Dealing with all the wiring can quickly become a challenge on robots, especially the walking variety which have actuators everywhere. [Eric Yufeng Wu] sidestepped the wiring issue by creating Q8bot, a little quadruped where all the components, including the actuators, are mounted directly on the PCB.
[Eric] uses a custom PCB as the spine of the robot, and the eight servos plug directly into connectors on the PCB. With their bottom covers removed, the servos screw neatly into a pair of 3D printed frames on either side of the PCB, which also have integrated 14500 battery holders. The PCB is minimalist, with just the XIAO ESP32C3 module, a boost converter circuit to drive the servos, and a battery fuel gauge. Each SCARA-style leg consists of four SLS 3D printed segments, with press-fit bearings in the joints.
The little one moves quickly, and can even do little jumps. For this prototype, most of the control processing is done on a laptop, which sends raw joint angles to the onboard ESP32 via the ESP-Now protocol. We think this little robot has a lot of development potential, and fortunately [Eric] has made all the hardware and software files available for others to build their own.
Spotted: Modern waste management systems face several challenges, including inefficient sorting processes and excessive waste generation. These challenges make waste sorting both slower and more expensive, and come with environmental and health risks. Now, startup Trashify hopes to make the whole process smoother.
The Estonian company does this by completely automating data collection, which is typically a manual and time-consuming task. Instead, Trashify uses a cutting-edge AI-powered computer vision system that’s designed to accurately identify 100 per cent of the waste on the sorting line in real time.
As waste is scanned, a live visual update can be viewed on the user’s customisable dashboard, which can be used to spot broader trends over time, track revenue, and generate up-to-date reports automatically. According to Co-Founder Nikhita Bhagwat, this “consistent, accurate data and actionable insights” will “[enhance] waste categorisation, [improve] material recovery, and [support] better decision-making.”
The system can be retrofitted without any changes to the existing sorting line infrastructure. Once installed, users can customise the technology to suit their own needs, material stream analysis, and tracking requirements.
Trashify has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed funding round and is working to scale its solution across Europe and expand globally. Bhagwat says the company plans “to secure additional partnerships with multiple industry players to increase the adoption of our platform (…) We also aim to raise additional funding to accelerate our market expansion and pilot new projects in industries with high waste output.”
L'opérateur Free a récemment communiqué sur la cyberattaque massive dont il a été victime. Les abonnés au fournisseur n'ont par ailleurs pas tous reçu le même e-mail : certains utilisateurs, moins nombreux, se seraient également fait dérober leur IBAN dans la bataille. Quels sont les risques encourus par l'utilisateur en cas de vol de son IBAN par un...
China has a space station — it’s called Tiangong, the first module was launched in 2021, and it’s all going quite swimmingly, thank you very much. That’s essentially what we know about the orbital complex here in the West, as China tends to be fairly secretive when it comes to their activities in space.
But thanks to a recently released video by the state-funded CCTV Video News Agency, we now have an unprecedented look inside of humanity’s newest orbital laboratory. Shenzhou-18 crew members [Ye Guangfu], [Li Cong], and [Li Guangsu] provide viewers with a full-blown tour of the station, and there’s even baked-in English subtitles so you won’t miss a beat.
The few looks the public has gotten inside of Tiangong in the past have been low-resolution and generally of the “shaky cam” variety. In comparison, this flashy presentation was clearly made to impress an international audience. But let’s be fair, if you managed to build your own crewed station in low Earth orbit, wouldn’t you want to show it off a bit?
Crew berths on Tiangong appear considerably more comfortable than those on the ISS.
So what did we learn about Tiangong from this tour? Well, admittedly not more than we could have guessed. The layout of the three-module station isn’t entirely unlike the International Space Station or even its Soviet predecessor, Mir.
One module contains a common area where the crew meets and eats their meals, as well as the sleeping berths for crew members. (The small portholes in each berth are a nice touch.) Then there are the multi-purpose laboratory modules with their rows of rack mounted experiments, an exercise area, and finally an airlock that can be used to either bring cargo onboard or expose experiments to space.
Even though it’s much smaller than the ISS, one can’t help but notice that the inside of the Tiangong appears a bit less cramped. The modules of the Chinese station have a slightly sleeker internal look, and overall, everything seems less cluttered, or at least, better organized. Some online commenters have equated it to the comparison between the SpaceX Dragon and Russia’s Soyuz capsule, which given the relative ages of the two stations, isn’t wholly inaccurate.
China’s space program has been making great strides over the last several years, but from an outsider’s perspective, it’s been difficult to follow. It’s been doubly frustrating for us here at Hackaday. We’d love to provide the same sort of in-depth coverage we do for American and European missions, but often it’s a challenge to find the technical data that requires. Here’s hoping this video means China is looking to be more transparent about their off-world activities going forward.
A few months ago, my doctor showed off an AI transcription tool he used to record and summarize his patient meetings. In my case, the summary was fine, but researchers cited by ABC News have found that’s not always the case with OpenAI’s Whisper, which powers a tool many hospitals use — sometimes it just makes things up entirely.
Whisper is used by a company called Nabla for a medical transcription tool that it estimates has transcribed 7 million medical conversations, according to ABC News. More than 30,000 clinicians and 40 health systems use it, the outlet writes. Nabla is reportedly aware that Whisper can hallucinate, and is “addressing the problem.”
A group of researchers from Cornell University, the University of Washington, and...
Are you ready to elevate your interactive possibilities without breaking the bank? If so, explore [Caio Bassetti]’s tutorial on creating a full 3D hand controller using only a webcam, MediaPipe Hands, and Three.js. This hack lets you transform a 2D screen into a fully interactive 3D scene—all with your hand movements. If you’re passionate about low-cost, accessible tech, try this yourself – not much else is needed but a webcam and a browser!
The magic of the project lies in using MediaPipe Hands to track key points on your hand, such as the middle finger and wrist, to calculate depth and positioning. Using clever Three.js tricks, the elements can be controlled on a 3D axis. This setup creates a responsive virtual controller, interpreting hand gestures for intuitive movement in the 3D space. The hack also implements a closed-fist gesture to grab and drag objects and detects collisions to add interactivity. It’s a simple, practical build and it performs reliably in most browsers.
For more on this innovation or other exciting DIY hand-tracking projects, browse our archive on gesture control projects, or check out the full article on Codrops. With tools such as MediaPipe and Three.js, turning ideas into reality gets more accessible than ever.
FlexiPi is a bendable Raspberry Pi RP2040 board made of flexible PCB with the same layout as the original Raspberry Pi Pico, but featuring a USB-C port instead of a micro USB port on the official board.
This follows the Flexduino flex PCB clone of the Arduino UNO made by “EDISON SCIENCE CORNER”, but the smaller design of “TOP Gadgets” FlexiPi may make it potentially more useful since it could be inserted into tight or round enclosures.
FlexiPi is available in multiple colors
FlexiPi specifications:
MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ 48 MHz (overclockable to 133 MHz) with 264KB SRAM
Storage – 2MB QSPI flash
USB – 1x USB Type-C 1.1 port used for power and programming
Expansion
2x 20-pin 2.54mm pitch header and castellated holes with 26 GPIOs, 3x 12-bit ADC up to 500 Kbps, 2x UART, 2x I2C, 2x SPI, 16x PWM, 2x programmable high-speed I/O
3.3V I/O voltage
Sensor – 12-bit temperature sensor
Debugging – 3-pin Arm Serial Wire Debug (SWD) port
Misc
BOOTSEL button
WS2812 RGB LED
RTC
Power Supply – 5V via USB port or 1.8V to 5V DC via VSYS pin
Dimensions – 51 x 21mm (thinner, bendable flexible PCB)
Apart from the USB-C port, RGB LED, and flexible PCB, the FlexiPi is the same as the Raspberry Pi Pico. That means it’s software-compatible and you can program it with the Raspberry Pi Pico C/C++ and MicroPython SDKs, Arduino, and any language supported by the Pico.
