Energy Department challenges students to wring more efficiency from EVs

Your future electric car might benefit from some schoolwork. The Energy Department has teamed with GM and MathWorks to launch an EcoCAR Electric Vehicle Challenge that asks student groups at 15 North American universities to develop more efficient EV technology. The will have students tinker with a Cadillac Lyriq over four years as they develop automation, connectivity and propulsion tech, and they can will win annual prizes based on their progress.

The teams are also expected to use a mix of connected car and sensor tech to enable sharing EV battery power with homes, “recreational uses” (think camping) and the electrical grid. GM is supplying the cars as part of a broader $6 million investment in the challenge.

EcoCAR kicks off this fall. The American universities are spread across the country and include major institutions like Ohio State University, the University of California Riverside and Virginia Tech. Canada’s McMaster University and the University of Waterloo (BlackBerry’s home turf) will also take part.

The challenge won’t guarantee longer-range EVs. However, it does reflect the Biden administration’s determination to make electric transportation viable, including support for American automakers, setting EV adoption targets and improving access to charging stations. If all goes well, EcoCAR might help ease the transition away from gas-powered cars.

Twitter is experimenting with a status update feature

Twitter might soon take a page from Instagram’s defunct Threads app — not to mention other messaging apps you used in the past two decades. As The Vergereports, code sleuth Jane Manchun Wong has discovered that Twitter is developing a “Vibe” feature that would let you set status updates akin to Threads and the many, many IM clients at the turn of the century. You could set status at the profile level, but you could also attach them to specific tweets to indicate what you were doing at a specific moment.

Wong’s examples only showed generic presets like eating, listening to music and shopping. It’s not clear if you have the option of writing your own updates, or if third-party apps could hook into the feature (say, for music and videos).

The concept of a Twitter status update isn’t completely new, either. The social network was testing another form of status update back in 2018, although it didn’t work the same way and never reached everyday users.

We’ve asked Twitter for comment. There are no guarantees Vibe will reach the broader public or even enter testing. We wouldn’t be surprised if it does, however. Twitter has long had messaging features that could benefit from status updates (such as letting others know you’re busy), and it’s increasingly relying on live features like Spaces audio sessions where you might want to share what you’re doing.

Amazon’s Eero Pro mesh routers are up to 25 percent off

Does your lone WiFi router not quite cover your home? This might be a good time to upgrade. Amazon is running a sale on Eero mesh routers that includes particularly steep discounts for higher-end Eero Pro models. The Eero Pro 6 represents one of the better values, and is down to $319 (20 percent off) for a two-pack and $479 (also 20 percent off) for a three-pack. And if you’re happy with WiFi 5, the earlier Eero Pro is down to a record-low $336, or 25 percent off — it’ll even dip to $314 if you have Amazon Prime.

Buy Eero Pro 6 (2-pack) – $319Buy Eero Pro (3-pack) – $336

The allure of Eero Pro routers is simple: they provide a compact, straightforward way to blanket your home in wireless networking with more coverage than you’d get from regular Eero models — a three-pack will cover an enormous 6,000 square feet. They’re unsurprisingly well-suited to anyone steeped in Amazon’s ecosystem, with streamlined setup (if you have an Amazon account), Alexa voice control and a Zigbee hub for compatible smart home devices.

These might not be the best choices if you’re more interested in Apple or Google’s smart home frameworks. However, future-proofing is another concern. Amazon recently introduced the Eero Pro 6E with (you guessed it) 1.3Gbps WiFi 6E support. If you use internet service beyond a gigabit (or expect to upgrade soon), you might want the newer router to make the most of that connection. However, the Pro 6E is also much more expensive at $499 for a two-pack. The ‘old’ Pro 6 offers the same long range and most of the performance for a lot less.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Sony is looking into ad-supported games now, too

Microsoft might not be the only console maker hoping to place more ads in games. Insidersources (sub. required) say Sony is testing an initiative that would sell and place ads in free-to-play PlayStation games through a private marketplace. This would include billboards and other environmental ads, but also character skins and similar collectible items.

Some details are reportedly in flux. Sony isn’t certain if it will take a slice of any ad revenue, the tipsters claimed, and it might instead ask studios to pay for data. The PS5 creator is apparently “strict” about screening the ad tech companies it works with, however, and won’t allow the collection of personal information like email addresses.

