Toyota and Aurora start testing their robotaxi fleet in Texas

Mar24
by on March 24, 2022 at 5:11 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


Toyota and Aurora Innovation, a US developer of self-driving systems, just started testing autonomous robotaxis in Texas. What you need to know: The test fleet consists of custom-made Toyota Sienna vehicles, retrofitted with Aurora’s self-driving system, the Aurora Driver. The hybrid electric vehicles are built on Toyota’s specially designed “Sienna Autono-MaaS” (S-AM) platform, can go up to 96km/h, and rely on Aurora’s proprietary FirstLight LiDAR for safe driving at highway speeds. Aurora’s testing the fleet on highways and suburban streets in the Dallas-Fort-Worth area, with the operation including trips en route to an airport. The rides are taking place with…

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That Bored Apes company got a $4B valuation. Now they’re promising a metaverse

Mar23
by on March 23, 2022 at 3:04 pm
Posted In: Hard Fork


It’s been a blockbuster month for Yuga Labs, the owner of the Bored Apes Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs. First, it acquired two other popular NFT projects: Crypto Punks and Meebits. Second, it announced the listing of the ApeCoin token on leading exchanges. And last, but not least, the company raised $450 million from marquee investors like a16z crypto, web3 gaming company Animoca Brands, and FTX cryptocurrency exchange. Now, it’s valued at over $4 billion. With this latest funding the firm has announced its metaverse plans — as one does in web3. Now that Yuga Labs has popularity and money, it…

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Zoom’s launch of animal avatars is a balm for video call fatigue

Mar22
by on March 22, 2022 at 4:00 pm
Posted In: Plugged


Last year, the story of a lawyer turning up to a hearing on a Zoom call with a cat filter went viral. It was hilarious and absurd. But the folks at Zoom seem to have liked it so much, they’re introducing animated animal-based avatars to sit in on your video calls. Think of this as animoji, but for conferencing. Let’s dig into this a bit more. Animal avatars? How will they work? When you turn on your avatar, your background will disappear, and your face will turn into an animal, like a cat or a dog. By following your face…

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