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Hyundai is building cruise control that mimics your driving style

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Hyundai thinks you’ll be more likely to use its new machine learning-based Smart Cruise Control (SCC-ML) because it will be able to match your own driving style. As for how SCC-ML works, Hyundai says the feature adjusts for a couple of factors. First, it will mimic the distance you keep between your vehicle and the car in front of you. It also takes into account acceleration, as well as how you respond to changes in traffic. Where Hyundai thinks its new cruise control will improve on any existing system is that it won’t take a single approach to every situation. The company claims SCC-ML will be smart enough to know that you don’t always keep the same distance from another car, and that you accelerate differently depending on your current speed.

The automaker claims SCC-ML can also adapt to any driver, though it’s also quick to point out the system won’t pick up unsafe driving habits. Additionally, the system is programmed to adapt to your driving style as it evolves over time.

Hyundai isn’t the only automaker working on creating better cruise control. Earlier this year, BMW revealed it’s working on a system that’ll be able to read traffic lights, thereby making the feature more useful in cities. Hyundai, however, hasn’t mentioned whether its new system will be able to account for traffic lights, so it’s hard to say if you’ll want to use outside of highways.

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A star died violently and left behind this ‘fluffy’ ball

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Recently, NASA took another look at SN 1572 using the 20-year-old, still functioning Chandra X-ray Observatory. Scientists were keen to figure out what caused the lumpy knots and threads that make it look like a giant dust bunny.

SN 1572 exploded in what’s called a Type 1a supernova that happens when a dense white dwarf star around the same weight as our Sun merges with a nearby companion star. The resulting explosion annihilates the white dwarf and blows its matter outward into space. Those chunks glow brightly in the X-ray wavelength because they’re heated by shockwaves generated by the explosion “similar to sonic booms from supersonic aircraft,” NASA explained.

The X-ray image above shows red and blue silicon elements moving toward and away from us, respectively, along with other elements in yellow, green, blue-green, orange and purple. That’s overlaid onto an optical image of stars in the same field of view, taken by the Digitized Sky Survey.

In one theory on the formation of the knots, the matter in the star was relatively smooth after the explosion, then became clumpy later. In another, the explosion itself created the clumpiness. To test these out, scientists created two different simulations of each of those scenarios and let them run to see how they compared against the real Chandra image.

It turned out that the supernova remnant strongly resembled the simulation that generated the clumps from the explosion itself. “While scientists are not sure how, one possibility is that star’s explosion had multiple ignition points, like dynamite sticks being set off simultaneously in different locations,” NASA explained.

The research is key to helping scientists calculate supernovae brightness, which in turn helps them better understand the expansion of the universe. It’s also key to figuring out how exploded stars distribute elements like iron into future planets and stars. Meanwhile, the Tycho Supernova keeps expanding as the ongoing, slow-motion explosion continues.

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Adobe’s Alexa skill reads ‘inspirational’ quotes to jaded creatives

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Designed for artists, writers and anyone else who needs a helping hand to get their ideas going, the Inspiration Engine offers a jolt of creativity with inspirational quotes from thinkers such as Jessica Walsh, Pascal Campion or Weitong Mai, plus exercises which teach you to use your senses and take cues from your environment to kick-start your project. You can learn more about your particular style of creativity with the My Creative Type quiz and view beautiful and inspiring imagery from Behance on Alexa-compatible screen devices like the Alexa Echo Show or Firestick.

The Adobe Inspiration Engine is available for free from the Amazon Alexa Skill store in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. You can try it out by saying “Hey Alexa, enable the Adobe Inspiration Engine.” If you don’t have an Alexa device, you can also try out the tool using the Alexa smartphone app.

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Amazon’s Fire tablets and Kindles are on sale for everyone

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First up are the popular Fire tablets, the compact devices which are handy for reading recipes in the kitchen or making video calls. The Fire 7 was cheap to begin with, and with $10 off (now $40) it’s a bargain. If you’re looking for a larger screen and a longer-lasting battery, there’s also $20 off the bigger Fire 8 (now $60, or $50 for Prime subscribers).

