With robotaxis still a distant dream, lidar makes itself useful

The promise of self-driving cars and robotaxi fleets once seemed just around the corner, but reality is setting in. Makers of the underlying technology are pivoting to more realistic ways of making money in the here and now.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-robotaxis-distant-lidar.html

TikTok countersues rival video app Triller in patent defense

TikTok and its parent firm ByteDance have fired back in court against a patent lawsuit by rival video-sharing app Triller, in a move aimed at heading off infringement claims.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-tiktok-countersues-rival-video-app.html

New tool simplifies data sharing, preserves privacy

Meet Company X. Company X makes a popular product that lots of people—millions, in fact—use on a daily basis. One day, Company X decides it would like to improve some of the hardware in its product, which is manufactured by Vendor Y. To make these improvements, the company would need to share data with Vendor Y about how its customers use the product.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-tool-privacy.html

Predictive model reveals function of promising energy harvester device

A small energy harvesting device that can transform subtle mechanical vibrations into electrical energy could be used to power wireless sensors and actuators for use in anything from temperature and occupancy monitoring in smart environments, to biosensing within the human body.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-reveals-function-energy-harvester-device.html

EU digital boss: New rules to curb big tech aim for fairness

The European Union is set to propose new laws to rein in the power of big tech companies, including measures to ensure customers are protected, smaller rivals are treated fairly, and illegal content is dealt with, the bloc's digital and antitrust chief said on Thursday.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-eu-digital-boss-curb-big.html

Marvell snags Inphi in yet another semiconductor tie-up

The pace of consolidation in the semiconductor industry continues to accelerate with Marvell Technology saying Thursday that it will pay $10.63 billion for Inphi in a cash-and-stock deal.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-marvell-snags-inphi-semiconductor-tie-up.html

Advanced facade material for urban heat island mitigation

A joint research team led by Asst. Prof. Jihui Yuan at the Dept. of Architecture and Civil Eng. of Toyohashi University of Technology, in collaboration with Osaka City University, has proposed two analytical models to evaluate the reflection directional characteristics of retro-reflective (RR) materials applied to building envelopes for urban heat island (UHI) mitigation, based on the measured data of optical experiments. It was shown that the predication result of the anisotropic body of rotation of the normal distribution function (AND) model is more accurate than that of the original analytical model.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-advanced-facade-material-urban-island.html

Canada extends international travellers ban

Canada on Friday extended a restriction on non-essential international entries until the end of November as COVID-19 cases rise, while easing quarantine rules for some cut-off Canada-US border communities.

Greek PM declares partial coronavirus lockdown

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Saturday declared a one-month partial coronavirus lockdown, shutting down restaurants and other leisure activities in Athens and other major cities from Tuesday.

Europe and US pass virus milestones as France locks down

Europe passed 10 million coronavirus infections, the United States topped nine million and France entered a new lockdown on Friday as the resurgent pandemic increasingly forced other countries to consider following suit.

New evidence our neighborhood in space is stuffed with hydrogen

Only the two Voyager spacecraft have ever been there, and it took than more than 30 years of supersonic travel. It lies well past the orbit of Pluto, through the rocky Kuiper belt, and on for four times that distance. This realm, marked only by an invisible magnetic boundary, is where Sun-dominated space ends: the closest reaches of interstellar space.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-evidence-neighborhood-space-stuffed-hydrogen.html

US judge sets up fresh roadblock in Trump bid to ban TikTok

A US federal judge on Friday issued an injunction temporarily blocking an executive order by President Donald Trump aimed at banning TikTok, throwing up a legal roadblock ahead of a November 12 deadline.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-fresh-roadblock-trump-tiktok.html

Philippines evacuates nearly 1 million as Typhoon Goni nears

Nearly a million people in the Philippines were evacuated from their homes Saturday as the most powerful typhoon of the year so far barrelled towards the country, with authorities warning of "destructive" winds and flooding.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-philippines-evacuate-typhoon-goni-nears.html

Sri Lanka returns illegal waste to Britain after court order

Sri Lanka has started shipping 242 containers of hazardous waste, including body parts from mortuaries, back to Britain after a two year court battle by an environment watchdog, officials said Saturday.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-sri-lanka-illegal-britain-court.html

US jury tells Apple to pay $503 mn in patent case

A jury in Texas on Friday decided that Apple should pay $503 million for infringing virtual private network technology patented by software security firm VirnetX.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-jury-apple-mn-patent-case.html

Experts see substantial danger to democratic stability around 2020 election

On the eve of the November 3 election, Bright Line Watch—the political science research project of faculty at the University of Rochester, the University of Chicago, and Dartmouth College—finds that experts are concerned about substantial risks to the legitimacy of the election, including potential problems in the casting and counting of votes, the Electoral College, and in the resolution of electoral disputes.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-experts-substantial-danger-democratic-stability.html

Slovakia begins mass virus testing in global first

Slovakia on Saturday begins a programme to screen its entire population for coronavirus with antigen tests in what would be a global first, but critics have said the plan is poorly thought out.

US judge sets up fresh roadblock in Trump bid to ban TikTok

A US federal judge on Friday issued an injunction temporarily blocking an executive order by President Donald Trump aimed at banning TikTok, throwing up a legal roadblock ahead of a November 12 deadline.

US hits record of 94,000 coronavirus cases in 24 hours

The US hit a record number of new coronavirus cases on Friday for the second day in a row, topping 94,000 infections in 24 hours, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.

England set for another virus lockdown: reports

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is considering imposing a new lockdown across England within days following warnings his localised restrictions strategy has failed to curb soaring coronavirus rates, reports said Saturday.

US jury tells Apple to pay $503 mn in patent case

A jury in Texas on Friday decided that Apple should pay $503 million for infringing virtual private network technology patented by software security firm VirnetX.

Italian nurse on coronavirus duty sees the nightmare return

A 54-year-old nurse became convinced the coronavirus "hated" her during the first seven months of Italy's outbreaks. Those are Cristina Settembrese's words for it.

Living near green space linked to lower rates of smoking and higher chances of quitting

People are significantly less likely to smoke—and are more likely to successfully quit—if they live in green neighbourhoods, new research has found.