Blog

Stanford upgrades its driverless DeLorean for better drifting

[ad_1]

Back in 2015, the team from Stanford’s Dynamic Design Lab electrified and automated an old DeLorean, dubbing it MARTY (Multiple Actuator Research Test bed for Yaw control). Back then, it did donuts but not much more. Fast forward four years and this thing friggin hauls. MARTY is now capable of drifting its way through a multi-turn kilometer-long test track in mere minutes, while sliding along with human-level precision. Granted, it’s not going to be running Mount Haruna without spilling the sake but still.

“We’re trying to develop automated vehicles that can handle emergency maneuvers or slippery surfaces like ice or snow,” mechanical engineer Chris Gerdes said in a statement. “We’d like to develop automated vehicles that can use all of the friction between the tire and the road to get the car out of harm’s way. We want the car to be able to avoid any accident that’s avoidable within the laws of physics.”

[ad_2]

Source link

YouTubers have raised $20 million to plant 20 million trees

[ad_1]

YouTubers created videos about trees to promote TeamTrees, leading over 500,000 viewers to donate to the cause. While most donations were about $5, Elon Musk donated $1 million. He even changed his Twitter handle to @Treelon to draw attention to TeamTrees. The Arbor Day Foundation will begin planting the trees next month and will have all 20 million of them planted by the end of 2022.

TeamTrees acknowledges that these 20 million trees won’t curb climate change, but asserts that it will serve as a sign that people do care about the environment. “Solutions are all around us and it’s time to get to work. This is just the beginning,” says Matt Fitzgerald, Campaign Director of TeamTrees. The campaign’s success is also a sign of how influential YouTube stars can be and how they can leverage that clout beyond sponsorships.

[ad_2]

Source link

Facebook bans hundreds of misleading accounts that targeted US users

[ad_1]

The individuals that orchestrated the campaign posted content on behalf of The BL, and Facebook said its investigation linked the activity to Epoch Media Group. The latter is the publisher of The Epoch Times, which Facebook banned earlier this year for shady ad buying practices. While it doesn’t directly credit the website, Facebook may have been alerted to the group’s misinformation campaign by Snopes, an independent publication that was the first to notice BL’s activity and link it to The Epoch Times.

In addition to US users, the operation also targeted Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese speakers globally, and in some instances used AI to to cover its tracks. The mostly Vietnamese operation also included people and pages from the US to help make it look more authentic and evade detection by Facebook. Besides news articles and memes related to Trump, the group also posted on topics related to conservative ideology, family values and religious freedom. In all, the company says it banned 610 accounts, 89 pages, 156 groups and 72 Instagram accounts as part of its enforcement action. The company says the operation also spent close to $9.5 million on buying ads on Facebook and Instagram.

“We’re taking down these Pages, Groups and accounts based on their behavior, not the content they posted,” Facebook wrote on its website. “In each of these cases, the people behind this activity coordinated with one another and used fake accounts to misrepresent themselves, and that was the basis for our action.”

In a separate enforcement action, the company also removed an operation that was gaming its social network in the country of Georgia. The smaller operation involved 39 Facebook accounts, 344 pages, 13 groups and 22 Instagram accounts and was focused mostly on domestic news and politics.

[ad_2]

Source link

CDC: Vitamin E acetate is ‘closely associated’ with vaping lung injuries

[ad_1]

A new clinical study analyzed samples from 51 EVALI patients and a comparison group of 99 healthy individuals. The study identified vitamin E acetate in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid from 48 of the 51 EVALI patients. It did not detect the chemical in BAL fluid from healthy individuals.

This isn’t entirely surprising. Last month, the CDC said it suspected vitamin E could play a role in EVALI. The chemical is used to dilute liquid in some THC-containing e-cigs and vaping products. It can also be found in some foods and cosmetic products. It doesn’t seem to cause an issue when it is ingested or applied topically, but past research suggests it could be more harmful when inhaled.

