Google Photos can now recognize pets just as it does with people.

Google Photos users should now find it easier to look back at the photos of their furry friends and see how much they’ve grown. They will do so as Photos has just announced that it should now be capable of detecting pets, just as it already is distinguishing people.

Just as with individuals, this new service will start grouping photos of one or more pets, without the need for additional filters.

Google Photos, Pet-Friendly but Still in the Works

Google Photos’ latest update started rolling out on Monday, October 16 and should be available or go live soon in most countries where Google offers its services.

This latest feature works similarly to the facial recognition-based people sorting. Photos of pets should start showing in a separate label, alongside those of people. Just as with these latter, users can label them by name, which will make it even easier to search for your dog when you also have a cat, for example.

Thanks to these labels, users will find it easier to take a look back at their furry friends and their evolution and growth, without having to use general tags such as “cat” or “dog” when searching for them.

Grouping all the photos of your pet in a single place also makes it easier to create albums or even movies with them. Google Photos will even help them create a photo book.

This is generated in a similar way to the “pawesome videos” that started appearing in May.  Users can make a movie or a picture book of their pets by simply selecting their favorite photos, followed by just a few more clicks. Photos also already comes with six pet-inspired songs that can be chosen either when creating a new movie or if the user doesn’t like the soundtrack of the Google-created video.

In general, users can also search for a specific dog or cat breed by tying in their name or using the corresponding emoji, if it exists.

Image Source: Pixabay

A team of scientists developed a new type of soft artificial muscle useful in robotics.

Scientists have developed a new type of artificial muscle that is softer and does not rely on external equipment. According to reports, this new, 3D printed invention can lift up to 1,000 its own weight or three times as more as a natural muscle. It also boasts of a strain density or expansion per gram fifteen times higher than that of this latter.

This Latest Soft Artificial Muscle, Another Step Towards Lifelike Robots

Columbia University School Of Engineering and Applied Science researchers are behind this latest technology. Their artificial muscle is composed of a silicone rubber matrix, one that is peppered with ethanol microbubbles.

The material gets electrically actuated through the use of a low-power charge that is administered via a small, resistive wire. This new type of synthetic muscle also doesn’t require external compressors or equipment.

Generally, this latter help regulate pressure in hydraulic or pneumatic inflation. However, such components take up a lot of space. They are also a hurdle in the design of smaller or autonomous machines.

Hod Lipson, the mechanical engineering professor and study lead points out that science has been making “great strides” in the development of robotic minds. However, he also underlines the fact that robot bodies are still fairly “primitive”.

“This is a big piece of the puzzle and, like biology, the new actuator can be shaped and reshaped a thousand ways. We’ve overcome one of the final barriers to making lifelike robots,” continued Lipson.

The newly created soft artificial muscle could be a step forward and a significant component in the field of soft material robotics. This segment has been reporting significant advancements and breakthroughs. However, there are still ‘plenty’ of movements which rigid robots are still unable to replicate.

Grasping and manipulation are considered actions that require a certain level of finesse. Thanks to the new synthetic muscle, robots might soon have a gentler touch when picking up things, one that does not damage them.

Such machines might come to be of assistance in medical context, for example, state researchers. The artificial muscle might also come to be considered useful elements in next-generation prosthetics, point out scientists.

A study paper was released in the journal Nature Communications. 

Image Source: FreeGreatPicture

Apple announced the official release date of its new macOS High Sierra.

Apple held its latest iPhone Event 2017 on September 12, Tuesday, after which it updated its webpage with the newest information about more than just its smartphones. The company announced the official release date of its macOS High Sierra operating system, although it did not release any additional details besides this.

However, it did reveal some further information on the operating system it has been working on, for example, the tvOS, and watchOS.

macOS High Sierra to Become Officially Available in September

According to the latest statement from Apple, the macOS High Sierra will be released for general use on September 25. This new macOS version was first presented back in June, at the WWDC developer conference.

Apple writes that “New technologies at the heart of the system make your Mac more reliable, capable, and responsive – and lay the foundation for future innovations”.

This operating system will reportedly ‘re-architecture’ the way in which the user data is stored and should also improve the quality of its video streaming. In turn, this latter should unleash the full potential of this OS’s graphics processors. In general, High Sierra will look to introduce new core technologies meant to improve the Mac’s most important functions.

The system changes also mean some alterations to the system’s basic apps. For example, the Photos one will be receiving some new features intended to keep it up to date and running. Some of these will be the introduction of more editing tools, new filtering options, as well as the possibility to reorganize the toolbar.

Safari users might be pleased to find out that a new feature in its settings will let them block videos on the web from auto-playing. SSD users will be getting a new file system, and the fact that the Mail app will be compressing messages are just some of the changes which will come with the macOS High Sierra.

High Sierra will follow the usual updates path in the sense that it will be a free upgrade, and will become available in the Mac App Store. This new version will also be introducing ‘the latest security updates’.

Apple presents High Sierra as “It’s macOS at its highest level yet”.

