ArduinoMania

The human hand is a marvel of evolutionary development, offering 27 degrees of freedom and unrivaled touch sensitivity. But it's the same aspects that make our hands so, well, handy, that also make them an absolute nightmare to recreate robotically. That's why one team of researchers has abandoned human-derived gripper design in favor of woodlice.

Look, at least they're not the desiccated and re-inflated tarantula corpses that a team of Rice University researchers created in 2022. Those manipulators were a novel proof of concept in that they exploited the natural mechanisms spiders use for locomotion — specifically that their limbs move through a combination of fluid pressure and flexor muscles, rather than the antagonistic pairs that mammals have — though the system was really only good for as long as the corpses held together. 

Tohoku University via NewScientist

The new system designed by Dr. Josephine Galipon and her team at Japan's Tohoku University builds on the earlier work with "necrobotic" spiders but relies on bugs that are still alive. "To our knowledge, there is no prior example of whole living organisms being used as end effectors for robotic arms, which we propose here," Galipon points out in Biological Organisms as End Effectors. The team relies on both captured woodlice (aka rolly-pollies) and captive chitons (small marine mollusks) to temporarily serve as a robot's hands.

They first 3D printed tiny seats for the animals to sit on at the end of the robot's manipulator arm, then set the woodlice and chitons to task, picking up tufts of cotton and submerged cork, respectively. The results were about as promising as one could really hope for: the woodlice futzed around with the cotton for about two minutes before losing interest, while the chiton's grabbed hold of their prizes and had to be actively separated from them. Still, the fact that the chiton got a grip at all was promising, given existing difficulties in using suction cups and similar mechanical methods underwater. Granted, much more work needs to be completed before these early concepts can even potentially be adapted into functional and efficient robotics systems.

The team's work also raises ethical questions about the test animals' welfare, such as whether they are being forced to perform against their will and how such motivations are delivered. “Especially for sentient animals, we would like to establish a kind of mutual interaction with a cooperative relationship,” Galipon told New Scintist. “It’s a little bit different from domestication, but just a cooperation, where the animal can then go about its day." To be fair, it's certainly less invasive than your average cyborg cockroach research.

Twitter has resumed paying its Google Cloud contract, according to Bloomberg. If you missed the initial news of the impending showdown, Platformer reported on June 10th that Twitter had been refusing to pay Google for its cloud services ahead of their contract’s June 30th renewal date. The possibility of losing access to Google’s infrastructure led to a frantic rush at Twitter to migrate as many of its services off of Google’s servers. However, that effort was reportedly “running behind schedule,” opening the door for some of the company’s in-house tools to go offline come the end of the month.

Now it appears Twitter has found a way to avoid that scenario. Bloomberg reports Linda Yaccarino, the company’s newly appointed CEO, “helped get the relationship back on track.” In fact, the two companies are reportedly negotiating a broader partnership that could include advertising and Google’s use of Twitter’s paid API. Twitter does not operate a public relations department Engadget could contact for comment.

Twitter’s Google Cloud contract dates back to 2018. According to Bloomberg, the contract has cost the company between $200 million and $300 million annually and was one of the early targets of Elon Musk’s cost-cutting. Google reportedly “struggled” to get in touch with the billionaire to talk about Twitter’s unpaid bills, and at one point attempted to reach him through SpaceX, which also does business with the tech giant.

Earlier this year, AST SpaceMobile, with the help of AT&T, managed to connect an off-the-shelf Samsung Galaxy S22 to a satellite in low-Earth orbit to complete a two-way voice call. The announcement marked a major milestone for satellite-based cellular communication. Now the company says it’s one step closer to bringing the technology to consumers.

On Wednesday, AST shared it recently completed multiple tests in Hawaii where its engineers saw download speeds of 10Mbps from the company’s BlueWalker 3 satellite to unmodified phones on the ground. “Successfully reaching double-digit download speeds during satellite-to-smartphone testing takes us one step closer to ensuring people across the United States will be able to stay connected no matter their location,” said Chris Sambar, AT&T network head.

As a next step, AST hopes to connect a phone to BW3 over a 5G signal. A SpaceX Falcon 9 carried the prototype satellite to low-Earth orbit in September. At 693 square feet in size, BW3 features the largest antenna of any commercial satellite to date and is easily one of the brightest objects in the night sky, making it difficult for astronomers to carry out their research.

