connected

Having a mini PC connected to the TV is something I have always wanted. This has everything I’m looking for at a reasonable price (for now)

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Since I bought the Mac mini M4 I put aside my previous computer, a fairly large piece of equipment that at specific times I have connected to the television to play or simply to browse the Internet without having to use my cell phone or sit at the desk. That computer is not exactly small and I prefer to avoid using it in the television area because, basically, it does not fit. To this end, I have been considering buying a mini PC for a few weeks, and the Blackview MP60 It is one of the ones that interests me the most right now. It can be found at PcComponentes for a price of 295 euros. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A mini PC to work or as a multimedia center The RAM memory crisis has affected many devices, and the Blackview MP60 is no exception. It has risen in price in recent months, but it is still interesting for everything it offers in terms of hardware and software, since it comes with Windows 11 Pro preinstalledwhich prevents us from having to install it ourselves. Taking into account how much I liked the format of the Mac mini M4, I am interested (and not a little) in having a similar computer for how multimedia center on the tvwhether to watch content from streaming platforms or simply to browse the Internet, so I take advantage of the fact that I bought the keyboard a while ago Logitech K400 for TV and I have a mouse Logitech MX Vertical. At the hardware level, it comes with an Intel Celeron N150 processor, which is normal for computers at this price. But it also includes 16 GB of RAM (DDR4) and 512 GB of internal storage, more than enough for the use I would give it. It is also worth mentioning that it comes with four USB ports, a pair of HDMI 1.4, an Ethernet port and another 3.5 mm Jack. Of course, seeing that the price of this mini PC has risen a little in recent months, it is possible that it will continue to do so in the coming weeks, so in that case it may not be such an attractive purchase. The RAM that has increased the most in price is DDR5, although DDR4 has not been far behind. This entire mini PC is practically the same as RAM alone, or even cheaper. For work or as a multimedia center still maintains a fairly reasonable priceat least taking into account the moment we are experiencing with the price of RAM. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: Blackview MP60 ✅ THE BEST It comes well equipped: Unless we want to use it more demandingly, it is ideal for working from the sofa or as a multimedia center to watch movies and series or surf the Internet. Its format: It is small, so it is interesting to have it placed next to the television. ❌ THE WORST Its price: The RAM memory crisis is affecting the price of many devices, and this mini PC has not been spared. 💡 BUY IT IF… You are looking for a good mini PC to work with or as a multimedia center taking into account that the price has increased, but may increase further in the coming weeks. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… You want a more powerful device that allows you to run demanding apps or play games sporadically. You may also be interested ACEMAGIC Matrix Mini M1 Mini PC, Windows 11 Pro, AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (8C/16T, up to 4.7 GHz), Mini Computer with 32 GB LPDDR5 1TB M.2 SSD, Triple 4K Screen, WiFi 6/BT 5.2 for Games and Office The price could vary. We earn commission from these links ACEMAGIC Kron Mini K1 Mini PC, Windows 11 Pro, AMD Ryzen 5 7430U (6C/12T, up to 4.3 GHz), Mini Desktop Computers 16GB RAM DDR4 512GB M.2 2280 SSD, BT 5.2/WiFi 6/for Office, Small Computer The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Laura LopezBlackview In Xataka | What mouse do Xataka editors use? 13 recommended mice for work and play In Xataka | What keyboard do Xataka editors use: 15 recommended keyboards for productivity, writing and playing

Scientists have connected 200,000 human neurons to a chip. And he made them play ‘Doom’

