Hyundai is solving and robots are evolving, but first: a cartoon about parental phone tracking.
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Today’s News
Spot the robot dog trots into the big, bad world
You’ve probably seen the videos of Boston Dynamics’ incredible (and creepy) robot dog Spot opening doors, trotting in parking lots, and fending off stick-wielding humans. But a few months ago, 75 of them got out of the house and found jobs working in places like construction companies and mining outfits. How are things going? Pretty well! New software updates released today will allow companies to further customize Spot to their needs, but the robots still needs a lot of paw-holding in the unpredictable outside world. It seems, for now, the robot revolution may be more about assisting humans than replacing them.
Hyundai’s luxury SUV mixes mics and math for a silent ride
Most luxury cars boast a quiet ride; some even use noise-canceling technology to mask the steady hum of the engine. But noises like rolling tires change as you ride along, demanding a smarter system to keep things quiet. So Hyundai has deployed vibration-calculated accelerometers, amplifiers, and multiple microphones in the company’s new Genesis GV80 SUV, giving each seat a dedicated signal tailored to what the car’s interior mics detect at each position and cutting in-cabin noise in half.
Fast Fact: 11 Million
That’s about how many people live in the city of Wuhan, China, which is now in lockdown due to the spread of the mysterious coronavirus. Will shutting down transportation in and out of the city work? Experts can’t be sure, but it’s next to impossible to lock down a city of that size, and the virus has already spread to at least five other countries so far.
WIRED Recommends: Compact Mechanical Keyboards
There’s nothing quite like the clickety-clack springiness of a mechanical keyboard, but their bulk can make them tough travel companions. That’s why our writers made a list of the compact mechanical keyboards all the cool kids are using.
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