drive-thru
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Alphabet’s Verily shows how its drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites work
Verily -- Alphabet's healthcare brand -- isn't just creating a website to help northern Californians determine whether they need a test for COVID-19. It's also piloting drive-thru testing. It has opened two sites, one in Riverside County and another in Sacramento County, and today, it shared a video that shows how the COVID-19 testing works.
McDonald’s plans to bring AI voice technology to its drive-thrus
Fast food is about to get even faster. McDonald announced today that it is buying the voice tech startup Apprente so it can automate its drive-thru menu. The Mountain View-based company specializes in building voice-based agents that can take orders in multiple languages and accents. The fast food giant has been testing Apprente's technology in several locations and expects it will allow for "faster, simpler and more accurate order taking" at its drive-thrus.
MotionPower speed bump installed at NJ Burger King, McDonald's and Wendy's feel slighted
We can't say we doubted that New Energy's MotionPower speed bump would actually be installed at a New Jersey Burger King, but it's always refreshing to see a plan morph into reality. As of now, those in Hillside heading to have it their way will cruise over the kinetic energy harvester before retrieving their grub, which has the potential to create around 2,000 watts of electricity from a car hitting it at five miles per hour. As of now, the hump is simply there to test storage potential, but New Energy is hoping that the next generation of the tech could be placed at a variety of fast foot eateries, parking lots, toll booth plazas and anywhere else where folks need a little assistance in maintaining a sensible speed. Check out the read link for a plethora of shots, and feel free to splurge on a #4 combo today if you're in the area -- Ma Earth will thank you.
Video: Burger King tests MotionPower kinetic energy harvester
Transforming kinetic energy into electricity doesn't often get taken seriously, but at least one Burger King joint has been hooked on to the idea. The New Jersey-based outlet is set to give the first roadtest to MotionPower strips produced by New Energy, which harness energy from vehicles passing over them. Based on the thinking behind regenerative braking in hybrids, the energy absorbers are made up of small plates moving up and down. UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's recently introduced similar "kinetic road plates" in its car parks, and hopes are they'll generate 30 kW per hour from the energy and weight of cars overhead. Sainsbury's plans to power store checkouts through the scheme, whereas Burger King will just exploit your energy to power various appliances. Provided someone doesn't sue for unlawful energy appropriation and the roadtest is successful, New Energy hopes to expand the use of its power strips to other high-traffic, low-speed locations like toll booths and intersections. Video after the break.[Via Jalopnik]Read - New Energy PRRead - Sainsbury's PR
DS Daily: Common usage
It'd be cool to live in Japan, we've always said. The food, the culture, the fact that by 2011, 89% of the Japanese will own a DS ... wait, what?That's insane. Ridiculous. Incomprehensible. We're quite sure that not even close to 89% of Americans have a web-connected computer (2003 U.S. census figures showed 55%), and it's almost assumed in today's society that you've got access to the internet at home.With such a ubiquitous, portable, and interactive device, it's amazing that the Japanese haven't truly capitalized on its potential. They've got English dictionaries and day planners and all that, but everyone's got one! Why not introduce eBooks, or DS-enabled fast food drive-thrus, or ...! Well, we're maybe not so good at this. What would you guys do with that ridiculous penetration rate?