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If they tell us that human neurons are playing ‘Doom’, the first thing we would think of is science fiction. However, that is exactly what the Australian company Cortical Labs has shown with your CL1 system: about 200,000 live neurons grown on an array of electrodes on a chip, capable of receiving information from the game and responding through electrical patterns. We are not talking about conventional artificial intelligence, but rather biological tissue interacting with software through an interface designed for that purpose. Human neurons and ‘Doom’. The demo isn’t just launching the game and letting something random happen. In the material shared by Cortical Labs, those responsible explain that the system receives signals from the video game environment and generates electrical patterns that translate into the character’s actions. This is a form of learning in which the system modifies its response depending on the result obtained. The key here is not skill, but the ability to adapt, which, according to the company, they are managing to train and mold in real time. How the interaction loop is established. For the experiment to work, it is not enough to display images on a screen. According to CTO David Hogan, an independent developer managed to convert the game’s visual signal into “electrical stimulation patterns” that are applied directly to the cell culture. These stimuli provoke electrical responses in neurons, and certain firing patterns translate into specific actions within ‘Doom’. In this way, the system creates a closed loop in real time in which each decision has an immediate effect on the virtual environment. look back. In 2021, the same company managed to make a system based on more than 800,000 neurons play ‘Pong’an experiment that required years of scientific work and specific training. That precedent laid the foundations for what would later become the CL1, the equipment presented at the Mobile World Congress in 2025 as the world’s first commercial biological computer. As we explained at the time, the system combines neurons grown on silicon with software called biOS, responsible for exchanging electrical information with living tissue. It is advisable to adjust expectations. The system, it should be noted, falls far short of advanced human performance. Brett Kagan of Cortical Labs emphasizes that the experiment is not intended to replicate a miniature brain, and rejects the direct comparison: “Yes, it is alive, and yes, it is biological, but it is actually used as a material that can process information in very special ways that we cannot recreate in silicon.” The emphasis, therefore, is not on skill, but on the type of processing that this biological substrate allows. Starting point. In the video, the team encourages researchers and developers to interact with the CL1 open API. Cortical Labs hopes to address progressively more demanding tasks than a classic video game, although the video itself also recognizes that there is room to fine-tune the feedback of successes and errors. For now, what we have is a proof of concept that shows potential, but whose path will depend on what others manage to build on this platform. Images | Cortical Labs In Xataka | Sam Altman has spent his entire life saying one thing and doing exactly the opposite. And this time it didn’t even take 48 hours.

The first great Atlantic submarine cable that connected us to the internet says goodbye for a simple reason: it was too expensive to repair it

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It has been at the bottom of the sea for more than two decades, forgotten. But now, finally, the TAT-8, the first fiber optic cable that crossed the Atlantic and connected us to the Internet, is being removed from its place. And to understand the importance of this, it is worth telling its story, since perhaps the Internet would not be as we know it without this cable. The cable that started it all. On December 14, 1988, AT&T, British Telecom and France Telecom developed TAT-8, the acronym for Trans-Atlantic Telephone 8. It was the eighth transoceanic cable system between Europe and the United States, but the first to use optical fiber. Before him, transatlantic cables ran on copper, with very limited capacity. With the TAT-8, voices and data traveled converted into pulses of light through glass threads thinner than a hair. Just like account Wired in its report, at the inaugural event, writer Isaac Asimov connected by video call from New York with audiences in Paris and London to celebrate, in his own words, “this inaugural voyage across the sea on a ray of light.” Why was it so important? When it came into operation, the Internet was still too technical a concept for the general public. But the TAT-8 literally built the highway on which everything later circulated. The curious thing is that in just 18 months it already reached its maximum capacity, so this forced new cables to be laid as soon as possible, especially after the outbreak of the world Wide Webelectronic commerce and in a context in which the Internet became increasingly relevant. By 2001 the TAT series had already reached 14. Disconnection. Just like account In the middle, in 2002, the TAT-8 suffered a breakdown, and repairing it was not worth it, it was that simple. With more modern and higher capacity cables already operational, it made no sense to invest in their recovery. It went offline and was abandoned at the bottom of the Atlantic, where it has remained for more than two decades. Now they are taking it out of the sea. According to collect Wired, a specialist company called Subsea Environmental Services is physically recovering the cable with its vessel MV Maasvliet. It is one of the few companies in the world whose entire business consists of recovering and recycling retired submarine cables. The operation involves dragging a flat hook across the seabed, waiting hours until tension is felt in the cable, and then hoisting it aboard meter by meter. The workers they explain As the ocean floor is an increasingly crowded space, and recovering old cables frees up routes for new ones. What is done with the remains. The TAT-8 is not thrown away. Fiber optic cables contain high purity copper, steel and polyethylene, all recyclable materials with market value. Copper, especially, is a valuable resource and may become scarce in a few years. And according to the International Energy Agency, in less than a decade could be scarce if the industry does not find new sources. On the other hand, the steel of the cable will end up being converted into fences, and the plastic, processed in the Netherlands, will be transformed into pellets to manufacture non-food packaging. In fact, just as they count At Wired, you may soon be using shampoo in a bottle made from remains of the first fiber optic cable to cross the Atlantic. Sharks. Curiously, the TAT-8 is at the epicenter of one of the legends that has lasted the longest in this sector: that sharks bite internet cables. Just like share In the middle, it all started with a test prior to the TAT-8, the Optican-1, which ended up failing due to problems in its insulation. A Bell Labs engineer appeared at a conference with shark teeth that had supposedly been removed from the damaged cable. The story spread instantly. As well as point At the time, AT&T even included four pages on protection against shark bites in its press kit for TAT-8. Actually, there has never been consensus about whether the sharks really caused that damage. Subsequent tests in aquariums, where they were starved to see if they would bite into wires with electric fields, did not yield any clear patterns. At least the outcome of all that testing and debate was positive, as engineers added a layer of steel between the insulation and the fibers, which improved the cable’s overall resistance to abrasions and damage of all kinds. Cover image | What’s Inside? In Xataka | In 1901, a Spanish man had one of the ideas of the century: invent the remote control before television

