Day: August 16, 2017

We have yet another intriguing self-driving car development on our hands, courtesy of Waymo. The Google-owned company has come up with an interesting way to make autonomous vehicles “softer.” Waymo wants to protect pedestrians in case they are accidentally hit by a vehicle, and a collapsible exterior may be the key to doing so.

Self-driving Cars Capable of Protecting Pedestrians

Few people would think that autonomous vehicles could cause an accident. Just because our vehicles are getting smarter does not mean pedestrians are, however. In fact, while the vehicles are designed to make roads safer, it is possible pedestrians and other users outside of these vehicles may create new hazards. It is impossible to design a flawed system or piece of coding. Preparing for all potential contingencies is never a bad idea.

Waymo has been addressing this problem and may have just come up with a solution that works for everybody. The company has created a way to make the exterior of a self-driving car collapse onto itself. This means the impact on a pedestrian — or animal — will be far less severe than would be the case without it. It is unclear whether this will save lives, but it is good to see the company focusing on what is really important.

Autonomous vehicles are equipped with so many built-in sensors that one would think they should be able to avoid any type of collision altogether. However, there is still a lot of work to be done before that becomes the case. Companies are working on smart vehicles capable of gathering sensory input from their environments as well as other vehicles nearby. Obtaining data from pedestrians and other moving objects will be quite challenging for the time being. Preparing for the worst may be the most viable approach.

Waymo’s patent for a car design allowing for a collapsible exterior may change the way we think about vehicles altogether. The vehicle would be held together internally by multiple “tension members,” which can loosen or tighten to adjust external rigidity. Although this will not necessarily make your car fit into tight parking spaces, it does open up a lot of new opportunities. With sensors capable of detecting a potential collision risk, the car’s exterior could effectively turn softer to avoid major damage in the case of a collision. It could also make the car stronger to ensure passengers are kept safe from harm.

With smarter cars coming to a road near you in the future, pedestrians and bicyclists will need to be even more aware of their surroundings. That may sound strange, but self-driving cars will not necessarily go out of their way for others. This will not lead to people blatantly ignoring the rules of the road, but there may be some initial issues while this technology matures. After all, we are still in the very early stages of developing autonomous vehicles, and there may be plenty of quirks to contend with during the first few years of the technology.

It has not been officially confirmed that Waymo will integrate this technology into self-driving cars. A patent filing is simply another validation of a company’s future plans. It certainly sparks the imagination as to how this technology could be used moving forward. A collapsible or reinforceable car exterior can be quite beneficial. It will be interesting to see how this technology is used in the future and which use cases will be discovered. Waymo is certainly worth keeping an eye on, as the Google-owned company has some nifty ideas now and then.

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A lot of people are keeping an eye on Bitcoin these days, for obvious reasons. However, it is not the only major cryptocurrency on people’s radar. Ethereum is also showing a lot of positive signs these days. In fact, the popular altcoin has set a new transaction record. It certainly makes Bitcoin’s network throughput pale … Continue reading New Ethereum Transaction Record Outperforms Bitcoin by a Margin of Nearly 10%

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Bitcoin and cryptocurrency communities thrive online. It makes sense that they do, considering the digital nature of the object around which the community is formed. While I love the internet and interacting with individuals and communities there, sometimes it is nice to meet up with people in the physical world. Recently I have been going to more Bitcoin and blockchain meetups, and I think you should too.

Bitcoin and Blockchain Meetups Are Good for the Community

While digital cryptocurrency communities are amazing and fun, sometimes grabbing a drink and talking blockchain with people at a bar or a cafe is a refreshing change of pace. Among other things, it puts faces to names and also puts your face out there. I understand that the veil of internet anonymity (or pseudonymity?) is attractive, but it also is not necessarily the worst thing in the world if you meet some new people who get to learn your real name.

These meetups are also not only just about hanging out. Many of these meetup groups usually have project leads come and speak about the next new and exciting thing going on in the cryptosphere. Take for example the meetup group I sometimes go to in Chicago. Recently it held a party for the lock-in of SegWit, but it was more than a party. The group also held a talk about what SegWit meant for the network and overall ecosystem, and followed that up with a question & answer session. Most of these questions were incredibly thought-provoking and eloquent. It was half party and half conference, but a wholly good time.

The same group also hosted the project lead of Decred a month or so ago to talk about that project. He joined the group for drinks after his presentation and a lengthy Q&A session. This meant that I and others were able to hang out and talk about the future of blockchain technology with people actively shaping it.