TOP Gadgets also provides three beginner’s guides for the board for C, MicroPython, and CircuitPyhon. Some of the photos imply those are printed out, but one of the rewards mentions eBooks, so you’d probably only get PDF files instead of physical books.
Making a low-volume flexible PCB comes at a cost, as the FlexiPi sells for five times more than the Raspberry Pi Pico, precisely $20 on Kickstarter. A bundle of 10 boards brings the price down to $18.50 per unit. Shipping is not included and adds an extra $15, so you’d need to pledge $35 to get the board delivered to your door by January 2025.
After landing back on Earth, a NASA astronaut was taken to the hospital for an unidentified health issue — and there's still a lot we don't know about the situation.
In an update, NASA said that all four members of SpaceX's Crew-8 mission from the International Space Station were flown to a medical facility in Pensacola, Florida instead of going back to Johnson Space Center in Houston.
It's unclear which of the three astronauts on board the Crew Dragon capsule — Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps — was hospitalized because NASA is protecting their identity. (We can rule out Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin because we know the individual works for NASA and not Roscomos.)
Though we don't know who was hospitalized or why they needed medical attention, NASA did say that the individual is "in stable condition" and is remaining in the Pensacola hospital "as a precautionary measure."
Beyond that, the agency said it will not be publicizing any "specific details on the individual’s condition" to protect their medical privacy and identity.
Fall For You
This isn't the first time a NASA astronaut has had a medical emergency soon after returning to Earth.
Back in 2006, ISS mission specialist Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper collapsed twice on camera during her speech at a welcome home ceremony just a day after touching down back on terra firma. Though she wasn't hospitalized, she did have to be escorted out of a side door at the hangar where the celebration was held in Houston, as the Associated Press reported at the time.
The astronaut's husband Glenn Piper attributed his wife's wobble to a mix of Texas heat, excitement, and the difficulty of reacclimating to Earth after spending nearly two weeks in zero gravity.
As fellow astronaut and flight surgeon Smith Johnston told the AP at the time, astronauts typically lose between 10 and 14 percent of their blood volume when they're in space, and it can take a few days to get it all back.
"It’s like they just went to the blood bank," Johnston told the news outlet.
As that nearly two-decade-old debacle illustrates, space travel is brutal on the body — and there could be any number of reasons why the NASA astronaut who returned on the SpaceX Crew Dragon needed medical attention.
Le Meenhong JX5 vous rappellera sans doute les anciennes productions de la marque. Les JX1 et JX2 qui proposaient déjà cette idée d’un MiniPC avec un écran intégré. Principale différence entre ces solutions et le JX5, la puce embarquée.
Le Meenhong JX5 propose un Intel N100, une puce qui a sonné le renouveau de l’entrée de gamme chez Intel et qui couvre quasiment tous les usages d’une machine classique aujourd’hui sans soucis. Les anciens modèles étaient intéressants mais fonctionnaient avec un Celeron N5105 bien moins performant. Ce changement de puce ouvre beaucoup de perspectives et si le prix s’en ressent quelque peu, cela reste pour moi une excellente solution pour de nombreuses utilisations.
L’idée de base de ce MiniPC est simple. On intègre sur le châssis haut de l’engin, un écran IPS de 5.5″ en FullHD tactile. Cela permet de le piloter sans avoir besoin de clavier ou de souris pour des taches variées. Avec des dimensions très compactes, 16.1 cm de large pour 9.2 cm de profondeur et 26 mm d’épaisseur, on peut positionner ce MiniPC dans son salon pour piloter films et musique en le connectant à son ampli et son téléviseur. Mais on peut également en faire un outil de contrôle domotique complet et autonome en l’accrochant à un mur, un pilote de machines externes comme une graveuse laser ou une imprimante 3D. Le processeur est refroidi par un petit ventilateur classique, ses 6 watts de consommation ne demandent pas beaucoup d’efforts pour.
Autour de ce N100, le Meenhong JX5 propose 12 Go de mémoire vive LPDDR5 soudés à la carte mère et 128 Go de stockage au format M.2 2242 et probablement en SATA 3.0. Le module sans fil est un Wi-Fi6 et Bluetooth 5.2 et la connectique est assez large.
On retrouve sur l’arrière et la gauche de l’engin un ensemble constitué d’un port Ethernet Gigabit, deux USB 2.0 Type-A, un USB 3.1 Type-C avec DisplayPort et PowerDelivery, un USB 3.0 Type-A, un jack audio combo 3.5 mm, un microphone et une sortie vidéo HDMI 2.1. Au total, en comptant son écran de 5.5″ intégré, l’appareil pourra piloter trois écrans simultanément.
Dans les petits détails qui font également la différence, on retrouve une enceinte intégrée qui sera parfaite pour des alarmes variées par exemple, mais égalament une batterie 1500 mAh qui servira plus d’onduleur que de moyen d’utilisation loin d’une prise de courant. Un gyroscope est également intégré pour pouvoir utiliser l’affichage en mode portrait ou paysage à sa guise.
Le Meenhong JX5 est désormais proposé à 239.99€ sur Geekbuying depuis un stock Chinois et il passe à 224.99€ avec le code NNNFRMJX5 à entrer dans votre panier. Cet engin a été annoncé il y a quelques mois mais sur catalogue uniquement, c’est la première fois que je le vois vraiment en stock. Son tarif est raisonnable, c’est plus cher que les JX1 et JX2 de la marque que l’on a vu tomber jusqu’à 150€ à une époque. Mais c’est beaucoup moins cher que le SZBox S7 annoncé cet été et vendu encore plus de 350€ avec 130€ de frais de port. Comme pour le Minix Z100 qui fonctionne avec la même puce N100 sans faire de bruit grâce à un châssis qui dissipe à lui seul le processeur et qui est vendu 299€, il s’agit d’un produit un peu plus spécialisé, ce qui explique son tarif.
For many decades, fusion has been touted as the ultimate source of abundant, clean electricity. Now, as the world faces the need to reduce carbon emissions to prevent catastrophic climate change, making commercial fusion power a reality takes on new importance.
Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos by Getty Images
Adobe is going all in on generative AI models and tools, even if that means turning away creators who dislike the technology. Artists who refuse to embrace AI in their work are “not going to be successful in this new world without using it,” says Alexandru Costin, vice president of generative AI at Adobe.
In an interview with The Verge, Costin said that he “isn’t aware” of any plans for Adobe to launch products that don’t include generative AI for creators who prefer to manually complete tasks or oppose how AI is changing the creative industry.
“We have older versions of our products that don’t use gen AI, but I wouldn’t recommend using them,” Costin said. “Our goal is to make our customers successful, and we think that in order for them...
De nombreux fabricants de MiniPC ont sorti ces derniers temps des dock graphiques permettant de piloter une carte externe depuis un MiniPC en USB4, Thunderbolt ou en OCuLink. Beelink est de la partie avec un EX Docking Station qui a choisi une voie alternative.
