An App for That

Get bearded: New iPhone app puts the world’s greatest beards in the palm of yourhand

In the fall of 2011, Austin-based editorial photographer Matt Rainwaters released BEARD, a collection of the portraits he took at the World Beard and Moustache Championship in Anchorage, Alaska two years earlier.

BEARD: The Book features the bushiest, most stylish and weirdest beards from around the world. And now, the world’s greatest beards are available in the palm of your hand (read: your iPhone), thanks to BEARD: The Book: The App.

"Lots of folks can't grow beards, so now they have a way to see what they would like if they could… mostly I thought it would be fun."

With the BEARD app, released earlier this month, you can dress yourself, your friends, your kids — and whatever else you imagine — in featured beards from Rainwaters’ collection.

“I decided to do the app as a way for people to interact with the book and test their faces out with world championship facial hair,” Rainwaters says.

“Lots of folks can't grow beards, so now they have a way to see what they would like if they could… mostly I thought it would be fun — and so far it's been great bearding my little baby girl and my wife."

The app is as simple and fast as it is fun. (Unlike the time and skill required for growing and grooming actual world-class facial hair.) “You download [the app] for free and get three bearded faces from the book with an option to unlock five more for a dollar,” Rainwaters explains.

Select the beard photo you want to use, line up the subject's face and take the photo. Once the photo is snapped, "use the sliders to match the skin tone and save it to your phone's library or post it directly to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram," Rainwaters says. "I recommend going to Instagram with the option to post to the rest of your social media from there."

To get started, go to the app store to download the app for free, then snap some bearded photos and get to posting. In December, you can look forward to unlocking Beard Pack 2, another set of five beards from Rainwaters' book, set to launch mid-month.

Matt Rainwaters' BEARD is available for purchase through Chronicle Books.

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Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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