You could also pick up a basic Kindle e-reader to keep you entertained during your commute or to take on vacation. The most recent Kindle model comes with a built-in front light for reading in the dark and is $25 off (now $65) while the Kindle Paperwhite with a glare-free display and super sharp text is down by $40 (now $90).

If you want to keep the kids occupied with their own tablets, there are savings of $30 on both the Fire 7 Kids (now $70) and the larger Fire 8 Kids (now $100).

In the UK, Amazon has made a small number of deals available. The Fire 7 has been discounted by £15 (now £35), while the Fire 8 is now £60 (down from £80). Lastly, the Kindle Paperwhite is now £90, a £30 saving on its normal price.

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The battery-saving power of dark mode on iPhones

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The New York to Sydney trip studied the health effects on everyone aboard.
Qantas completes record 19-hour flight to test the limits of air travel

The Australian airline has completed the first non-stop commercial flight from New York City to Sydney as part of a project researching the effects of very long flights — in this case, 19 hours and 16 minutes. The study measured pilots’ brain waves, melatonin and overall alertness, while passengers helped gauge the effectiveness of anti-jetlag measures, like changes to cabin lighting and meals. Travelers even participated in exercises on board.

There are two more flights coming as part of Project Sunrise, Qantas’ larger effort to study health on long-haul trips. A London to Sydney flight is due in November. However, there is one major obstacle that could prevent flights like this from becoming regular occurrences: headcount. Qantas had to put tight limits on numbers to save fuel, with just 49 passengers and crew flying aboard a Boeing 787-9, which typically holds 280. That will demand a premium.

At the end of a robotic test, the difference was considerable.
Dark mode can substantially save battery life on OLED iPhones

Dark mode is a key feature on iOS 13, but can it really extend your iPhone’s battery life? If it’s a newer model with an OLED screen, the answer seems to be a firm yes, according to tests done by PhoneBuff. They used robotic devices to perform identical tasks on two iPhone XS test devices, one in light and one in dark mode. That included watching a YouTube video, using Twitter, navigating with Google Maps and chatting on the Messages app.

At the end of the test, the light mode iPhone XS was dead, while the one running dark mode still had 30 percent battery life. The benefits come from the OLED screens found on devices like the iPhone X, XS and 11 Pro. When OLED pixels are shut off, they use zero power, while dark pixels on regular LCD phones emit some light. (This is also why OLED phones have better contrast ratios than LED models.)

A low-cost, high-quality entry into the world of sedan hybrids.
Honda’s Accord Hybrid is a value-packed sedan

Honda has a reputation for well-engineered, long-lasting vehicles. So it should be no surprise that the 2020 Accord Hybrid is those things and more. Will it impress your car-nerd friends? Probably not. Will it impress your bank account and family? Yes, yes it will. According to Roberto Baldwin, our six-foot-and-the-rest editor, it’s comfortable and roomy with an impressive amount of tech for the price. It also gets a combined rating of 48 miles per gallon. For people looking for a vehicle where passengers aren’t crammed together but would rather not jump on the SUV bandwagon, the Accord Hybrid is something to look into. Plus, it’s great for the tall people of the world.

It made virtually no progress until the robot arm pitched in.
NASA’s InSight lander can finally dig a hole for its Mars heat probe

NASA’s ‘mole’ lander was supposed be digging a hole so a probe could measure heat escaping from Mars’ interior, but it hasn’t made much progress since February — it hadn’t even finished burying itself. At last, it’s making some headway. The arm had struggled against unusually rough soil, but the team found it could get the necessary friction by having InSight press its robotic arm against the probe.

It’s still moving slowly. The mole has dug a mere three quarters of an inch since October 8th, but it could venture as deep as 16 feet. That, however, will take some time.

It believes drones could be vital for search and rescue and other fields.
Los Angeles Fire Department wants to double its drone fleet

The Los Angeles Fire Department’s Battalion Chief Richard Field intends to double the drone fleet just five months after partnering with DJI. On top of the existing 11 drones, the new ones would provide help to “specialized resources,” such as crews who deal with hazardous materials, urban search and rescue and swiftwater rescues. Existing units provide clearer viewpoints on blazes and help create maps for wildfires.

