As the latest report from the DMV shows, Waymo logged 1.45 million self-driven miles in California last year, with a disengagement rate of 0.076 per 1,000 miles. Cruise, for comparison, clocked 831,040 miles with a disengagement rate of 0.082. In a Twitter thread, however, Waymo stressed that the metric “does not provide relevant insights” into…
Category: Technology
Alphabet’s Loon, telecoms unite to boost high-altitude internet
The Alliance will push for governments to adopt high-altitude internet, of course, but it’ll also work on a cooperative environment with common specs and standards. The aim is ultimately to create a single “compelling message” to sell the concept, even if the individual companies end up competing with each other.This comes roughly 10 months after…
Best Buy discounts the entry MacBook Air to its best price yet
The good news is Best Buy has also discounted the 256GB variant. At the moment, you can buy the gold and silver models for $1,050, and the space gray one for $1,100. We’ve seen the 256GB MacBook Air sell for less in the past, but that was part of a short Amazon deal of the…
‘Half-Life: Alyx’ creators explain how its VR gameplay will work
In an IGN exclusive, the pair explain that for many players, Alyx will be their first foray into VR gaming. As such, they took a number of measures to help newbies get acquainted with the technology. Shooting and reloading is a completely different ballgame to controller-based play, for example, so Alyx’s starter levels involve lots…
Epic buys the company behind God of War’s facial animations
Epic presumably plans to integrate Cubic Motion’s technology into the Unreal Engine to make it more appealing to game developers. Alongside Unity, UE4 is one of the most popular game creation tools in use today. Some recent UE4 games include Final Fantasy VII Remake, Gears 5, The Outer Worlds and, of course, Fortnite.According to GamesIndustry,…
Lego’s new sets put ‘Super Mario Maker’ in the real world
Lego and Nintendo feel like a perfect match. The pair’s first official partnership is more than a basic licensed set, though. The aptly-named Lego Super Mario will come with a chunky version of the plumber — one that’s larger than a standard Lego minifigure — with a couple of switches on his back and some…
Polestar’s latest concept EV is designed for sustainability
The Precept also focuses heavily on eco-friendly design. The seat surfaces, bolsters, headrests and carpets are made out of recycled materials like 3D-knitted plastic bottles, cork vinyl and even recovered fishing nets. The interior panels and seatbacks, meanwhile, are made from flax-based composites that are not only kinder to the planet (80 percent less plastic…
British Airways is testing autonomous electric wheelchairs at JFK
While it won’t be breaking any speed records, each unit can avoid obstacles and other people with the help of anti-collision technology. It can also navigate the terminal without assistance from airport staff. Before boarding, you can visit as many places as you want using the built-in display. After dropping you off at your departure…
Oppo’s first Android smartwatch borrows a lot from Apple
The watch comes in two flavors: the 46mm version with a 1.91-inch AMOLED screen should last for up to 40 hours on a single charge, whereas the smaller 41mm version with a 1.6-inch screen does 24 hours only. They charge up quickly thanks to Oppo’s VOOC technology: a 17-minute session already gets you back up…
Lasers and smart pills could eventually replace injections
Needle-free injectors, also known as air or pneumatic injectors, have been around for a surprisingly long time. They use the pressure generated by spring force, a compressed gas canister, piezoelectric motors or laser-induced cavitation (if we’re getting fancy) to drive a narrow stream of vaporized medicine under the skin and into the fat, muscle and…