Baidu brings autonomous driving unit to Silicon Valley

Heading right into Google’s turf, Baidu is forming a self-driving car team in Silicon Valley. This unit will focus on research, development, and testing of its own autonomous vehicle. Baidu is calling its Autonomous Driving Unit in Silicon Valley as ADU-US. The team, which they plan to grow to over 100 researchers and engineers by the end of 2016, will tackle things like planning, perception, control, and systems. They’ll take an “incremental approach,” starting with small “autonomy-enabled” regions and then design cars that will recognizable, like what we get from Google’s own fleet.

ADU-US will be working alongside Baidu’s Research team and they’re looking to have machine learning researchers with knowledge in both hardware and software, ranging from robotics and computer vision to onboard computers and sensors. They are looking for people with experience in the automotive industry as well.

Source: Market Wired

Amazon Echo finally lets you add events to your Google calendar

It feels like a long time coming but the Amazon Echo now gets the capability to add events to your Google calendar. All you have to do is tell it something like “Alex, add ‘run errands’ to my Calendar for 10 a.m. this Sunday” and then it’ll put it right into your calendar. No need to type it into your phone anymore. The Echo previously only lets you know what’s on your calendar but without the capability to add new entries.

Just head over to the settings screen of your Alexa app to activate the feature. Tap on the “calendar” option to turn this feature on.

Source: The Next Web

Apple’s Store app for iOS gets peek and pop support

Apple has updated its official Store app on iOS to integrate a new 3D Touch feature: peek and pop support. You can now 3D Touch press on almost any image or link in the app to quickly show you a preview of what’s behind it. For example, press on the featured products and you’ll get to see what’s in the next screen. It must be noted that 3D Touch only works with iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus at the moment. The update also brings with it the availability of the app in Korea, Russia, and Thailand.

Source: 9to5Mac | Download: iTunes App Store (Free)

Apple celebrates Earth Day with Siri and Liam

This new Earth Day video shows Apple's iPhone recycling robot Liam interacting with Siri in a fun and lighthearted skit. Liam can take apart iPhones and organize its various parts for proper recycling and is one of Apple's efforts for its global citizenship and environmental awarenss.