The full version of the Moving Forward Act isn’t likely to pass in the Republican-controlled Senate. However, the broadband-related amendments may still have a chance, said Matt Wood, President of Policy and General Council at Free Press Action, a media advocacy group. “While the party-line vote on the full bill is a fact of our current politics, no one should make the mistake of thinking the broadband provisions are partisan,” Wood said. “People in cities and rural areas alike need better broadband at better prices, no matter their party or politics.”
The bill is just one of many recent efforts by the government to close the “digital divide.” In February 2019, President Donald Trump unveiled the American Broadband Initiative aimed at bringing broadband to rural America. Earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission committed $20.4 billion to the same end.
Sony confirmed a few months back that Horizon Zero Dawn would no longer be a PlayStation 4 exclusive, and now we know when it’ll make its way to PC. Guerrilla Games’ hit action RPG will hit the Epic Store and Steam on August 7th.
The PC version of Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition includes the Frozen Wilds DLC and a host of visual upgrades for an already-gorgeous game, such as unlocked framerates and support for ultra-wide displays. You can also expect improved reflections and dynamic foliage, along with access to a benchmarking tool and (since it’s a PC title now) a range of graphics options. Guerrilla released a trailer that shows off some of the impressive updates.
The government previously planned to build its own Galileo replacement with the help of other members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance — Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US. The project was put on hold in May just before the publication of a feasibility study. The estimated cost had risen by then to £5 billion ($6.2 billion).
The UK’s Satellite Applications Catapult is working on a white paper that would lay out a method of using the OneWeb constellation for a sat-sav system. However, some experts have suggested that hosting a GPS-style system on OneWeb’s satellites might not be viable.
For one thing, the constellation is at a far lower orbit (1,200 km) than satellites for major positioning systems, such as Galileo and GPS (around 20,000 km). Since early 2019, OneWeb has launched 79 of 650 planned 5G satellites for its initial constellation.
“If you want to replace GPS for military-grade systems, where you need encrypted, secure signals that are precise to centimetres, I’m not sure you can do that on satellites as small as OneWeb’s,” University of Leicester space policy expert Dr Bleddyn Bowen told the Guardianlast week. “It’s bolting an unproven technology on to a mega-constellation that’s designed to do something else. It’s a tech and business gamble.”
Meanwhile, Bharti owns the third-largest mobile provider on the planet in Bharti Airtel, which has more than 425 million customers. OneWeb says the company gives it a near-term commercial opportunity “through its presence across South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, where the terrain necessitates the use of satellite-based connectivity.”
While four-legged robots can achieve impressive feats, like pulling an airplane or climbing a fence, they still have a few limitations. In most cases, they need a fairly large surface to walk on. A team of Italian robotics researchers is looking to change that. They’ve created a robotic controller that allows a quadruped robot to walk across a thin beam.
The four-legged robot can balance on just two legs and walk heel-toe. In digital simulations, the controller allowed a 90-kilogram robot to cross a bridge only six centimeters wide. In a video, the Instituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) researchers demonstrate how a robot equipped with the controller maintains balance on two feet even when it’s pushed around. The robot can even balance on two legs as it adjusts to different heights. The IIT team detailed their findings in a paper available on arXiv.
As cinemas in the UK prepared to reopen after lockdown, they promised Star Wars fans a treat. Disney and Vue planned to release a 4K version of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in theaters. That would have been the first time a UHD version of an original trilogy film appeared in theaters. But now, Disney and Vue are walking back on their promise. Instead, Vue theaters will show the original 2K version of the film, Variety reports.
This isn’t entirely surprising, as plans for reopening and release dates are still changing. According to Variety, exhibitors Vue and Cineworld have shifted their reopening dates from July 10th to July 31st. Apparently, Mouse House scrapped plans for the 4K release after talks with exhibitors broke down in the last few weeks.
According to TechCrunch, Lime plans to restore Jump’s bike sharing service in Barcelona, Paris and Rome, too. That’s less than half the European cities Jump bikes were previously available in. London could also see Lime e-scooters. Earlier this week, the UK approved an e-scooter pilot program, and if the scooters are approved, Lime will likely vie for a spot.
With lockdown restrictions easing in some parts of the world, Lime says its e-bike rental service has seen record use. Users are reportedly taking longer and more frequent trips, and in London alone Lime’s e-bike network has completed over 1.5 million journeys. Demand may continue to grow as people look to avoid public transportation due to the pandemic.
