Samsung’s C-Lab adds character to AI at SXSW

Samsung’s C-Lab has made a name for itself over recent years with a bunch of offbeat concepts . The in-house startup accelerator takes Samsung engineers’ free-time projects and turns them into products. In the past we’ve seen speakers, wellness tech and AR experiments, but at SXSW the incubator’s focus is on artificial intelligence.

The first concept on show was Toonsquare, which uses AI to convert sentences into cartoons. Like Samsung’s AR Emoji, the process starts with a selfie but instead of creating a creepy 3D version of you, it generates a cutesy chibi. A few of us tried this out, and each time the character was a convincing (if unflattering) representation.

Once you have your character, you type words into speech bubbles, and the AI will work to discern the emotions in each sentence. It’ll then customize the pose and expression of the character, and the formatting of the speech bubble, to match the words. We tried it with basic sentences, and it seemed to be fairly robust.

The idea is that you can string together panels into comic strips, picture diaries, or just create single shareable images. The team is also considering whether the app may have health or educational benefits — it would be easy to turn the app into a visual tool to help young children with autism to express emotions.

The other project is Aurora, which is both a wireless charging dock and a virtual assistant app. You slide your (Samsung) phone into the Aurora dock, where a bunch of mirrors “project” the phone’s screen onto a tilted piece of glass below. A secondary mirror setup above adjusts the phone camera’s viewpoint to be facing in front of the dock.

Once the phone is docked, it launches the Aurora app, which is a virtual assistant (also called Aurora) in the form of a cutesy 3D robot. You communicate with Aurora verbally, and can also make gestures to scroll through information Aurora brings up. (Ask “What’s the weather today,” for example, and you’ll see today’s forecast, but then you can swipe to the left in the air to see tomorrow’s.)

I’m personally a big fan of bringing character to AI — I would much rather interact with a little robot than an inert Alexa. With that said, Aurora was very limited, really only responding to questions that the original Siri would’ve handled. Perhaps, if the public reaction is strong enough, Samsung will let the developers tap into Bixby, which, while imperfect, would improve Aurora’s capabilities a lot.

There’s no word on if and when that might happen yet — Aurora is firmly in the “concept” phase for now. Toonsquare, however, is already available in beta form on Google Play, with an iOS release tentatively penciled for later this year.

Catch up on the latest news from SXSW 2018 right here.

Stephen Hawking passes away at age 76

Late Tuesday night the family of Stephen Hawking announced that the physicist has passed away at the age of 76. Awarded more than a dozen honorary degrees, Hawking theorized that black holes emitted a form of thermal radiation, and contributed to work trying to unify Einstein’s theory of relativity with quantum physics.

In 1988 he wrote “A Brief History of Time,” serving as an overview of astronomy and modern physics, which went on to sell more than 10 million copies, spurring a biographical documentary directed by Errol Morris and produced by Steven Spielberg. In 2014, Eddie Redmayne won a best actor Oscar for his portrayal of Hawking in The Theory of Everything, based on accounts of his early life by his first wife Jane Hawking.

After contracting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 1963, he was told by doctors that he had two years to live but survived for 55. The disease eventually reduced his body control to flexing a finger and eye movements, so Hawking relied on his wheelchair for movement and a computer controlled via eye-tracking to speak. The software he used to communicate was released for free, and the scientist experienced zero-gravity aboard the “vomit comet” during a flight in 2007.

In a statement, his three children said:

“We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today.

He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years.

His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humour inspired people across the world.

He once said, ‘It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.’

We will miss him forever.”

It had to happen, eventually. We were lucky to have him for so long, and I was lucky to be able to work with him. A truly fabulous human being. Stephen Hawking. Funny, perverse, and, of course, brilliant.

— errolmorris (@errolmorris) March 14, 2018

Deezer can provide the soundtrack for your Xbox One games

You don’t have too many options for large, on-demand music services that will stream in the background of your Xbox One games. Now that Groove Music is no more, Spotify is the main game in town. Thankfully, Deezer just gave you a viable alternative. Its newly launched Xbox One app gives you all-you-can-hear music streaming regardless of what you’re doing on your console, including background streaming while you play.

Any of Deezer’s paid subscriptions will work, including the standard $10 per month Premium+ as well as HiFi, family and student plans. The app should be available in “most” countries where the Xbox One itself is available.

Deezer undoubtedly faces a tough sell for any would-be streamer who hasn’t settled on a service, but the Xbox One app isn’t strictly for them. It’s more for those who are already invested in Deezer’s ecosystem and might be tempted to switch to Spotify for the sake of Xbox streaming. Now, they don’t have to choose — it’s just a matter of whether or not service-specific features (such as Deezer’s automatically curated Flow stream) scratch their itch.

