“Mosquito-killing micro drone” is certainly one way to start a Monday
Perhaps we judged artificial intelligence too harshly. Sure, the world’s tech leaders are depleting natural resources at an alarming rate, but the start-up Tornyol is putting that sacrifice to good use. The company is technically a drone company, even if its ambitions don’t lie in warfare (yet). No, Tornyol is in the mozzie-killing business.
You might be picturing something somewhat humane — like a drone that cropdusts nearby mosquitos with a dose of Peaceful Sleep. The reality is far more effective at keeping your room buzz-free by quickly tracking down a mozzie in any given room, and shoving ’em through its propellers. All rather quietly, too, we might add.
It’d be a bit of a waste if it kept you up half the night, too, which is when the machine will likely get most of its work done. The drone is tiny — weighing only 40g — which means bad things for the battery life. Tornyol reckons its drone will fly for about three minutes at a time before returning to the charge station automatically for thirty.
Tonyol is rather ambitious about it all, claiming its drone will cover approximately five acres’ worth before cutting out. If that sounds good, you’ll need to throw down $100 to reserve your unit, with the company expecting to complete orders by 2027. After that, you can hand over $50/m for life, or buy it outright at $1,100 (∼R18,000).
Samsung drops a new Freestyle
It’s not every day you see a new Samsung projector out in the wild. When the Galaxy-maker does deviate from the road most travelled, it’s usually worth paying attention. But after we got a peek at how Samsung is marketing its new Freestyle+ AI projector, a follow-up to the 2022 family, we lost a bit of interest.
Still, if you’re willing to overlook the slop, it seems Samsung has assembled a half-decent portable projector here. It’s brimming with AI features, all of which are designed to get the machine up and running with minimal effort. There’s 3D Auto Keystone, Wall Calibration, Screen Fit, Real-time Focus, and Obstacle Avoidance. In short, Samsung reckons the Freestyle+ can work nearly everywhere, auto-adjusting to work even on coloured walls.
We’ll believe that bit when we see it, which we imagine will be sooner rather than later. Samsung’s first-ever Freestyle got a start here in 2022, and we don’t see why the Freestyle+ wouldn’t follow suit. It’s slightly let down by only sporting 430 lumens of brightness, though HDR10+ support and 100in-or-less screen make up for it.
Fallout 5 is a go, and Fallout 3 better not blow
It’d be an understatement to say that Xbox is in some hot water. Sales are declining, and faith in the brand really is at an all-time low at the moment. New CEO, Asha Sharma, is opting for the tried-and-true methods to win some of it back. The Elder Scrolls and Fallout. Both of which are currently in Bethesda’s grasp.
That may just be the issue. While Bethesda spent years developing Starfield, it could have been developing what is almost assuredly a hit in the form of The Elder Scrolls VI. Now, that project is still years away, casting even further doubts on Fallout, Bethesda’s other flagship series. Sharma, wasting no time, has seemingly pulled a couple of strings behind the scenes, and now Fallout 5 is officially in pre-production, according to this tweet.
But it gets better. Bethesda also confirmed that it’s officially working on remakes for both Fallout 3 and Obsidian’s New Vegas titles. It’s frankly astounding that the company didn’t have these ready in time for the series, but something tells us Sharma will correct that when the next season of the series is ready.
Perhaps the most exciting news of all, however, is that Obsidian are being put into the driver’s seat of another Fallout title. Whether it’ll be a sequel to New Vegas or something completely new remains to be seen. That also meant the shelving (for now) of Avowed 2 to the dismay of absolutely nobody. Either way, Xbox fans are winning. Or at least, they will be. Give ’em another decade or so, and you’ll see.
“Slap a Tesla logo on and call it a day” ∼ Elon Musk, probably
Tesla’s greed knows no bounds. As if forking out $50,000 for a car that hasn’t even entered production yet wasn’t bad, Musk’s electric venture is going after your kids now. No, not like that. The company has announced the ‘Balance Bike for Kids’, which is currently up for pre-order with plans to officially launch on 31 July.
We wouldn’t mind the roughly R3,700 ($225) price if it included some sort of battery or even pedals to help the little 2-to 5-year-olds the thing’s made for. Instead, they’ll be forced to supply the energy themselves by pushing around everywhere with their feet. Again, that’s fine. But not when it could pay this month’s electricity bill.
The only “redeeming factor”, if you can even call it that, is the Tesla logo emblazoned on its side. Tesla’s got customers by the nards, and a $225 balance bike for kids is all the proof you need. It does at least seem well-made, comprising a white magnesium frame and a five-way adjustable seat. If only it had some brakes.
1 Comment
So, instead of the mozzies keep you awake, you buy a drone to keep you awake. Nice! (And don’t tell me the drone is silent)