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08 Gen 2025

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Hexagon acquisisce Septentrio, rivoluzionando il posizionamento per la navigazione e l'autonomia in applicazioni critiche - GEOmedia News

Hexagon ha annunciato un accordo per l'acquisizione di Septentrio NV, un importante fornitore OEM di tecnologie GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), con l'obiettivo di guidare l'innovazione ed espandere l'accesso alle soluzioni di posizionamento resiliente e garantito.

L'integrazione della piattaforma GNSS all’avanguardia di Septentrio con l'ampio portafoglio di tecnologie di posizionamento di Hexagon, che include fusione di sensori, sistemi anti-interferenza, servizi di correzione e tecnologie di percezione, consentirà di sviluppare soluzioni all'avanguardia per mercati e applicazioni diversificati. Ciò garantirà una maggiore accessibilità a tecnologie di posizionamento ad alta precisione e alte prestazioni, caratterizzate da un basso SWaP (dimensioni, peso e consumo energetico). Inoltre, accelererà l'adozione di sistemi autonomi nei mercati esistenti e risponderà alle esigenze di segmenti emergenti ad alta crescita, come robotica, droni (UAV), sistemi autonomi e altre applicazioni critiche.

Septentrio, nota per la sua innovazione e attenzione al cliente, continuerà a fornire tecnologie e prodotti GNSS di alto livello ai suoi numerosi clienti OEM leader di settore, mantenendo il proprio modello di business e collaborando con Hexagon per

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NHTSA Investigation Targets Tesla Remote Parking - Planetizen

NHTSA Investigation Targets Tesla Remote Parking Diana Ionescu Wed, 01/08/2025 - 09:00 Primary Image

Tesla is once again under investigation by the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) after over a dozen reports of several crashes involving its remote parking feature, according to an article by Umar Shakir and Andrew J. Hawkins in The Verge.

The feature, known as Actually Smart Summon and reintroduced with upgrades last fall, uses cameras to navigate parking lots without a driver. “But since the feature was reintroduced under the new moniker, a number of videos of alleged crash incidents have been uploaded on YouTube and other social media platforms. Tesla vehicles are seen scraping up against other vehicles, colliding with parking signs, or running into walls.” No injuries have been reported.

The company faces prior investigations into its autonomous driving features, but federal rules regarding autonomous vehicles could be in question when the new administration takes power.

Geography United States Category Technology Transportation Tags

Publication The Verge Publication Date Tue, 01/07/2025 - 12:00 Publication Links Tesla’s remote parking feature under investigation after over a dozen crashes 1 minute

NHTSA Investigation Targets Tesla Remote Parking - Planetizen

NHTSA Investigation Targets Tesla Remote Parking Diana Ionescu Wed, 01/08/2025 - 09:00 Primary Image

The company faces prior investigations into its autonomous driving features, but federal rules regarding autonomous vehicles could be in question when the new administration takes power.

Geography United States Category Technology Transportation Tags

Publication The Verge Publication Date Tue, 01/07/2025 - 12:00 Publication Links Tesla’s remote parking feature under investigation after over a dozen crashes 1 minute

Awe-inspiring science reporting, technology news, and DIY projects. Skunks to space robots, primates to climates. That's Popular Science, 150 years strong.

Even ants may hold grudges - Popular Science

It’s not just humans who have trouble making amends—Earth’s 20 quadrillion ants aren’t quick to forgive, either.

Ants primarily rely on their fine-tuned olfactory sense to differentiate between the smell of members of their own family (i.e. safe ants) and ants from other colonies. A familiar scent while out foraging, for example, allows a worker ant to know which nearby ants are there to help, and which may be rivals hunting for the same resources. But new research from evolutionary biologists at Germany’s University of Freiburg indicates ants don’t just react in the moment—they retain knowledge of hostile encounters with neighboring enemies, and act accordingly.

Ants rely on their olfactory sense to navigate much of the world around them. Credit: Current Biology

According to their study published in Current Biology, scientists conducted two phases of experiments to determine if ants remember bad experiences with other ants, and how it influences their relationships. First, they placed ants into 60 second meet-and-greet scenarios: In one setting, the insects simply encountered some of their nestmates; another situation involved a group interacting with aggressive ants from “Nest A,” while a final group met yet another set of hostile bugs from “Nest B.” This was then repeated once for each group over five consecutive days. From there, scientists examined how the various ant groups subsequently reacted when they encountered the aggressive Nest A ants—either for the first time, once again, or in comparison to Nest B bugs.

Further analysis showed ants were more hostile towards ants that smelled of past bad encounters with other nests. When they re-crossed paths with a more passive colony’s ants, however, the insects tended to behave more calmly.

“We often have the idea that insects function like pre-programmed robots,” says research associate and study co-author Volker Nehring in an accompanying statement. “Our study provides new evidence that, on the contrary, ants also learn from their experiences and can hold a grudge.”

These unwanted run-ins don’t devolve into crude gestures or rude exchanges. Ant throwdowns involve the use of their sharp mandibles, and can even leave a bad taste in their mouths, literally. Anger ants enough, and they spray formic acid at one another. While often deadly to the insects themselves, Nehring’s team made sure to break up the fights before things got too heated. (A telltale sign of incoming formic acid is the bending of an ant’s bulbous end segment known as the “gaster.”)

In their study, Nehring and colleagues conclude that associative learning “plays a crucial role in the formation of both nestmate and non-nestmate recognition templates,” and that aggression can function as an unconditioned stimulus likely associated with enemy odor labels. “This type of template learning can help explain different patterns of variation in nestmate recognition, from nasty neighbor effects to task- and age-specific variation in aggression,” the team adds.

Researchers also believe these results imply ants associatively learn olfactory classifiers for ants outside their colonies, which may help tailor defensive responses depending on a nest’s intruders. Moving forward, the biologists hope to look into how much ants can adapt their olfactory receptors based on these interactions to see if the knowledge translates on an even deeper level.

The post Even ants may hold grudges appeared first on Popular Science.

Omaha Homeless Services Providers Struggle to Keep Up - Planetizen

Omaha Homeless Services Providers Struggle to Keep Up Diana Ionescu Wed, 01/08/2025 - 08:00 Primary Image

Providers of emergency housing in Omaha, Nebraska are fighting rising homelessness rates as housing costs grow in the city, reports Maria Cade for First Alert 6.

City leaders say they are focusing on chronic homelessness, defined as being unhoused for 12 months in a row or 12 months across a three-year span. “There’s very much a tie between the lack of affordable housing units, the lack of affordable housing options in our area and the rise in chronic homelessness which we’re currently experiencing,” said Chris Knauf, CEO of the Stephen Center.

Meanwhile, the coldest weather of the season is still ahead. Linda Twomey, Executive Director of Siena Francis House, says the number of shelter beds available in the city doesn’t meet demand. The number of unhoused residents grew from 49 in 2019 to 230 in 2023, more than tripling. The city’s population, by contrast, grew by roughly 4 percent.

Geography Nebraska Category Housing Tags

Publication First Alert 6 Publication Date Tue, 01/07/2025 - 12:00 Publication Links Omaha metro organizations fighting chronic homelessness 1 minute

Omaha Homeless Services Providers Struggle to Keep Up - Planetizen

Omaha Homeless Services Providers Struggle to Keep Up Diana Ionescu Wed, 01/08/2025 - 08:00 Primary Image

Providers of emergency housing in Omaha, Nebraska are fighting rising homelessness rates as housing costs grow in the city, reports Maria Cade for First Alert 6.

Geography Nebraska Category Housing Tags

Publication First Alert 6 Publication Date Tue, 01/07/2025 - 12:00 Publication Links Omaha metro organizations fighting chronic homelessness 1 minute

Awe-inspiring science reporting, technology news, and DIY projects. Skunks to space robots, primates to climates. That's Popular Science, 150 years strong.

Why your brain flushes itself of waste during sleep - Popular Science

While we’re asleep at night, our brain is busy doing maintenance. The glymphatic system–the brain’s waste disposal mechanism–flushes away excess cerebrospinal fluid containing harmful proteins that otherwise build up slowly in the brain. Accumulation of these proteins has been associated with increased risk of conditions like Alzheimer’s Disease. In a new paper published January 8 in Cell, scientists are getting closer to uncovering how the system knows when to engage: the “switch” for activating the system is the brain’s neurotransmitter norepinephrine.

The glymphatic system was discovered by Danish neuroscientist and one of the paper’s authors Maiken Nedergaard in 2012, who gave its name to reflect both its resemblance to the better-known lymphatic system and its reliance on the brain’s glial cells. She tells Popular Science that the system has been studied extensively over the last decade, and that its operation is critical to a healthy brain: “There are now approximately 2,000 published articles on the glymphatic system, many of which focus on clinical applications. These studies collectively highlight that aging and nearly all neurological diseases are associated with a reduction in glymphatic flow.”

Every minute or so during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, the brain releases a wave of norepinephrine, a hormone that is one of the brain’s primary neurotransmitters. Norepinephrine is a potent vasoconstrictor, causing blood vessels to narrow, and each wave causes a contraction in the arteries that carry blood to the brain. The arteries then dilate slowly until the arrival of the next norepinephrine wave.

Nedergaard explains that this rhythmic series of contractions and dilations creates a pumping action: “It is the oscillatory constriction-dilations that drive glymphatic flow.” The oscillating waves of norepinephrine that create these arterial contractions are critical to the glymphatic system’s operation.

As one of the brain’s primary neurotransmitters, norepinephrine has many functions, and there are several classes of drug that work by modifying the rate at which it is released and reuptaken. Examples include antidepressants—especially selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)—and beta blockers, which block one of the receptors to which norepinephrine binds.

There are also other drugs that aren’t aimed specifically at the norepinephrine system but affect it regardless. Unfortunately, sleep medications fall into the latter category, and the study examines how one common medication—Zolpidem, also known as Ambien—affects the activation and operation of the glymphatic system.

