Six-degree-of-freedom pose estimation with µm/µrad accuracy based on laser multilateration
The estimation of the six-degree-of-freedom position and orientation of an end effector is of high interest in industrial robotics. High precision and data rates are important requirements when choosing an adequate measurement system. In this work, a six-degree-of-freedom pose estimation setup based on laser multilateration is described together with the measurement principle and self-calibration strategies used in this setup. In an experimental setup, data rates of 200 Hz are achieved. During movement, deviations from a reference coordinate measuring machine of 20 µm are observed. During standstill, the deviations are reduced to 5 µm.
The estimation of the six-degree-of-freedom (6-DoF) pose (position plus orientation) of an object is a common task in different scientific areas such as robotics, automation, navigation and augmented reality. Especially in industrial robotics, high precision of the determined pose is of interest. Depending on the use case, this problem can be solved by using different types of input data, including those based on inertial sensors, interferometric length measurements and image processing.
Vincze et al. (1994) present a laser tracking system which is able to track the position and orientation of a robotic end effector. This system combines the interferometric distance measurements and angular encoders of a deflecting mirror to calculate the position of the end effector in spherical polar coordinates. The orientation is estimated by analysing the diffraction pattern of the retroreflector edges using a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. The expected accuracy of the described system reaches 50 µm for the position estimation and 1 arcsec (4.85 µrad) for the orientation estimation.
Yang et al. (2017) propose a 6-DoF tracking system based on a commercially available laser tracker combined with a special corner-cube retroreflector, an inclinometer and CCD imaging. This tracking system is used for the online pose correction of an industrial robot and reduces the pose error of the observed robot to below 62 µm for the position and 210 µrad for the orientation.
Norman et al. (2013) and Stadelmann et al. (2019) use indoor GPS (iGPS) to implement external pose feedback for different industrial robot experiments. Depending on the environmental conditions and measurement setup, pose errors of the described setup using iGPS can be below 250 µm.
In parallel robotics, the 6-DoF pose estimation of the end effector is a common direct kinematic problem. Different solutions using additional angular or linear sensors to solve this problem are summarized in Merlet (2006).
The different solutions proposed by the aforementioned publications have several disadvantages. Setups which include CCD imaging are limited in their data rate due to their limited frame rates and the need for extensive image processing. For online pose correction, this is a major drawback. Furthermore, systems combining different measurement techniques for pose and orientation may reach different levels of accuracy for the different values. For high-precision assembly tasks, higher absolute accuracy of the pose estimation is required. In addition, traceability to the International System of Units (SI) is complex depending on the measurement techniques used.
In the following sections, we describe a 6-DoF pose estimation setup with high accuracy and data rates which is based on multilateration using a set of tracking laser interferometers. The position and orientation of the observed target are calculated based on interferometric length measurements, allowing data rates of up to 1 kHz. Thus, length measurements are directly traceable to the laser wavelength.
Laser multilateration is a common concept for determining the unknown position of a retroreflector target by measuring a set of distances between the target and known base stations. It is commonly used in different coordinate measuring systems (Takatsuji et al., 1998; Lin and Zhang, 2003) which can achieve uncertainties below 0.5 µm in a measuring volume of 1 m (Wendt et al., 2012). Results are achieved by minimizing the sum of squared residuals wij:
with as the number of target positions, as the number of base stations, and Δxij, Δyij and Δzij representing the coordinate differences between the target position i and the base station j. lij is the measured length change between the target position i and the base station j, and l0j is the dead path of each laser interferometer.
The residual functions in Eq. (1) only provide information about the 3D position of the centre of the observed retroreflector. Information about the orientation cannot be determined using this set of equations. In order to identify a 6-DoF pose, the measurement principle needs to be enhanced.
2.1 Measurement principle
Due to the lack of information about the rotation angles, the orientation of an observed target cannot be calculated from one single 3D point in space. Hence, the observed target needs to be extended to include three or more retroreflectors in a non-collinear arrangement. The target assembly is observed by at least six tracking laser interferometers in a non-coplanar setup, while each retroreflector is observed by at least one of the interferometers. The principle of such a setup is depicted in Fig. 1. In addition to the residual functions in Eq. (1), boundary conditions are required for the observed target:
with as any set of two retroreflectors and Δxik, Δyik and Δzik as the coordinate differences between the two retroreflectors k and lk as the distance between the two retroreflectors. The resulting set of Eqs. (1) and (2) contains n(m+p) equations, 4m unknowns for the interferometers, 3np unknowns for the retroreflector coordinates and p unknowns for the retroreflector distances. From the described system of equations, Cartesian coordinates of the three retroreflectors can be calculated in a global coordinate system. The orientation is defined by a rigid body transformation using these three points in space. Therefore, the accuracy of the orientation estimation depends on the accuracy of the position estimation of the three retroreflectors, the distances between the different reflectors and the stability of the target.
For the calculation of the pose of the moving target, precise knowledge of the system parameters is required. These parameters include the position of the laser interferometer base stations, the unknown dead paths of the interferometers, and the distances between the different retroreflectors of the target assembly. To identify the system parameters, a self-calibration procedure can be used (Nguyen et al., 2013). Self-calibration is possible if an equation system can be set up that contains more linearly independent equations than unknown parameters.
The equation system defined in the previous section contains n(m+p) equations and unknown parameters. If , each position n generates more equations than parameters. In the following, we assume a full 6-DoF movement of a target assembly of p=3 retroreflectors. Hence, m>6 laser interferometers are needed.
Depending on the mover used to position the target, full 6-DoF movements may not be possible. Different self-calibration strategies can be used to calibrate the system parameters for movements with 6 DoF (e.g. industrial robots), 4 DoF (e.g. Cartesian manipulators with one rotational axis) or 3 DoF (e.g. Cartesian coordinate measuring machines, CMMs). To provide a set of reasonable starting values for the optimization problem, the existence of nominal positions and orientations of the manipulator (e.g. a tool centre point or reference point) is assumed. By using such nominal values of the manipulator, the identified system parameters can be orientated in the machine coordinate system of the manipulator.
2.2.1 Self-calibration with 6-DoF movement
Using a 6-DoF manipulator, self-calibration can be performed by positioning the target to n different positions and orientations inside the measurement volume. For a minimum required setup of seven interferometers and three retroreflectors, an equation system with unknowns and 10⋅n equations can be formed. Using a dataset of n≥32 measurement points results in an overdetermined equation system that can be solved iteratively, e.g. using the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm (Marquardt, 1963). It is important, however, that the dataset should contain target positions with different orientations.
2.2.2 Self-calibration with 4-DoF movement
In case the mover used to position the target is not capable of performing a 6-DoF movement, self-calibration can be performed in two or more steps. If one rotational axis is available, two steps are sufficient.
In the first step, all interferometers are locked into one of the retroreflectors. This configuration results in 7⋅n equations and unknowns. Moving the target to n≥8 positions, the interferometer position and the interferometer dead path can be calibrated.
In the second step, the interferometers are split up to allow the three retroreflectors to be observed. To change the observed retroreflectors, the laser beams of the interferometers must be interrupted, which results in a change in the dead paths. Hence, only the position of the interferometers can be used from the previous calibration step, and unknowns (seven interferometer dead paths, three target distances, target coordinates) need to be determined in this second step. From n≥10 positions including rotations around the available rotational axis, the remaining system parameters can be calibrated.
Depending on the stability of the measurement setup, the calibration of the interferometer positions may need to be repeated from time to time. This may be necessary if the positions of the interferometers change, e.g. due to thermal influences or vibration.
2.2.3 Self-calibration with 3-DoF movement
Self-calibration of a measurement setup that has only 3 DoF is possible if movements on the different axes result in a 3D translation of the retroreflectors. This may be the case in 3D translational movement, 2D translation and rotation along one axis in the plane of translation or rotations around three orthogonal axes. The following strategy refers to a setup with 3D translation.
Similarly to the self-calibration with 4-DoF movement, the first step is used to calibrate the interferometer position by observing one retroreflector. In two consecutive steps, the same calibration is performed by observing the remaining two retroreflectors. Assuming that each retroreflector is positioned on the reference point of the mover, three different positions for each interferometer are calculated. The distances between the different interferometer positions correspond to the distances between the retroreflectors. These first three steps allow the interferometer positions and the target distances to be identified.
In the following step, the interferometers are split up again to observe all three retroreflectors. Consequently, unknowns (seven interferometer dead paths, target coordinates) need to be determined from n≥7 positions.
The result of this serial calibration of the target distances depends on the stability of the target structure and the position feedback of the mover.
The measurement principle and self-calibration strategies described form the theoretical basis for a 6-DoF multilateration setup. Experimental proof of this concept is described in the following section.
Different experiments were performed to evaluate the measurement principle described. In a static measurement setup, self-calibration strategies for 3-DoF and 4-DoF movement were compared. Additionally, dynamic measurements with 3-DoF movement were performed to investigate the system behaviour at high data rates and the evaluation run times. Both experiments are designed to confirm the concept of the 6-DoF multilateration system. Further analysis of the system, e.g. the estimation of the measurement uncertainty from a detailed Monte Carlo simulation, is pending.
3.1 Experimental setup
A precision CMM was used as a mover and position reference with an additional rotational axis in the probing head providing 4-DoF movements. Three cat's-eye retroreflectors were mounted on the probing head in a right-angled triangle arrangement whose legs were 140 and 150 mm in length. The acceptance angle of the retroreflectors is ± 80∘. All retroreflectors were mounted in the same orientation. This allows a rotation of the triple retroreflector target of 360∘ around the surface normal of the target. Rotations around the other two axes are limited by the acceptance angles of the retroreflectors and the positions of the observing laser interferometers. For each target position, this angle can be calculated by subtracting the largest angle between the retroreflector and any two interferometers from the acceptance angle of 160∘. In a typical setup, this maximum rotation angle will not exceed ± 50∘.
Seven tracking laser interferometers were installed along the short sides of the CMM working space in different z positions. For simultaneous data acquisition, six interferometers were triggered externally by one master interferometer. For continuous measurement, the trigger signal was also used for simultaneous readout of the CMM scales. In static measurement mode, length measurements of the interferometers and reference positions of the CMM were acquired after a standstill period of 1 s.
A grid of target positions was recorded in a measurement volume of . Each position was measured twice (except the reversal point for each orientation) in three target orientations of 0, −90 and −180∘. Data processing was performed in Python. The overdetermined equation systems were solved using the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm implemented in the scipy optimize package.
3.2 Static measurement
In a static measurement, self-calibration with 3-DoF and 4-DoF movement was performed according to the strategies described above. The results for the retroreflector distances are summarized in Table 1.
The difference between the calibrated target distances was below 2.6 µm. A comparison to the 6-DoF self-calibration strategy described was not possible because no 6-DoF manipulator was available. Further experiments with 6-DoF movement will be performed in the future.
3.3 Continuous measurement
Continuous measurement was evaluated with a trigger frequency of 200 Hz. The data rate was limited by the readout speed of the CMM scales needed as a reference; the laser interferometers allowed trigger frequencies above 1000 Hz.
Due to the high number of data points acquired at such frequencies, evaluation of a whole dataset, which results in equation systems of several thousand equations, was not reasonable. When considering the use case of the online pose correction of an industrial robot, only the actual position is of interest. Hence, the continuous evaluation took place by solving the equation system in a serial manner for each data point using the pose information of the previous data point as a starting value for the next data point. This required the system parameters to be calibrated beforehand. If all system parameters were known, one data point consisted of seven measured lengths and six unknowns for the target pose.
Evaluation of the continuous dataset took place using Python on a desktop PC with a quad-core CPU, a 3.20 GHz base frequency and 32 GB memory. In this configuration, a run time per data point of 1.3 ms was achieved. Using a more efficient programming language may further improve the evaluation performance.
Due to the delicate surfaces of the retroreflectors, it was not possible to calibrate the position of the retroreflectors in relation to the CMM reference point. In order to compare the results of the multilateration setup with the reference values of the CMM, alignment of the datasets was required. To align the data points from CMM and multilateration data, cross-correlation was calculated for x values of reflector 1 and the CMM reference. Different offsets in the position coordinates were compensated by subtracting the mean value of the first 100 data points of each coordinate. These data points were acquired during standstill before starting the measurement. This alignment allowed the relative distance change calculated from multilateration to be compared to the relative distance change calculated from the CMM.
Figure 2 shows a dataset of 20 000 measurement points obtained during a period of 100 s. For each retroreflector, the relative coordinate deviation from the CMM reference is shown. Additionally, the nominal coordinate position is indicated on the secondary y axis. During movement of the CMM, a deviation of ±20 µm, depending on the moving direction, was observed. During standstill, mean deviations were below 5 µm. Deviation in z showed high noise, especially for retroreflector 2.
Assuming a maximum deviation of 5 µm for each retroreflector during standstill and a shorter leg of 140 mm, an angular deviation of 71 µrad can be calculated. As mentioned in Sect. 2.1, the accuracy of the orientation can be improved by reducing the deviation of the position estimation of the single retroreflectors and by increasing the distances between the reflectors.
To explain the deviation of 20 µm during movement, two possible effects were identified. Even with an external trigger signal, the data acquisition may be slightly asynchronous. The CMM was set to a moving speed of 100 mm s−1. Thus, the deviation of 20 µm could be the result of a 0.2 ms offset in synchronization. From a repeated measurement with different moving speeds, this effect could be analysed. The second possible effect is a deformation of the observed target or the measurement chain from the CMM reference point to the different retroreflectors. From the identical amplitude of 20 µm for all three retroreflectors on both the x and y axes, a deformation of the target itself seems unreasonable. A deformation of the measurement chain of the CMM could be investigated by changing the acceleration of the CMM.
In this work, a multilateration setup to evaluate the full 6-DoF pose of an observed target was described. The setup used seven tracking laser interferometers to calculate the position and orientation of the target at high data rates. In a proof of concept, measurement points were recorded at a frequency of 200 Hz, which was limited by the readout speed of the reference CMM.
To identify unknown system parameters, different self-calibration strategies for movements with 3, 4 and 6 DoF were developed. Experimental evaluation of the self-calibration using 3- and 4-DoF movements showed good agreement. In a dynamic experiment, deviations between the multilateration evaluation and a reference CMM of 20 µm were observed during movements at a speed of 100 mm s−1. Without movement, the deviation was reduced to below 5 µm in a measurement volume of .
In further experiments, the capability of tracking full 6-DoF movements will be analysed. For such an experiment, establishing a precise reference with a wide measuring range for the orientation of the target will be a major challenge.
The underlying measurement data used in this work can be requested from the authors if required.
JN developed the 6-DoF multilateration evaluation and self-calibration strategies, evaluated the experiments, and wrote the article, JN and MF devised and performed the experiment, and NH and DH provided support for the experiments and the evaluation and reviewed the article.
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
This article is part of the special issue “Sensors and Measurement Science International SMSI 2020”. It is a result of the Sensor and Measurement Science International, Nuremberg, Germany, 22–25 June 2020.
This open-access publication was funded
by the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt.
This paper was edited by Thomas Fröhlich and reviewed by two anonymous referees.
Lin, Y. and Zhang, G.: The optimal arrangement of four laser tracking interferometers in 3D coordinate measuring system based on multi-lateration, in: IEEE International Symposium on Virtual Environments, Human-Computer Interfaces and Measurement Systems, 2003, VECIMS '03, 138–143, IEEE, Lugano, Switzerland, https://doi.org/10.1109/VECIMS.2003.1227044, 2003. a
Merlet, J.-P.: Parallel robots, no. 74 in Solid mechanics and its applications, 2nd edn., Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Boston, MA, 2006. a
Nguyen, T. T., Weiß, H., Amthor, A., and Ament, C.: Fast and Robust Online Calibration of a Multi-laser Tracking System, in: 2013 Sixth International Conference on Developments in eSystems Engineering, 141–144, IEEE, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, https://doi.org/10.1109/DeSE.2013.33, 2013. a
Norman, A. R., Schönberg, A., Gorlach, I. A., and Schmitt, R.: Validation of iGPS as an external measurement system for cooperative robot positioning, Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Tech., 64, 427–446, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-012-4004-8, 2013. a
Stadelmann, L., Sandy, T., Thoma, A., and Buchli, J.: End-Effector Pose Correction for Versatile Large-Scale Multi-Robotic Systems, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 4, 546–553, https://doi.org/10.1109/LRA.2019.2891499, 2019. a
Takatsuji, T., Goto, M., Kurosawa, T., Tanimura, Y., and Koseki, Y.: The first measurement of a three-dimensional coordinate by use of a laser tracking interferometer system based on trilateration, Meas. Sci. Technol., 9, 38–41, https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-0233/9/1/006, 1998. a
Vincze, M., Prenninger, J., and Gander, H.: A Laser Tracking System to Measure Position and Orientation of Robot End Effectors Under Motion, Int. J. Robot. Res., 13, 305–314, https://doi.org/10.1177/027836499401300402, 1994. a
Wendt, K., Franke, M., and Härtig, F.: Measuring large 3D structures using four portable tracking laser interferometers, Measurement, 45, 2339–2345, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2011.09.020, 2012. a
Yang, J., Wang, D., Fan, B., Dong, D., and Zhou, W.: Online absolute pose compensation and steering control of industrial robot based on six degrees of freedom laser measurement, Opt. Eng., 56, 034111, https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.56.3.034111, 2017. a