There is an unexpected victim of the rise in RAM memory prices: the very modern connected cars

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Which what’s happening with the RAM memories is making one thing clear: the best time to buy memory modules is yesterday. The price increase is so extraordinary which is already affecting other classic components of our PCs such as SSD units or graphics cards. However, the crisis that these components are generating goes further. Much further. Data centers devour memory. The AI ​​fever, we already know very well, has generated a voracious hunger not only for cutting-edge AI chips, but also for RAM and HBM memories that accompany these chips. As indicated in The Wall Street Journaldata centers (both conventional and those dedicated to AI) will consume more than 70% of the high-end memory chips that manufacturers produce in 2026. And if they could take more, they would take them. This is not (only) about PCs or mobiles. It is evident that the first affected by this problem are conventional desktop and laptop computers, as well as our mobile devices. Hundreds of millions of them are sold every year and they all have a certain amount of RAM that is now more expensive than ever. The shock wave is already causing other components such as SSD drives or graphics cards affected, but in reality memory chips are everywhere. And above all, in one. From TV to car. The frenetic rise in memory prices is certainly going to affect other segments that we had not thought about soon. Of course it will do so on other consumer electronic devices, and this certainly includes Smart TVs, which They have their own processor, memory and storage to offer us its functions. But the problem may be even more critical for cars, which for years were already computers with wheels and which are now even better and more powerful computers (and with more memory) with wheels. Memories of all kinds. Although car electronic systems have traditionally used RAM, the latest in most cases was not needed. But that was in the cars of a few years ago, because the arrival especially of the electric car and the fever for screens in our vehicles has made these needs different. Now our cars need various types of memory, but in some cases those modules are as good (or better) than the ones we have in our cell phones and computers. The ECUs. A modern car makes use of so-called ECUs (Electronic Control Units) for issues such as controlling the transmission, the airbag system or the engine itself. It is normal for them to have between 50 and 150 of these control units or microcontrollers, and almost all of them contain RAM for temporary data and a ROM for firmware and software. Infotainment systems. The most obvious component that surely comes to mind as that “car computer” is the infotainment system, which usually consists of a touch screen, navigation functions, support for CarPlay and Android Auto systems, and voice assistants. Although in many cars these systems use 1 GB or 2 GB of DRAM memory, there are more modern cars that They reach 4 GB and even 8 GB of LPDDR4 memory. And if we talk about some manufacturers like BYD or NIO, there are models in which They use 16 GB of LPDDR5 memory. The Ford SYNC 5 system, for example, is based on a Qualcomm SoC with 16 GB of RAM. Driving assistance requires memory. In addition to these components, there are others that also require the use of RAM. Advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) allow you to activate functions such as adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, automatic emergency braking or parking assistant. And to achieve this they use RAM with high bandwidth, which allows working with real-time images and processing of sensor signals. Samsung knows this well and in fact manufactures modules specifically oriented to this market. Tesla’s well-known autopilot hardware, Hardware 4 (currently used) makes use of 16 GB of RAMFor example. Micron already warned. In December 2023 Micron already indicated that “a car needs more memory than a (space) rocket.” The firm, an absolute protagonist in the field of RAM memory module manufacturing, indicated how in 2023 the average vehicle used 90 GB between RAM and NAND, but in 2026 that figure was estimated to be 278 GB and would reach 2 TB in high-end vehicles. That was good news for it and other manufacturers, and even then it pointed to how “generative AI is transforming automotive.” What they probably didn’t realize is that this revolution was going to need many data centers, and those data centers were going to need a lot of memory. And this is where we are. In Xataka | “Not a phone, it’s a car”: Volkswagen believes that screens in cars are going too far

