Weekend Edition: Facebook goes Meta, Hyundai goes sideways

Will VR be a staple part of our everyday lives by 2030? Mark Zuckerberg certainly thinks so, and as Loz Blain writes in his look at Facebook's move to rebrand as Meta this week, the Zuck is "betting billions to try to own and shape that pie as it cooks." In other top stories – a vaccine for breast cancer, Britain's best architecture, and a Hyundai concept that will get you into the tightest of tight parking spaces. Enjoy the Weekend Edition! Noel McKeegan Editor-in-Chief Automotive [Hyundai develops plug-and-play EV smart wheel with 90-degree turning]( [The M.Vision 2Go concept is the first vehicle to demonstrate Hyundai Mobis' e-Control Module tech]( Hyundai Mobis moves closer to revolutionizing EV maneuverability. Three years after introducing the e-Corner Module, it's testing a working all-in-one wheel prototype with integrated intelligent steering, braking, drive and suspension hardware. [Read more]( Architecture [RIBA House of the Year longlist showcases amazing British design]( [The Modern Oast is one of the projects highlighted in the 2021 RIBA House of the Year. Located in Kent, it was designed by ACME and is inspired by the traditional local buildings once used to dry hops]( RIBA has unveiled its pick of this year's best new British homes. Consisting of 20 impressive projects, the 2021 House of the Year includes a water tower turned into a home, an accessible cottage remodel, and a skinny house squeezed into an alleyway. [Read more]( Virtual Reality [Facebook rebrands as Meta, attempting to shape the future of the Web]( [Mark Zuckerberg introduces a fictional new home space]( Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the company is rebranding itself as Meta as it focuses its energy on its next great gamble: creating the backbone of an immersive VR/AR "Metaverse" it sees as the next evolution of the Web. [Read more]( Health & Wellbeing [First-of-its-kind preventative breast cancer vaccine begins human trials]( [A Phase 1 trial investigating a novel breast cancer vaccine's safety profile and immunogenicity is expected to last around a year]( After two decades of preclinical research the first phase of human trials are set to begin testing a unique preventative breast cancer vaccine that is designed to target a protein commonly expressed by triple-negative breast cancers. [Read more]( New Atlas Plus [Support New Atlas and get our ad-free, premium layout]( New Atlas has been a reliable source of inspiring science and technology stories for almost two decades. Now we’re asking for your support so we can continue to deliver no-nonsense, independent journalism – without the distraction of ads. [Read more]( Aircraft [Unique Aussie box-wing eVTOL promises radical efficiency and huge range]( [Two banks of four tilting rotors]( Australia's AMSL Aero is preparing to start flight tests on what it claims will be the world's most efficient eVTOL design, and one of the most affordable. This box-wing beauty, the Vertiia, will travel up to 1,000 km on a tank of hydrogen. [Read more]( Science [How a COVID-19 vaccine trial error led to an unexpected discovery]( [Over 1,000 participants were accidentally given half-doses for their first dose but by the end of the trial it was found they were potentially more protected than those receiving two standard doses]( A dosing error during AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine trial unexpectedly led to better results, and now researchers have replicated those accidental findings to show some vaccines may be more effective if the first dose is much lower than the second. [Read more]( Space [Have astronomers just discovered the first exoplanet outside our galaxy?]( [Artist's concept of M51-ULS-1 and its exoplanet eclipsing its X-ray source]( NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory may have spotted the first exoplanet outside our Milky Way. Located in M51, also known as the Whirlpool Galaxy, the giant exoplanet candidate circles a black hole or neutron star 28 million light years from Earth. [Read more]( Holiday Destinations [World's largest aquarium nears completion in Abu Dhabi]( [SeaWorld Abu Dhabi will be home to 68,000 marine creatures]( A massive marine park entering its final phase of construction in the United Arab Emirates will invite visitors to enjoy an aquarium housing an astounding 68,000 marine animals once completed sometime next year. [Read more]( Outdoors [Flip90 VW truck camper rotates into roomy backcountry cabin]( [The electric actuation system tips the Flip90 back and open in a matter of seconds]( Squeezing a bathroom into a pickup camper without making the truck a big, lumbering beast on road and trail is no easy task. The Flip90's power-rotating design creates a hard-sided shower/toilet room that also adds elbow room and indoor cooking. [Read more]( Space [SpaceX test fires Starship's Raptor engine for deep space burns]( [Render of SpaceX's Starship undergoing stage separation]( SpaceX has notched up another milestone in its efforts to reach Mars by fixing its Raptor Vacuum engine to the Starship spacecraft and test-firing it for the first time. This larger engine variant will propel the massive vehicle once it reaches space. [Read more]( Aircraft [Cashed-up HT Aero promises street-legal flying supercar in 2024]( [HT Aero plans to follow up its basic 2-seat multicopter with an autofolding, twin-rotor]( XPeng affiliate HT Aero has unveiled an outrageous flying car design that it claims is "planned for roll-out in 2024." It looks like an electric Bugatti hypercar with a pair of huge, auto-folding props in the style of the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey. [Read more]( Military [US Army commissions 300-kW, target-tracking laser weapon]( [General Atomics and Boeing have won a contract to prototype a 300-kW distributed-gain laser weapon with precision tracking and pointing built in]( General Atomics and Boeing have won a US Army contract to prototype their most powerful distributed-gain laser weapon to date: a groundbreaking 300-kW, solid-state, target-tracking beast that could fry enemy missiles and aircraft out of the air. [Read more]( Home Entertainment [LG looks to deliver movie night anywhere in the home with latest projector]( [From bedroom to back yard, the CineBeam PF610P home theater projector can deliver big-screen visuals and Dolby Atmos audio]( LG's new Full HD LED projector is designed for folks wanting the flexibility to change the movie night venue from living room to the yard, and uses a 4-channel LED light source to deliver "vivid shades and striking clarity" up to 120 diagonal inches. [Read more]( Architecture ["World's largest" 3D-printed neighborhood to be built in Texas]( [The basic structure of the houses will be constructed using Icon's own Vulcan 3D printer, then human builders will come and finish off the roof, doors, windows and so on]( Following its completion of four 3D-printed houses in Austin, Texas, Icon has teamed up with homebuilder Lennar to create an ambitious new development of 100 3D-printed family homes in the city that are co-designed by Bjarke Ingels Group. [Read more]( Marine [Dutch Super Sub is fast enough to run with "cruising" dolphins]( [Tuna will have no trouble leaving the Super Sub behind if they want to]( U-Boat Worx has released an electric sports submarine with the speed and zippy handling to run alongside large marine life. The bubble-cabin Super Sub, originally a custom commission, is nearly three times as fast as the average luxury submersible. [Read more]( Science [Argon fluoride laser could lead to practical fusion reactors]( [Matthew Wolford inspects the Electra argon- fluoride (ArF) laser]( The US NRL is developing an Argon Fluoride laser that may one day make fusion power a practical by delivering the incredible temperatures required for a self-sustaining fusion reaction, with enough efficiency to make the process worthwhile. [Read more]( Photography [DJI adopts a modular approach to extend actioncam functionality]( [DJI's Action 2 camera unit is tiny, and can be mounted to handlebars or helmet to capture all the action in 4K at up to 120 frames per second]( DJI has announced the follow up to the very GoPro-like Osmo Action launched in 2019. The Action 2 follows a somewhat different design path this time around, opting for a stripped down main unit and modular attachments that expand functionality. [Read more]( You are receiving this email because you signed up for our daily newsletter at [newatlas.com]( (or [gizmag.com]( before August 2016). [Update profile]( | [Unsubscribe]( Copyright New Atlas © 2021