The Morning After: Wednesday, February 8th, 2017
Everyone gets a robot (someday).
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.
It's the middle of the week, and we're here to help. Besides a brand new episode of The Future IRL, we have a new record broken by Tesla and a 5,000-year-old beer recipe.
Sony's latest smartphone camera sensor is capable of 1080p 1,000fps video
If you, like Dave Chappelle, believe everything is better in slow motion, then we have good news. Sony just announced its latest camera sensor for smartphones, which is capable of recording HD (1,920 x 1,080) video at 1,000fps, which it says is about 8x the speed of any other chip. Plus, it can pull this off without producing any of that wobbly jello-like distortion effect.
Even if you don't want to know how it works (high-speed DRAM is involved) you can probably expect to see this, or something like it, in your next iPhone / Pixel / etc.
The Future IRL: Everyone gets an R2D2
Our latest episode of The Future IRL is here, as host Kerry Davis investigates how real domestic robots are quickly catching up with your dreams.
'Overwatch' starts testing a server browser
PC Overwatch players who stay on the cutting edge can try out a new "server browser." That way players can not only create new game types, but they can also get strangers to drop in and play. Of course, it's also testing out a few new hero tweaks, and Capture the Flag is becoming a regular feature.
Tesla Model S breaks acceleration record with Ludicrous Mode
In Motor Trend testing, no production vehicle had ever broken 2.3 seconds to go from 0 - 60mph -- until now. The Model S P100D hit 0-60 mph in 2.275507139 seconds, faster than even the 2.5 seconds Tesla itself promised.
Google shows how AI can sharpen faces in low-res images
The Google Brain team has published a paper showing how its neural network can learn from images, and apply that information to guess and upscale fuzzy low-res pictures of someone's face. Similar technology is already in use to improve image compression on Google+, but in the future, it could help turn a pixelated mess into something usable.
The developers of 'TumbleSeed' cold-called their way onto Nintendo's Switch
Game designer Greg Wohlwend calls TumbleSeed a "rolly roguelike" where players guide a seed up a mountainside. Along the way they'll dodge deadly holes and dangerous creatures, but the real first challenge was getting access to Nintendo. The developers are pleased to reveal the company is much more accommodating for the indie scene now, so hopefully, we'll see more games like this for the Switch.