The number of reported cases of EVALI seems to be on the decline, but the CDC says new cases are being reported weekly. As of December 17th, EVALI has injured 2,506 in the US, and the CDC has confirmed 54 deaths. It warns that there may be more than one cause of EVALI and it has not ruled out other substances and product sources.

[ad_2]

Source link

EVgo is adding Tesla connectors to its fast charging stations

[ad_1]

EVgo, which is working with Tesla on the project, is deploying the connectors to all of its San Francisco locations at the outset, with stations elsewhere getting them next year. The company plans to install them at all of its 750+ stations across the US. It’s said to be the first time Tesla connectors have been available at public charging stations in the country.

Tesla has a proprietary adaptor, but charging stations in the US tend to use either CHAdeMO or CCS connectors. Tesla doesn’t offer the latter yet, despite the market seemingly moving towards that as a standard, but it does have CHAdeMO adapters. EVgo’s fast chargers provide both options, with a third on the way in the shape of Tesla’s connector.

The EVgo initiative will give Tesla owners more on-the-go charging options beyond Superchargers, especially if they don’t have their adaptor with them. You can find stations with Tesla connectors through the EVgo app.



[ad_2]

Source link

Twitter shares data for 5,929 accounts that spread Saudi Arabian propaganda

[ad_1]

The activity was linked to Smaat, a social network marketing company inside Saudi Arabia. It reportedly created, bought and ran the accounts on behalf of its clients, some of whom include “high-profile individuals” and Saudi government departments. Twitter has since banned both Smaat and some of its executives.

The accounts are part of a broader network of 88,000 that was involved in “spammy” activity across a range of subjects. They’ve also been permanently banned. Twitter isn’t sharing info about the entire batch as researchers asked it to filter out “unrelated spam.”

This certainly isn’t the first instance of Twitter detailing large-scale attempts at manipulation. Many of those efforts originated in Iran and Russia, though, while earlier documented Saudi campaigns have been relatively small. If Twitter’s research is accurate, that Saudi propaganda push is considerably larger than previously thought.

[ad_2]

Source link

Motorola’s foldable Razr delayed due to high demand

[ad_1]

We hope you weren’t too excited about pre-ordering the revamped, foldable Motorola Razr on December 26th. The company announced today that it’s slightly delaying the phone’s pre-order and launch timing due to significant consumer demand. We don’t know when, exactly, you’ll be able to secure your Razr, but Motorola says it doesn’t “anticipate a significant shift from our original availability timeline.”

It’s a bit strange that Moto didn’t foresee high demand for the Razr– perhaps the company thought phone’s high $1,500 price would only attract a small portion of consumers . After all, it’s running a fairly old mobile Snapdragon 710 CPU, and its cameras and battery capacity pale in comparison to other premium smartphones. But I suppose many people are willing to overlook those flaws to get a sleek, foldable phone that fits into the slimmest of jeans.

Here’s Motorola’s full statement about the delay:

We would like to share an update on Motorola razr’s pre-sale and in-store availability. Below is our official statement regarding the update:

Since its announcement in November, the new motorola razr has received unparalleled excitement and interest from consumers. Demand has been high, and as a result, has quickly outgrown supply predictions.

Motorola has decided to adjust razr’s presale and launch timing to better meet consumer demand. We are working to determine the appropriate quantity and schedule to ensure that more consumers have access to razr at launch.

We do not anticipate a significant shift from our original availability timeline.

[ad_2]

Source link

Lucid Motors doesn’t want to be a ‘Tesla Killer’

[ad_1]

Humans like lumping things into categories. If an automaker is building an electric sedan, the brain immediately wants to pit that vehicle against the Model S. But here’s the thing, Rawlinson was the chief engineer for Tesla’s ground-breaking car. He and Tesla changed the automotive landscape with that vehicle. It showed the world that people would buy an electric car if an automaker built something that was compelling.

Now Rawlinson wants to build something a bit fancier. But the automaker is doing more than just grabbing batteries and motors of the shelf and shoving them into a luxury package. Lucid is doing things in-house the way Tesla has done.