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FiberMesh® is a specialized mesh generation tool. Unlike the Fiber material, FiberMesh is not a render process. Instead, FiberMesh creates real geometry on the fly which can be added to the existing model as a new SubTool.
You will find the FiberMesh controls in the Tool > FiberMesh sub-palette.
Depending on your settings within the FiberMesh sub-palette, you can generate totally different shapes for fibers, hair, fur and even vegetation. Thanks to these fibers being a real geometry, you then have the ability to sculpt your hairs with ZBrush’s powerful feature set. This includes the default sculpting brushes, Masks, TransPose, etc. as well as being able to paint them through the PolyPaint system. There are also a number of specialist “Groom” brushes designed specifically for use with the FiberMesh feature.
Of course, because these fibers are real geometry, they are also able to be exported to your application of your choice. Export the fiber geometry with or without UVs where each fiber will allow a texture to be applied to the individual fibers.
FiberMesh geometry is optimized for performance which and includes specific attributes which let the ZBrush groom sculpting brushes know that they are being used on a FiberMesh. Any 3D brush can be adjusted to edit fibers through settings in the Brush > FiberMesh sub-palette. However, if you do something that changes the topology — like slicing the fibers or adding subdivision levels – ZBrush converts the FiberMesh into a standard polymesh. From that point forward, the sculpting brushes will behave exactly like they would for any normal mesh object.
Explore the pages below to learn more about FiberMesh:

