After updating Workspace (formerly G Suite) with a number of new features last year, Google’s previously-announced Companion Mode for the Nest Hub Max and other Google Meet hardware has begun rolling out.

Companion Mode is a second screen experience designed to support the shift towards hybrid working environments by providing easier access to various Google Meet controls and features for people calling in from a shared office.

Previously, workers who called in from a meeting room often had to jockey for control if they wanted to do simple things like raise their hand (virtually) or drop a comment in chat. The result was that employees who worked remotely and called into meetings using a phone or PC were often more active and visible in meetings than their colleagues at the office who participated using a traditional conference room set up.

Last June, Alphabet’s self-driving unit worked with J.B. Hunt, a trucking and logistics company, to test its Waymo Via technology in Texas. On Friday, the two announced they’re forming a strategic partnership with the hope of deploying a fully autonomous trucking operation within the state sometime in the next few years. In the immediate future, Waymo and J.B. Hunt say they plan to hold multiple pilots involving Waymo Via. That’s the Waymo Driver-powered unit the Alphabet subsidiary developed for Class 8 trucks. They also plan to complete additional market studies.

The expanded partnership follows a successful first pilot in which Waymo and J.B Hunt said they moved 862,179 lbs of freight without their test trucks speeding or ending up in any accidents. The conclusion they drew at the time was that Waymo Driver was ready to deliver freight on-time and safely. Waymo is just one of a handful of companies working on autonomous trucking technology. A few months before the company completed its June pilot with J.B. Hunt, Aurora, the startup that acquired Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group, announced it was working with Volvo to build fully autonomous semi trucks that would carry cargo across North America.

Source: Engadget – Waymo has its first commercial autonomous trucking customer

Netflix is making a bigger push into sports docuseries following the success of Formula 1: Drive to Survive. We learned this week that a show covering the 2022 PGA Tour and men’s major golf championships is on the way, and now the company has announced a similar show covering the world of top-level tennis is in the works.

All three shows are being produced or co-produced by the same company, Box to Box Films. Netflix says the as-yet-untitled tennis series will devote equal time to men and women. The names of the players involved haven’t been revealed, according to Bloomberg, but given the high-profile names taking part in Drive to Survive and the golf show, expect the tennis series to feature prominent figures.

Netflix has locked in deals with both tennis governing bodies, the ATP and WTA, as well as the organizers of the four Grand Slam tournaments — the biggest events on the tennis calendar. Given that production has started at the Australian Open, the docuseries could start with some major drama.

On Friday, Australian officials once again revoked the visa of Novak Djokovic, the world’s top-ranked men’s player, this time “on health and good order grounds.” Djokovic, who is unvaccinated against COVID-19, said earlier this month that he was granted a medical exemption to travel to Australia and continue his quest for a record 21st men’s Grand Slam singles title. However, questions were raised about the validity of his exemption, and he admitted to making an “error of judgment” by attending public events in December while awaiting the awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test. He tested positive.

Drive to Survive helped to boost the popularity of Formula 1, especially among US viewers. Tennis execs will surely be hoping for a similar effect from the upcoming docuseries. Last year’s US Open drew an average of 796,000 viewers, the second-lowest viewing figures since ESPN secured rights to the tournament in 2015.

Source: Engadget – Netflix greenlights a tennis docuseries from the ‘Drive to Survive’ team