welcome to connected straws

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Imagine that you have just bought a sex toy and you are about to use it for the first time. It cost you more than 100 euros, but you wanted to treat yourself. You open the box, start reading the instructions and see that it has an app to control it. Well, well. You install it and then It starts bombarding you with permissions: location, telephone, photos… Is it really necessary? It’s time to admit that connected devices it’s gotten a little out of hand. There are many devices where it makes perfect sense to be able to control them remotely, but there are others where it seems totally unnecessary to me, such as a vibrator. Connected straws Lelo, SatisfyerWe-Vibe… many sex toy brands have their apps. The main function is to be able to control them from your mobile and play as a couple (or in a group) even if they are at a distance. If each person has a toy, you can synchronize them with each other and have them control the other’s. Some brands like We-Vibe or Satisfyer even offer the option to make video calls from the app itself. There is an app called joyhub that takes remote sex to another level. It is almost like a social network where there is a list of friends and you can create chat rooms to enjoy as a group. And at the next level we have Lovense Remotewhich has an option to connect you with strangers so they can control your toy and “explore the unknown.” Lovense has “Control Roulette”, to connect with strangers. Most apps give you the option to set custom vibration patterns, but some go further and have functions such as synchronizing vibration with music. And be careful because Satisfyer has a mode called High Touch Meditations which is basically like a guided meditation while you give yourself pleasure. One of his meditations is called Lullavulva Deep Sleep. No comments. Permissions and privacy Obviously all these extra functions mean that the apps need access to many functions of our phones, which is what I mentioned at the beginning of the post. Below these lines you can see an example of everything that the We-Vibe app asks for, one of the ones with the most functions and, therefore, that more permissions ask. One of the permissions that these apps always ask for is location, but there is a reason. Just as Lelo says in the description of his app in the Play Store: Since Android 6.0, Google forces all Bluetooth devices to also have access to the location. It also makes sense to access the camera and microphone if they have a video calling function, or the storage if it allows you to take and save photos. But even if everything has an explanation, they are still very sensitive data. The apps know how much we use the toy, at what intensity, who we use it with if we connect with more users and they can even know where we are. It is always important to check if any app collects data and for what purposes, but in the case of an app of this type even more so. In the Play Store, the data that is collected appears in the ‘Data security’ section. This is what each app collects: Satisfyer: They collect information about error logs and “in-app activity” for statistical purposes. Lelo– Collects error logs, device ID, name and email. We-Vibe: photos, although it says it is an optional feature. Lovense: crash logs, photos and videos (optional), activity in the app (optional), name and email address. joyhub: does not collect data. They count in this Wired report, that most apps collect information as a market study; For example, if they detect that people use one type of vibration more, they can design future toys taking this into account. However, data theft occurs and as we said, this information is very sensitive. As far as we know, there has not been any security breach related to one of these apps, but there is a striking case from a few years ago. It was starred by the manufacturer Svakom when it launched a vibrator with a camera on the tip. We don’t judge people’s tastes, the problem was that The password that protected the toy’s WiFi was “88888888” and it was also in the toy manual. A disaster. We return to the question at the beginning: are so many functions necessary in a sex toy? For most people, they probably aren’t, but perhaps for very specific cases of long-distance relationships it makes sense. In addition, you have to understand two things: on the one hand, most of the toys that work with these apps They cost more than 100 euros and we must give them added value beyond “look, vibrate”. On the other hand, sex toys have come out of hiding, especially with the Satisfyer boom and the competition is tight. You have to differentiate yourself. Image | Anna Shvets, Pexels In Xataka | Sex has entered a crisis in the West. If we want to save it, we already know how: by reading romances and

The largest nuclear power plant in Europe has been connected to diesel generators for a month. It’s as encouraging as it sounds.

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Europe is once again walking a nuclear tightrope. After more than three years of war, the largest atomic plant on the continent —the Ukrainian Zaporizhia plant— has gone from being an industrial symbol to becoming at a point of friction capable of triggering an emergency of continental reach. In parallel, other plants in the country operate at reduced power after attacks on the electrical grid. The situation is so unstable that the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, recently traveled to Kaliningrad, Russia, for emergency talks with the head of Rosatom, Alexey Likhachev, according to the Anadolu agency. It is a gesture that reflects the extent to which the risk is real. An attack that left two centers at minimum. According to a statement from the IAEAa military attack during the night of November 7 damaged an electrical substation critical to nuclear security. This incident left the Khmelnitsky and Rivne plants disconnected from one of their two 750 kilovolt lines and forced the electricity operator to order a power reduction in several of its reactors. Ten days later, one of the lines was still out of service and three reactors continued to operate at limited power. The agency emphasizes that these substations are essential nodes of the network: they allow the voltage levels that feed the security and cooling systems to be transformed and maintained. Without them, plants cannot guarantee safe operation. One month depending on diesel generators. The situation in Zaporizhzhia is even more critical. According to an opinion column by Najmedin Meshkati, professor of engineering and international relations published in the Financial Timesthe plant spent a full month without outside power after its two main lines were cut. During that time it survived solely on diesel generators, a resource that the industry considers strictly temporary: they are designed to run for around 24 hours, not for weeks. Technicians were only able to repair the lines under the protection of localized ceasefires negotiated by the IAEA, according to NucNet. Even so, one of the two restored lines was disconnected again on November 14 due to the activation of a protection system. Grossi summed it up like this: “The electrical situation at the plant remains extremely fragile.” The condition for a shut down reactor to remain safe. Although Zaporizhzhia’s six reactors have been on cold shutdown for more than three years, the plant requires a constant three to four megawatts to maintain cooling pumps and other essential systems, according to Meshkati. The professor emphasizes that even huge emergency batteries require external electricity to stay charged. It is a vicious circle: without the electrical grid, batteries are used, but without external electricity, these batteries cannot be recharged and, without both, the cooling systems fail. And without cooling the risk of nuclear fuel melting or overheating increases. The University of Southern California professor warns that this scenario reproduces the conditions that transformed Fukushima into a global disaster: “What turned an earthquake into a catastrophe was the total failure of the electrical system.” And he adds that, unlike 2011 in Japan, this time the risk comes from deliberate human action. A network reduced to its minimum expression. Before the war, according to the Kyiv Independentthe Zaporizhia plant was connected through ten power lines. Today it only has one or two operations and has lost all connection ten times since the beginning of the invasion. The IAEA itself has described the situation power plant as “extremely precarious” and “clearly not sustainable” when it depends for long periods on diesel generators. Short and medium term risks. The notices in the last report on Ukraine by the IAEA point in the same direction: the main danger is not a Chernobyl-type explosion, but a prolonged cooling failure. This scenario could cause overheating of the reactors in cold shutdown, damage to the spent fuel pools and a possible localized or regional radioactive release, with the consequent need to create an exclusion zone in the heart of agricultural Europe. For its part, according to Meshkatiadds two other relevant elements. On the one hand, it points out that a serious accident will exceed the economic impact of Fukushima, estimated at about $500 billion. An incident of that magnitude would affect agriculture, transport, supply chains and the European insurance market. On the other hand, he maintains that if Russia manages to consolidate the precedent that an occupying army can take control of a nuclear power plant and connect it to its own network, the global nuclear security architecture would be seriously compromised. It would be a precedent without equivalent since the creation of international standards that regulate the civil use of atomic energy. Is there a meeting point? The IAEA has acted as an intermediary between Moscow and kyiv on multiple occasions. According to the Anadolu agencyGrossi traveled to Kaliningrad to meet with Likhachev, director of Rosatom, in order to directly discuss the situation in Zaporizhzhia and the minimum conditions to guarantee nuclear safety. At the same time, the agency is trying to technically shore up the Ukrainian electrical system. According to their own statementshas so far coordinated 174 deliveries of essential equipment – ​​switches, electrical cabinets, radiation monitoring stations, vehicles and computer equipment – ​​worth more than 20.5 million euros, intended to sustain nuclear security in Ukraine during the war. Nuclear security supported by fragile cables Europe breathes thanks to a handful of cables repaired under fire and diesel generators that have already proven to be well beyond their limits. As the Financial Times explainsthe continent’s security depends on electricity continuing to arrive and on the parties respecting the fragile ceasefires needed to repair lines when they go down. Grossi summed it up with a mix of relief and alarm after the restoration of one of the lines: “It is a good day for nuclear security, although the situation remains highly precarious.” And the precarious thing, in this case, is that a new attack, a mechanical failure or a downed line is enough to bring … Read more