domain: design


Helping Increase Income from Real Estate and Lending
KANSAS CITY, Missouri Real Estate Market
Reading Time: 3minutesKansas City is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city had an estimated population of 491,918 in 2018, making it the 38th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central city of the Kansas City metropolitan area, which straddles the Kansas–Missouri state line. Kansas City was founded in the 1830s as a Missouri River port at its confluence with the Kansas River coming in from the west. On June 1, 1850, the town of Kansas was incorporated; shortly after came the establishment of the Kansas Territory. Confusion between the two ensued and the name Kansas City was assigned to distinguish them soon after.
Sitting on Missouri’s western boundary with Kansas, with Downtown near the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers, the city encompasses some 319.03 square miles (826.3 km2), making it the 23rd largest city by total area in the United States. Most of the city lies within Jackson County, but portions spill into Clay, Cass, and Platte counties. Along with Independence, one of its major suburbs, it serves as one of the two county seats of Jackson County. Other major suburbs include the Missouri cities of Blue Springs and Lee’s Summit and the Kansas cities of Overland Park, Olathe, and Kansas City.
The city is composed of several neighborhoods, including the River Market District in the north, the 18th and Vine District in the east, and the Country Club Plaza in the south. Kansas City is known for its long tradition of jazz music and culture, especially theater – the city was the center of the Vaudevillian Orpheum circuit in the 1920s. It is also noted for its cuisine, including its distinctive Kansas City-style barbecue, and its craft breweries.
Kansas City Real Estate Market Statistics
Metropolitan statistical area: Kansas City, MO-KS
Population: 491,918 – 38ᵗʰ largest U.S. city (Wikipedia – 2018)
5-year projected population growth: 0.8% (PwC, 2018 – U.S. average is 0.7%)
Median age: 35.3 years old (City Data, 2016 – U.S. median is 38)


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There is no direct impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on the Arab insurance market as the Arab insurers dealings with their counterparts in Russia is marginal.
“Only one broker works in the regional market out of Dubai,” Chakib Abouzaid, the secretary-general of the General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF), told the Abu Dhabi-based Arabic website Al Roeya, which was published in Middle East Insurance Review.
However, he admitted that the impact of the conflict over the global insurance market may cast its shadow on the Arab insurance market.
The war will escalate the problem of supply chains for basic commodities such as wheat and energy, as Russia and Ukraine are two major global exporters of these commodities.
“Due to this impact of the war on the insurance sector in various countries, including the Arab region will be in marine and aviation insurance in addition to political risk insurance. Premium rates in these lines of business will rise. In addition, increases in the prices of some commodities will be reflected in the price of insurance,” he said.
Gains In Some Lines
On the other hand, there will be gains in some lines of insurance in oil-exporting countries in the region, especially since government spending is directly related to oil prices in many of these countries.
George Kabban, CEO of United Insurance Brokers (DIFC), said that the geopolitical situation will affect the global insurance sector negatively in some way, given that many types of insurance policies will be affected, including aviation.
He pointed out at some Russian planes stuck in airports outside Russia and aircraft from other countries stranded in Russia and Ukraine. “There are some planes belonging to Arab countries that are in Ukraine for maintenance or repairs. There could be claims related to these stranded aircraft,” he added.
A M Best Revises Outlook
Meanwhile, global credit rating agency A M Best is revising its market segment outlook for the insurance markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region to stable from negative.
In its report, the credit rating agency said that key factors contributing to the change in outlook include the economic recovery experienced across the region driven by rallying oil prices and the subsequent increased growth opportunities this brings the insurance sector, as well as the demonstrated resilience of insurers’ balance sheets.
The report entitled “Market Segment Outlook: Gulf Cooperation Council Insurance,” noted that the resurgence in demand for oil and the resultant buoyant price environment has brought economic relief the GCC region.
AM Best expects strengthening economic fundamentals to directly contribute to the demand for insurance products in the near term.
However, the report recognises that near-term concerns remain. These include the highly competitive operating environment fuelled by the large number of market participants, and the associated pressure this brings to pricing.
This in turn poses a threat to technical margins, particularly in medical and motor segments. Furthermore, preparedness for the implementation of IFRS 17 remains an uncertainty and a key challenge in the coming years.
GCC insurers have demonstrated their ability to withstand economic and market shocks brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the region remains sensitive to the potential for future pandemic-related volatility, the report added.

domain: economics


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Last Opportunity to Save Up To 7,500 Miles Using American Airlines Reduced Mileage Awards
American Airlines just released its latest (and last) list of Reduced Mileage Awards discounted destinations. Eligible Citi and Barclays American Airlines cardholders can get up to 7,500 miles off a round trip ticket by taking advantage of this great offer. Eligible destinations vary on the month, so be sure to check before booking an American flight within the U.S. and Canada.
You Can Now Redeem World of Hyatt Points at 32 More Small Luxury Hotels (SLH) Properties
Hyatt’s partnership with Small Luxury Hotels (SLH) has given World of Hyatt members hundreds more options to use their points. World of Hyatt members can also earn points at participating SLH properties. Now, through the latest Bonus Journeys promo, members can earn triple points when staying at participating SLH properties. Here’s what you need to know about this partnership.
How Does The Hilton Weekend Night Reward Work?
Hilton has several co-branded credit cards that award a free weekend-night certificate to cardholders. These certificates can offer incredible value with a little bit of planning and research. Certificates are not capped by a point amount or category (like many other free nights), and they can be used at all but a short list of excluded properties.
The Best IHG Redemptions for Luxury Stays
When thinking of luxurious hotels, IHG probably isn’t the first brand to come to mind. But IHG shouldn’t be ignored when planning your dream trip as it has its share of amazing properties around the world. Here are some of the best redemptions we found by looking at AwardWallet members’ recent redemptions.
You Can Now Book JetBlue Mint with Emirates Skywards Miles
JetBlue and Emirates have been long-time partners, but you couldn’t book JetBlue Mint using Emirates Skywards. Until now. Now, you can transfer Amex, Chase, Citi, Cap One, or Marriott points to Emirates to book JetBlue’s premium cabin using Skywards miles. Here’s are the redemption rates and everything travelers need to know about this exciting new redemption option.
Marriott Makes Changes to Points Advance Feature
Marriott recently made a change to its Points Advance feature. Members can no longer use Points Advance to book an award nearly a year out and accumulate points over the next year to pay for that stay. While this seems like a devaluation of a popular feature, this may be a positive change for some points travelers.
Chase’s Pay Yourself Back: What You Need to Know
Chase’s Pay Yourself Back is now a staple for redeeming Ultimate Rewards points. Chase Sapphire, Freedom, and Ink-branded cards can all use Pay Yourself Back to offset eligible purchases with a bonus. Current categories include grocery stores, dining, home improvement stores, shipping, internet/cable/phone services, and eligible charitable donations. Here’s how Pay Yourself Back works.
Earn Miles Through Bask Bank That Can Take You 1,000+ Places
Through its nearly two dozen partners, you can use American Airlines AAdvantage® miles to fly to over 1,000 destinations around the world. Now’s a great time to consider some of the great destinations and amazing business- and first-class products you can fly using AAdvantage® miles.
Get Up to 50% Bonus When Redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards for Apple Products
Now through June 30, Chase cardholders can get up to a 50% bonus when redeeming their Ultimate Rewards for Apple products through the Chase shopping portal. That’s not a bad redemption rate, but savvy Chase cardholders can get much better value from their Chase Ultimate Rewards by redeeming points through partner programs.
Hilton Honors Increases Standard Award Points Max From 120,000 to 150,000
Using Hilton points is a great way to redeem free nights at aspirational properties like the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi. But Hilton recently upped the maximum number of points needed for a free standard award night, making a stay at this high-end property much less achievable. Here are some other ways to get a free night there without shelling out 150,000 points per night.