Researchers compared two groups of mice, one of which was given Zolpidem. The team found that in the Zolpidem-dosed mice, the release of norepinephrine—and, as a result, the operation of the glymphatic system—was noticeably suppressed. Peak norepinephrine levels in the brains of the Zolpidem mice were some 50% lower than in the control group, and arterial constrictions were also less pronounced.

The study concludes that in mice, at least, Zolpidem “interferes with normal sleep architecture and suppresses glymphatic flow.” Nedergaard says that the picture is likely to be the same for other sleep medications, because ultimately they all work by suppressing neural activity across the brain. This includes the neurons that release norepinephrine. This suggests that sleeping medications have the unintended consequence of interfering with the brain’s way of flushing away dangerous waste.

This problem may also extend to other medications. Nedergaard says that SNRIs, for example, also appear to inhibit the oscillation mechanism: her lab conducted another study in which the SNRI desipramine was administered to mice, and “basically eliminated … oscillations.”

This illustrates one important point about the system: the brain doesn’t just keep releasing norepinephrine forever. If the overall level of norepinephrine is high, and the neurons that release it get a signal to release more, the amount they release will decrease. In other words, the brain tries to maintain a balance.

By inhibiting the reabsorption of norepinephrine, SNRIs result in an overall elevation of its level in the brain. This means that when the glymphatic system starts to ramp up during sleep, it has less “room” to operate, and the waves of norepinephrine released on activation of the glymphatic system are relatively small. And, as Nedgergaard emphasizes, “It is the oscillations [in norepinephrine levels] that matter.”

There’s still a lot to learn about the glymphatic system, but that a priority should be ensuring that its operation is not inhibited by the drugs we take to help us sleep. She suggests future research on this topic could look into sleep aids that have a more sophisticated mechanism of action than just a blanket suppression of neuronal activity. A better approach, she says, would be finding ways to allow norepinephrine oscillations, helping people to sleep but also “promot[ing] restorative sleep viewed from a glymphatic point of view.”

The post Why your brain flushes itself of waste during sleep appeared first on Popular Science.

Awe-inspiring science reporting, technology news, and DIY projects. Skunks to space robots, primates to climates. That's Popular Science, 150 years strong.

AI is already changing the ways we fight cancer - Popular Science

An estimated 610,000 people in the US died from cancer last year. That’s almost the same amount of people who perished in the country’s four-year civil war. At least two million more people were diagnosed with some form of cancer in 2024, a figure that’s climbed in recent years. Early detection remains one of the single biggest factors that determine whether or not someone ultimately survives cancer and, luckily, advances in medical treatment can help. Researchers and medical scientists believe artificial intelligence models could play a key role in that early detection process. Though AI still can’t substitute for a doctor’s real-world medical expertise or even produce a true medical diagnosis, it can serve as a critical tool to make them more effective.

AI’s ability to parse through dense troves of data and seek out patterns may make it well-suited to look for irregularities in images of organs and tissue and spot cancerous cells before they metastasize. A study published today in the journal Nature by researchers at Columbia University described a new medical AI model that they say can accurately predict the activity of genes at the cellular level. In theory, this level of granularity could open up new paths for researchers to understand the gene mutations that cause cancers to occur in the first place.

“Having the ability to accurately predict a cell’s activities would transform our understanding of fundamental biological processes,” paper senior author and Columbia professor Raul Rabadan said in a statement. “It would turn biology from a science that describes seemingly random processes into one that can predict the underlying systems that govern cell behavior.”

Today, doctors are already using AI to help spot tumors and expedite diagnoses. Scientists and pharmaceutics companies are similarly using the tech in varying degrees to assist with the creation of new cancer-fighting therapeutics. And while AI almost certainly won’t replace trained oncologists anytime soon, all signs are pointing toward a near future where these models play an increasingly present role in combating cancer, from the earliest moments to late-stage treatment.

AI gives researchers a glimpse at how cancer begins at the cellular level

The Columbia researchers developing the AI capable of predicting gene activity, referred to as GET (general expression transformer) say they trained their model on images of 1.3 million human cells. The researchers compared this process of injecting large training data of both diseased and healthy genes as similar to the way Open AI’s ChatGPT large language model ingests a vast corpus of the written internet. Once the medical AI model had learned the “grammar in many different cellular states” Rabadan notes, it could then be directed to predict patterns based on that information. When they tested the AI, researchers said it was able to predict certain gene expressions in cell types it had never seen before.

“These methods can effectively conduct large-scale computational experiments, boosting and guiding traditional experimental approaches,” Rabadan added.

The paper comes only a few months after scientists from Harvard Medical School described another cancer-related AI detection tool, also Nature. In that example, researchers trained their model to detect signs of 19 different types of tumors after observing medical patient images. The model was reportedly able to detect cancer and predict a tumor’s molecular profile all based on cellular features included in its training data. It could also forecast a patient’s survival potential across different cancer types. The model, called CHIEF (Clinical Histopathology Imaging Evaluation Foundation) was trained on 60,000 whole-slide images of tissues from lungs, prostates, colons, and other organs. Researchers said CHIEF went a step further than other cancer-detecting AI models due to its broad training data which lets it interpret a medical image more holistically than other more specialized models.

“If validated further and deployed widely, our approach, and approaches similar to ours, could identify early on cancer patients who may benefit from experimental treatments targeting certain molecular variations, a capability that is not uniformly available across the world,” Harvard Medical School professor and study senior author Kun-Hsing Yu said in a statement.

AI is being used in every stage of cancer research

The promise of AI for cancer treatment broadly falls into five categories: prediction, detection, drug discovery, and treatment implementation. On the detection front, radiologists and other doctors are already using AI tools to help spot tumors. Just this week, a new study published in Nature Medicine involving nearly 500,000 patients in Germany found that doctors using an AI detection model confirmed more cases of breast cancer than doctors acting on their own. Specifically, doctors using the AI achieved a cancer detection rate 17.6% higher than those who didn’t. The FDA has also already approved marketing for an AI software design to help identify signs of prostate cancer.

A separate AI model created by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) called LORIS (logistic regression-based immunotherapy-response score) demonstrated the ability to predict which group of cancer patients might benefit best from certain immunotherapy treatments. That approach, which uses the body’s immune system to target cancer cells, is less invasive than more traditional cancer-fighting treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy but is only effective for a subset of people. Models like LORIS could help doctors better detect those therapies for patients who may benefit and simultaneously avoid exposing others to unnecessary treatments.

On the discovery front, researchers from the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCCCC) recently received $16 million from the federal government as part of a project to use powerful machine learning models to comb through large medical datasets and look for patterns that could spark the development of new treatments for drug-resistant cancers. The hope, according to those involved with the efforts, is that advances in AI can fast-track the time it takes to find new drugs, hopefully in time for patients who may need them in the near future.

“Patients with cancer don’t have time to wait for new treatments, so there is a strong need to compress the drug discovery timeline and we aim to do that with novel synergistic approaches that take advantage of [The Department of Energy’s] supercomputing capabilities,” UCCCC Director Kunle Odunsi said in a statement.

AI tools aren’t a silver bullet

At the same time, there’s a risk of placing too much faith in AI screening and detection tools too quickly. Several of the models noted earlier are still in research phases and will require more testing before they are deployed in healthcare facilities at scale. There’s also the risk of an opportunist taking advantage of the overly broad umbrella term “AI” to pitch far less tested models as more effective than they actually are. There are already numerous cases of people receiving wrong and potentially dangerously incorrect diagnoses after interacting with popular large language models. One study published in JAMA Pediatrics last year found that OpenAI’s ChatGPT incorrectly diagnosed 83% of pediatric case studies it was presented with. Models like these are also prone to occasionally hallucinating false facts and doing so with a confident tone. That can lead to funny results when asking it to come up with a cake recipe, but those same inaccuracies can prove dangerous when someone uses them to self-medicate.

And even as AI models (likely) improve their ability to detect different cancers in the years to come, they still fundamentally aren’t performing the same job as a trained physician. As New York University journalism professor Meredith Broussard notes in her 2023 book More Than a Glitch, even the most advanced AI models are essentially comparing a static image against a corpus of other images already labeled by humans and quickly seeing if there are mathematical similarities in the two. That can lead to impressive results, but that process is ultimately a prediction which isn’t the same as a diagnosis. A diagnosis still requires a human doctor who can look over evidence and draw their own expert conclusion based on years of real-world experience.

We’re already living in a world where doctors can use these tools to bolster their own abilities. It’s less clear though whether or not AI will ever be reliable enough to remove doctors from that dynamic entirely.

The post AI is already changing the ways we fight cancer appeared first on Popular Science.

Apple, iPhone, iPad, Mac News and Rumors

Amazon Takes Up to $400 Off M4 MacBook Pro, Available From $1,449 - MacRumors

Today we're tracking a collection of discounts on Apple's M4 MacBook Pro at Amazon, including as much as $400 off select models of the computer. All of these deals have been applied automatically on Amazon and do not require an on-page coupon in order to see the final sale price.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Deals include both 14-inch and 16-inch models, and the biggest savings will be found on the latter group. The steepest discount is on the 16-inch MacBook Pro (M4 Max 48GB RAM/1TB), available for $3,599.00, down from $3,999.00. At $400 off this is a match of the all-time low price on the high-end model.

UP TO $400 OFFM4 MacBook Pro Deals at Amazon

For the 14-inch models, you'll find up to $220 off these computers on Amazon this week. You can get the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro (16GB RAM/512GB) for $1,449.00, down from $1,599.00, which is a solid second-best price on the computer.

14-inch MacBook Pro

M4 10-Core/16GB RAM/512GB - $1,449.00 ($150 off)

M4 10-Core/16GB RAM/1TB - $1,629.00 ($170 off)

M4 10-Core/24GB RAM/1TB - $1,799.00 ($200 off)

M4 Pro 12-Core/24GB RAM/512GB - $1,819.00 ($180 off)

M4 Pro 14-Core/24GB RAM/1TB - $2,179.00 ($220 off)

16-inch MacBook Pro

M4 Pro 14-Core/24GB RAM/512GB - $2,249.00 ($250 off)

M4 Pro 14-Core/48GB RAM/512GB - $2,629.00 ($270 off)

M4 Max 14-Core/36GB RAM/1TB - $3,149.00 ($350 off)

M4 Max 16-Core/48GB RAM/1TB - $3,599.00 ($400 off)

Keep up with all of this week's best discounts on Apple products and related accessories in our dedicated Apple Deals roundup.

