Source: Engadget | Researchers say some Android phone makers hide missed updates
Qoobo is a therapeutic toy that is basically a pillow with a wagging tailSomnox is the bean-shaped sleep robot that makes getting your nights rest much easierAeolus Robot is a robotic maid that can vacuum and hand you your favorite drinkLoomo is a real-life droid that doubles as your Instagram boyfriend and mini transporterAibo is a fun robotic dog that can react to human touch. Read more…
More about Sony, Robots, Mashable Video, Robot, and Cat
Source: Mashable | These 5 helpful robots want to be your new best friend
Source: Engadget | 'Hearthstone’s first big expansion of 2018, ‘Witchwood,’ is live
Tocano, a spinout from Delft Technology University in the Netherlands which is working on an inkless printing technology, has closed a €1 million angel round to fund the next stage of its tech development and move a step closer to building its first commercial product.
The startup began as the graduate student project of co-founder Venkatesh Chandrasekar who, along with fellow student Van der Veen, founded the business in 2015, gaining early backing from the university.
The team now consists of eight employees and is part of the business incubator Yes!Delft.
Now it’s true there are already some ‘inkless’ printing technologies in use commercially. One we covered back in 2009 is Zink: A color printer which doesn’t require ink cartridges in the actual printer; but does require special Zink photo paper which has colored ink embedded in it. So an ‘inkless printer’, technically, but not actually ink-less technology.
Tocano’s tech — which it is branding Inkless — has a much cleaner claim to the name because it doesn’t involve having to use ink-saturated paper. Nor any other type of special paper, such as thermal-coated paper — which is another type of inkless printing already in use (such as for receipts).
Rather they are using an infrared laser to burn the surface of the paper — so carbonization is being used as the printing medium.
And they claim their technique is able to produce black and white printing with blacks as dark and stable as ink-based prints. Though, clearly, they’re still early in the development process.
Here’s a photo of their current prototype, alongside a sample of text printed with it:
The angel funding will be used to try to reach what they dub “a competitive printing performance”. After which they say they’ll need to raise more money to build the first product — so they’re already planning the next financing round (for the end of the year).
“With this money we can make our technology ‘development-ready’, which means that we can meet the required quality and speed performance requirements so that we can begin with the development of our first product”, says co-founder and CEO Arnaud van der Veen in a statement.
“[The] next round will either be financed by strategic partners or venture capitalists. The first meetings have already taken place.”
If they can successfully productize their laser carbonization technique the promise is printing without the expense, waste and limits imposed by ink refills plus other consumables.
“I always compare this to the transition from the analogue camera to the digital camera,” says van der Veen. “Suddenly people were able to make unlimited photos and it was not needed to replace the films. Likewise, with our printing solutions, refill and replacement of ink and consumables will not be needed.”
Though quite how expensive the next-gen laser printer machines themselves will be if/when they arrive on shop shelves remains to be seen.
Tocano says its first product will be aimed at industrial users for packaging and labelling use cases — such as printing barcodes, shelf life data and product codes on packages and labels.
Its ambition is to range out after that, bringing additional printer products to market targeting other business users — and eventually even the consumer market.
“Our first product will fit [the packaging/labelling] market but after that we will make the technology accessible for production printers, office printers, consumer printers and receipt printers. In all these market we can offer the same advantages, a cheaper and more sustainable printer without any hassle with ink, cartridges or toners,” he adds.
Source: Tech Crunch Startups | Dutch uni spinout gets .2M for its zero ink printing tech
Tesla ends formal agreement to cooperate with NTSB on Model X crash
April 12, 2018
Source: Engadget | Tesla ends formal agreement to cooperate with NTSB on Model X crash
It’s always nice to see animals in nature, just maybe not when they’re staring at you throughout your work day.
According to Michael Lens‘ a bunch of owls were born outside of their coworker’s windowsill recently, and now they’re all grown up.
Owls were born on my colleague’s windowsill a few weeks ago and I. Just. Can’t. Evenpic.twitter.com/W6ZjP5TCZ6
— Michael Lens (@mc_lens) April 11, 2018
Maybe they think his coworker is their dad? Either way, it’s both cute and unsettling.
After sending off the tweet, the window friends became excellent fodder for some Twitter owl puns: Read more…
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Source: Mashable | Owls born outside of office window won't stop staring at workers inside
Spend too much time at Michaels or Hobby Lobby? This crafting-themed subscription box is for you.
April 12, 2018Some people spend all their money on clothes, some people spend their money on the newest iPhone, and some people spend all their money on crafting.
You know that person: they always have “a project going,” stock up on hot glue sticks, and think that spending four hours in Michaels sounds more fun than a bar crawl.
Maybe that person is you?
If you’re one of those people, you know how annoying it is when adult responsibilities get in the way of supply runs or adventures down the Pinterest rabbit hole. Wouldn’t it be convenient if pre-planned projects and all necessary supplies just showed up at your door? Read more…
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Source: Mashable | Spend too much time at Michaels or Hobby Lobby? This crafting-themed subscription box is for you.
Source: Google News | Former aide tells Congress of extravagant spending by EPA's Scott Pruitt
After a challenging week, Khloé Kardashian has apparently given birth to a baby girl, TMZ reports.
The gossip outlet reports she gave birth early Thursday morning outside of Cleveland, and that her sisters Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, her mother Kris Jenner, and her best friend Malika Haqq. This is her first child with Cleveland Cavaliers player Tristan Thompson.
The news comes amid reports that Thompson cheated on Khloé as early as October and as recently as this past weekend. On Tuesday, the Daily Mail published photos and videos of Thompson appearing to kiss and enter a hotel with a woman on Saturday. Read more…
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Source: Mashable | Khloé Kardashian just gave birth to her baby girl
Source: Engadget | Apparently high-definition vinyl is coming next year