Watch Google test its 3D-sensing phones on robots in zero gravity
Wonder what Google’s Project Tango-equipped SPHERES robots will look like when they’re in action aboard the International Space Station? The company is more than happy to show you. It has posted video of a recent test that took the machines on a zero gravity simulation flight to see how the 3D environment sensors and other systems will work in practice. As you’ll see in the clip, it wasn’t quite as easy as testing on the ground — Google’s ATAP team had to work during brief bursts of weightlessness that could challenge both the employees and the devices.
You won’t hear much about the results in the footage, but it’s evident that the upgraded SPHERES can both fly and map locations without much trouble. Google is quick to note that this is just the beginning of its efforts; the robots going into orbit this summer are proofs of concept that could eventually lead to sophisticated, autonomous helpers aboard the ISS and other vehicles. For now, it’s just good to know that Google’s current depth-sensing technology holds up in real world (or rather, real space) conditions.
Filed under: Cellphones, Robots, Mobile, Google
Source: Google ATAP (Google+)
You might be able to unlock your next Chromebook with your smartphone
Can’t remember your password? Someday, you might not have to. A new feature in Google’s Chrome OS dev channel promises to instantly unlock a user’s Chromebook whenever their phone is nearby. Unfortunately, the feature doesn’t actually work. The verification tool, named Easy Unlock, offers only a brief description and an unfinished setup, which ends with in futile search to pair a device. The feature simply isn’t ready, which is probably why it’s disabled by default — but it’s certainly a novel idea.
Via: 9to5Google, TechCrunch
Source: Android Police
Daily Roundup: Street View vs. captchas, living in a connected home and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
My connected home turned me into a spy and an addict
Ten years ago, adjusting the temperature of your home from a smartphone might have seemed like something from a science fiction movie. But in this age of hyper-connectivity, it’s easier to get wrapped up in the quantifiable aspects of life than you might think. Just ask our own Joseph Volpe.
MSI GS60 Ghost review: a gaming rig in Ultrabook’s clothing
Thin, light and simple: MSI’s latest gaming laptop is all of those things and more. Dubbed the GS60 Ghost, this slim aluminum machine has a bright 15.3-inch display and ultrabook-esque buttonless trackpad. All in all, the Ghost is a great choice for serious gamers, provided they can endure its less-than-average battery life.
Sony pumps up its PS4 update with game pre-loading and SHAREfactory video editor
In a recent blog post, Sony announced it’s preparing a 1.70 firmware update for the PS4 that will include a brand new video editor (called SHAREfactory) and pre-game loading functionality. Exactly when it will be released, however, is still to be known.
Google’s latest Street View algorithm beats its bot-sniffing security system
Apparently, Google’s algorithm used by Street View vehicles is so good it can beat reCAPTCHA images 99 percent of the time. If that makes you feel unsafe, don’t worry. The Mountain View company says there are additional safeguards beyond simply typing in the right answer.
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Google’s digital art prize winner is a poem you control with your body
Google asked artists to prove that code could be beautiful with its DevArt competition, and hundreds delivered on that promise. However, there can only be one winner: The Metamorphosis of Mr. Kalia, a visual poem from Cyril Diagne and Béatrice Lartigue. The project lets you use your body movement to control Mr. Kalia as he undergoes strange, symbolic transformations throughout his life. Metamorphosis is using little more than a standard Kinect sensor to track your motion and send it to a Chrome browser, so it’s easy to both play with and set up — it even works over a basic internet connection.
The win gives the creators both £25,000 ($42,000) as well as an exhibition at London’s Barbican, where it will sit alongside commissioned digital artwork starting on July 3rd. It’s doubtful that you’ll have an opportunity to see this in person, but the good news is that you can try it yourself. In addition to the video you see here, you’ll find both the code and guidelines below — it’s possible to produce your own masterpiece at home.
Source: DevArt
Google apes Warby Parker, lets you try on Glass before you buy
Tempted by Google’s Glass headset, but worried it’ll make you look like a doofus? It’s a legitimate concern, but there’s hope: Google is now sending out non-functional dummy units that you can try on at home. Potential Explorers were sent an email advertising a “home try-on kit” with four Google Glass frame styles in four colors – all titanium, of course. After trying on the frames and picking a favorite, participants send the units back with pre-paid labels. Easy. The trial program isn’t listed on the official Glass website yet, but anyone can sign up by calling 855-9Glass9. The cost of pretending you have Mountain View’s most exclusive accessory? Absolutely free, though Google will put a $50 hold on your credit card until you return the headgear. Just because it doesn’t work doesn’t mean the company doesn’t want it back.
