Category: Technology

Today, at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, Honda revealed two concept EVs — a sedan dubbed the Saloon and the minivan-esque Space-Hub. Honda said it will develop a model based on the Saloon concept car for North American markets in 2026, before it eventually reaches other buyers in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South America and Africa. Additionally, the carmaker debuted a redesigned H logo that will be exclusive to its EV lineup.

The Saloon, which is its flagship concept EV, has an aerodynamic design and rides low to the ground. While the Space-Hub is quite a bit boxier and renders show it with seating that has passengers facing each other. Besides touting a spacious cabin, Honda did not share much about when or if it plans to actually manufacture a car inspired by the Space-Hub concept.

The first entries in Honda’s 0 Series lineup will feature advanced driver-assistive systems that pair with the carmaker’s Sensing Elite software. In the latter part of the decade, Honda expects the 0 Series to gain automated driving features through the integration of AI.

Around the same time the company expects to implement dramatic improvements to its battery technology, like fast charging from 15 to 80 percent in around 15 minutes and reducing battery degradation to less than 10 percent over 10 years. Those are bold goals, especially for a company that is a little late to the EV space.

We’re reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/honda-debuts-two-futuristic-0-series-ev-concept-models-at-ces-2024-225422387.html?src=rss 

Imagine being at a crowded convention or noisy bar and trying to have a conversation with someone across from you. It’s tough enough for people with hearing to focus on what the person is saying, not to mention those with hearing loss. Assistive technology company OrCam has rolled into CES 2024 with a host of new products including a set of devices and an iPhone app designed to help those with hearing loss deal with auditory overload. The platform is called OrCam Hear and after a quick hands-on at the show in Las Vegas, I’m pleasantly surprised.

OrCam Hear consists of a pair of earbuds and a dongle that plugs into any phone, and you’ll use the app to control who you want to listen to. The system listens to voices for a few seconds (via the dongle) and uses AI to create speaker profiles for each person that then allows you to “selectively isolate specific voices even in noisy environments.” This targets the issue sometimes known as the “cocktail party problem” that’s a challenge for hearing aids.

During a demo, my editor Terrence O’Brien and I spoke to two people whose voice profiles were already set up in the app. We stood around a table with Terrence on my right and the two company spokespeople across us about five feet away. I put the earbuds in (after they were sanitized), and the noise around me immediately sounded a little less loud and a lot more muffled. 

I looked at everyone around me and though I could see their lips moving, I couldn’t hear anyone speaking. After OrCam’s reps used the app to drag a floating circle into the ring surrounding me, I started to hear the person diagonally across me talk. And though the executive next to him was also moving his mouth, I could still only hear the voice of the person selected. Only after we moved the other speaker’s icon into the ring did I start to hear them.

What impressed me more, though, was how the system handled relatively new participants like Terrence. He didn’t have a profile set up in the app, and I initially couldn’t hear him at all. A few seconds into the demo, though, a new circle appeared with a gray icon indicating a new “Anonymous” person had been recognized. When we dragged that into the ring, I was suddenly able to hear Terrence. This was all the more impressive because Terrence was wearing a fairly thick mask, which would have made him hard to understand any way. Yet, I was able to clearly make out what he was saying.

The OrCam Hear isn’t perfect, of course. I was still able to hear the speakers as they talked, and the audio playing through the earbuds was slightly delayed, so there was a small echo. But people who have hearing loss, whom this product is designed for, aren’t likely to experience that. There was also some audio distortion when the selected speakers were talking, but not so much that it impeded my comprehension.

OrCam said that the Hear platform is “currently in a technology preview phase and is expected to be shipped later in the year.” Hopefully, that gives the company time to iron out quirks and make the app available on both iOS and Android, so that the assistive tech can be truly inclusive and accessible to more people.

We’re reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/orcam-hear-hands-on-a-surprisingly-effective-voice-isolation-platform-for-those-with-hearing-loss-230243953.html?src=rss 

The official X account belonging to the Securities and Exchange Commission was briefly “compromised,” the regulator said, after an apparently rogue post on X temporarily juiced bitcoin prices. 

On Tuesday, the SEC’s official X account tweeted that bitcoin ETFs had been approved “for listing on all registered national securities exchanges.” The tweet included an official-looking graphic featuring a quote from SEC Chair Gary Gensler. However, Gensler himself quickly clarified from his X account that the post from @SECGov was the result of a “compromised” account.

“The @SECGov twitter account was compromised, and an unauthorized tweet was posted,” Gensler wrote. “The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products.”

The confusion comes as the SEC is, in fact, considering whether to approve spot bitcoin ETFs, investment funds that hold the cryptocurrency. The regulator is expected to make a decision Wednesday in a process that has been closely watched by crypto investors.

Naturally, the now-deleted tweet from the SEC’s official (and gray check-verified) account on X prompted a momentary surge in bitcoin prices, followed by a steep decline. The post and subsequent clarification from Gensler “wiped out over $50 million of leveraged derivatives trading positions within an hour,” according to and analysis from CoinDesk.