Ces docks permettent de retrouver un port PCIe externe facilement ce qui permet de brancher, par exemple, une carte graphique. Le EX Docking Station de Beelink reprend cette idée sans beaucoup d’originalité mais avec des fonctions intéressantes. C’est un dock en PCIe x16 avec sa propre alimentation 600 watts et sur lequel on pourra brancher les connecteurs ATX 8 broches nécessaires aux cartes les plus gourmandes.
Beelink a choisi avec ce dock une voie intéressante. La marque a préféré intégrer un port sous un de ses MiniPC qui permettait de connecter directement le dock. Cette solution, moins chère que les connexions filaires, permet également de ne pas subir de goulet d’étranglement des données. Le dock étant finalement une sorte de Riser alimenté.
Parmi les autres particularités du produit, un port M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x1 qui permet d’ajouter un SSD PCIe supplémentaire ou une solution Wi-Fi. Des ports d’antennes sont d’ailleurs disponibles sur la coque.
La lettre de déclaration Open Source
Cette libération Open Source du dock peut donc permettre à n’importe quel industriel de fabriquer ce type de produit en copiant la recette pour son compte. Sans avoir à verser de royalties. C’est évidemment une bonne nouvelle car cela gomme le cout de recherche et développement du produit et peut permettre à des constructeurs de vendre ce type de dock moins cher.
On va peut être également découvrir des variations autour de ce concept en se servant de cette base comme marchepied pour ajouter des fonctions. Le EX Docking Station pourrait signer l’arrivée de docks de moins en moins chers.
Avec une telle diagonale d’écran, la Onyx Boox Note Max veut permettre à l’utilisateur du format A4 traditionnel de retrouver ses marques facilement. Cette liseuse tactile et compatible avec un stylet actif sera aussi utile pour la lecture de documents que pour leur annotation ou la prise de notes.
Annoncée à 699.99€ pièce, ce n’est clairement pas la moins chère des liseuses du marché. Mais la proposition de cet écran grand format associé à ce stylet actif et une dalle E Ink Carta 1300 proposant une densité de 300 pixels par pouce en font un produit très intéressant pour de nombreux usages. Pilotée par un Android 13 largement modifié, la Boox Note Max embarque un SoC non spécifié développant huit cœurs cadencés à 2.8 GHz et 6 Go de mémoire vive. Son stockage interne est de 128 Go.
On manque pour le moment d’informations complémentaires importantes sur ce produit. La possibilité ou non d’y adjoindre une carte MicroSDXC pour étendre ses capacités de stockage par exemple, la nature de sa connexion au réseau n’est pas non plus détaillée. On ne sait pas non plus si on aura la possibilité d’aller piocher les applications de son choix sur le Google Play Store. Mais on connait le format de sa dalle et le travail qui y a été effectué. La liseuse bénéficie d’un rafraichissement super rapide et d’un traitement de sa surface pour rappeler la sensation du papier lorsqu’on utilise le stylet. Pas d’éclairage frontal à priori et aucune info pour le moment sur l’autonomie de l’engin. Onyx a juste donné l’information de son épaisseur qui est de 4.6 mm seulement sans préciser ses autres dimensions ni son poids global.
Vendue avec un stylet et la possibilité de lui adjoindre un clavier magnétique, la Boox Note Max n’a pas encore de date de commercialisation.
Who knew colorful silk scarves costing hundreds of dollars were recession-proof?
Hermès reported financial results on Thursday that showed the scarf and handbag maker is doing pretty well — much better than its luxury compatriots, which have struggled to grow thanks to waning demand from Chinese consumers. Kering, the luxury conglomerate behind Gucci, was more on-trend with its own decidedly lackluster financial results.
Handbag Fight
Hermès’ secret ingredient is that it’s at the very high end of high-end shopping. The company makes prospective handbag owners put themselves on waiting lists and spend a certain amount of money on its products before they can be considered for one of its Birkin bags. That strategy maintains a certain pipeline of demand the company has been able to fall back on even as China’s consumer sentiment has grown a tad more frugal. One McKinsey advisor told Business Insider Hermès has always baked scarcity into its brand, and that has paid off with a long-term strategy that doesn’t feverishly chase after growth.
Kering’s tribulations, however, are much more representative of the overall luxury market:
Hermès has been consistently outperforming other luxury brands this year. Its stock is up 8% year-to-date, while Kering’s is down a sobering 40%.
Mega luxury conglomerate LVMH’s stock is down 14% so far this year, and last week it announced its first drop in sales since 2020. Meanwhile, Burberry is down almost 46%, and Hugo Boss was down over 35%.
Astronauts and the Devil: There are a couple other luxury brands that have also managed to swim against the current: Switzerland’s Richemont — the company behind Cartier — is up 10% so far this year, and Prada is up 25%, with analysts upbeat about its own upcoming financials. On top of that, earlier this month Prada announced a partnership with aerospace company Axiom Space to design a spacesuit for astronauts to return to the moon. If any stock is going to the moon, it’s Prada.
Meta continues its reign as the XR industry’s dominant player, with its most recent moves signaling a shift into a new era for the company—and thus the industry at large. This year saw the introduction of the Meta Orion AR glasses prototype and the Quest 3S headset—two pieces of hardware that are not only crucial to Meta’s future but will be pivotal in shaping the industry’s direction as a whole.
Meta Orion AR Glasses Are a Flag in the Ground
Image courtesy Meta
The News
One of Meta’s most significant announcements this year was the unveiling of the Meta Orion AR glasses prototype. Meta has long been signaling its ambitions in the AR space, and the Meta Orion prototype represents a major step toward that vision. With a compact form-factor and an impressive 70-degree field of view, Meta is aiming to push the boundaries of what AR hardware can achieve.
Why It Matters
Meta’s Orion AR glasses stand as a benchmark for the state-of-the-art in AR glasses today. Unlike similarly sized AR devices—which suffer from a narrow field-of-view that make content appear constrained—Meta Orion’s 70-degree FoV is just scraping the boundary of ‘wide enough to be useful’. Achieving a compact form-factor and a wide field-of-view in the same package is crucial for making AR feel more seamless and practical in daily use.
It will be years yet before Meta ships something like Orion, but it’s an intentional ‘flag in the ground’ moment for the company.
Quest 3S Speeds the Transition Away from Quest 2
Image courtesy Meta
The News
Meta launched Quest 3S, a new addition to the Quest lineup that really should have launched alongside Quest 3 in the first place. Positioned as a more budget-friendly alternative to the flagship Quest 3, the Quest 3S comes with a lower price point but still offers significant improvements in performance and mixed reality capabilities compared to older devices like the Quest 2.
Why It Matters
In its marketing, Meta has been hyping mixed reality for years at this point. But the large population of Quest 2 headsets (which really aren’t great for MR) have undercut the company’s push into MR.
The Quest 3S is finally a new headset from Meta that’s comparable to what Quest 2 was in terms of affordability, while including reasonably good MR capabilities too.
With the Quest 2 becoming increasingly outdated, users and developers alike have been waiting for hardware that can keep up with more demanding VR experiences. The Quest 3S hits the sweet spot for many casual users, offering a balance between affordability and performance.
And finally Meta has a flagship game for its Quest 3 & Quest 3S hardware. Batman: Arkham Shadow (which is exclusive to these newer headsets), is just the thing to get VR gamers that are hanging on to Quest 2 to make the leap to newer hardware.
