A company we’re all probably well aware of, Honda Motors, has a prototype of a 4×4 ATV that is entirely autonomous. Honda has over 30 years’ experience producing and refining their ATV’s, so the mechanical function of these vehicles is industry-leading. As Honda states, “the prototype features GPS and sensor-based autonomy capable of guiding the unit in almost any environment, a rail accessory mount for limitless accessories and attachments, and onboard power plug-ins.” The vehicle has three programmable modes, “follow me”, “A to B”, and “pattern”.

The prototype was tested in several different environments. One of which was aiding woodland firefighters in hauling equipment. The vehicle was set to “follow me” mode, where it simply followed the firefighters while carrying the heavy equipment such as chainsaws and axes, allowing the firefighters to have the maximum amount of energy leftover by the time they reach the frontlines of the fire. Another environment the prototype excelled in was for a solar operations company in North Carolina for vegetation management. The prototype was equipped with a tow-behind mower and used to trim/remove weeds around the solar panels. This is just another example of how advanced autonomous vehicles are getting as well as the wide range of applications they fill.

Source:

https://www.honda.com/mobility/Autonomous-Work-Vehicle

As the title says, there are several new phones expected to come out in the coming months from Huawei, Motorola and Samsung. The one thing these three phones have in common is the ability to fold in half. It is interesting to see how the trends in design for mobile phones has evolved over the last few decades. First, they were front facing brick shaped objects, a design everyone remembers as the indestructible Nokia. Next, flip phones became the “it” thing to have – all the companies made phones that either flipped or slid open. The Motorola Razr being the fashionable “flagship” mobile phone for that era. After the flip era, the iPhone was invented. Apple’s notorious minimalistic design philosophy brought a whole new meaning to mobile phone design. Mobile phones have evolved into giant, rectangular, ultra-thin metal and glass sheets with as few buttons as possible. Despite the insane functionality these modern smart-phones possess, they have simply gotten huge – too big for most pockets, well mine at least. Now, we need something that can deliver the benefits of a large touch screen while still being able to fit comfortable in a single hand or your pocket. This is where Motorola, Huawei and Samsung have stepped in with the design of their foldable mobile phones. I believe we could be entering a new era of mobile phone design with these three prototypes. Only time will tell.

Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/motorola-will-sell-its-first-foldable-phone-likely-the-razr-this-summer/

As we’ve begun to discuss in class, the “echo chamber” that we exist in within our social media circles is not a result of the tech giants and their malicious filtering algorithms, it is a result of us; the individual user.

Researchers at Stanford conducted a study in 2013 that resulted in the development of a mathematical model to demonstrate how the American society is becoming more polarized. Based on one of the dominant theories, it is thought that with the increase in digital media in recent years through websites and social media, users now have the option to pick and choose what kind of media they consume as well as the social networks we identify with. Given this reality, it is thought that people tend to form their opinions in ways that minimize the overall amount of disagreement in their news feeds and social circles. As a result of that phenomenon, the individuals opinions gradually converge with those they surround themselves with (Stanford School of Engineering, 2013).

Even though it may be possible to place the blame on the recommender algorithms search engines and social media use, we must keep in mind that they are still businesses designed to provide the most pleasing user experience. Even if that means reinforcing the “echo chamber” effect.

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130401090714.htm