Source: Deezer

Fitbit Ace is a basic fitness tracker to keep your kids active

In addition to the Fitbit Versa, the company also introduced the Fitbit Ace — for children between ages eight to 13. Kids are able to track activity while also providing parents with an overview of what they’re up to.

Modeled after the Fitbit Alta, the Ace comes in two different colors — Power Purple and Electric Blue. By glancing at the display, users can easily read both their steps and statistics. The wristband is also designed for growing kids, allowing them to adjust it whenever it starts to feel too tight.

In terms of features, the Fitbit Ace can track steps, how long kids are active each day, and how long they’re sleeping. If kids hit their goals, they’ll receive celebratory messages as well as achievement badges. But unlike other children’s wearables, the Ace doesn’t have any GPS capabilities so it won’t track children’s exact location.

Kids are able to set their own daily goals and active minutes for the Ace to track each day. They can also compete in step challenges with other family members, and send each other messages or cheers. Parents can also turn on Reminders to Move, which will send kids friendly on-screen messages to encourage them to stay active throughout the day.

All of the information can be viewed through the Fitbit app, which syncs wirelessly to iOS and Android devices. Parents will have to set up a family account, along with an account for their child. Through ‘Parent’s View,’ parents have an in-depth view of their child’s activity while Kid’s view is more restricted. It allows children to see their stats, badges, and more, but can be turned on and off by the parent.

But Fitbit also made sure the information kids had access to wasn’t going to impact them negatively. So, statistics like body fat percentage or calorie count won’t be accessible for them to see.

When it comes to battery life, the Ace should be able to last kids up to five days but this could vary depending on use. Since it’s showerproof, both parents and kids won’t have to worry about ruining it when there’s a spill. There are also 10 clock face designs to choose from which show goal progress, date, and time, among other information.

The Fitbit Ace is currently available for pre-order on Fitbit’s site, and will cost $100.

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Amazon is recalling 260,000 AmazonBasics power banks after reports of burns

If you recently bought an AmazonBasics external battery, you may want to send it back. Amazon has announced that in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, it’s issuing a voluntary recall of six models of the AmazonBasics Portable Power Banks. The news was first picked up by The Verge.

Included in the recall are the 16,100mAh, 10,000mAh, 5,600mAh, 3,000mAh, 2,000mAh with Micro USB cable, and 3,000mAh with Micro USB cable models. Amazon says it will be sending out emails to all customers that bought affected models, and will recommend to those customers that they immediately stop using the power banks. Customers will also get a link to return the product and get a refund. The devices were sold between December 2014 and July 2017

According to the U.S. CPSC, around 260,000 units are affected by the recall, which isn’t small. Of the 260,000 people that bought, Amazon received 53 reports of overheating, including one instance of chemical burns and four reports of property damage.

While Amazon’s name is on the power banks, they’re not actually built by Amazon — just branded as such. Instead, they’re built in China by a company called Guoguang Electric Company Ltd. According to a report from Gizmodo, it’s possible that Guoguang Electric may also be involved in building products for the likes of Bose and Harman — though that hasn’t really been confirmed.

If you have an AmazonBasics Portable Power Bank and did not receive an email, Amazon is urging you to head to the recall site, where you can get more information about the recall and register for a refund.

Power banks are a great way to ensure that you have enough battery to last you through the day, and they’re getting better and better. They now offer a ton of extra juice, not only for a smartphone, but also for other devices. Some even have an AC power outlet, meaning you can use them to charge devices like a computer.

AmazonBasics products are known for being decent quality, but inexpensive and, as the name suggests, basic. While you won’t get any fancy features, you will get the product at a reasonably price, and usually it will be reliable. Of course, as the recall proves, cheap manufacturing means that reliability can’t be 100 percent guaranteed all the time.

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How to connect your phone to an Xbox One with the Xbox app

Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends

Microsoft’s dedicated Xbox smartphone app is a great way for players to stay engaged with their gaming friends while on the go.

Like Sony’s PlayStation app, the Xbox app allows users to purchase games, share content, view their achievements, and send updates to their followers on Xbox Live. It also provides additional tools for viewing achievements, controlling movie playback, and accessing social elements such as profiles and messaging, all of which is much more convenient than logging onto your console or PC to do the same thing.

All it takes to gain complete control over your Xbox experience is a little bit of patience. The process for pairing your devices is now easier than ever, so read on for our quick-hit guide on how to connect your smartphone to an Xbox One on Android and iOS.