Ironically, the flagship game for these new “mixed reality” headsets (as Meta now usually refers to them) is a pure VR game. Maybe with the next headset launch the company can properly time a flagship MR app with its launch.
More Immersive and Useful Mixed Reality Apps
Demeo Mixed Reality mode | Image courtesy Meta
The News
This year Meta revealed that it will now grant developers access to camera data for creating mixed reality (MR) content. This change opens up new possibilities for how MR experiences are built and how users can interact with their environments through these experiences.
Why It Matters
For years Meta has held out on giving developers direct access to the headset’s cameras. That made it harder for developers to build interesting MR applications that properly integrate and interact with the world around the user.
In addition to Quest 3S helping to grow the population of Quest headsets with decent MR capabilities, this change also makes building MR applications a more attractive proposition for developers.
Ostensibly Meta had originally blocked direct camera access to preserve user privacy and prevent potential abuse by bad actors. Reversing that decision is risky; another privacy scandal is the last thing Meta wants its headsets to be known for.
New Tools for Developers to Bring ‘Spatial Computing’ to Quest
Image courtesy Meta
The News
This year Meta also introduced new tools to make it easier for developers to port both flat-screen and spatial computing applications to Quest devices. These tools are designed to streamline the development process, enabling developers to create more immersive XR content without requiring a steep learning curve.
Why It Matters
Meta’s headsets are great for gaming, but it wants them to be great at ‘spatial computing’ too. But getting developers to bring traditional apps to its platform has been a major hurdle for the company.
One of the biggest challenges traditional app developers face is moving from a flat screen modality to something that inherently exists in 3D. This generally requires a completely different set of tools that’s much more in the realm of game development than app development.
Meta’s new tools aim to simplify this process, allowing developers who are familiar with building flat-screen applications to bring their apps to the Horizon platform with minimal friction. This opens up the Quest platform to a wider range of applications, from 2D games and productivity tools to more immersive spatial experiences.
But Meta still faces an uphill battle with getting a critical mass of everyday apps onto its headset. The company has openly said it would love to bring the Play store (and all of its apps) to the headset, but it seems Google isn’t down to play ball. That’s likely because it’s busy working on its own XR strategy and doesn’t want to give Meta an upper hand.
New Headsets on the Horizon
Image courtesy Meta
The News
In a surprising move this year, Meta announced that it was planning to open up the Horizon OS to select partners who will make their own headsets that run the operating system.
Why it Matters
While Meta has made solid general-purpose headsets, the company believes the time is right for more specialized options. But rather than build those options itself, the company is enlisting help from companies that are already familiar with building hardware for someone else’s software.
While this could bring a wider range of headsets to market which retain access to Meta’s leading platform of content, the move shares a striking resemblance to Microsoft’s ill-fated VR play which enlisted major computer OEMs to build a round of VR headsets and then quickly lose interest.
Because Meta owns the Horizon platform, and subsidizes the cost of its own headsets, it’s difficult to understand how announced partners like Asus and Lenovo could hope to build a headset that’s meaningfully better than what Meta is already offering and compete with Meta on price. This has clearly been a struggle for HTC Vive which doesn’t have the money to burn to subsidize its hardware like Meta.
Meta’s ability to burn billions in its pursuit of owning the XR space (or the “next computing platform” as Zuckerberg often calls it) means the company is the one primarily steering the ship. The moves Meta made this year are the beginning of a new era for the company (while most of the industry remains in tow).
While Apple’s entry into the space has already had notable influence on Meta’s XR trajectory, it won’t be until both companies are competing in the same price-class (and for the same users) that Meta will have to truly fight to maintain control of XR’s near-term future.
Automating tasks with a robot sounds appealing, but not everyone has the budget for an Aismo or Kuka. [FABRI Creator] has a great tutorial on how to build your own mini robotic arm for small, repeatable tasks.
Walking us through the entire build, step-by-step, [FABRI Creator] shows us how to populate the custom-designed PCB and where to put every servo motor and potentiometer to bring the creation to life. This seems like a great project to start with if you haven’t branched out into motion systems before since it’s a useful build without anything too complicated to trip up the beginner.
Beyond the usual ability to use the arm to perform tasks, this particular device uses an Arduino Nano to allow you to record a set of positions as you move the arm and to replay it over and over. The video shows the arm putting rings on a stand, but we can think of all kinds of small tasks that it could accomplish for us, letting us get back to writing or hacking.
Le géant français des cosmétiques a publié pour le troisième trimestre de l'année des résultats nettement inférieurs aux attentes des analystes. Un chiffre d’affaires plombé en partie par le pessimisme chinois.
JetKVM met dans la balance trois éléments intéressants. D’abord un aspect pratique avec une fonction KVM over IP qui offre à son propriétaire une connexion sécurisée de tout type de machine en un instant. Ensuite un design original et bien exécuté. Enfin une approche Open Source et ouverte aux extensions. Le tout est proposé à un tarif de précommande abordable.
Evidemment, le design du JetKVM comme les annonces de ses capacités sont à prendre avec tout le recul nécessaire aux financements participatifs. Il ne s’agit pour le moment que de belles promesses. Cependant, si le projet est bien tenu, l’offre est assez intéressante. On retrouve ici un KVM physique que l’on connectera à un PC de manière traditionnelle avec un port USB 2.0 type-C et un port HDMI. L’appareil se connecte ensuite au réseau via un port Fast Ethernet et permet de prendre la main sur la machine sur laquelle on l’a connecté comme si on avait un écran et un duo clavier et souris sous les yeux.
A travers un tunnel logiciel sécurisé fourni avec JetKVM, on peut donc piloter un ordinateur, un serveur ou de tout type de solution matérielle dès son démarrage. Pas de soucis de compatibilité puisque le JetKVM traduit les éléments des deux côtés de la procédure. Depuis la machine de contrôle il transfère vos ordres clavier et souris en USB. Depuis l’ordinateur contrôlé, il capture et diffuse le signal HDMI de l’engin directement vers la session sécurisée mise en place en ligne. On peut donc aussi bien accéder au BIOS que lancer l’installation d’un système à distance.
Mieux encore, le petit appareil propose également un port RJ11 qui ouvre des perspectives originales. Totalement documenté ce port, permet de construire des extensions supplémentaires. On retrouve par exemple la possibilité de démarrer physiquement une machine à distance. Comme si on appuyait sur son bouton physique avec un montage probablement assez simple. D’autres usages peuvent être mis en place comme une surveillance de température ou l’accès à une console de surveillance pour un diagnostic sur un serveur. Le code du KVM est écrit en Golang (Que je ne connais pas du tout.) et l’ensemble est annoncé comme étant Open Source : L’image système, le code de fonctionnement du KVM et l’interface graphique et l’API exploitée par la partie Cloud. Il sera donc possible d’adapter l’ensemble de la chaine JetKVM à vos besoins. Possible par exemple pour une entreprise de faire apparaitre un logo sur le logiciel de contrôle ou de proposer des services clé en main.
La face avant du JetKVM propose également un petit écran qui devrait pouvoir afficher les données de son choix. Par défaut, il propose le nom du produit un petit logo, le nombre d’utilisateurs connectés et l’adresse IP et adresse MAC à entrer dans le logiciel pour piloter la machine. On retrouve également un rappel des éléments branchés dessus : USB et HDMI. De quoi avoir sous les yeux l’ensemble des éléments nécessaires pour se servir le plus simplement du monde de l’objet sans pouvoir faire d’erreur. L’objet mesure 6 cm de profondeur, pour 3.1 cm de haut en face avant et 2.4 cm sur la partie arrière.
