnership with Dr. Dre, he announced that there’s still more he’d like to achieve in the streaming biz. “I am committed to doing whatever Eddy [Cue], Tim [Cook] and Apple need me to do, to help wherever and however I can, to take this all the way,” he said, contradicting Bloomberg’s report that he hasn’t been getting along with services chief Eddy Cue.

According to Iovine, most of his stocks vested long ago and he’s not delaying his departure only because he’s waiting for the rest of his stocks (a tiny portion, he said) to vest in August. He admitted that his contract is up that month, but he insisted that his time with Apple wouldn’t end when that contract expires. As for how long he’ll stay with the company, he could only say that he doesn’t see himself still doing music at 75 — the exec is turning 65 in March.

Before he retires, he first wants to help the company grow its streaming service and to get it right. Iovine once explained that he wants Apple Music to be more than just songs and playlists, leading to the launch of original shows like Planet of the Apps and Carpool Karaoke. He’ll likely come up with more projects while he’s still around in an effort to grow the service’s 30 million user number to something closer to Spotify’s 70 million.

Source: Variety

Sting is the narrator in ‘Where the Water Tastes Like Wine’

When the story trailer for Where the Water Tastes Like Wine dropped in August, it featured the voice of one of the most prolific and famous singers of the past forty years — and no one noticed. Sting, the lead singer and bassist of the Police and a successful solo artist in his own right, voices the wolf in Where the Water Tastes Like Wine, which basically makes him the narrator of the entire game.

Developers Dim Bulb Games and Serenity Forge revealed the voice cast today and it includes a lineup of gaming’s heavy hitters, including Dave Fennoy (Lee in Telltale’s The Walking Dead), Cissy Jones (Delilah in Firewatch) and Kimberly Brooks (Ashley Williams in Mass Effect 3). And then there’s Sting.

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is a surreal, poetic journey through American legend and fantasy, featuring hand-drawn art and original folk music. It spans a century of US history, introducing players to a vast cast of drifters, fortune tellers and magical creatures — which makes the inclusion of Sting, a British rock musician, even more unexpected.

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is developed by Dim Bulb Games and Serenity Forge, and published by Good Shepherd Entertainment. Look out for it on PC in early 2018 — we certainly are.

People don’t want to talk to LG’s big friendly robots

Last year was when talking to a smart speaker started to become the norm, but surprisingly, LG has struggled to replicate the same success with its CLOi series commercial robots. Ahead of LG’s CES show, I talked to its Head of Research for Life Robots, Jaewon Chang, who updated on the company’s robot trial service in South Korea’s Incheon International Airport. Since deployment in July, each of the five Guide Robots has interacted with around 2,500 people. However, only a quarter of travelers used voice interaction, with the majority preferring the touchscreen mounted vertically on the robot’s chest. Likewise, just as few people let the robots guide them to their destination. Chang needs to find a way to boost those figures — and make us learn to trust these big friendly robots.

“There are still psychological barriers in using voice recognition and also following robots around for directions,” Chang said. “They feel this awkwardness and some degree of hesitation.”

Having interacted with Pepper out in the wild on several occasions, I questioned whether a more humanoid form factor — or at least the addition of arms — would help. While Chang admitted that he’s interested in humanoids and that his team will ultimately add arms to its robots, initially those limbs would be largely decorative, gesturing aside. Then there’s also the issue of how certain cultures perceive humanoid robots: Chang pointed out that Japan may have its friendly Astro Boy, but American folks will bring up the ruthless Terminator as a counterexample.

“To take away the awkwardness, we need to change the [conceptual] perception of the users … adding arms won’t solve that issue. It’s up to companies to gain more trust from the consumers, making them believe in our products more,” Chang explained. He added that this will eventually change when those arms become sophisticated enough to perform meaningful tasks.

For Chang, the missing ingredient in many robots right now is artificial emotion. We’re not talking about having a humanlike face here; specifically, it’s the combination of recognizing the user’s mood and responding accordingly, with the former relying on video-recognition artificial intelligence — something that Chang believes the industry as a whole should put more effort into.

This is where the much smaller CLOi Hub Robot comes in. Much like its siblings, the Hub Robot also features a circular face showing a pair of jade-colored eyes that can animate a range of expressions; and unlike the ASUS Zenbo, it doesn’t feature a mouth. (Perhaps that’s why the bot stopped talking to the presenter halfway through his keynote at CES.)

Even though the machine lacks mobility, it’s able to wiggle on the spot to pull some cute moves or even dance to music. Better yet, on top of common interactions like proactively greeting, asking or making suggestions to a person, it claims to be capable of delivering appropriate emotional reactions based on the user’s tone.

