 |
|
|
|||||
Honda and DriveOhio have teamed up on a new road safety initiative in which Honda vehicles are being used to collect real-time data that can advise about potential issues and road deficiencies before they become a problem. Hondas Proactive Roadway Maintenance System, which has been in prototyping since 2021, uses "advanced vision and LiDAR sensors" to identify issues such as worn or obstructed road signs, damaged guardrails, rough roads and emerging potholes. During the pilot, members of the Ohio Department of Transportations smart mobility hub drove the test vehicles on around 3,000 miles of road in central and southeastern Ohio. They covered a mix of urban and rural environments, in varying weather conditions and at different times of the day. ODOT operators were able to review any flagged road or infrastructure deficiencies in real time using smart dashboards developed by Honda and tech firm Parsons. The University of Cincinnati helped Honda fit the sensors to its vehicles, led the development of the damage detection feature and assisted ODOT during the pilot. The data collected by the vehicles was processed by Edge AI models and then passed on to Hondas own cloud platform. The system then automatically generated work orders for ODOTs maintenance teams in order of priority. While a relatively small pilot in scope, the Proactive Roadway Maintenance System performed well in the trial across a number of metrics, delivering as high as 99 percent accuracy at highlighting damaged or obstructed signs. Accuracy was 93 percent for damaged guardrails and a slightly lower 89 percent for spotting potholes. Honda says its technology could also detect high-severity shoulder drop-offs that were easy to miss in a routine visual inspection, while the system also proved reliable at measuring road roughness. The team that worked on the project estimated that if implemented on a larger scale, the automated system could save ODOT over $4.5 million a year. Honda and its partners are now looking at ways to scale up the prototype Proactive Roadway Maintenance System for real-world use. The manufacturer also says it aims to eventually have similar technology in the vehicles of its customers, who will be able to share their own detection data anonymously and help create safer roads.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/honda-vehicles-used-to-proactively-report-road-safety-issues-in-nation-first-pilot-151629967.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
Google has agreed to a preliminary $135 million settlement in a class action lawsuit brought by Android users who accused it of harvesting their data without consent. The suit alleged that since November 12, 2017, Google has been illegally collecting cellular data from phones purchased through carriers, even when apps were closed or location features were disabled. As reported by Reuters, the affected users believed Google using their data for marketing and product development meant it was guilty of "conversion." In US law, conversion occurs when one party takes the property of another with "the intent to deprive them of it" or "exert property rights over it." Subject to approval from a judge, a settlement of $135 million was filed in a San Jose federal court earlier this week. The payout would be one of, if not the largest ever in a case of this nature, according to Glen Summers, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. Each user involved in the lawsuit would be entitled to up to $100 from Google, which denies any wrongdoing and has agreed to seek consent during the setup process of a new phone from now on. A toggle will be added to enable users to easily disable data transfer, while the Alphabet-owned company will also adjust its terms of service accordingly. A trial is scheduled for August 5. This is the second settlement this week for Google. On January 26, the company also agreed to a $68 million settlement regarding claims that Google Assistant had been spying on users after being triggered by what it had misheard as wake words. Again, Google denied any wrongdoing in the class action suit.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-will-pay-135-million-to-settle-illegal-data-collection-lawsuit-133012112.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
It's the year 2026 and the hottest game in my living room is Fruit Ninja. No, I'm not in the midst of an ill-advised retro mobile gaming kick. Instead, my family and I have been jumping around and slicing flying fruit in our living room using the Nex Playground. It's a tiny gaming system built entirely around Kinect-like games. With its camera and onboard computer vision processing, the $249 Nex Playground can track up to four players as effectively as Microsoft's clunky old Xbox motion tracker. Simply put, the dream of the Kinect, as well as Nintendo's Wii, lives on in the Nex Playground. I'll admit, I was skeptical about Nex making a dent in the console arena. It's tough for new companies with no hardware experience to steal any limelight away from entrenched competitors like Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft. But the Nex Playground's simplicity, accurate motion tracking and library of kid-friendly titles (including the likes of Peppa Pig and Bluey) has made it a hit among families. The company says it sold 650,000 units last year, which might not sound like much, but it was enough to beat the beleagured Xbox last November. Honestly, I'm just happy it gets my kids off the couch. I do my best to limit screen time with them, but as someone who has fond memories planted in front of my TV playing endless hours of SNES games, I also