Ford partners with Gravity Sketch to bring 3D VR design tool into its design studios

Ford’s new partnership with Gravity Sketch wants to put its customers first—starting right from the design process. The automaker is the first one to use Gravity Sketch’s 3D virtual reality tool so its designers can skip 2D sketches and jump right into creating 3D models of their designs. According to Ford and Gravity Sketch, this approach prioritizes the people who will be using the cars. Using VR headset and controllers, the designers can anchor a driver at the center and start creating the 3D design around them, or they can even choose to “step inside” the vehicle and begin designing around them.

Across five global Ford design studios, both interior and exterior designers are using Gravity Sketch to see how the software can be used for real-time collaboration. The hope is this approach will change the entire design process by reducing development time and allowing for more 3D representations in the evaluation stage.

Seagate launches PlayStation-branded Game Drive

Perhaps looks matter to you and you’re willing to pay for it. Seagate just launched a new officially licensed Game Drive for your PlayStation 4. Like other hard drives, it’ll let you add extra space to your console. This 2TB drive, however, matches your console—if you care that much about aesthetics. According to Seagate, the Game Drive can add around 50 more games, if you’re interested. It promises “full-speed” gaming similar to what you’d get from the PS4’s internal hard disk. It supports any PS4 using at least version 4.50 of firmware or newer. It’s coming to North America next week and goes for CA$120.

Source: Engadget

Gmail for Android and iOS finally get Material Design makeover

After being unveiled at Cloud Next 2018 in July, Material Design theme redesign for Gmail on Android and iOS is finally hitting users. It brings a lot of the features seen in the web version introduced last year. The familiar red app bar and accent has been removed and replaced with a stark white motif. You get a search field with the hamburger button on the left and profile icon on the right. The bottom right corner has the button you can access to compose messages. It’s now easier to see labels and other colours with the new design. Photos, documents, and other attachments are now seen inline for easier access. For “dangerous” messages, you’ll see big red banner warnings. Similar to the web, there are three density views for Gmail: Default, Comfortable, and Compact. The update is rolling out in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for the change to hit your device soon.

Source: 9to5Google

Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn gets teased in quick ‘Birds of Prey’ trailer

With the film set to come out in February 7, 2020, we’re a long way away from Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). But that doesn’t mean we aren’t getting a peak at what star Margot Robbie described as the DC Extended Universe’s “R-rated girl gang film.” The 19-second clip of this Cathy Yan-directed film gives us a glimpse of Robbie’s Harley Quinn alongside her co-stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Huntress), Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Black Canary), Rosie Perez (Detective Renee Montoya), and Ewan McGregor (Black Mask). Robbie even teased on Instagram a photo of her in costume, which included a dog tag necklace with the name Bruce. Time suggests this could foreshadow a Birds of Prey run-in with Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman.