Jan 05
Land Rover’s Defender range has grown since the iconic SUV made its long-awaited return to the U.S. Here’s what sets the new models apart.
Jan 05
It would appear that Framework has figured out the right combination of elements that make a modular laptop a reality. But is it worth the cash?
Jan 05
Less than a month since Apple completed the rollout of iOS 16.2, the company has started pushing the beta version of iOS 16.3 to some users.
Jan 05
The Tesla Model X is the SUV variant of the company’s EV lineup, and like other Tesla vehicles, can have its range significantly impacted by extreme weather.
Jan 05
Qualcomm to Roll Out Satellite Connectivity for Android Devices Later This Year
Posted in: Today's Chili
Qualcomm is working with Iridium, a satellite network provider, to bring satellite connectivity to future Android devices. The technology is only capable of two-way messaging. However, Qualcomm also has Garmin’s Response service on board for emergencies since it already uses Iridium’s satellite network.
Jan 05
The legacy of the original series of X-Men films is very complicated. They were released even before Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, and the current boom of superhero success can quite easily be tracked back to them. Even some of the stars, like Patrick Stewart, are still reprising their roles in new films. But hovering over…
Jan 05
The Webb Space Telescope’s latest target is one previously imaged by Hubble: the distant barred spiral galaxy EGS23205. Targets like this one will boost our understanding of the early universe and how ancient stars and galaxies took form.
Jan 05
New research points to an under-appreciated cause of childhood asthma: gas stoves. The study estimates that about one in every eight cases in the U.S. can be attributed to the indoor pollution emitted by gas stoves. The findings are only the latest to highlight the harmful effects of this ubiquitous way of cooking.
Jan 05
From its position in low lunar orbit, South Korea’s first Moon mission caught a unique glimpse of Earth rising from behind the cratered surface of our natural satellite.
Jan 05
Non-parents may not believe it, but pushing a pram around can be a fairly strenuous task, especially when the train gets rough. It’s a full body workout to push two kids under four in my old Uppababy Vista, which weighed the same as an iceberg and had the turning circle of the Titanic. To remedy this, Canadian startup GlüxKind has developed an electrically-assisted stroller that’ll make pushing easier, and can even drive itself, albeit only when your kid isn’t on board.
The GlüxKind Ella is the brainchild of Anne Hunger and Kevin Huang, a couple who were less than whelmed when looking for a stroller for their own daughter. They decided to build their own device by strapping an electric skateboard to a regular stroller, and started developing their product from there. The device has three modes, the first of which is to add electric assist to the wheels as you’re pushing it around.
Trying this in an admittedly limited demo at CES, it feels very much like the sort of power boost you get with an e-bike. You still have to push this thing around, but you only have to make a fairly meager level of effort before the motor kicks in and helps you out. As well as easier forward motion, you’ll also find turning to be a lot snappier than you may expect, useful too when you’re trying to maneuver your rugrat in tight spaces. It’ll also prove useful when going uphill, or if you’re carrying lots of groceries in Ella’s surprisingly large cargo space.
I’m told that the battery will last for around eight hours of mixed use, and you’ll need to charge it at the end of every day, more or les.
You can also set the pram to rock your baby to sleep, moving backwards and forwards by about a foot. This, I’m sure, will be a godsend to parents who are otherwise praying for divine intervention at 3am as their precious child refuses to sleep. I’m aware that there are some safety caveats about using such a feature on a regular basis, but being able to call on the feature in a pinch will surely be an instant-sell to some harangued parents.
The last mode, and the most eye-catching, is self-driving, where the stroller will drive ahead of you by a couple of feet. It’ll maintain power when going up hill, and brake so it stays close to you when you’re going down the other side. But crucially, the system is designed to not work if you put your kid in the seat and expect the pram to do all of the work. A weight sensor in the bassinet and stroller chair will block the function if it detects the presence of a child.
A product like this is, understandably, going to be at the higher end of the price scale, and when it hits Kickstarter this spring, the first 100 units will set you back $3,800. Once that early bird special is done with, the price is likely to climb a little higher, but for that you’ll also get built-in GPS so you can track where your pram is if you’ve asked friends and family to babysit. GlüxKind also has plans to build out a community feature to find and connect like-minded parents — the sort of whom are also prepared to spend north of four grand on a self-driving stroller.
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