domain: travel


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Despite the resurfacing of damaging child abuse allegations brought on by HBO’s Leaving Neverland Documentary, the King of Pop’s name and memorabilia will remain in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ohio exhibit. Celebrity gossip site TMZ reports that Jackson’s two slots will remain in the HOF and not be altered, the reasoning behind the […]
Fab reportedly faces 20 years behind bars.
We've been waiting for this, Chance.
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domain: celebrity


We’ve all heard about slow/fast at this point, but what about slow/slow?
For the last FACT mix of March, two artists who’ve made more moves than most in jungle of late – Londoner Fracture and Manchester staple Chimpo – slow things down. Way, way down. In Fracture’s words, “this is a slow motion mix. The idea came from wanting to fit a load of music we had got together into a mix but having to slow some down to make it work”. So there’s music from all across the musical spectrum – from Björk, FKA twigs and Boards of Canada to Mumdance, Novelist and Wiley; hell, there’s even an airing for ‘Midas Touch’ – but very little of it sounds as you know it.
A comment on our medicated generation? An online mix that finally taps into that “dull, empty feeling” we’re all left with when we stare at a screen all day? Nah, it’s probably just because a ton of shit sounds cooler when its slowed down. Make sure to check Chimpo and Fracture’s recent Metalheadz single, Chimpo’s Monkey Teef mixtape and Fracture’s label Astrophonica.
No tracklist, because that would completely spoil the fun.


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One of the reasons I hear people say that they choose organic foods is because they are more nutritious. While I have no problem with people choosing to eat organic foods, I wonder about this “more nutritious” claim.
Now that we know how to read nutrition labels, let’s take a look, shall we?
I’ll admit that my local grocery store is a bit short on organic options. I did find a few comparable products, so let’s get started!
First… organic sugar compared to plain old regular sugar.
Organic information on the left, conventional information on the right. We’ve got more information on our conventional product, but we can still work with what we have. The serving sizes are the same, the calories/serving are the same. The rest of the label looks the same – no fat or sodium in either one, 4 grams of carbohydrates in each, and no protein in either.
What? You don’t buy sugar for it’s nutrient content? Gasp! Okay… let’s look at something else.
Here’s unbleached all-purpose flour.
Again, organic on the left, conventional on the right. The serving size is about the same. The conventional flour has 110 calories per 1/4 cup; the organic has 100 calories per “less than” 1/4 cup – pretty comparable here. The difference in the flour is in the vitamins and minerals section. The organic only has 2% of your daily value of iron, while the conventional has 6% of your daily value. This is because the organic is unenriched, where the conventional flour is enriched. (Remember when we talked about fortifying milk? This is similar – extra vitamins and minerals are added to conventional flour to bump up it’s nutritional value.)
So far, we’ve not seen big differences. How about milk?
Organic on the left, conventional on the right…
The serving size is the same, 1 cup. They are both 1% milk, so you expect the same calorie and fat content, which we have. However, the conventional milk has only 0.5 grams of monounsaturated fat, where the organic milk has 1 gram of monounsaturated fat. The conventional milk also has slightly lower sodium (120 mg instead of 125 mg) and potassium (390 mg instead of 410 mg) than the organic milk. Total carbohydrates and protein are the same. The conventional has a little bit more vitamin C (4% daily value compared to 2% for organic).
And, finally, spinach.
The serving size is different, sort of. The organic spinach has 4 1/2 cups, or 85 grams listed as the serving size. The conventional spinach has 3 ounces, or 3 cups, or 85 grams listed as the serving size. So, weight-wise it’s the same, but volume-wise it’s different. From there… the same amount of calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, and carbohydrates per serving. But, again, there’s differences in the vitamins and minerals section. The conventional spinach actually has more vitamin A (160% of your daily value, compared to 110%) and more vitamin C (40% compared to 25%).
Are these differences enough to make you choose organic over conventional foods, or vice versa? No, probably not.
There are reasons for choosing organically-grown foods over conventionally-grown foods, and many people make this choice. There are differences in the fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides that can be used in each practice. These things are very important to some people.
But nutrition? It’s a wash. There’s very little difference between organically-grown and conventionally-grown foods.
Do you choose organic or conventional foods when you have the option? Why or why not?
I actively avoid organic animal products on ethical/animal-welfare grounds. Having worked on an organic dairy, I cannot in good conscience support a system of food production which willfully and definitionally does not use the most efficient and effective means to alleviate animals’ discomfort when suffering bacterial infection (i.e. antibiotics). When our cows at the dairy got an infection, we treated them with garlic extract and peppermint oil in lieu of antibiotics. While the experience of these “aroma-therapy” cows was indeed novel, it was by no means an effective way of getting rid of the infection and the same cows lingered in our “hospital string” for weeks.
In terms of organic produce, I have only mild issues. I find it ethically questionable to choose to produce food in a way that has decreased yield compared to conventional production systems in the face of an ever-growing hungry world population. That said, I’ll buy whatever produce is cheapest and/or represents the item I seek best. I’ve found organic fruit and veggie offerings in the store tend to be more varied than conventionally-produced offerings. Some organic produce items are surprisingly cheaper than conventional as well.
Thanks for your comments, Kerry. Some of the larger organic dairies will also maintain a non-organic herd. This way, if one of the cows on their organic farm gets sick, they can treat her with antibiotics and move her to the non-organic farm. However, that means that cow can not go back to the organic farm. And not all farms are large enough to maintain two separate herds, so some are managed the way you describe.
In my area, conventionally-farmed produce is easier to come by than organically-farmed produce. Personally, I don’t notice much of a difference in the taste between conventional and organic. I won’t go out of my way to find organic produce, but like you, if the organic produce looks fresher that day or is less expensive than the conventional produce, I’ll purchase the organic option that day.