Step 1: Download the Xbox app

Before downloading the Xbox app for iOS or Android, you’ll want to update your smartphone or tablet to the latest version of its respective operating system. Users of iOS need version 9.0 or higher to run the app. Microsoft recommends Android users have version 4.0 or higher. Once updated, head over to either iTunes or the Google Play Store and enter “Xbox” in the search field to locate the app.

Tap the Install button to begin downloading the app to your smartphone or tablet, and launch it once it’s installed. Then sign into your Xbox account when prompted.

Download for:

iOS Android

Step 2: Connect to your network

To sync your Xbox One and your phone, both devices must be online. To check your network on the Xbox One, go to the Settings menu, then select Network, and finally “Network Settings.” On your smartphone, go to the network/Wi-Fi menu in your device’s system preferences or settings. If your Xbox One is not connected, select Set up wireless network, choose your desired network, and enter the respective password if prompted. Both devices must be within range of your network to connect.

Certain features, like using your phone as a remote control for the Xbox One, require both your Xbox One and phone to be connected on the same Wi-Fi network. Others, such as checking your achievements and activity feed, work as long as both devices are connected to any internet connection.

Step 3: Sync your smartphone with your console

While using the Xbox app, tap the three horizontal bars in the upper-left corner to bring up the main menu. From here, you can access most features, but for now, just tap Console. After a second, a Connect to your Xbox One option should appear near the top of the screen.

Tapping that should bring up a list of available Xbox consoles that you can connect to. Assuming yours is the only one on the list, tap the icon — labeled Xbox-SystemOS, unless you’ve renamed it– and then Turn on. Voila! Your smartphone and your Xbox are now soulmates. You should now be able to use your smartphone as a controller and keyboard, though this functionality is limited to the Xbox OS. There’s currently no in-game, second-screen integration.

Step 4: Use the app

Connecting is easy, but learning how to use the Xbox app takes a little time and understanding. Again, tapping the three horizontal bars in the upper-left corner of the app will bring up the menu, which allows you to view your profile and achievements, as well as your recorded clips and screenshots, and access the Xbox Store, among other things. Tapping your avatar icon will bring up your friends list, while the icons next to it control messages and notifications, respectively. A new icon, represented by three avatars, even allows you to start a party chat while on the go.

Updated with terminology to reflect new version of Xbox app, added information on party chat.

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T-Mobile will soon add support for the RCS Universal Profile

RCS, or Rich Communication Services, is on the rise. Not only is the service growing, but it’s getting better too — and T-Mobile wants to lead the charge in the U.S. On Tuesday, March 13, the company announced it will be adding support for RCS Universal Profile, a new RCS industry standard. The support will roll out to customers in a software update in the second quarter of 2018.

RCS is aimed at essentially replacing the aging Short Message Service (SMS) standard. It allows for a whole slew of extra features. For example, it supports things like read receipts, the sharing of location, high-resolution images, videos, audio, and more. It also is much better at handling group messages than SMS, and can even allow for video calling. In other words, when RCS becomes a reality around the nation, you will be able to treat it like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or WeChat.

RCS Universal Profile adds a few new features to T-Mobile’s flavor of RCS, but perhaps more important than that is that it will work with other carriers who have also adopted Universal Profile. Not all carriers adopted the same standard of RCS, largely because they adopted RCS before a universal, agreed-upon standard was released. RCS Universal Profile was released in 2016 after T-Mobile began supporting RCS.

T-Mobile first launched RCS as part of its network in 2015 and now every Android phone the company sells supports it. According to the company, more than 30 million T-Mobile customers send more than 250 million RCS messages per day on the network. That might include you — it would be easy to miss that you’re using a new standard. You will still open the messaging app to send a message, type it out, and hit send. Over time, however, you will start noticing that your messaging app can simply do more. RCS may also present itself as a new way for businesses to interact with customers.

Of course, there are some compatibility issues. You might be a T-Mobile customer with an RCS-capable phone, but that doesn’t mean the recipient of the message is. Ideally, all carriers and all phones will soon support RCS, which means it will just become a fact of technology — and SMS can fade into oblivion.

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Lyft faces lawsuit over lack of wheelchair access in SF

Uber was sued at least thrice over the past year for failing to accommodate passengers with wheelchairs, but a new lawsuit proves that it’s not the only ride-hailing service with poor accessibility. Non-profit org Disability Rights Advocates has filed a class-action lawsuit against the company on behalf of Independent Living Resource Center and two wheelchair users in the San Francisco Bay Area. The lawsuit accuses Lyft of violating the Unruh Civil Rights Act, which says people with disabilities are entitled to full and equal accommodations, and of the California Disabled Persons Act.