AT&T is one of a few US carriers looking to use satellites to service underserved rural communities. In 2021, Verizon partnered with Amazon to use the company’s Project Kuiper satellite network for wireless access. More recently, T-Mobile said it would work with SpaceX to test Starlink-capable devices. Like AT&T, the carrier has said existing phones should work with its satellite offering.

EVE Online has finally embraced its destiny. The game, often jokingly called a “spreadsheet simulator” due to the competitive advantages its most dedicated players can gain by tracking in-game data, now has a Microsoft Excel add-in. “Gain a competitive edge by harnessing the power of data, as access to and the understanding of data can spell the difference between victory and defeat,” developer CCP Games wrote Tuesday in a blog post. The free extension, first announced last year at EVE Fanfest, is available now.

Besides serving as crossover marketing for CCP Games and Microsoft, the add-in could help level the playing field and make it easier for new players to enjoy the long-running MMO. “You can now quickly and efficiently arm yourself with the information and knowledge to reach your goals and aspirations,” the development team said. “Easy access to in-game data facilitates decision making and brings added fairness and accessibility to everyone, without requiring coding knowledge or dependence on player-developed third-party tools.” CCP Games collaborated with Microsoft’s Excel team to create the add-in.

Available data includes “your assets with location and item value, market orders, item market prices, wallet transactions, skills, as well as an overview of corporation finances (if you have required roles) to make informed decisions.” After importing your in-game information, you can generate custom reports or visualization tools like graphs and charts. The developer describes it as the “first and only” video game to offer official Excel-based data integration.

“CCP Games has extensive experience in the MMO space, so it’s only natural that we collaborate with them to launch the first-ever native Microsoft Excel add-in for a video game,” said Catherine Pidgeon, Microsoft’s Head of Product, Excel. “With the add-in, the EVE Online player base can seamlessly export and manage data without third-party tools. Through this collaboration, we’re excited to see how players of EVE Online of all skill levels can use Excel to streamline data management and take their in-game experience to new heights.”

To try out the tool, select the “Insert” tab in Excel (desktop or web) and then the “Get Add-ins” button, and look for EVE Online. Alternatively, you can find the add-in in the Microsoft Store. Finally, CCP Games launched a sample workbook to help you get started.

News gatherers in the US may soon have safeguards against government attempts to comb through their data. Bipartisan House and Senate groups have reintroduced legislation, the PRESS Act (Protect Reporters from Exploitive State Spying), that limits the government's ability to compel data disclosures that might identify journalists' sources. The Senate bill, would extend disclosure exemptions and standards to cover email, phone records, and other info third parties hold.

The PRESS Act would also require that the federal government gives journalists a chance to respond to data requests. Courts could still demand disclosure if it's necessary to prevent terrorism, identify terrorists or prevent serious "imminent" violence. The Senate bill is the work of Richard Durbin, Mike Lee and Ron Wyden, while the House equivalent comes from representatives Kevin Kiley and Jamie Raskin.

Sponsors characterize the bill as vital to protecting First Amendment press freedoms. Anonymous source leaks help keep the government accountable, Wyden says. He adds that surveillance like this can deter reporters and sources worried about retaliation. Lee, meanwhile, says the Act will also maintain the public's "right to access information" and help it participate in a representative democracy.

The senators point to instances from both Democratic and Republican administrations where law enforcement subpoenaed data in a bid to catch sources. Most notably, the Justice Department under Trump is known to have seized call records and email logs from major media outlets like CNN and The New York Times following an April 2017 report on how former FBI director James Comey handled investigations during the 2016 presidential election.

Journalist shield laws exist in 48 states and the District of Columbia, but there's no federal law. That void lets the Justice Department and other government bodies quietly grab data from telecoms and other providers. The PRESS Act theoretically patches that hole and minimizes the chances of abuse.

There's no guarantee the PRESS Act will reach President Biden's desk and become law. However, both Congress camps are betting that bipartisan support will help. The House version passed "unanimously" in the previous session of Congress, Wyden's office says.

If you've been interested in picking up an Xbox Series X, it may be wise to do so by the end of July unless you're in the US, Japan, Chile, Brazil or Colombia. Microsoft confirmed to Engadget that it's increasing the price of the console in most other countries.