Deals Newsletter
Interested in hearing more about the best deals you can find in 2025? Sign up for our Deals Newsletter and we'll keep you updated so you don't miss the biggest deals of the season!

Related Roundup: Apple Deals
This article, "Amazon Takes Up to $400 Off M4 MacBook Pro, Available From $1,449" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple, iPhone, iPad, Mac News and Rumors

Amazon Takes Up to $400 Off M4 MacBook Pro, Available From $1,449 - MacRumors

M4 10-Core/16GB RAM/512GB - $1,449.00 ($150 off)

M4 10-Core/16GB RAM/1TB - $1,629.00 ($170 off)

M4 10-Core/24GB RAM/1TB - $1,799.00 ($200 off)

M4 Pro 12-Core/24GB RAM/512GB - $1,819.00 ($180 off)

M4 Pro 14-Core/24GB RAM/1TB - $2,179.00 ($220 off)

16-inch MacBook Pro

M4 Pro 14-Core/24GB RAM/512GB - $2,249.00 ($250 off)

M4 Pro 14-Core/48GB RAM/512GB - $2,629.00 ($270 off)

M4 Max 14-Core/36GB RAM/1TB - $3,149.00 ($350 off)

M4 Max 16-Core/48GB RAM/1TB - $3,599.00 ($400 off)

Apple, iPhone, iPad, Mac News and Rumors

Apple Watch Chips Now Being Made in the U.S. for the First Time - MacRumors

Apple has expanded its production footprint in the United States, with its S9 chip for the Apple Watch now reportedly being manufactured at TSMC's facility in Arizona.

According to technology columnist Tim Culpan, TSMC has now started producing Apple's S9 System-in-Package (SiP) chip near Phoenix, Arizona at its Fab 21 plant. The company commenced production of the A16 Bionic chip for the iPhone 15 and ‌iPhone 15‌ Plus at the facility last year.

The S9 debuted in the Apple Watch Series 9 in late 2023, based on processing features derived from the A16 Bionic chip. Both products are produced using TSMC's 4-nanometer process technology, known simply as "N4." This shared technological foundation reportedly allowed TSMC to efficiently adapt its Arizona production line to accommodate the S9 alongside the A16. While the Apple Watch Series 9 is now out of production, the S9 chip is still used in the Apple Watch Ultra 2, which was introduced at the same time.

While the A16 Bionic has been in production at Fab 21 since September 2024, the addition of the S9 SiP reflects an accelerated ramp-up in operations at the Arizona facility. The Arizona plant represents TSMC's first major semiconductor manufacturing site outside Taiwan, but production capacity at the facility has remained in its early stages.

The current operational phase (Phase 1A) has a monthly output of approximately 10,000 wafers. These wafers are shared between the Apple A16 and S9 chips, and other clients such as AMD. Each wafer can yield hundreds of chips, depending on die size, design, and production efficiency. The completion of Phase 1B is expected to double the facility's capacity to 24,000 wafers per month early this year. Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10Tag: TSMCBuyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
This article, "Apple Watch Chips Now Being Made in the U.S. for the First Time" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple, iPhone, iPad, Mac News and Rumors

Apple Watch Chips Now Being Made in the U.S. for the First Time - MacRumors

NACTO Releases Updated Urban Bikeway Guide - Planetizen

NACTO Releases Updated Urban Bikeway Guide Diana Ionescu Wed, 01/08/2025 - 07:00 Primary Image

A newly revised guide from the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) outlines best practices and recommendations for street design that prioritizes bikeways. “Endorsed by the U.S. Department of Transportation and recognized in federal law, the Urban Bikeway Design Guide is used by hundreds of municipalities, state DOTs, and regional agencies across the U.S. and Canada to design streets that are safe and accessible for people biking.”

The guide outlines how cities can easily and affordably implement safety and mobility improvements. “The new edition includes detailed policy, planning, and project development guidance to ensure connected bikeable streets become standard practice. It also shows how to center equity and access in every step of planning and implementing a bike network–addressing inequities caused by the transportation system and building collaborative partnerships with historically marginalized groups of residents.”

The newest edition acknowledges new types of mobility such as e-bikes and scooters and includes more detailed design practices that improve safety for all road users. The guide also offers advice in network planning, community engagement, and maintenance needs.

Geography United States Category Infrastructure Transportation Tags

Publication National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) Publication Date Tue, 01/07/2025 - 12:00 Publication Links NACTO Launches New Urban Bikeway Design Guide for the Next Generation of Innova… 1 minute

NACTO Releases Updated Urban Bikeway Guide - Planetizen

NACTO Releases Updated Urban Bikeway Guide Diana Ionescu Wed, 01/08/2025 - 07:00 Primary Image

Geography United States Category Infrastructure Transportation Tags

Awe-inspiring science reporting, technology news, and DIY projects. Skunks to space robots, primates to climates. That's Popular Science, 150 years strong.

These fish can mate 19 times per day - Popular Science

For any animal, releasing sperm cells requires a bit of time and energy. Using up so much energy can keep them from the other required work of survival, including finding food and water or sleeping. But just what are the upper limits of gamete production? For a tiny fish called the medaka (Oryzias latipes), males have a mating capacity of 19 times per day. The findings are detailed in a study published January 8 in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

How do fish reproduce?

Most fish species mate using external fertilization. The female will deposit eggs outside of the body, usually near the bottom of a body of water or in a nest built out of rocks and other sediment. The male fish will then swim over the eggs and release sperm several times per day. This helps increase the chances that more eggs will be fertilized, leading to more offspring. Female fish may then collect the fertilized eggs and deposit them on plants.

Medaka–aka the Japanese rice fish–are only about 1.4 inches long and can be found in rice paddies, ponds, marshes, quiet streams, and tide pools in Japan. They are a popular aquarium fish and scientists have used them as a model to study the genetic basis of diseases. Understanding the limits of mating can help scientists gain insights into what it takes for a species to survive.

Mekeda are a popular aquarium fish. CREDIT: Osaka Metropolitan University

“Medaka are among the fish that spawn, where fertilization occurs after the eggs and sperm are released in water. As these gametes are difficult to collect, the number of sperm released and the fertilization rate during successive matings had remained a mystery,” Yuki Kondo, a study co-author and an evolutionary ecologist at Osaka Metropolitan University in Japan, said in a statement.

Mating 19 times per day–in a lab

In this new study, Kondo and colleagues used a previously developed method to measure the sperm count of medaka. The day before the experiment, randomly selected males and females from different breeding tanks were put into separate glass tanks. The next day, a male and a female were put into a tank together and their behavior was observed until the end of mating or for about 20 minutes if mating did not occur. Then, the male was removed from the tank and placed in another tank with a new female. The team repeated this process until the male failed to mate with the three females in a row. Additionally, the eggs were gently removed from the females’ abdomens after they scooped them back up and brought them into Petri dishes to assess fertilization rates.

They found that male medaka can mate 19 times per day on average. In the first three mating sessions, the medaka released over 50 percent of their daily sperm output. The fertilization rate was nearly 100 percent in the early matings, but this significantly decreased after the 10th time. In some later cases, there was no confirmed fertilization.

Female medaka can produce eggs once per day. However, they release all of their eggs when mating and many of the eggs will go to waste when and if they mate with males who have already released most of all of their sperm.

According to the team, these results suggest that there are substantial reproductive costs for males and a potential for sexual conflict due limited sperm availability. However, it does not take into consideration the real world conditions faced by medakas in the wild.
“Our experiments were not intended to mimic natural conditions, but rather to identify the limits of males’ daily mating capacity and the potential reproductive rate of medaka by experimentally removing factors that limit their reproductive success, such as limited nutrition and mate availability,” the team wrote in the study.

The post These fish can mate 19 times per day appeared first on Popular Science.

Apple, iPhone, iPad, Mac News and Rumors

5 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's MacBook Pro - MacRumors

Apple in October 2024 overhauled its 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, adding M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, Thunderbolt 5 ports on higher-end models, display changes, and more. That's quite a lot of updates in one go, but if you think this means a further major refresh for the MacBook Pro is now several years away, think again.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said he expects only a small performance boost for the 2025 MacBook Pro models with the introduction of new M5 chips, while the "true overhaul" for the laptop will come in 2026. So if you are planning to skip this year's MacBook Pro, or you're just plain curious about what's two generations away, here are five big changes rumored to come to Apple's premium laptop line next year.

OLED Display

Goodbye, mini-LED

Several rumors have indicated that the first MacBook Pro models with OLED displays will be released in 2026. Research firm Omdia claims Apple is "highly likely" to introduce new MacBook Pros featuring OLED displays next year, while display analyst Ross Young has said that Apple's supply chain is expected to have sufficient notebook-optimized OLED display production capacity in 2026 to bring the technology to MacBook Pro. Compared to current MacBook Pro models that use mini-LED screens, the benefits of OLED technology would include increased brightness, higher contrast ratio with deeper blacks, improved power efficiency for longer battery life, and more.

Thinner, Lighter Laptop

Major Redesign

The switch to OLED displays could allow future MacBook Pro models to have a thinner design, and rumors suggest that is indeed what Apple intends. When the M4 iPad Pro was unveiled in May 2024, Apple touted it as the company's thinnest product ever. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman subsequently called the iPad Pro the "beginning of a new class of Apple devices," and said Apple was working to make the MacBook Pro thinner over the "next couple of years." Apple is reportedly focusing on delivering the thinnest possible device without compromising on battery life or major new features.

Notably, the MacBook Pro got thicker and heavier with its most recent redesign in 2021. A major highlight was the reintroduction of several ports that were removed in previous iterations in favor of chassis thinness. How Apple will make its 2026 MacBook Pro thinner without removing the functionality it reintroduced fairly recently is the big question.

