Technology

Mercedes-Benz said recently that it was going all-electric by 2030, which naturally got race fans excited about the possibilities of an electric high-performance car from the automaker’s AMG sub-brand. Today, we’re getting our first look at the upcoming AMG EQS, a wickedly fast sport sedan with a 0-60 mph time of 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph. It made its public debut at the 2021 IAA Mobility show in Germany. The AMG EQS is the first battery-electric production car from the automaker’s in-house performance subsidiary. As such, there’s a lot riding on Mercedes getting everything exactly right if it wants to satisfy its loyal customers while also luring new ones away from Tesla. first battery-electric production car from the automaker’s in-house performance subsidiary This is a driv...

Firefly’s Alpha rocket exploded mid-flight on Thursday, but the company posted a new video on Sunday and provided more detail on what happened. “Although the vehicle didn’t make orbit, the day marked a major advancement for our team,” the company tweeted. “We demonstrated we ‘arrived’ as a company capable of building and launching rockets.” Alpha, a two-stage rocket, lifted off from the Vandenberg Space Force base in California at 9:59PM ET on Thursday, carrying a payload of private satellites. It was the company’s first-ever mission, and two minutes after liftoff the rocket began tipping horizontally, falling short of reaching its maximum aerodynamic pressure. According to Firefly, the rocket cleared the launch pad successfully, but about 15 seconds into flight, engine 2 shut down. The ve...

I have to say I’m really appreciating what Ted Lasso is doing in season 2, and this week’s episode had some really great work from Jason Sudeikis and Sarah Niles. I won’t spoil it, but it was remarkable how the couch scene, which would have been just another “Ted being loopy” scene played for comic effect in season one hit completely different now that Ted’s realized he needs help with his mental health. Also, I recommend this New York Times profile of Niles — it’s a few weeks old but nicely captures how she sees Dr. Sharon fitting in with the rest of the Lasso team. Now on to this week’s teasers and trailers: [embedded content] Moonfall “What if the moon fell to earth” is the premise of this Roland Emmerich flick, which looks like about what you’d expect from the director of Independence ...

Just months after Mercedes-Benz launched its first true compact electric SUV, the EQA, the German automaker now has a slightly larger and more capable companion: the EQB. Revealed in full today at the 2021 IAA Mobility show in Germany, the company will start building the EQA in Hungary and China this month, and it will start selling the SUV in the US in 2022. Mercedes-Benz trotted out the EQB alongside a few other new electric vehicles that it’s adding to its stable. There’s the EQE sedan, which is a more attainable version of its flagship executive electric, the EQS. Mercedes-Benz also rolled out AMG and Maybach versions of the EQS. There’s even now going to be an electric version of the G-Wagen — though that’s not coming for a while, as Mercedes-Benz only debuted a concept version of the...

Mercedes-Benz has revealed an electric concept version of its boxy luxury off-roader, the G-Wagen, dotted with glowing accents and wearing some seriously moon rover-style wheels. Officially known as the Concept EQG, Mercedes-Benz was really light on details about the electric SUV while showing it off at the 2021 IAA Mobility show in Munich. It didn’t cite estimates for range, or mention battery size, or the power output of the electric motors. It will be all-wheel drive, though, and it will have a low and high gear. Also, those wheels are 22 inches. Instead, the Concept EQG is right now closer to a design exercise — a first attempt at how Mercedes-Benz may modify the new generation of the G-Class that it first revealed at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show, and something to gawk at until a product...

If you liked Mercedes-Benz’s flagship electric sedan, the EQS, but grimaced at its six-figure price tag (or don’t feel you need its sundry bells and whistles), the German automaker has a new vehicle on the way that may be of interest. On Sunday, Mercedes-Benz revealed the EQE, a slightly smaller sedan built on the same technical platform that will undoubtedly be a few bucks cheaper when it launches next year — though the company did not share pricing. The EQE was revealed at the 2021 IAA Mobility conference alongside a few other electrics that are coming out of Stuttgart: the EQB compact SUV, AMG performance and Maybach versions of the EQS, and an electric G-Wagen concept. While the EQE is 3.5 inches shorter than the EQS, it will share a lot of the same traits as the company’s leading elec...

Segway has introduced its first robot mower, the Navimow, that uses GPS to stay on your lawn and keep it neatly trimmed. So unlike other robot mowers, you won’t have to install a boundary wire to keep the robot on the right patch of grass. Segway says its Exact Fusion Locating System keeps the Navimow to “precise positions and systematic mowing patterns,” keeping its position accurate to within two centimeters. If its GPS signal is temporarily weak, the Navimow has sensors that will keep it mowing. Users define the boundaries of the area to be mowed for the Navimow using its smartphone app, including giving it directions for which areas to avoid. Segway says the Navimow’s algorithm “determines a systemic mowing path,” and doesn’t have to criss-cross already-mowed areas. [embedded content] ...

Premium vacuum company Dyson has patented designs for robots that look like they could climb and clean stairs, and open drawers, new filings show. It’s not clear whether the designs are for forthcoming products or ideas that are on hold, but Bloomberg reports that Dyson’s robotic unit has been working on a robot to interact with other home appliances. Whether it’s the robot hand or the stair-climbing robot, or another product entirely also isn’t clear at this point. The patents published in the UK on September 1st show the two designs; a “robotic device with tri-star wheels and actuated arm” that would be able to climb steps and clean them (a stair-climbing vacuum sounds like an excellent idea), and a “robot hand” which is shown in drawings with the patent application holding a mug (and wh...

NFT collectors are now spending thousands of dollars worth of Ethereum cryptocurrency on virtual game items that don’t actually belong to any game, feature any artwork, or have any stats to them. The project — known as Loot — was launched by American entrepreneur and programmer Dom Hofmann, who created a system where NFT collectors can spend money to create loot bags of unique items, with just 8,000 loot bags to ever be made. Despite not having any artwork or real game tied to it, a market began to form around its scarcity and prices quickly soared. In one case, a user is even selling a “Divine Robe of Power” for 300 ETH, which is equivalent to more than $1 million USD. Despite owning these lists, the “NFTs” remained to be just names of items, and so people began creating visuals for them,...

Sony is now planning to offer a free Horizon Forbidden West upgrade from PS4 to PS5. The U-turn follows widespread criticism after the company announced there would be no upgrade path for Horizon Forbidden West PS4 players, despite an original promise of a free upgrade to the PS5 version. “It’s abundantly clear that the offerings we confirmed in our pre-order kickoff missed the mark,” admits Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment. “While the pandemic’s profound impact pushed Forbidden West out of the launch window we initially envisioned, we will stand by our offer: Players who purchase Horizon Forbidden West on PlayStation 4 will be able to upgrade to the PlayStation 5 version for free.” Sony had originally planned to force PS4 players of Horizon Forbidden West to p...

Home Depot has launched a smart home app meant to be an all-in-one for smart appliances and accessories the big box store sells, but it’s debatable why anyone would need it when Google Home and Amazon’s Alexa already exist. Called Hubspace, the free app is available in Android and iOS app stores, and “enables light bulbs, smart plugs and ceiling fans to be controlled from anywhere,” according to a press release from Home Depot. It’s compatible with Google Home and Amazon Alexa devices, and works with a short list of products that Home Depot sells, from its proprietary brands such as Hampton Bay and EcoSmart. “There’s no need for a hub or extra equipment, and the platform already works with more than 20 products,” the press release explains. OK, so there’s no hub required and you can contro...