domain: food


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BOSTON ( TheStreet) -- Marriage is discriminatory, with government-funded financial benefits that are unfair to singles.Setting aside the national debate over same-sex unions, the above argument is increasingly touted by contrarians of all political persuasions. "Singlist" and "singlism" are among terms describing discrimination against the unvowed. The debate is also a hot topic in the U.K., where politicians are debating the merits of additional tax breaks for couples.
|There are many ways singles are punished in the U.S. tax code -- and several ways married couples are punished as well.|
Without filing a joint return, taxpayers may not be able to claim a variety of credits, such as the Child and Dependent Care Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit or education credits such as the Hope Credit and Lifetime Learning Credit. A spouse is automatically deemed a "dependent" in the eyes of the law, even in a marriage in which the husband and wife have identical incomes, explains a CCH tax advisory. Under federal law, this makes group health coverage for the spouse a tax-free benefit when provided by an employer. And in the case where a spouse's $50,000 hospital bill is paid by an insurance plan, that's tax free as well. By contrast, even when unmarried couples are granted "domestic partner" benefits by companies, their benefits are diminished through taxes. A group health policy for a domestic partner or same-sex spouse subsidized by an employer to the tune of $4,000 a year is treated as an additional $4,000 of taxable income for the employee. Pensions and inheritances are another way legally recognized spouses benefit. The surviving spouse in a two-sex marriage can inherit a husband's or wife's estate without any federal estate tax. As of Jan. 1, the newly passed Tax Relief Act sets the estate tax exemption at $5 million per person. But it also introduces a two-year perk called "portability." The survivor can add the unused portion of their dearly departed's exemption to their own estate tax exemption, bypassing, in some cases, the need to shield money in a trust. Social Security also offers survivor benefits that apply only to the married or once married. A husband or wife is entitled to draw their spouse's Social Security benefits after they die. The benefit is even allowed for couples that divorced before the death, provided they were married for at least 10 years. There are situations, however, where married couples may get the worse of the deal.
The 2010 Tax Relief Act extends marriage penalty relief that was linked to the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, the standard deduction and the earned-income tax credit. Before 2001, there were two main sources of the marriage penalty. The standard deduction allowed on a joint return was less than twice the amount of the standard deduction for single filers. Also, a couple could move into a higher tax bracket when their incomes were combined on their joint return. The standard deduction for joint filers has since been raised to double that of singles, and the 10% and 15% tax brackets are now twice as high for joint filers. Beyond the 15% bracket, the "marriage penalty" lingers on, according to a scenario the CCH analysts offer: "Lisa" and "Larry" each have a taxable income of $75,000, toward the top of the 25-percent bracket for single filers. As domestic partners who file individually, each pays income tax of $14,538 after the "Making Work Pay" credit. If they wed and the tax laws were marriage neutral, their tax would be twice that amount, or $29,078. But that's not how things work. Filing jointly, Lisa and Larry report taxable income of $150,000. The 25% tax bracket for joint filers ends at $137,300, so the top $12,700 of their joint income is taxed at 28%, leading to a total tax bill of $29,443.50 -- a "marriage penalty" of $355.50. "It's important to note that it's the distribution of income -- 50/50 between the two spouses -- that produces the penalty," CCH writes in an advisory. "If Lisa were a single professional with a taxable income of $150,000, she would not be eligible for the Making Work Pay credit and would owe $35,709.25. So she would reduce her income tax and reap a 'marriage bonus' of $6,265.75 if she were to marry a charming but penniless drifter." Another scenario is two unmarried workers, each of whom earn $25,000 and has one child. Living separately, each can file as "head of household" and get an $8,400 standard deduction. Unmarried, each is entitled to an Earned Income Tax Credit of $1,680 and the $1,000 child credit each. "All this eliminates their federal income tax obligations and even produces a payment to each one from the Treasury of nearly $2,000," CCH says. "
But If these two low-wage workers decide to get married, they'll receive a higher standard deduction as joint filers, rather than heads of households." "At $11,400, it's nowhere near double the amount (2 x $8,400) they were each entitled to as single parents. Worse, with $50,000 in wages, the couple no longer qualifies for the EITC. The bottom line is that the couple receives a refundable credit of only $34, and without the Making Work Pay credit, they would owe several hundred dollars in taxes, losing out financially as a result of getting married." -- Written by Joe Mont in Boston. >To contact the writer of this article, click here: Joe Mont. >To follow the writer on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/josephmont. >To submit a news tip, send an email to: firstname.lastname@example.org.
RELATED STORIES:-- Written by Joe Mont in Boston. >To contact the writer of this article, click here: Joe Mont. >To follow the writer on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/josephmont. >To submit a news tip, send an email to: email@example.com.


POLICE have condemned drivers who ignored Roads Closed signs to try and drive out of Holmfirth.
And they revealed some motorists had even got out of their cars to move the signs advising them the A635 Greenfield Road was closed due to snow.
The road was one of three closed on Wednesday and early this morning because of snow and ice. The others were the A6024 Holme Moss route and the A640 over Buckstones.
Both were re-opened today as conditions improved.
A police spokesman said: “There were road closure signs in place but some motorists have been seen removing them and driving on.
“They were being warned by officers that this is very dangerous due to the bad weather conditions on this road”.


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Centrum Pile is record breaking!
Centrum Pile is delighted to announce it has broken another record by casting 26,378 metres of piles in just one week! Want a few more statistics for July?
Total amount cast was 105,508 linear metre, 6992.9 m3 of concrete used and 117,892 linear metres of cages produced by its robots.
Amazing work from Centrum’s production facility and all of the workers!


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A judge has jailed one of three suspected Al-Qaeda members held in Spain earlier this week.
A Turkish suspect was charged on August 3 with possession of explosive materials at the address where he was arrested the previous day in the southern province of Andalucia.
The other two suspects of Chechen origin will be kept in custody while police continue investigations.
They were picked up on August 1 as they traveled by bus toward the French border.
Authorities said the three are thought to have been planning an attack in Europe.
They said the material seized at the Turkish man's flat is thought to be enough to "destroy a bus."
In 2004, an Al-Qaeda-linked bomb attack on commuter trains in Madrid killed 191 people and injured 1,841 others.
Based on reporting by AFP and AP


Distributed Reinforcement Learning Algorithm for Multi-UAV Applications
The problem of learning a global map using local observations by multiple agents lies at the core of many control and robotic applications. Once this global map is available, autonomous agents can make optimal decisions accordingly. The decision-making rule is called a policy.
The development of policies is often very challenging in many applications as generating accurate models for these domains is difficult in the presence of complex interactions between the agents and the environment. For this reason, machine learning techniques have been often applied to policy development. Reinforcement Learning (RL) is a class of machine learning algorithms which addresses the problem of how a behaving agent can learn an optimal behavioral strategy (policy), while interacting with unknown environment. However, direct application of the current RL algorithms to the real-world tasks that involve multiple agents with heterogeneous observations may not work. Without information sharing between agents, the surrounding environment for each independent agent becomes non-stationary due to concurrently evolving and exploring companion agents.
We study a distributed RL algorithm for multi-agent UAV applications. In the distributed RL, each agent makes state observations through local processing. The agents are able to communicate over a sparse randomly changing communication network and can collaborate to learn the optimal global value function corresponding to the aggregated local rewards without centralized coordination. The overall diagram is shown in the figure below, where N agents and take actions locally, while communicating over the network.
As an example, consider multiple heterogeneous UAVs equipped with different sensors that navigate a shared space to detect harmful events, for instance, frequent turbulence in commercial flight routes, regions frequently infested by harmful insects over corn fields, or enemies in battlefields. Using the distributed RL, these UAVs will be able to maneuver the space together to collect useful data for building a value function and designing a safe motion planning policy despite the incomplete sensing abilities and communications.
A simple example of the distributed RL is demonstrated in this animation:
Another example is illustrated in the following animation:


Last week, FDA released a document outlining its policy priorities for the coming year. “Healthy Innovation, Safer Families: FDA’s 2018 Strategic Roadmap” addresses continued focus on digital health, among other priorities, as one way that the agency seeks to further its public health mission and foster innovation that benefits consumers and patients. Consistent with this focus, the agency also announced a public workshop on January 30-31, 2018, to discuss the status of its Software Pre-Cert Program, which we wrote about here.
These announcements follow a consistent drumbeat of digital health focus from FDA during 2017, including release of two draft and one final guidance documents that are intended to implement the objectives of the 21st Century Cures Act. These include the following:
- The Clinical and Patient Decision Support Software (CDS) Draft Guidance. As explained by FDA, this guidance “is intended to make clear what types of CDS would no longer be defined as a medical device, and thus would not be regulated by the agency. For example, generally, CDS that allows for the provider to independently review the basis for the recommendations are excluded from the FDA’s regulation… However, the FDA will continue to enforce oversight of software programs that are intended to process or analyze medical images, signals from in vitro diagnostic devices or patterns acquired from a processor like an electrocardiogram that use analytical functionalities to make treatment recommendations, as these remain medical devices under the Cures Act.” The comment period is open until Tuesday, February 6, 2018.
- The Changes to Existing Medical Software Policies Resulting from Section 3060 of the 21st Century Cures Act Draft Guidance. This draft guidance updates the agency’s thinking relative to exercise of jurisdiction or enforcement discretion over low risk mobile and digital health products, as previously addressed in FDA’s Mobile Medical Application and General Wellness guidance. The deadline for public comments is Tuesday, February 6, 2018.
- The Software As A Medical Device (SaMD): Clinical Evaluation Final Guidance. This finalizes draft guidance issued in 2016 and attempts to further global regulatory harmonization efforts by establishing common principles for regulators to use in evaluating the safety, effectiveness and performance of SaMD.
Industry Releases Mobile Health App Guidance
FDA hasn’t been the only public health stakeholder issuing guidance lately, though. Xcertia, a group created to build a framework for mobile health apps founded by the American Medical Association, HIMSS, the American Heart Association, and DHX Group, released draft guidance specifically about health apps.
Xcertia published four different sets of guidelines regarding app operability, privacy, security, and content. Unlike the FDA’s guidance, these documents are specific to mobile health apps and provide specific requirements for developers. Due to the FDA’s indication that it will not pursue regulation of certain low-risk health-related mobile apps, this Xcertia guidance is a helpful reminder to the developer community that, even if FDA is not regulating a low-risk product, rules and best practices still apply. This has been the steady message that the Federal Trade Commission has delivered through numerous mobile health enforcement actions and in developer guidance released in 2016, which we wrote about here.
Comments regarding this guidance can be submitted on Xcertia’s website through the end of January.