Punch-Hole Camera

No More Notch

If you are fed up of the notch intruding on your Mac display, here's some good news. Apple plans to remove the notch from the MacBook Pro in 2026, according to a roadmap shared by research firm Omdia. The roadmap indicates that 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models released next year will have a hole-punch camera at the top of the display, rather than the notch we've become accustomed to. A MacBook Pro without a notch would offer additional visible pixels on the screen, creating a more uninterrupted and cohesive display design.

5G Modem

Cellular Connectivity

Early in 2025, Apple plans to introduce the custom-built 5G chip that it's had in the works for years now. The modem chip will be added to the iPhone SE, low-cost iPad, and iPhone 17 "Air," giving Apple an opportunity to test the technology before rolling it out to flagship devices. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple will then consider bringing cellular connectivity to the Mac lineup for the first time. The company is said to be "investigating" the possibility of adding a second-generation modem chip to a future Mac as soon as 2026, teasing the potential for a cellular MacBook Pro in the same year. The first Apple modem chip will be limited to sub-6GHz 5G speeds, but the second-generation version will support faster mmWave technology, according to Gurman.

M6 Series Chip

2nm Process

Assuming Apple follows a similar timeframe to its M4 chip rollout, Apple will update the MacBook Pro lineup in October this year with M5 series chips. The chips will be manufactured with TSMC's third-generation 3nm process, known as N3P, resulting in typical year-over-year performance and power efficiency improvements compared to the M4 series of chips. M6 chips, on the other hand, could adopt a completely new packaging process for Apple's 2026 MacBook Pro models.

According to one rumor, Apple's A20 chip in next year's iPhone 18 models will switch from the previous InFo (Integrated Fan-Out) packaging to WMCM (Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module) packaging. WMCM integrates multiple chips within the same package, allowing for the development of more complex chipsets. Components such as the CPU, GPUs, DRAM, and Neural Engine would therefore be more tightly integrated. While we don't know for sure, this could see Apple develop the M6 using the 2nm process while taking advantage of WMCM packaging to make even more powerful versions of its custom processor.
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Siri's Biggest Upgrade Won't Arrive Until iOS 19 - MacRumors

iOS 18.4 is expected to be released in April with several new Apple Intelligence enhancements for Siri, including on-screen awareness, deeper per-app controls, and better understanding of a user's personal context. However, an even bigger upgrade planned for Siri is still more than a year away, according to a recent report.

A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said iOS 19 will introduce a "more conversational" version of Siri powered by "more advanced large language models." He said this upgrade will make Siri more like ChatGPT, allowing the assistant to "handle more sophisticated requests" and better respond to "back-and-forth conversations."

Apple will likely preview the more conversational version of Siri when it announces iOS 19 at WWDC 2025 in June, but Gurman said it will not be available until as early as spring 2026. That suggests the feature will be released as part of an iOS 19.4 update, which is likely to be released in March or April next year.

Siri was already inferior to competing voice assistants like Amazon's Alexa and Google's Assistant, and the rise of chatbots like ChatGPT and Google's Gemini set Siri even further behind. With the enhancements coming between the iOS 18.4 and iOS 19.4 updates, Siri should finally see some meaningful improvements.

The revamped Siri will require an iPhone 15 Pro or newer due to Apple Intelligence compatibility.Related Roundup: iOS 19
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New Apple TV and HomePod Mini Launching This Year With One Thing in Common - MacRumors

It was recently reported that new Apple TV and new HomePod mini models will launch this year, and the devices are expected to have one thing in common.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last month reported that the new Apple TV and the new HomePod mini will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip. Gurman said the chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, so that could end up being a key upgrade for both devices. Wi-Fi 6E extends the capabilities of Wi-Fi 6 to the 6 GHz band, enabling faster wireless speeds and reduced signal interference with a compatible router.

The current Apple TV from October 2022 supports Wi-Fi 6, and the upgrade to Wi-Fi 6E seems likely. It is unclear if the Wi-Fi 6E capability will be enabled in the next HomePod mini, however, as Apple has generally kept its HomePod speakers on older Wi-Fi versions. For example, the current HomePod mini supports outdated Wi-Fi 4.

Unsurprisingly, the next Apple TV is also expected to be equipped with a newer A-series chip for faster performance. The current Apple TV is equipped with the A15 Bionic chip that debuted in the iPhone 13 models in 2021. Apple has released several newer A-series chips since then, including the A16 Bionic, A17 Pro, A18, and A18 Pro.

The next Apple TV could have lower pricing. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that the next model could have a sub-$100 starting price. In the U.S., the current Apple TV is available with 64GB or 128GB of storage for $129 and $149, respectively.

No major design changes have been rumored for the next Apple TV, but Gurman said Apple has considered adding a built-in camera to a future model. tvOS 17 added a FaceTime app to the Apple TV, allowing for users to have video calls by using the rear camera on a connected iPhone or iPad. If the Apple TV gained a built-in camera, users would no longer need to rely on an external device for video calls on the TV.

As for the HomePod mini, likely upgrades for the next model include a newer "S" chip, improved sound quality, a newer Ultra Wideband chip for a lower-latency Handoff experience, and fresh color options. The current HomePod mini was released in November 2020 and uses the Apple Watch Series 5's S5 chip.

In addition to a new HomePod mini, Apple reportedly plans to release an all-new smart home hub at some point this year. The hub is expected to feature around a six-inch display that can be mounted on a wall, or attached to a tabletop base with a speaker, so the device could be similar to the HomePod mini in some ways.Related Roundups: Apple TV, HomePod miniBuyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy), HomePod Mini (Caution)Related Forums: Apple TV and Home Theater, HomePod, HomeKit, CarPlay, Home & Auto Technology
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How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Roundabout - Planetizen

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Roundabout Diana Ionescu Wed, 01/08/2025 - 06:00 Primary Image

Ah, the roundabout. A common sight in many global regions and a fearsome adversary for many American drivers.

But as the movement to install roundabouts and traffic circles — a type of intersection designed to keep traffic flowing, often without stoplights — John Surico wonders whether U.S. drivers can finally embrace the (incredibly efficient!) model. As Surico notes, “Nationwide, the US now has more than 10,000 roundabouts, a figure that’s doubled in a decade.”

In some U.S. communities where roundabouts have been installed, the backlash has been fierce. Yet “By just about all measures, the modern style of roundabout — where cars are meant to seamlessly yield in a circular pattern — are an easy win: They save lives, reduce traffic delays and cut emissions.”

Surico attributes the vitriolic opposition to roundabouts in part to a lack of familiarity and an image of roundabouts as only monstrous, multi-lane traffic circles. Cities that install more roundabouts at once tend to have more success as drivers learn to navigate them and become accustomed to them. In Carmel, Indiana, a bold experiment led by then-mayor Jim Brainard installed over 150 roundabouts across the city. Early opposition turned to strong support when residents began to notice the congestion relief and cost savings. The former mayor credits public outreach and education, which included informational TV spots and neighborhood meetings, with encouraging residents to understand and appreciate the benefits of roundabouts.

Geography World United States Category Infrastructure Transportation Tags

Publication Bloomberg CityLab Publication Date Mon, 01/06/2025 - 12:00 Publication Links Can American Drivers Learn to Love Roundabouts? 2 minutes

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Roundabout - Planetizen

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Roundabout Diana Ionescu Wed, 01/08/2025 - 06:00 Primary Image

Ah, the roundabout. A common sight in many global regions and a fearsome adversary for many American drivers.

Geography World United States Category Infrastructure Transportation Tags

Publication Bloomberg CityLab Publication Date Mon, 01/06/2025 - 12:00 Publication Links Can American Drivers Learn to Love Roundabouts? 2 minutes

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Now your phone can do homework and help with your taxes - Popular Science

Every app claims to save you time, but here’s one that actually does. It turns your phone into a personal assistant capable of digitizing receipts, doing your math homework, and editing documents. College students, anyone dreading tax season, and remote workers will get a kick out of iScanner.

You can try the app for free, but unlocking the full, ad-free experience normally costs $19.99 per year. Instead, you could grab an iScanner lifetime subscription for $27.99 with code FESTIVE30 at checkout and save a fortune (reg. $199.90). This offer ends January 12.

Simply tax season or daily work life

It’s already that time of year when you have to start thinking about filing your taxes. You might have to digitize employer forms, receipts, and other documents, and this document scanning app would mean you finally have an easy way to do it.

Instead of using a printer scanner that barely works (or “borrowing” the one at your office), just hold your iPhone or iPad above the page, and it automatically captures an image. AI tools adjust borders and straighten pages for a perfect scan.

Scanning everyday documents is also a breeze. iScanner has a suite of PDF tools you might use to sign documents, add text, insert images, or merge files.

Students, don’t think we forgot about you. Capture a page of complex math problems for iScanner to solve, take a picture of objects to count, or upload a photo to calculate object length or area.

Get lifetime access to this mobile scanner app for $27.99 with code FESTIVE30 at checkout (reg. $199.90) until January 20 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

iScanner App: Lifetime Subscription – $27.99 with code FESTIVE30

See Deal

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Il miglior Blog in Italia "a proposito di" Apple

AirPods 4 in offerta su Amazon, sconto da non perdere - TheAppleLounge

Tra le offerte odierne presenti quest’oggi su Amazon non potevamo non menzionare quella riguardante gli

Il miglior Blog in Italia "a proposito di" Apple

AirPods 4 in offerta su Amazon, sconto da non perdere - TheAppleLounge

Tra le offerte odierne presenti quest’oggi su Amazon non potevamo non menzionare quella riguardante gli

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iPhone 16 Still Banned in Indonesia Despite $1B Apple Investment Deal - MacRumors

Apple is still barred from selling iPhone 16 models in Indonesia despite agreeing to build a local production facility there, as it has not met domestic content rules, the country's industry minister said on Wednesday (via Reuters).

Indonesia's minister of industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, reportedly met with Apple's VP of global government affairs, Nick Ammann, on January 7 to discuss Apple's investment proposal. However, Agus later implied that the company's proposal was not yet adequate. "If it is $1 billion, then that is not enough," he told reporters after the meeting.