Sa largeur est de 4.3 cm. Suffisamment compact pour venir se loger aussi bien au dessus d’un PC dans laboratoire de recherche dont on doit relancer les calculs en pleine nuit. Ou sur l’écran d’un professionnel en déplacement constant pour récupérer des données oubliées et évidemment dans une salle serveur. A 69$, c’est même assez facile d’imaginer des usages secondaires moins classiques. Par exemple piloter une ferme d’impression 3D. De prendre la main sur un petit serveur de téléchargement et de stockage décentralisé ou autre.
Le prix est étonnant car de nombreux concurrents existent mais sont en général beaucoup plus chers. La raison est probablement à chercher autour des composants employés et du code. Avec un système Linux sur mesure et OpenSource mais surtout un SoC basique et uniquement attaché à faire les tâches demandées, le JetKVM évite l’écueil d’embarquer du matériel sur-compétent. On retrouve ici un SoC RockChip RV1106G3, une puce quadruple cœur Cortex A7 cadencée à 1 GHz dont le principal mérite est de savoir encoder en temps réel des flux vidéo en H264 et H265 matériellement. C’est elle qui capturera la source HDMI de la machine a piloter et l’enverra en streaming à distance avec une latence annoncée de 30 à 60 ms. La mémoire vive est légère avec 256 Mo de DDR3L, le stockage est un maigre 8 Go en eMMC qui suffira à absorber le système et ses modifications. L’écran est une solution IPS de 1.69 pouces en 240 x 280 tactile et capacitive qui permettra une mise en place de l’appareil facile et sans avoir à sortir le moindre accessoire.
Le projet n’a rien de techniquement révolutionnaire ou de fou, il est simplement construit sur le papier de manière optimisée et intelligente. Ce qui permettrait sans doute de tenir le prix très bas annoncé. C’est typiquement un produit qui bénéficie de technologie désormais assez « mûres » pour parvenir à réussir à changer totalement de prix.
Un moule d’injection pour la coque du produit.
Reste qu’il s’agit d’un financement participatif et donc d’une entreprise à risque. Cela parait presque trop beau quand on connait le prix de ce type de KVM over IP pro. Pour rassurer l’investisseur de passage l’équipe s’affiche tout sourire sur la page du projet et montre également un élément critique dans la construction de ce genre d’objet. Son moule pour assurer la fabrication de la coque. Cela parait fou mais il est bien plus couteux aujourd’hui de fabriquer ce genre de moule que de fabriquer des séries de circuit imprimé. Il y a beaucoup moins de concurrence sur ce poste et il est impossible de faire faire un moule de ce type pour une petite série alors qu’il est possible de sortir 5, 10 ou 50 circuits imprimés sans problèmes d’une chaine de montage automatisée en quelques jours.
Les 69$ sont à prendre avec les pincettes de rigueur. Il s’agit du prix HT et hors frais de port de l’objet. Comptez 20$ pour vous faire livrer en France (Comme en Suisse, en Belgique ou au Luxembourg d’ailleurs.) et ensuite les frais de douanes et taxes inhérents à ce genre d’aventure. Entre 82 et 100€ au bas mot donc pour ce joujou. Mais j’ai bon espoir que les deux compères derrière ce produit ne finissent par trouver des partenaires et arrivent à proposer ce produit au marché. J’avoue qu’il a tout pour plaire même si il faudra évidemment surveiller la sécurité et la robustesse logicielle de l’ensemble.
J’avoue être autant surpris que séduit par cet engin que m’a signalé Biou.
Une étude récente révèle que les lecteurs se méfient des récits qu'ils croient générés par l'IA. Même les histoires réellement écrites par des humains sont jugées moins convaincantes lorsqu'on affirme qu'elles proviennent d'une IA. Cette tendance illustre la persistance de préjugés contre l'intelligence artificielle, malgré les progrès réalisés dans la qualité narrative.
La perception du public influence la réception des récits
Les chercheurs ont testé l'impact des préjugés sur la réception d'histoires identiques. Ils ont présenté des textes avec des étiquettes volontairement modifiées, attribuant parfois un récit humain à une IA et inversement. Les résultats montrent que la méfiance persiste, peu importe la qualité réelle du texte.
Study: People dislike stories they think were written by AI… even if they were written by humans https://t.co/4ezL8oJbNm
Haoran Chu, co-auteur de l'étude, précise que l'IA génère des récits cohérents mais peine à égaler l'émotion transmise par les écrivains humains. Publiée dans le Journal of Communication le 13 septembre, cette recherche met en lumière un défi majeur pour l'adoption de l'IA dans la création artistique.
Des récits d'IA prometteurs mais encore limités
Deux éléments ont été évalués : le transport narratif et la contre-argumentation. Le transport narratif permet au lecteur de s'immerger complètement dans une histoire, réduisant ainsi ses critiques envers le contenu. Les récits générés par l'IA n'ont pas su captiver autant que ceux des humains, soulignant une limite dans leur capacité à susciter l'émotion.
Malgré ces limites, Chu note que l'IA pourrait servir dans des domaines comme la santé publique, en produisant des récits efficaces pour encourager la vaccination ou d'autres comportements positifs. L'IA ne remplace pas encore les écrivains professionnels, notamment à Hollywood. Cette barrière actuelle représente une opportunité pour les auteurs de continuer à se démarquer. Cependant, l'évolution rapide de ces outils invite à s'interroger sur la place de l'IA dans la création artistique à l'avenir.
The AI Artist Interviews are back!
AIAI #23 – THE SKIPPER VANDERWALL INTERVIEW (Go to Revelinai's website for a better-looking display of the interview and many more images from the artist.)
Cette étude révèle un paradoxe : les récits de qualité générés par l'IA sont pénalisés par des biais profondément ancrés chez les lecteurs. Ces résultats montrent que la perception du public joue un rôle clé, bien au-delà de la seule performance narrative.
OpenAI's researcher in charge of making sure the company (and the world) is prepared for the advent of artificial general intelligence (AGI) has resigned — and is warning that nobody is ready for what's coming next.
In a post on his personal Substack, the firm's newly-resigned AGI readiness czar Miles Brundage said quitting his "dream job" after six years has been difficult. He says he's doing so because he feels a great responsibility regarding the purportedly human-level artificial intelligence he believes OpenAI is ushering into existence.
"I decided," Brundage wrote, "that I want to impact and influence AI's development from outside the industry rather than inside."
When it comes to being prepared to handle the still-theoretical tech, the researcher was unequivocal.
"In short, neither OpenAI nor any other frontier lab is ready," he wrote, "and the world is also not ready."
Levels and Levels
After that bold declaration, Brundage went on to say that he's shared his outlook with OpenAI's leadership. He added, for what it's worth, that he thinks "AGI is an overloaded phrase that implies more of a binary way of thinking than actually makes sense."
Instead of there being some before-and-after AGI framework, the researcher said that there are, to quote many a hallucinogen enthusiast, levels to this shit.
Indeed, Brundage said he was instrumental in the creation of OpenAI's five-step scale of AI/AGI levels that got leaked to Bloomberg over the summer. On that scale, which ends with AI that can "do the work of an organization," OpenAI believes the world is currently at the precipice of level two, which would be characterized by AI that has the capability of human-level reasoning.
