Design, marketing, advertising, interactive and maybe a little architecture.
Check out my Flipboard magazine, Coronavirus Updates (null)
“Imagine, for example, that you’re ordering KFC using KFC’s Alexa skill, but instead of the default Alexa voice replying to you, it’s Colonel Sanders himself.
The brand voices are offered through Amazon Polly,
an AWS service that previously supplied neural network-based
text-to-speech services for companies to use to add realistic voices to
their applications. Now, though, Amazon is offering its neutral
network-based TTS technology to create custom voices for a specific
brand based on recordings of voices of an actor or actress picked by the
brand in partnership with Amazon.“
(via Amazon is helping brands build custom text-to-speech voices for their Alexa skills - The Verge)
(Source: theverge.com)
Scientists from Google and the Janelia Research Campus in Virginia have published the largest high-resolution map of brain connectivity in any animal, sharing a 3D model that traces 20 million synapses connecting some 25,000 neurons in the brain of a fruit fly.
The model is a milestone in the field of connectomics, which uses detailed imaging techniques to map the physical pathways of the brain. This map, known as a “connectome,” covers roughly one-third of the fruit fly’s brain. To date, only a single organism, the roundworm C. elegans, has had its brain completely mapped in this way.
(via Google publishes largest ever high-resolution map of brain connectivity - The Verge)
(Source: theverge.com)
“A Hype Train starts when a viewer or group of viewers contribute
materially to a channel past a certain streamer-designated threshold.
Twitch calls it a “spike in support events from different viewers in a channel”
— basically an uptick in bits or subs — which kicks off a countdown
timer. As the timer ticks down, viewers who donate above a minimum of
100 bits ($1.40 USD) will fill a meter that distributes emote rewards
for everyone who’s donated. If the meter fills up before the timer ends,
a new level is unlocked. And the more you donate, the more it fills.
It’s also not just for charity; any partner or affiliate channel that
has the feature enabled can have a hype train start.”
(Source: theverge.com)
“That new $699 e-scooter, called the Air T15, is different from the ones that Segway-Ninebot provides to the e-scooter-sharing services around the world in that it doesn’t have a throttle. Instead, Segway-Ninebot says riders will simply kick the Air T15 along, and the e-scooter will instantly calculate “the friction and condition of the road and automatically adjusts your speed so you can maintain a constant rate of travel.” Speeding up will be as simple as giving the pavement a few more kicks, while slowing down will be managed by tapping on the rear wheel brake. In other words, it’s like an electric scooter with cruise control.”
(via Segway-Ninebot unveils an electric kick scooter with cruise control - The Verge)
(Source: theverge.com)
“German musician Remute has made and released music on a variety of old mediums, but his newest effort marks a quirky milestone: The Cult Of Remute is claimed to be the first music album made entirely for the Super Nintendo’s sound chip and released on an SNES cartridge.”
(via This electronic album was made for the SNES and you can buy it as a cartridge - The Verge)
(Source: theverge.com)
thenextweb.com
The Segway S-Pod is a 24mph throne on wheels
“The company says it envisions the vehicle being used to let people
navigate places like theme parks, airports, campuses, and maybe even
some cities.“
(Source: thenextweb.com)
“US startup Agility Robotics has announced that its bipedal robot Digit is now for sale, with the first two units bought by automaker Ford to research last-mile package delivery.”
(via Digit, Agility Robotics’ package-delivery robot, is now for sale - The Verge)
(Source: theverge.com)
“The Japanese auto giant said it will transform the 175-acre site of a
former car factory in Japan into a “prototype city of the future” where
it can test autonomous vehicles, innovative street design, smart home
technology, robotics, and new mobility products on a population of real
people who would live there full-time.”
(via Toyota will transform a 175-acre site in Japan into a ‘prototype city of the future’ - The Verge)
(Source: theverge.com)
“Since these are just prototypes, Dell isn’t talking about what software
these devices could eventually run should they become real products. But
it’s important to note that Microsoft is already pushing dual and
foldable screen hardware in a big way with its upcoming Windows 10X
software.”
(via Dell’s Concept Ori and Concept Duet laptops imagine a foldable and dual-screen future - The Verge)
(Source: theverge.com)
Intel coordinated a record-setting performance of 1,218 Shooting Star drones flying in sync to create huge light-up images of Olympic sports and the iconic Olympic rings in the skies over Pyeongchang at the 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
Although, similar to the drone show at Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl halftime show, it was pre-recorded in advance with only a smaller group of 300 drones were part of the live appearance at the ceremony.
Intel will also be showing a 300-drone live performance each night at the medal ceremonies, so attendees will have plenty of chances to see the drones in person at the games.
(via (6) PyeongChang Olympic 1218 drones - YouTube)
(Source: youtube.com)
Uber doesn’t seem to be slowing down on their push for new transportation options. Last month they launched UberBike in partnership with bike-sharing startup JUMP and this week they settled a lawsuit with Alphabet’s Waymo, which will allow them to continue to develop their self driving car technology.
The next logical step is to launch a self driving part helicopter, party plane hybrid that will be the foundation of UberAir. The idea is that office buildings, parking lot structures and even private homes will rent out their rooftops to serve as landing pads.
The idea with Uber’s air travel, which may be referred to as UberAir, is to cover trips from one point of density to another, Erlich explained to me. The plan for now is to cover no more than 60 miles, which is due to the current limitations of batteries.
To get in your UberAir, you could enter in your destination and then the Uber app would tell you where the closest skyport is located. Then, you’d catch your UberAir to another place that is somewhat close to your final destination.
Uber expects to launch its first test run of UberAir in 2020 in Dallas and Los Angeles and by 2023, Uber is hoping to launch its first commercial flights. Uber’s ultimate vision is to provide multi-modal transportation both within and between cities. Let’s just hope that it’s not as disastrous as New York Airway’s rooftop helicopter services in the 50s.
(via This is Uber’s plan to deliver on flying ‘cars’ | TechCrunch)
(Source: TechCrunch)
Just before the holidays, Magic Leap (the AR company that has received over $1.9 Billion from investors like Google and Alibaba) finally unveiled their smart glasses, and you wouldn’t be caught dead wearing them in public.
This week the style of augmented reality glasses took a step forward with The Verge’s hands on review of Intel’s new “Vaunt” smart glasses.
There is no camera to creep people out, no button to push, no gesture area to swipe, no glowing LCD screen, no weird arm floating in front of the lens, no speaker, and no microphone (for now).
Apple still hasn’t released their version of AR glasses, but they have filed yet another new patent this week. There is also Microsoft’s HoloLens and Google Glass isn’t dead yet. I am 100% confident that AR glasses will replace your smartphone in the very near future, so this is going to be an interesting space to watch.From the outside, the Vaunt glasses look just like eyeglasses. When you’re wearing them, you see a stream of information on what looks like a screen — but it’s actually being projected onto your retina.
(via Exclusive: Intel’s new Vaunt smart glasses actually look good - The Verge)
(Source: youtube.com)