Last year, Indonesian authorities banned iPhone 16 sales after they determined Apple had failed to meet the country's requirement for 35% domestic content in smartphones. Apple has since offered a $1 billion investment in the country that includes building an AirTag factory. Apple's offer is a significant increase from its previous offers of $10 million and $100 million, which were rejected by the government.

Agus confirmed Apple had agreed to build a facility producing AirTag tracking devices on Indonesia's Batam island, close to Singapore, but that still would not count as a locally-made iPhone part.
"There is no basis for the ministry to issue a local content certification as a way for Apple to have the permission to sell iPhone 16 because (the facility) has no direct relations," he said, adding the ministry would only count phone components.Indonesia's investment minister on Tuesday said the factory would start operations next year. The agreement will be seen as a success for President Prabowo's efforts to attract foreign investment while demonstrating the effectiveness of Indonesia's strategy to pressure international companies into developing products locally. The country remains a significant market for Apple, with over half of its 278 million residents under the age of 44.Tag: Indonesia
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The House Price Map - Google Maps Mania

One of my favorite pastimes is searching for houses for sale in the UK and Europe. I love trawling real estate sites and discovering what kind of property I could buy if I sold my small terraced house in London. As a result of this almost daily exploration of real estate listings, you might say I have become obsessed with house prices and the cost of property in different areas of the UK.Which Keir Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07052313829398691711noreply@blogger.com0

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12365125

The House Price Map - Google Maps Mania

Il miglior Blog in Italia "a proposito di" Apple

iPhone SE 4 e iPad 11 in arrivo già a gennaio 2025? - TheAppleLounge

A quanto pare non sembra essere così lontano il lancio sul mercato del nuovo iPhone

Il miglior Blog in Italia "a proposito di" Apple

iPhone SE 4 e iPad 11 in arrivo già a gennaio 2025? - TheAppleLounge

A quanto pare non sembra essere così lontano il lancio sul mercato del nuovo iPhone

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Razer Shows Off Gaming Chair With Integrated Heating and Cooling - MacRumors

Razer today introduced Project Arielle, a next-generation conceptual gaming chair that it is developing. The mesh gaming chair has integrated heating and cooling functions thanks to a bladeless fan system located at the base of the backrest.

The chair offers three adjustable fan speeds for personalized cooling, and Razer says that the heat dissipation offered by the airflow can reduce perceived temperatures by up 2°C to 5°C in dry environments.

When it's cooler, there's a built-in heating system that uses energy-efficient PTC heatings delivering up to 30°C of warm air. According to Razer, the chair's noise level is as "soft as a whisper," with the various functions able to be controlled through a touch panel on the chair's arm.

Razer also demoed Project Ava, a conceptual AI gaming copilot designed to provide real-time insights from esports coaches and information on hardware optimizations to improve gaming performance.

As for products that are actually available, Razer debuted PC Remote Play for streaming full-resolution games from PCs to mobile devices, and a new Razer Blade 16 gaming laptop. Razer says that the new Razer Blade 16 is its thinnest gaming laptop to date, with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 laptop GPU and AMD Ryzen 9 AI processors. The Razer Blade 16 will launch in Q1 2025.Tag: CES 2025
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Technics EAH-AZ100 earbuds review: Magnetic fluid drivers deliver reference-grade sound - Popular Science

For anyone that spent time in clubs and around DJs any time between the 1970s and 2000s, the Technics brand is synonymous with its legendary SL-1200 line of pitch-shifting turntables. After a brief hiatus that ended thanks to the resurgence of vinyl, that heritage of bombproof direct-drive decks continues with the recently released SL-1300G—a turntable aimed more at audiophiles than festival headliners. In 2023, Technics released premium Bluetooth earbuds to extend its legacy from the LP bins into the streaming era. The company is back a year-and-a-half later with the flagship EAH-AZ100 (buy now for $299), a significant upgrade both inside and out. The earbuds are revealed today at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, but PopSci has been able to test them for a little under a month under embargo and we’ve walked away (and walked with them) impressed.

Disclosure: Our review sample was seeded during a press trip to Kyoto, Japan, paid for by Technics parent company Panasonic.

See It

The build

Of the many changes Technics made to these earbuds, the one that immediately jumps out is their size. Whereas the EAH-AZ80 was somewhat teardrop/shaped, the AZH-100’s housing is more compact and cylindrical and trims a gram off the weight (down to 6g per earbud). These stemless earbuds are a lot smaller than the typical Bluetooth earbuds we’ve tested, which came with a big advantage: they’re a lot more comfortable to wear. Once we popped them in, we could listen to hours without pressure or fatigue setting in. Technics includes multiple sizes of eartips in the box—we stuck with the standard medium, which are installed by default, and we recommend trying out a couple of tip sets before deciding which ones work best.

Our assessment is entirely subjective, and if you don’t like stemless True Wireless (TWS) earbuds, the EAH-AZ100s may not be for you. We didn’t have any trouble with them falling out of our ears, even during exercises like jumping jacks, but your experience will vary based on the shape of your ear. We initially thought that the reduction in size would result in lower battery life, but that isn’t the case. Technics says these earbuds can get up to 10 hours of use with ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) enabled using the AAC codec; that’s up from seven hours on the EAH-AZ80.

If you enable LDAC (Lossless Digital Audio Codec) streaming on a compatible device (select Android smartphones or a dedicated digital audio player), the EAH-AZ100s offer the same battery life as their predecessor while offering better audio quality—up to 20 Hz – 40 kHz using a 96kHz/990kbps connection. Technics also shrunk the size of the EAH-AZ100s case while offering increased battery life (18 hours up from 14 hours) with AAC enabled or 11 additional hours when LDAC is enabled.

Technics’ biggest technical addition to these earbuds is technology called the “Magnetic Fluid Driver,” first introduced in the Technics EAH-TZ700—a set of $1,199 wired earphones. Typically when reproducing sound, the driver (the part of a speaker responsible for making sound) will move around in slightly random directions. This tumbling will ultimately create distortion. Technics took a 10mm ultra-thin free-edge aluminum diaphragm then backed it with an infrastructure injecting oil-type liquid filled with magnetic particles into the space between the driver magnet and voice coil, resulting in more consistent movement.

It’s hard to describe the difference this makes, but once you hear the low-distortion playback, it’s difficult to go back to even other high-end earbuds. You can see a blown-up example of this accurate, linear assembly below.

To improve ANC performance, Technics moved one of the EAH-AZ100s’ microphones onto the inside of the bud, which made a bigger difference than I initially expected. With ANC enabled and music at 60 percent, any typical low-level noises—fans, footsteps, keyboard typing, and even a microwave—were completely eliminated. Louder sounds like cars honking could still get through, but the ANC performance of the EAH-AZ100s was well above average, giving noise-cancellation earbud champs Bose and the excellent QuietComfort Ultra a run for their money. A setting in the Technics app allows you to have the ANC adjust to the sounds around you automatically, or manually lower its efficacy to let more outside noises in. The earbuds also feature a passthrough mode that uses microphones to filter sounds through the buds, which can be helpful when exercising in public, or in an environment where you’ll be speaking to people semi-frequently.

The setup

We paired the EAH-AZ100s to several devices over the course of our testing, and the earbuds’ Bluetooth 5.3 radio had no trouble connecting to any of them. The earbuds will automatically enter a pairing state the first time they’re taken out of their case, which is convenient, at which point you need to navigate to the Bluetooth settings on your device and tap on them to connect. Once connected, you may be prompted to download the Technics app, which is required if you’d like to adjust their EQ settings, download new firmware, and check the battery life of their case or buds themselves.

The EAH-AZ100s will automatically connect to the first device they’ve been paired to, but you can re-enable their pairing mode by holding your fingers on both buds shortly after removing them from their case and inserting them into your ears. You’ll hear a voice prompt letting you know pairing mode has been enabled, at which point you can navigate to the Bluetooth settings on a second (or third) device to make the connection. The EAH-AZ100s will automatically connect to the three most recently paired devices in Bluetooth range each time you pop them into your ears.

This triple multipoint pairing feature was available on the EAH-AZ80, but it’s as consistent and impressive as ever. The ability to reliably pause music on my phone to watch a YouTube video, or play a game on my Nintendo Switch without worrying about dropouts and interference is incredibly freeing. Some earbuds don’t even offer two-device pairing, but Technics continues to be best-in-class in this area.

The sound

To put it simply: Listening to music and podcasts on the EAH-AZ100s for the past few weeks has been a blast. It didn’t matter if I was listening to the 2024 remix of George Harrison’s Living In The Material World or Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet—these earbuds could handle it all. I exclusively streamed music using Apple Music (set to lossless but compressed via the AAC Bluetooth codec) and 256Kbps audio files from my personal music library. The biggest difference I heard throughout all my listening sessions was improved bass. I could hear instruments in the entire lower frequency range a lot more clearly when compared with both the EAH-AZ80, the Bose QuietComfort Ultras, and Apple’s AirPods Pro 2. None of those earbuds sound bad, but the EAH-AZ100s offer better low-end sound more consistently. If you listen to bass-heavy music, these are the earbuds to get.

We listened to a mix of rock, pop, hip-hop, jazz, and spoken word during our listening tests and found tracks from each genre to be pleasing to the ear. Instrument separation was uniformly great—this will come down to the quality of a track’s mix—and listening to songs with a lot of different sounds happening simultaneously was a special treat. A great example of this was The Flaming Lips’ “Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell,” which features a pulsing bassline, several background sound effects, on top of echoey vocals. Each piece of the mix sounded clear and distinct when listening on the EAH-AZ100s, which was no small feat.

On the complete other end of the spectrum was Neil Young’s solo acoustic version of “Flying on the Ground Is Wrong” off his Live At The Cellar Door album. There’s an intimacy in both his voice and piano that you can pick up on immediately when listening on the EAH-AZ100s. The earbuds reward anyone who revisits tracks from deep in their music library to hear something extra in the background or a little more detail in a particular instrument.

