Adidas Wilson's Blog, page 77
September 25, 2017
This Simple Change on the Apple iPhone Could Save Countless Lives on the Road
There’s nothing quite like “borrowing” an idea from someone else in the tech world. It’s all about how you implement the idea, how you make sure the idea is still general enough that it is not outright theft, and then how your user base reacts to the change.
That’s what makes a new feature on the iPhone, called Do Not Disturb While Driving, so interesting. It’s something Android users have enjoyed (or been annoyed by) for a while. On the iPhone, it means your phone is basically locked. When you use the mode and pick up your phone, you’ll see a screen that says your phone is disabled.
When you get a message or receive a phone call, the iPhone can then send a message back that you’re driving. To enable the feature on any iPhone that runs iOS 11, just head to Settings and enable the Do Not Disturb While Driving feature. You can set it to activate automatically when the iPhone senses you are driving or manually when you decide to use it. (A chip inside the phone can sense movement that could only be a car.)
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Over the last week, I’ve use the feature many times. Well, to be more specific–I’ve stopped after driving to sit idle in a parking lot or the curb and picked up my phone, only to realize that it was impossible for me to check for a text or glance at my iTunes playlist.
You can go through a few settings to disable it of course, but it’s really a reminder to stay safe, remain vigilant, and keep your attention on the road. And here’s the amazing part. It worked. I refrained from glancing at the phone, even though it was safe to do so, and I decided to just wait until I was out of the vehicle entirely.
We know distracted driving is an issue, because accidents and fatalities on the road have risen slightly in the last year or two. It’s a problem because your brain goes into a strange blackout mode where all you see is the screen and nothing else–no pedestrians, no other cars, no roadside objects. It’s a good thing the brain does this, because it allows us to focus. It’s a bad thing when you are driving 70 miles-per-hour in heavy traffic.
For Android users, the feature has been available since last year at least. I recall using it with a Google Pixel phone connected using Android Auto to several makes and models, including a nice sports sedan with a lot of horsepower. The feature also blocks messages and calls. There’s no way to prove Apple noticed this feature and added it, but the Pixel essentially does the same thing–sensing the car is moving and blocking calls.
You can use a custom message on the Phone to send back to people to let them know you are driving, and you can select whether all calls are blocked or just those not in your contacts or favorites. Anyone can use a trigger word (“urgent”) to contact you even if you are Do Not Disturb mode.
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September 24, 2017
September 23, 2017
September 22, 2017
George R.R. Martin is “co-creating” Bryan Cogman’s Game of Thrones prequel
Earlier this week, news broke longtime Game of Thrones staff writer Bryan Cogman would be developing his own Game of Thrones prequel series. That’s in addition to the other four writers already working on prequel shows, bringing the total number currently in development up to five.
Of all the writers involved in these projects, Cogman has the most Thrones experience, and the most face-time with A Song of Ice and Fire creator George R.R. Martin. Martin weighed in on the news on his Not a Blog.
Bryan Cogman should need no introduction for any GAME OF THRONES fan. He’s been part of the show since the beginning… since before the beginning, actually, since he was first hired as assistant to David Benioff and D.B Weiss way before the series got on the air, before even the pilot had been filmed. From those humble beginnings, he advanced to staff writer, to story editor, to co-producer and producer and supervising producer.
Martin went on to praise Cogman’s work (Cogman wrote episodes such as “Kissed by Fire,” The Laws of Gods and Men,” and “Stormborn”) on the show, noting that Cogman has become the “‘Keeper of the Lore,’ the guy who knew the canon better than anyone (except me, though sometimes I am not even sure of that).” High praise from the man who created the novels on which the series is based.
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BRYAN COGMAN has come on board to pen the 5th of the @HBOWesteros successor shows, and we’re all thrilled about it! https://t.co/g8MWnzvo4U pic.twitter.com/bHyQAJBANc
— George RR Martin (@GRRMspeaking) September 21, 2017
As for what Cogman’s project will cover, Martin was characteristically short on the details, though he did tease that “Bryan’s series will be an adaptation, and one that will thrill most fans of the books, I think, set during a very exciting period of Westerosi history.” Is there a boring part of Westerosi history?
Martin is involved in all of the prequel projects, which include shows developed by Jane Goldman, Brian Helgeland, Max Borenstein and Carly Wray. However, he admitted that he’ll be working with “some more closely than others.” But by the sound of it, Cogman will be enjoying his full cooperation. “I’ll be working with him every step of the way; we’re going to be co-creating the show.”
Martin did caution that not all five of the prequel projects will make it to air. “[B]ut we could possibly see two or even three make it to the pilot stage, with one series emerging on air in 2019 or 2020.” And that’s his best guess — he stresses that no one knows for sure.
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A Chinese warehouse reportedly cut its labor costs in half with a fleet of tiny robots
It’s a disconcerting narrative to the American government, but the US is being outspent and out-scaled by the implementation of robots in China. Asia produces more robots than the rest of the world combined, and Chinese workers fear unemployment at the hands of robots more than anyone else. Even the Obama White House warned (pdf) that to stay competitive America needed to further invest in artificial intelligence and software that helps allow robots to operate in dynamic environments.