I’m also looking forward to the Hub Robot’s ability to control other LG home appliances — a bit like using LG’s own smart speaker except more fun. There’s no word on when the bot will hit Western markets; all we know is that it’ll be made available to Korean consumers in Q2 2018. Additionally, you can also expect the device to start serving customers in banks and shopping malls in the same region soon.

It’s still too early to tell whether the Hub Robot will be a commercial success. If anything, it seems that LG may actually have a better chance with its larger, slightly more imposing machines. “There are two major areas where we could see a real takeoff in commercial robots: hospitality and logistics,” Chang added. “The logistics market is expected to be far greater than that of hospitality.”

Throughout the months of airport trialing, LG optimized its Guide Robots’ voice-recognition technology for noisy environments, and it also improved the path-planning algorithm for both its Guide Robots and Cleaning Robots to better suit the busy floor. In the end, one of the Guide Robots accumulated a total travel distance of more than 120km within the airport building. Chang pointed out that thanks to the robots’ exposure at Incheon Airport, his team received more trial requests from potential clients who had figured out other use cases — hopefully ones that will encourage more voice interactions between machine and human.

To that end, LG announced three new CLOi industrial machines at this year’s CES: the Serving Robot, the Porter Robot and the Shopping Cart Robot. On top of that, Chang has been leading LG’s development of two other robots since 2015: a robot vacuum cleaner and a lawn mower bot, with the latter expected to hit European markets in the second half of 2018. The company might not have made the perfect robot, but it’s very aware of the challenges it still needs to overcome. It’s not giving up anytime soon.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2018.

LG is launching its mobile payment system in the US this year

LG launched its mobile payment system in South Korea last June and Yonhap News reports LG Pay is finally on its way to the US. The US expansion is reportedly planned for sometime during the first half of this year and might be launched under a new name — LG Wallet. Android Police actually spotted an LG Wallet app in the Play Store a few days ago, but it has since been removed.

LG has some catching up to do if it wants to be a competitor with Apple and Samsung. Samsung released its mobile payment system in 2015 and it’s now available in 21 countries while Apple Pay is supported in 25 countries and regions. Android Pay, meanwhile, is available in 17 countries.

At launch, LG’s payment system will be available on G7 and V40 premium phones in the US and next year, LG will expand the system to its mid-range phones.

Via: Yonhap News

Drunk droning in New Jersey could land you in prison

The law is pretty firm when it comes to drunk driving — the consequences are obvious. Now, officials are turning their attention to drunk droning. New Jersey has just approved a bill that, if signed by Governor Chris Christie, would make it illegal to fly one under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Operating a drone with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.8 percent of more (the same legal limit for driving a vehicle) would be considered a disorderly offence under the new rules, and would carry a $1,000 fine and up to six months in prison.

There’s been no shortage of drone crash stories in the news in recent times — one of the most famous being the 3AM crash land on White House grounds in 2015, thanks to a drunken mishap. Even the army can’t get it right. So it’s no surprise companies are offering crash insurance for the devices.

The bill, which was approved 65-0, also aims to outlaw other shady drone practices, such as knowingly endangering someone’s life or property, harassing wildlife, or messing with the security of a correctional facility. If you’re caught doing any of these, you could face up to 18 months in prison and be handed a $10,000 fine. Governor Christie must now sign the bill before leaving office or the legislation is dead, but with at least 38 states considering restrictions on the devices this year, you can expect to see similar laws being rolled out elsewhere soon.

Via: NorthJersey.com

Source: Reuters

Soofa’s Sign is a 21st century smart bulletin board

Smart cities of tomorrow will run on information, with various pieces of connected urban infrastructure all sharing data amongst themselves. But what sharing information amongst the citizenry? That’s where the Soofa Sign, a community bulletin board for the 21st century, comes in.

The Sign is designed to serve as a standalone information-sharing platform and boasts a 42-inch solar-powered e-ink display. Community members can post messages and announcements at each Sign using the kiosk’s open CMS, which also tap into the municipal transit system to display pertinent information like upcoming bus arrivals as well as social media feeds.

A series of Soofa Signs were recently installed throughout Las Vegas’ downtown “Innovation District” as part of a six-month pilot program with the city. They’ve been placed at the stops for the Downtown Loop free shuttle and relay wait times for passengers.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2018.

GoPro’s Nick Woodman confirms he’s ‘open’ to selling

It’s barely the second week of 2018, and GoPro’s already been through the media-mill. Reports first surfaced that the company was about to begin another round of layoffs, and that it would shutter its drone business for good. Those proved to be true. Then, just two days ago, a second story claimed GoPro was actively looking to sell off its business.

At CES, GoPro founder and CEO, Nick Woodman, took to the Engadget stage to dismiss the rumor that it was seeking a buyer, but he also confirmed they’re open to offers. Woodman even alluded to which companies he might be most interested in working with. (Hint: Social networks.)

