Formerly a separate Gadget/Tech blog, now all the old posts are integrated into Pattern Recognition.
Less than a week after getting approval by the FAA for a nighttime drone show, Disney has teased that an all new nighttime holiday spectacular that’s slated to take place at Disney Springs this year.
Source: Disney Teases New Holiday Drone Show for Disney Springs
If it weren’t for Pokémon Go, augmented reality might have stayed another forlorn futurist technology the public paid little attention to. Instead, the AR mobile game from developer Niantic Labs, a former Google subsidiary, catapulted the technology to hundreds of millions of smartphone owners around the world. Now a few months after the game’s launch, the first fully capable AR smartphone has started shipping. It’s Lenovo’s Phab 2 Pro, and under the hood it contains the hardware and software neccesary to use Google’s Tango AR technology.
Source: The first Google Tango phone delivers true augmented reality gaming – The Verge
Google (GOOGL, Tech30) unveiled a new 55-inch digital whiteboard on wheels that is intended to “redefine meetings,” or at least help Google gain footing in the workplace.The product, called Jamboard, lets teams pull up documents and presentations on screen from Google’s suite of productivity tools like Docs and Drive. Likewise, whatever you write or draw on the giant touchscreen can then be backed up online.
Source: Google is making a high-tech whiteboard – Oct. 25, 2016
In partnership with Anheuser-Busch, and with full support from the State of Colorado, we hauled 51,744 cans of Budweiser from Fort Collins, through downtown Denver, to Colorado Springs. By using cameras, radar, and lidar sensors mounted on the vehicle to “see” the road, Otto’s system controlled the acceleration, braking, and steering of the truck to carry the beer exit-to-exit without any human intervention.
Source: Proudly Brewed. Self-Driven.
This is a crazy story about custom hardware designed to allow for card game cheating, including not only poker but nearly any other card game. Custom hardware made to look like a cell phone plus IR marked cards equals total knowledge about what’s happening on the table.
Upon ordering the poker cheating device I kinda expected, based on the screenshots I had seen early on, to get a dedicated piece of hardware that kinda looked like a fake phone. However, to my surprise, the device, showcased in the picture above, far exceeded my expectations by being a fully functional phone with extra hardware dedicated to cheating. Also to my surprise, the device not only allows to cheat at Poker but to cheat at almost any kind of card games you can think of.
Source: Full(er) House: Exposing high-end poker cheating devices
Computer vision + projection and a lot of fancy math….really impressive stuff.
All you will need to do is get in and tell your car where to go. If you don’t say anything, the car will look at your calendar and take you there as the assumed destination or just home if nothing is on the calendar. Your Tesla will figure out the optimal route, navigate urban streets (even without lane markings), manage complex intersections with traffic lights, stop signs and roundabouts, and handle densely packed freeways with cars moving at high speed. When you arrive at your destination, simply step ou
Source: Autopilot | Tesla
Current and previous single-legged hopping robots are energetically tethered and lack portability. Here, we present the design and control of an untethered, energetically autonomous single-legged hopping robot.
Their vehicles are designed to drive from “exit to exit” on major highways, always with a driver on board to monitor progress and be ready to take over in an emergency. Otto’s technology is intended to improve safety and reduce driver fatigue on long trips, Ron said. The San Francisco-based company has a fleet of five test trucks and plans to have at least two more ready to hit the highways this year. “We’re moving with urgency,” Ron told Trucks.com. “It’s about extending our own fleet to a few more units…
Source: Otto Moving with ‘Urgency’ to Introduce Autonomous Truck Tech | Trucks.com
Super clever stuff coming out of Disney Research, in which they define balance points of 3D printed objects via internal channels and sliding mass.
The latest project from Disney Research, which is often busy with impressive projects involving 3D technologies, involves the creation of 3D printed objects capable of performing gravity-defying feats of balance.
Source: Disney Research Devises a Method of 3D Printing Models That Balance or Breakdance | 3DPrint.com