Image: Aurora Autonomous vehicle company Aurora Innovation announced the finalization of the design‚ architecture‚ and hardware for its Aurora Driver. The technology will power its future lineup of driverless semi trucks that it’s producing with German auto supplier Continental starting in 2027. Aurora says it still plans on deploying a handful of fully driverless trucks by the end of 2024. But having reached the milestone of finalizing the design of its self-driving hardware and software stack‚ the company says it’s poised to deploy “thousands” of trucks in just three years. Aurora — which was founded in 2017 by alumni of Uber‚ Tesla‚ and Waymo — has said it plans to deploy 20 fully autonomous trucks this year‚ with an eye on expanding to about 100... Continue reading…

The PureWash E930 gets you the majority of smart toilet features for a fraction of the price. (It’s still pricey‚ though.) | Image: Kohler For most people‚ flushing $10‚000 down the drain for an entire smart toilet is a bit much. But if you’ve always wanted a fancy toilet‚ Kohler is kicking off CES 2024 with a more accessible option. The $2‚149 PureWash E930 is a voice-controlled bidet seat that lets you transform your existing toilet into a much smarter one. As in‚ you can now boss your toilet around. The appeal of bidet seats is that they let you turn your boring toilet into a much fancier one for a fraction of the price. Kohler’s had bidet seats for years‚ but the difference with the PureWash E930 is that it has Amazon Alexa and Google Home compatibility‚ which means you can use your digital assistant of choice to activate the bidet spray‚ warm air dryer‚ and UV cleaning... Continue reading…

One of the main reasons to update to a new iPhone is the promise of a better battery life. While this is not true for every new release‚ Apple and other tech companies always look for the "next big thing" in the battery field. Fortunately‚ it seems the next battery breakthrough is just around the corner. According to a Bloomberg report‚ the Apple supplier TDK believes its new battery will change the smartphone game‚ as the company is applying to smartphones the same tech its rivals have been exploring to improve mileage for electric vehicles. TDK Chief Executive Officer Noboru Saito says that in the first half of 2023‚ the company started shipping small-size lithium-ion batteries using silicon electrodes‚ which are said to offer 10% more capacity than conventional graphite anode batteries. However‚ its true potential could be lifted by 40% or more. If the studies are right‚ TDK might win in the next battery breakthrough tech‚ as Samsung and LG bet on graphene-based cells and solid-state batteries to hydrogen fuel cells or sodium-ion batteries. “We need to assume that other companies will come into this space‚ and we need to develop the next‚ followed by the next‚ technology to differentiate ourselves and keep our lead from shrinking‚” the 57-year-old said in an interview. “There’s room for the technology to evolve further.” That said‚ this new battery technology could soon be available on the iPhone‚ as TDK is an Apple supplier. This could mean other company devices could get this in the future‚ such as the new version of the Vision Pro. Interestingly enough‚ Cupertino seems to be working with other possible battery technologies‚ as leaker KosutamiSan posted a few months ago that Apple plans to improve battery life on the next generation of iPhones by adding a graphene thermal system to improve cooling. They wrote: “Apple is actively working on the graphene thermal system of iPhone 16 Series to solve the existing heating problem. And the battery of the Pro series would change to a metal shell for the same reason.” While it's still unclear where Apple will point‚ at least we can expect that the company is on the verge of introducing a new battery technology for its upcoming iPhone models. Don't Miss: iPhone 16: Everything we know so far The post The next iPhone could have the biggest increase in battery life ever appeared first on BGR. Trending Right Now: Epic Games Store free games: What’s free this week? The sci-fi TV series I’m most looking forward to in 2024 Microsoft Copilot: The first four things you should do now that it’s available on iPhone

South Africa's ex-Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius was released from jail on parole Friday and "is now at home"‚ authorities said‚ almost 11 years after he shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in a crime that gripped the world. Having served more than half his sentence‚...

Russia's national elections commission on Friday registered the first two candidates who will compete with President Vladimir Putin in the March election that Putin is all but certain to win.

While the ongoing Israel-Hamas war had seemed to serve as something of a unifier among Muslim nations‚ the Wednesday terror bombing in Iran was a reminder of the divides that persist between Islam's two dominant factions‚ military analysts say. The worst terror attack in...

The Iraqi government is forming a committee to prepare the closing down of the U.S.-led international coalition's mission in the country‚ Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's office said on Friday.

A group of bad actors funded and directed by Iran have launched a veritable war against shipping in the Middle East. But this regional disruption may be part of a larger effort to throw the world supply chain into chaos - and the U.S. may not be adequately prepared to beat...

Global supermarket chain Carrefour will stop selling PepsiCo products in it stores in France‚ Belgium‚ Spain and Italy over price increases for popular items like Lay's potato chips‚ Quaker Oats‚ Lipton tea and its namesake soda.

A large U.S. study found no evidence that taking Novo Nordisk's Ozempic or Wegovy is tied to an increase in suicidal thoughts‚ researchers reported on Friday. Both Ozempic for Type 2 diabetes and the obesity treatment Wegovy have the same active ingredient‚...