Hasta La Gadget!

“That’s not how the Constitution of the United States works,” Obama said in Florida.

The continuing die-off of the world’s coral reefs is a depressing reminder of the reality of climate change, but it’s also something we can actively push back on. Conservationists have a new tool to do so with LarvalBot, an underwater robot platform that may greatly accelerate efforts to re-seed old corals with healthy new polyps.

The robot has a history going back to 2015, when a prototype known as COTSbot was introduced, capable of autonomously finding and destroying the destructive crown of thorns starfish (hence the name). It has since been upgraded and revised by the team at the Queensland University of Technology, and in its hunter-killer form is known as the RangerBot.

But the same systems that let it safely navigate and monitor corals for invasive fauna also make it capable of helping these vanishing ecosystems more directly.

Great Barrier Reef coral spawn yearly in a mass event that sees the waters off north Queensland filled with eggs and sperm. Researchers at Southern Cross University have been studying how to reap this harvest and sow a new generation of corals. They collect the eggs and sperm and sequester them in floating enclosures, where they are given a week or so to develop into viable coral babies (not my term, but I like it). These coral babies are then transplanted carefully to endangered reefs.

LarvalBot comes into play in that last step.

“We aim to have two or three robots ready for the November spawn. One will carry about 200,000 larvae and the other about 1.2 million,” explained QUT’s Matthew Dunbabin in a news release. “During operation, the robots will follow preselected paths at constant altitude across the reef and a person monitoring will trigger the release of the larvae to maximise the efficiency of the dispersal.”

It’s something a diver would normally have to do, so the robot acts as a force multiplier — one that doesn’t require food or oxygen, as well. A few of these could do the work of dozens of rangers or volunteers.

“The surviving corals will start to grow and bud and form new colonies which will grow large enough after about three years to become sexually reproductive and complete the life cycle,” said Southern Cross’s Peter Harrison, who has been developing the larval restoration technique.

It’s not a quick fix by any means, but this artificial spreading of corals could vastly improve the chances of a given reef or area surviving the next few years and eventually becoming self-sufficient again.

I’m a simple woman. When I’m riding the bus, walking down the street, or working in the open offices here at Gizmodo Media Group, I just want to pop in my earbuds, turn on some good music (buy Honey on iTunes) and ignore everything around me.

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When it comes to wearing a watch, there is quite a number of us who have already migrated to the smartwatch platform. After all, we cannot get enough of our mobile devices as well as the kind of constant notifications that stream in, be it from out email inbox to our social media profiles and instant messaging programs. A smartwatch is a useful accessory to have for the modern day road warrior, although it is not considered to be an essential tool. If you are a high powered executive, chances are it would be of more use as opposed to a regular office drone, but for those who would want a sprinkling of style to go with functionality, the ToryTrack Gigi touchscreen smartwatch is right up your alley.

For starters, the ToryTrack Gigi touchscreen smartwatch is a state-of-the-art smartwatch that brings about balance to both fashion and functionality. It will be powered by the latest Wear OS software from Google, where it includes the ability to keep track of your heart rate, being able to accompany you while you swim, help you perform mobile payments where supported, as well as keep track of your activities and movement via untethered GPS, among others.

Touted to be the ultimate convergence of Tory Burch design and wearable technology, it will merge the elegance of an analog watch alongside the capabilities of a world-class smartwatch. Specially inspired by the Gigi, which is an iconic, classic design that happens to be one of the brand’s bestselling styles, the ToryTrack Gigi touchscreen smartwatch will arrive in a trio of distinct finishes: polished gold-tone, silver-tone and black stainless steel. All of them will sport an interchangeable rubber, grosgrain and leather strap options in order to help you mix and match your wardrobe.

Running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 platform, the new ToryTrack Gigi touchscreen smartwatch plays nice with both iPhone and Android platforms. It will retail for $395 apiece for those who are interested.

Press Release
[ ToryTrack Gigi touchscreen smartwatch copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

The largest radio company in the United States, iHeartMedia, is in a spot of bother. It has $20 billion in debt and has filed for bankruptcy protection in March. The company has been exploring the possibility of obtaining investments with several companies one of which is said to be Apple. It wants to clinch a deal ahead of filing a reorganization plan with the bankruptcy court.

The Financial Times reports that Apple is one of the companies that’s considering an investment in iHeartMedia. The latter may be willing to part with an equity stake in return for millions of dollars. One source tells the scribe that a deal between the two companies could also look like a marketing partnership instead of a direct cash infusion from Apple.

If a deal is reached between the two companies, it may allow for Apple Music’s Beats 1 to be distributed even further. It’s currently available only through iTunes and Apple Music apps. Getting the station on iHeartRadio gives way to the possibility that it may help significantly grow Apple Music’s user base.

iHeartRadio is a dominant force in the radio industry despite its troubles. It has more than 850 stations and considerable clout with events like the iHeartRadio Music Awards. The company has not yet commented on a potential deal with Apple and the fruit company is tightlipped on the matter as well.

Apple May Be Thinking About Investing In iHeartRadio , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.