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Weekly Tech Recap - № 181 - Google Chrome, Nuro/Kroger partnership, crytocurrencies, Apple chip, Aerial-Biped robot

August 17, 2018.

The Chroming of the Web

Google Chrome.

Google Chrome. © iStock.

Google Chrome is slowly but surely taking over the world of desktop browsers. According to analytics vendor Net Applications, which keeps statistics on tens of thousands of websites all over the world, its main rivals have lost yet more ground over the last 12 months: Internet Explorer went from a market share of 13% to 11%, Microsoft Edge dropped to 4.2% in July from a high of 4.7% in January, and Mozilla Firefox dipped under 10%, down from 15% two years ago. Apple Safari sits neck-and-neck with Microsoft Edge, at around 4.3% during the first semester of 2017. Secure browsers, like Opera or the very interesting Vivaldi, have managed to hang on to their market share since 2016, at around 7%. Google Chrome owns almost two-thirds of the market, sitting at 65%. Net Applications says that on the mobile front, Android dominates, with 63% of the market for Chrome and 27% for Safari.

Computerworld, “Top web browsers 2018: IE, Edge and Firefox return to the road of ruin.”

 

Autonomous grocery delivery

Nuro autonomous vehicle.

Nuro autonomous vehicle. © Kroger.

Starting this week, residents of Scottsdale, Arizona, can get their groceries delivered by a self-driving vehicle. This on-the-ground experiment is the result of a partnership between autonomous vehicle builder Nuro, and Kroger, the U.S.’s largest retail chain, owner of the Fry’s banner in Arizona. Kroger says that deliveries will have a flat $5.95 delivery fee, and customers can schedule same-day or next-day deliveries. Initially, the deliveries will be made by Nuro's fleet of modified Toyota Priuses with a safety driver behind the wheel. But more interestingly, this fall, Kroger expects to start using Nuro's R1 model, which doesn't even have a driver’s seat. That’ll be one to watch!

Arizona has some of the nation's most permissive laws regarding driverless vehicles, which was likely a factor in Kroger's decision to launch its first delivery service there, and Google Waymo to test its driverless taxis around Phoenix.

Ars Technica, “Kroger launches autonomous grocery delivery service in Arizona.”

 

The cryptocurrency bubble shatters

Cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrencies. © iStock.

After a year of wild speculation that saw Bitcoin and Ethereum reach new highs, 2018 has been a disaster for cryptocurrencies. The trend was reversed at the beginning of the year and their value started dropping, and never stopped. Today, the market cap of all cryptocurrencies put together is 191 billion dollars – the first time since November 2017 that it has slid below the 200 billion dollar mark. Bitcoin, which sat at a high of US$19,363 on 17 December 2017, is now worth US$6,426, or a full two-thirds less. Ethereum did even worse, shedding a whopping 79% of its value, from a high of US$1,403 on 13 January 2017 to just US$292 today. This crash could mean one of two things: either it’ll make way for a more mature, less speculative market, either it’ll put paid to the whole concept; only time will tell. For the moment, all signs point to a continued slide. But the crash has made some people happy: gamers.

Mashable, “Cryptocurrency market cap drops below $200 billion for the first time this year.”

 

Apple custom health chip

Apple Watch.

Apple Watch. © iStock.

Apple is working on a dedicated custom health chip that would help it process biometric data, according to job listings found by CNBC. The company already makes its own chips: the S series for its Apple Watch, the A series for the iPhone, and other less well-known chips like the W series for AirPods and third-generation Apple Watches, and the T series for a plethora of devices ranging from the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar to the Secure Enclave to protect encrypted data and fingerprints. CNBC reports that these new job listings indicate Apple would like to go one step further with regard to health data and integrate a custom chip that would be solely responsible for processing metrics like heart rate and also helping improve battery efficiency on devices like the Apple Watch.

The Verge, “Apple wants to build a custom health chip for processing biometric data.”

 

Aerial-Biped robot

Aerial-Biped.

Aerial-Biped. © Azumi Maekawa.

Aerial-Biped is an odd two-legged quadrotor robot created by Azumi Maekawa of Tokyo University. This walking, flying robot begs the question: what use is it? Maybe it has no practical use, other than fun, and advancing science. To achieve a normal gait, the velocity of each foot must be zero while in contact with the ground, which is no easy feat when the head is flying. This is achieved through reinforcement learning in a physics simulator that sends the results to the Aerial-Biped.

IEEE Spectrum, “Aerial-Biped Is a Quadrotor With Legs That Can Fly-Walk.”