For now, it’s unclear exactly how the SEC’s X account was “compromised.” In a statement, an SEC spokesperson told Engadget that “the unauthorized tweet regarding bitcoin ETFs was not made by the SEC or its staff.” The regulator has so far given no indication about whether it intends to approve any spot bitcoin ETFs this week.

X didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-secs-x-account-was-apparently-compromised-to-falsely-claim-bitcoin-etfs-were-approved-230034839.html?src=rss 

Right now there are a bunch of companies trying to figure out new and better ways to work on the go. Lenovo made a laptop with two displays and a detachable keyboard to help give owners additional screen space without too much added bulk. And there are headsets from Meta, Apple and others that offer a way to create a completely virtual workspace without the need for a tethered PC. But with the Spacetop, startup Sightful has come up with an in-between solution that uses the bottom of a laptop, but instead of a traditional display, it’s attached to a pair of AR glasses.

In theory, the glasses provide a 100-inch virtual display that can hold more windows than you could ever fit on a traditional laptop screen. And with the Spacetop being powered by Android, you get a familiar working environment too. Instead of controllers or hand gestures, there’s a typical keyboard and touchpad for writing, browsing the web or anything else you might need to do. But after trying one out, while I like the idea, I’m not so sure about Sightful’s execution.

The system is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chip (the same processor Meta used in the Quest 2 from 2020), just 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It feels smooth, though I wouldn’t necessarily call it fast. I didn’t notice much lag when dragging windows around or typing, but I didn’t get to see how it handles a ton of open apps or anything more demanding than a web browser. Sightful has also come up with some simple shortcuts for doing things like re-centering the screen (just press the left and right Shift keys at the same time).

The issue I ran into is that, while Sightful developed the base of the laptop itself and put its logo on the side of the glasses, the bundled AR eyewear attached to the PC is actually off-the-shelf specs from Xreal (in this case the Xreal Lights). So while Xreal glasses are somewhat sharp, their narrow field of view (especially vertically) and somewhat small sweet spot left a lot to be desired when it came to actually using that 100-inch virtual display.

Additionally, the Spacetop’s keys felt spongy and its touchpad was lackluster too. It’s a far cry from the more precise haptic surfaces you’d get on a premium Mac or Windows PC. And when you combine all this with a starting price of $2,000, I just don’t see the appeal. For people who already have a laptop, I’d argue you’d be much better off getting a Meta Quest 3, which costs $500, sports a much newer chip and can sync with your laptop to create its own version of a virtual desktop. Plus then you’d have a headset that’s way better at playing games, watching movies and more.

There’s a reason why Meta, Apple and others have sunk billions of dollars into making headsets and glasses with finely tuned optics. And I’m sure someday (maybe even sometime in the next few years), off the shelf AR glasses will make some pretty big advancements. But between its high price, dated specs, and a big, but not great-looking virtual display powered by two-year old AR glasses, the Spacetop doesn’t quite deliver on the promise of revolutionizing the common laptop.

We’re reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-spacetop-is-a-laptop-that-really-wants-to-swap-your-screen-for-ar-glasses-ces-2024-233638523.html?src=rss 

Palworld, often described as “Pokémon with guns,” finally has an Early Access release date. In addition to its violent battles, the game tackles labor exploitation themes with a sardonic sense of humor while adding (perhaps) just enough changes to evade Nintendo’s lawyers. It launches in Early Access on Steam and Game Pass on January 19.

At first glance, Palworld’s trailers make the game look like a simple and charming 3D open-world riff on Pokémon. You’ll see battles with strange monsters, vaguely resembling those in the creature collecting franchise, including players capturing them inside a sphere after a victory.

But Palworld also takes things to darker places Nintendo would never dream of. For example, take this slice of developer Pocketpair’s Steam FAQ about the game. In response to “What kind of game is this?”, it reads, “Pals can be used to fight, or they can be made to work on farms or factories. You can even sell them or eat them!”

A section of the FAQ on building reads, “Want to build a pyramid? Put an army of Pals on the job. Don’t worry; there are no labor laws for Pals.” On factories and automation, it says, “Letting Pals do the work is the key to automation. Build a factory, place a Pal in it, and they’ll keep working as long as they’re fed — until they’re dead, that is.” The game’s trailers showcase piles of Pal corpses to prove the point.

For yet another example of the game’s dark undertones, take the video above, “Using Pals Efficiently.” “To build a great base, catch a Pal and make it work,” the voiceover says, repeating the last part twice for emphasis. Simultaneously, we see various Pokémon-like monsters sweating away constructing the player’s headquarters.

The narration continues: “Creating a productive base like this,” as we see a yard full of Pals swinging hammers, “is the secret to living a comfortable life in Palworld.” The player circles them, holding an assault rifle to ensure they’re on task.

Palworld will be available in Early Access on January 19 at 00:00 PST. You can catch them all — and put them to work — on Steam and Game Pass (Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and Windows).

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/pokemon-with-guns-satire-palworld-launches-in-early-access-on-january-19-185152491.html?src=rss