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
Snapchat announced today that you can now design geofilters in-app, making it easier than ever to customize your snaps. This new feature incorporates a mobile creative studio, so you no longer have to use your computer to create your custom masterpiece. Don't Miss: How to Tur ...more
Waymo revealed more clues about its future business model after it said yesterday it plans to kill its Firefly pod-like car project and focus more closely on offering driverless systems for commercially available car and truck models. A blog post published yesterday by Waymo' ...more
During the opening keynote of their Worldwide Developers Conference today in San Jose, Apple introduced the ARKit for the new iOS 11 that will bring augmented reality apps to millions of compatible iPhones and iPads. ARKit will allow developers to leverage motion tracking, su ...more
The first public beta of Android O, (most likely to be called "Android 8.0 Oreo") was released on May 17, bringing tons of new features and goodies for Android enthusiasts with supported devices. However, not all of Android O's features were available to try out right off the ...more
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
A couple weeks ago, GM's Cruise Automation released a remarkable self-driving video from the streets of San Fransisco that Driverless analyzed in detail. And now they've just released a new one giving more insight into their growing mastery of the complex roads in San Francisc ...more
If you have a long commute, it only makes sense to catch a bit of shuteye while you're headed to work on the train or bus. The only problem with this is that, if you're napping a little too hard, you might end up oversleeping and missing your stop when the subway pulls into yo ...more
Emojis, for better or for worse, have essentially taken over online forms of communication. And now, thanks to a recently discovered feature in iOS, they are going to change the way you search for nearby places. The process is actually very simple. Let's say you're looking fo ...more
When you're driving, the last thing you need to be doing is messing around with your phone. But these days, people expect you to be available at all times, so the text messages continue to flow in while you're on the road. It's a terrible distraction, and one that is responsib ...more
I was one of the first to install the iOS 10 developer beta, and I remember thinking that everything was working insanely well compared to the first iOS 9 developer beta—but then I got a warning that I used 90% of my data 11 days into my following cycle—one day before I update ...more
Google I/O is right around the corner, and everyone's expecting new virtual and augmented reality news. Here's what to expect from this week's announcements. Google Cardboard Will Evolve into Android VR Given the power of upcoming virtual reality headsets like Facebook's Ocu ...more
Auto manufacturers are slowly starting to debut models with Google's new Android Auto software baked into the dashboard console. Starting with the 2016 model year, we should see vehicles from Honda, Ford, Chevrolet, and many others sporting the new software. Now, many manufac ...more
CyanogenMod has always been on the forefront of ROM customization, and its newest release, CyanogenMod 12, is no exception. In the newest nightlies, they have included an updated version of their Theme Engine, which allows you to effortlessly change the way your entire system ...more
When streaming services like Spotify or Pandora compete for customers, the main differentiating factor is the size of their libraries. While these and comparable services usually run somewhere around $10 per month, a completely free alternative may actually have the most expan ...more
Google's new camera, aptly named Google Camera, has been all the rage since it was released onto Google Play last Friday. The main reason is the amazing Lens Blur feature that adds depth-of-field Lytro effects to photos, without the use of any expensive accessories or extra ha ...more
Integrated rather secretively into iOS 7.1, CarPlay gives a better hands-on experience when driving, working with the car's built-in display to help you find directions, send and receive calls and text messages, control music, and more—without having to fumble around with your ...more
There are two types of tablet users in the world—those who like their quick settings up top, and those who want them on the bottom. I fall into the latter category, and there are a couple of reasons for it. The first is because the Nexus 7 has both notification and quick sett ...more
Fresh off the heels of their latest agreement, Google and Samsung may soon be further aligned in their mobile technology outlook. The two tech giants signed a cross-licensing patent agreement, but that doesn't mean that Samsung was just going to start putting out stock Android ...more
Driving in your car can cause a pretty spasmodic GPS connection on your Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Making a lot of turns, speeding past large buildings, and going underneath trees and highway underpasses can all disrupt your GPS signal, making it difficult for the satellites (in t ...more
Google Lens has easily been one of the more useful AR apps and a tantalizing tease of life with smartglasses in the not-so-distant future. Now, Apple has its own version of Lens, dubbed Live Text, built right into iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. Like Lens, Live Text can copy text from ...more
