Wave Hello to Amazon’s New Drone
Amazon has filed a patent for a highly responsive drone that is extremely sensitive to human gestures. The drone is designed to recognize when a customer is waving or shouting and respond accordingly. Some of the gestures the drone would understand include pointing, waving, speech, and light flashes. The drone interprets the human gesture for instruction on how to deliver the package and adjust its speed and movement. The drone will also be fully equipped with light sensors, depth sensors, visible light cameras, infrared cameras, auditory sensors, and depth awareness cameras.
(Source: The Verge)
Self-Driving Uber Kills Pedestrian
On Sunday, a self-driving vehicle hit and killed a pedestrian in Temple, Arizona. The 49-year-old woman, Elaine Herzberg, was struck by the gray Volvo, which was operated by Uber, at about 40 mph. Although the vehicle was self-driving, there was, in fact, a man behind the wheel. The question at hand is who is at fault: the vehicle or the man behind the wheel? With self-driving cars so near in our society’s future, the safety of the vehicles and qualifications of drivers are being drawn into question. Police are investigating this unique situation and will make further decisions soon. In the meantime, Uber has temporarily halted its self-driving operations in all cities where it’s been testing its vehicles, including Tempe, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto.
(Source: CNET)
GoPro Goes Everywhere
GoPro announced a multi-year deal with Jabil which will allow GoPro camera lenses to be used in 3rd party manufacturing. The cameras will be used in products ranging from police body cameras to video conference calls. This is the first time in history that GoPro has allowed their technology to be used in products not specifically created by GoPro. This move may indicate that the company is ready to expand from the camera segment and move into other markets. For now, the deal only applies to manufacturers creating products that will not compete with GoPro merchandise.
(Source: TechCrunch)