Lucid currently builds the battery packs used in Formula-E under the Atieva name. It’s using that harsh environment to help optimize the packs it’ll be putting in its upcoming production car. Rawlinson is obsessed with efficiency; he continues to praise Tesla for its ability to squeeze every last mile out of its packs. But he thinks Lucid can do better.

The powertrain is also being produced in-house. During a tour of the company’s Bay Area headquarters, I was shown a prototype next to offerings from Tesla and other automakers. Sadly, I wasn’t allowed to photograph it. But it was smaller and lighter than what we see in Model 3. The Lucid powerplant is 18 kilograms versus Tesla’s 25. It also delivers more power. Lucid’s beta motor is rated at 450 kilowatts. The Model 3, about 211 kilowatts.

Lucid factory tour

The real-world results are about 600 horsepower from Lucid’s smaller motor to what the Model 3 motor outputs (which is about 285 horsepower). So more power from a smaller package. Rawlinson also noted that Lucid’s motor is optimized for production. “We’ve used a special technique that we’ve developed in-house to make it super manufacturable,” Rawlinson said.

That final build will happen in Arizona. The automaker recently broke ground on a new factory to make the production version of the Air. It’s currently building 80 beta versions of the car in Northern California just a stone’s throw from Tesla.

Meanwhile, the vehicle frames and bodies are up on racks being fine-tuned while battery packs are manufactured a dozen yards away. The office is filled with teams trying to solve the motor, battery, suspension and electrical issues that all automakers have to deal with. Lucid currently has 800 employees trying to solve all these issues and get the Air into production by the end of 2020.

Post Tesla, the automotive landscape is littered with the dashed dreams of EV startups. Some stick around a bit longer than others and of course there’s always the drama surrounding the space. Rawlinson says Lucid has kept quiet all these years because it really didn’t have anything to show.

But now things are ramping up and the automaker is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Tesla with the help of one of that company’s head engineers. If it all goes to plan, potential buyers will be able to buy the long-range Lucid Air sedan around the beginning of 2021. Like the Porsche Taycan it’ll immediately be compared to the Model S. If it succeeds like that car, then that comparison won’t be such a bad thing after all.

[ad_2]

Source link

Redbox is selling off its video games at major discounts

[ad_1]

If you’re interested in picking up a game either for yourself or as a last-minute gift, you can input your zip code into Redbox’s website to see if it’s available at kiosks in your area. Just note, as Lifehacker points out, that each game comes in one of Redbox’s red jewel cases, instead of its original packaging. However, that’s a small price to pay to get a new game like Death Stranding for $25. Besides, you can cheaply and easily get a new case online.

Redbox announced its plan to stop renting games earlier this month. The company didn’t provide a reason for the change, but it’s likely digital subscription services like Xbox Game Pass cut factored into the company’s decision. It’s hard to compete against services that offer more games than you could possibly play to completion for as little as a dollar a month.

[ad_2]

Source link

France fines Google $167 million over unpredictable advertising rules

[ad_1]

Gibmedia manages websites offering everything from weather forecasts to corporate data and directions, and Google claims the company ran deceptive ads. In a statement provided to Engadget, a Google spokesperson said:

“People expect to be protected from exploitative and abusive ads and this is what our advertising policies are for. Gibmedia was running ads for websites that deceived people into paying for services on unclear billing terms. We do not want these kinds of ads on our systems, so we suspended Gibmedia and gave up advertising revenue to protect consumers from harm. We will appeal this decision.”

France has been slapping Google with fines for years — a €100,000 fine in 2011 for improper data collection during its Street View sweeps, a €150,000 fine in 2014 for violating privacy laws, another €100,000 in 2016 for breaking Europe’s “right to be forgotten” law. More recently, France fined the company $57 million for allegedly failing to provide transparent, “easily accessible” data consent policies, and Google agreed to pay $1.1 billion for failing to properly declare its tax activities in the country.

Earlier this year, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a three percent tax on revenues earned on digital services in France. In response, President Trump threatened to tax French wine. Trump and Macron reportedly reached a deal that’s expected to reduce that tax burden, but that won’t stop France from hitting Google with fines like this one.

[ad_2]

Source link