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Category: government – Page 37

New 6G Networks Are in the Works. Can They Destroy Dead Zones for Good?

This summer the federal government took steps to boost connectivity by expanding existing broadband infrastructure. In late June the Biden administration announced a $42.45 billion commitment to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a federal initiative to provide all U.S. residents with reliable high-speed Internet access. The project emphasizes broadband connectivity, but some researchers suggest a more powerful cellular connection could eventually sidestep the need for wired Internet.

The 6G network is so early in its development that it is still not even clear how fast that network will be. Each new generation of wireless technology is defined by the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as having a specific range of upload and download speeds. These standards have not yet been set for 6G—the ITU will likely do so late next year—but industry experts are expecting it to be anywhere from 10 to 1,000 times faster than current 5G networks. It will achieve this by using higher-frequency radio waves than its predecessors. This will provide a faster connection with fewer network delays.

No matter how fast the new network turns out to be, it could enable futuristic technology, according to Lingjia Liu, a leading 6G researcher and a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Virginia Tech. “Wi-Fi provides good service, but 6G is being designed to provide even better service than your home router, especially in the latency department, to address the growing remote workforce,” Liu says. This would likely result in a wave of new applications that have been unfathomable at current network speeds. For example, your phone could serve as a router, self-driving cars may be able to communicate with one another almost instantaneously, and mobile devices might become completely hands-free. “The speed of 6G will enable applications that we may not even imagine today. The goal for the industry is to have the global coverage and support ready for those applications when they come,” Liu says.

Google Maps can now tell exactly where solar panels should be installed

Google Maps can now calculate rooftops’ solar potential, track air quality, and forecast pollen counts.

The platform recently launched a range of services like Solar API, which calculates weather patterns and pulls data from aerial imagery to help understand rooftops’ solar potential. The tool aims to help accelerate solar panel deployment by improving accuracy and reducing the number of site visits needed.

As seasonal allergies get worse every year, Pollen API shows updated information on the most common allergens in 65 countries by using a mix of machine learning and wind patterns. Similarly, Air Quality API provides detailed information on local air quality by utilizing data from multiple sources, like government monitoring stations, satellites, live traffic, and more, and can show areas affected by wildfires too.

New AI model can tell if you need lung cancer screening

Lung cancer screening is crucial for decreasing the death count from the disease but the government can’t scan everyone’s lungs. Here is an AI that identifies people who actually need screening.

Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer type, killing over a million people annually across the globe. The disease is responsible for the highest number of cancer deaths in both men and women in the US.

In fact, the death toll from lung cancer among women and men is nearly triple that of breast cancer and prostate cancer, respectively.

A Day Without Space: GPS Is Ground Zero For The New Space Race

The 2 SOPS or 2nd Space Operations Squadron commander, Lt Col Robert Wray… More.

Of all the missions the Space Force performs daily for a grateful nation, there is none more ubiquitous and essential than GPS. Today’s soldiers and sailors depend on reliable, accurate, and secure GPS as much as they do any weapon they employ. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is just as dependent on GPS to enable basic mobility and underpins every other sector of the modern global economy. The criticality of secure global navigation and timing to both warfighting and the national economy makes it unique – we simply could not go a day without space. In so few words, GPS’ future is ground zero for the new space race.

The 2 SOPS or 2nd Space Operations Squadron commander, Lt Col Robert Wray reminds me that “14 of the 16 critical infrastructures designated by the Department of Homeland Security rely on 24/7 GPS to operate for the country.” But the newest GPS satellites in use today are the same school bus sized ones Gen. Hyten has lamented are, “juicy targets” for our adversaries – marvels of modern engineering, yes, but no longer sufficient to meet modern needs.

Alternatives to GPS, categorically called Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), are growing rapidly because the old GPS system we rely on offers neither the precision nor security needed in an increasingly autonomous, rule based, and precisely timed world. What exactly needs to change then, aside from smaller, faster satellites as technology becomes more efficient and readily available? There are major challenges with the current system that today’s Guardians are already working on. But to usher in a new and improved GPS capability, the government needs to adopt artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance squadron operations, work to better integrate commercial software into current GPS constellation to get the most out of current capabilities, and continue to invest in the next generation of leaders. Private capital has begun aligning with companies aiming to solve these future deficiencies, in a race against pacing threats like China and Russia.

