Uber's driverless cabs began picking people up in Arizona in February, after its attempt at a pilot test in San Francisco. Now, one of these cars has been in an accident, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. The pilot, and issues stemming from it, are just the start of a t ...more
Approximately 380 billion plastic bags are used in the United States every year. That’s more than 1,200 bags per U.S. resident and more than 54 times the number of people who live on the planet. That's why here in Santa Monica, thanks to a city-wide plastic bag ban, you won't ...more
If you're one who enjoys a good DIY project, or if you're just tired of paying exorbitant labor fees to have your vehicle serviced every 5,000 miles, changing your own oil can be a rewarding endeavor. Even though cars and trucks are becoming increasingly over-engineered these ...more
Last week it was announced that Waymo, the former Google Self-Driving Car project, had graduated from Alphabet's X innovation center. This graduation had been in the cards for many months with senior members of the project team and X hinting that it would be soon. John Krafci ...more
For all the benefits 5G brings to cellular data, it isn't without weaknesses, the biggest being privacy. Yes, the latest standard comes with breakneck downloads speeds up to 4.3 Gbps, but at what cost? Like with all things on the internet, 5G devices open opportunities for bot ...more
This past Halloween, 26-year-old Gabrielle Wathen learned the hard way about Uber's ridiculously expensive surge prices. After a night out and an Uber ride home, she learned that the 20-minute drive cost her more than $360. If you're unfamiliar with Uber's surge pricing, it b ...more
Researchers are putting driverless shuttles on campus next year at the University of Michigan and the rides are free for students and teachers. The project was created by Mcity, an autonomous and connected vehicle research center. It includes two shuttles running about every ...more
Throughout history, the idea of the future has always promised better days, advanced technology, and of course—hover cars. Although we were correct about the better days (depending on who you ask) and advanced technology, we are still without hover cars, or pretty much any hov ...more
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past five years, you've at least heard murmurs of Google's self-driving car, with Big G even getting California and Nevada to sign off on legislation to allow these motorist-less vehicles on the road. But now, Google is showing of ...more
My grandfather's brother won this car in a lottery during 1957. He had no driver's license, but his brothers used to give him a lift in it. From 1975 to 1996, the car was parked in my grandfather's brother's garage. My grandfather moved the car on a trailer in 1996 to his gara ...more
Google Maps does a lot of things well, but one feature it's always been lacking is an on-screen speedometer. Well, now you can add one with Velociraptor, and you can even set it to alert you when you're traveling above the speed limit. While Velociraptor works in other naviga ...more
Apple's Reminders app is essential for those of us with a forgetful memory. But a standard Reminders entry isn't foolproof. They aren't great if you need to do something right when you get somewhere, since it can be tricky to set a specific time for that reminder. That's why A ...more
The gig economy is thriving, and if you aren't already making money with your phone, you could be missing out on easy residual income. Some people just want extra cash, and some even manage to completely ditch the 9–5, enabling them to work at their own pace and set their own ...more
BMW seeks to hire 2,000 engineers for its driverless program ahead of the launch of its iNext Level 3 model in 2021, a source close to the company told Driverless. According to the source, BMW hopes to boost the number of its driverless-related workforce, most of which will b ...more
All the Driverless news you need to know from the past 24 hours, bundled together in a tightly written package, about Uber, London delivery services, capital investments, and kangaroos. Ousted Uber Founder & CEO Says He Didn't Know About Stolen Documents In the latest court ...more
Waymo's transfer of its driverless car know-how to commercial trucks will likely pose few challenges for the self-driving unit of Alphabet, which owns Google. That's because the sensor, deep machine learning, mapping, and other technologies underpinning its driverless cars ar ...more
It seems like everyone wants to be flying without wings these days, and some big players in the autonomous car industry want a piece of that airborne action. Google co-founder Larry Page just invested in flying car startup Kitty Hawk, while Uber is adamant that its own-brand o ...more
Intel launched their Advanced Vehicle Lab in Silicon Valley this week, and the tech giant is now on the hunt for potential partners. This isn't Intel's first venture into the driverless arena. Their new self-driving garage — once home to Altera, which Intel acquired in 2015 — ...more
For all of its drama, Uber's driverless program has states like Arizona excited for the future of self-driving vehicles. But it's not Arizona alone that supports the driverless craze; the Illinois House of Representatives will hear a bill that would allow driverless cars on th ...more
Baidu Inc, the "Chinese Google" search engine and technology company, which has been actively pursuing self-driving cars, reported that a gang of hackers recently attempted to steal its driverless car technology. The company, based in Beijing, has since beefed up its cybersec ...more