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The band hail from Glasgow and their first record, also entitled Free, came out in March. There is also a fan remix contest with Indaba Music. You can vote on your fave remix HERE.
The track, Free, is apparently heading up various charts. I never know what the hell the charts MEAN anymore. One thing I do know is that it is better to be on the charts than not.

domain: artistic


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Hello Shirtless Andy Cohen! The Bravo Host Shows Off His Hot Bod In Miami [PHOTOS]
The Watch What Happens Live host had quite the morning in Miami today as he showed off his hot bod while lounging poolside. Sure the man looks amazing in suit, but we’ve gotta say, we are rather enjoying his shirtless look.
Sean Avery wasn’t there for them to continue celebrating. Andy looks to be having a conversation with someone on his cellphone. I’m hoping it’s one of the Real Housewives ladies calling to have Andy calm them down. Do you think he does stuff like that?
I mean, he is the reason all those ladies are as famous as they are! So to go through it quickly: he’s successful, he’s funny and he’s got a great body. Bravo, Andy. Oh! See what I did there?
Launch the gallery to check out all of Andy’s shirtless photos. What do you guys think of his body? Still impressed by the hot factor no matter how many times you’ve seen it? Sound off in the comments!


India and France have announced a broad and strategic space cooperation agreement to guide their developing bilateral strategic partnership. This Joint Vision for Space Cooperation includes both existing and new joint mechanisms, with inter-agency representation led by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the French National Space Agency (CNES) respectively. The progress and outcomes will be reported to the bilateral Indo-French Strategic Dialogue for review and assessment.
The Joint Vision for Space Cooperation will focus on the following areas of cooperation:
- Bringing societal benefits of space technology by cooperating in remote sensing of the Earth using satellites, including joint development of advanced instruments, joint missions to study weather and climate, and sharing of observation data meant for meteorology, oceanography, resource inventory and cartography, as well as the sharing of expertise in data analysis.
- Partnering to develop and undertake a joint Earth observation mission with high resolution imaging capability in optical and microwave domains.
- Ongoing space domain and situational awareness, as reported by SpaceWatch.Global earlier this week, via collaboration between ISRO and CNES to design and develop joint products and techniques, including those involving Automatic Identification System (AIS), to monitor and protect the assets in land and sea. In particular, both sides will pursue the study of a constellation of satellites for maritime surveillance and cooperate to protect their respective space based assets. India and France will also develop a wider dialogue on space situational awareness (SSA).
- Addressing global challenges, including climate change, through joint missions, advanced processing tools, and mobilizing expertise and resources from other spacefaring countries.
- Cooperation in satellite navigation and related technologies by sharing expertise.
- Exploration of the solar system and beyond via working together on:
- Autonomous navigation of rovers on the Moon, Mars, and other planets and celestial bodies;
- Aero-braking technologies for planetary exploration;
- Modeling of Mars and Venus atmospheres; and,
- Inflatable systems for the exploration of Venus.
- The aim is that both countries can embark on joint, complex, and high-technology space science and planetary exploration missions in the future.
- Cooperation on space transportation systems by collaborating, in accordance with Indian and French international commitments, on the development of:
- Technologies for a liquid Oxygen-Methane propulsion engine;
- Reusable launch vehicles (including common experiments on RLVs); and,
- Special materials, nanomaterials, advanced composites, polymers, chemicals, nanotechnologies, and manufacturing technologies.
- Developing technologies for human exploration of the universe through jointly developing capabilities and critical technologies addressing:
- Radiation shielding solutions;
- Personal hygiene and waste management systems; and,
- Design of human-in-the-loop simulators for human spaceflight as well as bioastronautics.
- Cooperation on international space issues as active players within the United Nations and other forums, and remaining consistent with their international commitments, France and India plan to cooperate regularly on issues including space security, safety of operations, and sustainability.
India and France share a unique historical partnership in the peaceful uses of outer space. Cooperation and collaboration have been hallmarks of this relationship as these two countries have emerged as important spacefaring nations and strategic partners in the geopolitics and security of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).


After having his soul pounded into dust by Sean Connery on 2003’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, writer/director Stephen Norrington is slowly re-emerging after his seven-year-hiatus. Already in the process of developing a remake of The Crow, THR reports that Norrington will write and direct The Lost Patrol. THR says not much is known about the project beyond it being, “a supernatural action thriller set against the backdrop of World War II.” Norrington says Patrol hit all of his “geek-buttons” which are apparently “hardware, heroes, grime, insane monsters.” I’m surprised “Working with old Scottish actors who formerly played James Bond,” isn’t on his geek console.
‘Baywatch’ Trailer Teaser: Dwayne Johnson Gets Wet and Wild in First Footage
Felicity Jones Says Making ‘Rogue One’ Was Like Being in the Army for Seven Months
‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Trailer Teaser Gives First Look at the Webcrawler in Action
‘Westworld': 11 TV Shows and Movies to Watch If You Loved the HBO Series
‘Westworld’ Finale: 9 Burning Questions We Need Answered in Season 2


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I have spent a few hours playing Wildscapes and here are some thoughts about the game and a new direction Playrix is taking with it.
After Homescapes came out in 2016, Playrix has kept silence for two years. There have been no new releases until the middle of this August. But the company hasn’t been idle. It has become bigger. Much bigger. Its monthly sales have grown by more than seven times. It is no longer just a studio from Eastern Europe that got lucky. Today, Playrix is one of the world’s top grossing companies with its mobile revenue exceeding that of either Netflix or Tinder. That calls for some attention, right?
Last week Playrix rolled out a new installment in its match-3 series responsible for most of the company’s earnings. The new game is called Wildscapes. It’s the studio’s first game in the franchise to discard the narrative meta-gameplay that was Playrix’s own invention within the genre, the secret sauce of their games. When they made Gardenscapes just three years ago, integrating a story into a casual free-to-play game looked like a real innovation. Their next game Homescapes further proved the viability of the idea. The title became a hit and a role model for other developers.
Wildscapes is different. There is no story. Rich narrative with memorable characters, funny situations and a never-ending soaplike timeline is gone. Its place is taken by simple and even ascetic building gameplay where you get golden coins from match-3 levels and spend them on non-interactive animals and decorations. “Wildscapes gives more freedom to players. It’s like sandbox that players can develop in any way they want,” the developers said.
Building meta in Wildscapes
That sounds strange coming from the studio that made a rich narrative in match-3 a modern industry standard. And for the loyal audience of the previous Playrix titles it’s outright disappointing. But it feels justified in a situation when all casual games companies are copying your ideas and concepts. Viveyard Valley by Jam City, Matchington Mansion by Firecraft Studios, Lily’s Garden by Tactile Games, to name just a few games that try to recreate Playrix’s success.
It is the abundance of high quality clones that look and feel identical that could have prompted the company to try a different approach so that their new game stands out. But it came at a price. Experimenting with meta-gameplay had a negative impact on D1 retention of Wildscapes. It’s 38%, which is still high, just not as high as the one Homescapes had two years ago at 68%.
There is a popular opinion that these days many companies discontinue the development of games with D1 retention under 40% during soft launch. Funny thing, only 15% games on the market can boast D1 retention rate above 35%, according to GameAnalytics. However, leading companies like Playrix, King or Zynga might not be content with anything lower than 40%. So why is Wildscapes still alive? Was there maybe some other reason for the company to change their stance on meta-gameplay?
The rationale for this becomes clear after you spend several hours with the game. It looks and sounds like it was made with the Chinese market in mind. This doesn’t make it an Asian game (it still feels like a high-end Western product), but it is fairly obvious who its intended target audience is. And it’s very refreshing. We got used to the situation when the majority of developers — if they are not from Asia-Pacific region — are clearly trying to cater to the North American market.
Playrix might count on Wildscapes to enhance its presence in the Middle Kingdom where your typical European story about a butler, inheritance and an old house just doesn’t work like it does in the United States. The studio’s sales in China are very impressive for a non-local company, but they are pretty mediocre in comparison with the domestic top market players. So it’s only natural for Playrix to see there an opportunity to beef up its presence in the saturated Asian market.
Undeniable cuteness of Wildescapes
To really unlock a new market, you have to play by its rules. If Wildscapes is to be a success in China, the narrative might have to go. Top Chinese match-3 games don’t have stories, they are about animals and have very cute visuals. This absolutely defines Wildscapes, its mascot a red panda and its core-gameplay music having dizi (national flute) elements.
You want to get something, you pay a price. Moderate performance in the West might potentially become the price Playrix would have to pay to truly hit it off with the Chinese market.


