An issue with self-driving cars that apparently no one previously considered has come to light: dozing passengers. Officials in San Francisco, where Alphabet’s Waymo company and GM-backed Cruise are currently operating robotaxi services as part of ongoing trials, highlighted the problem in a recent letter to the regulator, Wired reported . Signed by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, and the Mayor’s Office on Disability, the letter to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) explained that in the last couple of months alone, there have been three incidents where Cruise staff were compelled to call 911 after a rider in one of its driverless vehicles failed to respond to their calls via the two-way voice link inside the vehicle. When police and firefighters arrived on the scene, they found nothing more than a dozing passenger enjoying — apparently rather too much — the comforts of a driverless ride. … [Read more...] about Robotaxis have a passenger problem that no one thought of | Digital Trends
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At CES 2019, New Cars Displayed Wild New Tech Features | Digital Trends
The automotive industry made very little noise during the 2018 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show. It was much louder at CES 2019 . Important car-related announcements were made by century-old automakers, tech giants, and game-changing startups no one has heard of before. Connectivity, autonomy, and electrification reigned supreme once again, with varying degrees of realism and feasibility. While full driving autonomy remains years away, CES confirmed 2019 will be the year of in-car connectivity. Contents Audi Bell flying taxi Bosch Byton M-Byte Harley-Davidson LiveWire Hyundai Elevate Kia Mercedes-Benz Nissan Qualcomm The rest Show 6 more items We visited every nook and cranny in the Las Vegas Convention Center to check out the transportation-related technology on display. From electric hatchbacks going on sale in 2019 to a 22nd-century-esque walking car, here are the new cars, tech features, and trends we saw during CES … [Read more...] about At CES 2019, New Cars Displayed Wild New Tech Features | Digital Trends
Track Your Speed, Hang Time, and Sick Jumps With This Connected Kiteboard | Digital Trends
Previous Next 1 of 3 Rossignol and tech start-up PIQ Robot announced the world’s first “connected ski,” bringing real-time data analytics to the slopes. But, it turns out that PIQ wasn’t content to just embed its artificial intelligence system inside a pair of skies for the first time, as the company has also announced that it is working with North Kiteboards to develop the first “connected kiteboard” too. As with the aforementioned skies, the connected kiteboard will use PIQ’s Gaia artificial intelligence system to autonomously analyze motion throughout a kiteboarding session. The AI is capable of tracking a wide variety of movements and can deliver information directly to the rider via an LED display that has been integrated directly into the board itself. That screen can be found right between the user’s feet, allowing the user to glance down at any time to check the status of their ride. According to PIQ, the GAIA system will be … [Read more...] about Track Your Speed, Hang Time, and Sick Jumps With This Connected Kiteboard | Digital Trends
The World’s First Robot Talent Agency is Here | Digital Trends
Boston Dynamics’ Spot robots is an entertainment superstar. Don’t believe me? Check out its various appearances on YouTube and you’ll quickly change your mind. A Spot launch video from last year gained 6.5 million views . A video of Spot dancing to Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk” racked up almost 6.8 million . A video of one Spot robot opening a door for another got 34.4 million views . How many other people on the planet can claim those kinds of numbers? Kanye West walking into a street sign only got 8.4 million views . Contents Robots invade the screen More than just deal-makers Adding more robots to the books It was only ever going to be so long, then, before Spot went Hollywood. No, everyone’s favorite quadruped robot hasn’t bought a house in the Hollywood Hills, taken to shopping on Melrose, or started live-streaming itself singing John Lennon’s “Imagine” during coronavirus lockdown. Instead, it’s gotten an agent. Called the A.I.gency (get it?), that … [Read more...] about The World’s First Robot Talent Agency is Here | Digital Trends
9 perfect ‘podcast games’ built for multitaskers | Digital Trends
Just because you play a lot of games doesn’t mean you can’t also enjoy and engage in other forms of media. There’s a lot to do, see, watch, and listen to — especially in 2023, where virtually every form of media is saturated with more content than has ever existed before — so sometimes it’s nice to sit back and watch a Twitch stream or catch up on an audiobook series while playing an equally relaxing game. Contents Vampire Survivors Loop Hero Nintendo Switch Sports Tetris 99 Minecraft No Man’s Sky Fallout 4 Doom (1993)/Doom 2 Stardew Valley Show 4 more items Plenty of games do want to capture the sum total of your attention, especially brain-twisters like 2022’s fantastic Immortality and RPGs and strategy games that reward you for the brainpower you spend on the experience. Still, it’s worth looking at the best games that allow you to sit back and disengage while your brain idles over a podcast or something similar. Here are our top … [Read more...] about 9 perfect ‘podcast games’ built for multitaskers | Digital Trends