Robotics

imaginima/Getty Images Joining a new social network in 2024 is an odd, lonely, quiet experience. By now, most social networkers have established communities online. But if those communities were on Twitter (now known as X), they may have died off. We follow, and are followed by, a relatively large number of people on Facebook and […] More

Artie Beaty/ZDNETYou probably didn’t know it, but if you played or are still playing Pokémon Go (there are more than half a million active players), you were helping train an AI-powered geospatial model that aims to map the world.A blog post from Niantic, the software developer behind the popular game, explains how it’s working on “a large geospatial model to achieve spatial intelligence” and trying to build a “visual positioning system” to understand the world around us — and it’s using data from Pokémon Go.Also: AI transformation is the new digital transformation. Here’s why that change mattersTo clarify, Niantic is saying that just like data on the web trains AI models, the AI model it’s building needs to understand 3D spaces. An immense amount of data and photographs of 3D spaces are available thanks to Pokémon Go players creeping around the world. Niantic explains it like this: A local AI mapping model might understand that a church stands at a specific place, but it’s likely only seen the front of that location and can’t explain what the rest of the church looks like. With data from Pokémon Go players, who have likely walked around many churches and trekked areas that cars can’t reach (and photographed those areas), the AI, now has a good guess at what a church generally looks like.Also: Traveling for the holidays? Google Maps uncovers ‘hidden gems’ to add to your route nowThe company also pointed out that it recently rolled out a new feature for the game called Pokémon Playground that lets you place a creature at a certain real-world spot for others to see. This means that placing the character and viewing it later conveniently involves using your camera, taking images from multiple angles, and sending the resulting image to Niantic.  More

NurPhoto/Getty Images Meta’s Threads has introduced a feature that’s long been part of Bluesky, namely custom feeds. Now, rolling out to all Threads users after a brief test, custom feeds allow you to compile a list of multiple accounts in one shot, typically all devoted to a specific theme or subject. The idea is to offer […] More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Bose SoundLink Home speaker is a Bose exclusive, meaning you can only purchase it on Bose’s website; it’s on sale ahead of Black Friday for $199. The SoundLink Home offers a sleek design reminiscent of the 70s and bass that doesn’t disappear at low volumes. This speaker isn’t compatible with […] More

Breville/ZDNETExpensive caffeine fix, tight(er) budget? As Black Friday draws nearer, you might be brainstorming on a great gift for the javaphile in your life. Or, you may opt to refresh your kitchen with a premium appliance you might not normally splurge on. If you’ve been looking to upgrade your coffee routine, the Breville Espresso Machine More

HP/ZDNETBlack Friday and Cyber Week are still over a week away, but that hasn’t stopped great deals from popping up online. One, in particular, immediately caught my eye when I saw it. Right now, on B&H Photo Video, the 16-inch HP Envy Multi-Touch Laptop More

LD/Getty Images Are you tired of seeing AI overviews on your Google searches? There’s a simple way to prevent them from appearing again — at least for now. There’s no official way to turn off the summaries, but there are a few workarounds. While most involve tinkering with your browser’s settings, one involves just adding […] More

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETThere was a time I refused to drink coffee at home because no matter how strong of a coffee pod I bought for my Keurig, the coffee always tasted watered down. I started wondering whether I’d ever achieve the same hand-crafted coffee shop taste at home — until I was gifted the Nespresso VertuoPlus Coffee and Espresso Machine by De’Longhi More