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'Picard' finally shows us how Star Trek’s technology evolves
This article contains spoilers for the first season of 'Star Trek: Picard' up to episode nine. Star Trek: Picard is the show I've been looking forward to for 17 years. Not because I was particularly interested in finding out what happened to Picard, Troi, Riker and the rest. (But don't get me wrong, it's nice to check in with old friends.) Instead, it's because we finally get to see what happens next in the Star Trek universe. We finally get to see it grow, both ideologically and technologically.
PS4 exclusive 'Detroit' is a flawed depiction of race in America
Detroit: Become Human begins with a warning: "This is not a story, this is our future." Writer-director David Cage's follow-up to Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls weaves a tale about robots attempting to transcend their programming. But rather being a thoughtful, philosophical examination of consciousness, Detroit, instead, is a tone-deaf look at race.
Watch how 'Alien: Covenant's' android is born
Another Alien film, another terrifying android that could spell humanity's downfall. In Prometheus, we were introduced to Michael Fassbender's David, a robot who was a bit too curious about the nature of extraterrestrial life. Now Fassbender is back in Alien: Covenant as "Walter," a slightly tweaked android with one important difference: He has no human emotions. That should make conversation a bit tougher, but hopefully it will prevent him from using his crew as human guinea pigs.
Watch the second trailer for the 'Ghost in the Shell' movie
The live-action remake of Ghost in the Shell is fast-approaching theaters, so of course Hollywood's marketing machine is churning out more trailers in anticipation. The latest teaser is a two-minute affair diving into "The Major" and her mysterious origins. Little is revealed but there are plenty of hints concerning her previous life. While the government has given her one story, the film's shady villain, a damaged but dangerous cyborg called Kuze, is offering another, quite different version. Much of the movie, it seems, will focus on The Major hunting Kuze and the truth simultaneously.
ICYMI: Google's face-policing API, Rage Rooms and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-380801{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-380801, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-380801{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-380801").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Google's new API for Android applications comes with face detection that can tell if you're smiling or not. Then there's the trend in Rage Rooms that looks like too much fun to keep to ourselves. And a hoax of an amazing prototype: A supposed adoption of Volkswagen technology birthed a stroller to follow you around, using collision sensors to avoid people or objects. This thing should really exist in some form, yes?
AMC's 'Humans' is an android story that's really about us
Early on in AMC's newest sci-fi show, Humans, a teenager wonders aloud if there's any point in going to college and spending years training to be a neurosurgeon. After all, why invest all that time and work when an advanced android, which are commonplace in the show's world, can be programmed with those skills almost instantly. Call it the death of human expertise. Meanwhile, her mother is worried that her family's new "synth" (the show's term for androids) might replace her; her father hopes it can bring her family back together; and her teenaged brother is having sexually confused feelings about their attractive new robot helper. In Humans, the problems of the near future are practically indistinguishable from the issues we're facing today. And that's a big part of why the show works so well.
Chinese androids wear tracksuits, play sports, but not at the same time (video)
When we last caught up with the Beijing Institute's family of bots, their abilities extended to slow (but pretty) tai chi moves. Returning three years later, we see that they're coming along nicely: BHR-4 is still going through the old graceful routines, but now he's wearing a human face and fetching sportswear to look like one of his creators. The 140-pound android beats certain Japanese alternatives by having both a fully-actuated body and a face that can mimic emotions, like surprise and fear when someone tries to give it a decent hair cut. Meanwhile, brother BHR-5 doesn't bother with appearances, but instead has graduated to playing ping-pong in the hope of one day taking on rivals from Zhejiang University. He uses high-speed image processing and 32 degrees of freedom to pull off rallies of up to 200 shots, and he'll do his utmost to impress you in the video after the break. [Image and video credit: CCTV-4]
Samsung files patents for robot that mimics human walking and breathing, ratchets up the creepy factor
As much as Samsung is big on robots, it hasn't gone all-out on the idea until a just-published quartet of patent applications. The filings have a robot more directly mimicking a human walk and adjusting the scale to get the appropriate speed without the unnatural, perpetually bent gait of certain peers. To safely get from point A to point B, any path is chopped up into a series of walking motions, and the robot constantly checks against its center of gravity to stay upright as it walks uphill or down. All very clever, but we'd say Samsung is almost too fond of the uncanny valley: one patent has rotating joints coordinate to simulate the chest heaves of human breathing. We don't know if the company will ever put the patents to use; these could be just feverish dreams of one-upping Honda's ASIMO at its own game. But if it does, we could be looking at Samsung-made androids designed like humans rather than for them.
Device Analyzer Android study wants to track your every move, if you'll let it
And here we thought folks were concerned about protecting their personal data. As it turns out, however, a surprising chunk of Android users have volunteered to give a group of University of Cambridge researchers a look at exactly how they use their cellphones. By downloading the Device Analyzer app from the Android market, more than 1,000 participants have allowed the data collection program to harvest statistics in the background while they use their phones. Those statistics -- varying from when the power is switched on, to which apps are in use -- are then made available to users via the Device Analyzer website. Of course, this is Cambridge, a rather well respected institution of higher learning, and the researchers involved say the data collected is stripped of personal information "as best as possible," but we're not keen on anyone peeping our cell stats. If you're an Android exhibitionist, however, you can sign up for the study at the source link below.
HTC invades Belgian train stations with miniature Android army
The master of bizarre marketing ploys, HTC, has employed a more militant approach to its latest PR stunt. In a move apparently aimed at promoting the launch of a bunch of new Android phones (specifically the Flyer, Sensation, Incredible S, Desire S, and Wildfire S), the outfit meticulously filled railway stations in Antwerp, Brussels, and Namur with varied configurations of the little green monsters. While the stunt's grabbed our attention, we're happy the bantam buggers weren't there to greet us at the outset of our morning commute. More pictures await you at the source link below.
Share and enjoy in City of Heroes with the Praetorian Clockwork!
Greetings, fine consumer! You appear to be the sort of discerning individual highly anticipating the upcoming expansion for City of Heroes, much like several of your friends in [SUBJECT_HOMETOWN_HERE]. Going Rogue will be releasing on August 17th, available online or at [SUBJECT_RETAILER_HERE], but perhaps you'd like an opportunity to see some of the most useful automatic companions available before the fact? If so, today is your lucky day, because you have the unprecedented opportunity to take a look at the details behind the Clockwork, the latest and greatest release from Neuron Technologies Unlimited! Featuring voice recognition, a shiny chrome finish, and over nine thousand home maintenance routines, the Clockwork offer an unparalleled level of safety and security for the entire family. These super-toys last all summer long, with a self-replenishing power source and ample maintenance facilities. And if one of your neighbors challenges the bright new future being assembled by Emperor Cole, you'll be happy to note that all Clockwork are equipped with the best possible threat neutralization capabilities available. Further information, including ordering details and a full description of how you and your robot can share and enjoy your lives, can be found at the official site for City of Heroes.
Samsung InstinctQ for Sprint passes by the FCC and turns a few heads
It's been a little piece of time since we saw that photo of the G1-esque Samsung InstinctQ emerge, and we were starting to wonder what had become of our newest QWERTY cutie. Well -- the M900, as it's also known -- has just ducked through the old FCC, and though we didn't really learn anything we didn't already know, it was just nice to see its face again. The Sprint-bound, CMDA / EV-DO-loving Android slider will pack Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and we have to say that it's looking pretty fly to our eyes. We're not sure when this bad boy's going to hit reality, but the FCC appearance makes us think it won't be too long now.[via Unwired View, thanks Ryan]
