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Samsung is determined to avoid another Galaxy Note 7-style disaster, and that may lead it to make strange bedfellows. Chosunilbo sources claim that Samsung is in serious talks with LG Chem about using its Korean arch-rival’s batteries in smartphones. There’s a "strong chance" that you could see LG batteries in Samsung phones by the second half of 2017, one tipster says. You likely wouldn’t have an LG power pack in your Galaxy S8 if this is true, but you might see one in the Note 7’s successor.

Neither Samsung nor LG has commented, Reuters warns, so it’s important to take the report with a grain of salt. However, the supplier shift reportedly reflects a fundamental change in attitude at Samsung, which has suffered both a bruised ego and financial damage as a result of the Note 7 mess. The electronics giant can no longer afford to let "emotions get in the way," an unnamed executive tells Chosunilbo — it’s not worth jeopardizing products simply to spite LG. Between this and a recent switch to LG for LCDs (prompted by Sharp’s exit), Samsung may no longer be so proud that it risks hurting itself to hurt its competitors.

Via: Reuters

Source: Chosunilbo

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It may seem out of the blue, but it makes more sense than you might think.

Continue reading Little-known Chinese company is Leo’s latest green car crush

Little-known Chinese company is Leo’s latest green car crush originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 Dec 2016 12:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Like the action camera before it, the Yi M1 sells for close to half the price of competing cameras in its class. The post Review: Yi M1 Mirrorless Camera appeared first on WIRED.

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Android: Google Assistant comes with more fun features than its previous counterpart. This year, Google’s bringing that same approach to holiday fun. Now you can ask Google where Santa is, or play a virtual dreidel game.

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Facebook celebrated the first full test flight of its solar-powered internet drone, Aquila, in July, but things didn’t go as smoothly as they could have. The drone completed a 96-minute flight in Yuma, Arizona, but it ended up crash-landing because of a structural failure in the right wing, according to today’s report from the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB announced in November that it would investigate the accident.

Aquila’s only landing mode is "autoland," meaning the aircraft senses things like wind speeds and temperature, and adjusts for the smoothest landing possible. During its debut test flight, operators expected wind speeds of 7 knots. However, as Aquila came in to land, winds picked up to 18 knots and the autopilot responded by dipping the drone’s nose, increasing airspeed above the normal 25 miles per hour and twisting the right wing. The drone was less than 20 feet above the ground, traveling at less than 30 miles per hour, Facebook says in a blog post.

"The autopilot was unable to track both the airspeed and glidepath simultaneously, and gave too much priority to tracking the glidepath at the expense of not limiting the airspeed," Facebook says.

To address this issue, Facebook intends to tweak the Aquila’s design and software. First, it will add a drag device, such as a spoiler or airbrake, allowing the autopilot to steepen its descent without picking up speed. Second, the autopilot will be told to prioritize maintaining a safe airspeed over altitude tracking. "This could mean a less accurate landing, or a go around if the airplane deviates too far above the glidepath," Facebook says.

Researchers are already working on a second generation of the Aquila. The company eventually hopes to fly the Aquila over internet-less regions of the world, connecting a brand new market to the World Wide Web — and Facebook, of course.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Facebook

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Exoskeletons are nothing new. You put one on and become a low-level Iron Man, able to lift items that would normally snap your spine. The drawback is they can be prohibitively expensive, but Hyundai thinks it can lower the cost of these exosuits that not only give us the ability to lift more, but can also help disabled people walk once again.

In Las Vegas last week, the automaker showed off two of its exoskeleton prototypes at a private media event: the H-Wex for industrial lifting and the H-Mex for helping disabled people walk. Both were available for demo, and while I found lifting items with the H-Wex to be less taxing on my back, it’s the H-Mex that has the potential to make a real difference for those who would be able to purchase one.

In its current form, the H-Mex only fits folks between five-foot-six and five-foot ten. I’m six-foot-three, so I didn’t get a chance to feel what it’s like to have an exoskeleton walk for me. Those who did try it out required a pretty thorough tutorial. It turns out, not using your own legs to walk isn’t as easy as you might think, because it goes against an entire lifetime of training.

Once they were able to give up control to the H-Mex, those trying out the product would use crutches not only for extra balance, but to set their legs into motion. One button would move the left leg forward, and the other would move the right. There are also buttons for sitting down, standing up and walking up and down stairs. It’s like a game controller for getting around.

From viewing the demos, it’s clear there’s a learning curve for H-Mex. Plus, there’s a good chance some of the controls will be fine tuned so you don’t accidentally hit the sit button when you meant to hit the left leg button. That’s something that actually happened. But the potential for helping people walk again is amazing, and Hyundai believes it can do it at a lower cost than niche companies.

"From a business perspective there’s a strong alignment between making a mobility robot and automobile," said Tae Won Lim, senior vice president of Hyundai central advance research and engineering. In other words, they have the factories, so why not build exoskeletons cheaper than everyone else? But so far, no word on what those prices would be, though the company is already well on its way to getting these out into the real world.

Hyundai is working on acquiring medical certifications in both Korea and the United States for the H-Mex in 2018. It’ll then start deploying demo units in 2019 and 2020 to see how patients and workers react to the exoskeletons.

My experience with the H-Wex reminded me of my high school days, working on the school farm lifting and moving 50-pound bags of feed and bales of hay. It was repetitive, back-breaking work. The exoskeleton on my back would have made that job far easier. It felt like there was a spring in my spine and it made lifting the 40-pound demo box less taxing. Those with back problems who demoed the H-Wex were even more impressed.

Hyundai might currently be known for economy cars, but in the future, it could be a company we associate with making manual labor less taxing and giving disabled people another chance to walk.

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