Lifeboat Foundation

“Part of what we’re doing is conceptually simple, reflecting sunlight to a solar panel located in the dark,” said Maxar Chief Robotics Architect and lead for Light Bender Sean Dougherty in a Maxar statement. “Where it gets complex is doing that without humans involved. We’re leveraging investments in autonomy to study how NASA can use robots to assemble and deploy a set of reflectors that keep sunlight focused on a solar panel operating in the shadows. It’s never been done before.”

Light Bender works by hoisting two 33-foot (10-meter) reflectors up a 65-foot (20-meter) telescoping mast. One mirror autonomously tracks the sun and reflects that light to the second mirror, which then reflects those rays towards the intended solar panels.

The Light Bender project is a collaboration between Maxar and NASA’s Langley Research Center, and is scheduled for its first terrestrial demonstration in 2025. The company was awarded the contract in May 2023, under NASA’s Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity Program. For their part, NASA’s team is responsible for Light Bender’s structural design, and Maxar is taking the lead on the robotics — an aptitude for which the company has demonstrated in the past.

July 3 (UPI) — A California startup announced its prototype flying car has been cleared for takeoff by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Alef Aeronautics said its “Model A” is the first flying vehicle that can drive on public roads and park like an average car to receive clearance for flight by the FAA.

The FAA confirmed the vehicle was given a special airworthiness certificate for purposes including research, development and exhibition.

Wind turbine maintenance is an important yet unheralded task. But drones have arrived to spice things up.

RigiTech is a Swiss drone manufacturer and operator boasting some of the most extensive beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight authorizations in the industry. And it just completed a landmark test of its Eiger delivery system, flying spare parts to the Anholt Offshore Wind Farm, located 20 sm (17 nm) off the coast of Denmark. But there’s a catch—the drones didn’t need to land.

The tests marked the rollout of RigiTech’s prototype precision dropping system, which autonomously releases cargo from a few feet in the air when it detects the drone has reached its destination. That’s a game-changer in the case of offshore wind turbines, which typically do not have landing pads.

NASA

This advancement is made possible through lasers acting as data carriers, offering a much wider spectrum than traditional microwave technology. The deployment of this cutting-edge technology is expected to revolutionize ground communication with satellites.

Windows are quickly evolving into futuristic gateways.

• Cultivating critical thinking: Emphasizing critical thinking skills equips students with the ability to analyze information, evaluate its credibility and make informed decisions. Encouraging open-mindedness, creativity and curiosity fosters independent thinking and problem-solving abilities.

• Contextual learning: Educators should design learning experiences that integrate real-world contexts, enabling students to understand the dynamic nature of information and adapt their knowledge to diverse situations. This approach encourages adaptability, resilience and a deeper understanding of the implications of changing contexts.

As automation continues to reshape the world of work, recognizing the inherent value of human skills becomes paramount. Emotion and context are two indispensable components that differentiate humans from machines and underpin critical aspects of work, such as effective communication, problem-solving and judgment. Nurturing these skills through educational systems will empower individuals to thrive in an automated future, ensuring they possess the abilities that automation cannot replicate. By embracing a holistic approach to education that integrates technical proficiency with emotional intelligence, critical thinking and contextual understanding, we can prepare the workforce of tomorrow to embrace the opportunities and challenges brought by automation while leveraging their uniquely human capabilities.

Artificial intelligence systems can mimic some aspects of human intelligence with impressive results, including detecting objects, navigating environments, playing chess, or even generating text.

But cloning human behavior has its limitations.
Without backing actions with thought, AI systems can become brittle and make unpredictable mistakes when faced with novel situations.

One recent project by scientists at the University of British Columbia and Vector Institute shows the benefits of getting AI systems to think like humans.

Google claims to have proved its supremacy over conventional machines with new quantum computer.

Google has developed a quantum computer that instantly makes calculations that would take the best existing supercomputers 47 years, in a breakthrough meant to establish beyond doubt that the experimental machines can outperform conventional rivals.

A paper from researchers at Google published online claims that the company’s latest technology is “beyond the capabilities of existing classical supercomputers”.

The very fabric of the universe is ringing with gravitational waves from its earliest epoch, and researchers have finally “heard” this cosmic symphony.

On Thursday, June 28, the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) revealed the detection of low-frequency gravitational waves, a historic breakthrough that represents 15 years of searching. Yet, this isn’t the first time that humanity has detected gravitational waves. Scientists have been detecting these ripples in the fabric of space using facilities like the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) since 2015.