leave some room for my kids to explore tech and media on their own. I love the way Minecraft's near-limitless creative potential has unleashed my daughter's imagination, but I also want her to move more, especially in these winter months when we can't easily go outside. Even though the Nex Playground is another screen-based activity, the sheer variety of games to play keeps my kids entertained and it helps them break a sweat. The consoles version of Fruit Ninja is similar to that game's VR forays, where you have to stand up and make an effort to swipe your arms. You're not just dragging your fingers across a screen. Go Keeper gamifies the role of a soccer goalkeeper, which leads to my kids jumping all over our family room to block and catch stray balls. And we all love having mini-dance parties with Starri, which has you swinging your arms and dodging obstacles, similar to VR titles like Beat Saber and Synth Riders. In addition to those three games, the Nex Playground comes with Party Fowl, a collection of mini games, as well as its own spin on Whack-a-mole. If you want more games, you have to subscribe to the Nex Play Pass for $89 a year or $49 for three months. The company also offers a $29 Sports Pack at Target stores, which includes tennis, basketball and bowling games. Beyond those options, though, there's no other way to add new titles to the Playground. You can't buy anything individually, and since the entire platform is digital, there's also no market for cheap used games like you'd find for consoles. Nex's subscription model is undoubtedly the Playground's biggest flaw, especially given the systems $249 price. Instead of being an expensive console that you buy once (like an Xbox), and then occasionally purchase new titles for, the Playground is an ongoing commitment constantly calling for your wallet. To the company's credit, the device doesn't feature any ads or in-app purchases. Nex Playground Nex "Ultimately, we would like to establish that long-term relationship ... we want to serve your family consistently with new content, and new updates all year round," Nex CEO David Lee said in an interview on the Engadget Podcast. He noted that the company added twenty new games to its subscription over the last two years, as well as 40 game updates over the last year. Similar to Xbox's Game Pass, the goal is to maintain the Nex Play Pass's value over time. You could argue the Nex Play Pass's steep price isn't as bad as the $15 to $30 per child that indoor activity centers charge. Those godforsaken places only distract kids for a few hours at a time, and visiting one also comes with the risk of contracting exotic childhood illnesses. Theoretically, the Nex Playground could be something you turn to whenever you need to work out restless energy from your kids. And if that means parents could get a bit more sleep on the weekend, or just a few minutes to themselves for a cup of coffee, all of a sudden $89 a year doesn't seem so bad. I'm also impressed by the Nex Playground's hardware and software, both of which are far more polished than I'd expect from a new hardware company. The device itself is a pastel-colored plastic box with a camera on the front (and a cute lens cover). You just have to plug it into power and an HDMI port, slap some batteries in the remote (which looks like an elongated Roku remote) and connect to Wi-Fi. It took a few minutes for the Playground to update the first time I turned it on, and I also had to create a Nex account using my phone. Once that initial setup phase was over, it took another five minutes to download the initial batch of five games to the Playground via my gigabit connection. That timing entirely depends on your internet setup I've seen reports of it taking up to 30 minutes to install the Nex's core games. I was also able to download the entire Play Pass library of titles in 35 minutes, but it could take a few hours on slower connections. Thankfully, those downloads happen in the background, so you can play other titles while waiting for new ones to install. Another plus? Once you've downloaded the ames, you can play them entirely offline. That makes it easier to grab the Playground and bring it on vacation, or to a friend's house, than it is to travel with other consoles. As long as you can reach a TV's inputs, have nearby power and clear out around six feet of space, you can play the Playground. Nex Playground Nex Nex's long experience developing motion-tracked games and experiences is a major reason why the Playground is so successful. The company previously created Homecourt, an app for tracking your basketball skills, as well as Active Arcade, a collection of Playground-like minigames for iOS devices. Lee admitted that its tough to get parents to use their phones for things like Active Arcade. That led him to develop the Playground as a closed ecosystem, where the company could build a suite of games around a device where it could control every aspect of the hardware. Now that Nex Playground features games from well-known kids brands like Peppa Pig, its clear that Lees intuition has paid off. While I have some concerns about the companys subscription model, Nex has accomplished a rare feat: It developed a simple box that makes it easy for your entire family to jump into genuinely innovative games and experiences. You dont need to set up a clunky console or any additional accessories. Just plug in the Nex Playground, and you too could be hand-slicing virtual fruit on your TV in no time. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-nex-playground-is-everything-xbox-kinect-wanted-to-be-133000397.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||