If accurate, the leak has Sony launching the PlayStation ad program by the end of 2022. We’ve asked the company for comment.

The rumor comes just a week after Microsoft was said to be planning a very similar strategy. The objective would be simple: the easier it is for developers to place in-game ads, the more likely they are to release free-to-play games. While that could irritate gamers who’d rather not see obvious product plugs, it could also help companies release free-to-play games that don’t rely quite as much on paid skins, season passes and other gated content.

Pixar’s new ‘Lightyear’ trailer portrays Buzz as a victim of relativity

Pixar has shared a second trailer for Lightyear, and the new clip sheds considerably more light on Buzz’s origin story. As it turns out, the explorer turned action figure is the victim of Einstein’s theory of relativity. When Lightyear conducts a “hyperspeed” test, he comes back 62 years later — many of the people and places he knows have changed. Naturally, it’s up to him to set things right.

While the trailer shows considerably more of the story, it still leaves some mysteries unanswered. It doesn’t show how Buzz becomes immortalized as a figurine in the Toy Story movies, or shed much light on other personas like Emperor Zurg.

The movie premieres in theaters on June 17th, with Chris Evans replacing Tim Allen as the voice of Buzz Lightyear. Sorry, folks, there won’t be a prompt Disney+ launch this time. If there’s anything that might coax people back into the real world, though, a spinoff of Pixar’s best-known franchise might do the trick.

This will be the first US spacecraft to land on the Moon since Apollo

Astrobotic has finally offered a good look at the vehicle that will carry scientific payloads to the lunar surface. The company has revealed the finished version of the Peregrine Moon lander ahead of its launch in the fourth quarter of the year. It’s an externally simple design that resembles an upside-down pot, but that will be enough to carry 24 missions that include 11 NASA items, a Carnegie Mellon rover, private cargo and even “cultural messages” from Earth.

Peregrine is slightly over six feet tall and can hold up to 100 kilograms (about 220 pounds on Earth). More importantly for customers, it’s relatively cheap— it’ll cost $1.2 million per kilogram to ferry payloads to the Moon’s surface ($300,000 to orbit). That sounds expensive, but it’s a bargain compared to the cost of rocket launches. SpaceX is currently charging $67 million for each Falcon 9 launch, and that ‘only’ reaches Earth orbit.

The Astrobotic team still has to finish integrating payloads, conduct environmental testing and ship Peregrine to Cape Canaveral, where it will launch aboard a ULA Vulcan Centaur rocket. The payloads are already integrated into the flight decks, however.

The machine should make history if and when it’s successful. Peregrine is expected to be the first US spacecraft to (properly) land on the Moon since the Apollo program ended. Past missions like Lunar Prospector, LCROSS, GRAIL and LADEE all ended with deliberate crashes. Astrobotic’s effort won’t be quite as momentous as the crewed Artemis landing, but it will help mark humanity’s renewed interest in a lunar presence.

Even ‘Rocket League’ is adding a battle royale mode

If you thought it was just a matter of time before Psyonix synced up with its parent company Epic Games by adding battle royale to Rocket League… your beliefs were well-founded. Psyonix is introducing a limited-time Knockout Bash mode that drops the usual vehicular soccer in favor of battle royale’s familiar last-one-standing mechanic. Eight players try to survive by attacking each other and staying inside an ever-shrinking “Safezone.” That will sound more than a little familiar to Fortnite fans, but Rocket League‘s take includes a few important twists.

Players only leave after they’ve been knocked out three times, for instance. And don’t worry, you won’t pick up guns — you instead ram them, block attacks or even toss them across the arena. Hazards like spikes and an underlying laser grid lead to instant knockouts, and the six-minute mark activates a “Sudden KO” phase where attacks are more powerful and leaving the Safezone results in instant death.

Your abilities change, too. You now lock the camera on to rivals rather than the (non-existent) ball. You can jump much faster and for longer, and you’ll have both a stronger boost and more dodges at your disposal.

Knockout Bash will be available between April 27th and May 10th, with three maps devoted solely to this free-for-all combat. Twitch viewers will also receive a special player banner if they watch certain Rocket League streamers when the mode launches. It’s not certain that Psyonix will revive battle royale at a later date, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see a comeback if this event proves successful.