The connected home is chaos. IKEA’s solution is 21 new devices compatible with Matter

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IKEA has been wanting to be the protagonist of the connected home for years. In its catalog we have motorized blinds, door sensorswater leak detectors… The problem was getting everything to work cohesively and without friction. It is just what IKEA wants to change and to do so it has completely renewed its range of smart devices. with a total of 21 products, all compatible with Matter. Goal: full compatibility The promise of the connected home sounds great on paper, but the reality is that, if you have many devices at home, friction between them is the order of the day and in the end it is a chaos of different apps and hubs to be able to control them all. In statements to Wiredthe director of home electronics at IKEA confessed to having “more than 100 smart devices at home, but I also have like 10 different hubs. I hate it.” IKEA has been launching connected devices for many years and has a fairly large offering, but this launch is the recognition that Their offer was quite chaotic. For example, the first light bulbs and their controllers are compatible with the Zigbee standard, but later they launched the hub DIRECT Matter compatible. What they are looking for with this renewal of their offer is to get closer to that total compatibility and for everything to work with everything. To achieve this they have chosen mattera standard that was launched in 2022 and is present in devices from the main home automation platforms such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Samsung Smartthings or Apple HomeKit. Despite many devices already integrate itthere is still the problem that many older devices do not offer itbut it is undoubtedly a step in the right direction to solve this chaos. Lights, sensors and more IKEA’s new home automation range consists of a total of 21 products grouped into three large categories: lighting, sensors and control. First of all we have a new range of light bulbs called KAJPLATS. It consists of eleven different models. They will be dimmable and will also come in various shades of white, warm and colored light. In the case of sensors, there will be five models aimed at different use cases. They are the following: MYGGSPRAY: a motion sensor for both indoor and outdoor use. It is designed so that lights turn on automatically. MYGGBETT: It is a sensor to detect door or window openings and allows you to configure notifications. TIMMERFLOTE: to measure the temperature and humidity inside the home. ALPSTUGA: is the new sensor that measures air quality using CO2, temperature and humidity measurements. KLIPBOK: to detect water leaks. You can notify us with a beep or with a mobile notification Finally, BILRESA will be your new remote controls to control lights and GRILLPLATS will be the new smart plug. They will be available from December at prices yet to be confirmed, although IKEA claims they will be more affordable. Images | IKEA In Xataka | There is a new fever among the ultra-rich: fed up with technology, they want houses that are as “dumb” as possible