All the same, Brundage insists that both OpenAI and the world at large remain unprepared for the next-generation AI systems being built.
Notably, Brundage still believes that while AGI can benefit all of humanity, it won't automatically do so. Instead, the humans in charge of making it — and regulating it — have to go about doing so deliberately. That caveat suggests that he may not think OpenAI is being sufficiently deliberate in how it approaches AGI stewardship.
With the senior researcher's exit, Brundage says OpenAI is reassigning members of its AGI readiness team to other groups within the organization. This dissolution comes less than six months after it kiboshed its AI safety team, which doesn't exactly bode well as this latest big-name resignation shakes up the company's leadership.
Miles Brundage, OpenAI’s senior adviser for the readiness of AGI (aka human-level artificial intelligence), delivered a stark warning as he announced his departure on Wednesday: no one is prepared for artificial general intelligence, including OpenAI itself.
“Neither OpenAI nor any other frontier lab is ready [for AGI], and the world is also not ready,” wrote Brundage, who spent six years helping to shape the company’s AI safety initiatives. “To be clear, I don’t think this is a controversial statement among OpenAI’s leadership, and notably, that’s a different question from whether the company and the world are on track to be ready at the relevant time.”
His exit marks the latest in a series of high-profile departures from OpenAI’s...
Biotech company 23andMe was once hailed as one of the most successful businesses selling DNA analysis services to anybody who could afford one of its saliva test kits.
But 18 years after it was founded, the company is on the brink of bankruptcy. To date, 23andMe has yet to turn a profit, despite 14 million people taking its at-home tests.
The company's valuation was a lofty $6 billion shortly after going public in 2021. Since then, its valuation has plummeted a staggering 99 percent.
Then last month, the company's entire board resigned on the same day, publicly rebuking CEO Anne Wojcicki.
Now that 23andMe is teetering on the edge, it's raising glaring questions. Perhaps first and foremost: if it were to go under, what would happen to all of that extremely personal DNA data?
In a piece for The Conversation, University of Melbourne senior law lecturer Megan Prictor explored the possibly disastrous implications of 23andMe going bust.
For one, 23andMe is surprisingly open about its willingness to share private customer DNA data with service providers.
"If we are involved in a bankruptcy, merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets, your Personal Information may be accessed, sold or transferred as part of that transaction," the company notes in its privacy statement, "and this Privacy Statement will apply to your Personal Information as transferred to the new entity."
In other words, your DNA information could easily be passed on to an entirely separate company, a terrifying prospect for many trying to safeguard their privacy online.
As University of Iowa law professor Anya Prince explained in a recent interview with NPR, federal protections like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) do not apply.
"HIPAA does not protect data that’s held by direct-to-consumer companies like 23andMe," she said.
In a statement to The Conversation, a spokesperson reassured that Wojcicki is "not open to considering third-party takeover proposals." If the company were to change hands, the privacy agreement would "remain in place unless and until customers are presented with, and agree to, new terms and statements."
Worse yet, for 23andMe's existing customers, simply deleting the data may not even be on the table. The company reserves the right to "retain Personal Information for as long as necessary," per its privacy statement. Account deletions are also "subject to retention requirements and certain exceptions."
"Buying a DNA test online might feel fun and rewarding and it’s certainly been marketed that way," Prictor concludes in her piece. "There are plenty of good news stories about how getting those test results has helped people to connect with lost family or understand more about their health risks."
"People just need to buy tests with their eyes open about what this might mean," she added, especially considering the many "legal conditions attached."
Other legal scholars tend to agree.
"Having to rely on a private company's terms of service or bottom line to protect that kind of information is troubling — particularly given the level of interest we've seen from government actors in accessing such information during criminal investigations," American Civil Liberties Union staff attorney Vera Eidelman told NPR.
Wojcicki remains steadfast despite facing a major financial crisis.
"I remain committed to our customers’ privacy and pledge," she said in a September filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, announcing that she was considering taking 23andMe private.
But how long the DNA company can stay afloat remains anybody's guess.
The fight-or-flight response is our body's automatic and ancient response to perceived threats or danger. This innate physiological response in animals and humans prepares us to either confront a threat (fight) or flee from it (flight). This mechanism, often referred to as entering fight-or-flight mode, likely played a critical role in our survival.
Face to face with a tiger
At the annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards, I saw an astonishing photo of a tiger surprising workers in a field (Tiger Run by Nejib Ahmed). Everyone is in flight mode except one man, much braver than me, who perhaps through instinct has stood to fight, staring down the approaching tiger with a long stick. The photo is captivating in its drama and struck me as a perfect fight-or-flight example in action. Thankfully, no one—including the tiger—was hurt in this instance.
The adrenalin that can flood our bodies during such moments may sometimes give us strength to do what we didn't expect, surprising ourselves with what we are capable of—Nicola Morgan, when discussing the amazing teenage brain, gives an example of her leaping a 5ft fence and looking back with amazement. Sudden strength or speed like this is a well-known fight-or-flight symptom.
Reptilian brain, Lizard brain
The fight-or-flight response is linked to theories about how different parts of the brain developed during our evolution. Modern research has corrected some aspects of this idea, but the basic concept remains.
The most primitive parts of the brain—those we may share with, say, dinosaurs—are responsible for automatic behaviours like protecting territory, aggression, fear and fending off danger. This is often referred to as the reptilian brain or lizard brain. These brain areas are key to our survival instincts and play a critical role in activating fight-or-flight mode.
Years of evolution since then have given us brain structures like the limbic system, which is responsible for our emotions and social behaviours. The amygdala, part of the limbic system, is especially important in triggering fear and the fight-or-flight response.
Later, the neocortex evolved, enabling humans to assess threats rationally, solve problems, and make decisions—giving us more control over how we respond to fear or anxiety.
The response, also illustrated by the snake rearing up in the sketch, is a fallback to our oldest instincts from the oldest parts of our brain when faced with a threat, so the theory goes.
Freeze, Flight, Fight, Fright
Fight-or-flight psychology, coined by physiologist Walter Cannon in 1915, is only part of a broader spectrum of acute stress responses. A more accurate sequence we experience may be freeze, flight, fight, or fright.
Freeze: Our immediate reaction to danger might be to "stop, look, listen," remaining hyper-vigilant while we assess the threat, and perhaps hope by not moving, the dinosaur won't spot us.
Flight: We may flee the situation to safety.
Fight: If escape isn't possible, we might fight back, as shown by the brave individual in the tiger photo.
Fright: This might include panic and immobility, playing dead in case a predator decides we're not worth eating after all.
As you see, the updated list continues with excellent alliteration, which no doubt helped make the idea sticky in the first place (other proposals add fawn, faint, flock and more).
When Fight-or-Flight Doesn't Help
While the tiger scenario shows our ancient brain instincts at work, most modern-day situations don't involve life-or-death threats. However, we may still enter fight-or-flight mode during stressful, anxiety-inducing moments, such as public speaking, a challenging work interaction, or a difficult conversation.
In these cases, our age-old reactions may not serve us well. The same ancient brain that would help us survive a predator may now cause us to avoid daunting tasks. Whether it's a work presentation, a cold sales call, or confronting a personal issue, we may feel the urge to retreat from the action and get a snack from the kitchen instead.
