
We may have spent some of this week recovering from the big Wareable Tech Awards, but the news world continued to move at its usual breakneck pace, with stories from Asus, Fitbit, Huawei and Sense all up in the mix.
But what about the smaller stories and more spurious rumours from the week? Where do they go? Into And finally of course. We round up the bits you might have missed from the week that was.
Wearables come to Universal Orlando
Universal Studios is gearing up for the opening of its new water park Volcano Bay, which we'll be allowed to enter in early 2017. Universal has been building the hype with some teasers this week and announced that all guests who visit the park will be given a wearable called a TapuTapu, which will deliver information on queue wait times and other things.
You'll be able to virtually wait in line for a ride, and then get a notification when it's nearly your turn - much like Disneyland's FastPass system. The device will even let wearers interact with things around the park, illuminating lights, setting off water cannons, and all sorts of other mayhem.
Poof animal trackers keep an eye on pets
"Who's a good boy? Not you, you've only done 150 steps today. Get out in the garden right now." Yes, animal trackers are growing in numbers, and this week company Poof launched two new ones, called the Bean and Pea, built to monitor your pets' activity and sleep patterns.
The Bean's battery life will last two months, while the Pea can last up to six months. You might not have thought about tracking your animals before but abnormal activity and sleep patterns can be the sign of health problems. The Pea costs $39.99, and the Bean is $49.99. Both can be ordered from Poof's website.
Merge VR launches universal controller
We've covered off a lot of VR news this week, which you can catch up on in our Field of View column - but there's room for just one more story. Merge Labs has announced what it says is the "first universal motion controller for mobile VR". As we know, when it comes to smartphone VR controlling games isn't as straightforward as when you're using the Oculus Rift or PS VR. Merge Labs' controller is compatible with existing iOS and Android devices, as well as Unity and Web VR. You can read more about it here.
Apple working on cAR?
It's with a heavy heart that we must announce Apple is at it again. While it's rumoured to have killed off its Apple Car project, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says he has reason to believe it is instead focusing on an augmented reality project. "We expect Apple to generate preliminary results for AR in the next 1-2 years at the earliest and working with iPhone may be the first step," said Kuo, according to MacRumors.
This doesn't just pertain to driving - it seems more and more likely that Apple is going to enter the AR space - but it would certainly be an interesting application for the technology. Would it involve a headset? We reckon it's a possibility, but as with everything Apple, we wouldn't put money on anything right now.
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