Starting on August 1st, the Xbox Series X will cost $650 CAD in Canada, £480 in the UK, €550 in most European countries and $800 AUD in Australia. The increases are roughly in line with the PS5 price changes Sony made in most markets last year.

“We’ve held on our prices for consoles for many years and have adjusted the prices to reflect the competitive conditions in each market,” Xbox communications chief Kari Perez told The Verge. “These Game Pass price adjustments are not related to the Activision Blizzard deal and are intended to match local market conditions."

The Xbox Series S pricing is staying the same in all markets at $250 (or the local equivalent). Microsoft will soon introduce a black model with 1TB of storage for $349.

Microsoft's own studios are no longer making games for the Xbox One. If you don't want to buy a Series X or S, you can still stream upcoming games like Starfield and Fable to the older console through Game Pass Ultimate. But guess what? That service is getting a price hike too, including in the US.

Xbox Game Pass will soon cost $11 per month, an increase of $1. Game Pass Ultimate is getting a bigger jump, from $15 per month to $17. The Verge has a list of the price increases for other markets. The price of PC Game Pass (which doubled from $5 to $10 per month in 2020) is not changing, while Xbox Game Pass won't be going up in Norway, Chile, Denmark, Switzerland or Saudi Arabia.

The price changes will take effect for new Xbox Game Pass members on July 6th. It won't apply for existing subscribers until August 13th (September 13th in Germany). If you happen to have access to Game Pass through an annual code, the price changes won't affect you until it's time for you to renew.

This is the first time that Microsoft has increased Game Pass pricing since it introduced the service in 2017 as part of a transition away from Xbox Live Gold. Still, it was inevitable that the prices would go up at some point. The importance of Game Pass to Xbox's business model was undoubtedly a factor in the decision.

Conversely, you might have expected the price of the Xbox Series X to drop at this point in its lifecycle, not to increase. Microsoft can't pin the blame on a console shortage — Xbox head Phil Spencer recently said the company had increased the supply of Xbox Series X/S. Instead, Microsoft suggested the Series X increase is due to market conditions such as inflation and currency fluctuations.

Otter.ai just announced Otter Chat, an AI chatbot specifically designed for work meetings. This “collaborative AI intelligence” acts as a help center for anyone participating in the meeting, transcribing meeting data and winnowing it down into an actual conversation. This allows it to accurately answer questions about the meeting that just transpired, in case you were busy doing important work stuff like, uh, playing the new Zelda just out of frame.

The cheekily-named OtterPilot chatbot does more than just summarize meetings. It collaborates with everyone involved to generate content based on meeting data, like blog posts and follow-up emails. It’s sort of like an unpaid intern, but without the ability to go out and fetch coffee (for now.) The company says this is a major step up from platforms like ChatGPT, as they source information from public data, whereas Otter AI Chat sources information from actual team meetings. The toolset is collaborative in nature, so the chatbot communicates with every team member simultaneously or on a one-on-one basis. You can even have a related bot attend the meeting in your stead. Work/life balance, baby! 

This little bot also does the standard stuff that has made Otter.ai a popular destination for remote workers. It transcribes entire meetings, summarizes contents into easily digestible formats, creates lists of actionable items and much more.

Otter says its AI systems are already used to transcribe over one million words every minute and over one billion words since launching last year. Otter AI Chat rolls out to all users in the coming days, so check your update field. The company also says no information will be stored by third parties when using the service, which is always nice.

Dropbox announced two new products today that (not quite shockingly) shift the company’s focus to AI. Dropbox AI scans your documents, providing summaries and answers, while the more ambitious Dropbox Dash serves as a unified search bar for your life.

Dropbox AI is the simpler of the two new offerings. It applies artificial intelligence to file previews, offering summaries and a natural language Q&A about your docs. “With the click of a button, you can summarize your content, like contracts and meeting recordings, into a concise explanation,” the company explained. Or, ask Dropbox AI questions about the content of a specific file, and it can answer. “With Dropbox AI, now you can pull up a file, ask it anything, and Dropbox will read the document for you and give you an answer,” CEO Drew Houston said in a promotional video.

