Salamander robot can walk, crawl and swim like the real deal
One of the latest robots out of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) can mimic the way a real salamander moves, whether on land or in the water. The EPFL scientists call it Pleurobot (after the species Pleurodeles waltl) and designed it after studying x-ray videos showing the amphibian walking and swimming. According to the institute, other scientists from EPFL had built salamander robots in the past, but this has the most realistic movements thus far. It’s also the first one that’s “accurately based on the 3D motion of the animal’s skeleton.”
Pleurobot is made up of 3D-printed bones, motorized joints and an electronic circuitry that serves as its synthetic central nervous system. It has fewer vertebrae than an actual salamander, but the scientists optimized their placement so that the machine’s movements look as authentic and natural as possible. Team leader Auke Ijspeert says Pleurobot can help them understand vertebrate locomotion.
You see, the lowest level of electrical stimulation in salamanders’ spinal cords is associated with walking, while the highest is associated with swimming. As such, the machine can help scientists explore the relationship between spinal cord stimulation and a vertebrate animal’s movements. In the future, this could lead to neuroprosthetic devices for both amputees and paraplegic patients.
Source: EPFL
Microsoft drops Windows 10’s ‘messaging everywhere’ feature
When the Windows 10 Anniversary update arrives this summer, it will be missing one thing we were expecting: messaging everywhere. The feature Microsoft has been testing was similar to Apple’s crossplatform iMessage integration, and Google’s SMS-via-Hangouts. Switching on “Send texts on all my Windows devices” enabled users to send and receive text messages from the Messaging app on their computer that synced directly with the app on their phone.
Preview testers had access to Messaging everywhere since April, around the same time Microsoft killed Skype Integration in Windows Mobile messaging. Now, the company says it expects to deliver an experience that’s “even better” through the Skype app, probably when it releases a universal Windows version of the app for mobile devices. With the latest version, users won’t be able to receive text messages via the app on their computer anymore, however they can still reply using Cortana. PC and Mobile testers in the fast ring should see Build 14376 arriving on their devices shortly, check the blog post for the full list of bug fixes and tweaks included.
Source: Windows Blog
The Snapdragon 820 is now optimized for Google’s Tango platform
With the PHAB 2 Pro, Lenovo announced the first consumer-ready phone with support for Google’s augmented reality Tango platform. The PHAB 2 Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 652 SoC, which features software-level optimizations to be fully compatible with Tango. Qualcomm has announced at MWC Shanghai that it is expanding Tango support to its flagship Snapdragon 820 SoC, as well as future SoCs in the Snapdragon 800 and 600 tiers.
From Qualcomm:
As we’ve noted, the Snapdragon 652 offers many advantages for Tango, including high accuracy, uniform time stamping of multiple sensor data streams, efficient processing without the need for external co-processors, and leading camera and sensor processing technology. Now, Snapdragon 820 offers the same advantages, as well as the added benefits of our premium Snapdragon 800 tier processors, including higher performance and even lower power consumption.
The fact is, all Snapdragon 600 and 800 series processors share the same architectural advantages needed to deliver Tango experiences in highly mobile form factors. Tightly integrated into a single chip, the components of Snapdragon processors are uniquely equipped to simultaneously process data from all five Tango-related sensors (gyroscope, accelerometer, and three camera sensors, including two new Tango-specific camera sensors: a fisheye motion tracking camera and a depth sensor camera).
Snapdragon 600 and 800 series processors also include an integrated global high-frequency clock, which performs highly accurate, uniform time stamping of all that sensor data, which is critical for enabling smooth augmented reality experiences, where 3D graphic overlays track virtually seamlessly with physical surroundings.
Tango does not require a specialized co-processor, and as such an OEM can build an AR-ready phone by adding a depth sensor and motion tracking camera. Qualcomm is hoping that the technology becomes a standard feature, and support for the high-end Snapdragon 820 opens up the potential for a lot of interesting AR hardware.