The EAH-AZ100s offer support for Spatial Audio when listening to content with a Dolby Atmos mix, but the experience remains so-so. It’s no fault of Technics, I’m just not convinced yet by on-the-go immersive listening. While Spatial Audio tracks can sound more spacious—and enabling the head-turning mode, wherein the mix changes dynamically as you move your head, does mimic the experience of listening to music on speakers—I mostly stuck with listening in stereo. There’s no way to fully recreate the experience of listening to Dolby Atmos tracks on a true multi-speaker component system with forward and upward-firing drivers. However, if you’ve liked this feature on other earbuds, you’ll be pleased to find it here.

The conclusion

We’re only two weeks into 2025 and Technics has offered up a reference-grade pair of TWS earbuds. The EAH-AZ100s feel like a substantial leap over their predecessors in all of the ways that actually matter to consumers. They’re more comfortable, last longer, have better ANC, and have an all-new audio and microphone system. Rather than opting for a simple spec bump, Technics went back to the drawing board to offer actual results—proof that the venerable turntable brand is putting a new, well, spin on its identity and products.

You can pick up a pair of Technics EAH-AZ100 earbuds today for $299.99, while the EAH-AZ80 will remain available at $199.99.

The post Technics EAH-AZ100 earbuds review: Magnetic fluid drivers deliver reference-grade sound appeared first on Popular Science.

Apple, iPhone, iPad, Mac News and Rumors

Philips Hue App Gaining AI Assistant for Generating Light Scenes - MacRumors

The Philips Hue app will soon be updated with new functionality that will let users generate different light scenes using AI, Hue parent company Signify announced today.

A text phrase will be able to be used to generate a lighting scene with AI, offering more customization than the built-in scenes or scenes created from photos. Hue users will be able to generate scenes based on moods, styles, occasions, and more. A release date isn't available for the feature, but it is coming in 2025.

Hue Secure, which incorporates security cameras and features, is set to gain smoke alarm sound detection, iOS widgets, and integration with Amazon Alexa and Google Nest Hub.

Signify also updated the Philips Hue Sync TV app to support LG TVs, adding dynamic light synchronization for content from streaming apps to gaming consoles. The feature used to be limited to Samsung TVs, but it will launch on LG TVs in early 2025. The app is priced at $130.

Previously announced Impress outdoor lights and Datura ceiling panels will be coming to the United States in the near future, while the 8K Play HDMI Sync Box and Solo lightstrip will be expanding to additional countries. The Impress outdoor lights will be priced at $160 and will launch in mid-February, while the Datura ceiling panels are set to launch in March at a $300 price point.Tag: Philips Hue
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07 Gen 2025

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Apple Aiming to Launch iPhone SE 4 and iPad 11 'By April' - MacRumors

Earlier today, we reported on a proven leaker's claim that a new iPhone SE and iPad 11 would be released alongside iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Just minutes later, however, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman put the kibosh on that rumor.

In a follow-up social media post, Gurman said an iPhone SE replacement and new iPads are "being developed on the iOS 18.3 train," but that "doesn't mean" the software updates and the devices will launch simultaneously. Instead, Gurman said Apple is aiming to release the devices "by April," at some point "before iOS 18.4" is released.

So, there you have it. Sometimes one rumor quickly leads to another, and now we have a clearer timeframe for the launch of these devices.Related Roundups: iPad, iPhone SETag: Mark GurmanBuyer's Guide: iPad (Caution), iPhone SE (Don't Buy)Related Forums: iPad, iPhone
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CES 2025 Day 2: Power Banks, Chargers, Hubs and Other Cool Apple Acessories - MacRumors

CES 2025 is in full swing, and MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera is back with another video showcasing new and upcoming tech products. Today's video highlights a range of Apple accessories, including power banks, hubs, Qi2 chargers, Find My devices, and more.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Anker had a 25,000mAh power bank that can charge a MacBook at up to 165W, and it includes a retractable USB-C cable. Retractable cables are a popular accessory add-on this year, and we're seeing quite a few manufacturers adding convenient cables to their products.

Satechi has new Qi2 3-in-1 and 2-in-1 compact travel charging options in fun colors, along with matching Qi2 power banks. Satechi was also showing off its M4 Mac mini hub that adds USB-A ports, an SD card slot, and easy access to the power button to the Mac mini.

Moft had new wallets with built-in ‌Find My‌ support, and an iPad Pro case with a built-in iPhone holder for a dual-screen setup. Aukey had a 6-in-1 magnetic charger with added ports for powering multiple phones, an Apple Watch, and other accessories, along with a 3-in-1 charger with active cooling technology.

SanDisk had a MagSafe SSD for content creators, Flic Duo showed off a button with gesture-based controls for HomeKit devices, and OWC was demoing its Thunderbolt 5 SSD and hub. Scosche also had a Find My-enabled card tracker, a car charger with ‌Find My‌ so you can keep tabs on your car, and a a blood glucose monitor. Lockly had a Secure Pro lock with UWB for hands-free door unlocking with an ‌iPhone‌, and Plantaform showed off an indoor gardening machine that looks like a Keurig for plants.

Dan will be wandering the show floor for the rest of today, so make sure to stay tuned to see tomorrow's CES roundup video. We're also covering all kinds of announcements from CES, which you can check out at our CES 2025 hub, plus we did a CES Unveiled video yesterday.Tag: CES 2025
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Apple's WWDC 2025 Swift Student Challenge Starts on February 3 - MacRumors

The 2025 Swift Student Challenge that's taking place ahead of WWDC is set to begin on Monday, February 3, Apple announced today on its developer website.

With the Swift Student Challenge, students from around the world can showcase their coding skills and creativity by developing app concepts using Swift Playgrounds or Xcode. The contest also provides students with the chance to learn real-world skills that can be used in their future careers.

Apple plans to host an online session that will provide students and educators with more information on participating in the Swift Student Challenge. The session will explore the elements of great apps with an Apple engineer, provide tips from a former Challenge winner, and offer inspiration for app playgrounds. Apple has also updated Develop in Swift Tutorials to help students learn the foundations of coding.

Apple said it will select 350 winners based on "innovation, creativity, social impact, or inclusivity." 50 of the winners will be invited to spend three days at Apple Park in Cupertino, California this summer. The trip generally coincides with Apple's annual WWDC event, which is often held in June.

Back in October, Apple gave students a heads up that the Swift Student Challenge would take place in February, but exact dates weren't provided at the time. Submissions will open on February 3, 2025, and will remain open for a three-week period.
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Apple's WWDC 2025 Swift Student Challenge Starts on February 3 - MacRumors

Awe-inspiring science reporting, technology news, and DIY projects. Skunks to space robots, primates to climates. That's Popular Science, 150 years strong.

Behold the hybrid copter-robot that struts and leaps like a chicken - Popular Science

Despite their inability to take to the skies, birds like ostriches, emus, and chickens use their wings—they’re actually vital to their everyday movements. And unlike existing biomimetic robots that take their cues from high-flying birds, researchers at China’s Shandong University recently built a new, strutting machine inspired by terrestrial avians.

Credit: Zeng, et al. / Popular Science

“[H]umans swing their arms to counteract the angular momentum generated by their legs during high-speed movements, such as sprinting,” engineer Xianwu Zeng explained to TechXplore. “Similarly, ostriches and roadrunners use their wings for flight but flap them during rapid running, jumping, or sharp turns, where the wings serve as auxiliary mechanisms.”

With these biological influences in mind, Zeng and colleagues have designed KOU-III. Named in reference to Lie Yukou, a Chinese mythological figure capable of riding the wind, KOU-III is a small, bipedal robot that walks like a chicken, but utilizes a quadrotator system to assist leaping and sprinting. Zeng says that of all ground birds, however, KOU-III is particularly engineered based on the Red-Carpeted Manakin, which employs its wings during ritual courtship jumps.

According to their SSRN preprint paper, Zeng’s team explains that KOU-III’s rotors provide substantial torque for roll and pitch stabilization, as well as vertical lift. This allows the robot to pick up speed without tipping over due to its weight.

“Crucially, during airborne jumps, the robot’s posture can be rapidly adjusted using the rotors,” added Zeng.

In lab testing, KOU-III took 32 seconds to top out at a speed of 0.79 m/s (2.36 ft/s) while walking without its rotors engaged. Past that, however, and the robot’s stability gave out, causing it to topple over. With its rotors on, however, the bot maxed out at 1.1 m/s (3.6 ft/s). When it came to jumping, the rotors allowed KOU-III to jump up 35.2 cm (1.15 ft), which is over its actual height of 32 cm (1.04 ft).

“Building on the successful use of rotors as legged assistance mechanisms, we aim to explore other more efficient and safer auxiliary systems and develop corresponding motion control strategies,” Zeng said. The team believes real-world applications could include exploring narrow, uneven terrains like caves, and even clearing former battlefields of landmines.

The post Behold the hybrid copter-robot that struts and leaps like a chicken appeared first on Popular Science.

Apple, iPhone, iPad, Mac News and Rumors

Anker Launches New USB-C Portable Battery and Wall Charger With Smart Displays, Plus More Accessory Deals - MacRumors

Anker this week debuted a pair of new charging accessories, including a 25,000 mAh portable battery and 140W wall charger. Although these "high-power" Anker devices just went up for purchase today, you can already save $10 on each product when purchased on Anker's website.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Anker. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Starting with the 25,000 mAh Anker Power Bank ($89.99 with coupon), this accessory features two built-in USB-C cables and can charge up to four devices at once. The 4-Port Anker Wall Charger ($79.99 with coupon) can also charge four devices at once and comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable.

$10 OFFAnker High-Power Sale

Additionally, we're still tracking big discounts in Anker's New Year's sale, which still has a few days left and will end on January 15. This sale includes notable discounts on portable chargers, USB-C hubs, cables, and more.

This sale also features some matching Amazon discounts, including a low price on the popular 60,000 mAh Power Station with Smart Digital Display and Retractable Lighting. You can get this accessory for just $89.99 with an on-page coupon this week, down from $139.99.