There was one company at the 2015 LA Auto Show that had everyone intrigued. They didn't have a big booth, and they only had one car on display, but they definitely had everyone's attention. It wasn't Tata Motors, a company that gained international recognition when it launche ...more
Everyone knows that using your phone and driving is illegal, and rightfully so. Tons of people die on the road everyday due to careless people texting or calling someone. Everybody knows that it's wrong, yet everyone still does it anyway. Unfortunately, there are some of us t ...more
Capstone's CMT-380 stealth looking prototype can hit 150mph, compared to Tesla's 125. Tesla better step it up. Says Engadget: "Rather than mixing batteries and a conventional engine, this whip combines the former with a diesel / biodiesel-powered microturbine, which is -- fo ...more
Former Google and Uber engineer Anthony Levandowski's scathing accusations challenging the physics behind Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk's claims about Autopilot should force Musk to make his case that self-drive cars don't need LiDAR in the next few months. Besides the humo ...more
The Audi A8 may be short on the wow factor as the industry's first Level 3 car, but Audi has revealed some interesting details about one stand-out feature underneath the hood: the car's ability to self-pilot itself at stop signs and lights. Indeed, when the A8 goes on sale th ...more
Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk said during the Model 3 launch party Friday night that all Tesla cars in production have the same driverless hardware, signaling that Tesla's jump to Level 4 hinges on a software update — but Musk didn't exactly say that. Often overlooked is ho ...more
All eyes will be on Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk tonight to see if he is reveals details about the status of Tesla's challenged Autopilot at tonight's official Model 3 launch party. Taking a step back, the Model 3 debut arguably represents Tesla most-important launch to da ...more
Volvo Cars' "all-electric" announcement last week was seen as a direct threat to Tesla's electric vehicle (EV) and driverless lead, but German auto giant Volkswagen (VW) says it is in a better position to challenge Tesla. Speaking to Bloomberg News, Herbert Diess, VW's chairm ...more
China's Baidu, the Chinese equivalent of Google, live streamed a video yesterday of CEO Robin Li riding a self-drive vehicle along the streets and highways of Beijing. Since it's illegal to even test driverless cars on public roads and streets in China, the stunt culminated i ...more
Google quickly learned over five years ago electric vehicles (EVs) were the powertrain of choice for its then fledging driverless car program and the industry has since followed its lead. Now, every major carmaker has an EV program of some kind, while all-electric powertrains ...more
The automotive industry is traditionally very conservative, so when a carmaker says it will launch a particular model or feature by a certain date, it means a lot. Flashback to how carmakers have largely relied on design and ergonomics to sell cars instead of rushing into the ...more
Toyota is testing blockchain and distributed ledger technology (BC/DL) for data sharing for driverless cars and other applications. This could eventually reassure buyers of its upcoming high-end cars by making sure their sensitive data is secure. As vehicles modernize, they b ...more
Udacity, the online education startup that set out to train a school of self-driving car engineers, is now spinning off into its own autonomous tech company called Voyage. Sebastian Thrun, who founded Udacity, will have a stake in the company as part of the spin-off deal led ...more
Assuming that you're not going to knit a sweater and celebrate New Year's Eve with Ryan Seacrest and Jenny McCarthy on ABC's “New Year's Rockin' Eve," it's a pretty safe bet to say that you're probably going to consume alcohol—a considerable amount of alcohol. Similar to the ...more
We are now in the age of 5G. Carriers worldwide are upgrading their networks to the newest standard for mobile, which will dramatically improve your phone experience. How? By giving it download speeds and latency that surpass Wi-Fi. But before you upgrade, there are few things ...more
Imagine this: You're driving on the freeway in Canada, enjoying the view and sipping Tim Horton's, when all of the sudden you see something out of the corner of your eye. You expect it to be a moose, obviously, but instead you see a robot with his thumb hitched up. So, after i ...more
The sun-drenched people of Phoenix can now sign up to ride in an automated car, for free, courtesy of Waymo. The Alphabet affiliate announced its "early ride program," which will (hopefully) demonstrate how self-driving cars will fit into people's everyday lives. Highlighting ...more
When we talk about driverless technology, the go-to companies are usually Waymo, Uber, or Tesla. However, traditional automakers like Ford and GM are also staking claims to the driverless and advanced driver assistance spaces. According to a report by Navigant Research, Ford ...more
The new Leaf with Nissan's ProPilot driverless feature could launch as soon as this year, following a teaser image and video the Japanese carmaker released of its flagship EV yesterday. A company source told Driverless that ProPilot could become available in the new Leaf befo ...more
Uber has been in the hot seat for awhile now, for many reasons, especially for being sued by Waymo over stolen LiDAR designs. But now, perhaps the attention will be taken off both Uber and Waymo as a new contender enters the LiDAR arena; A small, independent company called Lum ...more
