Major League Baseball will “likely” introduce an Automated Strike Zone System starting in 2024, commissioner Rob Manfred told ESPN. These robot umpires may call all balls and strikes then relay the information to a plate umpire, or be part of a replay review system that allows managers to challenge calls.
The comments come following outrage over umpires’ missed calls in recent games, including a brutal low strike error during a Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins game. MLB has been experimenting with robo-umpires in the Atlantic League since 2019, using similar technology to golf speed-measurement devices.
There may be other benefits to introducing the tech. According to MLB data, mechanical systems have already made Atlantic league games mercifully shorter by a full nine minutes. And I say mercifully from the perspective of a Brit who’s watched cricket matches.
—Mat Smith
The biggest stories you might have missed
Not just flagships.
Engadget
Here at Engadget, we test smartphones all year round and can help you make sense of what’s available and what to look out for. It’s time for our updated Best Smartphones guide and we’ve included all our favorite phones to help you whittle down your shortlist.
From ActiveTrack to Quickshots to an improved telezoom camera.
When it launched last year, the DJI Mavic 3 grabbed a lot of headlines with features like a Four Thirds sensor and a second 7X telephoto camera. But it launched without ActiveTrack and QuickShot features which meant potential buyers couldn’t get a full picture of the drone before paying up to $5,000 for one.
Following three major firmware updates in December, January and May, all the promised functions and more are finally here. How do they fare?
The game-centric menu is rolling out to 2022 Samsung smart TVs and smart monitors.
Samsung’s Gaming Hub is now live on its 2022 smart TVs and smart monitors, and it’s adding two services from Amazon to its game-streaming lineup: Twitch and Luna. Twitch is available today, while Luna is coming soon. Gamers will also be able to access Xbox Game Pass now, as well as apps for NVIDIA GeForce NOW, Google Stadia and Utomik in the same designated area on their TVs. The company plans to release details about the gaming hub’s rollout to earlier Samsung smart TV models at a later date.
Why walk less than a mile?
The Boring Company
The Boring Company and Resorts World Las Vegas announced the official opening of the latest Loop station at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This spur off of the Boring Company’s existing Loop network (which runs underneath the North and South halls of the LVCC) connects the convention center directly to a sister station underneath the World Resorts property on the other side of South Las Vegas Blvd. The trip should take just a few minutes.
The service launched last month.
A small fleet of Cruise robotaxis in San Francisco suddenly stopped operating on Tuesday night, effectively blocking traffic on a street in the city’s Fillmore district for a couple of hours until employees were able to arrive. Cruise — which is General Motor’s AV subsidiary — only launched its commercial robotaxi service in the city last week. The rides feature no human safety driver, are geo-restricted to certain streets and can only operate in the late evening hours.
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