human hands connected from the Philippines

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Thousands of kilometers from Japan, in an office building in Manila’s financial district, a group of young people watches the inside of stores where they have never been. In front of them, monitors show the movements of robotic arms that place drinks on refrigerated shelves. They are the same robots that many Japanese customers believe are fully autonomous. In reality, their apparent independence depends on these Filipino operators who, connected by Internet, correct errors in these machines. When a can falls, they are the ones who give back control. The automata that supply the shelves of Japanese stores They work independently almost all the time. Still, there are times when they fail. When a drink slips or a container is misplaced, an operator from Manila puts on a virtual reality headset and regains control. In a few minutes, move the robotic arm precisely until the error is corrected. These interventions are specific, about 4% of operationsbut they ensure that everything keeps moving without anyone noticing from the other side of the counter. When robots make mistakes, it’s humans who save them The operation of this system depends on a peculiar alliance between companies from two countries. Telexistencebased in Tokyo, designs and manages the robots that operate in Japanese stores, relying on Microsoft and Nvidia platforms. From Manila, Astro Robotics runs the control room where technicians monitor and assist the machines. It’s an example of how chains keep their operations going in Tokyo thanks to a mix of robotics, connectivity and remote workforce. Located at the heart of this operation, the TX SCARA model is a compact and fast robotic arm created to handle drinks in the narrow warehouses of Japanese stores. The system analyzes sales data to decide which products to replenish at any given time. If an error occurs, as we say, it switches to teleoperation mode. The deployment of these robots began in 2022 and since then their presence has multiplied in Japanese stores. What started as a controlled test is today a stable operating system that keeps refrigerators stocked without interruptions. Adoption responds to a clear need: Japan faces a chronic shortage of retail workers, exacerbated by an aging population. In this scenario, automation has become a strategy to sustain the service without expanding the human workforce. Now, while Japan boasts advanced automation, part of its “efficiency” relies on Filipino workers who They charge between 250 and 315 dollars a month, according to Rest of World. It is the same amount that a call center agent earns, but with much more technical and demanding tasks. For Japanese companies, the model is ideal: robots that don’t ask for breaks and remote operators that cost a fraction of the local minimum wage. Innovation, in this case, also externalizes inequality. The work of operators in Manila may seem simple, but it has its complexity. Each one monitors dozens of robots simultaneously and must react quickly when something goes wrong. The pressure to keep the flow constant is high, and shifts lengthen in front of multiple screens. In addition, the use of the virtual helmet can cause dizziness and disorientation after several minutes of use. All this, according to an employee who spoke with the aforementioned media. Every move the operators make in Manila not only keeps the system running: it also teaches the robots to be more autonomous. Telexistence collects that teleoperation data to perfect artificial intelligence models that control the TX SCARA. The information is used to improve the machines’ coordination, grip and responsiveness. In June, the company announced a collaboration with the American startup Physical Intelligence to develop foundational models that give robots more human-like “physical intelligence.” The rise of automation is not limited to Japan. On a global scale, the industry is advancing with unprecedented speed. The market of the so-calledartificial intelligence agents”—programs capable of acting autonomously—could multiply by eight and reach almost $43 billion in 2030, consulting firm MarkNtel Advisors projects. What we can see is that the global demand for technological labor seems to be putting the Philippines in a strategic position. A Penbrothers report notes that foreign companies look there technical talent at low cost for artificial intelligence, automation and robotics projects. Local professionals have access to more qualified jobs, but they continue to earn less than their counterparts in the United States or Europe. The next step will be to see how far this collaboration between humans and machines goes. Telexistence plans to expand the number of connected stores and improve the autonomy of its robots, while experimenting with new gripping and handling systems. It will also be necessary to observe how the percentage of human intervention, still necessary today in part of the operations, evolves. Another key point will be the treatment of data generated in Manila, which feeds artificial intelligence models and raises questions about privacy and ownership of information. Images | Telexistence In Xataka | Amazon has calculated how much it costs to lay off 600,000 employees: 30 cents per item sold and many robots

The connected glasses look like a lot of fun. Until they force you to wear them at work