To eliminate the need for an external machine, they weaved electronically-conductive silver-plated threads into the material they used for the STATs. The threads serve as the smart fabric’s heater and sensor elements, enabling the temperature and pressure changes needed to switch Novec 7000’s phase from liquid to vapor and vice versa. The study’s co-first author, Christopher Payne, explained:
“With an integrated ‘closed-loop feedback’ controller, STATs autonomously maintained their pressure even when placed into environments in which the exterior temperature fluctuates, like close to an air tube that actively cools the system.”
The researchers said they can manufacture the fabric in bulk and with arbitrary geometries, giving it a wide number of potential applications. It could be used in mechanotherapeutic wearables that could apply pressure on injuries and accelerate tissue repair, for instance. It could also be used in responsive cushions to help prevent bed and wheelchair sores, and perhaps even in the creation of dynamic garments for avant-garde fashion shows.
Olympus may be selling its camera business — to the same company that bought Sony’s VAIO PC division — but it’s not abandoning its products just yet. It has just released a new beta application called OM-D Webcam, which gives Olympus cameras webcam capabilities for livestreaming or video chats when attached to a PC via their USB-C tether. While the application definitely sounds useful in an era of Zoom work conferences and online classes, not all Olympus users will be able to take advantage of it.
To start with, it only works with Windows PCs, and it’s unclear if a macOS version will be available. Also, it’s only compatible with a handful of cameras at the moment. The software’s current version supports OM-D E-M1X, OM-D E-M1, OM-D E-M1 Mark II, OM-D E-M1 Mark III and OM-D E-M5 Mark II. Further, it doesn’t allow sound to pass through from the camera to the computer, which means users need to use their PCs’ internal mic or a USB mic.
According to Qualcomm vice president of engineering John Smee, there are six key “invention areas… that are core to continued 5G evolution.” These are unlicensed spectrum, advanced power saving and mobility, high-precision positioning, sidelink, mission-critical design and new deployment models. There are also other areas of evolution coming in Release-16, but we’ll need to dig deeper into the 3GPP’s notes to analyze those. For now, here’s what we know to expect and what it means.
Unlicensed spectrum for greater access and bandwidth
First, Rel-16 will enable support for unlicensed spectrum use in two modes of operation — license assisted access (LAA) and standalone. When tapping into unlicensed spectrum, you may see a string of characters “5G NR-U,” with the U standing for unlicensed. 5G NR is what we know of as cellular 5G today, just as LTE was another moniker for 4G. LAA means that carriers can tap into unlicensed spectrum to boost 5G bandwidth, like they’re already doing with LTE LAA.
In the standalone mode, though, NR-U could allow a wider variety of operators to use 5G technology, like wireless internet service providers. Those wishing to run private networks, say for a campus or within a company’s headquarters, can also do so on NR-U. With NR-U, people can tap into the new 6GHz band, too. This is the first time the 3GPP has defined cellular technology for full unlicensed use, and Smee expects NR-U to be the basis for “future spectrum innovations such as supporting the unlicensed 60 GHz band that is targeting Release 17.”
Power savings and mobility
Most 5G devices today are chunkier than their LTE counterparts, largely due to the bigger batteries they have to house to support the power-sucking tech. Rel-16 features a bunch of energy-saving features, including Qualcomm’s wakeup signal (WUS). It will prevent receivers from continually checking for a signal and draining your battery, and instead using a lower-power process that only wakes up the device when a WUS is detected. There’s also improved carrier aggregation control to make that process less energy consuming by powering down secondary carriers when not in use.
Rel-16 also looks to improve mobility and handoff, meaning a more seamless transition between cell towers via processes like device-driven conditional handover, early measurement reporting and more. This is a lot of jargon that ultimately means you may eventually see fewer interruptions to your 5G connection and stay latched on for longer. Considering staying connected to a mmWave (sometimes known as ultra wideband) tower can be finicky, this would be a welcome improvement.
Other updates: Positioning, vehicles and new deployment models
There’s a lot more coming in the second phase of 5G, including better cellular positioning, improvements to vehicular communications and general infrastructure enhancements. These mostly build on technologies already existing in Release 15, like supporting coordinated driving and sensor sharing in smart cars and improving latency and synchronization in vehicles. With new deployment models, Rel-16 expands its support for non-public networks like industrial IoT and enterprise. These should make adopting 5G in all kinds of environments more popular.
Of course, these changes won’t be happening overnight or even within a year. It’s been almost three years since the first 5G spec was officially approved and though we’re starting to see networks and devices take hold, the protocol is far from widespread. It’s likely we’re years away from seeing the power-saving and bandwidth benefits in the real world, but this is an interesting glimpse at what’s to come.