Meanwhile, Dropbox Dash has a much broader scope, essentially serving as a souped-up and AI-powered version of Apple Spotlight search, Windows Search or third-party launcher apps like Alfred. Dropbox wants Dash to be your one-stop shop for anything you need to know — locally or online. “Dropbox Dash is AI-powered universal search that connects all of your tools, content, and apps in a single search bar,” the company wrote. “With connectors to major platforms like Google Workspace, Microsoft Outlook, Salesforce, and more, you can find everything in one place, fast.” The idea is to provide customers with a ChatGPT-like dialog box that answers questions about all the personal and work-related content in your digital universe.

Dropbox

In addition to being a universal search bar, Dropbox Dash is also a browser extension. The company organizes URLs into Stacks, described as “Smart collections for your links that offer a quick way to save, organize, and retrieve URLs” — similar to how playlists store songs. The extension also adds a start-page dashboard showing search, Stacks, shortcuts and other suggested contextual items. Finally, Dropbox says Dash will eventually “pull from your information and your company’s information to answer questions and surface relevant content using generative AI.” (For example, you could skip searching your business’s internal links and pages and ask Dash when the next company holiday is.)

Trusting a company with all that data is a tall order. Dropbox wants to assure customers that it’s prepared for that responsibility — pledging to be transparent and not sell your data to advertisers. “In this next era of AI, it’s more important than ever that we protect our customers’ privacy, act transparently, and limit bias in our AI technologies so they’re built as fairly and reliably as possible,” the company said.

As lofty as Dropbox’s ambitions are with Dash, I can’t help but see an AI-powered “search box for everything” as a logical extension of modern operating systems. I’d be surprised if Apple, Microsoft and Google haven’t already been working on their versions of an AI-infused universal search bar to eventually bake into their products on the OS level. If those suspicions are correct, that could leave Dropbox with a brief window to establish Dash before the heavy hitters step in and make a third-party variant redundant for most customers.

Dropbox AI for file previews is available in alpha today for Dropbox Pro customers in the US. In addition, it will “start rolling out” for “select Dropbox Teams.” Finally, you can sign up to join the waitlist for Dropbox Dash.

Konami has finally shared a release date for Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1. In case you missed the publisher’s original announcement, Konami announced the compilation alongside Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater during Sony’s recent PlayStation Showcase. At the time, the company provided precious few details about the Master Collection, a fact it remedied during the most recent Nintendo Direct.

During Wednesday’s livestream, Konami said the Master Collection would arrive on October 24th and include Metal Gear Solid, MGS 2: Sons of Liberty and MGS 3: Snake Eater as previously announced, plus Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake as well as the NES versions of Metal Gear and 1990’s Snake's Revenge. Additionally, the bundle will come with a wealth of bonus content, including strategy guides for each game and a digital soundtrack. It also comes with the Metal Gear Solid graphic novel and screenplay books that delve into the stories of Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater.

In other words, the Master Collection is shaping up to be the best way to play the Metal Gear series on modern platforms. Many of the games, including Sons of Liberty, aren’t available to purchase on platforms like GOG and the Microsoft Store after Konami ran into licensing issues for some of the content in those titles. Of course, whether you should buy the compilation will depend on how you feel about Konami’s treatment of Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima. Since their public split in 2015, the company has gone out of its way to minimize – and, in many cases, erase – Kojima’s name from the series he gave three decades of his life to. Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Steam and Nintendo Switch. 

Amazon just revealed a deeply-discounted bundle that includes a Ring Video Doorbell and an Echo Pop speaker for just $40, though this deal is exclusive to Prime members. All told, that’s $65 off the regular price, as the Ring Video Doorbell typically costs $65 and the Echo Pop usually comes in at $40. In other words, you’re basically getting the Echo Pop for free.

There’s only one caveat here. This deal is only good for the wired doorbell, so put those dreams of a wireless video doorbell out of your head. There are other deals available for the wired doorbell as part of this early Prime Day celebration. You can purchase it outright for $35 or pair it with a Ring Chime notification device for $60. These discounted bundles are live right now, but only until June 26th. Prime Day officially starts on July 11th, continuing until July 12th.

The Ring Video Doorbell is widely praised for being easy to use, with a high-definition camera perfect for inspecting visitors, despite requiring a wired connection. The Echo Pop is Amazon’s newest entry-level smart speaker, with a half-globe design that’s great for smaller living spaces. It also pairs with mesh routers and features the company’s proprietary AZ2 Neural Edge processor for machine learning.

This is just an opening salvo in the coming onslaught of Prime Day deals, but it’s certainly a fantastic start for those looking to save a few bucks on gadgets.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.