Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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By now, you’ve probably heard a lot about STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Careers in STEM are the next best thing: as a matter of fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, jobs in STEM will increase by up to 30 percent by 2022, a dramatic increase over the average industry projection of just 11 percent in the past years.

With that being said, it’s time to think more about using virtual reality in education; as education officials are seeing an increase in opportunity that will help bring STEM learning to life for today’s middle, and high school students.

By presenting a complete view of the world by use of virtual reality, teachers can help offer a new opportunity to students that will close some of the pedagogical gaps that have appeared off and on throughout the duration of the 21st-century classroom environment. These gaps generated from the fact that the curriculum and content in our education have not caught up with one another yet. In other words, education has not caught up with technology advancements.

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Several fighter jet models will soon use artificial intelligence to control nearby UAVs that will be able to carry weapons, test enemy air defenses or perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions in high-risk areas, Senior US Air Force officials said recently.

US Air Force Chief Scientist Gregory Zacharias said that much higher degrees of autonomy and manned-unmanned teaming are expected to emerge in the near future from work at the Air Force Research Lab. “This involves an attempt to have another platform fly alongside a human, perhaps serving as a weapons truck” Zacharias told DefenseSystems.com.

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Nearly a century after it was theorized, Harvard scientists have succeeded in creating metallic hydrogen. In addition to helping scientists answer fundamental questions about the nature of matter, the material is theorized to have a wide range of applications, ranging from room-temperature superconductors to powerful rocket propellant.

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In Brief

  • By applying 4.95 million atmospheres of pressure to liquid hydrogen, Harvard physicists have claimed they were able to make it metallic, a state of hydrogen that had never existed on Earth before.
  • Physicists predict that metallic hydrogen is an authentic superconductor, so if stabilized, it could revolutionize everything from energy storage to rocketry.

As reported back in September, two studies, each with a different approach, were attempting to created metallic hydrogen, and now, more than 80 years after it was predicted to be possible, the Harvard University team has finally managed to produce the elusive state. Physicists Isaac Silvera, who has been working on this problem for 45 years, and Ranga Dias published their study’s results this week in the journal Science.

To develop metallic hydrogen, Silvera’s team squeezed two opposing heavy-duty diamonds together to compress gaseous hydrogen, and then they transitioned it into its liquid state by lowering the temperature [hydrogen liquifies at a temperature of −252°C (−423°F)]. They then gradually increased the applied pressure on the solid hydrogen by twisting a steel screw to exert force on the diamond anvil. It was then that changes were noticed.

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Babies born prematurely don’t use their expectations about the world to shape their brains as babies born at full term do, important evidence that this neural process is important to development.

The findings offer clues to the mystery of why otherwise healthy babies born prematurely face higher risk of developmental delays as they grow, according to researchers at Princeton University, the University of Rochester Medical Center and the University of Rochester.

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China’s National Supercomputer Centre announced that the prototype for its exascale supercomputer will be completed later this year, ahead of its initial date in 2018. The successful performance and commercialization of the computer is presumed to drastically improve existing 3D printing or additive manufacturing methods.

Over the past few years, the Chinese government and companies in the private sector have been increasingly focused on the development of supercomputers. The Tianhe supercomputer series which feature Tianhe-1 and Tianhe-2, still remains as the most powerful supercomputer series, below the Sunway TaihuLight which was released in mid-2016.

Zhang Ting, a computer engineer based in the National Supercomputing Center of Tianjin located at the National Defense Science and Technology University, revealed earlier this month that in 2020, three years after the completion of the prototype, the exascale computer will be used to its full potential, running a wide range of applications, networks and platforms.

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KOCHI: HDFC Bank has deployed an interactive humanoid at its Kamala Mills branch in Mumbai. Intelligent Robotic Assistant (IRA) was developed in partnership with Kochi-based startup Asimov Robotics. IRA will be used for customer service.

With the launch of IRA, HDFC has become the first bank in the country to deploy humanoid for customer service. “Our first humanoid is unique and will serve as a technology demonstrator in the field of artificial intelligence and robotics,” said HDFC Bank digital banking country head Nitin Chugh.

Developed using robotics and artificial intelligence technology, IRA will be initially positioned near the bank’s welcome desk where it will display the services, greet customers and guide them to the counters — cash deposit, foreign exchange, loans etc.

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Actually, I have began looking seriously into an at home robot for my home; still not where I want them to be why I began looking closer and more seriously at building my own line.

One of the coming great challenges of senior care is facilitating assisted living, according to experts. The so-called Baby Boomer generation that is now entering retirement age lives longer, expects the world from its twilight years, and insists on staying independent for as long as possible. Most Boomers don’t even think about going out quietly, withering away in homes that offer little more than warehousing. Instead, they want to stay active and engaged until the very end, and they welcome all the help they can get to achieve that goal. And when they cannot do it anymore on their own, futuristic technology like robots for personal use may just be the ticket.

If you have seen the 2012 movie “Robot & Frank,” you already had a – albeit comical – glimpse of how the future of assisted living might look like. In a nutshell, the story is about the “relationship” between an elderly gentleman (played by Frank Langella), who just retired from a lifetime career as a cat burglar, and a humanoid robot given to him by his children as a home caretaker. Of course, the film’s particular angle on robotic technology is not to be taken too seriously. But the fact is that intelligent machines are progressively affecting every aspect of life as we know it, and will do so much more in coming years.

On a recent trip to Tokyo, I had the chance to see for myself how far we have already moved in that direction. Here, robots designed for personal assistance are readily available in department stores, just like any other household appliances. Although, many of the existing models have only limited capabilities like finding information on the Internet or compiling music playlists, or even less useful features like responding with a cute smile and offering a handshake when approached, it is clear that these creatures of our own making will eventually be the ones we partner up with on countless tasks, both at work and in our homes.

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