Note: You won't see the deal price until checkout.
$50 OFFAnker Power Station with Display and Lantern for $89.99

Anker's deals all have on-page coupons that will be applied automatically when you head to the checkout screen. There are some products listed in the New Year's sale without deals, but you can get these marked down when purchasing two at the same time to get 20 percent off, or three for 25 percent off.

Prime Chargers

Prime Power Bank - $79.99, down from $89.99

Prime Charger (250W, 6 Ports, GaNPrime) - $149.99, down from $169.99

Wireless Chargers

MagGo 2-in-1 Wireless Charger Stand - $35.99, down from $49.99

MagGo 2-in-1 Wireless Charger Dock Stand - $37.49, down from $49.99

3-in-1 Cube with MagSafe - $103.99, down from $129.99

Power Banks

MagGo Magnetic Battery - $29.99, down from $39.99

10,000 mAh MagGo Power Bank for Apple Watch - $59.99, down from $79.99

10,000 mAh MagGo Power Bank with Stand - $69.99, down from $89.99

60,000 mAh Power Station With Display and Lantern - $89.99 with on-page coupon, down from $138.99

If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

Deals Newsletter
Interested in hearing more about the best deals you can find in 2025? Sign up for our Deals Newsletter and we'll keep you updated so you don't miss the biggest deals of the season!

Related Roundup: Apple Deals
This article, "Anker Launches New USB-C Portable Battery and Wall Charger With Smart Displays, Plus More Accessory Deals" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

Apple, iPhone, iPad, Mac News and Rumors

Anker Launches New USB-C Portable Battery and Wall Charger With Smart Displays, Plus More Accessory Deals - MacRumors

Prime Power Bank - $79.99, down from $89.99

Prime Charger (250W, 6 Ports, GaNPrime) - $149.99, down from $169.99

Wireless Chargers

MagGo 2-in-1 Wireless Charger Stand - $35.99, down from $49.99

MagGo 2-in-1 Wireless Charger Dock Stand - $37.49, down from $49.99

3-in-1 Cube with MagSafe - $103.99, down from $129.99

Power Banks

MagGo Magnetic Battery - $29.99, down from $39.99

10,000 mAh MagGo Power Bank for Apple Watch - $59.99, down from $79.99

10,000 mAh MagGo Power Bank with Stand - $69.99, down from $89.99

60,000 mAh Power Station With Display and Lantern - $89.99 with on-page coupon, down from $138.99

Awe-inspiring science reporting, technology news, and DIY projects. Skunks to space robots, primates to climates. That's Popular Science, 150 years strong.

Archaeologists find the 4,000-year-old tomb of an overachieving Egyptian magician - Popular Science

A team of archeologists in Egypt have discovered the 4,000-year-old tomb of a renowned royal doctor who was likely a venom expert. The remains were uncovered in Saqqara, the site of the ancient city of Memphis, about 25 miles southwest of Cairo. While there is evidence that looters have plundered the tomb, the walls were found intact and well decorated.

Engravings on the wall of the tomb at Saqarra in Egypt. CREDIT: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

“The tomb is adorned with stunning carvings and vibrant artwork, including a beautifully painted false door and scenes of funerary offerings,” the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a translated Facebook post.

From these elaborate decorations on the sarcophagus, the team from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities found that the remains belong to the royal doctor from the old state of Saqarra named Teti Neb Fu. He served during the reign of King Pepi II who became king during the sixth dynasty of ancient Egypt, between roughly 2305 and 2118 BCE. During Pepi II’s reign, Teti Neb Fu held several prestigious titles, including the chief palace physician, chief dentist, and director of medicinal plants. He also was a priest and a “magician” of the goddess Serket. Since Serket is the goddess of venomous creatures, scientists believe that Teti Neb Fu was an expert in treating venomous bites or stings.

A line of hieroglyphics in Teti Neb Fu’s tomb. CREDIT: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

The excavations in this portion of Saqarra began in 2022 and Kings from Egypt’s first dynasty and the Apis Bull that was the physical incarnation of the god Ptah have all been found. The graves of King PepiII’s other employees have also been uncovered near him and his wives. They have also found a stone coffin engraved with hieroglyphics bearing the name and titles of the owner of the cemetery.

Despite evidence of plundering, the walls of the tomb remain in tact. CREDIT: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Muhammad Ismail Khaled stressed that discovery is important as it reveals new aspects of daily life during the era of the Old State. It also indicates how well revered both magic and medicine were at this time, since Teti Neb Fu had such an elaborate burial. Ancient Egyptians are known to have attempted to treat brain cancer, diagnose diabetes, use crocodile dung for contraception, and may have been aware that some sitting positions could lead to bone damage. Over 3,000-year years, Ancient Egyptian physicians also learned a great deal about the human cardiovascular system, early dentistry, and worked on depression and dementia treatments. Since they were masters of embalming their dead, Ancient Egyptians also had a solid understanding of chemistry.

The practice of magic was also widely used in Ancient Egypt. According to the Brooklyn Museum, it was written that “Egypt was the mother of magicians,” during the Third Century BCE. There is also evidence of this in the Hebrew Bible, when Pharaoh is attended by magicians who compete with Moses and Aaron in performing marvels like turning their staffs into serpents. Ancient Egyptians also believed that the manipulation of written words, images, speech, and ritual could influence the world.

The post Archaeologists find the 4,000-year-old tomb of an overachieving Egyptian magician appeared first on Popular Science.

Awe-inspiring science reporting, technology news, and DIY projects. Skunks to space robots, primates to climates. That's Popular Science, 150 years strong.

The Shark 3-in-1 air purifier, heater, and fan we’re testing right now is cheaper than ever on Amazon - Popular Science

It’s cold pretty much everywhere right now, which makes a deal on an air purifying heater sound extremely appealing. Right now, Amazon has Shark’s 3-in-1 Max Air Purifier, Heater & Fan on-sale for $249. That’s down from its typical price of $449 and $50 off the $299 price tags you’ll currently find at many other big retailers. It’s not cheap, but it does provide several functions and it has an extremely powerful filter that can stand up to pets and rooommates who are still microwaving left overs they brought back from Christmas even though they’re way past their prime.

If that price tag is too steep for you in this post-holiday time period, but you still want clean air, scroll on for more air purifier deals.

Shark – 3-in-1 Max Air Purifier, Heater & Fan $249 (was $449)

Shark

See It

This time of year, furnaces blow dust and other irritants around your home as they keep you warm. That’s especially true if you have a pet. As a result, we consider a solid air purifier essential home equipment if you want to stay comfortable. This formidable tower comes equipped with a burly HEPA filter that exceeds typical standards. It can freshen the air over a 1,000 square foot space and it automatically adjusts its power depending on the amount of particulate in the air.

In addition to its dust-trapping chops, this device also doubles as both a heater and a fan. So, if you have a part of your home that the heat never seems to reach or you really want a fan to sleep without making you chilly, this is a great solution.

More air purifier deals

LEVOIT Air Purifier for Smart Home Bedroom $69 (was $89)
Kenmore PM2010 Air Purifiers with H13 True HEPA Filter $99 (was $119)
LEVOIT Air Purifiers for Home Large Room Up to 1800 Ft $159 (was $189)
LEVOIT Air Purifiers for Home Large Room Bedroom Up t o 1110 Ft $109 (was $139)
Coway Airmega AP-1512HH(W) True HEPA Purifier with Air Quality Monitoring $168 (was $229)
BLUEAIR Air Purifiers for Large Home Room, HEPASilent Air Purifiers for Bedroom $179 (was $299)
2 Pack Air Purifier for Home Bedroom with H13 True HEPA Filter for Smoke $67 (was $79)

The post The Shark 3-in-1 air purifier, heater, and fan we’re testing right now is cheaper than ever on Amazon appeared first on Popular Science.

Awe-inspiring science reporting, technology news, and DIY projects. Skunks to space robots, primates to climates. That's Popular Science, 150 years strong.

Aerodynamic sensors could speed up autonomous vehicles - Popular Science

If you live in one of the roughly dozen US cities where autonomous vehicles are present, you likely recognize them by their eye-catching, spinning tops. These high-tech flappers are filled with sensors—usually a mix of LiDAR, radar, and cameras—that serve as the eyes and ears for AVs to map the world around them. But those sensor stacks are often bulky, which can impede a car’s ability to cut through the air around it. That hindrance can force the car to use more energy to speed up and ultimately limit a car’s overall range. In current AVs, aerodynamic considerations can take a backseat to optimal sensor functionality.

Researchers from the Wuhan University of Technology in China, however, believe they may have found a solution that offers the best of both worlds. Using an optimization AI algorithm, the team was able to alter the structural shape of AVs sensors to improve the vehicles’ overall aerodynamic performance. When comparing their optimized sensor design against an AV with a standard setup in simulations, the optimized version resulted in a 3.44% decrease in total aerodynamic drag. That seemingly small difference can add up over time when driving for long distances. The researchers conducted a real-world wind tunnel test to validate their simulation findings and published the findings today in the journal Physics of Fluids.

Drag: the enemy of speed

Carmakers have spent the better part of a century tinkering with designs to fight aerodynamic drag–essentially, the opposing force a vehicle needs to overcome to move forward. Over time, cars have become more curved, and new features like pop-up headlamps, rear spoilers, and active grille shutters have been added in pursuit of helping the vehicles more efficiently displace the air around them. Engineers can determine a car’s aerodynamic ability by running it through tests in controlled wind tunnels. Those with a lower “drag coefficient” number are considered more aerodynamic.

Chunky autonomous vehicle sensors can complicate things. Waymo, the leading robotaxi company in the US, says a single one of its robotaxis has 29 cameras placed all around it. LiDAR sensors, which send out millions of laser pulses in all directions around the vehicle to create a 3D map, are even bigger and boxier. In their analysis, the Wuhan University of Technology researchers looked at how air flowed around an AV with a LiDAR sensor-equipped on its hood and found that the protruding mass significantly “delay[s] airflow separation.” More airflow separation also occurs at the tail of the vehicle where multiple sensors on either side of the bumper form a pair of air vortexes. In other words, all the sensors are essentially working together to trap airflow and ultimately make the vehicle less aerodynamic. It’s unclear exactly what model of AV was used for the research but a 3D figure shows a modern-looking crossover that resembles a Tesla Model Y or the Jaguar I-PACE used by Waymo.

