August 27, 2020

empowering you with insights and information from the edge of today’s headlines

reality is filled with a little too much drama this week: fires in California, hurricane in the Gulf, unrest and violence in Wisconsin, and of course the pandemic. we decided to focus on the lighter side today.

Technology

Self-driving is having a field day. We know that Silicon Valley is obsessed with autonomous vehicles, from personal cars to freight trucks, but a new start-up from veterans of SpaceX is taking self-driving to a dangerous level. The start-up, Reliable Robotics, is attempting to create autonomous cargo planes. We’ve heard that pilots are essentially already playing video games when it comes to the instruments in their cockpits, but we still appreciate knowing a human is still close to the wheel. The company is in talks with delivery companies with the hopes of kick-starting drone delivery for packages.

If you want to get your own chance at flying a plane, Microsoft just released a new version of its Flight Simulator. It has some hiccups, like an extremely large obelisk caused by a simple typo in the code, but the game is otherwise incredibly realistic and allows you to pilot any plane, anywhere in the world.

If you still want to travel, but are in lockdown during the pandemic, log on to Airplane Mode which simulates the full flight of a long duration haul. As a player, you get to sit in coach, have access to the inflight magazine and seatback entertainment, and you’ll even get delivered a meal. This “flight simulator” was announced as a parody in late 2019, but seems to fit 2020 just perfectly.

One more casualty of the pandemic: iRobot decided to delay the introduction of its lawn mowing robot, the Terra. (This was announced in April, but we just noticed, since we don’t have a lawn.) The makers of the Roomba put the new product on hold either because of a lack of consumer demand or disruptions in its supply chain. I guess we’ll have to wait to see the videos of wild animals riding the Terra.

Google is getting involved in telehealth, by investing $100M in Amwell. The new partnership will work on expanding Amwell’s footprint and capabilities, as patients seek alternatives to visiting a doctor during the pandemic. Google plans to up the AI game of the telehealth provider: "Imagine you're in a virtual waiting room, and instead of a clipboard there's a conversational AI helping you." For now, we’ll continue to play Animal Crossing while we wait.

We’ve heard of wearables and temporary tattoos, but now researchers are attempting to combine the two: creating a heart monitor that is “drawn” directly on the skin. The special ink is able to measure skin hydration and the electrical activity of the heart muscles. The researchers are working on other forms of sensors that could detect more health concerns which will be accessible and inexpensive.

Quibi, the short-form, mobile first platform, seems to have been the only streaming platform that suffered during the pandemic. Quibi launched in April, and attracted viewers with its free trial, but since then it has steadily dropped in popularity and viewers (rumored to have lost 90% of its viewers). Quibi, however, tried a reboot, and decided to break all of its own rules. The platform took one of its “films” (which was supposed to be watched on your phone in 10 minute increments), and created a drive-in theater and dinner movie experience in Los Angeles. No word on reviews for the film, but we’d have happily ordered Umami Burger to our car and watched the sunset.

Spotify wants you to feel like you are listening to music on a beach, so they have created a feature which plays background noises of the summer. You can choose from a beach, pool, campfire and even a BBQ. So if you (like us) are hiding from reality, Spotify has you covered.

Culture

Jacques Cousteau’s Grandson, Fabien Cousteau, is working to build the world’s largest underwater research habitat. Cousteau wants it to be the “international space station” of the sea in a protected marine area off the coast of Curacao. The unique structure will sit 60 ft below the surface and was designed by industrial designer Yves Behar. The station, named Proteus, will “allow scientists to study the undersea environment by becoming a part of it, rather than working as casual interlopers.”

The cast of the West Wing is reuniting for a special episode on HBO Max. The cast will be reading an episode from its third season, and the special is meant to raise awareness for When We All Vote, a non-profit organization founded by Michelle Obama. The episode should air before the election in November, so get ready to share those HBO passwords.

The Girl Scouts showcased an update to their uniform, and the iconic Girl Scout vest has a hidden cell phone pocket. The new uniforms were designed by recent graduates of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). The lessons and community service that the Scouts engage in has been modernized (including badges for entrepreneurship) so it was time for the uniforms to get a modern, athleisure update.

The Whitney Museum in New York cancelled a new exhibition of works meant to showcase work that was created in 2020 in response to the pandemic and to the protest movements throughout the US. Unfortunately, this exhibition came with some controversy. The Whitney purchased some of the imagery online, through charity auctions that artists had supported in order to raise funds for bail bonds or other activists. The artists protested that the Whitney had not gone through the usual channels of acquiring artworks, but instead bought them at low prices and without the permission of the creators. The Whitney, however, did offer the artists Lifetime Passes to the museum. Guess the curators didn’t get the concept of civil unrest tied to inequality and exploitation?

Sotheby’s is holding its first hip hop auction this September. The auction will feature over 120 items from the 1970s to the present. One of the most significant items up for grabs will be the Notorious B.I.G.’s signed plastic crown that he wore in one of his final photo shoots. A series of love letters written by Tupac Shakur will also be on display. A portion of the proceeds of the auction will benefit Building Beats, a Brooklyn-based non-profit that teaches entrepreneurship to minority youth. 

— Lauren Eve Cantor

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