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amazon he doesn’t trust his workers. It has never done so, and this is demonstrated by the measures that have been filtered and that served the same purpose: to monitor them and prevent productivity from dropping. Some control is reasonable, without a doubt, but this company stopped being that a long time ago and became in a nonsense. We are talking about a company that patented a wristband to find out if employees relax and they start to work a little less. Which was discovered to have automated tracking systems to evaluate productivity rates of each worker. Which used AI cameras to monitor delivery vans and drivers during 100% of the journey. that ended receiving fines due to this strenuous monitoring and had to change the algorithm that penalized productivity data for going to the bathroom. A company in which some employees they had to urinate in bottles to avoid wasting time and others said that working at Amazon was like being in a prison. Augmented reality glasses to work better… Well, now Amazon is working on augmented reality glasses that will follow the line of the Meta Ray-Ban Display. They are likely working on a version for end users, but what the company has officially confirmed is that I was developing some glasses for your messengers. After delivery, the courier will take a photo by pressing a button… which apparently is not on the glasses themselves. With them, they indicate in the press release, couriers will be able to “identify dangers, reach the customer’s door without problems and improve deliveries.” The glasses make use of AI, artificial vision, cameras and sensors to offer all their options to couriers. Thus, when a courier arrives at a delivery location, the glasses are activated and the courier has information about the package to be delivered on the display (a monochrome HUD with information in green). This same HUD allows you to follow navigation instructions similar to those of GPS navigators – but with a much more schematic design – to find the client’s home. The courier will also take a photo to confirm the delivery and can share it as a demonstration of that delivery if there are problems. …and to monitor workers more than ever The company is testing a prototype with the help of hundreds of couriers in the US, and is collecting information and feedback from those “beta testers” in order to refine the product. On paper, these glasses may seem like a useful aid for drivers, but it is inevitable to think that they also They can be used for much more exhaustive monitoring and control of those drivers and messengers. Thanks to this device, Amazon will, for example, have absolute control over the location of the couriers and their productivity when delivering packages. Are they fast or slow? Do they make mistakes? Here the border between supporting technology and that which allows for labor control is blurred. It is true that it provides advantages in terms of efficiency and even security, but the amount and precision of the data collected by glasses like this raises questions about worker privacy and, once again, the degree to which Amazon can supervise its employees. And like her, of course, many other companies that may also end up making this type of device a mandatory element for employees. In the EU, however, it seems more complicated that this type of wearables can be used: there are legal precedents that years ago already posed a clear obstacle to this type of monitoring, but it remains to be seen if these measures are finally also adopted among EU workers. In Xataka | The temperature in an Amazon warehouse was too high to work. So the company faked the thermometers

It costs almost the same as the 16 TB and can be connected to the Wifi router

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There are few computers that come with base configurations that have little storage – I am very 256 GB in my Mac Mini M4-. That is why on many occasions it is convenient to have some external unit that allows us to store all the photos, videos, music or, in general, files. The Western Digital Mybook It is perfect for this, since it has fallen in price to the 357 euros in its 22 TB configuration. If you prefer, in Amazon it is available in several configurations, although the one that has better value for money is the 22 TB: Western Digital Mybook (22TB) * Some price may have changed from the last review A unit that connects to the router per wifi The Western Digital Mybook is a desktop unit that, in any case, has a fairly good configuration to store many photos, videos, music and files. In this case, it has a fairly compact size, since its dimensions are 17 cm high, 13.9 cm long and 4.9 cm wide. Comes equipped with software WD Backupwhich allows backups, and is compatible with Time Machine. It can be configured to run at the time we want to make backup copies, thus creating fully customized hours. Includes 256 -bit AES Hardware encryption to offer extra protection, it is designed to resist even blows and It can be connected to the router through wifi connection so that the unit can be accessed from any room in the house. You may also interest you Sandisk Extreme Pro SSD portable external with USB4, 4 TB, 40 GB/s, up to 3800 MB/s reading speed and up to 3700 MB/s of writing speed * Some price may have changed from the last review Sandisk extreme SSD portable external for PlayStation 5 and 1TB computer, speeds up to 1000 MB/s, water resistance and IP65 dust and against falls up to 3 meters, 1 month of Nitro Discord * Some price may have changed from the last review Some of the links of this article are affiliated and can report a benefit to Xataka. In case of non -availability, offers may vary. Images | Western Digital In Xataka | Better 1 TB or more SSD to not have storage problems In Xataka | The best 2 TB or more SSD to avoid storage problems

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