STACK #192 Oct 2020

LIFE TECH NEWS

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THE 3DS GOES RETRO I t brought a stereoscopic 3D effect to handheld Nintendo’s 3DS and, after almost a decade, it’s now another piece of gaming history. Yes, Nintendo has now ceased production of all variants, from the XL down to the humble 3D-free 2DS. As well as delivering portable gaming beyond range also gave us several collectible special edition units. We have a stunning Animal Crossing one that we’d only part with if you prised it from our cold, dead hands. Now, of course, we have the Nintendo Switch, which ably caters for portability and sit-down home play. But that little clamshell 3DS will always have a place in our gaming hearts. what a humble phone could deliver, the 3DS gaming, along with a bunch of really cool exclusive games. It’s

SAMSUNG HIP TO BUILDING A BETTER ROBOT!

W e know Samsung for everything from their range of mobile phones to their smart TVs, but they’re also big in robotics. With an aim to deliver rich AI experiences to all, they have so far developed the likes of the ‘Bot Air’, which is an autonomous air-purifying robot, and the ‘Bot Retail’ service robot to automate menial functions in shopping centres and restaurants and give staff more time to concentrate on customers. Samsung’s commitment to robots goes beyond more simple conveniences though to their ‘GEMS’, or ‘Gait Enhancing and Motivating System’ Hip.

This is what they have dubbed a “walking assist wearable robot” that has been designed for the elderly to assist in mobility. It works by applying appropriate torque to both hip joints in accordance with the wearer’s motion, and Samsung claim that the GEMS Hip can reduce 24 per cent of the metabolic cost of walking, while accelerating the speed by 14 per cent. Given time, this support will lead to a more energy- efficient and stable gait pattern in the wearer. GEMS has now achieved a milestone, becoming the first such device to obtain the ISO 13482 personal robot safety certification in Korea.

“The acquisition of this international certification of safety is an important milestone for us,” said Samsung Research’s Sungchul Kang, senior vice president and head of robot centre. “The certification will allow us to bring robots closer to our daily lives and enhance their accessibility and utility. We will utilise this momentum to further drive our commitment in robotics research.”

IN SYNC WITH PHILIPS

I magine if your smart lights could be even smarter. If you’re in the Philips Hue ecosystem then that’s now possible, with the release of their updated Hue Play HDMI Sync Box.

Housing four HDMI inputs, and connectable to any HDMI media device, the unit syncs the coloured light displayed by your Hue setup to what you’re watching, playing or listening to. It speaks Google, Alexa

and Siri, and is equipped to pass through all the latest in visual tech such as Dolby Vision and HDR10+. It can give the illusion of expanding a movie off the screen – imagine some of those animated classics bursting out in magical colour… or, if you’re a horror head, all of those realistic reds bathing your room!

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JULY 2020

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