Robot Taxi

Japan will start self-driving taxi trials next year

As an ever increasing number of self-driving vehicles are being tested on US roads, Japan has revealed that it will be taking the technology a step further by testing autonomous taxis with passengers next year.

The Japanese government and Robot Taxi Inc. announced that they will be offering the service to about 50 people in the Kanagawa prefecture, an area just South of Tokyo, for a limited period in 2016. The self-driving taxis will carry people to and from their homes to local grocery stores, travelling about 2 miles at a time through the main streets of the city, according to the Wall Street Journal.

During the trials, which will be targeting senior citizens and people without access to public transport, the taxis will have a human driver behind the wheel at all times to take control should any problems arise.

Robot Taxi Inc. - which is a joint venture between internet company DeNA Co. and autonomous vehicle technology developer ZMP Inc. - plans to launch a fully commercial self-driving taxi service by 2020, assuming next year’s tests are successful. As well as being aimed at elderly people, the company hopes to use the taxis to aid foreign visitors and give non-vehicle owners access to areas that public transportation doesn’t cover.

Japan is the most rapidly aging nation on earth, with over 60,000 citizens aged 100 or older and a quarter of the entire country at least 65 years old. Robot Taxi’s service will be targeted primarily at this aging section of the population once it is up and running.

Google, Uber, Tesla and a number of other vehicle manufacturers have been ramping up their research into self-driving vehicle technology recently. The companies believe it to be the future of transportation, as an ever increasing number of people come round to the idea of being driven about autonomously.

Skype

Now you can Skype with people who speak a different language in real-time

Microsoft released Skype Translator in late 2014 as a standalone app for Windows 8. As of today the translation feature is integrated directly into the desktop version of Skype (for users on Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.) Now you can have a conversation with someone who speaks English, French, German, Italian, Mandarin, or Spanish -- without knowing the language yourself.

On the company blog, Skype said that this update furthers their dream of breaking language barriers and unifying people around the world.

"Researchers, engineers, and many others across Microsoft have been working hard to make this dream a reality and we are looking forward to bringing this preview technology to more devices,” the post said.

Look for an update to the Skype for Windows desktop app in the next few weeks: A new translator button will appear within conversations. Translation is available for audio and video call as well as instant messages (then 50 languages will be supported, not just six.)