New Atlas

Robotics Audio available

Amazon launches autonomous delivery service using six-wheeled robots

Nick Lavars January 23, 2019

Amazon has today kicked off trials of ground-based robots to make deliveries. Six of the six-wheeled Scout robots will start rolling down the sidewalks of a Washington neighborhood using autonomous navigation to reach their destination.

Home Entertainment Audio available

Are you ready for the great streaming wars of 2019?

Rich Haridy December 30, 2018

Over the next 12 months several major players will enter the streaming game, challenging Netflix's supremacy and massively complicating the world of film and television. Disney, Warners, Apple, and Facebook are just the tip of the iceberg in the oncoming streaming wars.

Netflix is set to face some major new competition in the streaming world over the next ...

Around The Home

Alexa-enabled Big Mouth Billy Bass delivers news straight from the fish's mouth

Michael Irving December 2, 2018

If you went anywhere near a rec room or a gift shop in the early 2000s, you probably remember Big Mouth Billy Bass, that motion-sensing, singing, rubber fish. Now, to reel in those customers that got away, there’s a new version of the iconic gag gift that baits the hook with Alexa integration.

Big Mouth Billy Bass is now Alexa-enabled

Computers Audio available

Amazon tempts developers to machine learning with toy race car

Paul Ridden November 29, 2018

The AWS DeepRacer is a 1/18th scale all wheel drive monster truck that's aimed squarely at budding developers, who will create reinforced learning models in software, test them on a virtual race track and then train the toy car proper to compete in a real-world global racing championship.

The DeepRacer is being offered as a way for developers to try out reinforcement learning

Health & Wellbeing Audio available

Isolated Amazon tribes reveal clue to source of high blood pressure in the West

Rich Haridy November 14, 2018

A study of two isolated South American tribes has shed light on the influence of diet in the onset of hypertension, upending the common consensus that higher blood pressure is a direct, and inevitable, consequence of aging.

The isolated tribe showed no increase in blood pressure as they age, compared to a nearby ...

Mobile Technology

Amazon's IPX8-rated Kindle Paperwhite can be dunked underwater for 60 minutes

Nick Lavars October 16, 2018

Amazon has rolled out yet a thinner and lighter Paperwhite with double the storage. The new version brings some premium trimmings to Amazon’s mid-level e-reader, most notably in the form of high-level waterproofing for relaxing reading in tub or by the pool.

The new Kindle Paperwhite is the first in the series to feature IPX8 waterproof rating

Electronics

Amazon has a host of new Echo and Alexa devices to smarten up your home (and car)

David Nield September 20, 2018

In an announcement-packed press show that seems to be becoming an annual event for Amazon, the company has unveiled a host of different Echo-branded and Alexa-powered devices for 2018, including redesigned speakers and a smart microwave. We've got the details on everything that's new.

Amazon has a host of new and improved Echo devices for the holiday season

Architecture

Peruvian students claim World Architecture Festival's inaugural water prize

Nick Lavars August 16, 2018

As part of its annual jamboree celebrating the best in design from around the globe, the World Architecture Festival will this year introduce a new award that tackles the critical challenges around water scarcity.

A team of Peruvian students have claimed the inaugural Water Research Prize at the World Architecture ...

Computers

Amazon under pressure to stop selling facial recognition tech to police

Rich Haridy June 18, 2018

Days after the first shots were fired in a looming UK legal battle questioning law enforcement uses of facial recognition technology, Amazon has been bombarded with a massive petition and several letters demanding it stop providing a similar technology to governments and law enforcement.

Amazon is under increasing pressure from civil rights groups and shareholders to stop selling its facial ...

Around The Home

Amazon's Fire TV Cube brings voice control to your whole entertainment setup

Michael Irving June 7, 2018

Amazon has announced the latest in its line of Alexa-enabled streaming devices, the Fire TV Cube, which lets you bark voice commands at the TV and other devices from across the room, and access other Alexa mainstays like weather and sports updates.

Amazon's Fire TV Cube lets you bark voice commands at your TV and other devices