Every photo you take is brimming with metadata such as iPhone model, date and time, shooting modes, focal length, shutter speed, flash use, and geolocation information. Share these pictures with friends, family, or acquaintances via texts, emails, or another direct share metho ...more
Realizing there's no voice to guide you while using your iPhone to navigate can be problematic, causing serious headaches from getting lost to unscheduled pit stops or worse. And while this problem can hit Apple Maps like other navigation apps out there, there are a number of ...more
Sharing your Wi-Fi password is like giving an unlimited pass to snoop around your network, allowing direct access even to LAN-connected devices like printers, routers, and security cameras. Most networks allow users to scan and attempt to log in to these connected devices. And ...more
One of the most anticipated new Maps features in iOS 11 for iPhones is live and ready to keep you safe on the road. Right now, Do Not Disturb While Driving is opt-in, but if you missed Apple's on-screen prompt to enable it and want to turn it on, or if you accidentally enabled ...more
In the tech world, when you're a small startup going up against the Goliaths and their massive marketing budgets, you're forced to find and produce something almost magical to help your product stand apart from the rest. And that's exactly what Occipital Inc. has done with the ...more
Pokémon GO made waves as the first augmented reality game to gain popular adoption. In fact, it was so popular that it only took a few days to uncover some the benefits and serious issues with combining physical and digital worlds. The Good The game always aimed to get playe ...more
The long rumored and recently leaked Amazon phone has finally been unveiled, and in the interest of branding, continues down the Fire line—the Amazon Fire Phone. You can check out the full reveal here (warning: it's long), but I'll take you through all the features that sets t ...more
Starting with Android 9 and 10, Google made privacy and security the main priorities for Android updates. Both versions brought numerous changes to help erase the notion that Android isn't safe, but Android 11 might even have them beat. In Android 11, Google is building upon ...more
The augmented reality team at USA Today closed out a prolific year of immersive storytelling with a hard-hitting companion piece exploring the controversial conflict in Afghanistan. This week, the publication ran an investigative story by reporter Brett Murphy that uncovered ...more
Apple often cites its tight integration of hardware and software for its success. Startup Illumix is looking to do the same thing for AR gaming by building an AR platform for its apps. Emerging from stealth mode on Tuesday, Illumix has closed a seed funding round of $8.6 mill ...more
Apparently, it's Google Week for the augmented reality business. Now that ARCore has a firm foothold in the app ecosystem, Google is making a case with educators and marketers that the apps should have a place in schools and campaigns, and the company is also encouraging deve ...more
While numerous startups are competing to convert the AR Cloud from a pie-in-the-sky to a reality, Wikitude is thinking smaller with the latest edition of its augmented reality SDK. At the Augmented World Expo in Santa Clara on Thursday, the company launched the beta version o ...more
Following in the augmented reality footsteps of Pokémon GO, Universal Studios has decided to give us an AR version of Jurassic World. The new game is called "Jurassic World Alive," and while the trailer for the game doesn't show any actual gameplay, the cinematic approach to ...more
During Mobile World Congress 2018, OEMs started to introduce the world to Android Oreo (Go edition). Android Go offers smooth performance on entry-level specs, allowing for genuinely good cheap phones. At first, the US only had one Android Go device, but it looks like a second ...more
Ever since Google CEO Sundar Pichai took the helms of the world's most valuable brand, he has made it his mission to bring smartphones to lower-income communities. Born in India, Mr. Pichai has created several programs to address the needs of the Indian market, particularly th ...more
In 2017, major breakthroughs in smartphone-based simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) opened up new doorways for developers and users of both Apple and Android phones. Unfortunately for Android users, the solution that Google is previewing, ARCore, currently only works ...more
Nike has launched an augmented reality design tool at its Niketown store in London that lets shoppers customize sneakers and see their designs on a real product. At the NIKEiD Direct Studio, shoppers can choose color and material selections on an enclosed tablet and see their ...more
Now, when the weather outside is frightful, Pokémon GO players can expect it to be just as unpleasant in augmented reality. A new update to the popular location-based AR game brings a dynamic weather system to the game. In the new update, weather effects on the game's map wil ...more
The next frontier for AR hardware is the consumer headset, and tech companies of varying size and tenure are working hard to strike the right mix between comfort, cool factor, and cost. How these companies handle the hype and flow of information vary wildly. Magic Leap is not ...more
For a friendly mobile game, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has an overwhelming number of items and collectibles — from fruit to fish to friends. Even though it can be difficult to keep up, this guide will be a great stepping stone to creating the campsite of your dreams without ...more
