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Here and MobilEye team up on self-driving tech for automakers
There are so many companies working on autonomous car tech that we're now seeing the inevitable next phase: partnerships and consolidation. Case in point is a tie-up between MobilEye, the sensor maker that supplied sensors to Tesla before a messy split, and Here, the mapmaker Nokia recently sold to a German automaker consortium. The idea is to package Here's HD Live mapping software with MobilEye's hardware and sell it as a third-party automated platform to any interested car manufacturers.
Connected To The Case to use Facebook for crowd-sourced crime solving
Ready the spandex and decide on a name for your alter ego, because come October 16th, you'll have the chance to fight crime from the comfort of your computer. On that date, the "Connected To The Case" website goes live with the aim of crowd-sourcing tips from its users to help the cops solve active investigations. You'll use your Facebook login for access, as the service pulls data from your profile to prioritize cases with which you might have a connection. Morgan Wright, CEO and Chief Crime Fighter of Crowd Sourced Investigations, told us its system looks at five key areas when digging for pertinent triggers: "date, location, time, relation and demographics." It then uses that data to tailor notifications of unsolved crimes based on -- for example -- proximity to your school, or where you used to work. Rest assured that you control the privacy settings, and if you've got useful info to share, you can do so anonymously. Law enforcement agencies can register to include their cases from today, with the initial roll-out targeting the US. The plan is to expand first to other English-speaking countries, with foreign language support in the future to build a global network of internet do-gooders. Including data from other social networks is also in the pipeline, starting with Twitter and later, Foursquare and Pinterest. A smartphone app is also on the agenda, so get your detective devices ready -- we can be heroes, if just for one click.
From the folks who brought you Flip Video: Knowmia, an online vid platform for students and teachers
The co-founders of the late Flip Video portable shooters have created an internet-based platform for both students and teachers alike, in which they hope to help by offering over 7,000 online lessons -- with said number expected to grow over time, naturally. For starters, the crowdsourced project, dubbed Knowmia, has video tidbits from all kinds of subjects, such as history, algebra, and, of course, grammar and writing skills. Meanwhile, teachers can register themselves on the site at no cost, after which they can easily create their own lessons and put up for the world to see and learn from them. All in all, there's no doubt Knowmia's looking like a promising hub for scholars, lecturers and even the curios folk, so here's to hoping it becomes a go-to place for those looking to soak up some additional wisdom.
Portal 2 Lego set reaches support goal, is off to review by 'Lego jury'
Congratulations, everyone: If you read our post about the prototype Portal 2 Lego set and threw your vote on Cuusoo to have it become reality, you've succeeded. Go get yourself an ice cream sundae, champ. You deserve it.The Portal-themed Lego set has received 10,000 votes of support on Lego's crowd-sourced idea incubator, Cuusoo, and is now off to be examined by the proper authorities. A "Lego jury" will review the idea, building concept models and testing them for playability, safety and fit with the Lego brand. Lego's Cuusoo quarterly review begins in September and will include the Portal set and any others that reach 10,000 votes. Reviews can, we should warn you, take several months.
Double Fine's Kickstarter kick-started funding for video games
Double Fine raised almost $3.4 million in its Kickstarter campaign, shattering records and publisher's hearts worldwide, but with all that attention on a single project it seemed impossible for any others to get a penny of funding. Not true, Kickstarter says, and it has the stats to back it up (Back that stat up).Double Fine Adventure catalyzed the entire video games category on Kickstarter: The month before Double Fine's project, video games averaged 629 pledges per week; after its launch, video games received an average of 9,755 pledges per week, excluding those to Double Fine, Kickstarter says.Similarly, in the first two years on Kickstarter, the video games category raised $1,776,372 in total. In the six weeks after Double Fine, it generated $2,890,704 without Double Fine's contribution, $6,227,075 with it. Before Double Fine, only one video games project had exceeded $100,000; now nine have.Double Fine brought 61,692 first-time backers to Kickstarter, and they have gone on to pledge almost $400,000 to Wasteland 2, another successful, million-dollar project. Kickstarter offers a more detailed run-down of these surprising statistics right here.
Kickstarter details the year that was: 27k projects, almost $100 million in funding
Just how big a year was 2011 for Kickstarter? Very nearly a $100 million dollar year. That was the total amount of funding pledged on the crowd-sourced site during the year ($99,344,382, specifically), which is up considerably from the $27.6 million pledged in 2010. That was generated by just over 27,000 projects, 11,836 of which reached their funding goals (a success rate of 46%, up from 43% in 2010). What's more, while tech-related projects may generate the most attention 'round these parts, film and music projects were actually the two biggest cash draws on the site (netting $32 million and $19 million, respectively). Hit the source link below for the company's complete wrap-up.
Google streamlines Map Maker, wants you to start crafting your own (video)
Despite Google's best efforts to continually roll out new features and updates, it can't add everything. This is where last April's Map Maker comes in and it's been given a design refresh in line with the rest of Google's portfolio. The update also attempts to make the interface easier for first-timers, with a brief tutorial page explaining all the tools on offer. You can now draw in new roads, bike trails and other local features in over 180 countries and once approved -- there is a moderation system in place -- they'll appear integrated into this alternate universe Google map. Wannabe cartographers can check the video intro after the break or get involved at the source link below.
Apple wants to make your calendar sensitive to location and traffic, get you there on time
As Apple rushed to allay privacy concerns over its handling of location data, it also let slip that it was working on a "crowd-sourced traffic database". Now a patent application dating from 2009 has been made public which suggests Apple is thinking of this technology not merely as an add-on to iOS Maps, but as something which could feed into other areas such as calendars and alarms. The implicit suggestion is that if Apple can figure out how long it will take you to get from A to B, then it should be able to adjust your appointments to make sure you get there on time without having to go on a rampage. Until then, if everyone just stays out of the way, then no one will get hurt.
Apple confirms it's working on a traffic service, moving away from Google Maps?
It wasn't the main thrust of its "Q&A on Location Data" this morning, but Apple did also make a bit of news while it tried to ease those privacy concerns about how it's handling your data. The company says it "is now collecting anonymous traffic data to build a crowd-sourced traffic database," and that it's hoping to provide iPhone users with an "improved traffic service in the next couple of years." It didn't divulge much more than that, unfortunately, but that little detail lines up with some other navigation-related developments out of the company as of late. It acquired web mapping firm Poly9 last July (in addition to Google Maps rival Placebase in late 2009), and just last month a couple of job postings revealed that it was looking for folks to "radically improve" the iOS Maps experience. Add all those together and it's starting to look an awful lot like a shift away from Google Maps in favor of an all-Apple solution -- much like how the company relied on Skyhook until it could roll its own WiFi geolocation service.
Google's Map Maker is a clone of Maps, except you can scribble local data all over it
Google may have stashed the locations of every WiFi access point and convenience store goodie the world over, but there are things that even 360-degree cameras, massive algorithms and self-driving cars can't do; things like map out the locations of all your favorite neighborhood haunts. That's why Google needs you. This week, the company unleashed Google Map Maker on the United States, which is basically a parallel version of Google Maps that anyone can add to -- fleshing out the existing grid with additional details like precise structures, secret passages, whatever you care to name. Google plans to review all crowdsourced edits, however, so it won't quite be a free-for-all -- prepare for a wee bit of skepticism when you divulge the locations of buried nuclear launch silos, alien artifacts, and your local Jedi dojo.