When our ancient instincts—so finely tuned for survival—are no longer serving us in modern situations, it's helpful to pause and let our higher-order thinking take the lead. Techniques like box breathing or meditation help calm the body and mind, allowing us to move beyond fear and resistance. By doing so, we can overcome the automatic urge to "fight or flight," or even freeze or fright, and instead respond with clarity, control, and confidence.
Depuis des mois des fuites de données massives se succèdent en France, chez des marchands en ligne, des organisations variées et dernièrement des opérateurs. A chaque fois les mêmes éléments sont récupérés par des groupes et organisations variés qui vont en faire commerce ou opérer avec.
J’entends souvent les utilisateurs râler après ces fuites de données. Pester contre le partenaire qui a laissé une faille suffisante dans son système mais… ne pas faire grand chose pour s’en prémunir. Je connais même des utilisateurs qui ne vont pas changer leur mot de passe d’eux même après avoir reçu l’information d’une fuite. Mot de passe qui est pourtant utilisé de manière identique sur des dizaines et des dizaines d’autres sites. La problématique est connue, le commun des mortels n’a pas envie de changer ses mots de passe pour chaque site. Il sait pertinemment que c’est comme si il écrivait le code d’ouverture de sa porte affiché sur sa maison, mais il n’a pas le courage de tout changer.
L’idéal est comme toujours d’avoir une technique de mémorisation permettant de créer un mot de passe différent facilement pour chaque site ou d’utiliser une application de gestion de mot de passe multiplateforme. Ce n’est souvent pas gratuit (encore que KeePass soit libre, open source, léger et gratuit) mais c’est peu cher par rapport à un vol de données effectivement utilisé par un groupe mafieux. L’emploi d’un Passkey est également une solution très intéressante dans laquelle investir du temps.
Si je vous parle de ces fuites de données, c’est parce que la présence d’IBAN dans les dernières affaires de ce genre me rappelle une mésaventure qui m’est arrivée il y a quelques temps. Je n’ai jamais su d’où venait cette fuite de données mais toujours est-il qu’un malandrin s’est retrouvé avec en sa possession mes coordonnées personnelles et mon IBAN. Et si il avait été plus malin et moins gourmand, il aurait pu ponctionner mon compte pendant longtemps.
Je me suis rendu compte d’un souci avec mon compte suite à un débit de 120€ dont je n’avais absolument aucun souvenir. L’intitulé indiquait une formation étrange depuis un service tout aussi bizarre. Evidemment, j’ai mené ma petite enquête et je me suis rendu compte que depuis trois mois des débits du même genre apparaissaient dans mes relevés pour des montants de 9.90€.
En analysant ces relevés, je suis parvenu à un service de vente de formations en ligne, un site à priori légitime, exploité de manière tout à fait illégitime par des escrocs. Le site permet de proposer des formations à n’importe qui, sur n’importe quel sujet. C’est juste une de ces fameuses plateformes de « mise en relation » entre divers acteurs. Plateforme qui prend évidemment une commission au passage en jouant le rôle de tiers de confiance. Problème, cette plateforme n’a aucun moyen de vérifier si la formation est réelle et même si elle est simplement délivrée.
Résultat, une formation peut très bien s’intituler « EDF » ou « ASSURANCE ». Il est également facile de savoir quel est votre établissement bancaire à partir de votre IBAN et donc de générer un intitulé autour de cela comme des frais de gestion. Aucune limitation sur le nom de la formation n’est imposée et on peut choisir n’importe quel intitulé qui sera automatiquement lié avec le mois en cours dans votre relevé bancaire. Mais le pire c’est que le margoulin qui lance la formation bidon peut ensuite utiliser le même site et vous créer un profil à votre nom, prénom et adresse, en changeant évidemment juste votre email pour le sien. Pour le paiement, rien de plus simple, il suffit d’entrer… votre IBAN. Et voilà comment une personne mal intentionnée peut commencer à prélever régulièrement des sommes sur votre compte de manière totalement anonyme et en proposant un intitulé parfaitement invisible si vous n’y faites pas attention.
Contactée, ma banque a récupéré les sommes prélevées et a recrédité mon compte. Le problème est que si la personne qui avait récupéré mes informations et mon IBAN avait été un peu plus précautionneuse, avait par exemple débité pour une formation « PRLVM SEPA ASSURANCE OCT » quelques euros, je n’aurais probablement pas fait attention plus que ça pendant des mois. Le temps pour cette personne de ponctionner mon compte et pour moi de perdre pas mal de sous.
La réglementation bancaire impose pour toutes les banques de rembourser jusqu’à 13 mois après le prélèvement une opération de prélèvement de ce type effectuée sans autorisation validée de votre part. C’est à dire en utilisant simplement un IBAN. La banque n’a pas forcément besoin de cette autorisation de prélèvement pour opérer. Peu de banques ne réclament cette autorisation de manière systématique. Surtout pour les petites sommes comme les prélèvements d’abonnements variés que nous avons tous. Pour autant, avec un intitulé de prélèvement qui peut changer de mois en mois en modifiant la prestation de formation ou avec un nom ressemblant à des prélèvements légitimes, la traque aux opérations frauduleuse peut s’avérer complexe et chronophage.
Un conseil donc, si votre IBAN a fuité, n’hésitez pas a éplucher vos comptes de manière systématique et traquez vos prélèvements pour détecter toute anomalie pendant les mois qui viennent.
You’ll miss out on a cheery hello from a Walmart greeter, but then again, that’s pretty status quo when you’re lying in bed with the flu.
Walmart announced on Tuesday that it’s introducing a new same-day delivery service for prescription medication. This comes two weeks after Amazon announced it’s expanding its pharmacy operation and same-day medication delivery to 20 new US cities, bringing about 50% of the US population within Amazon’s delivery radius.
First: Do No Harm to Your Bottom Line
Amazon has been trying to break into healthcare for a while now, with mixed success. It acquired healthcare clinic chain One Medical for $3.9 billion in February 2023, and one year later, per reporting from Business Insider’s Eugene Kim, its integration into Amazon’s larger business was still experiencing serious growing pains. Walmart opened its first pharmacy in 1978, so it’s been in the business longer, but it hasn’t been able to expand into actual doctoring. Back in April, Walmart shuttered its Walmart Health operation, closing 51 health clinics in the process.
Both retail giants have struggled with the clinical side of healthcare. But if Amazon knows one thing, it’s absurdly fast delivery, and Walmart — which is slowly but steadily waking up to the wonderful world of e-commerce — is falling in lockstep:
Walmart is promising incredibly fast delivery times, as short as 30 minutes, the Financial Timesreported. Even by Amazon standards, that’s zippy.
Race to the Bottom: Elsewhere in e-commerce-land, The Information reports that Amazon has started setting prices for its planned rival to super-cheap Chinese e-commerce companies Temu and Shein. Per The Information’s reporting, Amazon is setting upper limits for items on the new service, including $8 for jewelry and $20 for sofas. If those sofas have any quarters stuck between the cushions, it’s practically a net gain.
Spatial intelligence and autonomous solutions specialist, AiFi, has announced its growth in the stadium sector, serving customers with frictionless checkout in 20 sports stadiums.
One month into the 2024/2025 NFL season, ticket sales are already 38% higher than last season’s start, according to data from StubHub’s 2024 NFL Season Preview. With larger crowds packing into stadiums, the common pain point of long wait times for concessions and merchandise will only exacerbate, taking more game watching time away from fans.