Image Source: FreeGreatPicture

Adobe’s Lightroom app for Android saw a complete redesign while the iOS app saw new features.

Adobe just released some important changes to its Lightroom app as this saw a redesign in its Android variant and is getting new features on the iOS one.

iPhone and iPad users will soon be seeing an added support for the Android selective brush as well as updated interface for iPad, among others. But the biggest changes were brought to the Android Lightroom app.

Although an efficient version, this was touted as being a mobile version of the desktop experience. Now, thanks to the redesign, users may start using a version that actually feels native for mobile, and snappy enough for it, according to some.

Lightroom App Redesigns Should Make Them Easier to Use

Adobe released a statement which declared that: “We wanted to provide the best Android experience possible so we redesigned Lightroom for Android from the ground up to be faster, more efficient, and, well, more Android-y.”

This continued by pointing out that every screen of the app has been redesigned so that they will ensure a native, natural experience on Android. These should also help provide the highest quality in editing and a “professional-grade mobile photo editing app”.

Still, according to reports, it will still take some time before Android users will be able to use features such as the Selective Brush or the Details tab. This latter gives the editor a global control over noise reduction and sharpening. The Selective Brush will come to complement the readily available radial and linear gradients.

Both these features arrived first on iOS and will probably make their debut on Android a while later.

The Android variant is not the only one to get a new face, as the iPad version interface was also redesigned. This could be a way of taking advancing of a larger screen without losing its performance.

Image Source: Flickr

Google recently released the Blocks app, which lets users create VR content.

Earlier this week, on July 06, Google released its new Blocks app, which will allow any interested user to create objects and art for the virtual reality (VR) medium. Blocks will be available for free for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. There has been no news, presently, about a Daydream release as well.

Blocks App, a Companion for the Tilt Brush

Tilt Brush, Google’s painting app, is held as being one of the best applications for creating high quality, very detailed and fine VR art. However, this is also making it quite ‘intimidating’ to more casual users.

So Google has now released a new tool, which will be more readily available to all those looking to create VR content. Through its Blocks app, the giant company is simplifying the content creation process in VR. The new application also uses tool specially designed for this very purpose.

Users will be able to build colorful 3D models by using blocks that resemble ones used in children’s games. The app is supposed to be intuitive enough as to be readily utilized by all users, from newcomers to more specialized users.

It should also be full-featured and attractive enough as to be capable of returning artistically compelling models. Google already collected such examples, which set the base for an online gallery.

Users are also not limited to just the Blocks app. They can export and share their objects by making them viewable online. The creations can also be placed in 3D scenes both inside and outside of VR, for example, in AR. On the Google Blocks site, they can also be spun around, which will create animated and downloadable GIFs.

At least for the moment, the Blocks app seems to be aiming for a lower level of realism than most similar such applications. While this may not advantage professional artists, it could benefit beginners and developers.

Available for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, the Blocks app can be downloaded from Steam and the Oculus Store.

Image Source: Pixabay

Swedish investigators are analyzing the usefulness of having drones deliver AEDs.

A team of Swedish researchers has been examining the possibilities and efficiency of using drones for responding to medical emergencies. Namely, they have been studying their utility in trying to help people suffering from cardiac arrest.

Specialists in other areas are already testing the possibility of using drones in delivering packages or tracking wildlife. Now, this new analysis is looking determine if such high-flying machines could also help save lives.

Drones Could Help by Quickly Delivering AEDs

The Swedish team analyzed the efficiency of having such devices deliver defibrillators in cases of cardiac arrest. As the researchers point out, survival chances decrease with every minute that passes after the patient suffered a sudden cardiac arrest but did not receive treatment.

“In rural areas, a drone carrying an AED could arrive far ahead — meaning 16 minutes [faster] — of emergency medical services,” stated Andreas Claesson.

He is a paramedic with the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm’s Center for Resuscitation Science and the study’s lead investigator.

Claesson considers that a drone sweeping in with an AED could potentially help lives. It could do so as bystanders on site could start the defibrillation process before the arrival of emergency medical teams. They could do so by using the automated external defibrillator (AED).

For their study, the team specially equipped a Stockholm-area fire house with drones from the Swedish Transportation Agency. These were equipped with an AED and also autopilot software, GPS, and a high-definition camera.

In 2016, such machines carried out 18 simulated AED-drone deliveries. These were sent to locations within a 6-miles radius of the fire station. According to reports, the drone delivered the AED in some 5 minutes. In contrast, the median standard EMS delivery time took 22 minutes.

Still, the study has its limitations. Claesson pointed out that the tests did not involve actual emergencies. So the AED was received by a second drone pilot acting as a bystander on site.

Also, other researchers point out that the delivery numbers and also the area targeted are quite small.

Nonetheless, the consensus is that this is a “great idea with a lot of potential”. But some of the hurdles it will have to face include airway regulations and flight distances.

Also, people would have to receive at least a minimum training for operating an AED, so that they would actually know how to utilize it in emergency cases.

Analysis results are available in a paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Image Source: Flickr