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Free Shipping on orders of $75 or more in Ontario and Quebec. Discounted shipping for all other provinces on orders of $75 or more.
Wing Time Mild Buffalo Wing Sauce: Terry of Wing Time calls this delicious blend The sauce that clings to your wings. Welcome to Wing-Time. For great tasting authentic buffalo wings, cut chicken wings at each joint and discard tips. Barbecue or broil until crispy. Warm sauce over low heat, stirring occasionally. Do not boil. Dunk cooked wings into sauce for about one minute. Serve with celery and carrot sticks and a side of blue cheese dressing. Ingredients: Hot Sauce, Water, Tomato Paste, Soybean Oil, Parmesan Cheese, Vinegar, Salt, Xanthan Gum, Natural Butter Flavor, and Spice.
Manufactured by Panorama Foods Ltd


FORD AWARDS TOMTOM GLOBAL TRAFFIC SERVICE DEAL FOR NEXT-GEN SYNC TECH TO PREDICT CONGESTION
Ford Awards TomTom global, real-time traffic service deal for next-generation SYNC connected vehicle technology; first available for all-new F-150 and all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUV to help get more...
The all-new 2021 Ford F-150 is also the most aerodynamic ever. New active grille shutters, a new automatically deploying active air dam, and new cab and tailgate geometry all work together to reduce drag and improve fuel consumption on every truck.
TBD specs will be filled in as they're released.
Base Engine Specs
2021 Ford F-150
2020 Chevy Silverado
2020 Ram 1500
2020 Toyota Tundra
Video of the digital gauge clusters / instrument panel in action.
Towing and Offroad Status
Drive Modes (Slippery, Deep Sand Snow, Mud / Trail, Rock Crawl)
There are 13 trims for the 2021 F-150 featuring 11 unique grille designs.
Which is your favorite?!
XL Chrome Grille
XLT Chrome Grille
XLT Sport Grille
Lariat Chrome Grille
There will be a 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor, but details will have to wait
The redesigned F-150 will get its Raptor variant soon
June 26, 2020
Ford didn’t reveal it as part of its 2021 F-150 onslaught yesterday evening, but a 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor is on the way. Motor1 initially...
5 Fun Facts
Ford unveiled the redesigned 2021 F-150 full-size pickup truck today, and while the super-mild sheet metal revisions and mostly carryover powertrains aren’t much to get excited about, two new additions to the lineup are definitely worth a second look. First, there’s a first-ever...


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My friend found out that I like these games like Tower Unite and series of games - Mortal Kombat, and he decided to take Catsack and painted in the style of the characters from MK, thank him for the arts ^^
I actually play Mortal Kombat X on Xbox One.
This is really nice though.
I want game with those…
This post’s title is incorrect.
All catsacks are immortal.
unless you look at them and press E
I need this
Cool! I can’t wait to see them tear each other apart in the most spectacularly edgy and bloody ways!
There’s an actual ‘cowboy’ in Mortal Kombat…?
(Please don’t roast with replies I don’t even play the game so have mercy on me.)
Yes, only in Mortal Kombat X, and his name Erron Black
Well, good to know. Thanks for telling me, lol.
i forgot i made that reply
Wow. Way to dig this out of the vault. Glad you did, though. I somehow managed to miss this the first time around. I love this so much, even though I only recognize about half the characters.
i actually found that reply because someone replied to it (same person who said hi in that other thread I think). i swear i didnt just scour for some old reply to a thread about mortal kombat catsacks


text: Disorders of sexual development are conditions where sexual phenotype and genotype are discordant. Genetic sex is determined at conception as the ovum is fertilised by a spermatozoon that contains either an X or Y chromosome. A complex pathway determined by genes and hormones leads to gonadal differentiation into testis or ovary and promotes the development of internal and external genitalia. We present a case of an 18-year-old woman who presented with primary amenorrhoea. She was a virgin, and apart from hirsutism and overweight, had no complaints. Her family history was insignificant. The patient was tall and had underdeveloped breasts. Her blood results showed hypergonadotropic hypogonadism. A 46, XY genotype was detected with karyotype analysis. Ultrasound and MRI demonstrated the presence of a uterus, but no overt gonads. Laparoscopy was performed, with bilateral removal of streak ovaries.

domain: medical


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U.S. 51 Ohio River ‘Cairo’ Bridge open after semi crash
(KBSI) – The U.S. 51 Ohio River “Cairo” Bridge is back open after the bridge was blocked by a semi crash on Monday.
A semi was southbound on the bridge and hit the railing near the Kentucky end of the bridge, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
The site is cleared and all lanes are open.
The Wickliffe-Cairo Bridge carries U.S. 51, U.S. 60, and U.S. 62 traffic across the Ohio River at U.S. 51 Kentucky mile point 7.372.
Also known as The Cairo Bridge, the U.S. 51/U.S. 60/U.S. 62 Wickliffe-Cairo Bridge carries approximately 5,800 vehicles across the Ohio River each day between Wickliffe, KY, and Cairo, IL. About 35 percent of those vehicles are commercial trucks. It is the longest bridge in Kentucky and the westernmost bridge over the Ohio River.
The Cairo Bridge immediately connects with the U.S. 60/U.S. 62 Mississippi River Bridge that connects Missouri and Illinois. The east-west traffic on U.S. 60 and U.S. 62 combines with the north-south traffic on U.S. 51 to provide a critical river crossing of far more importance that traffic count might indicate.
The U.S. 51 Ohio River Bridge was constructed by the Cairo Bridge Commission as a toll facility and opened to traffic on November 11, 1936. Tolls were removed from the crossing on November 11, 1948, when the highway departments of Kentucky and Illinois took over maintenance of the structure.
The Cairo-Wickliffe Bridge is at Ohio River navigation mile point 980.4.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Illinois Department of Transportation are planning the construction of a new bridge at this site.

domain: geography


When your Ford Falcon left the factory, it was destined for a person with discerning taste who prioritizes long-lasting quality in their automobile. It's not all the time that you realize that you have to buy a replacement PCV Valve to repair your automobile. Car aficionados appreciate the good looks built into each Ford, and understand that only the best replacement Falcon parts will suffice when repairs are needed. Ford car, truck, or SUV owners have come to expect a certain level of dependability when driving their Falcon around town.
Getting the most out of your car or truck depends on how well you maintain your engine and exhaust parts. The engine in your Ford Falcon gives up some efficiency and emissions, and it uses a PCV valve to control its positive crankcase ventilation. Almost always mounted above your cylinder head in the valve cover, your Ford Falcon PCV valve is a one-way valve that receives the escaping exhaust blow-by from the crankcase and routes it into the intake. This is much better than simply venting it into the atmosphere, which is what all engines did before they were equipped with a positive crankcase ventilation valve.
Ordering new Ford parts from www.carpartsdiscount.com means you are taking advantage of the highest quality original and aftermarket replacement Falcon parts on the internet. Don't let a PCV Valve repair bring about the demise of your car, truck, or SUV, and don't gamble with its condition by using anything but the best repair parts. Given all the trouble that can be involved with installing a part to fix your car or truck, let www.carpartsdiscount.com be the most authoritative website you go to make buying it easy. All the Ford Falcon PCV Valve parts on this page will fit vehicles made in 1970, 1969, 1968, 1967, 1966, 1965, 1964, 1963, 1962, 1961, 1960. Choose your year below to refine your search.