To someone who’s followed GoPro closely for the last few years, the most interesting aspect was Woodman’s change of language. Previously, any talk of GoPro being bought out (which has been going on for years) has been quickly dismissed. During my interview with him on stage at CES, he made several references to being “open” to opportunities and spelled out why his company would be a good get.

First we need to understand why GoPro might want to sell. The closure of the Karma project obviously shows that it was an expensive experiment that wasn’t helping the bottom line. On top of that, recent financial information showed that even GoPro’s cameras weren’t selling as well as the company had hoped. Specifically the Hero 5, which was still on sale for the same price it was a year ago (despite being replaced by a new flagship).

To rectify that, GoPro cut the price of the Hero 5 and the Hero 6 by $100, which Woodman claims has reinvigorated sales. He also hinted at the first new product of 2018. “We have a new product coming out in the first half of the year that’s going to be really exciting for our entry-level customers.”

One of Woodman’s favorite mantras has always been that, at GoPro, they are the user, so they make products for themselves. “I’m sitting up here on stage saying that’s no longer the case. And it’s a good thing.” Woodman’s referring to a change of strategy where they acknowledge the need to build products specifically that their customers want.

So, a new focus and a leaner team might lead to profitability. But there’s still that pesky rumor of a buyout. “At the heart, I’m an entrepreneur that wants to see GoPro succeed … I would be thrilled if the easiest, most efficient way to achieve that was through the sale of the company to a bigger business that could really help GoPro shine.” Woodman said.

He cushioned that statement a little by adding that the prudent thing to do, right now, is carry on as if they were to remain independent forever. While he stated that they are open to opportunities, he claimed that GoPro wasn’t actively out “shopping the business,” which is contrary to reports yesterday from CNBC.

If he was seeking a corporate suitor, Woodman said he’d want one that can scale and add to their vision. He also mentioned the social aspect of GoPro — sharing. If there was a partner that could dramatically scale their reach, turn on new customers, and make GoPro more accessible, Woodman said that “we would be all over that opportunity.” To me, that sounds like something a social network, rather than a hardware-only company could offer.

I asked that exact question — would Facebook (and by proxy Instagram) or YouTube (Google) or even Snap (Spectacles) — be ideal partners to meet their needs? All those companies have huge platforms, rely heavily on video, and have dabbled in hardware (Facebook owns Oculus remember). His response? “People’s social activity, and the viral nature of it, really is the reason that GoPro exists.”

Woodman went on to suggest that social networks, as a software product, aren’t always sure about making hardware. “It’s something that’s non-obvious and new to companies.” I’m not saying he’s hinting that it’s something to these networks that it’s worth exploring, but it would be easy to read that between the lines. If you were so inclined. Especially when he added, “And apparently there are only so many companies willing to do truly new things in this world.”

As for why an approach hasn’t happened already, Woodman candidly admitted that, in the past, there had been “real questions about GoPro’s viability.” Before reminding us how much more social the world is now, how much more convenient a GoPro has become (for sharing), and how the app will make a video for you. Referencing Instagram by name, he talked about how the “social opportunity is clearly growing.”

For now, though, it’s business as usual. This week GoPro announced that it’s “Overcapture” feature — key to the consumer success of Fusion — is finally available, and it’s still selling its remaining Karma inventory and the newly priced cameras. One thing’s for sure: 2018 will be an action-packed year for the company either way.

Wi-Fiber’s streetlights are an easy way to make cities smart

The difference between the technology in our pockets and that lining out streets is growing ever more pronounced, and that’s a problem. it’s one of the reasons that smart city technology is going to become an increasingly visible part of the world over the next few years. Communities need to catch up, and companies like Wi-Fiber are hoping that offering a way to retrofit new equipment into existing infrastructure is the solution.

The company has produced a modular street lamp that can be customized to suit any number of needs, from smart lighting through to municipal WiFI. First up, there’s LED bulbs that will offer more efficient lighting, and also the ability to change colors and strobe. That could be useful, for instance, if law enforcement are responding to an emergency, the lights can be flashed to highlight where the crisis is taking place.

Unfortunately, the system will also offer up an easy way to further the reach of our surveillance state, including a 4K camera and two-day microphone and speaker. In addition, the company is pledging that the footage can be archived and searched, ensuring that Big Brother knows exactly where you are, and when. But, on the upside, the system can be fitted out with gunshot sensors, air quality monitors or even ZigBee controllers.

The placement of municipal WiFi in city centers can also benefit both cities — which can cut down on their cellular subscriptions — and individuals, especially in our smart car future. Wireless infrastructure will better enable machine-to-machine communication, or at least it could, depending on how it’s implemented. In fact, that’s the rule for all of these things: it all depends on how it’s implemented, and the intentions of those who do.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2018.

Source: Wi-FIber