Combining Marvel intellectual property with virtual reality is a tall order, but when you first blast off and fly across land and sea, it’s one hell of a feeling. At the start of the game, you’re guided through the suit’s abilities with some holographic flying lessons around Tony Stark’s multimillion-dollar estate. You fly just like Iron Man does, pointing your hands down to blast up, forward, back or sideways. Arch your hand, and your repulsor rays are immediately ready, just a trigger squeeze away.
After some practice, it all starts to come together beautifully. You fly one-handed, blasting drones with the other, you dash up to a robot and punch it away, launching high into the air again to avoid being fired on. It all sounded gimmicky, yes, but there are moments where the control system sings.
To help you see where you’re going, the Move controller buttons (it doesn’t work with the DualShock 4) rotate your perspective, making it easier to track enemies and line up your attacks. It feels like you’re Iron Man and it feels good.
For a while.
Iron Man VR made me feel queasy if I played for longer than 20 minutes. The multi-axis movement is more aggressive than most virtual reality titles, so that’s probably the cause. I had to take regular breaks to pace myself. The last time this has happened to me was during the now-notorious Resident Evil 7 demo at E3 a few years ago — an issue Capcom managed to fix for the retail game. Now, you might have a stronger constitution, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
While you can custom load Tony with weapons, you’ll end up relying on load-outs that you’re most competent with — the repulsor beams and heat-seeking missiles — and largely avoid melee attacks. These never quite fit in with Iron Man VR, whether that’s because he’s got so many long to mid-range attacks, or because it’s disorientating and nausea-inducing to fly around punching flying robots in VR.
The campaign story beats will sound familiar to anyone who’s watched a couple of the movies or followed the comics. Stark is getting out of the weapons business, and focusing on his bona fide superhero-ing.
Ghosts from his past (the villain-of-the-week is literally called Ghost) are here to remind him that it isn’t always easy to move on. The unimaginative antagonist is a good example at how obvious and flat the campaign story is. Most of the beats are predictable, and there are far too many static exposition monologues. (Maybe they could have been layered over more relaxed flying sections?)
PlayStation, YouTube
Worse still, it’s not as if Ghost even matters — you’ll be fighting drones and robots for most (pretty much 90 percent) of the game. Forget the idea of going toe-to-toe with Marvel villains like in Marvel’s Spider-Man. On top of that, there are also only a handful of drone models, and none of them are particularly elaborate looking, either. It’s where the game begins to fall short.
The same can be said for several of the levels. Whether it’s beige canyons and cityscapes that look like they were made for a PS2 game, barring the introductory plane fight and Tony’s own coastal mansion, most environments are pretty dull to look at and often just as dull to fly around. It’s waves of drones, augmented-reality lever-pulling, chase scene and repeat. Don’t be tricked by the visual fidelity of early screenshots and trailers. It’s all noticeably rougher inside the PlayStation VR headset.
The antagonist, Ghost, is a good example of how obvious and flat the campaign story is. Most of the beats are predictable, and there are far too many static exposition monologues. Maybe they could have been layered over more relaxed flying sections? I think they spoil who’s actually pulling the strings in one of the first loading screen text blurbs.
This slow plod is exacerbated by load times and those transition screens, and it’s particularly jarring in PSVR, which often leaves you staring at an entirely blank canvas for over ten seconds, trapped. And this is in addition to separate load screens. It’s another sign that the PSVR, launched back in 2016, is reaching its limits. Or that the PS4 is just old. (It is.)
The Move controllers also don’t offer the degree of tracking you might get from other, newer, VR setups, and the whole Iron Man VR experience demands standing up to play for most of it. It’s hard to fly with your arms shot out at your sides when you’re sat on the couch. You try it.
These frustrations stack on top of each other. Some of the weapon gestures are really unwieldy once you’re trying to combine them with flying.
Face your palm outwards to attack with low-power, high-speed beams, or you can launch a barrage of missiles by tilting your wrist down. But aiming outstretched can sometimes get painful. Flitting between the two, which the game pushes you toward, and, as I’ve already mentioned, I avoided using the melee punch attacks wherever possible. Combined, these all wrench you out of the Iron Man dream, and trap you in an occasionally sloppy VR shooter.
Outside of the shooting, you control Tony Stark without the suit, teleporting around his mansion and garage to fit out your suit for the next fight / hear more about the bad guys. His house is filled with easter eggs and cute touches. There are books and magazines to browse and even an arcade game to play. Inside your VR game.
