Waymo to bring self-driving minivans back to Bay Area for delivering packages
Waymo's self-driving minivans will return to the streets of the Bay Area on June 8. The vehicles will focus on delivering packages for non-profit organizations.
Post lockdown, smart cameras could help enforce mask use and social distancing
Smart cameras can monitor social distancing rules, but what if existing security cameras could instead be adapted to identify facial masks and overcrowding?
Ford releases self-driving car data to encourage further research
Ford hopes data from some of its test cars will spur further development of autonomous driving tech. Ford is releasing a data package collected over one year.
Automatic Labs succumbs to COVID-19, will soon shut down connected car service
Automatic Labs, which offers hardware and services to turn vehicles into connected cars, is shutting down on May 28, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Without a firewall, the door to your smart home is left wide open
Your smart home could be hacked, but you wouldn't even know it. Protect your all your devices against them with a hardware firewall.
Drone deliveries may consume 10 times as much energy as van deliveries in cities
Think that drone deliveries are the most environmentally friendly way to do future deliveries? Not so fast, claims a new study from Germany.
UPS and CVS will use drones to deliver prescription drugs
UPS and CVS Health are teaming up for a drone delivery service that will transport prescription medicine from nearby CVS pharmacies to a Florida community.
The future of smart cities may mean the death of privacy
As smart cities evolve, cameras proliferate, and all of our data is continually collected, the question of how to maintain personal privacy becomes more urgent.
It’s the end of the road for GM carsharing service Maven
App-based carsharing service Maven was operating in nine North American cities but the coronavirus pandemic has proved the final straw for the GM-owned venture.
Uber unveils new delivery services as ride demand tanks
One of Uber's new delivery options lets you send packages to family and friends, while the other allows you to order various items from a range of stores.
Ecobee Haven is an intelligent platform that makes it easy to monitor your home
Today ecobee launched Haven, a smart home monitoring platform that draws information from multiple devices to provide a truly streamlined experience.
Expect lower video quality on your Nest cameras this week
In response to community issues caused by COVID-19, Google has temporarily adjusted camera settings on their Nest cameras to help with internet strain.
Apple releases mobility data to show if people are social distancing
Apple is releasing mobility data gathered by Apple Maps as part of the effort to fight COVID-19. The data shows stats for walking, driving, and public transit.
New coronavirus dashboard offers astonishingly detailed data by county
Johns Hopkins University's new tracker shows county data for confirmed cases, recorded deaths, testing rate, fatality rate, hospital capacity, and more.
Most art galleries are closed, but you can still tour this one — with a robot
An art gallery in the U.K. has teamed up with roboticists to continue giving tours while it's shuttered due to coronavirus. Here's what they've developed.
The world needs a drone traffic control system, so AirMap is building one
For drones to truly take off, the world needs a drone air traffic control system. A startup called AirMap is helping to build one. Here's why it's so important.
This awesome drone station could be coming to a hospital near you
Matternet has just unveiled a unique drone station for its advanced delivery system designed for medical facilities. A video shows the station in action.
911 hotlines are outdated, so Ginny Katz is building something better
The American emergency response system is aging and easily overwhelmed. Ginny Katz, CEO of HazAdapt, is building an emergency response platform for the future.
Drones are flying beneath the ground in Japan, and here’s why
In the latest example of how drones are transforming the way we work, Tokyo Metro is using a custom-built flying machine to inspect its subway tunnels.
Inside the mind of an autonomous delivery robot
Starship Technologies' autonomous delivery robots have driven thousands of miles. Here's how its bots experience the world -- and why it matters for our future.
Uber and Lyft face a cheaper ridesharing rival in New York City
Myle, launched by a 20-year veteran of NY City’s taxi industry, will attempt to take on its established rivals with cheaper fares and no hidden costs.
UCLA won’t use facial recognition on its campus after it receives backlash
UCLA was going to be the first university in the U.S. to use facial recognition on its campus, but after backlash, the school has decided against it.
Congress has concerns over Ring’s partnerships with police departments
A congressional committee wrote a letter to Ring over concerns about the company's partnerships with more than 400 local police departments across the country.
Apple patent foresees a smart home that can ID you by reading your heartbeat
An Apple patent would make your home an actual smart house in every sense: From reading your heartbeat to telling who you are to coordinating smart devices.
Uber’s new dial-a-cab feature is basically just an old-school taxi service
Uber introduced a new feature that basically turns the rideshare process back into a taxi service aimed at older adults, or for those that don't have smartphones.
LA fire department to go electric with first battery-powered fire truck in U.S.
The Los Angeles Fire Department will become the first in the U.S. to deploy an electric-powered fire truck, with the vehicle set for its debut run in 2021.
The Neighbors App by Ring is launching a new category: Neighborly Moments
Ring introduced a new category in its Neighbors App called Neighborly Moments. The category allows users to share footage of their neighbors performing acts of kindness.
Nest makes two-factor authentication mandatory for its smart home devices
Google Nest is the latest smart home device to make it mandatory for people to set up two-factor authentication on their devices by using verification code.
A $1 billion investment will bring more EV charging stations to rural America
ChargePoint and NATSO plan to install electric car charging stations at 4,000 rural highway travel plazas. The project has a $1 billion price tag, and a targeted completion date of 2030.
Quit honking! Mumbai tests traffic signals that stay red if you hit your horn
Mumbai is aiming to reduce noise pollution with a new traffic signal that stays red if you honk your horn. The timer on a red resets to 90 seconds if the noise levels go too high.
MIT researchers create a smart wallpaper that improves devices’ signal strength
Researchers from MIT have designed the RFocus, a smart wallpaper that can boost the signal strength of wireless devices thanks to thousands of tiny antennae built into the wallpaper itself.
Brown goes autonomous: Waymo and UPS partner on package-delivery pilot
Waymo is partnering with UPS on a package-delivery pilot program in Arizona. Waymo's modified Chrysler Pacifica minivans will ferry packages between UPS Stores and a distribution hub in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The program will use the same vehicles as the Waymo One ridesharing service.
5 futuristic smart cities to keep an eye on through the 2020s
Whether it's embedded sensors or autonomous robots, cities are going to get a whole lot smarter in the 2020s. But some super ambitious developments are leading the way by building whole new city developments built around the latest tech. Here are 5 such projects to keep an eye on.
Tesla is recruiting designers in China to create its first city car
Tesla thinks it would be "super cool" to design a vehicle in China for the global market, and it has started laying the groundwork for an engineering center in the world's largest electric car market. It released a sketch that suggests the model might take the form of a city car positioned below the Model 3.