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Also, I've spent ALL DAY cleaning my house like a crazy person. I...might be adopting a cat. I've never had a cat before and I am nervous about it. But also I feel less disloyal to Max with a cat and I love the purrs and love I get from my mom and brother's cats, and this one little kitten needs a home so bad...
Anywhoo. I cleaned out my junk room today, just in case, and it was rough and I am sweaty and exhausted.
Has anyone read The Library at Mount Char? I would like to discuss.
Also, I had waffles last weekend.
And, I cannot stop obsessively playing HayDay on my iPad. WHY.
Really, this is everything happening in my life right now. ♥


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'Not Just Kids: Bullying from the Playground to the Workplace & Beyond' - April 11
Thursday, April 11
Cynthia Lowen, “Not Just Kids: Bullying from the Playground to the Workplace & Beyond”
Whitley Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.
How does bullying transcend the schoolyard, following us into our workplaces, communities, family relations and online? In this engaging multimedia presentation, Lowen combines clips from the film Bully, as well as pop-culture references, news stories and more to illustrate the key characteristics of bullying behaviors and long-term patterns for the target, the bully and the witness; how to identify bullying and its impact; and how recognizing and preventing the behavior can create a positive culture shift.

domain: sociology


Smith concedes defence contractors strugglingPUBLISHED: 01 Jun 2012 00:33:21 | UPDATED: 01 Jun 2012 00:33:21PUBLISHED: 01 Jun 2012 PRINT EDITION: 01 Jun 2012
Defence Minister Stephen Smith has conceded some Australian defence industry SMEs are struggling and the government will monitor the health of the sector to ensure niche capabilities are not lost to the defence force.
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A few months ago, I started look for something I could carry and use in IDPA matches. The final decision was between the STI Trojan 5.0 and Kimber’s Custom II Target and I was considering this purchase for several months. Ultimately, price and availability won out as both weapons shot well – the Kimber Custom Target II got purchased.
I took the Kimber to the range for the first time on Saturday and was pleasantly surprised at the reliability out-of-the-box – especially after reading the manual’s break-in statement saying that I should expect a 400-500 round break in period.
Before I took it to the range, I field stripped it and put oil everywhere the manual said to. It broke down fairly easily for a full-length guide-rod weapon and went back together just as easily.
Fearing all sorts of misadventures during the break-in, I bought a few boxes of 150 round el-cheapo 230 grain lead round-nose reloads and 100 230 gr FMJ round nose. I figured that if I was going to be hand cycling, constantly clearing, and otherwise practicing disaster drills .. why do it with the good stuff – and as an added bonus.. extra brass is extra brass.
My one and only objection: the stock magazine is flimsy. I cannot imagine what Kimber was thinking in including this low-cost POS in a package with a quality gun. The clip is a sheet-metal formed model like those commonly found in bargain basement bins. In retrospect, I may have been too harsh, only time will tell.
My range time was spent putting 100 rounds through the Kimber, first at 15 yards, then at 25. I didn’t take it to 50 as this is a new gun with adjustable sites and would need to do a concentrated sighting session before wasting ammo at that distance
Out of the 100 rounds, I experienced zero issues. No failure to fire, no bad feeds, not one failure to go to battery then go bang – the gun performed very, very well – even with the craptastic stock mag.
Releasing the slide stop was a bit stiff as one might expect on a new gun, but not to an annoying level – just pull the slide back to release the lock with a full mag. The stock 7-round clip went into and out of the gun as expected and every round chambered, fired and ejected – reliability: check!
The trigger is crisp, zero slop in it and the pull isn’t overly long like I’ve found in some of the Glocks and S&Ws nor is it too short. The 4.5lbs of pull might be a little heavy for bullseye shooters, but for IDPA and carry it seemed just fine. I did have a shot occasionally go low which was probably from jerking the trigger, but that’s not the guns fault (until I find a way to blame it).
From an accuracy perspective the gun exceeded my expectations. I emptied the first clip in slow-fire and got a nice tight group at 15 yards. The sights are adjustable and came out of the box set 2″ to low and 2″ left. A few turns later and she was centered left-to-right, but still a bit low (image left) – after those 5 shots I adjusted the elevation and she was dialed in. I did find the front sight a little harder to pickup than I would have liked, but I’ll be switching that out anyway. Once dialed-in, I moved to a 25 yard target and sped up the shot time. Basically just letting a shot go each time the sight fell back onto the center of the target after each shot. Pie plate at 25 yards? Check! (image below-right)
The muzzle jump was slightly less than I was expecting out of a 1911 .45, but not so much so that I would call it noticeably lighter than the typically-comfortable recoil that all 1911 framed .45 autos offer. The 1911-A1 is a beaut when it comes to that, a flat shooting trajectory and immense stopping power.
I will be repeating this exercise after a bench rest session to make sure the sights are dead-on. I’ll post target pictures so you can see how well this gun shoots while being limited by my ability. I have no doubt this gun could put up some tight groups – it’s only current limitation is me.
- Caliber: .45 ACP
- Height (inches) 90° to barrel: 5.25
- Weight (ounces) with empty magazine: 38
- Length (inches): 8.7
- Magazine capacity: 7
- Recoil spring (pounds): 16.0
- Full-length guide rod
- Material: Steel
- Finish: Matte black
- Width (inches): 1.28
- Material: Steel
- Finish: Matte black
- Front serrations
- Length (inches): 5
- Material: Steel, match grade
- Stainless steel match grade bushing
- Twist rate (left hand): 16
- Kimber adjustable
- Radius (inches): 6.8
- Black synthetic
- Double diamond
- Aluminum, match grade
- Factory setting (appx. pounds): 4.0 – 5.0


The Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology has asked France to mobilise support for Cambodia to further improve its water resources management system.
The request was made by H.E. Thor Chetha, Minister of Water Resources and Meteorology, during a meeting with H.E. Jacques Pellet, Ambassador of France to Cambodia, and Mrs. Sandrine Boucher, the French Development Agency (AFD) Country Director for Cambodia here in Phnom Penh on Sept. 20.
According to the minister, AFD is financially supporting the Water and Agricultural Sector Project (WASP) 2015-2019 in Kandal, Kampong Thom, Siem Reap, and Banteay Meanchey provinces, and the Water Resource Management and Agro-ecological Transition for Cambodia (WAT4CAM) Programme Phase I, which has been implemented since 2019 in Battambang and Banteay Meanchey provinces and is scheduled to finish in 2025.
Another project supported by AFD is the restoration of the Svay Chek reservoir, whose feasibility study will be completed in November 2023.
The minister also shared the ministry's consideration of organising an annual forum between the ministry and development partners to strengthen cooperation and investment in water resources in Cambodia.
He spoke highly of the significant contribution of the Government of France, especially AFD, to Cambodia's water resources sector for over two decades and considered AFD a special partner of Cambodia in poverty alleviation, people's living standards improvement, and climate change response.
Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse


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Free forum : A safe haven for any and all
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SPACE ART FANS. SPACE ART FANS. space art onyx perrier rizzitelli
A space to share updates on everything that has to do with Home Star Storage.
United Nations Space Command is a clan established for the game Dead Frontier, an online zombie MMO.
All i offer is the spoof
SoFaC is a science-fantasy community where you can create and play your own story, set within a richly detailed universe. This is the SoFaC discussion community.
Free forum : We are born from the ashes of Space Invasion (SI)reborn into Astro Empiers like a Phoenix to patrol and monitor all activity in our universe and to take on those who are contentious to t
Black Templar Space Marine-alliance-ogame-hydra
Discussion of Gerry Anderson's science fiction series Space 1999 starring Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Barry Morse, Catherine Schell, Nick Tate, Prentis Hancock, Zienia Merton.
Den of Games is a little space for creativity and laughs, amongst table toppers, board gamers and role players.
Free forum : Space Psychedelic Rock Music Forum.
a creative space where people can make the world a better place and stuff.
This forum is for use with spacetopius.com. Please talk about space, and topics on hand. Be nice, and have a great day.
A remake of a desert survival game, now in space.
Edrenium is a top down space shooter with RPG and strategy elements currently in development for PC, Mac, and Linux
We are here for all android needs. we have rooted items like roms, ect. and nonrooted apps, Plus we have open development space!!!
This forum is a safe space for all transgender community members and allies to discuss resources, upcoming events, and other trans*-related issues.
We give you the power to develop our video games that no big publisher would ever dream. Be a part of the process. Be a Space Orangutan.
Well we need a forum for our clan to talk about random stuff, upload pictures vote about applicants. We need it to have space for tricks, tipps and scripts from us a
A space for Independent Advocacy practitioners to share expertise, best practice and experience.
The Gay Triumvirate (also known as The Really Gay Triumvirate, or TRGT) is a forum dedicated to amazing RP and PLOTS.
This is a space to brainstorm how to create the lifestyle we've been dreaming of. Exploring all possibilities. Sharing all information. Solving any predicament.
The home of the Space Lanes Logistics business offering transportation services for sentients of the Star Wars Combine
The forum for the Alpha Test of the Feudal Space PBEM game.
The official forums of Ring Runner: Flight of the Sages and Ring Runner: Derelict Dreams.
A social space for Winchester Night Shelter and the University of Winchester to share news, updates and details of forthcoming events.

domain: hobby