There was a time when building a website required coding knowledge. Eventually, software came along that made the process easier, and then services like Squarespace made it dead simple for even a technical novice to design a website. Now, with the content creation platform fr ...more
The iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus may be some of the fastest phones of 2o17. However, the equally new iOS 11 isn't quite as impressive. That being said, Apple is continuing updates to the developer beta for iOS 11.1, as it releases the 5th version of the beta today. W ...more
Self-driving vehicles may be the apex of safe driving, taking human error out of the equation. Until then, augmented reality can help reduce accidents by improving driver awareness. This week, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation introduced its EMIRAI 4 concept car, which uses aug ...more
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is the de facto wireless protocol choice by many wearables developers, and much of the emerging internet of things (IoT) market. Thanks to it's near ubiquity in modern smartphones, tablets, and computers, BLE represents a large and frequently insecur ...more
When it comes to technology, there are no bigger names than Google and Apple. They're the two most valuable companies in the world, and they've swapped places a few times over the last year, so they're truly neck-and-neck. But let's put business aside for a moment — which of t ...more
While the Mail app didn't get as much love from Apple in the iOS 11 update as Maps, Photos, Safari, Siri, Camera, Messages, Notes, and the App Store did, there are still a few new features you need to know about when emailing on your iPhone. Sadly, they did not make bulk dele ...more
The iPhone X has a new unlocking mechanism called Face ID, which replaces the old Touch ID system since the phone no longer has a fingerprint sensor. The way it works is simple — you just look at the phone, it recognizes your face, then the system unlocks — so Apple deserves t ...more
Apple demonstrated their continued interest and investment into the awesome world of augmented reality during their Sept. 12 event, highlighting a few new AR games that will appear on iPhones thanks to ARKit. But that's not all you can expect — as long as you have an iPhone wi ...more
While The Walking Dead has brand recognition for its AR game, ARZombi has ARKit. Their forthcoming app, built on ARKit by an independent team of horror aficionados, is more reminiscent of zombie mode in recent installments of the Call of Duty franchise than AMC's location-bas ...more
Ahead of the highly-anticipated iPhone unveiling and iOS 11 launch, augmented reality developer Scope AR has confirmed that the iOS version of Remote AR, their live support video calling app, will support iOS 11 and ARKit immediately. Remote AR enables users and remote suppor ...more
Every year, football fans get excited about the next crop of blue chip prospects joining their teams, from five-star high school recruits graduating to college to first-round rookies drafted into the NFL. Those who follow the game more closely realize that, despite their prom ...more
Flight disruptions can cost billions of dollars, but most modern commercial flights rely on air traffic control systems that harbor serious vulnerabilities. The Federal Aviation Administration uses an infrastructure called NextGen, which relies on Automatic Dependent Surveilla ...more
The world of gaming has never been cooler thanks to Apple's ARKit. From AR arcade games to giant god battles to Pac-Man, we've seen our fair share of awesome and innovative games. Now, ARKit developer NK has created a location based gaming platform that molds aspects of the g ...more
One of the latest demos made with Apple's ARKit is a new way of checking out maps, more specifically ski trail maps. When looking at possible ski trails to ride on, it can be difficult to tell what a trail is actually like. However, thanks to ARKit, you can view a 3D, detailed ...more
Going to music festivals is one of the best parts of the summer — Which is probably why thousands of people attend them. With numbers like that, trying to find and meet up with your friends can be difficult and intimidating. Thanks to Apple's ARKit, however, you'll soon be abl ...more
Think you're a true Star Wars fan? I bet you haven't created a demo using Apple's ARKit that creates a map of the entire Star Wars galaxy. How's that for being a fanatic? ARKit developer Namek Kural posted the demo on YouTube after previously abandoning a website with similar ...more
In the world we live in now — a world of complete data overload — new ways to sort through that data moves well past "nice-to-have" and firmly into the needs category. Mind mapping has been one tool that allowed someone to break down large problems into like components and hel ...more
Map apps, while incredibly helpful in our technology-centric world, can often be a source of frustration. No maps app is perfect, and things can get confusing fairly quickly when trying to navigate GPS mapping. iOS developer Andrew Hart has experimented with a new way of mobil ...more
For a company more associated with debugging computer programs, Google's parent company, Alphabet, is making a name for itself by taking on the real thing — mosquitoes. In July, Verily, the Life Sciences unit of Alphabet, the company formerly known as Google, announced the la ...more