Lifeboat Foundation

The algorithms spot and classify synthetic-material objects based on the distinctive manner in which they reflect polarized light. Polarized light reflected from human-made objects often differs from natural objects, such as vegetation, soil, and rocks.

The researchers tested such a camera, both on the ground and from a US Coast Guard helicopter, which was flying at the altitude at which the polarimetric-camera-equipped drones will fly.

Once fully operational, data collected by the drone-based machine learning system will be used to make maps that show where marine debris is concentrated along the coast to guide rapid response and removal efforts. The researchers will provide NOAA Marine Debris Program staff with training in the use of the new system, along with standard operating procedures manual.

Circa 2021

Mapping of the global potential of atmospheric water harvesting using solar energy shows that it could provide safely managed drinking water for a billion people worldwide based on climate suitability.

A team mapping radio waves in the Universe has discovered something unusual that releases a giant burst of energy three times an hour, and it’s unlike anything astronomers have seen before. The team who discovered it think it could be a neutron star or a white dwarf—collapsed cores of stars—wi…

Electric bicycle sales have been on a skyward trajectory since early in the pandemic, and new numbers show they are selling more units than electric cars and plug-in hybrids combined. Those figures recently released by the Light Electric Vehicle Association trade group help bolster the case for personal electric vehicles as alternatives to larger cars […].

Google Earth VR is a fun and useful way of seeing the world—it’s easy to lose yourself visiting your hometown, or mapping out new adventures thanks to the company’s extensive 3D building scans. Unfortunately Google Earth VR is a PC VR only app, meaning it doesn’t work natively on Quest. That’s not set to change anytime soon, although a third-party Quest app is looking to offer up much of the magic of Earth VR while also making it a multiplayer experience.

Wooorld (that’s three ‘o’s) isn’t being developed by Google, however it appears to be making good use of Google Maps APIs, giving it access to all the 2D and 3D data you’d find on Google Earth VR.

Continue reading “‘Wooorld’ is a Multiplayer Version of ‘Google Earth VR’ for Quest, Releasing Soon” »

Summary: The body relies on multiple maps based on the choice of the motor system.

Source: Tohoku University.

Our brain maps out our body to facilitate accurate motor control; disorders of this body map result in motor deficits. For a century, the body map has been thought to have applied to all types of motor actions. Yet scientists have begun to query how the body map operates when executing different motor actions, such as moving your eyes and hands together.

The immersive tech could eventually allow park visitors to interact with Mickey Mouse and Elsa as images, not cast members in costume.

Disney is joining the metaverse party.

We aren’t talking online gigs or business meetings with avatars. Disney wants to enhance the virtual dimension of its theme parks with its Virtual World Simulator, new technology for which it was granted a patent in the U.S. on December 28.

Continue reading “Disney Patents Virtual World Simulator That Doesn’t Require Headsets, Goggles, Or Smartphones” »

Life is teeming nearly everywhere in the oceans, except in certain pockets where oxygen naturally plummets and waters become unlivable for most aerobic organisms. These desolate pools are “oxygen-deficient zones,” or ODZs. And though they make up less than 1 percent of the ocean’s total volume, they are a significant source of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas. Their boundaries can also limit the extent of fisheries and marine ecosystems.

Now MIT scientists have generated the most detailed, three-dimensional “atlas” of the largest ODZs in the world. The new atlas provides high-resolution maps of the two major, oxygen-starved bodies of water in the tropical Pacific. These maps reveal the volume, extent, and varying depths of each ODZ, along with fine-scale features, such as ribbons of oxygenated water that intrude into otherwise depleted zones.

The team used a new method to process over 40 years’ worth of ocean data, comprising nearly 15 million measurements taken by many research cruises and autonomous robots deployed across the tropical Pacific. The researchers compiled then analyzed this vast and fine-grained data to generate maps of oxygen-deficient zones at various depths, similar to the many slices of a three-dimensional scan.

An enormous new analysis of the wiring of the fruit fly brain is a milestone for the young field of modern connectomics, researchers say.

Summary: Neurons in the primary olfactory cortex play a role in encoding spatial maps, a new study reports.

Source: champalimaud centre for the unknown.

Smell has the power to transport us across time and space. It could be the sweet fragrance of jasmine, or the musty scent of algae. Suddenly, you are back at your childhood home, or under the burning sun of a distant shore.