This episode is all about robots! Apple robots, military robots, delivery repots, preacher robots, manufacturing robots, and self driving car robots! Bryan Chaffin is joined by guest host John Martellaro to deep into what’s happening with robots today and what they expect for robots in the future. Put your SciFi futurist cap on for this one. They also talk about foldable phones, or as they like to think of it, the netbook of 2019.
CES - Toyota Working on Fighter-Jet Inspired Safety Tech for Cars, Wants to Share it
I’m not sure what to make of this yet, but it’s super interesting. The Toyota Research Institute—a research arm of the automaker that dabbles in AI, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and other things—thinks it has a way to use technology from the world of fighter jets to make cars safer, and they’re calling it “Guardian for all.” That’s crazy cool by itself, but TRI says it wants to share it with other automakers. In a crazy-competitive market, that’s unusual, too. That said, it’s not ready for market, and even TRI doesn’t yet have a plan for deploying it. Here’s a description from TechCrunch:
The inspiration was modern-day fighter jets, which use a low-level flight control system to translate the intent of the pilot and keep the aircraft stable and tucked neatly inside a specific safety envelope. TRI calls it blended envelope control, an approach that lets its “Guardian” driver assist system combine and coordinate the skills of the human driver and the vehicle they’re driving.
Tim Cook Discusses Coming Out with CNN
Tim Cook discussed his sexuality, his legacy and Apple’s development of autonomous technology with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.
Food, Walmart, PostMates Offer Delivery via Self-Driving Vehicles
Ford and Walmart are working together on a pilot scheme that uses self-driving cars for deliveries.
Former Employee Arrested before Boarding Plane to China for Stealing Apple IP
Xiaolang Zhang admitted to the FBI that he had downloaded data from Apple’s networks to his wife’s computer before leaving Apple.
Apple Registers New Macs, Yelp's Victory, and the Future of Cars - ACM 469
It seems Apple has registered 5 new Macs and iPads with a European regulatory agency. Better yet, the operating systems tagged to go with these not-yet-announced devices suggests they could come soon. Bryan Chaffin adn Jeff Gamet also discuss why you should be happy Yelp won a major court fight, regardless of whether you like Yelp. For their third segment, they take on viewer questions about this so-called car revolution.
YouTube Mark Rober Has Been Working on VR with Apple's Self-Driving Car
Mr. Rober is known to his 3.4 million YouTube subscribers for his science-related videos, but starting in 2015, he went to work for Apple, apparently on a virtual reality project.
Apple's Unusual Situation with its Struggling HomePod
Apple, as it always does, created a unique vision for the HomePod. The device is cool, but the product concept may have been off the mark. Now, Apple will adjust.
The Facebook Dance, Autonomous Cars, and our AI Future - ACM 454
Bryan and Jeff discuss the ongoing #deletefacebook discussion and whether it’s a tempest in a teapot. They also talk about autonomous vehicles, regulation, and our future with driverless cars, and also our future with artificial intelligence.
Apple Nearly Doubles Autonomous Car Test Fleet to 45 Just Since January
There are now 45 permitted Apple autonomous vehicles on the road in California, up sharply from 27 in just January.
Autonomous Cars That Kill People Will Kill The Technology. For Good
Americans are on edge and hypersensitive about how technology is persistently failing them in very big and catastrophic ways. For autonomous cars to succeed, the probability that they’ll kill a human can’t be low; it has to be essentially zero. Right from the outset.
Understanding Uber's Autonomous Car Fatality - TMO Daily Observations 2018-03-20
Dave Hamilton and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to look at the Uber self driving car fatality, people’s reactions, and how the government may respond.
Fatal Crash Leads Uber to Halt Autonomous Car Tests
Uber suspended its autonomous vehicle test program in the U.S. Monday after a woman was struck and killed by one of the company’s test vehicles in Tempe, AZ.
Roku Beats Up on Apple TV 4K and Loves it. Here's How
Roku is the market leader in set-top streaming boxes, and the company finds ways to continue beating up on Apple.
It Makes No Sense For Apple to Create Original TV Content
Apple has been all about making our digital lives better with beautifully integrated hardware and software. What’s the thinking behind a billions dollars to compete with Netflix and Amazon?
Apple's Titan Car Struggle, iPhone 8 vs. Samsung Galaxy 8 - TMO Daily Observations 2017-08-24
John Martellaro and Jeff Butts join guest-host Bryan Chaffin to talk about Apple’s perils an lessons in trying to make a car. They also discuss the perennial topic of whether this is the year when—finally—Apple can’t compete with whatever Samsung announced earlier in the year. (Spoiler: no, it’s not.)
Apple's Perilous and Stumbling Project to Build an Autonomous Car
Once upon a time, Apple thought it could go from zero to 100 in the car business with no prior experience. We’re now seeing how hard it turned out to be.
The Silofication of Movies and TV, LOL Fitbit, and Fooling Self-Driving Cars - ACM 423
Disney said it’s pulling its huge portfolio from Netflix in 2019, and Bryan and Jeff are concerned that the silofication of more and more content will be bad for consumers. They also chat about Fitbit’s plans for a smartwatch…ah, we’re just kidding. LOL Fitbit. Oh, and it turns out it’s pretty easy to fool a self-driving car.
AAPL Conference Call Quirks and Can Apple Be the Microsoft of Cars? - ACM 422
Could Apple be the Microsoft of cars? Bryan and Jeff dig deep into this idea, as well as some of the quirkier aspects of Apple’s quarterly conference call with analysts. They also chat about the importance of Apple Park.
Peering into the Real Future of AI, AR, VR, and Self-Driving Cars - ACM 421
Bryan and Jeff don their futurist hats and explore what they think is the real future of augmented reality, virtual reality, AI, smarthomes, and self-driving cars.