AiFi’s frictionless checkout solution aims to reduce long lines and get fans quickly back in their seats. With checkout-free options in seven NFL stadiums and 13 total stores within these stadiums, the shopping experience for a quick bite or drink is smoother and faster.
The company is also growing and evolving into new sectors. It is deploying new applications of its camera led spatial intelligence platform, which tracks people and objects through space to unlock data and insights for businesses and operations including autonomous checkout, safety and compliance, consumer behaviour analysis, dwell time reports, and out of stock notifications.
To help lead this charge, AiFi recently hired Alan Flohr to serve as the company’s Spatial Intelligence Sales Lead. Flohr most recently served as SVP of Revenue & Growth at Zippin, another autonomous retail provider, and previously was the Chief Revenue Officer at Pathr.ai, which offers AI powered spatial intelligence capabilities as well.
“We’re incredibly proud of AiFi’s growth with our stadium partners, and are eager to continue transforming both the fan experience and critical business operations within major retail and event spaces, while also setting a new standard for what spatial intelligence technology is capable of,” says Steve Carlin, CEO at AiFi.
“We’ve spent the last eight years developing a platform capable of obtaining a complete three-dimensional understanding of any space and the objects and humans within it. Starting our business in the retail sector required us to achieve over 99% accuracy with our technology, and doing so has primed AiFi to apply its spatial technology platform in a variety of crucial sectors.”
AiFi’s latest NFL stadium collaboration is with Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans. Aside from stadiums that serve NFL teams, it operates in ten other stadiums, one of its major and recent collaborations being with the Intuit Dome, the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers.
At the newly built venue, AiFi’s technology is powering stores of different formats including bars, markets, and merchandise. Its NBA involvement also includes a presence at the Footprint Center, home of the Phoenix Suns and Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors (in partnership with Verizon). AiFi’s reach extends beyond America, with stores at professional football clubs at American Express Stadium in the United Kingdom and Parken Stadium in Denmark.
"We are always looking for ways to enhance the fan experience at Nissan Stadium and offering a seamless process at concession stands is a top priority. Shorter lines mean more time at your seat enjoying the game,” says Adam Nuse, Titans Senior Vice President.
“AiFi provides a best-in-class AI platform to help simplify and streamline the checkout process. We look forward to working alongside their team as we provide fans with this innovative technology throughout the 2024 NFL season.”
With AiFi’s technology and partnership with Verizon's 5G network, their solutions have proven successful with numerous partners, including the Prudential Center in Newark, Ford Field in Detroit, Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, and Acrisure Arena in Palms Springs. The latest deployments include Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago and Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
To date, AiFi has reached more than nine million customers and processed 7.1 million orders with over 30 million products sold.
The company says that it has consistently doubled products sold year over year since 2022 and plans to apply its spatial intelligence platform to new industries within the next year including pharmacies, retail manufacturing, fuel stations, hotels and hospitality, casinos and entertainment, quick serve restaurants, and athletic facilities.
HTML: Édimbourg s'engage dans une nouvelle ère de connectivité avec l'approbation de sa stratégie de ville intelligente. Cette initiative ambitieuse promet de transformer la capitale écossaise en un modèle de durabilité urbaine et d'efficacité technologique. Le plan met l'accent sur l'intégration de solutions numériques pour améliorer la qualité de vie des citoyens, tout en renforçant l'infrastructure urbaine. La vision d'Édimbourg inclut des innovations dans les réseaux d'énergie, la gestion des ressources, et les espaces de vie, garantissant ainsi une ville plus connectée et résiliente face aux défis futurs.
Édimbourg vient d'approuver sa dernière stratégie de ville intelligente, un projet ambitieux visant à améliorer la qualité de vie de ses habitants en intégrant technologies et durabilité. Cette nouvelle stratégie se concentre sur l'amélioration des services urbains, la réduction de l'empreinte carbone et le renforcement de la connectivité à travers la ville. En embrassant des solutions innovantes, Édimbourg aspire à se positionner comme un leader dans le domaine des villes intelligentes. Cet objectif sera mené à bien grâce à l'utilisation de la technologie pour créer un environnement urbain plus sûr, plus propre et plus efficient. La stratégie prend également en compte la participation active des citoyens, les amenant à devenir des acteurs clés dans le développement de leur ville.
Édimbourg redéfinit sa stratégie urbaine
La ville d'Édimbourg a récemment approuvé une nouvelle approche pour devenir une véritable ville intelligente, visant à transformer la manière dont ses habitants interagissent avec les services locaux. Cette initiative s'inscrit dans un cadre de développement durable et technologique, où l'efficacité de l'infrastructure numérique joue un rôle central. L'objectif est clair : améliorer la qualité de vie des citoyens tout en créant un milieu urbain plus écologique et mieux connecté. En investissant dans des technologies modernes, Édimbourg montre sa détermination à être à la pointe des innovations qui redéfinissent le paysage urbain mondial. Cela n'inclut pas seulement l'infrastructure physique, mais également une approche holistique qui intègre des solutions numériques à divers aspects de la vie en ville.
Les innovations au cœur de la ville
Édimbourg ne se contente pas de moderniser ses services publics ; elle intègre également des innovations qui favorisent une gestion urbaine plus intelligente et fluide. Des capteurs et systèmes de gestion intelligente sont installés à travers la ville pour superviser et optimiser la consommation énergétique et accroître la sécurité. Grâce à ces innovations, des solutions comme l'éclairage public connecté et des systèmes de transport intelligents sont en train d'être déployés. Ces projets s'inscrivent dans la volonté de la ville de réduire son empreinte carbone et de promouvoir une gestion durable de ses ressources.
En parallèle, les citoyens jouent un rôle actif grâce à des applications mobiles collaboratives qui encouragent la participation publique. Cela crée un vrai dialogue entre la municipalité et la population, transformant Édimbourg en un espace non seulement intelligent, mais aussi participatif et inclusif.
Défis et perspectives
Malgré les avancées notables, la transition d'Édimbourg vers une ville intelligente pose quelques défis. L'interconnexion des systèmes technologiques requiert non seulement un investissement financier conséquent, mais aussi des compétences spécialisées pour leur mise en œuvre. Une autre préoccupation réside dans la protection des données, alors que l'utilisation massive de capteurs et de technologies IoT est susceptible d'augmenter les risques potentiels pour la confidentialité des données. Il est crucial que la ville anticipe ce genre de défis pour assurer le succès et la sécurité de sa stratégie. Les citoyens doivent être informés des mesures de sécurité prises pour protéger leurs données.
Le spoofing téléphonique est l'un des fléaux qui peuvent toucher les particuliers. Dans le secteur de la banque, cela peut déboucher sur des virements frauduleux. En principe, la banque a l'obligation de rembourser la victime des sommes détournées. C'est ce qu'a rappelé la Cour de cassation.
Anthropic’s latest Claude 3.5 Sonnet AI model has a new feature in public beta that can control a computer by looking at a screen, moving a cursor, clicking buttons, and typing text. The new feature, called “computer use," is available today on the API, allowing developers to direct Claude to work on a computer like a human does, as shown on a Mac in the video below.
Microsoft’s Copilot Vision feature and OpenAI’s desktop app for ChatGPT have shown what their AI tools can do based on seeing your computer’s screen, and Google has similar capabilities in its Gemini app on Android phones. But they haven’t gone to the next step of widely releasing tools ready to click around and perform tasks for you like this. Rabbit promised similar...