A spokesperson defended Lyft in a statement to TechCrunch, saying that the firm has “partnerships and programs in place to provide enhanced WAV (wheelchair-accessible vehicle) access in various parts of the country, and are actively exploring ways to expand them nationwide.”

That spokesperson was likely talking about Lyft’s program called Access, which was designed to serve people with disabilities — and which the lawsuit calls a “sham.” According to the plaintiffs, when riders activate Access mode and hail a car, Lyft sends them a text message “stating that [it] has no wheelchair-accessible vehicles available” and provides them “with a list of public transit, paratransit and taxicab phone numbers” instead. TechCrunch tried hailing a vehicle through Access and was able to replicate the text message that said:

“Lyft accommodates service animals and foldable wheelchairs. If you need a vehicle with a ramp or lift, visit http://lft.to/access to connect to local services.”

Clearly, passengers who can’t get out or into their wheelchair on their own will have to look elsewhere. Problem is, paratransits and public transpo aren’t always equipped for wheelchair access, which is why passengers with mobility issues sometimes have no choice but to rely on ride-hailing services.

The plaintiffs explained in a statement:

“Lyft’s discrimination compounds what is already a major societal problem — extremely limited transportation options for people who use wheelchairs in the Bay Area. For instance, many parts of the BART system are inaccessible due to elevator outages. Bus service is often slow and may not take riders where they need to go. Wheelchair-accessible Ubers are rarely, if ever, available.”

Disability Rights Advocates and the people they represent aren’t asking Lyft for money (aside from attorney’s fees, of course). They only seek to compel Lyft into improving accessibility and coming up with a proper solution for wheelchair-using passengers.

Source: TechCrunch, SF Chronicle

ESPN+ will host a documentary series on NBA rookies

ESPN has ordered a documentary series for its upcoming streaming service that will center on members of the NBA’s 2017-18 rookie class, Variety reports. The eight-episode series will follow select players from draft night preparations, to training and through the regular season. “It will be really compelling, access-based programming, bringing fans closer to their favorite athletes, telling the story of the journey of adjusting to life in the NBA on the court and off the court,” Connor Schell, ESPN’s executive vice president of content, told Variety.

The streaming service, ESPN+, is expected to launch this spring, though ESPN hasn’t shared much about what will be on it. We do know that the company aims to include sports that it doesn’t cover as much on its regular broadcasts and ESPN announced last month that ESPN+ will be the exclusive home to non-televised out of market MLS games once it’s launched. Among other sports events, including Sun Belt Conference events, the streaming service will also give subscribers access to ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentaries.

ESPN+ will be available for $5 per month.

Via: Variety

YouTube CEO talks misinformation, creators and comments at SXSW

YouTube’s presence at SXSW 2018 extended beyond its Story HQ, a space where it turned ads into videos that feel more like art. The company’s CEO, Susan Wojcicki, was part of a panel at the event titled “Navigating the Video Revolution in the Digital Age.” There, she talked about a wide range of topics, including experiments for YouTube’s comments section and how much money creators are making. But the biggest news Wojcicki dropped on stage was about a new feature she called “information cues,” which will help fight hoaxes by linking viewers to articles on Wikipedia that debunks those.

Wojcicki said that, in the next few weeks, YouTube users will see a text box below conspiracy-related videos that’ll point them to stories that offer a different point of view. The news comes only weeks after YouTube was under fire for showing a hoax video about David Hogg, one of students who survived the recent Parkland, Florida school shooting, in its trending section. Last year, the company dealt with a similar issue after the mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival, so Wojcicki hopes that this new tool can help mitigate the problem.

On a lighter note, Wojcicki touched on how YouTube is trying to make its comments section safer and more interactive. She pointed to an experiment that it’s doing, in which they can all be scanned and then commenters can direct each other to the best parts of a video. Wojcicki said this would allow viewers to easily skip the “boring parts” of whatever they may be watching on the site. The moderator then asked her if she was worried about creators leaving YouTube for other platforms like Facebook Watch, which promises to pay them more. Wojcicki said she wasn’t worried about it, and noted that YouTube has seen a 43-percent increase in creators who are now making six figures.

As for what’s next, Wojcicki said YouTube is keeping a close eye on emerging technologies like augmented and virtual reality, as those mediums offer the potential to make the relationship between viewers and creators “even closer.” The CEO ended by saying that YouTube has no plans to charge some sort of a subscription fee for its entire service, as the nature of the platform is to be free. Wojcicki said that what the company can do is “upsell” to offer deeper interactions, which is what it is already doing with YouTube Red.

Catch up on the latest news from SXSW 2018 right here.