U.S. carriers enable free calls to Turkey following Istanbul terror attacks
Following the devastating terror attacks at Istanbul’s Atatürk airport, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon have announced that their customers can call and text friends and family in Turkey for free.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere condemned the attack, saying that the carrier will offer free calls and texts to Turkey through July 5:
The attack in Istanbul is horrifying & senseless. We’re making it free to call/text from the US to Turkey thru Tues. https://t.co/ZXXeFsYzCL
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) June 29, 2016
Sprint CEO mentioned that all calls and texts to Turkey from Sprint, Virgin Mobile USA, and Boost Mobile customers will be waived off until July 5:
.@Sprint, @virginmobileusa & @boostmobile will waive fees for customer call/texts to & from #Turkey thru July 5 pic.twitter.com/hVq6oVfK52
— MarceloClaure (@marceloclaure) June 29, 2016
From AT&T:
AT&T will waive or credit charges incurred for consumer or business calls placed by AT&T’s customers from the United States to Turkey between June 28, 2016 to June 30, 2016, in the local time zone. This includes landline, texting, and mobility (Postpaid and GoPhone) calls.
Verizon is offering free calls and texts to Turkey until June 29:
More than 170,000 Verizon employees worldwide extend condolences to all our friends and family in Turkey. In this time of uncertainty, we want to support our customers affected by the attack at Ataturk airport in Istanbul, Turkey, so Verizon is offering free wireless and wireline calling from the U.S. to Turkey to connect with family and friends.
Wireless users will incur no charges for texts or international long distance calls originating from the U.S. to Turkey on June 28 and 29, 2016 (applicable taxes and surcharges will apply).
Home wireline telephone customers can make free calls to Turkey on June 28 and 29, 2016 (applicable taxes and surcharges will apply).
OnePlus details sketches of the circular smartwatch that never was
OnePlus was working on a circular smartwatch along the lines of the Moto 360 last year, but the product never saw the light of day. The company’s co-founder Carl Pei took to Twitter to share sketches of the smartwatch, which would’ve featured a removable component that allows users to easily swap out bands.
What could have been but never will be. Sketches circa 2015. #throwback pic.twitter.com/5zKuSdDiv0
— Carl Pei (@getpeid) June 29, 2016
Talking to The Wall Street Journal earlier this month, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau revealed that the smartwatch plans were abandoned as the company decided to focus on high-end smartphones:
We had completed the design but we still decided to scrap it. We have to be focused.
There is no bottom line at all. It is a very cruel market.
OnePlus’ realignment of its product roadmap paid off with its latest handset, but it would have been interesting to see the direction the company was taking with its smartwatch.
‘The Banner Saga 2’ is making its PS4 debut earlier than expected
The Banner Saga was a gorgeous tactical role-playing game with some of the most attractive art around, akin to that of a great-looking animated movie. Its sequel The Banner Saga 2 was planned originally for a July 26th release, but porting team Shiny Shoe is ahead of schedule, so instead it’s actually coming out next Tuesday, July 5th.
According to Sony, you can jump into The Banner Saga 2 even if you haven’t played the original game, as there will be two special default characters you can play with if you don’t have any original Banner Saga save game data to import for this game.
If you play on PlayStation 4, you also get a special in-game item called the “Playful Hilt of Arnr,” which is automatically added to your inventory at the beginning of the game.
Check out the trailer below and get ready to dive in after the long holiday weekend.
Source: PlayStation Blog
The new ‘Doom’ gets its first update on June 30th
The new Doom is on the cusp of getting its first major update, and it appears to be worth checking out — especially if you have fond memories of the original games. The upgrade arrives on June 30th with the option of a classic dead-center weapon view, regardless of the mode you’re playing. It’s there to evoke nostalgia, of course, but it’ll also be helpful if you want more of a visual aid when aiming.
Other additions? Aside from the usual fixes, there’s a photo mode to capture those brutal battles for posterity, and the SnapMap creator has useful extras like sky backdrops and an auto-rollback feature to mend corrupted maps. This is just the start of Doom’s expansion plans (more maps and game modes are on the way), but hey, it’s free — there’s no harm to checking it out.
Source: Bethesda
IMAX will build your home theater for a mere $400k
For anyone tired of paying up for 3D IMAX movie tickets, the company is now offering in-home, high-definition, floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall, officially calibrated IMAX theater systems. All you need to bring is about half a million dollars and a spare wing of your palace to install it in.
