Tag: Google

Virtual Reality Posted on

What It Feels Like to Jump Off a Virtual Cliff

Images: Project Tango When I strapped Google’s Tango gadget on my head, a device designed to virtually replicate reality, I found myself standing on a platform overlooking a chasm that felt thousands of feet deep. I took a virtual step off. Up until that point it felt real enough to generate some feelings of nausea while peering into the abyss, but with the background chatter from crowds of people milling around Google’s I/O conference, the experience of virtually diving off a cliff didn’t feel quite the way I’d expect it would in reality. Still, after messing around with one of the Tango developer units, I couldn’t help think their tagline “we like epic shit” sounded accurate. Project Tango is the brainchild of Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects division. The device […] Read More

Living the Illusion Posted on

De-Pave Paradise: Driverless Cars Will Kill the Parking Lot

The sharing ecosystem that driverless cars are going to usher in is going to cut down on the number of cars on the road and as a consequence, will kill the modern parking lot. Cities could look completely different with 80 percent fewer cars on the road, you know. The vision (and that number), put forward by Carlos Ratti, director of MIT‘s Sensible City Lab earlier this week, isn’t new: Autonomous cars and buses will supplement public transit by providing “last mile” transport. People will share rides instead of owning cars, cutting down the number of vehicles needed for mobility in congested cities dramatically. “Your car could give you a lift to work in the morning and then, rather than sitting idle in a […] Read More

Living the Illusion Posted on

2014: De-Pave Paradise: Driverless Cars Will Kill the Parking Lot

The sharing ecosystem that driverless cars are going to usher in is going to cut down on the number of cars on the road and as a consequence, will kill the modern parking lot. Cities could look completely different with 80 percent fewer cars on the road, you know. The vision (and that number), put forward by Carlos Ratti, director of MIT‘s Sensible City Lab earlier this week, isn’t new: Autonomous cars and buses will supplement public transit by providing “last mile” transport. People will share rides instead of owning cars, cutting down the number of vehicles needed for mobility in congested cities dramatically. “Your car could give you a lift to work in the morning and then, rather than sitting idle in a […] Read More