Teenage Engineering’s tiny handheld TX-6 mixer offers an instrument tuner

Teenage Engineering has a reputation for surprising and whimsical devices, and that apparently extends to music creation on the go. The company has introduced a TX-6 mixer that’s not only tiny enough to fit in your hand, but includes more than you might expect from some decidedly larger counterparts. It includes an instrument tuner, for a start, along with built-in synth, digital effect, drum machine and sequencer functions. It’s billed as the portable 32-bit, 48kHz pro mixer with this level of capability — a niche claim, to be sure, but worth noting if you like to take your studio with you.

You can control the the TX-6 over USB-C through external MIDI devices or iOS hardware. You’ll also find six stereo inputs, two outputs, a headphone jack and Bluetooth. While the display is unsurprisingly a very small 48×64 monochrome panel, that sacrifice might be worthwhile when Teenage Engineering claims you’ll eke out eight hours of battery life. You can even use the TX-6 as an ultra-compact DJ mixer by turning it on its side.

The TX-6 is available now for $1,199. That’s a lot to spend on a mixer this small and it’s easy to find mini-mixers from Behringer, Yamaha and others with control and port combos that may be more to your liking. The sheer variety of features might prove alluring, though, and it’s hard to deny that Teenage Engineering’s signature design could make a difference.

Elon Musk says he has the financial backing for his proposed Twitter takeover

Elon Musk now has access to the funds he’d need to buy Twitter. According to an SEC filing, Musk has received “commitment letters” that would supply about $46.5 billion to buy all of Twitter’s outstanding common stock and take control. The Tesla CEO is “exploring” this tender offer following a lack of response from Twitter, the filing reads.

We’ve asked Twitter for comment. While the company hasn’t directly addressed Musk’s offer, initially pegged at $43 billion, it recently approved a temporary “poison pill” measure intended to discourage hostile takeovers. The plan would let some shareholders buy more stock if anyone buys more than 15 percent of outstanding stock without the board of directors’ approval, diluting the value of Musk’s stake. He’s already the largest individual shareholder with 9.2 percent ownership.

Musk made the offer claiming that it was meant to protect free speech, and has suggested he could unlock Twitter’s potential with features like an edit button (which Twitter was already working on) and an open source algorithm. However, it also comes as the executive fights the SEC over alleged finance rule violations that frequently relate to his tweets. The entrepreneur has multiple strong incentives to purchase Twitter, and the financial backing illustrates just how serious he is.

Update 4/21 11:28AM ET: A Twitter spokesperson tells Engadget the company has received Musk’s updated proposal, but that it’s still conducting a “careful, comprehensive and deliberate review” of the offer. You can read the full statement below.

“We are in receipt of the updated, non-binding proposal from Elon Musk, which provides additional information regarding the original proposal and new information on potential financing. As previously announced and communicated to Mr. Musk directly, the Board is committed to conducting a careful, comprehensive and deliberate review to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the Company and all Twitter stockholders.”

Spotify opens video podcast publishing to more creators

Spotify is ready to let anyone offer video podcasts — and this time, you won’t need to apply. As of today, all creators in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand can publish video podcasts through Anchor. You can charge for access using Spotify’s podcast subscription system, too. There are also some meaningful upgrades that should help you both produce and watch these podcasts.

Interactive features like polls and Q&A sessions will be available for video podcasts, for starters. Embedded podcasts now play on websites, so you won’t have to launch Spotify to view them. Producers can now use Riverside’s web-based recording to publish podcasts for free, with Anchor serving as the conduit. You an also replace audio podcasts en masse with their video versions if you have an extensive back catalog.

People in other countries will get to upload video podcasts sometime “in the future,” according to Spotify. There are also promises of more ways for creators to make money beyond subscriptions.

The move should help Spotify’s video podcast platform reach its full potential. Spotify introduced video podcasts in July 2020, but only for a handful of shows. While the firm technically expanded access to all creators in October 2021, the application requirement still served as a barrier to podcasters who simply wanted to share video editions of their shows. Now, it’s just a question of whether or not Spotify is an appealing platform in the first place.