Shentong Express, a Chinese shipping company, showed off a mildly-dystopian automated warehouse last week that reportedly cut its labor costs by half, according to the South China Morning Post. In a video, tiny orange robots made by Hikvision ferry packages around an eastern China warehouse, taking each parcel from a human worker, driving under a scanner, and then dumping the package down a specific chute for it to be shipped.
The human’s main job in the video appears to be picking up packages and placing them label-up on top of the robot, a task modern robotics is only just starting to put into warehouse production. A spokesperson told the Post that Shentong is using the robot in two of its warehouses, and hopes to expand use to the rest of the country.
Just because little robots appear to be sorting boxes in this warehouse doesn’t we’ll all be out of work—data from Amazon suggests that even with 45,000 of its own robots in fulfillment centers, the American company still is looking to hire more and more humans for other tasks.
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A Chinese warehouse reportedly cut its labor costs in half with a fleet of tiny robots
Netflix adds HDR support for iPhone X and iPad Pro
Netflix already streams HDR video on the new Apple TV 4K, so it only makes sense for the company to add support for Apple’s HDR-ready iOS devices as well. The latest update for Netflix’s app does just that, so you’ll be able to watch movies and TV shows with high dynamic range on the iPad Pro (10.5-inch and 2017 12.9-inch) and the upcoming iPhone X.
If you’re unsure of what content is available in HDR, the easiest way to find something to watch is to just search for “HDR” right in Netflix. The selection consists entirely of Netflix’s original shows, documentaries, and movies.
Source:
https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/21/16347252/netflix-ios-app-hdr-now-available
‘Stranger Things’ Writer Justin Doble Moves to Amazon Studios
Stranger Things writer-producer Justin Doble has signed an overall deal with the company, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Through the pact, Doble will develop genre TV projects for Amazon prime video.
“We have long admired Justin’s ability to create stories and characters that stoke fans’ passion,” said Amazon Studios’ head of event series Sharon Tal Yguado. “He has contributed to some of the best genre out there, and we are excited to collaborate with him as we build a slate of high-profile shows.”
Doble comes to Amazon after two seasons on Netflix’s breakout hit, for which he also earned two Writers Guild Award nominations. Prior to that, Doble wrote for The Path, Into the Badlands and Fringe, where he got his start as part of the Warner Bros. Television Writers’ Workshop. He is repped by UTA and The Shuman Company.
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Doble’s deal comes as Amazon looks to redefine its original series slate and launch the next global hit a la HBO’s critical and commercial smash Game of Thrones. Recent original series at the company have launched to minor buzz, and Amazon earned only 15 Emmy nominations. compared with Netflix’s whopping 91 nominations and 20 wins. Another rival, Hulu, was the first-ever streamer to win a best series Emmy award for drama The Handmaid’s Tale, in addition to nine other wins. Amazon won two.
In recent weeks, Amazon has canceled several series, including pricey period dramas Z: The Beginning of Everything and The Last Tycoon. Its upcoming series include the Jack Ryan TV reboot from Carlton Cuse; Matthew Weiner’s Romanoffs anthology series, said to have cost the company $75 million; and a David O. Russell original series starring Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore that earned a two-season pickup at the company.
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September 21, 2017
Synthetic muscle breakthrough could lead to ‘lifelike’ robots
Humanoid robots are a step closer to being lifelike after engineers developed synthetic muscle that can lift a thousand times its own weight, it is claimed.
The artificial muscle can also push, pull, bend and twist.
Experts say they’ve overcome one of the final barriers to making lifelike robots and it’s the closest artificial material equivalent they have to a natural muscle.
The long term plan is for engineers to develop artificial intelligence to learn to control the muscle.
The 3D-printable synthetic soft muscle doesn’t need an external compressor or high voltage equipment as previous models did.
Up until now no material has been capable of functioning as a soft muscle due to an inability to show the desired properties of high stress and strain, according to the engineering team at Columbia University in the United States.
Team leader Professor Hod Lipson said: “We’ve been making great strides toward making robot minds, but robot bodies are still primitive.
“This is a big piece of the puzzle and, like biology, the new actuator can be shaped and reshaped a thousand ways.
“We’ve overcome one of the final barriers to making lifelike robots.”
Inspired by living organisms, Professor Lipson said soft material robotics hold “great promise” for areas where robots need to contact and interact with humans, such as manufacturing and healthcare.
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He said that, unlike rigid robots, soft robots can replicate natural motion – grasping and manipulation – to provide medical and other types of assistance, perform delicate tasks, or pick up soft objects.
To create a system with high strain, high stress and low density, study lead author Aslan Miriyev, a postdoctoral researcher in the Creative Machines lab, used a silicone rubber matrix with ethanol distributed throughout in micro-bubbles.
The solution combined the elastic properties and extreme volume change qualities of other material systems while also being easy to fabricate, low cost, and made of environmentally safe materials.
After being 3D-printed into the desired shape, the artificial muscle was electrically moved using a thin resistive wire and low-power (8V).
It was tested in a range of robotic applications where it apparently showed “significant” expansion-contraction ability, being capable of expansion up to 900 per cent when electrically heated to 80C.
(Image: Getty Images Europe)
By using computer controls, it is capable of moving, according to Dr Miriyev.
He added: “Our soft functional material may serve as robust soft muscle, possibly revolutionising the way that soft robotic solutions are engineered today.
Source:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/humanoid-robots-breakthrough-engineers-create-11199054