Pokémon GO, the global augmented reality game that's brought fans out of their homes to catch Pokémon across the planet, has brought about plenty of real-world positives. Unfortunately, when players get power hungry and start taking game hacks too far, we all get a little scre ...more
The integration of technology into automobiles is becoming more and more widespread each year. Tesla's Model S features a 17" display in the middle of the dash with navigation, music control, and even an Internet browser. Mercedes is working on incorporating Google Glass into ...more
If you're ever lost or hurt out in the middle of nowhere with a dead cell phone, you might be able to "flag" down help as long as you're near some railroad tracks. Some train tracks carry a small electric charge as a means of detecting other trains for signaling or for detect ...more
It feels strange to be walking through an open field in a small village in the English countryside. There's no one else around — just the four of us: me, my husband, my 12-year-old son, and my adult niece. The day is spectacular, particularly for England. The sun is shining, a ...more
You don't have to be a frequent flyer to know how indispensable navigation apps have become. Many of us rely on these apps for traveling from state to state and getting around in foreign cities, but even more of us count on these apps to beat rush hour traffic and find the qui ...more
While not cuddly to most, bats are shy, skilled flyers that fill an important role in their environments. A new study reveals a deadly disease decimating North American bat populations has stepped up its attack on vulnerable bat populations in the summer months. Pseudogymnoas ...more
Mixed reality display manufacturer Realfiction has developed a 64-inch display capable of delivering 3D holograms without a headset. Billed as the largest display of its kind in the world, DeepFrame consists of a curved video screen that deflects interactive 3D images in 4K r ...more
Looking past the obvious visual similarities between the iPhone 7 and Google's new Pixel phones, there are several indications that the search giant had Apple in its sights as they released their latest flagships. For once, this isn't an Android phone we're talking about, it's ...more
If you're feeling stressed, there are many home remedies you could use for relief. Meditation, yoga, acupressure, an ear massage, more sleep, shower soothers, playing video games… the list is endless. But a lot of these methods require a significant amount of time, so what do ...more
Apple's iOS 11 is finally here, and while they showed off several of the new features it brings to your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch back at WWDC 2017, they've only just touched the surface of what iOS 11 has to offer. There are a lot of cool new (and sometimes secret) feature ...more
The private automobile has been an intrinsic part of our lives for around a hundred years. But over the last decade, car sharing has gained a very small but growing part of the mobility market. The more recent rise of companies like Uber and Lyft is witness to a more dramatic ...more
It's easy to take the food we eat for granted, but the truth is, there are a lot of bizarre, wonderful, and just plain weird things about what we eat and drink, the effects it has on our bodies, and vice-versa. Read on to learn how bugs provide food dye, the Japanese grow squa ...more
If you haven't noticed yet, there are a lot of new features hiding in your iPhone's Messages app, and some of them are things users have been requesting for a long time. While iMessage is getting a lot of attention by letting us edit and unsend messages, it's only just the sta ...more
Apple Maps has had a rough lifecycle. After completely dropping the ball during its inception, Apple has been slowly improving its usability and feature set. After six and a half years, users still prefer third-party apps in iOS 12 over Apple Maps, with Google Maps stealing a ...more
Smartphones are now indispensable when traveling. Domestic and overseas travel alike require food, navigation, translation, and so much more to make work or vacation successful. Gone are the days of lugging multiple tourist books around with you everywhere you go — you need to ...more
As you're surely aware, your phone can be used against you. Thanks to our cameras and microphones, a clever hacker can obtain access to your device and invade your privacy. But spying isn't limited to just these two sensors — gyroscopes, proximity sensors, QR codes, and even a ...more
Defcon is the largest hacker conference with something for everyone, whether it be the talks, parties, villages, or any of the hundreds of events. In this guide, we'll take a holistic view at everything that goes into attending the con for the first time, from securing your el ...more
Hackers can be notoriously difficult to buy gifts for, so we've curated a list of the top 20 most popular items Null Byte readers are buying during their ethical-hacking studies. Whether you're buying a gift for a friend or have been dying to share this list with someone shopp ...more
Apple's new iOS 16 software update is finally here, and there are over 350 new features and changes for you to enjoy on your iPhone. There are major lock screen and home screen improvements, a pleasant surprise for the Contacts app, and tons of new upgrades to Safari, Mail, Me ...more
With all the time most of us spend on our phones each day, wouldn't it be great if we could get rewarded for our addiction? Well, we can, thanks to various iPhone apps out there that can help us make a quick buck, earn cash back, donate freebies to charity, get complimentary c ...more