What If There Are No Meetups By Me?

If you do wish to start attending meetups like the one I described above, you should start by seeing if there are any in your local area. You may be surprised to learn that your city or town has one already. If, however, you find that there is no such community, then you should start one yourself.

One of the largest barriers to widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies is lack of knowledge. So if there is not already a cryptocurrency or blockchain meetup in your physical community, then you should be the change that brings it into your community. You will make friends, bring veteran cryptocurrency users and enthusiasts out of the woodwork — I promise you they are there — and help bring the blockchain to new people. The more you evangelize the blockchain and cryptocurrency, the quicker widespread adoption will happen. Meetup communities are just one effective and fun way of helping support the blockchain, Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies.

A central figure in PayPal’s early days has said the company set out to do what cryptocurrency is now doing for payments.

Local Russian and Ukrainian sources including RIA Novosti have revealed that three major lawmakers within the Ukrainian parliament have disclosed a total holding of $45 million in bitcoin. The report of RIA Novosti came shortly after the announcement of the National Bank of Ukraine to fully regulate and legalize bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Ukrainian regulators, … Continue reading Will Legalization of Bitcoin Ukraine & European Governments Trigger Price Increase?

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Cryptocurrency markets are always interesting to keep an eye on, especially with the recent Bitcoin price movements. Even though there was no price gain over the past 24 hours, the Bitcoin price still hovers around the US$4,118 mark. Other cryptocurrencies in the top 10 have seen a bit of growth over the past few hours, with the exceptions of Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum Classic. There is no boring day in the crypto world; that much is evident. It is certainly possible Bitcoin has reached its peak for the time being.

A Level Bitcoin Price is Still Positive

In a perfect world, we would see the Bitcoin price go up in small increments every single day. Sadly, we do not live in a perfect world by any means, and we have to take whatever we can get. In the case of cryptocurrency, that means a BTC price which can go up or down at any given moment. That being said, these past few days have been quite lucrative for anyone currently holding Bitcoin in their portfolio right now. The Bitcoin price has risen by quite a bit over the past two weeks and still sits comfortably above the US$4,000 mark.

However, one has to acknowledge that this may be the highest Bitcoin price point we will see in a while. There have been several price dips over the past few days, although none of them has lasted all that long. Most losses have recovered quickly, and every decline is followed by a return to upward momentum. If that trend continues, there is nothing to be concerned about whatsoever. If traditional market trends apply, however, there will be a major Bitcoin price correction in the coming days.

Keeping in mind that the 24-hour Bitcoin trading volume still sits at nearly US$3 billion, there is no reason for despair whatsoever. In fact, one could say the market looks healthier now than ever before. Considering that all cryptocurrencies combined have a trading volume of US$5.2 billion over the past 24 hours, it is evident Bitcoin is still the top dog right now.  No other currency even comes close to Bitcoin’s volume, as the next coin on the list is Ethereum, with just over one-third of the trading volume.

While the Bitcoin price remains stuck in sideways momentum for the time being, other currencies are starting to regain some of their recently lost value. Ethereum is up by 2.88%, which is a nice amount. The big winner of the past 24 hours is NEM, with a 12.42% gain. NEO is up by 8.63% as well, having surpassed Litecoin in market capitalization. Dash has also showed a nice price momentum thanks to a 9.57% increase over the past day. All things considered, these coins are doing quite well in their own way.

Things are slowly falling apart as far as Ethereum Classic is concerned, though. Despite ETC’s value hovering around US$13.70, the coin is now number 10 on the list of cryptocurrencies by market cap. Considering that Ethereum Classic has always been sixth or seventh, this downward momentum isn’t good by any means. It also shows how much cryptocurrencies have evolved over these past few weeks and months, with IOTA, NEM, and NEO overtaking both Ethereum Classic and Litecoin. That is quite significant, to say the least, but the bigger question is whether or not this momentum will be maintained.

All things considered, the Bitcoin price is holding its own. Even though there may not be any upward momentum right now, things may play out just fine for the next few days. Everything that goes up in value must come down eventually. We may see a major Bitcoin price correction or continued sideways momentum for a few more days. Only time will tell what the future will bring, but for now, the overall mood of the market is nothing but positive. The overall market cap continues going up as well, indicating that traders remain bullish on Bitcoin and altcoins alike.

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Bitcoin prices are beginning to move sideways, just a day after setting a new all-time high.