Toshiba announced that it has developed a lithium-ion battery for electric vehicles (EVs) that offers three times the driving range (320 km) and charges in just six minutes. New Atlas reported that while Toshiba previously used lithium titanium oxide as the cathode, the newly announced battery utilizes titanium, which offers twice the capacity, and niobium oxide to bind the microcrystals, resulting in an efficient crystal structure. Toshiba stated that tests confirmed the battery maintains over 90% of its performance after 5,000 charging cycles.



Can AI bots beat StarCraft pro gamers?
When AlphaGo, Google's artificial intelligence research division, defeated the board game GO last year, it identified the latest version of StarCraft II as its next target. The AIIDE StarCraft AI Competition, held on the 8th (Sunday), was conducted using the previous version of StarCraft, but Facebook's software failed to produce any notable results. Facebook researcher Gabriel Synnaeve told Wired, “We have established a baseline for StarCraft’s future tasks,” stating that they have identified flaws to fix. Video games like StarCraft are more accessible than board games like GO or chess, but they are more complex because they require viewing an opponent’s actions from a holistic perspective. Chris Cox, the creator of this year’s winning bot ZZZKBot, speculated, “It will take about five years for any bot to be able to beat a pro gamer.”

Finally ! An automatic ironing machine has been released.
British company Effie has announced a device that irons and drys clothes in just three minutes. It accommodates up to 12 garments hung on special hangers. It can be used regardless of material classification, including polyester, silk, and denim. The completion time and notifications are sent via a smartphone app. Measuring 80cm x 25cm x 128cm, it can be moved on wheels without requiring a fixed location. Initial orders will be available starting next March, and the price is approximately 1,050,000 won (699 pounds).


Will U.S. mail be delivered by autonomous vehicles?
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) announced that it is developing autonomous buses and plans to begin operations in December. In a semi-automatic manner, mail carriers will primarily perform tasks such as sorting mailboxes rather than driving. This is expected to significantly save accumulated time, such as avoiding the need to park and return to the driver's seat. A pilot program will be implemented in 10 rural areas in 2019. A researcher involved in the project told Wired, "Control remains with the driver, and caution is currently required when passing through intersections or starting a route."