Filed under: Google
Via: Android Community, TechCrunch
Google dangles $100k carrot for Project Ara developers
Project Ara, Google’s modular smartphone endeavor, will be here before you know it. Just a few days ago, they held a developer’s conference for Ara, and gave us some great insight as to what’s to come. During the conference, Google unveiled a contest to Ara developers with a $100,000 grand prize. The two runners-up will receive all-expenses paid trips to the next Ara devcon in the next few months.
The contest details will be released sometime around mid-May, and will run until mid-September. To enter, developers need to submit a detailed outline along with a hardware loan to ensure they’ll get their hardware for free. The judging will reportedly be based on everyday use of the product, uniqueness, feasibility, and overall quality of the hardware.
The point of this contest will be to create great hardware ideas and get the ball rolling on open-sourced hardware, rather than waiting for Google to come up with the bulk of the ideas. Since the first Ara smartphone is due around January 2015, Google is right on time with this contest.
As more details emerge about the contest and Project Ara, stick around for more coverage.
Source: TechNewsWorld
The post Google dangles $100k carrot for Project Ara developers appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Watch 80 year’s worth of bizarre and historic moments thanks to British Pathé
Between 1896 and 1976, British Pathé documented the everyday lives of Britons and events around the world with its pioneering newsreels. After a National Lottery grant enabled it to digitise over 3,500 hours of footage in 2002, the company decided it was high time to move its entire archive of moving images over to YouTube, where it’s uploaded a total of 85,000 new videos. So what can you expect to find there? Well, there’s incredibly vast amount of footage from both World Wars for starters, as well as interviews with survivors of the Titanic and videos cataloguing when Beatlemania hit the US. Not only do the videos give you a taste of how news was presented in the early 20th century, you might also enjoy a little history lesson at the same time.
Via: British Pathé Blog
Source: British Pathé (YouTube)
Batter up: Chromecast now live streams every pitch with MLB.tv
Google’s little $35 dongle is like a fine wine: it just keeps getting better with age. Today, the Chromecast is adding support for MLB.tv, letting you push out live out-of-market games right to your TV from a smartphone or tablet. The only caveat is that you’ll need an MLB.tv Premium subscription to do so, but chances are most of you hardcore fans of America’s pasttime already have one of those. If you do, the only thing left to do is grab the MLB At Bat app from Google Play or the App Store — an update which brings Chromecast support to these apps should be rolling out as we speak. And while you’re at it, perhaps you may want to download R.B.I Baseball 14, so you can have an all-baseball day to yourself.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Google
Source: Google, Google Play, App Store
Google’s latest Street View algorithm beats its bot-sniffing security system
You know how Google’s been doing such a great job associating addresses with their locations on a map? Apparently, it’s all thanks to the company’s new magical algorithm that can parse (with 90 percent accuracy) even fuzzy numbers in pictures taken by Street View vehicles. In fact, the technology’s so good that it managed to read even those headache-inducing swirly reCAPTCHA images 99 percent of the time during the company’s tests. While that proves that the system works really well, it also implies that the distorted Rorschach-like puzzles are not a fool-proof indicator of whether a user is human.
Yes, robots can beat reCAPTCHA after all, but Google swears that it doesn’t matter. The company says these findings have nudged it to build additional safeguards, so that it now looks at a number of clues (and not just the text you type in) to determine if you’re human or not. Google didn’t expound on what those clues are, but next time you get another set of reCAPTCHA puzzles despite doing it right the first time around, you know what’s up.
Source: Google (1), (2)
Google earnings focus on the search and ads that actually pay the bills
With all the modular phone concepts, balloon internet projects, robots and drones it can be easy to forget Google’s main business angle: search and advertising. Google reported its first quarter earnings today and didn’t have much to say about our favorite topics — we’ll hear more about those at Google I/O in June — or even its pending sale of Motorola to Lenovo. Responding to an analyst’s question, Google execs Patrick Pichette and Nikesh Arora mentioned the need to “keep evolving (search) results,” as it increasingly serves up info (sports scores, TV listings, restaurant menus) on its own website instead of just providing links. That’s probably also behind its push for Google Now results that bring up relevant info before the user even asks, on the desktop and mobile. In a brief reference to the Chromecast, Pichette called the $35 device a hit, mentioning the over 3,000 developers had signed up to build apps since the launch of the SDK.
Its revenue of $15.4 billion was up 19 percent over the same period last year, but investment types were hoping for more. Google has the same issue as competitors like Facebook, as they try to replicate their success on the desktop and keep users clicking on ads sent to phones and tablets. Still, as long as “cost per click” contributes heavily to the bottom line, it’s going to be a more important question on these investor calls than “so just how many units did Google Glass sell yesterday?”
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile, Google
Source: Google Q1 2014 earnings
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