Lifeboat Foundation

The Wall Street Journal on Aug. 16 reported that China sent the world’s first quantum communications satellite into orbit. The newspaper also stated that China spent $101 billion in 2015 on quantum research and technology development. The satellite has the ability to greatly expand China’s ability to expand their unhackable communications.

Now we in the U.S. read almost daily about some U.S. computer system that has been hacked. Our current technology cannot be considered secure. So what is our government investing in?

According to the GAO, the U.S. spent over $10 billion on global climate change science and technology in 2014. Gave $400 million to Iran for who knows what, and spent about $200 million on quantum technology.

Continue reading “Letter: U.S. lags far behind China in quantum computing technology” »

Audi’s upcoming four-door luxury electric car will have a 311-mile range, along with Level 4 self-driving features (essentially full autonomy, for those keeping track) and three separate electric motors, according to a new report from Autocar. The car is set to go head-to-head with the Model S, based on these new stats, and will likely be called the “A9 e-tron” when it goes on sale sometime in 2020, the publication says.

The range is in line with what Tesla says its new P100D option package will offer for Model S owners, though Autocar says that the Audi A9 e-tron will have a 95kWh battery to achieve that range, rather than the 100kWh version Tesla employs to get 315 miles as measured by EPA standards.

The powertrain for the upcoming vehicle is said to feature three electric motors that combined produce 429 brake horsepower (bhp), with a drive mode that can boost it to 496 bhp for short stints. Audi is looking at electric drivetrain tuning as one way where it will be able to offer a differentiating advantage to potential consumers.

Continue reading “White Paper: How GE, Intuit, Amgen and BASF Run Lean” »

Something big happened this week at Singularity University.

79 participants from 49 different countries graduated from Singularity University’s 10-week flagship Global Solutions Program (GSP).

Over 30 team projects were launched during GSP, each focused on using exponential technology to address a massive global problem, such as water scarcity, malnutrition, and climate change.

Continue reading “5 Big Ideas From Singularity University’s 2016 Global Solutions Program” »

Researchers genetically modify piglets to be resistant to an incurable disease plaguing hog farms, Porcine Reproductive Respiratory Syndrome (PRSS). The researchers cut out a specific gene to cure the pigs.

Elon Musk, Tesla Motors CEO, is alluding to a big announcement about level 4 autonomy later this year. For now though, the technology is still in need of software improvements.

Tesla Motors has been starring in headlines recently, thanks to crashes attributed to the autopilot system, the announcement of the ambitious Master Plan, and the company’s acquisition of SolarCity. Now, Elon Musk, the company’s CEO, is attracting even more media attention.

When asked about Tesla’s progress toward Level 4 fully autonomous driving on a conference call, Musk teased, “what we’ve got will blow people’s minds, it blows my mind …it’ll come sooner than people think.”

Continue reading “Elon Musk Hints That Tesla Updates Will Soon Lead To Level 4 Autonomy” »

Tesla took Ludicrous Mode to new heights today. Some subtle wiring changes and a major battery upgrade improved mileage and gave the Model S enough oomph to go from 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds—within fractions of seconds of Ferrari and Porsche models.

The extra performance is largely attributed to a larger battery. Its 100kWh is a 10 percent increase from the previous largest option, and increases total distance for some models by up to seven percent.

Of course it comes at a price. The Model S now costs as much as $134,000—and as always you need to be able to charge it.

Continue reading “Tesla’s Model S Now Drives Like A Ferrari, Thanks To Bigger Battery” »

It’s also the first electric automobile with a range of more than 300 miles.

Nice.

Shopping trends change from time to time while consumers continue to search for more affordable products with better functionality and specs. Researchers and developers around the world continue to improve company products while lessening the cost of producing these materials.

Gadgets like smartphones, LED lights, tablets and solar cells are already part of the mainstream, and it is not going to change anytime soon. Companies that are involved in this industry must always keep a competitive edge against other manufacturers.

Continue reading “Cheap and Useful 3D Printed Electronics” »

In the US during the early 2000s there was an old political term for low skilled jobs, politicians called these jobs “the jobs that no one in America wanted.” Well, we now can start seeing the slogan by politicians as “the jobs that Robots can do for free.”

The focus of automation in farming has shifted from assisting humans to replacing them.

More

Continue reading “Robots Inherit the Farm” »