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Google will fix Pixel 4 face unlock issue with ‘eyes open’ update

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Google has confirmed the issue to Engadget and offered a workaround. “We’ve been working on an option for users to require their eyes to be open to unlock the phone, which will be delivered in a software update in the coming months,” the company wrote in a statement. “In the meantime, if any Pixel 4 users are concerned that someone may take their phone and try to unlock it while their eyes are closed, they can activate a security feature that requires a pin, pattern or password for the next unlock.”

According to a leaked image spotted by the Verge, it seemed that an earlier version of the Pixel 4 had a setting called “require eyes to be open,” much as Face ID does. However, that feature was nowhere to be found on launch day, and won’t be available when the phone goes on sale on October 24th.

Other than that issue, the Pixel 4’s face unlock system is secure thanks to an infrared system that creates a depth map of your face so that it can’t be tricked by a photo. “Pixel 4 face unlock meets the security requirements as a strong biometric, and can be used for payments and app authentication, including banking apps,” Google said. “It is resilient against invalid unlock attempts via other means, like with masks.”

If you’re not comfortable with the eyes-closed-only setting for now, your best bet is to enable the “lockdown” option as shown here. It can be added directly to the power menu option for quick access, and each time you enable the feature, it will force the user to enter a PIN.

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Test shows dark mode really can save battery life on OLED iPhones

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At the end of the test the “light mode” iPhone XS was dead, while the one running dark mode still had 30 percent battery life. That result is a pretty good justification for switching if you often drain your iPhone’s battery.

Keep in mind that these aren’t exactly official tests and that real life usage might vary. Also, the phones were run at a fairly bright 200 nits, so you’re bound to get different results at different brightness levels. Finally, the test only used dark mode-compliant apps. All that said, it’s an impressive result.

Dark mode is likely to impact OLED phones a lot more than regular LED phones. When OLED pixels are shut off, they use zero power, while dark pixels on regular LED phones emit some light. (This is also why OLED phones — including the new iPhone 11 Pro and Pixel 4 models — have better contrast ratios than LED models.)

Having 30 percent of your battery could be the difference between needing to recharge during the day or not. So, while dark mode isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, it’s good to know it’s there when you need it.

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Los Angeles Fire Department wants to double its drone fleet

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It’s not certain how soon the LAFD might grow its fleet, but he referred to it as the “next iteration” of the program.

To some extent, the early success is the result of extensive training. An LAFD pilot receives up to 80 hours of training — that’s more than any commercial drone operator, Fields claimed. That’s not surprising when the LAFD’s drones are involved in life-saving situations, but it does show that drones’ effectiveness is linked tightly with that of their operators.

This could represent a peek at the future of firefighting. The LAFD is one of the largest fire departments in the US, having responded to nearly 500,000 calls in 2018 alone. Whatever successes it has with drones could serve as examples for other departments hoping drones will provide a better perspective (and better data) for their own firefighting efforts.

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Sonar drone helps find a WWII Japanese aircraft carrier

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The search process was familiar, but arguably more necessary than ever given the scale of the project. An autonomous underwater drone (AUV) searched with preset criteria for up to 20 hours at a time, returning with data that could hint at ships or other unusual features. After that, a remotely operated vehicle dives down to verify any potential hits with live imagery. It’s a slow process, but it’s also far more practical than using a remote-controlled vehicle (let alone a crewed one) in these conditions.

While the discovery no doubt offers Vulcan some bragging rights, it also indicates that techniques like this could be vital for filling gaps in naval history. So long as there’s enough left of a given ship to find in the first place, it might just be a matter of giving robotic explorers the time they need to search an area and solve a mystery.

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Next-gen hearing implants could overcome inner ear damage

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Scientists have succeeded in testing the implant on mice, but there’s still a long way to go. The team just recently created a human-sized version that would be suitable for surgery, and it’ll have to go through more studies before human trials begin. Provided everything goes smoothly, though, it might restore hearing in situations where patients might only recover basic sound perception. There are also possible uses elsewhere, including the brain, spine and anywhere else doctors might want to record or stimulate neural activity.

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