Brain surgery using AI will be possible within two years

The UK government says AI could be “a real game-changer” for healthcare.

A leading neurosurgeon in the UK has said that brain surgery using artificial intelligence (AI) is possible within two years, making it safer and more effective.

“You could, in a few years, have an AI system that has seen more operations than any human has ever or could ever see,” Dr. Hani Marcus told BBC. Dr. Marcus is a consultant neurosurgeon at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and an Honorary Associate Professor at the University College (UCL) London Queen Square Institute of Neurology.

An inside look at Congress’s first AI regulation forum

Researcher Inioluwa Deborah Raji says tech CEOs focused on big claims of what AI could do, but she was there to offer a reality check.

Recently, I wrote a quick guide about what we might expect at Congress’s first AI Insight Forum. Well, now that meeting has happened, and we have some important information about what was discussed behind closed doors in the tech-celeb-studded confab.

First, some context. The AI Insight Forums were announced a few months ago by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as part of his “SAFE Innovation” initiative, which is really a set of principles for AI legislation in the United States. The invite list was heavily skewed toward Big Tech execs, including CEOs of AI… More.

Silent lightning: US develops EW drone swarms

The US has embarked on a program to develop electronic-warfare drone swarms, the latest in its multiple projects to master what could potentially be war-winning AI and drone technology, though with significant operational and strategic implications and risks.

This month, Breaking Defense reported that the US Navy is seeking industry and government agencies to participate in a July 2024 exercise called Silent Swarm 2024, which aims to demonstrate early-stage unmanned systems’ capabilities to fight on the electromagnetic battlefield.

Breaking Defense notes that the event, hosted by Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane, will showcase “swarming, small, attritable” unmanned systems capable of distributed electromagnetic attack, deception, and digital payload delivery, with the tech must be within readiness levels (TRL) two to five, with higher numbers indicating more advanced systems.

MRI-Compatible Stereotactic Neurosurgery Robot

What does it take to bring life-changing medical robotic devices to reality? This is a question Dr. Gregory Fischer, founder and CEO of AiM Medical Robotics, explored in his keynote “From Concept to Commercialization: It’s not Brain Surgery, or is it?” at BIOMEDevice Boston, MA. As a researcher, professor, and lead investigator supported by federal government grants, director of a state-funded medtech accelerator, and founder of multiple medical device companies, Fischer has a unique perspective on conceptualizing, refining, and commercializing medical devices, as well as the challenges that come with each step.

Focusing on neurosurgery, he highlighted specific challenges clinicians face during procedures including an inability to leverage real-time intraoperative MR imaging for precision — surgeons must transfer a patient mid-surgery to an MRI in a separate room and sometimes even a separate building within the hospital complex — resulting in inefficient workflow and interruptions in sterility and anesthesia during transfers. Additionally, he mentioned limited compatibility with various MRI scanners, and an increased risk of human errors because of complex manual processes.

Integrating robotic assistance, he said, enhances the reachable target area and improves dexterity and precision of motion during such difficult procedures such as neurosurgery, adds enhanced feedback and virtual fixtures, reduces procedure time, and avoids ergonomic issues. An increase in intervention accuracy through inherent integration with image guidance tools, and improved diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes are also advantages of robotic assistance, according to Fischer.

China aims to replicate human brain in bid to dominate global AI

Aiming to be first in the world to have the most advanced forms of artificial intelligence while also maintaining control over more than a billion people, elite Chinese scientists and their government have turned to something new, and very old, for inspiration—the human brain.

Equipped with surveillance and visual processing capabilities modelled on human vision, the new “brain” will be more effective, less energy hungry, and will “improve governance,” its developers say. “We call it bionic retina computing,” Gao Wen, a leading artificial intelligence researcher, wrote in the paper “City Brain: Challenges and Solution.”

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