As Bloomberg reports, the new IMAX Private Theatre division is obviously directed at high-net-worth individuals and extremely enthusiastic Interstellar fans. For your $400,000, the baseline “Palais” model includes dual 4K 2D/3D projectors, a proprietary IMAX sound system, a touchscreen remote and seating for anywhere from seven to 18 of your friends. While it does come with a “complete HD multi-media system” that will play anything from karaoke to high definition TV and Blu-ray, it doesn’t actually include the secure, set-top box required to download and play new IMAX releases. That luxury will cost you another $10,000, plus rental fees for each movie.
By building out home theaters, IMAX is not only reaching out for the deep pockets of well-off movie buffs, they’re also catching up with the everything-on-demand nature of the entertainment industry. In 2013, IMAX actually bought a stake in Prima Cinema, which delivers those at-home, same-day theatrical releases. Napster co-founder and serial entrepreneur Sean Parker’s latest endeavor, called the Screening Room, also promises to bring “day-and-date” releases to your home theatre for a steep $50 rental price.
If you’re as well-off as Parker and really want to cut the cord, as it were, from your local megaplex, IMAX is also offering an even larger, $1 million dollar “Platinum” version with seating for up to 40 people.
Nintendo didn’t show the NX at E3 over copycat concerns
Away from the media’s prying eyes, Nintendo’s investor meeting allowed some people to ask some surprisingly frank questions — and glean a few more insights into where the company is going — whether that’s smartphones, new consoles, VR, theme parks, movies… or all the above. If you were surprised that Nintendo wasn’t showing its incoming NX console (currently pegged to launch in March 2017) at E3, the world’s biggest gameshow, earlier this month, there was at least a reason. According to Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, the company didn’t because it feared copycats if it revealed the console so far in advance of the launch.
宮本：通常はNXをE3で展示するべきだが、出さなかった。発売前に情報を出すと真似される心配がある。今年はゼルダだけを展示した。短時間では楽しめないソフトなので30分遊べるようにした。ゲーム雑誌からE3でNo.1の評価を受けた。
— あれっくす/6月29日 任天堂株主総会 (@NStyles) June 29, 2016
(Miyamoto had also said in a recent interview with AP that when it came to the new console, “there’s an idea that we’re working on. That’s why we can’t share anything at this point, and I don’t want to comment on the other companies. If it was just a matter of following advancements in technology, things would be coming out a lot quicker.”)
The legendary games director also got to take another look at VR at this year’s E3, but it “wasn’t what I expected.” The main challenge for Nintendo, apparently, is to ensure it’s comfortable to play for extended periods. According to (translated) tweets from the meeting: “We have the core technology…. We want to release something that can be played for long periods, carries value, and is affordable. We want parents to feel at ease.”
The company also highlighted a shift during its slide presentation. The recorded voice of Nintendo president Kimishima narrated: “Up until now, the goal was to expand the gaming population irregardless of age, gender, or experience. Now, we’re focusing on increasing exposure to Nintendo’s [characters and game titles].”
Then the investors got to the real-talk: “The Wii U is essentially being retired and the 3DS is past its peak; aren’t your business forecasts unrealistic?” President Kimishima responded by highlighting that sales of the portable have now passed 58 million, and that the company believed it could certainly make a profit by selling games to this install base. “We believe Pokemon will do so.” He also believes that its smart device titles (with Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing both on their way), will help the company make a profit.
Source: NStyles (Twitter), Cheesemeister3k (Twitter, translations)
Valve’s mobile version of Steam finally hits Windows Phone
Steam hasn’t forgotten about the remaining Windows Phone faithful. It just seemed that way, with folks on Android and iOS getting a mobile app way back in 2012. The Windows Store listing says that you’ll be able to use Stream Guard’s authentication system, trade and sell items, keep an eye on the game marketplace and remote download and install games to your PC via the application. Just in time for this year’s summer sale; how about that?
Windows Central noticed a bit of a peculiarity here, though: This pocket version of Steam apparently isn’t a Windows 10 Mobile app — it’s actually a Windows Phone 8.1 deal. At any rate, you can grab the app for yourself and see what other mobile platforms have been using for the past four years.
Via: Steam Community
Source: Windows Store