Researchers made slight modifications to sensors near a car’s windows, hood, and back bumper to make it more aerodynamic. Credit: Yiping Wang

The researchers ran those findings through an optimization algorithm to look for ways they could subtly alter sensor shapes to cut down on drag. They eventually opted to reduce the height of the front side sensors which they say led to a decreased positive pressure zone and reduced drag. The leading edge of the roof sensor was also lowered which led to a “deflating effect” which reduced the direct impact of incoming airflow. The drag coefficients of both the new optimized model and the baseline model remained pretty similar until airflow reached the roof of the vehicle. Researchers said this finding “strongly indicates” that subtle changes to the roof sensors’ shape may make the biggest difference in terms of reducing drag in AVs.

Alteration made to the LiDAR sensor attached to car’s roof made the single biggest aerodynamic difference. Credit: Yiping Wang Aerodynamic sensors could help cut down on AV energy demand

“Externally mounted sensors significantly increase aerodynamic drag, particularly by increasing the proportion of interference drag within the total aerodynamic drag,” study author Yiping Wang said.

Current AV companies are aware of the aerodynamic challenges posed by their sensors. Waymo says it strategically places its sensors around a vehicle with the goal of maximizing its field of view (FOV). Prioritizing FOV is important for safety, but it can be at odds with overall vehicle performance and speed. AV makers have tried to correct this by making slight alterations to sensor mounting infrastructure. In Waymo’s case, the company says it has re-engineered a crossbar sensor placed over the top of an semi-truck’s windshield to cut down on drag.

“While this may look like a minor adjustment, it can lead to significant fuel efficiency savings over the lifetime of the vehicle,” Waymo wrote in a blog post.

These engineering changes may have limited real-world effects, for now at least. Robotaxis from Waymo and Amazon-backed Zoox are becoming more common but they are still mostly limited to slower, non-highway areas. The more immediate benefit of aerodynamically engineered sensors will likely come from long-haul, autonomous trucking. Even marginal reductions in drag during longer-distance trucking trips could result in faster delivery times and less overall energy used. That, in turn, could result in reduced costs for AV companies and the customers they are ultimately serving. Over time, less energy exertion may also help squeeze out some more use of highly resource-intensive EV batteries. Aurora, one of the leaders in this emerging category, plans to test its AV trucks on Texas roads without human safety drivers later this year.

“Looking ahead, our findings could inform the design of more aerodynamically efficient autonomous vehicles, enabling them to travel longer distances,” Wang added.

The post Aerodynamic sensors could speed up autonomous vehicles appeared first on Popular Science.

Awe-inspiring science reporting, technology news, and DIY projects. Skunks to space robots, primates to climates. That's Popular Science, 150 years strong.

Welcome to Woven City: Toyota offers first glimpse at futuristic town - Popular Science

Toyota announced the completion of Phase 1 construction plans for its “Woven City” project at CES 2025 in Las Vegas on Monday. First unveiled in 2020, the futuristic company town is being built near the base of Mount Fuji, and features what Toyota calls an “environmentally conscious and human-centric design aimed at enhancing people’s overall quality of life.”

As Gizmodo explained on Monday, Toyota first debuted its urban planning goals five years ago as many automotive companies publicized intentions to pivot from vehicles to the more nebulous concept of “mobility.” The basis for Toyota’s mobility philosophy mainly focuses on a push towards fleet electrification, eventually combined with autonomous driving software systems and e-commerce partnerships. Seven years’ later, and Toyota’s January 6th update indicates it still intends to stick to the plan through research and collaborations at facilities like Woven City.

Woven City is built on the site of a former Toyota production plant. Credit: Toyota

“Woven City… serves as a test course for Toyota’s transformation into a mobility company,” the automaker said, adding that the new town will help “redefine” the term by “expanding its scope beyond transportation to encompass the movement of people, goods, information, and energy for the benefit of individuals and society.”

Other companies confirmed to be involved in the Woven City experiment are Toyota Group’s WbyT, Daikin Industries, DyDo Drinco, Nissin, UCC Japan Co., and Zoshinkai Holdings. Each company is focused on software logistics, air conditioning, soft drinks, instant noodles, coffee, and education products, respectively.

Woven City will eventually work on rocket production. Credit: Toyota Woven City is meant to expand on Toyota’s ‘mobility’ concept. Credit: Toyota

UCC Japan is “exploring the potential value of coffee through futuristic cafe experiences,” for example, while Nissin will move beyond instant noodles towards “creating and evaluating food environments to inspire new ‘food cultures.’” Additional startups, universities, and research institutions will reportedly also be invited to contribute to Woven City through an accelerator program slated to open this summer.

Only 100 residents, mostly Toyota and WbyT employees, are initially moving into the renovated former site of Toyota’s Higashi-Fuji Plant in Susono City. These “Weavers” (named in reference to Toyota’s initial loom product line) will “share a passion for the ‘expansion of mobility’” along with a dedication to building a “more flourishing society.” An estimated 360 citizens will live in the space at the end of Phase 1. Once completed, Woven City will accommodate around 2,000 total resident Weavers working for “Inventors” (Toyota’s term for companies).

Woven City will accommodate around 2,000 ‘Weaver’ residents after its completion. Credit: Toyota

“Woven City is a test course for mobility where ‘Inventors’ who share a commitment to working ‘for someone other than themselves’ can develop, test, and validate innovative products and services… in the shared pursuit of ‘Well-being for All,’” Toyota explains.

This concept of “mobility” extends not just to land, sea, and air, but space, as well. Part of Monday’s announcement includes mention of a new investment by WbyT in Interstellar Technologies, Inc., intended to “leverage Toyota’s expertise to support the mass production of rockets.”

The post Welcome to Woven City: Toyota offers first glimpse at futuristic town appeared first on Popular Science.

08 Gen 2025

Hexagon acquisisce Septentrio, rivoluzionando il posizionamento per la navigazione e l'autonomia in applicazioni critiche - GEOmedia News

NHTSA Investigation Targets Tesla Remote Parking - Planetizen

NHTSA Investigation Targets Tesla Remote Parking - Planetizen

Even ants may hold grudges - Popular Science

Omaha Homeless Services Providers Struggle to Keep Up - Planetizen

Omaha Homeless Services Providers Struggle to Keep Up - Planetizen

Why your brain flushes itself of waste during sleep - Popular Science

AI is already changing the ways we fight cancer - Popular Science

Amazon Takes Up to $400 Off M4 MacBook Pro, Available From $1,449 - MacRumors

Amazon Takes Up to $400 Off M4 MacBook Pro, Available From $1,449 - MacRumors

Apple Watch Chips Now Being Made in the U.S. for the First Time - MacRumors

Apple Watch Chips Now Being Made in the U.S. for the First Time - MacRumors

NACTO Releases Updated Urban Bikeway Guide - Planetizen

NACTO Releases Updated Urban Bikeway Guide - Planetizen

These fish can mate 19 times per day - Popular Science

5 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's MacBook Pro - MacRumors

5 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's MacBook Pro - MacRumors

Siri's Biggest Upgrade Won't Arrive Until iOS 19 - MacRumors

Siri's Biggest Upgrade Won't Arrive Until iOS 19 - MacRumors

New Apple TV and HomePod Mini Launching This Year With One Thing in Common - MacRumors

New Apple TV and HomePod Mini Launching This Year With One Thing in Common - MacRumors

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Roundabout - Planetizen

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Roundabout - Planetizen

Now your phone can do homework and help with your taxes - Popular Science

AirPods 4 in offerta su Amazon, sconto da non perdere - TheAppleLounge

AirPods 4 in offerta su Amazon, sconto da non perdere - TheAppleLounge

iPhone 16 Still Banned in Indonesia Despite $1B Apple Investment Deal - MacRumors

iPhone 16 Still Banned in Indonesia Despite $1B Apple Investment Deal - MacRumors

The House Price Map - Google Maps Mania

The House Price Map - Google Maps Mania

iPhone SE 4 e iPad 11 in arrivo già a gennaio 2025? - TheAppleLounge

iPhone SE 4 e iPad 11 in arrivo già a gennaio 2025? - TheAppleLounge

Razer Shows Off Gaming Chair With Integrated Heating and Cooling - MacRumors

Razer Shows Off Gaming Chair With Integrated Heating and Cooling - MacRumors

Technics EAH-AZ100 earbuds review: Magnetic fluid drivers deliver reference-grade sound - Popular Science

Philips Hue App Gaining AI Assistant for Generating Light Scenes - MacRumors

Philips Hue App Gaining AI Assistant for Generating Light Scenes - MacRumors

07 Gen 2025

Apple Aiming to Launch iPhone SE 4 and iPad 11 'By April' - MacRumors

Apple Aiming to Launch iPhone SE 4 and iPad 11 'By April' - MacRumors

CES 2025 Day 2: Power Banks, Chargers, Hubs and Other Cool Apple Acessories - MacRumors

CES 2025 Day 2: Power Banks, Chargers, Hubs and Other Cool Apple Acessories - MacRumors

Apple's WWDC 2025 Swift Student Challenge Starts on February 3 - MacRumors

Apple's WWDC 2025 Swift Student Challenge Starts on February 3 - MacRumors

Behold the hybrid copter-robot that struts and leaps like a chicken - Popular Science

Anker Launches New USB-C Portable Battery and Wall Charger With Smart Displays, Plus More Accessory Deals - MacRumors

Anker Launches New USB-C Portable Battery and Wall Charger With Smart Displays, Plus More Accessory Deals - MacRumors

Archaeologists find the 4,000-year-old tomb of an overachieving Egyptian magician - Popular Science

The Shark 3-in-1 air purifier, heater, and fan we’re testing right now is cheaper than ever on Amazon - Popular Science

Aerodynamic sensors could speed up autonomous vehicles - Popular Science

Welcome to Woven City: Toyota offers first glimpse at futuristic town - Popular Science

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